Travelers' Intercom

In response to Lawrence Schonbrun’s “Person to Person” question (Nov. ’09, pg. 77), using a cell phone worldwide is easy. You need just two things: a “world phone” and service.

The “world phone” is any unlocked four-band or quad-band GSM phone. (“GSM” is an industry standard, and phones with it can be used in 212 countries and territories.) Many come from China and in much of the world are called “China phones”; I’ve seen some on eBay.com for $25-$50. (ITN found these listed on eBay for $80-$250.) If your current phone is a four-band phone, it can be unlocked and used. You can do it...

I’m writing in response to a reader’s inquiry regarding flights that allow smoking (Oct. ’04, pg. 84).

Please be aware that smoking on airlines was not banned simply due to its being considered “socially incorrect.” My father worked in testing on aircraft for 31 years, and during the age of smoking, equipment failure was extremely high. For example, nicotine would gum up the oxygen mask release mechanisms, which caused an unacceptable percentage of them to not operate during testing and emergencies. Keep this in mind when you consider patronizing foreign airlines that have a “...

My wife and I took an extended business trip to Cairo in October ’03. During our stay at the historic, downtown Windsor Hotel (al-Alfy Street, Cairo, Egypt — $54 for a double), which was the British Officers’ Quarters prior to the ’52 revolution, we met Samir Fayek (cell phone 011-20-12-399-5147 or e-mail samirfayek@hotmail.com).

Samir is an experienced guide who runs tours for small groups of four to six people on a half-day or full-day basis. He is extremely knowledgeable, speaks fluent English and knows how to navigate Cairo traffic expertly.

Samir took us to the City of...