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Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 408th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine, the one that depends on its continent-hopping subscribers for much of what is printed.

While waiting to take off on a domestic flight aboard a US airline, passengers no longer may be kept aboard the airplane sitting on the tarmac for more than three hours, unless it’s necessary for safety or security or if returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations. That’s one of the new “...

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(Second of two parts)

On the cruise that my wife, Susan, and I took down the Burgundy Canal in France on the upscale hotel barge Horizon II, Aug. 2-8, 2009, courtesy of French Country Waterways (Duxbury, MA; 800/222-1236), the crew were incredibly hardworking.

At every lock, we saw the pilot and boatman scrubbing the sides of the vessel and polishing every surface until it shone. At the end of the week we saw the crewmen repainting the small scuffs on the side of the bow where...

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When Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens opens for the season in the spring of 2010, its ornate gates will swing wide for the 168th time, providing, as from Tivoli’s first days, “a magical place for recreation and fresh air.”

That is how Tivoli’s creator, Georg Carstensen, a publisher of periodicals, described what he had in mind when he approached King Christian VIII to ask for permission to realize his dream. He topped off his proposal by mentioning that “when the people are amusing...

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The reconstructed Philae Temples near Aswan. Photos: Keck

(Part 2 of 3 on Egypt)

The main thrust of my September ’09 Egypt journey was a seven-day/seven-night cruise on the timeless Nile, and the first half of the cruise was upstream, heading south, from Luxor to Aswan.

From Cairo, an easy hour-long flight south transports visitors to Luxor, home port for the majority of the scores of passenger vessels that ply the Nile on four- to seven-day cruises.

Luxor: riverboat central

On the Luxor waterfront, the Crown...

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Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 407th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine. We present, among other things, a mix of reader-written firsthand accounts and news items, such as the following.

Three airlines that misinterpreted Transportation Security Administration rules and kept dozens of passengers cooped up on a plane in Rochester, Minnesota, for almost six hours — in violation of a law prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices in air transportation — have been...

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by Lew Toulmin (First of two parts)

Tell your friends and relations that your next vacation is cruising a French canal on an upscale hotel barge and you are sure to get some envious glances, but does the reality match the myth?

That was the question my wife, Susan, and I had before cruising down the Burgundy Canal aboard the Horizon II, Aug. 2-8, 2009, as guests of French Country Waterways (Box 2195, Duxbury, MA 02331; 800/222-1236, www.fcwl.com).

Our cruise was from...

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by Sandra Scott

Dubai is considered an expensive destination, but it doesn’t have to be. My husband, John, and I visited Dubai in January ’09, and our favorite evening turned out to be our least expensive.

After wandering through the spice souk with its aromatic smells, we hopped on board an abra, handed the boatman one dirham (27¢) and crossed Dubai Creek. Abras are flat-bottomed water taxis that ferry people across the creek.

We strolled along the waterfront promenade...

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Eating and drinking in Europe is sightseeing for your taste buds. Every country has local specialties that are good, memorable or both. Here are many of the fun experiences that stick in my mind after 30 years of travel. Seek out any of these on your next trip.

• In the Netherlands, try a rijsttafel (rice table), the ultimate Indonesian meal, with as many as 36 delightfully exotic courses, all eaten with rice. One meal is plenty for two, so order carefully.

An even more...

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