Over many years of travel, I’ve learned to plan carefully in terms of how much clothing I really need and what can be pared down, such as as for those low luggage-weight limits on small-plane trips between safari lodges (when, with fewer items, it becomes necessary to wash clothes every night).

I take several tops — usually two short-sleeved and two long-sleeved shirts (which I sometimes button up above elbow-length), a top that’s dressier, and one or two camisoles for wearing under...

When my wife, Paula, and I visit Europe, we typically travel by train. But while arranging intercity transportation for our visit to the Baltic States in September 2014, our research indicated that buses were a better transit option in those countries.

A few minutes of Internet searching revealed that several bus companies served the region. Lux Express (www.luxexpress.eu), with its English (one of six languages available) website providing comprehensive information, quickly became my...

I love fairs. Whether it’s a street fair in Paris, the Hong Kong Book Fair, the Seville Feria, the Bergen Food Festival in Norway or the Frampton Country Fair in Gloucester, I enjoy them all. But, by far, the best are the world’s fairs and expositions (expos) that are sanctioned by the Bureau of International Exhibitions and which take place every two to five years.

The purpose of these fairs is to bring people of the world together around a theme of global importance. The next expo...