I read with interest Fred Steinberg’s piece “Stepping Back in Time on a 4-day Tour of Luang Prabang, Laos” (June ’14, pg. 44). I have visited Luang Prabang three times, in 2002, 2004 and, most recently, 2011.

While Mr. Steinberg found the town small and laid back, I felt it had changed rather too much from the misty, magical city I fell in love with in 2002, and I may not return. Certainly, if you have not been, it would be a good idea to visit before it is even more overrun with...

Legitimate taxis in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, are controlled and metered by the government. Within the taxicab fleet, there are “pink cabs,” or “ladies’ cabs,” easily identified by their pink roofs. The cabs are driven by fully qualified women cab drivers for the exclusive use of unaccompanied women and their families, regardless of nationality. Women have the freedom to choose any cabs they desire, but the pink cabs can provide security and peace of mind.

NANCY J. NORBERG

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On an independent Trans-Siberian Railway trip in May 2013, my wife, Dee, and I arrived in Irkutsk, Russia, five time zones east of Moscow, at 8 a.m. We were picked up in a 9-passenger van with a few other passengers and driven to Listvyanka on the shores of Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake in the world in terms of volume. It was sunny and 40°F out. It was about a 90-minute drive to Listvyanka, where we went to a wooden chalet. After getting settled and trying to use the Internet...