For a 5-day London visit, Nov. 15-20, 2012, I took my cell phone which is capable of being used outside of the US. I had planned to buy a SIM card in London, but upon arriving at Heathrow Airport I saw a vending machine offering SIM cards from a couple of different companies. I purchased a LycaMobile card for £10 (near $16.25).

A couple of days later, after using the phone for a couple of brief calls, I checked my remaining balance. I was shocked to find that I had less than £2 left...

North of Ecuador, the Andes mountains split into three branches, dividing Colombia into western, central and eastern regions. On an 18-day tour of Colombia, March 19-April 9, 2012, our group observed the central and western areas, including three national parks.

We spent much more time on land travel than anticipated. We found that most highways in Colombia were heavily traveled and undergoing needed repairs, making our progress slow. The very windy and steep roads in the mountains...

My husband, Bill, and I flew from Bangkok to Tokyo aboard Thai Airways (800/426-5204) on Nov. 23, 2012. I don’t know the price; we used frequent-flyer points to upgrade.

Business class on this flight was nothing short of palatial. Each seat was in a sort of cubicle of its own, and they were staggered so that there was no one right next to me and no one directly in front of or in back of me. The seat reclined fully, and the blanket was really a puffy comforter.

The food was...