International Travel News

Travelers' Intercom

December 2010 issue | Appears on page 72

Beside Ta Prohm

For my friend Joan Hedges and I, the temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia, were a definite high point of the three-week January ’09 tour “A Journey Through Indochina” that we took with Explore! (contact Adventure Center, Emeryville, CA; 800/487-1600), on which, from Thailand, we visited Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

I’d been to Cambodia four years earlier, loved Phnom Penh and still think it is the prettiest city in Southeast Asia. Unlike Bangkok, which is gaudy, or Hanoi, a charming city...

November 2010 issue | Appears on page 12

Tips for communicating in Japan

Awaiting takeoff from Los Angeles to Tokyo, the Japanese flight attendant asked, “Ma’am, have you already had a chance to buckle your seat belt?” This question, presented as a pleasant request, intrigued me because an American attendant might say, “Please put on your seat belt so we can take off.” I found many noteworthy differences between US and Japanese communication styles while on a 12-day trip to Japan, June 28-July 9, 2010.

November 2010 issue | Appears on page 14

Cambodia’s phenomenal ‘Phnoms’

According to legend, near the end of the 14th century a pious woman, Penh, discovered four Buddha images floating down the Tonlé Sap river in a hollow log. To commemorate the remarkable event, she commissioned the construction of a phnom (hill) at the site and a temple atop it. The city that exists there today is named after her creation, Phnom Penh (Penh’s Hill).

November 2010 issue | Appears on page 16

Trikes in Scotland

During a cruise stop on Aug. 20, 2009, my husband, Bob, and I toured Edinburgh as passengers on a three-wheeled motorcycle with Trike Tours Scotland (phone 0800 056 7779 or mobile 07786 267826, www.triketours.com).

Our guide, Gordon, was extremely knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. He picked us up at the dock with our gear: helmets and leather jackets; rain gear was offered, but we declined.

The trike’s driver seat was in front, with the two passenger seats behind,...

November 2010 issue | Appears on page 16

Give peace a chance

My April 2010 trip to Costa Rica had been, to this point, mediocre, at best.

It was not that I was unappreciative of the rural beauty of the lush countryside or the geometrically stunning patterns of the vivid rainforest flora — a wild, picturesque backdrop to the majestic, long stretches of beach situated beneath awe-inspiring vistas of rock formations anchored to the vast ocean floor.

It was that I had traveled to Manuel Antonio National Park hoping to enjoy an intimate look...

November 2010 issue | Appears on page 24

Frequent flyer miles from original airline

For an itinerary in January ’08 from San Jose, California, to Dakar, Senegal, with connections in Chicago and Brussels, my wife and I were ticketed with American Airlines (AA). The initial flight, San Jose-Chicago, was canceled due to a mechanical problem. The AA agent in San Jose rerouted our entire trip, issuing new tickets for flights from San Francisco to Dakar via Paris on Air France. This trip involved a lot of miles, for which we wanted frequent-flyer credit.

Since Air France...

November 2010 issue | Appears on page 24

Take notes of promises made

Eight of us flew Delta/Air France from San Jose, California, to Cairo, Egypt, via Paris, France, on Feb. 27, 2010. When we arrived at Paris’ CDG Airport for our connecting flight to Cairo (on Air France 508 or Delta 8622) at 1:35 p.m., we found out that it was delayed due to weather. It was finally canceled at 9:40 p.m.

Air France gave us hotel vouchers as well as boarding passes for the next day’s flight and told us they would keep our luggage and put it on the flight. We were told...

November 2010 issue | Appears on page 25

Norway adds up

My wife, Joan, and I had experiences similar to that of Kent Shamblin (“Travel in Norway,” Sept. ’10, pg. 17) when we took a cruise on the MS Nordkapp with Hurtigruten (Fort Lauderdale, FL; 866/552-0371) in June-July 2010.

Our Capital One credit card (without chip) worked perfectly everyplace we wanted to use it. Our Citibank Visa debit card got us all the money we wanted. However, we had to search around awhile before we found an ATM that had English-language instructions and prompts...