A reader recommended taking along “lightweight walkie-talkies” for communcation while traveling abroad (May ’09, pg. 20). This might be a good idea, but please do your research before using them outside of the United States.

In other countries, the bandplan (that is, the allocation of use of various radio frequencies) may be radically different than in the US, where the radios have been designed to be used. Even if the allocated usage of the band in the country you are visiting is the...

In his April ’09 column, Rick Steves referred to “the stringent US rules on limiting liquids on flights.” I would point out that he neglected to specify that those rules apply to carry-on bags, not checked.

In the same article, he wrote about the necessity of traveling with a cell phone. I use a Mobal phone (888/888-9162, www.mobal.com). I hate it for the hard-to-read screen and exposed buttons but love it because I pay only for time used, with no minimums per year.

I had a...

Here are my impressions of Malaysian Borneo from a 2-week November trip my wife, Carol, and I took there with smarTours (New York, NY; 800/337-7773, www.smartours.net).

It’s hot (of course), bustling, surprisingly clean, inexpensive and, best of all, very friendly. We walked everywhere, on city streets and jungle trails, and took boats and rode public buses, always feeling safe and enjoying friendly receptions. All the roads were in very good condition. Kuala Lumpur is a very...