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April 2014 issue | Appears on page 17

Li River extravaganza

By Irwin Schatzman

The article “Ten Cities in 20 Days — A Delightful Custom Tour of China” (Feb. ’14, pg. 18) was a delightful and informative article. It brought back wonderful memories of my trip to China in October ’12. However, I do take issue with Ms. Brandes’ decision, when in Yangzhou, to not experience the amazing spectacle “Impression, Sanjie Liu.”

This light show is performed in what is touted as “the world’s largest outdoor theater,” with the waters of the Li River as its stage and 12 mist-...

April 2014 issue | Appears on page 26

Stymied on advance seating

By George Dottl

For a trip to Vietnam in January-February 2014, George Dottl of Rogers, Arkansas, called American Airlines and booked tickets for his wife and himself.

They would fly on Jan. 2 aboard American Airlines from Arkansas to Dallas/Fort Worth to Tokyo, Japan (Narita International), then board a Japan Airlines flight to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They would fly the reverse route on the same airlines on Feb. 17.

He wrote to ITN, “Calling on the ‘Platinum line’ on April 11, 2013, I got...

April 2014 issue | Appears on page 26

Lufthansa bag lag

By Miyako Storch

My husband and I were scheduled to fly Lufthansa on Dec. 9, 2013, from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, with a transit time of about two hours before continuing to Nürnberg. Our flight from Los Angeles ended up being delayed about two hours, so, concerned about the connection and our checked luggage (two small suitcases), during the flight to Frankfurt we talked to a flight attendant.

Her response was, “If the passengers can make it to the connecting flight, so can the luggage.”

Upon...

April 2014 issue | Appears on page 27

The QM2 transatlantic

By Kent Shamblin

My wife and I cross the Atlantic yearly on the Queen Mary 2 of Cunard Line (800/728-6273), usually in both directions — an elegant and comfortable way to get to Europe to visit our daughter.

We take a balcony stateroom. We made our 12th voyage in July ’13, and the fare on the lower decks was $1,699 per person, double occupancy, but fares for inside cabins started at $1,199.

We’ve cruised with other lines, but we enjoy the comfort of the QM2 and the elegance of the ship — its...

April 2014 issue | Appears on page 28

70 hours on the Trans-Siberian Railway

By Skip Carpenter

An Eastern Orthodox church in a small farm village in Russia.

My wife, Bonnie, and I took a month-long tour of China, Mongolia and Russia that included a 7½-hour daytime train ride from Ulan Ude, Russia, to Irkutsk, located to the west of the southern end of Lake Baikal. On Sept. 22, 2012, after finishing our organized tour, we continued on our own on the Trans-Siberian Railway from Irkutsk to Moscow, about a 70-hour trip, and flew home from there on Sept. 26.

Russian trains are punctual. Also, they run on Moscow time. In Irkutsk, we were...

April 2014 issue | Appears on page 30

Relaxed-pace India with Worldview

By Doreen K. Hornback

If your “get up and go” got up and went, travel still can be wonderful. My husband, John, and I are in our 80s and kind of slow, but we still haven’t seen everything. We would slow down a tour group, and we need extra time in the morning to get ready, so we have taken to traveling on private tours.

We traveled through India, Jan. 6-27, 2013, with arrangements made by Nino Mohan, owner of Worldview Tours (US office in Newport Beach, CA; 800/373-0388). We spent two weeks in the Golden...

April 2014 issue | Appears on page 31

Arranged by Portugal Trails

By Ronald J. Trazenfeld

My wife and I have been independent travelers for over 40 years and have seldom used a travel agent. Having been to Portugal before, staying in the Algarve region, we wanted to go to northern Portugal in May ’13 and stay in pousadas (government-operated inns).

I emailed Donna Rumbold (donna.rumbold@portugaltrails.com) at Portugal Trails (phone [+351] 214 851 476) in Cascais, Portugal, telling her what we wanted and, equally important, what we did not want. Her reply was prompt and...

April 2014 issue | Appears on page 32

Tropical paradise in Belize

By Sara Kras

My husband and I visited Belize in August 2013. We decided to stay on South Water Caye at the Pelican Beach Resort (P.O. Box 2, Dangriga, Belize; phone 501 522-2044, fax 522 2570). To reach the caye, a boat is arranged through the resort for the 45-minute ride from Dangriga.

We were delighted to find a clean, white-sand island with cute cottages for accommodations. This ecolodge’s main building used to be a convent in the 1940s. Nuns would come to this pretty caye, which borders the...