Julie Skurdenis’ article on Gujarat (March ’09, pg. 62) brought back many pleasant memories of the trip my wife, Audrey, and I took there in 2003, especially of sites like the Modhera Sun Temple and the hike up Mount Shatrunjaya in Palitana.

Our party included a (then) 80-year-old friend who insisted she could make it up the nearly 4,000 steps at Palitana without the doolie (dholi, or litter) carriers. She did, and we made many new friends as we stopped along the way. The Indian...

In response to a subscriber’s request, readers who take tours wrote in saying whether they prefer making their own flight arrangements for tours or having the tour company book the flights. We wanted to know, in either case, what the advantages and disadvantages are regarding convenience and cost plus how much trouble it was when something went wrong. We asked that, with any example, the writer name the tour or cruise company involved, the month and year of the trip and from where to where...

On an independent trip to Venezuela with two friends in December ’08, we visited Mérida.

First, the bad news — Mérida’s Téleferico (cable car), which is described as the highest and longest cable car route in the world, is CLOSED indefinitely and has been since August ’08.

Some say that it needs upgrading; others say that the prospect of large construction contracts and kickbacks accounts for talk about building a new one. In any case, if taking Mérida’s Téleferico is a major...