During the 4-week “5 Stans Tour” that my husband, Bob, and I took with Jeff Garrett of JMG Tibet Tours (Lauderhill, FL; 866/548-4238, www.jmgtibettours.com), April 10-May 7, 2017, we visited a part of the world I knew almost nothing about.

The five countries — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — all were different, and we enjoyed them all. We met very few English-speaking tourists and only one other English-speaking tour group....

My husband, Michael, wanted a sport utility vehicle (SUV). I’d managed to postpone it for years, but when our faithful, 15-year-old Volvo convertible that we’d picked up at the Volvo factory in Göteborg, Sweden, had repair costs (to pass inspection) higher than she was worth, we knew it was time. And luck was with us. Volvo still had the Overseas Delivery program.

We met with the sales consultant Sandy Mason-Bealer at a local Volvo dealership, Wynn Volvo Cars Norristown (...

I read, in the Travel Brief “Delta Bag-check Fee” (Feb. ’18, pg. 4), that on flights to/from Europe and North Africa, Delta Air Lines and partners will soon start charging each Basic Economy passenger a $60 fee for the first checked bag.

I’ve noticed that, as it is, no one checks the hand baggage at the airline gates. I’ve watched a couple board a plane with two 24-inch suitcases or boxes and take up one-and-a-half overhead luggage areas. I’ve...