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Rundown for the Week of November 2, 2001

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The London Cabbie Life by Todd Jarrell
From riding elephant back in Africa to taking a tuk-tuk in Thailand, getting from place to place in a foreign country often requires a certain degree of skill. As a travel and adventure writer, Todd Jarrell has used just about every mode of transportation you can think of. He's found that even hailing a cab in London can have its challenges. But as he tells us, finding a taxi driver in London was nowhere as difficult as actually being one.

The Future of Air Travel
Two experts give us their insights on how individualized air travel may or may not be in the future.

Spa for the Mind
Our reporter Anne Marie Ruff lives in Thailand, and she has sent in this account of a ten-day stay in a silent Buddhist retreat - an enclave by any definition. The purpose within the four walls of this temple - all day, every day - is silence. Silence is unfamiliar territory for most Westerners, and it turned out to be a challenge for Anne Marie as well.

T-Shirt Cantata by Jim Bogan
If you ask people of the older generations what the biggest change in travel has been over the last forty years, the first thing they say is "the way we dress". And it's true. Men used to wear suits and ties, women dresses, heels and gloves. Now we all wear jeans or sweats. And t-shirts. The t-shirt has become the universal wardrobe, worn from the Champs-Elysses to the beaches of Costa Rica. And we send an immediate identity image by our t-shirts. I notice I command a lot of respect when I wear my Harvard t-shirt, even though I didn't go to Harvard. And we have been advised not to wear blatant USA t-shirts abroad since September 11. Our reporter Jim Bogan found humor, as well as social commentary, in the vast array of t-shirts he came across during a trip to Brazil.

Airport Navigation by Tony Kahn
Do you find airports confusing? One of my pet peeves is that in the one place we all need to know the precise time, there are no clocks. And signage from airport to airport can be terribly unhelpful. Which way is the baggage carousel for MY flight? Does the rental car bus stop at the middle island or the far island? We called on our Traveler at Large, Tony Kahn, to check out Logan International Airport in Boston, because Logan has long gotten a bad rap. Tony invited a master in airport signage design to join him, and now both Paul Meeskenar and Tony can confirm all the aspersions - Logan is very tough to navigate.

Reliving "Bright College Years" by Naomi Lewin
One loose version of enclave tourism is when you travel with a big group that has a purpose. It's almost as if the people around you become enclave walls - You're more engaged with your group than the place you're visiting. This next story's one example. Our reporter Naomi Lewin says she was the last person on Earth to join a tour group vacation.

Question of the Week
Best Isolated Travel Experiences

Deal of the Week
Free Tickets to Puerto Rico

Travelers' Aid
Travel News