Be bold, explore -- but be smart

I’M sure I won’t be the only one to write about your suggestion to “take the risk of getting traveler’s diarrhea” in your story on college students’ travel tips [“Fear Not Frog Leg Soup, and Other Tips,” Travel Insider, Jan. 8].

Perhaps I was thinking that when I ate seafood at a quaint little eatery on the waterfront of Puerto Montt, Chile. I contracted hepatitis A. I also ate oysters on the beach in Acapulco, Mexico, to my strong regret.

My wife contracted E. coli from a meal at a nice restaurant in Lyon and spent five days in hospitals in France.

In short, I would caution students to be careful when traveling. One can still have a great time and be careful when eating.

That said, I’ve traveled to 50 or 60 countries and survived. And we plan to continue.

DAVID E. KELLY

Laguna Beach

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I loved the piece with the students’ travel advice. You don’t realize how cautious you become while traveling because it happens so gradually. The article made me want to take chances again.

SHARON COHOON

Huntington Beach