Letters: Going with the flow in China

Regarding “Caught Up in Yunnan,” by Phil Zimmerman, Oct. 28: I just returned from China and had the same experience. I had planned to go to Lhasa, Tibet, but at the last minute was told it was closed. I was instead rerouted to Jiuzhaigou, also Tibetan, in Sichuan province.

I stayed at the InterContinental Hotel, magnificent. Went to the Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong valleys. Beautiful waterfalls and scenery. Took Diamox and had no problems with altitude sickness. Had a bottle of oxygen but never used it. Had a Tibetan dinner, barbecued yak, yak butter tea and barley whiskey, mushroom soup, potato. The only problem — very, very few people spoke English. We had a private guide.

At the hotel I used iTranslate: Speak in English, speaks back in Chinese; speak in Chinese, speaks back in English. It needs Wi-Fi so I could only use it in the hotel lobby and lounge, but it worked pretty well.

Elliott Brender

Villa Park, Calif.

Great little article about Santa Cruz [“Life in Cruz Control,” by Mike Morris, Oct. 28]. I just wanted to mention that he left out a very critical element of Santa Cruz — coffee!

Verve Coffee Roasters is one of the local gems of Santa Cruz. It is a specialty micro-roaster found in several coffee shops around the state (even here in L.A. at such shops as Balconi Coffee in West L.A.).

Next time you’re in Santa Cruz, check out one of its cafes, or you could even tour its roasting facility.

Mark Finster

Mar Vista

I recently returned from a trip to Tunisia. My friend and I decided to go despite the State Department warning against travel there. Our tour group turned out to be three women, all over 65 years old.

We toured all areas of Tunisia and never had any concerns about our safety. We saw wonderful Roman ruins and also experienced other aspects of Tunisian culture. Our hotels were first rate.

I would encourage anyone thinking about a trip to Tunisia to go for it.

Carolyn Todd

La Quinta

My experience arriving from Berlin on Sept. 17 at LAX echoes that of Roberto Rodriguez (Letters, Oct. 21). Could it be the same rude control officer demanding my driver’s license, or is it the pattern? I am a U.S. citizen by birth and had presented my passport. My suggestion to other travelers is to risk showing some resistance to such obnoxious behavior. In my case, the ironic finale was a grunted “welcome home.” Your federal government serving you!

Edward Ryan

El Segundo