I wish I could have read Genevieve's enthusiastic endorsement of Mexico before I visited the country for the first time last week, but alas, I only had my family's swine-flu-and-violence hysteria to turn to. Luckily, I headed south of the border anyway--I'm old enough to know that anything that scares my parents is going to be great fun. Also, I had a work event to attend, and it happened to include five days of sun, sand, and frozen cocktails.

So what's Cancun like right now?

This week's question comes from Susan in Omaha, NE, home of the world's richest man:

If there's one thing I've learned in this life, it's that sometimes holding it isn't an option. This week, a man flying from Honduras to Atlanta wound up in jail after using the bathroom in business class.

According to his side of the story, he had food poisoning and couldn't wait any longer. A drink cart was blocking his way to the economy-class bathroom, and though he'd already been told he wasn't allowed to use the business-class bathroom, he went for it. A flight attendant blocked his way and he touched her arm to steady himself. She claims he manhandled her.

If he did hurt her, that's wrong and obviously I would take her side on the issue. I wasn't there so I can't say. BUT I do feel a lot of pity for the poor guy. What is he supposed to do in this situation?

It has been over two weeks since New York City took a front-row seat to the emergency splash landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the murky Hudson River.  Several days ago, the last part of the left engine was recovered for further investigation into the accident.  Meanwhile, veteran pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger received a hero's homecoming in Danville, California.

Passenger Josh Peltz of Charlotte, N.C., sat in the exit row on the flight and remained calm as he tugged and twisted open the exit door. Were his swift actions critical in helping to save 150 passengers and the five flight crew from the plane that was slowly sinking into the icy river?  Would you have done if you were one of the passengers on US Airways Flight 1549? Would you know the right thing to do?

In planning our big trip to Thailand, one of the top adventures on our list was having bespoke suits made for my husband. He really needs a new suit, but we live in California, the land of every day Casual Friday so we can never bring ourselves to fork over the princely sum. Having suits made in Thailand seemed like the perfect solution. I studied Holly’s post and read about it in my Lonely Planet guidebook, and the one thing I concluded was: it’s easy to get scammed by disreputable tailors.

Savvy traveler that I am, I swore this wasn’t going to happen to me. Oh no! Not clever, insider me! I decided the best way to avoid this was to secure a recommendation from the concierge at our resort. Granted, I knew concierges can be paid off, but we were staying at a high-end, American-owned hotel chain that is known for its customer service and integrity.

I think it was the fact that I’d already spent so much time above the clouds in Rio de Janeiro, from gawking at the Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado to watching the sun set from Pão de Açúcar’s peak, that led me to decide that I just couldn’t leave the city without hang-gliding from Pedro Bonita. Whether I was high on bird’s-eye beauty or just suffering from altitude-induced delirium, I’m not sure. Either way, on my last morning in town, I found myself running at full speed off a ramp in tandem with a hang-gliding instructor I’d met 10 minutes before. This was about 45 minutes after paying $10 for my “pilot’s license” and 5 minutes after practicing my liftoff run (one time).

As December 27 dawned, millions of Kenyans headed to polling sites to vote for a president. As December 27 drew to a close, I booked an airline ticket from Nairobi to New York. And as the next few days progressed, Kenya plunged into violence that has left more than 650 people dead, so far.

I’ve spent the past few weeks reading horrific tales of bloodshed with the hope that post-election killings will cease any day. I’m not scheduled to visit Kenya for another 5 months, but regardless of how much the situation improves by then, it’s scary to think that what is widely regarded as the most stable country in Africa can dissolve into tribal conflicts and machete attacks at the drop of a ballot.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member smokeysf

For this week’s post, I’m inspired by the recent return of a fellow IgoUgo employee who ventured off on a two-week trip to Yemen. Despite the warnings from the State Department—and pleas from his mother—our friend ventured into a land that is (was) purported to have a high risk of kidnapping for westerners. Yet, he returned, replete with some of the more stunning photos of vast plains, spectral hilltop villages, and children just curious about the camera.

I am all for trying new and uncharted and even slightly dangerous waters, in fact, I think I would prefer them to the placid sea, but certainly some things that call themselves adventurous don’t seem as daring as other, more extreme choices. Of course, to each his or her own—to some, being daring can depend on your location.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member HELEN001

Think your holiday travel was stressful? I'm one of the worst: after all these years of traveling, I still haven't cracked the code for getting to the airport on time. I try to keep my luggage to a carry-on only and fail. I forget to pick my seat assignment ahead of time. And I still get far too flustered over long security lines. (Will those people who walk through the scanner three times before deciding to empty their coin-laden pockets ever lose their aptitude for infuriating me? Probably not.) But when I hear about a travel disaster the likes of this past week's Explorer sinking in Antarctica, I remember to stop, take a moment to reflect, and put things into perspective.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member RSchoettger

“I will drop you off at the first beach I see; I need to take a sleep. It will be better for me and much better for you!”

File that under Things You Never Want to Hear Your Boat Captain Say After an Alcohol-Soaked Lunch on Your Island Excursion. Three friends and I were staying on the island of Hvar, Croatia, for a week, and we’d decided to depart from our daily beach-lunch-beach routine to take an excursion to nearby Vis, the furthest island in the Middle Dalmatian chain. Vis is known for its unspoiled landscapes, quaint towns, and excellent gourmet specialties, and there was a man in our tiny fishing village who ran day-long excursions there for less than $100 per person. It seemed too good to be true. Turns out, it was.