In my New Year's Resolutions relating to travel, appearing a week ago on this website, I listed 12 plans for improving my vacations in the year ahead. Those were four less than I proposed a year ago for the New Year of 2012, and a discussion of the reason for the omissions might be appropriate.

At the end of 2011, I pledged that:

I will make very effort to travel to countries whose demonstrations and protests have been for the purpose of achieving democracy, but occasionally at the cost of losing their tourism. Egypt is among the nations deserving our visits, and for other reasons the Asian nation of Myanmar -- at last moving towards decency -- deserves our tourism, too.

I have recently concluded that tourism to Egypt is not yet reliably safe, primarily because of a breakdown in policing -- and this, despite the fact that a great many recent visitors report that their own trips have proceeded without incident. If everything goes well on a trip to Egypt, it appear superficially that conditions are normal for tourism. But the moment an emergency occurs -- an accident, a threat, a possibility of being robbed or hurt -- it appears that the local police of that nation are simply not available to protect the tourist. This is because the police are so hated by much of the population that they generally stay out of sight and unavailable. I would myself not travel to Egypt at this time, and I can't recommend that others do so.

As for Myanmar, the path to democracy in that country has proven uneven and with considerable bumps, and it is not yet certain the military will really give up their total power. Too much sporadic violence occurs, too great a tension is now felt there, to enable most people to make the trip. And in terms of finding accommodations for your stay, it appears that Myanmar's limited hotel capacity is totally filled by various avaricious entrepreneurs hoping to make favorable deals (for mineral rights and the like) with the powers that be. I will myself wait until further evidence is had that Myanmar is now an acceptably safe destination.

Two other of my travel resolutions for 2012 -- both of them, admittedly, made somewhat in jest -- have been criticized (and rightly so) by a number of readers. One was a pledge that I would occasionally change into pajamas on an overnight, transatlantic trip. That suggestion wasn't found to be realistic. And the other, more reasonable one, read that:

I will try to emulate my daughter's policy of limiting her luggage to one small carry-on bag. I will remember that on numerous trips, I have actually worn only a fraction of the items that I have carried with me in a large suitcase.

Too many readers have responded that they simply would not want to make even a short, week-long trip with only one change of clothing, which was the inevitable prospect of my resolution. And I, on reflection, tend to agree.

So there you have the reasons for a more limited list this year. And I will look forward to reading any further travel resolutions that you may have. 

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2013!

If you have access to the few major newspapers that gave extensive coverage to the latest Chinese achievement in high-speed rail, then you will already have learned many of the details. The Chinese have just opened the longest high-speed rail route ever, permitting trains to travel 1,200 miles from Beijing to Guangzhou in eight hours. That's the equivalent distance of Boston, Massachusetts, to Key West, Florida.

Imagine being able to make the trip from the northeast to south Florida in eight train hours, instead of the seven and eight hours needed to check in to a northeastern airport a couple of hours in advance of departure (in addition to spending an hour going to a distant airport), then fly to Miami, and spend another two-hours-or-so retrieving your luggage and taking a bus or taxi into the center of town.

By building these new high-speed tracks parallel to existing tracks, China also has eased the traffic load on the tracks now used for freight and traditional passenger trains, enabling freight to be delivered far more efficiently (and also easing the burden of car and truck traffic on highway routes). By building this new high-speed route (one of several now in construction), China also put 100,000 men and women to work on each of those new lines, a stimulus that did much to offset what otherwise would have been a sharp economic decline. And by shifting to energy-efficient rail transportation, China has greatly reduced the emission of carbon that every prestigious scientist has blamed for harmful climate change, in addition to easing pollution in Chinese cities (by reducing car and truck traffic on the highways of that nation).

Now I know all the arguments that have thus far blocked most projects of high-speed rail in the United States. We -- who will soon be a nation of 400,000,000 people (greater than the current population of western Europe) -- just don't have the population density needed to support high-speed rail, say the critics. We are a country of individualists, and we would rather stew in traffic jams along highways currently approaching their capacity limits, than subject ourselves to such collectivist experiences as a train involves. Building high-speed rail will also require tax increases of the sort that we have vowed to oppose.

How long will we permit these Luddite arguments to block needed investments in our nation's infrastructure? How long will we mortgage our future to satisfy fans of Ayn Rand? As we crowd into airports, and get stranded by storms, and require more than two hours to travel 50 miles on overburdened highways (as I recently did), how long will we permit habitual nay-sayers to block economic advances that every respected observer supports? How long will we permit China to outpace ourselves in economic development?

In drawing up a list of New Year's Resolutions in Travel, I recently came close to omiitting a pledge to use every opportunity to advocate for high-speed rail, all in a misguided effort to be less controversial. I've now resisted that urge. And somehow I feel that a majority of quiet Americans share my viewpoints. 

What were the chief travel trends of 2012? I count at least eight of them.

The Nickel-and-Diming of Airline Passengers: The single most evident travel trend in 2012 was the effort by airlines to imitate their controversial British cousin, Ryanair, in imposing unexpected fees, charges and penalties on the most innocent acts of air transportation, like checking a suitcase or making a reservation over the phone. While federal regulatory agencies are now starting to require that the airlines fold some of these charges into the advertised price of their flights, deception continues apace, and shell-shocked flyers discover that the price of almost any ticket is higher than they expected.

The Commercialization of the Airline and Cruiseship Activity: The cruiseships started this trend, but it moved to the airlines in 2012, with the announcement by a major aviation executive that he was planning to turn his passenger airplanes into "airborne shopping malls." Apparently, flight attendants will now parade through the aisles on numerous occasions in the course of the flight, hawking dresses and sweaters, Swiss wristwatches, and dining room place settings. Already, aboard the cheaper of the cruiseships, constant loudspeaker announcements urge passengers to buy the same items in the course of the trip. And menu items in the main dining room, like steaks and lobsters, will now carry an extra charge, and waiters and waitresses will push their purchase because of an automatic gratuity attached to each such choice.

The Substitution of Apartments and Vacation Homes for Hotel Rooms: This smart trend has been discussed so often in this blog that I won't again emphasize the growth of Homeaway.com, VRBO.com, FlipKey.com, EndlessVacationRentals.com, AirBnB.com, and others, as enjoying sharply-increased popularity in 2012. A single caution needs to be made about rentals in those several jurisdictions where the mere activity of renting a room in an apartment whose owner does not remain in residence, is illegal.

The Meteroric Rise of Dubai: Once given up for dead, in the financial crisis years of 2008-2010, Dubai has revived, and tens of thousands of Americans in 2012 endured marathon-like flights on Emirates Airlines from the U.S. to gawk at the excesses and conspicuous consumption of this culture-lacking place. I remain astonished as to why any normal traveler would want to make that trip -- but they're doing it.

Ireland and China Were the Top Travel Bargains: Airi-and-land packages to these two destinations, selling for as little as $699 (for Ireland) and $899 (for China), were the undoubted champions of cost-conscious tourists in 2012, and they will probably remain so in 2013.

The Increasing Operation of Quirky Day Tours in Major Tourist Cities: Bored by the sameness of most standard motorcoach tours, Americans have turned in growing numbers in 2012 to the off-the-beaten-track variety offered by such worldwide companies as Vayable.com and UrbanAdventures.com. These are mainly walking tours conducted by graduate students and other specialists passionately in love with their cities; they cost about $40; but they are infinitely superior in content and interest to the standard variety of sightseeing.

The Emergence of Bundled AirFares Sold Only by the Airline Themselves: In an effort to give you an advantage if you go directly to the airline's own website to make your booking, and not to the hated Orbitz, Expedia, or Travelocity, airlines in 2012 have rewarded their customers who make their bookings direct (and this policy will undoubtedly grow more popular in 2013). Frontier Airlines started the trend by making seat reservations available only to people who went to the Frontier website, and American Airlines has now weighed in with an $18 insurance policy giving the passenger the right to change the date or time of their flight without penalty -- but only if they make the booking direct with American Airlines (they charge a total of $68, of which $50 is the price for checking a suitcase round-trip, and $18 brings you that penalty-free right of cancellation).

The Explosive Growth in 2012 of River Cruising and Cheap Intercity Buses: Suddenly this past year, the traveler is surrounded by offers of cruises on rivers ranging from the Mississippi (where the famous paddlewheeler known as the American Queen has resumed sailing) to the Rhine and the Yangtze. Travelers should bear in mind that these are primarily booked by people mature in age (one survey showed a large number of passengers in their 70s), and certainly not for swingers. And if you'll go to the websites of Bolt Bus and MegaBus, you'll find that these large companies have, in 2012, vastly expanded the range of their itineraries, and now connect scores of U.S. cities with inexpensive bus services.

There they are -- the chief travel trends of 2012. Have I missed any?

The most significant recent news in travel was the announcement last week by American Airlines of a new, three-part method of quoting airfares. It is an innovation that will undoubtedly be copied by other airlines, and though difficult to grasp, it makes a lot of sense.

Under American Airlines' new plan, you will have three choices when you book an airfare on that carrier: Choice, Choice Essential, and Choice Plus.

First, you can simply opt to buy Choice: a basic air ticket with nothing other than simple air transportation included, to which you will add the various fees that you alone can choose to incur. You add the cost of checking your suitcase ($25 per bag, each way), and the cost of later changing your reservation if that’s what you want to do ($150 if you later change the date or time of your flight).

Or you choose Choice Essential by adding a total charge of $68 to the basic cost of your air ticket. For that additional $68, you receive the right to check one suitcase round-trip ($25 each way, or a value of $50 round-trip), and you also receive the right to change the date or time of your reservation without penalty. You also receive priority boarding privileges. In effect, you have paid $18 over the cost of checking your suitcase round-trip, a sort of insurance policy, that enables you -- if you later wish -- to change the date or time of your flight. For a lot of passengers, this additional cost of $18 makes a lot of sense, giving them the unlimited right to change the date or time of their flight without penalty. (And American Airlines is betting that so many people will take out that $18 "insurance policy" as to earn a lot of money for the airlines, far exceeding the occasional $150 that they nornally earn for permitting people to change their mind about that date or time.

And there's a third option, Choice Plus, costing $88 for one suitcase round-trip, flight changes without penalty, priority boarding, stand-by privileges, a 50% increase in the frequent flyer privileges you receive from the trip, and one alcoholic drink.

There's also a catch: You can purchase these $68 and $88 plans only directly from the airline, and not by booking through an online travel agency like Expedia, Orbitz or Travelocity. In effect, American wants you to enjoy these privileges only when you save them the hefty commission they normally have to pay to an online travel agency.

So how about it? Do these "advantages" seem worth the extra outlay? I'd be happy to hear comments.

Last weekend, I made a trip to the Rockaways, the several-mile-long stretch of flat, sandy, coastline along the borough of Queens in New York City. It was here that, several weeks ago, a 14-foot surge of the Atlantic Ocean propelled by Hurricane Sandy caused a devastating torrent of water to demolish hundreds and hundreds of homes, to wreck a several-mile-long boardwalk, and to render uninhabitable many thousands of other residences. Although much restoration has been done, piles of debris remain, thousands of people are still without decent places to live, and numerous commercial establishments have not yet re-opened. I visited there a cousin of my wife, who had just moved back into her apartment after living like a nomad elsewhere (including in a temporary place we found for her in Manhattan) for seven weeks.

Though it was somewhat encouraging to see the massive projects of restoration that both private, state and federal agencies have undertaken in the Rockaways, it was discouraging to learn that no one has any real plans to prevent such devastation from occurring again. Apart from an intention to replace the wooden boardwalk with one made of concrete, no one is proposing that anyone spend the hundreds of millions of dollars that could erect a 15-foot-high "berm" of rock, sand and concrete along the entire length of the beach that would hold back any further surge from a future repeat of a hurricane that is bound to re-occur.

Now what has this to do with travel? The lessons of travel reveal to the traveler that other people at other times have made the public investments that prevent such tragedies.

In a book called Surprising Amsterdam that I wrote in 1965, I described the project devised in 1891 by a Dutch engineer called Cornelis Lely to wall off the ZuiderZee in Holland from the North Sea. (The ZuiderZee was a giant bay of the coastline of that nation, at the northern top of which was a 19-mile stretch of roaring ocean.) It took him 27 years to persuade the national authorities that this should be done, and work began on creating this 19-mile dike made of clay, sand and rocks, in a width that later permitted a two-lane highway to be built atop it.

The project required a huge investment by the Dutch government at that time, on a wall created directly in the sea, whose completion was always in doubt. As the two ends of the dike approached each other, the resulting torrent of water in the remaining gap became so fierce as to wash away the rocks being dumped into it  before they could form a stable barrier. Appeals went out to the entire population of The Netherlands to bring whatever boats they possessed -- even the smallest -- to carry and dump rocks into the narrowing gap. And so many thousands of people responded, converging on the dike and dumping whatever rocks their small boats could hold, that on May 28, 1932, a radio announcer could shout to an anxious nation that "The dike has been closed!"

The raging ZuiderZee had become a peaceful inland lake. A memorial was placed displaying the words, "A nation that lives, builds for the future." 

As I wrote in Surprising Amsterdam: 

On a night in February 1963, when disastrous floods swept over large portions of western Holland, the Enclosure Dike prevented the Zuider Zee from rising to engulf Amsterdam -- and perhaps Rotterdam as well. The next morning, a citizen of Amsterdam was heard to remark, "Lely's dike paid for itself in one night."

Today you can drive along the entire 19-mile length of the Enclosure Dike ("Afsluitdijk" in Dutch), as I and my wife did two years ago, and as I have done on many occasions. You witness a construction feat that slices through a raging part of the North Sea.

Remembering those outings -- and no one should ever visit The Netherlands without making the same trip -- you may feel, as I now do, to wit:

Don't tell me that we are unable to protect our shoreline from extremes of weather. Don't tell me that the United States hasn't the wherewithal to make such investments for the common good. Don't tell me that government is incapable of improving the lives and commerce of our nation. Travel teaches you an entirely different lesson. We can afford what we have to do, just as the Dutch determined in 1932.