Lifestyles

Escape to Asia on winter trips to Thailand and Myanmar scheduled to depart Feb. 15 and March 8. The 10-night tours, designed for women, are organized by Gutsy Women Travel in Glenside, Montgomery County, and visit Bangkok, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. The group tours Bangkok, including the temples Wat Traimit, Wat Po and Wat Benchamabophit. Other stops include the ruins of Ayutthaya, about 80 miles north of Bangkok, as well as Myanmar and the Golden Triangle where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. The group tours the ancient fortified city of Chiang Saen on the bank of the Mekong River at the southernmost point of the Golden Triangle in Thailand. Participants will visit a Chinese refugee camp, the Mae Sa Elephant Training Center in Chiang Mai and craft villages. Prices start at $2,848 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip airfare from Pittsburgh, hotels, internal flights, most meals and excursions. Taxes and security fees are extra. Rates vary depending on dates of travel and availability.

Details: 866-464-8879 or www.gutsywomentravel.com.

Maya mia! Journey tours Yucatan Peninsula

Marvel at ancient Maya ruins on weeklong tours of the lush Yucatan Peninsula with Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures. The educational seven-night tours, scheduled to depart Feb. 18, March 11 and April 8, begin in Cancun; participants spend five nights in Merida and one in Valladolid. The group visits museums and cathedrals in Merida, explores the colonial city of Izamal and visits the archaeological sites of Uxmal and Kabah. The itinerary includes a tour of the markets in Uman and the Celestun Biosphere Reserve by boat. The tour ends with a visit to Chichen Itza, once the political and religious center of Maya culture in the region. Cost: $1,199 per person, double occupancy ($300 single surcharge), including hotels, most meals, scholar lecturers and guides. International airfares are not included.

Details: 800-528-8147 or Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures.

Armchair traveler

Fitness fiends often fret over how they're going to stay in shape when their vacation takes them away from the gym. Instead of packing bulky weights or running shoes, take a copy of "The Fit Traveler: Take Your Workout With You." Authors Kari Eide and Lissa Mueller not only act as your traveling personal trainers, but their book comes packed with a free stretch band that lets you convert your hotel room into your own personal gym. Eide discovered the band when she was recuperating from a car accident.

By stretching the band and varying where you hold the ends, a user can increase or decrease the amount of resistance. Tied to a hotel doorknob or bedpost, the band can be used to work your abdominal muscles, legs, arms or back. By putting one foot on the band and pulling on the ends, for example, you can do curls and work your biceps. Put both feet on the band, grip the ends in each hand, and you can do squats. Each exercise is illustrated with photos. The authors also show you how to used a chair to do push-ups. They also provide dieting tips for travelers. (The Fitness Boutique; $17.95; 51 pages; hardcover)

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