Travels with Terry L Group

How many languages do you speak? Do you think if you could speak more languages, you would have a better travel experience? This is a great question. Many people have asked me this over the years. However, unless you have a talent for picking up languages, the idea that you'll travel the world and learn many of them is often just that—a thought. I was a bit concerned about this before my travels in Africa, but I had already made it through South America without any issues that stand out in my memory. I would be hard-pressed to tell you a story where I couldn't communicate and suffered any real consequences because of it. The closest I have is what turned into a funny story. I was in a town in Ecuador looking for some cash, so I asked a lady, in Spanish, "¿Dónde está el banco?"—simply, "Where is the bank?" She shook her…

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In returning to a country that you had been to before, which country pleased you the most?

I had to think hard as to which country I would write about, as there are a number of countries that I have visited in the past five years that I had been to in earlier times.

I guess I would have to say my trip to the Caribbean in the summer of 2024 to attend the ICC Cricket World Cup would rate as the most startling. The reason I say this is because during the glory years of West Indies cricket, I would go to Barbados and two other islands every January. By doing this, I spent time in over 15 islands just due to the cricket. Those were great times.

When I went to cricket in 2024, I visited Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. I had spent time…

What experiences did you have that impacted you?

The Khmer Rouge experience in Cambodia.

Of all the places I have visited around the world, few experiences have impacted me as deeply as learning about the Khmer Rouge and its devastating effect on Cambodia.

Travel is often about seeing beautiful places, meeting interesting people, and experiencing different cultures. But sometimes travel confronts us with humanity's darkest moments. Cambodia was one of those places for me.

As I visited sites connected to the Khmer Rouge era and learned more about what happened to the Cambodian people, I was struck by the scale of the suffering and the resilience of those who survived. It is one thing to read about history in a book. It is quite another to stand in the very places where those events occurred and hear the stories firsthand.

The experience reminded me that travel is not just about…