The Hawaiian capital city of Honolulu recently closed down a group of city restaurants specializing in serving sushi and other raw foods. The ban was the result of a serious outbreak of more than 160 local hepatitis cases, with most of them attributed to uncooked seafood.

That should be a warning for travelers, especially seniors, to be careful of dining on the potentially dangerous foods. Be very careful of what you order in restaurants, and even more aware of the potentially higher dangers of eating raw from street stalls.

The simplest way to avoid it is just don't check luggage! Many new retirees drag enough bags to qualify as traveling movie stars. They take big suitcases, over-the-shoulder bags, cosmetic cases, dress bags and suit bags. Then, after several disappear and others get smashed or pilfered, they get smart.

Consider dumping the big, hard-bodied suitcases and buy soft-sided, smaller wheeled bags. When packing for a trip, put everything you think you’ll need on a bed. Then, one by one, eliminate all but absolute essentials. You’ll probably leave behind at least half of the stuff you had packed for earlier trips.

Guest Senior Wanderer PLL, Milwaukee WI: Our son recently went on a business trip to China. His client firm paid for everything, including first class air tickets. Throughout the trip, we received many calls, and most exciting, digital photos and video as the events happened. We saw him lounging in his private comfy seat/bed on the plane. He posed with locals and Chinese soldiers in Beijing. He watched the sun rise from the Great Wall. He sent dining scenes from Hong Kong restaurants, including one on a sampan in the harbor.

The Ted Turner network is usually reliable about all the news it covers. However, when it recently published its choices for top 23 best street food cities, we could only wonder who compiled the list. Had to be someone with an iron stomach. Here they are in CNN order:

Marrakesh, Morocco; Bangkok, Thailand; Bali, Indonesia; Beijing, China; Honolulu, Hawaii; Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam; Hong Kong, China; Cairo, Egypt; Rio, Brazil; Mumbai, India; Sydney, Australia; Tokyo, Japan; Rome, Italy; Paris, France and Portland OR, USA.