FEELING IFFY?
You're about to lay out major bucks for a trip to Asia months from now and suddenly think: What if the avian flu problem gets worse and I don't want to go? Will I lose all this money?
Could be.
Most travel insurance policies exempt things like epidemics. ''Policies are not priced to take into account a catastrophic risk,'' explained Jon Ansell, president of the U.S. Travel Insurance Association. On the other hand, if it's truly a catastrophic event, a travel provider would probably cancel the trip, and you'd likely get your money back or a voucher for future travel.
What if it's bad enough to scare you, but not bad enough to lead to trip cancellations? ''Most travel insurance policies won't cover you just because you don't want to go,'' Ansell says.
There is an exception: At least one insurer, TravelSafe (www.travelsafecom), has a ''cancel for any reason'' option. It will cover up to 75 percent of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs regardless of why you decide not to go. That option is more expensive: When we priced a $5,000, 10-day trip for a 40-year-old, the premium with the ''cancel for any reason'' option cost $305. The same policy without that option: $219.

Also keep in mind: Some trip providers will let you buy a waiver that allows you to cancel for any reason.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization and travel risk advisors such as iJet Intelligent Risk Systems continue to give the green light for traveling to the many countries known to be affected with avian flu. The standard advice: Make sure that poultry you eat is well-cooked and stay away from live fowl.
As for future risks of the virus mutating to allow human-to-human transmission, iJet's medical advisor, Joan Pfinsgraff, says she worries most about China, Indonesia, Nigeria and Niger, ``because their surveillance systems are very poor, and people live in close contact with poultry.''
-- Washington Post Service
RADISSON-REGENT
Radisson Seven Seas Cruises has changed its name to Regent Seven Seas Cruises following a merger with Regent Hotels. The new Regent plans to offer luxury ship-to-shore packages with optional pre- and post-cruise hotel stays and land tours.
Regent has hotels in Miami; Beverly Hills, Calif.; Zagreb, Croatia; Berlin; Shanghai; Kuala Lampur; Singapore; Taipei and Almaty, Kazakhstan. Nine more Regent hotels are being built around the world.
Info: www.theregentexperi ence.com or 800-285-1835.
-- Associated Press
BUY OR WAIT?
Should you buy a ticket on financially troubled Northwest Airlines?
Turmoil continues after the ticket and reservations agents voted ''yea'' on a contract that included big pay cuts, while baggage handlers and stock clerks voted ''nay.'' That vote throws the contract issue back at the bankruptcy judge. Pilots and flight attendants, meanwhile, have yet to schedule a vote on their separate, tentatively approved contracts.
No one has a crystal ball, but airline analysts are optimistic that Northwest will weather the storm and continue flying. ''I wouldn't have any hesitation about buying a ticket,'' says Rick Harris, a Wake Forest University professor who specializes in airlines. ``Bankruptcy has become a natural cycle of operating a major airline today.''
-- Washington Post Service
CHINA-DISNEY?
Is there a Disney park in Shanghai's future?
Shanghai's mayor says the city is making preparations to build a Disney theme park, but is still awaiting the go-ahead from China's central government.
''Shanghai wants to build a Disney park and has hoped for a long time to do so. But we can't be sure when construction work will begin,'' Mayor Han Zheng told reporters during the annual session of the national legislature in Beijing.
''Shanghai has the right conditions to build a park, and we're carrying forward all aspects of the preparatory work,'' he said.
Han said only the State Council, China's cabinet, could give permission to build a park.
A Shanghai park could compete with Hong Kong's newly opened Disneyland, which has counted on mainland Chinese tourists as a major source of visitors.
But another senior tourism officials says he believes Hong Kong Disneyland is already overcrowded.
FREE RIDE
The new FlyAway bus service this month will whisk travelers to Los Angeles International Airport from Union Station downtown in 20 minutes. The trip is free through March 31 -- provided public transportation is taken to Union Station -- and then jumps to $3 for adults and $2 for children ages 2 to 12.
INCA TRAIL
Peru's Inca Trail reopened this month after being closed for maintenance, but anyone hoping to hike it this year is advised to book early in light of government regulated visitor limits on this popular route to Peru's premier destination, Machu Picchu.
The new permit system, established last year, allows only 500 people to begin the hike each day, but since all Inca Trail tours must be guided, permits are granted to just 175 tourists per day. The remaining permits go to the guides, cooks and porters who accompany the tour groups. To secure these coveted slots, tour operators are required to submit the names and passport numbers of those traveling in each party.
Permits are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Each year Machu Picchu is visited by thousands of travelers, many during the driest months between May and September, Peru's peak tourist season.
-- COMPILED BY
CHARLES BUHMAN