While traveling abroad, Eric Dues usually eats ethnic food from street vendors. As long as the food is cooked, it's usually safe, as opposed to leafy vegetables that may contain bacteria, he says.

As local residents prepare for Christmas celebrations, Philothea native Eric Dues departs today for Hong Kong for a 61/2 -week self-guided tour of Southeast Asia. Dues, a 30-year-old bridge designer and inspector at Gannett Fle . . .