< div> < b> William B. Whitman < /b> is a former Foreign Service diplomat. Although he still travels extensively for the State Department, he now spends most of his time writing for such magazines as < i> Hemispheres< /i> , < i> National Geographic Traveler, < /i> and < i> The Robb Report. < /i> He is the author of three travel guides and lives in Washington, D.C.< br> < /div>