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Almost every urban center has a Chinatown, where more Mandarin or Cantonese is heard than English. New Orleans and Canada's Quebec City are heaven for lovers of things French, with their cafe society.

If you'd like a taste of other cultures but are wary of overseas travel or on a budget, a comparable experience may be a short drive or bus ride away. Our domestic-travel special focuses on three cities with a distinctly foreign flavor. In San Antonio, you'll wonder if you've landed in Oaxaca, Mexico. A day trip to Artesia, California, is like a quick journey to India. And Savannah's public parks, pubs and tearooms are like a quiet corner of London. So get packing, but leave your passport at home!

SAN ANTONIO: OLE

Mexican music, food and folklore--north of the border

The rain had kept many away, but the skeletons, goblins and ghouls considered it a minor obstacle. They had only one time of year to commune with the dead, and they were not going to miss it.

Terry Ybanez, the mistress of ceremonies, pulled the skeleton mask over her face before succumbing silently to the rhythms of the ritual. She lit the candles of the ofrendas, or altars, and bestowed a silent blessing to the north, south, east and west. Then she looked at my husband and smiled. Within minutes, he, too, had pulled a skeleton mask over his head.

We were part of a ceremony for El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in San Antonio, one of the most important religious holidays in Mexican folklore. It is a joyous occasion honoring those who have passed on. Blending Spanish and Aztec cultures, it is prepared in late October and celebrated on November 1 and 2 with the creation of highly personalized altars dedicated to loved ones.

A woman whose face was painted a ghostly white yelled, "Uno, dos, tres!" and the skeletons, ghouls and goblins hoisted the altars onto their shoulders and went off into the night.

Day of the Dead is just one among many colorful Mexican traditions carried on in San Antonio, home to one of the largest Hispanic populations of any American city. Many of them--about 70 percent-are of Mexican descent. San Antonians have a way of drawing you into their fold, especially when you show an interest in their city and customs.

What's most inspiring about Mexican culture is the folk traditions, which survived centuries of Spanish oppression. These traditions provide inspiration at every level--from the design of the most utilitarian objects to fine art.

A lot of it is on display at El Mercado (or Market Square), a nineteenth-century farmers' market that has evolved into the largest Mexican market north of the Rio Grande. Aside from the usual tourist fare, you can sift through ceramics, silver, papier-mache objects and hammered tin lights. In the King William neighborhood, the city's Bohemian outpost, we found more refined folk art, along with higher prices. At Tienda Guadalupe Folk Art and Gifts and San Angel Folk Art, we bought ceramics, jewelry, tin and Dia de los Muertos masks.

The Mexican Cultural Institute, an extension of the National University of Mexico, exhibits the work of contemporary Mexican artists. La Villita, a cluster of simple eighteenth-century limestone-and-clapboard houses designated a National Historic Site, offers still more contemporary art. At the San Antonio Museum of Art, you can trace Mexican folk traditions beginning with their pre-Columbian origins and continuing through the work of modern artists like Diego Rivera, who used them as political statements. San Antonio has also been chosen as the future home of the Museo Americano, which will be affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and is expected to open late this year.

But the most accessible way to experience Mexican traditions is through the food. San Antonio prides itself on being the birthplace of Tex-Mex cooking and there are plenty of places where you can enjoy it. We began our days with huevos rancheros (eggs with salsa) at Mi Tierra, a popular 24-hour eatery. We ended them sipping margaritas at La Margarita or Casa Rio, two restaurants downtown near the famous Riverwalk, accompanied by serenading mariachis.

When we wanted something more trendy, we popped into Rosario's Cafe y Cantina, a Nuevo Latino hot spot. The place caters to the city's hip crowd, which comes to dance to the rhythms of a live salsa band.

Our Day of the Dead procession that afternoon ended at Tienda Guadalupe. The store's founder, Danny Lozano, had revived this practice in San Antonio in 1987. He died in 1992, so the store is now decorated with his ofrenda. As my husband and I ate traditional Day of the Dead foods, tamales and hot chocolate, the wind blew out the altars' candles. But we felt certain it would take more than wind to extinguish the customs of this vibrant city.

Joanne Furio is a lifestyle writer for The Journal News, a Gannett daily newspaper in suburban New York.

TRAVEL TIPS

Emily Morgan Hotel An elegant boutique hotel named for a former slave. Rates start at $119 per night; (210) 225-8486 or emilymorganhotel.com.

Omni San Antonio Rates start at $99; (800) THE-OMNI or omnihotels.com/hotels.

La Quinta Rates start at $60; (800) 531-5900 or laquinta.com.

San Antonio's Mexican culture is everywhere, but it really comes alive during festivals. In addition to Day of the Dead festivities (November 1-2), there is the Fiesta San Antonio (April); Cinco de Mayo and Return of the Chili Queens (May); Diez y Seis events commemorating Mexico's independence from Spain (September); San Antonio New World Wine and Food Festival (November); and Las Posadas (December).

For more information, call (800) 447-3372 or visit sanantoniovisit.com.

ARTESIA: CALIFORNIA MASALA

A day trip to Los Angeles County's Little India

Within moments of my arrival in Artesia, California--a town 20 minutes southeast of Los Angeles that's informally known as Little India--the America I am familiar with fades away. It is replaced by the soft rustle of saris, the smells of incense and saffron, and the Eastern twang of sitars. It is Diwali Day, which marks the Indian new year, and a festival atmosphere pervades the air.

Strolling down a side street, I come upon dozens of people gathered around a traditional dhol drummer. The steady rhythm she beats out seems to have prompted a street party. Sidewalks are lined with ornate paintings illuminated by tiny earthen lamps, and a smiling merchant passes out brightly colored gift bags to the crowd.

While Hispanics represent the largest ethnic group in Artesia, the town earned its nickname from the concentration of Indian businesses that opened up along its main drag, Pioneer Boulevard, in the 1980's. Because there are so many Indian restaurants and places to buy Indian groceries, clothes and jewelry, when festivals like Diwali approach, the boulevard--normally an unassuming commercial strip--takes on the quality of a colorful bazaar. Indian-Americans come from all over Los Angeles County to shop, have lunch and mingle with friends.

I seek out Ziba Record Store, sampling street food along the way, to rendezvous with my guide, Sumita Batra. She and her family are busy helping her uncle with the grand-opening celebration for this new business. We set out to explore Pioneer Boulevard, where shimmering silks, intricate brass platters and miniature figures of the Hindu god Ganesh adorn store windows. Tantalizing aromas drift from restaurants, and traditional and modern Indian music fill the air.

Our first stop is the Bombay Spice Store, the town's first Indian business, which was founded in 1984. Sumita and the storeowner, Bhupinder, coax me into helping decorate the sidewalk using a funnel filled with colored chalk powder.

Lakshmi--goddess of wealth, fortune, power and beauty-is revered on this holiday, and people curry her favor by purchasing and wearing gold jewelry. To that end, we visit Bhindi Jewelers, where thousands of fresh flowers commemorating Diwali Day ring doorways, counters and altars. The jewelry is large, dangling and beaded, the sort of thing you'd imagine around the neck of supermodel Naomi Campbell. (According to Sunset magazine, she does indeed shop at Bhindi, along with Madonna and other celebrities.)

No trip to Little India would be complete without getting a mehndi, or temporary henna tattoo. For this initiation rite, Sumita takes me to her salon, Ziba Beauty Center. She helped popularize mehndi, as well as threading (a technique for removing eyebrow hair), through her work with models, actresses and singers. The place is packed with Black and Latino women vying for one of the salon's 15 chairs.

Next we're off to Ashoka The Great for traditional Indian food-tandoori, curries, samosas and breads--followed by the annual Diwali fashion show at the Mirage, Artesia's leading high-end fashion house, where we see the latest in Indian formal and wedding attire.