Destination: Asia
Travel Movie Watch: ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ Trailer
by Michael Yessis | 03.18.10 | 2:43 PM ET
The movie version of Elizabeth Gilbert’s blockbuster travel book “Eat, Pray, Love” comes out this summer. The trailer was just released:
In December, World Hum contributor Liz Sinclair reported from the set in Bali.
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Yahoo! BuzzEarly Images of Singapore Saved From Bonfire
by Michael Yessis | 03.17.10 | 11:38 AM ET
Good catch to whoever rescued “Views of the China Seas & Macao Taken During Capt. D. Ross’ Surveys by M. Houghton” from the flames. The book contained some of the earliest known drawings of Singapore, dating back to 1819. It was just sold at auction by the unnamed seller to an unnamed buyer for £43,000. (Via @roncharles)
World Travel Watch: Protests in Thailand, Dingo Trouble in Australia and More
by Larry Habegger | 03.17.10 | 11:35 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Photo You Must See: Imitation Mao in Beijing
by World Hum | 03.15.10 | 1:52 PM ET
REUTERS/David Gray A Chairman Mao impersonator poses for photos in Beijing's Tiananmen Square
Lover’s Moon
by Pico Iyer | 03.15.10 | 11:21 AM ET
iStockPhoto Pico Iyer on the power of travel to make a forgettable Glenn Frey song last forever
You and Me, Girlie
by Susan Jane Gilman | 03.12.10 | 10:19 AM ET
Photo by François Bourru In an excerpt from her book "Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven," Susan Jane Gilman recalls 1986 China -- and a swaggering, lascivious man named Trevor
Japan Airlines Flight Attendant Uniforms: Big on the Black Market
by Michael Yessis | 03.11.10 | 3:23 PM ET
You can probably guess for whom the uniforms hold a “mysterious power.” From the Times:
For decades, the crisp, no-nonsense outfits have appealed to male Japanese tastes. New Japan Airlines (JAL) uniforms have long been in demand in the local sex industry for customers keen on role-playing fantasies, while rare specimens that have actually been worn are hugely sought after by fetishists and are worth their weight in gold.
Countless shops will sell a very credible imitation for a few thousand yen, but the real thing can fetch a fortune. Historically, says Yu Teramoto, the owner of a specialist costumier in the Akihabara district of Tokyo, real JAL outfits have been virtually impossible for buyers to lay their hands on. However, the post-bankruptcy prospect of huge layoffs at JAL—especially among uniform-wearing air-crew—raises the prospect that former staff will attempt to sell their outfits for a profit.
One stolen uniform previously sold for about 11,000 pounds.
World Travel Watch: Typhoid in Fiji, Khmer Rouge Tourism in Cambodia and More
by Larry Habegger | 03.10.10 | 10:41 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
This Gamer has Some Issues With Japan
by Michael Yessis | 03.08.10 | 1:27 PM ET
Tim Rogers’ rant at Kotaku about expat life in Japan is racking up the page views—and has stimulated quite a conversation. So far, more than 2,300 people have commented. Rogers’ dislikes about Japanese culture include:
- Anime
- Smoking
- That everything in Japan has meat in it
- Mandatory parties
- Screaming
- Japanese comedy
- Passive aggression
- The prices
- Apologies
- Pachinko
But he does like Japanese trains! (Via The Morning News)
World Travel Watch: Chile Earthquake Aftermath, Rallies in Bangkok and More
by Larry Habegger | 03.03.10 | 11:01 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Interview With Ted Conover: Traveling ‘The Routes of Man’
by Frank Bures | 03.02.10 | 11:39 AM ET
Frank Bures asks the author about the role of roads in the world -- from Ladakh and the Peruvian Andes to the West Bank
Why Tourism is Not a Four-Letter Word
by Eric Weiner | 03.01.10 | 12:47 PM ET
iStockPhoto On travel snobbery -- and why paying 30 bucks to get pummeled by a guy named Mustafa isn't such a bad thing
From Beijing to Vancouver: A Very Different Olympics
by Eva Holland | 02.22.10 | 2:22 PM ET
REUTERS/Shaun Best It’s been nearly two years since I blogged from the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and—as I thought I might—I now find myself on the Olympic travel trail again, in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games. I’ll be honest: The two host cities couldn’t feel more different.
I stepped off the train from the airport and surfaced in downtown Vancouver this weekend, expecting, perhaps, to feel some uniquely Olympic vibe in the air, familiar to me from my brief time in Beijing. But the scene on Vancouver’s streets has almost nothing in common with the one I encountered two years ago. My memories of Beijing are all broad boulevards, empty except for uniformed Chinese volunteers offering directions to clusters of wandering foreigners, and subdued subway cars full of commuters. Vancouver, in contrast, is a non-stop maple-leaf-painted street party—flag-draped young people careen through the streets, impromptu break dancing circles pop up on corners, and buskers work the crowds. The brightly-dressed foreigners that I remember from Beijing are here, too, but they’re wildly outnumbered by the revelers in red and white.
I suppose there are plenty of economic reasons for the contrast. The 2008 Games probably weren’t as accessible to the average Chinese citizen as these Games are to most Vancouverites, while the expense and difficulty of visiting China could explain why the many young Olympics visitors here were absent in Beijing. (The local high school students I rode the bus home with last night, for instance, weren’t likely to make a transcontinental Olympic trek.) But economics aside, I still feel like there’s a fundamental difference at work: Beijing’s Games, to me, were clearly aimed outward, at the world, while Vancouver’s, so far, feel more like an essentially Canadian party to which everyone else has also been invited.
How I Got My Chinese Driver’s License
by Peter Hessler | 02.18.10 | 11:23 AM ET
In an excerpt from his new book, "Country Driving," Peter Hessler -- aka Ho Wei -- recalls his Beijing driving exam
Interview With Peter Hessler: Behind the Wheel in China
by Frank Bures | 02.18.10 | 10:23 AM ET
Photo by Darryl Kennedy Frank Bures asks the New Yorker writer about his new book, "Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory"
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