Destination: Asia
Visitors Slow to Return to Bali
by Jim Benning | 02.02.06 | 8:40 PM ET
After a terrorist attack in Bali last October left 20 dead, experts predicted the island’s tourism industry would rebound within a year or two. That may yet happen, but at the moment, four months after the attack, the tourism business is still in a major slump, and owners are worried, according to an AP story on CNN. The numbers tell the story. Said the director general of Indonesia’s Tourism Ministry: “Just before the bombing, the number of tourists arriving every day had reached 5,000. Today it’s about 2,100.” If you’ve been reading World Hum, you already know that Bali-lover Liz Sinclair has been undeterred by the attack.
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Yahoo! BuzzOslo Tops List of World’s Most Expensive Cities
by Michael Yessis | 02.01.06 | 10:59 AM ET
Norway’s capital unseated Tokyo, Japan, which had been number one on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s biannual survey for 14 years. Reykjavik, Iceland ranked third on the list, with Osaka, Japan and Paris, France rounding out the top five. The AP has a report on the survey.
Photo by Sarah Schmelling.
How to Tilt Your Head Like an Indian
by Kavita Pillay | 01.30.06 | 3:36 PM ET
A well-placed "Namaste" or "As-Salaam-Alaikum" might get a conversation started in India, but subtly tilting your head is the subcontinent's secret to real communication. Kavita Pillay explains the motion that speaks a thousand words.
Happy Lunar New Year
by Jim Benning | 01.29.06 | 2:52 PM ET
The Asian Lunar New Year begins today. If you’re a dog like me, it’s time to celebrate.
Expedition Everest: Disney Brings Nepal and Tibet to Orlando, Florida
by Michael Yessis | 01.27.06 | 1:06 AM ET
Whether you love Disney or curse it for devouring the world, you’ve got to admit that the mega-corporation sure understands the power of travel and the journey. Since Uncle Walt opened Disneyland in 1955, the company has drawn people to its theme parks by tapping into the mythology of many of the world’s iconic destinations and travel experiences. New Orleans. The Matterhorn. Pirates plundering the Caribbean. Huck and Tom on the Mississippi River. Then there’s California Adventure, an entire theme park that revolves around some of the state’s best known attractions. Even Disney’s $7.5 billion deal for Pixar supports the point. After all, aren’t “Toy Story” and “Finding Nemo,” at heart, about epic journeys?
What Country’s Citizens Take the Most Foreign Trips?
by Jim Benning | 01.24.06 | 12:38 PM ET
The answer is surprising. Germany is number one, and changes are coming to the number two and three slots. According to an interesting Reuters report on CNN, “Last year, Germans alone accounted for over 86.6 million trips abroad, with Britons in second place (65.3 million) and Americans trailing in third (58.3 million).”
Bird Flu Isn’t Hurting Asia Travel
by Jim Benning | 01.24.06 | 2:25 AM ET
Back in October, we noted that small numbers of Westerners were changing their Asia travel plans because of concerns over avian flu. (Some, for example, had decided to avoid rural areas in Southeast Asia.) Three months later, the travel industry is thriving in Asia as the Lunar New Year approaches, according to the AP. Said one travel company director in Vietnam, “According to the figures from hotels, they’ve never known such a high occupancy rate.”
The New Architectural Wonders of China
by Michael Yessis | 01.13.06 | 4:12 AM ET
They’re putting up some amazing buildings in China these days, and Business Week Online has an excellent slide show featuring ten of the most innovative. “Each, in its way, pushes the boundaries of the architectural status quo,” Reena Jana writes. “Together, they represent the wonders rising on the skyline of the new China.”
Sihanoukville, Cambodia: It’s the New Prague!
by Jim Benning | 01.12.06 | 1:14 PM ET
Okay, it’s not the new Prague. But Alexander Lobrano’s friend in Bangkok insisted that the Cambodian beach town of Sihanoukville was “the next Goa, the new Phi Phi,” the place to go for hipster bohemian backpackers in the know. So off Lobrano went to Sihanoukville, located a three-hour drive south of Phnom Penh. As he writes in the International Herald Tribune, he found a lovely beach town once popular with “Cambodia’s glamorous beau monde during the ‘60s,” a place where luxury hotels are on the rise and an airport runway is slated for lengthening and reinforcement.
106-Year-Olds Set to Travel
by Michael Yessis | 01.04.06 | 1:39 AM ET
Kudos to the three Japanese travelers who are proving that you’re never too old to go somewhere. According to Thanh Nien News, the trio from Okinawa Island will embark on a four-day trip to Vietnam beginning this Sunday.
Armed Indonesian Soldiers Seize Tiny Island with Tasty Waves
by Jim Benning | 12.16.05 | 3:08 PM ET
They took over the island of Mengkudu in the Indonesian archipelago after villagers on a neighboring island claimed the Australian running a surf camp there wouldn’t allow them to visit. According to a news report, David Wylie, 54, had obtained permits to run the camp, which has been open since 2001. But an army colonel involved in the operation said Wylie had yet to obtain other necessary permits. “My troops raised the Indonesian flag when they arrived on Mengkudu,” the colonel said. “It is ours.” The camp’s future wasn’t clear, but the colonel said of Wylie, “[W]e do not want to kick him off the island.”
Final Score: United States 5, Burma 5
by Jim Benning | 12.15.05 | 1:51 PM ET
Five journalists, that is. The Committee to Protect Journalists has issued a report on nations detaining correspondents. The news isn’t pretty: The United States and Burma (perhaps the most Orwellian nation on the planet) tied for sixth place for most held, with each nation detaining five journalists. None of the five journalists being held by the U.S. in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba has been charged with a crime. China is holding 32 reporters, more than any other nation. The New York Times has the gory details.
Memoir of a Passing Geisha
by Jim Benning | 12.09.05 | 1:14 PM ET
In honor of the release of Memoirs of a Geisha in theaters, I thought I’d post a photo I took of a geisha-in-training one chilly December afternoon in Kyoto several years ago. I was strolling down the street a couple of blocks from the teahouses of Gion when I spotted her walking toward me, taking practiced, demure steps.
Geisha sightings were rare during my monthlong stay in the city, so I reflexively reached for my camera and snapped a photo, pretending to capture the busy street beyond. Only later, when I developed the film, did I see that she flashed a subtle grin the moment I took the shot. Perhaps she was on to my trick, or simply amused by the excited gaijin with the camera.
Meet Laura Moser, Medical Tourist
by Michael Yessis | 12.08.05 | 11:26 PM ET
The Rise and Fall of a 10th Grade Social Climber author Laura Moser has an interesting two-part story in Slate this week about her experience as a medical tourist in Beijing. Her decision to seek treatment abroad isn’t unusual.
Italy Ranked Number One “Country Brand”
by Michael Yessis | 12.02.05 | 11:56 AM ET
Australia took the runner-up spot, and the United States rounded out the top three in a recent global survey conducted by FutureBrand and its sister company, public relations firm Weber Shandwick. It also named China as the “most improved” country brand.