Destination: Asia
Have Papal Vestments, Will Travel
by Jim Benning | 04.20.05 | 9:30 PM ET
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Yahoo! BuzzCleo Paskal, What’s the Biggest Reward of Life as a Travel Writer?
by Jim Benning | 04.20.05 | 9:29 PM ET
Girl Power in the Land of the Maharajahs
by Terry Ward | 04.20.05 | 9:03 PM ET
Terry Ward took heat from her American friends when she strayed from convention to travel the world. In an Indian guesthouse, she learned that some struggles are universal.
Following “Mr. Gandhi”
by Jim Benning | 04.14.05 | 9:25 PM ET
“Tourism Brings Emotional Issues to a Practical Level”
by Michael Yessis | 04.07.05 | 4:54 PM ET
Parag Khanna’s recent trip to Lahore, Pakistan—he traveled with his father, who was returning to the place he was born for the first time since the 1947 partition that created the country—was a revelation. As an American of Indian descent, Khanna wondered how he and his family would be received in Pakistan. The surprises began the moment they arrived.
Cameron Diaz Goes ‘Trippin’
by Jim Benning | 03.30.05 | 4:12 PM ET
What’s More Interesting, Writing About Science or Travel?
by Jim Benning | 03.18.05 | 5:53 PM ET
That was just one of the questions posed to Bill Bryson by Guardian newspaper readers recently. How did the author of a book about hiking the Appalachian Trail respond? “The thing I really enjoy about my existence, my work, is the variety of it. I did a science book as a break from travel writing, but I’d be happy at some point to go back to it - or equally to go off and doing something else entirely. I really enjoy going to a library and spending the day doing research - to me that was the most pleasurable part of the science book. So - not writing the same kind of book over and over again is to me the real pleasure of what I do.” Also: Bryson told the BBC he’s working on a memoir about growing up in the 1950s and a biography of William Shakespeare, and that he’d like to do more travel writing, perhaps about Japan and the Far East.
The Allure of the Atlanta
by Michael Yessis | 03.15.05 | 7:46 PM ET
In the heart of one of Bangkok’s most notorious sex tourism districts lies the Atlanta Hotel. It’s “revered as the Taj Mahal of budget hotels,” writes Terry Ward in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times. Ward, who also wrote the current feature story on World Hum’s home page, recently spent five nights in Bangkok, and she tracked down the hotel’s elusive owner, Charles Henn. Henn promotes the Atlanta as a haven from the sex trade, a civilized oasis whose existence relies primarily on word passed from traveler to traveler. “The kind of person that would want to know about the Atlanta, well, would be in a minority anyway,” he tells Ward, “It appeals to a certain kind of traveler, and that’s just as it should be.”
Shanghai: ‘The Playground of World Architecture’
by Jim Benning | 02.07.05 | 3:25 PM ET
Perhaps no other city on the planet offers such a dazzling display of futuristic architectural styles than Shanghai. The February issue of Harper’s features a terrific analysis of that architecture. Writes Mark Kingwell: “Shanghai is a fantasyland of architectural grandiosity where any drawing, no matter how insane or adolescent, may come to life almost instantly, without the citizens’ committees, building restrictions, and expensive labor that hamper architectural geniuses everywhere.” Alas, the story is not available online.
Tsunamis Bring Out the Best in Travelers
by Jim Benning | 01.30.05 | 7:03 PM ET
In much of Asia, Western tourists are best known for frittering away time on beaches and haggling over the price of $4 hotel rooms. But when the tsunamis struck, Jim Benning writes, many visitors proved worthy guests.
Travel and the Tsunamis
by Jim Benning | 01.10.05 | 10:14 PM ET
The catastrophe in South Asia touched the lives of millions of people around the world, including countless travelers. It was natural that newspaper travel sections address it. Yet judging from my brief online survey, few did, beyond issuing the requisite travel warnings. Thomas Swick of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, for one, wrote a thoughtful essay. “Before the earthquake, the line was clear,” he wrote. “There were the people on vacation, and the people working to serve them…Then the earth shook and the sea rose up, washing away houses, boats, people, distinctions. Hotel guests and maids, greased sunbathers and barefoot vendors, the woman getting a massage and her masseuse—all were embroiled in the same grisly waves. According to reports, nearly half of the people killed in Thailand were foreigners.” Meanwhile, an essay I wrote appeared in the Boston Globe pointing to one small bright spot in the tragic story: Although travelers to developing nations often get a bad rap in the media for a number of reasons, many travelers who were in South Asia when the tsunamis struck quickly pitched in, carrying bodies, distributing aid and picking through rubble. Some have remained to offer assistance. “[T]heir willingness to help,” I wrote, “instead of immediately returning home or setting off for carefree climes demonstrates a fact that too often gets overlooked: Travelers are capable of great good.”
Travelers: “The New Rapid Reaction Relief Squads”
by Jim Benning | 01.04.05 | 10:20 PM ET
Like many, we spent time over the last week glued to reports of the damage caused by the tsunamis in South Asia. Our hearts go out to everyone affected: the countless locals who lost loved ones and whose lives have been turned upside down, and the friends and family members of travelers who perished. The news has been overwhelming. But we have been heartened to see the response from the online travel community, as well as from travelers themselves. Lonely Planet has created a board on its Thorn Tree section for those seeking news of friends and relatives, and it looks as though some information is getting back. The Ethical Traveler has posted a list of aid organizations who could benefit from donations. And there is news in the Independent of countless travelers who, instead of fleeing devastated areas, have actually sought them out, offering to help in any way they can. According to the report: “Hundreds of holidaymakers have arrived…But they’re not planning on lazing by the pool. They are so appalled by the loss of life that they have become the new rapid reaction relief squads. Reports of similar mini-invasions of traveller volunteers are coming in from Thailand and parts of Indonesia. But nowhere is this trend more evident than in Sri Lanka…From the hotels of Colombo a steady stream of helpers make their way to the headquarters of aid organisations and emergency relief groups.” The news from South Asia is devastating. But out of such a disaster can come some good. These travelers are one small example of that.
Carey in Japan
by Michael Yessis | 12.13.04 | 5:40 PM ET
Australian novelist Peter Carey’s next book focuses on a trip to Japan he took with his 12-year-old son Charlie. Their mission: to explore the worlds of manga and anime. Travel + Leisure’s Amy Farley quizzes him about his trip in the December issue. “Wrong in Japan,” the book about the trip, comes out next month.
North Korea: The Leader in “Don’t Do It!” Vacations
by Jim Benning | 12.07.04 | 5:43 PM ET
Signs of Confusion
by Rolf Potts | 12.03.04 | 9:32 PM ET
Bad translations abound. In a Thai restaurant, Rolf Potts struggles to make sense of them.