Destination: Asia
China Bans Mount Everest Climbers on Tibet Side
by Michael Yessis | 03.13.08 | 9:57 AM ET
The Tibet side of the mountain will be shut to down until May 10, effectively stopping climbers from making any serious tries at the summit this season. Why?
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Yahoo! BuzzChina to Bjork: You Hurt Our Feelings
by Jim Benning | 03.10.08 | 4:00 PM ET
It’s official: Bjork “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people” when she shouted “Tibet! Tibet!” at the end of a recent concert in Shanghai. That’s the word from the Ministry of Culture. The outburst came following the Icelandic singer’s performance of her song “Declare Independence.” Reports Reuters: “The performance ‘not only broke Chinese laws and regulations and hurt the feelings of Chinese people, but also went against the professional code of an artist,’ the ministry said in a statement quoted by the official Xinhua news agency.”
A Visit to Burma’s Odd New Capital
by Jim Benning | 03.05.08 | 12:30 PM ET
That would be Naypyidaw, which Robert Reid writes in Perceptive Travel, “is already joining the ranks of intentional cities that must look good on paper, but are just awful to live in.”
Related on World Hum:
* Dispatch: Under the Banyan Tree
Out: Ho Chi Minh Trail. In: Ho Chi Minh Highway.
by Michael Yessis | 03.04.08 | 1:34 PM ET
David Lamb’s terrific story in the Smithsonian chronicles Vietnam’s efforts to turn the former Ho Chi Minh Trail into a 1,980-mile “paved multilane artery” from the Chinese border to the Mekong Delta. “The transformation of trail to highway,” Lamb writes, “struck me as an apt metaphor for Vietnam’s own journey from war to peace, especially since many of the young workers building the new road are the sons and daughters of soldiers who fought, and often died, on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.”
Bjork Shouts ‘Tibet! Tibet!’ in Crowded Shanghai Theater
by Jim Benning | 03.04.08 | 10:43 AM ET
The Icelandic singer’s bold public show of support for the “Tibet Autonomous Region”—she shouted “Tibet! Tibet!”—came at the end of a concert in Shanghai Sunday, capping her performance of the song “Declare Indedependence.”
Tokyo Foodies to Michelin: ‘You Still do Not Know us or Our Cuisine’
by Michael Yessis | 02.25.08 | 11:47 AM ET
All those stars Michelin awarded Tokyo restaurants are impressing many, but not a core group of prominent Tokyo chefs and critics. “Japanese food was created here, and only Japanese know it,” chef Toshiya Kadowaki told the New York Times. “How can a bunch of foreigners show up and tell us what is good or bad?”
Zheng He: China Embraces Legacy of ‘Legendary’ 15th Century Explorer
by Michael Yessis | 02.18.08 | 5:07 PM ET
The city of Nanjing plans to reproduce one of the boats in the fleet of Zheng He, who led explorations to Vietnam, Siam, Malacca, Java, India, Sri Lanka, Arabia and other lands in the early 15th century, well before European explorers made their marks on history. From Archaeology magazine:
Tokyo: ‘The Premier City in the World for Food’
by Michael Yessis | 02.15.08 | 2:51 PM ET
Michelin’s first-ever guide to Tokyo gave the city’s restaurants a combined 191 stars, more than Paris (98 stars) and New York City (54 stars) have together. Sure, Tokyo also has far more restaurants (160,000) than Paris (20,000) and New York (23,000), but the news of the quality of the Japanese cuisine—Michelin released the Tokyo ratings last November—has resonated with travelers. According to the Japanese government, seven out of 10 international travelers to the country cite food as the primary reason for visiting.
For a Beach Vacation, Should I Go All the Way to Bali or the Maldives When Hawaii Would Do?
by Rolf Potts | 02.15.08 | 11:13 AM ET
Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel
Fury Grips South Korea in Wake of Namdaemun Gate Burning
by Michael Yessis | 02.15.08 | 8:41 AM ET
Turns out South Korea’s “National Treasure No. 1” was burned Sunday by 69-year-old Chae Jong-gi, a man with a grudge against the country’s government. Ever since, South Koreans have been reacting with grief, anger and finger-pointing.
Pico Iyer: ‘I Was Turning Japanese’
by Jim Benning | 02.13.08 | 10:27 AM ET
The prolific travel writer reflects on life in Japan and his writing career in a recent Washington Post essay: “Perhaps the greatest beauty of the writing life is that it offers you concrete evidence of all your changes; the pages you write are like those charts nurses place at the end of your bed to map your progress. Whatever you need to know about yourself is there, if only you know how to read it.”
Related on World Hum:
* Q&A With Pico Iyer: On Travel and Travel Writing
Photo by kurisuuu via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
One Man’s Odyssey into ‘Eat, Pray, Love’
by Rolf Potts | 02.11.08 | 1:33 PM ET
Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling trans-global travel book is a fun read -- but don't expect Rolf Potts to embrace the fantasy
Introducing Tenzing Hillary Airport
by Jim Benning | 02.11.08 | 11:54 AM ET
The airport closest to Mount Everest, previously known as Lukla airstrip, will now be called Tenzing Hillary Airport in honor of the first climbers to summit Everest, the Nepalese government announced. Sir Edmund Hillary died last month; Tenzing Norgay died in 1986. Most visitors to Everest land at the airstrip. “It is a dramatic introduction,” the BBC notes, “as the plane has to drop steeply between the mountains and then lands on a runway which slopes steeply upwards.” YouTube has some great video.
Fire Destroys Seoul’s Namdaemun Gate
by Michael Yessis | 02.11.08 | 10:23 AM ET
“People’s hearts will ache,” South Korea’s President-elect Lee Myung-bak said. Namdaemun was a South Korean national treasure, a 610-year-old wooden gate located at the center of Seoul. Police have arrested a suspected arsonist, a 70-year-old man identified only by his family name, Chae. Before the fire, Namdaemun looked like this:
‘Live for Nothing, Die for Something’
by Eva Holland | 02.11.08 | 9:47 AM ET
That’s the tagline for the latest Rambo movie, and according to Reuters, the people of Yangon are “going crazy” for it.