"Av og for intellektuelle vagabonder" - NettGuide
Travel dispatches from a shrinking planet

Travel dispatches from a shrinking planet

RECENT DISPATCHES
11.18.08

Six Degrees of Vietnam

Julia Ross went to Vietnam seeking relaxation and a place to recover from a breakup. She found a whole lot more.

10.16.08

Another Tet Offensive

At a cafe in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in the midst of Chinese New Year celebrations, Joel Carillet worked up the courage to ask out his waitress

TRAVEL BLOG
ASK ROLF
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How Can I Save on Transportation During a Round-the-World Trip?

Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

THE LIST
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13 Great Travel Horror Movies

The Hollywood horror archives are filled with tales of bad trips. To celebrate Halloween, Eva Holland and Eli Ellison sift through the carnage to pick their favorites—and lose a little sleep doing so.

Q&A
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Matt Weiland: Through 50 States With 50 Writers

The coeditor of “State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America” talks to Frank Bures about the book, the WPA and how the United States hasn’t been “bulldozed for speed”

HOW TO
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Love Herring in Sweden

From artery-clogging casseroles to a fermented concoction that smells alarmingly like vinegary flatulence, Lola Akinmade digs in to a smörgåsbord of herring and explains how to best appreciate Scandinavia’s favorite fish. 

BOOKS
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The Water Is Wide

Bronwen Dickey considers Tim Butcher’s “Blood River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart,” which takes readers deep into the Congo

SPEAKER'S CORNER
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Vagrant Ruminations of a Compulsive Traveler

Where does the urge to hunt for that “fleeting fix of elsewhere” come from? Peter Wortsman recalls a life of travel inspiration. 

AUDIO SLIDESHOW
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Notes From an Unofficial Tourist Greeter

Summer is over, and so is Julia Ross‘ season as an ambassador to travelers in Washington, D.C.’s Woodley Park neighborhood. She’s happy to be off duty.


ITEM
11.2.07

‘Iconoclasts’: Jon Krakauer and Sean Penn in Alaska

imageIt’s not often that an outdoor/adventure writer like Jon Krakauer gets more than a sound bite of TV time to talk about writing and the outdoors. So I was eager to see the latest installment in the Sundance Channel series “Iconoclasts.” The show features Krakauer and actor/filmmaker/provocateur Sean Penn traveling to Alaska, talking writing and filmmaking. The pair reflect on the life of Chris McCandless, the subject of Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild,” which Penn just turned into a film. They make a pilgrimage to the bus where McCandless spent his final days. Afterward, Krakauer shows Penn the ropes of ice climbing and they talk life philosophy. It turned out to be a pretty good, thoughtful hour of television.

Among the highlights, Krakauer, shown dangling from a rock, reflects on his feelings about writing:

I think in some interesting way, writing definitely replaced climbing. I used to be ambitious. I wanted to make my mark as a climber. I wanted to push myself to the limit, to test myself. Now writing does that for me. I’ve signed this new book deal a year ago or whatever and it scares the sh*t out of me. It’s like, what have I done? It’s that same sense of fear, challenge, and how am I going to pull this off?

SundanceChannel.com has video clips of the show.

Related on World Hum:
* Out of the Wild? Alaskan Town Considers Removing McCandless Bus
* The Critics: ‘Into the Wild,’ the Movie
* ‘Into the Wild’: Has the Truth About Christopher McCandless Been Lost?

Related on TravelChannel.com
* Into Alaska With Jeff Corwin


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