Travel Blog
In Defense of Travel Writing About Islam
by Jim Benning | 05.24.07 | 2:01 PM ET
In Orientalism, Edward Said took to task many Western writers for their accounts of Islam, and particularly many travel writers. But Said didn’t get it right, writes Algis Valiunas in a lengthy essay in the Claremont Review of Books.
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Yahoo! Buzz‘Borat’ Inks Deal to Write Travel Guides to Kazakhstan, ‘U.S. and A.’
by Michael Yessis | 05.24.07 | 1:17 PM ET
“Borat,” aka Sacha Baron Cohen, will write two books in one, according to a Reuters story highlighting the deal. One part will be called “Borat: Touristic Guidings To Minor Nation of U.S. and A.” The other title: “Borat: Touristic Guidings To Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” The level of silliness should be off the charts. What I’d like to see, however, is this: a book about Borat’s travels to Phaic Tan or Molvania, all while carrying stuff he bought from SkyMaul. (via Gadling)
Related on World Hum:
* Borat and the ‘Real Kazakhstan’
What’s the True Cost of Travel? Excerpts From ‘The Final Call’
by Michael Yessis | 05.24.07 | 11:50 AM ET
Leo Hickman’s The Final Call: In Search of the True Cost of Our Holidays comes out early next month, and the Guardian has posted two excerpts—part one and part two—from the book. Hickman, who is the paper’s ethical living editor, also fielded questions online today, covering issues ranging from the effectiveness of buying carbon credits to why travelers might want to shun Dubai “to send the signal that much of what is going on there is environmentally insane.”
Inside Great Sushi and the World’s Biggest Fish Market
by Jim Benning | 05.24.07 | 10:48 AM ET
As we’ve noted a number of times lately, Japanese cuisine is getting lots of press these days, from stories about the sudden popularity of 500-year-old kaiseki among hip Western chefs to Tokyo’s thriving restaurant scene. But among the, uh, meatiest pieces I’ve read recently is Nick Tosches’s story in the June issue of Vanity Fair about the world’s greatest fish market, officially called the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Central Wholesale Market, but often referred to simply by its place name, Tsukiji. It’s huge, spanning nearly 40 football fields. Roughly 60,000 people work there. But the most stunning statistic is this: An estimated 2,000 tons or more of fish move through the market daily—by comparison, Tosches notes, at the world’s second largest market, Fulton Fish Market in New York City, 115 tons pass through in an entire year.
Recalling Afghanistan and a Father’s Wanderlust
by Jim Benning | 05.24.07 | 8:36 AM ET
When he was just 14, Scott Anderson embarked on a nearly yearlong journey through Europe and Asia with his father in a VW bus. In Afghanistan, the two took a detour up a remote, bumpy road to a place called Band-i-Amir. His father wasn’t sure the detour was a good idea, but the younger Anderson insisted the pair go. He recalls the trip In a beautifully written essay in the latest issue of National Geographic Adventure. “I think my desire to go to Band-i-Amir had less to do with actually seeing the lakes or with whatever it was I imagined I might find there, than it was a symptom of how I’d changed since reaching Afghanistan,” he writes. “The land had roused a fascination in me, an engagement with my surroundings. On this trip, I was no longer merely along for the ride. For the first time, I was pointing the way, leading my father.”
Matt Gross: Road Tripping Across America, Frugally
by Michael Yessis | 05.23.07 | 6:03 PM ET
When I last touched base with Matt Gross, Frugal Traveler columnist for the New York Times, he’d just completed a 90-day, around-the-world trip spanning “3 continents, 17 languages and approximately 900 varieties of dumplings.” Last week he embarked on another epic journey, this one a road trip from New York to Seattle during which he’ll zig-zag through almost every state in the U.S. He’ll do it Blue Highways-style: driving backroads. Gross will be filing stories and videos from the road every Wednesday throughout the summer for the Times. His first installment, which includes a visit to an outdoor marketplace in Mebane, North Carolina known as “Little Mexico,” appears today.
Caitlin Snaring Wins National Geographic Bee
by Michael Yessis | 05.23.07 | 5:20 PM ET
Congratulations to 14-year-old Caitlin Snaring from Redmond, Washington, only the second girl to win the annual geography bee. She didn’t miss a single question in two days of competition, and she captured the title in Washington D.C. by answering the question, “What city, divided by a river of the same name, was the imperial capital of Vietnam?” Correct response: Hue. Congratulations also to Samuel Brandt, who won the AAA Travel High School Challenge Monday. The 10th grader from Eugene, Oregon clinched on the question, “Dubrovnik is a popular tourist destination in which country?” Answer: Croatia.
Disney’s Tom Sawyer Island: Too Old Media
by Jim Benning | 05.23.07 | 3:20 PM ET
Out: Tom Sawyer and books. In: Jack Sparrow, movies, video games and, yes, vertical integration. Last October, Disneyland fans were wondering whether park officials would ditch Tom Sawyer for Jack Sparrow, turning Tom Sawyer Island, which was designed by Walt himself and opened in 1956, into a “Pirates of the Caribbean”-themed attraction. Or, as one observer put it, “Will Disney abandon book-lovers for Pirates 2.0?” Absolutely, Disney officials announced today, though they’ve slyly kept the island’s original name. On Friday, Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island will debut, timed, not coincidentally, with the opening of the latest “Pirates” film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
Rolling Stone Picks Best 25 Road Trip Songs Ever
by Michael Yessis | 05.23.07 | 12:30 PM ET
“Route 66” didn’t crack the list, so feel free to not take it seriously. Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” topped the 25 picks, with Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” and AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” rounding out the top three.
Notes from the Barbecue Trail: From Lockhart, Texas to Lexington, North Carolina
by Michael Yessis | 05.23.07 | 11:20 AM ET
On the spectrum of barbecue love, I fall between someone satisfied with a McRib and the kind of crazed person who would shell out $12,500 for this gold-plated grill. Essentially, I like barbecue enough that I’ll travel to eat the good stuff. Some days I brave the traffic on I-95 south of Washington D.C. for smoked pork shoulders and muddy spuds at Dixie Bones in Woodbridge, Virginia, and not too long ago, inspired by an outstanding series by David Plotz in Slate, my dad and I made the pilgrimage to Lockhart, Texas.
Attention Americans in Germany: Walking Naked in Public is Not Acceptable Behavior
by Michael Yessis | 05.23.07 | 10:36 AM ET
No, the 41-year-old man who was picked up by police while walking through Nuremberg was not on drugs, according to a Reuters report. He told the police he thought walking around naked was okay because Germans sometimes sunbathe nude in public parks. His fine: 200 euros. Perhaps the authorities should have him study the old You Are Germany campaign, too.
Related on World Hum:
* Of Spilled Beer and Lederhosen: Recalling Oktoberfest
* Germany Bans Smiling in Passport Photos
* Ben’s Place: Kissing, Germany
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Western-Style Supermarkets Threaten Traditional Indian Vendors
by Michael Yessis | 05.22.07 | 2:04 PM ET
Local markets where Indians—and many travelers—have traditionally purchased their food staples are losing about 40 percent of their business to Western-style supermarkets, according to a BBC story. And that’s before Wal-Mart and Tesco move in with markets of their own next year.
Thousands of Air Travelers Stranded in Europe
by Jim Benning | 05.22.07 | 1:40 PM ET
Thanks to a strike by air traffic controllers and flight attendants in Italy. Ah, Italians striking. I’ll never forget my first strike experience in Italy, shuffling my travel schedule in Venice thanks to a rail strike. Good times.
Latest Weapon in the War on Jet Lag: Viagra?
by Jim Benning | 05.22.07 | 12:27 PM ET
Pico Iyer has described jet lag as a “place that no human had ever been until 40 or so years ago and yet, now, a place where more and more of us spend more and more of our lives. It’s not quite a dream state, but it’s certainly not wakefulness, and though it seems as if we’re visiting another continent, there are no maps or guidebooks to this other world. There are not even any clocks.” Yet some are intent on eliminating this place from our collective experience.
Africa-Wide Air Safety Authority Set For June Debut
by Michael Yessis | 05.22.07 | 12:01 PM ET
The exhilarating, otherworldly and perilous experience of flying within Africa promises to get safer in June with the inauguration of the African Civil Aviation Authority (AFRO-CAA). According to the AP, the AFRO-CAA will be modeled after the EU Aviation Safety Agency and the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency, and, among other things, will for the first time develop uniform technical standards across the continent. ‘“This will be a big step to improve safety in Africa,” said Harry Eggerschwiler, chief of operations for the AFRO-CAA. “When you go to international safety meetings you always hear ‘Africa, Africa.’ Well, we are now doing something about it.”
