Travel Blog
A Christmas Story From ‘One of the Most Contentious Places on Earth’
by Joanna Kakissis | 12.05.07 | 11:00 AM ET
For many, the little town of Bethlehem evokes a Technicolor Christmas image of a dainty village with baby Jesus in a manger, his glowing parents and wise men bearing gifts. But visitors experience a very different Bethlehem—one crippled with poverty, suicide bombers and menacing military division, and divided by a giant security wall. As Michael Finkel writes in a fascinating article in this month’s National Geographic, Bethlehem is one of the most contentious places on earth.
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Yahoo! BuzzDining With NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli at Le Train Bleu in Paris
by Joanna Kakissis | 12.04.07 | 5:21 PM ET
For months now, NPR’s correspondents have been tempting devoted foodies like me with delicious reviews of noteworthy restaurants, bistros and cafes around the world. Among other things, they’ve sampled creamy orange hot chocolate in Berlin, camel’s milk desserts in Nairobi and blue corn quesadillas with zucchini flowers in Mexico City. The latest dispatch comes from senior European correspondent Sylvia Poggioli, who sampled pan-fried shrimp with red onions and fresh coriander, spiced pumpkin soup with mushrooms and a dessert of oranges, yellow and black carrots and yuzu sorbet at Le Train Bleu in Paris.
American Expats in Britain Suffer ‘24/7 Sticker Shock’
by Jim Benning | 12.04.07 | 3:55 PM ET
How bad it is? Imagine life without cheese. The Los Angeles Times chronicles the plight of expats and foreign exchange students struggling with the weak dollar. Case in point: “Amanda Owen, a 19-year-old international relations student from Seattle, said she holds herself to a draconian budget: She has dinner out only every other month; she bought her iPod online in the U.S. and had her parents mail it to her; she weaned herself off lattes, organic food and, though she is a vegetarian, cheese.”
Related on World Hum:
* Dollar Sinks to Record Low in Europe
* Three Travel Tips: Ways to Save Money in Europe
Photo of British cheese by BeMa via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Laurence Bergreen’s Five Best Books on Exploration
by Michael Yessis | 12.04.07 | 7:27 AM ET
The author of the new and well-received book Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu offered his five best books on exploration for the Wall Street Journal. His picks, in order: Henry M. Stanley’s “Through the Dark Continent,” William Dalrymple’s “In Xanadu,” Ryszard Kapuscinski’s “Travels With Herodotus,” Giles Milton’s “White Gold” and Ross E. Dunn’s retelling of “The Adventures of Ibn Battuta.”
New Travel Book: ‘Marco Polo’
by Michael Yessis | 12.04.07 | 7:13 AM ET
Full title: “Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu”
Author: Laurence Bergreen, who also wrote “Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe” and biographies of Al Capone and Irving Berlin.
Released: Oct. 23, 2007
Travel genre: Historical footstep following
Territory covered: The Silk Road from, uh, Venice to Xanadu
New Year’s Eve in…Des Moines?
by Julia Ross | 12.03.07 | 12:47 PM ET
Maybe it’s time to give the Iowa City—long pilloried by coastal types as the capital of Midwest bland—a second look. New York Times political correspondent Adam Nagourney reports that there’s a lot happening in the city’s East Village neighborhood. So much so, in fact, that he’s actually looking forward to spending New Year’s Eve there for the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus.
Related on World Hum:
* Iowa Town Pins Hopes on ‘American Gothic’ Tourism
All Hail ‘The Burrito King of Argentina’
by Jim Benning | 12.03.07 | 10:43 AM ET
In our ongoing quest to chronicle the spread of Mexican food —Tex-Mex, Cal-Mex, you name it—around the globe, we note the rise of the humble burrito in Buenos Aires. At The California Burrito Company, which was co-founded by a 24-year-old expat from California, eating instructions are posted on the wall: “Pull back the foil wrap as you consume the burrito.” There’s even talk of expanding to Montevideo.
Photo by rick via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Rory MacLean’s ‘Best Travel Books for Christmas’
by Jim Benning | 12.03.07 | 10:25 AM ET
Among the titles making the writer’s list: the English language publication of Nicolas Bouvier’s Way of the World (“this year’s most important event in travel literature”), Peter Godwin’s When a Crocodile Eats the Sun (“a powerful, emotional and provoking travel book that should be read by everyone heading to southern Africa”) and the paperback publication of Shadow of the Silk Road (“masterful”).
Ryanair, European Parliament in War of Words Over Green Travel
by Eva Holland | 12.03.07 | 9:47 AM ET
The rhetoric was cranked up a notch late last week in the ongoing debate over air travel and climate change. The Times of London reports that Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the Ireland-based European budget carrier Ryanair, has demanded an apology and a retraction from a British MEP (Member of European Parliament) who accused him of neglecting the climate change issue. Chris Davies, MEP for north western England, had stated in a debate that O’Leary “says that he does not give a toss for the environment so long as he can stuff his pockets and those of his company full of gold.”
World Hum’s Most Read: November 2007
by Michael Yessis | 12.03.07 | 9:43 AM ET
Our 10 most popular stories posted last month:
1) Can I Have Meaningful Experiences Abroad if I Don’t Speak the Language?
2) ‘Elderly White Women’ Look to Kenya for Sex Tourism
3) How To: Wear a Sari in India (pictured)
4) Top 10 Foreign Cities for Americans to Get Arrested
5) Air Traffic Controller to United Pilot: ‘Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!’
6) A Vagabond Finds a Home
7) From Tonga to Texas, Doing the Haka
8) No Direction Home
9) Controversial Hawaii Superferry to Resume Operations
10) Saudi Billionaire Buys First Private Superjumbo A380
Photo: AP.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Food for Thought
by Michael Yessis | 11.30.07 | 2:45 PM ET
Another Hot American on Television Botches a Geography Question
by Michael Yessis | 11.30.07 | 1:49 PM ET
We may have a new travel trend here. At the very least, we’ve got ourselves a new World Hum travel blog category: Hot Americans on Television Botching Geography Questions. First came Miss Teen South Carolina. This time around it’s American Idol’s Kellie Pickler, who appeared as a contestant on the U.S. television game show, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” The answer, as you will see, seems clear.
In Thailand, Pink is the New Black
by Jim Benning | 11.30.07 | 12:39 PM ET
Seriously. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who traditionally has worn dark colors, was recently spotted wearing a pink shirt, and that has prompted a run on pink shirts in the country. Reports the BBC: “Thais have been queuing in their hundreds” for shirts like the one pictured, and the “Phufa fashion chain said it had sold 40,000 pink shirts this month.” No word on whether backpackers in Thailand will trade in their ubiquitous Southeast Asian Red Bull T-shirts for something in pink. I hope so.
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In Belarus, Expression Battles Repression*
by Michael Yessis | 11.30.07 | 12:30 PM ET
The Boston Globe’s Tom Haines and Essdras Suarez have delivered another stellar package about life and travel at the edge of Europe. The edge, in this case, is Belarus, at the “land-locked…geographic center of Europe,” Haines writes.
Scientists Unveil High-Def Map of Antarctica
by Jim Benning | 11.30.07 | 12:13 PM ET
Antarctica fans, and perhaps a few cruise ship captains, might want to check this out. U.S. and British researchers unveiled a new high-definition view of Antarctica this week, piecing together more than 1,000 Landsat satellite images and, according to NASA, creating “the most geographically accurate, true-color, high-resolution views of Antarctica possible.” Thanks for the tip, Ben.
