RECENT DISPATCHES
8.6.08
Like Writing on Water
In western Uganda, Christopher Vourlias met Colin, a farmer and poet who questioned the purpose of life while happily revealing the meaning of nohandika ha maiise. 7.15.08My Senegalese Cousin, the Rice-Loving Pig
When the woman selling peanuts at a Samba Dia market learned the Senegalese name adopted by Katie Krueger, negotiations took an insulting turn SPEAKER'S CORNER
A Tourist With a Shovel and a HoeWhen she arrived in Kenya to volunteer with the Maasai, Daniela Petrova looked down her nose at tourists there to have a good time. But was her own motivation much different? ASK ROLF
How Should I Spend My Time in Spain?Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel Q&A
Paul Theroux: Invisible Man on a Ghost TrainJim Benning asks the author of “Ghost Train to the Eastern Star” about his new book, aging and the challenge of disappearing in the age of the BlackBerry HOW TO
Eat Ceviche in LimaGrab a Cusqueña and get comfortable. As Nicholas Gill explains, a trip to a Peruvian cevichería can be an all-day immersion in good conversation and raw seafood. BOOKS
Unsentimental Journeys: Wrestling With Paul TherouxBronwen Dickey considers “Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: 28,000 Miles in Search of the Great Railway Bazaar” AUDIO SLIDESHOW My Travels, My FeetAfter taking one too many headless torso shots of herself, solo traveler Sophia Dembling started snapping photos of her feet around the world, from the Grand Canyon to Red Square THE LIST
Seven Reasons to Have a Foreign FlingSure, having an overseas romance is fun. But Terry Ward points out seven other benefits to cross-border love, mon petit chou. |
TRAVEL BLOG: China
Hooters in China: It’s About ‘Moral Righteousness’
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Photo of Beijing Hooters by china_puwa via Flickr (Creative Commons) Health Experts: Go Easy on the Incense
By Jim Benning • 8.26.08
Weblog • China • India • Singapore • Tibet • Travel Disease du Jour Permalink • Comments (2) Olympics Tourism Disappoints Beijing MerchantsThe expected surge of foreign and domestic tourists never materialized, and restaurant owners and shopkeepers are counting down the hours until the Games are over, reports the Los Angeles Times.
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In Beijing: The Elephant in the Olympic Village
How David Brooks Explains the WorldAmong the ways he says the world can be divided: Societies with an individualist mentality versus societies with a collectivist mentality. Specifically, he writes in the New York Times, “Americans usually see individuals; Chinese and other Asians see contexts.” Intriguing, but also a ridiculous generalization, according to James Fallows.
By Michael Yessis • 8.13.08
Weblog • China • Global Village • United States Permalink • Comments (1) Dave Barry in Beijing: No ‘Chicken Without Sex Life’ for HimPulitzer Prize-winner Dave Barry has been writing columns in the midst of Beijing’s Olympic bedlam. In Beijing: Olympic Travel JunkiesMy companions at the hotel here vary by age, gender, nationality and sport of choice—but as we’ve chatted over breakfast or on the shuttle to the subway, I’ve learned that there’s one thing many of them have in common: this isn’t their first Olympic Games. “Calgary, Barcelona, Atlanta ... Sydney, Nagano,” one man rattled off during a subway ride. His wife added: “Don’t forget Salt Lake!” Another man scratched his head thoughtfully when I asked how many Games he’d attended. “I guess I got started back in ‘76,” he said, “in Montreal.”
In Beijing: Three Cheers for Cheers
Last night I made it to some boxing preliminaries at the evocatively named Beijing Workers’ Gymnasium. The crowd—mostly Chinese, with scattered pockets of brightly colored foreigners—was a quiet one, rarely reacting to what happened in the ring with more than a low “oooh” or “aaah,” despite the organizers’ best efforts. Which Way to the Bird’s Nest? Chinese Help for Tourists.
In Beijing: A Rainbow of Nations
In Beijing: Red Tape and RoadblocksIt didn’t take long to get my first taste of bureaucracy in action. On Friday, I found a police line about a block from Tiananmen Square—unbeknownst to the thousands of tourists in town, the square and the southern entrance to the Forbidden City had been closed to the public, in preparation for the opening ceremonies. On Saturday, they were at it again: the Badaling portion of the Great Wall had also been closed, along with the Ming Tombs, in deference to an upcoming cycling road race. In Time for the Olympics, a National Anthems Primer
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Adventure Travel |
I’ve always loved noting the subtle differences between the same big-name chain restaurants at home and abroad. 
The use of incense dates back thousands of years, yet when it comes to incense in American cities these days, I associate it with Indian restaurants, yoga studios and head shops hawking bongs and tie-dye T-shirts. I also think of the glory days of the hippie trail, when young Western kids set off through Asia and, 
Don’t let my previous posts fool you: there was more to my time in Beijing this past week than just some 
I’ve been to plenty of world-renowned tourist spots before. But as I walked around the Forbidden City yesterday, I found myself thinking that the hordes of travelers in Beijing were a far more diverse bunch than the crowds I’d jostled with at the Taj Mahal, say, or Edinburgh Castle. Then, after a little more thought, I realized that wasn’t it. The people around me didn’t necessarily hail from a broader range of countries—the difference was that almost everyone was, literally, wearing their national colors on their sleeves.
China’s national anthem, 