World Hum’s Most Read: Aug. 30-Sept. 5

What We Loved This Week: Jose Feliciano, Rub’ al Khali and Raw Oysters

Don’t Be Cruel: Traveling ‘Elvis’ Draws Attention, Groans

It’s Not Easy Being Green and Crucified

A Tourist With a Shovel and a Hoe

When 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?

How Should I Spend My Time in Spain?

Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

Paul Theroux: Invisible Man on a Ghost Train

Jim 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

Eat Ceviche in Lima

Grab 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.

Unsentimental Journeys: Wrestling With Paul Theroux

Bronwen Dickey considers “Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: 28,000 Miles in Search of the Great Railway Bazaar”

My Travels, My Feet

After 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

Seven Reasons to Have a Foreign Fling

Sure, having an overseas romance is fun. But Terry Ward points out seven other benefits to cross-border love, mon petit chou.

Inside the Gridlock Capital of the World

Hi, recently discovered World Hum and am now avid… Personally I’d say Hanoi has the hardest roads to cross, until you learn how. There’s a sense of magic as you move slowly into wave upon wave of scooters and bikes and feel them flow around you. It almost feels like a lesson in zen…

Then again, I’ve never been to Lagos, where cars are sometimes dismantled in order to break the gridlock.

Having lived in Lagos for most of my life with regular trips back, I can honestly tell you the traffic is unbelievable.

You have to see it to believe it!

I second Jason’s post—Hanoi is the worst I’ve seen anywhere. Watching an 8-year-old step into an oncoming stream of motorbikes is heart-stopping.

Bangkok’s certainly the worst for car based gridlock, but i agree only motorbikes can generate that sense of controlled chaos

Some photos from Saigon:
http://www.vietnamtravel.org.uk/traffic-saigon

Absolutely mental - over four million (registered) motorbikes and only 1% of the city’s area is road - compared to BKK’s 4.4%. Of course cars take up more space which is why BKK jams and Saigon is still.. just.. moving.