Happy Fourth of July

World Hum’s Most Read: June 28-July 3

What We Loved This Week: Def Leppard in Greece, Austrian Competence and Freedom in Colombia

The LAX Theme Building, Then and Now

As a Woman, Can I Really Travel Without Much Fear for my Safety?

Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

Inside Slum Tourism

With mixed feelings, Rob Verger recently signed on for a tour of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. He looks back on the experience—and the photos he was allowed to take.

Break Bread and Brie in France

Great cheese abounds in the land of Gaul, but dig in and you risk committing any number of faux pas. Terry Ward explains how to partake of the nation’s famed fromage with savoir faire.

10 Wanderlust-Inducing Summer Concerts

Call it world music or global pop or the sound of the world hum. Ben Keene reveals 10 acts on tour that are sure to transport you. Plus videos.

Bryan Mealer: ‘War and Deliverance in Congo’

The former AP correspondent traveled up the Congo River. Frank Bures asks the author of “All Things Must Fight to Live” about following in the wake of Joseph Conrad. 

A Journey Into ‘The Second World’

Some bureaucrats joke that they would never claim expertise about countries they had not at least flown over. In an excerpt from his new book, Parag Khanna argues that real global understanding can only come from serious travel.

‘The Worst Guidebook Writer Ever’?

Lonely Planet author Robert Reid reviews Thomas Kohnstamm’s “Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” and weighs in on the controversy surrounding it

NYC Shops to Visitors: Give us Your Huddled Euros Yearning to be Free

Hi Jim:

This is an issue that effects every traveler. I’m sure foreign tourists appreciate the ease of being able to buy things here in New York with euros, rather than stumbling to the currency exchange booth on West Broadway to make a deal.

I’ve had trouble trying to pay in American dollars abroad, and it’s no fun standing in line for hours just to cash a $100 traveler’s check, at a loss.

Another issue is foreign checks. I’ve been paid by check before by foreign magazines. For some reason, my neighborhood bank wouldn’t cash a check in even Canadian dollars. The amount was so outstandingly low that I never bothered trying to cash it at some international consortium. Oh well.

I wonder if this goes for the Sterling as well?

And, what kind of exchange rates are you actually getting if instead of paying with greenbacks you’re using Euros? I’m guessing a lot worse than the ATM will give you!

If anyone knows, would be great to find out.