Travel dispatches from a shrinking planet

Travel dispatches from a shrinking planet

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

Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

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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.


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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

BOOKS
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‘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

TRAVEL BLOG
3.14.08

What We Loved This Week: ‘Louisiana 1927,’ Mississippi Drift and Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches

imageWorld Hum contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.

Eva Holland
“Loved” might be overstating the case a little, but I was pleasantly surprised by Graceland‘s famous “fried peanut butter and banana sandwich” (pictured)—reportedly the King’s favorite snack. I tried it out of a strange sense of obligation (plus, it was the cheapest thing on the menu) but it really wasn’t bad at all. Peanut butter and banana go great together—the same effect could be achieved, though, by using two slices of toasted bread.

Michael Yessis
The opening conversation between Henry Jenkins and Steven Johnson at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin was a terrific, an eye-opening discussion of collective intelligence vs. the wisdom of crowds, new media literacy and how Harry Potter is encouraging political engagement. YouTube has a couple clips, and here’s a recounting of the talk in graphic form

Jim Benning
I booked a flight to New Orleans this week and it got me thinking about all the great songs about the city. One of my favorites is Randy Newman’s “Louisiana 1927,” about the big flood of that year. I really dug this performance of it on YouTube:

Frank Bures
I loved Matthew Power‘s piece in the March issue of Harper’s, Mississippi Drift: River Vagrants in the Age of Wal-Mart (subscribers only), about floating down the Mississippi on a raft with some dumpster diving anarcho-punks. A fantastic story on its own, but I also loved it because I grew up on that river right in the area he writes about.

Joanna Kakissis
Nettle pie—yes, a savory pie made out of nettles and feta cheese—is my new favorite lunch to go in Athens. I had this week at Lena’s, an organic cafe on Nikis Street near Syntagma square in the city center. Lena’s has delicious Greek dishes with a vegetarian edge (think cabbage rolls stuffed with wild mushrooms or my little nettle pie) as well as Near Eastern pilafs with pine nuts, apricots, sultanas and basmati rice. I’m desperately missing the Whole Foods cafes here in Athens, but Lena’s helps ease my cravings. Plus, it’s an ideal place to observe the paradox of the modern Athenian: Eat healthy food and chain-smoke too.

Posted by World Hum • 3.14.08
Categories: WeblogWhat We Loved This Week

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