Archive for September, 2007
Kicking, punching and being a girl in Thailand
They are two things that just don’t seem to go together. The gentle Thai female and the vicious sport of Thai boxing. But according to this story, female participation in Thai boxing is a growing phenomenon despite the fact that these same women are expected to behave according to the deferential traditions of their culture [...]
Coffee and spirituality in Ethiopia
Those are two of the main attractions of Harar, an ancient Ethiopian city that is trying to make its way onto the world’s crowded tourist map, according to this travel article. For 1,000 years, this city on a hilltop has been a center of Islamic faith in the Horn of Africa, with a forbidding, 13-foot [...]
Many languages going extinct
Remarkably, about half of the languages currently spoken in the world are said to be in danger of going extinct during the coming century. A story in the International Herald Tribune reports: Of the estimated 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, linguists say, nearly half are in danger of extinction and likely to disappear [...]
Surf the world on a sofa
Just last month, I linked to a Boston Globe article about an organization called Couch Surfing that connects people around the world by offering free places to stay in each other’s homes. Apparently, couch surfing is the new hot thing, because now the NY Times has published a long article about the topic, which seems to [...]
Another travel encounter
I love to hear stories about travel, and about why people choose to travel or what they gain from the experience. So I appreciated finding this little profile of Darrell Wade, chief executive of Intrepid Travel, and reading about some of his travel experiences. I also travel to give serendipity a chance and to top up [...]
Life among the cows in Sudan
There was an interesting profile recently in the NY Times about the Dinka people of southern Sudan, who are pastoralists and rely on cows for their livelihood. After musing about how life could change for the Dinka in the face of economic development, the article told the story of three boys from the same family to show how [...]
Could Belgium split up?
In 1993, the country of Czechoslovakia agreed to an amicable divorce and divided into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Some observers are now wondering if a similar future awaits Belgium. Although the country has survived for almost two centuries as a federation with Flemish and French-speaking provinces, politicians there are having increasing difficulties in forming a [...]
Cappadocian moonscape
The landscape of Cappadocia in central Turkey has often been described as lunar-like. Travelers have long marveled at the whimsical rock formations that have been carved by nature, and the homes and churches that have been carved by people into the soft stone terrain. Gisela Williams recently experienced this scene for herself, which she wrote about [...]
Singapore is hip
There is a very good article in the September issue of Smithsonian magazine about Singapore. The article muses about this Asian city-state’s remarkable spurt of development over the past several decades, but mostly focuses on how Singapore these days is a more relaxed and hipper place than it’s ever been before. I ordered a Kilkenny. [...]
Two sides of Calcutta
When I was in Calcutta a few years ago, I was intrigued to discover that local residents alternately revered and resented Mother Teresa. They revered her, rightly, for the remarkable and selfless work she did in tending to the poor and the sick. But they also resented her work to some degree because the media [...]
Third millennium in Ethiopia
Most of the world celebrated the dawn of the third millennium on New Year’s Day, 2000. In Ethiopia, however, which uses a different calendar, that celebration is taking place tonight. The Christian Science Monitor reports: After anticipating the event for more than a year, Ethiopians are getting ready to throw their biggest party ever. The [...]
Quest journeys by Greyhound
Holland Carter had an interesting piece in the NY Times recently, in which he reminisced about a Greyhound bus trip he took across a good portion of the U.S. in the 1960s when he was still a teenager. The story is a worthwhile read for Cotter’s descriptions of American life as viewed from the road a [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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