Archive for September, 2008
Tribes and clans in Afghanistan
There is a short but thoughtful article in The Atlantic about the current U.S. engagement with Afghanistan and the story contains some useful pieces of information about Afghan culture. Specifically, it speaks about the tremendous importance of tribes and clans in the nation’s social structure, while suggesting that the U.S. strategy is on the wrong track [...]
The Indonesian wonder of the world
One of the most impressive but least known sites in the world is the Indonesian monument of Borobudur. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on this stunning edifice, which is considered the largest Buddhist monument in existence.
Making lists of the world’s most impressive monuments is an irrational and ultimately pointless enterprise: Who has seen all the [...]
The changing face of travel
There is an interesting and in-depth interview with travel writer Rolf Potts on World Hum. Potts covers a variety of topics and it’s worth checking out the entire piece, especially if you’re interested in travel writing. But here is a small excerpt from the interview about the transformation of travel in recent decades.
What major changes have you [...]
The geography of personality
A few months ago, I had a post about the personality traits of cities. Now along comes a study on the personality traits of states, so perhaps there is something to this whole concept. The Wall Street Journal has the story.
Certain regional stereotypes have long since become cliches: The stressed-out New Yorker. The laid-back Californian.
But the [...]
“Innocent until proven guilty” comes to Mexico
In the U.S., the term “innocent until proven guilty” is so much a part of our legal culture and is so ingrained in our minds that it’s shocking to think that legal systems exist in which people are not, in fact, presumed innocent. A belief in individual rights is very much a product of Western culture, [...]
Faith battles modernity in Dubai
There is a fascinating article in the NY Times about the culture of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. This city has become a contemporary melting pot of the Islamic world, where expatriates form a new identity and try to merge the choices of modernity with the traditions of their Islamic religion.
In his old life in [...]
Riel World photo – Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu, Peru
The classic view of Machu Picchu, taken from a hill above the Inca ruins. Still one of the most incredible places I’ve visited.
Ancient civilizations in the American Midwest
When one thinks of ancient civilizations in the Americas, it tends to be of those societies that left behind spectacular ruins. The Incas of Peru, the Mayans of Mexico and Central America, or even the Pueblo people of the U.S. Southwest who built the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. Not many minds conjure up images [...]
Geography quiz
How well do you know your U.S. geography? Here is a unique geography quiz that doesn’t ask you to identify locations, but rather gives you outlines of each state and then asks you to place them onto a map. Then it shows you where the state is actually located and tallies your average error in miles. Maddening but [...]
Pilgrimage travel
A fast-growing travel niche is religion-based tourism, which caters to people who want to have a pilgrimage experience during their journey. This NY Times article has more information.
Some 16 feet beneath the present-day street level of Damascus, the Syrian capital, just off the Street Called Straight, is a cramped, artificially lighted chapel with roughly cut stones [...]
Lost Girls on the road
Have you heard of the Lost Girls? They’re three twentysomething New York friends who left their jobs and hit the road together for a one-year journey around the world. Along the way, they blogged about the trip and are now back home working on a book about the experience. Sort of like Sex and the [...]
Riel World photo – Masai Mara, Kenya
Masai Mara, Kenya
I took this photo while on safari in Kenya, in the Masai Mara game reserve. It was the afternoon of the last day of our journey and it was the first time we had gotten this close to a lion. Safari sightings are often as much about luck as anything else. This was [...]
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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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My travel memoir - Two Laps Around the World: Tales and Insights from a Life Sabbatical - is about two round-the-world journeys with my wife.
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