Travels in the Riel World

I came across an interesting recent article in the NY Times about the growing number of immigrants from Bhutan who have recently settled in New York City. It’s not the most common of countries from which to draw an immigrant population, and indeed the numbers are still relatively small. But what caught my eye was a section of the story that showed how the immigrants have maintained some semblance of their Bhutanese culture even amidst the chaos of New York. Most interesting, I think, is that they continue to live somewhat communally, having transported a sense of community from a mountain village in the Himalayas to an apartment building in the Bronx.

Inside the 60-unit building, where they are a distinct minority, they share meals and information about job leads and educational opportunities, and simply hang out in one another’s apartments to pass the time. The refugees say the flow resembles the comfortable circulation of neighbors and relatives from hut to hut in the Nepalese camps…

The seven-member Gurung family, who arrived in four groups during the winter and spring, invited the Tamangs for a traditional Bhutanese meal at their apartment on Bainbridge Avenue in the Bronx. Though the Gurungs had been in the country less than a year — “we’re just-born,” said Gyan Gurung, 33 — they were relative veterans.

The two families sat on the floor of the tidy apartment to eat. The walls were decorated with a New York subway map and a Buddhist bead necklace.

“The sweetest matter is that all Bhutanese have a universal brotherhood,” said Mr. Siwakoti.

Language is a great way into the mind of a culture. But if you don’t speak another language, you can at least understand some of how another culture thinks by looking at some its favorite expressions. There was recently an article published on Matador Abroad that took a look at 10 expressions that define cultures. Here are two of them:

Shoganai, Japan - “It can’t be helped.” Japan is for the most part a very non-confrontational culture. Shoganai epitomizes this tendency because by encouraging people not to complain or try to “fight the power.” Circumstances can’t be changed, so why get angry or try to avoid the unavoidable? It’s too hot and you have walk 10 km to the nearest train station? Your boss asks you to work an extra four hours that evening? Just accept it and move on: shoganai.

Mai pen rai, Thailand - Whereas in Japan this “never mind” idea encourages one to endure hardships, in Thailand, it implies that life should be lived at a relaxed pace. This could not be more evident in the idea of “Thai time”: several days late for a gathering of friends? Mai pen rai; it’s no big deal, we can always put things off for another day, a week, a month.

Check out the other eight expressions, from countries such as Brazil, Australia and Mozambique.

It’s a way of life in many parts of the world: sharing food and conversation around the dinner table. In a place like Greece, these meals might consist of various smaller dishes, called meze, similar to the Spanish tapas that have become popular in some U.S. restaurants. Joanna Kakissis has a great story up on NPR’s Kitchen Window, in which she reminisces about the meze gatherings of her childhood and talks of how she has tried to re-create these occasions in her own homes and with new friends. The story will surely make you want to invite some people over for dinner this week, or at the very least go out for Greek tonight.

My parents moved from their native Greece to the American Dakotas in 1974, but never got used to the big, stick-to-your-ribs Lutheran dinners in the Midwest. Back in the Mediterranean, evening meals were a collection of small, flavorful dishes called meze, spiced with tiny sips of ouzo or the homemade firewater called tsikoudia, courtesy of my mother’s Cretan family. And the food was always shared with friends or relatives who would stay to talk late into the night…

In summer, the evening meze crowd would gather on the tiny balcony in our tiny house in suburban Athens, savoring cheese and spinach phyllo triangles, minty and garlicky yogurt dips, crispy oregano-dusted fried potatoes, the spicy little meatballs called keftedes, grilled octopus, marinated anchovies and, of course, lots of fresh tomatoes, olives and pita bread. My earliest memories include those deeply comforting scents of meze and the openhearted laughter of people bonded to cuisine, culture and each other.

The meze nights got a lot quieter when we moved to the Dakotas, but they didn’t die. Sometimes it was just the four of us — my parents, sister and I sharing keftedesand a giant tomato, feta and mint salad — but sometimes my parents’ friends would join us and add their own flavors…As I grew up and moved around as a journalist, I grounded myself in each new locale by hosting meze nights for new friends.

If you check out the entire story, you’ll also be rewarded with some nice recipes for such dishes as ouzo-spiked pork and beef keftedes, or mint yogurt with carrots and garlic.

Only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world is still standing. But what about the cities of the ancient world? Many of those, too, have disappeared into the pages of history or the mists of time. But there are some still-inhabited cities that can claim a past that stretches back thousands of years. The website WebUrbanist recently reviewed some of these truly ancient metropolises. Here is an excerpt:

Damascus, Syria - Damascus, the current capital of Syria, has a long and colorful history that stretches back nearly 12,000 years. Located in a fertile region well-watered by the Barada river, Damascus was a prime target of numerous kings and conquerors - and often wound up on the losing side. Over 4 million people live in metropolitan Damascus today and, partly due to a skilfully constructed network of canals built nearly 3,500 years ago, boasts a multitude of parks and green spaces. Since 1979 Damascus has been UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Jerusalem, Israel - Holy to a number of the world’s leading religions, 5,000-year-old Jerusalem was already settled centuries before any of them had their tenets put to paper, papyrus or pre-fired clay. According to the entry on Jerusalem in Wikipedia, “In the course of its history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.” Sadly, those numbers are likely not the final score for this exceptional city 747,600 people call Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Al-Quds and… home.

Varanasi, India- The city of Varanasi, formerly known to English-speakers as Benares, has been a religious and cultural center for at least 3,000 years. Over one million pilgrims from across the Hindu world visit Varanasi each year to participate in ceremonies and swim in the sacred Ganges river. Varanasi is as close to being a true “living city” as one could imagine. Every bit of space is utilized, every disused building is re-worked into a new purpose and over centuries of conflict and conquest, the city heals itself through the power of human conviction and devotion to a greater glory.

There are seven more cities on the WebUrbanist list. Can you guess any of the others?

That’s a philosophy that John Bardos tries to take to heart and live by. There are a lot of people out there who have taken the risk to travel, to make a career break, or to live a so-called unconventional life. John is one of them. He runs a blog called Jet Set Citizen, about “lifestyle design at the intersection of work, play and travel.” There is a great interview with him online at Business Backpacker.

How did you know you didn’t fit in to conventional society?

There is no reason why we should drive on the right side of the road or the left. The idea of getting a job and working at one company until retirement is only about three generations old and it is already dead. The concept of retiring at age 65 was created in 1935 with the Social Security Act in the U.S. Even that has to change because of the increase in average lifespans. Everything around us is just an idea. If you realize that, then it is easier to see that there is no set plan for life and we are free to do whatever we want.

Encouraging words you would pass on to readers: If you could have had someone there when you took the leap of faith, what would you have needed to hear the most?

The only real risk in life is dying or getting sick before you have a chance to do the things you want. When you start getting older and more and more of your friends and family get sick or die and you lose energy and motivation, you really start to understand how short life is. I don’t want to sound like a parent telling his children how tough life was in the past, but it is all true.

We live in a time of great affluence and opportunity. It is easy and cheap to travel around the world, start new businesses and even become famous if we are willing to put in the work and are able to commit our energies to a single focus. The greatest times in my life have been when I didn’t have much money, didn’t have many possessions and was working insane hours to accomplish something. The “good life” is not an easy life. Easy makes us fat and lazy.  Even if you completely fail, there are unlimited opportunities to start again. Our parents never had these opportunities. Our grandparents couldn’t even imagine this level of wealth and choice. There is no excuse for not attempting great things in life. The only barrier is our own fears, which are generally unfounded, and our unwillingness to do the work required.

Check out the entire interview with John. It’s good stuff.

Salzburg, Austria

Do you like The Sound of Music? Then you may recognize the Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg, Austria, where a famous musical scene was filmed for the movie.

Quite often we find ourselves so focused on places to travel abroad that it’s easy to forget about interesting travel destinations in our own backyard. Or at the very least, we find it difficult to see our own country as a foreign tourist would see it. That’s why I was intrigued by this recent article that tried to define the best backpacking cities in the United States. If you were coming here from another country and wanted to explore some American cities as a backpacker would, what cities would be the best destinations?

This particular writer selected five top options: Boston, Washington, Seattle, San Francisco, and Austin. Here is an excerpt:

Boston - Dubbed the ‘Athens of America’, Boston has rich history, grand architecture and some of the best universities in the world to its name. But this mid-sized city can still let its hair down, with a packed cultural calender, and a cool student scene spawning countless clubs, hip bars, arts and music scenes and bizarrely, Irish pubs! Beautiful in bloom in the Spring, and covered in russet leaves in the Fall, Boston is a gateway to the rest of New England’s glorious scenery, historic towns and bargain shopping.

Seattle - Seattle may be known as America’s wettest city, but the city embodies laid-back cool; this creative powerhouse is the home of Microsoft, Starbucks and grunge music. One of the most scenic cities in the US, Seattle is surrounded by an attractive waterfront, countless parks, forested beaches and open green spaces. Go shopping in Pike Place Market, ride to the top of the Space Needle, and then walk through Discovery Park when you’ve had enough of the city bustle.

Austin - We couldn’t do a round up of American cities without including somewhere from the southern states, and Austin is the surprisingly eccentric capital of Texas, the ‘Lone Star State’. All the hallmarks of the south are here – cowboys, country music and home-cooking, but Austin has its own quirky take on Texas – the home of the South by Southwest festival, the live music scene here is legendary, with countless bars and venues blasting out anything from jazz-funk to alt country. Austin’s edgy cool has drawn more and more businessmen to move in, but the city should keep its character a little while longer -  check out the locals wearing bumper stickers saying ‘Keep Austin Weird’!

What do you think? What would you add to or subtract from this list?

We’re currently in the midst of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month in which Muslims are expected to fast each day between dawn and sunset. This practice is supposed to increase spiritual self-discipline and help one to focus on non-worldly activities. Although people understandably get hungry during the day, the fast is practiced by most Muslims. There are exceptions for some individuals who may be harmed by a fast, but George Vecsey recently wrote an interesting article for the NY Times about some Muslims who face a difficult choice during Ramadan between their faith and their livelihood: athletes.

Indeed, an athlete who needs nourishment in order to perform at a high level during a sporting event would face a tough decision over fasting. Vecsey profiled a Muslim tennis player from Pakistan, Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, who said that he fasts if he is at home and not competing, but that he doesn’t fast if he is involved in a tournament.

The public-address announcer was advising everybody to drink a lot of fluids (presumably those sold on the grounds) to avoid dehydration. On a warm, mostly sunny day, that seemed like a good idea. Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan had a few bottles of water arrayed below his chair on Court 10, although it is the holy month of Ramadan, when many Muslims abstain from food or liquid from sunrise to sundown…

Qureshi, who is 29 years old and from the grass-court hub of Lahore, is one of a few Muslim players on the tour. He speaks with high respect of Ramadan, which this year lasts from Aug. 22 (a day earlier elsewhere in the world) through Sept. 19. There can be exemptions from fasting for pregnant women, soldiers, the mentally ill, children and people with a strenuous livelihood. Qureshi puts himself in that category.

Other Muslim athletes have worked out their response to their sport and to Ramadan, which ranges around the calendar from winter to summer. In these still long days of early September in the Northern Hemisphere, European soccer players and American football players are making their own decision as to how to observe the holy month.

I think the story is worth reading and is an interesting example of a clash not just between religion and sports, but between culture and a globalized world.

What are the most spectacular drives in the world? National Geographic Traveler seems to enjoy taking a spin around this topic and they just came out with another feature that covers some of “the world’s greatest scenic routes.” Here are just a few of their choices:

Amalfi Coast, Italy- The Costiera Amalfitana, or Amalfi Coast, is widely considered Italy’s most scenic stretch of coastline, a landscape of towering bluffs, pastel-hued villages terraced into hillsides, precipitous corniche roads, luxuriant gardens, and expansive vistas over turquoise waters and green-swathed mountains. Deemed by UNESCO “an outstanding example of a Mediterranean landscape, with exceptional cultural and natural scenic values,” the coast was awarded a coveted spot on the World Heritage list in 1997.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts- A drive around Massachusetts’ vintage Cape Cod serves up miles of beaches, restful resort towns—and, yes, lobster and clam shacks. There are capes all along the New England coast, but when anyone talks of “the Cape,” the meaning is immediately clear. This drive takes in virtually all of Cape Cod: the quiet villages along the bay side, the beautifully desolate dunelands of the outer Cape’s national seashore, lively Provincetown, and the busy resorts that face Nantucket Sound.

North Island, New Zealand (Lord of the Rings route) - Boasting some of the most varied and rugged landscapes on Earth, New Zealand has long been a source of adventure. In addition, its eclectic Polynesian and European heritage makes it a remarkable center of culture and history. Given New Zealand’s varied attributes, it is little wonder it was the pick of Kiwi Peter Jackson as the stand-in for Middle-Earth in his film adaptation of the Lord of the Rings fantasy trilogy.

Hana Highway, Hawaii- A restorative for mind and body, Maui’s Hana coast delivers black-sand beaches, plunging waterfalls—and a doozy of a drive. Peel a fresh mango purchased from a roadside stand, get ukulele music going on the radio, and embark on one of Hawaii’s great drives: the Hana Highway on the island of Maui. On your left will be the azure ocean; on your right, rushing waterfalls, limpid pools, patches of taro plants, and luxuriant jungles of bamboo and fruit trees. But this highway serves up more than beauty: It’s an impressive feat of engineering, dug out of Maui’s precipitous eastern coastline with hand tools. Clinging to the cliffs, it slinks around some 600 curves and across 59 bridges (over half of which are just one lane wide). This serpentine coastal route offers a perfect antidote to the vagaries of mainland winters—and a complete escape from daily life.

Check out the entire article to see the other drives selected by National Geographic Traveler. What other routes would you select?

There are so many interesting cultures around the world, with their own traditions and ways of life, but never before have I come across an article on running cultures. Yes, a culture in which long distance running is a way of life, as much a part of the people’s heritage as their food and their music. But Turner Wright wrote an interesting feature for Vagabondish on just that topic, focusing on four truly unique cultures from around the world.

… with many nations (even third-world countries) becoming modernized as the world gets smaller, there are few remaining places on Earth where running is still a way of life, essential to survival, not thought of as fitness or a way to relieve stress after a day of TPS reports. Cultures in which running is life, deeply ingrained in the minds and hearts of natives and impossible to imagine what it would be like otherwise. But where can we find such “running cultures”?

He profiles the marathon monks of Mt. Hiei, Japan; the Tarahumara Indians of Copper Canyon, Mexico; the Kenyans of East Africa, and the Kalahari Bushmen of southern Africa. Here is some of what he writes about the marathon monks of Japan:

The marathon monks, who live in the Enryaku Temple atop Mount Hiei, are quite possibly the greatest anomaly in Japanese society, if not the world. Few choose to live their lives according to such strict guidelines, especially when it comes to feats of physical prowess…

Wearing only straw sandals (replaced often), white robes, a staff, and hat, each marathon monk begins walking or running approximately 50 km around the mountain to return in time for meditation and the meal. This is done over 100, 700, or 1000 days, depending on how far along the initiated is in his monastic training…

In reality, meditation is nothing more than training oneself to focus entirely on the present: the breath going in and out of the lungs, the wind caressing your face, the birds chirping from a nearby tree … Running meditation is only natural, by focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and communing with nature one step at a time.

See the entire piece for more about these running cultures.

Mesa Verde, Colorado

Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park. The largest known cliff dwelling in North America, with 150 rooms, it was occupied during the 12th and 13th centuries by the Ancient Pueblo Indians.

Most of us don’t need to be reminded of the challenges of traveling with children, but how often do we stop to consider the benefits that we also get from taking a trip with our sons and daughters? Karen Banes has an interesting take on this topic in an article she recently published for BootsnAll. It’s a nice perspective to hear. Following are three of her reasons for why children can help to enrich your travel experiences:

You get to see the world through their eyes - Kids see things differently. They have a whole different angle on things, and it’s not just because they’re shorter and therefore closer to the ground, although that can help sometimes too. Kids see the wonder in a new place, new activities, new animals and new food…As an adult it can be hard to feel the true sense of wonder you probably should at seeing your first real live kangaroo, orangutan, or giant bird-eating spider, and you might miss that giant earth worm or strange looking lizard completely because you’re just too high up. Kids will draw your attention to all that and more…Traveling with kids means you get involved in activities you might have missed out on. Would you have taken that miniature train ride, visited that wildlife rescue center or talked to that snake charmer if your kids hadn’t insisted on it. Maybe not, and often your travel experience is richer for having done these things.

You have the pleasure of seeing your kids grow and learn in a way that just isn’t possible back home - Traveling is an education. An altogether different, more challenging and more pleasurable education than your kids will ever get in school. You’ll get to see your kids learning a few words of a foreign language, how to make and break camp, how to hike through wilderness areas without impacting the natural environment, and how to read a map. You’ll see them gaining a knowledge and understanding of other cultures, and witness the sense of connection they feel as world geography and history starts to make sense to them, based on their own experiences and observations.

You become closer as a family - In a world where many families don’t even have time to eat dinner together on a regular basis, imagine a few weeks, months or even years spent traveling together, eating, sleeping, learning and adventuring together. Imagine building a foundation of shared experience and memories to draw on as your kids grow up and away and start families of their own. Traveling together gives family members one of the few things money can’t buy – the time and opportunity to grow closer as a family. Doesn’t every kid, and parent, deserve that chance?

What do you think, does she make a case for some of the wonders of traveling with children? Check out the entire story to see some of her other reasons.