Articles By: Bob Riel
The infallible king of Swaziland
Cross-cultural trainers and theorists often talk about the differences between hierarchical and egalitarian societies, or they rank cultures based on their power distance. For instance, a country with a large power distance would be fairly hierarchical and would contain large inequalities between superiors and subordinates. If you want a perfect example of how this plays out [...]
Talking travel with Paul Theroux
In 1975, Paul Theroux published a bestselling travel memoir, The Great Railway Bazaar, about a train trip from Europe to Asia. In the years since he has become one of the world’s most successful and best known travel writers. He recently published a new book, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, in which he retraces much of [...]
Describing Seattle
Here is another entry for an expanding collection of posts about the character and culture of various cities. Charles Johnson is a writer and professor who has lived in Seattle since the 1970s, and he described his vision and experience of this city in an essay for Smithsonian Magazine. An excerpt: Former UW president William Gerberding once referred to [...]
Riel World photo – Montevideo, Uruguay
Montevideo, Uruguay Produce for sale at a streetside market in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Yoga retreat in India
Have you ever imagined what it’d be like to spend time at a yoga retreat in India? Well, now you can live vicariously through Kyle Jarrard, who wrote an account for the International Herald Tribune of the experience he and his wife had in Puducherry, India. The first sound in the morning is crows, right at 5. [...]
A conversation in Uganda
The best travel experiences are often the most unexpected and they frequently involve chance meetings with locals. Christopher Vourlias recently traveled through Uganda, where he found himself having a conversation about writing and life with a farmer. He wrote about the experience for World Hum. They met on a local bus… I’d met Colin a few [...]
Beautiful, desolate Namibia
The southwestern African country of Namibia may not be well-known as a tourist destination, but travelers who have been there often return home raving about the desolate beauty of the place. Elinor Burkett is one of those travelers and she wrote about her Namibian experiences for a recent NY Times story. As the first rays of the sun [...]
Clan-based government in Somalia?
The best designed governments are those that build upon the culture of a country, rather than those that try to impose foreign ideas and systems on a people. So I read with interest this recent story in the International Herald Tribune about a movement to re-design the government of Somalia in a way that would emphasize the traditional [...]
Food from the rest of China
Did you know that 100 million people in China are minorities? There are 55 tribal groups in the country who are not ethnic Chinese. That means there are 100 million in China who probably don’t eat all that much Chinese food. NPR’s Kitchen Window has an interesting feature about these ethnic groups and their foods, based on [...]
Favorite places in the Middle East and Africa
The Chicago Tribune has been asking their foreign correspondents for travel tips and for lists of their favorite destinations. One recent installment focused on places in the Middle East and Africa. An excerpt: Liz Sly on the Middle East: My favorite place: The Old City of Damascus, Syria, a warren of ancient cobbled streets, mosques [...]
Early morning exercise in Beijing
In honor of Beijing playing host to the Olympics for the past two weeks, here is another China-themed post. Many Chinese people make it a habit to get up early every morning in order to perform tai chi exercises, often in a public park. So John Branch went to one of Beijing’s most popular parks one [...]
Coastal Catalonia
If you’re searching for a more authentic and less glitzy destination by the sea, Sarah Wildman recommends Costa Brava – the sparsely populated coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. She wrote about a recent trip there for the International Herald Tribune. On the small roads between Cantallops and Llançà – two names that were barely dots [...]
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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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Two Laps Around the World
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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