Archive for the ‘travel’ Category

Debating culture and tourism in Bali

It’s the eternal paradox of tourism. We travel to see exotic places and cultures, allegedly unspoiled by modern influences, and yet the very act of traveling there contributes to the despoiling of the native culture or the natural landscape. In an effort to investigate tourism’s impact on one of the world’s more unique cultures, John Bowe [...]

March 25, 2009 travel, why we travel 0 Comments

“Couchsurfing” differs for Asians

I’ve previously covered couchsurfing on this blog, both the idea behind it and the actual organization that connects people around the world by offering free places to stay. Now comes an interesting story that compares Western and Asian cultures in terms of their levels of comfort with the idea of hosting strangers in one’s home. It’s great for [...]

February 6, 2009 travel 0 Comments

Shopping and bargaining overseas

If you’ve traveled abroad, to someplace other than Europe, than chances are you’ve had an experience or two with haggling over prices in an overseas market. The drill is the same pretty much everywhere and, once you get used to the practice, it can even be a bit of fun. That’s what Yemisrach Kifle discovered, as well, and [...]

July 9, 2008 travel 0 Comments

Tipping customs in different cultures

It’s an issue guaranteed to cause consternation among many travelers. To tip or not to tip? And how much? That’s because tipping customs vary from country to country around the world and while it can obviously be perceived as an insult to not tip enough in some places, it can also be an insult to [...]

October 3, 2007 travel 1 Comment

Global behavior tips

Thomas Swick, travel writer for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, just published a column with a humorous but factual collection of international behavior tips. A sampling: In South America, don’t tell people you’re from America. (They are, too.) In Italy, don’t order cappuccino after 11 a.m. In Greece, don’t say, “I didn’t order this,” when your [...]

June 14, 2007 travel 0 Comments

Tourism and cultural differences

Hope everyone in the U.S. had a nice holiday weekend these past few days. There was a light-hearted article in the Sunday NY Times about travel, tourism and cultural differences, which is worth a read. Every summer, people all over the world become acquainted again with a deep truth spoken by the philosopher-tourist Steve Martin. [...]

May 29, 2007 travel 0 Comments