Posts Tagged ‘Asia’
Life in Afghanistan
What is life like for expatriates in Afghanistan? There is an interesting feature in the Financial Times today – an interview with Belinda Bowling, a South African lawyer who currently lives in Kabul. An excerpt: What brought you to Afghanistan? When I turned 30 I decided to take a year’s career break from my law firm and explore my [...]
Laotian charms in Luang Prabang
The Southeast Asian nation of Laos is still a fairly untraveled destination, especially compared to its neighbor, Thailand. But the word is getting out about the charms of the Laotian town of Luang Prabang. Gayle Keck went there recently with her husband and wrote about their experiences for the Washington Post. Strangers talk to one another [...]
KFC (sort of) in Afghanistan
No, it’s not the KFC you were probably expecting. Although it’s close. In Afghanistan, Kentucky Fried Chicken has been transformed into Kabul Fried Chicken by an Afghan expatriate who has returned to his home country with his sights set on an emerging market for fast foods. Time magazine has the story. As the sun sets in [...]
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 [...]
Democracy and vodka in Mongolia
Mongolia is not the first place one thinks of when pondering the fate of budding democracies around the world. Heck, how many people could locate Mongolia on a map? Now, though, the country may become known as a poster child for the risks of mixing democracy with vodka. The charred shells of two Soviet-style buildings [...]
Eating scorpions with your kids
Yeah, I know, not a likely activity. Unless you’re like Matthew Forney, who lives with his wife and two children in Beijing – where they have acquired tastes for decidedly non-Western cuisine. Forney wrote an amusing story about his family’s culinary adventures for the NY Times. In Beijing, where my family lives, I once returned [...]
Biking Vietnam
It’s not a vacation for the faint of heart, given the chaotic vagaries of Vietnamese traffic, but Margo Pfeiff had an exhilarating time during a biking tour of Vietnam. She wrote about her experiences for the San Francisco Chronicle. Sucking in a deep breath, I launch myself into one of the most exhilarating and terrifying adrenaline [...]
Thai business, European football & culture clashes
What happens when a prominent Thai businessman takes over a British football team that is managed by a Swede? Perhaps a clash of cultures was inevitable. Regardless of your interest in sports, there is a fascinating recent article in the Financial Times that illuminates many of the cultural differences between Thailand and northern Europe. The [...]
Travels in Ladakh
I enjoy reading the travel writings of Pico Iyer, so I was happy to find this recent article of his about a trip he took to Ladakh, a Tibetan culture in the Himalayan region of northern India. I knew before I came to Ladakh — the high, dry region in northern India that borders Tibet [...]
Images of China
National Geographic has a wonderful feature online – an interactive photo map of China. By clicking on the names of cities or regions, one is transported to a collection of photos from that part of the country. There are 200 pictures in all and they show the amazing diversity, complexity and beauty of the Chinese [...]
To India with Mom
It’s one thing to take your mother on vacation, it’s quite another to take her to India – for her 75th birthday and her first trip to anyplace in Asia. But that’s just what Jeff Greenwald did. He wrote a charming article about the experience for the Los Angeles Times. Bringing my mother to India [...]
Riel World photo – Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia The waves roll into Jimbaran Beach on the Indonesian island of Bali. At night, this beach is a beehive of activity, with dozens of open-air seafood restaurants lining the sands. When we were there during the day, however, the area was nearly deserted and we had an entire stretch of gorgeous beach all [...]
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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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