I’m getting to this a little late today, I know — I’m on the road, and without a reliable Internet connection.
Nevertheless, a few things caught my eye (though not all positively) in this week’s travel sections.
In the Sydney Morning Herald, Patrick O’Neil reports on an arduous, long bus ride through the Andes in Bolivia, a country, he says, “where protest is the only way of interacting with the state. Where nothing works, you’re not sure what food you’re eating, buses never leave on time, most highways are unpaved and, frankly, no one even expects anything to go right.” I’ve been to a few countries that fit this description.
The Times of London juxtaposes genres today, sending its classical music critic, Richard Morrison, on a classical music-themed cruise through the Baltic Sea.
Toronto’s Globe and Mail asks whether it is really possible to stay for an extended visit with friends who are living abroad without ruining the relationship. Writer Sandra Martin says, in a word, yes — and details her visit with close friends who have recently moved to Malta, a warm, sunny place where I would very much like to be right now.
The New York Times publishes a special travel section today devoted to Asia-Pacific travel, with this lead piece from writer Henry Alford about going for luxury along the southern coast of Cambodia. Hope as I did that Alford would not fall back on the tired “once known only for the Khmer Rouge…” cliche in describing Cambodia as an up-and-coming travel destination, he does — in the first paragraph.
The Washington Post publishes a cross-country dispatch from writer Melanie D.G. Kaplan, which proved pretty entertaining, despite the fact that it features her co-pilot — a dog. I’m always skeptical of writers who relate trips they take with their pets, because it’s so easy for them to fall into anthropomorphism. Kaplan is not that guilty of this. However, sentences like this one should elicit groans from all armchair travelers: “I was awed by our country and its beauty, its open stretches and big sky, its spectacular parks and the remarkable highway system that makes these trips possible.”
Felicity Long writes in the Boston Globe about a “girlfriend getaway” in the footsteps of the so-called Pirate Queen, Grace O’Malley, in County Mayo, Ireland.
Finally, the LA Times features another dispatch from the dialogue-averse Susan Spano, this one detailing the joys of off season Italy (specifically Sienna) with her sister, who doesn’t manage to get a word in edgewise throughout the nearly 2,000-word story.