Five Destinations for the “Super-Adventurous”

by Kraig Becker on

The Wall Street Journal has put together a list of five travel destinations that they deem are for the “super-adventurous” amongst us. They label these places as scary, saying that most travelers wouldn’t venture anywhere near them, but for the adventure traveler who has been everywhere and seen everything, they recommend these locales.

The two scariest places on the list are Iraq and Afghanistan, thanks to the fact there are ongoing wars in both places. Iraq has just officially reopened for tourist traffic for the first time since 2003, with small tours visiting some of the historical sites throughout the country. Afghanistan, on the other hand, has generally remained open these past few years, although certain places remain safer than others. That country is lauded for its historical landmarks as well, although the more remote regions get a nod for scenic beauty too.

%Gallery-40193%

%Gallery-9128%The next two places on the list are Colombia and the Sudan, both of which require a bit of an adventurous spirit to visit. Colombia has made huge strides in recent years, and is far safer than it once was, although crime remains high in some areas. The country has seen a renaissance in tourism in recent months none the less. The Sudan is a completely different level of dangerous however, with unrest throughout the region, and westerners often the target of attacks. If you’re willing to take the risk though, the Journal notes that there are amazing Nubian ruins and pyramids to explore.

Which brings us to the final destination on their top five, which is Transylvania. While I’m sure the country is interesting and exotic, it doesn’t exactly strike me as an “adventure” destination. They recommend taking a Dracula tour, which really isn’t inspiring adventure either. Compared to the other four on the list, Transylvania, which I’m sure is quite lovely, is down right safe and boring for adventure travelers

Reading over their list I can’t help but wonder if an adventure travel destination needs to be intrinsically dangerous to appeal to that segment of the travel industry. Personally, I don’t think so, as I think there are great adventure destinations that are not necessarily dangerous. But looking at the Wall Street Journal‘s choices, it seems that they think there should be an element of danger involved, even if it is from vampires.

Tour d’Afrique Off and Running!

by Kraig Becker on

The 2009 edition of the Tour d’Afrique got underway last Sunday, with cyclists setting out from Cairo, Egypt on a 7317 mile long race to Cape Town, South Africa. In between they’ll pass through the Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia, fostering international goodwill along the way, while raising funds for environmental protection and promoting cycling in Africa.

The race is broken down into 96 stages of various lengths, with a typical day getting underway at 7:30 AM, when the top riders start out on the course. They are soon followed by another group who may not be contending for the top spot, but still want to complete every mile, while the “Back Pack” is made up of a group of riders who just want to enjoy the adventure and soak up some of the culture of the countries they are passing through.

This is the seventh year that the race has been run, and the web coverage seems to be the best ever. For instance, there are photos from each stage, videos from the various countries and introductions for some of the riders, and a daily blog with results and news from the course.

With six stages done, the riders have more than three months of riding ahead of them through a variety of climates and terrains before reaching their final destination on May 9th. They’ll struggle through the Sahara Desert, roll across the Equator, and race across an endless savannah, and they each payed more than $10,000 for the privledge. Seems like it’s an adventure worth every penny.

Sudan man marries a goat

by Iva Skoch on

This is an important security announcement for all of you, who plan on a) visiting Sudan b) engaging in sexual relations with farm animals, or c) both. Stay away from goats in Sudan!

Let this story serve as a lesson to you. A man from Sudan has been forced to take a goat as his wife after he was caught having sex with the animal, BBC reports. The goat’s owner, Mr Alifi, said he surprised the man with his goat and took him to a council of elders and they ordered the man, Mr Tombe, to pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) to Mr Alifi.

The intercourse happened the night before Valentine’s day (awww) and as far as anyone knows, they are still together. The newlyweds are registered at Pottery Barn (they should be, at least.)

%Gallery-18285%

(Click to read the bizarre stories!)

More signs of a backlash against Westerners?

by Jerry Guo on

I’ve been following the brewing scandal – and conviction – of the British teacher in Sudan who named a teddy bear in class after the Islamic prophet Muhammad. She was sentenced yesterday to 15 days in jail. I guess in some ways she should consider herself lucky, since a 6-month sentence and 40 lashes had also be considered.

Now there’s news today that that hundreds of demonstrators are protesting in the streets over her relatively soft sentence (from the Sudanese point of view). Luckily, the news is tempered by the possibility that most protesters were government employees ordered to demonstrate and that clerics around Khartoum have been quiet on calling for violence against this Brit.

I think in this case, it’s fair to say the woman made an innocent mistake. She’s 54 and teaches 7-year-olds, signs that she probably isn’t on a crusade against Islam. The Sudanese also have a valid point – that she broke the law and must be punished. But it is pretty surprising how harsh the backlash has been. The question is whether this backlash was a singularity or does it fit in the broader scope of bashing the West. At the very least, let this be a lesson to backpackers to areas like these to watch out for cultural issues.

DARFUR/DARFUR at the George Eastman House

by Adrienne Wilson on

Last weekend as I rolled into Rochester, NY I found out the George Eastman House / International Museum of Photography and Film was kicking off a new exhibition titled DARFUR/DARFUR with a candlelight vigil. As excited I was about attending the vigil which involved a short walk to the George Eastman House, I wimped out due to the cold weather. Instead I headed inside right at the museum opening to explore the DARFUR/DARFUR collection among others.

In DARFUR/DARFUR, a collection of digitally projected images by photographers Lynsey Addairo, Mark Brecke, Helene Caux, Ron Haviv, Paolo Pellegrin, Ryan Spencer Reed, Michal Ronnen Safdie and Brian Steidle are combined with words and Sudanese-inspired music. As I sat watching the images of torched civilians, villages afire, and orphans from the genocidal conflict in Darfur, Sudan my heart started to sting and I began to feel so inactive. More than 400,000 individuals have either died or been injured from the non-stop violence and even with numbers so high the glimmer of hope and a hint of a smile can still be found on the faces of those who have not yet lost it all. It is worth your time if in Rochester or visiting in the near future to check this one out. Pick up a fact sheet while you’re there and write a letter or learn more about DARFUR/DARFUR by clicking here.

The exhibition which runs from January 20 to April 22 also includes feature-length documentary films and a variety of programs to help lead a community-wide discussion on genocide and war.