GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of March 11

by Adrienne Wilson on

Are you ready for another fantastic Gadling recap of a week that was, um quite fantastic? I reckon so, but before I dig in I must say there were several other highlights to this week not listed here like how to speed through security check points or some new outdoor places in China to use the potty (only for those who aren’t shy) which were recently blogged about, but let’s go back further in the week.

5. Japanese Penis Festival:
Penis, fertility and renewal are all the hype at the Hounen Matsuri festival, known also as the Japanese Penis Festival for those who aren’t as swift with Japanese pronunciation. Sadly, the festival has come and past this year, but go on, read further and beef up your knowledge for next year’s events.

4. New Matt: “Dancing Man” Harding Video:
Honestly, there are parts of me that really can’t take watching the well perfected horrible dance jig-like moves performed by Matt Harding across the world. While I fancy seeing various locations, his dancing is just awful. Yes, I said awful. No matter my thoughts, Matt is the lucky one here and Justin has done us the favor of posting his latest dance outtakes clip and providing fans of Matt with some very tasty news. Check it out!

3. Underground Railroad Bicycle Route:
Hungry for history and cycling around the country? If you have five weeks to do it you can join in on exploring the route of the Underground Railroad with the Adventure Cycling Association or purchase the maps and head out on your own. Either way this is very, very cool.

2. Vieques: A Trip Report:
Having recently toured Vieques, an island off of Puerto Rico, Erik brings us the 411 on what’s going on and why you should get there fast.

1. Round the World in 100 Days: Nassau, Bahamas:
Slowly, but surely Dia Draper is heading around the world in a big floating city of about 900 people. In this dispatch she touches on a place not too, too far from home for most of us (depending on where home is) in Nassau, Bahamas. Which is my saying even if you can’t take off 100 days to cruise the world you might want to look into her notes for planning a smaller trip to the Bahamas, though being ambitious and following in her footsteps might not be so bad either.

500 Amazing Pictures of Southeast Asia

by Willy Volk on

Timen Swijtink recently launched an excellent website called in my All Stars, a site dedicated to exploring “experience traveling.”

During the summer of 2006, Swijtink spent 10 weeks “experience traveling” through Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Over the past 2 months, he’s been sorting through the 6000 photos he took and assembling them into a book. Unfortunately, he only printed 3 copies of the book — one for his mom; one for showing people; and one for posterity. For the rest of us, Swijtink has made his book available for free in PDF format.

Swijtink’s book is an excellent cultural immersion in a part of the world that’s still somewhat mysterious. Filled with his 500 best images of people, sunsets, street vendors, cityscapes, and vistas, the book is an extraordinary look at a part of the world many people have yet to visit. I highly recommend downloading and looking through the book. It’s incredible.

Japanese Penis Festival

by Jamie Rhein on

Okay, there is a more subtle name for this festival. How about, Hounen Matsuri? Celebrated every March 15 in Komaki, a town about 45 minutes north of Nagoya, Japan, this is the time of year where folks haul out a large wooden penis to give three cheers to fertility and renewal. The custom is an old one that is connected to bringing about a good harvest and having babies.

Each year in Komaki, a new two and a half meter penis is carved out of a cyprus tree, put on a float and carried from the Tajata Jinja Shrine (the male version) to the Tamahime-no-mikyo Shrine (female version) by 42 year-old men. Since forty-two is not a lucky number in Japan, the 42 year-old males have an interest in being up close to the big guy in order to turn their luck. Besides this very large phallus, other people carry phalluses in the parade too. Men, women, children, everybody gets in on the fun. This photo is from the festival two years ago, thanks to gwenddydd’s on Flickr.

This Shinto shrine has been around for years and the festival that honors it is steeped in folklore. Although, the big phallus may make it seem like this is all fun and frolic, there is a serious intention to the activities. Renewal and rebirth is the aim here. However, serious as this may be, since drinking sake and catching the rice balls that are thrown into the crowd are part of the entertainment, fun seems to be a big factor. Catching a rice ball is supposed to bring good luck.

Besides the sake, there are plenty of food stalls and souvenir chocolates to buy shaped like, well, you know.

May Day in North Korea

by Iva Skoch on

Czech travel agencies seem to have a new hit on their hands: celebration of May Day in Pyongyang, North Korea. Perhaps the last country on the planet where pompous celebrations of the communist regime are still going strong, North Korea is the hip place to go.

Apparently there are enough people either A) nostalgic enough for the spectacle of communist kitsch which seized in the Czech Republic only 17 years ago, B) bored with the usual vacation in the Greek isles.

For only about $1800, you get 7 nights, flights from Prague to Peking, ground transportation, a guide, and all the saluting you can handle. This agency provides special tours for US citizens who are more likely to have problems traveling to North Korea.

And, please, leave that Che shirt at home. North Korea ain’t Disneyworld.

Photo of Every Country

by Erik Olsen on

The Century Club is an organization we’ve blogged about here before. The group is made up of people for whom traveling the world might be called an obsession. Century, or 100, is the operative term, as the group restricts membership to you if you have NOT been to at least 100 countries. But most of the members have been to far more than that.

Well, this video is not likely to gain you entry into that esteemed club, but it can at least help expose you to all the countries in the world right from your desk. The video purports to show a photograph from EVERY country on the planet. A nice little musical accompaniment helps carry along the satisfying, if a bit long video. Worth a look, I think if just to gain appreciation for the number of countries there actually are.