If Erik can point our attention to spiral photos from around the globe then I think it is only fair if I point you to drains or manholes from various lands. Yes, contain your excitement, but really you should be just a little revved up to see these decorative drains. Too often during our rushed work days do we forget to look down and around and miss these works of art right underneath our feet. I thought the one pictured here out of Seattle, with the flowers was rather lovely for a drain. In any event you get to explore different drain styles from here and beyond, so just as you begin to feel your job going awash and start thinking about leaving it all for foreign lands, be sure to reference this Drainspotting site. It could help in your decision or suck up time you should be spending doing something much more important.
via Pology Culture Blog
Asia
Travel through Asia by country:
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam
Travel through Asia by popular city:
Bangkok, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Moscow, New Delhi, Tokyo
Travel through Asia by popular things to do:
Travel through Asia with our writers:
Infiltrating North Korea, Keyhole Into Burma, Band on the Run ... in China, Chinese Buffet, A Canadian in Beijing, Volunteer Vacation: Tajikistan
Holiday Fares Starting to Soar
San Francisco Chronicle has a very good reminder for those of us wanting to travel this holiday season: buy your tickets NOW! They not only dish this common travel knowledge our way, but make clear which dates are going to cost you a pretty penny and which may save you a buck or three. For instance the following dates (Friday, Nov. 17 thru Monday, Nov. 27 ) around Thanksgiving are going to mean more damage on the pocket book. No one wants to travel while the turkey is being passed around the table, but that kind of flexibility will allow you to see your loved ones without paying a mini fortune.
Other dates worth looking into are those between Thanksgiving and Christmas – the period of Nov. 28 to Dec. 16. In addition to helping you select which dates are right to go, they also spill which destinations will cost more on the inbound and return flights. You almost couldn’t ask for a better summary! Check it out.
Photo of the Day (October 16, 2006)
Step right up! Get your daily news here. This is a typical street scene from rural China (here: Guilin). Every morning, copies of the state-controlled newspapers are tacked up to boards around the cities. They draw a crowd. We never got a satisfactory answer as to why folks didn’t just buy the paper, rather than queuing up to read. I guess they like the company.
Word for the Travel Wise (10/15/06)
If time and money aren’t issues for you and say a fun travel companion then I suggest booking a first-class ticket over to the tiny tear-drop shaped island of Sri Lanka for Deepavali happening on October 21, 2006. Deepavali also known as Diwali is the ‘Festival of Lights’ which symbolizes the victory of good over evil. Lamps are lit as a sign of celebration and hope for mankind. The event lands on a Saturday this month.
Today’s word is a Sinhala word used in Sri Lanka:
Senasuraa da – Saturday
English is spoken by ten percent of the population and Sinhala is the official and national language of the country. I’ve actually never tried to learn this one much, but judging from the alphabet it looks like a challenge. Omniglot has a great starter page on learning all the characters and use of this English to Sinhala dictionary could slowly help in distinguishing common travel words. Let’s Speak Sinhala offers lessons at a very small and reasonable fee. They appear to be one of the better Sinhala language-learning websites.
Past Sinhala words: hari shook, a da, ga ma, ida netu, purusha, sthree
Hungry Planet: The Book
It’s already been pretty much established that America is a fast food nation. In fact, a book by Eric Schlosser with that exact title pretty much spells it all out. Many of us eat our own weight in hamburgers and fries every year, and you could fill a Volkswagen with the amount of grease that oozes its way though our bodies in a lifetime.
But is America unique in this respect? I’m always reading articles about how the Chinese are becoming increasingly obese. Same with the Europeans…yes, even the culinarily snooty French. But it still raises a very interesting question: What does the world eat?
In an amazing-sounding book of photos and text called Hungry Planet, photographers Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio offer a study of families from around the world, revealing what people eat during the course of one week. Each family’s profile provides a description of their weekly food purchases and is accompanied by photographs of the family enjoying food at home as well as shopping and out in their community. There is also a main shot showing the family surrounded by, well, food. The book also contains essays by a gaggle of well-known writers like Francine R. Kaufman, Corby Kummer, Charles C. Mann, Michael Pollan, and Carl Safina. I’m actually listening to Pollan’s Botany of Desire right now on my iPod, so I’ve been tuned into these “What do we eat and why” books, shows and articles.
Anyway, I thought this was one of those really simple, but cool, ideas that reveal a lot about how we live in this fast food day and age.