This Sister Cities International site is one I’ve been meaning to get around to for a while as I saw this cool book Peace Through People and thought it might make for a nice gift. The book is a limited edition from what I can tell. Created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sister Cities International the inside holds stories and photos from sister city members on the movement and how it has helped create 50 years of global citizenship. Anything that says global citizenship always seems honkey-dory to me, but check it out for yourself. The book is priced at $39.95.
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
Kung Pao Chicken with Olives?
One of the great joys of traveling is undoubtedly the food one gets to sample. That applies not only to the local specialties. When traveling, I always like to taste how different cultures handle cuisines that are exotic to them. For example, how often do you see mayonaise on those fries that came with your burger? That’s how you’ll normally get them in Europe.
Chinese or Thai cuisines are my favorite ‘culture barometers,’ since they taste completely different everywhere: each culture injects a bit of their own taste into it. In Prague, for example, you will be hard-pressed to find a Chinese restaurant that does not automatically serve their dishes with parsley, cucumber and tomato (the two Czech staple vegetables) on the side. In the US, on the other hand, you almost always get the convenient ¨soup, eggroll or salad¨ choice with your Chinese meals. I certainly did not see that anywhere in China.
Today on the Costa Brava in Spain, I actually saw Kung-Pao chicken garnished with lettuce and olives. Part of the Spanish-Chinese diet, I imagine?
Word for the Travel Wise (09/06/06)
One of these days when I stash away enough money to travel and do it BIG I’m going to do a tour of countries that have some of my favorite gem stones and jewelry. While I don’t own a large collection of stones or jewelry, I do try to pick up at least one piece every time I travel abroad. My future list includes the Baltics for Amber, Dominican Republic for Larimar and Hotan, a city in southern Xinjiang, China, for Jade. Hotan was once the major transport center of the southern route of the Silk Road.
Today’s word is a Uyghur word used in China:
känt – village
Uyghur (pronounced ooygOOr) is spoken in China and Kazakhstan, but is the official language of China’s Xinjiang province. It is a language spoken by some 10 million people in all of Central Asia. China’s Uyghur people are one of the 56 official nationalities in the country. Start at the Wikipedia first and work your way to this Uyghur music and dance songs online page. New Uyghur films are also available for purchase if you like to learn by listening and watching. Try linking up with Uyghur speakers through MyLanguageExchange online. Lonely Planet’s Central Asia phrasebook has a decent Uyghur section worth purchasing the book for if going to this area of the Silk Road.
Past Mandarin / Cantonese words: zhu ni hao yun, guo nian ha, mu di di, hao, xiang zi, zai jian, léui yàu
23 Years Old and on the Road
Oh, to be 23, free and on the road. To be able to travel around the world…AND, get this…to have a newspaper pay for it? Or at least, have them publish regular articles while you travel. Such is the life right now of 23-year old Haley Edwards, a world-weary gal, apparently fresh (or near so) from college and sharing her thoughts about the world with others.
Now, I could make all sorts of nasty quips here about how youth is wasted on the young, but that would certainly be an expression of envy. Those of us who also traveled in our youth for long periods know that being on the road is about as healthy an experience as exists for mind body and spirit. So good for young Haley.
Let’s see where young Haley went:
Haley’s stated purpose is to go to places that scare her. That places her first and foremost in Egypt with a camel named Michael Jackson <insert poor-taste hump joke here>, and then on to Israel, Jordan Kashmir andIndia.
And so it goes. The pieces here (though I confess I didn’t read them all, are thoughtful enough for a 23-year old. Needless to say, for most of us the joy of reading them comes from the vicarious remembrance of our own past travels. We are glad for Haley, but we read and hope and wonder if we, too, will be able to set out upon the world again someday so free and innocent and hopeful.
Naw, I doubt it.
Word for the Travel Wise (09/05/06)
If they say places like Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are some of the last least explored tourist destinations in the world, which they often do – then Kazakhstan must be the last unexplored destination for the Foodies. How is it that I can make such a remark? Why, Horse Sausage my friends. Okay, maybe horse meat isn’t that rare and perhaps many a Foodie have experienced it’s um, (vegetarians look away) tough or tender texture tearing across their teeth. Ugh – gulp. Here are some recipes for cooking Kazy and Shuzhuk, both dishes with horse flesh included.
Today’s word is a Kazakh word used in Kazakhstan:
at – horse
Kazakh and Russian are both official languages of Kazakhstan. There are approximately 11.5 million Kazakh speakers in the world. Considering many adoptive families adopt Kazakh children someone was nice enough to put together this extensive list of Kazakh language learning resources. Whether you’re adopting or not – if you are serious about learning I suggest you check out this page. I doubt there is a more exhaustive list on the web.