Cool story from Stellar Magazine. An Indian named Ajeet Bajaj is now the first Indian (from India, not Native American) to reach
the North Pole by using skis. Bajaj is well-known inside his own country and is a big time adventurer. He managed the
trip with three other Americans. When he reached the pole, he planted an Indian flag before turning around and coming
back on cross country skis.
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
Friday Funny – Videos
Thought I’d throw a couple of tummy
tickling videos at you for today’s Friday Funny. It’s a rather diverse lot, but I think you’ll enjoy them all.
First up, we have Samurai Panda, a video from
Japan that is a mixture of Quentin Tarantino, saucer-eyed Anime and . You” never look at the pandas in the zoo quite
the same way again.
Next there is this very quick, but hilariously painful video of a woman punching
another woman. One word: ouch.
And finally, another one for animal tricks lovers, a minute long vid showing a skateboarding dog.
Now this is entertainment. Someone send this on the folks at Letterman.
Mongolian Song
For those who are fans of world music, cowboy songs and just plain well-told stories, this really cool little piece coming from the NPR
archives is a real listening pleasure. The story examines a group of Mongolian herdsmen who traveled all the way to
Elko, NV, to hang out with some bona-fide American cowboys (albeit singing cowboys) and the two form a kind of bonding
experience about music and life on the range. And then as you’ll hear in this story, the cowboys meander to Ulan Bator in Mongolia for some cultural exchange and an immersion into
Mongolian song.
The piece is Narrated by Hal Cannon, and transports you for a brief moment from behind your
desk into another space where the binding qualities of music and the carefree life of a cowboy are rendered wonderfully
in a Mongolian version of John Denver’s Country Road.
Chewing Qat in Yemen
A fascinating little video over at National Geographic.com takes
a look at the city of Muscat, Oman, where writer Bernice Notenboom and photographer Martin Hartleyo head out to
explore some of the ancient and extremely remote nooks of Yemen. Takes a while to load, but it’s worth it, we learn
about chewing Qat, a brush cultivated everywhere and that is masticated
a bit like chewing tobacco…but apparently the buzz isn’t that great. Still people are absolutely addicted to it. They
show one guy who is, I’m not making this up, a professional qat eater. Notenboom seems to really like the stuff and
gets a little rush from it. Something tells me that the marketing folks at Starbucks are making trips to Yemen as we
speak. You’ll be able to pick up an elegant little box of the stuff by the register, and they’ll call it something
fancy like Qat-izzi.
Be on TV
Here’s your big chance to get that travel show you’ve always wanted. The folks at the Travel Channel
are looking for a couple to be part of a new show based on the book 1000 Things to Do Before You Die, the Lifelist
book that is all the rage these days. They are looking for folks who will get to do things like visit the pyramids in
Egypt or Raft the Grand Canyon or swim with dolphins. I know, you’re eyes are bugging out right now. You’ve got a pen
in your hand and are breathing heavily, wondering when I will get to the point.
OK, OK, here’s the rub.
There are a few small rules. First, you need to be able to travel for up to four months without returning home. So quit
that crappy job. Hey boss, I’m going on safari in Africa, for free…and I’m going to be on TV, so take that Xerox toner
and, well, you know what you can do with it. OK, next. You have to download and fill out a questionnaire and an
application/release that says you will not hold the Travel Channel responsible for getting eaten by a lion on
safari…even if they covered you with hamburger and left you on the savannah overnight.
Then, and here
comes the tough part, you have to make and send to the Travel Channel folks a short videotape of you and your partner
(lasting no more than three minutes) showing how well you get together, what you look like on camera, how you sound,
and why you are inspired to travel. Pls. no Paris Hilton films! Then, finally, send in some pics of yourself. Couldn’t
be easier ,right? So what are you waiting for, get going!