Last Explorer?

by Neil Woodburn on

It’s so very rare these days to consider anyone a true “explorer.”  I mean really, what is there left to explore in this Starbucks infested world?  Hasn’t everything been discovered already?

Tell this to Ian Baker and he would vehemently disagree. 

While in Katmandu, Baker heard stories about a mystic waterfall hidden deep in a Tibetan valley that was virtually unknown to the outside world.  In true explorer fashion, he spent the next 15 years researching its possible location and mounting various expeditions to locate the hidden falls.  In the time honored tradition of all great explorers, Baker has written a book detailing this search. 

The Heart of the World: A Journey to the Last Secret Place, has all the ingredients necessary for any grand adventure: blood-sucking leeches, impenetrable jungles, Chinese bureaucrats, fraternizing with the natives, and the eventual discovery of what is being searched for. 

Pick up a copy today and read it down at your local Starbucks. 

 

Word for the Travel Wise (01/31/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

As we conclude a month full of new foreign words it was only a matter of time before I would have to re-visit them and that time is now. I’m sure many of you are just as bummed and excited as I am about this small piece of news. Bummed because you read each word every day waiting to see how long it would take to start repeating and excited because now you’ll be able to build a decent (handful) vocabulary set from your lingo of choice. With the kickoff of New Year’s celebrations over the past weekend it was only natural to expand our Chinese.

Today’s word is a Mandarin phrase used in China:

guo nian hao – Happy New Year!

Mandarin is the most widely spoken of the Chinese language and can be a bit difficult to learn, but there are many sites online that can help get you started. The best will probably cost a small amount of money and the links are many so for sources pointing to additional sources check out About and Mandarin Tools. Mandarin tools is good if you’d like to add pinyin tools and other Chinese text files to your computer. Zap Chinese is free and has small dictionaries of common words with audio. Mei Wah is an awesome and funny site on becoming more aware as an eater and learning Chinese by way of menus and restaurant signs. In addition to these past recommendations check out the Hong Kong Language Learning Center (HKLLC) for study abroad in Hong Kong or Beijing. Qi Journal has a section dedicated to Chinese culture and language study.

Past Mandarin words: zhu ni hao yun.

Word for the Travel Wise (01/12/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

As the end of the month draws near one must keep in mind the year is still young, full of chances, new beginnings, and fresh starts no matter how fast time seems to fly. (I’m in total disbelief that it is already the 12th.) To keep it short and sweet, first of the year festivities are far from being over and with Chinese new year right around the bend time has come to brush up on our Mandarin. The year being celebrated is that of the Dog. Based off of the Chinese lunar calendar it is also the year 4704 and will be observed January 29, 2006 in China and multiple cities around the globe.

Today’s phrase is a Mandarin phrase from China:

zhu ni hao yun – good luck

So this is the first real mouthful of words I’ve given, but they should be fairly easy to say. Luck, prosperity, good health and happiness as we know all make good wishes for any new year, but feel free to tell your friends and family at any time and any place.

Mandarin is the most widely spoken of the Chinese language and can be a bit difficult to learn, but there are many sites online that can help get you started. The best will probably cost a small amount of money and the links are many so for sources pointing to additional sources check out About and Mandarin Tools. Mandarin tools is good if you’d like to add pinyin tools and other Chinese text files to your computer. Zap Chinese is free and has small dictionaries of common words with audio. Mei Wah is an awesome and funny site on becoming more aware as an eater and learning Chinese by way of menus and restaurant signs.

A Kinder Lodging

by Adrienne Wilson on

Outside has a nice piece on eco lodging and a list of the world’s ten best. Having done such great research they note that these eco lodges not only suggest that they cause no harm to the outdoors, but that they bring benefit to the whole community and economy. If anything they are unique. The Black Sheep Inn in Ecuador has dry composting toilets with little vegetable and flower gardens inside and it’s the teenie touches that provide splendor to these lodges. People enjoy the canyon views and the lodge loves the compliments about their restrooms. If you’re going to do it, then you should do it right and here is the list of places that make the list.

  • Turtle Island, Fiji

  • Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge, Trinidad

  • Birch Pond Lodge, Alaska

  • Wenhai Ecolodge, China

  • Posada Amazonas, Peru

  • Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki, New Zealand

  • Tassia Lodge, Kenya

  • Chumbe Island Coral Park, Tanzania

  • Selva Bananito Lodge, Costa Rica

  • Black Sheep Inn, Ecuador