A VERY Big Book on Bhutan

by Erik Olsen on

And you thought the last Harry Potter opus was large. Well, guess again.

take a look at the work of Mr. Michael Hawley, Director of Special Projects and founder of MIT’s GO Expeditions program. Hawley is famous in creative/scientific circles (the Ultimate Third Culturean) and through his Friendly Planet program has created numerous educational materials that push the boundaries of technology. Among them is the largest book ever published. Called Bhutan, the book is a “visual odyssey” across the Asian kingdom.

Teams of photographers from MIT and Friendly Planet took over 40,000 photographs on four expeditions across the country. They traveled by helicopter, hoof and foot across the Bhutanese Himalaya, and took life-size pictures that were then compiled into this monstrous, but luscious tome. You really have to see it to believe it. And you can actually own it….the book will set you back $15,000 at Amazon, but just think what all your friends will say! You’ll be the most popular guy on the block.

Goin’ Tribal

by Erik Olsen on

Just in case you missed it, the show Going Tribal runs on Discovery and is worth checking out. It was originally produced by the BBC and thus has numerous British characters, but that shouldn’t keep you from watching it (jk!). The show follows former British Royal Marine Bruce Parry as he takes a month to immerse himself in the culture, language and rituals of a native community. There was a fair amount of hullaballo about how insensitive the idea is, but I have to say it all seems pretty much on the up and up. Various episodes have had Parry horseback with the Darhads in Mongolia, visit cannibals in West Paupa, practice donga with the Suri in Ethiopia, eat “rat cake” in the Himalayas and hunt in the rainforests of Gabon.

Pauline Frommer Travel Guides

by Adrienne Wilson on

Like father, like daughter is what they say in this biz these days, I suppose. Pauline Frommer, daughter of the famous guide book extraordinaire, is introducing her own line of guidebooks catering to the adult budget traveler, but not the backpacker. On the market for purchase now include popular destinations such as Hawaii, New York and Italy. The Baltimore Sun online notes that 40 year-old Pauline will edit all the books in the series and write some of them. So least she’s not just using her name to sell I guess. The Pauline Frommer guides range from $16-$20 and can be purchased at Frommers.com.

I wouldn’t mind testing one out myself and if I had to choose from the three I’d go with Hawai’i. I’ve lived there / been before, but could always use a few recommendations on how to eat and sleep in paradise for cheap.

Travel Fish

by Erik Olsen on

I’m on a bit of a Southeast Asia kick today…so why stop. I posted about audio tours in Thailand, specifically Bangkok, but here is a site for the more logistically-minded. Those interested in Southeast Asia, in particular Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, will be very interested in this site called Travelfish. The site has very specific, traveler-scribed guides to these places, providing information on the best unspoit beaches, the best food, where to go in Laos to find “mist shrouded Lao mountains” and “luxury lodges for a hilltribe trek”. In some ways, I actually think the site is better than Lonely Planet, because for each place they actually provide listings and links to their recommendations. The site is well organized, well designed and chock full of good information. Worth a look.

Allure of Hanoi

by Erik Olsen on

Compared to most people, I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Southeast Asia. But the reality is I’ve not been to nearly as many places as I’d like. I know some parts of and a few places in Cambodia, but that’s about it. I’ve long wanted to head there to spend months or more just wandering and writing.

Among the places at the top of my wish list is . Over the years, I’ve had a couple friends live there, and each came back with wonderful tales of a place of immensely beauty, delicious food and friendly people. And while Saigon would likely be my first stop, I have to say Hanoi intrigues me. I was further interested after reading this piece in the Mercury News (subscription) about Hanoi. It gives a solid primer on the town and how far its come since the war, and makes mention of some of the places you might want to visit should you be lucky enough to go. Among these is, of course, Hoa Lo prison, the infamous “Hanoi Hilton”, where American POWs were kept during the war.