Where to go in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. Two suggestions. Intelligent Travel needs more

by Jamie Rhein on

Over at Intelligent Travel, editor, Janelle Nanos is heading to Colorado this weekend, specifically to Denver (for Friday evening) and Boulder (for the rest of the weekend). She’s looking for suggestions for what she might do and where she might eat. Hiking is one of the things Janelle is interested in doing.

As a person who as been both to Denver and Boulder, I have my ideas, although I haven’t done any hiking at either place. I have one suggestion for Boulder for a thing to do, and one idea for a place to eat. I have more, but for now, I’m highlighting two. ,.,Both are worthy of a post on their own, and I’ve gushed about them to friends and relatives.

A friend told me about Banjo Billy ‘s Bus Tour when she heard I was heading to Boulder. This tour was about the best one I’ve ever taken and I am so fond of tours.

The bus is a restructured school bus that looks a bit like a shack. The seats are horse saddles or living room couches and recliners. The tour takes in the lore of Boulder, like who was murdered in which building, and where the ghosts hang out–that sort of thing. As well as teaching much about Boulder lore and history, it’s a hoot–very funny. My daughter and son loved it too.

For a place to eat, Boulder Dushanbe Tea House is exquisite. My daughter and I ate out on the patio. I can’t remember exactly what we ate, but the the food and atmosphere were fabulous. We had the loveliest drinks. Both of them involved hibiscus. Mine was the version with alcohol.

Those are my two ideas. If you have others let us know, but most importantly, let Janelle know by going to Intelligent Travel and posting a comment on her post. Thanks!

Great American Road Trip: Travel books for the road-3 of 4: So Many Enemies, so Little Time

by Jamie Rhein on

#3. So Many Enemies, So Little Time: An American Woman in All the Wrong Places–Elinor Burkett

When I chose this book as one of my road trip to Montana books, the title caught my attention. As an American woman, also hooked on travel, I wanted to delve into someone else’s experiences. What I found is a book that taught me much–always a delight when on the road.

Excerpt:

But as I trudged to school each day and ambled through the markets, I couldn’t find the face of hatred. I saw worry that a flood of Afghan refugees might flee north, washing extremists across the border. I heard fear that homegrown fundamentalists might be emboldened by the fires lighting Manhattan’s night. Mostly, I sensed the same resignation that had engulfed everyone I knew, all across the plane, that we were captives to forces we had not yet begun to dissect.

Elinor Burkett is a woman who is not afraid to take chances when she travels, but is not fool-hardy. As a journalist, she knows how to make and use her connections to help her access people and places.

When she and her husband Dennis traveled to Kyrgyzstan to live after she received a Fulbright to teach journalism at a college there, their purpose was to shake up their lives a bit so that they didn’t settle into complacency. They wanted some more adventures under their belt. After September 11, there was worry across the globe for what exactly that might mean, but the two of them decided to stay put.

Since I was pregnant living in India at the same time, wondering what my family and I should do when faced with a few of the same questions of safety, reading Burkett’s take on her decisions and what was happening in her world added depth to my own experiences.

Burkett’s book has several storyline threads. One of them is what it’s like to teach journalism in Kyrgyzstan when students do not have questioning authority is also part of their make-up. This also reminded me of my own working in another country experiences. I felt better about my own reactions after Burkett’s account.

Burkett tidily weaves together details about Kyrgyzstan’s history, politics and topography with her musings and observations about the people and her experiences about what it’s like to set up house there.

Along with her time in Kyrgyzstan, Burkett and her husband traveled to Afghanistan after 9/11 where she interviewed several women about the effects of living in Afghanistan. She also spent time in Iran, Iraq, Mongolia, China, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. As an aside, which really isn’t an aside, but one that Burkett doesn’t rest on too often is she is Jewish.

One of the things I really, really, really liked about this book is how much I learned and came to see the places Burkett traveled as those filled with engaging people who are nuanced and, for the most part, good. Burkett is has an authoritative voice that I trust. I believe that her impressions are not histrionic and ones developed to make a sale. This is one smart, on the ball woman who is not all full of herself.

I was also touched by how close she became with several of her students and they with her.

Burkett also doesn’t sugar coat how complicated it can be to be from one culture with different values trying to understand other cultures. She also sticks to her own convictions throughout, although this does not mean she changes her perceptions. It means she knows who she is and stays true.

For book 1 of 4, click here.

Book 2 of 4, click here.

The only woman who got a real massage in Thailand

by Jerry Guo on

Finding real massage parlors in much of Asia can be a Herculean effort (as massage unfortunately means something completely different across the pond). But this tale from one Australian businesswoman shows us all that it can be done! Even in Thailand!

Before a conference in Bangkok, our group spent a few days in Chiang Mai. There were 20 of us on the trip, and we were all encouraged to sign up for the famous Thai massage of Chiang Mai.

…

Once we all gathered in the lobby, we were told to hop on a rickety smoke-spewing bus that was going to take us to the best Thai massage parlor in the city.

I remember thinking that you can’t judge a massage parlor by a bus. And I also remember thinking that the place must be absolutely huge to accommodate 20 people in private rooms.

…

A tiny woman came into the room and commanded us to undress. We were told to take off everything except our undies and then put on some loose-fitting Thai pajamas.

…

In a few minutes, the door opened, and 20 even smaller women came into the room. Apparently, these were our therapists, and they were the troops sent to give us what they called a “group” Thai massage.

For one hour, we were pummeled by legs, elbows, knees, hands and feet. The therapist found muscles I haven’t used since I was 7 years old. At one point, she flipped me over her back. I whimpered.

Excerpted from The New York Times.

Great American Road Trip: Travel books for the road. 2 of 4: Honeymoon with my Brother

by Jamie Rhein on

When I was picking out books to read on my road trip to Montana from Ohio and back, I wanted a mix of types so that each book would be distinct from each other. The titles also grabbed me. The premise of the second one I read is unusual. That also led me to check it out from one of the branches of the Columbus Public Library.

#2. Honeymoon With My Brother: a memoir — Franz Wisner.

Excerpt: Latin America during our winter, its summer, was the obvious next segment. But that was too far in advance. What if one of us fell in love with a tour guide from Thailand? What if we wanted to make some money teaching English in Indonesia?

What if Kurt and I want to strangle each other?

Franz Wisner, the author of this gem, was dumped by the love of his life right before his wedding day. It’s a long story. Wisner gives you the gist of the fiasco that broke his heart, along with his job shifts as a high-powered political lobbyist and fundraiser that led to his decision to pull up stakes and make major changes.

In the process of the storytelling, you find out specific details about how Wisner and his brother Kurt turned into world travelers. His brother, recently divorced, agreed to take an extended trip with Wisner in order to regain his own footing. This trip turned into two years.

One reason I liked this read is because Wisner doesn’t hide. Part of travel is the personality you bring to it. Wisner seems like a likable guy who falls in love with aspects of the 53 countries he and his brother visited. In the process of their journey, he is willing to let go of his notions about himself and others.

This book truly points out how travel not only connects you with the world, it connects you to yourself. The details about the countries they spent extended amounts of time are carefully observed. It’s one that made me want to hit the road immediately, even though I was already on the road in Montana and South Dakota when I was reading it.

Wisner’s story also elucidates just how terrific travel is for people who are in need of time to transition from one time of life to another, and shows just how easy it can be to get up and go once the wheels are in motion.

Yes, you can sell your house for example. It is possible to get rid of your car. It’s also possible to transition back to the U.S., or wherever you call home, when you need to. Having friends in various places helps and so does chucking guide books. Somewhere in the middle of their trip, they chucked guide books and traveled to places based on instinct and recommendations.

Because this book has a story line that continues throughout, this is one to read if you have time to read every day or so. It’s engaging, though, so I found it hard to put down.

According to the book’s jacket, Wisner is continuing with his writing and traveling.

For book 1 of 4, click here

“No Reservations” season 4, episode 15: American Southwest

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Location: After four weeks of glamorous international travel, Tony returns “to his roots” with an adventure in the American Southwest, road-tripping it across the arid desert stretching from Southern California through Arizona to New Mexico and on to a final stop in Texas.

Episode Rating: One-and-a-half bloody meat cleavers out of five. Given that this summer has seen one of the more memorable strings of No Reservations episodes in recent memory, the American Southwest has to be one of the blander installments. It’s not that Mr. Bourdain ever makes for uninteresting television or that his destination is uninteresting – far from it. It’s just that compared to trips to Laos, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, it was kind of a letdown.

Summary: OK, so last week we were in Uruguay. And before that Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Laos. Where to this week, Tony? The American Southwest? Aw gee, well I guess that’s OK – there’s still plenty of cool stuff to see. To get things started, Tony rents a BMW for an old-fashioned American road trip and peels off into the sunset. The car choice was certainly a departure from Tony’s usual vintage car selection, but an appropriate one nonetheless. Things get going just southeast of Palm Springs at the Salton Sea. Read on after the jump to find out what happened.Although it appears to be a marvel of nature, the Salton Sea was formed by a man-made accident in 1905, flooding a low-lying desert plain near the Colorado River. For a short period the area was a vacation boomtown, though lately it’s largely become a ghost town. Tony makes a pit stop at the local hangout, the Ski Inn. After working up an appetite chatting with the locals, Tony orders the house specialty, the patty melt. It’s gooey and cheesy with a nice hamburger patty in the middle. Nothing spectacular, but certainly tasty.

Not wanting to relish his patty melt too long, Bourdain speeds onward towards Indio, California to visit the Shields Date Farm. After learning about the “fascinating” history of dates, Tony gets rewarded with a date-flavored milkshake. This looked delicious. Remind me to try one the next time I’m in California.

Like any good roadtrip, it was soon time to move on, and Tony crosses state lines into Arizona, eventually pausing in Phoenix, Arizona. In one of the more contrived moments of No Reservations, Tony has lunch with rock legend Alice Cooper, who owns a sports bar in Phoenix with baseball great Randy “The Big Unit” Johnson. Tony’s meal at the sports bar? The house specialty – “Randy Johnson’s Big Unit,” a two-foot hot dog smothered in chili and cheese. Let us not speak of this ever again.

Next on the Southwest itinerary was a remote ICBM missile silo. Tony gets a guided tour from a woman who used to work in the facility. Seeing this sort of thing doesn’t evoke the same sense of dread that it once did during the Cold War, but it’s an imposing sight nonetheless. And you know, missile tours can make you thirsty. That’s why Bourdain finishes his tour with the house’s special cocktail, the Titan-tini made with pomegranate, grain alcohol and vodka. How’s that for explosive?

Bourdain just keeps wracking up the miles though, and soon he’s in New Mexico, where he has a chance to sample the world-famous chili peppers in Hatch, New Mexico. To cool off from this spicy experience, the crew takes an invigorating run whitewater rafting. That’s all that happened in New Mexico. Sorry citizens of New Mexico, I’m sure there’s more to your state than Tony gives you credit for here.

At last, after numerous hours on the road, plenty of antacids and ample bathroom breaks, Bourdain reaches the “promised land” of the American Southwest in Texas. After doing a few blatantly stereotypical things like boot shopping and eating a 72-ounce-coma-inducing steak, I was about ready to turn off my television set. But then things took a turn for the better when Tony drops in for a visit with America’s favorite right-wing bad boy and Texas resident Ted Nugent.

Ted and Tony might not necessarily agree on politics, but they had plenty to talk about when it came to meat and guns. The two tool around Nugent’s huge ranch outside Waco, Texas, stocked with the world’s largest herd of African Oryx and a private firing range. In addition to shooting some of the world’s most deadly automatic weapons like the M60 as well as a sawed-off shotgun, the pair enjoy plenty of barbecue. At Ted’s house they grill some freshly-slaughtered specimens, including venison and wild-boar bacon. And because they didn’t eat enough barbecue, they have a second Texas-style meal of brisket and ribs at the Rusty Star.

Certainly a gratuitous ending to a gratuitous episode. The American Southwest is a place of great beauty and plenty of interesting cuisine, but I came away with the feeling Mr. Bourdain did not do it justice. Sometimes your destination takes care of itself. But other times you have to work for it a little. I think this particular installment falls into the latter category. Oh well, there’s still plenty of new episodes to go this summer – stay tuned dear reader, stay tuned.