How to survive your next bumpy bus ride

by Catherine Bodry on

Bumpy bus rides are never fun. But bumpy, winding, crowded, cross-country bus rides with a driver who might need Ritalin can rattle even the most sedated nerves. And what do you do when the bus breaks down?

One such ride across Laos was scheduled to take my husband and me 8-10 hours. After about 11 hours of braking across muddy turns tighter than my great aunt’s hatpin on Easter, the driver stopped and motioned for us to get off. We filed off into the night and stood around in the muck while the driver put chains on the tires in an attempt to get us through some seriously muddy patches. The jungle hovered over us and it was unusually cold; a few women built sad little fires out of green twigs that did little more than smoke. After about an hour and a half of shivering around on the road, we all filed back on the bus. We traveled about 100 feet before getting stuck again, so we all filed back off the bus. Again came the smoky fires, which we pathetically huddled around. After a good hour we obediently got back on the bus and took our seats. This time we didn’t go far at all, and from what I could understand there was now a mechanical problem. Off the bus. Huddle around fire.

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By now it was after midnight, we were out of water, and the lunch we had 10 hours earlier was long gone from our stomachs. Our backpacks were on top of the bus, along with warmer clothes. At some point in the middle of the night we all filed back on, and we knew it was to sleep. It was so cold that another traveler, in desperation, ripped the pages from his magazine and tried to cover his arms and legs with them. At one point I asked Lael to reach under our seat and grab my purse, and when he did so a shrill SQWWWWAK jolted everyone from their meager slumbers. We had a chicken under our seat, which we lovingly named H5N1.

In the morning, we were still stuck (see photo, and note the sad little fire on the bottom left), and Lael and I contemplated walking the remaining 25 kilometers to Luang Nam Tha, our destination. We got our packs down and readied ourselves to walk a good 20 miles with no food or water, but just as we were ready to go, the bus began working. We all piled on, stepping over the sacks of rice in the aisle, and took our seats. This time, we traveled a good hour before we had to pull over again and when we did, it was to take the chains off.

We were unprepared for this kind of traveling unknown, but we could’ve been. Here’s what I learned (and I had about 29 hours to think about it on that trip):

  • Bring a snack, water, and toilet paper. You’ll be happy you brought all three, even if your bus doesn’t break down.
  • Bring a warm shirt — even if you don’t wear it, it makes a good pillow or backrest.
  • Bring a light, even if you can’t read while in motion. It’ll come in handy for reading maps, checking a guidebook, or helping your driver put chains on in the pitch dark.
  • I’m not advocating sedatives here, but those pills you popped to get through that transatlantic flight? They’ll calm those same nerves that might get a bit ruffled in the face of a driver who continually taunts death.
  • Bring reading material — again, even if you can’t read in a moving vehicle, you’ll be happy you brought it if you find yourself standing around for 13.2 hours.
  • Make friends. The local travelers were our best source of information (only one Laotian spoke English, but he was able to communicate what was happening).

Any tips I’m forgetting? Leave a a comment and share it with us!

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Stick, Stone and Bone: Good karma in New York City

by Jamie Rhein on

Yesterday, when I was typing away on the post on “Bizarre Foods,” the Bolivia edition, I heard a voice say my brother’s name followed by “Christopher Street” on my answering machine. I bounded downstairs. “Hello?” I half expected a telemarketer.

Heather at Stick, Stone & Bone, was calling to let someone know that my brother had left his wallet behind. My phone number was in it. Since I live in Columbus, Ohio and my brother lives in Manhattan, I thought this was above and beyond excellent customer service. “Would you let him know we have it?” Heather wanted to know. My phone number was the only one she saw, therefore I got the call.

Turns out, Stick, Stone and Bone is one of those shops in a brownstone building that has loads of anything spiritually geared. Statues, jewelry, crystals, amulets, whatever you need for a safe journey, I bet you can find here. Just ask. The staff is among the most helpful. We already know that if you leave something behind, they’ll do what they can to reunite you with your baggage. Airlines take note. It’s good karma. It’s also a reminder to make sure there is someone’s name and phone number in your belongings.

Christopher Street is one of my favorites in the West Village. Along with Stick, Stone and Bone there are shops and eateries for browsing, perfect for a spring afternoon. One of my most favorite Letterman episodes was when the show was taped in the middle of the night and Amy Sedaris, David Sedaris’s sister gave a tour of the neighborhood (she lives here) at 2 a.m.

“Bizarre Foods” on the Travel Channel: Season 2, Bolivia

by Jamie Rhein on

Location: Bolivia, highest and most remote country of South America. Home of naturally freeze-dried potatoes, the Andes, llamas galore, and a fondness for cooking EVERY part that’s at all edible.

Episode Rating: 4 Sheep Testicles (out of 4) using Aaron’s system from last week’s recap.

Summary: My immediate response to this “Bizarre Foods” episode was “Yep, Bolivia is definitely on my go-to list.” In between relishing dishes of animal innards, host Andrew Zimmern traveled widely tossing in cultural tidbits between sampling mostly soups and dried meat. The significance of llamas, bowler hats, witch doctor rituals, women’s wrestling and a traditional feast rounded out Zimmern’s eatfest.

First stop, La Paz, the world’s highest capital. Beforehand shots of sheep and lambs prancing on Bolivia’s high altitude plateaus indicated dishes to come. Here, markets are places for wandering and sampling. Zimmern bought salted pickled pigs feet straight off. The lamb jerky, he liked, although the hair still on it gave him pause. He described it as “Hard as rock… it tastes like the pile of hay the lamb sleeps on.” Perhaps, skip that and try Mocochinchi, a drink also called booger juice. Zimmern said the light peanut version tasted like peanut milk.

The food markets reminded me of Asia where choices can be overwhelming. When deciding which stalls to dip into, Zimmern suggests looking at the cook and seeing which stall looks nice. That’s worked for me.

At La Casa de los Pacenos, Zimmern feasted on: 1. Lamb kidneys–“Wow! could have used a good soaking in milk;” 2. Tripe–“as clean as any I’ve tasted, one might think it’s cold slaw”; and 3. Penis soup. Bull penis soup to be exact. “Ya have to like the rich chunky texture. . . richness of bone marrow and texture of a pear.” Well, okay if you say so. Imagine the chopping–or not.

For llama brains with tongue, sauteed in garlic sauce, Zimmern went to an artsy looking restaurant, Pronto Delicatessen. “You could put the garlic sauce this guy makes on an old tennis shoe and it would taste good, ” Zimmern proclaimed. Frankly, I’d stick with the fish served with lime called Carpaccio de Ispi.

Other Bolivian food tasting locations:

Yapacani, Santa Cruz where at a small Mom and Pop type place, Pop’ll head out the back door to kill dinner. How about well cooked armadillo and feral pig? Achachira, a fruit similar to mangosteen looked delicious, and, according to Zimmern, is indeed.

Altiplano –Up in these mountains the signature dish is naturally freeze-dried potatoes, a process that takes several days and involves skinning them by walking on them with bare feet. The result isn’t pretty and tastes earthy, but they’ll keep for 25 years. I loved this segment the best. The family featured was very sweet–the type who calm jangling nerves just by being around them.

Lake Titicaca–At the feast of Altiplano, Zimmern waxed poetic about the Quinoa dumplings, trout and corn. The landscape was gorgeous–and the feast a worthwhile stop.

Unusual cultural detail: At the Witches Market in La Paz you can get your fortune-told with cocoa leaves and buy fixin’s for a llama fetus offering. Burning one of these brings good luck.

For more episode details, Andrew’s blog can fill you in.

Hip hop artist launches travel site

by Abha Malpani on

At first I thought: what on earth was Kanye West thinking trying to be a travel agent!? But a bit of thought and it makes complete sense — it’s a great way to encourage his fans to book with him, especially making it easy to for them follow him around when he’s on tour!

The Grammy-winning hip hop star has actually done a decent job making the site “Kanye Travel Ventures” seem quite resourceful as it offers hotel and flight bookings, car rental options, and last minute deals. It also has a list of suggestions on things to do in various cities and the site is working on developing city guides.

Primarily a marketing initiative for Kanye West, you’d think they’d flash in your face special Kanye West tour packages that include concert tickets, accommodation and flights, with cheaper deal options should you want to follow him around while he’s on tour, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Anyway, I don’t know of any other celebrity that is trying to be a travel resource, just on that count you might want to check it out. Maybe he should open a site for shades too, he often has funky ones.

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Think these crazy ladies booked through Kanye?

Cosmetic castration for ladyboys banned in Thailand

by Catherine Bodry on

In Thailand, it can be difficult to tell a ladyboy from a lady. The story of the backpacker who thought he was spending the night with a beautiful woman — only to find out later that it was a beautiful man — is practically a cliché in traveler’s circles in Southeast Asia.

Some ladyboys would like to drop the “boy” from their identities, and an easier alternative to a full-on sex change is castration. That’s right. Castration. If that word is sending shivers up spine, don’t fret — Thailand’s Ministry of Health banned cosmetic castration this Wednesday, and doctors performing the operation could face up to six months in jail. Formal sex-change therapy “requires rigorous physical and mental evaluation of the patient,” while castration can be done in 15-20 minutes and can cost as little as $125. The short time frame and cheap cost is why the procedure has become so popular.

The country has become a leader in sex-change therapy, due to its large number of ladyboys (a term which covers anyone from a transvestite to a man who has had a sex change). That’s a whole new form of medical tourism that I hadn’t thought about.