GADLING TAKE FIVE week of 12/21/2007

by Catherine Bodry on

As I’m in a holiday rush, getting ready to drive 126 miles through the mountains to Anchorage when it’s supposed to snow 20 inches (20 inches!) over the night, then catch a flight to Seattle before trying to fit in last-minute Christmas shopping in a town that actually has more than 2 stores, as well as work a half-day in the morning and try to pack for two climates (Washington and Florida in addition the travel in Alaska), I’m going to make this post short and sweet (unlike this sentence).

1. Gadling’s guide to mileage running. Check it.
2. Christmas in the Czech Republic involves killing carp.
3. Gadling bought a cow!
4. Gadling’s got a grand giveaway going on, and at the time of this post, you’ve got about 4 hours left to enter.
5. We have a new blogger. His name is Aaron. Here’s a post he wrote this week.

There you have it!

Peace out, and happy solstice.

Infiltrating North Korea Part 16: A Sunday Drive through Pyongyang

by Neil Woodburn on

Infiltrating North Korea is a 19-part series exploring the world’s most reclusive nation and its bizarre, anachronistic way of life. To start reading at the beginning of the series, be sure to click here.

Travel within North Korea is tightly regulated; tourists pile into minivans and are carted from landmark to landmark without any opportunity to wander about on their own. This was the most frustrating aspect of my time in North Korea. I simply wanted to stop the minivan so I could get out and walk the streets, mingle with the pedestrians, poke my head into local shops, and wander off the beaten path to see for myself what our guides were keeping hidden from us.

Instead, I spent most of my time like a dog on a car ride, sticking my head out the window, tongue flapping in the wind as Pyongyang rushed by.

Such a method of travel, however, can still reveal quite a bit about North Korea’s mysterious capital; I could catch glimpses through the windows of poorly stocked stores, witness locals scrounging for seeds in the grass of city parks, and spy dilapidated buildings in the distance slowly falling apart. My state sponsored guided tour was intended to portray the city in a perfect light but unless they tinted the windows of our minivan, the real Pyongyang was going to shine through on occasions.

The video above is a six-minute, narrated car ride through the center of Pyongyang. I began filming shortly after entering the city limits–photography is forbidden outside of Pyongyang–and continued sticking my camera out the window until we arrived at the Grand People’s Study House in the center of town. Along the way, we pass a number of landmarks mentioned earlier in these posts, thus providing the opportunity to see how these places are stitched into a larger Pyongyang.

The video should also provide a sense of Pyongyang and its scattered pedestrians, dearth of automobiles, bland storefronts, monumental architecture, ubiquitous propaganda, and immaculately dressed citizenry. Until the time comes when foreigners are allowed to wander the city on their own, 40 mile-per-hour glances such as this one will continue to be the only window we have into this reclusive society.

Yesterday: More Song, Dance, and a little conundrum about chocolate
Tomorrow: Video Tour of Pyongyang Highlights

Straight No Chaser brings me back to Senegal with “Africa” and Christmas cleverness

by Jamie Rhein on

I learned to make a food dryer while I was a Peace Corps volunteer at a food preserving training in Thiés, Senegal. It looked a bit like a space ship, but it did work. The friend who was my partner and I created the design ourselves. Oh, we were so proud when the flies were kept out and the mango slices began to dry. That night, after a few beers, the other volunteers who had also come to this training and we danced outside in an open air pavilion to someone’s boom box. I distinctly remember “Africa” by Toto. It was March and a breeze was blowing gently. This was a night when all elements seemed to come together in perfection.

My husband’s cousin who was also in the Peace Corps, but in Cameroon emailed me the link today to this You Tube video of the a cappella group Straight No Chaser. This group hails from Indiana University–all alumni, and I have to say, they’re terrific. You’ll see. Halfway through, you’ll also find out why hearing their music evoked images of Africa–Christmas too–the beginning of this is a how many Christmas carols can you recognize in the Twelve Days of Christmas, but by the end I was in Thiés. I love this blend of elements–a cross-pollination of sorts. Since this group tours, you may catch them live somewhere. Here’s a link to Straight No Chaser’s performance dates.

Beauty queen in Belgium gets a royal booing by the audience for not knowing Dutch

by Jamie Rhein on

Neil wrote a post about Miss South Carolina who hopelessly and sadly botched a geography related question in a beauty contest. Just imagine what this would have been like if she would have had to say her answer in another language spoken in the U.S.–say Spanish. That’s what happened in a beauty contest in Belgium. It wasn’t geography that created a problem, it was not knowing how to speak Dutch.

When one Miss Belgium 2008 contestant was asked a question in Dutch and couldn’t answer because she doesn’t know Dutch, the audience booed. She does know Czech, but in this case, that didn’t earn her admiration. The contestant is from the French speaking part of the country. The questioner, who seemed sorry for the audience upheavel must have gotten them to calm down since the contestant won and got the crown in the end.

The reason for the language upset is because the Belgium government hasn’t totally been pulled together after the election six months ago. The two languages mean that there are two different Belgian communities with different ideas about what should happen in the government. That’s my guess. Evidently, politics and beauty are supposed to go together. The Reuters video pf the incident with a commentary voice-over in English is on Videologist.

One for the Road: Charm City – A Walk Through Baltimore

by Kelly Amabile on

I’m super excited about today’s book suggestion. The latest title in Crown’s Journey Series is Charm City: A Walk Through Baltimore by Madison Smartt Bell. The cover itself, decorated with Hon hair and a photo of the famous Painted Ladies, is enough for me to know — I want to read this book! When I first started writing for Gadling back in 2005, I was still a Baltimore resident, and I’ve mentioned the fantastic city here on more than one occasion. I debated waiting to tell ya all about this one until after I had a chance to read it, but why wait? I’m fairly confident it’s an excellent read. I BELIEVE in all things Baltimore.

But you don’t have to take my word for it — This week, the New York Times praised Bell’s book as a guide to the “soul” of a “real city.” Bell, an award-winning author who has lived in Baltimore for over twenty years, is a professor at Goucher College, where he directs the creative writing program. His book explores the history of the city by traveling through its unique mix of neighborhoods and major arteries, focusing on four specific walks through Fells Point and Dickeysville and along Charles Street and Greemount Avenue. Some well-known locals, like Laura Lippman and David Simon, join him on the jaunts. The Baltimore Sun interviewed Bell about how this project came to be. It’s a good read, and more proof that the book is sure to serve as a perfect companion for any trip to Charm City.