Mega, as in the Biggest Ever, African Adventure Trip

by Jamie Rhein on

Suppose you have time-lots of it. Let’s say you have 44 weeks. Perhaps you’d like to go overland from Morocco to South Africa by way of Egypt. Here’s a travel adventure that will take you through 10 game parks, various cultural and historical landmarks, and enough thrills like rafting and tandem sky diving that you’ll have stories to tell for years. Countries not typical as tourist hot spots are included in the mix. Angola, for example, has only allowed tourists in since 2004.

In Angola you’ll see Portuguese influenced architecture and gorgeous beaches besides the 3rd largest statue of Jesus in the world. The other countries in this multi-stop, pack-in-variety approach are: Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, DRCongo Zaire, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Egypt.

The highlights of this tour calledTrans Africa. Europe–CapeTown-Nairobi-Istanbul read like a cross between an outdoor wilderness experience, a cultural bonanza and a journey through an African history book. Read the itinerary and you might find yourself chomping to take this trip on. I sure am. R&R opportunities and the chance to luxuriate are built in. Africa Travel Center also offers shorter version African adventures where only parts of this trip are included.

* photo taken in Benguela, Angola by zokete.

Haven’t Gotten Enough Fish Eyeballs Lately? Hit the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival, March 9-11

by Willy Volk on

Held each year in Hokitika, a tiny city on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, the Hokitika Wildfoods festival is a celebration of the local bushtucker. The emphasis is on novel, tasty, healthy bush food — but the organizers clearly encourage the slightly gross, as well, considering the inclusion of huhu grubs, fish eyeballs, and “dueling possums” (pictured) on the menu.

Of course, food and drink doesn’t wash down well without entertainment, so the organizers have invited everybody from roving blacksmiths to bands. In other words, you’ll be smiling broadly while stuffing your face with Deep Fried Grasshopper, Pigs Eyes in Mac-and-Cheese, Pickled Bugs, BBQ’ed Cow Udders, and Worm Sushi. Don’t worry: if you’ve got a delicate stomach, you can always opt for the Bunny Burgers.

[Via Travel Junkie]

Britain: A Guide for Americans

by Justin Glow on

I’ve been to London. The only problem with that statement is I was 4 years old at the time, and the only thing I remember about the trip is running across a street with a gift-wrapped frying pan. Needless to say, my memories of the trip are quite limited, so when I ran across this British guide for Americans, I was quite excited by the advice it offered on everything from geography, language, transportation, food, and music. I feel so prepared for my next visit. For instance:

  • On music: “Of course, we get nearly all of our music from America. We find that your songs, like Throw Out Your Gold Teeth And See How They Roll by Mr Steely Dan, Hotel California by the Eagles Orchestra, and Smack Yo’ Momma by DJ Ice T, help us to understand the culture of the United States.”
  • On pub drinking: “When tasting your first sip of beer, exclaim that there must be water in it. They will admire you for your candour, and will offer to buy you a drink ‘on the house’. Pubs that sell ‘real ale’ are attempting to emulate Budweiser beer; let the landlord know where he is going wrong. He will be very grateful for advice from an American.”

Okay, so it’s pretty obvious that this isn’t a serious guide, but that doesn’t make it any less funny. I really pity the poor soul who doesn’t read this post in its entirety, and proceeds to leave a comment regarding how ill-conceived the guide really is. It’s bound to happen — just watch.

Lake Worth’s Amazing Streetpainting Festival (A Photo Essay)

by Willy Volk on

This weekend, Lake Worth, Florida held its 13th Annual Streetpainting Festival. With the 2 major roads downtown closed to traffic, well over 200 artists got down on their knees, broke open their cartons of chalk, and painted the roads.

My wife and I attended and shot lots of photos. What follows is a photo essay of the event. I think you’ll agree that the results were pretty amazing.

On the first day, people were busy trying to get their plans laid out. Almost everyone worked from photos or drawings they had brought with them and covered in plastic (to keep them chalk-free). Amazingly, lots of people drew freehand.

Meanwhile, others drew a grid and developed their scenes rather methodically.


Some of the artwork didn’t seem all that impressive…

…until you took the time to read the label. They’re only in 5th Grade!?

There was, of course, a dedicated Young Artist’s section, which gave “emerging artists” the chance to show off their skills.

And there was also a Featured Artists’ Gallery.

Check out the artists’ names on the painting! No relation, though.

Most of the images were sponsored by local business that had retained an artist to create the art. Some images were drawn by residents who paid the negligible entry fee and joined the fun. Still other images were created by art clubs from area high schools. There were so many good ones, it was tough to say if the Featured Artists were better than the high schoolers.

The couple that drew this are my neighbors. They’re selling their house, and they thought this would be a good way to advertise that fact. Clever.




The Aurora Borealis.

There was also entertainment at the Festival.

And lots of street-vendor-food. Man, I love sweet nuts.

This guy, Randy Orwig, is something of a local celebrity. He paints himself in gold and sits completely still. It’s pretty amazing. I wonder how long it took him to train that dog to sit still, too.

Somebody even painted Orwig!

This was my favorite piece. I love the Florida theme.

Probably the biggest “buzz” at the event surrounded the “anamorphic art image.” The caption reads, “Anamorphic art is an image created on a 2-dimensional surface that looks 3-dimensional when viewed through a lens from a fixed point (developed in the Renaissance).”

Here it is:

Since the weather was beautiful, there was a great turn-out. We really had a good time, and we can’t wait to go next year.

“Poorism” in India

by Erik Olsen on

We’ve covered the somewhat distasteful, but also interesting, trend of poverty tourism before, but this article in the Smithsonian Magazine does a very nice job articulating some of the more uncomfortable issues related to the idea. Poverty tourism is rather self-explanatory, but assuming you were out late last night at an Oscar Party and don’t have your thinking cap fit snugly to your head this morning, I’ll describe it.

Poverty tourism is essentially a way for people in the top socio-economic echelon of global society to visit and briefly sympathize with the world’s most impoverished people. Your heart-strings will be tugged, you will have revelations like “they’re people just like me!” you may spend some money, thereby helping them out, and then you will move swiftly on your way to some other local attraction and then onto an expensive evening meal where you will discuss with sadness and resolve how horrible it is that people (most people it turns out) live in such horrible conditions.

Yes, I’m being flip. To be honest, I don’t think it’s all that bad for people to get a dose of how the other 3/5 of the world live. It definitely can help your perspective. And I don’; think this type of tourism in general tends to be exploitative. The place visited in this article is the sprawling Indian slum of Dharavi, which, I have to confess, I visited myself as a tourist/journalist, a “slash” distinction I make to help myself feel better about being there.

Anyway, this all makes for a fine debate which I open up to all of you now to engage in: is slum tourism, or “poorism”, an exploitative or bad trend in tourism, or something worth celebrating? Or none of the above?