Get Paid to Travel to Iran

by Erik Olsen on

I’ve mentioned in these very pages how much I’d like to travel to Iran. Several friends of mine and folks I know have been there and have said that it is a lovely, friendly country, steeped in history and culture. That the “axis of evil” moniker and the current issues that make the news are political matters, and do not reflect the attitude or hospitality of the people. Well, now it seems one could test that theory…ad get paid to do it.

Or at least your travel agent will get paid. Yes, the Iranian government wants to attract Western tourists, especially Americans, to Iran and those that are able to lure them can get a $20 per head reward (as it were). Same with European tourists….$20. Other countries, well, those are worth $10, said an Iranian official. Al I can say is: sign me up. I’d go to Ira in a heartbeat. And I’d eve meet the fella in this picture. Sure, he seems a bit kooky, but it might be fun to share a hookah with the guy, see what makes him tick.

Endangered World Heritage Sites

by Neil Woodburn on

World Heritage Sites are, by definition, fantastic places to visit. But is this true of all of them?

Sure, the honored temples, pagodas, natural landscapes, and medieval towns all have something special to offer; otherwise they wouldn’t be on the list. But what about the negative aspects, the things never mentioned by UNESCO?

The fine folks at National Geographic Traveler have come up with their own rating system to honor the very best and very worst World Heritage Sites on this planet based upon “sustainable tourism.”

National Geographic actively hosts the Center for Sustainable Destinations which researches the impact of tourism upon popular tourist sites. For example, toward the bottom of the most recent scorecard of 94 World Heritage Sites researched by the group is the Potala Palace in Tibet. The Palace scored only 46 out of 100 possible points due to the impact of mass tourism, Chinese attempts to diffuse the Tibetan culture, and “souvenir shops replacing the religious articles market.” Dead last is Kathmandu Valley in Nepal where political strife, concrete buildings, and pollution is quickly destroying the ancient heritage of this fantastic area.

It is truly sad reading through the bottom of the list and the litany of problems facing so many of the world’s great destinations. The temples of Angkor, Cambodia, for example, are threatened by a rash of new tourist hotels which consume so much water that the water table has lowered and is weakening the foundations of the temple.

The good news is that a number of destinations are weathering the tourist onslaught with strength and vigor. Number one on the list with 87 points is the west fjords of Norway, followed up by Spain’s Alhambra. Both treasures are well protected and well managed by the local communities in which they lie. They currently face little threat and healthy longevity–at least for the time being.

Be sure to pop on over to National Geographic Traveler and check out the list. This is one of the better World Heritage Site summations I’ve seen in a long time, and one which will motivate, inspire, and sadly, even depress.

If you can get a hold of the print edition (November/December 2006) take a moment to mull over the depressing cover photo of tourists in loud clothing and sun hats scaling the ancient stairs of Angkor. One glance and you’ll understand why it has fared so poorly in the National Geographic Traveler report.

Le Halloween est Mort

by Erik Olsen on

AN intriguing little piece over at Forbes declares that the French, so put off by the war in Iraq and the infestation of McDonalds in their country, have largely declared Halloween dead. The “holiday”…a term hardly foreign to the leisure-loving French, no longer inspires legions of wee French kids to go about knocking on big heavy doors and pleading for candy.

Well, then let them eat cake, I say. But seriously, it seems the decline in interest follows a short-lived popularity, during which the French briefly copied our customs, but then decided that the day way too commercialized and had just enough a whiff of America about it that they decided it was time to commit the holiday to the plastic jack-o-lantern of history.

That’s all fine and dandy except that, dear Pierre, Halloween comes from the Pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain in the British Isles, where it was once believed that spirits would rise from the dead and mingle with the living. It is not American…except in its blatant exploitation of children to sell candy. That’s American through and through. But what would the holiday be otherwise, I ask you? What are you going to give all the little dressed up munchkins? Croissants? A pack of Gaulloises?

Dingle Changes Name: American Schoolchildren Disappointed

by Neil Woodburn on

When I read that the town of Dingle, Ireland was changing its name, I was pretty certain I knew the reason why. The town’s name was the first half of a slang term we used as kids to describe something particularly nasty.

When I learned many years ago there was an actual town named Dingle, I experienced that same adolescent snicker which burst out upon first hearing about Lake Titicaca and Sperm Whales.

Unfortunately, it appears that the youth of Ireland don’t share the same linguistic hilarity over the term. In fact, when I passed through the town a few years ago, they actually seemed quite proud of the name–which makes me think that schoolboy immaturity probably has nothing to do with the recent name change.

According to the BBC, the change was actually due to a grassroots movement to re-embrace Gaelic, the original Irish language. In a move to protect their linguistic roots, the city has reverted back to its original Gaelic name of An Daingean.

An Daingean?!?

I don’t know about you, but I think I actually prefer the more modern, albeit snicker-worthy name.

Now, about those famous berries…

Bryson Interview on NPR

by Erik Olsen on

Sure, he’s hawking his newest book, a memoir about his childhood called The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, but it’s still an enjoyable experience to hear my favorite travel writer Bill Bryson interviewed. I actually have a copy of A Short History of Nearly Everything in audio book, which he reads himself, and I like his soft, avuncular Britishy twang (even though he was born in the US, Bryson lived long enough…like Paul Theroux…in Britain, that he has an accent). Anyway, in this interview on NPR Bryson reads a bit from the book and talks about growing up in Iowa where, one might guess, it helped to have a vivid imagination.