The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia and Karabagh

by Erik Olsen on

Some folks here might remember the trip I took to a while back and the series of dispatches I filed from that lovely, wonderful country. Armenia is one of those lesser-known gems in the world, a place you can go to not only see centuries-old historical sites, but also to get s glimpse of modern history as well, since the country was for several decades under communist rule, and there is still a marked, somewhat brutal feel to much of the architecture there. Of course, what may be brutal in some ways is today’s kitsch, and so many of the places in , and in particular, Yerevan, that might have been eyesores at one point, are now quite lovely in their own way. Take, for example, the Cascade complex downtown, a monstrous concrete plaza and series of seemingly unending stairs that speak of Soviet times, but also maintain a rather impressive grandeur.

All this is to bring up a wonderful new guide book that is out that I recommend you consider if you are thinking about a trip to . Soon to be released by Matthew Karanian, Robert Kurkjian and their Stone Gardens Productions, the book: Armenia & Karabagh is one of the best guides you will find on the region (the guide includes not just Armenia, but the disputed territory of Karabagh. I used the earlier version of Stone Garden Guide during my trip and found it immensely useful. The book provides ample history and context for its recommended sites and is both lively and informative about what you should see and do. As I mentioned in some of my dispatches, Armenia is not just a great place to experience history, it is also lovely and very appealing to the adventuresome. There are rivers and mountains and lakes all perfect for hikers, climbers, bikers and paddlers.

Anyway, I recommend you take a look at the guide if this fascinating little country happens to be on your life list of places to visit.

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of August 20

by Adrienne Wilson on

Last Friday of the month folks and it’s time for a little review. Strap on your seatbelts and get ready for a take five ride.

5. Travel Trivia:
Nothing beats testing your travel knowledge. I’ve always been pretty confident in my geography skills, landmark knowledge and some historical facts, but pretty confident doesn’t always get you a 100%. Ugh! Time to hit the books or do you think you know enough to score perfect marks on this MSNBC travel quiz. Find out.

4. Red Corner: Vodka Hangover Cure:
Funny piece pointed out by Neil on the joys of toasting to new Russian friends and journeys abroad with Vodka. For the Russians the beverage is like water, but how does a foreigner peer-pressured into drinking to friendship handle a vodka hangover? From the pre-drinking stage to the actual event and next morning here is your guide to some effective cures!

3. Inside Africa Vol. 1 & 2:
TASCHEN has some new books out and these Inside Africa volumes are very much worth your attention if you’re into dwellings and living around the continent.

2. One Hundred Very Angry U.S. Cities:
Shocking piece from Men’s Health on the top 100 angry places around our United States. Florida cities rank very high on the charts, but what about your state or city?

1. Farecast Launches:
Probably one of the biggest travel buzzworthy pieces comes from Erik and his plug on Farecast. What started off as a two city travel search and airfare prediction / watch engine has expanded to 55 cities. Can’t wait to see if it’s worth all the buzz

Bang Bangs You’re Dead

by Erik Olsen on

I have to say, this is really quite a bummer. It looks like after just a single year from launch, that Yahoo is canceling Richard Bangs Adventures, a great online video travelogue that we blogged about a few times here.

They said that the program, which featured Bangs, a hardened veteran explorer, travel writer and business person, had failed to build “a large and loyal audience”. The reason cited was that there were roughly month-long gaps between new installments and this turned people away.

Um, hello. Can I also raise my hand here?! No one in my building could see video on Yahoo for some stupid reason on their end (we can see YouTube, Google video and most other types). The video would just stop there and turn and nothing would ever come up, so to enjoy the program I’d always have to watch it at home. But you can be sure if I was having this problem, so were thousands of others. Maybe Yahoo should have done a bit more beta testing.

Anyway, it’s a big loss for several reason, but tops is that it makes it less likely that big companies will experiment with original content…I mean nicely produced funded stuff. And that is a huge shame. Anyway, I wave a fond farewell to Bangs and Company and only wish they’d figured out the technical probs before they went and pulled the plug.

Traveling Food Festivals

by Erik Olsen on

Few things go better with travel than food. Isn’t that a big part of the whole reason we travel? I mean, one of the great wonders of the human race is how, over all the centuries and millennia we’ve been around, we’ve managed to create so many different cuisines, from the greasy, hyper-fattening, bland awfulness of British food (fish and chips excepted) to the mouth-searing, but divinely delicious bliss of Thai food.

So this lumbering preamble is to say that I think you should check out this post over at Slashfood that looks at some of the big food festivals around the country this year. Yes, I was talking in a more international sense, but here in the US we have all sorts of regions with their own specific cuisine or product worth celebrating. take, for example, the Gilroy garlic Festival. Sure, the town stinks (literally), but the festival, I have heard, is a really interesting and yummy experience. So pack your bags, warm up the car, and plan on hitting one of these festivals.

Barrington Irving to Fly Solo Around the World

by Adrienne Wilson on

Jamaicans.com has a good interview on 22-year old Jamaican-American, Barrington Irving who is set to fly solo around the world on September 1, 2006. While others have flown solo around the planet breaking records and setting them Irving would be the youngest to fly solo if completed. He’d also be the first of African descent to complete the trip. With the permission of the Consulate and Jamaica’s PM Portia Simpson, Irving will begin his flight from Jamaica and head eastbound making stops in the Azores, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Egypt, Dubai, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Japan and Russia.

By flying around the world he hopes to show kids better alternatives that partaking in the streets negative influences. All I’ve got to say is best wishes to you Mister Barrington Irving May your journey be a mind-opening and fruitful one.

Read the full interview at Jamaicans.com.