t’s time yet again to call your attention to the wonderful Latitudes Magazine. I try to let y’all know about this pub each month because it really is one of the online standouts where travel is concerned. This month’s coverage takes a look at Tanzania, Alaska, Corsi and (believe it or not) Sao Paulo. The latter is one of the worst cities I’ve ever visited, but Latitudes actually makes it look inviting.
Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off
I don’t listen to the BBC nearly as much as I’d like. I get the world news on NPR every couple of days, and I’ll always watch a Monty Python if it comes on the tele, but for the most part, the vast expanse of BBC programming remains a mystery. But I should listen more. Not only does the BBC have a tremendous amount of great content online, but the interface of the site is very nice and the site is extremely user-friendly. Which all brings me to the fact that I happened upon a great little show last night called Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off. I’m sure there are going to be many a BEEB fan out there who knows this show well, that me saying I’ve never heard of it is like someone saying they’ve never heard of the Simpsons, but hey, what can I say. I’m an American. I’m focused. But anyway, the show is about a sort of British doofus who travels around and files little audio dispatches about the people he meets and the places he goes. In special under-stated British fashion it is subtle, but often clever and hilarious. I urge you to give it a listen.
Stalin’s World Theme Park A Hit
A few months ago, Neil Woodburn introduced us to Grutas Park, in Lithuania. The park, also known as “Stalin’s World,” is a beautiful park filled with statues of some of Communism’s truly horrible leaders. Neil described this park as his personal favourite, saying “the contrast of evil men against this beautiful landscape is truly unnerving.”
Well, apparently, CNN.com agrees it’s worth knowing about: the site is currently featuring an article on the quirky park. Apparently hundreds of thousands of visitors a year visit the park, owned by Viliumas Malinauskas, a Lithuanian millionaire. The park can be navigated via the wooden walkways built to replicate those which existed in Siberian prison camps, weirdly juxtaposed by a merry-go-round, a restaurant and a zoo.
Some of the visitors don’t like the park, finding it verging on the macabre. “He does not care about painful history of Lithuania. What is purpose of this park? To laugh at our pain?” asks Juozas Galdikas, a former Parliament member, about Malinauskas.
“Why I am doing this? It’s my gift to future generations,” responds Malinauskas. “People can come here and joke about these grim statues. This means that Lithuania is no longer afraid of communism.”
Truly odd. And yet … I find myself quite intrigued.
Has anyone out there ever visited this park? What was your impression?
Lonely Planet's Passport Passion
Is this the
terrifying scream of evil spirits inside your house. Nope, this is the call to action from the folks at Lonely Planet, who want nothing more
than for you to leave the country. You see, they are suggesting a really wonderful idea. By getting away, they suggest,
you do your own country some good. Not because we didn’t really want you here in the first place, but because when you
go abroad, you act as an ambassador of goodwill…assuming you’re not some loud, drunk, arrogant, hat-turned-backwards
frat-boy…in that case, we suggest you not only stay home, but go somewhere with all your friends and bang drums by
yourselves in the wilderness. Anyway, the LP points out (rightly) that American travelers can serve as "agents of
understanding, tolerance and mutual respect " as they travel out into the world and interact with people in other
nations. But they also say that just 23% of Americans have passports. Could that be true? My, that’s a low number.
Well I for one couldn’t agree more that travel helps you and helps others know you. Nothing will make this
world a more lovely place than greater mutual understanding. It’s much harder to hate someone you know than it is to
make up a blanket statement about them and channel all your personal fears and hang-ups into a self-created image…if
you don’t mind me getting psychological on your a$$es for a moment.
Anyway, take the LP advice. If you don’t
have a passport now, go get one. You’ll be doing all of us a favor.
Iraq Skier
We’re just about through with ski season, but let me call your attention to online travel magazine Stellar, which is running a rather unusual series by Bob Dedic called Miles From Home in which this avid skier from Colorado ruminates on family, fighting and the joys of hitting the powder. The magazine series is really quite good and comes with a ton pf photos. I haven’t read anything quite like this about Iraq, an odd mixture of outdoorsiness and, well war.