Papua New Guinea is the subject of our
POTD. I was reminded of an article I
read in the Journeys issue of the New Yorker recently about an outfitter’s
business bringing people to a supposedly “primitive” tribe deep in the rain forest. The photo was taken from the
photostream of PNG Life.
Vocation Vacation
We’ve posted about these types of trips before, but they were usually the kind where you
go overseas to help dig up mummies ot something. I still find the concept wildly interesting. Here is
a piece in MSNBC on how to make your vacation fulfilling in a
different way, by undertaking some job that you’ve always thought would be cool, but whose vocational viability you
never took seriously.
VocationVacations is basically a summer internship for grown-ups.
And the pay is about the same. Or worse, actually, since YOU have to pay. In this article case, a woman ventures
to the Oregon zoo to take care of animals, although she finds that the majority of her work involves managing animal
poop, which might appeal to some people, less so to others.
Pretend Soldiers
Here’s a nice one for the kids or heck even adults itchin’ to know more about American history.
If the Civil War in particular interests you, take a peak at
Pamplin Historical Park located in Virginia. Known as one of the most
innovative Civil War park’s in the country you can have your own overnight stay when you participate in the
Civil War Adventure Camp. Grab your uniform and musket and
get ready for a real hands on approach to learning about one of
America’s most notorious battles. It definitely sounds better than watching it on the History
Channel, again.
Choose the Right Fishing Kayak
A few years ago I was sea kayaking
in Alaska with a couple of buddies, and we hit on the idea of bringing poles along to troll as we paddled. It was
great. We actually hooked salmon and at several spots along the way, hiked into the hills and found lakes teeming with
wild trout. It was awesome. But I have to say in retrospect that hooking a 15 pound salmon from the cockpit of a kayak,
while wildly exciting, was also a bit of a pain in the arse when it came time to land the fish. In my case, I ended up
smacking the salmon with my fist to kill it and then shoved it down between my feet, which turned out OK except that I
smelled like fish for three days.
Well, I wish I’d read this article first. It
offers advice on how to choose a fishing kayak. Come to think of it, it really wouldn’t have mattered much if I’d read
it or not. The outfitter I was with wouldn’t have had fishing kayaks anyway (most anglers prefer sit on to kayaks), and
a fishing kayak really wasn’t appropriate for our six-day trip. But I did find the article useful and informative, so
perhaps for my next expedition I’ll actually heed some of the advice from it.
Team Building in China
We’ve all been there, those awful team-building exercises that are so popular among American corporations. Usually
they take place at “off-sites” near company headquarters where all the company employees go to play cooperative games
(catch me as I fall!) and get into the corporate spirit.
But did you know that some of these team building efforts also take place in far-flung places like China? Well, one
such place is Yangshuo, a small town in southeastern
China’s Guangxi Province. What has for years been a popular tourist haunt, a backpacker haven now attracts everyone
from expats to corporate groups.
To see what I’m talking about, read Katherine
Tanko’s take on Yangshuo and maybe talk your CEO into flying the company there next year.