Photo of the Day (2-4-09)

by Jamie Rhein on

The woman in the photo was sorting rice in Luang Nam Tha, Laos back in February 2008. I would venture to say that the same woman is still sorting rice in this careful, quiet way of doing work that sustains people. This is the type of work that is never quite done, but remains important year after year.

Whenever I have watched women like the one in this photo by Laura Itzokowitz, I am struck by the calming effect that removing bits of grass, twig and stones from rice can have on the world.

If you have a photo to be considered for a Photo of the Day pick, send it our way at Gadling’s Flickr photo pool.

Travel Read: 100 Places Every Woman Should Go

by Brenda Yun on

I never knew there could be a book so thoughtful and inspiring for women as this one. Stephanie Elizondo Griest’s second travel book, which lists far more than just 100 Places Every Woman Should Go, is truly an encyclopedia for women travelers. It’s the kind of book that could never have existed fifty years ago, but is so refreshing that free-spirited, female travelers should feel grateful that it exists now, and fully prepared for that next trip into the wide, wonderful world.

Griest’s great book is packed with helpful historical information, inspiring stories, and travel tips. It’s broken up into nine sections — my favorite being the first: “Powerful Women and Their Places in History.” There’s so much worth digesting in each locale described. For instance, I had no idea that the word “lesbian” came from the birthplace of Sappho (Lesbos, Greece). Griest fills each description with great travel tips that often include specific street addresses for particularly noteworthy sights.What I like most about the 100 places she chooses is that she shies away from identifying places that every woman obviously dreams of traveling to, like Venice, Rome, and Paris. Instead, she paves a new path for women, encouraging us to visit Japan’s 88 sacred temples or stroll through the public squares of Samarkand, one of the world’s oldest cities in Uzbekistan.

Griest does not limit her list to concrete or singular places. Sometimes, she finds a way to take us to virtual spots like the Museum of Menstruation or creates lists like “Best Bungee Jumping Locales,” “Sexiest Lingerie Shops,” or “Places to Pet Fuzzy Animals.” These 100 “places” are really all-encompassing, and Griest manages to take us on an imaginative journey around the world, packing all her feminine know-how into each description.

I did find, occasionally, that there were some places missing from some of the identified places in her list. For instance, I was baffled as to why two Russian writers were on Griest’s list of “Famous Women Writers and Their Creative Nooks,” but Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, and Jane Austen were absent. I was additionally confused that cooking classes in India and Thailand were not on the list of “Culinary Class Destinations.”

Griest’s opinions of places are somewhat biased, too. While she does a fairly good job covering the globe, a single locale in French Polynesia or the South Pacific is missing, and some places like Oaxaca, Angkor Wat, and New York are mentioned several times. Her college town of Austin landed on the list, but places like Budapest and Cairo are never acknowledged.

With every list, however, there is bound to be some bias and some personal flair and choice involved, and Griest’s original and creative sensibilities are still well-worth reading about. The great thing about this book is that you can flip to a place description, be perfectly entertained and inspired, and then tuck the book away until the next time you feel compelled to read about the places you can go. Or, you can read it in one sitting like I did and be completely blown away by the amazing places in this one world that it’s hard to imagine why we live in one city for so long and not just pack our bags and get out there and see some if not all of it.

Click here to read my review of Griest’s first travel book, “Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana.” My review of Griest’s third travel book, “Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines” is forthcoming, along with my interview with the author in early January. Feel free to jot me an email (Brenda DOT Yun AT weblogsinc DOT com) if you have a question for Stephanie.

Click the images to learn about the most unusual museums in the world — featuring everything from funeral customs, to penises, to velvet paintings, to stripping.


“No Reservations” season 4, episode 11: Laos

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Location: Mr. Bourdain kicked off a new round of episodes last night with Laos. As one of the last “untouched” destinations of Southeast Asia, Laos sits nestled along the Mekong River, a mountainous country filled with mist-shrouded hilltops, orange-robed monks and a fascinating history both recent and ancient.

Episode Rating: Four bloody meat cleavers (out of five) in honor of Chef Bourdain.

Summary: Laos is one of those mysterious destinations romanticized by 21st century travelers. Still scarred by violent memories of the Vietnam War, it is a country largely untouched by the typical tourist trail of Southeast Asia but ripe with beautiful places to visit and delicious new foods to taste. In other words, it’s one of those places that Anthony Bourdain just knows how to do best – seeking out the remote, the fascinating and the cringe-inducing for our viewing pleasure.

Tony kicks off the episode by briefly stopping in the capital city of Vientiane before heading out for his “obligatory Asian noodle breakfast” in the small city of Phong Savan. Much like its Vietnamese cousin Pho, the spicy Lao soup he tastes is filled with a combination of noodles and meat, typically either chicken, duck or pork. Give Bourdain his bowl of noodles and he’s generally a pretty happy customer.
Reinvigorated by the magical Lao broth, Tony heads to the Plain of Jars for a quick visit. We are offered with an interesting sight – hundreds of giant stone vessels lie scattered across a huge field. Though there is much speculation as to their purpose, Tony’s guide suggests they either served as burial vessels for the deceased, a storage method for commodities like rice, or as a method for mythical Lao “giants” to store their whiskey (my favorite explanation).

Then, as you have come to expect with many Anthony Bourdain episodes, it was time for stuff to explode. As Tony explains, Laos was an unfortunate bombing target during the Vietnam War. Needless to say, the country is still feeling the effects. Tony watches on as the country’s team of UXO volunteers searches for and detonates a few of the millions of unexploded shells that lie hidden all across the nation’s countryside.

To further illustrate how Laos is still affected by the war, Bourdain has a simple fish lunch with a man who lost an arm and leg to an exploding shell. For someone who has built a reputation as cooking’s bad boy, I found Tony’s examination of the issue both emotional and thoughtful. Considering he’s usually ready with a sarcastic reply and a snotty comment, Bourdain seemed amazingly humbled by this very touching scene.

And then with barely a pause, it was once again time to chow down on some of the country’s many delicacies. Tony gets his morning off to a good start with an ant egg omelette. In typical Bourdain style, he relishes the dish, describing the flavor as similar to that of the fish roe typically found on sushi. While insect eggs do have a certain “squeam-factor,” I have to admit I was craving a taste to see what it was like. Not one to slow down while he’s on a roll, Tony then spends his day catching swallows, a traditional Lao food. The day’s catch was then prepared both grilled and fried and consumed bones, feathers and all in a single crunchy bite. Our normally iron-stomached travel host met his match with this dish, which he describes as “bitter” and “not enjoyable.”

As is to be expected with any “Hey look, I’m a tourist in Asia!” travel show, Bourdain takes a few self-indulgent minutes enjoying a ride on an elephant. Don’t get me wrong – elephant rides have got to be amazing fun – but the ride seemed a bit gratuitous and not particularly relevant to the episode. Let’s skip this next time, ok?

To make up for his sins, Tony heads to a Lao-Lao distillery to enjoy some freshly made samples of the country’s home-made rice whiskey brew. Though his bottle didn’t contain a serpent as in the sample photo to the right, Bourdain and his filming crew do an admirable job polishing off numerous shots with their hosts. All the while they nibble on small Lao snacks like freshwater shrimp, a typical accompaniment to the drink.

To wrap things up, Tony joins his local hosts for a traditional Lao religious ceremony along with a huge feast. A friendly send-off for a visit to one of the more fascinating places on earth.

As Tony points out in his closing words, Laos is a completely magical place. It feels frozen in time, divorced from the modern habits and ways of life with which most of us are familiar. For tourists looking for a life less ordinary, this is prime real estate. Soon the very things that make us romanticize a place – it’s unspoiled charm, friendly people and intriguing customs – become the seeds of its own destruction. That restaurant that served you the ant egg omelette becomes a fast food chain and the charming street you meandered now hosts a youth hostel. But nevertheless, there is still plenty of time to enjoy the simple charms of a place like Laos – and that is something that comes through loud and clear from Anthony Bourdain’s visit.

Kashmir to rebrand itself as a golf destination

by Iva Skoch on

Kashmir probably does not evoke emotions of vacationing and relaxation in most people. After 18 years of militant violence, Kashmir wants to rebrand themselves from a heavily militarized Himalayan region to a global golfing destination.

According to this article in the NY Times, Kashmir’s government believes that golf will attract tourists who spend more than the penny-pinching backpackers who still come to trek in the mountains and stay on Srinagar’s latticed wooden houseboats. The state is spending $6.2 million to build a golf course in the winter capital, Jammu, to be completed later in the year, the fifth course in the region, and an international airport is scheduled to open in the summer.

My question is, Is there a country out there, which is supposedly not a golf destination nowadays?

Laos’ Highway 3 to be paved

by Catherine Bodry on

I know I’m supposed to be happy that the jungle-clad, muddy trail that serves as a major road through Laos is being paved. It’s good for Laos citizens, and it will cut driving time between northern Thailand and southern China to less than a day. Plus, I totally condemned writer Denis D. Gray for lamenting the changes that mass tourism has brought to SE Asia.

But I’m not as excited as perhaps I should be. My experience riding along that windy, dirty orange road is one I recount often when I’m talking about my travels. Standing around pathetic green-twig fires and sleeping overnight in the jungle because the bus was stuck in the mud is the type of traveling authenticity you can’t cultivate or buy on a tour.

Is it selfish of me to wish that some roads could remain unpaved, and that some travel remains slow? Probably. But I guess I have to suck it up and be happy for people whose ways of living will arguable improve.