Video: Lunch In A Village In Burkina Faso

by Sean McLachlan on


It’s lunchtime in Taga, a village in Burkina Faso, West Africa. A guy is milking the cows and the women are working over the stove. Kids are running around making noise and getting in the way. It’s just like lunch at my house – well, not quite.

That’s what I love about this video. There are so many similarities – the laughing kids, the idle chatter, taking some time off work in the middle of the day to enjoy family – that I can almost forget the thatched huts and chickens. The greatest thing travel teaches us is how similar people are under all the superficial differences.

One of the bigger differences is the slow pace of life in this village. It’s a tranquil video too – great for inspiring relaxation on your own lunch break. For a different look at life in the same country, check out this video of driving through the capital Ouagadougou.

By the way, anyone out there know what the gray seeds are that the woman is putting in the milk?

Video: Surviving Alone In Alaska

by Elizabeth Seward on

What is it like to survive in Alaska‘s wilderness? What is it like to do it alone? VICE followed Heimo Korth to ask these precise questions. In the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge living requires a permit. In the case of Korth, the permit is only good until the death of his last child. It’s rough land and it’s a rough life, but he has managed to perfect the art of learning it and living it. Korth has been living essentially off of his own wits for over 30 years in this area in Alaska. He moved to Alaska when he was 19 from Wisconsin in an attempt to get as far away from civilization as possible. Watch as VICE follows Korth and his family and figures out what life for them is like.

Video: Highlining Across Morocco’s Todra Gorge

by Melanie Renzulli on




Far inland from the heavily toured bazaars of Marrakech and Essaouira lies a part of Morocco that many travelers know little about. The Todra Gorge, located in the remote High Atlas Mountains, is a sort of mini Moroccan Grand Canyon with 1,000-foot rock walls that have been carved out over thousands of years by the Todra and Dades Rivers.

In the video trailer above, we see an assemblage of four adventurers called Somewhereelseland as they attempt to highline across the gorge. Highlining is the newest extreme sport, which requires thrill-seekers to cross an inch-wide nylon line suspended in the air. Think of it as slacklining at altitude or like tightrope walking in which the rope is merely a string and the walker carries no balance pole.

“No one has ever highlined in Morocco before,” says Faith Dickey, Somewhereelseland’s female highliner. Indeed, the location and the precarious nature of the sport leave us with a desire to watch beyond the three minutes featured in this video.

The Golden Gate Bridge Celebrates Its 75th Anniversary With Lots Of Sparkle

by Jessica Marati on

Few American landmarks are as recognized, photographed and beloved as the Golden Gate Bridge, which celebrated its 75th anniversary this weekend with a full slate of free performances, festivals and fireworks displays around San Francisco and the Bay Area.

The weekend’s festivities were the highlight of a full year of celebrations, which included exhibits, lectures, performances, concerts and film screenings dedicated to the iconic landmark. One thing visitors shouldn’t expect is unrestricted pedestrian access; city officials learned their lesson from the bridge’s 50th anniversary celebrations, when more than 300,000 people crowded the main thoroughfare causing the center portion of the bridge to flatten out.

In appropriate fashion, the bridge also received a touch of “sparkle” for its 75th, in the form of a new art and science installation called Solar Beacon, which opened on Sunday. According to the Los Angeles Times, the installation involves a set of remote control mirrors positioned on top of the bridge’s towers, which have the capacity to reflect narrow beams of light across the San Francisco Bay. The installation will also be participatory; residents are invited to log onto Solar Beacon’s website and input a particular place and time, and the project will direct the light’s beam there.

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[flickr image above via Argent_G37S]

Video: Sneaking Into North Korea

by Elizabeth Seward on

Most journalists tread carefully around the topic of North Korea. If a tourist in North Korea is found to be a journalist, that person can get into a lot of trouble. Whether or not the punishment for this crime is severe, the risk is too steep for most. But VICE sent a journalist to North Korea who made it out alive and well. This video documents the process of breaking into North Korea, so to speak. Watch, learn and enjoy. And by all means, if any of you have any personal stories you’d like to share about traveling to North Korea, tell us your story in the comment section below.