Befriend the book swap – International travel tip

by Gadling Staff on

Instead of carrying enough books to last the length of your trip, seek out a hostel, bed-and-breakfast, or local cafe’s book swap. Sometimes they’re listed among a facility’s amenities in guidebooks. Other times, only asking — or (better yet) exploring — finds one!

Using book swaps keeps your luggage light, an imperative with new airline luggage weight restrictions. Also, perhaps, you’ll get turned on to a new genre of literature (as I did in Bolivia).

The Kindle holds no candle to discovering a love for short stories! Furthermore, a paperback is much less vulnerable to the elements… and to “sticky fingers!”

Travel Read: Culture Smart! Ethiopia

by Sean McLachlan on

I’m headed to Ethiopia soon and I’m busy reading everything I can get my hands on about the country. Thus I eagerly picked up a copy of Culture Smart! Ethiopia. The Culture Smart! series offers insights into the customs and cultures of dozens of different countries. As a first-timer to sub-Saharan Africa I hoped to get lots of insight into a very different world.

Sadly, I didn’t.

The book’s main problem is its brevity–168 small-format, illustrated pages. This means pretty much every section is superficial. For example, in the “Ethiopia’s Cultures” section, the Amhara, Gurage, Oromo, and Tigray, making up two-thirds of Ethiopia’s 79 million people, get one paragraph each. The rest of the country’s numerous and varied cultures are lumped into a single short paragraph. In these thumbnail sketches we’re treated to such statements as, “Gurage people are traders and know the value of money.” Perhaps this is true for a large number of individuals, but it’s simplistic to the point of stereotyping.

The space problem is made worse through frequent repetition and bland statements. In the two-page section on children we learn that parents want them to be educated and will send them to private school if they can afford it, hardly a startling revelation. What we don’t learn is how to interact with children. Do we shake their hand? Kiss them? Tousle their hair? All of these actions are acceptable in some cultures and considered odd or even insulting in others. Is it OK to play with them? Bring them gifts if their parents invite us to their homes? Are boys and girls treated differently? Behaving correctly with children is one of the best ways to do well in a foreign culture, and messing this up is one of the easiest ways to cause offense.

The book is made worse by occasional mistakes and typos. The Italians didn’t “misinterpret” the 1889 Treaty of Wuchale, leading to the Battle of Adwa in 1896, they deliberately mistranslated it in an attempt to gain control over Ethiopia’s foreign affairs. And titling the section on Eritrea “A Thorn in Ethiopia’s Side” is unnecessarily provocative and ignores the numerous periods when the two regions have been united.

Other sections can be quite good despite the space constraints. The sections on driving and doing business in Ethiopia provide a useful primer. Also, there’s enough basic information in the book as a whole that someone who hasn’t done any other reading would find it of value. So if you’re only going to read one book besides your guidebook, you might want to give this a try. But if you’re serious about being “culture smart”, you’ll be reading a lot more than that.

Have you used a Culture Smart! guide? Tell us what you think of them in the comments section.

Lon-done? Try Canterbury

by Sean McLachlan on

If you’re looking for a day trip away from the noise and pollution of London, head out to Canterbury just a 90 minute train ride to the southeast.

We’ve all heard of the Canterbury Tales, a series of stories by Geoffrey Chaucer told by pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral. It’s a cornerstone of English literature and well worth reading. Even if you weren’t assigned to read it in school, a visit to Canterbury will be an interesting diversion.

The most important site is, of course, Canterbury Cathedral and St. Augustine’s Abbey, which together constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There’s been a church at this spot since 597 A.D., when St. Augustine founded one here to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxons. Like many early Christian churches, it was built atop an old Roman temple to assert the dominance of the new faith. The church has been extensively remodeled over the years, especially by the Normans in 1070. The soaring Gothic roof and the dazzling stained glass are the most impressive features, but pilgrims come here to see the spot where Archbishop Thomas Becket was martyred in 1170 for opposing the Crown. There’s a small chapel here where Becket is buried.

Also worth a look are the extensive crypts, with dark chapels, flickering candles, and the cathedral treasury. After seeing the interior, be sure to visit the grounds, a quiet series of gardens and squares that are soothingly beautiful in the fading light of evening.

The other half of the World Heritage Site is St. Augustine’s Abbey, founded in 598 A.D. and now in a state of elegant decay. It’s the oldest Anglo-Saxon Abbey in England. It was the only abbey to survive the Viking invasions of the 9th century and became central to the religious life of the region until Henry VIII shut it down in 1538.

Canterbury was an important Roman town and some of the these early remnants remain. The Roman Museum on Butchery Lane explains the development of Roman Durovernum through artifacts and recreated rooms. The star attraction is part of a Roman house uncovered by a Luftwaffe bomb during World War Two. One room had a heating system under the floor, a hollow area where warm air flowed from a nearby furnace. Also preserved is a hallway decorated with mosaics.

%Gallery-83609%Canterbury is a fine old town for a walk. The River Stour cuts right through the center and lining its banks are timber frame houses from the Tudor era. Rough medieval towers and ornate Victorian buildings compete for space with more modern buildings to give a quick lesson in the history of English architecture. Just around the corner from the Cathedral is the Canterbury Tales Exhibit, which sounds like a literary tourist trap. Since I haven’t been there personally, I’ll refer you to a blogger who has.

For dining you simply must go to Kashmir Tandoori at 20 Palace St. This local favorite has been serving South Asian cuisine since 1966 and has won a entire wall of awards. The balance of spices is masterful, emphasizing flavor over fire in a way that makes you appreciate Indian cooking as more than an endurance contest. They offer regional dishes from all over South Asia.

If you stay overnight, you can’t get a better view than from the Cathedral Gate Hotel at 36 Burgate. When I was there in 2007 the hotel was a bit tattered and in need of a remodel, but being located right next to the cathedral gate with splendid views of the Cathedral itself, you’ll barely notice. Make sure you get a room facing the Cathedral and not the street.

Up for another day trip? See another cathedral and more Roman ruins at St. Albans. You can even drink in “England’s oldest pub”!

Gadlinks for Thursday, 1.14.2010

by Katie Hammel on

It’s almost Friday! Here’s a few more travel tidbits from around the net to help you soldier on until the weekend.

More Gadlinks here

Where the Hell is Matt—the book version, a perfect read for 2010

by Jamie Rhein on

This time last year, Matt Harding was named traveler of the year by World Hum. His video, “Where the Hell is Matt?,” the one funded by Stride gum had gone viral earlier that year. No wonder. If there’s a secret to world peace, Harding had found it.

Start dancing a silly, but engaging dance and people will dance with you-most people. The guard at the DMZ in North Korea won’t dance.

In his book Where the Hell is Matt? Dancing Badly Around the World, published earlier this year, Harding tells the stories behind the video. The book is as real and honest as the video version. What makes Harding’s brand of world travel work is his lack of pretense.

This is a guy who likes people who people are drawn to by the droves.

What is made clear in the book is that Harding was as surprised by his success as anyone. He merely started out dancing at various spots around the world and filming his flailing. It was a spontaneous gesture. Once that video gained recognition, Stride gum approached him about round two and that’s when Harding’s life changed.

His book, as well as being an engaging and humorous look at the stories behind the story, delves into issues that can haunt the traveler using the people in various parts of the world for personal gain.

Harding, along with his girlfriend Melissa who held the camera for part of the video, was uncomfortable knowing that he was earning money for his efforts while some of the people he filmed were living in dire conditions. A guy with heart, Harding came up with solutions he–and Melissa, could live with. For example, at the school in Madagascar, Harding made a donation to the school as thanks for allowing the children to participate in his creation.

Making a video of dancing badly is not the easiest endeavor, even though the dancing looks as easy as pie. The shot snorkeling in Vanuatu was a feat in perseverance where a couple of minutes are, thankfully, all that was needed. That’s just one example.

The book also makes clear that Harding had no idea what a treasure he was creating. Even after the video was finished and Harding began promoting it, he had no idea. It wasn’t until he sat down one night to watch it over and over that he knew. When Harding saw his creation from the rest of our eyes, he did what most people who saw it did. He cried.

If there’s a book that will keep you engaged and give you the motivation to keep up the good work of honest, open world traveling in 2010, it’s this one.