Intelligent Travel

Global Eye: Moscow

Photographer: Kat Tancock, Toronto, Canada.

Getting the Shot: I took the photo in mid-March at the Vernisazh market in eastern Moscow (also known as Izmailovo Park).

The Details: It was a bright day and I was taking advantage of the bright colours in the stalls with my Canon SD750 point-and-shoot camera. I loved the juxtaposition of the Putin doll with all of the standard matryoshki.

We love how this picture helps sum up how tradition and politics mingle in Moscow. No doubt there's a few riddles hidden inside the Putin doll.

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Subway Art

GrrlScientist is a brainy blog I like, and the author, an evolutionary biologist and ornithologist, has recently completed a photo series of all the tile mosaics on walls of the New York City subway station at 81st Street and Central Park West, which is right outside the American Museum of Natural History. She's identified most of the colorful creatures by their scientific as well as common names.

There's a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), spreading its wings, and in a former life, its jaunty striped caterpillar self looping along near the floor. There's brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli), with long feathers and slender beak poised on one wall, and a red and yellow African reed frog (Hyperolius marmoratus), glommed onto another. Near the ceiling under a fluorescent light, an unidentified shark patrols a coral reef. A whiptail lizard (or is it a hatchling Knight anole?) curls its tail around the street number 81 on one wall. An octopus's garden appears on another wall, which GrrlScientist photographed for her cephalopod-loving friend's 92nd birthday. She took many of these images, by the way, while she was recuperating from a broken arm. Her entire archive of 81st St. subway art images is here.  Her favorite is this moody blue coelacanth.

Trip Lit: Wolf Totem's Inner Mongolia

"Life on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia is hard and brutal, but it embodies an edifying nobility and symmetry too," writes our literati leader Don George in April's Trip Lit book column. He's describing one of the central themes of the "electrifying" Chinese novel Wolf Totem, which was written by a publicity-shy, 61-year-old former political science professor at a Beijing university, under the pseudonym Jiang Rong. George continues:

Like Jiang, the protagonist of Wolf Totem, Chen Zhen, is an "educated youth" who has moved to the grasslands from the city in the mid-1960s, at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. There he quickly becomes fascinated with the wolf, at once the adversary and the totem of the local Mongolian people. The wolf is fierce, ruthless, cunning, and essential to the delicate balance of the grasslands ecosystem—and becomes a key for Chen to unlock the intricate riches of grasslands life. During the course of the novel, more and more Han Chinese move into the region, bringing their naive ideas about land use and animal control. As a result, the wolves are exterminated, which contributes to the grasslands beginning to turn into desert.

Read more about Jiang's international phenomenon here, and keep up-to-date on the rest of this month's new travel literature round-up, from beautiful photo-driven coffee books (think Mother's Day gifts!) to modern Middle Eastern fables sure to delight fans of The Arabian Nights, plus a fascinating portrait of the Dalai Lama and Tibet by the prolific Pico Iyer.

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No Beer at the Inn

The Halal Inn opened last December in Oldham, England, as the first Islamic pub in Britain. Buzzing (albeit a bit hesitantly) with a decidedly sobering business model, the place adheres to a strict no-alcohol policy, opting instead to serve fizzy non-alcoholic juices, drinks, and spritzers.

The Daily Mail explains:

Pubgoers can play snooker, darts or karam, an Indian board game similar to billiards. Islamic-themed quiz nights have also been organised.

Owners Azizur Rahman and business partner Muzahid Khan spotted the potential in the former Westwood Inn which was lying empty on the edge of the town centre.

Muslims are a major consumer group and they need somewhere to relax and socialise just like anybody else," said Mr Khan yesterday.

"But the presence of alcohol means traditional pubs are off-putting to those who want to follow strict Islamic rulings, so this is the perfect place for them to come.

I'm all for diverse businesses, especially ones that cater to under-represented demographics. And considering Britain is home to around two million Muslims, the concept certainly hits an untapped niche. But at the risk of sounding like a lush, I can't help but agree with Vagabondish: "Why not just call it a café instead?"

Photo: Karam board game, by Domini_ via Flickr

One on One: Rudy Maxa

If you watch public television, you've probably seen the popular show Smart Travels, which our own contributing editor Rudy Maxa has hosted since 2001. In May 2008, the show debuts its sixth season with a fresh title, Rudy Maxa's World, reflecting a new worldwide focus after concentrating heavily on Europe and the Pacific Rim during the program's early years. Prior to his work in television, Maxa spent over three decades as a Washington, D.C., journalist—first with the Washington Post, then Washingtonian magazine. Over the past six years, he's written several stories for National Geographic Traveler. With every job he's held, Maxa has wrangled assignments that have allowed him to travel the world. Amazingly, he still can't get enough of gallivanting about. Here Rudy is interviewed by Keith Bellows, Traveler's editor in chief. Check out the print version of his story in our upcoming July/August issue, and more of Keith's One-on-One interviews online.

Yellowstone and Montana MapGuides

We always try to keep tabs on what our neighbors here at National Geographic are doing, and so we're excited to share what the folks at the Center for Sustainable Destinations are up to next. One of CSD's many projects is to establish geotourism charters with local communities to help identify, develop, and promote the unique and authentic assets that will attract travelers to their region. Working closely with community partners, they then harness the staff and resources of the National Geographic Maps division to create a unique MapGuide, which, as the name helpfully indicates, is a bit of a guidebook and map in one. I used one while in Baja a few months ago, and thought it was both tremendously helpful and a really fun way to explore a place.

Last month, CSD released their latest MapGuide, "The Crown of the Continent," which spans Alberta, British Columbia, and Montana. Working with a local geotourism alliance, they plotted a slew of fascinating finds like the Bellevue Underground Coal Mine tour (wear miner's helmets!), the Two Medicine Dinosaur Center (fossils!), and Garnet Ghost Town (boo!), plus a bevy of campsites, small B&B's, and handicraft shops. The maps have terrific photographs and tons of information, and even better, they're absolutely free! You can take a peek at the maps online, and order your own at the Crown of the Continent website.

Next up for CSD is a MapGuide on Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Right now, local residents and visitors can nominate for inclusion in the MapGuide landmarks, attractions, activities, events and local businesses that define the region's unique character and distinctive appeal. Nominations may be made between April 15 and June 30, 2008, so send in your favorite spots now!
Image: Crown of the Continent MapGuide

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Global Eye: San Francisco

Photographer: Vahid Jahed, from Minden, Nevada.

Getting the Shot: The photo was taken at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco in 2006. I wanted to take some night photos there. A few swans, accustomed to being fed, approached me and one actually pecked at my camera as it was sitting at the water's edge.

The Details: I used long exposure to capture the background and the built-in flash to capture the swan.

We like the way that Vahid managed to make a make a traditional landmark shot unique. Think your own picture is good enough for Global Eye? Add your photos to our Flickr pool.

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Gettysburg Going Green

Don’t judge a building by its exterior is the lesson learned at the all-new Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, which opened April 14. Despite being designed to "blend into the rural Pennsylvania countryside" according to the National Park Service's website, the brand new center is packed full of modern multimedia, and has been designed to meet LEED certification at the silver level. Yes, Lincoln's Gettysburg is getting up to speed and going green.

Located in the Gettysburg National Military Park, the center includes interesting features to accompany the obligatory walk in the battlefield itself. Visitors can explore the center’s 11 exhibit galleries, watch a short film (narrated by Morgan Freeman) that highlights the significance of the 1863 Battle at Gettysburg, peruse 300,000 Civil War artifacts, and check out the expanded museum bookstore for souvenirs. I know I will when I continue my travels through Colonial America.

History lessons and environmental friendliness: What more could this earth conscious history junkie ask for?

Photo: Gettysburg National Military Park

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More Fun Than Lifeguarding: NG Student Expeditions

Climb to the top of an ancient fort in Rajasthan. Snorkel with sea lions in the Galapagos. Spend the night with a family who lives next to the Great Wall of China. Ride a zip line through the rain forest in Costa Rica. Sail to fishing villages in Mali. Learn to drum in Belize. Trek to bubbling mud pots in Iceland. Hone your photography skills with a National Geographic photographer in Granada. 

Sound tempting?  If you’re in high school (that's the catch), one of these adventures could be yours. National Geographic Expeditions, which is the travel outfitter for the National Geographic Society, has a long history of leading adventurous travelers to some of the world’s most fascinating destinations, and just this year they’ve teamed up with Putney Student Travel to offer trips for high-school students through National Geographic Student Expeditions. Only students completing grades 9 through 12 this year are eligible, and spaces are filling fast, due to a recent front-page article in the Washington Post travel section.

Each three-week expedition will have specific assignments (writing, photography, culture & arts, etc.) under the guidance of a National Geo expert, and takes advantage of our worldwide network of experts. "In Peru, for example, visit the lab of National Geographic grantee and archaeologist Guillermo Cock and hear an account of his ground-breaking discovery of thousands of Inca mummies. Get to know a Maasai elder in Tanzania, and climb a glacier with a local scientist in Iceland. In Beijing, meet with editors of the recently launched Chinese-language edition of National Geographic magazine.

Maryland Day

NatGeo Traveler researchers are always looking for weekend fun that's authentic and free (see our Free Cities! library), so when senior researcher Meg Weaver spotted this notice about the University of Maryland's annual Maryland Day (Saturday, April 26, from 10 to 4), she emailed it instantly to the rest of us. Kristen Gunderson, a loyal U. Maryland grad, responded with enthusiasm and regret: she's heading off to New York on the Chinatown bus, but she left us some tips for enjoying this festival:

MARYLAND DAY IS SO MUCH FUN! I am so sad I will be missing it this year...if I had remembered, I would have stuck around here this weekend.

Some highlights:
Ice cream from the UMD dairy - UMD is famous for this stuff. It's delicious. There are also rumors that the ice cream is so fatty that it doesn't meet USDA standards and that's why it's only produced on campus and not sold anywhere else. And why it's so gosh darn tasty.

Also, the Maryland cows have windows in them. Yes, that's right. The Ag students cut holes in the sides of some of the cows and installed little portals so that you can actually watch the process of digestion in action in their stomachs. And, on Maryland Day, they open the portals and you can actually stick your hand inside (with a glove, of course). I have never done it. But it's one of our famous attractions.

And there's all sorts of free buttons, stickers, maps, etc. and tons of fun games, music and events. Plus, the campus is gorgeous, especially at this time of year. Get some lunch and eat it on the mall or by the chapel.

From the College Park Metro station there is a free UMD shuttle that will take you right to the heart of campus (the Stamp Student Union). At the Union, don't miss the memorial statue of Jim Henson talking to Kermit the Frog - UMD was his alma mater, where he created his own major: Puppetry. Also downstairs in the Union is the Co-op, which sells delicious free-trade, organic/vegan, sustainably-produced foods. Anyone can volunteer here for food credit. I practically lived here my last year on campus.

So yes, definitely go if you can. :) Eat some ice cream for me.

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