Intelligent Travel

Amy Tan's Hidden China

Photo of Dimen Village by Lynn Johnson

In May's all-China issue of National Geographic, novelist Amy Tan explores life in a minority ethnic village deep in the green mountains of Guizhou in southern China. The village might as well be in another millennium, as the Dong people who live there follow the same lifestyle as their ancestors did 1,200 years ago. Their language has no written form, so they preserve their heritage through songs that have been passed down through generations. Here's an excerpt from Tan's story about the village Dimen:

In Dimen people sing nearly every day. In classrooms students sit with perfect posture at their desks. They repeat in perfect a cappella pitch what their teacher has just sung. On weekends a troupe of older girls dressed in jeans and pink tops stand before the Singing Teacher and practice fast-paced songs, each taking a solo. Two gravelly voiced elderly women, respectfully called za by all, guide the younger children in reciting simpler chorals.

One of the za has blue-tinged eyes. At first I thought this was a genetic remnant of outsiders who had come through the region—perhaps foreign traders diverted from the Silk Road. Dimen has had many invaders, the blue-eyed za told me. "In 1920 a Chinese warlord kidnapped my mother's 16-year-old aunt to make her his ninth concubine. No one heard from her again." In those days, the blue-eyed za said, people who came stole our things and killed people. Each time, she and her family put sticky rice in their baskets and ran into the mountains to hide.

When the za asked me for eyedrops, complaining that her eyes were cloudy, I realized the blue in her eyes was cataracts. Several people had already told me she was the only one who knew all 120 verses of the epic song of Dimen's history, hours of a bluesy repetitive melody. According to this anthem, the original Dong ancestors of Dimen began as a people who wore no clothes. Invaders had driven their descendants to Dimen. "That old song is boring," two teenage girls later told me. "We're too busy to learn something we don't like."

You can hear a sampling of the songs of this village here, and see more amazing images from Lynn Johnson online at National Geographic magazine's website.

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Indiana Jones DVD Giveaway Contest

So it seems like all of America is abuzz about Harrison Ford's triumphant return as Indiana Jones in this summer's sure-to-be-blockbuster, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. And the travel industry is more than willing to satiate the public's appetite for adventure. Expedia is now running a whole series of experiences that celebrate the films (Swanky Shanghai nightclubs? Check. Exploring ancient Incan ruins in Peru? Check.) And Spanish travel company Vacations with Imaginations is now offering a smattering of Indy-inspired tours that add an element of danger to the itinerary: staged robberies, kidnappings, and visits from otherworldly spirits (we have to agree with Gadling that this creeps us out).

But we're not going to lie, as the preeminent arbiter of adventure travel, Indy has set our imaginations aflame more than once with his acts of derring-do (see our tribute to "Indy-pendence" in The Source in our current issue). So we're pretty darn excited to announce that our very first Intelligent Travel Contest is in the spirit of his heroic, dangerous, and exotic excursions.

Here's the deal: We have a whole mess of Indiana Jones DVD box sets, and we're giving them away to those of you who can best evoke Indy's spirit of adventure with your photographs or prose. There are two ways to enter:

For the writers – Send us 300 words or less about your most ridiculous Indiana Jones moment; the time when you couldn't help hearing the notes of Dun-dun-dun-daaah swell up as your adrenaline kicked into gear. Whether you were whitewater rafting or just rushing for your flight, we know that travel can be complicated, and it's those complications that often make the best stories. We want to hear them.

For the photographers – In the spirit of our Global Eye series, we want to know the back story to your most adventurous pics. Did a pack of mad dogs come running at you as you clicked the shutter? Or were you still huffing from a treacherous hike as you snapped an amazing view? Send us your photo along with the tale.

Send entries to intelligenttravel@ngs.org with "Contest" in the subject line. We'll pick the best from the bunch and will feature the winners all next week.

Photo: Courtesy Paramount Pictures

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Global Eye: Alberta

"My Shadow on the River"

Photographer: Sarah M. Ligon of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Getting the Shot: I took this photo on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River on Leap Year Day 2008 using my Leica C-LUX 1 point-and-shoot camera. Although the scene looks like it could be in one of Alberta's more remote regions, it is actually in the heart of downtown Edmonton, a city of more than a million people. A fluke of geography, the river's steep banks made it impossible for developers to build along the river, and so the whole river valley was turned into an elaborate park system, nearly 16 miles (25 kilometers) long. This particular spot is on a popular off-leash dog park.

The Details:  I'm a Southern girl, originally from Arkansas, and this was my first winter in Canada. Needless to say, after months of dark days and -40-degree temperatures, I came down with a bit of cabin fever. But on this particular day, the sun was radiant, and so I stole the opportunity to head out-of-doors. I shot for hours along the river, taking advantage of the long sunsets we have in the North this time of the year, and it really raised my spirits. In particular, I was tickled to discover the strange split-beam house perched on the bluff. I saw so many houses like this one when I lived in Bavaria last year, but I never expected to find one in Edmonton. It was a pleasant reminder of my happy time in another beautiful corner of the world.

Now that spring has officially sprung here in D.C., we're fully aware our pleasant afternoons of mid-70s and 80s will soon make way for the sticky heat of our infamously sweltering summers. In an act of repression and denial, we offer this quiet scene of winter reflection.

Think your own picture is good enough for Global Eye? Add your photos to our Flickr pool.

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Beyond the City Limits

Mid-April, I decided to visit my hometown of Seattle. Seeing as the Emerald City is in the peak of its rainy season at that time (believe it or not, the rain does stop eventually), my mom wondered why I'd ever want to visit for a week of gray drizzle. Well, I found round-trip airfare for $178 (which I ended up paying for in the end, when my MD-80 flight was canceled and I spent an extra six hours in BWI—I'm not bitter), and I knew visiting in April would allow me to see my favorite parts of the Pacific Northwest sans camera-toting tourists. Fortunately, I ended up bringing with me about 36 hours of sunshine, so my mom and I ventured out of the city.

Our first stop: Whidbey Island. About 30 miles north of Seattle is the ferry from Mukilteo (its small port has no more than a lighthouse, small market, and Ivar's restaurant—their smoked salmon chowder is to die for) to Whidbey Island.  There's not much on Whidbey, either, but that's the beauty of it. We stopped by Greenbank Farm, a 1930s berry farm on the south-central part of the island. In 1972 Greenbank was considered the largest grower of loganberries, a cross between a raspberry and blackberry, for which the farm is now famous (stop by in July for their Loganberry Festival). Unfortunately, we arrived before the farm actually opened for the day, so instead of testing some delicious loganberry products, we were instead greeted by some of the farm's furry friends (pictured left).

We continued north through Deception Pass, a 4,134-acre marine and camping park with great views and wildlife-watching opportunities. Stop your car before Deception Pass Bridge and take a walk along one of the short trails, or check out the view from the lookout on the other side (for more information, the visitor center is located about one mile south of the bridge). After leaving Whidbey Island, we continued east on Route 20 and north on 237, on a mission to make it to Edison, Washington, for lunch.

Positively Portland

Oh, that we should all get this kind of a send-off on our travels...

Traveler's assistant art director, Stefan Caiafa, recently ordered a CD from CD Baby, an online music store based in Portland, Oregon, that buys music directly from musicians, digitizes it, and sells the CDs from their warehouse. The musicians get paid more per album than with the big-name labels, and you get the satisfaction of listening to unique music and supporting independent musicians at the same time. Anyway, CD Baby just sent Stefan an email confirming his order, along with this heartwarming message:

Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing.

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved "Bon Voyage!" to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Friday, April 25th.

I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as "Customer of the Year." We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sigh...

Stefan wonders: Do you think they put something in the water in Portland?

P.S. from Stefan: The CD I ordered, Young@Heart's Mostly Live, is equally heartwarming, and possibly means that whatever exists in the waters of Portland also runs in the waters of the East Coast. At the very least, it seems that the spunky septuagenarians and octogenarians who sing on the CD regularly parade through the streets of Northampton, Massachusetts, spreading positivity. If you aren't in Northampton, however, try catching the excellent Young@Heart documentary recently released nationwide.

Photo by Paul Tamburro via Flickr

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Cinco de Mayo in Any Language

Happy Cinco de Mayo! If you're not too busy sipping your margarita, take time to enjoy IT Contributing Writer Cathy Healy's latest story about how sometimes, even celebrations can get lost in translation.

I've heard that San Jose boasts the biggest and best Cinco de Mayo celebration in northern California, but I've yet to experience the two-hour parade and throbbing musical acts blasting from two stages. Last year, even though I was only 30 minutes away, I lived in a different universe, with 12 international fellows at Stanford.

“Hey, let’s do something for Cinco de Mayo!” I said in late April, thinking of the annual excuse for an outdoor party in my Dupont Circle neighborhood in Washington, D.C., where the sidewalk cafes are typically packed with celebrants. “Cinco de Mayo’s a sort of Mexican heritage party,” I explained. “It’s really great! You drink margarita slushes, and eat nachos with jalapeños, and listen to mariachi music…”

The fellows glanced up from their laptops.

“When is it?” asked Hernan from Colombia. HUH?!

“I’m a Brazilian. Why would I want to celebrate Mexico’s independence?” asked Fabiana.

“Will the banks be closed?" asked Netika from India. Several of the fellows had gotten messed up on the Columbus Day holiday.

“Cinco de Mayo isn’t an official holiday,” I said. “It’s just something fun that everyone does, like St. Patrick’s Day.” No response. No one knew about that 'everyone’s-Irish' excuse for drinking beer since we’d all left for spring break on March 16.

Edgardo from the Philippines interjected: “Oh, I get it—Cinco de Mayo is when the Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead.”

"C’mon!" I said. "The Day of the Dead is always the day after Halloween!” I gave up.

Thus it came to pass that on Saturday, the fifth of May, four of us drove north to tour Napa wineries instead. After a couple of sippings, Ken from the U.K., a devout beer-drinker who’d become a McFlurry junkie at Stanford, persuaded us to forget the Silverado trail and hunt down a McDonald’s. They weren't quite the frozen margaritas I'd had in mind, but they did help beat the heat.

And on Sunday, the sixth of May, Hernan discovered Cinco de Mayo in San Jose. Turns out, he was right to ask in the first place, as the festival was in full swing.

“It was really great!” he told us the next day.

Read more: Check out Cathy's latest adventures in Amsterdam and Wyoming.

Photo: Janelle Nanos

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Cocktail Caucus in the Emerald City

Recently a friend and I stopped by Seattle's Tini Bigs Lounge, a black-wall, pink-light cocktail lounge just steps from the Space Needle. The sign outside claims it is the "second best cocktail lounge" in Seattle. At first, I wasn't quite sure why—after sampling a couple varieties of their ten-ounce 30 martinis, I'd happily call them the best around.

"Everyone claims to be number one regardless if it’s earned or just a marketing ploy," says manager Patrick Haight. "We like to think of ourselves as a humble cocktail lounge that is progressive in creating a good quality cocktail with unique and fresh ingredients. Being number two always gives us room to strive in doing better."

Fair enough. That night we sampled the Florida Keys, Aloe, and Lemon Drop varieties, avoiding the (we felt) more adventurous flavors, like the Burning Man-tini (mazama chili pepper vodka mixed with chocolate liqueur), voted best martini by Seattle Weekly.

But if you stop by the lounge this week, stay away from their classic varieties, step up to the 1909 Brunswick bar to order a "Bama-tini" or "Clin-tini," and watch as Tini Bigs's Democratic cocktail caucus takes place right in the lounge. Both drinks are made from the exact same ingredients, and for every drink ordered, the tally will go up on the board (pictured, above).

"We will be serving and keeping our unofficial results until one of the candidates drops out," says Haight. "From that point I will already have a McCain and 'fill in the blank' board ready to go until the election. We’ll have our election night party at Tini Bigs and our adjoining bar Hula Hula to root for the perspective candidates. Last election we had a more than enthusiastic party." This is one political party we'd be glad to take part in.

Tini Bigs is located at 100 Denny Way (+1 206 284 0931), on the corner of First and Denny, near the Space Needle and Pacific Science Center.

Photo: courtesy of Patrick Haight; Tini Bigs chalkboard art by Martin Hester

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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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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.

Picking the Right Guide

When you go to pick out a guidebook, there's always a risk. While you expect to be getting a fantastic compass to help you navigate your travels, you could end up with a poorly-written, out-of-date, or worse, completely fabricated disaster. Luckily, travel writer Andrew Evans, who has written several guidebooks, is here to um, guide us through the buying process.

In his recent book “Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” a very smug Thomas Kohnstamm confesses to accepting bribes, plagiarizing text, and not even visiting the countries he was covering for travel publisher Lonely Planet.  One man’s publicity nightmare is another man’s royalty check, yes, but where does this leave the traveler? How reliable is any one guidebook and how can travelers avoid buying fiction when they’re looking for facts? 

For starters, the popular conception of the travel writer is a myth. We do not run around the world with limitless corporate credit cards getting free spa packages and business-class upgrades. How does it happen? For a new title, I usually travel for at least two to three months in the country, spending 10-12 hours a day doing intensive research. Everything is research, whether I’m noting how long it takes to walk from the train station to the beach or remembering the cleanest bathrooms. Obviously, it’s impossible to see and do everything, but I try my best since nothing beats writing about a place firsthand. As backup, I collect every scrap of paper I can find on-site:  tourist brochures, café menus—even phone books. The Internet is a great secondary source once I’m home and writing things up. 

No (gasp!), guidebooks are rarely fact-checked—at least not in the way that magazines and newspapers get fact-checked. Authors are contractually liable for the information they submit so the onus is on us to get it right the first time. Proofreaders and regional experts will review the manuscript to check for inconsistencies and blatant misrepresentation but they can’t vet every phone number or hotel review. Instead, sections of the book are spot-checked to get a sense of the overall level of accuracy. If it passes the test it goes to press. 

Enter you, the savvy traveler in search of the perfect guide. Here’s a few tips to help you find what you’re after:

Be a Picky Eater: Guidebooks are like restaurants—sometimes the better ones are harder to find. Resist the temptation to grab the first thing you see. Before you head to the bookstore, check online to see every title that's available.

Check the Sell-By Date: Start with today’s date and subtract one year. That’s about the last time the author was in country for any given title, even the ones with next year’s date on the cover (e.g. France 2009). Always check the date of first publication on the inside cover and verify if subsequent dates represent actual updated editions of just reprints or partial updates. A quality guidebook has a lifespan of two to three years, after which it usually needs to be fully updated.   

How Many Travel Writers Does It Take To Screw In a Lightbulb? Just one, sometimes two. Generally, the more writers involved in a single guide, the lower the quality. Varied experience and different voices mean that a separate editor has to massage the text into a single book and risk losing authenticity. The exception to the rule are multi-author books to huge countries like Russia, China, Brazil, or Indonesia—in which case you should really consider buying a region-specific guidebook. Avoid the thick, 1,000+ page tomes that are too “all-inclusive” to carry any sustenance. Most of these are cut-and-paste jobs gleaned from smaller guidebooks.

A Taste of Oz

Last week, I took a trip to Australia while waiting for my lunch to heat up in the microwave. Standing in the NG cafeteria, I noticed with surprise the package the man next to me was holding.

“Oh my gosh, you have Tim Tams!”

My new friend grinned and revealed to me that he got these Aussie cookie treats (known in the Land Down Under as “chocolate biscuits”) at D.C.'s E Street Cinema. We shared recollections of eating this heavenly délice across the world, and he gave me one. At the first bite, my memory rocketed back to the tastes of teatime at my elementary school in Sydney.

So I thought I’d share a few of my favorites with you, IT readers. What can't be found here in the U.S. can be purchased online and shipped, although my suggestion is to head to Australia and try them firsthand. For a true Aussie experience, here are some snack foods you just shouldn’t miss:

Tim Tams. By far the most well-known and delicious chocolate biscuit, Tim Tams are produced by the Arnott's company. They come in flavors like Chewy Caramel, classic Dark, and Latte, and share a general theme of two crispy wafers surrounding a creamy filling, the whole thing covered in a layer of velvety chocolate. You can even use the biscuit (or “biccie”) as a straw to suck up hot chocolate or milk—a trick known as the "Tim Tam Slam."

Lift and Squash. Although it sounds like an uncomfortable sport, these are actually two of the country’s most refreshing drinks. Lift is a lemon-flavored soda similar to Sprite, although it’s more flavorful, being sweetened with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. Squash is Australia’s answer to lemonade, and it can vary depending on where you get it.

Smith’s Potato Chips, Chicken Flavor—Chicken-flavored potato chips, you ask? To which I answer a resounding yes. This equivalent of America’s Lay’s company produces several varieties of chips, including most of the standards, but the chicken flavor is perhaps the most authentic. Its sweet and spicy saltiness is something you won’t find in the U.S., although a somewhat similar chicken taste can be found in America’s Chicken in a Biskit cracker.

Free Vacations!

Okay, now that we've got your attention, we have to admit we're not giving anything away. But the essence of travel writing at its best is the fact that, for the cost of a magazine, paperback, or a trip to the local library, you can escape into another world for a little while. Friend of IT Kristen Guth writes about her favorite low-cost way to get away (after Traveler, of course!)

I want one of those fashionably-old antique suitcases with art deco destination stickers plastered all over, announcing where I’ve been so onlookers can get jealous.  I can even get a head start on the stickers by buying one vintage or as a colorful, updated version.  But even if I had one, as a 21-year-old strapped for cash, there wouldn’t be as many authentic, exotic stickers as I’d like. So I satiate my appetite for travel instead by snatching up The Best American Travel Writing as soon as it hits the stands. 

These stories bring you to the inner circle of travel connoisseurs by reinterpreting the meaning of travel several times over, interspersed with tidbits of local knowledge and the wisdom that comes from dog-eared passports.  In the 2007 collection of "The Best American Travel Writing," Susan Orlean poignantly writes in her intro, “In a way, these [stories] are the exact opposite of the travel you might do on Google Maps – these stories are the world not as it can be plotted by satellite but as it is observed and meditated in a very subjective and personal way.”

As I read, I felt I was slinging along with Kevin Fedarko in the backseat of a taxi driver’s fast-moving car in Djibouti, racing over 80 miles per hour to beat other drug dealers to make the daily khat delivery.  I chuckled and identified with familiar scenes of sickness experienced by every traveler as Ian Frazier skirted ailments that make us cringe with a delicate humor.  I couldn’t help grinning as I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s witty dialogue, and her trip catapulted my already willing and enthusiastic imagination to start designing plans to stroll through rural Provence with a cork and cheese knife in hand.

Antarctica's White Noise

During college, I spent a couple of sun-blistered summers as a camp counselor in eastern Iowa. One of my all-time favorite things to do while leading hikes was to tell my charge of campers to cozy up to a cave and listen carefully. As they snuggled with the limestone, looking expectantly, I'd say, "Hear that?" They usually burrowed a bit deeper, with me standing by, encouraging. Just as a confused and defeated expression shadowed their faces, I'd explain: "Nothing! It's the sound of nothing!"

Though the gimmick generally garnered nothing more than eye rolls and groans from my troop of hikers, the concept was rooted in something inherently special: Out there in the middle of nowhere, you really could appreciate the sounds of nature—which, more often than not, meant a blissful lack of noise. And I swear I can still remember the particular strain of white noise that emanated from those caves.

Scientists at the Perennial Acoustic Observatory in the Antarctic Ocean understand this concept, and have bottled the sounds of the Antarctic for the world to appreciate with "an acoustic live stream of the Antarctic underwater soundscape."

BLDGBLOG explains:

This "live stream" is recorded via hydrophones attached to "an autonomous, wind and solar powered observatory located on the Ekström ice shelf." ...its purpose is "to record the underwater soundscape in the vicinity of the shelf ice edge over the duration of several years."

As BLDGBLOG points out, the Institute strangely reminds listeners that the live stream is not intended for entertainment, but rather for scientific research. Even so, the Antarctic's white noise beats the keyboard tap-tap-tapping from neighboring cubicles any day.

Photo: Dave Walsh

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Coffee with an $11,000 Price Tag

As I deliberated over coffee beans in my neighborhood grocery store, the guy next to me struck up a conversation. It was run-of-the-mill small talk at first, but soon he was swooning over Grape + Bean, a combo wine-and-coffee shop that had just opened in nearby Alexandria, Virginia. Clearly still on a caffeine high from his visit, he was positively rapturous over the “best cup of coffee he’d ever had.” Intrigued, I pressed for details—after all, anyone who knows me at all understands coffee is my true love (sorry, Noah). And a couple of weeks later, I hopped on D.C.’s Metro on a pilgrimage to check the place out for myself. 

Just off bustling King Street in Alexandria’s adorable Old Town, Grape + Bean beckons with a cozy-but-classy feel (hardwood floors, exposed brick walls) and a friendly barista manning the coffee bar’s coveted gem: the much-buzzed-over Clover, only one of about 200 such high-end machines scattered throughout the world that brews coffee (not espresso) on a cup-by-cup basis. Produced by a small Seattle company, the machine costs a mean $11,000 and is for the bean connoisseur, or, really, anyone who’s willing to shell out more than $3 for a cup of joe. Sort of like a French press, the Clover precisely micro-manages each variable of the brewing process (temperature, time, et al), ensuring each cup’s quality is consistent. At Grape + Bean, each cup steeps for 44 seconds, though you can request longer or shorter if you know what you want.

Slate’s Paul Adams managed to get his hands on a Clover to tinker with the brewing process. In his words: “I'm sure I'm not the first Clover user to experience a quick flashback to a vivid childhood memory—watching, horrified, as Darth Vader lowers Han Solo into his carbonite freezer.”

Warning: People in New York Still Steal

Continuing our Authentic New York theme, we've asked several New York writers to riff a bit about their city. Amelia Mularz offers a reminder that while Times Square may now feel like Epcot Center, it still pays to be on guard when it comes to keeping your stuff safe...

Though I love Europe, ask any traveler who’s toured the continent and he or she is likely to have a pickpocket sob story of some kind. I myself have wandered wallet-less and teary-eyed through a Madrid metro station only to report my crime to a police officer who meets me with that eye-rolling, here-we-go-again kind of look. I’ve always taken comfort in the fact that New York, on the other hand, is relatively theft-free. Of course this is a big city and you have to have your wits about you, but it’s unlikely that a woman in Grand Central will make you hold her baby while she rifles through your pockets, looking to steal your wallet. I, perhaps naively, thought that petty theft in New York had gone out with subway crime and the seediness of Times Square. But after the week I’ve had, I can safely say that thievery is alive and well in New York City.

Last week somebody stole my desk. Yes, it was a full-size piece of furniture. I ordered it online and waited patiently with my new stapler and matching tape dispenser for its arrival. When it never came, I went online to track its progress and was confused when it said it had been delivered and signed for a few days beforehand. I called the company and the agent assured me the doorman had signed and it was safely in my building. The only problem is…my building doesn’t have a doorman.

Just as I was coming to terms with the fact that some doorman imposter had stolen my desk, my mom called to see if my roommates and I enjoyed the Easter basket she had sent…the Easter basket that, like my desk, I never received. Now the fact that I’m a grown woman and still receiving an Easter basket from my mom is completely beside the point. What’s important here is that somebody would actually steal an Easter basket sent from a 57-year-old woman in Illinois…so sad. I imagined at that moment some maniac in New York was sitting with the contents of my basket spread across my desk, separating the good Jelly Belly flavors from the bad.

Kangaroo Island's First Luxury Lodge

Kangaroo Island, off the South Australia coast near Adelaide, is most famous for its fuzzy inhabitants (from kangaroos to seals to wallabies to koalas). But the island, with 1/3 of the land national or conservation park and roughly seven times the size of Singapore, is also known for being one of the last unspoiled refuges (often called "Australia's Galapagos"), with little commercial development and no large-scale hotels. But last week, that changed.

The Southern Ocean Lodge is the island's first luxury resort. The resort features 21 "eco-chic" suites and a spa with Australia-made Li'Tya products and Aboriginal-inspired treatments.

I'm relieved to know that the the Lodge is blending local culture and the natural landscape with its "luxury" tag, but for $900 (about US $825) per night per person, I'd rather stay at one of Kangaroo Island's local bed-and-breakfasts for a more authentic experience.

Is the Southern Ocean Lodge just the beginning in the over-development of Kangaroo Island? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Photo: Australian sea lion on Kangaroo Island; Stuart Reynolds via Flickr

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Global Eye: Coney Island, New York

Photographer: Jenene Chesbrough, Brooklyn, New York

Getting the shot: This shot was taken on opening day of Astroland/Coney Island 2006. Every year my friends and I bike down to hang out, put our feet in the sand, ride the Cyclone, and eat some Nathan's Famous cheese fries. There were organ grinders and lots of Coney Island regulars hanging in front of the Sideshow when all of a sudden The Potani Sisters ran by in matching outfits... and I grabbed this shot. I realized afterwards they were shooting a silent video (I think) and that's why there was a gorilla there that day as well! This picture really captures the spirit of a disappearing Coney Island. Lots of changes are in place now, and this year looks like it will be the last year of Astroland and maybe the Sideshow too. I hope the freaks and fun stay in Coney and that this new wave of "improvements" retains some of the original flavor.

The Details: I was shooting film with my Seagull TLR medium format camera (a cheap version of the old Rolleiflex twin lens Diane Arbus used). 

Taste more of New York’s authentic flavor with the April issue of Traveler, on newsstands now, and right here at IT, where we’ve got the Big Apple for brains this month. Think you captured a “New York moment” on film (or, ahem, memory card)? Add it to our Flickr pool.

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Strange Planet: Greening Chicago

We've seen lakes turn green because of algae and mildew, but since the 1960s, Chicago has been greening its river every year for the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Apparently, local plumbers found out they could dye the water green by accident: 

In 1961 [Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local Union business manager] Stephen Bailey was approached by a plumber who was wearing some...coveralls [which] had been mostly stained or dyed a perfect shade of green... [W]hen Stephen Bailey asked how the coveralls got this way, they discovered that the dye used to detect leaks into the river turned green, not just any color green, but the perfect color green.

The men then decided to use the perfect "Irish green" to surprise the public on St. Patrick's Day.

Trip Lit: The Lost City

"For a certain kind of traveler, the Indiana Jones fantasy is irresistible: You machete through tangled jungle vines and stumble upon an overgrown passageway; plunging through clawing underbrush, you emerge to see an intact stone city of elaborate temples and plazas," writes Don George, our resident bookworm, in this month's book column about Henry Shukman's new novel, The Lost City.

George explains the book's "tantalizing premise":

Jackson Small, the protagonist, became interested in South American ruins when based with the British army in Belize. His passion was fanned on forays with his closest comrade, Connelly, who was subsequently killed in a skirmish with guerillas. Connelly claimed to have glimpsed a vast, ruined city in a little-explored region of the Peruvian highlands, and after leaving the army, Small vows to find the lost city. 

We love the mental imagery of undiscovered worlds sequestered deep in the jungle. Read the rest of the column to learn more about The Lost City and this month's literary landscape.

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Found in Translation

When we got this in our inbox from contributing editor Daisann McLane, we were just as smitten as she was...

Two weeks ago, an email from an unfamiliar address showed up in my box with an eye-catching header: "From Michael Zhang, Translator of Many of Your Articles."

I opened the email excitedly. This was a mystery I've been puzzling over for more than two years. National Geographic Traveler has a partner in mainland China called Trends—they put out a Chinese-language version of our magazine that has become one of the most widely-read travel magazines on the mainland.

"My wife and I have never been outside of mainland China," Michael wrote. "But we are coming down to Hong Kong for a few days on vacation, and it would be wonderful to meet the person whose travelogues I have been translating all these years."

Here in Hong Kong, I'm always thrilled when I see NG Traveler-Trends on the newsstand right next to the English-language edition. It reminds me that the words I write every month in the "Real Travel" column reach a more diverse readership than I can even imagine.

And the Chinese character headlines on the cover of this sister Traveler also brings home the reality that very soon, the largest percentage of the world's tourists are going to be from China. The future of tourism, sustainable and otherwise, is going to be shaped by this nation of new travelers.

Cause a Scene

One man was tying his shoe. Another was looking at a map. They were just a few of the more than 200 "undercover agents" for the group Improv Everywhere to freeze in place on the Main Concourse at Grand Central Terminal. The result was a human art installation: Frozen Grand Central.

For five full minutes on January 31, 2008, a historic transit hub trafficked by more than half a million people each day became a hall of statues. Instead of looking at the cerulean and gold leaf ceiling or Tennessee marble floors, visitors to the station unwittingly became part of a grand social experiment.

Causing scenes since 2001, the Improv Everywhere team may seem like mere pranksters. But their "missions" are also attempts to make people "stop to notice the world around them." 

Anyone can sign up to particpate in one of their larger or more missions such as the annual No Pants! Subway Ride, by joining their mailing list.

Whether you're participating in the mission or happen to be an innocent bystander, this can be a fantastic way to experience a city. Plus, they've gone global, and local improv groups are sprouting up from Houston to Helsinki.

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Trip Lit: In Arabian Nights

Our book critic Don George is back this month with an alluring new travel title: In Arabian Nights by Tahir Shah. As Shah explores his adopted home of Casablanca and wanders through Morocco, he also seeks to find a Berber tradition - the story in his heart. George writes:

Simply as a work of art and imagination, In Arabian Nights is an enthralling triumph, but in our lamentably divided modern world, it assumes an even greater importance, for Shah's account poignantly humanizes Arab culture, penetrating deep into usually unseen social and psychic layers. Like the bearer of a precious key, Shah leads us along meandering alleyways to an ancient door, which he unlocks and throws open onto the rich courtyard of traditional Arab custom and belief.

Visit Traveler's website to read the rest of the review, as well as George's take on two new India-inspired novels and a selection of photo books that offer glimpses into the "enigmatic colussus." And check out George's Trip Lit archive and our Ultimate Travel Library for more place-inspired reading suggestions.

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Surf's Up England

Here at IT, we like surfing. Apparently in England they do, too.

The developers of Silvertown Quay recently unveiled plans to create Venture Xtreme, an extreme sports venue and surf center in London. Upon completion, the center will house London's largest permanent outdoor beach and surf pool. The thing is, it's not even a real beach.

Tagging itself as the U.K.'s first "artificial surf experience" (and a "world's first" project of this size), the complex (scheduled to be complete in 2011) will feature 365 days of "perfect waves" ideal for everyone from beginners to professionals.

Baby, IT's Cold Outside!

Yukon River HDR, by Christopher Wheeler

I'm not a fan of the cold. But as we sit in our freezing cubicles, every once in a while it's nice to be reminded that here in D.C., it's really not so bad after all. I just stumbled upon a recent mental_floss post about the coldest places on earth, where author Miss Cellania describes a few of these chilly destinations and, needless to say, I warmed up a bit after reading about them.

For example, the average temperature in International Falls, Minnesota, is 36.4°F (2°C), and Fraser, Colorado, claims similar freezing temps. Both cities are in dispute (and have been for a while) over which is the real nation's "icebox" (although I can't really figure out why anyone would want this title).

Umiat, Alaska, has a population of five, according to its website. And that doesn't surprise me. The city is 340 miles northwest of Fairbanks and has frequently reported the coldest temperatures in Alaska. I wouldn't want to live there, either.

Cinematic Road Trip: California

Let’s play a game. Name a movie made in the United States. Go ahead name one. The odds that the movie you just named was filmed in California is one in three. And of those movies shot in California, two-thirds are shot in and around Hollywood, according to an August 2005 study by the California Film Commission.

Now, name a country. How about Bulgaria? Or Costa Rica? The film industry of California brings in an estimated $34 billion dollars a year into the California economy (at least as of 2002, according to the L.A. County Economic Development Corp.) which is more than the GDP of 100 countries, according to the IMF, including those of Bulgaria and Costa Rica. In fact, it's as much money as the bottom 38 countries combined.

So to say California produces a lot of film would be to say that Iowa grows a lot of corn. The state is large and the landscape assorted with deserts, mountains, forests and an ocean all within close proximity to Hollywood. This, and reliable sunshine, makes it an ideal location for the center of the film industry.

If southern California is your thing, and for many people it is, you might want to check out these movies to get a feel for the major cities on the West Coast: For San Diego, though it may not stand up as an all-time classic, Anchorman, Will Ferrell’s comedy, was shot all around the city. For Los Angeles on film: LA Confidential or Mulholland Drive will give you an idea of the vastness of the city sprawl.

Driving north of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, you’ll come to Santa Ynez Valley. This area has experienced a tourist boom in the years following the success of Sideways, the story of two middle-aged men on a road trip through one of the lesser-known wine regions in California.

But I would like to drive you up the coast from Tinseltown to the City by the Bay where I was lucky enough to stay for a few months during my college years.

The Fortune Cookie's Fortune

What's better than a great meal? Dessert. And better than dessert? Dessert with a side of destiny.

That's right. I'm talking about the infamous fortune cookie. These tasty treats have completed Chinese-food meals in America and around the world for decades. Except in China, oddly enough. And there's a reason for this. The fortune cookie isn't actually Chinese.

According to an article by the International Herald Tribune, the fortune cookie comes ("almost certainly") from Japan. Yasuko Nakamachi, a dedicated student researching at Japan's National Diet Library, has found compelling evidence that traces the cookie's origins to Japan, including an 1878 book (Moshiogusa Kinsei Kidan) about an apprentice in a senbei store (essentially, a bakery). In the book, the apprentice is making tsujiura senbei, or "fortune crackers." So, these "crackers" appeared in Japan almost 30 years before Japanese and Chinese immigrants in California claimed to have invented them. Nakamachi has traced the cookie's U.S. roots to between 1907-1914, or even earlier:

Prior to World War II, the history is murky. A number of immigrant families in California, mostly Japanese, have laid claim to introducing or popularizing the fortune cookie. Among them are the descendants of Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese immigrant who oversaw the Japanese Tea Garden built in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in the 1890s. Visitors to the garden were served fortune cookies made by a San Francisco bakery, Benkyodo.

...Nakamachi is still unsure how exactly fortune cookies made the jump to Chinese restaurants. But during the 1920s and 1930s, many Japanese immigrants in California owned chop suey restaurants, which served Americanized Chinese cuisine. The Umeya bakery distributed fortune cookies to well over 100 such restaurants in southern and central California.

We won't explain the entire history of the fortune cookie here, but the IHT article is definitely worth a read.

Photo: Agus Sutanto via Flickr

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Tasty Destinations

Food + Travel = IT's best friend. That's why we couldn't wait to read Saveur magazine's 10th annual "top 100" list of tastiest destinations around the world. Greek wine from ancient fruit, 2004 White Burgundies, and the cevapcici – "smoky, skinless sausages"--of the Balkans made the list (as did Euell Gibbons, the Grape-Nuts guy, and chopped liver – although we're not sure why), but here are some of Saveur's U.S. picks, which require you to look no further than your own backyard:

Competition BBQ: Saveur calls it the United States' "most beloved national pastime," and for good reason: According to Carolyn Wells, co-founder of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, the number of official BBQ competitions per year has reached 600. Saveur says that the best part about the "sport" is that "the fans are as generously compensated as the players. Attendees get to eat to their hearts' content and bond with fellow 'cue fanatics amid a haze of fragrant wood smoke."

Cincinnati chili: Oh, Ohio. Essentially, this tasty Midwest dish is spaghetti with chili. But it's one of the best chilis in the world. According to Saveur, it comes from Greek and Slavic immigrants, and is a "distant cousin" of pasticcio. Saveur has tips for how to order it the next time you pass through Ohio: order your chili "'two-way' (served on spaghetti), 'three-way' (with the addition of grated cheddar cheese), 'four-way' (with cheese and chopped onions), or 'five-way' (with cheese, onions, and stewed kidney beans)."

Nashville, Tennessee: Like any fabulous meal, a "best of" food list wouldn't be complete without dessert: GooGoo Clusters, invented by the Standard Candy Company in Nashville, have been an American favorite since 1912. We agree: claiming to be the world's first "combination candy bar," the GooGoo is made out of the finest ingredients--milk chocolate, marshmallows, caramel, and roasted peanuts.

Photo: Suwandi Chandra, via Flickr

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Cinematic Road Trip: Arizona

John Ur makes a pitstop on his Cinematic Road Trip to give us a taste of Arizona.

Back when I was just a wee lad, my mental map of Arizona included nothing but orange sand. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could live there. To me, any desert must be like the Sahara I’d seen on TV. I had no perception that different types of deserts could exist in different climates.

Fast forward some twenty years and my perception of Arizona hadn’t much changed. I expected to see a flat, dry and sandy land sprinkled with a town here and there. Much to my pleasant surprise, Arizona is much more diverse in landscape than I pictured. True, in the south, the land is largely dominated by saguaro cacti and the rugged landscape of the Chihuahuan Desert (as can also be seen in southern New Mexico and West Texas), but as you move north from Phoenix toward Sedona and Flagstaff, the elevation gains about 5,000 - 7,000 feet, with Humphreys Peak topping the state at 12,633 feet above sea level.

Heading north through the state, you will see the landscape shift from the flat desert land in the south to the wonderful red rocks of the central region. Sedona boasts an impressive amount of rock formations, each with their own particular name (based roughly on their shape: Coffee Pot, Bell, Cathedral Rock, etc.). Flag