An interveiw with travel writer and author Thomas Kohnstan

According to his website bio, Thomas Kohnstamm is a “writer, traveler and seeker of all that is odd, adventurous and ridiculous.” In his first book, Do Travel Writers Go To Hell, he takes readers through a healthy fixing of ridiculousness as he embarks on a debaucherous journey through Brazil as a Lonely Planet writer.

Before opening the book, I thought it would be akin to a Do They Serve Beer in Hell for travelers—a fun, shallow read. What you´ll find is more. The book is fun. It is ridiculous. It is, as the cover proclaims it to be, “A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventure, Questionable Ethics & Professional Hedonism”. But under the surface of all the fun, Kohnstamm offers a philosophical depth and commentary on traveling, travel writing and the drive that draws people to the road. The characters he describes are real, and for everyone who has spent time in hostels, they are all people we have met. Likewise, the questions he raises “What am I doing and why?” are questions travelers grapple with frequently.

All this makes Do Travel Writers Go To Hell not just an enjoyable read, but an important read that will likely stand the test of time and weigh down traveler´s packs from Brazil to Botswana.

Continue reading TheExpeditioner.com´s exclusive interview Author Thomas Kohnstamm as he relates his experience as a travel writer and admits his unhealthy obsession with Scary Spice. (more…)

If you stick around Istanbul long enough you’re likely going to run into a Whirling Dervishes performance. But if you want to see the real thing you have to head to Konya, where it all began.

By Inka Piegsa-Quischotte

I have to admit that until I visited the festival in Konya, Turkey, I didn’t have a very clear idea as to what the whirling dervishes were all about. Everybody who has visited Turkey has seen images of guys in white skirts and black conic hats, arms outstretched whirling around their own axis. Although I didn’t think of them as some drug-crazed mystics who danced themselves into ecstasy and oblivion, I thought more along the lines of folkloristic dance. Both assumptions were totally wrong.

It was winter in Turkey — December to be precise — and cold and miserable, so I willingly followed the suggestion of my Turkish friend who suggested I travel from Didim to Konya and experience what he described as, quote: “a unique opportunity to learn about the Sufi philosophy and the significance of the dance at the site where it all originated.” That’s how he put it in his usual rather flowery way of describing things. But then, the man is a poet, so he must be forgiven.

The festival is celebrated each year from December 10 – 17. Konya does have an airport, but given the huge amount of pilgrims and visitors who descend upon the town for the occasion, no flights were to be had, so we opted to go by long-distance coach. (more…)

So we´ve all heard: Learning a second language is hard. It´s also often hilarious to the ears of native speakers. Countless novice Spanish speakers have accidentally been very horny when they meant to say they were hot. During my friend Kayla´s first week studying in Japan, she found herself sitting awkwardly at a table of hushed Japanese businessmen when she accidentally made a toast to “penises.” My first month in Chile, when people asked me why I chose to study there, I told them because I “wanted to learn to suffer,” instead of expressing my desire to learn surfing.

Those who have a better command of the language can also use others’ lack of skill for mucho fun. I once had a friend visit me in Guatemala and told him that “Serote” was how to say “Sir” or “Ma´am” in this country. “Serote” actually translate closer to “Shithead.” It was not easy to hold back my laughter when he went in to a store and the following conversation took place in loud Gringo Spanish:

Friend: Hey shithead, I would like a Coca-cola.

Store owner: (with a murderously amused expression). A Coca-cola?

Friend: Yes, shithead.

(The store owner slowly grabs the soda and my friend pays.)

Friend: Many thanks shithead!

Most travelers have plenty of their own stories of their own mistakes in other languages. So here I encourage you to leave a comment below, sharing other hilarious language blunders you’re encountered.

Could you imagine buying a Chanel sweater for ¨less than the cost of a movie ticket¨? Or, maybe Crocs of electric purple (not that I would suggest it)? Well, if you happen to be in Nairobi, Kenya, than the Toi market has something for you.

The Toi market is located in Kibera, the city´s notorious slum. It ranks as the largest second-hand market in Eastern Africa with, as The Toronto Star describes, everything. Even since the 2008 riots, business has been booming. With help from Jamii Bora Trust, a micro-lending organization in Kibera, the market was rebuilt, the stalls have been upgraded from blue tarps to corrugated metal and, as a result, the Toi has doubled to more than 3,200 vendors selling clothes, jerseys, food, shoes; like the article said: everything.

The people are using the Toi market as a ¨poster child¨ in the efficacy of micro-lending programs. To me, from what the people were quoted as saying, business could not be better which makes the people, now twice as many people, really happy. Something´s right about that.

I was handed a book recently, and, let’s be honest, books that are given to me have to be good given my propensity towards restlessness. It’s titled “Double Take: A Memoir.” I never heard of it, or the author before, so I sat down and gave it the ol’ “fifty-page test.” Lucky for me, those fifty pages sucked me in. Like I said, handing me books can be a gamble sometimes, this one paid off.

It begins as a story of a boy (no spoiler alert here, BTW), born without legs, in rural Montana. Early on, with the help of his family (particularly his MacGyver-like dad), he adapts to life and is raised as anyone else. It follows his adventures, discovering a talent for skiing (and crashing), eventually earning him a trip to the X-Games (a bronze medal this past games!). With his first winnings, he decides to grab his skateboard (his chosen mode of transportation) and camera, and travel the world (I knew I liked this guy).

While studying in New Zealand in college, he became acutely aware of others’ curiosity towards him. Based on that epiphany, and the therapy he felt snapping photos of wrinkled faces staring at a legless dude skateboarding down the streets of Paris, he began a photography project called “The Rolling Expedition,” capturing reactions to him from all over the world. This project took him to Japanese bath houses, Kuala Lumpur, Ukraine, China, and others. The coolest place he went? Split, Croatia (glad it wasn’t that bath house — keep in mind, without legs, that puts you eye to eye with . . . well, you get the point). Check out some of his shots here.

A breakthrough moment for Kevin happens amidst a travel factiod I was unaware of: the Sarajevo Roses. During the Bosnian war, Sarajevo was hit with unruly urban warfare. Inevitably, the streets were pocked with mortar rounds. Once order was restored, the marks were filled in with a red rosin, creating a memorial of sorts to those killed. The red patterns embedded in the concrete create a rose-like pattern, a unique feature found throughout the city.
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Okay, not having basic cable certainly precludes me from watching the Travel Channel much anyway, but their programming right now isn’t exactly making me want to rush out and order it either. Eater is reporting today that with the recent success of “Man v. Food” (apparently a show about a guy who eats alot of bad food in one sitting), the Travel Channel is adding a show called “Food Wars.” The premise of the show is that each week two local restaurants that specialize in the same dish are pitted against each other in a blind taste test judged by local patrons.

“What,” you say, “does an eating competition show have to do with travel anyway?” Great question. The answer? The same thing “Jersey Shore” has to do with music programming. Nothing!

As we reported back in November, Scripps — the owner of The Food Network and HGTV — took over the channel, and just as we kind of predicted (see my #2), the food-celebrity shows are on their way.

The sad part about this whole thing? Apparently these show are beating out our favorite travel show, “No Reservations,” in ratings on a weekly basis. Time for Tony to put away the Caipirinhas in Brazil and start digging into some 48-oz cuts of beef on live television? Let’s hope not.

I have always thought of the train as the most romantic way to travel. Maybe it´s because you can sit back and relax, doze off without swerving into traffic. Maybe it´s because you get to see other paths other than the pavement. I don´t know what it is, but I love taking trains.

When I read Douglas Rogers´ article about his attempted journey from New York to Los Angeles, I was fascinated. Although he had a wife, a young kid and another baby on the way, he took a week off and tried to make the journey West. He stopped in a town that was the basis for the book, ¨Fried Green Tomatoes,¨ and Marfa, where “No Country For Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood” was filmed. These are towns that you don´t get to experience when flying from JFK to LAX.

However the towns and cities that he stopped in were nothing in comparison to the people he had met. Maybe that´s what is so fascinating about the train: you are surrounded by other people sharing the same, long ride. They busted out into songs and Douglas got to hear other people´s stories of why they decided to take the train.

Sounded, to me, like an unforgettable experience, one that he will get to share with his children for years to come.

This amazing trip to the palaces and temples of Wudang Mountain — the birthplaces of the Wudang school of Kung Fu — takes you into the heart of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Be forewarned, the video goes a little martial-arts-training-video on us toward the end.

Highlight: The views at 2:12 are enough to get you to hop on a plane to China today.

NYC to Tokyo for $604: You have to leave on a Wednesday, and it has to be during the next three weeks, but this round-trip price includes taxes and fees (as Travelzoo points out, this is a fare you’re looking at normally paying about $1,000 or more).

Las Vegas’ Venetian Hotel — 4th Night Free: True, by the 3rd day you’re probably looking to get out of there, but if you really want to stick around Sin City, why not get a night free? Last time I was there I stayed at the Bellagio during its opening week. When checking in the desk clerk leaned towards me and whispered, “The actor that played Mr. Miyagi [Pat Morita] from “The Karate Kid” is staying here too this week.” Needless to say, it was a great stay.

Boston to San Francisco for $137: This one’s good for dates in February and March. Average temperature in March? 55 degrees. Average number of rainy days? 11. Do you feel lucky? Well do ya?

So what does it mean exactly when the Wall Street Journal is talking up Nicaragua? Is it kind of like when you were a teenager and the second your parents had heard of your favorite band you instantly thought that band wasn’t cool anymore? (See, in this extended metaphor the WSJ is your parents ’cause, yeah, you get it.) Since my mother does in fact read this, and in deference to her, I’m going to say Nicaragua’s still cool, even though the stodgy old WSJ’s gotten wind of it.

As they point out, Nicaragua’s Little Corn Island — located in the Caribbean, 70 km off the southern part of the country and 15 km north of the more-developed Big Corn Island — is a haven for diving (Jon also mentioned this here last week) including several ship wrecks and the remains of a Spanish galleon, as well as underwater caves and great reef diving (in fact it’s part of the same reef that begins north in Belize).

But, be forewarned, the island’s for the lay-around-and-not-do-much set. As Lonely Planet puts it, “other than work on your tan or get in the water, there are few attractions, per se . . .”

This being the WSJ, they also point out that there is no regular phone service, but that cellphones and BlackBerrys do work in town! Oh, like, what a totally lame thing to point out. I’m totally going back in the basement and playing my guitar.

The NY Times has graced us again with a look at how to spend your weekend. This time, it takes us to Buenos Aires. Being one of Latin America’s largest cities, there is too much to do in 36 hours. This would be one of those moments to choose quality over quantity of things experienced.

I checked out the list and I can honestly say I have not done, eaten, seen one thing on it. Yet, the itinerary definitely nailed some “must-dos”, like a football match — preferably the Boca Junior against their infamous rivals River Plate — and Graffitimundo, a tour of the spray-painted streets in  Buenos Aires.

Undoubtedly, if you are only in the city for a weekend, you may want to change your sleep schedule. As the article suggests, and I agree, porteños like to party all night long and it’s an experience you will not want to miss.

This article tends to focus on two neighborhoods in Buenos Aires: Palermo and Recoleta. Just as an addition, or perhaps a swap if time does not permit, I would have drinks at 878 in Palermo (Thames 878), a former speakeasy, which radiates relaxation and ambiance. For some reason, some bars in the city jack up the lights, which makes it very uncomfortable to drink and have a conversation at the same time. However, 878 does everything right. From low lighting to leather sofas, it is very comfortable spot to finish off the night. (more…)

Whenever the word “enchanting” is used, there is something, well, enchanting about it. Maybe it’s just semantics, but there is definitely a stigma attached to that word. For me at least, it’s worth an investigation.

Drifting around Twitter-ville recently, I stumbled across this intriguing word. My predictability took over, and I followed the link to Velvet Escape’s post about the crowning jewel of Costa Rica’s ecological legacy, Tortuguero National Park. However brief as this article was, “enchanting” was only the start.

A maze of canals, estuaries, and lagoons are surrounded by the dense rainforests along the Caribbean; a combination that put Costa Rica on the map. Visitors to the park can take hike and boat tours through the waterways to get to the more intimate areas of the park. If you’re going by boat, expect canopy-covered canals through a wonderland of animal life (monkeys, tapirs, and sloths . . . need I say more?). If you choose to hike — opt for the guided night hike during turtle nesting season (tortuguero literally means “region of turtles”).

All these possibilities send my imagination reeling. Looks like I’ve been enchanted, yet again.

So I may be a little out of the loop with popular culture, but there’s apparently this show that’s quite popular with the kids these days called “Lost,” which revolves around some sort of plane crash in the Pacific Ocean. (Give me a break, I don’t have a lot of time for T.V. watching. Who do you think runs this site, a group of elves working in my basement? Actually, not a bad idea . . . but I digress.)

Okay, I do know the show, and it seems the world’s pretty psyched it’s starting up its last season tonight. In honor of this, some engineers over at Kayak.com, the travel search site, decided to include a little nod and a wink to the hardcore fans, and included a search result for Oceanic Airlines flight 815 when searching for one-way flights from Sydney to Los Angeles on September 22, 2010.

And as CNET reports, for the true fan, the following apparently means something: “[T]he pricing of the flight [is] $4,815.16 airfare, $23.42 in taxes and fees. Yup, that’d be the sequence of numbers that continually appears on “Lost”: 4-8-15-16-23-42. The flight is also listed as 10 hours, 8 minutes long, which is definitely a nod to the sum of those numbers (108), considering an actual nonstop flight from Sydney to Los Angeles is somewhere between 13 and 14 hours.”

Were you wondering what all the fuss was about last week when we told you about how travelers were having to be flown out of Machu Picchu via helicopter due to mudslides? Take a look at this video, shot by a visitor on his way out of the ruins last week, of the raging, mud-filled rivers that caused the havoc in the area.

I’m not much of a rafter, but from my novice eye I’d say these were about Class XIV rapids.

Our first month of venturing into the world of travel photography is off to a great start, and choosing a winner amongst all the excellent submissions, as Matt put it, “is harder than I thought.”

This month’s winner comes from Jonny Gilbert, titled ”Sunset at the Drum Tower.” What do we think? We dug the soft tones, subtle storylines, and the birds contrasting with the stillness of the dusk. “The birds are just so . . . yea . . . I definitely like Sunset at the Drum Tower.” Well said Luke, we all agree.

Here’s what photographer Jonny Gilbert has to say about his shot:

After a week in Tibet, we did a circuit of Chengdu, Xi’an, and, finally, Beijing, China. The photo was taken on top of the Beijing Gulou (Drum Tower) close to the end of our first day there. The birds were flying circles over the old Hutong District called, Dongcheng, just North of the Forbidden City. Gulou and the nearby Zhonglou (Bell Tower) were not a considered a “main” tourist attraction, and we only really went because we were close by, but it turned out to be a worthy trip. We had an impressive view of the Hutong and we also got to see a traditional drum performance in the Drum Tower.

To see more of Jonny’s work, head over to his flickr Page. Many thanks Jonny, we look forward to seeing more of your collection.

Just to remind you, this January TheExpeditioner started a flickr group allowing our readers to share their best travel photographs and a chance to have them considered for our monthly contest (are you a flickr member? Join us here!). Each month, we will be choosing our favorite photo to feature with the photographer’s thoughts behind the shot.

So head over to the group page, join us and submit your pics! If for no other reason, we’d like to see Luke fumble around with more reasons for choosing his favorite.