I’m not sure where it stemmed from, but something interested me enough to sign up for a book ring of  Go: An Airline Adventure last fall. I adored the book and subsequently read Nuts!, which I also loved and this morning started Blue Streak. On Mt. TBR I have From Worst to First and just mooched A Spirit of Greatness.

Confession time, I’ve never flown jetBlue or Southwest. Southwest doesn’t have a ton of options from the NYC area and on several occasions where I’ve intended to fly jetBlue, something comes out cheaper. My recent flights to and from LAX are a classic case of this. I’d love to fly into BUR because it’s so much less insane than LAX (although I’ve become somewhat immune to that insanity having been through there some 10 times in 2007) but the times are awful (red eye gets into JFK at 5 AM and the price just isn’t that good. Virgin America is ahead of them by leaps and bounds and even the legacy carriers usually work out better. For me there has to be a compelling reason to go to JFK – VX is, jetBlue isn’t.

My question is: what, if anything, should I do with this airline interest.

I remember when I first learned the proverb from one of my students the first time I was in Japan, but I forgot about it until I read it this morning in The Blue-Eyed Salaryman.

Cover included because I can’t even begin to tell you how much attention it garnered this morning on the platform waiting for the train. I love the “salaryman” font myself. I haven’t gotten too far into the book yet, but in many ways it reminds me of The Accidental Office Lady, which I read earlier this year.

So when talk of well dwelling frogs came up was back in 01-02. I remember asking a student if she ever tired of the crowds in Tokyo and she said it was all she knew, she’d never ventured further than Kamakura, about 50 km from Tokyo.

I guess the same applies to a question I frequently ask of those who never leave their home town. I can understand leaving, and realizing you prefer home, but how do you know that if you’ve never left. I guess when you have nothing to compare it to, what you have is perfect.

Anyway, I love this book. Perfect blend of interesting but not too taxing on the brain.

What I liked the most about the book was the spontaneous feel, even though it had all been synthesized by the time he published is tales in the book. It still retained the feel of him consulting WizzAir/easyJet/etc. websites and deciding on a whim where to go, and I loved it. I’ve been to some of the countries, but none of the cities. I have, however, decided to go somewhere ‘because the bus stops’ in my case: Karratha and Port Hedland come to mind. I got some great travel stories from those.

I’m not sure if I totally agree with the case that some have made of experimental travel being related to anti-tourism, but I think they’re both routed in the desire to do something different. Like Chesshyre, I’ve seen some very cool stuff but I think once you’ve seen that, you realize there is more. Those who haven’t been are caught up in wanting to see Rome/London/Sydney/Timbuktu/etc., and think that’s “it”. For some, maybe it is. For me, I want to see what else there is? I don’t want to share the same travel stories as every one else – I want to have something else. To have seen/done something else. Bragging rights? Maybe, but I think it’s more than that.

On some level I think a book on it takes the fun and spontaneity out of it, but that’ s just me. I don’t want a how-to manual for a unique vacation experience.

• tracking social media/alternative exposure for CultureFest 2007. That’s been an interesting project because, unlike traditional media, there isn’t a standard list of places to check. Each time I do even a preliminary Google search I come up with venues I’ve never heard of – let alone having thought to check there.
• I can say some of the same for this semester’s consulting project with Hershey. While I can’t go into details, it too involves social media. At the outset of this project I realised how little I knew about social media. With regard to tourism and hospitality, TripAdvisor, Going.Com, WeJustGotBack, Facebook, MySpace, etc. are only the tip of the iceberg – to say nothing of the numerous blogs!

I’ve got my work cut out for me, but I’m really enjoying it. It’s also inspired me to get back into Wikipedia. While I’m not sure about the accuracy of Wikipedia in general, although the Nature article reproduced on Wikipedia sheds some light on the research that went into the study, I think it is a good starting point. I often turn to it when I have no idea where else to start on a topic and its citations can point me in the right direction – much like encyclopedias of my elementary and middle school days. A quick look at the YHA and backpacking articles showed me another fun project and reminded me of another project with good intentions. Memo to self: I don’t need another idea for a financial techniques/advanced projects idea. More on both of those later. 

I do look forward to following the authors’ blog. More on the book itself when I have free time and a few non-fried brain cells.

I’ve read a lot of books about the overland trip, including Moore’s own The Wrong Way Home, Farewell Hippie Heaven and For Love and a Beetle and I’ve loved them all. The overland trip is something I’d love to do one day but it’s not very practical to do it independently given today’s political climate and I don’t know if I’d enjoy it in a group. The week in WA with Red Earth Safaris was about my limit for a tour. Maybe one day.

In the mean time, I’m trying to decide what to do for my birthday. Have decided to do something interesting but it’s only a long weekend. Someone suggested Rio/Buenos Aires as the flights are over night but I think I’m going to stick a bit closer. Maybe The Caribbean, or one of the European islands. Suggestions?

Much like For Love and a Beetle, Unlikely Destinations/Once While Travelling tells the story of travel in days long gone. I’m finding it interesting to see how Tony and Maureen Wheeler got the idea to start up Lonely Planet and what their own early days of travel entailed. It’s also causing me to get LP some slack. I was a long-time LP devotee until I get fed up. I still find it frustrating that their guides are under-update, but I understand it isn’t easy to find someone to research and update the books. I no longer automatically reach for Lonely Planet, though I still end up reaching for them more often than not. I wasn’t wowed with Rick Steves’ Guides this summer when I tried them and was never overly thrilled with dk/Eyewitness either. I guess I just see LP as being good but would love to see them be great. There’s something to be said for their continued success over the last thirty years.

Also like this book and some others I’ve read, I find them interesting in that they cover some areas where I have very little interest in travelling. I’ve heard wonderful things about SE Asia and know many friends and coworkers who travelled there from Japan. There are some places I would like to see: Angkor Wat is the one that comes to mind first, however I don’t do heat and humidity well. I know that I’d be highly unlikely to enjoy these places, but they’re wonderful to read about. There’s also the other side of the backpacker culture that I don’t find to be much fun, the partying to excess. I think that’s part of the reason I have little to no desire to visit Bali, some of the Thai islands, etc. Nothing wrong with it, I just wouldn’t enjoy it. I remember looking hard to choose a Whitsunday trip where the focus wasn’t drinking to excess and in the end, I enjoyed the Port Douglas reef trip far more, although the views in the Whitsundays couldn’t be beat.

But I think that’s the best thing about independent travel and, along the same lines, the Lonely Planet guides. They allow you to pick and choose among activities that you would like and still have an amazing trip. A better trip, I tend to think, than being herded around. But that’s me…

Unlikely Destinations,  although billed as being written by both Tony and Maureen, is written primarily from Tony’s point of view, much in the same way that For Love and a Beetle was. Maybe I’m strange, but I’d like to hear more from the woman’s point of view, to see what their takes on the trips would be.  The interesting thing, having just read Bad Lands also about Tony’s recent trips, is seeing where the two converge: in both he reflects on missing the Buddhas of Bamiyan in the 1972 trips and consequently never having the chance to see them.
I’d love to one day meet the Wheelers and just have the chance to pick their brains, but for now this book is a good start. Can’t wait to read more tomorrow.

Speaking of laws, I’m still reading The Devil’s Picnic, although my cover isn’t nearly as cool. It’s an interesting quest by Taras Grescoe, which covers his quest for the forbidden foods of the world. I’m not done yet, and likely won’t be before the school crush starts, but there are a few very amusing bits:

(about the previously mentioned Singapore): “its detractors call it Princessland, a bizarre cross between a Confucian Chinese mandarinate and a British boarding school, the ne plus ultra of the nanny state” (Grescoe 57).

His section on Singapore and the laws governing, among other things, the consumption of crackers with poppy seeds, provided an interesting introduction to the concept of a Nanny state and governments – including those of San Francisco and New York – where laws govern more ‘sinister’ actions such as smoking. On a related note, he compares the War on Drugs to Prohibition and while I wouldn’t have made that connection, I can see it.

It’s also interesting to see how some things have changed since this book was written. When speaking of the then-new ban on cigarette smoking in New York City, he interviewed an Englishman who stated that, ” …in London , you would never dream of asking an adult to extinguish a cigarette in a drinking establishment intended for other adults.” (Grescoe 164). I was in London this summer but prior to when the ban took place and I have to say, the prevalence of smoke annoyed me. I thought after my time in Asia, I was immune to smoke but its presence is strong once you’re accustomed to a relatively smoke free environment.

Overall this is a really good book. I have The End of Elsewhere on Mt. TBR and hope to get to read it soon.

On another reading note, I’ve done quite a few reviews lately for Front Street:

Private Scars – Brenda Youngerman
I Hear Your Cry – Veronica Shaffer (loved that the author signed my copy of this book)
The Pawn – Steven James
A Merger of Equals – Debra James
Olga: A Daughter’s Tale – Marie-Thérèse Browne
The End of Sorrow – JV Love

and an as-yet unposted one for Spontaneous Tourism since the book hasn’t yet been officially released. I enjoyed that one, and think it’s very cool that the author is wild releasing his own book on BookCrossing.

ETA: Interesting article in the New York Times by Taras Grescoe: Catfish with a Side of Scombroid

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

I also came to realise just how odd that sounds. New countries since June. Adding New Zealand is a bit of a technicality but no worse than Singapore or The Netherlands.

Although this has been a very different kind of visit than previous trips, it’s been a lot of fun. A lot of wedding stuff and some general catching up. Between the 30 hours travel time from New York to Melbourne as well as the paper being done, I’ve read! Completed so far: The Bullfighter Checks Her Make Up, The Economic Naturalist and The Kill Artist with another few in progress. Renders the list of books I’ve read relatively complete but still pathetic compared to years past.

Picked up a couple of brochures but I realize I won’t have the time. Not the end of the world. On a random note, I’ve had lamb x3 in the last week: baa!

It’s been a wonderful trip. Not missing the camera. I’d only be taking pictures of things I already have hundreds of photos of. o:)

RIP Scooter

Just before leaving Australia at the end of 2005 I decided to track the books I’d wild released. I was curious to know how many there were, and how many, if any, had been caught. The result was rather messy, a huge file, and one I rarely updated. At the start of this summer after releasing a few books in Europe, I was curious again about my Australian releases.

I decided to edit the page and move it here where it’s much easier to update. This is the result. Much cleaner and it was fun to look back. I had forgotten about a lot of these books: both reading and where I’d released them. I’m pretty happy with the 10% rate and have posted on the BC forums to see others’ results. Almost wish my other releases were as trackable.

Australia still takes the prize for most books read in one year. There’s something to be said for not having internet access and discovering many new authors.Travel and BookCrossing do go hand in hand because it’s a good way to see what becomes of the books that there’s no room to keep.

I’ve also given up on ever updating the Now Reading plugin or my page here in terms of recently read books. I’m seeing if GoodReads works better for me. I think it might because it will allow me to review non BC books. So we’ll see… If all else fails, ask me what I’m reading

Mom and I went to the King Tut Exhibit in Philadelphia. I went to the outskirts of Philly to visit a friend a few years back but hadn’t been to the city since I was about 8. The exhibit was at the Franklin Institute and I still had fun puttering around there even though it’s more geared toward children.

The coolest thing about the drive down there and back? We saw a car with a Guam license plate! On every family vacation Jordan and I would keep track of the license plates. Mom and I think the record was 49 states (we never saw one of the Dakotas) but Guam trumps all. I can’t imagine transporting a car to the US, especially the east coast of the US, from Guam. So that was my squee moment.

I’m also on a newly (re)acquired book kick. I’ve gotten back into BookCrossing, which I first joined in January 2005 when I was in Brisbane. I loved BC not just for giving me a way to unlighten the load while travelling, but it was also a fabulous way to meet people while travelling in Australia. I also joined BookMooch at the recommendation of a friend and GoodReads at the recommendation of another. Still no interest in LibraryThing but I think that’s mainly because I have no desires to catalog my whole library. As it is, these days I’m barely registering books on BC before releasing. So one step at a time I’m still in the processing of editing the list of Australia releases.

Back to my paper…

ETA: A catch one one of the books I released today!