I've just come home from a whirlwind week in D.C. and L.A. Both trips were wonderful. In D.C. I had energizing meetings at National Geographic Traveler and hosted an exhilarating onstage conversation with the amazing Alexandra Fuller, author of (among other books) Don't ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
China
A Long Lesson From A Short Walk On The Karakoram Highway
I've just come home from a whirlwind week in D.C. and L.A. Both trips were wonderful. In D.C. I had energizing meetings at National Geographic Traveler and hosted an exhilarating onstage conversation with the amazing Alexandra Fuller, author of (among other books) Don't ...The World's Prettiest Destination Tunnels
Size matters – with tunnels, anyway. Most lists of the world's most spectacular designs pant over the longest passageways, like Norway's Laedral Tunnel, currently the record-holder at 15.25 miles.
But beauty before distance, I say. Give me the arched canopy of ...Photo Of The Day: Crossing The Frozen Songhua River In China
With daytime getting longer and longer each day, spring is soon approaching. But winter doesn't feel like it's going anywhere anytime soon – especially in places like this one, featured in this photo by Flickr user Bernard Siao taken in Harbin, a city in ...Hong Kong Rings In 'The Year Of The Snake' (VIDEO)
Last night, Hong Kong rang in "The Year of the Snake" by turning the entire harbor-front area into a giant outdoor party. Thousands of people came out to watch the spectacle, which included local and international performers, dazzling floats and more. Get a glimpse of the ...
Celebrating Chinese New Year In Estonia
When you think of Chinese New Year, the snowy capital of Estonia isn't the first place you think of for celebrating it. Yet Tallinn put on a big show to greet the new year as part of their annual Fire and Ice Festival.
The Chinese community in Tallinn is pretty small, ...Welcome To Hell: Chinese Lunar New Year Travel Madness
Looking for a nice, quiet place for a late winter holiday this week? Then why not celebrate the Lunar New Year in China, along with a billion plus new friends, many of whom will hit the road to see family members during the chunyun or spring festival travel season that runs ...Photo Of The Day: The Shanghai Tower Rises
Today's Photo Of The Day comes from Lawrence Wang, who captured this astounding image of the Shanghai Tower currently under construction. After its completion, the Shanghai Tower will be the tallest building in China and second tallest building in the world, after the ...The Solution To China's Smog Problem? Fresh Air In A Can!
By now I'm sure you've all read the reports of just how horrible the air quality in China has become. The smog has gotten so bad in Beijing, for example, that it has delayed flights, shrouded skyscrapers like fog and prompted health warnings for those venturing outside. But ...7 Free (Or Nearly Free) Things To Do In Hong Kong
By many measures, Hong Kong is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
But for every five-star hotel, luxury boutique and gourmet restaurant, there's a budget room, quaint flea market and cheap dimsum stand waiting in the wings. In fact, apart from high ...Photo Of The Day: Photographs In Chang Le
As travelers, we often enter communities, take photographs and then leave, content with the moments we have captured on film.
But what happens when a photographer returns and shares his photographs with their subjects? That's what Flickr user Bernard-SD did after a ...Record Pollution Suffocates Beijing, China (PHOTOS)
If you're looking to visit Beijing, China, in the near future you might want to consider packing a face mask in your suitcase. According to the Associated Press, one of the worst rounds of air pollution is currently engulfing the population there, keeping schoolchildren ...Video: A Sublime Disruption
"A Sublime Disruption" from Gareth Nolan on Vimeo.
Gareth Nolan shot this short film, "A Sublime Disruption," during a trip around the world he took in 2011. "This video is not about the places I visited, but merely an attempt to evoke the feeling of wonder and ...
The World's Largest Sound And Light Show: Hong Kong's Symphony Of Lights (VIDEO)
Each evening at the stroke of 8 p.m., Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour is illuminated with a cacophony of dancing lights and laser beams, accompanied by a blaring soundtrack of synthesized music. It's the Hong Kong Tourism Commission's Symphony of Lights, a wonderfully ...Illegal Ivory Trade Surged To Highest Level Ever In 2011
A new report from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) indicates that the illegal ivory trade has risen to its highest point in two decades following a sharp upturn in seizure of large shipments of the elephant tusks in recent years. The same ...Hong Kong Will Ring In The New Year In Style
With the New Year nearly upon us, I'm sure many of you have already made plans for how you will be celebrating its arrival. But visitors to Hong Kong are in for a particular treat this year, as the city welcomes 2013 with an impressive display of fireworks that will also ...Budget Hong Kong: Coward's Route To Victoria Peak
The tram to the statue of Christ the Redeemer. The elevators to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The Santorini cable car. Any ski lift, anywhere.
They're memorable travel experiences, sure. But they're also experiences that strike anxiety into the hearts of ...Budget Hong Kong: Journey To The Past At The Hong Kong Museum Of History
"The Hong Kong Story," a permanent exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of History, isn't your standard collection of artifacts. Chronicling more than 6,000 years of natural and cultural history, the massive exhibition occupies eight galleries across nearly 23,000 square ...Video Of The Day: Where The Water Settles
"Where the Water Settles" from The Perennial Plate on Vimeo.
I can't get enough of the videos from The Perennial Plate and this newest video, "Where The Water Settles," just reiterates that fact for me. The way in which Daniel Klein and Mirra Fine approach traveling ...
Budget Hong Kong: Renting A Room At The Notorious Chungking Mansions
There are two types of travelers: those who would go out of their way to avoid a place like Hong Kong's notorious Chungking Mansions – and those who would elect to stay there.
I'd probably put myself somewhere in the middle.
Nestled between luxury emporiums ...World's Worst Places: Top 10 Places In The World You Do Not Want To Visit In 2013
I'm the kind of person who can conjure up an excuse to visit just about any place. I grew up in Buffalo, America's most unfairly maligned city, and so I identify with underdog destinations – places with bad weather, crime, ugly people, rude people, you name it and I ...
