The key to eating grilled mutton is to chew and swallow it before the fat cools and congeals on the roof of your mouth.
— Our guerrilla eating tip for Central Asia.
“You guys seem to have only good things to say about your experiences, especially the food. Have you ever had a bad meal? Something disappointing, gross, or even repulsive?”
You bet. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Food, Humor, Travel by: Daniel Noll
46 Comments | 4 August 2010
When I was a management consultant and clients footed the bill for my travel expenses, I had a colleague with a knack for milking his four- and five-star hotel stays for all they were worth. For example, he would request turn-down service multiple times in one night. “For the chocolates,” he’d say. Then he’d take a walk down the hall and raid the maid’s cart for more.
In the understatement of the century, let’s just say that the nature of my accommodation concerns has evolved. The days of watching colleagues stalk turn-down maids have been replaced by nights searching for hotel attendees in dark, dank hallways that recall films like “Psycho” (cinematic excellence) and “Hostel” (a cinematic abomination).
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Humor, Travel by: Daniel Noll
40 Comments | 20 April 2010
I’ve been out of the dating game for exactly 12 years, so maybe I’m not the best person to write about how to snag a man. However, during our recent trip to the Galapagos Islands, I observed the behaviors of various birds and something struck me: their mating habits reminded me of those dating advice columns I used to read in Cosmo.
If memory serves, it’s a cruel dating world out there. For those of you still in the game, take comfort that the animal kingdom knows no more forgiveness than our human one.
Were Charles Darwin to lead a voyage into the realm of dating advice, perhaps this is where he’d take us: Continue Reading »
- 8 Days in the Galapagos Islands: A Photo Tour
- Dating Advice from Galapagos Birds (or, When Charles Darwin Meets Cosmo)
Filed Under: Ecuador, Humor, South America, Travel, Videos by: Audrey Scott
19 Comments | 24 August 2009
In zoos all over the world, crowds battle to catch a peek of one of the world’s most recognizable and rarest animals, the giant panda. During our visit to the Chendgu Panda Breeding Research Center, tourists were so few that the pandas actually invited us to join them and granted us an interview. Here’s what Jing-Jing, their spokesperson, had to say: Continue Reading »
Filed Under: China, Humor, Travel by: Daniel Noll
7 Comments | 19 September 2008
Astute Chinese women told us what they thought about men in Ten Secrets of Women Call.
Now, men get their say.
For all the women out there who spend countless hours wondering what annoys men, this one’s for you. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Humor, India by: Audrey Scott
5 Comments | 3 September 2008
“Bogartin’ on Gordi!”
That’s what Russia is doing in Gori, Georgia – at least according to Angelo Moore, the lead singer of the ska-funk band Fishbone. Our conversation with Angelo takes place at the be2gether summer music festival , on the border of Lithuania and Belarus.
Even so, Angelo had a bit of trouble placing Lithuania and Belarus – and Russia and Georgia, too. But who wouldn’t?
Check out the video. It gives a taste of the be2gether festival atmosphere and finishes with Angelo’s take on international affairs. Continue Reading »
- Politics Without Borders
- Bogartin’ on Gordi
Filed Under: Europe, Humor, Lithuania, Travel, Videos by: Daniel Noll
4 Comments | 23 August 2008
While sifting through papers tonight, I found this Kolkata (Calcutta) newspaper clipping from our time there in April 2008. I couldn’t have made this up if I tried.
Man swaps wife for goat
A Bulgarian farmer has swapped his wife for a goat – because she couldn’t give him kids. Stoil Panayotov exchanged his third wife with Elena, the eight-year-old goat at a livestock market. The extraordinary deal was concluded in front of a stunned crowd in the market town of Plovdiv, central Bulgaria. “The day before, a friend told me that he has had no luck with women and that he really liked my wife,” says the 54-year-old. “The deal was reached when my wife gave her approval. The goat has given birth to three kids and my wife to none. So this deal was more profitable to the goat owner, I got a secondhand goat and he got a brand new wife.”
Filed Under: Europe, Humor, India, NAST by: Audrey Scott
1 Comment | 20 August 2008
Ah, Austria. We could wax artistic about Vienna’s museums, poke fun at the people in period outfits selling classical music concert tickets, tell stories about Euro 2008, or tempt you with impressions of Viennese coffee houses and flaky apple strudel.
But what fun would that be? You can read about that in the New York Times Travel Section, Conde Naste Traveler or any other travel magazine.
Instead we’ll share how, with the help of an Austrian friend and an unplanned turn of events, we discovered the real Austria in the country’s Weinviertel (Wine Quarter) about an hour outside of Vienna. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Austria, Europe, Humor, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
No Comments | 23 July 2008
We were on another long-distance bus in the middle of nowhere, this time in heart of China’s Yunnan province. Heavy, sporadic rains danced on rice terraces whose luxuriant greens complemented the surrounding hills of red clay. It was just another iconic, beautiful moment on our journey through China.
Then came the symphony of throat-clearing and phlegm-dredging; pools of mucous-laden saliva slowly crept along the metal crevices in the aisle. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: China, Humor, Travel by: Daniel Noll
11 Comments | 10 July 2008
Imagine hiking with a Vogue cover girl and not realizing it.
As if our trek around the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal wasn’t interesting enough, we accomplished it with Australian supermodel Gemma Ward close at hand most of the way.
Unfortunately, the rumors regarding Gemma’s identity didn’t begin circulating until the final days of the trek. “I think she’s a model. I’m sure I’ve seen her on Fashion TV,” echoed among the young Israelis – fresh from military service – trekking with us. [Aside: Fashion TV piped into Israeli military barracks?!]
And we only truly believed them when we connected to the internet and found the photo above. By then it was too late to play alpine paparazzi. But we did get a peek. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Humor, Nepal, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
25 Comments | 9 July 2008
