Perceptive Travel

Perceptive Travel Back Issues

August 2010

Herby Ohio - Kristin Ohlson
The author of Kabul Beauty School visits a 360-acre native medicinal herb sanctuary in Ohio, founded by man-on-a-mission Paul Strauss.

Sacred and Profane: Tantric Buddhism in the Land of the Thunder Dragon - Tony Robinson-Smith
In the sensory overload of smoke, butter tea, and a cacophony of atonal instruments, a visitor tries to make sense of a purification ceremony in Bhutan.

The Going-to-Be-Wonderful World of Disney - Gillian Kendall
After disdainfully avoiding the place for decades, "Gay Days" at Disney World pushes Gillian Kendall into seeing if it's still a small world after all.

World Music Reviews
World-beat electronica with a southern Indian soul, a collection of multi-cultural South African music, and Rastafarian vocals by way of the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards.

July 2010

A Requiem for Bluefields, Nicaragua - Richard Arghiris
The author of the Footprint Nicaragua book finds that on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, the colorful hustling of Miskito, Creole, and Garifuna people can't stave off tropical decay that never leads to regrowth.

A Dialog of Echoes in Uruguay - Darrin DuFord
In Montevideo, Uruguay, the city's street drumming groups are celebrated (or at least tolerated), accompanied by the ever-present mate gourds or red wine poured from cartons.

Two Wheels, Two Drinks: Biking through America's Heartland - Tim Leffel
A 225-mile biking trail cuts across the state of Missouri, passing through wine country trying to regain its glory and river towns that are moving past the legacy of Busch and Bud.

Travel Book Reviews
Susan Griffith, author of Work Your Way Around the World, reviews three travel books that make ambitious claims. Jan Morris, Duncan Fallowell, and Michael Katakis tackle foreign encounters and culture clashes around the world.

June 2010

Trapped beneath the Volcanic Ash Cloud - Rachel Dickinson
On a simple trip to write about Ireland, Rachel Dickinson becomes part of the lead story on every newscast: all the planes grounded in northern Europe because of a giant eruption in Iceland.

Kauai Footprints: the Dark Side of "Hidden Hawaii" - Michele Bigley
When a guidebook writer gets the enviable job of covering the island of Kauai, she finds the locals are not too keen on another writeup encouraging stupid tourists to do stupid things on their sacred land.

Ethiopia: Birthplace of the Traveler—and Then Some - Bruce Northam
The land that was the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of coffee gave rise to the world's original travelers.

World Music Reviews
Another thrilling album of desert blues; the improved re-presentation of Sabrina Malheiros; a singer-songwriter/producer with an impressive contact book; and musical portraits celebrating the power of women.

May 2010

Thai Voluntourism for All the Wrong Reasons - Gillian Kendall
With noble plans to help the poor abused elephants in Thailand, Gillian Kendall learns that voluntourism works best when it reshapes your ingrained perceptions.

The Enfield Diaries - Mikey Leung
When a Bangladesh guidebook writer tries to return from Nepal on the back of a Royal Enfield motorcycle, he discovers obstinate customs officials, flooded highways, and routes where the only river crossing is on a bamboo bridge.

An Ugly American One Year, a Pretty One the Next - Theresa Dowell Blackinton
We individual traveling citizens have very little control over our elected leaders, our country's bilateral negotiations, or our immigration policies. For the American traveler, however, all those outcomes land in a foreign place well before us and set the stage for how we're seen.

Travel Book Reviews
Two men of different eras toss comfort out the window and face risks to feel alive through traveling and exploration. A new collection of great travel writing from women is not afraid to explore the shadows around the next bend.

World Music Reviews
It's the Latin America edition, with Chico Trujillo, Very Be Careful, and Putumayo's new Latin Party collection.

April 2010

Once Upon a Time in Vienna - Amy Rosen
Sometimes travel can be a fairy tale with a happy ending. Amy Rosen becomes a princess and breezes through sumptuous feasts, horse-drawn carriages, and a grand ball in Vienna.

The Fish That Made London - Donald Strachan
Something fishy has always been going on at Billingsgate Market in London—no matter where the powerful odor was located at any given time.

A Tale of Two Music Cities - Tim Leffel
To immerse yourself in the roots of popular music, go get schooled where it all started: in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee.

World Music Reviews
Nubian soul from upper Egypt, European whimsy from Belgium, Syrian jazz, and some watered down strumming from Jorge Strunz.

March 2010

Eating a Personal Pig - Zora O'Neill
An omnivore and cookbook author faces her demons at a pork and rice liquor feast in Bali.

Morocco: Give Me the Simple Life - Jim Johnston
In Morocco visiting his mother—the oldest Peace Corps volunteer in the world—Jim Johnston comes to terms with how comfort and happiness survive while living an ascetic lifestyle in a drab village.

Mardi Gras on New England's Left Coast - Bruce Northam
Bruce Northam finds that the Magic Hat Mardi Gras party in Burlington, Vermont is a very different affair than the blow-out in New Orleans. Can a party have a conscience?

World Music Reviews
Yoga music that's interesting on its own, the third album from Las Rubias del Norte, and Vieux Farka Touré gets the multi-producer remix treatment.

Travel Book Reviews
Joshua Berman reviews To Hellholes and Back by Chuck Thompson, The Bizarre Truth by Andrew Zimmern, and Letters to Zerky by Bill Raney and JoAnne Walker Raney

February 2010

The Burning of the Devil in Guatemala - Luke Maguire Armstrong
In all of Antigua, Guatemala, there is only one place in the city where two gas stations sit across the street from each other. This is, of course, the ideal spot for lighting a giant firecrackers-filled effigy of the devil that's been doused with gasoline.

Crowd–Surfing in Bangladesh - Michael Buckley
Eluding the long arm of the cellphone isn't easy in poor-but-connected Bangladesh. Kayaking explorers find that in a land this jam-packed with people, neither is finding some personal space.

Walking into the heart of Segovia - Beebe Bahrami
The author of The Spiritual Traveler—Spain peels back layers of religious history in Segovia, seeing Christians, Pagans, Muslims, and Jews mixing in the stones and arches.

Travel Book Reviews
Susan Griffith reviews Just a Little Run Around the World, Eat My Globe: One Man's Search for the Best Food in the World, and Mustn't Grumble: In Search of England and the English.

January 2010

Syria: Never Judge a Country by its State Department Warning - Bruce Northam
The author of Globetrotter Dogma ignores the official travel advisories and heads to Syria, urging us to reassess gloomy Middle East stereotypes

The Way to a Woman's Heart - Marie Javins
Traveling solo on a small group tour in Bolivia, Marie Javins confronts the changes of becoming an older and wiser traveler—and gets attention in unlikely places.

The Sign That Swayed in Singapore - Joel Carillet
Ignoring the jaded travelers' line that the nanny state of Singapore is too boring to rate a stop, one visitor sets out to see the orderly city through its signs.

World Music Reviews
Roma brass band music with female vocals, a spry Colombian granny, retro Ghana, and some funky Arabian dub.

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