Travel blogger Caitlin Fitzsimmons has come up with a novel and innovative way of raising money to get to this years TBEX’10 Travel Bloggers Conference.

She has set up a Send Caitlin to TBEX in NYC project over at Kickstarter with the aim of raising $500 to help cover the costs of travel and accommodation in NYC during the conference.

In return for everyone’s support, Caitlin promises to provide up to date summaries of conference content and conversations to help people who can’t attend.

And within two weeks of her trip to New York, will create and publish the following on her Roaming Tales blog:

- an edited video
- at least one post from each of the five boroughs
- two restaurant reviews
- a hotel review

As of today, the Send Caitlin to TBEX in NYC project has raised $455 with 14 days to go.

All this got me thinking that maybe now is the time that  a  travel bloggers scholarship fund,  similar to the one created by the Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC),  was established to help travel bloggers get to TBEX.

Last year I was one of the grateful recipients of WBC’s scholarship fund. And while what I received wasn’t financially huge,  it did make a huge difference to me being able to attend the event.

Dependent on donations on wineries, PR agencies, wine business industry members, and individuals, the WBC scholarship fund will be funding up to 11 wine bloggers at this year’s conference in Walla Walla, Washington.  Anyone with a wine blog is encouraged to send in an application describing their blog, their financial needs pertaining to the Wine Bloggers Conference, and why they are deserving on sponsorship. The successful wine bloggers are then chosen through a committee selection process.

Sounds like something that TBEX travel bloggers could easily do. After all, travel bloggers are a generous lot.

All you have to do is look at the results of the Passports with Purpose fundraisers organized by four Seattle travel bloggers. The first one raised over $6000 dollars, the second one well over $25000.

So maybe it’s time we start being generous to each other as well by creating a TBEX scholarship fund for TBEX’11. 

Sure sounds like something that everyone should be discussing at this year’s TBEX.

In the meantime, why not make Caitlin the ‘inaugural TBEX scholarship’ recipient by donating to the Send Caitlin to TBEX in NYC fund.

(For more on TBEX’10, check out the TBEX facebook page and follow on the TBEX twitter.)

I’m already drenched to the bone when a bucket of ice-cold water is dumped over my head and a water gun-toting marksman scores a direct hit right between my eyes. The wild (and very wet) Songkran party at Bangkok’s legendary Tawandang German Brewery is in full swing and, at least for a few hours, the fun-loving locals here to ring in the Thai New Year have effectively washed their minds clean of the violent protests that had plagued their city for days.

That was nearly a year ago. But while the demands and rhetoric of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship–better known as the “Red Shirts”–may have since changed, their presence will again loom large over Bangkok’s Songkran celebrations. Songkran unofficially starts today and could last through next Sunday: that’s because the “official” April 12 start date falls on a Monday, so most Bangkokians will either get a headstart on their vacation and hit the road this weekend (the city is noticeably quieter due to the exodus), or take to the streets armed with water hoses, water guns, water balloons, mentholated talc, and, of course, cans of Leo beer and bottles of Sangsom whiskey.

Religious observations do remain, but the water fights—which obstensibly represent cleansing and renewal—have become a bigger and bigger part of Songkran over the years. By and large it’s good-natured, sometimes-raucous fun, and locals and tourists alike can expect to get wet at some point.

Red Shirt protestors did not stop any of those annual Songkran rituals last year, but had effectively shut down some parts of the city, notably in the Din Daeng district where soldiers engaged with some protestors after they’d set fire to buses and threatened to do more. I heard sporadic gun pops in the distance from my apartment on Petchaburi Road, above the Platinum Fashion Mall, and from my balcony could see small tire fires at the intersection of Petchaburi and Ratchadamri Roads. Despite being so close to the action, at no point did we ever feel the slightest bit endangered; I suspect this year’s protests present similarly little trouble to anybody who doesn’t go looking for it. This was not and is not an entire city under siege.

Though the Red Shirts were (and are) easily avoidable, we were unsure how much they’d impact Bangkok’s Songkran festivities. In the end, the answer was very little, and hopefully that happens again this time. With Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva recently declaring a state of emergency (protestors are demanding that parliament be dissolved and that new elections are held), there could soon be movement towards a resolution. A clash between the military and the protestors is starting to feel somewhat inevitable (tear gas and water cannons have entered the picture), but let’s hope the use of violence, on both sides, does not further escalate. We’ll see.

Regardless, though, you can bet that like last year, like every year, the Songkran party will go on relatively unmuted in most corners of Bangok, including at Tawandang.

Thailand Meets Germany on Songkran

Located at 462/61 Rama III Road, just a few miles outside the city center, Tawandang is a beer-barrel shaped funhouse and Bangkokian nightlife institution that’s equal parts restaurant, bar, and concert hall. Its army of loyal patrons swear by the suprisingly authentic Thai fare and guzzle house-brewed Bavarian beers from 3-liter tall plastic towers, but the boisterous, over-the-top performances are what keep them coming back and dancing in the aisles late into the night.

Classic tunes such as “Copacabana” and “One Night Only” are highlighted by lavishly costumed dancers whirling through well-choreographed, campy routines. Spirited renditions of traditional and modern Thai hits are rolled out one after the other by a cast of singers and the brewery’s rocking in-house band, Fong Nam, who by midway through the night collectively provoke hundreds in the audience into a smiling, bouncing frenzy, the always-attentive, always-friendly wait staff included.

Tawandang’s festive atmosphere was buzzing even more than usual on that Songkran night last year. Dressed in the brightly colored Hawaiian shirts popular with Thais during the festival, the staff had an extra glint in their eyes as they launched into a coordinated dance procession that wound through the sprawling dining area, past the stage, around the massive golden vats of brewing beer, and out the front door.

For their part, the beer drinkers in attendance seemed to be draining those tableside towers of suds quicker than usual, while the whiskey drinkers were busy pouring glass after glass of Johnnie Walker Red mixed with soda water—the cocktail of choice in Bangkok. Yes, we were all getting quite knackered, a fact which naturally contributed to the audacious water fight that ensued.

Let the Water Battle Begin

I hadn’t noticed anybody toting or even concealing water guns before, but as I took another sip from another glass of frothy Hefeweizen it suddenly seemed like everybody had a water gun—big ones. And buckets. And huge plastic bags. And large plastic cups. If it could hold water, it was fair game.

There’s been much written about wild Songkran waterfights, but I’ve never seen anything quite like this, in a wooden-floored restaurant, no less, with an electric band rocking out just a few feet away. (Not a drop of water hit the stage from what I could tell.)

Everybody was getting in on it: a middle-aged Chinese guy wearing a ten-gallon cowboy hat; a wily, senior-aged Thai gentleman with a spray bottle which, judging by the alcoholish smell of the water he shot me in the face with, had been very recently filled with glass cleaner; a table full of twentysomething girls with a seemingly limitless supply of water hidden underneath the table.

We danced and laughed and shouted and, yes, drank for hours. We were soaked. Everybody was soaked. And pretty much everybody was soused. Red Shirts? Protests? What protests? This was Songkran, and that was all that mattered.

Photos © Brian Spencer

While exploring the Forbidden City during the China 2.0 tech tour, I stumbled upon just one of the many art galleries spread throughout the complex.

I’m no art expert and have only an enthusiastic traveler’s love of beautiful things, but I popped out my video camera to record a few of the pieces that I thought were really striking.

Please join me in Beijing for a look at a few of my favorite things….

(Here’s the direct link to the video if you can’t see the embed box below)

Blog Carnival

carnival of cities

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Welcome to the April 7, 2010 edition of the Carnival of Cities, where we travel around the world in one blog post.

Thanks very much to EyeFlare, Travel and Travails, and Jordy Clements for hosting the past few editions, and I’ll be hosting the next edition on April 21 on my BootsnAll Family Travel blog (the blog carnival’s “host blog.”)

If you’d like to host this bi-weekly carnival on your blog, please email me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Off we go….

Cities in Asia and the Pacific

Apia, Samoa Anne-Sophie Redisch presents Sweet Samoa – island-hopping in the Pacific posted at Sophie’s World.

Utsunomiya, Japan Anna Ikeda presents Kayabuki in Utsunomiya – Where Waiters Are Monkeys posted at Budget Trouble, saying, “A local restaurant in Utsunomiya, Japan where two masked monkeys work as waiters (waitresses?)”

Cities in the Americas

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Everett Potter (via Marilyn Terrell) presents Port of Call: Five Great Excursions in Rio posted at Intelligent Travel Blog, saying, “If your ship stops at Rio, here are 5 out-of-the-ordinary things you can do there.”

Paso Robles, California, USA Sheri Wallace presents Paso Robles — Spring Break’s Hidden Gem for Families posted at Road Trips For Families, saying, “Paso Robles, California, is a great family destination that many people know nothing about. It’s budget friendly and road trip friendly.”

Chicago, Illinois, USA Dominique King presents Chicago’s Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows posted at Midwest Guest, saying, “We weren’t expecting to find a colorful chapter of Chicago’s architectural history among the carnival rides and cotton candy concessions on the city’s Navy Pier, but when we found the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows tucked away in a building along the pier, we knew we’d found a real gem for curious travelers.”

El Morro, Puerto Rico bonn aure presents El Morro: A Sentry’s Graffiti posted at time travelling.

St. Paul, Minnesota, USA minnemom presents Dead Sea Scrolls at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul posted at Travels with Children, saying, “Is the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition at the Science Museum of Minnesota good for families with children?”

Omaha, Nebraska, USA Morgan Schwartz presents Spring Is Here! Bring on the Rock! posted at The Dark Stuff, saying, “thanks”

Vancouver, BC, Canada Julie Ovenell-Carter presents New Fairmont Pacific Rim serves up the best: Metro Vancouver tap water posted at theseboots.travel, saying, “It’s an industry first: Vancouver’s Fairmont Pacific Rim is supporting that city’s efforts to promote its excellent tap water and reduce plastic bottle waste by offering guests the choice of reusable water bottles.”

(more…)

The moment I entered Schwartz’s deli, I felt like I was at home.

It was cold outside, but warm and almost steamy inside this small restaurant which could barely contain its long counter with round swivel stools, well-worn wooden tables surrounded by crowds of people tucking into heaping piles of fragrant meat and freshly made french fries. While I waited to order, I sipped a dark cherry soda and looked up at the vintage, back-lit menu board mounted on the white tiled wall.

Which was when I reminded that I was not, in fact, on familiar ground. I had not taken a time machine back to the ubiquitous Jewish delis of my New York youth . I was in Montreal, at a Charctuerie Hebraique, on the Boulevard Saint-Laurent. My dark cherry soda was not Dr. Brown’s, it was Cott’s Cerise Noir.  I was not ordering a pastrami on rye, but a viande fumée (which is in any event not quite the same as pastrami), and my dill pickle had become a classy cornichon .

Montreal has a reasonably large Jewish community, and Jewish migrants arrived here at roughly the same time in history as they did to northeastern cities the United States. But culture is refined through the prism of place, and Jewish traditions, culinary and otherwise,  evolved into something different here.

As I sampled my viande fume, an odd, and not unpleasurable feeling settled over me. Everything felt familiar — nope, I don’t like my Jewish meats extra-fatty – interspersed with jolts of difference – how did this meat get its amazing smokey flavor?

I’d felt this blend of familiar and exotic in my travels before – while touring synagogues in Kerala, India and in Barbados, for instance. I’d even started a file called “There are Jews Here?”  Now, both of these places are even more different from New York than Montreal is – but since Jewish food traditions apparently hadn’t filtered into the restaurant scene in India or Barbados, and because synagogue isn’t a big part of my life and food is, my Montreal experience struck me with greater force. It was something I could taste.

Since I’m not at all religious, why do I find evidence of Jewishness far from home so compelling? Why, also, do other writers? To name just one example, The Wall Street Journal, ran a story about Jamaica’s attempts to capitalize on its Jewish history. In Slate, Jack Shafer collects a number of stories of this sort, and calls the genre “Jewspotting”. (He also does a good job of laying out what these stories miss – and by extension, makes a case for why such stories are probably not worth writing.)

Here’s my theory. My family came to the United States from Europe at various times, my mother’s family after the Holocaust, my father’s fleeing Russian pogroms a couple of generations before.

From babushkas to Broadway — that’s the dominant narrative in modern American Jewish history. As a kid, I learned stories from biblical times and then a jump to the minor-key music playing in European shtetls and a cut to the doom-filled moments of the Holocaust, followed by immigration to the U.S. and the founding of Israel.

(I will grant that I might have missed something since I spent most of my time in Hebrew School looking for places to hide and eat cookies.)

I’d never heard much about what happened in earlier Jewish history, after the Spanish Inquisition – which would have featured the Caribbean and Central and South America. I learned very little about Jewish life Asia and Africa, full stop. But my maternal roots  do stretch back into Spain, so when I’ve come across evidence of Jewish life in these seemingly out of the way places, it reminds me that my family history could have taken another turn.

I can picture this slightly when I’m touring in a synagogue in Kerala or the Caribbean, but in vivid detail in a deli. For a moment, I can imagine routinely ordering viande fumée avec cornichon, s’il vous plait — in my smooth mother tongue.