Category: Interesting

Lama Bean teaches Mary Sojourner a lesson about control.Americans are obsessed with the notion of control. The control is just an illusion. ~ Lee Barnes, writerBEAN, THE 10-MONTH OLD gray tabby, is possessed to leap up on the old dresser that serves as the center for my faith in what little I know of Tibetan Buddhism, and all I am learning about the nature of impermanence — a knowledge both unwelcome and irresistible.

This and all photos are courtesy and property of the author.Nothing is nicer than getting some cheap, tasty eats in an expensive city.HONG KONG IS unfortunately becoming increasingly expensive, but the best food is the cheap stuff that can be found in little, street corner dives. These are my favourite scuzzy, little joints in Hong Kong.

Want to get serious about running but not sure where to start? Matador’s Frank Johnson offers some tips to take you from couch potato to road warrior.DISTANCE RUNNING HAS LONG been a love of mine, but when I mention this to friends or acquaintances, they typically respond with skepticism about their own running abilities.

Just how fast could human sprinters go? Matador talks to an expert about the science behind the sport.USAIN BOLT MAY BE about to break his most important record yet.Bolt’s new 100 m. record brings him to within a fraction of a second of the”human speed limit”, the maximum sprint speed predicted by researchers.

Photo above by Matthias RosenkranzFeature photo by Bruno GirinA safe city, and one that has cabs available at all times, Calcutta is ideal for a night on the town.Visitors to Calcutta get a taste of a culture that has been affected deeply by British colonization as well as more modern trends of globalization, all within a distinctly Indian framework.

Part 1 of our 2 part series on how to make your travel bucks go the extra mile.GAS. PLANE TICKETS. Luggage fees. Food.No doubt about it, the costs of vacation are going up, up, up.Don’t cancel your trip just yet, though. Use this top 10 tips guide to stretch your travel dollar as far as it will go.1.

Negative cultural experiences can sour our joy of people. But it’s these critical moments of uncertainty that determine whether or not we cling rigidly to our perceptions or plunge forward into new territory.DURING MY RECENT solo trip to India, I found myself thinking about the darker side of traveling – the sense of distrust, alienation, and confusion that can result from negative or disturbing experiences with another culture or traveler.

Hal Amen’s Korean for BeginnersWhen they’re not busy working on Matador projects, our editors are writing award-winning travel narratives and publishing language and guide books.I WAS EDITING some articles for Matador last week when the doorbell rang.“Are you expecting anyone?” my husband asked me.I wasn’t.

The Hindi Film Industry, referred to popularly as Bollywood, has been known to primarily produce films which have the lead actors dancing around trees and romancing each other, candy floss style. Typically, there is a damsel in distress who is saved by the hero from the baddie or the villain of the film.

Morgan deBoer shows us 10 large marine animals to swim, dive or snorkel with and where to find them.SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I watched a television special on scuba diving with potato cod in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The show followed divers searching for the big fish, feeding them by hand and even tickling them under their giant chins.

Long-term travel is often a tricky financial proposition.UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN gifted an inheritance or a lucky lotto ticket, chances are that someone wanting to join the expat community in a foreign country will have to find work there. Teaching English as a Second Language classes is, by far, the job of choice.

Photo: gbakuTake a break from blogging, emails, and Twitter for a second and write a letter.TIME IS SHORT and so are our communications; emails are often non-grammatical bursts of information. Status updates are ephemeral and often trite. Blogs can help you express and communicate, but usually aren’t written for a specific person.

Most single women avoid traveling alone abroad.I KNOW I DID. Until I got a job that involved traveling alone every month, at which point I had to face the realities of being a single woman traveler.I’ve had to use the men’s room more times than I can count. I’ve been proposed to by a stranger (thanks to a short skirt).

Classic Calvin and Hobbes cartoon debating on the true nature of humanity, with a dash of humour.In typical Bill Watterson style, the strip above weaves philosophical debate between the antics of Calvin and Hobbes. This particular comic caught my eye, as it seems relevant to travelers.Often, it seems the reason people decide not to travel is a fear of the world outside their borders.

I am often involved in discussions with people eager to share stories about their latest adventure of a lifetime. One question that I tend to ask is “Did you meet any locals?” Many people quickly throw out an excuse:“I was with a guided tour and didn’t get a chance to meet anyone” or “I don’t speak their language” or “I was on the beach the whole time“.

Tourist telltale sign 452: being a totally disconnected spectator. Photo: Jon FeinsteinObnoxious tourists aren’t all from America, although we seem to have more than our fair share. Here’s maybe the most straight up guide ever written on how to spot ugly tourist behavior and avoid it . .for everyone’s sake.

Feature Photo: Muffet Photos: Lance MeadeIntroducing a new series at Matador Abroad: Ask A Pilot.FLYING IS AN unavoidable part of traveling abroad, unless you’ve got the time, money and gusto to ply the oceans via cargo ship. For most people, it’s the equis, unspoken part of the journey. It’s the part that’s not written about; the alternately nerve-wrecking and crushingly boring transition zone of a journey that tends to quiet one into a contemplative, reflective state about the place and people left behind and the place and people ahead.

Photo anyjazz65Notable writers on plot structure, plot development, and the plot of our lives.A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is-full of surprises.-Isaac Bashevis SingerA plot is nothing but a normal human situation that keeps arising again and again….

I’m slightly suspicious of superlatives— you know, the best of this or the worst of that– so I tend to approach them with some skepticism.Professor and researcher Dr. John W. Miller of Central Connecticut State University has just released the results of the 2008 study of America’s most literate cities.

On the bleary-eyed hunt for the perfect breakfast. Photo: sheepiesEdinburgh is a town with a penchant for late, sloppy nights. Katie Oakes sheds some light on some of the places that make a Sunday hangover tolerable.WHETHER YOU’VE SPENT the previous night stumbling down Rose Street, swanning around George Street or staggering down to the Grassmarket, chances are that come Sunday morning there will be one thought on your mind – food.