Perceptive Travel Back Issues
March/April 2008
"A Capital Built for Kings and SUVs" - Robert Reid
A Lonely Planet writer updating the Burma guide visits the country's bizarre in–progress new capital, Naypyidaw: a city of sprawling zones and long walks.
"Agamemnon's Fan Club" - Tony Perrottet
The author of The Naked Olympics checks into the Greek hamlet of Mycenae, where his creaky bed is a tourist attraction and a determined hotel owner pushes him to seek "the Secret Cistern."
"People Power, Steeple Power: An Offbeat Way to Connect in the Caribbean" - Janet Groene
The author of two Caribbean guidebooks and Living Aboard finds that the best way to look inside an island culture is to venture into the churches.
"Both sides of the water—two faces of Kyrgyzstan's Lake Issyk–Kul" - Laurence Mitchell
The author of the Bradt Travel Guide to Kyrgyzstan finds two very different sides of a lake that once served Soviet spies, vacationing party officers, and inland submarines.
"Karsting Away in Vietnam" - Michael Buckley
Moon Handbooks writer Michael Buckley tours through the strange limestone karst landscapes in the water and on land in northern Vietnam.
Plus World Music Reviews -
This month Graham Reid reviews The Mande Variations by Toumani Diabate, Afriki by Habib Koite and Bamada, Asturiana by Kim Kashkashian and Robert Levin, and Songs of Love and Devotion from India and Pakistan by Razia Aziz.
Travel Book Reviews -
Gillian Kendall reviews Honorable Bandit: A walk across Corsica, Blue List: The best in travel 2008, and Go Your Own Way: Women travel the world solo.
Jan/Feb 2008
"Bragging Rights" - Marie Javins
The author of Stalking the Wild Dik-Dik returns from an Antarctica cruise wondering if some places are better left to the luxury crowd or left alone completely.
"Do More With Less: Survival, Then Surviving Scotch" - Bruce Northam
The author Globetrotter Dogma enrolls in a desert survival school in Utah and finds that the mind is the strongest muscle in the body (even when the mind gets muddied by single malt Scotch).
"Travel with Children – Go Figure" - Fawzia Rasheed
Is traveling with kids something to fear, fret over, and throw your old independent spirit out the window for, or does it just require a little tweaking? The author of Travel with Babies and Young Children thinks she might have the answers.
"Journey Through the Ice" - David Lee Drotar
By reindeer sleigh, dogsled, snowmobile, snowshoes, and icebreaker ship, David Lee Drotar makes his way across the white landscape of Arctic Finland.
"Apocalypse Soon: On the Lemanak River of Sarawak" - Graham Reid
Reid ventures up the Lemanak River in Malaysian Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, to see how the old headhunters are handling jungle clearing, longboats full of tourists, and the arrival of a Hilton.
Our editor checks out Djin Djin by Angelique Kidjo, Afro Disco Beat by Tony Allen, and Putumayo Presents – Tango Around the World.
Travel Book Reviews -
Tim Leffel reviews Marco Polo, The Geography of Bliss, Bad Karma, and The Viva List Latin America.
November/December 2007
"Notes Towards a True Historie of the Vikings" - Edward Readicker-Henderson
The Vikings of Norway once terrorized foreign lands, broke through icy passages, and cornered the world herring market with salt. Now they wait patiently at traffic lights.
"Guatemala's Running of the Horses" - Michael Shapiro
The author of A Sense of Place spends New Year's Eve in a Guatemalan village, then takes in a day of firewater-fueled riders racing horses.
"Extreme Eating in Morocco" - Amy Rosen
In Marrakesh, you can go for fresh orange juice, dates, and fragrant cous-cous: or enter the dark side for pigeon pie and lamb 'nads.
"Backpacker Cabaret at the Jugglers Rest Youth Hostel" - Leif Pettersen
Madcap writer and guidebook author Leif Pettersen trades verbal clowning for circus act performing at a New Zealand hostel for jugglers.
"Lands of Lost Liberties" - Michael Buckley
There are things we take for granted, like varied news sources and co-ed swimming. Not everyone is so fortunate.
Graham Reid returns to review Cairo Nights, some sub-Saharan blues, an Africa compilation, and a Cuban artist mixing it up with India and Egypt.
Travel Book Reviews -
Susan Griffith, author of several gap year books, reviews an historic trust fun gap year tale from Jeremy Macdonogh, a Ural Mountains journey from Dervla Murphy, and a Great British Bus Journeys narrative from David McKie.
September/October 2007
"An Aria for Creepy Puppets" - Shari Caudron
After getting spooked repeatedly by marionettes, the author of Who Are You People puts fear aside and checks out "opera for dummies" in Prague.
"The Penitent Legionnaire" - In an excerpt from the book All the Good Pilgrims: Tales of the Camino de Santiago, Robert Ward meets up with a former French Legionnaire with stories and a few secret regrets.
"Let's Spend the Night Together" - Chris Epting
The author of Led Zeppelin Crashed Here sleeps in a few notable motels where rock stars checked out for the last time.
"Discovering Forbidden Archaeology" - Brad Olsen
The author of several books on sacred places looks into a few U.S. ones that come with a big helping of mystery, including strange circles at the base of Mt. Shasta.
"Fear on the Menu" - Tim Leffel
Perceptive Travel's editor hits Costa Rica to see what brings in the droves, finding a crowd pleaser with properly packaged fear.
World Music Reviews - Sones de Mexico Ensemble, Gaudi remixes Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Putumayo serves up a world music hit history, and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra kicks up some big band salsa.
Travel Book Reviews - Jennifer Eaton Gökmen, co-editor of Expat Harem, reviews Brothers on the Bashkaus; Greece, a Love Story; and Volunteer: A Traveller's Guide to Making a Difference Around the World.
July/August 2007
"The Peanut Fiends of Guayaquil" - Darrin DuFord finds that nature may have been obliterated in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, but in a park teeming with iguanas, he learns the virtues of a reverse petting zoo.
"Sankranthi in a Town Called Hampi" - On a journey to one of India's most magical places during festival time, Beth Whitman finds that alms searchers, pilgrims, and pseudo-hippies somehow fit into the strange rocky landscape of Hampi.
"Sobering Shamanism from Peru's Visionary Tea" - Bruce Northam's new-age-dweeb guard was up when he hit Cusco. Way up. But with a little help from a sacred vine and a chanting married couple who sang in a dying Amazonian language, hallucinations turn into a life-changing revelation.
"Acrophobia Down Under" - As the lone woman on a tour with a dozen gay men, Gillian Kendall sees Sydney from a different angle, climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge and walking across.
"The Sea is Cortes" - In an excerpt from C.M. Mayo's book Miraculous Air, a long-time local charts the path of sportfishing on the tip of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, from before the days of refrigerators, timeshares, and traffic.
World Music Reviews - This month Graham Reid reviews cover earthy blues from the Sahara; elegant sounds from China; and a collection of contemporary blues from its place of origin. The son of a famous father announces himself with a fine debut.
Travel Book Reviews - Ready to drop your dreary job and start a new life somewhere else? This month's book reviews are all about a life change that makes travel and life abroad a priority, not a distant dream.
May/June 2007
"Breakfast in Bhutan" - Guidebook author Michael Buckley treks through Bhutan, along with 770 kilos of supplies, a dozen pack horses, and a fine English breakfast.
"Modern Day Druids at the Hill of Tara" - The author and photographer of Mysterious World Ireland takes in a strange ceremony of druids, fairies, and a phallic rock with mythic powers.
"Monks on a Cliff Top at Ethiopia's Debre Damo" - Travel photographer, author, and Perceptive Travel Blog contributor Steve Davey finds a "monastery on a rope"—well at the end of a rope anyway—in northern Ethiopia near Axum.
"In the Offering: Two Sides of a Turkish Sacrifice" - Jennifer Eaton Gökmen—the co-editor of Expat Harem—looks back on her engagement time visit to rural Turkey, when blood and guts were signs of honor and celebration.
"How to Build an Igloo (at 40 Below)" - Canadian writer Amy Rosen takes a break from fine food and pampering spas to really rough it—going to the northern ice fields where you have to build your own place to spend the night.
World music reviews - Our editor reviews Bibel Gilberto's Momento, Slavic Soul Party's Teknochek Collision, the new Putumayo Gypsy Groove collection, and a German DJ's take on Argentina with Tango Jointz.
Book reviews - Author Susan Griffith returns to Perceptive Travel with reviews of three notable travel-related books: Rory MacLean's Magic Bus, Tony Wheeler's Bad Lands, and a collection of photographs from North Korea, Welcome to Pyongyang
March/April 2007
"Pub Crawl in Nowhere" - Graham Reid, author of Postcards From Elsewhere, leaves civilization behind for a bar-hopping trip through the parched Outback of Australia. "Laotian Prayers on a Sinking Raft" - Brad Olsen, author of the Sacred Places series of travel books, says a prayer to several gods after trying to explore a river in Laos on a bamboo raft. "The Qi of China" - Carol White, author of Live Your Road Trip Dream, gets carted around China on a Chambers of Commerce trip and sees a country trying to balance the yin and the yang. "Blast Off to a New Romania" - Leif Pettersen, author of Lonely Planet Romania and Moldova, returns to his research base home for the country's New Year's Eve coming out party. "Ten Years to Tequila: On the Agave Trail in Mexico" - Tim Leffel, author of Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune, sips his way through Tequila country in Jalisco, Mexico. Plus World music reviews - A stellar batch of new albums: a Latin-Arabia collection, Putuyamo's New Groove, Ojos de Brujo, Andy Palacio, and the debut from Brazilian hottie Ceu (say who?). Book reviews - Anastasia Ashman, editor of Tales from the Expat Harem reviews Zaatar Days, Henna Nights, Jungle Child, and Mexico, A Love Story.January/February 2007
"Searching the BAM For Russia's Lost Moustache" - Guidebook author Robert Reid rides the rails of Siberia, seeking the state of the moustache in the men of today's Russia. "Ballad of a Traveling Buddha" - Joshua Berman returns to Perceptive Travel with a different Buddha tale, this time chronicling the round-the-world travails of his trusty backpacker talisman. "The Singing Shamen of Tuva" - Dominic Hamilton ventures to a forgotten corner of southern Russia, where shamens and throat singers help him see both the present and future more clearly. "Hot Times in the Riviera Maya" - Zora O'Neill straddles the worlds of budget traveler and 5-star hotel guest while doing guidebook research in America's satellite playground of Cancun and the Riviera Maya. "The Original Boondocks" - Globetrotter Dogma author Bruce Northam makes his third appearance in Perceptive Travel with a trek through the original boondocks--the wild footpath-only terraced mountains of northern Luzon, in the Philippines. Plus World music reviews - New Zealander Graham Reid covers this month's music reviews, giving us the scoop on albums from the Middle East, South Africa, and Britain, with a dollop of Afro-American musical history. Book reviews - This month there's a double dose of travel books. First there's World Party, Stalking the Wild Dik–Dik, The Best American Travel Writing 2006, A Year of Adventures. Book reviews 2- Page 2 of reviews covers Lonely Planet's new Citiescape guides, The World Heritage, and Tales from Nowhere.2006 Archives
