“Do travelers like us offer any value to America's public diplomacy efforts?“
Burmese Food: A Culinary Travel Guide
What is Burmese food? Which Burmese dishes should you seek out and what sort of flavors and spices might you find when you visit Burma (Myanmar)? This Burmese Food Guide provides shares our favorite Burmese dishes, street food, snacks, and curries that you'll find in Burma (Myanmar).
The Inauguration, He Said: Of Mobs and Men
Think a press pass to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration meant that crowds parted at security gates like the Red Sea did for Moses?
Think again.
Inauguration Day, She Said: Peace Corps on Parade
Start: 5:30 AM. Finish: 7:00 PM. Time actually spent marching in the inaugural parade: 30 minutes. Was it all worth it?
You bet.
Two Years On, What Have We Learned?
The second anniversary of the beginning of our travels passed in December. We use this milestone as an opportunity to answer the oft posed question: “What have you learned from this journey?”
Rangoon Reflections
Rangoon, Burma. The name conjures the tropical blues of a steamy colonial outpost.
We wondered: would the current reality still match?
Scranton – Small Town, Big Shadow
I come from Scranton, Pennsylvania and that’s as hardscrabble a place as you’re gonna find.
— An actor playing Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live
I told a friend the other day that we were in Scranton and he responded, “Are you from there? How did it feel to be in America’s most famous political city?”
Back to Baltics: Images of a Former Soviet Dream
The Baltics. Reminiscent of a bargain property on the original Monopoly board; not to be confused with the powder keg Balkans; a region whose history features intermittent eras of independence and occupation; and a place whose emotional pendulum swings between the almost white nights of its brief summers and the steel wool grayness of its long winters.
Home to over seven million people and three distinct languages and cultures, the Baltic region comprises the countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Now, a virtual show of hands: who knows where the Baltics are?
Saying Goodbye to China: Top 10 Authentic Travel Experiences
43 posts and 16 photo sets later, we’ve reached the end of a long road of reflection on China, an on-the-fly addition to our around-the-world journey.
Slideshow: The Many Faces of China
The arc of our travel experience is shaped by the people we meet. Even the most beautiful food and landscape need a human context. With that in mind, we offer a selection of faces – each with a story – that we will recall whenever we reflect on our travels in China.
The following slideshow is our take on China's ethnic diversity. While these images represent only a fraction of China's 56 official ethnic groups (there are scores more unofficial ones), we hope they give you a better feel for the various people who call China their home.