What It’s Like In: Baku, Azerbaijan Baku is an odd city, straddling as it does so many lines between distinct realms. Desert and sea, Central Asia and the Middle East, rich and poor, historic and modern; Baku has a touch of all of these and plenty of other more subtle distinctions besides. Despite hosting the …
What It’s Like In: Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen is equal parts small and off the beaten track when compared to Euro-trip favorites like Amsterdam, Paris, or Berlin. With canals that rival Venice, beers that are surprisingly tasty, and an odd political enclave that stands apart from the rest of the city it seems Copenhagen has more …
What its Like in Dubai Dubai is many things to many people. To an American Business Executive, this glittering city might seem like more of a fun-filled playground than to the South Asian temporary worker who built his building or the SouthEast Asian maid that cleans his apartment. Now that all those stereotypes are out …
Edinburgh is a proudly hip city, where everything is small, and cute and necessarily unique: things are hand-woven or hand-written or hand-made, arts & crafts are one-of-a-kind, and if it’s not labelled “organic” or “fair trade” or “ethically local-source” or basically any trendy modern adjective that tends to attract upper-middle-class hipsters, it won’t exist. It …
There is no such thing as “small” in Budapest. Every detail is part of a grander scheme, every building is grandiose, every lane proudly clean, every stone and brick an impeccable piece of ever-evolving neoclassical renovation. There are no nooks or crannies. Its central downtown is made up of row after row of elaborately gothic …
It’s often said of Kuta that it isn’t the real Bali. My only response to this is that it felt quite real to me and, unless there’s been a gaping error with the maps, I’m pretty sure that it is in Bali. Of course, I’m being facetious but only so as to play devil’s …
As the home of ancient democracy, the modern Olympics, and the ruins of Classical Greek civilizations the city of Athens is an obvious tourist draw for tourists passing through Southern Europe. With the ongoing economic crisis in Greece and images in popular media of riots running through the streets of the city, though, potential travelers …
Tokyo and its greater metropolitan area form the largest urban conurbation on earth. That’s more than 30 million souls crammed into one of the few flat areas in Japan. Unsurprisingly, space here is at a premium and town planning was given up a long time ago. Function and fit, by necessity, have taken …
I started a series last year to try to describe to readers what it’s actually like in selected cities worldwide. Too often travel writers highlight points of touristic interest or glamorize a destination only to elevate it beyond its reality. That is their job: to sell destinations. I wanted to go beyond that and tell …
What it’s like in Bangkok Out on the Streets The scene on the streets of Bangkok depends entirely on the neighborhood you are in, but expect to find plenty of activity. Lots of street food carts, makeshift souvenir stands, and markets filling the side streets. Avenues are crammed with cars, motorbikes, and the ubiquitous three-wheeled tuk-tuks. …
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