It’s Christmas day here in China, but only Christmas Eve back home. I know the rhythms my friends and family are settling into in the States: the quiet streets, busy homes, smells of spices and baking, and the building anticipation of opening piles of colorful presents. Just writing that makes me feel a bit homesick, [...]
In the above map, conceived by Swedish linguist Mikael Parkvall, each country’s area is proportional to the number of languages it has produced. The map, which appears in Parkvall’s fascinating book Limits of Language, is accompanied by the following caption: Languages are very unevenly distributed among the countries of the world. The map tries to [...]
Whenever I tell people my latest travel plans, I usually get the same response: “Oh, you’re so lucky – I wish I could do that.” What they don’t realize is that they can do that — I’ve made travel a priority and set my life up around it. I could have made a nice down [...]
Fewer than 1,500 Americans have been to North Korea on vacation, according to Koryo Tours, making it one of the truly remote destinations in a world that’s becoming increasingly interconnected. So, if you’re looking for an unusual stamp in your passport or bragging rights when the conversation turns to “most unusual destination,” a trip above [...]
Flying between the United States and Japan is set to become a whole lot easier after the two nations agreed to an Open-Skies deal. The deal hasn’t been formalized yet, but both governments are eager to get rid of restrictions on what airlines can fly where, and how many flights they can operate.
A cargo plane loaded with heavy weapons left Pyongyang, North Korea and had not a care in the world … until the crew needed to land for more fuel at Don Mueang airport in Thailand. This emergency stop, according to Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Suthep Thaungsuban, led to an inspection which unveiled missiles, firearms and [...]