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Tag Archives: Writing

New Documentary about Long-Term Travel

06-Nov-06

In my latest Gridskipper dispatch, I interview the creator of a new documentary about long-term travel and provide my thoughts on the film.

Two More Korea Stories from Rolf Potts

01-Nov-06

Travel writer Rolf Potts has concluded his Busan, Korea homecoming with two more excellent dispatches over at Slate: “Fishing Indoors With a Former Member of the Korean Army” and “A Quest for the Musical Russian Triplets of Texas Street.”
Previously: Three Korea Stories of Note.

Suvarnabhumi Airport

26-Oct-06

Bangkok’s brand-new airport. That’s the subject of my latest Gridskipper post.

Three Korea Stories of Note

26-Oct-06

Two of my pals have recently published excellent stories about Korea. Rolf Potts has got two articles on Slate — one’s about the Busan International Film Festival and an upcoming action comedy film called “Expats,” and the other’s about returning to the city after having spent two years teaching English there in the late 90s.
Elsewhere, […]

My NYT Story About Thailand, Tourism, and the Coup

08-Oct-06

Austin Considine and I have a story in today’s New York Times travel section about Thailand, tourism, and the recent military coup.

Thailand Coup: My First-Hand Account

25-Sep-06

I’ve got a new story over at Tripmaster Monkey. It’s called “My First Coup.”

The NYT’s Frugal Traveler Wraps Up His Sojourn

05-Sep-06

In my latest Gridskipper post, I take a look at Matt Gross’s final dispatches from his round-the-world journey as the New York Times’s Frugal Traveler.
Related: World Hum’s Mike Yessis recently published an interview with Matt.
[Photo: Matt Gross/NYT]

John Baker Asks Me Five Questions

21-Aug-06

British novelist John Baker (pictured above) asked a number of writers/bloggers the following questions:
1. Why do you blog?
2. Which author and/or book has most influenced you?
3. Which three blogs do you most visit?
4. Why do you read fiction?
5. What makes you laugh?
Here’re my answers.

Video of Thai Ladies Laughing at Me

02-Aug-06

I am very conspicuous in Thailand. I’m very tall. I’m white. And I constantly do silly farang (foreigner) things — like sit on the ground and eat my lunch.
A captured this excellent 30-second video of me today at an outdoor market about 500 meters from my apartment. (Click on the image above or go […]

Thomas Swick on Cuenca, Ecuador

24-Jul-06

Thomas Swick has an exceptional travel story about Cuenca, Ecuador in Sunday’s South Florida Sun-Sentinel. As many of you know, I lived in Cuenca for a year and I can tell you this: Swick nailed that story. He captures the essence of the city in a remarkable way: the colorful characters, the bohemian feel, and […]

Garrison Keillor: “Times Have Changed”

19-Jul-06

Garrison Keillor:
Times have changed, and I know this because I have children, two of them, one born in the old days and one in modern times. One was born back before seat belts, when a child might ride standing up in the front seat next to Daddy as he drove 75 mph across North Dakota, […]

Frugal Traveler Update

18-Jul-06

My pal — and Malaysia traveling companion — Matt Gross recently published what I think is his finest New York Times Frugal Traveler column yet: a moving story about volunteering on an organic apple farm in Turkey. Don’t miss it. (Here’s the archive of his stories from the last two months of his round-the-world […]

How to Concentrate on Writing

06-Jul-06

10 useful tips from Matthew Stibbe, who writes, “When I am up against a deadline and I absolutely, definitely have to get on with my work, I use a few tactics to force myself to concentrate…”
I would accomplishing nothing without #7.

My Story on World Cup Supporters in Thailand

29-Jun-06

I have a story in today’s IHT/ThaiDay about international World Cup supporters here in Bangkok. I tracked down some Germans (easy), some English (also easy), an Italian (not so easy), and an Argentine (quite difficult). I tried to capture these fans’ hopes for what their squads might accomplish over the coming days. A snip from […]

My New Story on World Cup Gambling in Thailand

06-Jun-06

I’ve got a story in today’s IHT/Thai Day about illegal gambling surrounding the upcoming World Cup.
The first two grafs:
Sunton Tansiri represents the face of illegal football gambling in Thailand. Over coffee in his dimly-lit Ramkhamhaeng studio apartment, the 33-year-old punter explains that he and all his friends plan to wager extensively on the World […]