To Write is To Write

A Year of Travel with The Tranquilo Traveler

Recently, Josh Berman of The Tranquilo Traveler e-mailed me.   At some point, I linked to his site, but the funny thing is Josh could not find the link on my site and frankly I could not remember linking to his site.  And after visiting his site and blog, I can't imagine not remembering it.   Josh is a fellow travel "scribe," as he calls it, and his blog takes us along with him and his wife on their year-long honeymoon journey traveling abroad.  What Josh is doing is like every traveler's/travel writer's dream...to have the ability to travel for an entire year...how could I not remember it?

Well, I guess when I was searching for "writing resources" to post on my blog, I stumbled upon his site and linked to this page.  As you will notice now though, I do have a direct link to his blog under "travel blogs," and I recommend that all check it out...or at least those of you who are travel freaks or wannabe travel writers like me. 

Josh's journey began last June in Paris and has taken him to Dubai, Pakistan and India.  His itinerary also lists Thailand, Bali, New Zealand and Australia as spots he will be venturing to before he and his wife return home to the United States in May 2006.

Josh has authored guidebooks on Belize, Nicaragua and Honduras and has written many articles featured in The Boston Globe, Outside Traveler, Transitions Abroad, and Hooked on the Outdoors.

Thanks Josh for your e-mail! I have been reading your blog and only wish I had more time lately to catch up on your archives!  Best of luck to you and safe travels!

"Gotta Read" Book: "Finding George Orwell in Burma"

For you aspiring travel writers (and nonfiction lovers),  Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin is a "Gotta Read" Book.  I read a review on World Hum today and listened to an interview with Emma Larking today on NPR.  I was intriqued to no end.  Here is an excerpt from Frank Bures, World Hum's book editor, review...

It’s hard to believe that a place like this still exists in a region of the world home to booming economies like Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.  But it does.

Now, thanks to Emma Larkin’s fascinating new book, Finding George Orwell in Burma, we have a much clearer picture of just how this came to be, and of what life is like in this brutal and reclusive dictatorship, which makes Laos and Cambodia look like progressive democracies.

Larkin (a pseudonym to protect herself and her Burmese friends) is a Bangkok-based journalist who speaks Burmese and who has been visiting the country for the past 10 years.

....

Lately there has been an increase in tourism to Burma, but most travelers will only see so much. One tourist told Larkin, “Everyone smiles at you—it can’t be that bad.”

But guides receive strict government training about what they can and cannot discuss with tourists, and the punishments are severe—jail, torture, disappearance.

Fortunately, Larkin draws back the bamboo curtain far enough for us to see what’s behind it. In one encounter, she talks to an impassive old woman who suddenly breaks down and tells Larkin she has no hope for the future.