What We’re Reading: December 18, 2009

Keep up with what we’re reading!

Each Friday, we share those sites and articles—those interesting links—that we are currently reading or have recently read. Enjoy these great posts that you may have missed this past week. If you have any suggestions for next Friday’s round-up, please contact us!

Season's Greetings!

As the ornament box comes out when we adorn our Christmas tree, so does our recipe box. Our trimming of the tree usually comes in the evening hours along with a bottle of wine and when we need a recharge of our creative batteries, on goes the coffee pot and out comes some dessert! We put up our tree last weekend—check out the fruits of our labours! Moreover, we’ve also decorated ye olde blog — hung some decorations on our header!

Nomadic Matt sits down with intrepid entrepreneur Bruce Poon Tip and discusses Gap Adventures, tour groups, and sustainable travel.

“While the people of Tarija, Bolivia” write Audrey Scott and Daniel Noll “will keep you hanging around, it’s the wine—surprisingly drinkable and made with grapes grown at an elevation of 6,000 feet—that Tarija is best known for.” Check out their post here, foodies.

With climate talks stalling in Copenhagen, a new study in the journal Nature suggests that one problem, sea levels, may be even more urgent than previously thought. Check out the article here.

Emboldened by newfound wealth,” writes Andrew Jacob of the New York Times “China has been on a noisy campaign to reclaim relics that disappeared during its so-called century of humiliation, the period between 1842 and 1945 when foreign powers subjugated China through military incursions and onerous treaties” (via Janelle, Special Projects Editor at National Geographic Traveler). Check out the article here.

We’ve started a new category on our blog called ‘Looking Back’ that will include an occasional entry from our journals that date back to 2001—when we first began writing about living and travelling abroad. We’ll present these paired with a photo in the form of a verbal postcard. Together, these postcards provide an (in)formal and often (in)coherent narrative of the trips we’ve taken! Check out the first three posts from this series —

1. Looking Back: Hanoi
2. Looking Back: Royal Lao Classical Dancers
3. Looking Back: The Agony and Beauty of Calcutta

Saben and Lin report from Benaulim. Can’t think of a better place to spend the holidays then Goa! Check out their pics.

Jason and Corina check in from Singapore. Writes Corina: “Orchard Road is lined with malls and more malls and included not one but two Louis Vuitton mega-shops within two blocks of each other.” Check out their pics.

After three months on the road, the Two Backpackers—Jason and Aracely—reflect on what they miss.

“If you’ve spent even one lunch hour at your desk googling up the idea of quitting your job to travel around the world, then you’re familiar with the heap of anonymous internet people who love to tell you to quit” writes Shawn of Rerunaround.com. He continues: “Most of them sound pretty convincing too. Except the ones that use the term, “free spirit” too often, they just sound like twats.” Great new blog. Great insight. We delight in some new perspective.

Off Track Planet names the 9 most successful travel bloggers of 2009.

The cheesiest travel photo contest continues over on Anil Polat’s blog, FoXnoMad.

Alex and Mina relate their stroll the Trotsky Museum in Mexico City, stopping by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s old home.

During the Holiday Season more than ever, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress on this blog possible. And in this spirit we say, simply but sincerely… Thank You and Best Wishes for the Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

1. Gary Arndt needs your help to get to Antarctica
2. What’s on the back of your toilet?
3. Canadians Bid Goodbye to Truly Global Chequing Account
4. Snap de la semaine: July 11, 2009
5. Round the world in 29 days? No thanks!