Another installment in our series on abandoned places in the world. Continue reading
Travel
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Another installment in our series on abandoned places in the world. Continue reading
Generalissimo Bloombito and Nissan are really excited about the taxi of the future. Too bad that future looks like Total Recall. Here is what you can expect while riding around looking for Kuato a bar. Continue reading
Which American cities are the dirtiest? According to a Travel + Leisure readers’ poll there are some really dirty cities out there. Sure, this may not include actual data and is based solely on how people who chose to respond to a magazine survey feel about a city, but who doesn’t love a good list? Continue reading
Today’s installment in our series on abandoned places takes us to macabre sites and the sociopaths who once inhabited them. Find a puppy to hug. Continue reading
The 8 1/2 hours of sleep on a horizontal hotel mattress was pure bliss. You see, I just spent the last four days riding one bus after another for 5,000 kilometers– down the entire length of Chile. I planned on waking up early so that I could walk around the town of Punta Arenas and take pictures of cars, but I am still tired and it’s windy outside.
On my hotel room TV, CNN is doing a story about how Unilever is profiting in Kenya by selling consumer goods like soap in single servings. This reminds me of my friend’s parents’ liquor store in Los Angeles, which sells individual cigarettes to the poor because they don’t have the money to buy an entire pack.
Though Lonely Planet describes Calama as a “shithole”, the Chilean mining town is one of my favorite stops in all of South America. I arrived late last night and unnecessarily walked briskly to my hotel. I say unnecessarily because the town was perfectly safe, orderly, and pleasant.
There’s a lot of money here because of the copper mine. Like any boom town based on oil or minerals, you’ve got lots of overpriced yet austere looking hotels, and a skewed male to female population ratio. Continue reading
3:13 p.m. What a day. I can finally relax. I’m sitting in an open air restaurant and eating the most amazing fish caldillo. It’s a simple soup served in a giant cast iron bowl. Huge, tender chunks of fish (too hungry to ask what kind), potatoes, tomatoes, and onions are cooked with lemon, cilantro, peppers, and garlic. The soup base is not thick, but is substantial enough to be a meal in itself. I’m eating a scalding hot soup on a scorching day, surrounded by cheesy Christmas decorations. And I’m lovin’ it. Continue reading
Another installment in our series on abandoned places in the world. Continue reading
I take another break from my 4,000+ mile bus journey through South America to do some proper sightseeing. Today, I ride in a medium-sized tour bus from the coastal city of Arica, Chile, and visit the Andes mountains, right on the border with Bolivia. Lauca National Park is my destination. Its most iconic site is Lake Chungara, which is surrounded by snow-capped volcanoes.
All of the other passengers on the bus are Chilean and Brazilian tourists. Like Noah’s Ark, they all came in pairs. I am the exception, as I am doing this trip on my own. I will rendezvous with my wife at the bottom of the world, in Ushuaia, at the end of the bus trip. More on that later. Continue reading