I talked about Russia, again. It’s sort of a pet project these days – defending Russia as a travel destination. But this time I did so on Rick Steves’ radio show. Listen: This just in: Russia doesn’t always have the best reputation outside Russia. … Read on
Recently I wrote an article for Skift pondering whether US travel media has a “blindspot bias” against picking Russia as a “best place to go” in those annual travel lists. I also talked about the subject on This Week in Travel, the most … Read on
Just about every travel writer I know recently applied to the NY Times to go to all their “52 Places to Go” this year. And like just about every travel writer I know, I didn’t get it. (It does look like they made … Read on
Vladimir Lenin was born Vladimir Ulyanov. At 31, he changed his name to “Lenin,” most likely after the Lena River, a north-flowing river that crosses the Russian Far East and is used as a frozen highway in winter. The river’s most famous feature … Read on
If Yakutsk, Russia, ever gets a pro basketball team, can I suggest the name Yakutsk Cats?
Ian Frazier spent about 17 years researching and writing ‘Travels in Siberia,’ about the same time Axl Rose took for ‘Chinese Democracy’ — but with better results. Frazier’s fascination for the forlorn and mythic, plus his humor, has always appealed to me. When … Read on
