“Motherhood had always been her path. In exchange for it, however, the woman before me had surrendered her keys to the world.”
Travel
All Aboard for an Adventure in Inequality
“‘Did you enjoy your tour? Carrot-ginger soup for lunch today!’ And please don’t look at the corpse over there.”
A Reading List on Travel Influencers and the Politics of a Place
A reading list on travel influencers and the implications of Instagram on tourism and politics.
How Western Travel Influencers Got Tangled Up in Pakistan’s Politics
“Now western travellers had decided Pakistan was worth visiting, and were being treated like saviours.”
Travel Influencers, Meet Authoritarian Regimes
“The influencer industry has grown to be cozy with some unsavory governments, but its clout might not be as effective as it once was.”
Honky-Tonk Tokyo
Country music became popular in Japan after World War II. Today, Tokyo has a vibrant underground country music scene.
What I Learned at the Most Instagrammed Outdoor Places
Visiting tourist hotspots like the Grand Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, Lisa Chase explores “the human desire to lose ourselves in the wild and also to extract, despoil, and package it.”
Japan’s Lonely Cherry Blossoms
Millions of people turn out to see Japan’s famous sakura blossoms. This year, Covid-19 kept the usual crowds at home, though the blossom makes a fitting metaphor for evanescence.
Your Wilderness Is Not Permanent
At an uncertain time in her life, Sejal Shah does Burning Man her own way.
At Mrs. Balbir’s
Jillian Dunham traveled thousands of miles from home to get away from her grief. It found her anyway, in a stranger’s Bangkok apartment.
