“To most outsiders, Hawai‘i is defined by the lei-draped, aloha-dispensing, honeymooner-welcoming image of the place. There’s no room for another version to emerge.”
Travel
What It’s Like to Travel When You Have a ‘Bad’ Passport
“I am always an immigrant, never an expatriate. As an immigrant, to even visit a country, you must prove not just your legality, but your worth.”
My Mother’s Other World
“Motherhood had always been her path. In exchange for it, however, the woman before me had surrendered her keys to the world.”
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.
