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ThingsAsian Press has just released To Myanmar With Love: A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur. The second in a new series of books that fall somewhere between the traditional travel guide and the personal anthology, To Myanmar With Love offers an intimate collection of essays, tips, and recommendations from seasoned travelers and people who live and work inside the country.

Combining information with inspiration and practical, insider’s knowledge, the book has been called “a one-of-a-kind guide for the passionate traveler.” Contributions are organized by themes such as “Moveable Feasts,”  “Secret Gardens,” and “Paying it Forward.” To Myanmar With Love is edited by Morgan Edwardson, with photographs by Steve Goodman.

May 26 2009 — A tiger reserve in India and a former military training area in Germany are among the 22 new sites from 17 countries added by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today to its World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Today’s additions brings the total number of sites on the list to 553 sites in 107 countries, UNESCO announced during its International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB-ICC) meeting on the Island of Jeju in Korea. Ten of the sites are in Asia, with Europe getting six and the rest divided among Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

Thanks to Jim Land for sending along this inspirational message from Paul Hawken:

Paul Hawken is a longtime friend of CharityFocus, renowned entrepreneur, visionary environmental activist, founder of Wiser Earth and author of many books—most recently Blessed Unrest. He was recently presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters by University of Portland, when he delivered this superb commencement address to the class of 2009.

University of Portland, May 3rd, 2009

When I was invited to give this speech, I was asked if I could give a simple short talk that was “direct, naked, taut, honest, passionate, lean, shivering, startling, and graceful.” Boy, no pressure there.

People send me the strangest stuff! This was circulating on the web; sorry I don’t have more info:

The fully outfitted, meticulously detailed, two bedroom, Boeing 727 fuselage suite. We have refurbished a vintage 1965 Boeing 727 airframe, which in its prior life shuttled globetrotters on South Africa Air and Avianca Airlines (Colombia). Our phoenix is now ready for its future duty as the most exclusive hotel suite in Costa Rica.

Thanks to Karen Misuraca for forwarding this POV about micro-niches and “experience engines.” (Beekeeping tourism in Slovenia—who would have thought…?)

The following is an excerpt from an article entitled “Riding Out the Rough Seas: Some New Ideas for Success,” by Karen Weiner Escalera, principal at KKWE group and one of the leading marketing/PR experts in luxury travel, hospitality and lifestyle (KWE represents a variety of resort, destinations and other travel-oriented entities).

Escalera writes, “We must focus on niches and micro niches for our markets, products, delivery of these products and distribution channels. It’s no longer sufficient to pitch products to a broad category, such as the family market. Tomorrow’s success stories will cater to new subsets of a mature family niche, such as gay/lesbian parents, teens, single parents, active families, multi-generational travelers, multi-cultural families, and family reunions. And then there are the new travel niches, from grief tourism (visiting Holocaust sites and Ground Zero), to danger tourism, slum tourism and glamping (glamorous camping). For example, in late 2008, Slovenia was quick to capture an offshoot of eco-tourism, beekeeping tourism. Months later the Fairmont Royal York’s urban beekeeping initiative

June 28, 2009

8:00 pm

From Litquake:

Lewis Black in conversation with Marc Maron
June 28, 8 p.m.
Herbst Theater, Van Ness @ McAllister
San Francisco

For its biggest fundraiser of the year, Litquake proudly presents comedian, actor, author, and Daily Show contributor Lewis Black, live and uncensored! This will be the curmudgeonly comic’s only Bay Area appearance to promote his bestselling book Me of Little Faith, just released in paperback. In a freewheeling onstage conversation, Black and comedian/radio host Marc Maron will gleefully dissect politics, religion, and other American foolishness.

June 18, 2009
7:00 pm	to	8:30 pm
June 28, 2009
3:00 pm	to	4:30 pm

I hope you’ll join the fun as authors (including myself, Laurie McAndish King) read from the Travelers’ Tales anthology, The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2009.

Thursday, June 11: We’ll be reading at Get Lost Books in San Francisco (1825 Market Street) at 7 p.m.

• Bonnie Bruinsslot is comforted — and then some — by a handsome young Italian man.
• Pamela Alma Bass considers love and loss in San Miguel de Allende.
• Francesca de Stephano discovers pain, pleasure, and porcini mushrooms in Liguria.
• Kathryn Kefauver loses her privacy in Laos — but gains something equally valuable.
• Laurie McAndish King hunts lions on foot, and without a gun, in Botswana.
• Stacey Tuel inspires a Mexican housewife to rediscover her youthful exuberance.

From Janice Cook Newman: Just posted the first essay from one of my students in the Afghan Women Writers Project. It’s heartbreaking & lovely. Read it, and please help spread the word. We want to get these women’s voices out there.

“When I was child I wished to be a doctor like my uncle, who wears a white shirt and everyday checks on lots of ill people. But one day, all of my wishes were destroyed. It was the day the Taliban came to our country, Afghanistan…”

[And, from your editor, Laurie McAndish King: I'm experimenting with using Apture links in this post. If you click on Janice's name above, there should be three related links. Try it!]

From Kayak and Sidestep:

A little while ago, two companies independently created a new way for you to shop for travel products: visit one web site that would search all the others, then buy from whatever web site you want. You, the traveling public, liked this idea, and both Kayak and SideStep have become very popular.

Airfare Watchdog is another site that lets you sign up to receive emailed information about air fares.

“The airlines lower airfares every day without advertising them. Our team of fare experts tells you about these “hidden” fare reductions and alert you to $0 “blooper” fares and other air fare bargains that you might otherwise miss. And we provide straight talk about finding low air fares on the Web. Airfarewatchdog.com is the only fare listing site that shows fares on all airlines, even Southwest.”

Thanks to Laurie Weed for this link to local photographer Jak Wonderly’s website. Check it out for some beautiful animal shots, as well as to see the SmugMug photo gallery hosting format.

Looking for health insurance? Kaiser offers small business plans (no “pre-existing conditions” issues) for companies of two people or more. So, theoretically, two self-employed individuals could create a company of two partners (no employees needed) and qualify as a small business.

I’ve been investigating health insurance plans recently, and have heard good things about Kaiser from multiple sources. Thanks to Laurie Weed for this link. Now I just need to determine which would work best: a straight copay plan, a copay with deductible, an HSA, HRA, PPO, PPO with HSA, point-of-service … or some other plan configuration.

I’m thrilled to announce that the Bay Area Travel Writers newsletter is now live as an online e-zine. April Orcutt, who has contributed to Travel Writers News many times, is doing an excellent job of editing it.

One reason I’m thrilled is because the newsletter contains lots of useful tips and information for travel writers; the other reason is because I worked very hard to get the online newsletter up and running, and now that it’s working I’ll have a life again. In addition to April, Diane LeBow, Marc Longwood, and Bradley Charbonneau all contributed many hours to the site development.

From the New York Times:

SURE, you’d like to take a vacation. But with layoffs hitting your best friends and your own company hinting at pay cuts, how can you justify it?

Consider the guilt-free vacation. To counter customers’ reluctance about jetting off for conspicuous consumption during a recession, travel companies are pushing trips that emphasize service, values and personal fulfillment. The message: If there is more involved than frivolous pleasure, you don’t have to feel bad about dropping all that cash on a splashy vacation

The big push is on to lift travel restrictions to Cuba. See travel writer Christopher Baker’s blog about Cuba (and Costa Rica) and hear his recent comments about travel to Cuba on an ABC Newschannel interview.

I haven’t used Yapta airfare and hotel price tracking, but it sure looks good. Here’s what they say about their service:

Yapta is intended to help you get a handle on fluctuating travel prices so that you know when to “buy low.” Yapta conducts daily price checks on the specific flights and hotels that you choose, and alerts you when prices drop or when they fall within your budget. Yapta also alerts you when you can use your frequent flier miles to book award seats on the flights of your choice.

April 16, 2009

8:00 am

Thanks to April Orcutt for forwarding this message from the Sierra Club, plus links for more information.

General Info Speaking Guidelines

Dear Concerned Citizens,

Speak Up Now to Save Our Coasts!
Now is your chance to send a clear message that America needs clean energy, not more risky offshore oil drilling.

This Thursday, April 16, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will hold a public hearing in San Francisco to find out how Americans feel about the expanded offshore drilling the oil industry is pushing for. Secretary Salazar needs to see that what Americans really want is clean energy and the jobs that come with it — not more dirty offshore drilling. The most important thing you can do is show up at the hearing and make your voice heard.

June 12, 2009

12:00 am

Learn how to craft a travel article, write a memoir, and publish your book.

Two 7-day Intensive Workshops
September 12-19 & 19-26, 2009
Turkey, aboard a Turkish yacht!
Registration Deadline: June 1, 2009
Class Size: 10 Participants
Info: http://www.larryhabegger.com/teaching/

Heads up writers! It’s that time of year to reserve your spot for the popular September Writing Workshop on the Turkish coastline led by Larry Habegger, Executive Editor of Travelers’ Tales and organized by Robin Sparks. These workshops, limited to 10 participants, have been so popular that Larry and Robin have scheduled two sessions to meet the demand. Don’t miss the experience of a lifetime to get your writer on while partaking in one of the most beautiful, luxurious, relaxing experiences in the world. There is nothing like a Blue Voyage on the Turkish Coastline aboard a hand built Turkish yacht! What will you learn?

Travel writer Linda Ballou offers beginning travel writers a free e-book called How to Make Travel Writing Work for You. Linda explains, “My report is written to those who are not going to try to make a living at travel writing, but just want to get around to places they couldn’t get to otherwise.”

Get the free report by providing your name and email address at Linda’s website, after which the PDF download will appear. And while you’re there, check out Linda’s book, Wai-nanai, High Chiefess of Hawai’i.

Wend Magazine’s article, Ten Endangered Rivers That Still Have a Chance, posted by “peter.” (Note: the Sacramento-San Joaquin river system tops the list!)

A tour of the nation’s most endangered rivers—even on paper—is a sobering trip. The conservation group American Rivers today released a list of the top ten rivers in trouble all over America and the variety of locations is rivaled only by the types of threats facing these rivers—from floods to sewage to encroaching highways.

April 14, 2009
6:00 pm	to	9:30 pm

From the Northern California chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers:

The Eloquence and Intention of Film in the Digital Age — An evening with with Jock McDonald and Thomas Heinser — At LeftSpace studios

This event will blow your pixels off! Two highly acclaimed photographers Jock McDonald and Thomas Heinser talk about shooting Film in todays digital world. Don’t miss this one!

In the photography world of immediate gratification there is another way to approach photography. A way of slowing down, and using other tools for image making. Humanistic tools, like intuition, pre visualization, and intention. The digital age is here and here to stay, but the way of using film to bring private control to your photography is at your disposal.

Thanks to Michael Shapiro for sending this hilarious-but-sad Craig’s List post and ranting response. (I’d include the link, but the post is evidently no longer up.)

Local Freelance Food Writers Needed (SF)

Reply to: gigs-1043393944@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-02-20, 2:40PM PST

Do you love to eat? Are you deeply entrenched in Bay Area food culture? Early stage website for everyone who loves to cook seeks writers for San Francisco, Peninsula, and East/North/South Bay neighborhood pages. Must have an active sense of humor and love to cook!

James Wood’s essay in the New Yorker about Geoff Dyer “He combines fiction, autobiography, travel writing, cultural criticism, literary theory, and a kind of comic English whining. The result ought to be a mutant mulch but is almost always a louche and canny delight.”

Here’s a link to Randy Cohen’s New York Times column, The Moral of the Story. Interesting because he considers the ethical implications of international adoption. And of adoption by Madonna. Also because he’s not only an ethics writer, but has also “written humor articles, essays and stories for numerous newspapers and magazines. His first television work was writing for “Late Night With David Letterman,” for which he won three Emmy Awards. His fourth Emmy was for his work on “TV Nation.” He received a fifth Emmy as a result of a clerical error, and he kept it. For two years, he wrote and edited News Quiz for Slate, the online magazine.” No worries, apparently, about his writing falling into a niche and getting stuck.

A mind stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

– Oliver Wendell Holmes

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  • September 1, 2009:
    • Travel Writers Can Change the World: Planet Earth 2010 (12:00 am)
  • September 12, 2009:
    • Writing Workshops in Turkey (12:00 am)
  • September 25, 2009:
    • Writing Retreat in Italy with Laura Deutsch (12:00 am)