Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is Southeast Asia’s most famous and evocative archeological site. Built by the Khmer rulers between the 9^th and 13^th centuries, the temples of the Angkor Archeological Park represent one of the world’s great architectural achievements. The 100+ stone temples one sees today are but the survivors of a colossal city whose palaces and houses, built of wood, are long gone. The complex once incorporated almost 400 square miles, making it by far the largest preindustrial metropolis in the world. Khmer power stretched across most of Southeast Asia and each succeeding ruler built a temple or monastery to enhance his legacy. Strictly speaking, Angkor Wat is but the crown jewel of the site, built by Suyavarman II in 1150. Dedicated as a personal mausoleum and state temple, Angkor Wat stretches nearly one half mile on each side of its outer walls making it the world’s largest religious building. The temple was dedicated to Vishnu and is a representation of Hindu cosmology. The soaring, corncob-like towers of the central structure represent sacred Mt. Meru. The series of walls and moats that surround it are symbolic of mountain ranges and cosmic ocean respectively. Galleries are decorated with friezes of Hindu mythological epics and the temple is decorated with bas-relief sculptures of Apsuras, (heavenly maidens) and devatas (guardian spirits).

But Angkor Wat proper is just the tip of the Angkor iceberg. Angkor Thom is a walled city built by Jayavarman VII late in the 12^th century and constitutes the pinnacle of Khmer power and influence. Highlights of Angkor Thom include the beautifully proportioned Bayon temple and the famous Terrace of Lepers and Terrace of Elephants. The entire city if surrounded by a great wall, each side of which is pierced by a massive, sculpted gate, decorated by bas-reliefs of four faces, each facing one of the cardinal points of the compass. Jayavarman also built Ta Prohm and Preah Khan. Ta Prohm is considered by many visitors to be Angkor’s most evocative sight. During Angkor’s restoration in the 19^th century, archeologists chose to leave several temples in the condition found. In other words, overtaken by the Cambodian jungle. Giant and strangler figs dominate the compound with their massive root systems in, on, and through the stone temples, walls, and doorways. Another worthwhile temple is Banteay Sri, a smaller outlying temple from the 10^th century with exquisite, detailed carving. On Imprint Tours’ Angkor extension (of the Tantalizing Thailand tour) we spend 2 ½ full days exploring the site. In addition to visiting all of the above-mentioned sights we also enjoy sunrise at Angkor Wat and sunset within the park.

Angkor’s decline is usually attributed to Siamese invasions in the early 15^th century. By the end of the century Angkor had been abandoned. But even before the Siamese Angkor was in decline. Some scholars have suggested the conversion to Buddhism during the reign of Jayavarman VII contributed to that slide. Buddhism’s denial of the ultimate reality of the individual undermined the personality cult of Khmer royalty (devaraja) which had inspired the grandiose buildings of Angkor. The weakening of royal prestige combined with the drains of warfare to erode the ability to maintain crucial public works. Most notable was the construction and maintenance of waterways for irrigation. Therefore Angkor was unable to feed its citizens and the civilization declined. Others have suggested that natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, droughts, or climate change also contributed to its decline.

Angkor was discovered by westerners in the late 19^th century. From 1907 to 1970 the French conducted a restoration project, liberating Angkor’s temples from the encroaching jungle. Work resumed after the end of the Cambodian civil war and the entire area is a World Heritage site. I know I'm always singing the praises of sights we visit on Imprint tours, but Angkor is truly one of the wonders of the world and should be on everyone's travel bucket list.

Vienna Wanderings Part II

My second day of Vienna explorations were as rewarding as the first. Today my whirlwind took me to St Stephen’s interior, the Museum of Applied Arts, the Belvedere Palace, Karl’s Church, and the Haus der Musik. Like the previous day, much of my meander revealed typical tourist experiences. St Stephens is an impressive but otherwise unremarkable Gothic cathedral. The AAMuseum was an impressive building, but unless you are a design student, not a compelling visit. The Belvedere has a good collection of paintings and was easily worth the entrance price to see Gustaf Klimt’s two most famous paintings: The Kiss and Judith and Holofernes. I took note that Hundertwasser was influenced by Klimt, as was a whole generation of Jugendstil Viennese artists. The day got more interesting with the Karl’s Church stop. While the church is not that remarkable, the fact that one can take a lift and stairs (installed for restoration work still underway) to the very top of the frescoed dome is unique and fascinating. The visit gave me new and genuine appreciation of the demands of artistic perspective when dealing with curved surfaces to be seen from hundreds of feet below. However, exactly as the day before, there was a single wow experience on this day. The Haus der Musik is truly a unique museum experience. Of course you learn about the leading lights of Viennese musical history but what sets this visit apart is the interactive displays that explore the science of music and sound. I’m not very interested in music and I was absolutely fascinated. This is another no-miss, imprint sight and is worthy of at least a couple hours of exploration. And I really mean the word exploration. You can compose “music” with a computer, with your hands, and even with your mind. It is mind blowing. I even sat meditating for while in a room specifically designed to reproduce the sounds and vibrations of the womb. And don’t miss conducting the Vienna Philharmonic (really!) but be prepared to be chastised if you drop the beat too badly. I found myself repeatedly wishing that Maia was with me as the experience truly touched the creative child within me. And that is increasingly hard to do with this old cynic. I’ve now unwillingly left Vienna behind. I’m on one of Europe’s comfortable trains speeding west and north to Amsterdam to start a new RS tour. I look forward to returning to Vienna in the future to repeat some experiences and to dig yet deeper as I believe there are still more imprint sights to be discovered.

Vienna Wandering

I finished my Rick Steves GAS (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) Tour today and had the whole day to explore Vienna. I’ve come to love the city and, as a bonus, feel like I’m still getting to know it. There is so much to see and do here and as I don’t do GAS often, I’ve had little chance to explore. I tackled two sights and one activity today: the KunstHausWien, the Hofburg New Palace Museums, and dinner in a suburban heuriger (HOY rig ur).

The New Palace Museums are OK but nothing that excited my imagination (Ephesis antiquities; arms and armor; musical instruments).  The heuriger expedition was much more rewarding. Using Rick’s instructions and Vienna’s efficient and cheap public transportation, I headed out to the hills west of the city where I found lively courtyards with communal tables, live music, and great food and wine (very reasonably priced). All nested under latticed canopies of grape-bearing vines. It was a Wienerwald fantasy, only 30 minutes from the heart of the city.

However, the real revelation today was the KunstHausWien and nearby Hundertwasserhaus - together a fitting homage to the quirky, 20^th century painter Friedensreich Hundertwasser. All I can say is WOW! I knew nothing about FH before today. Now I’m a fan! This is a great backdoor (“intention“) sight. FH was a sort of late 20^th century, poor man’s Gaudi. The museum is housed in his last home and is a cross between Art Nouveau (Jugenstil in German) and Frank Loyd Wright. FH was a radical voice in art (got in a lot of trouble), an early environmental advocate (author of “The art of the Green Way“), and a colorful personality. He said man has three skins: our epidermis, our clothes (fashionistas take heart; I’m in trouble), and our homes. Living his philosophy, he made his homes blend with nature (roof/terrace gardens, undulating floors, organic forms, etc) and the museum was his last Viennese house. The building itself is worth the admission with a funky cubist exterior with “laughing windows“, an interior light well (ala Gaudi), a fountain (“all things flow”), ceramic columns, architectural models of planned developments which connote the Hobbiton of the Lord of the Rings movies, photos of FH, and the most welcoming museum café I’ve ever seen. Oh, and tons of his pithy sayings ("A straight line is godless.") and dramatic paintings - did I mention he was primarily a painter? His art is a combination of 60s pop art and the black light posters I had on my walls in the 70s, with a smidge of Munch’s “The Scream” added for punch. It is bright, dramatic, visceral, and easily enjoyed if not completely understood. I liked it a lot. This is a no-miss sight in my book.

A 5-minute walk away is Hundertwasserhaus, FH’s attempt at architectural planning: more funkadelic checkerboard exteriors, tree tenants (“ambassadors of the forest“), and organic forms. As a pleasing visual oddity it’s a success. As an apartment building it was a failure. In a synchronous event (see my previous blog on synchronicity), I stumbled by accident upon one of FH’s only other buildings in Vienna - a power plant. I was intrigued by the model I’d seen in the museum but thought that Spittelau was far, far out of the center. Imagine my surprise when I saw it from my train window (mind you, a subway train that emerged from underground for single stop) on my way to the Heurigen neighborhood on the outskirts of town. I hopped off the train, took a couple of snapshots (perfect lighting at that time of day) and caught the next ongoing train.

As stated at the outset, I loved Vienna already. But like other world class cities she has layers upon layers and requires several visits to reveal them.

Germanic Musings

I’m in Europe running tours for Rick Steves. I arrived in Trier Germany to discover that there was a Roman Festival taking place over the weekend. Trier of course was the capital of the western Roman empire in the 4^th century and boasts Germany’s premier Roman sights: the famous Porta Nigra (the Roman Gate), a basilica built by Constantine, an amphitheater, and a bath complex. The festival was a gathering of Roman reenactment societies and included demonstrations, exhibitions, replicas of Roman weapons, products, and handicrafts, and other fun distractions. It was the kind of pageantry that makes Europe appealing and the reason we travel here. I particularly enjoyed the “Procession of the Legions” where all the visiting groups gathered at the Porta Nigra and marched through the historic center.

I heard some English, located its source, and had a nice chat with the club from UK. Good travel fun!

Later in the tour we stopped in the Black Forest at an open air museum. We re-introduced this stop last year on this (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) tour, so this was only my second time visiting with a group. This is a rather sentimental stop for me as I visited this same museum in the spring of 1978 on my first trip to Europe.

I have a slide of this farmhouse from that first visit with my friend of 34 years, Sabine Bilharz. I am compelled to recognize how lucky I’ve been to travel so broadly, make enduring friendships, and now have a job that allows me to reconnect on a regular basis.

Arriving in Murren we had a lovely couple of days in the Swiss alps. The weather wasn’t perfect but very high cloud cover meant the Jungfrau massif was mostly visible at all times, so no one was disappointed. I opted to try a new hike, the higher, “Mountain View” hike from Allmendhubel to Grutschalp. I was rewarded with unobstructed views of the massif and some rather picturesque cows.

In the evening of our second day a local alphorn club had their monthly gathering at our hotel. I snapped a shot of them out my bathroom window.

Lastly, and just for fun, I want to share a new discovery. If you are one of the many travelers who have traveled through Switzerland with me, you know that I consider the Swiss highland proclivity for extremely neat woodpiles as a perfect physical metaphor for the uber-organized Swiss mentality. In fact, many of you have shared your woodpile pictures over the years. While trying a new restaurant in Lauterbrunnen, imagine my surprise and delight upon entering the men’s room to find a floor-to-ceiling image of, you guessed it, a wood pile above/behind the urinals. Enjoy!

Bangkok's Top Three

Bangkok Thailand – the name alone evokes images of a mysterious oriental cityscape of busy streets, sidewalk vendors, bustling markets, exotic entertainments, and striking Buddhist architecture. As the capital of modern Thailand and the center of its burgeoning economy Bangkok is a multifaceted city filled with myriad delights and destinations. Known as the "Venice of the East" because of its many canals and water-bourn culture (the word Bangkok means "water-flower village"), Thais themselves refer to the city as Krung Thep, City of Angels. Access to and within the city is easy with its brand new international airport, a modern sky-train transportation network, and plenty of inexpensive tuk-tuks (the ubiquitous 3-wheeled motor-rickshaws) and taxis. Bangkok’s history is relatively brief. Following the fall of Ayuthaya (Siam’s historic capital and a World Heritage site - an easy daytrip from Bangkok) to the Burmese in the late 18th century.  Siamese society was fractured and prostrate.  A hero emerged, Taksin, who rallied and united the Siamese and established a new capital at Thonburi on the Chao Phraya River.  The next king, Chao Phraya Chakri (Rama I, founder of the current dynasty) moved the capital across the river and founded Bangkok in 1782.  Bangkok has been Siam/Thailand's capital and primary city ever since.  Rama undertook and ambitious building program including the Grand Palace in an attempt to recapture the lost glory of Ayuthaya.  Other important wats and buildings followed.  Bangkok burst into the Western consciousness during the Vietnam war as American GIs flocked here on leave.  The Southeast Asian economic boom of the 1980s and 90s fueled the explosive expansion of the city into the teeming metropolis it is today.

Bangkok’s top sights are clearly the Grand Palace complex, Wat Pho, and Wat Arun. The highlight of a Grand Palace visit is Wat Phra Kaeo, home of the Emerald Buddha, Thailand's most venerated religious object. In addition to the buddha, the complex displays a jaw-dropping collection of spectacular buildings, monuments, and statues. The entrance is guarded by two fantastic yaksha, or mythical giants. The compound walls are lined with beautifully restored murals of the Ramakian (Thai version of the Ramayana). The grounds are punctuated by multiple stupas, with their dramatically and diversely decorated prangs (spires). Many stupas are ringed by elaborate mythical warriors. The bots (temples buildings) are decorated by colored tiles and tiny mirrors – quite dazzling. The choice of decoration was both aeshetic and practical. Siam was nearly bankrupt after the plundering of Ayuthaya so they were forced to use inexpensive decorative elements instead of gold and jewels. The result was a brilliant (figuratively and actually) solution. Brightly gilded mythical statues add to the fantastical, mystical ambiance. Though Phra Kaeo is the clear highlight, the rest of the palace complex boasts some of the country;s best examples of monumental Thai architecture.

Next door Wat Pho is Bangkok’s oldest temple. Pho is another complex of beautiful bots and stupas (more than 100) and home to Thailand’s largest reclining Buddha. The striking, 150 foot long, gilded gold statue barely fits in its bot. The soles of the feet are particularly interesting, displaying 108 auspicious laksana (characteristics of the Buddha) in mother of pearl. Thailand’s largest collection of Buddha images (almost 400) is also housed here. While many visitors see no more than the buddha, the details of the main bot and the rest of the wat are worth a careful look. Wat Pho is the center for traditional Thai medicine, including Thai massage. There is no better place in the country for this obligatory experience. For about $10, one can experience 90 minutes of therapeutic, relaxing heaven. Lastly, Wat Pho is an active temple. The workaday feel is more authentic than the museum-like quality of Wat Phra Kaeo and one gets a sense of real Thai life, at least the life of the monks.

Bangkok’s third signature sight is Wat Arun – the Temple of the Dawn. Its 265 foot Khmer-style prang dominates the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River. Wat Arun was founded by Taksin but the tower itself was built by Ramas II and III in the early 19th century. One of Arun’s unique and pleasing features is its creative design and decoration. The materials used are a lesson in early Asian recycling and another great example of Thai ingenuity. The entire stupa is decorated with Chinese porcelain. Eighteenth century Chinese trading ships used tons of broken porcelain as ballast, providing inexpensive, readily available materials. A climb up the stupa's steep stairs is rewarded with a wonderful view of Wat Pho and the Grand Palace across the river.

Bangkok hosts many additional, worthwhile sights and experiences but these three are the top tier, no-miss sights of the capital and they can be visited in one, busy sight-seeing day. Bangkok is an easy, exotic, and tantalizing gateway to Thailand and a great introduction to Southeast Asia.

Maia's Success

Since many of you know my daughter Maia, I thought you might indulge a proud father’s choice to use this forum, usually reserved for travel subjects, to tout her latest accomplishment.  Moreover, I thought this a good way to welcome those of you who were recently added to the RSS feed.

In the last year Maia has become interested in acting.  Last fall we enrolled her in acting classes.  On her third audition she was chosen to attend a young actors convention in L.A.  Maia raised all the money herself (for those of you who contributed, thank you once again!), attended the convention, performed in front of 150 agents, had the time of her life, met “famous people”, and received several call-backs (2^nd interview/auditions). We viewed the experience as good for Maia’s confidence and self-esteem, for many valuable life lessons, and for the experience of raising the money herself.  We would have considered the event a complete success at that point.  But a month after coming home, Maia received a call from an agency that wants to represent her.  She has signed a contract with the Crawford Agency in L.A. and received her first audition referral almost immediately.

Whether or not Maia ever gets paid as an actress remains to be seen.  But the excitement of coming this far is already reward in itself.

Thanks for you indulgence.  I’m off to Europe for Rick Steves tomorrow.  I hope to be able to blog from the road and intend to be writing about Thailand – our next big adventure (scheduled for January 2012)

New Zealand Tour announcement

New Zealand!!  Land of spectacular natural beauty, warm and welcoming locals, rich Maori culture, green politics, and next January’s Imprint Tours destination.  Much of this spring was spent cobbling together an ideal 2-week itinerary for this rising star of international tourism.  In typical Imprint fashion we’ve attempted to create authentic connection experiences while visiting the top sights.  And since we’re traveling half way round the world, we’re squeezing in 3 nights in Sydney Australia too.  G’day Mate!  Escape the winter doldrums and join us next January for this amazing travel adventure.  See the tours page on our website for all the details (www.imprinttours.com), but highlights include:

International air fare from San Francisco

4-star accommodations throughout (except Farm Stay)

Sky Tower dinner in Auckland

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

Maori feast and cultural evening

Geothermal wonders of Rotorua

Stunning Milford Sound

Otago Peninsula (Royal Albatross Center)

Sydney Harbor Cruise dinner

And much, much more

Cultural connection experiences include a Farm Stay & arranged happy hours/group dinners with locals in both NZ and Sydney.

If you are interested please contact us with any questions or concerns:

reid@imprinttours.com

But don’t tarry overlong, we made a pre-announcement to our alumni travelers and only a few seats are available.

Go When You Can . . .

Anyone who has been on a tour with me in the last decade and a half knows my mantra about using available toilets while traveling: ‘Go when you can, not when you have to.” Its an essential travel skill when traveling with a group and not a bad strategy under any travel circumstances. Not knowing what the next hour, afternoon, or day might bring in the way of usable, clean toilets forces one to take a proactive approach to facilities. But today I’m going to extend my catchphrase to embrace all potential travel: “Go when you can, not when its perfect.’ Not as catchy perhaps but imminently true and poignant in today’s world. Before leaving on my spring tours this year I read an interesting article in my local paper. It was written by Frederick Kunkle of the Washington Post and was titled, “Tourism Pays Cost of Freedom in Egypt.” Not surprisingly, Egypt is basically off the board as a travel destination in the wake of the Arab Spring that began with the ousting of Hosni Mubarak. The article describes how the revolution has “scared away millions of foreign tourists, the lifeblood of the nation’s economy” In February, tourism was off 80% from 2010. In March it fell even further. In he case of Egypt I am certain that stability will return and it will be safe and comfortable to travel there again one day soon. But the events in the Middle East these past few months demonstrate that one should not put off a trip, any trip, to a destination you truly want to see. The world is too unpredictable to be sure your chosen country will remain an option until everything is perfectly in place to go I felt the Egyptian impact personally as my most loyal traveling clients had chosen Egypt as an Imprint destination all the way back in 2008. I was planning to go to Egypt in April to do research and set up a tour for next winter. Clearly, it would have been irresponsible as a tour operator to take a group to Egypt before allowing the political situation to settle. But what about as an individual traveler? The fact is, this is a perfect time to visit Egypt. Tourism is a huge part of the Egyptian economy. One in seven jobs and 11% of the country’s economy comes from tourism. Whoever is, or will be running the country recognizes its importance and will expend every resource possible to protect its international reputation. Is it 100% safe? Probably not. Can anyone guarantee that western visitors will not encounter any trouble or violence? No. But evaluated dispassionately, the chances of having a violent encounter are very small, perhaps even smaller than before the revolution. [read my blog about our culture of fear]

Were I single and carefree, I think this would be a perfect time to visit Egypt. Competition for tourist spending will drive prices down to attract the few tourists that are around. Hotel, tour, and restaurant owners will be falling all over themselves to win your business. Kunkle’s article concludes with the travel account of an English couple who wondered openly why anyone would stay away. They report, “There’s nothing to be scared of“ and glow about the unexpected benefit of traveling without crowds. I have had this experience myself on several occassions. One of the best traveling experiences I’ve ever had in France was during the lead up to the US invasion of Iraq, when the French opposition to the US plan had made them unpopular media targets (remember the “Freedom Fries”?). I and my groups were treated like royalty. Julie and I were in Egypt in 1997 when terrorists killed 40+ western tourists in the Luxor area, among them several Americans. We were in Luxor 3 days before and actually passed by in a bus the day of the “massacre”. We heard nothing and saw no evidence of any threat, learning about the incident days later in Sharm el Sheik. The Red Sea resort was emptying of western tourists and Julie and I were treated like Pharoahs for the next week. On another trip, Julie was in Thailand during the first Gulf War in 1991 and was able to stay in a Ko Samui luxury resort on her back-packer budget.

There is a second compelling reason to avoid delaying travel. I think everyone knows someone who talked their whole working lives about wanting to travel and made all kinds of plans for trips after retirement only to not have sufficiently good health to go. The world is an uncertain place and our lives can be equally uncertain. In 1994 my father wanted to take an inside cruise to Alaska. As my mom was not interested he offered to take me along. For Julie to come, we needed to pay for her. I was in graduate school, we were planning (and paying for) our wedding, and had neither the time nor money for the trip. But we decided to stretch ourselves and go. We had a great experience and spent quality time with my dad. Six months later he died.

In the 1980s Robin Williams starred in a movie that popularized the Latin phrase, Carpe Diem - seize the day. I loved that sentiment and have often quoted it. Regarding travel, it seems to me to be an imperative. So if you are thinking of traveling, seize the day, make the plans, see the world:  "Go when you can, not when its perfect."

Travel Threats

On the first night of a recent tour, a gentleman, while introducing himself, said he had never wanted to come to Europe. I assumed it was the typical case of someone who wasn’t interested in travel but dragged along by an enthusiastic spouse. But he continued to say that watching Rick Steves on television had finally convinced him that it would be safe to come to Europe. In my last blog I discussed the fact that Americans, relatively speaking, are a fearful people. We come from a culture of fear. Today I want to address the specific risks of terrorism and civil unrest while traveling abroad. In the wake of 9-11, for several years I had to address the issue of terrorism at every public talk. While the anxiety has subsided, potential travelers are still reacting negatively to various disruptions like civic unrest in Thailand and Greece. Furthermore, because Imprint Tours travels to non-western destinations, I get frequent questions about the safety of those countries. In my opinion, American reactions to potential travel threats are greatly overblown. I’ve done some research and by my count only 58 Americans have died in terrorist attacks since 9-11. Of those, 28 were American soldiers [non combat situations], 13 government officials or CIA employees, and one died in Arkansas, leaving only 16 Americans killed in terrorist attacks abroad. During the same period, more than 7000 American children have drowned in swimming pools and almost half a million Americans have died in car accidents. Yet does anyone prevent their children attending swim parties or hesitate to get in their car to drive on the highway? Certainly and demonstrably these are much riskier activities than traveling abroad, yet we continue them without a second thought. Approached dispassionately and statistically, international travel is an extremely safe venture.

So why do we overreact? One issue I see is State Department warnings. The advisory issued after the Osama Bin Laden news was of considerable concern for my tour members. But I wonder whether the advisories create more panic and anxiety than actually prevent any incidents. In our litigation happy society, everyone is forced to think about limiting liability exposure. The State Department is no different. Had there been an attack on Americans this past month and they hadn’t issued a warning, they would be hoisted on the nearest metaphorical petard in the media. Considering that, how objective were the deliberations leading up to the warning? I suggest that American safety abroad was not the only consideration.

Then there is the obvious exaggerations of the media. In a recent string on Lonely Planet’s online traveler’s forum, a traveler queried, “Does the media sometimes exaggerate what is going on, and steer people away from traveling to countries when they don’t really have to?” The posting goes on to say that all the false alarms of recent years (it in fact begins with a reference to the ‘Boy who cried wolf’) have caused veteran travelers to ignore them. The writer continued by relating his experience of a few months ago when the media was blasting out inflammatory rhetoric about violent protests in Thailand. Governments too were warning people off (I in fact dropped plans for a Thailand tour in the last couple years for this very reason). But many tourists (I bet they weren’t Americans) continued to travel in Thailand. Bloggers reported that the Bangkok protests didn’t affect travelers on the ground and reported that media reports were blown out of proportion. The LP string concluded with a personal anecdote about traveling in India when the Mumbai attacks took place a few years ago. The writer related, “Last time I went to India there was a “massive” terrorist threat over the places we were visiting. Since we booked our tickets independently, we had no idea about this until we were already there. We thought is was a bit strange that we were the only tourists around, but found out that all charter flights had been canceled (pretty sweet for us). Apart from that the streets were empty of tourists, and our favorite night market was closed, we saw no difference what so ever. Same thing happened when we went to Bali. The government warned people against going there due to kidnapping risks and such things. I felt more safe there than anywhere else in the world.”

With a healthy dose of common sense traveling in countries where there is some unrest is generally very safe. Americans are avoiding Greece like the plague these days, because of the civic unrest caused by economic difficulties. But the protests all take place in or near Syntagma Square in Athens. The rest of Athens and the country is untouched. Should travelers avoid going to Greece right now? Absolutely not - if there is a protest or march, simply stay away from Syntagma. My own experiences have bourn this out. I was in Athens a few years ago when teachers were demonstrating over reduced benefits. The situation got a bit dicey and teargas was used. I was about 10 blocks away in the Plaka and never knew there was a problem. In 1993 Julie and I were in Kathmandu when some civic disturbances broke out. We watched from our 4^th floor hotel room as soldiers gathered in the street below. Did we stay in our rooms in fear? No, we decided to take a bicycle ride to the outlying countryside that day instead of explore Kathmandu. Did we feel threatened or in danger? No, we had a lovely day. Julie and I took then 3-year old Maia to Italy one week after 9-11 after determining that if there was a pending threat, we were more likely to be affected in a major US city (Seattle) than the villages of Italy and Sicily. We had a wonderful trip and never felt unsafe. In 2004 I had a full tour of alums scheduled to travel to Spain in the fall when the Atocha bombing occurred in Madrid. Sixteen people canceled - but I know 26 others who will attest that we never felt even remotely threatened.

I am not advocating reckless decision making. There are certainly hotspots in the world that are too dangerous to visit. And, by all means, if you are just too nervous about a destination you should not go. You are certainly not going to enjoy yourself if you are afraid. What I am suggesting is that inflated fears make the risks of international travel seem greater than they actually are. Assess them rationally rather than emotionally, check out what travelers on the ground are saying in the many travelers’ forums, pay attention to exactly where the unrest is occurring, and make savvy, informed travel decisions.

Culture of Fear

The news of Osama Bin Laden’s killing, and the subsequent State Department traveler’s advisory, have prompted me to write about something I’ve been thinking about for many years now. In my earliest years of being a tour guide, I started to notice something about my American tour members. Generally speaking, and relative to Europeans (and other cultures I‘ve visited), Americans are fearful. We come from a culture of fear. I first started noticing in subtle ways, mostly in the frequent questions about safety that seemed a bit paranoid to me. Once aware of the distinction, I observed more analytically and over the years have been increasingly confirmed in my opinion. I had been nursing the idea over a couple of tour seasons when I had an experience that removed all doubt. Nine years ago I was running a tour of Italy. My group had the tremendous good fortune of having our stay in Siena fall on July 2, the day of the famous Palio horse race. For me, this sort of serendipitous experience was, and is, precisely why we travel. It was an extraordinary opportunity to participate in some of the most illustrious pageantry of Europe. I couldn’t believe our good luck. I enthusiastically announced our good fortune on the first night of the tour. When July 2 rolled around and we headed for Siena, I prepared my group for what they could expect. I gave them strategies for getting into the square to see the race, encouraged them to get out and absorb the festive atmosphere, etc. At some point I explained I had made a group dinner reservation because I was not certain restaurants would be operating normally. I told them how, after the race, the town is extremely chaotic as the winning Contrada (neighborhood) would collectively act like they had won the lottery. After checking in to our hotel, I headed out into the festivities and had one of the best travel days ever. At dinner that night, when inquiring about peoples’ Palio experiences, I had a startling revelation. A handful of tour members had elected not to leave the hotel at all. I was dumbfounded. When I asked why, they told me from my description they thought it would be unsafe to go out. It was the use of the word ‘chaos‘. To these American travelers, chaos meant violence. I meant to suggest a lot of confusion; they heard rioting. It was a seminal moment for me as a guide and as a citizen of the world. I felt terrible that I had given a false impression (in fact, the wild celebrations felt extremely safe and very inclusive). In the decade since I have continued to observe that many Americans travel in a relatively constant state of fear. I wonder how many more never leave home because of it.

During the time my ideas were evolving, Michael Mann made his documentary, Bowling for Columbine. I eventually saw the movie and while I don’t necessarily subscribe to Mann’s extreme interpretations, he did ask some provocative questions. Also, he prominently featured the book, Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner. Later I had occasion to read it, and it truly opened my eyes. If you have not read it, you should. Glassner, a sociology professor, explores several fear-inducing elements of American society and then examines the actual threat they represent. He reviews road rage, child predators, cyber predators, airplane fatalities, teen mother tragedies, crime rates, drug usage, and dangerous diseases. In his analysis, government and media have manipulated or exaggerated the threats. Media fans the flame of fear to boost ratings, politicians to sway the electorate, and lobbyists to boost fundraising.

Glassner takes his biggest punch at the media. For example, in the entire history of commercial aviation there have been only 13,000 deaths. The probability of dying in a plane crash is one in 4 million. But the media deliberately confuses incidents for rates. The incidents of crashes has risen in recent years (widely reported in dramatic fashion) but as aviation has increased dramatically, the rate of crashes per flight has been going steadily down. The language used in media reporting is down right inflammatory. A decade ago the phenomena of road rage was a popular news story. Road rage was an “exploding phenomena”, a “plague” or an “epidemic“. In fact, in traffic-related deaths, less than one in 1000 was road-rage related. Despite the fact that crime rates steadily declined throughout the 1990s, 62% of Americans surveyed said they were “truly desperate” about crime. A rare strain of “flesh-eating bacteria” was “medicine’s worst nightmare’ and the public was “terribly vulnerable” when incidence rates were extremely low. Glassner sites similar disparities between statistical reality and presentation on a dozen other subjects. After reading it, I had both the confirmation and the understanding of the reasons behind the fearfulness I’d been observing. The book should be the handbook of thoughtful Americans wishing to take a balanced view of security both at home and abroad.

So three weeks ago when I came down to breakfast on the second day of a tour I should hardly have been surprised when, in quick succession, I was approached by 7-8 tour members inquiring whether I’d heard the Bin Laden news. Without exception, the next thing out of their mouths was concern about the attendant State Department advisory. Some were not overly concerned, just mentioning the advisory, but others clearly needed to be assured . One woman mentioned the advisory first and the Bin Laden news after. Another mentioned only the advisory. The travel advisory created a bigger buzz than the big news. I felt compelled to address the issue, sighting statistical probability and encouraging my people to take a dispassionate view of our potential risks. To their credit, after that first morning I saw no other evidence of continued anxiety and I’m certain the perceived threat was completely forgotten. But the first, visceral reaction was an assumption of danger and a perspective of fear.

There are things in the world to fear and things that require a prudent approach. But the relentless messages of our culture are telling us to be unnecessarily afraid. I am grateful that travel has exposed me to a world not driven by fear. I did not realize my perspective was different until I started to observe the typical traveler on my tours. I’m grateful I was able to read Glassner’s book and feel comfortable with my daughter walking home from school (statistically, children are no more likely to be snatched today than when I was a child). I for one am choosing not to live in fear. Like my mentor Rick Steves, I’ve long been an advocate of travel for breaking down stereotypes, opening up our minds to new ways of thinking, and giving us new ways to evaluate our culture. Now to that list I’d like to add the importance of travel for the diminution of fear. I challenge my readers to continue to travel, to travel with purpose, and make part of that purpose to see that others are not fearful - and we need not be either.