Travel Blog @ National Geographic Traveler

Web-Exclusive

WorldWise Trivia Quiz

Test your geography IQ with our interactive quiz. » Play Now
Paris Photo Gallery

View photos that capture the true Paris, from Notre Dame Cathedral to outdoor cafés. » Click Here

Marrakech Guide

Explore the Red City of Morocco with these blogs, podcasts, maps, and more. » Click Here

51 Ways to Cut Vacation Costs

Don't get caught in a tourist money trap. Learn how to avoid hidden charges, and get expert money-saving tips. » Click Here

The Little Book of Travel Wisdom

Don't leave home without these essential tips, resources, and websites. » Read More

IT—Inside Traveler
By Jessie Johnston and Emily King

February 15, 2007:

IT's Dirty

Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans will soon be in as full swing as before Hurricane Katrina. However, Katie Howell won't be eating king cake with Taylor Hicks and James Gandolfini this Fat Tuesday (February 20); instead, she'll be wearing some Big Easy-themed apparel to bring a little piece of the Carnival celebration to D.C. Here, she writes about her favorite witty T-shirts:

"Dirty Coast Press, one of the greatest things to come out of New Orleans post-Katrina, has been plastering the world since January 2006 with their 'Be a New Orleanian. Wherever you are.' stickers. The stickers have cropped up everywhere from the Big Apple to the Berlin World Cup to Brad Pitt's script folders. And their T-shirts have become wildly popular as well. Not your average, cheesy three-for-$10 French Quarter rags, Dirty Coast's shirts boast messages to 'keep NOLA on folks' minds.' Some political ('C Ray? Not Lately.'), some amusing, some literary, some culinary (a black and white drawing of beignets and café au lait), some Louisiana pride, some team spirit ('Finally. A Bush We Can All Agree On'), and all New Orleans, the shirts are the ultimate prize for chic souvenir-seeking tourists in the know, but carry clever enough messages to appease the most discerning locals.

"Founded by Louisiana natives Blake Haney and Patrick Brower in April 2005, Dirty Coast relies on local graphic designers to create the shirt designs, a local printer to screen-print the shirts as the orders come in, and trendy local stores to sell the finished product. All the shirts are also available online and cost $10-25 for a made-to-order shirt plus shipping.

"And in case you're curious, I'll be letting the good times roll on Tuesday with the latest addition to my Dirty Coast collection."

permalink       comments

Mumbai Munching

National Geographic Traveler has a Forster-like obsession with India, so when IT's Turkey dispatcher, Michael Lukas, pitched a story about Mumbai restaurants (IT loves its food), we gladly accepted. He writes:

"Mumbai is like New York City and Los Angeles combined. A sprawling, multi-cultural metropolis right on the beach, this city of 16 million is the financial and entertainment capital of India. With its bustling mix of Punjabi, Gujarati, Parsi, Maharashtrian, Goan, and European cuisines, it might be the gastronomic capital as well. If not the capital, certainly an oasis, as I soon realized after spending a recent vacation eating my way through the city. My suggestions:

"Around the corner from a nightclub called Red Light, Trishna is one of the ten restaurants the late R.W. Apple, Jr. listed in his last article for the New York Times, "An Epicurean Pilgrimage: Meals Worth the Price of a Plane Ticket." It is casual (in the way that a pink Lacoste shirt is casual) and, despite its reputation for snobbery, I found the wait staff to be attentive. Sensing our trouble with the menu, a waiter recommended the chili and garlic lobster, green chili crab, and butter pepper garlic prawns—rounded off with Hyderabadi-style dal. We followed his recommendation exactly, with no regrets. I'm not a crab man, but I can say that I have never eaten better lobster or bigger prawns.

"If you still have money to burn after Trishna, try the Sunday brunch at Indigo. It's where Bill Clinton eats when he is in Mumbai, and that's pretty much the only recommendation I need. At 1 p.m. the restaurant was empty—a gorgeous spread of duck liver pâté, roast beet salad, and a dozen other antipasti all virtually untouched. By 2 p.m., after three trips to the buffet and countless free drinks, it was beginning to fill up. By 3 p.m., which was when we got around to ordering our main course, the place was buzzing with upper-class families.

"But enough haute cuisine. If you want to try some of Mumbai's famous street food but are scared of contracting cryptosporidiosis, Swati Snacks (248 Karai Estate, Tardeo Road; + 91 22 249 20994) is the place for you. This chrome and glass lunch spot serves an upscale version of the food being hawked outside on the street. Pretty much everything on the menu is good. On the advice of my waiter, I got a masala dosa and a Parsi-style dal called dhansaak, both of which were simple but very tasty. [IT interjection: Jessie's Bombay-based buddies go here for the pav bhaji.]

"If you are feeling a bit more adventurous, give Shramik Canteen (located inside the Sahakari Bhandar department store on Regal Circle; +91 22 228 25507) a shot. At lunchtime, this unassuming vegetarian restaurant is filled with students, mid-level bureaucrats, and young couples. Most people were having the set lunch (thali) , which includes biryani, curries, and dessert. Contrarian that I am, I got an Afghan-style curry and saag paneer. Although the saag was a bit disappointing, everything else was excellent. Plus, I had the pleasure of sharing my lunch with a businessman who, seeing no empty tables, came and sat down next to me."

permalink       comments

From February 13, 2007:

Choc-a-blog

We've made no secret of our love for chocolate, but it's been a while since we dedicated an entire entry to our favorite indulgence. So, we thought to ourselves, what better time to do so than Valentine's Day? While your devoted bloggers have their fingers crossed that boxes of their favorite hometown cacao products will await them when they check their mail this evening (Purdy's Peanut Butter Bars for Jessie, Idle Isle Almond Cream Toffees for Emily), we have learned (thanks to the glory that is the linkblog known as Growabrain) of some unusual chocolate products that will surely be enjoyed tomorrow in various corners of the globe.

Korea: Chocolate-covered seaweed and kimchi.

Hong Kong: Chocolate mahjong.

Florence: Chocolate soup.

New York: Chocolate pizza.

The Philippines: Mint chocolate toothpaste.

Detroit: Chocolate shoes.

All over (apparently): Chocolate cheese.

If you've ever eaten any of these, we'd love to hear your stories. But, um, you don't have to share the actual chocolate. Really. We're good.

permalink       comments

The Name Game

Stefan Caiafa (Traveler designer, traveler extraordinaire, world citizen, photographer, and general polymath) chose to sprinkle some of his many pearls before our delighted snouts this week, with an erudite post about city nicknames:

"What's in a name? Much, of course. But what's in a nickname often says more. Take Venice, the enchanting Italian tangle of canals and gondolas, as an example. Once called La Serenissima (The Most Serene, a title originally used for the ruling doges), Venice itself has become a nickname for countless cities encompassed by water. Wikipedia lists almost 50 such centers, including Venices of the North (Amsterdam, Ottawa, Stockholm, and St. Petersburg), the South (Tarpon Springs, Florida, and Zakynthos, Greece), the East (Bangkok, Thailand and Udaipur, India) and West (San Antonio, Texas). Some countries single out a specific city with a Venice reference meant to entice prospective visitors (Suzhou, China, and Recife, Brazil, are often marketed with the doges' hometown in mind). Others seem to liberally apply the moniker to any well-hydrated urban area (Japan has at least eight Venice-tagged cities). So popular is this handle, even tourist vacuums like the Garden State and Iraq have jumped on the gondola (Cranford and Basra are respectively the Venices of New Jersey and the Middle East).

"But it should come as no surprise that great historical cities serve as grounds for comparison for other centers. Athens, the Cradle of Democracy and birthplace of Western philosophy and education, draws homage from equally scholastic centers around the globe. The universities in Edinburgh, Melbourne, and Berkeley support claims to be the Athenses of the North, South, and West, respectively. Likewise, any city with a grand and cosmopolitan je ne sais quoi immediately becomes associated with the beautiful City of Lights officially known as Paris. There seems to be at least one in every inhabited geographical region: Africa? Check (Dakar, Senegal). The Americas? Check (Buenos Aires). Asia? Check and check (Shanghai and Ho Chi Minh City). Napoleon himself played a round of this game, calling Düsseldorf Petit Paris. More exotic sounding Parises include the Paris of Arabia (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), Paris on the Nile (Cairo), the Paris of the Caribbean (Havana), and the Paris of the Middle East (Beirut, Lebanon). And ambitious Melbourne, not satisfied with being the Athens of the South, must also be Paris of the Southern Hemisphere.

"As important as iconic cities are to bringing mystique and grandeur to a traveler's dreams, there are cities celebrated for being less exalted capitals. Ohakune is the Carrot Capital of New Zealand, while Tennessee boasts the Mule Capital of the World in Columbia. For every mule after a carrot you may also find a diamond in the rough (Antwerp, diamond capital) or, at the very least, a cloud with a silver lining (Taxco, Mexico, silver capital). Consider the feast you'd have on a trip through Gilroy, California, (garlic capital), Naples (pizza capital), and Bordeaux (wine capital). And there are ample options for entertainment (Las Vegas) should you find yourself interested in rodeos (Cody, Wyoming), streaking (Knoxville, Tennessee), or indoor foliage (Apopka, Florida). Should the existence of any of these capitals come as news to you, you may very well be in Washington, D.C. (the News Capital—or should we say Capitol?—of the World).

"There are also countless cities Big (Apple: New York) and Little (Vienna: Zagreb) with variant appellations. However, if nicknames aren't your cup of tea, you can always stop reading this blog and go make a cup of your own. (I suggest Marshall, Texas, the Pottery Capital of the World.)"

permalink       comments

E-mail your feedback and tips to InsideTraveler@ngs.org.

Bookmark IT! www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/extras/blog/blog.html

Subscribe to our RSS feed.

Visit our MySpace page.

Emily King, Traveler's assistant to the editor, is happy Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow; she's ready for cherry blossoms. Researcher Jessie Johnston, on the other hand, is sad the little guy didn't catch a glimpse; she is hoping there will still be pink on the trees when she gets to Japan in April.

Center for Sustainable Destinations

Learn how to preserve the authenticity of the places you love.

� Click Here

National Geographic Traveler Places of a Lifetime
Our guides lead you to the best in ten world-class cities with photo galleries, walking tours, and what to know before you go.

� Click Here

The National Geographic Traveler Reader Panel

Are you a real traveler? Someone who cares about authenticity? Who has a point of view about where we should travel—and how? Then tell us what you think and be eligible to win a trip to almost anywhere in the United States.

� Click Here