Wild World

Hanu — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:23:44 +0000

The only way the Internet will continue to remain the thriving medium it has become today is to keep it under the control of the United States.

Thoughts

Hanu — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:20:13 +0000

We cannot think first and act afterward. From the moment of birth we are immersed in action, and can only fitfully guide it by taking thought.

Travel Tips For Women

Hanu — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 15:44:33 +0000

While I hate to recommend that women rely on their perceived fragility or weakness to get by, there really is something about a lonesome foreign woman crying that magically opens the doors, wallets, and hearts of the people of this planet. It is how I got all of my stolen documents replaced one miserable day in Turkey in record time, without penalty or rush fees. It is how my friend Daphne evaded costly traffic violations across Africa and literally stopped a departing airplane in Angola. Use only as a last resort, but if you’re going to do it, go all the way. If seeking to avoid an exorbitant fine, jail, or getting thrown off the Trans-Siberian train in the middle of the night for not having your papers in order, think: Oscar. Drop to your knees. Convulse. Make such a scene, passersby get involved. If the situation is truly critical, consider fainting (but only if you’ve gotten enough sympathetic people involved that your oppressor can’t just toss your body off the train!).

Another strategy is pretending to get sick. I once read of an elderly expat in China who never left home without his doctor’s business card. Whenever his cabbies hit 80 miles per hour, he would hand it over with an ominous “If I have a heart attack, drop me off here.” The cabbies promptly screeched to a halt. Younger travelers may have a harder time pulling that off, but if your taxi really needs to slow down, shout: “I’m getting carsick!” and heave.

Kazakhstan has just about everything

Hanu — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 18:09:00 +0000

You can wander for weeks on foot or horseback among the deep valleys, snowy peaks, lakes and glaciers of the Tian Shan, Zhungar Alatau and Altay ranges. The snow leopards will probably avoid you but the bears, wolves, ibex and maral deer are less elusive. Mountaineering? Mt Khan Tengri is one of the most challenging and beautiful peaks in all Central Asia.

Landscapes? From deserts, marshes and grasslands to lakes, canyons and jagged snowy peaks, Kazakhstan has just about everything - even sandy beaches on the salty Caspian Sea. And with a population density of just six people per sq km, it also has more empty space than a claustrophobe's daydream.