Home//AFAR/March/April 2016/In This Issue
AFAR|March/April 2016In Praise of Solo TravelWHILE ON MATERNITY leave last year, I started thinking about solo travel. (I recognize the irony that I chose the moment I surrendered my solitude to reflect fondly on the trips that had afforded me freedom and autonomy—my favorite parts of traveling on my own.) I adore having a toddler, but ask any new parent about alone time and you’ll get nothing but a long, loud chuckle in response. I thought back to my trips to Oaxaca and Mexico City after college, and to Paris when I was weighing a job and a relationship. At the time, I took my solitude for granted, not anticipating that later, when my only solo trips would be for business, I would look back wistfully on those precious weeks when my time was truly…2 min
AFAR|March/April 2016FEAST ON HAWAIIWhat’s the first thing you notice when you set foot in Hawaii? People just dress, look, talk, and act so differently. They aren’t rushing around on their phones and sending emails. Everything around you says, You’re in Hawaii now. Chill. Where’s your memory lane? My mother is Native Hawaiian– Chinese. I used to visit Honolulu’s Chinatown with my grandmother when I was a kid. She went there every day to shop and would haggle with the vendors to get the best price. I definitely picked up some of that. Sounds like the making of a chef. Yeah, growing up in an intense daily market environment made me so comfortable in that world. It taught me not to think of food as something that you buy large amounts of for a…2 min
AFAR|March/April 20161 MEXICO CITY DIALED BACK2:00 P.M. Your Caffeine Fix Cardinal was the first shop in town to take coffee really seriously. Unlike the vibe in many cool cafés, handpoured cups aren’t served with a salty attitude. It’s a friendly neighborhood spot where you can read the paper in peace and enjoy a solid cappuccino at the same time. Calle Córdoba 132 3:00 P.M. Get Lit Here English-speaking locals come to Under the Volcano, the city’s most celebrated Englishlanguage bookstore, to practice their skills. Discover books by obscure Latin American authors and American writers on Latin America (e.g. Kerouac’s apt B-side, Mexico City Blues). Celaya 25 4:30 P.M. A Time-Warp Museum Housed in an art nouveau mansion, MODO—Museum of the Objective of the Object—is an odd keyhole into everyday pre-21stcentury life. You’re up close with…1 min
AFAR|March/April 20165 SHH . . . THIS IS A BAR!1. THE VIOLET HOUR The excited murmuring you hear when you walk into this sanctuary-like space? Call it the sound of reverence. The bar jumpstarted Wicker Park’s resurgence, not to mention the drinking culture of the entire city. Order the Daisy 17, a spin on an old-fashioned they’ve been mixing since the doors opened in 2007. 2. THE AVIARY Mad-scientist chef Grant Achatz, of Chicago’s Alinea and Next, doesn’t actually man the shakers or chip the ice at Aviary, but it’s clearly his brainchild: Behind the bar there’s more lab equipment than stirring spoons. The menu changes all the time, but the Carbonated Negroni is imperative if available. 3. SCOFFLAW Think of it as the designated corner bar of Logan Square, where cool kids still underpay for a full-floor loft.…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016Five Places to Sip Matcha in Japan1 FUKUJUEN This well-known tea vendor has been selling matcha since 1790. It recently launched a kiosk in the Kyoto train station near the Hachijoguchi exit with an onsite stone mill that ensures the matcha is as fresh as it gets. fukujuen.com 2 NAKAMURA TOKICHI HONTEN The famous Kyoto tea merchants opened their landmark teahouse in Uji, 10 miles outside the city. It serves their brand of tea as well as matchabased sweets. Traditional tea ceremonies, including a leafgrinding tutorial, are offered four times a day. tokichi.jp 3 KAGIZEN YOSHIFUSA Kyoto has many matcha dessert cafés, but Kagizen, located in the historic Gion geisha district, is one of the most impressive. The treats are as fun to look at as they are to eat: chewy strips of bamboowrapped kanrotake, a…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016This Is Not MumbaiTHOUGH IT WAS nearly midnight, the highway was dense with traffic, motorbikes whirring through narrow gaps, all the horns a constant staccato. Ganesh Chaturthi was still a week away, but Mumbai was already preparing for this Hindu festival, which fills the city with hundreds of statues of the elephantheaded god, handmade papier-mâché and clay idols that are displayed and danced around for 10 days before being paraded and plunged into the sea. A half-built Ganesha loomed beside my gridlocked cab. He would be mud again before the month was over. I was awestruck to watch a man bike past my window with a twin mattress balanced on the handlebars, but over the next few days cumbersome objects being transported on two wheels quickly became mundane—furniture, televisions, families of four, even…13 min
AFAR|March/April 2016EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP:GO AHEAD AND POP OFFLet’s just get this out of the way: Yes, this custom St. Regis Christofle stainless steel saber, with its hand-etched sterling silver handle and its $25,000 price tag, is over the top. Yes, there are much simpler ways to uncork a bottle of champagne. But there isn’t a more dramatic gesture to celebrate a special occasion. If you’re unsure how to wield one of these, don’t worry. Every purchase comes with a hands-on master class, the same demo St. Regis butlers receive as part of their training.…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016I Got Naked with Finns.One summer a few years ago, I found myself traveling alone in Finland. Having spent several days in Helsinki, I wanted to visit the country’s islands, so I emailed a local acquaintance who e-introduced me to Milla, her islander friend. Milla sent me a handful of tips, capped with an offer: “I can take you overnight to our little getaway if it is not too much hassle.” Surely she’s just being polite, I thought. But as the Finnish proverb goes, “Take a man by his words and a bull by its horns.” I accepted. From Helsinki, I joined Milla and her friends on a motorboat down the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland to the private island where she lives. We foraged for blueberries, then snacked on salmiakki (intensely…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016How to Be a Hermit for 24 HoursEremito, a 14thcentury residence turned sustainable solo retreat in central Italy, offers extreme travel for the soul. Amidst some 7,000 acres on an Umbrian hillside, the lodging has 14 stone-walled rooms that are defined by what they lack: TV, Internet, phone service, and double occupancy. Dreamed up by fashion designer and hotelier Marcello Murzilli, the hotel is part monastic retreat (daily meditation sessions and Gregorian chants) and part aesthete’s delight (chairs cut from stone, elegant cave pools). Keep in mind that Eremito (meaning “hermit,”) takes its name literally. Inspired by ancient monasteries nearby, the hotel asks that you eat its candlelit organic vegetarian dinners in total silence.…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016I Met My Best Friends on Instagram.In 2014, Nastasia Wong was looking for a travel fantasy. Injured while working as a nurse, she was confined to bed rest, and boredom was setting in. “I needed a project, and I figured, ‘I love travel, and I love photography, so let me see if there’s a female community online that I can live through,’” she says. “But all I found were fashion and beauty blogs. So I decided to create my own.” Nastasia started by uploading her own photos from previous trips to Instagram, with the hashtag #dametraveler, and then began posting photos submitted by other women traveling solo. As stories and positive feedback started to flood in, she created the website Dame Traveler to profile women and their adventures. Blown away by the response, she quit her…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016I Meditated on the Plains of Kansas.When the walls of day-to-day life feel like they’re closing in on me, I head to a place where my mind has space to unwind. For me that’s the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas. It may appear monotonous and monochromatic from a distance, but if you hike in and stand quietly, its colors, smells, and sounds seep into your consciousness: the gentle rustle of the ocean of grass and the hum of bees in the violet wildflowers; the songs of meadowlarks that daintily perch on the slenderest of twigs; the aroma of hot earth, dry grass, bee balm, and clover. On one solitary winter day, I grew so contemplative, hearing only the wind and the crunch of my boots on the frozen ground, I…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016I Drove the Road to Reinvention.I had my quarter-life crisis at 21. So, like countless rudderless youth before me, I decided to take a road trip, my first ever by myself, up the Pacific coast from L.A. to Seattle. I learned many things during those two weeks. Like that you have to pay a premium to rent a car if you’re under 25, which might wipe out much of your savings and require a humbling call home. Or that if you don’t make reservations in high season, your car may be the only vacant room for many miles. I learned that camping alone in a deserted campground by the Pacific ocean sounds romantic, but that if you let your mind wander back to the a little advice Blair Witch Project even once, you’ll spend the…2 min
AFAR|March/April 2016WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT THE BALKANS NOWTravel to the Balkan region is looking way up since the dissolution of Yugoslavia, notes Greg Tepper, president of tour agency Exeter International (exeterinternational.com). Flight connections are good and getting better for Croatia and Slovenia, and visa restrictions are minimal. Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina were slower to rebuild after the war, but they have opened their borders. The best way to get around, he says, is to hire a car and driver. CROATIA Croatia has reemerged as a big-time vacation destination. Visitors can enjoy a well-developed travel industry, an improved highway system, a balance of luxurious hotels and homey accommodations, and a national cuisine similar to Italy’s, with excellent wine and fresh seafood. Dubrovnik teems in the summer, so get off the beaten path and head to the sea. Visit…2 min
AFAR|March/April 2016PAY PALIT’S MUGGY AND I’M CONFUSED. MIYABI Age 27 Rent-a-friend jobs per week on average 15 Most notable assignment Fake fiancéeWords of wisdom “So many people are good at life online or life at work, but not real life.” I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHERE I AM, THOUGH IT WAS ONLY a short walk from my Airbnb studio to this little curry place. I don’t understand the lunch menu, or even if it is a lunch menu. Could be a religious tract or a laminated ransom note. I’m new in Tokyo, and sweaty, and jet-lagged. But I am entirely at ease. I owe this to my friend Miyabi. She’s one of those reassuring presences, warm and eternally nodding and unfailingly loyal, like she will never leave my side. At least not for another…15 min
AFAR|March/April 2016What Doesn’t Make the NewsIMAGINE SEEING these headlines scroll across the bottom of the screen as you watch CNN: “Millions of Moroccans go to work, return home, eat dinner with their families.” “Tourists visit Jordan’s ancient ruins, take photos.” “Citizens of Dubai respond to pleasant weather by following their usual routines.” At a time when the news is dominated by dramatic, scary events, it can be hard to remember that these incidents are still quite rare. For nearly everyone on the planet, ordinary life goes on. Yet we often let fear keep us from living life to the fullest. In the last couple of months, I’ve been to Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, and I will soon be going to Jordan. These countries have been relatively unscathed by terrorist attacks. Millions of people…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016Cheat Sheet1 PLATE LUNCH A base of two scoops of white rice, topped with meat (say, Portuguese sausage or Kalua pork) and gravy, with a side of macaroni salad. Try it at Sugoi’s. 2 LAU LAU Pork, chicken, fish, or veggies wrapped in several layers of taro leaf and then steamed. Ravi’s favorite is served at Ono Hawaiian Foods. 3 PIPIKAULA Beef short ribs that are salted, then dried like beef jerky. At Helena’s Hawaiian Food, they make it even better by panfrying it.…1 min
AFAR|March/April 20162 Transcendental TransportationFOCUS ON . . . BREATHING “Claustrophobic? Try breath awareness, scientifically proven to chill you out. Get inhales to five seconds and exhales to six for two and a half minutes. You’ll slow down the heartbeat and lower blood pressure.” FOCUS ON . . . CHOCOLATE “Put a square on your tongue. Get curious about the flavors but also all the energy it took to make the bar and deliver it to you. You won’t just appreciate chocolate more. The brain thrives on novel thoughts.” FOCUS ON . . . MUSIC “Turn on an album by Brian Eno, Garth Stevenson, or anything ambient. Zero in on any swelling peaks and valleys or other changes in the soundscape. It’ll help tune out all the other noise.”…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016THE PERFECT PARISIAN DETOURFact Sheet Location Northern France Getting There An hour-long train from Paris’s Gare du Nord Population 230,000 When in Lille, technically you’re in France. But its cobbled streets, filled with vendors of bingeable waffles, feel more Belgian. A quick TGV ride from Paris, a trip there is like experiencing two countries at once. Spend at least a couple of days in Lille and stay at the Clarance, an 18th-century mansion turned hotel. After check-in, immediately find a beer. The bière de garde lager from La Capsule is coppery with a toasted sweetness. Prefer blondes? Brasserie Dupont’s bittersweet Moinette goes down perfectly with Maroilles, a stinky, soft, and transcendent local cheese. More tasty regional eats are found at the ubiquitous publike estaminets. For a standout, Google Bloempot, where award-winning chef Florent…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016A Road Map to the Japanese Tea Ceremony1 Wait outside the tearoom until the host signals you, then wash your hands and bow to enter. 2 When all guests are seated, the host wipes the teacups and tools with a silk cloth, then prepares thick matcha koicha. The host will then hand the cup to the first guest, who bows and takes it with both hands. 3 The first guest turns the cup, takes a sip or two, then wipes the rim of the cup before handing it to the next person. Each guest repeats the ritual. The whole ceremony takes place in slow motion—think of it as a meditation in tea form.…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016Britain’s Rural Side1 Soho Farmhouse OXFORDSHIRE Distance from London 75 miles northwest, 2 hours by car The Place Soho House’s latest hideaway in the Cotswolds is a next-gen social club and hotel set on 100 acres, with 40 log cabins, a sevenbedroom farmhouse, and a fourbedroom cottage. Forget that stuffy British manor home aesthetic: Furnishings are a chic mix of vintage pieces, claw-foot tubs, and unfinished wood floors. Check Out The property’s lakeside Cowshed Spa, with a sauna and steam room tucked away on an island, and the Main Barn restaurant, masterminded by celebrity chef Tom Aikens. From $545. 2 Gilpin Lake House LAKE DISTRICT Distance from London 270 miles northwest, 4–5 hours by car The Place With its forested hills and silvery bodies of water, the Lake District is one of…3 min
AFAR|March/April 2016Joshua Tree House, CaliforniaOn Sara and Rich Combs’ first road trip to the town of Joshua Tree, in Southern California, they knew they’d be back. “The draws for us were the surreal landscape, the creative community, and the affordable real estate,” says Sara. They bought this 1949 hacienda-style home last year. “We’re completely in awe of the goofy Joshua trees, the precarious boulders, and the inspiring artists who live here.” The two-bedroom house, available to rent, has midcentury modern furniture, vaulted wood ceilings, and a flagstone fireplace (ideal for those cold desert nights) and is just a 10-minute walk from the village. Watch sunrises on the front porch, stargaze from the Jacuzzi, or simply marvel at the 100-plus Joshua trees—some 300 years old—scattered across the grounds. From $185. airbnb.com…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016I Was a Bollywood Extra.“Back to the Future meets Bollywood.” That’s how a casting agent on a Mumbai street corner pitched the movie to me. What this stranger lacked in credentials, I lacked in situational awareness. No place had ever disoriented me like Mumbai. And when you’re on your own in a massive city, it’s surprisingly easy to say yes to being in an Indian time travel musical. In the agent’s unmarked van I sat next to an American girl. We didn’t say a word but caught each other’s nervous glances as the journey to a film set “just around the corner” approached hour four. Just as I began plotting my escape, we arrived at a studio lot full of colorful fake buildings resembling a Hollywood Western on acid. Miss World 1994, Aishwarya Rai…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016How to Ditch the Single Supplement1 SAFARIS In Tanzania, the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti recently introduced a Lone Ranger package that includes walking safaris and game drives with other solo travelers. At their lodges all over Africa, Singita waives supplements for single travelers. 2 OUTFITTERS With 50 nosupplement tours and perks like roommate matching, Overseas Adventure Travel is so good at solo travel that 40 percent of guests come alone. Meanwhile, the UK outfitter Solos Holidays just launched Solos Vacations in the U.S. (check out their 120-day aroundthe-world tour). 3 CRUISES Norwegian was the first line in the industry to offer studios and social lounges designed for solo guests without charging extra fees. Now, smallship river-cruise lines such as Viking and AmaWaterways have also joined the club.…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016I Left My Family for a Weekend.One mom I know finds it at Target, when her husband’s home with the kids. That feeling of freedom that, for parents, is fleeting; when you can ponder subjects other than keeping those little people alive. I had a weekend. My wife and son were across the country. I was on the road by 5 a.m., and at the Yosemite campground before 9. I started on the trail. I watched birds.I got a little lost. Around a bend, El Capitan appeared, and I stopped and ate my lunch. On the way back, I found a pool of clear, frigid water. I took off my clothes and soaked in it. Parents, don’t squander your moments of freedom. They frown on public nudity at Target. business + leisure = bleisure I always…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016How to (Happily) Drink AloneTristan Willey, of Brooklyn’s Long Island Bar, is as well versed in the art of conversation as he is in the art of cocktail making. So who better to advise travelers on the fine art of drinking solo? “Avoid opening lines. It makes for a better interaction. One of the best parts about being alone is that you’re not forced to interact, and you can wait for the right moment to strike up a conversation. The world gets to revolve around you for a little bit when you’re sitting by yourself at the bar, and usually a natural entry point comes along. You shouldn’t force it. “In New York, so many travelers have this idea of what the city should be like. They try to react to that idea instead…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016A CENTURY OF INSPIRATIONTalk about suffering for art. Philadelphia painter Thomas Moran had barely sat in a saddle in his life. But here he was, urging a mule over the Rockies, on assignment from the U.S. Geological Survey to capture on canvas the rumored wonders of Yellowstone. Moran’s journey in the summer of 1871 was a triumph. He painted hot springs, he painted geysers, he painted The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, one of the masterpieces of American landscape art. His works helped convince Congress to set aside Yellowstone as the world’s first national park the following year. Still, Moran had raised a haunting aesthetic conundrum. When he first set eyes on Yellowstone’s great canyon, he deemed it “beyond the reach of human art.” That has been the quandary ever since. This year…2 min
AFAR|March/April 2016CONTRIBUTORSLANDON NORDEMAN Photographer Pay Palp.100 The solitude of Tokyo: “Nobody stops and talks to you like they do in other countries. If you’re introduced to someone, they are extremely welcoming. But you don’t see that on the surface.” A modern friendship: “We ate dinner with Miyabi, a rent-a-friend from the story, after we photographed her. She invited us. It was an ironic moment: As a professional friend, she still needed friends of her own.” See through his lens: on Instagram @landonnordeman. CATHERINE LACEY Writer This Is Not Mumbaip.65 A travel dream-cometrue: “I’d always wanted to go to India. When I was a teenager, I thought it would be one of the first countries I’d visit. But this was my first trip.” Walk this way: “I tend to explore cities on…2 min
AFAR|March/April 2016THE OTHER HOLLYWOOD1 VEGGIES for FOODIES Grassroots Pantry is a rare find: a high-end, food-criticapproved restaurant devoted to vegetarian cooking. Come for the lemon chia-seed pancakes, stay for the pan-fried gyoza with Sichuan peppercorns. G/F, Shop D, 108 Hollywood Rd. 2 THE GREAT MALL of CHINA A renovated police barracks, PMQ is 197,000 square feet of art exhibits, fashion boutiques, and design shops where goods are made with sharp aesthetics and the environment in mind. 35 Aberdeen St. 3 A TOTAL SLAM DUNK Thanks to a canopy of trees, Blake Garden feels miles away from the traffic and crowds despite being quite small. Stroll its pedestrian-only paths or jump into a pickup game at the basketball courts. Near the Pu Xing Fang and UN Fong junction 4 GO DUTCH in CHINA A…2 min
AFAR|March/April 20164 THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE RETREAT IN SOUTH AFRICAYou could parachute onto Cape Town’s New Church Street without any plans and still have the best evening of your life: Just follow the cheering crowds pouring out of some of the city’s most popular restaurants and bars. Then find your escape hatch from the noise, one of six cottage-like rooms at La Grenadine (from $110, lagrenadine.co.za). Situated behind a large wooden gate at the end of a long driveway, the hotel is run by a pair of charming French transplants (with moral support from their kids and pet shar-pei). The place feels as though they constructed a movie-set version of the South of France— complete with brick and stone walls, a loft with a record player perched above the kitchen, and a row of rooms tucked under an awning…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016Matcha MakerTHERE IS A SMALL city in central Japan called Nishio. To get there by train, you take a scenic three-anda-half-hour ride from Tokyo, past Mount Fuji and the rippling Pacific coastline. Nishio itself looks unremarkable: quiet residential blocks that could be found anywhere in Japan, a few restaurants, all surrounded by flat parcels of green farmland. But mention the city to tea aficionados and they will immediately respond: matcha! As Maine is known for lobster and Kentucky for bourbon, the fields of Nishio are famed for growing a variety of Camellia sinensis, the mother plant from which most teas (green or black) are made. The leaves from this plant are eventually stone ground and turned into some of the world’s finest matcha, a bright-green, powdered tea. What makes this brew…3 min
AFAR|March/April 2016At Home in AustinSOUTH CONGRESS started out as a grand avenue. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the main road between Austin and San Antonio, and the surrounding area was filled with huge live oak trees, which are still standing today. But in the ’40s, a new highway started directing traffic away from the area, and by the time I moved to Austin from West Texas in the mid-’80s it was basically abandoned. In 1995, when I moved to Travis Heights, a residential area nearby, South Congress was a red-light district. There were prostitutes, junkies, a handful of insurance agencies, and maybe a sandwich shop. One place that continued to thrive, however, was the Continental Club, a legendary music venue that opened in 1957. It’s the reason I bought a…4 min
AFAR|March/April 2016A Classic Returns“From the moment you step into Paris’s Bar Hemingway, which dates to 1921, you’re steeped in history. It’s where Hemingway spent many evenings, and he was followed by other notable writers and photographers. The bar is still a key part of the city’s nightlife. When I was hired in 1994, I got carte blanche to create the space, and I introduced a new cocktail menu. I built relationships with our loyal clients, and during the Ritz’s recent closure, I hosted dinner parties at my home with these ‘Hemingway Orphans’ as we called them. They wanted reassurance that the Ritz wouldn’t change. Obviously many things have—the bedrooms are larger, the bathroom floors are heated, the garden is more epic than ever. The Ritz’s soul though? Completely intact.” The Most Famous Cocktail…2 min
AFAR|March/April 2016The Suján WayTell us about your latest hotel. Suján Rajmahal Palace is a perfect example of what we do. This palace in Jaipur has a living connection to the destination because it’s the only hotel in the Pink City that still belongs to the Maharaja. In the restaurant, we serve the family’s original household recipes. How do you help connect guests to a destination? Having relationships with local communities enables us to share another side of India. Jawai Leopard Camp in Rajasthan is known for its remarkable wildlife sightings, but we have also created cultural encounters in the area’s exceptional temples. We work with priests so that guests can observe practices that don’t exist anymore in urban India. How do you build those relationships? At Suján properties our staff is made up…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016I Biked Through Albania. Alone. As a Woman.The road is blocked by goats again. It really is the last straw. I’m two months into a 10,000-kilometer cycling trip across Europe and the Middle East, and I’ve just chugged over a truly enormous hill (let’s call it a mountain) between Montenegro and Albania, only to run out of paved road. And food. And water. And then the rain arrived. Right before the goats. I am saved by a kindly man with a van. The track is just rubble, hemmed in tightly by cliffs and plunging ravines, and we stop regularly to wait for bulldozers to clear the way. The nail-biting journey takes three hours, and when we arrive at my destination it’s pitchblack and pouring. But the guesthouse is charming: a 150-year-old haven of hospitality, where I am…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016I Stayed Single in South America.where to dig deep Farm stays are not the easiest vacations, with their early mornings and physical demands. But learn to drive a tractor, forage for mushrooms, or care for sheep, and you’re instantly immersed in local life. —CELINE KAGAN, A WRITER WHO FINDS HER FARMS VIA HELPX.NET As a woman traveling alone in South America, I was prepared for piropos— compliments that trail a woman like an all-male chorus through machismo country. “Marry me!” went the refrain. My comeback, learned from a friend in Senegal: “Thank you, sir, but I already have five husbands.” But what could prepare a woman for the tour guide who corners her with serenades? Or the policeman who takes the report on her stolen wallet: “Name? Birthdate? Most important: single or married?” He detained…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016I Failed to Find Friends with a Friend-Finding App.a little advice Until recently, traveling alone was largely unpredictable. For every Eat Pray Love moment, there were untold hours of wasted time, sketchy situations, and missed opportunities. But now a growing suite of apps aims to connect like-minded single trekkers for everything from local music to unexplored cuisine. And I’m on a mission to try them all (OK, three) on a short trip to the Philippines. On a three-hour layover at Tokyo’s Narita airport, I start with Wander, an app that connects solo travelers to one another by matching interests (“I like pirates, British comedy, and baseball”). I find a chat buddy, but he’s hundreds of miles away in Seoul. After a confusing 15-minute conversation where he either propositioned me or invited me for dinner (his English wasn’t stellar…2 min
AFAR|March/April 2016Are We Really Ready for Eenmaal?We’ve all been there: sitting at a restaurant alone, feeling out of place. “To be alone in a restaurant often looks and feels somewhat sad,” says Marina van Goor, founder of Amsterdam’s design firm MVGCA. “I wanted to create an attractive place where eating out alone is accepted and even cool.” So she launched Eenmaal, the world’s first pop-up restaurant for solo diners, which serves seasonal fourcourse menus with natural wine pairings (all for about $40). Here, at your own personal table, there’s no chance of being pressured into ordering something you don’t want—or sharing something you do want—and, as van Goor says, “Since everybody sits alone, it is not awkward.” On the flip side, you can forget about eavesdropping for entertainment, and as much as we appreciate the notebooks…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016I Crashed a Japanese Karaoke Party.I recently spent six days buzzing through Tokyo, population 13 million. And on the seventh day, I needed rest. Unconstrained by anyone else’s schedule, I booked a ticket to Hakone, a village of onsen (natural hot springs) resorts near Mount Fuji. The weird part of slowing down in Japan: It happens fast. Over the course of an hour, I gazed out a train window as the city faded to fog-cloaked trees—like those in the Pacific Northwest, but with the drama turned up. When I arrived, I hiked. I sipped matcha. I tied on a traditional yukata (robe), untied it, and slipped into the steaming baths. Fifteen minutes in, my shoulders sat lower. The silence verged on eerie until a pack of sloshed businessmen killed the mood. White boy, where are…1 min
AFAR|March/April 2016THE PATH TO PEACEAFTER TWO FULL DAYS of trekking through flat landscapes, Duško and I had just conquered our first hill. And he wasn’t taking it too well. I stood at the top of the grade on the lonely road, taking in the view and waiting for my walking companion to catch up. The Danube River’s twists and turns cut through the flat, swampy countryside; hops and wheat fields, punctuated by the occasional Croatian village, spread out to the horizon. On the other side of the river, where we’d just come from, was Serbia. “Can we just hitchhike, please?” he yelled up to me. “No!” I yelled back. “I told you. We’re walking the entire thing. And you’ll like it!” It felt like we were an old married couple. Yet we’d known each…13 min
AFAR|March/April 2016JUST BACK FROM“My friend and I travel together every year. Our only requirements are that the destination should be warm and have good food, and we can’t know the language well (just to keep it interesting). This year, that led us to Colombia. We drank coffee at Franca, a café in the Chapinero district of Bogotá, saw horse-drawn carriages in Cartagena, and took in the view of Medellín from a hillside park. Cartagena was the biggest sensory overload. We stayed in the historic center, at the Casa San Agustín, a respite from the busy city. The street names are different on every block, so you can’t really go looking for places. Instead, we took the days as they came. One night, we joined a spontaneous street party. Everyone from college kids to…1 min
