The Burton Holmes Archive has information about Burton Holmes, the travel writer who became the first person to make filmic travelogues. More importantly, they also have a lot of
film clips by Holmes and his associate,
André de la Varre, who was also a great travelogue maker himself. Watching these clips is not quite time travel, but it is as close as we can get. Take a look at
Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1926,
Lake Michigan in 20s,
Cairo in 1932 and
the 1955 Rio de Janeiro carnival. The later films have sound and narration, but I prefer the silent ones.
[Burton Holmes previously, André de la Varre previously, and the Travel Film Archive, which runs Burton Holmes site, previously]
posted by Kattullus
on Oct 26, 2011 -
5 comments
Evan Osnos joins a tour group from China as they traverse Europe. In the front row of the bus, Li stood facing the group with a microphone in hand, a posture he would retain for most of our waking hours in the days ahead. In the life of a Chinese tourist, guides play an especially prominent role—translator, raconteur, and field marshal—and Li projected a calm, seasoned air. He often referred to himself in the third person—Guide Li—and he prided himself on efficiency. “Everyone, our watches should be synchronized,” he said. “It is now 7:16 P.M.” He implored us to be five minutes early for every departure. “We flew all the way here,” he said. “Let’s make the most of it.” [more inside]
posted by WalterMitty
on Jul 28, 2011 -
71 comments
Forty years among the Zulus,
twenty-five years in Honan,
twenty-one years in India,
thirty years in India,
thirty years in Nyasaland,
eighteen years in the Khyber,
twice around the world,
twenty years in the Himalaya,
four years in the White North,
thirty years in the Arctic regions,
thirty years in Madagascar,
five years in a Persian town,
eight years in Iran,
fifty-three years in Syria,
four years in Ashantee,
forty years in Burma,
five years in the Sudan,
thirty years in Australia,
forty years in Brazil.
[more inside]
posted by shii
on Oct 2, 2010 -
44 comments
Have Food Will Travel: Pearl River Delta is a travelogue teaser video from
Leonard Shek, a second generation Chinese American from San Francisco. Shek traveled to the Guangdong Province as part of the SF Chinese Culture Center's
In Search of Roots program. While the main purpose of the trips is for Chinese Americans to explore where their parents or grandparents came from, Shek wanted to explore the origins of the food he grew up with.
posted by spec80
on Jul 9, 2008 -
2 comments
Judy's tour diary (pdf, somewhat long) isn't your standard travelogue. The author is
Judy Porter, a professor of sociology from Bryn Mawr Collge. Her expertise in the fields of AIDS and poverty are apparent as she paints a vivid picture of life in West Africa, and the health and social conditions that come with it. She also set up a
web page that has links to a number of photo slide shows and hand shot video footage.
West Africa has been extensively discussed previously.
posted by The Straightener
on Mar 16, 2007 -
6 comments
Scott Stulberg takes beautiful photography of people and places in southeast Asia. Also, some fantastic nature and wildlife work.
(flash, sound alert)
posted by madamjujujive
on Feb 11, 2006 -
14 comments
No Condition is Permanent. World music, and African music in particular, often falls into two categories: pleasant and inoccuous, or the fetishized other. Even speaking of "African" music is misleading. Senegalese mbalax doesn't sound that much like Camaroonian makossa.
And I don't say this as some great authority; I'm still just at the beginning of the learning curve.
So come along with me. There's the broad
Benne Loxo du Taccu, the sidebar of
Mudd Up!, the great (and self-explanitory)
African Hiphop,
Stern's Music (this link going to a more accessible Thione Seck),
Aduna (for Francophones— my middle-school French gets me by, but I'm really there for the music),
Du Bruit (more Francophones, with an emphasis on vinyl sharities), and
Worldly Disorientation (which covers all sorts of world music, but has some excellent African stuff).
Have I missed anything great? Recommend it in the thread. I tend to prefer the psychedelic and dubby stuff more than straight folk styles, but that's me.
posted by klangklangston
on Nov 17, 2005 -
42 comments
"In the summer of 1978 I undertook a 3-month
11,500-mile journey by moped from Toronto to Alaska (USA) and back to Toronto. This website contains a complete travelogue of this trip, with over 300 photographs and a description of the trip, plus technical information about the moped and details of the trip."
posted by stbalbach
on May 18, 2004 -
15 comments
Photos by Martin - a gem of a site for vicarious travelers, it features
wonderful,
charming photos and fascinating
stories from a guy who quit his job three years ago to travel the world. He credits global photojournalist
Steve McCurry as an influence. I am such a fan of these photo travel narratives, professional and amateur alike - has anyone else discivered some special favorites?
posted by madamjujujive
on Jul 8, 2003 -
22 comments
An American Visits the DMZ. With the rising tensions on the Korean border, it seems like a good time to get a first hand account on the situation. Insightful observations like,
so I went into North Korea. It was a lot like South Korea, maybe colder. And there were more fat Canadians than I expected, especially just after a famine. While you're at his site, don't miss
Tim Hoo is a Genius and
Ask not for whom The Bell™ tolls.
posted by jonah
on Mar 4, 2003 -
24 comments
