ARTICLES

The Fine Art of Baksheesh

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In places like Egypt, baksheesh isn’t a scandal so much as a system, one that can shape everything from what you see to how far your time and patience stretch

“Mr. Jeff, would you like to ride a camel?,” my guide Ikram asked while waiting outside my yurt. Oh goodness, I thought to myself, is there anything more embarrassingly touristy than perching yourself on top of a swaying camel while the local camel driver leads you around in a circle for a photo op?

In The Tall Trees: Cycling New Zealand's Timber Trail

So it was in solitary splendor that I crested the tail, aimed downhill, negotiated some switchbacks and another corner, and then rolled to a stunned stop. I’d hit the first suspension bridge. “Wow!” I exclaimed to the trees.

Biking the White Rim Trail With the God of Moab

If you can’t remember the last time you saw the Milky Way stretching across the night sky, then Canyonlands is calling. Pull up one of those online dark sky maps.

10 Things You Should Know Before Your First European River Cruise

If you are in your 50s and miss that young and spry feeling, you could do worse than go on a river cruise. We knew the average age would likely skew into the 60s, but we did not anticipate being the youngest couple on our ship.

Inside the Farthest Park: The National Park of American Samoa

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The result is an intriguing mix of modern American culture (football and The Rock, for example) mixed in with a 3,000-year-old Polynesian culture that features a network of village chiefs and traditions such as “Sa,” the evening prayer and family time.