F E A T U R E S

Bad Trips
By Don George, Editor

Visit Friendly Uzbekistan!
Duck the gunfire, bribe the officials, drink the Cipro
By Doug Fine

Big Island Blacktop
Chasing the heart of Hawaii
By Shirley Streshinsky
- Books on Hawaii
- Getting there

D E P A R T M E N T S

Romancing the Road
First Tango in Paris
A romantic tale
By Jenn Shreve
- Books on Paris
- Getting there

Passages:
"Questions of Heaven"
Buddhist with a backpack
By Gretel Ehrlich

Table Talk
- Knowing the Japanese

Salon Taste
Adventures in eating

- - - - - - - -

Ruskyle Howser | Knowing the Japanese
11:59pm Apr 22, 1997 PST (#2 of 4)

i've been living in Tokyo and Kawasaki for the last six years and in that time I've made two good friends. Both of them are considered a little strange by Japanese standards. Perhaps that's why we get along.

In my six years, I've gone from understanding everything about Japan and the Japanese people (the first 3 months) to understanding absolutely nothing and getting more confused every day (the next two years) to rough awareness of what is knowable and what is not (the last four years).

It is a lot harder to get to know the Japanese. It's a lot harder for them to get to know each other, too. People are very slow to open up and put themselves at risk. Japanese society can be harsh in it's punishments. Those who flout the rules or convention, who step outside of the bounds of propriety, pay a severe price in their friendships, relationships and career.

A clear distinction is made between the public world and the private, inner world. I was once admonished by a co-worker for asking rude questions. I had asked someone what they were thinking. It was considered an egregious violation of his privacy.

In the public world, however, ego is suppressed, individuality denied. What people do or say is neither their personal responsibility, nor to their own credit. They exist only as a part of the group with which they are afilliated. It's an act, but it's one they have been doing all their lives. It's one that has kept them safely within the bounds of society. It's an act of great trust to lower that screen.

It takes time and some people are never going to be able, or perhaps willing, to take the chance. Most people, however, will open up a little if you show yourself to be a kind, decent and non-judgemental person, though there will still be many areas that are off-limits.

It's worth the effort.

Doug McCain | Camping Tips and Destinations
09:12am Apr 24, 1997 PST (#5 of 6)

my wife and I explored Europe in a VW camper for a year in 1993-'94. My two most memorable campsites were in France and Sweden.

It was a perfect spring day. We were meandering along narrow country roads through the vineyards near Epernay, France when we came upon a farmhouse with a camping sign on its gate. For a small fee, the farmer allowed us to park in his orchard under apple trees in full bloom. We sat under his trees, drank wine and watched the sun set. I don't know what was so special about that place, but I'll never forget it.

It was summer. We were driving through central Sweden (somewhere west of Stockholm) on country roads. We weren't even using a map for directions because, after all, what difference did it make where we were? For that reason, I don't know the name of the little town we came to, but it had a sign indicating that there was a campground at the local high school. We parked next to the soccer field by a little stream. The caretaker told us that he was going home but he would leave the building unlocked, and that we could use any of the facilities that we wanted. We explored the school, of course, and found the sauna. It was located between the boys dressing room and the girls dressing room, and it had two doors, one into each dressing room. It certainly looked like it was set up so that boys and girls would undress separately, but then go together into the same sauna. Ah Sweden! What a fine, relaxing evening we had.

Prentice Hall | My favorite travel flick
08:21pm Apr 26, 1997 PST (#7 of 7)

here's a corny travel film (I don't see many travel movies, you see -- most of 'em take too long to get there, making rest stops and all those other things I refuse to do when I drive...)

Anyway, it's called Summer Lovers.

Yeah, it's some ancient B-movie starring a young and lithe Daryl Hannah as part of a menage-a-trois on these sunny Greek isles (how does one say menage-a-trois in Greek, BTW?)

OK, so it wasn't any Enchanted April or Room With a View, but both the Greek isles and Ms. Hannah looked good enough to me (P.S. John, Jr., if you're reading this -- what's wrong with you, man? Just because your mom didn't like her...?)

P.S. For icier climes, I liked the old Jeremiah Johnson take on the American Rockies. It's the only Robt. Redford movie worth a second thought...

Bookmark
http://www.salonmagazine.com/wanderlust/bookmarks/ttreaders.html

Readers' Tips and Tales Issue No. 4 | 3 | 2