WHAT THE WORLD IS READING ABOUT

Indian Express
September 1, 2008 Monday

A Classy Place to Meet, With a Bonus, The New York Times

Just because you’re an enviably wealthy business traveller, doesn’t
mean you can’t scrimp and scrounge. Even if you’re staying at The
Ritz. According to Perry Garfinkel, it makes great financial sense to
splurge on a suite and save time and money by using it for meetings
and power lunches instead of booking conference rooms and enduring
surly taxi drivers and snotty Maitre’ds.

This growing trend, he writes, also helps cement better relationships
with clients’ (in a hotel room?) because of the intimate setting. And,
save money by buying refreshments from a store. You’ll save at least
$50 out of your $900,555,889 fortune! Steaming into Bangladesh,
The Times "The miasma of corrupt odours" described by Nick Redmayne
as he takes a trip into Dhaka on a century-old steamer should help
us Indians feel right at home. Although he summons many standard
South Asia cliches about our neighbour, his foreignness’ allows
him to see facets many of us in India cannot, perhaps because of
our shared history. Such as the 400-year-old Armenian church and
cemetery in Dhaka, ramshackle remnants of the Armenian community that
once thrived here. Dhaka, he writes, is no world-heritage designate,
"but for an old town’ experience it’s streets ahead." Besides, it’s
cheap. Have Pantsuit, Will Travel, The Nation To dress for success’
is painful says Patricia J. Williams, as she ponders the role clothes
play in the dreary march from conveyor belt to taxi stand to hotel:
"Sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits’ is how Hillary Clinton put
it. And with those simple words, the peculiar misery haunting my
entire professional life flashed before my eyes." Suited and booted,
you can’t wiggle your toes, leave alone take off a sweaty jacket
"because you’re worried about bra straps". More about clothes than
travel, the article underlines how the power suit can be as confining
as a corset when you’re on the go. Europe’s Weird Ways, Der Spiegel
The August issue has something for every "embarrassment-seeking
tourist". Spanish baby-jumping’ festival; the battle of the oranges
("Italy’s biggest food fight"); or the "flour wars of Galaxidi"
in Greece (yes, another food fight). At least it’s a change from
karaoke and limbo dancing. Vagabondish () This
e-zine-cum-blog, arguably the best of its kind provides a wealth of
offbeat information. Did you know you could check out underground
life in Paris with a sewer tour, go on Washington’s scandal trail or
snigger at Iceland’s (unmentionable parts) museum? There’s advice on
everything from flashpacking ("when backpackers grow up or get rich")
to how to use the "wondrously perplexing" bidet.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress