Flightster

PG

Alan Perlman

Alan Perlman travels the world as an international cost-of-living surveyor. When he's not hunting for the price of female undergarments in places like Syria, Rwanda and Turkmenistan, he's hanging out in Boston, MA, staying active, meeting people and brainstorming business models. You can read more about Alan and his plans to conquer life at his blog, The 9 to 5 Alternative.

Dark Tourism: Seeking Death and Suffering

On a Monday morning in May of 2009, I found myself in an Eastern European van, chugging peacefully toward one of the most infamous disaster zones in the world. Just outside of Kiev, the verdant and undulating urban center of Ukraine gave way to springtime dandelions, birch tree forests and clusters of wild chickens. It was a calm, near-cloudless sky.

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Traveling Rough, and Getting Paid for it

Dhaka, Bangladesh

I’m writing this from Dhaka, Bangladesh, the eighth largest city in the world, one of the densest, most polluted places I’ve ever visited. The traffic here is remarkable, the poverty stark and striking. Just this morning, idled in the cramped, diesel-fumed heat of Gulshan, one of Dhaka’s newer neighborhoods, I was approached by beggars—some frail, others deformed, some asking for money, others pushing their seemingly lifeless babies against the car window, moaning for help.

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Serbian Royalty for a Weekend

Sometimes life throws you lemons. You get stuck in an old, smelly elevator. Your car is rear-ended. Just before leaving on the trip of a lifetime, a loved one falls seriously ill.

Other times, though, it seems as if the world is shining down upon you. You hit the game-winning shot. You land a lucrative client at the office and are promoted. You find an old t-shirt you thought had been lost for months.

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4 of the Best (non-Internet) Travel Magazines

If video killed the radio star, then is it fair to say that Internet killed print media? I sure hope not. There’s something comforting about flipping through the pages of a bound and printed book or magazine. Call me strange, but I like the smell of the pages, preferably the ones right smack-dab in the middle. I like that I can take a magazine just about anywhere and not have to worry about battery power or Internet access. I like that I don’t have to click-through any popup advertisements! Even when I’m not sitting idly in the waiting room of a doctor’s office, I find myself drawn to magazines. Jeez, I think I even subscribe to a few of them.

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Syria: Images and Impressions from Damascus and the Desert

Enigmatic and seemingly dangerous to many of us outsiders, Syria is one of those misunderstood countries I wish more people would make an effort to visit. Granted, it’s not an easy place to get to. And if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport, you can forget about passing through customs.

Before flying in from Jordan, I stashed my primary passport, Israeli-stamped from a 2008 trip, into a hidden pocket in my luggage. I pulled out a second two-year passport used for situations like this and took off a Hebrew-engraved ring I was wearing on my right hand.

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An Introduction to African Cinema

In the mid twentieth century, French colonies in Africa were not legally permitted to produce their own films. Because of this “Laval Decree,” many African countries’ film industries didn’t really take off until after the 1960s, following formal independence from countries like France.

Early African filmmakers of the independence era saw movie production as a political tool, a means of helping to reshape the continent’s image put forward by Western filmmakers. In opposition to the racism seen in Western films, African filmmakers wanted

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A Taste of Siberian Hospitality

I once learned a little something about Siberian hospitality.

It was two years ago, during a similar time of season. The air was getting cooler, the days shorter and darker. I was in the city of Novosibirsk, Russia’s third largest behind Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Through Stalin’s post-war industrialization, Novosibirsk had become one of the largest industrial centers of Siberia. Today, Novosibirsk is the self-proclaimed capital of the region, its name literally translating as “New Siberian City.”

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One, Two, Three Bribes a Charm

There are a million and one ways to bribe. From governmental grease payments to the Nigerian dash or Middle Eastern baksheesh, the definition and expectations surrounding a bribe fluctuate with context and culture. In the United States, political bribing is illegal, but in many other countries, it’s the only way to get one’s agenda off the ground. When I travel for work, I meet with real estate and relocation agents to research the prices and nuances of executive rental markets. To keep the relationship healthy (we meet with many of the same agents once or twice a year), I often bring a bottle of wine or chocolates to present before the meeting. Sometimes I buy lunch or dinner. Is this bribery? It depends on how you spin it, but these kinds of exchanges happen all of the time. A company woos an elite college graduate with a free plane ticket and $100 to spend during an out-of-state interview. A suave, well-dressed gentleman slips a $20 bill to the restaurant hostess to ensure a high-end dining experience.

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The 10 Most Difficult Countries to Visit as a U.S. Citizen

Americans are blessed in that they can skirt across most foreign borders without any significant hassle. The U.S. passport is one of the strongest world travel documents out there. For U.S. travelers, many countries don’t require paper visas, and many that do only charge a nominal fee. In Nepal, for example, a one-month multi-entry visa costs $40 and can be obtained on arrival. In Turkey, you can buy a 90-day visa for $20 after waiting in a short line in the Istanbul airport. I was surprised how easy it was. Most countries in Europe, Central and South America don’t even charge a fee for their visas. Of Africa’s fifty three countries, South Africa, Mauritius, Malawi, Namibia and Morocco don’t charge for entry. In total, there are about one hundred countries around the world that are relatively easy for Americans to visit.

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Ode to the Hotel Workout

I used to have a hard time staying in shape on the road. Often without access to a gym and traveling in countries where running isn’t the most prudent of exercises (I’m looking at you, Nigeria!), I struggled with my body. I lost weight. I felt weak. I wasn’t healthy.

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