Matador Network's Blog, page 2172

Watch this incredible footage of the Northern Lights in real-time

SOARING from Ole C. Salomonsen on Vimeo.

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THE FIRST TIME I ever saw the Aurora Borealis was while traveling through Norway with my friend, fellow photographer, and Matador Ambassador Chris Burkard. We were there to make a film for SmugMug on Chris’ incredible surf photography. Every night we checked the skies, but a thick layer of gray cloud interfered. That all changed on our last night, when the skies opened, and I was treated to one of the most amazing phenomenons on Earth.

Photo via MatadorU faculty member Michael Bonocore

When I got home and went through the hundreds of images I had taken that night, none of them really conveyed the overwhelming emotions I felt that night. No one would be able to SEE the lights that gently danced my head. I started searching through time lapse films of beautiful Aurora shows, and while great, none of them captured the graceful movements that I remembered.

Finally a photographer has been able to bring us the experience of witnessing the Aurora, without the fast, jittery use of time lapse. Thanks to the insanely good high ISO video performance of the Sony A7s, my friend Ole C. Salomonsen has created a visually stunning masterpiece.

I contacted Ole, and he was kind enough to give me an in-depth interview on how he created this film. You can give it a read over on Fstoppers, and then check out more of Ole’s work on his website.

43 ways to annoy your server

Photo: Daveblog

1. Demand bread before you have even taken your jacket off.

2. Wait to tell us about your allergy until we are about to place your meal in front of you.

3. Lie about having a reservation. We’re on to you “Mr. Smith.”

4. Ask for some kind of exception.

5. Ignore the fact that we are trying to set a heavy and hot plate down and you have a bunch of shit in front of you.

6. Be vegan.

7. Be gluten-free.

More like this 53 things you're doing that totally annoy the bartender

8. Allow an extremely minor detail to ruin your meal/evening/entire vacation.

9. Say everything is fine when we check on you. Finish your meal. Then tell us everything was wrong and ask what we’re going to do about it.

10. Fail to consolidate your demands into one single request and make us run back and forth for ketchup, then more bread, then more ketchup.

11. Ask for our number so you can give it to your nephew in Tucson.

12. Request that the chef visit your table so you can chat with them.

13. Leave your entire order up to us — even though we don’t know you and have no idea what you enjoy eating.

14. Finish your meal, give a detailed critique of it, then request that we pass all of it on to the kitchen.

15. Assume our chef/manager/owner is male.

16. Seat yourself.

17. Seat yourself at a dirty and un-bussed table.

18. Accuse us of lying when we tell you that our espresso machine is broken.

19. Unload your dirty plate on the clean table next to you.

20. Interrupt us when we’re talking to another table.

21. Wave, snap, or whistle at any point in time.

22. Talk to us about how busy we are, when we are extremely busy.

23. Stop us to strike up a vague, wandering conversation about nothing when we are carrying a gigantic stack of plates.

24. Hide your dirty tissues under your plate.

25. Demand that we sit down and share your meal with you, as if we actually can stop working, pull up a chair, and slurp some of your soup.

26. Order something that is not, and has never been, on our menu.

27. Ask for the specials then continue your conversation while we recite them for you.

28. Attempt to give your order to our host, busser, or an entirely different server.

29. Linger over your last drop of tea on a Tuesday night at 10pm in a snowstorm.

30. “We hated it!”

31. Incorporate us into your lame-ass joke somehow.

32. Fail to know what medium rare means.

33. Order anything well done.

34. Think that spitting in food is actually a thing. No self-respecting food service worker would ever actually do that.

35. Verbally tip.

36. Jesus tip.

37. Monopolize all of my attention at 7:30pm on a Saturday.

38. Take both credit card receipts.

39. Forget your take-out container that we spent careful, tender time preparing for you.

40. Come out to eat for the sole reason of being served, by a servant.

41. Ask me to give you another server’s number.

42. Take my friendliness as something other than friendliness, and wait for me after my shift.

43. Ask what our real job is.

The people we meet along the way

Photo by the author.

Also known as the Great Indian Desert, the Thar desert is a band of desolate beauty that runs between northern Rajasthan and the border with Pakistan. Despite the vast, seemingly empty dunes, it’s actually one of the most populated deserts in India. In fact, in the province of Rajasthan, about 40% of people live in the desert.

I found myself outside of Jaisalmer on a camel trek, hunkering up and down over the dunes. When we arrived at the desert camp, I saw a man arranging the camels and felt really compelled to talk to him. I have to admit, I forgot to write his name down and it’s something I’ll regret for a long time. But what I do know is that he is born and raised in the desert, and he believes he’s about 47-years old. His family before him lived in the desert, and he’s spent nearly every night of his life out in the desert quiet. I asked if he’d like to see other parts of the world and he said there was nowhere else he’d rather be than next to his fire, with his camels, looking at the stars. I asked if I could take his portrait and he agreed. We strolled out onto the dunes chatting about life in the desert, the struggles that come with desert life, like extreme heat and extreme cold, the struggle for water, but mostly he spoke of his pride for the place.

Indeed, as he sat in the glow of the setting sun, the dunes turning from yellow to orange to red behind him, the play of light and shadows, the incredible vastness of it all, I could understand that pride. Later, after dinner, he sang a long, slow song about the desert. It was in his native tongue but I felt like I understood each world. When I left for bed, he was sitting by the fire. He was still there when dawn arrived.

Signs you're from British Columbia

Photo: Eli Duke

1. You know the real seasons of BC.

Where’s the snow? There’s too much snow! Spring is here. Everything will flood! Will it ever stop raining? Where is summer? Why is it so hot? Droughts and fires! Where’s the rain? Why is summer leaving so soon? Still sunny in autumn! Where’s the snow?

2. You’re pissed off every time you see a new British Columbia license plate go by.

It will always be ‘Supernatural’ BC in your heart, not some lame corporate slogan brought in for the Vancouver Olympics. “Super Natural British Columbia” evoked awe and wonder. “Best Place On Earth” starts petty unproductive cockfights when you’d rather be hiking in the forest, climbing up a mountain, or kayaking along a misty temperate shoreline.

3. You are ‘Bear Aware’.

Bears are the slow uncle of the buffet table. This is proven time and again after numerous bear encounters while walking to the school bus stop. You stay out of their way, give them space, and it’ll all be ok. Oh, and never turn your back and run away making wounded animal noises (also known as screaming). Rookie mistake.

4. You’ve spent hours, even days, of summer vacations in the BC Ferries line-up on a two or three sailing wait.

Whether you’re going to Vancouver Island, ’Up The Coast’, or from there to the mainland, you have passed those few precious weeks when “it’s too hot out” with your ass literally stuck to a vinyl car seat in a BC Ferries parking lot waiting for the arrival of the Queen of Oak Bay, or the Spirit of Vancouver Island to pull into port (God help you if it wasn’t refurbished with a White Spot and an arcade). You peeled yourself off the seat to get an ice cream cone in downtown Horseshoe Bay only to have it melt onto your shoes. Tedium. Hot, sticky tedium.

5. You split firewood like a badass.

You probably learned axe / fire / knife safety in kindergarten.

6. You know there are actually no less than 15 words for rain.

There is mist, drizzle, sprinkling, smattering, spitting, dripping, a deluge, a downpour, a torrential downpour…

7. You know Gore-Tex is sexy.

Whether you’re rocking a high-end Lulu slicker, a “this is my lifestyle” MEC classic, or last year’s MEC from the thrift store (score!) you have rain protection. And don’t even get us started on fashionable rainboots.

8. Some of your best friends are mountains.

Sure, there’s always been the ever-popular twins, Whistler and Blackcomb, and maybe you rode up there (either you came from West Vancouver or South Granville and had a “winter chateau” in the family, or you shared a room with seven dudes and survived on pizza by the slice) but the rest of us knew the glory of Sun Peaks, Big White, Cypress, Grouse, Washington, Apex, Fernie, Revelstoke, and Silver Star.

9. You laughed so hard you cried when they tried to revoke Rebagliati’s gold medal in ‘98.

Ah yes, marijuana. The ultimate performance enhancing drug.

10. You can prepare salmon in no less than seven different ways.

Sweet, perfect BC salmon. Fresh grilled. Baked. Barbequed. Poached. Smoked and sliced. Chunked, Maple syruped. Flaked and caked. Raw and Sashimi’d. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

11. You spent much of your elementary years ducking under a desk.

Always preparing for “The Big One” that will eventually destroy the lower mainland. You spent a lot of that time wondering just how much protection this desk was actually offering you.

12. You own/ed Vancouver Grizzlies paraphernalia.

For six seasons we had the NBA. And then it was gone.

13. Some of your best memories are from the PNE.

Mini-donuts, the log slide, and of course, squealing your way down the Coaster.

14. You still get choked up when you see the We Are All Canucks billboards.

Whether you are one generation BC or nine, whether you love or hate (or both) them, whether you lit a car on fire in 2011 or not, whether your childhood idols were Bure, Linden, Naslund, Messier, Bertuzzi, the West Coast Express, the Sedins, or Louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, those billboards get you every time.

What made Clevelanders proud in 2014

Photo: Keith Allison

2014 HAS BEEN A YEAR where Cleveland saw pockets of progress in a historically overlooked and crapped upon region. It was a year of cycling, LeBron James, Republicans, gay athletes, and an oversized lighting fixture. Some say it was the year Cleveland came back from the dead. Huzzah! We did it!

Setting a plan for 70 miles of bike lanes by the end of 2017.

Cyclists have been the Rodney Dangerfields of the road in Cleveland. The work of some guerilla bike lane painters finally forced the city to stop dragging its feet and show results. 2014 had a promising start for two-wheeled travelers when the city announced plans to add 70 miles of bikeways by 2017, 45 of which would come over the next two years. Should everything go according to plan, this car town could look (and smell) completely different, with a 200 mile network by 2018.

Extending the towpath trail just a bit more.

The Towpath Trail has been in the works for a decade, a 110-mile cycling route from Cleveland through Canton, Ohio tracing the nearly 200-year-old route used to pull canal boats as part of the historic Ohio & Erie Canal.

This summer, the dream came a bit closer to reality when the 0.8-mile Scranton Flats portion was completed. Even better, in November developers estimated that the Cleveland portion could be completed by 2019 with the final leg in Tuscarawas County coming the following year.

Nabbing the RNC convention in one of the most liberal cities.

Most thought it was a joke when Cleveland announced the city was interested in hosting the 2016 Republican National Convention. This being the same region that handed President Barack Obama his second term in 2012.

However, Republicans were reportedly impressed with the Cleveland comeback story. Of course, it also didn’t hurt that Cleveland was willing to put up $10 million in public money to host the convention.

In other words, the Republicans are coming to Cleveland, principles be damned. But we’ll still happily take their money while they’re here.

Bringing the gay games to an anti-gay marriage state

On the other end of the political spectrum, many marriage equality advocates questioned bringing the Gay Games to Cleveland over a city like Boston where same-sex partners can actually tie the knot. In 2004, Ohioans approved a change to the state constitution that defined marriage as only between one man and one woman.

Others, however, saw it as a challenge. Why not head to Ohio and help foment change? And what better way to quash outdated stereotypes than by displaying a level of athleticism homophobes could only dream of from their couch?

In the end, the 2014 Gay Games were by most accounts a tremendous success, and a challenge to Ohio’s constitutional ban against same-sex marriage could be on the ballot as early as 2015.

Mending fences with LeBron James for all the right reasons

Number 23 jerseys were burning on national television when LeBron James infamously announced his departure for “South Beach.” An infamous comic sans rant by a billionaire with a toddler’s temperament followed shortly thereafter.

My, how things have changed.

LeBron James and Cleveland famously mended fences this past summer when he opted to return to Cleveland in the form of an essay. “The letter,” as it’s now known, showed Clevelanders that James finally understands what he means to the region. Not just for the bars and restaurants of the Gateway District, but more importantly to the young men and women of Cleveland and Akron who look up to him.

Peaceful Tamir Rice protests

When the situation in Ferguson, Missouri sparked nationwide protests, 12-year-old Tamir Rice lost his life in a west side Cleveland neighborhood. An officer shot and killed the child before the police cruiser even came to a complete stop. It was later discovered that said officer was noted for poor handgun performance by superiors in suburban Independence. The Department of Justice followed up with a condemnation of Cleveland Police’s pattern of resorting to excessive force.

Despite it all, organizers of Cleveland’s protests managed to maintain the calm as they effectively (and brilliantly) shutdown important highways and roadways to peacefully garner the attention of their neighbors, commuters, and city leaders. Questions unfortunately remain unanswered, but Clevelanders can be proud of the way in which they got the region’s attention.

Building the world’s largest outdoor chandelier

Some called it a gimmick, others the icing on the cake of Cleveland’s comeback story — a story Clevelanders on all sides of the debate love reading and talking about.

Nevertheless, Cleveland did manage to build the world’s largest outdoor chandelier in the heart of one of the city’s most trendy districts. Others, of course, might simply know it as the giant lightbulb protesters laid down underneath during the aforementioned protests.

The Sax Man

Cleveland has had its fair share of icons over the years. Bob Hope (born here), Tim Conway, Arsenio Hall, Halle Berry, and the man who popularized monopoly before it became a board game of forced family interaction, John D. Rockefeller. The latest to join the Cleveland lexicon of icons is Maurice Reedus Jr., better known as The Sax Man.

Locals and visitors alike know him as the musician playing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” after an Indians game, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” outside of Tower City, or any number of Christmas carols throughout the holidays. Reedus finally had his claim to fame in the summer of 2013 when he rejoined the Sly, Slick & Wicked at the House of Blues in Downtown Cleveland. A documentary production on Reedus filmed the event, and it became the climactic scene of the appropriately-titled The Sax Man, which premiered at 2014 at the Cleveland International Film Festival.

The Sax Man can still be seen around town, taking full advantage of a law named in his honor protecting street musicians.

The 6 best barrios in Santiago

Photo: Rodrigo Tejeda

With over 7 million people in the greater Santiago area (a third of Chile‘s population), all the different communas and barrios can be hard to decipher. Here’s a guide:

1. Providencia

Providencia is a good place to start a Santiago visit. It’s safe for tourists who stick out like a sore thumb — yes, unfortunately that probably includes you.

This is mainly an upscale community with many restaurants and places to shop. I highly recommend sampling Chile’s buffet pizza at Los Insaciables, located at Hernando De Aguirre #148.

The waiters walk around with trays of pizzas, just waiting for you to say you’d like another. As soon as your plate is empty, a server is filling it with a new variety: fugazza, ham and olives, even one with corn. All feature a thin crust and flavorful tomato sauce.

Beyond the pizza obsession, when I’m in Providencia I like to catch a show at Teatro Oriente (which will re-open its doors in December 2014).

There’s also a good English bookstore, Librería Inglesa, located at Avenida Pedro de Valdivia #47 — good for a break from the castellano.

And to pick up some clothes, try Avenida Nueva Providencia, formerly Avenida 11 de Septiembre. There are plenty of shops, including the larger department stores Falabella and Paris and a small mall called Drugstore.

2. Bellavista

Bellavista street art. Photo: Juan Nosé

For nightlife, it’s Bellavista. Start with dinner at Como Agua Para Chocolate or the Peruvian restaurant Barandiaran, located in Patio Bellavista.

After a fortifying meal, your bar and club options are plentiful. For something a bit different, try Kitemate, the Rapa Nuian (natives of Easter Island) bar located at Constitucion #256, where they sometimes put on dance performances while you sip your trago.

During the day, check out the neighborhood’s street art. You can also take a tour of Cerro San Cristobal, the zoo, or Pablo Neruda’s house — La Chascona — at Fernando Márquez de la Plata #0192.

3. Ñuñoa

Ñuñoa is a quiet neighborhood and promises a mellower evening out.

If you’re looking for quality Italian food, and that secret that all the locals know about but the tourists don’t, try Golfo di Napoli. Anything on the menu is delicious.

Check it out at Dublé Almeyada #2435.

More like this: Ten places not to miss in Santiago de Chile


4. Lastarria

The Museum of Visual Arts. Photo: Juan Nosé

Located on Jose Victorino Lastarria Street, Lastarria is a neighborhood of cobblestone streets and European architecture. The MAVI (Museum of Visual Arts) at Jose Victorino Lastarria #307 features compelling pieces worth your time and money.

Also stop by café Utopia, and Sur Patagónico. Start with Café Utopia for happy hour and a long list of mixed drinks. For dinner, walk across the street to Patagonia, order a wine, and sample from the gourmet menu.

5. Barrio Brasil

Along Avenida Brasil and surrounding Plaza Brasil, there are a bunch of cheaper bars and restaurants. At Huerfanos 1954, near the plaza, they serve what I consider to be the best empanadas in the city.

Barrio Brasil is also a popular place to grab a drink during happy hour, and many locals frequent Blondie Snack Bar at Avenida Brasil #171, a bar that plays ‘80s music.

6. Parque Bustamante

Parque Bustamante, between metro stations Baquedano and Parque Bustamante, is my favorite area. The tree-lined park with wading pool and a meandering trail is my refuge from the big city.

There’s a little gym called Bio Accion near Baquedano, which offers relatively cheap month-to-month memberships and a long list of classes for those on an extended stay.

Café Literario, an open-air café on the first floor of a library, is a good place to relax. It’s located in the middle of the park and has plenty of couches, chairs, and tables, along with free WiFi and plugs for your computer.

This article was originally published on July 15th, 2010.

In the world's most polluted city

No, that’s not snow: Indian men bathe in an industrial waste-foam polluted section of the Yamuna River, on the outskirts of New Delhi in May 2013. Fed up with living in the world’s most polluted city, some residents are fighting back, on their rooftops and backyards. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

Away from jarring city traffic and dusty New Delhi streets, the Upadhyes’ rooftop garden is a lush green haven of vegetables and herbs, even after the summer rains have drawn to a close.

The couple, both freelance filmmakers, said they visited the local market only twice a month this season. Before, they went every two days. Their produce — including okra, coriander, and amaranth — came from four 16-square-foot planting boxes filled with a careful mix of soil and seed.

“Eating what you grow is a different kind of joy,” said Yamini Upadhye. “In the middle of dinner I run up to get some fresh basil and add it to a dish. The quality of a meal changes.”

With their terrace experiment in full bloom, Nitin and Yamini Upadhye have joined a small but growing number of families trying to adopt sustainable, eco-friendly practices in India’s smoggy capital, and for good reason. In terms of air quality, Delhi is the most polluted city in the world, according to a World Health Organization report. And a study by the city’s health department revealed that 70% of all running water is impure.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making an effort to appear green, cracking down on cosmetics tested on animals and launching a quest to make India a leader in addressing climate change. And the WHO report motivated the New Delhi transport department to build a cleaner public transportation system.

Still, Delhi families seeking to deploy renewable energy or grow food work with little of the guidance or government support available to residents of Europe or even the US. Meanwhile, they contend with power cuts and choking smog.

“There is a lot of potential going forward,” said Anurabha Ghosh, the CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a nonprofit policy and research group. “But there are also great challenges.”

Kamala Ratnam, a South Delhi resident, said her late husband didn’t shy away from those challenges when he installed a 3.5-watt solar energy system on the rooftop of their apartment building in 2010.

After five years of studying solar energy, Chudamani Ratnam, who led an Indian oil company, had fashioned a relatively large system of sixteen solar panels that gives the household at least six hours of energy per day and supports an electric stove and air conditioning unit.

While neighbors and friends have been inspired, Ratnam said the system sometimes comes at a high cost — about 16,000 rupees ($300) to replace each of the batteries. Many people, she noticed, also feel overwhelmed by the technology, especially without a clear-cut place to go for guidance or financial assistance or subsidies.

“My husband was a man of science, it was a passion project,” she said. “Not everyone can do it.”

That gap in access to information and technology is part of the reason for India’s untapped potential when it comes to renewable energy, Ghosh said. According to one study released this year, there are only 700,000 solar water heaters in Indian households, though almost 45 million have the capacity to use these cost-effective, readily available systems.

Another limitation is government policy. In 2010, India launched the Jawarharlal Nehru Solar Mission, a government program to deploy 20,000 megawatts of grid-connected solar power in the country. But much of this push for renewable energy has only been focused on rural areas, and it hasn’t always been successful.

Luckily, Ghosh said, the surge in eco-entrepreneurs has also risen to meet the demands of a more aware and conscious public. “Historically there was no business model around this.”

That’s what Amit Dhingiya and Mridu Mahajan, founders of Nirvaaha Organics, discovered when they launched their organic grocery store in 2011.

Nirvaaha, a quiet store in Delhi’s Defense Colony neighborhood, is fragrant with dried spices and grains. “People are tired of hearing about pesticides and poison in their food,” Dhingiya said of Delhi’s growing awareness of organic food.

Many studies support the dangerous impact of pesticides on cancer rates in India, and elsewhere. In recent decades, respiratory illness and even lung cancer have become rampant in Delhi.

Nirvaaha is careful about sourcing their products from producers that care for both the land and their harvests. They work with local farmers for their chemical-free produce, and get fresh milk from a nearby dairy that doesn’t pump any hormones into their cows. These careful choices, Dhingiya says, are why his customers trust him.

But for him it’s more than a business model. The 34-year-old entrepreneur and Mahajan also host community cafes, cooking classes and workshops on gardening to help more families like the Upadhyes have a choice in what they consume.

“It’s a shift in consciousness,” Dhingiya said. “It’s slow, but it’s growing.”

Watering the plants in his garden, Nitin Upadhye checked the newly growing spinach leaves and pulled out some dried-up carrots from the bed on his roof. As he and Yamini discussed what they would be growing as the winter season arrived, he mulled a more personal reason for tending their first garden.

“In Buddhism we have the concept of oneness with the self, the environment,” he said, chewing a fresh spinach leaf with a salty taste. “To me this is an attempt to live in harmony.”

By Ankita Rao, GlobalPost

This article is syndicated from GlobalPost.

What does your wine order say?

Photo: Jasmine Tieu

I work in a wine bar. As such, I am well versed in pretense, snide cork sniffing, and long-winded soliloquies about tannins, boutique vineyards, and oak vs. steel. Below is a list of common wines and judgments about the people that order them. In fairness, if you are polite and leave a generous tip you can order anything, even a glass of the dishwasher’s sweat, without scrutiny.

Chardonnay: You are a middle-aged woman or a bottom, possibly both.

Pinot Noir: You have seen the Paul Giamatti classic Sideways.

Merlot: You haven’t seen the Paul Giamatti classic Sideways.

Riesling: You enjoy the crisp taste of apples and alimony payments.

More like this What bartenders actually think of you're drink order

Biodynamic: You are a vegetarian with a deep love of astrology who may or may not recycle menstrual blood into garden fertilizer. You own at least one crystal.

Barolo: You are undeterred by price and appreciate the profound sense of belonging that organized crime provides.

Port: You own a lot of velvet.

Sauvignon Blanc: You like notes of freshly cut grass and are allergic to pubic hair. Unless you call it Sauv Blanc, then you are a person I want to punch.

Shiraz: You are fearless in the face of bold fruit and spice notes. You enjoy aromas of leather and smoke and dabble in BDSM.

White Zinfandel: You drink Mountain Dew for breakfast and might be wearing slippers.

Cabernet Sauvignon: You are patient and uncomplicated. You will argue the unsung genius of Bily Joel’s early work.

Malbec: You are easy to please, enjoy high elevations, and suffer from rare ailments related to blue-blood incest.

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Gruner Veltliner: You are a free spirit dulled by a puritanical and domineering marriage. You pay cash to avoid leaving a paper trail.

Pinotage: You love dynamic hybrids, like World music, Pineapple kush, and transvestites.

Chenin Blanc: You love to try new things. You were an early adopter of vagazzling and jumpsuits as formal wear.

House red or white: Your lack of self-respect is evident and your acceptance of mediocrity will prevent you from ever being successful, even at buying house plants.

World's largest cities from above

WE’RE USED TO LOOKING AT CITIES from the bottom up. Skyscrapers towering over us, rows of buildings forming gigantic canyons for us to walk and drive through, massive roadways we have to risk our lives crossing – everything about our largest cities from where we normally stand seems impossibly big.

So naturally, our minds are blown when we see our metropolises from far above and realize how tiny they look from afar. Occasionally, we’ll get a glimpse of this out of the window of a plane, but now, in the age of aerial (and even satellite) photography, the best glimpses we get of the tininess of our civilization come through the lens of a camera. Here are some of our civilization’s greatest achievements as seen from above.

This article was originally published on December 7, 2010.

1

Chicago, USA

With over 9 million inhabitants, "Chicagoland" holds the title of third most populous metropolitan area in the United States. If you're planning a visit, our Focus Page has plenty of info on the Windy City, including -- of course -- What NOT to Do in Chicago. Photo: Premshree Pillai

2

Moscow, Russia

Russia's capital city - home of billionaires, beautiful churches, and the Kremlin - looks cold and beautiful from above. Photo: Imgur

3

Tokyo, Japan

Be sure to check out our guide on What NOT to Do in Japan before you plan your trip to the world's most populous city. And just think, somewhere down there are ten incredibly delicious ramen shops. Photo: LuxTonnerre

4

Vancouver, Canada

British Columbia's most famous city, Vancouver, is set on a peninsula amongst some impressive scenery. Photo: Evan Leeson

5

Dubai, UAE

The world's most lavishly rich city is known for it's insane skyscrapers and indoor ski-slopes. This image is of Dubai Marina, an artificial canal. Photo: TheGiftsOfLife

6

Barcelona, Spain

The capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, Barcelona is so much more than just La Rambla. Photo: Aldas Kirvaitis

7

Seattle, USA

Judging from the greenery found in any of Seattle's 5 Best Parks, it's no wonder the Pacific Northwest's largest is nicknamed "Emerald City."Photo: Seattle Municipal Archives

8

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town is probably one of the most naturally beautiful cities in the world, squeezed as it is between the southern Atlantic Ocean and Table Mountain. Photo: Airpano

9

San Francisco, USA

America's second-densest city (behind New York), is beautiful, expensive San Francisco. Photo: PostImg

10

Los Angeles, USA

Spanning almost 500 square miles, the city of Los Angeles is the second largest in the United States. A city with this many options means you'll probably want to glance at our guide on What NOT to Do in Los Angeles to find out where the best taco trucks and hipster bars reside. Photo: �amonn O'Brien-Strain

11

Central Park, New York City, USA

This photo was taken by Russian photographer Sergey Semenov directly over New York's famous Central Park. Photo: Sergey Semenov

12

Las Vegas, USA

The largest city in Nevada and a magnet for gamblers and partygoers from around the world, Las Vegas is one of the most recognizable cities in the world -- except perhaps from this vantage point. When the money (or luck) runs out, be sure to read Sara Benson's 7 Things to Do in Vegas BESIDES Gambling.Photo: Rob

13

Detroit, USA

Detroit may not be the most popular city on this list, but seen from outer space, it's certainly one of the most attractive. With a population of almost 4 million, it's also one of the largest. Take a closer look, and you just might find something to love about Detroit.Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

14

Lisbon, Portugal

The largest city in Portugal, Lisbon is also one of the Oldest Still-Inhabited Cities on the Planet.Photo: jamie.silva

15

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Dig into our Focus Page on Brazil if you're interested in visiting the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere.Photo: Eduardo Zárate

16

New York City, USA

The biggest city in the United States, New York City is also one of the most visited in the world. Matador's managing editor Julie Schwietert's guide on What NOT to Do in NYC will help you avoid the tourist traps.Photo: Nathan Siemers

17

Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne may only be the second largest city in Australia, but it is the most livable. For tips on what to do in Melbourne, read What NOT to Do in Melbourne.Photo: Jes

18

Dublin, Ireland

It's hard to find a reason to leave the city of Dublin -- except, of course, Matador Goods editor Lola Akinmade's colorful photo essay on Western Ireland.Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

19

London, UK

The largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, London is home to over 250 museums, those awesome red buses, and the infamous Sunday roast.Photo: Ben

20

Miami, USA

A city that's known for sparkly nightclubs and Cohibas may not seem very budget friendly, but Jared Romey's Budget Guide to South Beach can show you how to pinch your pennies without sacrifice.Photo: Paul Nicholson

21

Tehran, Iran

One of the largest cities in Western Asia and the world, Tehran isn't at the top of many "must visit" lists, but after reading 7 Reasons to Travel to Iran NOW, it's at the top of mine.Photo: Ensie & Matthias

22

Seoul, South Korea

With a population of over 10 million residents, Seoul is the largest city in South Korea and by far the best place in the world to eat a refreshing bowl of naengmyeon. There's plenty to explore outside the city, as well. Check out our Focus Page on Korea for more.Photo: Jrwooley6

23

Johannesburg, South Africa

Not only is Johannesburg the largest city in South Africa, it also holds the title of largest city not situated on a river, lake, or coastline. Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

24

Paris, France

Not only is Paris the largest city in France, but it's also the most touristed city on the planet. Stay away from the herd with our What NOT to Do in Paris guide. Photo: V!CAR!OUS

25

Singapore

Home of one of the fastest growing economies in the world, this city-state is incidentally one of the Top 12 Places to Go For Cheap Healthcare. And if you're looking for cheap healthcare, you'll probably be interested in this guide to Singapore on a Shoestring Budget. Photo: William Cho

15 photos of Uganda’s diverse wildlife and culture

PERFECTLY PUDGY in every way, my first hippopotamus sighting was through bleary eyes and a dusty windshield. Past the dinner hour, exhausted from a day of traveling, and anxious to stretch my legs, our Land Cruiser sped desperately along a dirt road on a pitch black East African night. We spotted her eyes first, glowing in our headlamps. Then her rotund body came into view with curves that could not look more plump in a cartoon drawing.

On our first day in Uganda, the first “big five” sighting from our seats in the safari vehicle trumped even the best inflight entertainment and comfortable seats on our convenient Brussels Airlines flight from New York to Belgium to Entebbe the prior day. Then, without slowing much, Brian, our expert safari driver, sped off to Mweya Lodge for food and rest.

Already hooked on Uganda by the hippo experience, even sleep deprivation would not keep me from waking early — ready to absorb every minute on our schedule that allowed us to uncover unexpected adventures and new experiences in Uganda.

[Editor’s note: Andrea was a guest of the Africa Travel Association in part to attend their 39th annual World Congress event.]

1

Waking up on safari, I quickly discovered that many hippopotamuses roam through the Queen Elizabeth National Park. Staying near lakes and rivers to protect their sensitive skin against sunshine during the day, hippos even give birth in the water. At night, the massive herbivores heave their bodies onto the land in search of grasses to eat.

2

During my eleven days in Uganda, I encountered about 30 elephants -- some close by and others grazing in the distance. Each magnificent sighting reignited my childlike imagination. Each day, the enormous animals can walk more than 80 km (50 miles) to graze on up to 300 kg (660 lbs) of grasses and trees, and drink an impressive 200 liters (53 gallons) of water.

3

Queen Elizabeth National Park hosts a number of volcanic craters within its boundaries. Mineral-laden lakes fill many of the craters and cape buffalo enjoy their cool waters. While the lakes contain too much alkalinity and salinity to drink, the buffalo appear to enjoy cleaning up in these volcanic bathtubs.

4

Traveling to Uganda to attend the Africa Travel Association’s 39th Annual World Congress, our group of conference delegates learned about the government’s commitment to strengthening tourism awareness and infrastructure in Uganda. The Hon. Maria Mutagamba, Minister of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities spoke of new roads we saw under construction and announced plans for new airports that will enable travelers to bounce around the country efficiently. His Excellency, Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda reinforced the government’s commitment to tourism by attending the opening ceremonies at the World Congress in Kampala -- taking pride in his Country’s impressive, mostly unknown, sites like the glacier-capped Rwenzori Mountains.

5

The women in the Rubona Basket Weavers Association use natural dyes made from scratch at their workshop in Rubona to color raffia used in the beautiful baskets they create. The Association employs 200 female workers who create baskets in a variety of colors and designs. Eco-friendly production makes these baskets marketable around the world with profits from each basket going back to the women who made it. With economic growth that may hit a 6% increase in gross domestic product in 2015, Uganda has an impressive number of entrepreneurs and sustainable businesses that provide employment and revenue for their towns and businesses.

6

If Uganda had a single color, it would be green. Cloaked in tropical foliage, the landscape sits at an average of 1200m (4000 ft) above sea level, keeping the country cooler than I expected on the equator. This environment enables tea farmers to produce vibrant green crops on the hills. Uganda’s southern landscape radiates the color green in beautiful and evenly manicured tea fields.

7

Bicycles carry every kind of item in Uganda. Many people, particularly in small rural communities, are limited in transportation resources. I saw bikes moving everything from pineapples to a stack of mattresses! On market days men carry farm produce, like matooke (a variety of banana), to town by bicycle, where their produce can be bought by distributors and exporters.

8

Inside Queen Elizabeth National Park resides an entire community of labourers who only have one initiative: to mine salt. The government allocates the Katwe Salt Lake to the economic benefit of the Katwe townspeople. Since salt is the only commodity allowed to be developed within the park, all other goods, including food, are brought in and traded for salt.

9

Only leaving a nomadic life in the forests of Uganda, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of Congo in 1992, the Batwa Pygmies now reside in Uganda near the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. To preserve their culture and heritage within their community and educate visitors about their history and livelihood, The Batwa Experience provides a peek into the life of the pygmies. After a long uphill hike, the Batwa people welcomed us to their small village with lively dancing and songs. The proceeds of this experience go back to the Batwa people for their education, healthcare, and development projects.

10

The cornerstone of Uganda’s tourist industry resides with the 400 mountain gorillas that call the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Bwindi Impenetrable National Park their natural home. With an estimated 786 mountain gorillas remaining in the world, Uganda currently has 53% of the global population. The gorillas, of course, have no passports and cross freely between Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda.


Threatened by poaching, recent preservation efforts and tourism have enabled the mountain gorilla population to begin growing again. The steep price of a tracking permit goes back to preservation efforts and into the local communities for development projects. Witnessing the beautiful creature in their environment is unforgettable. The animals treat their own illnesses and even add sweet and salty flavors to their food using various roots and plants. They move together as a family and make a new nest each night.

11

Water really does drain in opposite directions on either side of the equator. On every major road in Uganda, a line marks the earth’s midsection. Heading south out of Kampala, we found an equator crossing where a man used three funnels to demonstrate how water drains in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. As for the funnel set up directly on the equator — it goes straight down with no spin at all!

12

Our final official activity for the Africa Travel Association’s 39th World Congress took our group of conference attendees to the source of the Nile River in Jinja. Everyone planted a tree to symbolize Uganda’s commitment to the environment — emphasizing each person’s role as a caretaker of our world. Justa C. Lujwangana, founder of Curious On Tanzania, posed for stylish tree-planting photos before we rushed off to watch canoe races and enjoy a boat ride to see bubbling source waters from Lake Victoria flow into the River Nile.

13

Saying farewell to Uganda, our group visited the Uganda Wildlife Centre where distressed animals are taken for rehabilitation and care. I never expected to bow to a bird, but with the very large (and in charge) shoebill, a bow is protocol. The bird first dips its head toward a person and waits for the move to be reciprocated — a sign that this enormous, winged creature shows respect and should be respected.

14

Endangered and protected, white rhinoceroses are being bred in captivity in order to help their population. Poachers have significantly stolen from their herds for the love of their horns. The Uganda Wildlife Centre cares for two “just friend” rhinos. With a thick iron gate between us, on a back-of-house tour I felt privileged to pet these leathery animals and marvel at their distinct and large features.

15

With smiles and laughter, we said goodbye to Uganda by feeding the gentle giraffes at the Uganda Wildlife Centre. On an elevated stage we marveled at their spots — a darker coat for the older giraffe and lighter one for the junior. Known as the “graceful giraffe” for their walk and run, Murchison Falls National Park is the best place to see them in the wild.