Matador Network's Blog, page 973

Angkor Wat bans elephant riding

In a major win for animal rights, Cambodia is changing its policy on elephant rides at Angkor Archaeological Park. The temple complex located in the northern province of Siem Reap previously had 14 elephants on the premises available for guests to ride. Now, two of those elephants have been relocated to the Bos Thom community forest, with the remaining 12 scheduled to do the same by early 2020.

Local residents are supportive of the new measure. Ly Huoch, a resident of Siem Reap province, has watched elephants transport tourists for years and believes they deserve better treatment. “I support the decision to transfer them,” he told The Khmer Times, “because the elephants are working so hard and should be free. I feel sorry for the elephants”

Treatment of elephants at Angkor Archaeological Park has been under scrutiny since 2016, when an elephant named Sambo died at the temple from heatstroke and exhaustion caused by carrying so many tourists on her back.


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The post Cambodia’s Angkor Wat bans elephant riding appeared first on Matador Network.

How to bike the Camino de Santiago

It’s tough to think about the Camino de Santiago without imagining pilgrims plodding along the trail toward the afternoon sun, walking sticks in their hands and scallop shells lashed to their backpacks. Pilgrims have been doing this 500-mile trek across parts of France and northern Spain for over 1,000 years, after all. Yet of late, the image of the pilgrim has expanded to include knobby tires, spokes, and helmets.

A thousand-year-old journey

Photo: Gena Melendrez/Shutterstock

Since the ninth century, the route — with variations originating across Europe — has beckoned believers for its religious significance, and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims per year now converge upon the cathedral in the elegant, stone-hued city of Santiago, which is said to hold the remains of the apostle Saint James. The modern multitudes also list tourism and fitness, as well as cultural and social motivations, for making the pilgrimage.

In 2018, over 320,000 pilgrims arrived in Santiago from their various beginnings, and most of them — over 93 percent — arrived on foot as pilgrims traditionally have done. The trek takes those who undertake it along a mountain range, through forests, and along farmlands, across landscapes that are ever changing.

If you’re interested in traveling across the northern end of the Iberian Peninsula to Santiago de Compostela from origins unknown, how you do it is perhaps just as immediate of a concern as why. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the nuances and challenges you’ll likely face if you choose to pedal the route.

For the sake of practicality when it comes to planning, let’s call the French Way, the Camino Francés, the route for the purpose of this guide. This is the most popular route and begins in the small Pyrenees town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France. The details herein can be applied to any route with a little consideration. The journey is a personal one and is said to start wherever you do, but Saint-Jean is as good a place as any to begin.

Why ride?

Photo: lunamarina/Shutterstock

The Camino Francés is about 775 kilometers, just under 500 miles, from Saint-Jean to Santiago. Cover about 55 kilometers per day on your bike, and this pace results in about two weeks on the trail, which can be a much more manageable chunk of time to get away than the month or more it takes to walk the same route. So, there’s that.

Side note: If you’re in an even bigger hurry and cannot do two weeks, another thing to consider when deciding how far to ride and where to begin is your certificate of completion, the Compostela. To receive it, cyclists must have completed at least the final 200 kilometers on their bikes. In addition to the distance requirement, to receive your official Compostela from the Pilgrims Reception Office in Santiago, you’ll be asked if your trip was “for religious or spiritual reasons, or at least an attitude of search.”

Your bike — the most important piece of gear

Photo: lunamarina/Shutterstock

Think touring more than road biking for this trip. While a good portion of the camino follows roads or paved multi-use paths, a lot of the route will take you on dirt tracks, sendas, or old-fashioned trails. At times you’ll be forced off these tracks and trails by their rocky disposition or otherwise generally non-bike-friendly nature, and you’ll have to find your way, for a time, on nearby roads, which may not be waymarked in the same way that the Camino is.

The most efficient cycling setup is a mountain bike equipped for touring, possibly with a front suspension and hefty tires. Your gear options are as variable as you are, but a good plan is to carry your gear on a rear rack with panniers bags and possibly a handlebar bag. Backpacks are going to limit your mobility and aren’t likely to be big enough to allow you to eschew your panniers altogether anyway.

Beyond the bike, you’ll need repair supplies and emergency gear in case something happens en route. Also, basic camping necessities like a bivvy and climbing rope, high-energy foods, and both a rain and warm jacket should be in your panniers. If you choose to carry your camping gear, consider the value of using it only occasionally versus the added weight of carrying it with you the entire way. A tent, sleeping bag, and stove will make you more independent, but it will also slow you down.

You’ll also need to think about getting your bike to and from the trail. For this, you have essentially two choices, with variations available for each. You can pack your bike at home and ship it in a cardboard box or hard-sided case in advance, or bring it as baggage with you as you travel. You can also procure a bike when you get to your starting point, either by renting or buying. Bringing your own bike may seem more complicated, cumbersome, and inconvenient, but you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing your own bike and trusting it, as well as not having the added burden of finding a reputable rental agency or trying to purchase a new or used bike on site. If you do arrive sans bike, Bike Iberia has rental and touring options.

The route itself

Photo: NatureStock1/Shutterstock

For most of the distance you’ll be on the same route as the walkers, so don’t forget the importance of sharing the trail and being especially courteous when passing. Remember the walkers have been doing this route for centuries, so don’t take it personally if you encounter a section that’s particularly challenging for cyclists, or a group of walkers who are bit displeased by your presence.

On a two-week route, you’ll average over 30 miles per day. This sounds like a lot — and it is — but broken up over the morning and afternoon, it’s a manageable distance. If you were to bike 10 miles per hour on a road in your hometown, you’d cover the entire daily distance in three hours. Don’t despair when you hit a rough patch of trail. Carry a good map or even one of the many popular guidebooks, and remember to ride with your back to the sun in the morning and into it by the afternoon. Most books are tailored toward walkers, but the accommodations, food and drink sections, and route descriptions are all relevant to cyclists as well.

For guidebooks, carry a few (or carry at least one good one, having read others before the trip). Rick Steves has a classic, and for the specific Camino Frances route discussed here, opt for the Village to Village Guide by Anne Dintamen and David Landis.

Lodging along the trail

Photo: jean-francois me/Shutterstock

Many hostels, known as albergues, will have places to safely store your bike overnight, but don’t leave your bike unlocked in a communal area even if you’re staying in that hostel. Occasionally you may encounter a hostel that will turn you away because of your early arrival and the fact that you are a cyclist. Don’t be offended. During the busiest times of year, some municipal hostels will fill up early, and cyclists are much more poised to continue searching around town for other accommodations or even pedaling on to another town than are the pilgrims on foot.

The camino bed race, as it has been called, may not be as extreme as it seems, though. Even in peak season you should still be able to find a bunk if you arrive early enough in the day and don’t mind sleeping in top bunks or dormitory-style accommodation. Plus, you can always phone ahead and book a private hostel or hotel before you arrive. This is also a good time to inquire about a place’s bike policies and storage options.

Many places that call themselves “bike-friendly” are referring to little more than the presence of a secure place to store your bike. Don’t assume they’ll be able to help you with repairs or sell gear. Larger cities like Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León, and Ponferrada all have traditional bike shops. And many smaller towns have small repair shops, as well.

When route-planning, seek to find a balance between stopping where you think you want to stop and stopping wherever and whenever you feel like it. The route is accustomed to high volumes of travelers, and there is the flexibility to change your plan. For example, a more autonomous experience awaits the cyclist who is self-contained. Camping in municipal parks and inexpensive yet infrequent campsites will save you money and, though camping isn’t nearly as popular as the hostel circuit, can be rewarding in its own independent way.

Riding is a different experience

Photo: Ackab Photography/Shutterstock

At some point, you’ll need to ask yourself if you want the camaraderie of other pilgrims more than the solitude. Cycling is already a lonelier experience than walking for many. It’s harder to engage in conversation with a fellow traveler when you’re biking than it is when you walk. You’ll also be less likely to develop long-term acquaintances on your way since you’ll be among a smaller pool of travelers covering the same distance daily. In general, walkers often find each other again at the same towns in the afternoons — you, too, will find bikers, but fewer of them.

For some, this might be just the ticket, but for others, the friendship of the Camino is a principal component of the journey. You’ll have to come to terms with the experience you are expecting to have and the one you are willing to have in the moment. Finding a balance between the social and private moments is possible if you’re prepared to be spontaneous and make decisions on the fly. You really will make connections with others along the Camino, even if you don’t have the shared experience of a month-long trek.

Whatever advice you find online or in guidebooks, remember this: It’s your Camino, after all, so go make it yours.


More like this: 15 things you need to know before walking the Camino de Santiago

The post How to tackle the Camino de Santiago by bike appeared first on Matador Network.

Guide to makgeolli, Korean rice wine

I’m in a Korean barbecue restaurant, and it’s boisterous. My companions and I are in the basement, pouring each other shot glasses full of soju while the strips of thin-cut meat sizzle on the nearby grill. I can feel myself getting tipsy, smoke from cooking short ribs making my eyes water. Eating Korean barbecue is an adventure, a party, a night you might regret in the morning all in one.

Eventually, when the astringent flavor of soju becomes overpowering, off-white cans with the label reading “Makku rice beer” appear on the table. I crack one and pour it into a glass. The milky white texture grabs me first. It looks similar to unfiltered sake, clouded by sediment. The tangy, almost sour flavor is familiar to soju or sake, but it’s more refreshing and crisp. The Champagne-like fizziness adds buoyant charm. I can’t stop drinking it. This is makgeolli, Korean rice wine — and the brand I was sipping, Makku, is the first craft makgeolli to be produced in the United States.

Here’s everything you didn’t know you needed to know about makgeolli, Korea’s oldest, and most underappreciated, alcoholic beverage.

How makgeolli is made

Photo: inforim/Shutterstock

Many Americans are already familiar with soju, a Korean liquor distilled from rice. Makgeolli is closer to Japanese sake. Though both are technically referred to as rice wine, both makgeolli and sake are brewed using rice in a process more akin to beer.

Makgeolli beings with nuruk, a wheat cake that catalyzes fermentation. The nuruk is then combined with steamed rice and water and is allowed to brew for as many as 10 days. For contrast, the sake brewing process involves washing and steaming rice, mixing it with yeast and koji, a type of mold, and allowing it to ferment.

“Sake is very similar to makgeolli in terms of the brewing process and ingredients — but the main difference is the culture that we use,” Carol Pak, the founder of Makku, explains. “Sake uses koji, so you get the unique organisms in the air and the land of Japan. Nuruk is more earthy and complex.”

Traditionally, makgeolli is brewed in a large ceramic jar known as a hangori or onggi, the same type of jar in which soybean paste and kimchi are sometimes also preserved. Fruit and herbal infusions can be added to the mixture during fermentation to give the makgeolli an additional flavor.

One standout characteristic of makgeolli is that it’s left unfiltered. Similar to nigori, unfiltered sake, the sediment from the fermentation process is left in the bottle, giving the beverage its signature cloudy, milky appearance. Pak explains that during the fermentation process, makgeolli splits into what are essentially two different beverages: A clear rice wine called cheongju and the thicker, hazier sediment at the bottom, called takju, traditionally consumed only by peasants. In fact, another name for makgeolli is nong-ju, meaning farmer’s liquor. Mix the two together, and you get makgeolli.

There’s another crucial difference between sake and makgeolli: Once the brewing process is complete, makgeolli is diluted with water, bringing the alcohol content from around 18 percent to seven percent alcohol by volume.

The history of makgeolli from antiquity to today

Photo: Makku

Makgeolli is considered Korea’s oldest alcoholic beverage and was invented right around the founding of the Korean empire. One of the first mentions of rice wine appears in a book called Poetic Records of Emperors and Kings, written around 37 BCE to 19 BCE during the reign of King Dongmyeong. According to historian Lee Hyo-gee, during the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392) makgeolli was called ihwaju, meaning “pear blossom liquor” because it was made “from rice that had fermented during the pear blossom season.”

Fast forward to the mid-1960s and makgeolli, despite its vaunted place in Korean history, had fallen out of favor. During the Korean War, the government banned distilling spirits with rice due to shortages of the grain.

“The traditional recipe got lost because people started using substitutes for rice. Also, makgeolli never lost that stigma of the ‘poor people drink,’” Pak says. “Because Korean society has been growing so fast, they’re moving away from makgeolli to soju and beer and spirits from other countries.”

Pak knew she would have to revamp makgeolli’s image if this ancient spirit had any chance of surviving the modern era. So she traveled all over Korea, trying as much locally produced makgeolli as she could, trying to find just the right flavor for her own version.

“I wanted to go with something approachable,” she says. “[Makku] is more smooth and refreshing, slightly sweet in mouthfeel and taste, with a medium body.”

Pak also decided that she would change Makku’s designation from a rice wine to a rice beer (according to TTB, a beer is considered any fermented carb, with or without malt or hops), positioning makgeolli as a more sessionable, casual drink that’s appropriate for any meal or occasion at any time of day. She hopes that consumers will think of makgeolli as the new cider — a foreign drink (cider originated in England) experiencing a renaissance in America.

Pak paired Makku’s lighter taste with a sleek design and two new fruit infusions, blueberry and mango, which she developed with the help of her mother, a trained herbologist. Her grand experiment in bringing this ancient Korean beverage to America has finally come to fruition. Now all that’s left to do is wait to see if it will catch on. But with bars and liquor stores saturated with hard seltzers and craft IPAs, it’s high time that a new face — someone like Pak, who is interested in adapting traditions for the modern world — brings an entirely different drink to the table.


More like this: Soju etiquette and other things you need to know about Korea’s popular spirit

The post Everything to know about makgeolli, Korea’s fizzy rice wine appeared first on Matador Network.

Therapy pig at San Francisco airport

Airlines may be cracking down on emotional support animals on planes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get some quality animal therapy at the airport before takeoff. At San Francisco International Airport (SFO), a therapy pig named LiLou is on-hand to welcome passengers, pose for selfies, and even play music for them.

Photo: San Francisco International Airport (SFO)/Facebook

The 5-year-old Juliana pig is the world’s first therapy pig and is part of the airport’s Wag Brigade — a team of therapy animals, primarily consisting of dogs, that routinely make appearances at the airport to ease passenger anxiety. All therapy animals at SFO are certified by the San Francisco SPCA.

Apart from being a pig, LiLou will stand out because she wears a pilot cap, has painted red hooves, and plays tunes on a toy piano.

Look out for LiLou trotting around the airport. Just don’t approach her from behind, as pigs are prey animals and can get pretty jumpy when surprised.


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Airbnb partners with the Olympics

Just in time for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo this summer, Airbnb is partnering with the International Olympic Committee to offer unique experiences for people traveling to Olympic host cities.

Aiming to encourage cultural exchange, support the global sporting community, and benefit the locals in the cities hosting the games, the Host the World campaign wants to widen the pool of local hosts and provide several new exciting travel experiences to make that trip to Tokyo, Beijing, Paris, Milan-Cortina, and Los Angeles even more memorable.

The highlight of the Host the World campaign is its athlete experiences. When you’re not in the bleachers watching your favorite event, book yourself some once-in-a-lifetime sporting fun with a passionate athlete — or even an Olympian. Immerse yourself in the vibe of the Olympic games, learn something new, and support locals by booking a fencing lesson with a former Olympian or taking a city bike tour with a cycling expert.

Check out the athlete experiences Airbnb offers for the next five Olympic and Paralympic games and meet local sporting heroes while breaking a sweat.


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The post Airbnb partners with the Olympics to offer unique athlete experiences appeared first on Matador Network.

LaGuardia $15 rides

Christmas is coming early for frequent travelers through New York’s LaGuardia Airport. With few efficient or affordable public transportation options from the airport to the rest of the city, and seemingly endless construction, LaGuardia is notoriously headache-inducing. Now, however, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is teaming up with ride-sharing app Via to offer a flat rate for transportation to the five boroughs.

For a very affordable $15, passengers leaving the airport can take a pool ride to any destination in Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Queens. For the Bronx and Staten Island, the rate jumps to $20. The service is called LGA Connect, and it’s currently in a pilot phase, only available for passengers arriving at terminals C and D (there is a “LGA Connect” pickup point outside of the terminals). Pending its success, however, it will be expanded to the other terminals as well.

To use the service, just book rides through the Via app, which has a separate LGA Connect option on its menu. Once you enter your destination, the app will match you with other passengers traveling in the same direction. All rides are supposed to depart within 10 minutes of booking, with passengers being dropped off at a corner within walking distance of their destination. Rides can be booked seven days a week, but only between 8:00 AM and 1:00 AM.

Not only will this flat-rate service allow passengers to travel into the city quickly and for cheap, but it will also reduce the infamous congestion at LaGuardia and provide a sustainable option to travelers. According to Via, more than 90 percent of LaGuardia travelers used private vehicles or individual taxis/rides last year.


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The post LaGuardia Airport introduces $15 flat rate for rides into New York City appeared first on Matador Network.

Tourists’ reactions to Venice flood

On the evening of Tuesday, November 12, the northeastern Italian city of Venice was extensively flooded following the highest tide the city has seen since 1966. Water levels reached 6.1 feet, causing around 85 percent of the city to be underwater. But as Venice was “on its knees” to quote Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, tourists gambled and snapped selfies in flooded St. Mark’s Square, seemingly apathetic to the destruction around them.

The lagoon city of Venice is prone to flooding during high tides, particularly when accompanied by winds, which drive the water into the lagoon. Flooding has been exacerbated over the years by rising sea levels. The city is also gradually sinking as it sits on wooden piles driven into the lagoon bed, a foundation which is subsiding due to excavation works in the area and the waves created by the passage of cruise ships. The high tide, locally known as acqua alta, of the night of November 12 was exceptional, in part due to the strong driving winds. It caused the deaths of four people, as well as hundreds of millions of euros’ worth of damage. The flooding meant schools were closed, shops were forced to throw away huge amounts of stock, and historic buildings suffered irreparable damage. The following days did nothing to ease the problem, as further peaks in the tide hindered the cleanup process and caused St. Mark’s Square to be closed as a precaution.

Following this devastating event, Venetians have come out saying they feel betrayed and abandoned by the authorities, whose project to protect the city from high tides is still not in operation. The MOSE project should see a protective series of flood barriers in the lagoon, which would prevent high tides from entering and flooding the city and other islands. However, the barrier system designed in 1984 is still not in action and is billions of euros over budget due to both a corruption scandal and technical issues. There is anger too that, despite frequent protests from residents and environmentalists, channels have been excavated in the lagoon for cruise ships which have worsened the effect of the tides.

But while Venetians began the long and painful process of cleanup and damage assessment, the reaction of many tourists to the situation has been a case of rubbing salt in the wound. Outside St. Mark’s Basilica, whose Byzantine treasures lay under several feet of water, tourists gathered to snap their “I was here” photo. As Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino reported, this all became too much for Pierpaolo Campostrini, the procurator of the ancient basilica, who burst out emotionally at the tourists (in English), “This is not a good day for us Venetians. We’re not happy to have tourists here at this moment.” Smiles faded and the tourists scattered, but they were quickly replaced by others oblivious to the anger of residents at their attitude.

Acqua alta is certainly part of Venice, but how it has come to be characterized as part of the city’s charm is bewildering to residents. The Guardian reported that two visitors from Liverpool who, despite seeing a rat floating in the water, said, “I think the water makes the city even more magical.” Visitors seem unconcerned that dramatic high tides mean public water bus services can’t run, mail can’t be delivered, ambulance workers have to wade through knee-deep water to make rescues, and the elderly and those with disabilities are essentially imprisoned in their homes. Those with ground-floor shops or houses struggle with damage to goods and property, and cultural and historic treasures are in danger.

But when the high tide reaches levels such as that of last week, it becomes a natural disaster. While few tourists would take selfies in front of houses succumbing to a wildfire, Venice is somehow not treated with the same sensitivity. As Fabio Vianello of Italian travel publication 2night put it, “To the man swimming in St. Mark’s Square during high water: bathing in Piazza San Marco at this tragic times [sic], is like using the embers of a burning house to have a barbeque.” Italian publication Il Giornale reported that tourists queued up in front of an overturned motorboat in an alley to be able to take a photo with the damaged vessel. It would seem that rather than putting tourists off coming to the city, the exceptionally high tide worked as a twisted form of publicity and attracted large crowds over the following weekend. Tourists were seen queuing on the duckboards in St. Mark’s Square, equipped with cameras and video recorders.

Throwing the callous reaction of tourists yet further into perspective were the reports of school children and community groups who were volunteering to help shop and business owners to clear the debris on their premises. Something has gone very wrong when tourists can treat a natural disaster as an opportunity for social media attention, despite seeing residents, including young children, carrying bag after bag of refuse and destroyed possessions from houses and shops. In fact, tourists’ disinterest was not only seen as disrespectful by Venetians but also a nuisance as they clogged up streets hampering workers.

Venice has frequently had to suffer impertinent behavior by tourists, but their insensitivity to the recent disaster suggests there’s a real problem in how Venice is perceived by visitors. As Alberto Toso Fei, reporting for Il Gazzettino, put it, Venetians live in “total symbiosis with the city,” and they are hurt when the city is hurt. Tourists, on the other hand, seem able to revel unrestrained in the calamity like it’s an attraction at a theme park.


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Los Angeles LGBTQ guide

With pretty boys, palm trees, and perennially sunny days, it’s no wonder traffic is packed bumper to bumper in Los Angeles. From the tops of her canyons to the sandy bottoms of her coastal shores, La La Land has always been the most camera-ready, picture-perfect LGBTQ destination in the US. From epic nightlife to gay-friendly beaches to bucket-list worthy events, here’s everything you need to know about taking in the city as an LGBTQ traveler.

LGBTQ History

Like many LGBTQ havens in the US, the Los Angeles queer community started to blossom in the wake of World War II. While the silver screen attracted plenty of queer folk to the city in years to come, Hollywood’s celluloid closet spent a lot of energy censoring homosexuality and forcing queer individuals to lead clandestine lifestyles. Raids on queer bars were frequent in the 1950s and 1960s, and living as an “out” member of society was a dangerous and alienating form of resistance.

Regardless, the City of Angels was still a leader in the early fight for LGBTQ rights. The first lesbian magazine, Vice Versa, was published in 1947 by Lisa Ben, a secretary at the now-defunct RKO Studios. The Mattachine Society, one of the country’s earliest gay organizations, was founded in Silver Lake in 1950. Two major precursors to New York’s Stonewall Riots — the Coopers Donuts riot of 1959, and a peaceful protest against police brutality at The Black Cat in 1967 — are two often-overlooked incidences of LA’s queer community standing up to injustice and discrimination. The Advocate, founded in response to The Black Cat raid in 1967, began as a queer newsletter in ABC Television Studios West, now the site of Prospect Studios.

In 1968, the Metropolitan Community Church — the country’s oldest operating LGBTQ parish — opened its doors on Prospect Avenue. The first cases of what would later be known as AIDS were first reported in Los Angeles by a UCLA researcher, Dr. Michael Gottlieb, in June of 1981. The city has played a significant role in HIV/AIDS research and prevention ever since. Lincoln Park’s Las Memorias AIDS Monument project, founded in 1993, and a soon-to-open monument in West Hollywood, honor the lives of those affected by the epidemic.

Since World War II, the queer community has spread through LA’s sprawling urban environment. While West Hollywood is still the city’s central gayborhood, Downtown LA (DTLA) and Silver Lake also have diverse queer scenes. Much like the rest of the US, as gentrification continues changing the LA landscape, LGBTQ people are integrating into other neighborhoods. You’ll now find plenty of queer residents and establishments from Pacific Palisades to Elysian Park, north toward Malibu, and down into Laguna Beach.

Landmarks

Photo: Lisa Bronitt/Shutterstock

The Mattachine Steps

Harry Hay started the Mattachine Society, one of America’s first LGBTQ rights organizations, in his home next to these steep Silver Lake steps on November 11, 1950. By 1953, the group grew to thousands of members in numerous cities throughout the US The steps, dedicated to Hay in 2012, are a reminder of the strong foundation he helped lay for the subsequent rise of the Gay Liberation Movement. The stairs, a nondescript series of concrete slabs, rise to views of the Silver Lake reservoir and adjoining neighborhood below, now home to a sizeable queer population and lively gay bar scene. It’s a fitting metaphor for Hay’s unglamorous and often overlooked role in the rise of early LGBTQ activism.

Where: 2355 Cove Avenue, Silver Lake

ONE National Gallery and Lesbian Archive

Founded in 1952, this is both the world’s largest research collection of LGBTQ materials and the oldest active queer organization in America. The main repository on West Adams also functions as a community center, cinema, and gallery. The off-site exhibition space, ONE Gallery (626 North Robertson Boulevard), is located in West Hollywood. The gallery hosts exhibitions featuring historical documents and art from the archive’s exhaustive collection.

Where: 909 West Adams Boulevard

Photo: The Black Cat Los Angeles/Facebook

The Black Cat

The wood-paneled walls and big green booths may seem unassuming to most, but this hallowed hall is home to a critical moment in LGBTQ history. A former gay bar, The Black Cat opened in 1966 and became a popular queer hang in a time when gay establishments were subject to frequent police raids. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve in 1967, undercover cops subjected The Black Cat to such an attack by beating patrons and violently forcing them into the street. In February of that year, around 200 community members came together to protest the police force’s brutality. A court case followed, calling out lewd conduct allegations of same-sex kissing patrons at The Black Cat as unfounded and discriminatory. The two gay men on trial lost the case and were forced to register as sex offenders, but a step forward was taken in the fight for equality. New York’s infamous Stonewall Riots would happen just over two years later. The site was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2008; a plaque commemorates the 1967 events.

Where: 3909 Sunset Boulevard

Tom of Finland House

The cartoonishly muscular men in Tom of Finland’s erotic cartoons played a pivotal role in the evolution of queer art and gay culture. His hyper-masculine depiction of homoeroticism still has reverberating effects in the queer community today. The Finnish artist’s home away from home, located in Echo Park and designated a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2016, is now a museum that pays homage to his original works. The Tom of Finland Foundation, which runs the estate, is open on Wednesdays from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM for an art-viewing tea party. A nude figure drawing session takes place once a month on Sundays from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Check the ToFF’s website for more details.

Where: 1419 Laveta Terrace

Bars, by neighborhood

West Hollywood (WeHo)

Known for its tanned gym bunnies and impeccably groomed pretty boys, this is the city’s most densely concentrated gay area. Centrally located, it’s a great place to stay not only for access to LGBTQ life but for proximity to most of the city’s noteworthy offerings. It’s also, arguably, the most walkable neighborhood in LA.

Photo: The Abbey Food & Bar – West Hollywood/Facebook

The Abbey

LA’s most iconic gay bar had humble beginnings — in 1991, it started as a 1,100-square-foot coffee shop. Today, it’s a 16,000-square-foot multi-hyphenate mega venue that serves as restaurant, dance club, lounge, and community center for the entire LGBTQ community. The space is an indoor-outdoor maze of Gothic-inspired rooms with multiple bars that cater to a mixed crowd of boys, girls, and everything in between. While the venue started banning bachelorette parties in 2012, the bar still sees a more hetero- and tourist-packed crowd than other gay hot spots, particularly on weekends. That’s the curse for being the WeHo’s go-to gay hub — everyone wants in.

Where: 692 North Robertson Boulevard, West Hollywood

Micky’s

Muscle-bound go-go boys and extra-strong drinks are always on the menu at this long-lasting institution, but it’s Monday night’s weekly drag show that makes Micky’s magic. A second home for RuPaul’s Drag Race royalty, the weekly Showgirls review always features top-tier queens lip-syncing to packed crowds. Check the website to see who’s on the roster. You can reserve seats for the show in advance.

Where: 8857 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood

Fubar

If you’re fed up with the preppy polish of WeHo’s stereotypical crowd, head east to get down and dirty at Fubar. Thursday’s BFD party (Big Fat…you know) is the best night to check out the seedier side of West Hollywood.

Where: 7994 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood

Photo: Fiesta Cantina – WeHo/Facebook

Fiesta Cantina

More Mexican restaurant than actual gay bar, Fiesta Cantina has a spacious rooftop deck, ground-level patio, cheap happy-hour tequila specials, and excellent Margaritas. It’s the best way to get hammered before hitting the more expensive bars nearby.

Where: 8865 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood

Faultline

This East Hollywood establishment is the antithesis of West Hollywood’s clean-cut crew. Men come here to find leather-clad lads, bears, and dzads (yes, you pronounce the z). Thursday’s Unzipped Underwear party and Sunday’s Legendary Beer Bust and are both well-attended weekly events.

Where: 4216 Melrose Avenue, East Hollywood

Oil Can Harry’s

This Studio City bar has been serving cheap drinks to line-dancing queer cow folk since 1968, making it an LGBTQ landmark. Though there aren’t many other gay spots nearby, heading over the hills to check out this Wild West watering hole is a must if you like kitsch and country.

Where: 11502 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City

Eastside (Silver Lake, Los Feliz, and DTLA)

LA’s Eastside is the Brooklyn of Southern California. Alternative queer crowds call these scenic hills and skyscrapers home — they also tend to be a little more diverse than the well-manicured men of WeHo. Between the hipster cache of Silver Lake and the cultural hub of DTLA, there’s plenty of people and places from which to pick.

Eagle LA

Leather and Levis are life for the attendees of this fetish-friendly gay bar. Much like the same-named Eagle bars around the country, the LA location sports a friendly crew of silver foxes from Silver Lake, alternative hipsters, and hardcore uniform devotees. Every Thursday is bear night; Meat Rack, a biweekly dance party on Saturdays, always attracts a hot, sweaty crowd.

Where: 4219 Santa Monica Boulevard, Silver Lake

Photo: Precinct DTLA/Facebook

Precinct

The success of Precinct, which opened in 2015, helped solidify DTLA as a queer nightlife destination. The space, a former Department of Corrections facility, now caters to an entirely new kind of riff-raff including drag queens, beefy bears, and boys who like to twirl on the dance floor. The industrial bi-level space offers a little something for everyone, including a reasonably priced food menu.

Where: 357 South Broadway, DTLA

Akbar

This unpretentious neighborhood bar is a hipster haven for the Eastside’s LGBTQ community. The retro-funk decor, lively dance floor, and weekly events — including an open mic night — make this an intimate escape from the large bars packed with West Hollywood’s plucked and polished queens.

Where: 4356 Sunset Boulevard, Los Feliz

Westside (Venice)

Venice isn’t necessarily a queer enclave, but it has a long history as an artsy, open-minded area. A town unto itself, this beachfront community has a laid-back vibe and easy access to long sandy stretches of Pacific coastline.

Roosterfish

A staple on LA’s Westside, Roosterfish was a queer haunt on Abbott Kinney long before it became the Instagrammable millennial paradise it is today. While it may have shuddered briefly in 2016, the bar is back open with an updated menu, vintage furnishings, and an eclectic all-inclusive crowd.

Where: 1302 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice Beach

Lesbian bars in LA

It’s sad to say, but there isn’t a ton of regularly occurring lesbian nightlife options in Los Angeles. While many of the places listed here cater to diverse crowds, the spaces are usually male-dominated. Altar Girl at The Chapel (part of The Abbey), an excellent femme-flavored party, takes place every Wednesday. Jumbo’s Clown Room, a burlesque and strip club, on Hollywood Boulevard is a female owned-and-operated venue that’s often frequented by the lesbian community.

Beaches

Will Rogers State Beach

Lovingly referred to as Ginger Rogers Beach since the 1950s, the queer section of this sandy Pacific Coast strip is a popular spot for biking, hiking, surfing, and volleyball. If you’re more of a rosé-all-day gay, you can park your towel in front of the ocean and work on your tan lines until the sun goes down. For the gay part of the beach, enter at the intersection of Entrada Drive and Pacific Coast Highway.

Photo: J. J. Johnson/Shutterstock

Venice Beach

Although this isn’t an all-out beachside Boystown, Venice Beach is home to the Pride Flag Lifeguard Tower (located off Brooks Avenue), dedicated to the first openly gay man elected to the LA City Council, Bill Rosendahl. It’s also home to Muscle Beach (1800 Ocean Front Walk), an outdoor gym frequented by bodybuilders. It’s a people-watching playpen for gay men who want to stare longingly from afar.

West Street Beach

West Street Beach is an hour-and-a-half drive from West Hollywood, but if you’re willing to wade through LA’s notoriously bad traffic, the reward is a queer-friendly aqua oasis. The sandy expanse, surrounded by fish-filled tide pools, looks up toward Laguna’s palm tree-studded cliffs and over gentle waves crashing on clam-covered sea rocks. It’s the most scenic gay beach in the greater Los Angeles area.

Events

Photo: LA Pride/Facebook

LA Pride

Los Angeles has the distinction of holding the world’s first officially permitted Pride Parade on June 28th, 1970. (While both New York and Chicago had rallies and marches in 1970, neither were city-sanctioned parades.) Around 50,000 spectators attended the event, which took place to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Today, the parade regularly draws crowds of over 400,000. The free event takes place on a Sunday in mid-June along Santa Monica Boulevard between Fairfax and Doheny. There’s also a Pride Festival in West Hollywood Park that boasts three stages with a bevy of live performances. This ticketed event takes place on both Saturday and Sunday. Don’t forget to check out Trans Pride, generally at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in Hollywood, Dyke Day, and separate rallies in other parts of LA, including Venice and Orange County. DTLA Proud, a festival in late August celebrating DTLA’s vibrant queer community, is another worthy LGBTQ Pride event that began in 2016.

Photo: RuPaul’s DragCon/Facebook

DragCon

RuPaul Charles, whose Emmy-winning reality show pits drag queens against one another in a contest of charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent, hosts an annual DragCon in LA every spring. The multi-day event features live performances, meet-and-greets with fan favorites, and panels where the queens discuss everything from penises to politics. It’s a dragtastic glitter explosion of all things pop culture. Check the RuPaul’s DragCon website for updates.

Photo: Gay Days Anaheim/Facebook

Gay Days Anaheim

Every October, LGBTQ folks band together to live their gay Disneyland dreams in a three-day festival at the House of Mouse. When Gay Days Anaheim began in 1998, about 2,500 attended. Today, over 30,000 people participate in the parties, group meals, and other family friendly excursions. Disneyland doesn’t officially present the event, so park officials won’t be able to help you with information. Disneyland is roughly an hour-and-a-half drive from West Hollywood. The park’s long history as the happiest place on earth for many in the queer community makes it fun-packed visit any time of year. Check the Gay Days Anaheim website for more information.

Accommodation

Photo: The Standard, Hollywood/Facebook

The Standard

This swanky-chic mid-century modern hotel in the heart of West Hollywood is a retro hotspot with a decidedly queer vibe. Even if you don’t decide to overnight here, the hotel regularly throws parties on its astroturf pool deck catering to a scantily-clad LGBTQ crew. Check the website for upcoming events. There’s another hotel location in DTLA as well.

Where: 8300 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood

Photo: Palihouse West Hollywood/Facebook

Palihouse

Perfect for an extended stay based out of West Hollywood, this boutique hotel’s lodge-like suites include a full kitchen, washer and dryer, and even an outside terrace.

Where: 8465 Holloway Drive, West Hollywood

Misterb&b

This online homestays platform is much like Airbnb, but hosts and users are usually gay men. You can rent a cheap room in someone’s apartment to entire homes at a variety of prices. Los Angeles has several listings available.

Where: Online


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North American sports halls of fame

Halls of fame weren’t originally meant for sports. The country’s first hall of fame was a sculpture garden dedicated to great Americans on the University Heights campus at NYU. That was back in 1900, and it was 39 years before baseball’s hall of fame opened its doors. Since then high schools, colleges, and pro teams both major and minor league have opened their own halls of fame. As well as halls — both real and virtual — for nearly every sport you can think of.

Some of those halls, however, come with world-class museums attached too. Or at least exhibits that will teach you more than you ever knew about the sport. Here are 18 around North America you should absolutely visit.

1. National Soccer Hall of Fame — Frisco, Texas

Photo: National Soccer Hall of Fame

Part of Toyota Stadium in Frisco, one of the newer halls tells the story of how soccer became a viable pro sport in the US. Beyond simple history and artifacts from over 200 inductees, the interactive museum offers stand-up platforms where guests can test their skills against video versions of soccer legends. It’s also the first US hall to use facial recognition software, so exhibits respond to visitors as they walk through.

Admission: $15

2. International Gymnastics Hall of Fame — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma might seem an odd place to put the gymnastics hall of fame until you realize Shannon Miller, Bart Conner, and Nadia Comaneci all live there. The museum sits inside Science Museum Oklahoma, a permanent exhibition of gymnastics history and hand-drawn portraits of its 98 inductees.

Admission: $16

3. NASCAR Hall of Fame — Charlotte, North Carolina

Photo: ZikG/Shutterstock

This attachment to the Charlotte Convention Center tells the almost-unbelievable story of how a meeting at a hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, launched the most successful auto racing league in history. You’ll walk up a ramp with replica cars banked on turns from different tracks then enter the hall of its 50 inductees. There’s also an interactive section, with stock car simulators and air-powered tools so you can time yourself changing tires like a NASCAR pit crew. Word to the wise: Avoid this area when school groups are visiting.

Admission: $25

4. International Swimming Hall of Fame — Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

This building, which sits between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, is home to a massive collection of aquatic artifacts paying tribute to the best in swimming, water polo, diving, and synchronized swimming. You’ll also learn about US presidents who were also accomplished swimmers and see wraps, uniforms, and Olympic medals from the sport’s greatest athletes.

Admission: $8

5. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum — Cooperstown, New York

Photo: PurpleHousePhotos/Shutterstock

Perhaps America’s most revered hall of fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame is home to 323 inductees with names like Ruth, Mantle, Mays, and Aaron topping the list. It sits in the quaint village of Cooperstown, nestled next to a lake in the Catskill Mountains, and draws over a quarter-million visitors a year. The exhibits feature items from some of the game’s most memorable moments, alongside uniforms that date back over 100 years. And for those looking for a heavy dose of childhood nostalgia, no museum comes close.

Admission: $23

6. Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum — Wichita Falls, Texas

Just to clear up any confusion, there is also a National Wrestling Hall of Fame with locations in Waterloo, Iowa, and Stillwater, Oklahoma, dedicated to talented grapplers and world-class athletes, exactly zero of whom you’ve probably heard of. But if you wanna see the tights, costumes, and props you saw on Monday Night RAW, head to Wichita Falls to this unofficial museum, which is adorned with more pro wrestling artifacts than you’ll find in a single other place. Plus, admission costs less than lunch.

Admission: $3

7. World Golf Hall of Fame — St. Augustine, Florida

Photo: World Golf Hall of Fame

Much like the game itself, golf’s hall of fame is a serene, relaxing experience set along an idyllic lake in historic St. Augustine. Just a few miles from the PGA Tour’s headquarters in Ponte Vedra, the World Golf Hall of Fame isn’t just a museum but an entire village complete with hotels, golf courses, and the PGA Tour academy where you improve your game after being inspired by the greats.

Admission: $20.95

8. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame — Springfield, Massachusetts

One of the more architecturally interesting halls of fame sits in the “birthplace of basketball” just off Route 91 in Springfield, Massachusetts. The building is meant to look like a giant, light-covered basketball going into a net, and while the proportions are a little off from the real thing, it’s still a sight to behold. Inside, you’ll find the story of the game alongside exhibits on the over-400 inductees. Plus, a full-sized basketball court that plays host to high school and college competitions.

Admission: $25

9. World Chess Hall of Fame — St. Louis, Missouri

Photo: Philip Rozenski/Shutterstock

Since most Americans can’t name a single chess player after Bobby Fischer, this museum in St. Louis’s Central West End offers a lot more than a tribute to the game’s greats. You’ll also find chess-inspired art exhibits, classical music concerts, and even artist-designed mini-golf. There’s also exhibits on the game’s evolution in both the US and the world, with both American and international halls honoring its best players.

Admission: suggested donation of $3 per person

10. Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame — Colorado Springs, Colorado

A sport where animals are half the attraction seems an appropriate hall of fame to offer animal interactions. During the summer, the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame brings in retired bucking broncos, and guests have the opportunity to learn the horses’ contribution to the sport. Summer also features live roping competitions and convention rodeos, adding an element of action to a museum visit. And you’ll get an education in the history of pro rodeo and its role is Western culture inside the galleries.

Admission: $8

11. Hockey Hall of Fame — Toronto, Ontario

Photo: Pe3k/Shutterstock

Unlike most sports, where a new championship trophy is minted each year, hockey has but one Stanley Cup. And it lives in this 57,000 square foot museum at Brookfield Place in downtown Toronto. In addition to seeing the Cup, you’ll also tour the great hall with tributes to its 411 inductees, as well as walk through a replica Montreal Canadiens locker room and a terrifying wall of goalie masks. You’ll also have a chance to see if you can fill Don Cherry’s shoes when you call a game at the Broadcast Zone.

Admission: $20

12. World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame — Colorado Springs, Colorado

We kind of take for granted that figure skaters are able to spin themselves through thin air, do flips, and land perfectly on a razor-thin metal blade. The physics of it all is mind-blowing — and broken down for you explicitly at America’s foremost figure skating museum. You’ll also see outfits worn during Olympic and national competitions, as well as figure-skating inspired art.

Admission: $5

13. International Boxing Hall of Fame — Canastota, New York

Photo: International Boxing Hall of Fame/Facebook

For a sport that dates back centuries, boxing has a relatively new hall of fame, only opening its doors in 1989. The exhibits inside tell the long history of the sport, with gloves and apparel from the 1900s, championship belts, and trunks worn by great champions. You’ll also have the chance to watch classic fights you may have only heard about and see the actual ring from Madison Square Garden where Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier in 1971.

Admission: $13.50

14. International Volleyball Hall of Fame — Holyoke, Massachusetts

The first thing you’ll learn upon going to the volleyball hall of fame is that volleyball was, in fact, invented at a YMCA in Holyoke in 1895. You’ll see how the sport went quickly from a cold New England gym to the sands of Hawaii 20 years later, and how the game on sand surpassed its indoor predecessor in popularity. Though most of the 130 inductees aren’t names you’ll necessarily know, the museum is still a fascinating look at a game so many play but know little about.

Admission: $8

15. International Tennis Hall of Fame — Newport, Rhode Island

Photo: Joy Brown/Shutterstock

Tennis holds the distinction of being the only hall of fame set in a National Historic Landmark, the grand Newport Casino that played host to the first US Men’s National Singles Championship in 1881. The casino’s grass court still hosts matches from time to time, but the main draw is the museum, full of rackets, outfits, and other remnants from the sport’s 900-plus years. In addition to learning how the professional game has evolved from its genteel roots in the 1800s, you’ll also have a chance to get some tips on your game from a holographic Roger Federer, and whisper your way through calling a classic match.

Admission: $15

16. Pro Football Hall of Fame — Canton, Ohio

Pro football offers one of the eerier halls of fame, where its enshrinees all have bronze busts lining the main gallery, giving visitors the feeling of walking through a room of floating heads. Not weird enough for you? Head to the “Game for Life” theater where long-dead legends George Halas and Vince Lombardi give holographic presentations. That weirdness aside, the museum has an unbelievable collection of Super Bowl artifacts and is also home to the Black College Football Hall of Game.

Admission: $26

17. National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame — Saratoga Springs, New York

Photo: Philip Rozenski/Shutterstock

Since the most legendary names in horse racing are, appropriately, horses, this tribute to the sport of kings in upstate New York is as much an art museum as a showcase of the athletes. Guests can wander among 70 sculptures that capture the power and beauty of thoroughbreds and transport themselves to a time when horse racing was more popular than football through an extensive photo exhibit. The physical hall of fame — where you’ll see jockey colors and plaques honoring the horses, jockeys, and trainers who ruled the track — is under renovation now but will reopen in July 2020.

Admission: $10

18. Bass Fishing Hall of Fame — Springfield, Missouri

Think you caught a pretty impressive fish on your last bass excursion in the Ozarks? See how you stack up to some of the world’s best anglers at the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. This relatively new hall opened in 2017 as part of Johnny Morris’s Wonder of Wildlife, an exquisite recreation of most of the world’s landscapes and environments, complete with an aquarium that feels like walking inside a shipwreck.

Admission: $29.95


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Netflix changes Devil Next Door map

Netflix was asked to amend maps of Poland shown in its series The Devil Next Door , after an official complaint was made by Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, and subscribers. The maps were deemed confusing as for Poland’s role in the death camps.

The Devil Next Door tells the true story of a Ukrainian-American car worker accused of being a Nazi concentration camp guard. According to Morawiecki, the maps depicted in the show implied that Poland was responsible for the building and operation of concentration and extermination camps, as they depict the camps within the borders of modern-day Poland. In fact, Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945.

A statement released by Netflix explains that additional text will also be added to the maps, in order to explain the historical context and clarify any confusion. The maps themselves will not be amended.

Komentarz w sprawie serialu ‘The Devil Next Door’ (Iwan Groźny z Treblinki). pic.twitter.com/tgg64f8avk

— Netflix Polska (@NetflixPL) November 14, 2019

According to The New York Times, the explanatory text will be added in a few days. The show will not be taken down from Netflix in the interval.


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