I’ve never really thought much about jade. Perhaps it’s because in New York (where I currently reside) there are thousands of jade bracelets for sale on almost every street corner for around $5. That, and I’m not really a bracelet girl.
But I was schooled hard in Mandalay, Myanmar, where I hit the world-famous jade market. Deals for the finest jade have been haggled there for hundreds of years.
Last month, during my trip to Myanmar, I met a group of women with 12-inch necks wrapped in brass coils.
“What?” you may be exclaiming in horror. “No way! How could that be? Isn’t that painful? Why would they do that to themselves?”
But really… why are you so shocked?
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One of the coolest things about travel is wandering into a place that time seems to have truly forgotten. These days, locations like that are few and far between — but they still exist. One of the most special to me is Bamiyan, Afghanistan. I went there earlier this year for the Afghan Ski Challenge. At first, I was very nervous. After all, it’s Afghanistan: It’s war-torn and medieval. And I kept wondering, “Will I have to wear a burka?”
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Well, yes and no. It is no longer war-torn. In fact, northern Afghanistan is considered peaceful — the Taliban was very harsh to the local Hazara people and blew up the famed, ancient Buddha structures in 2001. But when the United States troops invaded in 2002, the Taliban was swiftly routed and kicked out. They have yet to resurface there.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, is one of the hottest countries to visit in 2015 — and underscoring that is President Obama’s visit to the Southeast Asian country. This is his second trip there in two years, in an attempt to encourage the country’s efforts to create a functioning democracy.
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Myanmar’s locals are staying in the countryside and avoiding the gleaming new capital city.
But, after a recent visit to Myanmar’s brand-spanking-new capital, Naypyitaw, Yahoo Travel has a question: Will anyone actually be there to greet him when he arrives?
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The empty highway in Naypyitaw
Often when you’re traveling you just stumble upon things, things that end up changing your life. I was in the hill station of Kalaw in Myanmar when I looked at the itinerary thatJacada Travel had printed for me and saw “Elephant Sanctuary.” This activity was not on the original document, and for some reason I was confused.
“There are elephants in Myanmar?” I asked my driver.
“Yes. Many,” he said. “The Asian elephant. They are used for the logging industry.”
“Oh, riiiight,” I said, feeling dumb. After all, I’d been looking into checking out a place where you could work with elephants in Thailand — which is right next door.
Just helping to scratch those hard to reach spots. (Photo: Andrew Rothschild)
“You still want to go?” my driver asked, eyeing me in the mirror.
“Hell, yes,” I said.
Related: Welcome to Myanmar’s Empty Capital City, President Obama!
Let me just say I love elephants. If I could have one as a pet, I would. We’d totally be best friends and go everywhere together, and in my fantasy land I wouldn’t even have to clean up its poop. Because my magical elephant wouldn’t poop and somehow would only be a foot high and a foot and a half long so he could fit into my New York City apartment … or in a carry-on bag.
But as much as I love elephants and have seen them in the wild, I’ve never actually been close enough to touch one. Because they are wild, and you normally should not touch them.
When I say I loves me some elephants I means it. (Photo: Andrew Rothschild)
So we rolled on up to the Green Hill Valley elephant sanctuary, and my life changed.
For the FULL story, click HERE…
In August I had a super awesome, amazingly bright idea: I was going to do a video inside the first-class suites on Singapore Airlines.
I’d heard about the airline’s first-class suites from a fellow (way wealthier) traveler a year before. His name was “Big Dave,” and he and his wife, “Carla” (who looked like Snooki), were sitting at a table next to me in a restaurant in Danang. They had just flown to Vietnam from London in one of those suites.
“It’s like your own damn room!” he’d bragged. “I mean — look at me — I’m a big guy. I hate flying … and I never wanted to leave that plane!” (Big Dave was indeed a big guy. In fact, he was bordering on morbidly obese. I could understand how a normal seat would be confining for a man of his size.)
At first I was only semi-interested. But two hours and many bottles of wine later, I was full-on jealous — and nauseated (he’d started to brag about the “real” Mile High Club).
But I was determined. One day, I would take that mystical, magical flight and sleep in that bed and have the caviar service, Ferragamo amenity kits, and Givenchy sleep suits.
The first-class suite is just like heaven. (Andrew Rothschild)
This is Candace – to local Afghans, Candace looks like a Hazara man. This let Candace get away with a lot. I was a little jealous.
One of the reasons I travel are the people I meet along the way. In Afghanistan I met Candace – a 28 year old Australian of Chinese origin – who about a year and a half ago decided to quit work and travel… cross dressing her way across the most volatile region in the world .
“I thought I’d only be gone for about six months but it’s been a year and a half so far,” Candace said. She started in India, made her way through Pakistan, China and into Afghanistan. Along the way, because of her hair and her style of dress, everyone assumed she was a man… which let her get away with a lot more than any woman could have. Candace and I met up at the Afghan Ski Challenge in Bamiyan where she agreed to be videotaped and, after the jump, she tells us what Afghans really think of white people and which tribe members makes the worst husbands:
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The Puppy looks awfully Banksy, no?
On the edge of Kabul, Afghanistan, framed by the snowy peaks of the Hindu Kush, lies the Darul Aman Palace, the former home of Afghan King Amanullah Khan. Built in the 1920s as part of a modernization campaign by the King, it now sits ravaged by thirty years of war. But it never had a peaceful history. According to Wikipedia:
Darul Aman Palace was gutted by fire in 1969. It was restored to house the Defence Ministry during the 1970s and 1980s. In the Communist coup of 1978, the building was set on fire. It was damaged again as rival Mujahideen factions fought for control of Kabul in the early 1990s. Heavy shelling by the Mujahideen after the end of the Soviet invasion left the building a gutted ruin.
Over the years, the Russians, the mujahideen, the Taliban, local artists and the Americans have all left their mark – and it’s known amongst select few as a sort of gallery of war art. I was recently allowed inside as one of the guys I was with knew the guards (always helpful to have friends in high and low places!) and as I was wandering around, saw the most amazing graffiti art… which looked like something out of the Banksy playbook. I was assured it was just an homage – but… you never know.
After the jump, more amazing graffiti and pictures of the actual palace:
In homage to Cher’s new world tour, I recreated her “If I Could Turn Back Time” video … on a Russian Tank in Afghanistan
You can get almost anything in America – except a good old fashioned Soviet era tank in which to fool around on… or a wood handled Kalashnikov to play with. Funny that. So imagine my delight when I saw the abandoned tank field in front of the police station in Bamiyan. It was like I turned into a saucy little head scarved five year old.
After the jump – more fun with tanks and guns… and the original Cher video I was trying to recreate (sadly sans a Bob Mackie onesie).
Chilling in Afghanistan with Arnaud – the Swiss YUMM who lives in Tehran. Random, I know.
As those of you who follow me on twitter, facebook or tumblr may know – I just got back from attending the Afghan Ski Challenge in Afghanistan. And by just got back, I mean I literally still smell like the plane, despite two showers. [Ed Note: WTF is up with me and skiing this year? you’d think I’d actually know how to strap on a pair of skis by myself now and get down a green slope without biting it like 15 times… which I don’t… or, you know, be super sporty… which, for a woman who’s life motto has always been the Lemonheads song, “I Lied About Being the Outdoor Type,” is mildly hilarious].
But despite the altitude, the three foot snow drifts and the mandated physical activity, I managed to find the bright side. After the jump, I present to you the YUMMs (Young Urban Mountain Men) who thank fully congregated in Bamiyan for your viewing pleasure: