At a 1-dinar cinema in Amman, Jordan, the real story has little to do with the movie itself.
Dancing at the blood festival
Armed only with curiosity and a stained pair of pants, Rolf tries to make sense of the Islamic Feast of the Sacrifice in Aqaba, Jordan.
The baksheesh diaries
In Egypt, Rolf discovers that even the simplest experiences sometimes carry a price tag.
Backpackers’ Ball at the Sultan Hotel
With Flaubert’s 1850 letters as a guide, Rolf explores the enduring allure of opera, orgasm, belly-dancing and other Cairo clichés.
Skepticism and salvation in Cyprus
An unorthodox tour of the second and final tomb of Lazarus puts a strange twist into Rolf’s Larnaca layover.
Live from the trans-global Beach Nation
Leo’s new movie may be fiction, but its portrayal of a crowded travel world is based in fact. Rolf reports — from the unlikeliest of places — on just what is happening.
Turkish Knockout
Rolf retraces the thin threads that led to his being drugged and robbed in the heart of Istanbul.
A Greek romance
At Corfu’s Pink Palace, the ouzo flows, the crockery flies and the libidos run wild.
Fear and loathing in Latvia
Between the fistfights and the Finnish girls, it’s hard to get any writing done.
On the Trans-Siberian Express
Amid an epic Beijing-to-St. Petersburg train trip, Rolf parties with librarians, tracks down the fate of Genghis Khan’s testicles, and (among other things) embarks on a madcap race to catch up with the train after getting stranded on the Mongolian-Siberian border.
Horse races, open spaces and the fate of Genghis Khan’s balls
In his first dispatch from an epic Beijing-St. Petersburg train trip, Rolf explores the mysteries of Mongolia.