“The Anti-Ugly American—Peter Voll’s utopian travel vision” appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine on Sunday, March 18, 2007. The article also won a bronze award in the Newspaper Travel Article category of Bay Area Travel Writers Best Awards (2008).

Who do you call if you’re working for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are asked to improve foreign relations? It had better be someone experienced at working in culturally ambiguous situations, someone who is diplomatic, persuasive and adept at navigating bureaucratic channels. It should be someone who is well-connected and effective at brokering new relationships. Ideally, it would be someone who is passionate about increasing cross-cultural understanding, someone people are willing to follow to the ends of the earth.

Peter Voll is such a person. A pioneer in educational group travel, he took some of the first Western travelers to areas as far-flung as the People’s Republic of China, the North Pole and Burma, and Continue Reading »

This article appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine on March 19, 2006. It won the national “Planet Earth” grand prize in the Bay Area Travel Writers 2008 Best Travel Writing contest.

I was in the outhouse, with my pants halfway down, when I heard an urgent whisper outside: “Bamboo lemur, behind the loo!” I made a judgment call. The greater bamboo lemur (Hapalemur simus) is one of the rarest primates in the world; researchers believe there are fewer than 1,000 left. In fact, this critically endangered species was believed to be extinct until it was rediscovered only a few years ago. Never mind the loo—I rushed out, hoping for a quick look.

The lemurs had teddybear-like faces, round chestnut-colored eyes, and fluffy, pale grey ear tufts that made them look like little Yodas. Continue Reading »