Are you familiar with Denver’s sordid pre-20th century history? If not, historian and author, Phil Goodstein can fill you in on the fascinating, unusual and sometimes salacious details on his many walking tours. On his Lower Downtown (LoDo) Tour he shares that the area was once a red light district centered around Market Street. The […]
Odd Couple: Denver’s Little Fyodor & Babushka
Highlands – Musician Little Fyodor has been described many ways: a musical Woody Allen, a punk Weird Al Yankovic, a metaphysical protest singer and Don Knots on acid. But the long-time Denver-Boulder fixture and North Denver resident, Little Fyodor, fancies himself as a comical Iggy Pop. Influenced by late 1970’s sounds such as those from […]
Young, Queer & Here: Boulder’s Gay Teens at the Center of the Controversy
Local gay school kids can relate to Tinky Winky, the purple alien “Teletubby” outed last week by the Reverend Jerry Falwell. When you’re a teen in the closet, people tend to think you’re a little strange but harmless; come out and suddenly you’re a threat to the moral fabric of the nation. In Boulder County, […]
Goodbye Legal High: The Death of a Party Drug
Go to a bar, a rave or just hang out on the street and you’ll come across somebody sipping an innocent-looking beverage, but getting a guilty high. Despite a frenzy of media reports warning about the dangers of GHB, it’s not just serious drug connoisseurs experimenting with it — college party-goers have discovered it as […]
Discovering the Pura Vida in Costa Rica
It’s May and that means it’s the rainy season in Costa Rica! Perfect time to go for budget nomads — off-season rates apply and you won’t be encountering more Americans than Ticos, (as Costa Ricans are affectionately called). Besides, it only rains a little in the afternoon — big damn deal! There’s muchos reasons to visit […]
Chilling in Chacala, Mexico
Most folks haven’t heard of Playa Chacala, and that’s part of its beauty. The idyllic fishing village 56 miles north of Puerta Vallarta provides a low-cost authentic vacation alternative to the mega-resorts for which Mexico is famed (some say shamed). A visit here is a recipe for relaxation and has little negative environmental impact. It […]
Machu Picchu for Muchachas: Find the ‘Lost City’ of the Incas
Five hundred years ago, it was a retreat where ‘Chosen Women’ were worshiped and mummified after death. Today, Machu Picchu (which means ‘old mountain’ in the Quechua language) remains a mystical destination for a fit couple or a group of girlfriends seeking more from a vacation than a beach chair in the sun. The Lost […]
The Holy Coast of Kenya: Mombasa, Lamu and Beyond
When most people imagine Kenya they conjure up images of safaris, elephants and Maasai warriors, but there’s another side of Kenya for visitors, a laid back alternative to the adrenaline rush provided by animal chasing on the plains. It’s the mellow Swahili coast of the country with its eclectic cultural, delicious, deserted beaches and a […]
Tattooing for Better Karma: Ink in the Hindu Belt
Despite the intense appreciation and prevalence of tattooing in the “Hindu belt” of Asia, specifically the countries of Nepal, India and Indonesia, we hardly ever hear or read about the tattoo traditions of these countries. Tattooing is an integral part of the lifestyle, and although the artists are not held in high esteem (as are […]
Hampi: City of Victory
Any place with a temple dedicated to the dancing God from the Bhagavad-Gita (that is um, Shiva) is okay by us. It’s like a petrified dream taken from storybooks of ancient Hindu mythology: red rock structures framing the landscape and ruins. This is Hampi, the modern-day capital of the Vijayanagar empire. Located in southern India’s […]