Weekly travel reads: Exploring Switzerland’s forgotten lake district by boat

[The Travel Wire #101] Africa’s most unusual pub crawl, land of the Mongols, Sado Island’s cultural renaissance, and more travel reads.

Travel reads

• Away with the ferries: exploring Switzerland’s forgotten lake district by boat [The Guardian]
“The Jura and Three Lakes region is often overlooked by visitors, but on a lake-hopping adventure I discovered its gentle beauty as well as great food and wine.”

• I went on Africa’s most unusual pub crawl [Independent]
“Ghana’s frenetic capital is hard to pin down, but on a micro-tour of the Jamestown neighbourhood, Phil Thomas gets to experience the city like a local, discovering secret chop houses, boozy traditions and an independent spirit.”

• Land of the Mongols [Tales of the Orient by Simon Ostheimer]
“True adventure awaits in China’s vast border province of Inner Mongolia, but if you think you’re getting away from it all in quiet, empty spaces, then you’re very much mistaken.”

• I often dream of Norway [Robyn Hitchcock]
“Some places are too good to actually live in. Often they’re too expensive as well, so their goodness is not an option anyway. For me, two such cities come to mind: Sydney, Australia and Oslo, Norway.”

• Sado Island’s cultural renaissance: a Japanese journey from exile to artistic haven [SCMP]
“Having initially landed only to rest on a voyage to Hokkaido, a writer was so taken with this magical, welcoming Japanese island that he has been unable to resist repeat visits.”

• Actually… solo travel kinda sucks [Fodors]
“Many tout the merits of seeing the world solo, but here’s why it often adds up little more than unfulfilling fantasy.”

• Travel with purpose: the Mondulkiri I didn’t expect [The Phnom Penh Post]

• The world came back in color [Steeped in Travel]
“How leaving the sky behind taught me to notice the seasons.”

• Haarlem’s Treasures [Travel Doorways]
“An overview of some of the wonderful places I experienced on my weeklong trip to Haarlem.”

• Is ‘Tiny Tourism’ the antidote to mass tourism? I went to Dublin to try it out [BBC Travel]

• Postcard from Sperlonga, home to fantastic beaches and the Villa of Tiberius [The New Roman Times]

• On an Indonesian island, an ancient ritual evolves to protect an endangered cockatoo [Mongabay]