Bamako May Be Hot, Dusty, Expensive & Polluted, But They Sure Make Some Good Chow

Party time in Bamako Roland, who is always clamoring to go see nothing but filth, decay, degradation and abject misery-- that and all that i...

How Safe Is Mali For American Tourists?

Roland at the Djenne market After spending some time in Dakar and Bamako I posted about how I found both cities very safe for tourists . Now...

How Safe Is It For Americans To Visit Dakar In Senegal And Bamako In Mali?

Mali feels very safe all the time Conventional wisdom is that Bamako is uber-safe and Dakar is infested with pickpockets... but otherwise pr...

Bassekou-- Master Of The Ngoni-- Rocks The House

Thursday I went out to Quizambougou to watch Bassekou Kouyate finish recording his second album, a follow-up to his amazing debut, Segu Blue...

First Day In Mali

Can't read our logos? Click the pic Ahhhh... Mali, land of my dreams; well that might be a little exaggeration but ever since I was a ki...

You Can't Always Count On The Guide Books

Especially not in remote places that don't warrant frequent updates. For this trip, I'm using a Lonely Planet for Senegal and a Bra...

First Day In Senegal

My Air France flight from L.A. to Paris was an hour early-- and there's an adequate lounge at De Gaulle with free computer use (Macs, no...

Thai Court Ousts Prime Minister Over Election Fraud-- Airport Siege Ends

With 300,000 tourists stranded in Thailand-- and the economy losing at least $2 billion-- Thailand's Constitutional Court banned Prime ...