Some of the travel world's harshest criticism is reserved for those who impose the norms and expectations of one place onto another. It can be as simple as dressing a certain way, demanding speedy service, or expecting a certain language. It can be as heavy as trying to impose a style of government, farming or...

Got a craving for Carnival? If you can’t get to Rio, don’t just give up and stay home. There are plenty of places in Mexico and the Caribbean, from Mazatlan to Dominica, to celebrate the annual bacchanal. And there’s still time to get there! The Mazatlan Carnival lasts six days (in 2010, it’s from Feb....

In the days leading up to Mardi Gras a couple weeks ago, I fielded some strange questions from camera-clutching visitors to the city of New Orleans, where I've lived off and on the for past year-and-a-half. Though the post-Katrina streets of the French Quarter had grown encouragingly festive and rowdy in anticipation of Fat Tuesday,...