Compelling Prose on Wanderlust

When Don George signed on as editor of GNN’s Internet-based food and travel publications, he barely knew a newsgroup from a newsroom. “I was not cutting edge,” admits George, a former travel editor at the San Francisco Examiner. “The learning curve was really huge.”

Two years and the demise of GNN later, George is more computer literate. But as tour leader of a new e-zine called Wanderlust (https://www.salonmagazine.com/wanderlust/), he’s relying more on vivid, passionate prose that captures and celebrates a sense of place than technical wizardry. “A computer screen isn’t a very friendly medium, but if the writing is compelling enough, people will keep at it,” argues George, who launched his weekly electronic dispatches with a low-tech invitation to “pull up a chair [and] pour yourself a cup of tea or glass of wine.”

That approach seems to have worked for Wanderlust’s parent, Salon. Founded in 1995 by several of George’s former colleagues at the Examiner, the free, Web-based magazine of books, arts and ideas was named Time magazine’s “Best Web Site of 1996” and has registered about 400,000 subscribers. Wanderlust encompasses both original material and excerpts from soon-to-be-published travel books, showcased in Salon’s sparsely elegant design. “A Year in Provence” author Peter Mayle supplied a breezy essay on the surprises awaiting unwary visitors to southern France (including weather that is “the meteorological equivalent of a meal consisting of curry and ice cream”), while contributing editor Pico Iyer rhapsodized about his “Best Holiday Experience.” (“I remember the strange tropical smells in the old Don Muang Airport in Bangkok then, and the men who greeted me with pictures of half-clad women, as soon as I walked out into the sultry late afternoon.”)

Wanderlust provides minimal consumer advice and relatively few links to other travel Web sites. But it encourages reader tales and tips through its Table Talk forums, which range from “God’s Country . . . Where Is It?” to “That Place I Hate.” Early response has been gratifying. A week after George floated a plea for “the best little noodle house in Nara [Japan],” reader Ian Perlman shot back: “It’s in the covered shopping street near the Kintetsu station, just down the hill from the Kofukuji temple. Soba and udon noodles, plain and simple.”

“As for Polynesian paradises,” Perlman continued, “I know a few in Micronesia, but I’ll be damned if I tell you.”

Small bytes: Footloose travelers looking for last-minute weekend bargains no longer need to comb through a series of Web sites or e-mail lists, thanks to InsideFlyer’s terrific new “deal watch” (https://www.insideflyer.com/@deal/@deal.htm). Each week, frequent-flier guru Randy Petersen and his staff compile hundreds of travel specials good for that weekend only. Discounted international air fares are generally posted on Mondays; domestic air fares, hotels and car rentals show up on Wednesdays. The site’s user-friendly search feature helps you find applicable deals by clicking on the first letter of the city you want to fly from, and InsideFlyer even lists weekend offers that use miles instead of money. . . . If you’ve got both time and money but want to save some of the latter, check out David Anderson Safaris’ online auction (https://www.onsafari.com). Through April 28, the Santa Barbara-based travel company is auctioning 10 African safaris to the highest bidder, with prices expected to be as low as 50% off the retail cost (about $800 to $16,000 per person). . . . Servas (https://www.servas.org), a nonprofit organization that promotes peace and intercultural understanding through people-to-people exchanges in more than 100 countries, lets would-be hosts and travelers request applications online.

Bly welcomes reader comments; her e-mail address is Laura.Bly@latimes.com. Electronic Explorer appears monthly.