Books: The Naked Tourist By Lawrence Osborne

(Drivebycuriosity) - Lawrence Osborne belongs to the rising stars of the British literature scene ("The Guardian" sees him as a successor to Graham Greene theguardian). At the begin of his career he earned his living as a travel journalist and shortly after the year 2005 he traveled to Papua New Guinea. The book "The Naked Tourist: In Search of Adventure and Beauty in the Age of the Airport Mall " is his chronicle (amazon ).

He starts with an essay about history & nature of tourism and reports the very different stages of his journey into the wilderness. Coming from New York, going to the east, his first stop was Dubai, "the ultimate tourist city",  where he witnessed the huge constructions of today´s architectural wonders, like the world’s tallest tower, the Burj; the world’s largest shopping mall, the Emirates Mall; and the world’s largest theme park, Dubailand. After months of "claustrophobic confinement in New York, a moralistic and corporate city", he experienced "a whiff of the Mad Hatter".  

 

The second stop on Osborne`s journey to the east was Calcutta. “Early in the morning, the city looks like an equatorial Saint Louis of the last century”. Then followed a side trip to the Andaman Islands, Indian territories close to Myanmar (Burma), where he suffered a stay in an unpleasant accommodation, that lead to this funny dialogue:

“Ah, towel we are not having, sir.” “Sheets?” The heads jiggled. “Sheets we are not having, sir.” “Where are the sheets?” “Sheets locked up in kitchen, sir.” “Well, unlock the kitchen.” Heads jiggling. “Not having key, sir.” “Well, get the bloody key, then.” “Cook is having key, sir.” “And where is the cook?” “Cook in Rangat, sir.”  

His resume:"Government hotels in India are not really hotels; they are casual employment outlets for young men on permanent vacation". But it seemed he got compensated by the exotic environment: "A blood moon emerged through tamarinds; the gurjuns creaked like a ship’s rigging".

 

                       Medical Stopover 

The next stop was  Bangkok, planned "as a medical stopover as much as anything, a place to avail myself of cheap malaria medications, some dental work, and perhaps some other more esoteric preparations for mind and soul before the far more radical leap into Papua". He stayed at the Mandarin Oriental, Thailand’s most august hotel, "the apex of the nation’s tourist sector, the nub of it all". 

The Oriental cultivates a very deliberate literary air, with all the trappings and decors of literariness: cane chairs, potted palms, high tea, a library of snoozy clocks and glass book cabinets. The library walls are crammed with portraits of the usual suspects. Evelyn Waugh, Pierre Loti, Somerset.The stay inspired him to an essay on the global history of grand hotels.

Osborne calls Thailand an astonishingly successful “country brand” that sells itself as such and remarks that there is no society on earth more tolerant of the sexual drive than Thailand, but his focus was on the country`s medical industry. He came across an incredible hospital called Bumrungrad. It’s the biggest private hospital in Southeast Asia, servicing nearly a million patients a year from 140 countries, 300,000 of them foreigners. The Bumrungrad is a medical supermarket. Hundreds of treatments are gathered under one roof, along with restaurants, shops, galleries, and fringe clinics offering variations on the hospital’s scientific treatments, a large part of which are cosmetic. The Cosmetic Surgery unit is one of the busiest in the world, famous for its sex-change operations and discount liposuctions. The hospital offers accommodation just like a hotel, including a Royal Suite and room service. It would probably be a wonderful place to die.
 

Osborne`s next step was Hua Hin, around 4 car hours south of Bangkok, where he stayed in an ambitious spa, that inspired him to an essay on the global spa industry. His documentation about his spa experience reads like a farce. There was Chelation Therapy, an herbal sauna and ozone bath called G2B Steam, Lymphatic Activating, Ultrasound-Herbal Oil Massage, colon cleansing, acupressure, and a “foot spa.” There was a one-day cleansing spa with colonic irrigation, which might well be the best option for the following day. 

Osborne´s journey leads him further east to Bali, an Hindu island as part of Muslim Indonesia, where he prepared for his final destiny of this trip, using the occasion to some musings about the political history of the island and her endangered culture.

 

                         Ultimate destination 

Finally he reached Papua, also belonging to Indonesia. The island has become the ultimate destination for a new breed of traveler, what could be called the “anthropological tourist.” Anthropological tourists are a sophisticated variant of the ecotourist. They are not anthropologists by any means, but they share the anthropologist’s ethos: subtle, invisible contact with fragile and remote peoples, extreme sensitivity, a light touch.

Osborne`s Papua diary is of course the highlight of the book - exotic and sometimes surreal and hilarious. His portrayal of the landscapes invites to go there: "This forest was dense: quick-stick thickets with gray-green bark, yemane trees, and wet leech limes. Gum trees soared up to its canopy, merging into eaglewoods—an exotic tree that in recent years has become a source of income to tribes in the interior of Papua".  

His account of the forest people who have been stagating in a kind of stone age not so much. Apparently the folks in the jungle, black Africans, who had migrated across Asia seventy thousand years ago,  missed the evolution of humankind, even more than those that stayed home in Africa.

The under-development is not surprising. The surrounding jungle gives them anything they need food, building materials, cloths. And here are no huge predators who would challenge them. No need to advance and to develop.

The people Osborne met deep in the rain forest still believe in witches and some claim that they had killed and eaten witches. Otherwise they live from tree fruits and mice hinds - and living maggots are supposed to be delicacies. Some of them live in hard to reach tree houses, not happy to see strangers. 

Osborn took a lot afford to reach and to befriend these folks, who have the reputation to be violent and despise foreigners. But he could socialize with those rough people - kind of -,  and share their very organic diet (even though he claims not having eaten witches). When he came home he had lost 20 pound.

"A journey is never a simple thing. The hitches and the boredom, the missed connections and the empty hours are the price that must be paid for leaving one’s real life and entering an unreal one". 

The naked tourist" is not just a travel report, it is a piece of literature, apparently inspired by Margaret Mead, who had traveled Papua in the 1930, Graham Green and other authors. The book is very entertaining and amusing and reads almost like fiction - which it might party be. Highly recommended - not just for connoisseurs of the exotic wilderness.

Science Fiction: Alien Clay By Adrian Tchaikovsky

 

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Adrian Tchaikovsky belongs to the rising stars on the contemporary science fiction firmament. I enjoyed his novels "Shroud" (my review  ) and "Children of Time"  (review ). But I got mixed impressions with his book "Alien Clay" ( amazon.)

The plot is told in first person, by a scientist who fell in disgrace with a totalitarian government and was sent to a penal colony on an exoplanet. There are 2 story lines, almost 2 separate books: The confrontation of the humans with the alien environment and the human interactions on the planet (this is a spoiler free blog).

The descriptions - and the explanation - of the alien environment is a master piece. Tchaikovsky`s planet  planet is full of exotic life, populated with bizarre complex organism, that seem to be highly toxic for humans. Event though the descriptions sound fantastical, they are based on our knowledge about evolution, chemistry and biology. But unfortunately to end the plot becomes mystical and kind of religious. Stanilaw Lem`s "Solaris" is much better and more convincing.

The other book, the human interaction, is ultra violent and military, tending to madness and - unfortunately - turns somewhat into a political manifest. 

I like Tchaikovsky`s "Shroud" much better (my review  ).

   

Books: American Rascal: How Jay Gould Built Wall Street's Biggest Fortune

 

 (Drivebycuriosity) - America`s rise as a super power  was made possible by the construction of the railways, that tie the continent spanning country together. Jay Gould, an investor & speculator, played a defining role in the evolution of America`s railway networks.

Georg Steinmetz`s biography "American Rascal: How Jay Gould Built Wall Street's Biggest Fortune" displays not only the life of Gould, he also delivers a fascinating story of the "Wild West" of Wall Street and the role of "unfettered capitalists" in America`s economic rise  ( amazon)

Steinmetz portraits Gould as a kind of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and describes him as a ruthless manipulator but also as an extraordinary problem solver, an unparalleled negotiator, an expert communicator, a lightning-fast thinker, and a masterful tactician with a staggering memory. 

Gould amassed a huge fortune on Wall Street by manipulating stock prices, but through his work with railroads he helped to build the country. Railroads changed America in the nineteenth century much as automobiles changed the country in the twentieth century and the internet has changed the twenty-first century. 

Gould became immensely rich by manipulating the market, but he reinvested his profits in a way that created more jobs and economic growth. America would have developed without Gould, only not as fast or efficiently.

Gould’s aggressive railway investments lowered freight rates. His success as a railroad investor attracted speculative capital into a vital industry when other sources fled the field. 

Gould took advantage that there way too many railways. They were too small and too inefficient, their meager revenues did not cover their costs, they had too high debs. By buying some and closing others, Gould inaugurated the inevitable process of industry consolidation.

Steinmetz`s Gould biography is also an introduction how markets are getting played. He was one of the ubiquitous short sellers who borrow stocks or other assets and sell them immediately. They expect that they are able to buy these assets back for a much lower price, what would create a huge profit. But short selling is very risky. If the price of the shorted asset goes up, the short seller may be forced to buy it back for a much higher price, causing high losses and even bankruptcy.

Often short sellers manipulate stock prices. For instance Gould shorted stocks of a railway, named Central, that belonged to his competitor Vanderbilt. Then, through his brokers, he spread the rumor that Vanderbilt was dead and claimed that a train that a train with Vanderbilt on board had derailed and the Commodore was a casualty. The rumor sent Central stocks south and Gould could buy them back for a fraction of what had he paid.

Sometimes Gould took also the opposite side and used his huge wealth to create a corner. When he knew that  rivals had shorted a stock and were in urgent need to buy this stock back, Gould purchased all available stocks, driving their price up. The short sellers were forced to buy from him very expensively to avoid bankruptcy.

But there were other ruthless manipulators. One of them was Daniel Drew, who`s specialty was the bear raid. "He’d sell a company’s stock short, spread lies about the company’s supposedly wretched condition, and close the position at a profit after the stock crashed on rumors of collapse. His talent was stirring up fright. He commemorated this by naming his favorite horse Panic".

  

Steinmetz`s biography is entertaining and a good introduction into America`s economic rise and the secreds of stock market manipulation

 

P.S.  Jay Gould is long dead. Unfortunately short sellers are still in fashion and are spreading their poison (The Case Against Short Sellers  drivebycuriosity ). In 2008 short sellers amplified the crisis. After the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, which brought huge gains for short sellers, groups of short sellers tried to repeat their success. They attacked everyone who seemed vulnerable, especially the banks, by massive selling and spreading gloomy rumors.  Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, member of Federal Reserve, described these groups as " big money" that "does organize itself somewhat like feral hogs. If they detect a weakness or a bad scent, they go after it" ( marketwatch).

Late 2008 the massive bets against banks and many other companies - supported by spreading gloomy rumors all over the media - destroyed not only the trust into the attacked firms, the negative bets destroyed the trust into the whole economy. At least one of the short sellers is still celebrated by Hollywood & the media: The Big Short. The evil never dies.

 

 

Economics: Making Sense Of The Interest Rate Surge

 (Drivebycuriosity) -  The American interest rates are on a tear. Yesterday the yield of 10-year US treasuries jumped to 5.1% - a 19 years high ( cnbc). The media refers to inflation and the politics of the Federal Reserve. That does not make sense. Inflation & Federal Reserve decisions may influence the interest rates of the coming months, but over 10 years?

I believe that the market anticipates an economic boom created by the high corporation investments into AI. “The buildout of AI factories — the largest infrastructure expansion in human history — is accelerating at extraordinary speed" observes Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (nvidianews ).

AI is rapidly expanding into robotics, self-driving cars and myriads other applications and will hike the productivity of the economy in the coming 10 years significantly. The rising productivity will hike company profits and accelerate economic growth substantially. Rising profits and faster economic growth will make consumers & CEOs more optimistic and inspire them to take more loans and the growing profits will justify higher interest rates. 

Fasten seatbelts! 

Economics: See How Stupid The Federal Reserve Is

(Drivebycuriosity) - It turns out that Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh and his comrades from the Fed Board are quite stupid. Yesterday they hiked their interest rate in order to fight the sticky inflation. Warsh complained: "This summer’s inflation readings do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved” (cnbc )

The sticky inflation is the result of the oil price rise in the recent 12 months caused by the Iran war. Will the rate hike create more oil? Nope. Will it stop the war? Nope. The Fed cannot turn the time back, neither do they have an influence on geopolitics and the market price of oil. These are force majeure.

The so-called “core” inflation (excluding food & energy)  dropped already to 2.4% y/y, a five-year low ( fisherinvestments). The difference to the measured inflation rate is caused by the past - the oil price gain of about 60% y-o-y.   

If the oil price stays on today´s level, then in the coming months the y-o-y price gain will go to zero - that is pure mathematics (calculus). In this case the measured inflation rate will move lower, approaching the core inflation. Only when the oil price keeps climbing - fueled by an ongoing Iran war - then the inflation will stay elevated - or even goes higher.

Apparently Warsh & Co. don`t understand simple mathematics. Yesterday`s interest rate hike gave a wrong signal, showing that the Fed is hawkish. They created another headwind for the economy, in addition to Iran war, expensive oil, trade war, AI anxiety, anti-data-center mood and a general pessimism.  

 

Science Fiction: Bios By Robert Charles Wilson

  (Drivebycuriosity) - Maybe in a far future humans will explore planets that are light years away. The science fiction novel "Bios" by Robert Charles Wilson narrates such an exploration ( amazon). Humans try to exploid an extra-planet and are confronted with a very different fauna & flora. Soon the plot turns into a nail-biting action thriller and then into horror (this is a spoiler free blog). 

The name tells it already, the plot is based on biochemistry, but also on evolution & quantum physics. Wilson has the gift to turn science into exciting stories. He describes and explains how intelligent life developed under conditions that are different from earth. Because of the far harsher environments cells, the bricks of organic life, are much better defended, more efficient, far more complex. They synthesize a staggering array of organic chemicals and are highly dangerous for humans, who´s immunity systems are not prepared for the alien environment. 

"Bios" is also spiced with some romantics and has even some explicit sex, very different from the usually  timid scifi genre that often caters young adults.  Reading "Bios" was not only a pleasure, it refreshed my knowledge and I learned a lot new things. 

"Bios" is on the same level like Tchaikovsky`s "Shroud" or Stanislaw Lem´s classic "Solaris".  A must read for any scifi connoisseur.

Books: The Unforsaken Hiero

 (Drivebycuriosity) - The 1970s were the time of the cold war and everyone was afraid of a possible devastating nuclear conflict between the West and the Soviet Union. A good climate for books about post-apocalyptic worlds.

Sterling E. Lanier`s fantasy novel "Hiero`s Journey", published in 1973, belongs to best post-apocalytic scenarios (my. review). The plot is set about 5,000 years after the disaster. The nuclear strikes had changed the genes of everything living - and created new and bizarre life forms. The plot follows a military priest who is fighting against powerful evil forces, with the help of exotic mutants and his own enhanced psychic capabilities (this is a spoiler-free blog). Much fun to read.  

Unfortunately the follow-up "The Unforsaken Hiero" disappoints ( amazon). Some of the fascinating companions of the first book are missing in the begin of the novel and the new challenges and life forms the protagonists meets instead are less interesting. Parts of "The Unforsaken Hiero" remind of Brother Grimm`s fairy tales, but not in a good way.

I still recommend Vol. 1 for fans of well written post-apocalyptic fantasies.