Welcome to the thirteenth edition of VoiceMap’s newsletter, Senses of Direction, where we share stories from around the world that spark curiosity and stimulate your senses.
Today we remember Anthony Bourdain – the inimitable travel icon who was born and also died in the month of June – as well as ‘The Mayor of Castro Street,’ who would begin speeches with “I’m Harvey Milk, and I’m here to recruit you!”
Finally, there’s a story about a Brit who’s been making his way home on foot to Hull for 27 years, via hair-raising routes including the Bering Strait.
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For your sense of the inimitable | There will never be another Anthony Bourdain
Renegade chef, author, and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain was born – and also died – in the month of June. Seven years after the American celebrity’s death by suicide, people continue to pay homage to the cafés, restaurants and bars around the world that he visited, even mapping their locations online so that other fans can follow suit.
Something about the man and the way he travelled left a hole in the hearts of everyone from armchair travellers to world leaders like former President Obama – who famously joined Bourdain on camera for bún chả noodles in a typical hole-in-the-wall in Hanoi. But it isn’t always easy to put your finger on what that ‘something’ is.
This video, There Will Never Be Another Anthony Bourdain, comes close. Expect a combination of insightful commentary about a man “baring both his ideals and his trauma for the world to see,” and unfiltered remarks from the public figure about how much he detested “competent ‘workmanlike’ storytelling,” and would rather make “unsuccessful TV.”
There are some quintessentially Bourdain moments, too – like the scene where, perched on a tiny plastic stool on a traffic-choked Southeast Asian street corner, he describes his humble meal as “the path to true happiness and wisdom.”
Bourdain was sarcastic and abrasively blunt but generous of heart, and he approached the world with empathy, enthusiasm and, above all, curiosity. Some of his advice was simple but timeless: “Be open to experience, be willing to try new things, don’t be afraid to wander…. If you don’t risk the bad meal you’ll never get the magical one.”
🔗 Watch the video here and, if you’re in the mood for some bite-sized wisdom, you’ll find 47 Bourdain quotes to “inspire you to travel more, eat better, and enjoy life” here. For foodies, here’s a selection of his “favourite dishes of all time” (and where to find them), and an interactive world map where you’ll find addresses for all the venues featured in his television shows.
For your sense of pride | Harvey Milk, the ‘Mayor of Castro Street’
A couple of weeks ago, at the beginning of Pride Month, the Trump administration ordered the renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk.
Harvey Milk was a gay rights activist who served for four years in the Navy before being forced to resign from his post in 1955 because of his sexual orientation. He was the third openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States – and the first in California – and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s VoiceMap tour of the city’s “preeminent gayborhood” puts a spotlight on Castro Camera, which was more than “just a place to get your film developed”. Opened by Milk in 1972, the store became a center for activism and the headquarters for Harvey’s political campaigns, before his assassination in November 1978. “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet shatter every closet door,” Milk said in an audio message accompanying his will.
“It was a prophetic statement, and one filled with hope amid the darkness. Hope was an important theme for Harvey. In another well-known quote he addresses it directly. ‘You have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great.’ On its best days, that’s what the Castro is.”
🔗 Listen to the story about Castro Camera and Harvey Milk’s legacy here, or browse the whole tour here. For another landmark at the centre of the gay rights movement, visit New York’s legendary Stonewall Inn – “like all gay bars in the city, run by the mob” – on TellBetter’s Greenwich Village VoiceMap tour. It recreates the night when the Stonewall Rebellion Riots of 1969 broke out. One year later, on its anniversary, the first Gay Pride Parade took place. Listen here.
For your sense of adventure | A 27-year-long walk around the world
Karl Bushy is another globetrotter who’s gaining fame for his own unique approach to travel. A former paratrooper in the British army, in November 1998 he set off to walk across the world without using transport of any kind. Now, 27 years later, having reached Europe, he’s preparing for the final leg, from Turkey to his home in Yorkshire, England.
Bushy’s journey has not been without its challenges, of course. He expected the 58,000km (36,000-mile) ‘Goliath Expedition’ to take approximately eight years, but hurdles like wars, financial crises, pandemics and difficulty getting visas – which led to his detention in Russia – have slowed his progress.
🔗 Watch this short video, which maps out Bushby’s route from Chile and through treacherous segments including the Bering Strait and a 179-mile swim across the Caspian Sea here. In this in-depth interview with the adventurer you can hear about his motivations and the endurance required for such an undertaking, or read this short article about the Yorkshireman’s final leg of the world’s longest walk.
Until next time, thanks for travelling with us!
Best Wishes,
Claire
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