Scientology is making more moves in South Africa. The Church recently bought a 64,000-squre-foot castle, named Kyalami, in Johannesburg just outside the city's limits. The former hotel and banquet hall "marks the 66th building the Church has purchased internationally in the past five years." "This is a dream finally come true," said a Church spokesperson with regard to African Scientologists. At the end of last year, Scientology was awarded tax-exempt status in South Africa. [Radar]

Cancún for Anti-Tourists
– “36 Hours: Cancún” (NYT)

India
– “Surfacing: Hyderabad, India” (NYT)

Kabul
– “The Mysteries of Kabul” (NYT)

Nepal
– “Nepal at peace” (LA Times)

Northwest Skiing
– “A whimsical, wintry world apart” (Houston Chronicle)

Sardinia
– “Italian dining and decadence in Sardinia” (Times of London)

Scotland
– “A wee dram on a Scottish whisky trail” (Times of London)

Bargain Shanghai
– “In Shanghai, Balancing the Past, the Future and a Budget” (NYT)

South Carolina Kayaking
– “ Heaven and High Water in South Carolina’s New Wilderness” (NYT)

Now that even adventurous, independent travel is a proper industry, it sometimes feels like there’s little in the world that hasn’t been done before, whole trips predigested as a list of “destinations” before you even set out. That is, until you meet someone who has tossed out any idea of the “right” way to travel, and gone to a different part of the world to work, or just to roll around and see what happens. “Where Have You Been?” is a monthly NYC event for travelers with a different slant on the business of going elsewhere, and a good story to back it up. Every edition features one adventure story, one activism story, and one wild-card entry – told by the travelers, and accompanied by photos or video. Jeff Stark presides; he’s the man behind the Nonsense NYC list of “independent art, weird events, strange happenings, and senseless culture.” I hit up Wednesday night’s event at Bluestockings bookstore on the Lower East Side, which was packed to the door with the biggest crowd Stark says they’ve had yet. Traveling as part of a spectacle, instead of as an “invisible” pseudo-anthropologist, was the unofficial theme of the night: First up, members of NYC’s Black Label Bike Club told stories from a two-month tour they took on tall bikes through rural Thailand, without a plan, or even a good map. Try blending in when you’re riding one of these. Selena McMahan of Clowns without Borders was next, and shared some of her experiences performing for children in impoverished areas of South Africa hard-hit by the AIDS crisis. You can find out about the organization here, or check out Selena’s blog here. Stark closed the night with a hilarious story about an art piece gone, horribly, horribly wrong at Robodock, a festival that’s Europe’s answer to Burning Man. Next month’s installment sounds very promising, with potential tales including a visit to communities living in the shadow of Manila’s trash dumps, and a brush with death-by-wild-boar in France. Just make sure to get there early.

(Image via Selena McMahan’s’s photobucket)

Nobody brings the world together like muppets. The new season of the PBS series Independent Lens debuts this week with the documentary The World According to Sesame Street, a look at how the TV show for kids has become a global phenomenon. Los Angeles Times critic Robert Lloyd writes in a stellar review: “It runs in more than 120 countries, mostly in dubbed versions of the original, but in more and more places — beginning as far back as 1972, after an inquiry from Germany — it is being produced locally, retooled for the native audience, with new characters and settings reflecting native culture and concerns.” The documentary focuses on productions of “Sesame Street” in three countries: Bangladesh, Kosovo and South Africa. 

For your pre-weekend entertainment: ostrich riding and racing in Oudtshoorn, South Africa, ostrich capital of the world, courtesy of globe-trotting vlogger Mike Pugh over at Vagabonding.