Rapid Travel Chai

The Economist’s Christmas Specials all deserve a read, my favorites this year:

• Paraguay’s awful history – The never-ending war
• The Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands -Narrative of an empty space
• China’s motorways –Get your kicks on Route G6
• Matsutaro Shoriki -Japan’s Citizen Kane

China’s copycats are now copying buildings before the originals are even complete, Plagiarism: If you build it, they will come (and copy it). (The Independent)

Lingering in China where massive population leads to unintended consequences, Yellow Is the New Red on China’s Roads. (ABC News)

Saudi Arabia is much more layered than the limitless riches portrayed in the media, Saudi Arabia’s riches conceal a growing problem of poverty (The Guardian) and Will Saudi Arabia Ever Change? (The New York Review of Books). Saudi Arabia is one of my highest travel interests, though I will only go for a meaningful visit that does not break the bank.

Can You Fight Poverty With a Five-Star Hotel? is a damning report on the World Bank. (Foreign Policy)

Guam wants to be swamped by Chinese tourists to complement the Japanese, Guam Lobbies for a Wave of Chinese. (WSJ) Will they out-do the gargantuan Leopalace?

The New York MTA has a partial technological improvement many years behind that of other major cities, Next Stop for New York Subway: An App to Track Trains. (WSJ)