So what will your money get you? “It is not exactly a sun-sea-and-swimming destination,” says Nick Bonner, of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, which has been leading trips for non–U.S. nationals since 1993. Indeed, most of the outfitters are offering a roughly ten-day tour centered in the capital city of Pyongyang. While accompanied by at least two government guides, you’ll visit the daily Arirang (Mass Games), in which a cast of 100,000 dances the history of North Korea’s collective struggle; take in the 65-foot-tall bronze statue of Kim Il Sung (Jong Il’s father); and view the country’s enormous collection of gifts—like the stuffed upright crocodile carrying a cocktail tray, sent by the Sandinistas—at the International Friendship Exhibition. One outfitter, Geographic Expeditions, is offering a chartered flight to 9,022-foot Mount Paektu, but options for thrill seekers are limited. Your best bet: a trip to a Pyongyang barber.

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FLYING WITH A BIKE can be a financially and emotionally fraught experience. According to the Department of Transportation, the top 20 domestic airlines showed a 26 percent jump in reports of mishandled baggage in 2005—10,000 lost or damaged bags a day. But with a little preparation and packing tape, most disasters can be avoided.

bike transport

Almost all airlines insist that checked bikes be in a protective box with the handlebars, pedals, and seat removed and wrapped in padding. Your main priority is to crush-proof the bike and prevent metal-on-metal contact. Per FAA regulations, the tires must also be removed and deflated to prevent any nasty midair blowouts.

Individual airlines offer different deals. Delta (800-221-1212, ) will ship a boxed bike up to 62 inches for free. Go over that and you’ll be charged $100 each way. American (800-433-7300, ) will ship for free if your bike is less than 62 inches and 50 pounds—or it’s $80 each way. United (800-864-8331, ) charges $80 for bikes under 62 inches and 50 pounds; you’ll pay $105 for anything larger. Bikes shipped on Continental (800-523-3273, ) rack up an $80 service charge regardless of size, but two bikes in one box counts as a single item. Southwest (800-435-9792, ) offers the best deal if you’re traveling with an oversize rig: Bikes less than 62 inches and 50 pounds travel free; otherwise it’s just $50 each way.

If you have the time, ship your bike to a shop near your destination, so that it’s ready to roll when you arrive. Shipping ground via UPS and FedEx generally costs between $45 and $70 each way. , a company that specializes in shipping sporting goods, will ground-deliver your bike from Los Angeles to New York for $62—saving you the hassle of airport manhandling.

Breakdown
Want to travel light and still spare your rear the agony of an underpowered folding frame? Enter S and S Machine’s Bicycle Torque Coupling, an ingenious lug system that installs in the top and down tubes, allowing them to separate and make transport a snap. The patented system is lightweight (less than eight ounces), silent, and doesn’t add any extra frame flex. S and S Machine supplies the coupler to more than 100 independent frame builders, who can install it on most models or retrofit the couplers on an existing frame. It’s available in stainless steel, chrome-moly, and titanium. For a complete list of builders, go to .

Hardcore Soft Shell
Plastic bike containers offer ultimate protection but are unwieldy in crowded airports. The polyester Dakine Bike Bag is a softer but no less rugged solution. Built like a rolly bag on steroids, the bag has a stout pullout handle and widely spaced, oversize ball-bearing wheels. The 48-by-14-by-30-inch interior features a removable padded divider to protect your frame from the wheels. Hard plastic lining in the sides, back, and zippered top provides ample protection. Four large, zippered pockets accommodate shoes, pedals, tools, and armor. $300; 541-386-3166, —Andrew Vontz

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Ben Harper / World-Touring Musician »
“Take flights that get to your destination in the late afternoon. You get in, get clean and organized, go out for a brisk walk, get some food, and off to bed. Jet lag conquered.”

Jimmy Chin / Expedition Photographer »
“A couple of days before you leave, start paying attention to the exact time change you’ll be facing. I have a watch with dual time, so that helps. I usually stay up all night packing and then crash on the plane.”

Steve Kerr / NBA Analyst »
“Work out as soon as you get to town. If you break a sweat and get a good stretch, and then a hot shower, you’ll feel much better.”

Ivan Watson / NPR Foreign Correspondent »
“Exercise and coffee. I play soccer in Istanbul and Jerusalem and run in places like Islamabad and Beirut. And I travel with several bags of ground beans.”

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Every once in a while, even the most world-weary veteran traveler will happen upon a place that stands out among the rest. For professional photographer Brian Doben, this place was Bhutan. Doben’s photos accompany ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Senior Editor Stephanie Pearson’s June 2005 ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø feature story “Cosmic Whiplash” about her trip to the Himalayan kingdom this past November.

Bhutan

A costumed monk performs a dance in a Ngalhaklang village courtyard.

For New York-based Doben, who has traveled on assignment to all seven continents and both poles, Bhutan ranks as his absolute favorite destination. “I’m completely enamored with Bhutan,” he says. “I’ve traveled all over the world and I’ve never felt so connected to a place.”

The dramatic landscape coupled with the vibrant, refreshingly traditional culture of the tiny kingdom helped make Doben’s photographic storytelling feel effortless.

In a country that prides itself on preserving its spectacular natural resources and gauges its prosperity on “gross national happiness,” Doben found the residents to be remarkably engaging and cheerful subjects: “The Bhutanese love to be photographed. They’re very happy-go-lucky and very much of a pure heart.”

Doben singles out one photo in particular as illustrative of this innocent, joyful characteristic. “The shot of the children running around the bend towards the camera (on page 112 of the June issue) was one of those moments when I knew this was a country I had to return to. These children walk for hours to and from school every day, but even on their way home they had such a sense of excitement. It seemed very pure and innocent.”

The brilliant colors seen everywhere, from the lush, mountainous landscape to the effervescent shades of the kira and gho, the kimono-like garments traditionally worn by males and females, made Bhutan an inviting feast for his camera lens. The vivid images, combined with the unusually excellent light quality, made the colors really pop.

Though based out of New York, Doben travels extensively for a good part of the year, shooting for clients from Vanity Fair to Butterfield & Robinson. After a few weeks at his home in the New York suburb of Mahopec, where he lives with his wife, Doben is off to Europe for all of June and then on to China in August 2006. However, he hopes to return to Bhutan at the soonest possible opportunity. “I haven’t seen everything, but I’ve never been to a place where I’ve felt so spiritually at home,” says Doben. “I plan on going back very soon…like every place in the world, things get tainted. Before you know it, there will be a Starbucks! Hopefully the terrain and the people are going to prevent it from becoming too Westernized too quickly, but sooner or later things change. It’s like evolution.”

For more on professional photographer Brian Doben, visit his Web site at .

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