This month, Big in Japan is on vacation in Africa, and will be bringing you travel news and happenings from around this often misunderstood continent.

For a good number of tourists in Africa, the Kenyan capital of Nairobi is their first port of call. While this rough and ready city isn't the gentlest introduction to the continent, it's a good jumping off point for some of the best game parks in East Africa.

(For tips on what to do in Nairobi other than getting mugged, click here to stay safe!)

Kenya, Tanzania and to a lesser extent Uganda are home to a stunning range of national parks and game reserves that pretty much epitomize the safari experience. Whether you go all out on tented lodges, khaki safari gear and gin & tonics, or rough it with pitch tents, backpacker rags and cold beers, don't miss out on East Africa's game parks.

Need some help deciding where to go? Today's posting should help you get started.

"All news out of Africa is bad," says Paul Theroux in the opening of his 2003 book Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town, and while it's just the first sentence in a sweeping narrative that encounters misery and hope in equal measure, he has a point.

It is still difficult for Africa to elbow its way into the world's headlines without dragging some kind of disaster story along with it: Famine, AIDS, political violence, civil war.

It is always nice to encounter writing -- book length or journalism -- that finds other things to say about the Greenest Continent, writing that at the very least attempts to go beyond a fatalistic approach to Africa so often driven by major media outfits and pack journalism. Writing, in other words, that searches for, and ultimately finds, some context.

Theroux's book is one example, and the travel books of Jeffrey Tayler are another. The subtle novels of Alexander McCall Smith come to mind.

African narratives in daily journalism are harder to find, put they are out there (one that immediately springs to mind is Boston Globe travel writer Tom Haines' brilliant dispatch from Sudan a few years back).

The work of author and adventurer Jon Bowermaster, a frequent contributor to National Geographic and National Geographic Adventure, is a part of this second group.

Bowermaster is currently writing a series of dispatches as he makes his way along the coast of Northwest Africa.

I like them because they read like vignettes, each one a picture with a few characters at their center: Shopkeepers in Casablanca, fisherman in Dakar. And he's touching on issues that do not usually make it to newspaper front pages: Overfishing in Senegal, the region's desertification, the questionable legacy of Thor Heyerdahl in the Canary Islands.

In many of these dispatches you will hear the voices of Africans, a nice reminder that this troubled continent still has a lot to say.

Give them a read.

This month, Big in Japan is on vacation in Africa, and will be bringing you travel news and happenings from around this often misunderstood continent.

Nairobi, the less than gentle capital of Kenya, serves as the jumping off point for East Africa's most storied game parks. Indeed, 'Nai-robbery' is home to extraordinary extremes in wealth and poverty, which sadly fuels a staggering amount of street crime.

Despite its infamous reputation however, Nairobi is a wonderfully dynamic and culturally rich city. The outskirts of the Kenyan capital also present numerous opportunities to interact with Africa's charismatic wildlife.

As with major cities the world over, it pays to exercise caution while in Nairobi, though you needn't be paralyzed with fear while passing time here. Indeed, all it takes is a little common sense and an awareness of your surroundings to minimize your chances of becoming a victim.

And, assuming you can get over a somewhat healthy preoccupation with your personal security, you can actually really enjoy yourself in Nairobi.

This month, Big in Japan is on vacation in Africa, and will be bringing you travel news and happenings from around this often misunderstood continent.

Africa abounds with unparalleled wildlife experiences, though few can compare with the experience of staring down a mountain gorilla, especially if it happens to be a male silverback. While these gentle giants have been habituated to human visitors, they are nevertheless a formidable sight in the wild.

Mountain gorillas are largely confined to three national parks spanning three countries: Parq National des Volcans in Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda and Parq National des Virungas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

However, before you can have a true 'Gorillas in the Mist' experience, you're going to need to jump through all sorts of administrative hurdles, and obtain the necessary tracking permits. While this isn't exactly the most straightforward process, today's post should hopefully help you get started.

See that guy over there, the one wearing a business suit lying on the floor inside an orange tent at the airport? The first time I saw that picture on The New York Times website, I laughed, and then I thought to myself, genius, absolute genius. The Mini Motel, a one-person tent complete with air mattress, pillow, reading light and alarm clock, that's what Frank Giotto, a business traveler, created after an unscheduled stay at a German airport.

There's one problem with the luxury tent, and it's a pretty big problem. Simply put, it's a tent. Personally, I can't see too many passengers interested in buying a tent. I mean who in their right mind wants to lug that thing on the airplane - just in case there's a delay, or cancellation, or something that would cause one to set up tent? Nor do I see the airlines purchasing it. Not when they're getting rid of things - namely employees - in order to save money. So who do I see desperate to get their hands on a luxury tent aimed at stranded people at the airport? Flight attendants of course!

According to Wikipedia, Commuting is the process of traveling between one's place of residence and regular place of work. For most people, normal people, commuting means getting in the car or hopping on a train and taking an hour long ride to the city where the office is located. Commuting for a flight attendant is a whole other animal. We cross cities, as in several cities, in order to get to work. Yet it's what a lot of flight attendants choose to do, particularly the ones based in New York - like me! Yes, I am a commuter. I commute from my home in Los Angeles to New York where I start my trips at one of two New York airports. I know I know, it's a little crazy, but it works.

This month, Big in Japan is on vacation in Africa, and will be bringing you travel news and happenings from around this often misunderstood continent.

Although Africa is usually viewed in the West as a singular entity, the continent is incredibly varied. From the Saharan desert and the Sahel to equatorial rainforests and acacia-lined plains, Africa offers up an impressive amount of biodiversity.

While most first-timers on the continent choose to safari in classic destinations such as Kenya and South Africa, there is one tiny country that is turning heads in ecotourism circles. Bordering Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda is emerging as one of the continent's top attractions.

Whether you trek along the Congolese border in search of rare mountain gorillas, or unwind with a passion fruit cocktail on the sandy shores of Lake Kivu, Rwanda is a remarkable tourist destination that deserves its share of the spotlight.

This month, Big in Japan is on vacation in East Africa, and will be bringing you travel news and happenings from around this often misunderstood continent.

African wildlife is awesome.
Here are 20 reasons why:

A single bite from a black mamba, the largest venomous snake on the African continent, has enough toxicity to kill twenty to forty fully-grown men.

A cheetah in pursuit of its prey can reach speeds of nearly 70 miles per hour, and can leap distances of more than 20 feet.

Impalas on the run however can leap 10 feet into the air, and cover distances of 35 feet in a single bound.

Female hyenas boast elongated clitorises that can reach lengths of nearly eight inches - these appendages even have foreskins and scrotum-like fibrous tissue.

Male vervet monkeys develop a turquoise scrotum and scarlet penis once they hit puberty - the brighter the better, at least in the eyes of prospective mates.

Flamingo tongues were considered to be a prized delicacy amongst elite gourmands and nobility in ancient Rome.

Keep reading as this list goes on...

This month, Big in Japan is on vacation in Africa, and will be bringing you travel news and happenings from around this often misunderstood continent.

There are few words in the English language more exotic and scintillating than safari, a Swahili derived word that literally means journey. For most travelers in Africa, going on safari is pretty much at the top of the to-do list, though it's not too hard to see why. Coming face to face with charismatic critters straight out of National Geographic is a truly kick-ass experience.

Of course, no two safaris are created equal, especially since there are a few potential pit falls that need to be avoided. However, with a little advance planning and a good sense of what you want to get out of your safari, it's pretty easy to ensure that you'll have a memorable journey.

On that note, today's posting is a quick and dirty guide for going on safari...

This month, Big in Japan is on vacation in Africa, and will be bringing you travel news and happenings from around this often misunderstood continent.

Few travel destinations in the world inspire terror in nervous mothers quite like Africa...

(Don't worry Mom - I'm staying safe and wearing clean underwear!)

With that said, it's foolish to make generalizations about the so-called 'Dark Continent' as Africa is home to no less than 53 countries, each offering an incredible spectrum of travel experiences.

So, if you're looking to get your kicks from some uniquely African adventures, then today's edition of Big in Africa is just for you.

15) Come face to face with endangered mountain gorillas (while avoiding guerillas) in the tropical forests of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

14) Look safari chic in your khakiest khaki gear and your floppiest floppy hot while spotting the Big 5 mammals, namely lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and black rhinos

13) Smoke some seriously kind ganja while rocking out to Bob Marley with scores and scores of misplaced Rastafarians on the shores of Lake Malawi

Keep reading as the list goes on...

Back in April, Catherine posted about Denmark being ranked the world's happiest country by the University of Leicester in England, which published its so-called Map of World Happiness.

Well, just in case you doubted that institution's findings, another study, this one released last week by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, has also ranked Danes No. 1 in terms of happiness and life satisfaction.

The Michigan study's overall conclusion: Happiness is on the rise worldwide.

It's perhaps no surprise that Denmark tops the list, since it is a perennial favorite in any survey of this ilk. There is just something about life in that Scandinavian country that is apparently better than anywhere else. But a few other countries in the top 10 do surprise...at least me: Puerto Rico. Colombia. Northern Ireland.

The 10 happiest countries in the world:

1. Denmark
2. Puerto Rico
3. Colombia
4. Iceland
5. N. Ireland
6. Ireland
7. Switzerland
8. Netherlands
9. Canada
10. Austria

The U.S. comes in 16th on the list, not too shabby given the sad recent years we've lived through.

This is the 26th edition of the U of M study, which annually surveys around 350,000 people worldwide, asking them, well, just how happy they feel.

The 10 unhappiest countries in the world:

1. Zimbabwe
2. Armenia
3. Moldova
4. Belarus
5. Ukraine
6. Albania
7. Iraq
8. Bulgaria
9. Georgia
10. Russia

Not many surprises there.

Check out the complete U of M rankings here.