December's when everyone pretends to follow the rules.
Show up to the office (maybe). Stick to tourist hotspots (or don't). Study what you're supposed to study (unless the food's better in Chengdu).
More on the above, below.
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As always, your chance to win $50 is down there too π
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Minaal recommends: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
All the "melting pot" clichΓ©s come to mind when you visit Sarajevo, especially the one about standing at the crossroads of East and West. With its blend of Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Slavic heritage, it's one of those rare cities that isn't like any other. |
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- Only 13 U.S. cities have better-than-even odds of waking to snow on December 25th.
- In Argentina, the thumbs-up is considered vulgar; in Iceland, burping after a meal is a compliment to the chef.
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AFAR's 2026 travel list champions Birmingham, Alabama for its food scene, Da Nang's 40-mile coastline, and Bucharest as "Paris minus the crowds".
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Two-thirds of U.S. companies offer location flexibility. Great! ...except employers demanded 12% more office days last year, while actual attendance rose, uhh, 1-3%.
Workers aren't just ignoring return-to-office mandates, they (we???) are perfecting the Art of Strategic Non-compliance. And despite having the freedom to work from anywhere, 93% still choose home over coworking spaces or cafes.
Why? As one worker put it: "The only place I can control is my house."
In Remotive's State of Remote Work report, 26% of people note increased employer surveillance. Because nothing says "we trust you" like click tracking software. |
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In 1989, Gunther Holtorf quit his airline job and planned an 18-month trip to Africa. Slight change of plans: he returned 26 years later having driven through 215 countries.
His travel companion? Christine, found through a newspaper ad. They ripped out the rear seats, threw in a mattress, and lived in the Mercedes for two decades. When Christine died in 2010, she made him promise to finish the trip. He hung her photo on the rearview mirror and kept driving.
Otto the Truck survived 900,000 kilometers on its original 88-horsepower engine. βWith todayβs models,β Holtorf said, βthis wouldnβt be possible anymore.β Too many computers, too much that can break.
Simplicity wins again.
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Fuchsia Dunlop went to Chengdu in 1994, on a scholarship to study government policy toward ethnic minorities. She lasted about five minutes before getting obsessed with the food.
She quit her studies, enrolled as the first foreigner at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine, and spent three decades becoming, according to Chinese media, "the English person with a Chinese stomach." (this is a compliment, fyi).
Her mission? Rescue Chinese cuisine from its Western rep as cheap takeout. A fair goal, considering that attitude comes from untrained Gold Rush-era cooks serving deep-fried wontons to California miners in the '40s. |
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Got 30 seconds? Then you have time to win $50 store credit.
Enter here π
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As always: let us know what you liked, what you'd like to see more of, your favourite change of plan, that sorta thing.
J, D, & the Minaal team
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Made with β€οΈ all over the π by the Minaal crew.
2025 MINAAL / PRIVACY
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