Quick, before January is done: Sidle on over to Perceptive Travel and read the new issue. I particularly liked Edward Readicker–Henderson’s piece on Mongolia, which asks the question “Can we ever stop thinking in comparisons, and simply let a place be itself?”

Making comparisons while traveling is a bit tedious–especially to those you’re with, who probably think it’s all pretentious place-name-dropping. But there’s also a satisfying trick to letting your brain float free and make the most abstract comparison possible…and having your travel partner understand the reference. The great thing about traveling is that with every new trip, you get to expand the references for the game.

On the subject of Mongolia, though, it does sound like a relatively incomparable place. Especially when you consider the food, as this rather terrifying Slate essay on Mongolia by Tim Wu makes clear.

Sample quotes:

“Camel’s milk, I shudder to recall, is musky and feels like drinking bottled smoke.”

“This is like a horror film, except I am eating the special effects.”

Now those are some useful comparisons.