Ben Brazil is an Atlanta-based freelance writer who specializes in travel and leisure. His work appears in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, and other publications. As of August 2007, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in religion at Emory University in Atlanta.
 

News:

Best American Travel Writing 2006 listed Ben's 2005 Washington Post essay "Does This Guy Look Like a Model to You?"among its choices for "notable travel writing" published in 2005. The story itself does not appear in the book.

 
 

Recent Articles:

It's the Real Thing. Only Newer.
The Washington Post (July 29, 2007)

RESEARCH QUESTION: In May, Atlanta's World of Coca-Cola moved from its old spot near chintzy Underground Atlanta to new digs beside Centennial Olympic Park. But even though the new World of Coke has double the space, a sleeker design and a nice new location next to the Georgia Aquarium, we still wondered: Why should we pay -- pay! -- to see a museum-size marketing ploy? Doesn't Coke bombard the entire planet with ads for free? more

Beijing's Moment
The Washington Post (May 13, 2007
)
Beijing was growing on me.
At first, I couldn't see anything but the sprawl, the construction and the vicious, honking traffic that squeezed the slow streams of cyclists in the bike lanes. Then, gradually, I quit fixating on Beijing's immense proportions and began to notice its human details. more

Atop the World of the Maya (El Mirador, Guatemala)
The Los Angeles Times (Jan. 7, 2007)
BEFORE the torrential rain and the ankle-deep mud, before the quarter-sized blister and the mouse-sized cockroach, before all that, I climbed a 2,000-year-old Maya pyramid, watched the red orb of the sun sink into the jungle canopy and felt the thrill of being an anachronism. more

Chiapas, Without Reservations
The Washington Post (Nov. 26, 2006)
"Go! Go like a bullet!" the man yelled as I stepped out of the taxi and into the heavy Mexican air.
This insistently gesticulating stranger had approached as we pulled into a tiny bus stop. I had just asked him about the next bus south, and he'd started yelling and jabbing his finger down the dusty road. more

Niseko, Japan: Downhill Skiing in the Land of the Rising Sun
The New York Times (Nov. 19, 2006)
JAPAN is a country with extensive mountain ranges, literally hundreds of ski resorts and plentiful snow, yet a language barrier and the country’s distance from Western markets have long prevented it from becoming a major international ski destination. But that's starting to change, especially at a resort called Niseko. more

Serenity Amid the Shoguns (Nikko, Japan)
The Los Angeles Times (Oct.8, 2006)
VISITORS come to Nikko to gawk at Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and craggy, evergreen-covered mountains. But the element that animates this tourist town is water. more

A Quiet Southern Town, Writ Large (Milledgeville, Ga.)
The Los Angeles Times (July 9, 2006)
CARMEN ALARCÓN, a native of Colombia, tore through the farmhouse kitchen as if chasing a misbehaving child about to escape into the warm Georgia evening. more

Tokyo Is Expensive
The Washington Post (June 25, 2006)
Well, it can be. Our reporter spent a week there for under $1,000 -- including air. And he only had to sleep in an Internet cafe once. more

© Ben Brazil