Destination: India
Morning Links: Goa Beach Parties, Kim Jong Il’s Childhood Home and More
by Michael Yessis | 12.23.08 | 9:37 AM ET
- Arab women are finding new freedoms as flight attendants.
- In the U.S., a former T.W.A. flight attendant looks back on the days “when there were three dinner options on flights from Boston to Los Angeles—in coach.”
- Kim Jong Il’s childhood home in South Korea is open to travelers.
- The economic crisis hits the glass blowers of Murano.
- There will be no Goa beach parties in the coming weeks. Indian authorities are worried about security after the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
- Recce posted its Best Stories of 2008.
- Christopher Elliott offers some travel strategies for 2009.
- William Langewiesche reconstructs the collision of two planes over Brazil in 2006. Joe Sharkey has a few harsh words for the story.
- Airport security in Birmingham, England strip searched a clown. PC Konk the Clown said, “I’ve never had this problem before when I’ve been to international clown conventions abroad.” My favorite part is the groan-inducing headline: “Clown Finds Airport Security no Laughing Matter.”
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Yahoo! BuzzWelcome to Global Positioning
by Eric Weiner | 12.22.08 | 10:47 AM ET
On the intersection of place, politics and culture
What We Loved This Week: Christmas in Germany, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and More
by World Hum | 12.19.08 | 4:33 PM ET
Photo by Terry Ward Bollywood Comes to Miami
by Eva Holland | 12.19.08 | 11:44 AM ET
Well here’s a new twist on an old theme. Instead of a Hollywood movie exposing American travelers to new and exotic locations (say, New Zealand, Colombia, or… Wyoming), it looks like Bollywood is set to launch some of its legions of fans towards a domestic tourism hotspot: Miami. The newest Indian blockbuster, Dostana, was shot entirely in South Florida, and the Greater Miami tourism bureau is calling it “one big postcard” for the city.
The movie follows the story of two men who pretend to be a gay couple so they can move in with their landlady’s (predictably stunning) niece. Singing, dancing, juicy beach shots, and plenty of intense gazes ensue. (And yes, we’ve got video after the jump.)
Morning Links: Taj to Reopen, ‘The Pervert’s Grand Tour’ and More
by Michael Yessis | 12.16.08 | 9:38 AM ET
- The Taj Hotel, one of the Mumbai sites stormed by terrorists last month, plans to reopen some of its rooms Sunday night.
- Joe Brancatelli writes: “Like it or not, acts of terror aimed at travelers and the places they frequent are very good business tactics indeed.”
- Rome and Milan are now connected by the high-speed Red Arrow train.
- Tony Perrottet continues his Pervert’s Grand Tour at Slate. “Sex,” he writes, “Sex has always been the unspoken inspiration for travel.”
- Delta adds WiFi to some East Coast shuttle flights. The airline says it will make its entire fleet wireless by the middle of next year.
- Robbie Knievel will jump the volcano at the Mirage in Las Vegas on his motorcycle on New Year’s Eve. I’ve been to Vegas on New Year’s Eve. This will not be the craziest thing that happens that night.
What the Mumbai Attacks Say About the City and Travel Security
by Jim Benning | 12.01.08 | 12:15 PM ET
Like everyone, I spent the last few days following updates on the horrible terrorist attacks that killed nearly 200 people, including 18 foreigners, in Mumbai. A couple of articles published in recent days have struck me. In an op-ed in the New York Times, Suketu Mehta explained why Mumbai, of all Indian cities, is an appealing target for terrorists.
Trains Roll Into Kashmir
by Eva Holland | 10.21.08 | 12:07 PM ET
Jeremy Page writes: “Thousands of engineers worked on the project ... braving the constant threat of attack by militants as well as appalling conditions during Kashmir’s long, harsh winters.”
‘There’s an Old-School Charm to the Indian Train Experience’
by Michael Yessis | 10.20.08 | 11:05 AM ET
I often hear the Indian train experience described as intimidating or uncomfortable, so I was intrigued by the latest installment of the Washington Post’s Time Zones series. “I love the train, because you don’t have to be in a rush,” says one passenger. “You can think.”
Sesame Street, Global Edition
by Joanna Kakissis | 10.17.08 | 1:59 PM ET
When I heard Big Bird and South Africa’s muppet Zikwe talking to NPR about Putumayo Kids’ “Sesame Street Playground” album this weekend, I couldn’t help feeling jealous that I hadn’t grown up hearing songs like “Rubber Duckie” in Mandarin. The 40-year-old dean of all children’s shows now airs in 120 countries, and the new album showcases its worldwide reach.
There are songs from Israel, Palestine, Tanzania, South Africa, France, China, Russia, Mexico, the Netherlands, India and the United States. Concierge is especially fond of the “Pollution Song” from South Africa: a ditty about cleaning up after yourself. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone in the world sang along to that?
Solar-Powered Rickshaws Unveiled in India
by Valerie Conners | 10.16.08 | 9:39 AM ET
Currently being road-tested in one of Old Delhi’s busiest markets, “soleckshaws”—as the new solar-powered rickshaws have been dubbed—are considered a boon for rickshaw drivers as much as for the environment. “Earlier, when people hailed us it was like, ‘Hey you rickshaw puller!’ Police used to harass us,” said one rickshaw driver. “Now people look at me with respect.”
New Travel Book: ‘Indian Takeaway: One Man’s Attempt to Cook His Way Home’
by Eva Holland | 10.03.08 | 11:00 AM ET
In Indian Takeaway, author Hardeep Singh Kohli takes a foodie tour of the subcontinent, reflecting on the experience of being a British Indian while eating his way through countless local households and, bizarrely, rewarding his Indian hosts with some home-cooked British classics of his own—think toad in the hole and bangers and mash.
Videos: Venice Gondoliers, Mariachis and Bollywood for Barack Obama
by World Hum | 09.26.08 | 2:03 PM ET
In that order. We looked for similar videos supporting John McCain and couldn’t find any; if you have any, we invite you to post links in the comments section. We’d love to see them.
‘The Golden Quadrilateral’: India’s New Superhighway
by Michael Yessis | 09.23.08 | 11:33 AM ET
It connects Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, and it’s “part crushed rock and asphalt, part yellow brick road,” writes Don Belt in National Geographic. The mag also has some terrific video and photos.
Related on World Hum:
* In Kolkata, the ‘Last Days of the Rickshaw’?
A Visit to India’s ‘Green’ Isle
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.22.08 | 10:41 AM ET
E Magazine travels to Bangaram, part of the Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian Sea some 200 miles west of Kerala in southern India. It’s a small place—less than a square mile—and it was virtually uninhabited until CGH Earth Hotels opened an (apparently impressive) eco-resort there. Writer Jenny Fowler says the resort “has drawn a green line in the sand” and has taken pains to be sustainable: constructing cottages made of local, biodegradable materials; saving water during monsoons; and forbidding motor vehicles.
Photo binux by via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Health Experts: Go Easy on the Incense
by Jim Benning | 08.26.08 | 12:54 PM ET
The use of incense dates back thousands of years, yet when it comes to incense in American cities these days, I associate it with Indian restaurants, yoga studios and head shops hawking bongs and tie-dye T-shirts. I also think of the glory days of the hippie trail, when young Western kids set off through Asia and, as Rory MacLean writes, “lit sticks of incense, strummed their guitars and read another chapter of Siddhartha, then stepped off the bus to help push the decrepit vehicle over the Hindu Kush.”