Destination: Mexico
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Cuba, Cabo and Chinese Restaurants
by Michael Yessis | 12.08.06 | 9:06 AM ET
And some travel icons shall take over the Zeitgeist. This week travelers are looking to Rick Steves, Pico Iyer and, once again, to Bill Bryson for their travel fix. Let’s go, but let’s not take Comair Flight 5463.
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* And don’t forget: It’s time again for Rick Steves’ European Christmas.
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The East Is West: The Best Chinese Restaurants in Southern California
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New Hope for Legal Travel to Cuba?
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Airline Luggage Complaints Remain High
* This year could be the worst for lost, delayed, damaged or stolen baggage since 1991.
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Yahoo! BuzzR.I.P. Jesús Blancornelas
by Jim Benning | 11.28.06 | 2:51 PM ET
The Tijuana journalist was fearless, and for all the right reasons. The New York Times and San Diego Union-Tribune remember him.
Searching for ‘Random Weirdness’ on Mexico’s Southern Border Highway
by Jim Benning | 11.28.06 | 1:56 PM ET
We always enjoy Ben Brazil’s stories, and his piece in Sunday’s Washington Post about an ambling trip through the southern Mexican state of Chiapas didn’t disappoint. He and his wife traveled the 262-mile Carretera Fronteriza del Sur, a relatively new two-lane road which runs along the border between Chiapas and Guatemala. They visited the Maya ruins of Palenque, but that was only the beginning. “If you just want to see the highlights, scads of tour operators in Palenque and San Cristobal de las Casas—Chiapas’s main tourist hubs—sell reasonably priced package tours,” he writes. “But we wanted to see the whole highway on an unscripted journey open to chance encounters and random weirdness. As such, we opted to travel on public transportation and eschew reservations, following an itinerary so vague that it verged on impressionist art.”
Mexico 2006: ‘The Year of Traveling Cautiously’
by Jim Benning | 11.13.06 | 3:28 PM ET
That’s Los Angeles Times reporter Reed Johnson’s take on travel in Mexico this year. Johnson has been filing terrific culture-related stories from Mexico and the rest of Latin America for years. His assessment in Sunday’s newspaper sounds very reasonable—neither alarmist nor pollyannaish.
In Oaxaca, a Different Kind of Day of the Dead
by Jim Benning | 11.01.06 | 8:11 AM ET
Today marks the beginning of Mexico’s Day of the Dead festivities, when Mexicans and tourists alike gather in cemeteries and around town squares to ponder the world beyond and welcome back the spirits of loved ones who have passed away. Oaxaca is among the most popular places for visitors to get a taste of the holiday, but as the AP notes today, few tourists have made the trip this year due to concerns over ongoing protests in the city and occasional related violence. As one local remarked, “Our celebration is very sad this year, it doesn’t have that happy feeling.”
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Skimpy Skirts and Thunderbolts
by Michael Yessis | 10.27.06 | 11:30 AM ET
There’s a hint of fear in the air, but, as always, we’re still hitting the road. This week the Zeitgeist leads to Paris, Dubai, Iowa, Mexico City and the most scenic toilet in the world. Let’s go.
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Japanese Tourists Succumb to “Paris Syndrome”
* I’ve seen a bit of coverage of this story this week, and the New York Post gets the best headline award: Paris Leaves Japanese French Fried.
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Beyond Skimpy Skirts, a Rare Debate on Identity
* Hassan M. Fattah’s story explores the limits of multiculturalism in Dubai.
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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
* Two weeks in a row at the top for Bryson’s memoir of growing up in 1950s Iowa.
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Hotels Ditch Imposing Desks for Friendly ‘Pods’
* Three reasons why: To lure younger customers, to improve employee productivity and, of course, to increase revenue.
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The Speed of Rancho Santa Inés
by C.M. Mayo | 10.18.06 | 4:05 PM ET
Photo by C.M. Mayo. The saying goes: Bad roads, good people. Good roads, bad people. On a sleepy Mexican ranch, C.M. Mayo finds out what the Transpeninsular Highway brought to one stretch of Baja California.
Oaxaca Visitors ‘Run for Cover’
by Jim Benning | 09.26.06 | 6:49 PM ET
A gunfight in front of a hotel in Oaxaca, the southern Mexican city beloved by many Mexico travelers, forced journalists and tourists to “run for cover,” according to an AP report on CNN.com. It’s a crazy story that involves leftist protesters, Oaxaca’s embattled state governor, guns and machetes. The news comes just days after the U.S. State Department urged Americans in Mexico to exercise extreme caution when in unfamiliar areas. It’s all dismaying news for those who, like me, love traveling in the country and believe its culture hasn’t begun to get the appreciation from travelers it deserves. For those heading to Oaxaca anyway—the local black mole sauce alone is worthy of UNESCO World Heritage status and a visit, if you ask me—Ron Mader at Planeta has tips.
Cohan, Bourdain in T Style Magazine: Travel
by Michael Yessis | 09.25.06 | 7:05 AM ET
The latest issue of T Style Magazine: Travel in the New York Times features a couple of noteworthy stories. “On Mexican Time” author Tony Cohan immerses himself in the rejuvenated city of Guanajuato, Mexico, and globetrotting chef and television host Anthony Bourdain eats his way through Singapore. “There’s a fever-dream quality to Singapore, particularly if you’re a foodie,” Bourdain writes. “Outdoors, the heat is smothering. In the ubiquitous megamalls, the air-conditioning could frost a bottle of beer. Everyone, it seems, when not shopping for Prada or Armani, is feeding their faces.”
Running from Migra at a Mexican Park
by Jim Benning | 09.08.06 | 1:32 PM ET
We’ve been chronicling our planet’s slow but steady descent into a vast collection of theme parks, from the theme park economy at Cambodia’s Killing Fields to our news item yesterday about Myanmar’s theme park temple complex. Just when we think things can’t get more absurd comes a Houston Chronicle story about a park in Mexico that simulates the experience of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, on the run from migra. Visitors to the park north of Mexico City pay $15 to slog through bogs, ride in a truck and hear the sounds of gun shots and the shouts of immigration officers.
Smackdown in Tijuana
by Jim Benning | 08.18.06 | 6:41 AM ET
Photo by Jim Benning. The teeming border city has a bad reputation. But in a rickety arena on a Friday night, Jim Benning discovers the forces of good still have a chance against the forces of evil, at least in swan-diving, chair-slamming lucha libre Mexican wrestling.
From a Beheading to a Fiesta: Two Takes on Mexico Travel
by Jim Benning | 08.05.06 | 1:39 PM ET
The other day, we linked to an AP story about tourists canceling trips to Mexico over fear of violent crime and concerns over political protests. The story was picked up in newspapers across the United States. I thought it was an important story to point out, but I have to say, it’s been bothering me a bit.
Tourists Reconsidering Trips to Mexico
by Jim Benning | 08.03.06 | 2:45 PM ET
The AP’s Mark Stevenson reports today that political protests and drug-related crime and violence are cutting into Mexico’s tourism economy in a big way. Although no tourists have been harmed in Mexico City, Acapulco or Oaxaca—three cities where protests or violence have recently occurred—more than a few visitors have nevertheless canceled trips. “In Mexico City alone, hotels, restaurants and stores are losing $23 million a day, according to the city’s Commerce, Services and Tourism Chamber,” Stevenson reports. The Mexico City protests stem from last month’s presidential election, of course—supporters of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have taken to the streets and plazas. The director of Mexico City tourism promotion told the AP: “If this goes on for a week or 10 days more, some hotels are going to be in a desperate situation.”
Photo by Jim Benning.
Lucha Libre in Tijuana: The Real “Nacho Libre”
by Michael Yessis | 07.09.06 | 9:35 AM ET
Jim has a story in today’s Washington Post about a trip to Tijuana to watch some chair-slamming lucha libre action. He’s scheduled to be interviewed about the piece this morning on Washington Post radio between 10:30 and 11 a.m. ET.
Traveler’s Literary Companion Series Adds Titles on Mexico and Japan
by Frank Bures | 06.06.06 | 12:32 PM ET
When asked how he prepares to travel to a country, Ryszard Kapuscinski said he reads the literature. Of course, not all of us have time to read an entire canon before every journey. Fortunately, Whereabouts Press has made sampling literature from some countries much easier with its Traveler’s Literary Companion series. Building on the strength of previous editions on Italy, Cuba, Vietnam and other places, the publisher has just added collections on Mexico and Japan. While the guides aren’t comprehensive (Haruki Murakami is notably absent from “Japan,” for example) they do offer a good way to get a feel for a place. They’re also a fine introduction to these countries’ writers, from greats like Carlos Fuentes and Kawabata Yasunari, to lesser known authors like Hino Keizo and Bruno Estanol.