Destination: New Zealand
The Subtle Bouquet of Cat’s Pee and Other Wine Aromas
by David Farley | 05.12.09 | 2:29 PM ET
In the 1980s, the University of California, Davis gave a gift to wine snobs everywhere by creating the “Aroma Wheel, ” a lexicon that allowed your average wino to stick his nose deep into your long-stemmed Riedel and then emerge using words like grapefruit, blackberry, banana, black pepper and oaky.
Some of the Wheel’s vocabulary bordered on the undrinkable-sounding: sweaty, barnyard and wet dog, for example. Which allowed for descriptions like this: This deep red blend offers an intense bouquet of wet dog balanced by hints of banana and sweaty barnyard with a body robust enough to be, as the Italians would say, perfectly corposo.
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Yahoo! BuzzDhani Tackles Poetry: ‘Greater Than…’
by Dhani Jones | 05.11.09 | 4:08 PM ET
Photo by Red Line Films NFL linebacker and Renaissance man Dhani Jones hosts the Travel Channel show, Dhani Tackles the Globe.
Like any good Renaissance man, he’s writing poems inspired by the travel experiences featured on each show.
The topic of tonight’s journey: New Zealand.
Five Hostels I Have Loved
by Eva Holland | 04.20.09 | 4:22 PM ET
Photo of Lizard Point by Eva Holland These days, there are more accommodation options than ever for the budget traveler: everything from house swaps to pod hotels to rock-bottom recession-era deals at more traditional travel digs.
But even with that abundance of choices—most of which I’ve sampled, and enjoyed—I think my shoestringer’s heart will always belong to the youth hostel. I love the hosteling community, I (sometimes) love the fiesta atmosphere, and—of course—I love the price. From grungy party pads to serene dorm-room retreats, here are five hostels I have loved:
Arthur Frommer Promises to Keep Digging up the Deals
by Eva Holland | 03.24.09 | 2:31 PM ET
The guidebook author/publisher-turned-blogger takes a hard look at the latest travel numbers and trends, and concludes that while overall travel is down, “nearly 90% of all Americans are continuing to travel. And when they do, they are seeking bargains and values beyond all else.” He goes on: “Though some have criticized this blog for its alleged over-emphasis on special deals and discounts, we’re going to continue to make those discoveries a hallmark of our content.”
Well, consider me a fan of that alleged over-emphasis—Frommer’s blog is a great source for must-act-fast cruise, flight and hotel deals, and sure enough, here’s his latest bargain find: a set of $750 round-trip flights from the U.S. to Australia and New Zealand.
Best Cities to Drink Coffee
by Terry Ward | 03.12.09 | 10:33 AM ET
REUTERS Terry Ward takes a look at seven of the best cities in the world to sit and sip
New Zealand: The Dream Destination for ‘Ecomigrants’?
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.24.09 | 1:57 PM ET
Most ecomigrants, or people who leave their home countries because of climate change, are poor, desperate and often homeless. Consider the citizens of Bangladesh, where between 12 million and 17 million eco-refugees have fled in the last few decades because of increased flooding and other environmental catastrophes attributed in part to global warming. But in an intriguing Washington Post story, it appears that well-off people from developed countries are also worried enough about climate change to relocate to greener locales.
A Very International Oscars
by Eva Holland | 02.23.09 | 2:38 PM ET
Last night’s Oscars ceremony is likely to be up for debate for some time—among the most contentious issues, for me, is the fact that the cast of “High School Musical” got more screen time than most nominees—but one thing is certain: it was the most international Oscars since 2004, when Charlize Theron thanked everyone in South Africa, and the winners from “Lord of the Rings” managed to name-drop just about everyone in New Zealand, too.
In the 2009 edition, there were acceptance speeches smattered with Spanish (Penelope Cruz, for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”) and Tamil (A.R. Rahman, the composer for “Slumdog Millionaire”), there were shout-outs to Mumbai (from the assortment of “Slumdog” winners, who took home 8 awards between them), and there were two separate winners from Japan.
My favorite globally-flavored Oscar moments, after the jump:
Morning Links: Haka, ‘Travel as Rehabilitation,’ Taxi Gourmet and More
by Jim Benning | 02.19.09 | 11:20 AM ET
- The Washington Post profiles Layne Mosler, the food pilgrim at taxigourmet.com.
- Oh, no he didn’t: An angry pilot at a London airport security checkpoint dropped his pants and asked, Do you want to search this?
- Can’t get enough morning links? BootsnAll has launched BootsnAll Today.
- The Christian Science Monitor profiles the creator of www.accessible.travel, the “first online booking engine for disabled travelers.” Says its founder, “I truly believe that travel is rehabilitation.”
- Coastal Living explains how to go from 0 to 200—degrees—with sauna-loving Finns at Thunder Bay, Ontario.
- The Millions on a topic we love: literature as tour guide.
- Finally, why the sour face? Oh, must be because it’s time for the haka championships.
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Christopher Lee: ‘I Can’t Recall Visiting any Countries I Hated’
by Eva Holland | 02.17.09 | 9:49 AM ET
So where does one of the most omnipresent movie villains of the past half-century (who also popped up in our list of the best travel horror movies) like to go on vacation? The veteran actor recently dished to the Independent about his ideal travel experiences—and it turns out, solitude is high on his priority list.
Lee’s favorite country is Finland, “because once you get to a certain point, you can drive for hours without seeing a single person.” His worst-ever journey was a rough ride from Washington, D.C., to Charlotte, N.C.: “It was only a 45-minute flight,” he told Sophie Lam, “but I have never known anything like it—including during the war when I was shot at in planes.” And as for New Zealand, where he spent a few months during the filming of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy? It’s “the most beautiful country I have ever been to in my life.”
Nation Branding for your iPod? Canada Votes for a National Playlist.
by Eva Holland | 01.07.09 | 11:52 AM ET
Call it change you can listen to: CBC Radio is hoping to get some made-in-Canada music onto incoming President Obama’s iPod.
The Canadian broadcaster is accepting nominations for a “definitive Canadian playlist”—dubbed “49 Songs from North of the 49th Parallel”—to be unveiled on Obama’s inauguration day. “One of the best ways to know Canada is through the depth and breadth of our artistic expression,” said a CBC representative. “We’re excited about the new president, and we want him to be excited about us.”
So how do you go about compiling a definitive national playlist? CBC producers will whittle the suggestions from the public down to a manageable 100 most-nominated songs, and then online voting will cut the shortlist down to the final 49.
Sure, the project seems a tad goofy—realistically, Obama will have bigger things to worry about on Jan. 20 than whether he prefers Stompin’ Tom Connors or Gordon Lightfoot—but it got me thinking about music and national identity.
Morning Links: Warrior Monks, Sustainable Fuel, ‘The Big Belch’ and More
by Valerie Conners | 01.02.09 | 10:02 AM ET
- Pico Iyer reflects on the the cultural rituals and celebrations a new year inspires, and his own “makeshift rites.”
- Three days of small earthquakes—more than 250, total—rattle Yellowstone National Park.
- The aforementioned tremors lead Garrison Keillor to observe that it “suggests to me that the Big Belch is overdue,” and when it comes, he’d “rather be in Paris.”
- Bangkok police are investigating the nightclub fire that killed dozens of people, including many foreign nationals. Eyewitnesses claim fireworks may be to blame.
- Air New Zealand hopes to up the eco-friendly, sustainable fuels ante with its first successful test flight of a passenger plane powered in part by vegetable oil.
- Multi-toed cats, rejoice! The iconic descendants of Ernest Hemingway’s cat, Snowball—and a popular Key West tourist attraction—will not be forced off the Hemingway House property.
- A Muslim family was kicked off an Air Tran flight after passengers complained the family’s conversation seemed suspicious. Though the FBI cleared the family of wrongdoing, AirTran refused to rebook their tickets.
- A daunting slump in tourism sent one Chinese town’s officials to seek the aid of a group of marketing-savvy warrior monks. Reflecting on the situation, one local vendor offered this enduring wisdom: “If you burn incense, they will come.”
New Zealand Hostel Owner Sentenced For Filming Female Guests in the Shower
by Eva Holland | 12.04.08 | 2:19 PM ET
A former hostel owner in New Zealand has been sentenced to community service and probation after admitting that he filmed his female guests in the shower for over a year. The man eventually removed his recording equipment and destroyed the hours of tape, but kept a two-hour “highlight reel” which he apparently watched regularly—with a friend who was a convicted sex offender.
If Only It Were Raining Men: ‘Man-Drought’ Hits New Zealand
by Valerie Conners | 10.29.08 | 10:43 AM ET
Forget the Maori culture. Tourism New Zealand has launched an unusual campaign promoting the nation’s “man drought” as the perfect reason for guys to pay a visit. In what’s begun to sound more like a desperate plea for a date than an ad campaign, the tourism board released a press release stating, “It has been revealed that the women of New Zealand have a far more difficult job than Brits when it comes to finding Mr. Right.”
Air New Zealand Introduces Cutting-Edge Messaging Plan
by Eva Holland | 10.15.08 | 10:38 AM ET
Air New Zealand has unveiled an unusual plan to let airport visitors know about its new, faster check-in system: “Cranial billboards.” They’ll be hiring 50 people to shave their heads, have messages about the new check-in procedures temporarily tattooed on their bare scalps and then loiter around the airport in view of passersby.
‘Long-Neck Women’ Fight Against Confinement in ‘Human Zoos’
by Michael Yessis | 04.22.08 | 11:20 AM ET
Marie Claire, The Age and the Times UK are among the publications with recent stories about the plight of the “long-neck women,” a group of Kayan refugees from Burma who are known for wearing brass coils around their necks. Tourists from around the world flock to Northern Thailand to see them, but many of the long-neck women have apparently had enough of living in a “human zoo.” Several of the women have removed their coils and are fighting to move to New Zealand and Finland, where they have been offered resettlement.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has taken up their cause, but so far no exit visas have materialized. The stories allege that the Thai government refuses to let the women leave, fearing that their departure will hurt tourism in the region.
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