Destination: North America
Photo You Must See: Catching Air in Calgary
by World Hum | 01.11.10 | 11:57 AM ET
REUTERS/Todd Korol Skier Nina Li of China soars above the Canadian flag while preparing for the women’s aerials portion of the Freestyle World Cup in Calgary, Canada.
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Yahoo! BuzzKing of the Road: Five Great Elvis Travel Movies
by Eva Holland, Eli Ellison | 01.08.10 | 12:07 PM ET
Eva Holland and Eli Ellison go traveling with The King on his 75th birthday.
Photo You Must See: Moon Over the U.S. Capitol
by World Hum | 01.07.10 | 5:04 PM ET
REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang The three-quarter moon rises over the dome of the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
World Travel Watch: Smog in Hong Kong, Heavy UK Snowfall and More
by Larry Habegger | 01.06.10 | 11:25 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Video: Stuck in Newark
by Eva Holland | 01.05.10 | 3:44 PM ET
Caught in the latest round of security-related airport gridlock, one passenger decides to make the best of things.
76-Second Travel Show: Happy Birthday, Manhattan Bridge
by Robert Reid | 01.05.10 | 9:30 AM ET
Robert Reid throws a party, complete with commemorative booklets, for the venerable New York bridge
America’s HIV Travel Ban Ends Today
by Eva Holland | 01.04.10 | 4:59 PM ET
As of today, the ban on HIV-positive visitors to the U.S. is no longer in effect—and the first passengers to take advantage of the change will soon be en route from the Netherlands. Steve Ralls writes in the Huffington Post: “The arrival of [Amsterdam-JFK passengers] Clemens Ruland and Hugo Bausch will also signal the end of a shameful and discriminatory policy that has exacted a heavy price on our country’s reputation in the scientific community and kept countless individuals—both straight and gay—separated from their loved ones.” (Via The Daily Dish)
Video You Must See: People in Yosemite
by Eva Holland | 01.04.10 | 3:47 PM ET
(Via The Daily Dish)
Geoff Dyer on the Charm of American Travelers
by Eva Holland | 01.04.10 | 12:50 PM ET
The British travel writer tackles that persistent traveling stereotype, the Ugly American, in a funny and insightful New York Times story. Here’s a sample:
The archetypal American abroad is perceived as loud and crass even though actually existing American tourists are distinguished by the way they address bus drivers and bartenders as “sir” and are effusive in their thanks when any small service is rendered. We look on with some confusion at these encounters because, on the one hand, the Americans seem a bit country-bumpkinish, and, on the other, good manners are a form of sophistication.
(Via @douglasmack)
The Best Travel Videos of 2009
by World Hum | 12.31.09 | 11:14 AM ET
iStockPhoto We watched a lot of travel videos this year to come up with these: the 12 most hilarious, moving and memorable
World Travel Watch: Air Travel Woes in Canada, Volcano Tourists in the Philippines and More
by Larry Habegger | 12.30.09 | 1:08 PM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Passenger Rights Breakthrough: No More Tarmac Strandings
by Eva Holland | 12.21.09 | 2:30 PM ET
The federal government moved to beef up air passenger rights today, introducing substantial fines for airlines that leave travelers stuck on the tarmac for hours. The new rules mandate $27,500 fines for any instance where passengers are left stranded for more than two hours without food, or prevented from de-planing for more than three hours. It’s a big step, and hopefully it means the end of long-term strandings like this one.
The Daily Dish Goes Below the Mason-Dixon Line
by Eva Holland | 12.18.09 | 3:11 PM ET
Over at the Dish, guest blogger Conor Friedersdorf asked readers for some advice on achieving “immersion” during a road trip in the South—and they responded with a slew of tips and recommendations. Selections are posted here and here, and my favorite email is below:
If you’re looking for somewhere to see how Southern the South is, you’re looking for a stereotype, which is exactly what we need to move past…
I’m not a born Southerner… but I did spend some time working there and got to rub shoulders with people every day. Did I see the southern stereotypes fulfilled pretty much every day? Yes, I did. I heard the accents, I ate the grits, I was called “darlin.” But it was much more than that. Was there some place to go there that would provide the kind of “local color” you’re looking for? Probably, there’s usually something to that effect in every small Southern town. But that’s exactly the kind of thing I’d tell you to avoid. If you want to immerse yourself, just immerse yourself. Go to a town at random, or go to several. Stop on the highway whenever you feel like it. What drives me so crazy is that people who haven’t been to the South continue to avoid it, which just keeps the status quo.
I’m sure you’ll receive loads of email telling you to try this barbecue joint or that small-town museum. I don’t really care where you go. Just go.
Interview With Loreena McKennitt: Musical Travel Writing
by Jim Benning | 12.16.09 | 11:25 AM ET
Jim Benning asks the singer-songwriter about her most powerful travel experiences
The Challenge of Curating a ‘Museum of Ideas’
by Eva Holland | 12.15.09 | 4:35 PM ET
The Globe and Mail has a thoughtful, in-depth look at the process of creating Canada’s still-in-progress Human Rights Museum—a museum, as James Bradshaw, writes, “whose mandate is to grapple almost entirely with the world’s touchiest subjects.” He goes on:
“It is a museum of ideas. And ideas, of course, are never static,” says Yude Henteleff, the chair of the museum’s Content Advisory Committee.
If human rights are a human construction, a set of collective ideas, then the public view of them will be forever shifting, amorphous and vulnerable to attack. And a museum that tries to document that process on its walls promises to have its combustible moments.