Destination: South America
Brazilian Favelas, ‘Top Model’ Style
by Eva Holland | 04.23.09 | 12:04 PM ET
It’s not often that my life as a travel media watcher and my life as an occasional (OK, OK—regular) viewer of “America’s Next Top Model” overlap. So imagine my surprise last night when this season’s crop of would-be models landed in a Sao Paulo favela for an “edgy” Carmen Miranda-inspired photo shoot. Needless to say, the segment didn’t have much in common with the tales of favela-based slum tourism that I’ve read in the past.
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Yahoo! BuzzThe Buenos Aires Twitter Detox
by Valerie Conners | 04.21.09 | 9:30 AM ET
Photo by Valerie Conners On a trip to the Southern Hemisphere and with a need to disconnect, Valerie Conners pledges to embrace a Twitter-free vacation
Given the Dire Economy, Should I Travel Overseas This Year?
by Rolf Potts | 04.20.09 | 10:12 AM ET
Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel and the world
Pixar’s ‘Up’: Wal-Mart is Unenthused
by Eva Holland | 04.07.09 | 12:27 PM ET
Well, we may have listed “Up” as a travel movie to watch for, but it seems that some people are less excited about Pixar’s latest venture.
The New York Times notes that Wall Street prophets and major toy retailers alike are predicting a poor commercial showing for the flick, which tells the story of Carl, a grouchy old man who fulfills his dream of traveling to South America—by turning his house into a flying machine.
Around the World in Five Dates
by Terry Ward | 04.07.09 | 12:04 PM ET
iStockphoto The language of love may be universal, but the etiquette of dating is not. Terry Ward looks at courting from Tehran to Tokyo.
Hotel Tipping: A Change is Gonna Come
by Alexander Basek | 04.01.09 | 10:30 AM ET
I’m pretty good about tipping in hotels. I don’t mind dropping the bucks for bellmen—especially after I spent two days as one at the Hotel Giraffe for the New York Post—and I agree that some money for the maid in an envelope is usually the way to go. However, I had an interesting situation in Buenos Aires that made me wonder whether I made a cultural faux pas.
At the moment, BA is in the throes of a change shortage. There simply aren’t enough coins—you see signs everywhere that say “NO HAY MONEDAS” or demand exact change if you’re buying a pack of cigs. The buses in Buenos Aires only take coins, so the commute for a lot of working people in the city is rather difficult. I accumulated a fair amount of change over the course of my stay, and on the recommendation of a friend who lived in the city, I gave it to one of the front desk fellows at my hotel who had been helpful. He seemed a little ... surprised, though he said “Great! For the bus!” after an awkward pause. Still, I felt weird just giving someone a handful of change as a thank you.
Have you guys ever given unorthodox tips in hotels? Cookies? A hat? Tell me I’m not the only one.
A Visit to the Alvear
by Alexander Basek | 03.31.09 | 2:51 PM ET
While in Buenos Aires last week, I got a chance to tour the Alvear Palace. As part of a test of social media web 2.0 blahbitty blah, I also tried to tweet about my tour, with marginal success. It’s really hard to type little messages on your phone during a meeting with someone and not seem like a total jerkwad in the process.
Maybe, though, I gave you guys an eye into what the travel-writing game is about—namely, nodding appreciatively at pools and gym machines. OK, I actually was impressed by the Alvear’s gym—the machines have flatscreens with videos explaining how to do all the exercises. That’s right in the wheelhouse of a doughy nerd such as myself.
Should My Black Friend and I Worry About Race While Traveling Overseas?
by Rolf Potts | 03.30.09 | 10:14 AM ET
Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel and the world
Trip Drip
by Alexander Basek | 03.24.09 | 12:30 PM ET
I like to think of myself as pretty worldly when it comes to hotels and hotel design. I don’t mind sacrificing a little to stay someplace pretty, whether it be some space or comfort. But sometimes, hotel showers baffle me. I’m staying at the Moreno here in Buenos Aires this week and the shower looks amazing: rainfall showerhead, slatted wooden floor and just a small glass partition with no actual door to enclose it.
Functionally, it makes no sense. The water spritzes everywhere else but on the partition when you use it, and there’s no door to close to prevent that from happening. I’m a relatively clean guest, yet the hotel is actively encouraging me to make a mess. Plus, some of the shower water stays on those wooden boards overnight. If I were a groggy, first-thing-in-the-morning shower taker, they’d be slippery beams of death. This happens to me time and again: great looking shower, but it fails in the whole keeping water inside the shower area part. Do the hotels just not care?
I don’t mean to single out the Moreno; I like that shower, and if they want me to be a little messy, fine. In a nod to their understanding and patience, I promise I won’t eat a meatball sub over the room’s white cowskin rug.
Street Art: Sao Paulo Graffiti
by Rob Verger | 03.19.09 | 9:05 AM ET
Brazil's biggest city is famous for its graffiti. Rob Verger reveals 10 powerful images.
See the full photo slideshow »
Stranded in Sao Paulo
by Kevin Capp | 03.18.09 | 9:36 AM ET
REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker During the chaos of a Sao Paulo airport workers' strike, Kevin Capp discovered an unlikely ally.
In Riyadh, Ronaldo Trumps Paulo Coehlo
by Eva Holland | 03.16.09 | 2:50 PM ET
Brazilian officials who were in Riyadh for a festival intended to honor their country’s literary heritage found themselves fielding more questions about the beautiful game than about books, the Arab News reports. In fact, the Brazilian delegation wound up caving to demand and redecorating with football banners and photos of famous players.
Said one visitor: “The book fair has almost come to an end and I haven’t received any questions about Brazilian literature, or even the country’s general culture.” Hmm. Maybe it’s time for a rebranding campaign? (Via The Book Bench)
Slumming It: Can Slum Tourism Be Done Right?
by Eric Weiner | 03.16.09 | 11:57 AM ET
REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe Global Positioning: On the intersection of place, politics and culture
What We Loved This Week: Twitter, Portland’s Cheap Eats, ‘Before Sunrise’ and More
by World Hum | 03.13.09 | 2:18 PM ET
Our contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days:
Valerie Conners
Trip-planning via Twitter and the fabulous tweeps following @worldhum. I’m heading to Buenos Aires in April and have been posting questions out to our twitterverse of followers, looking for tips on sights, food, estancia tours and more—the response has been so warm and incredibly helpful. What an amazing resource. Some great ideas have crossed my path and are making their way into my itinerary.
Eva Holland
I watched one of my favorite travel movies, “Before Sunrise,” again for the first time in a couple of years and was thrilled to find that none of the crazy, spontaneous magic of Jesse and Celine’s one night in Vienna had worn off. Here’s a classic sequence:
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