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Destination: United States

Morning Links: The Cuba Travel Showdown, Pirates and More

by Michael Yessis | 03.11.09 | 9:46 AM ET

• The Senate passed a bill to ease travel and trade to Cuba—but the showdown over U.S. policy isn’t over yet.
• A man sued American Airlines for $7 million, saying the carrier “illegally revoked his lifetime pass.”
• Here’s an interesting combination: William Langewiesche, a French luxury cruise ship and pirates.
• Registration for this year’s tours of Washington’s Hanford nuclear site begins March 30.
• Police in China are feeding drivers raw chilli to help them stay awake on the roads in the Chongqing region.
• Goodbye, Travel + Leisure Golf.
• Amina Chaudary says she’s the only Muslim to whom Samuel Huntington gave a formal interview. She writes about “The Clash of Civilizations” author’s legacy at PostGlobal.
• For map geeks: Bloopers from a New York Times map and graphics editor. (via The Morning News)
• Timers on postcards? Isn’t the cancellation stamp enough? (via Coudal)

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Photographers Focus on the 50 States

by Jenna Schnuer | 03.10.09 | 4:33 PM ET

The Works Progress Administration did it. Musician Sufjan Stevens has done a bit of it. Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey got a whole bunch of people to do it. And, um, Sophia and I are deep into our own version of it.

The it in question? Exploring, one by one, what makes each of the 50 states unique—and looking for the threads that tie them together. Now it’s time to add another to the list: The 50 States Project. Every other month, 50 photos—one from each state—will be posted on the site. Flyover America checked in with Stuart Pilkington, the U.K.-based (we’ll get to that) creator and curator of the project to find out what it’s all about.

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Hollywood Heads to Bollywood

by Eva Holland | 03.10.09 | 3:12 PM ET

Turns out, it really is a small world after all. Kylie Minogue has wrapped up filming for an upcoming Bollywood flick, “Blue,” making her one of the first big-name Western stars to land on a Mumbai sound stage. “I don’t feel that I’m necessarily at the forefront of a Hollywood-Bollywood crossover because I don’t consider myself Hollywood,” Minogue told the Telegraph. “But I do think this could be the start of something. The fact that I’m here shows it could be the start of something.”

Early signs suggest she’s right—Sylvester Stallone is set to do the Bollywood thing later this year. And—rumor has it!—Arnold Schwarzenegger will be joining him. Could the Bolly/Hollywood fusion become another wonder of our shrinking planet?

I’m all for it.

What (Not) to Wear on a Road Trip

by Jenna Schnuer | 03.10.09 | 1:58 PM ET

The sponsored email from W invited me to take an “Americana Road Trip.” Who could resist?

The result of one click: beautiful photography; fantastic car. But I think anybody who puts this fashion fantasy into practice would just be asking for trouble (and a really big dry-cleaning bill). Seriously: stilettos do not do well on gravely dusty parking lots. Road trips = denim + T-shirts + sneakers.

The Rise of Best Western Civilization

by Alexander Basek | 03.10.09 | 11:00 AM ET

The budget hotel chain with the best street cred—well, at least until Motel 6 finishes their system-wide renovations and ditches the Magic Fingers beds—is having a special limited-time sale each day this week. The names of the discounted properties are posted at noon eastern and remain on sale for a couple hours each day. And even if it’s not on sale, you could always stay at the fabulous Best Western in the Hollywood Hills for about $160 a night, one of L.A.‘s secretly good hotels. An added bonus: no fishtank models in the lobby!

Who Says Texas Has No Seasons?

by Sophia Dembling | 03.10.09 | 9:00 AM ET

In my previous, non-flyover life in New York City, the first signs of spring were when the forsythia bloomed in Central Park and a ripe and not-unpleasant scent started wafting through my neighborhood from off the Hudson River.

One complaint I’ve heard many times about my current home state, Texas, is that it has no change of seasons. Balderdash. Texas has all four seasons, but they are more subtle than in Northern states.

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Morning Links: Bowie’s Clown Suit, Cute Penguin Overload and More

by Valerie Conners | 03.10.09 | 8:54 AM ET

• Take a gander at Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” clown suit, or Jarvis Cocker’s glasses at London’s new British Music Experience, documenting 60 years of Brit pop and rock.
• West Virginia’s governor makes it his mission to save the state’s image, and let you know W.V.‘s got more to offer tourists than the Road Kill Cook-Off.
• Intelligent Travel offers a Q&A with Chris Way, cofounder of Reality Tours and Travel, a company specializing in slum tourism in India.
• One woman is dead and six others are missing after a tourist boat capsizes off Thailand’s Similan Islands.
• Take a listen to Nine Road Trip Songs You Never Heard Before—a catchy mix of Asian travel songs. (via nerdseyeview)
• World Hum blogger Alexander Basek visits Nashville and returns full of excellent tips on where to hear live music and ... Goo-Goo Clusters.
• I’m getting a serious case of cute overload as Andrew Evans reveals the best places to see penguins.

 

Purple, Pasty and Protected: Poi

by Pam Mandel | 03.09.09 | 2:45 PM ET

I headed to Hawaii intending to learn to like poi, but I never did acquire much of a taste for it, finding the texture too much like that of a mushy apple. I don’t mind the flavor, it’s not like I’m offended by it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it. When I mentioned to a host at dinner—she was an immigrant to Hawaii— that I was determined to master the purple paste, she gave me this advice:  “Don’t bother. It’s like oatmeal or grits or any other staple food—if you didn’t grow up with it, it’s never going to taste that great.” I’m guessing she’d done some time herself trying to master this essential part of the traditional Hawaiian diet.

Poi is in the news. More accurately taro is the news-maker, or kalo—that’s the Hawaiian name for the crop and it’s what poi is made from—because of Native Hawaiian efforts to protect the plant from genetic modification. 

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Shanghai Barbie: Tourist Magnet?

by Julia Ross | 03.09.09 | 1:20 PM ET

Every time I visit Chicago, I’m amazed at how the city’s American Girl flagship store continues to draw moms and daughters from across the Midwest; I never fail to see them marching up Michigan Avenue, giant American Girl shopping bags in hand. Hotels in the area have lapped up the phenomenon, offering packages with kitschy extras like “one exclusive American Girl bed for your little doll to keep for future slumber parties” and a “free in-room movie showing of Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front.” Apart from the boost to tourism, the trend is a masterful case study in 360-degree branding.

Now I’m wondering if Shanghai is courting a similar fate with last Saturday’s opening of China’s first Barbie flagship store. The store, which includes 900 different kinds of Barbie dolls, a spa, a bar and a line of Barbie-themed clothing for adults, could well become a tourist mecca for Chinese girls and their mothers, who weren’t able to get their hands on the doll in their (pre-economic boom) childhood years.  If the store is a success—and I have a sneaking feeling it will be—we’ll see how long it takes nearby hotels, vendors and restaurants to co-opt a little Barbie magic. The gravity-defying doll hasn’t survived 50 years for nothing, after all.

For full Shanghai Barbie immersion, check out this Yahoo slideshow of the mega-store. It’s certainly in keeping with the brand’s image: six storeys, all glowing pink.

Remembering the Concorde

by Rob Verger | 03.09.09 | 12:01 PM ET

Last week marked the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the Concorde. The plane, the only supersonic commercial aircraft, was in service between 1976 and 2003. In 2000, the fiery crash of an Air France Concorde claimed 113 lives.

I saw a Concorde for the fist time this weekend, on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Inside the plane, I was struck by the narrow, claustrophobic cabin in the pencil-thin fuselage, the tiny windows and tightly packed rows of seats. Outside, I loved seeing the cool sweep of its delta wings and its stunningly narrow nose.

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Confessions of an Introverted Traveler

by Sophia Dembling | 03.09.09 | 9:43 AM ET

Sophia Dembling has a different style of traveling, and she's tired of hiding it

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Morning Links: A Surge in Train Travel (Stories), the Truck Stop Dentist and More

by Michael Yessis | 03.09.09 | 7:38 AM ET

• Several airlines are rerouting flights after North Korea said it can’t guarantee the safety of flights near its airspace during joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises scheduled to begin today.
• The Washington Post gave President Obama’s vision for high-speed rail the front-page treatment.
• Andy Isaacson took a slow train across the U.S.—and recorded voices from the rails—for the New York Times.
• Here’s a touching piece by Jeff Greenwald about Nepal and the death of his father.
• Catherine Watson gets lost in Bahrain.
• Meet the truck stop dentist, Dr. Thomas P. Roemer of Exit 284 of Interstate 80.
• The Delta Queen is now a floating hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• Air Asia is apparently giving bloggers the opportunity to be pilots—and some hilarious fodder in this promo video. (via @Marilyn_Res)
• Finally, congrats to the winners of this year’s North American Travel Journalism Association awards, including World Hum contributor Julia Ross.

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What We Loved This Week: Kutiman, the Scorpions, Meat (Glorious Meat)

by World Hum | 03.06.09 | 4:14 PM ET

Our contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.

Rob Verger
I loved this hilarious pro-flying bit by comedian Louis CK on the Conan O’Brien show. My favorite part? When he says, “Everybody on every plane should just constantly be going, ‘Oh my god, wow!’”