Destination: United States
Morning Links: Disney’s Small World, Travel Writers Worth Following and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.06.09 | 8:38 AM ET
- USA Today’s cover story focuses on the upside for hotel guests in a down economy.
- Video: Scenes from inside airport X-ray machines. (via Coudal)
- Inside the tunnels of Gaza.
- Brave New Traveler interviews Pauline Frommer.
- One person who isn’t getting that island dream job: Osama Bin Laden
- What humans can learn about traffic control from ants.
- The Wall Street Journal’s Book Lover included Redmond O’Hanlon and Tim Butcher among her “travel writers worth following.”
- Slideshow: Evan Osnos looks at “the economic, social, and religious life of African migrants in Guangzhou.”
- Disneyland’s Small World overhaul debuts today. The AP has video. Is the song stuck in your head yet?
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Yahoo! BuzzPostcards From the Real World
by Sophia Dembling | 02.05.09 | 4:20 PM ET
I like buying postcards when I travel, partly because I’m cheap, but also because they’re fun to collect and to mail to friends anytime.
But my favorite postcards, the ones I cherish and don’t send to anyone, don’t have postcard-perfect images. Watch my slideshow and see what I mean.
Buyer Beware: Worst. Deals. Ever.
by Eva Holland | 02.05.09 | 1:54 PM ET
Here’s an unexpected bit of fun (not to mention a refreshing dose of honesty) from travel discount aggregator, DealBase.com: a collection of the very worst non-deals in their system. Check out this Special Rate for Government Associates at a Denver hotel, for instance; as DealBase’s trademark “Deal Analyzer” points out, this “special rate” actually tacks on an additional $94 per night, or an unlovely savings rate of -171 percent. (Given that the “deal” is for government only, maybe we can call it a political protest of some sort?) DealBase is a relative newcomer to the online bargain-hunting scene, and it’s nice to see that it brought its sense of humor to the party.
Falcons, Gulls and Clams at Kennedy Airport
by Rob Verger | 02.05.09 | 11:21 AM ET
There’s been a lot of press lately about airplanes and bird strikes, but the story I’ve found most interesting comes from John F. Kennedy International Airport—it’s the only U.S. commercial airport that uses falcons as a means of controlling the local bird population. It’s an effective way to deal with the bird issue, for the simple reason that while birds can get used to noise, they never habituate to having a natural predator in the area.
The project is run by Falcon Environmental Services, and in addition to JFK, the company has contracts at two U.S. Air Force bases, and a few airports in Canada. At JFK, from May 1 to the end of October, sunrise to sunset, two teams patrol the airfield in covered pickups with falcons on perches in the back.
To learn more about the project, I called up John Kellerman, the manager of operations at JFK for Falcon Environmental. He’s a retired New York City Police Sergeant, and has been working as a falconer at JFK for four years. He spoke to me over the phone from his home on Long Island.
I asked him what kinds of birds they usually encounter. “It depends upon the time of year,” he said. “When we get there in May, we have large flocks of cormorant going by, we have large flocks of geese going by, brant in the early season. Then during the course of the summer we have gulls—herring gulls, laughing gulls, black-backed gulls—they’re offshore feeding.”
Morning Links: Americans Behaving Badly, Disappointing Attractions and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.05.09 | 8:47 AM ET
- Tamaulipas declared itself bilingual, the first Mexican state to do so.
- Ben Groundwater lists his picks for the world’s most disappointing tourist attractions.
- Aeroflot apologizes for pilot’s “slurred preflight announcement,” but denies he was drunk.
- McSweeney’s reveals what happens when “the 4-year-old crash-lands in the Andes.”
- The sites of London can be compressed into “just four handy photographs,” writes Matthew Summers-Sparks.
- Trains, slum rooftops and Google Earth all factor into this art project in Kibera, Kenya. (Via Daily Dish)
- A man was caught at customs in Melbourne with birds beneath his trousers.
- Here’s where Americans are getting arrested abroad. Not surprised at all by the top spot: Tijuana.
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Destination: Anywhere (in Las Vegas)
by Alexander Basek | 02.04.09 | 3:49 PM ET
The New York Post’s recently released Destination Guide to Las Vegas is out, and it’s worth a read. Think of it as the first Vegas guide that addresses our new reality, both for visitors (who are now more budget-minded than ever) and for properties (who really, really want you to come to the desert, no matter what it takes).
Hotels in Las Vegas are in an interesting spot these days. Hotel companies there can make money outside of their rooms—it was their business model for many years—so properties are slashing prices left and right to get warm bodies in the beds. To anyone that can make it over there, especially during midweek, it means way more money to spend at Bill’s $3 roulette table. Yay! As for specific sleeps, the Post gives a now de rigeur nod to the Flamingo’s GO Rooms—they first discovered them, after all—as well as busting the Venetian as the hardest place to navigate on the Strip. No kidding. During my last visit I had to have a little old lady selling hotel-branded credit cards ferry me to the exit. Next time, I’m bringing a GPS.
Touring Tokyo’s Underbelly
by Julia Ross | 02.04.09 | 2:17 PM ET
I’ve been a fan of MP3 audio tours since I discovered the transporting Soundwalk series several years ago. In fact, Soundwalk’s moody MP3 tour of New York’s Chinatown still reverberates in my ears every time I walk down Mott or Bayard Street in lower Manhattan. So I wish Tokyo Realtime’s new audio tour of Kabukicho, Tokyo’s red light district, had been available when I visited the city in 2007. From the preview posted on their site, the tour mixes just the right amount of music, political commentary and local history to make at least one corner of the overwhelming metropolis accessible. And god knows, anything that helps tourists cut Tokyo down to bite-size portions is helpful.
Those looking for the peep shows and brothels documented in the tour may be disappointed, however. The Guardian reports efforts are under way to clean up Kabukicho in line with the city’s short-listed bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
Island Eats: Spam Musubi
by Pam Mandel | 02.04.09 | 11:39 AM ET
Blame WW II. It was the food of soldiers stationed in the islands and somehow, it stuck—cans of the meat-like product making their way past the gates of military bases and into Hawaiian daily life. According to an older article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, islanders go through 7 million cans of Spam annually. Spam seems to show up everywhere Hawaiians are found—Hawaiian center fielder for the Phillies Shane Victorino took heat last year from PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) for admitting that Spam musubi was one of his favorite foods. And stalkerish reporting on every action taken by our new president on his last trip to the islands revealed that he ordered Spam musubi for lunch while on a golf outing.
Fly the ‘Green’ Skies With Camelina (and Pond Scum)
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.04.09 | 10:41 AM ET
OK, OK ... it will be many, many years before camelina and algae replace petroleum in jet fuel, but I’m glad the aviation industry is at least exploring environmentally responsible options. Last week, Japan Airlines became the latest carrier to test biofuels on one of its jets, circling a Boeing 747 powered by mix of camelina, jatropha and algae oil over the Pacific Ocean.
By all accounts, the one-hour flight went smoothly, as did previous biofuel test flights by Virgin Atlantic (powered in part by coconut and babassu oil), Air New Zealand (jatropha oil) and Continental (jatropha and algae oil). Greenvolutionaries have been hating for years on traditional (read: fossil-fuel-based) jet fuel, a major contributor of greenhouse gases. So energy companies such as Arizona’s PetroSun and Montana’s Sustainable Oils are loving the good vibes and (so far) good results in developing clean, next-gen jet fuels.
The Finns have predicted that all planes will be running on biofuel by 2093. I know, that’s like 84 years away, but since oil reserves are only expected to last a few more decades, I really hope they’re right.
New York’s Restaurant ‘Week’: Now a Money-Saving Misnomer
by Eva Holland | 02.04.09 | 9:58 AM ET
New York’s famous restaurant week—that heady few days in late January when Manhattan’s priciest meals become, er, somewhat less pricey—has been extended through to the end of February, making it more like Restaurant Month-and-a-Half. Semantics aside, though, we’ll take it. This is a great chance for more budget-conscious travelers to see the way the other side eats. So step out of the queue at Sbarro, book now at one of 150 restaurants, and you’ll land a three-course fixed-menu lunch for around $25 or an equivalent dinner for $35. (Via NewYorkology)
Morning Links: Australia’s Great Ocean Road, LEGO N.Y. and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.04.09 | 8:21 AM ET
- World Hum contributor Tony Perrottet drives Australia’s Great Ocean Road.
- Scott McCartney: “Perhaps no other consumer-service business is so rule-bound as the airline industry.”
- Travelers can now link Delta and Northwest frequent flier accounts.
- Arjun Basu meditates on the size of airports.
- Photos: The making of an Interstate highway (via Coudal)
- Slate calls Aung San Suu Kyi “the world’s most effectively sidelined leader.”
- These baggage handlers at Edinburgh Airport “played tig” while waiting for planes to land.
- I LEGO N.Y. is currently the most emailed story at the New York Times.
- Video: Did you know Steve Martin was on Flight 1549?
- I’m fantasizing about a future of travel that involves this.
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Filmed Here: ‘When Harry Met Sally…’
by Eva Holland | 02.03.09 | 3:47 PM ET
Movie tourism: to some, it may be an embarrassing, empty and needy exercise. But to me, it’s at worst a harmless detour from more weighty travel fare, and—in a best-case scenario—can even be a surprisingly illuminating way of looking at the world. By chasing the spots where ghosts of film crews past still linger, you can find yourself stumbling on unexpected treasures, or seeing well-worn landmarks in a new light.
I’ve dabbled in the practice before, but this year I’ve decided to get serious. During my present stay in New York City, and beyond, I plan on seeking out some major movie-making landmarks, and (naturally) sharing my findings here.
And where better to open an occasional series on movie tourism hot spots than Manhattan’s Katz’s Deli, of When Harry Met Sally fame?
The Music Lives on in Lubbock (Sort Of)
by Sophia Dembling | 02.03.09 | 1:51 PM ET
Photo by Sophia Dembling Eva has gotten the conversation rolling about today’s big anniversary—it was 50 years ago today that a plane carrying Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens crashed. This is particularly poignant here in Texas, where we feel possessive of our homegrown icon.
Holly’s death was, arguably, the most tragic in rock history. His sound is unique, he was a pioneer in recording technique—that’s a cardboard box providing percussion in “Not Fade Away” and he plays his knees in “Every Day.” Holly influenced our greatest rock legends and his legacy continues. (Marginally related, Mac Davis, who also grew up in Lubbock, Texas, once told me that he would see Holly driving through town with a car full of girls and decided he wanted some of that. And then he went on to write, “Happiness Was Lubbock Texas in My Rear View Mirror.”)
We are much poorer for never hearing what Holly might have produced as he matured.
Rock fans should be required to make a pilgrimage to the excellent Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas, which takes his music and legacy as seriously as he did. (Those are the glasses he wore the night he died—they’re on display at the center. They sat forgotten in the desk drawer of a sheriff until the 1980s.)
I’d post a video for you, but Holly also was a pioneer in protecting his intellectual rights and his estate continues to maintain tight control. I respect that. We’ll settle for this right now:
Blow Baby Blow: Volcano Watch 2009
by Jenna Schnuer | 02.03.09 | 12:27 PM ET
Photo Courtesy of Alaska Travel Industry Association Some Alaska residents might want to consider investing in an umbrella hat. With Mount Redoubt set to blow in a minute? next week?, there’s a good chance they’ll have to deal with some seriously ashy air.
Redoubt is a beaut. I first saw her (and her nearby siblings, Illiamna, Augustine and Douglas) while standing on my favorite beach in America, Bishop’s Beach. Yes, my favorite beach in America is in Homer, Alaska. It was the surprise factor of Bishop’s that made it my dream beach. It was late August and the water was warm enough for swimmers to venture in—all under the watchful eye of the glacier-covered mountains (er, volcanoes) across the way. Don’t get me wrong, Hawaii’s beaches are something stellar but Bishop’s is something unexpected.
The Day the Music Died
by Eva Holland | 02.03.09 | 9:13 AM ET
It’s been 50 years today since the plane carrying Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly went down over Iowa, killing all three musicians along with their pilot. Sadly, the music world has seen no shortage of fatal crashes, but as Chart Watch’s Paul Grein points out, the 1959 tragedy—immortalized in Don McLean’s American Pie—remains “the most famous plane crash in rock ‘n’ roll history.” Grein also notes that Holly, who was just 22 when he died, has the sad distinction of being the shortest-lived artist ever to garner a Grammy for lifetime achievement.
Check out a vintage clip of Buddy Holly, in a 1958 episode of “American Bandstand,” after the jump: