Destination: United States
The Hawaiian Fire Goddess Pele Prefers a Cockroach-Free Zone
by Jim Benning | 04.23.07 | 11:12 AM ET
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Yahoo! BuzzThe World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Bestsellers, Bargains and Tiny Bubbles
by Michael Yessis | 04.20.07 | 8:07 AM ET
This week travelers prowled for bargains, studied French culture, got left behind for hours and mourned the passing of Hawaii’s cultural ambassador, Don Ho. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
R.I.P. (and Aloha) Don Ho
Most E-mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Online Fares: If It’s Good, Is It Too Good to Be True?
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
airfarewatchdog
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Business Owner’s Guide to Cutting Travel Costs
Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
Travel With Rick Steves
* This Week: “French culture 201 for the American traveler”
Top Rated “Your Pick” Video
LonelyPlanet.tv (current)
Istanbul Guerilla Guide
* Lonely Planet TV is still getting up to speed. This video gets the top spot with, as of Friday morning, two votes.
And the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Travel Writing Goes to?
by Jim Benning | 04.16.07 | 4:31 PM ET
Nobody. The 2007 Pulitzer Prizes were awarded today, but of course, there’s no category for travel writing. Still, we’re delighted that LA Weekly food writer Jonathan Gold won the Pulitzer for criticism. That’s close enough, because Gold approaches Los Angeles restaurants with a traveler’s sensibility, venturing into hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurants where few food critics dare to go, from Thai Town to Little Ethiopia. His 2000 book, Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles, is probably a little dated by now, but it’s still a great guide for anyone seeking out the city’s most interesting food—and neighborhoods.
R.I.P. (and Aloha) Don Ho
by Jim Benning | 04.16.07 | 11:21 AM ET
Legendary performer Don Ho has died of heart failure at the age of 76. Ho was a cultural ambassador and icon, bringing the sound of Hawaii to the world and performing for countless visitors to Waikiki over more than four decades. The Honolulu Advertiser has put together a nice tribute with photos, music clips and a place to post memories and comments about Ho’s life. A typical entry: “My husband and I have seen Don every year for the last 38 years…Don Ho was Hawaii and the spirit of Aloha he created throughout his career will never die.”
Paleo: 365 Days on the Road, 365 Songs
by Michael Yessis | 04.12.07 | 7:39 AM ET
David Andrew Strackany, aka Paleo, has spent the last year traveling around the U.S. and writing songs—one every day since April 16, 2006. Pop Candy’s Whitney Matheson says “the tunes are actually good,” and she interviewed him in her latest podcast. After almost a year on the road, Paleo tells her, he still finds traveling exhilarating. To listen for yourself how the road has treated Paleo and inspired his songs, visit his website. Every song he wrote during the course of the project is online.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Viva Video and Las Vegas
by Michael Yessis | 04.06.07 | 9:35 AM ET
Lots to see in the Zeitgeist this week. Travelers are taking a long look at racing in Las Vegas, sinking ships in Greece, dancing in China and Lonely Planet’s new video channel.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Bright Lights & Formula One Engines Rule in Las Vegas
* Two reasons for a look: Pulitzer winner Dan Neil wrote it, and there’s video.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Greek Cruise Ship Sinks After Rescue
* The AP has the video.
Most Watched Video
LonelyPlanet.tv (current)
miniclips
* Lonely Planet debuted its travel video channel this week.
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
India’s ‘Spiritual Backbone’: Two End-to-End Explorations Down the Ganges River
* The last of Morning Edition’s five-part series runs today.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
A Little Italy on Board
Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
Travel With Rick Steves
* This week Steves covers the pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago in Spain and tourism in Iran.
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
If Apple Designed A Private Jet
* It would, of course, be called the iJet.
Google ‘My Maps’ Debuts With Oral History of Route 66
by Michael Yessis | 04.06.07 | 7:44 AM ET
Another great story-telling tool, another great travel story told. My Maps, a new feature of Google Maps, debuted this week. Early entries include Jay Crim and Shekar Davarya’s interactive oral history of Route 66. It’s yet another step toward a multimedia “On the Road.” Via Gridskipper.
French Train Clocks In At 357.2 MPH*
by Michael Yessis | 04.04.07 | 8:20 AM ET
That’s 547.8 kph, and it’s a record speed for rail travel. (A Japanese “non-conventional magnetically levitated” train hit 361 mph in 2003.) Ingrid Rousseau was on the 25,000-horsepower V150 in France yesterday, and she filed a report about the speed trial.
U.S. Issued 412,000 Passports Last Week
by Michael Yessis | 04.03.07 | 7:03 AM ET
That’s a record for a seven-day period. Good news for those worried about long waits for their little blue books, and perhaps for those who’d like to see Americans get out of the country more. According to the AP, about 74 million Americans have U.S. passports.
Could the New Grand Canyon Skywalk Attract (Insane) BASE Jumpers?
by Jim Benning | 03.30.07 | 3:51 PM ET
As crazy as it sounds, perhaps. Officials at the new horseshoe-shaped attraction at the rim of the Grand Canyon insist they’d never allow a parachute BASE jump from the Skywalk—in fact, they’ve already denied one request. What’s more, the would-be landing area 4,000 feet below is sacred to the Hualapai Indians. But BASE jumper Chris Pope, who once took a big leap off the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, tells ABC News that, while he wouldn’t jump without permission, some might consider a stealth jump: “[S]kywalk makes an appealing target for sure.”
Related on World Hum:
* Grand Canyon Skywalk Opens to First Visitors*
* The Grand Canyon Skywalk: What Would Edward Abbey Think?
Photo by i_r_e_n_e, via Flickr (Creative Commons).
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Beer, Buzz Aldren and the City by the Bay
by Michael Yessis | 03.30.07 | 8:13 AM ET
Travelers kept the Grand Canyon Skywalk top of mind this week, as well as San Francisco, Jackson Hole and ways to stretch their travel dollar. Here’s the Zeitgeist:
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Insider’s Tour of San Francisco’s Chinatown
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
Jessica Smith of MTV’s ‘Laguna Beach’ Named Let’s Go Spokesperson
* She allegedly did a very bad thing.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
Sheer terror
* Sheer terror? Skiing Jackson Hole’s Corbet’s Couloir must be really scary.
Most E-mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Urban Human Hounds Tracking Down the Beers
* A must read if you want to “basically run around a lot and end up at a bar.”
Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
* We’ve lost count how many weeks in a row this has topped the list. It’s been that long.
Most Read Story
World Hum (this week)
A Very Long Way to the Hong Kong Cafe
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Soft Caribbean Cruise Market Could Mean Savings for Passengers
* Just don’t get too giddy and end up like these people.
Does Netflix Have the Cure for ‘Shrinking Vacation Syndrome’?
by Michael Yessis | 03.27.07 | 6:37 AM ET
Netflix’s salaried workers can take as much vacation time as they’d like, as long as they get their work done. Vacation limits and face-time requirements, Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings tells the San Jose Mercury News, are “a relic of the industrial age.” How progressive. Sounds like a great antidote to shrinking vacation syndrome, doesn’t it?
U.S. Sees Drop in Travelers from Germany, Japan, France and United Kingdom
by Michael Yessis | 03.27.07 | 6:30 AM ET
Commerce Department figures reveal a five-percent drop from those four countries in 2006, which has alarmed an already concerned U.S. tourism industry. Germany, Japan, France and the United Kingdom “typically supply almost half of all the foreign tourists visiting the USA,” writes USA Today’s Barbara De Lollis, and it’s the first decline in any of those core countries since 2003. Some say it’s because the U.S. has become one of the least friendly countries for travelers.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Moonwalkers, Stardust and the End of the Earth
by Michael Yessis | 03.16.07 | 8:02 AM ET
We’ve done the math: This week, travelers have professed their interest in the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, India, Venice, Antarctica and hotels with a certain “je ne sais quoi de geek.” Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
Best Geek Hotels in the World
* Yes, that’s an equation-covered bed cover at Boston’s Hotel @ MIT.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Hey, Sin City Top This: Grand Canyon West’s New Skywalk
* Moonwalker Buzz Aldren will take the ceremonial first walk Monday. We still ask: What Would Edward Abbey Think?
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
Getting It Om In India
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
Stardust Blown to Dust
* Of course there’s video.
Most Blogged Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Making a Pilgrimage to Cathedrals of Commerce
* It’s all about the 19th-century shopping arcades of Paris.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Miss Manners’ Venice: In a Word, Civilized
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Antarctica: The Crystal Desert
* More on Antarctica: A Brief and Awkward Tour of the End of the Earth
Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
Most Read Story
World Hum (this week)
Stephanie Elizondo Griest: ‘100 Places Every Woman Should Go’
U.S. Passports in Demand: Lines Look ‘Like a Rolling Stones Concert 25 Years Ago’
by Michael Yessis | 03.14.07 | 7:38 AM ET
Travelers often get their passports for summer trips during March. Couple that with the new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which requires U.S. citizens to carry passports on flights to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda, and travelers are now facing huge lines and waits of up to 10 weeks to get their little blue book.