Travel Blog
In U.S., Big Brother Tracks Your Travel Habits Abroad
by Michael Yessis | 09.24.07 | 11:52 AM ET
From a chilling front-page story in the Washington Post by Ellen Nakashima: “The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government officials.” That group is the Identity Project, which obtained and revealed the government-gathered documents.
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Yahoo! BuzzThe World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: The Endless Summer
by Michael Yessis | 09.21.07 | 12:41 PM ET
Summer is over, but beaches remain on travelers’ minds. This week the Zeitgeist hits Cancun, Fire Island and Galveston, as well as Saudi Arabia, Germany and India.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
U.S. Tourists Flock to Revamped Cancun
* Cancun (pictured) is “reporting hotel occupancy approaching that of pre-Wilma days.”
Most Popular Travel Story
Propeller (this week)
10 Beautiful Places in Orissa
Most Read Feature
World Hum (posted this week)
Nine Great Ways to Get Thrown Off an Airplane
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (posted this week)
‘Girls of Riyadh’: Saudi Arabia’s ‘Sex and the City’?
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Fire Island Heats Up
Monks Stage Historic Protest in Burma
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.21.07 | 12:16 PM ET
Thousands of Buddhist monks have been marching in Burma (or Myanmar) this week to protest the country’s repressive military junta, and today, the Guardian calls it “the most sustained challenge to the military junta in more than a decade.” Onlookers fear a government crackdown, given the dictatorship’s history of human rights abuses. As we’ve noted, the junta has detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for years. But according to the Guardian, “a government spokesman today insisted it had no plans to use force.”
The Critics: ‘Into the Wild,’ the Movie
by Michael Yessis | 09.21.07 | 11:13 AM ET
After a couple months of hype, including an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Sean Penn’s adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild” opens today in New York and Los Angeles. The big-screen telling of Christopher McCandless’s self-imposed exile from mainstream society and tragic journey into the Alaskan wilderness is Penn’s “warmest, most celebratory and most completely realized film and, though you might not guess it from the material, it is also arguably his most personal,” writes Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times.
Chariots of Rubble
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.21.07 | 6:34 AM ET
Photo by JOVIKA, via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Antiquity trumps Art Deco, at least in Athens, where ancient glory is both identity and economy. Two buildings—a 1930s landmark and a house owned by “Chariots of Fire” theme composer Vangelis Papathanassiou—are scheduled to be razed in order to clear the view of the Parthenon for visitors at the New Acropolis Museum, says the AP. The plan has enraged Athenians who believe Greece spends too much time lingering over its antiquities instead of appreciating (and preserving) its modern treasures. Neighborhood residents and architects have begun a feverish Internet campaign to save both buildings. So far they’ve gotten a lot of attention and e-mail support from all over the world.
Kate Hanni: ‘The Ralph Nader of the Skies’
by Michael Yessis | 09.20.07 | 6:05 PM ET
Kate Hanni (pictured) is the founder of the Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights, and she’s so committed to federal legislation in support of air travelers that she quit her job and took out a $200,000 line of credit on the California home she owns with her husband to spearhead the fight, according to a new profile of her by Joe Sharkey for Portfolio.com. She did so after being stuck in an American Airlines plane on the tarmac in Austin, Texas, for nine hours last December in one of several well-publicized stranding incidents.
Where in the World Are You, David Farley?
by World Hum | 09.20.07 | 2:11 PM ET
The subject of our latest nearly up-to-the-minute interview with a traveler somewhere in the world: David Farley, World Hum contributor and Holy Foreskin chronicler. His response landed in our inbox today.
World Hum: Where in the world are you?
In Greece, Developers Eye Scorched Peloponnese
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.20.07 | 12:25 PM ET
We mentioned in an earlier post that greedy developers of tourism resorts may have had a hand in Greece’s devastating and deadly fires last month. Alas, the reports we pointed to were right. Just days after the ruling New Democracy party eked out an election victory, its leaders gave property developers the go-ahead to build hotels and other facilities on an environmentally fragile area cleared by the fires, writes Elinda Labropoulou in The Independent.
Interview With ‘The Unheard’ Author Josh Swiller
by Michael Yessis | 09.20.07 | 10:53 AM ET
Josh Swiller spoke with Scott Simon for NPR’s Weekend Edition, covering his hearing loss, his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia and his new book, “The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa.” Frank Bures reviewed it for World Hum last week.
Mexican Rockers Maná Make Los Angeles Arena History
by Jim Benning | 09.20.07 | 8:19 AM ET
Southwest Airlines to Families: No More Early Boarding
by Jim Benning | 09.19.07 | 4:43 PM ET
Beginning Oct. 2, people traveling with small children will no longer be allowed to pre-board Southwest Airlines flights. It’s all in the name of fairness, the airline says. Reports the Los Angeles Times: “Children under 5, and those traveling with them, won’t be stripped entirely of privilege. If they and their entourage don’t get boarding passes in time to be part of group A, they’ll be allowed to board right after that group, before B and C.” The airline had received complaints about the policy from other travelers. In other news, the airline has apparently reconsidered its pre-flight lecture policy for travelers in short skirts, too.
Related on World Hum:
* AP Editor: Kids on Planes More Controversial Than Hillary Clinton
* When Are Children Old Enough to Travel Abroad?
* Southwest Airlines Veers Into Fashion Controversy—Again
Photo by Ack Ook via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Postcard Stories From Geist Magazine
by Eva Holland | 09.19.07 | 1:41 PM ET
Geist Magazine recently sponsored its third annual Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest, in which entrants submit a postcard and, most importantly, an original very short story inspired by the card. It’s a great concept. Well, the magazine has now posted the winning entries. The six winners vary considerably in terms of their connection to the postcards (at least to a reader’s eye) but are all good reads with a strong sense of place. My favourite is Hardly At All by Ross Bragg, whose entry was based on the postcard pictured here.
Savoring Those ‘Shining In-Flight Moments’
by Jim Benning | 09.19.07 | 12:00 PM ET
Sure, there are countless reasons to complain about air travel these days—security lines, delays, ridiculous fashion controversies, just to name a few—but what of the pleasures? Thomas Swick reminds us this week of those rare, precious moments when our worries can disappear: “There’s something about the lightheadedness produced by free food, piped-in music, fussing flight attendants and wine at 30,000 feet that makes you susceptible. Especially when it’s added to the relief of finally being airborne and free, at least for a few hours, of all responsibilities. You enter a strange and wonderful stillness, suspended, literally, between earth and heaven, past and future, home and abroad, the deadlines of departure and the confusions of arrival.”
Related on World Hum:
* The ‘Salmon-Thirty-Salmon’ and the Rise of ‘Specialty Aircraft’
* Three Travel Tips: Fly Like a Professional Dancer
Photo by contraption via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Hotfooting Through the Landmarks, From Los Angeles to Athens
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.19.07 | 8:53 AM ET
Local guides around the U.S. are offering urban running tours that point out city landmarks while also giving devoted runners a good workout, writes Bonnie Tsui in The New York Times. New York, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco all have such tours, which are apparently growing in popularity. Though runners (me included) on vacation have been huffing and puffing on the back roads of new cities for years, their exploring has often been haphazard and befuddling. Who, after all, wants to run while holding a sweaty map?
Studio 360 Goes On the Road with Penn, Kerouac, Friedlander
by Michael Yessis | 09.19.07 | 8:13 AM ET
Photo by Nrbelex, via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Just when you thought our celebration of the 50th anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” was (finally) over, here we go again. Only briefly, though. This week Kurt Andersen‘s excellent radio program Studio 360 featured newlyweds Hillary Frank and Jonathan Menjivar—he had a scribbled-in copy of “On the Road” he’d read when he was 17; she’d never read it—debating the merits of the book and, as the promo says, provoking “a little marital tension in the process.” It’s an interesting look at a book that, as World Hum readers know, has been examined every which way during the last month.
