Travel Blog
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Borges y Paraguay’ by Bajofondo
by Jim Benning | 09.04.09 | 2:57 PM ET
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Yahoo! BuzzWired’s Very Own Terminal Man
by Eva Holland | 09.04.09 | 2:26 PM ET
Instead of 24 hours in Airworld, Wired.com brings us ... 30 days in Airworld—in which one brave guinea pig flies every day and sleeps in the airport every night for a month. While blogging the experience, of course. Here are the details, including official challenge rules and ways the readers can get involved.
Airline Food Gets an Upgrade
by Eva Holland | 09.04.09 | 1:44 PM ET
You’ll still pay for it, of course. But with early attempts at for-purchase meals largely a bust, the airlines are trying again—bringing in known brand names (Ben & Jerry’s, for instance), celebrity chefs and more upscale options (fruit and cheese plate, anyone?) to replace the “soggy turkey sandwiches” we’ve all gotten to know so well.
So will passengers pay up for new, improved airline meals? I can’t speak for the rest of you, but they had me at “Cherry Garcia.”
Anthony Bourdain on Dora the Explorer
by Jim Benning | 09.04.09 | 12:55 PM ET
In a blog post “for Parents of Small Children Only and Otherwise Incomprehensible if Not Offensive to Others,” the “No Reservations” host holds forth on various children’s TV shows, which he watches with his 2-year-old daughter. Among the highlights: his take on one of our top fictional travelers, Dora the Explorer.
All parents must, sooner or later, come to terms with DORA THE EXPLORER and her alleged “cousin,” DIEGO. I’ve always found their relationship suspicious at best. And who is this kid, Diego, anyway? Where are his parents? How does he get to run around unsupervised in the jungle? And isn’t he too young to have a driver’s license? If not—then he’s certainly too goddamn old to be hanging out with Dora!! I do like the “Rescue Pack” song, however. And my daughter’s affection for these kissin’ cousins is unwavering. So much so that I brought her to see Dora “Live” at Radio City—which is to throw oneself into a Skittle scented mosh pit filled with thousands and thousands of screaming kids and their mothers. At every appearance of the rascally fox, “Swiper”, the walls shake like a high-pitched Nuremberg rally of sticky children, screaming “SWIPER NO SWIPING” in unison—as avidly as any cries of “Duce!” or worse. But…there’s no arguing with true love. All kids love Dora and Diego—and the sooner we resign ourselves to that, the easier it’ll go for us.
Too true. Plus, I can imagine Dora one day growing up to host a travel show of her own. No, she probably wouldn’t wear Ramones T-shirts like Bourdain. But given her appreciation for the Central American tropics, I can imagine her, like Bourdain, really digging, say, Vietnam.
‘A User’s Guide to Understanding Parisians’
by Michael Yessis | 09.04.09 | 12:12 PM ET
Among the tips from longtime Paris residents Pauline Harris and Simon Kuper: Know their codes. “When Parisians are rude to visitors,” they write, “it is often because they think the visitor has been rude. This city has an old-fashioned etiquette, and unlucky tourists trample it with both white-sneakered feet.”
No War Re-Enactments, Please, We’re Canadian
by Eva Holland | 09.04.09 | 11:33 AM ET
Next weekend marks the 250th anniversary of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City, a decisive battle in the British and French struggle for present-day Canada—so you might expect a loud, colorful historical re-enactment, complete with muskets and period costumes. Right? Um, no. Instead, a “unifying” battlefield poetry slam is in the works. You can’t make this stuff up.
Finding ‘The Third Man’ in Vienna
by Eva Holland | 09.03.09 | 4:21 PM ET
Paul Gogarty’s Graham Greene-themed tour of the Austrian capital goes well beyond that famous Ferris wheel.
What do Travel Writing and ‘Street Fighter II’ Have in Common?
by Eva Holland | 09.03.09 | 2:01 PM ET
In an excerpt from the forthcoming 2009 installment of “The Best American Travel Writing,” series editor Jason Wilson explains.
Mapping Manhattan in 1609
by Eva Holland | 09.03.09 | 12:32 PM ET
Union Square in the early 17th century? According to The Mannahatta Project, an interactive map that lets users search block-by-block for the ecological and wildlife history of Manhattan, it was home to the meadow vole and the white-footed mouse, rather than the Greenmarket browsers of today. (Via Boing Boing)
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Homesick’ by Kings of Convenience
by Michael Yessis | 09.03.09 | 11:47 AM ET
‘It’s Weird to Think That One Day I’ll Photoshop You Out of These Very Vacation Photos’
by Michael Yessis | 09.03.09 | 10:40 AM ET
This McSweeney’s piece is funny because it’s true. Evidence: our slideshow.
Beef Noodles in Taiwan, With a Persian Twist
by Eva Holland | 09.03.09 | 9:57 AM ET
I love a good tale of food cultures colliding—and this mouthwatering blog post from The Atlantic, about a Persian immigrant serving up his own brand of beef noodles in Taipei, certainly qualifies.
Here’s Davod Bagherzedh, the owner-chef of Laowai Yi Pin Niu Rou Mian (Translation: The Foreigner’s Bowl of Beef Noodles), on the key to his recipe:
“If I cooked them the traditional way, I could never compete with Taipei’s other stands, but if I make it with all Persian spices, I’d also have no business. So I import a spice from Iran called bahorat, a 12-spice mixture, and I add that to a blend of Chinese ingredients. It’s different, and people seem to love it.”
Photo We Love: Two Faiths, One Prayer
by World Hum | 09.02.09 | 4:27 PM ET
REUTERS/Pichi Chuang The Dalai Lama listens to his interpreter as Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi of Taiwan’s Catholic church says a prayer during a religious dialogue in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Hawaii: ‘Prejudice in Paradise’?
by Michael Yessis | 09.02.09 | 2:58 PM ET
The Southern Poverty Law Center has issued an intelligence report about racial tensions and issues with non-native Hawaiians on the islands. The report goes well beyond the issues we touched on earlier this year after a Saturday Night Live skit about “two grass-skirted, uke-playing, hula-dancing, minimum wage entertainers” who abuse guests at a hotel restaurant in Hawaii. (Via Fark)
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Running Back to Saskatoon’ by The Guess Who
by Eva Holland | 09.02.09 | 1:49 PM ET
