Travel Blog
New Travel Book: ‘The Wild Places’
by Frank Bures | 08.07.08 | 10:41 AM ET
Author: Robert Macfarlane
Released in U.S.: June 2008
Travel genre: Wilderness travel
Territory covered: Britain, Ireland
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Yahoo! BuzzCarry-On? Check. Passport? Check. Dancing Shoes? Er, Check.
by Valerie Conners | 08.06.08 | 5:09 PM ET
Think airport travel is nothing but security lines and baggage nightmares? Not in Paris’s airports, where dance lessons in terminals may soon become de riguer, reports the International Herald Tribune. Aeroports de France has announced that 15-minute dance lessons complete with music and vocal instruction are now offered on summer weekends. Heading to Cuba? Learn to salsa. Buenos Aires? Tango is on the menu, as well.
Waterboarding: Torture and ... Tourist Attraction?
by Valerie Conners | 08.06.08 | 4:33 PM ET
As if Christopher Hitchens’ delving into the matter firsthand wasn’t enough for the commoner’s curiosity, now visitors to New York’s Coney Island can drop a dollar in a slot and watch animatronic figures simulate a Guantanamo-esque waterboarding scenario—complete with a figure convulsing for 15 seconds and a sign that reads, “It don’t Gitmo better!”
Video: Can a 747 Engine do This?
by Michael Yessis | 08.06.08 | 3:58 PM ET
Is this footage real?
Unearthing David Bowie’s Berlin
by Elyse Franko | 08.06.08 | 1:42 PM ET
Those wishing to experience David Bowie’s Berlin will find that the city has changed quite a bit since the 1970’s, when Bowie—at the peak of his career—spent three years living there with Iggy Pop, recording the three albums in his Berlin Trilogy.
Women-Only Hotel Floors: Smart or Sexist?
by Elyse Franko | 08.06.08 | 12:27 PM ET
The revival of women’s floors in hotels—complete with vanity mirrors, yoga mats and extra-soft socks to satisfy the “needs” of a modern woman—is sparking controversy among female travelers and hospitality workers. While hotels seem to believe that women’s floors will make a stay more enjoyable by catering specifically to female tastes, the New York Times reports that women’s floors are viewed as discriminatory by many.
Want to Book a $650,000 Suite in Beijing for the Olympics? Here’s Your Connection.
by Michael Yessis | 08.06.08 | 11:43 AM ET
His name is Sead Dizdarevic, and he’s the “official corporate concierge to the Olympics.” He’s also one colorful dude.
Montreal vs. New York City: The Great Bagel Debate
by Eva Holland | 08.06.08 | 10:57 AM ET
Washingtonian.com’s Best Bites bloggers have weighed in on the endless debate about the home of the world’s best bagels. And their final answer? Montreal’s “artisanally handcrafted,” wood-fired offerings are tops. Jaunted is skeptical, but I’ve got to agree with Best Bites. On a cold, Canadian winter day, there’s nothing quite like sliding into a seat near the wood oven at the local deli, and watching your bagel come out of the flames hot and fresh. Sorry, New York. You can’t win ‘em all.
Photo by iwona_kellie via Flickr (Creative Commons)
One Airline’s Loss Is Another One’s Gain?
by Eva Holland | 08.06.08 | 10:17 AM ET
Or in this case: Every other airline’s loss is Emirates’ gain? The Telegraph’s Charles Starmer-Smith explains how Middle Eastern airlines—Emirates among them—are profiting from the skyrocketing price of fuel, and continuing to expand, while their American cousins cut every conceivable corner to salvage their revenue.
New Travel Book: ‘The Girl from Foreign’
by Frank Bures | 08.05.08 | 6:25 PM ET
Full title:“The Girl from Foreign: A Search for Shipwrecked Ancestors, Forgotten Histories, and a Sense of Home”
Author: Sadia Shepard
Released: July 31, 2008
Travel genre: Roots travel, memoir travel, clash-of-civilizations travel
Territory covered: India
Inflatable Chutes Deployed at LAX Emergency Landing
by Jim Benning | 08.05.08 | 3:24 PM ET
The American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu made an emergency landing after smoke was detected in the cabin.
Delta to Offer WiFi on Domestic Flights
by Jim Benning | 08.05.08 | 2:52 PM ET
The service—for about $10—will begin on some flights next month and will be extended across the airline’s domestic fleet by next summer. Reports the Washington Post, “Delta appears to be the first U.S. airline to commit its entire fleet” to the technology. Go Delta. Now how about bringing back in-flight poetry?
Tony Wheeler: Haiti is ‘Finding its Way Back Onto the Map’
by Eva Holland | 08.05.08 | 12:48 PM ET
More buzz on Haiti. We noted in June that the country isn’t nearly as crime-ridden as many believe. Now, writing in the Independent, Lonely Planet’s founder recalls the pleasures of a recent visit—and explains why he thinks more tourists may soon be following in his footsteps. Yes, the place is impoverished, and the infrastructure needs work, but, he adds, “there’s also exuberant colour, some amazing sights, music to rival nearby Cuba, and it’s certainly not overrun by tourists.”
Photo by M_Eriksson via Flickr (Creative Commons)
R.I.P. Acres of Books
by Eva Holland | 08.05.08 | 12:20 PM ET
The family-run bookstore has been operating in Long Beach for nearly 75 years. It’ll be making way for a mixture of housing and art galleries, as part of a redevelopment project put together by the city. As for the owners? They’re going traveling. (Via The Book Bench)
Photo by Molly Bewigged via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Disaster on K2: ‘Now I Really Realize That Everyone Here Has Died’
by Jim Benning | 08.05.08 | 11:04 AM ET
The AP reports on the last man to reach base camp at K2—grateful to be alive, his toes frostbitten—after falling ice resulted in the deaths of 11 climbers. Among the creepy details emerging from the scene: at least one climber apparently froze to death while hanging upside down from a rope, the Telegraph reports. And this, from a Dutch survivor: “Everybody was fighting for himself and I still do not understand why everybody was leaving each other.” The mountain is known among climbers for posing a greater challenge than Everest. Climber Ed Viesturs called it “the holy grail of mountains.”
