Travel Blog
Bored on Zakynthos? You Might Skip the Sex Competition.
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.16.08 | 2:40 PM ET
Last week we heard about the British couple arrested for having sex on a Dubai beach. Now, nine British women vacationing on the Greek island of Zakynthos are facing prostitution charges after being paid to participate in an oral sex contest that was recorded on video and set to be posted on the internet. Gives new meaning to Greece’s latest tourism motto, “Explore Your Senses.”
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Yahoo! BuzzTalking Travel and Travel Writing in Montreal
by Jim Benning | 07.16.08 | 2:27 PM ET
The CBC has posted audio of a 49-minute discussion on travel and travel writing from the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival this spring. The writers taking part: Angus Bell, Adriaan Van Dis, Karen Connelly and Charles Foran.
Related on World Hum:
* ‘Dear American Airlines’ Author to Avoid American Airlines on Book Tour
* Travel Writing and Tall Tales: An Historical Perspective
* World Hum’s Top 30 Travel Books
Hong Kong International Named World’s Best Airport
by Jim Benning | 07.16.08 | 1:48 PM ET
Pico Iyer once wrote that “Setting foot in Hong Kong’s new airport was the first time I felt I was stepping into the 21st century.” Others clearly agree: Hong Kong International has just been named the world’s best airport—for the seventh time—based on a passenger survey conducted by a U.K. consulting firm that collected a whopping 8 million responses. Coming in second and third: Singapore’s Changi Airport and Seoul’s Incheon Airport.
Related on World Hum:
* Travel Writers Pick Their Favorite Airports
Photo of Hong Kong International Airport by ztij0 via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Brewery Tours: More Than Just Free Beer
by Eva Holland | 07.16.08 | 11:49 AM ET
The standard brewery visit—a quick walk-through and a free cold one—has gotten a facelift in recent years, Forbes’s Rebecca Ruiz observes. Many brewers, she writes, are now “offering everything from in-depth tours to lessons in beer-making.” Ruiz consulted with a couple of industry insiders to come up with a list of the best brewery tours in the world.
Photo by post406 via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Onion Video: Andorra is ‘Not in Africa’
by Eva Holland | 07.16.08 | 11:20 AM ET
This just in from the Onion News Network: the tiny mountain nation of Andorra is not, in fact, in Africa. According to the Onion, the revelation comes from the U.S. State Department, which had mistakenly been giving billions in aid to the country. “It was an honest mistake,” one State Department official told reporters. “I just thought that they’re way across the ocean somewhere, their lives must be very, very difficult.” Here’s the full clip:
From Candy Consumer to Space Tourist
by Jim Benning | 07.16.08 | 10:54 AM ET
It’s like something out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A French air hostess opened the winning candy wrapper in a contest to rocket into space and experience five minutes of weightlessness. She called it “a dream come true.” Are there Oompa-Loompas in space?
The Long Descent, Via The New Yorker
by Julia Ross | 07.16.08 | 10:39 AM ET
While another New Yorker illustration is getting all the press, we thought we’d point out this week’s cartoon caption contest winner. It reminds us that air travel could always get worse.
Related on World Hum:
* The Long Descent: Ads on Boarding Passes
Revisiting the American Guide Series (Again): Around the U.S. With Saul Bellow and John Steinbeck
by Michael Yessis | 07.15.08 | 5:31 PM ET
They’re among the now-legendary writers who contributed to the American Guide Series, a product of the Federal Writers’ Project during the Great Depression. The project put writers to work creating guides to U.S. states, regions and cities. In the last few years, the guides have seen “a resurgence of interest,” according to New York Times writer William Yardley.
South Korean Tourist Killed in North Korea
by Michael Yessis | 07.15.08 | 2:31 PM ET
Park Wang-ja was shot by a North Korean soldier while strolling on the beach near the Mount Geumgang resort in North Korea. “The timing of the incident, given the delicate juncture of the outside world’s diplomatic engagement with Pyongyang, could hardly have been worse,” reports Time.
Related on World Hum:
* A Visit to Pyongyang
Beijing Bans ‘Fragrant Meat’ for 2008 Olympic Games
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.15.08 | 2:29 PM ET
Any Olympics tourists dining at one of the 112 official Olympic restaurants won’t see dog on the menu, the BBC reports.
In Airports, Tough Luck Calls for Creative Sleeping Solutions
by Elyse Franko | 07.15.08 | 2:13 PM ET
As airlines give out fewer hotel vouchers, more passengers are forced to spend the night in the airport when their flights are delayed or canceled. To help travelers remain fully functional even after spending the night on the floor, business traveler Frank Giotto has invented the Mini Motel, a lightweight, single-person tent that comes fully equipped with an air mattress, pillow, bed sheet and alarm clock, among other things.
Summer Escapes in The Walrus
by Eva Holland | 07.15.08 | 12:53 PM ET
There’s a whole heap of good travel stories in the latest escape-themed issue of The Walrus.
The Long Descent: Ads on Boarding Passes
by Michael Yessis | 07.15.08 | 11:10 AM ET
The airlines have found another way to piss me off. Delta, Continental, United, Northwest and US Airways have partnered with Sojern to serve ads to boarding passes. It’s bad enough that passengers have to deal with ads on barf bags and tray tables and in security bins. Now they want us to use our own ink to print ads at home.
Baggage Trouble Ongoing at Heathrow’s Terminal 5
by Eva Holland | 07.15.08 | 10:13 AM ET
More than three months after its official opening, the baggage woes at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 continue. According to the Telegraph, almost 1,000 bags are still being misplaced every day.
Photo by James Cridland via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Lawn Chair Ballooning: Serene or Idiotic?
by Michael Yessis | 07.14.08 | 5:55 PM ET
Perhaps it’s both. In the wake of Kent Couch’s latest stunt (video below), Thomas Vinciguerra looks at the phenomenon. Two things in his piece surprised me: The first lawn chair balloon flight may have taken place as early as 1937 over Minnesota and Iowa, and it’s estimated that about 10 of these flights take place each year.
