Travel Blog
Violence Leads Some Spring Breakers to Bypass Mexico
by Jim Benning | 03.11.08 | 10:50 AM ET
Many college students on spring break once took the so-called “two-nation vacation,” consisting of a visit to South Padre Island, Texas and a jaunt across the Mexican border to Matamoros. But the AP reports today that news of drug-related violence in Mexico has many students this year taking a one-nation vacation instead and staying on U.S. soil.
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Yahoo! BuzzSeattle’s Rise to Literary Prominence
by Jim Benning | 03.11.08 | 10:18 AM ET
Or at least book-selling prominence. Seattle is the base of Amazon.com, Starbucks and Costco, the New York Times observes, “three companies that increasingly influence what America reads.”
China to Bjork: You Hurt Our Feelings
by Jim Benning | 03.10.08 | 4:00 PM ET
It’s official: Bjork “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people” when she shouted “Tibet! Tibet!” at the end of a recent concert in Shanghai. That’s the word from the Ministry of Culture. The outburst came following the Icelandic singer’s performance of her song “Declare Independence.” Reports Reuters: “The performance ‘not only broke Chinese laws and regulations and hurt the feelings of Chinese people, but also went against the professional code of an artist,’ the ministry said in a statement quoted by the official Xinhua news agency.”
What ‘Leave Your Worries Behind’ Really Means
by Jim Benning | 03.10.08 | 2:37 PM ET
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has kicked off an entertaining discussion about the real meaning of travel writing cliches—including the kinds of promotional lines found in bad travel stories, brochures and advertisements. Example: “Life on the island goes on at a slumbering pace.” Writes Phil Kloer, “What it means: This may be the most boring place on earth.” A few readers have offered their own favorite cliches and translations. I like this one from a reader named Lily: “‘Leave your worries and cares behind’ means ‘we have your credit card number.’”
Related on World Hum:
* It’s Charming!
No James Brown Museum in Augusta? Get up Offa That Thing!
by Eva Holland | 03.10.08 | 12:08 PM ET
I rolled into Augusta, Georgia last week admittedly unprepared. I hadn’t done any research, hadn’t checked out the city’s Web site—I had simply assumed that James Brown’s hometown would have a museum dedicated to the hardest working man in show business. Silly me. Turns out there’s a statue in a plaza, and a street was re-named for him in 1993. But a museum?
Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum Closed Until At Least 2012
by Jim Benning | 03.10.08 | 11:08 AM ET
Bad news for art lovers: The museum housing the work of Vermeer, Rembrandt and other Dutch masters was originally scheduled to reopen this year after closing several years ago for renovations, but conflicts with the contractor over costs have caused major delays. A limited number of pieces remain available for viewing in one wing.
Related on World Hum:
* Sex, Drugs and Changing Times in Amsterdam
Photo by Rob Lee via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
‘Are Americans Just Lazy About Keeping in Touch?’
by Jim Benning | 03.10.08 | 10:43 AM ET
Terry Ward wonders why so many people overseas complain they never hear from American guests after they leave: “Because we are so transient, do we have a more fleeting view of friendship than, say, Europeans, who tend to stick closer to home?”
Switzerland Tops World Economic Forum Tourism Rankings
by Michael Yessis | 03.10.08 | 10:25 AM ET
Austria and Germany took the second and third spots in the annual Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index. The index measures 14 factors in an attempt to pinpoint which countries have the most “conducive environments for developing the travel and tourism industry.” Here are all the rankings. (via Jaunted)
Related on World Hum:
* U.N.: Iceland Rocks. Sub-Saharan Africa? Not so Much.
Mexico’s Grand Plans for Loreto
by Jim Benning | 03.07.08 | 11:30 AM ET
The sleepy resort town on Baja California’s Sea of Cortez is in for some big changes. The New York Times details plans for thousands of new homes “in the best tradition of the new urbanism.”
Related on World Hum:
* A Bad Situation Gets Worse in Tijuana
Hanging With ‘The Serenader’
by Jim Benning | 03.07.08 | 10:34 AM ET
Anti-Jet Lag ‘Concept Room’ Offers Blue Lights, Banana Smoothies
by Julia Ross | 03.07.08 | 9:19 AM ET
Photo by Madame Ming via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Those are just two of the remedies being tested in an anti-jet lag “concept room” at the Westin Chicago River North hotel. The Today Show’s Peter Greenberg reports the blue lights are meant to make travelers feel more alert, while the smoothies are considered calming.
Five-Passenger Transatlantic Flight Dubbed ‘Eco-Scandal’
by Julia Ross | 03.07.08 | 7:23 AM ET
American Airlines has taken a drubbing from environmentalists for flying only five passengers from Chicago to London aboard a Boeing 777 last month, reports the Telegraph. On Feb. 9, the airline cancelled one of four daily services on the route and rebooked all but five passengers, who wound up on a nearly empty plane, upgraded to business class. While swilling champagne, each passenger contributed an estimated 43 tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. American says it had no choice; green groups call it “obscene.”
Photo by Cubbie_n_Vegas via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Report: Southwest Airlines Flew at Least 117 ‘Unsafe’ Planes
by Michael Yessis | 03.06.08 | 4:11 PM ET
Another headline I considered for this post: What I Didn’t Want to See Before I Fly Southwest Tomorrow. CNN’s Special Investigations Unit reported today:
Shrinking Planet Statistic of the Day: Chinese Restaurants
by Jim Benning | 03.06.08 | 3:15 PM ET
”[T]here are about 40,000 Chinese restaurants in the U.S., ‘more than the number of McDonald’s, Burger Kings, and KFCs combined.’” Source: The Chicago Tribune quoting Jennifer 8. Lee in a review of her new book, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food. (Via aldaily.com)
Photo by pixeljones via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
R.I.P. Bookstore Tourism?
by Michael Yessis | 03.06.08 | 12:29 PM ET
Larry Portzline has shut down Bookstore Tourism indefinitely. “Unfortunately, despite a great deal of excitement and interest from supporters, the necessary funding was scarce,” he writes on his blog. “So, after five years of working on Bookstore Tourism without making a penny (and, in fact, virtually driving myself into bankruptcy), I had to make a very tough decision and pull the plug on the entire project.” He adds: “It may be permanent. I’m simply not sure.”
