Travel Blog

Photo by paul goyette via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Photo by alcebal2002 via Flickr (Creative Commons)

This month’s Cartoonist of the Month blogger at the New Yorker is Michael Crawford. So far, his blog entries—a collection of sketches, paintings and candid shots of New Yorkers out on the town—provide not only a behind-the-scenes look at the origins of the magazine’s famous cartoons, but also an unusual take on life in the city itself. Try Sketchbook: Central Park or Sketchbook: Why They Call It A Hell Of A Town for a start.

Stephen Colbert on ‘U.S. Airweighs’

by Michael Yessis | 06.12.08 | 12:13 PM ET

In “The Word” last night, he weighed in about airlines potentially charging passengers by the pound—“just like ground round.” It’s funnier than Derrie-Air. Video below.

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Food Odysseys: Overstuffed?

by Julia Ross | 06.12.08 | 11:37 AM ET

Reading Fuchsia Dunlop’s description of “fish fragrant aubergines” in her recent China travel memoir, Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper, left me oddly dissatisfied. There’s no question the British food writer knows her stuff—she apprenticed at a Sichuanese culinary school and is the author of two Chinese cookbooks—but every couple chapters, after further meditations on the mouth feel of sea cucumbers, I was tempted to snap the book shut and push it away like a picked-over dinner plate. Enough, I thought.

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Climate Change Threatens Africa’s Most Famous Landscapes

by Joanna Kakissis | 06.11.08 | 4:49 PM ET

Bad news from the UN: A lack of snow on snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro. Shrinking glaciers in the Rwenzori Mountains. Disappearing Lake Chad and Lake Victoria. An almost 400-page report released yesterday by the United Nations Environment Programme contains the details—and many scary satellite photos.

Related on World Hum:
* Are ‘Climate Tourists’ Wreaking Havoc on Fragile Land?

Photo of Mount Kilimanjaro by pintaa via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Chart: U.S. Airline Fees

by Michael Yessis | 06.11.08 | 4:43 PM ET

Something to consult when you’re trying to figure out the actual cost of your air travels: Rick Seaney’s handy, eye-opening list of fees charged by domestic airlines. (via Upgrade: Travel Better)

Airlines Turn to Cleanliness to Save Money

by Michael Yessis | 06.11.08 | 3:29 PM ET

Southwest has saved $1.6 million since April by washing some of its planes’ engines every night, thereby reducing drag. It’s just one practice airlines have incorporated to fight the rise in fuel prices. Among the other inventive ways airlines are trying to offset skyrocketing costs, according to the New York Times: carrying less water in airplane bathrooms, flying slower and installing lighter seats.

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Bush-Bashing No Longer Entertaining for Germans

by Elyse Franko | 06.11.08 | 2:55 PM ET

The German tradition of protesting Dubya’s visits has died an unexpected death after six years. Apparently, they’d rather be tanning.

More Than 4,000 Chinese Children Have Been Named ‘Olympic Games’

by Jim Benning | 06.11.08 | 12:55 PM ET

Or, in Chinese, “Aoyun.” Reports the BBC: “It is not uncommon for Chinese children to be given names of common events and popular slogans—such as Defend China, Build the Nation and Space Travel.” Mr. Space Travel—has a nice ring to it.

Shakespeare & Company’s Paris Literary Festival

by Jim Benning | 06.11.08 | 12:22 PM ET

Who among us would not like to be in Paris for this? The third annual festival organized by the famed left bank bookstore takes place June 12-15 and will feature Paul Auster, Jeannette Winterson, June Chang and Alain de Botton, among others. This year’s theme: “Exploring Memoir and Biography.” (Via TEV and IHT)

Photo by ktylerconk via Flickr, (Createive Commons).

Europe’s Top World Music Venues

by Jim Benning | 06.11.08 | 12:18 PM ET

Very handy list in the Guardian.

Should Czech Travelers (and Everyone Else) Leave Their Food at Home?

by Eva Holland | 06.11.08 | 12:10 PM ET

Nearly 10 percent of Czechs take their summer holidays in Croatia, and most of them fill their cars with groceries from home before they cross the border. So when Croatia banned the import of meat and dairy products last week, self-catering Czech travelers were incensed. But, says Guardian blogger Kevin Rushby, tourists who travel with BYO groceries are missing half the fun.

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