Travel Blog
The Return of Airport Glamour?
by Eva Holland | 10.31.08 | 10:29 AM ET
Amid all the bad news about air travel, it’s nice to hear someone striking a positive note. In this Globe and Mail story, Ivor Tossell argues that we just might be seeing a new golden age in airport design. The proof? Flashy new terminals in New York, Beijing, Dubai, London—and Winnipeg. (Maybe it’s not so Scranton-esque after all.)
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Yahoo! BuzzWilliam Least Heat-Moon’s ‘Roads to Quoz’
by Jim Benning | 10.30.08 | 12:17 PM ET
The writer who gave us the classic “Blue Highways” has written a new travel book about some recent journeys in the United States. The Los Angeles Times calls Roads to Quoz: An American Mosey “a lucid if looping account of three years of wanderings that covered some 16,000 miles, mostly in the company of the author’s wife.” The Aspen Times finds that Heat-Moon is “still quick-witted and keenly observant, if a little grandfatherly, and his notes from the American road still contain equal parts humor and wisdom.”
Introducing the World’s Largest Airline
by Jim Benning | 10.30.08 | 11:33 AM ET
That would be Delta Air Lines, now that the Justice Department has approved its purchase of Northwest. For those keeping score, American Airlines was the largest before the Delta-Northwest deal was approved yesterday.
Is Winnipeg Canada’s Answer to Scranton?
by Eva Holland | 10.30.08 | 10:55 AM ET
That depends on who you ask. Michael Scott and Co. will be taking a business trip to the Manitoban capital in an upcoming episode of the hit TV show “The Office.” But why Winnipeg? Apparently, the show’s producers figured it was a good fit because it’s “similar to Scranton, but with a Canadian flair.” Destination Winnipeg begs to differ: “No offence to Scranton,” said a city tourism representative, “but we like to think of ourselves as a cosmopolitan centre.”
Google Earth Goes Mobile
by Eva Holland | 10.30.08 | 10:40 AM ET
We’ve already noted that the program is “positively pregnant with potential for travelers”—and now, it’s portable, too. The Wired blog has the lowdown on Google Earth’s new iPhone app: “The iPhone niceties you’d expect are here. Pinch to zoom, twist to, well, spin the map.”
Kenya to Obama Tourists: Bring it on!
by Rolf Potts | 10.29.08 | 4:17 PM ET
The Financial Times reports on plans in Nairobi and elsewhere in Kenya to welcome travelers interested in “the Obama experience.” My favorite part of the story: East African Breweries brews a beer called Senator. So, says one bartender, “People now say ‘I want an Obama’ when asking for Senator.”
Have $100K to Spend? Take a Ride on Space Tourism’s New Oddity
by Valerie Conners | 10.29.08 | 12:47 PM ET
A plan has been unveiled for a “fishbowl”-like suborbital space shuttle that will offer 360-degree views of space. The vehicle can carry two passengers, and may be flying as soon as 2010. Worth noting: the shuttles look like giant outer space moon bounces—completely awesome.
How Will the Election Affect Travel?
by Valerie Conners | 10.29.08 | 12:05 PM ET
Though the answer remains uncertain, as the presidential candidates have said little on the topic, msnbc.com has an interesting overview of the travel-related issues the next president will face, such as a reassessment of the TSA’s effectiveness, modernizing air traffic control and defending the dollar’s value.
The Critics: ‘Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains’
by Eva Holland | 10.29.08 | 10:56 AM ET
It’s been 15 years since Alive brought to the big screen the story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes. The survivors, rescued after 72 days, made news around the world when it was revealed that they had eaten the bodies of their dead comrades to survive. Now, a new documentary has been released that rehashes the grim story.
If Only It Were Raining Men: ‘Man-Drought’ Hits New Zealand
by Valerie Conners | 10.29.08 | 10:43 AM ET
Forget the Maori culture. Tourism New Zealand has launched an unusual campaign promoting the nation’s “man drought” as the perfect reason for guys to pay a visit. In what’s begun to sound more like a desperate plea for a date than an ad campaign, the tourism board released a press release stating, “It has been revealed that the women of New Zealand have a far more difficult job than Brits when it comes to finding Mr. Right.”
Mourning in Crete, Where ‘Death is Part of Life’
by Valerie Conners | 10.29.08 | 10:30 AM ET
When Cynthia Paine’s fiance died unexpectedly, dashing her dreams of their moving to Greece and marrying, she decided to still head to Crete to face her pain and learn to better accept his passing, she tells the Guardian in a poignant first-person account. “In England, people cross the street rather than talk to someone about the death of their loved one,” she said. “Here (death) was out in the open and constantly spoken of.”
Southern Mexico’s Pirates: ‘Every Story is About Money’
by Valerie Conners | 10.28.08 | 1:58 PM ET
When David Vann learned about the mysterious and brutal murder of 78-year-old sailor John Long in the waters near Puerto Madero, Mexico, he was compelled to head there to unearth the truth about Long’s demise as much as resolve his own brush with violence and corruption in the same region 11 years ago.
‘The Real Thing May be the Only Kind of Adventure We Have Left’
by Michael Yessis | 10.28.08 | 1:57 PM ET
What’s in a 12-mile walk? World Hum contributing editor Frank Bures took one in Wisconsin because he “wanted to experience what French philosopher Guy Debord called the ‘psychogeography’ of it, meaning the interaction of your mind and the place.” His story for Madison Magazine includes a slideshow.
Flushed Down the Toilet: One Passenger’s Arm
by Valerie Conners | 10.28.08 | 8:18 AM ET
A man riding a high speed train in France had to be rescued by emergency workers after dropping his cell phone down the train’s toilet, reaching in to extract it and having his arm trapped by the suction system. Said one witness, “He came out on a stretcher, with his hand still jammed in the toilet bowl, which they had to saw clean off.” Wow.
New Addition to the Travel Lexicon: ‘Baiku’
by Eva Holland | 10.28.08 | 8:14 AM ET
That would be a haiku-esque poem written by a “biker poet,” and that’s usually an ode to the open road. The Boston Globe takes a look at the biker poet phenomenon and shares a few baikus as well. Here’s my favorite:
