Travel Blog
What We Loved This Week: Sigur Rós’ Iceland, Mick Jagger’s Knee Pads and the Frugal Traveler
by World Hum | 07.18.08 | 2:43 PM ET
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! BuzzDave Barry in Costa Rica: ‘A Nation Located in South or Central America, or Possibly Europe’
by Michael Yessis | 07.18.08 | 1:49 PM ET
The Pulitzer Prize-winning funnyman has apparently figured out where it is, because he’s been blogging from Costa Rica about his travels. He’s seen lots of monkeys, and he went zip-lining, “which is a sport where the object is to look like the world’s biggest dork,” he writes. “I was very good at it.” Judge for yourself.
Related on World Hum:
* Onion Video: Andorra is ‘Not in Africa’
Hope for Pyongyang’s ‘Hotel of Doom’?
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.18.08 | 1:27 PM ET
The pyramid-shaped, 105-story Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, has been languishing—unfinished—for 16 years. But now Egyptian developers have begun refurbishing what was once dubbed “the worst building in the history of mankind,” Reuters reports. It’s estimated to cost $2 billion—about 10 percent of North Korea’s annual economic output—to finish the skyline-dominating eyesore.
Obama’s Transatlantic Travels: Beatles-esque?
by Jim Benning | 07.18.08 | 1:07 PM ET
Just how big a deal is Barack Obama’s 12,000-mile overseas trip, expected to begin in the coming days? Foreign Policy’s Passport blog points out this line from the Times of London: “You have to go back to the Beatles’ first U.S. tour to find a transatlantic trip freighted with the sort of pregnant excitement that attends the one Barack Obama is about to make.” Wow. Meanwhile, John McCain has made three foreign trips in recent months, which U.S. media, it seems, have covered with the all excitement of a Turtles world tour. To illustrate, here’s an audio/video musical comparison of the interest in the two candidates’ travels:
You Know Things Are Bad When They’re Taking Down Japanese Condom Ads
by Ben Keene | 07.18.08 | 12:15 PM ET
Disputed territories abound—there are hundreds of examples around the world—and they cause tempers to short circuit from time to time. In one, Cambodian and Thai troops nearly fired on one another yesterday. And not too far away, tensions between South Korea and Japan have been on the rise over the Dokdo Islands (known as Takeshima in Japan), a group of small volcanic islets nearly equidistant from the two countries.
In Paris, Everyone Wants a Burger
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.18.08 | 11:56 AM ET
The French are mad about juicy beef patties on sesame-seed buns, and restaurants all over the City of Light are offering Gallic translations of the ultimate all-American meal, writes Jane Sigal in the International Herald Tribune.
U2’s Bono, Edge Get OK to Reinvent Dublin’s Clarence Hotel
by Jim Benning | 07.18.08 | 11:44 AM ET
Photo by Phil Romans via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
The rock stars’ plan to demolish the riverside Clarence Hotel in Dublin’s Temple Bar district and rebuild it according to architect Norman Foster’s futuristic design was hardly assured to win approval. One conservationist called the design a “cannibalistic behemoth,” and an official inspector said the new building, which will include a “flying saucer-style roof,” would be “seriously injurious to the visual amenities of the area, would conflict with the policies of the current Dublin City Development Plan, and would, thereby, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.”
Rome Bans Snacking Near Historical Attractions
by Michael Yessis | 07.18.08 | 11:19 AM ET
Or, as the AP’s Alessandra Rizzo puts it in her groan-inducing lede, “Don’t chow, bella!” Officials hope the ordinance will curb behavior that may “irreparably damage the preservation of historical and art areas and monuments and the possibility to enjoy them.”
Related on World Hum:
* Venice Bans Feeding Pigeons in St. Mark’s Square
* Americans Gone Wild in Italy—Again
Paris Bistros on a Budget
by Jim Benning | 07.17.08 | 3:16 PM ET
And by those “on a budget,” I’m guessing we’re talking about, among others, any poor sap with U.S. dollars. The Guardian has a list of 10.
Related on World Hum:
* Three Travel Tips: Ways to Save Money in Europe
‘The Nice Thing About the Barebones U.S. Airlines ...’
by Jim Benning | 07.17.08 | 2:34 PM ET
“... is that they make flying foreign airlines seem luxurious,” writes Tom Swick. Too true. And don’t forget this other nice thing about flying U.S. airlines, which, we’ve noted, is coming to light this week: free, surprise stops at airports not on your itinerary. Good times.
Windmills on the Rise in the Netherlands
by Jim Benning | 07.17.08 | 1:50 PM ET
Interestingly, among the many reasons cited for the phenomenon in this International Herald Tribune story: globalization. “As immigration changes the face of Dutch cities and globalization spreads its veil of uniformity over life in the Netherlands, many among the Dutch are looking for their roots.” And according to some, those roots also happen to produce better tasting flour than newer grinding methods. No word on whether tilting at windmills is also on the rise.
Related on World Hum:
* Sex, Drugs and Changing Times in Amsterdam
Photo by Porcelaingirl via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Museum of the American Cocktail Opening In New Orleans
by Eva Holland | 07.17.08 | 1:33 PM ET
I don’t know if I can agree with the interviewee in this story who argues that “New Orleans has always been the home of civilized drinking.” I suppose that depends on your definition of “civilized.”
Senate Repeals HIV Travel Ban
by Jim Benning | 07.17.08 | 12:34 PM ET
Since 1993, U.S. border agents could deny entry to any tourist or immigrant with HIV. But that will likely change now. The Senate voted yesterday to repeal the ban, and the move is expected to be signed by President Bush.
New Travel Book: ‘A Nuclear Family Vacation’
by Eva Holland | 07.17.08 | 11:38 AM ET
Full title: “A Nuclear Family Vacation: Travels in the World of Atomic Weaponry”
Released: June 10, 2008
Travel genre: Science travel, WMD travel
Territory covered: United States, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan
Pilots Charge US Airways With ‘Program of Intimidation’ to Cut Fuel Use
by Jim Benning | 07.17.08 | 10:38 AM ET
On Monday we noted a newspaper story about airlines filling their planes with less fuel to save money. Now comes a particularly troubling report: US Airways’ pilots’ union claims its pilots are under pressure from the airline to use less fuel than they believe to be safe.
