Travel Blog
Travel Song of the Day: ‘El Jinete’ by José Alfredo Jiménez
by Jim Benning | 10.12.09 | 3:53 PM ET
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Yahoo! BuzzLowell Thomas Award Winners Announced
by Eva Holland | 10.12.09 | 3:18 PM ET
The winners of this year’s Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards were announced over the weekend. Freelancer Joe Ray was named Travel Journalist of the Year and National Geographic Traveler took the gold in both the Magazine and Online Travel Journalism Site categories, while World Hum columnist Rolf Potts received a bronze award for his latest book, Marco Polo Didn’t Go There. Congratulations to all the winners!
The Critics: ‘Couples Retreat’
by Eva Holland | 10.12.09 | 12:24 PM ET
A few months back I said that “Couples Retreat”—you know, the one where four couples unwittingly book into an all-inclusive marriage counseling resort?—had “some comic potential.” Well, the flick opened this weekend, and I have to report that while said potential was there, it never blossoms into vacation comedy gold. There are a few decent jokes scattered throughout—everyone likes a good jab at Sandals, right?—and the scenery is lovely (the movie was shot in Bora Bora) but the story drags aimlessly between the occasional laughs.
Alain de Botton: In Praise of Airline Food
by Eva Holland | 10.12.09 | 11:21 AM ET
In one of the dispatches resulting from his stint as Heathrow’s writer in residence, de Botton visits an airline food factory—and explains why he loves the much-maligned meals.
Naturally airline food is dismal when we compare it to what we’d get on the ground but this is to miss the point. The thrill of airline food lies in the interaction between the meal and the odd place in which one is eating it. Food that, if eaten in a kitchen, would have been banal or offensive, acquires a new taste in the presence of the clouds. With the in-flight tray, we make ourselves at home in an unhomely place: we appropriate the extraterrestrial skyscape with the help of a chilled bread roll and a plastic tray of potato salad.
U.S. Ambassador Turns Travel Blogger
by Eva Holland | 10.12.09 | 10:39 AM ET
The new U.S. ambassador to Canada has been blogging his life up north, reflecting on everything from his first taste of poutine to a childhood road trip to Niagara Falls. Look out, blogosphere—that’s some well-connected competition. (Via The Globe and Mail)
What We Loved This Week: Porter Airlines, Dave Eggers and More
by World Hum | 10.09.09 | 4:22 PM ET
Photo by Jenna Schnuer Eva Holland
I loved flying Porter Airlines and, before take-off, relaxing in Porter’s free passenger lounge at Toronto City Centre Airport. A smooth operation, friendly staff, and free snacks—it was a pleasant reminder that air travel doesn’t have to be a succession of minor inconveniences and discomforts.
Does Chicago Lack a ‘Recognizable Narrative’?
by Eva Holland | 10.09.09 | 3:26 PM ET
Over at The Smart Set, Jessa Crispin speculates about what her one-time hometown means to the outside world. She writes:
Because Chicago has no new compelling storyline, the old ones will have to do for the rest of the world. Even the renowned literary magazine Granta—after spending who knows how long creating its recent issue devoted entirely to Chicago—used Al Capone as its first example of what defines Chicago in the issue’s introduction.
Celebrating ‘The Best American Travel Writing’ in NYC
by Eva Holland | 10.09.09 | 2:49 PM ET
I made it to the launch party for The Best American Travel Writing 2009 last night at Manhattan’s Idlewild Books. Series editor Jason Wilson was there, along with this year’s guest editor, Simon Winchester—who read from what he described as his “preachy” introduction on the importance of teaching geography. (Preachy or not, I think it’s a point worth making.) Contributors Elisabeth Eaves, Matthew Power and Andre Aciman also read from their essays in the anthology, a few bottles of wine were emptied, and—if I can have a preachy moment of my own—it was nice to see, despite the ongoing litany of bad news, that a book of literary travel essays can still draw a crowd.
As for the anthology itself? I haven’t gotten deeply into it yet, but it looks like another good one. Regular World Hum contributors Frank Bures and Eric Weiner both have stories included, while four World Hum stories—from Katie Krueger, Julia Ross, Emily Stone and Jeffrey Tayler—are among this year’s additional notable selections.
Should Airlines Change the ‘Lap Child’ Policy?
by Eva Holland | 10.09.09 | 1:35 PM ET
Beth Blair of The Vacation Gals thinks so. Her call for a ban is pretty convincing.
Photo You Must See: Stilt-Fishing in Sri Lanka
by World Hum | 10.09.09 | 12:31 PM ET
REUTERS/Carlos Barria Sri Lankan fishermen wait to catch fish as they sit atop stilts in Ahangama.
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Car Song’ by Elastica
by Eva Holland | 10.09.09 | 11:28 AM ET
EU Aims to End Airline Liquid Ban
by Eva Holland | 10.09.09 | 10:44 AM ET
Good news, sort of, from across the pond: The European Union’s transport commissioner is “resolved to get rid of these awkward and very uncomfortable” security restrictions—just as soon as new screening technology becomes available. There’s no target date, but the thought counts for something, right?
Photo You Must See: Obeisance at the Golden Temple
by World Hum | 10.08.09 | 5:14 PM ET
A devotee prays at Amritsar’s Golden Temple, the holiest site in Sikhism
Coming Soon: ‘Phantom of the Boardwalk’?
by Eva Holland | 10.08.09 | 4:13 PM ET
Andrew Lloyd Webber is hard at work on a sequel to his monster hit, “Phantom of the Opera”—and, the Globe and Mail reports, the second installment will be set at Coney Island. The new show is set to debut in London and New York next year, and the producers promise that it will be—wait for it—“a roller-coaster ride of obsession and intrigue.”
Chinatowns: A Reminder ‘You Don’t Have to go Far From Home to Really Take Off in America’
by Michael Yessis | 10.08.09 | 3:00 PM ET
After her interview with “American Chinatown” author Bonnie Tsui for World Hum, Jenna Schnuer reflects on the Chinatowns in her life and how they’ve shaped her. She writes: “[U]nlike Tsui, whose trips to Chinatown offered a chance to connect with her family and heritage, mine have always been a chance to experience something, well, other.”
