Travel Blog: News and Briefs
World Hum Featured in Podcast
by Jim Benning | 01.27.05 | 10:11 PM ET
Of all the adjectives one might use to describe World Hum, high-tech is not one of them. So I was delighted to be featured this week as the subject of an audio interview on a decidedly more tech-savvy blog, Gadling.com. Launched by Erik Olsen, whose resume includes stints at the Department of Interior and ABC News, the travel blog features Olsen’s take on what he calls “engaged travel.” As Olsen explains on the site: “Engaged travelers throw themselves (sometimes literally) into action when they travel. Whether sea kayaking in Micronesia or learning how to cook risotto in Italy, Gadling travelers are adventurers.”
The interview with me is included in a 41-minute podcast, which sounds something like a hip public radio show: It’s The Savvy Traveler meets the blogosphere. I’m included in the third and final segment. Olsen also talks up his favorite blog items and articles in travel magazines. Listeners can easily skip sections of the show. It’s an intriguing new format.
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Yahoo! BuzzHere Comes “Honeymoon”
by Michael Yessis | 01.25.05 | 10:19 PM ET
Franz Wisner’s book Honeymoon with My Brother, which chronicles the travels he and his brother, Kurt, undertook after his fiancee left him days before their scheduled wedding, comes out in February, but it’s already on the path to go where few travel books have gone: up on the big screen. According to the cover story of Sunday’s Los Angeles Times magazine, Wisner sold the screenplay rights to Sony’s Columbia Pictures for sum in the high six figures. Get ready, too, for the photo spread in Vanity Fair magazine and a huge publicity push. Franz and Kurt’s trip took them through 53 countries, in what the Times’s Robert Salladay says was “a sort of capitalist version of ‘The Motorcycle Diaries.’” He writes: “Unlike that of young Che Guevara’s eight-month trip through South America, the transportation was not a temperamental Norton motorcycle but a new Saab 9-5 sedan purchased in Sweden. It would take them across Europe and down through Syria. The Saab was an almost comic luxury for ‘backpackers.’ It would be ditched on a later trip in favor of sandals and crowded buses, including one with a vomiting little girl in the next seat.”
So Long, Easy Going
by Michael Yessis | 01.24.05 | 10:05 PM ET
Easy Going, the famed Berkeley, California, travel shop and bookstore, will be shutting its storefront Tuesday, February 15. Easy Going will remain in business on the Web, but it’s still a loss for the community of travel writers and Bay Area readers. Owner Thelma Elkins will be throwing a farewell/celebration at the old storefront February 14 from 1 to 6 p.m.
On Board “Flying Carpet Airlines”
by Michael Yessis | 01.19.05 | 10:08 PM ET
Flying Carpet Airlines? “As Commander Queeg said in The Caine Mutiny, ‘I kid thee not,’” writes Robert Fisk in the Independent U.K. “It says ‘Flying Carpet’ on the little blue boarding cards, below the captain’s cabin and on the passenger headrest covers where the aircraft can be seen gliding through the sky on a high-pile carpet.” Fisk tried out the airline’s Beirut-to-Baghdad service last week. His full story can be found at truthout.org.
Welcome to Swagland
by Michael Yessis | 01.19.05 | 10:05 PM ET
It’s not a destination, but “a wondrous alternate universe concocted by publicists, funded by corporations eager for media coverage of their wares and frequented by journalists who have cast off concerns about conflicts of interest and embraced a new creed of conspicuous consumption,” writes Los Angeles Times magazine. And who are some of the major visitors to Swagland? Travel writers. Weddle offers an uncommonly deep examination of swag—an acronym for “stolen without a gun” or “sh*t we all get”—with a special nod to the travel junket. “The junket gives travel bureaus, resorts and hotels the biggest bang for their buck, far more than they could get by taking out ads in major magazines or newspapers,” he writes. “Full-page ads in national magazines run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In contrast, it might cost a grand to fly a writer to a hotel or resort for a weekend junket, and the results are far more effective.”
Greenwald Goes to Sri Lanka
by Jim Benning | 01.12.05 | 10:10 PM ET
Travel writer Jeff Greenwald, who is working with a relief organization to aid tsunami victims, filed a report from Arugam Bay for Salon.com. “Prior to the tsunami, Arugam Bay was considered one of the 10 best surf spots in the world; the British held their surfing championships here in 2003,” he writes. “Aside from a thriving tourism industry, the community included thousands of fishermen and their families. But the three waves of December’s tsunami struck this region with apocalyptic force, killing an estimated 3,000 people, flattening the fishing villages, and turning the strand of beachside hotels and restaurants into a scene of Hiroshima-like ruin.” Note: If you’re not a Salon subscriber, you’ll have to endure a short commercial to read the story. I watched an ad for a Salon.com celebrity Caribbean cruise: “Balmy breezes. Sizzling seminars. Lasting friendships.”
Travel and the Tsunamis
by Jim Benning | 01.10.05 | 10:14 PM ET
The catastrophe in South Asia touched the lives of millions of people around the world, including countless travelers. It was natural that newspaper travel sections address it. Yet judging from my brief online survey, few did, beyond issuing the requisite travel warnings. Thomas Swick of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, for one, wrote a thoughtful essay. “Before the earthquake, the line was clear,” he wrote. “There were the people on vacation, and the people working to serve them…Then the earth shook and the sea rose up, washing away houses, boats, people, distinctions. Hotel guests and maids, greased sunbathers and barefoot vendors, the woman getting a massage and her masseuse—all were embroiled in the same grisly waves. According to reports, nearly half of the people killed in Thailand were foreigners.” Meanwhile, an essay I wrote appeared in the Boston Globe pointing to one small bright spot in the tragic story: Although travelers to developing nations often get a bad rap in the media for a number of reasons, many travelers who were in South Asia when the tsunamis struck quickly pitched in, carrying bodies, distributing aid and picking through rubble. Some have remained to offer assistance. “[T]heir willingness to help,” I wrote, “instead of immediately returning home or setting off for carefree climes demonstrates a fact that too often gets overlooked: Travelers are capable of great good.”
She’s Fired
by Michael Yessis | 01.10.05 | 10:11 PM ET
Delta flight attendant Ellen Simonetti, known online as Queen of Sky, was recently fired for posting “inappropriate” pictures on her weblog, according to a BBC report. She wasn’t told exactly which images on her site caused the ruckus, but she believes it might have been these. She defends herself in a column on Cnet’s News.com.
R.I.P. Susan Sontag
by Jim Benning | 01.06.05 | 9:18 PM ET
Everyone who cares knows by now that the novelist and essayist Susan Sontag died Dec. 28 at the age of 71. I’d read a number of her essays. In reading many of the reflections on her life over the last week, I was most surprised to learn that, in her early years, she had been moved by the travel writing of Richard Halliburton. Sontag never went on to do much in the way of conventional travel writing herself. I’d never heard of her talking much about the genre. But I imagine she had read The Royal Road to Romance, a Halliburton classic first published in 1925. In it, he writes of being inspired to travel by lines from Stony Brook’s “Dorian Gray.” Among them: “Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you. Be afraid of nothing.” Sontag was, it seemed, afraid of nothing. Her writing was fearless. It inspired and enraged. She will be sorely missed.
Travelers: “The New Rapid Reaction Relief Squads”
by Jim Benning | 01.04.05 | 10:20 PM ET
Like many, we spent time over the last week glued to reports of the damage caused by the tsunamis in South Asia. Our hearts go out to everyone affected: the countless locals who lost loved ones and whose lives have been turned upside down, and the friends and family members of travelers who perished. The news has been overwhelming. But we have been heartened to see the response from the online travel community, as well as from travelers themselves. Lonely Planet has created a board on its Thorn Tree section for those seeking news of friends and relatives, and it looks as though some information is getting back. The Ethical Traveler has posted a list of aid organizations who could benefit from donations. And there is news in the Independent of countless travelers who, instead of fleeing devastated areas, have actually sought them out, offering to help in any way they can. According to the report: “Hundreds of holidaymakers have arrived…But they’re not planning on lazing by the pool. They are so appalled by the loss of life that they have become the new rapid reaction relief squads. Reports of similar mini-invasions of traveller volunteers are coming in from Thailand and parts of Indonesia. But nowhere is this trend more evident than in Sri Lanka…From the hotels of Colombo a steady stream of helpers make their way to the headquarters of aid organisations and emergency relief groups.” The news from South Asia is devastating. But out of such a disaster can come some good. These travelers are one small example of that.
Riding the Freedom of Movement Train (aka the World’s Most Dangerous Passenger Train)
by Michael Yessis | 12.14.04 | 5:36 PM ET
Two years ago, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo established a railway from Macedonia to Serbia. “The train,” writes Daniel Sekulich in an excellent story in Outpost magazine, “is regularly pelted with stones and cinder blocks or shot at with rifles.” Nevertheless, Sekulich boarded the train, and his story about his trip covers fascinating geographical and political terrain. “Several European nations offered aging diesel locomotives and coaches to the cause, with security provided by international forces stationed in Kosovo,” Sekulich writes. “Not surprisingly, few Serb or Albanian railroaders wanted to drive a train carrying ‘the enemy,’ so the call went out for international volunteers to take up the task.” Among them is Donald Crawford, a Canadian locomotive engineer. “For many people - mostly Serbs and Roma - this is the only way to get groceries, visit the hospital and see relatives,” Crawford tells Sekulich. “It’s called the Freedom of Movement Train because that’s what we provide.”
Carey in Japan
by Michael Yessis | 12.13.04 | 5:40 PM ET
Australian novelist Peter Carey’s next book focuses on a trip to Japan he took with his 12-year-old son Charlie. Their mission: to explore the worlds of manga and anime. Travel + Leisure’s Amy Farley quizzes him about his trip in the December issue. “Wrong in Japan,” the book about the trip, comes out next month.
Ask Michael Shapiro
by Michael Yessis | 12.13.04 | 5:39 PM ET
“A Sense of Place” author Michael Shapiro answers questions about travel writing and travel writers tomorrow at noon Eastern time in an MSNBC chat.
‘Dude, Don’t Blame Me, Eh? I’m Canadian!’
by Jim Benning | 12.07.04 | 4:41 PM ET
American travelers abroad sometimes find themselves in sticky situations. In the Middle East, they occasionally face hostile locals. From Europe to South America, they’re asked to explain everything from the overthrow of Salvador Allende to global warming to the invasion of Iraq. Three years ago this month, in our holiday Gift Guide, we suggested a solution: Give the American traveler you love a “Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Canadian” T-shirt. The bold red-and-white shirts would say it all to the miffed mullahs and torch-wielding mobs, we insisted, diffusing any potential hostility. It was a joke. But it turns out that an American company is now marketing a “Go Canadian” package to American travelers aimed at accomplishing just that. T-shirtKing.com is selling a $24.95 package featuring a Canadian flag T-shirt, lapel pin, luggage patch and how-to-speak Canadian reference guide. CNN.com features a story about the package. Of course, some Americans have long pretended to be Canadian when overseas. But this is the first time we’ve heard of any marketing pitch aimed at them. We still think “Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Canadian” is the bold way to go.
‘Dude, Don’t Blame Me, Eh? I’m Canadian!’
by Jim Benning | 12.07.04 | 4:41 PM ET
American travelers abroad sometimes find themselves in sticky situations. In the Middle East, they occasionally face hostile locals. From Europe to South America, they’re asked to explain everything from the overthrow of Salvador Allende to global warming to the invasion of Iraq. Three years ago this month, in our holiday Gift Guide, we suggested a solution: Give the American traveler you love a “Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Canadian” T-shirt. The bold red-and-white shirts would say it all to the miffed mullahs and torch-wielding mobs, we insisted, diffusing any potential hostility. It was a joke. But it turns out that an American company is now marketing a “Go Canadian” package to American travelers aimed at accomplishing just that. T-shirtKing.com is selling a $24.95 package featuring a Canadian flag T-shirt, lapel pin, luggage patch and how-to-speak Canadian reference guide. CNN.com features a story about the package. Of course, some Americans have long pretended to be Canadian when overseas. But this is the first time we’ve heard of any marketing pitch aimed at them. We still think “Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Canadian” is the bold way to go.
