Travel Blog: News and Briefs
The International Banana Club: One Appealing Museum
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.16.08 | 3:40 AM ET
James Frey may have redeemed his fake-memoir self with his latest book, at least according to a rave review by Janet Maslin of The New York Times. But I’m more interested in Frey’s (random?) nod to an L.A.-area museum devoted entirely to bananas.
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Yahoo! BuzzFrance Mulls Breathalyzers at Late-Night Bars
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.16.08 | 3:30 AM ET
Interesting move in France. The government may require thousands of clubs, cafes and bars open after 2 a.m. to install Breathalyzers by Jan. 1. Taking the Breathalyzer test would not be mandatory, but politicians are hoping patrons who may have had one too many drinks will voluntarily check their alcohol levels before driving home. The proposal was floated after a rash of drunk-driving accidents. Not everyone is cheering: Some are still reeling from a new smoking ban, and others in the hospitality industry complain Breathalyzers are too expensive.
Related on World Hum:
* France’s Smoking Ban Chokes its Hookah Bars
Hard Rock Park Opens to ‘Awesome’ Reviews
by Eva Holland | 05.15.08 | 1:00 PM ET
Photo by scmikeburton via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
It’s hard to believe it’s taken this long for the United States to get a rock ‘n’ roll theme park. After all, aren’t rock and roller coasters two of the things America does best? (And I say this as a Canadian.) But at long last, Hard Rock Park has opened in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and according to Myrtle Beach Online, “awesome” was the word of the day at the park’s recent “soft” opening. Since then, rave reviews have continued to pour in.
Why Disneyland is Hot and Vegas Is Not
by Jim Benning | 05.15.08 | 11:05 AM ET
Interesting bit of economic analysis from the AP: “The gaming business often brags that it’s recession-proof because gamblers will always like to gamble, but amusement destinations historically have seen their business get hard hit when consumers’ wallets are pinched. The upscaling of Las Vegas with its five-star hotels, restaurants and shops, and the down-pricing of Disney to more value-oriented park packages and hotels over the last decade has turned that concept on its head.” Now, if Disney would just open a Vegas casino everything would balance out nicely.
Related on World Hum:
* A Clash of Civilizations Over Disney’s ‘It’s a Small World’
Photo by gruntzooki via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Cruise Line: Woman Was Alone When She Fell From Ship
by Jim Benning | 05.15.08 | 10:28 AM ET
Norwegian Cruise Line says surveillance video captured a 46-year-old New Jersey woman falling from her stateroom balcony shortly after the ship left New York on Sunday. The woman disappeared after the fall. “The details are likely to end growing speculation that foul play was involved,” USA Today reports.
Photo: Reebok Embraces Bollywood
by Jim Benning | 05.14.08 | 1:42 PM ET
Perhaps it’s due to jet lag—I just arrived in London and have been forcing myself to stay awake to adjust to the time change. Or maybe it’s because I was reading The Post-American World on the flight over and had just come across this line: “The biggest movie industry, in terms of both movies made and tickets sold, is Bollywood, not Hollywood.” Whatever the reason, I was taken with this shrinking-planet shop-window display I just passed in Soho:
TripAdvisor User Threatened with Libel Suit After Reviewing Hotel
by Jim Benning | 05.14.08 | 12:28 PM ET
Very creepy. And it seems other TripAdvisor users posting critical reviews have been threatened, too—apparently by attorneys representing unhappy hotel owners or managers. Catherine Hamm of the Los Angeles Times asked some experts about it. TripAdvisor users “have the 1st Amendment” on their side, she writes. But she adds: “All the experts agreed that those who post on TripAdvisor or like sites need not worry about having their say as long as they frame it as opinion rather than fact.”
Is Phoenix Going Green?
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.14.08 | 12:00 PM ET
If you’ve visited Arizona’s largest city, you’ve probably gotten used to seeing it as a dry and increasingly smoggy desert metropolis that’s trying a little too hard to keep its lawns thriving. But if some in the city have their way, Phoenix will look very different in years to come. The city, reports Grist, has embarked on a slow but steady path to sustainability—embracing light-rail transportation and biofuels for its fleet of vehicles—and even greater density downtown to combat sprawl.
Sardines, Sushi and the Healthiest Diets on Earth
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.13.08 | 10:35 AM ET
Gourmet magazine has a great Q&A with Daphne Miller, author of the book, The Jungle Effect: A Doctor Discovers the Healthiest Diets from Around the World - Why They Work and How to Bring Them Home. Miller, who practices family medicine in California, traveled the world to study indigenous cuisines and find out why they are so much healthier than the typical American diet. Think many places in Japan and Crete, China and West Africa, where the food is local, whole and never processed.
NYC Man: JetBlue Pilot Made Me Sit on Toilet for Three Hours
by Jim Benning | 05.13.08 | 9:39 AM ET
Hence, the $2 million lawsuit. The traveler claims it occurred on a San Diego-New York flight in February. No comment from JetBlue.
Signs of Hope in Airworld?
by Eva Holland | 05.12.08 | 1:20 PM ET
Between flight cancellations, security fears, lost baggage, and—worst of all?—the spectre of cell phone use being permitted on planes, it’s clear that a lot of the fun has been sucked out of air travel. But there are signs of hope. While the airlines themselves flounder, authorities at some airports are stepping in, the New York Times recently reported. At Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International, customer service is being ramped up, security procedures are being streamlined and more equipment is being added. Says one source: “The airport is saying, I need to be accountable to my customers regardless of what carrier they’re on.”
World Hum’s Most Read: May 3-9
by World Hum | 05.09.08 | 5:40 PM ET
Our five most popular features and blog posts this week:
1) How to: Wear a Sari in India
2) Should I Quit Law School so I can Travel the World?
3) Why I CouchSurf
4) Thomas Kohnstamm’s Lonely Planet: The Firestorm Around ‘Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?’
5) Promised Land Closed: Audio Slide Show (pictured)
So Long, Virtual Magic Kingdom
by Eva Holland | 05.09.08 | 9:32 AM ET
Disneyland isn’t going anywhere, but Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom—an online world where players’ avatars explore digital recreations of Disneyland, among other things—will be shut down on May 21, gamesindustry.biz reports. In spite of a user petition with thousands of signatures, Disney is holding firm, saying: “All good promotions must come to an end, so we have decided the time is right to close VMK.” With the virtual Disneyland going offline, enthusiasts will have to visit one of the parks themselves for their fix. Score one for travel in the “real” world? Er, sort of.
Photo by denn via Flickr (Creative Commons).
New Addition to the Travel Lexicon: ‘Holidate’
by Eva Holland | 05.08.08 | 9:06 AM ET
Move over, glampers. The holidaters—couples traveling together in the very early stages of a relationship, sometimes even a second or third date—have arrived. And according to this Globe and Mail article, a number of large hotel chains are going out of their way to accommodate the travel-as-icebreaker scenario. Special arrangements include two separate bathrooms in one suite, or even two conjoined rooms. “If they don’t end up using the second room,” one hotel employee notes, “they’ll get a 50-per-cent refund.”
Stop the Presses: Dollar Gains on Euro
by Jim Benning | 05.08.08 | 8:46 AM ET
A trip to Western Europe will still cost a bundle, of course, but the euro just dropped to $1.53, marking an eight-week low against the dollar. We’ve been decrying the weakening dollar around the globe for months—in March, we noted that even officials at Taj Mahal had stopped accepting U.S. currency because of its declining value—so we happily note this small bit of good news for American travelers.
Related on World Hum:
* Three Travel Tips: Ways to Save Money in Europe
* Ask Rolf: Given the Weak Dollar Overseas, Any Tips on Long-Term Travel?
Photo by jopemoro via Flickr (Creative Commons).
