Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Mountain Rescue: ‘Possibly Even Oscar Gold’?
by Eva Holland | 05.07.08 | 6:15 PM ET
That’s the prediction of our faithful Onion correspondent, on the scene of a mountain rescue that has all the ingredients for a “thrilling, made-for-TV movie”:
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Yahoo! BuzzThe Oreo Goes Global
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.07.08 | 9:26 AM ET
Kraft Foods is pushing the all-American cookie on Great Britain this month, hoping to convince the finicky biscuit eaters that two crisp chocolate wafers sandwiched with “creme” trumps a digestive any old day. The Oreo is already the top-selling cookie in China, though it’s been modified to suit Chinese tastes (less sugar, wafers instead of cookies and oblong instead of round). The Chinese are also dunking their Oreos in milk, the ever-perfect combo for this resilient cookie.
Eighth-Grade Science Projects and the ‘Calypso King of Barbados’
by Eva Holland | 05.07.08 | 9:24 AM ET
Remember that papier-mache volcano that some kid (or, more accurately, his parents) built every year for the junior high science fair? It never did manage to teach me how volcanoes work—later, I’d only recall the bubble and hiss of the Sprite mixture foaming out the top. But recently, while trying to get a handle on the local music scene in Barbados, I came across something similar: this educational volcano video, set to a hit soca track by Barbadian calypso legend Red Plastic Bag. Maybe something like this would have helped me pay closer attention in science class. Then again, maybe I would have only remembered the song. It’s plenty catchy.
Signspotting Gets a Fresh Look
by Jim Benning | 05.07.08 | 9:18 AM ET
Doug Lansky has redesigned the website for Signspotting, his collection of offbeat and funny sign photos from around the globe. For the first time, users can post photos and visitors can rank them. “This is just a lot more fun and gives people a chance to help me pick the best shots each week,” he tells me. “It’s a lot more interactive.” Lansky’s narrated slide show featuring some of his favorite shots recently appeared on World Hum.
Related on World Hum:
* Q&A with Doug Lansky
Riding the Rails in Iran and Beyond
by Jim Benning | 05.06.08 | 4:37 PM ET
Interesting bit in a Guardian story about train travel in Iran: “Scheduled for completion later this year is a line that will run from Kerman in the south-east to Quetta across the Pakistani border. When finished, it will present a mouth-watering prospect: uninterrupted rail travel from Europe to the subcontinent.”
Farecast Wins Webby Award for Travel
by Jim Benning | 05.06.08 | 12:15 PM ET
Kayak.com won in the People’s Choice category. Full list of Webby winners here.
A Carbon-Free ‘Green City’ in the Desert?
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.06.08 | 10:42 AM ET
If the excesses of Dubai aren’t your thing, you might soon consider a very different kind of travel destination in the United Arab Emirates. Oil-rich Abu Dhabi is planning to build an “eco city” for 50,000 people that will be powered entirely by renewable energy, NPR reports.
Happy Cinco de Mayo
by Jim Benning | 05.05.08 | 1:07 PM ET
It’s White-People’s-Excuse-to-Let-Loose Day! (Or, if you’re NPR, it’s your excuse to go completely loco and play some Nortec Collective.)
‘It’s My Life’s Ambition Not to be the Subject of a Krakauer Book’
by Jim Benning | 05.05.08 | 1:00 PM ET
You and the rest of us, Dan. Los Angeles Times Pulitzer winner Dan Neil embarked on a solo backpacking trip across Joshua Tree National Park recently armed with a satellite phone, a GPS unit and a personal locator beacon. “It’s my life’s ambition not to be the subject of a Krakauer book,” he writes, referring, of course, to Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild” and “Into Thin Air.” He continues: “I have kids, a wife, a cat who’d miss me terribly. But sometimes, I want to be alone too. Why? Because I have kids, a wife, a cat etc.”
More Americans Traveling Overseas (But Not Those Staycationing)
by Jim Benning | 05.05.08 | 12:26 PM ET
Amazing. Despite a lagging economy at home, a tanking U.S. dollar across the planet and increasing use of the ridiculous verb “staycation,” more American are expected to travel abroad this summer than last.
In Los Angeles, ‘Carne Asada is Not a Crime’
by Jim Benning | 05.05.08 | 11:13 AM ET
Have more profound words ever been uttered? That’s one of the rallying cries of Save Our Taco Trucks, a movement opposing a new law that restricts taco trucks in Los Angeles County. The law requires the trucks to change locations every hour, with violators “facing fines, misdemeanor charges and, possibly, jail time,” the New York Times reports.
Why Flights Are Getting Longer
by Jim Benning | 05.05.08 | 10:30 AM ET
The same flights are taking longer these days—by a few minutes, give or take—because many airlines are slowing down their planes to conserve fuel. No complaints here. It’s not exactly the kind of slow travel some have in mind, but it’s a start.
Related on World Hum:
* Fueling Desire
World Hum’s Most Read: April 26-May 2
by World Hum | 05.02.08 | 4:49 PM ET
Our five most popular features and blog posts this week:
1) Thomas Kohnstamm’s Lonely Planet: The Firestorm Around ‘Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?’
2) ‘The Worst Guidebook Writer Ever’?
3) How to: Wear a Sari in India
4) Why I CouchSurf
5) Rural Pubs in Ireland Becoming ‘So Yesterday’ (pictured)
The ‘Cuisses de Grenouille’ on that French Guy’s Plate Might be From Indonesia
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.02.08 | 11:29 AM ET
Peter Hessler, ‘Cartography’ Win National Magazine Awards
by Michael Yessis | 05.02.08 | 11:03 AM ET
Hessler was honored with a National Magazine Award in the reporting category last night for China’s Instant Cities, a National Geographic story we first noted last June. In the leisure interests category, New York Magazine won for Cartography: The Complete Road Map to New York City Street food. Also of note: The Virginia Quarterly Review won the best single-topic issue, with South America in the 21st Century. The American Society of Magazine Editors website has a list of all the nominees and winners.
