Travel Blog: News and Briefs
World Hum’s Most Read: July 12-18
by World Hum | 07.18.08 | 5:11 PM ET
Our five most popular features and blog posts for the week:
1) Bored on Zakynthos? You Might Skip the Sex Competition.
2) Q&A With Tony Perrottet: Exposing Napoleon’s Penis
3) British Couple Arrested for Having Sex on Beach in Dubai
4) How to Break Bread and Brie in France (pictured)
5) As a Woman, Can I Really Travel Without Much Fear for my Safety?
Photo by cwbuecheler via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
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Yahoo! BuzzHope 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.”
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.
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.”
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.
Hong Kong International Named World’s Best Airport
by Jim Benning | 07.16.08 | 1:48 PM ET
Pico Iyer once wrote that “Setting foot in Hong Kong’s new airport was the first time I felt I was stepping into the 21st century.” Others clearly agree: Hong Kong International has just been named the world’s best airport—for the seventh time—based on a passenger survey conducted by a U.K. consulting firm that collected a whopping 8 million responses. Coming in second and third: Singapore’s Changi Airport and Seoul’s Incheon Airport.
Related on World Hum:
* Travel Writers Pick Their Favorite Airports
Photo of Hong Kong International Airport by ztij0 via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Brewery Tours: More Than Just Free Beer
by Eva Holland | 07.16.08 | 11:49 AM ET
The standard brewery visit—a quick walk-through and a free cold one—has gotten a facelift in recent years, Forbes’s Rebecca Ruiz observes. Many brewers, she writes, are now “offering everything from in-depth tours to lessons in beer-making.” Ruiz consulted with a couple of industry insiders to come up with a list of the best brewery tours in the world.
Photo by post406 via Flickr (Creative Commons).
From Candy Consumer to Space Tourist
by Jim Benning | 07.16.08 | 10:54 AM ET
It’s like something out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A French air hostess opened the winning candy wrapper in a contest to rocket into space and experience five minutes of weightlessness. She called it “a dream come true.” Are there Oompa-Loompas in space?
The Long Descent, Via The New Yorker
by Julia Ross | 07.16.08 | 10:39 AM ET
While another New Yorker illustration is getting all the press, we thought we’d point out this week’s cartoon caption contest winner. It reminds us that air travel could always get worse.
Related on World Hum:
* The Long Descent: Ads on Boarding Passes
In Airports, Tough Luck Calls for Creative Sleeping Solutions
by Elyse Franko | 07.15.08 | 2:13 PM ET
As airlines give out fewer hotel vouchers, more passengers are forced to spend the night in the airport when their flights are delayed or canceled. To help travelers remain fully functional even after spending the night on the floor, business traveler Frank Giotto has invented the Mini Motel, a lightweight, single-person tent that comes fully equipped with an air mattress, pillow, bed sheet and alarm clock, among other things.
