Travel Blog: News and Briefs
The Critics: ‘Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains’
by Eva Holland | 10.29.08 | 10:56 AM ET
It’s been 15 years since Alive brought to the big screen the story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes. The survivors, rescued after 72 days, made news around the world when it was revealed that they had eaten the bodies of their dead comrades to survive. Now, a new documentary has been released that rehashes the grim story.
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Yahoo! Buzz‘The Real Thing May be the Only Kind of Adventure We Have Left’
by Michael Yessis | 10.28.08 | 1:57 PM ET
What’s in a 12-mile walk? World Hum contributing editor Frank Bures took one in Wisconsin because he “wanted to experience what French philosopher Guy Debord called the ‘psychogeography’ of it, meaning the interaction of your mind and the place.” His story for Madison Magazine includes a slideshow.
Eat Like Shackleton in London
by Eva Holland | 10.27.08 | 1:40 PM ET
A restaurant in London is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Nimrod Expedition, Ernest Shackleton’s first effort to reach the South Pole, with a 6000-calorie meal fit for an Antarctic explorer. Here’s what’s on the menu:
R.I.P. Tony Hillerman
by Michael Yessis | 10.27.08 | 7:45 AM ET
The writer was best known for his mysteries and his “vivid descriptions of Indian rituals and of the vast plateau of the Navajo reservation in the Four Corners region of the Southwest.” He loved that part of the U.S. “Those places that stir me are empty and lonely,” he wrote. Hillerman was 83.
Update: World Hum contributor Deanne Stillman remembers Hillerman, her former journalism instructor.
The ‘Peruvian Pan Flute Epidemic’ Rages on ‘South Park’
by Michael Yessis | 10.27.08 | 7:32 AM ET
Peruvian flute bands are apparently a big enough phenomenon—and irritating enough to Trey Parker and Matt Stone—to take center stage on “South Park.” The latest episode warns of a “Peruvian flute band epidemic” so extensive that the head of Homeland Security says, “All over the world wherever there are tourists or shoppers there are now on average 65 Peruvian flute bands per square kilometer.”
‘The Asian Food Lovers’ Guide to L.A.’
by Michael Yessis | 10.27.08 | 7:10 AM ET
The cover story of the latest Los Angeles Magazine takes a thorough look at the Asian food scene my home city. Alas, only the noodles section is online.
Related on World Hum:
* The Greatest Thing About Los Angeles Is ...
World Hum’s Most Read: Oct. 18-24
by World Hum | 10.24.08 | 2:51 PM ET
Our five most popular dispatches for the week:
1) Another Tet Offensive
2) The Gift of the Nile (pictured)
3) How Low Can You Go?
4) The Art of Writing a Story About Walking Across Andorra
5) Test Day
Space ‘Tourist’ Returns Safely to Earth
by Valerie Conners | 10.24.08 | 2:08 PM ET
After his Soyuz capsule landed in Kazakhstan without incident, American Richard Garriott called his odyssey into space a “pinnacle experience.” And no worries, Richard, you’ll always be a space traveler in our eyes.
Western Tourists Told to Avoid Bali
by Valerie Conners | 10.24.08 | 11:19 AM ET
Bali tourism officials and other governments issued the warnings in response to news that the convicted bombers in Bali’s 2002 nightclub terror attacks will be executed in November.
The Weak Euro: An American Traveler’s Delight?
by Elyse Franko | 10.24.08 | 10:33 AM ET
Since I was worried my saved U.S. dollars wouldn’t go very far here in Vienna, the rapid decline of the euro in the past few weeks has been a blessing.
U.K. Tour Operator Bans ‘Serial Complainers’
by Eva Holland | 10.23.08 | 2:53 PM ET
Chronic complainers beware: A major tour operator is on to your compensation-seeking schemes, and it won’t be handing out any more breakfast vouchers. Instead, TUI Travel, the U.K.‘s largest travel company, has announced that it will be creating a “black book” of problem customers, the Times of London reports.
New TSA Rule: Fliers Must Provide Full Name, Birth Date in 2009
by Michael Yessis | 10.23.08 | 2:06 PM ET
From USA Today: “The rule will ‘dramatically reduce’ the number of people hassled at airports because their name resembles a terrorist’s on a government watch list.”
‘Giant Smurf’ Travels World, Looks Ridiculous
by Valerie Conners | 10.23.08 | 12:06 PM ET
Photo by jonasholmstrom via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Whether he sang that peppy “La, la, la, la” theme song while posing in front of famous landmarks remains unclear.
Airlines Cut 3,000 Thanksgiving Flights
by Eva Holland | 10.23.08 | 10:37 AM ET
The cuts, spread out over the final 10 days of November, represent an 11 percent decline in flights offered from last year. USA Today has the details. It remains to be seen whether the reduced volume will have any impact on that time-honored Thanksgiving tradition of sitting around at the airport.
Related on World Hum:
* Three Travel Tips: Surviving Thanksgiving Air Travel
Photo by joiseyshowaa via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Site to Watch: Table Matters
by Michael Yessis | 10.22.08 | 4:07 PM ET
Table Matters is “about the intersection of food, drink, and culture from people who dream about lunch during breakfast, dinner during lunch, cocktails during work, dessert during dinner, and breakfast before bedtime.”
