Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Movie Tourists Haunting a Connecticut House
by Eva Holland | 03.23.09 | 12:00 PM ET
Publicity still for "The Haunting in Connecticut" via IGN Hollywood’s latest big-screen horror story isn’t even in theaters yet, but The Haunting in Connecticut is already drawing visitors to the real-life suburban home that spawned the urban-legend-turned-movie—and its living residents are not pleased. “Most people are respectful. They stay on the road. They might take a picture,” homeowner Susan Trotta-Smith told the AP. “But we have had a few problems with people kind of rudely coming up to the door and scaring our kids, telling them the house is haunted.” Added a local police sergeant: “There are creatures looming in the night but not inside the house. They happen to be people who are trespassing on the property, looking in windows and that kind of stuff. People are going to be disappointed. There are no ghosts.”
The movie is based on stories about the house—a former funeral home—that went around the paranormal research community in the 1980s. It lands in theaters on Friday, but don’t expect a glimpse of the real deal; filming took place in Manitoba.
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Yahoo! BuzzIs an ‘Angels and Demons’ Boycott in the Works?
by Eva Holland | 03.23.09 | 10:00 AM ET
Publicity still from "Angels and Demons" (via IGN) Get the Big Picture blogger Colin Boyd rounds up rumors from Reuters and Italy’s La Stampa newspaper about a possible Vatican-backed boycott of the upcoming Dan Brown adaptation. The movie—which has already spawned the inevitable bus tours—hits theaters in May, and Boyd is doubtful that a boycott would have much impact (or at least, not the sort of impact the Vatican is hoping for) on its potential success. He writes: “Perhaps there is no better, more effective form of advertising and buzz-building than a good ol’ fashioned protest. I can’t think of any product or service, actor or athlete who became less well known following a public ignoring session.”
Morning Links: Commuting to Baghdad, a Currywurst Museum and More
by Valerie Conners | 03.23.09 | 8:14 AM ET
- A brawl between rival biker gangs at Sydney’s airport left one man dead and travelers “terrified.”
- Fourteen people were killed following the crash of a private plane in Montana.
- Getting stuck in rush-hour traffic is the least of his problems—Kevin McEneaney’s business has him commuting to Baghdad.
- Surveys are in and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has been ranked the best in North America.
- Salon.com features a provocative interview with Rick Steves, who discusses Iran and more.
- San Juan Capistrano’s Festival of the Swallows has come and gone, with nary a bird to be seen.
- Yapta expands its services, now tracking price drops for hotels as well as flights.
- Aspiring authors, take note: You too can write like David Foster Wallace in nine simple steps. (via The Book Bench)
- Chilaquiles and mole, git in my belly! Matador offers a round-up of must-taste Mexican staples.
- Hinterland Travel has taken the first officially sanctioned group of Western tourists into Baghdad.
- Wall? What wall? The latest attraction coming to Berlin is a museum dedicated to the currywurst. (via @Marilyn_Res)
- One of my favorite debates rages on: Which is Rome’s best trattoria?
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What We Loved This Week: Muezzins, the Salt Lick Taco Bar and More
by World Hum | 03.21.09 | 6:09 PM ET
Our contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days:
Julia Ross
I loved this idea for a one-act play about Cairo’s muezzins. The description of all four muezzins chanting together at play’s end brought back memories of my six weeks in Israel and the West Bank last year, during which I found the dawn call to prayer particularly mesmerizing.
What Some Locals Have To Say About SXSW
by Sophia Dembling | 03.20.09 | 3:56 PM ET
Twitterers are all a-twitter about the fun they’re having at SXSW in Austin, and the party is only just getting started. But are long-time locals having as much fun being descended upon by the hipster masses? I polled a few of my Austin buddies about the fun they’re having ... or not.
Big Plane, Small Plane
by Rob Verger | 03.20.09 | 11:28 AM ET
As of June 1, Emirates will cease using its A380s—the biggest commercial plane in the skies—between Dubai and New York City. The airline will be replacing it with Boeing 777s, citing the poor economy as the reason to use the comparatively smaller plane, which has fewer seats to fill.
At the other end of the size spectrum, a company in Massachusetts called Terrafugia has celebrated the first flight of a flying car they have engineered called the Transition. As the Middle Seat Terminal points out, “While most people would look at the gizmo and call it a flying car, Terrafugia—founded by five pilots, all MIT graduates—prefers to call the beast a ‘Roadable Aircraft.’” According to the company’s website, each plane is anticipated to cost $194,000.
How many of these tiny flying cars do you think would fit inside an A380?
Morning Links: A Baghdad Reading List, Penguins and More
by Michael Yessis | 03.20.09 | 9:45 AM ET
- Arthur Frommer weighs in on the Royal Caribbean/Cruise Critic brouhaha over alleged free trips in exchange for positive reviews.
- Readers of Smith magazine are sharing their six-word travel stories. (via @KimMance)
- What they’re reading in The New York Times Baghdad bureau.
- Scott McCartney: “One travel benefit of the economic crisis: It’s easier than ever to upgrade.”
- The Greenbrier resort, which has hosted 26 U.S. presidents, filed for bankruptcy. Will Marriott buy it?
- Sean O’Neill offers five recession travel tips.
- Photos: Simon Winchester and penguins on South Georgia Island.
- Did you fill out your bracket in Theme Park Insider’s tournament to find the best theme-park ride in America? (via This Just in)
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An End for Kashmir’s ‘Mughal Palaces on Water’?
by Joanna Kakissis | 03.19.09 | 2:17 PM ET
The beautifully carved wooden houseboats, which are area icons, date to the 19th century, when they shielded British officials from the subcontinent’s penetrating summers. Today, tourists rent the houseboats on Dal Lake, which, though seemingly lovely, is actually a dumping ground for untreated sewage.
To combat the pollution, Kashmir’s provincial government has asked houseboat owners to install pricey sewage treatment on the vessels within 90 days or face a shutdown, The Guardian reports. But the houseboat owners, many of whom live below the poverty line, say they can’t afford the units. “The government should pay for the sewage treatment units, or it should put all the 850 houseboats together and blow them up with one big bomb,” lamented Mohammed Azam Tuman, president of the Houseboats and Shikara Owners Association.
Brook Silva-Braga on ‘One Day in Africa’
by Eva Holland | 03.19.09 | 1:19 PM ET
Over at Brave New Traveler, Ian MacKenzie interviews the creator of the backpacker documentary A Map for Saturday about his latest project and the challenges of telling a story about Africa. Brook Silva-Braga had the idea for his new documentary, One Day in Africa when he was offered the chance to cross the continent from north to south. “The trip offered a great chance to visit a large part of the continent but the disadvantage of moving through each place pretty quickly,” he said. “So the solution I came up with was to profile people throughout Africa but only for a single day.” In choosing his six subjects, Silva-Braga said he “wanted to avoid the easy traps of filling stereotypical boxes like ‘the guy with AIDS’ and ‘the woman in a refugee camp.’ Instead I was looking for people who could articulate what was important to them and give a sense of what life in their community is like.”
“One Day in Africa” will be making the rounds on the spring festival circuit; it premieres at the Cleveland Film Festival next week. Check out the wanderlust-inducing trailer:
Rats! The DOH Are Here!
by David Farley | 03.19.09 | 11:58 AM ET
The guys at the sushi restaurant across the street from my apartment in New York’s West Village were always friendly. Except for one time about a year ago when I stopped in at lunch to pick up a take-out order. There was only one other person in the restaurant—a guy typing away at a small laptop—but the two employees were short with me, acting as though the place was packed. As I tossed out requests—extra wasabi, for example—the sushi chef nervously nodded back in that officious anything-you-want manner as if I had been pointing a semi-automatic at his family. Then I noticed what was printed on the back of the jacket of the other customer: Department of Health (DOH).
More Bad News for the Dead Sea?
by Joanna Kakissis | 03.19.09 | 11:42 AM ET
Because of a marked decrease in water inflow from the Jordan River, the famous salt lake is shrinking so fast that some scientists believe that it could dry up in 50 years. But politics could also displace it from the list of the world’s top natural wonders, Reuters reports. The countries bordering the sea—Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan—must sign off for the Dead Sea to qualify for votes in 2010-2011 at the New Seven Wonders of Nature competition.
Travel Movie Watch: ‘Where the Wild Things Are’
by Eva Holland | 03.19.09 | 11:00 AM ET
Yet another beloved tale of childhood exploration is getting the Hollywood treatment. Cue the chorus of groans, right? Maybe. But while a live action movie version of Where the Wild Things Are might seem like a disaster waiting to happen, I’m actually cautiously optimistic about the adaptation. The always original Spike Jonze is directing, and Jonze also collaborated with novelist Dave Eggers on the script. Meanwhile, the cast includes Forest Whitaker, Catherine Keener and James Gandolfini. A talented group like that couldn’t get Max’s journey to the land of the Wild Things all wrong, could they? (Let’s hope not.)
Get the Big Picture has a sneak peek of the first poster for the movie, which is due out in the fall.
Morning Links: Nude Hiking in Switzerland, Toronto Street Food and More
by Michael Yessis | 03.19.09 | 7:59 AM ET
- Croats to Serbs: We want your tourist dollars.
- The Hard Days Night Hotel is open in Liverpool.
- Toronto loosens its regulations on street food. Now you’ll be able to eat souvlaki, jerk chicken, injera, etc. in midtown and downtown.
- Video: Improv Everywhere turned a Manhattan subway station into an art gallery.
- A woman apparently gave birth on a flight to New Zealand and left the baby on the plane.
- Ben Groundwater reveals 10 things he’s learned from traveling.
- The Age looks at tours inspired by crime books and writers.
- Lee Eisenberg explains how the U.S. lost its “mall hegemony to the rest of the world.”
- In the wake of shenanigans by U.S. lawmakers Sen. David Vitter and Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, the Washington Post rounds up the airport exploits of lawmakers in recent years.
- The case of Appenzell, Switzerland vs. nude hikers. After looking at the accompanying photo, I have one question: Why?
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Wanted: A World Hum Summer Intern
by World Hum | 03.18.09 | 6:36 PM ET
Are you passionate about travel and World Hum? Do you have experience writing and editing? Can you work with images and video, and tell a story visually?
We’re looking for a summer intern to help in all these areas and more. Interns will work at the Travel Channel headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland, for 10 weeks, beginning June 1, 2009.
Get more information and apply online by going to www.cox.com/coxcareer. Click on external candidates in the box on the right-hand side, and search for World Hum.
‘Rock and Roll Public Library’ Opens in London
by Eva Holland | 03.18.09 | 5:07 PM ET
The Clash guitarist Mick Jones has opened his expansive rock memorabilia collection to the public for the first time, Reuters reports. The resulting exhibit, dubbed “Rock and Roll Public Library,” is running at London’s Chelsea Space until April 18, and (unsurprisingly) is heavy on relics from the ’70s punk scene. Says Jones: “Ultimately I’d like to have a permanent place to exhibit the whole collection like a museum, like a library where you can come and see the stuff and maybe get a copy or sit there and read it. I also would like to bring artists there because it’s history really.”
