Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Branson: Bye Bye Hydrocarbons, Hello Plant Waste
by Michael Yessis | 11.17.05 | 4:20 AM ET
Virgin Airways mogul Richard Branson says he’s looking to power his jet fleet with cellulosic ethanol, “the byproduct you get from the waste product (of plants), the bits in the field that get burned up.” Reuters has the details.
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Yahoo! BuzzWas the Recent Attack on a Cruise Ship by Pirates Stranger Than Fiction?
by Jim Benning | 11.17.05 | 2:22 AM ET
Nope. As it happens, former Miami Herald reporter Sean Rowe wrote a novel called Fever, published in September, about the hijacking of a cruise ship by a band of thugs. So what did Rowe make of the recent cruise ship attack off Somalia? “This has me really freaked out,” he told the Miami Herald. “It’s just a bizarre example of life imitating art.”
Henry Rollins Hits the Road—With the U.S.O.
by Michael Yessis | 11.16.05 | 5:08 AM ET
How did anti-war punk-rock legend Henry Rollins end up on tour with the U.S.O., supporting United States military troops in hot spots around the world like a latter-day Betty Grable? “[T]here are reasons beyond sheer love of country that influence a performer’s decision to tour with the U.S.O.,” Susan Dominus writes in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. “For Rollins, the travel provides creative fodder, but it also gives him access to places he wouldn’t ordinarily visit, among them Iraq, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar and Honduras.”
Attack of the Thai Transvestites
by Jim Benning | 11.15.05 | 12:53 PM ET
It sounds more like a B-movie than real life, but apparently a gang of Thai transvestites has been robbing men in Bangkok. Their method? According to an AP story in USA Today: “concealing strong sedative pills under their tongues and spitting them down the throats of their victims while kissing, causing them to pass out so they can be easily robbed.” It’s not clear that tourists have been targetted very often, but police plan to warn visitors about the danger. Side note: The AP report describes the transvestites in question as “attractive.” Since when has the AP been rating transvestites?
It’s Geography Awareness Week. Do You Know Where Your Map Is?
by Jim Benning | 11.15.05 | 12:32 PM ET
That’s right, it’s Geography Awareness Week, and the entire nation—okay, a few geographers—are abuzz. National Geographic has posted a geography quiz in honor of the occasion. Oxford “Atlas of the World” editor Ben Keene, who writes our new Ben’s Place of the Week feature, tells us he’ll be talking up the joy of geography on radio stations around the country all week. For our part, we’d like to restate our position, which we believe to be a courageous one: We’re 100 percent in favor of both geography and geography awarenesss.
New York Times Kills JT LeRoy Travel Story Because JT LeRoy May Not Exist
by Michael Yessis | 11.15.05 | 5:02 AM ET
19-Year-Old Martin Halstead Starts His Own Airline
by Michael Yessis | 11.15.05 | 4:55 AM ET
“Baby Branson,” as the British press has dubbed him, sees himself as a James Bond type. Translation: the flight attendants on Alpha One Airlines are hot.
Ian Buruma on Protest Songs from Washington to Beijing
by Jim Benning | 11.15.05 | 12:04 AM ET
The author of the fine travel memoir “God’s Dust: A Modern Asian Journey” has written a thoughtful story in the Guardian about the state of protest music. Buruma begins by asking why Bob Dylan tunes are still the go-to music for American protests, but the article soon takes a global turn, touching, for example, on the music that fueled the 1989 student uprising in Tiananmen Square.
Travel in the Age of the Experience Economy
by Jim Benning | 11.14.05 | 2:45 PM ET
Recent research suggests you may be happier spending money on experiences such as foreign travel and adventure than on a flashy new car. According to a story in the Guardian, it all goes back to the idea of the experience economy, first put forth in 1998 in the Harvard Business Review.
Pirates Attack Five More Ships Off Somalia
by Michael Yessis | 11.11.05 | 12:50 PM ET
The bandits are being directed by a “mother ship,” according to today’s Reuters story by Daniel Wallis.
Boeing 777-200LR Lands in London, Sets Nonstop Flight Record
by Michael Yessis | 11.10.05 | 10:56 AM ET
The plane, which departed from Hong Kong yesterday with four pilots aboard, landed at Heathrow airport in London today after 22 hours and 43 minutes in the air—and two sunrises. MSNBC, the Telegraph and many others have details.
Record-Breaking 23-Hour Nonstop Flight Takes Off
by Michael Yessis | 11.10.05 | 4:35 AM ET
Captain Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann took off from Hong Kong Wednesday morning in a Boeing 777-200LR and set out for London—heading eastbound, the long way around. Four Boeing test pilots are scheduled to share flying duties during the 12,500-nautical-mile flight, which Seattle Times reporter Dominic Gates writes will be a distance record for a commercial jet.
Michael Palin Puts Off Retirement, Schedules Another Travel Series
by Michael Yessis | 11.10.05 | 4:33 AM ET
The former Monty Python member told the crowd at a recent charity event in London that he will hit the road again. “I was thinking of retiring,” the 62-year-old Palin said, according to a Chortle report. “But what would I do? Probably just travel.” Palin, who has chronicled his extensive travels in video and book form, says he’ll stay closer to home this time around. Eastern Europe is the likely destination.
Learning About the World, One Disaster and Riot at a Time
by Jim Benning | 11.09.05 | 7:27 PM ET
Some critics maintain that the only time Americans learn about another country is when America attacks it. That’s not fair, though. Americans also learn about other countries when those nations are struck by horrific natural disasters, and when widespread rioting breaks out. Take the case of France. Suddenly, we’re learning all about the African immigrant underclass there. The public radio show The World even saw fit today to interview New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik, author of the memoir Paris to the Moon, about North African cultural life in France.
Jetsetters Magazine Vs. Carl Parkes?
by Jim Benning | 11.09.05 | 3:50 PM ET
Travel writer Carl Parkes has the details on his Web site.
