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Travel Blog: News and Briefs

Morning Links: The Cuba Travel Showdown, Pirates and More

by Michael Yessis | 03.11.09 | 9:46 AM ET

• The Senate passed a bill to ease travel and trade to Cuba—but the showdown over U.S. policy isn’t over yet.
• A man sued American Airlines for $7 million, saying the carrier “illegally revoked his lifetime pass.”
• Here’s an interesting combination: William Langewiesche, a French luxury cruise ship and pirates.
• Registration for this year’s tours of Washington’s Hanford nuclear site begins March 30.
• Police in China are feeding drivers raw chilli to help them stay awake on the roads in the Chongqing region.
• Goodbye, Travel + Leisure Golf.
• Amina Chaudary says she’s the only Muslim to whom Samuel Huntington gave a formal interview. She writes about “The Clash of Civilizations” author’s legacy at PostGlobal.
• For map geeks: Bloopers from a New York Times map and graphics editor. (via The Morning News)
• Timers on postcards? Isn’t the cancellation stamp enough? (via Coudal)

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Photographers Focus on the 50 States

by Jenna Schnuer | 03.10.09 | 4:33 PM ET

The Works Progress Administration did it. Musician Sufjan Stevens has done a bit of it. Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey got a whole bunch of people to do it. And, um, Sophia and I are deep into our own version of it.

The it in question? Exploring, one by one, what makes each of the 50 states unique—and looking for the threads that tie them together. Now it’s time to add another to the list: The 50 States Project. Every other month, 50 photos—one from each state—will be posted on the site. Flyover America checked in with Stuart Pilkington, the U.K.-based (we’ll get to that) creator and curator of the project to find out what it’s all about.

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What (Not) to Wear on a Road Trip

by Jenna Schnuer | 03.10.09 | 1:58 PM ET

The sponsored email from W invited me to take an “Americana Road Trip.” Who could resist?

The result of one click: beautiful photography; fantastic car. But I think anybody who puts this fashion fantasy into practice would just be asking for trouble (and a really big dry-cleaning bill). Seriously: stilettos do not do well on gravely dusty parking lots. Road trips = denim + T-shirts + sneakers.

The Low-Cost Carrier Craze, by the Numbers

by Eva Holland | 03.10.09 | 11:02 AM ET

Ah, the low-cost carrier: love the concept or hate it, you’ve got to admit it’s brought the sky within closer reach for millions of budget-conscious travelers. (Like AirAsia says, “Now everyone can fly.”) LCCs have been with us for 60 years now, but most folks associate them with the explosion of new (often European) carriers in the ‘90s. With the phenomenon still showing no sign of abating, even in these troubled times for the airline industry, the Independent’s Simon Calder has a fun by-the-numbers breakdown for your inner stats geek. My favorite number of the bunch? 120—“The distance, in kilometres, from the centre of Frankfurt to Hahn airport, which Ryanair and IATA describe as ‘Frankfurt’.”

The Rise of Best Western Civilization

by Alexander Basek | 03.10.09 | 11:00 AM ET

The budget hotel chain with the best street cred—well, at least until Motel 6 finishes their system-wide renovations and ditches the Magic Fingers beds—is having a special limited-time sale each day this week. The names of the discounted properties are posted at noon eastern and remain on sale for a couple hours each day. And even if it’s not on sale, you could always stay at the fabulous Best Western in the Hollywood Hills for about $160 a night, one of L.A.‘s secretly good hotels. An added bonus: no fishtank models in the lobby!

Who Says Texas Has No Seasons?

by Sophia Dembling | 03.10.09 | 9:00 AM ET

In my previous, non-flyover life in New York City, the first signs of spring were when the forsythia bloomed in Central Park and a ripe and not-unpleasant scent started wafting through my neighborhood from off the Hudson River.

One complaint I’ve heard many times about my current home state, Texas, is that it has no change of seasons. Balderdash. Texas has all four seasons, but they are more subtle than in Northern states.

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Morning Links: Bowie’s Clown Suit, Cute Penguin Overload and More

by Valerie Conners | 03.10.09 | 8:54 AM ET

• Take a gander at Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” clown suit, or Jarvis Cocker’s glasses at London’s new British Music Experience, documenting 60 years of Brit pop and rock.
• West Virginia’s governor makes it his mission to save the state’s image, and let you know W.V.‘s got more to offer tourists than the Road Kill Cook-Off.
• Intelligent Travel offers a Q&A with Chris Way, cofounder of Reality Tours and Travel, a company specializing in slum tourism in India.
• One woman is dead and six others are missing after a tourist boat capsizes off Thailand’s Similan Islands.
• Take a listen to Nine Road Trip Songs You Never Heard Before—a catchy mix of Asian travel songs. (via nerdseyeview)
• World Hum blogger Alexander Basek visits Nashville and returns full of excellent tips on where to hear live music and ... Goo-Goo Clusters.
• I’m getting a serious case of cute overload as Andrew Evans reveals the best places to see penguins.

 

The Bulimic Duck

by David Farley | 03.09.09 | 2:00 PM ET

The Fat Duck, located just outside of London, is one of the world’s most renowned restaurants. The chef and owner, Heston Blumenthal, has concocted a menu that revolves around molecular gastronomy. Imagine nitro-scrambled bacon and egg ice cream, Douglas fir puree and oyster passion fruit jelly, and you’ll get the idea.

For the unadventurous eater, those might sound like heave-inducing taste combinations, but that might not be the only reason for a good post-meal puking at the Fat Duck. In the last month, hundreds of eaters have followed their meals at this esteemed eatery with projectile vomiting and diarrhea, which is never a good sign if you’re a chef. As a result, Blumenthal has closed the restaurant until investigators can figure out what’s going on. So far, they haven’t found anything, only one expert has suspected something called “winter vomiting disease,” a reaction similar to the contagion of yawning, but this time its with ... well, vomiting.

‘Le Sandwich’ on the Rise in Paris

by Eva Holland | 03.09.09 | 12:45 PM ET

Good news for Paris-bound travelers on a budget: tough times mean the lowly sandwich—never a French staple—is becoming more and more readily available. Writes This Just In’s Meg Zimbeck: “The French are finding it increasingly difficult to justify the time and expense of a sit-down lunch. Restaurant groups say that the sit-down trade has plummeted by about 20 percent, while ‘le sandwich ne connait pas la crise’—the sandwich knows no crisis.” The blog post includes a list of tasty (pear-walnut-Roquefort sandwich, anyone?) and affordable bakeries where you can get your budget lunching started.

Remembering the Concorde

by Rob Verger | 03.09.09 | 12:01 PM ET

Last week marked the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the Concorde. The plane, the only supersonic commercial aircraft, was in service between 1976 and 2003. In 2000, the fiery crash of an Air France Concorde claimed 113 lives.

I saw a Concorde for the fist time this weekend, on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Inside the plane, I was struck by the narrow, claustrophobic cabin in the pencil-thin fuselage, the tiny windows and tightly packed rows of seats. Outside, I loved seeing the cool sweep of its delta wings and its stunningly narrow nose.

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Hot Sheets!

by Alexander Basek | 03.09.09 | 10:19 AM ET

Linen reuse programs in hotels: are they helping the earth or just passing the burden onto the guests? Those little cards appeal to a sense of environmental guilt and ask guests to conserve by keeping hotels and sheets a second or third day, but Jill Hunter Pellettieri suggests that hotels view these programs in terms of reduced energy and water costs alone. The nerve! It’s not surprising the businesses would act business-y, but it galls nonetheless.

I expect fresh sheets every day, especially at a higher-end stay. (At some pensions, you might not get them even if you want them). A bed with fresh sheets every day is a luxury, and, well, that’s something that’s nice to have at a luxury hotel.

As for the hotels getting greener, weatherproofing the windows or using recycled materials is a lot better for the environment than a tsk-tsk note asking to leave the sheets for days on end. Go down that road, and a Ryanair-operated chain of hotels where you have to bring your own sheets could be close behind.

Travel Movie Watch: Pixar Takes to the Sky

by Eva Holland | 03.09.09 | 9:11 AM ET

The animation giant has dabbled with travel before—“Cars” landed on our list of great travel race movies not so long ago—and now, its latest offering looks set to take viewers on the road (or in this case, into the air) again. Up is due out in May, and follows the adventures of a grumpy old man who turns his house into a flying machine and takes off to see the world, accidentally bringing a Boy Scout in tow. Unlikely premise? Well, sure. That’s why it’s a cartoon. But I’ll bet Pixar has some fresh and fun things to say about adventure and the life-altering power of a great journey. The trailer is below.

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Morning Links: A Surge in Train Travel (Stories), the Truck Stop Dentist and More

by Michael Yessis | 03.09.09 | 7:38 AM ET

• Several airlines are rerouting flights after North Korea said it can’t guarantee the safety of flights near its airspace during joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises scheduled to begin today.
• The Washington Post gave President Obama’s vision for high-speed rail the front-page treatment.
• Andy Isaacson took a slow train across the U.S.—and recorded voices from the rails—for the New York Times.
• Here’s a touching piece by Jeff Greenwald about Nepal and the death of his father.
• Catherine Watson gets lost in Bahrain.
• Meet the truck stop dentist, Dr. Thomas P. Roemer of Exit 284 of Interstate 80.
• The Delta Queen is now a floating hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• Air Asia is apparently giving bloggers the opportunity to be pilots—and some hilarious fodder in this promo video. (via @Marilyn_Res)
• Finally, congrats to the winners of this year’s North American Travel Journalism Association awards, including World Hum contributor Julia Ross.

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What We Loved This Week: Kutiman, the Scorpions, Meat (Glorious Meat)

by World Hum | 03.06.09 | 4:14 PM ET

Our contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.

Rob Verger
I loved this hilarious pro-flying bit by comedian Louis CK on the Conan O’Brien show. My favorite part? When he says, “Everybody on every plane should just constantly be going, ‘Oh my god, wow!’”