Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Another Dead Man Traveling
by Jim Benning | 04.30.07 | 12:46 PM ET
We recently noted the flying corpse on a British Airways flight. Now comes news that a dead man spent hours on an Indonesian train before he was discovered in a locked lavatory. Understandably, the man’s daughter isn’t happy with the train company.
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! Buzz‘Some 60 Percent of Italian Restaurants Abroad Are Awful’
by Jim Benning | 04.27.07 | 3:25 PM ET
The Joys of ‘Sudden Journeys’
by Jim Benning | 04.27.07 | 2:39 PM ET
Who among us hasn’t, on a whim, taken off on a completely unplanned trip and had the time of our life? National Geographic Traveler celebrates just those sorts of “sudden journeys” this month. The Web site has anecdotes from 25 travel writers, from Pico Iyer and Holly Morris to Rolf Potts and yours truly. I recalled the time I convinced my wife to join me on a spontaneous snowboarding road trip to Park City, Utah. It took a little time. I wrote: “I watched, bemused, as Leslie passed through the four requisite stages of spontaneous travel co-conspiring: refusal (‘Are you crazy? We have things to do’); bargaining (‘How about next month?’); doubt (‘The place is probably all booked up so close to New Year’s Eve’); and finally, my personal favorite, gleeful acceptance (‘Wheeeeeeeeee!’).”
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: The Road to Adventure
by Michael Yessis | 04.27.07 | 9:10 AM ET
This week travelers were drawn to roads in California, Vietnam and danger zones throughout the world. Italy, France, Hong Kong and a discount startup airline were also top of mind. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Puglia: Italy’s Heel Has It All, Except Tourists
Most E-mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Practical Traveler: As Hotel Prices Rise, a Villa May Be a Bargain
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Top 5 Most Dangerous Roads of the World
* The photos will make your stomach churn.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
U.S. Highway 395: California’s ‘Mother Road’
* Here’s the accompanying photo gallery.
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
‘American Shaolin’: Interview with Matthew Polly
Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
Fodor’s French for Travelers
Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
Las Vegas (Who Else?) Leads in U.S. Tourism Ad Spending
by Michael Yessis | 04.26.07 | 8:18 AM ET
Sin City spent $52,158,800 in advertising in 2006 to lure travelers to the desert, almost tripling the outlay for the runner-up on the list, Puerto Rico. Texas, Florida and Arkansas round out the top five. Brandweek has a list of the top 25. (Via Jaunted)
y’ Success”>Australia’s ‘Bloody’ Success
The Critics: ‘Bad Lands: A Tourist on the Axis of Evil’
by Michael Yessis | 04.24.07 | 10:57 AM ET
It’s not a new idea, visiting the countries U.S. President George W. Bush dubbed the “Axis of Evil.” Ben Anderson, for instance, did it several years ago, and the BBC broadcast several programs based on his travels. Now Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler has written “Bad Lands: A Tourist on the Axis of Evil,” in which he chronicles his travels through Bush’s original three “axis” countries—Iran, Iraq and North Korea—plus Afghanistan, Albania, Burma, Cuba, Libya and Saudi Arabia.
The End Of The Middle Seat?
by Michael Yessis | 04.24.07 | 7:54 AM ET
A British company has proposed a three-seat row that flips the middle one backward. I don’t think it’ll catch on. Take a look at this photo and see for yourself.
Talking Books, Writing and Travel in New York and Los Angeles
by Jim Benning | 04.23.07 | 4:55 PM ET
It’s a good week for literature lovers on the East and West coasts. In New York, the PEN World Voices Festival kicks off tomorrow and runs through Sunday. It’s packed with compelling events featuring authors from around the globe. Among the highlights: Tomorrow, Pico Iyer and Billy Collins, both the subject of World Hum interviews, will discuss the environment. On Wednesday, novelist Don Delillo makes a rare appearance on a panel entitled Writing Home. (It was in DeLillo’s novel “The Names” that we first came across the phrase “world hum.”) Thursday’s schedule features Multiple Passports: Writers on Homeland and Identity, which includes Ian Buruma, author of the excellent Asia travel book “God’s Dust.” And Sunday brings two panels for travel literature fans: Voyage and Voyeur: Travel and Travel Writing, featuring Alain de Botton, among others, and A Tribute to Ryszard Kapuscinski.
Celebrating California’s Highway 395
by Jim Benning | 04.23.07 | 12:24 PM ET
When it comes to scenic California roads, coastal Highway 1 gets most of the attention, but there’s another route equally worthy of adoration: Highway 395. It winds along the Eastern Sierra, delivering anglers to lakes and rivers, skiers to the slopes of Mammoth, and hikers and climbers to the lower 48 states’ tallest mountain, Mt. Whitney. I’ve always loved driving the highway, especially in winter, when the Sierra is blanketed in snow. So I was jazzed to see it featured prominently in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times. Staff writer Hugo Martin highlights points of interest along the highway, from the Alabama Hills, where countless Westerns have been filmed, to Bodie Ghost Town.
Cruising with Kierkegaard
by Jim Benning | 04.23.07 | 9:56 AM ET
Photo by KellyK via Flickr , (Creative Commons).
Or at least a few smart people. Arthur Frommer notes a couple of cruise ships launching soon that will cater to intellectual travelers by providing expert lectures on a range of topics. The concept isn’t new, but Frommer suggests that moderately priced “intellectual” cruises had become an endangered species. Martin Randall of Martin Randall Travel told Frommer that the Mediterranean cruises he’ll offer next year will be “unashamedly highbrow, aimed at educated, cultivated and intellectually curious travelers.” Another ship also geared toward thinking travelers will be operated by Lord Sterling, who has acquired the trademark and passenger lists for Swan Hellenic. No word yet on whether passengers will be required to recite lines from The Decameron or don tweed before boarding.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Bestsellers, Bargains and Tiny Bubbles
by Michael Yessis | 04.20.07 | 8:07 AM ET
This week travelers prowled for bargains, studied French culture, got left behind for hours and mourned the passing of Hawaii’s cultural ambassador, Don Ho. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
R.I.P. (and Aloha) Don Ho
Most E-mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Online Fares: If It’s Good, Is It Too Good to Be True?
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
airfarewatchdog
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Business Owner’s Guide to Cutting Travel Costs
Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
Travel With Rick Steves
* This Week: “French culture 201 for the American traveler”
Top Rated “Your Pick” Video
LonelyPlanet.tv (current)
Istanbul Guerilla Guide
* Lonely Planet TV is still getting up to speed. This video gets the top spot with, as of Friday morning, two votes.
Has Your Favorite Celebrity Tried to Smuggle a Gun Onto a Plane?
by Jim Benning | 04.19.07 | 7:56 PM ET
Inquiring minds want to know. Slate has the shocking truth about celebrtity gun smugglers. We’ll refrain from making any gun-related jokes. This is definitely not the time.
‘American Shaolin’: Interview with Matthew Polly
by Michael Yessis | 04.19.07 | 7:57 AM ET
Gadling’s Justin Glow has posted a Q&A with Matthew Polly, whose book “American Shaolin” chronicles two years living and training with Shaolin Monks in China. “When I was a kid I saw the TV show Kung Fu with David Carradine. I idolized his character,” Polly tells Gadling. “He looked as awkward as I felt and yet he was a total bad-ass. When I was in college I started to study Chinese language, philosophy, Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism, and kung fu. The Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of kung fu and Zen Buddhism, so it was like going to the source.” ‘Shaolin’ has been getting good reviews, and the movie rights have been optioned by Fox2000. Polly has posted an excerpt on his Web site.
The Rise of the Trader Joe’s Pilgrimage
by Jim Benning | 04.19.07 | 7:02 AM ET
I hadn’t heard of interstate pilgrimages to Trader Joe’s grocery stores until Dallas Morning News travel editor Larry Bleiberg mentioned the phenomenon to me recently. Turns out, Bleiberg wrote a piece last summer about the amazingly long journeys some people make to Trader Joe’s to stock up on the store’s unique selection of cheap gourmet items, from Two Buck Chuck wine to corn syrup-free sweets. It made perfect sense.
The Secrets of ‘Hush-Hush Hotels’
by Michael Yessis | 04.17.07 | 7:44 PM ET
Portfolio, the newly launched (and much hyped) business magazine, has an interesting look at how hotels provide privacy for high-end customers. “That Brangelina or Tony Blair would want to be shielded from prying eyes is a given,” writes Laurie Werner. “But now even those who aren’t household names are demanding more privacy—and are willing to pay a high price for it.” Among the perks they’re getting: clandestine arrivals and departures, and in at least one case, a no-fly zone.
