Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Where in the World Are You, Terry Ward?
by Jim Benning | 06.01.07 | 12:25 PM ET
The subject of our latest nearly up-to-the-minute interview with a traveler somewhere in the world: World Hum contributor Terry Ward, whose response landed in our inbox this morning.
World Hum: Where in the world are you?
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Yahoo! BuzzWorld Hum’s Most Read: May 2007
by Michael Yessis | 06.01.07 | 5:35 AM ET
Was Director Mike Figgis Detained at LAX for Saying He Was Going to ‘Shoot a Pilot’?
by Michael Yessis | 05.31.07 | 8:41 PM ET
Reports circulated earlier this week that “Leaving Las Vegas” director Mike Figgis was detained at Los Angeles International Airport for telling security that he was in town to “shoot a pilot.” A television pilot, of course, but given heightened airport security, it wasn’t taken that way. Paranoia and detainment ensued. It’s a bogus story, according to an e-mail apparently written by Figgis and posted on Boing Boing. The site features several perspectives about the non-story story, including one now non-operable theory that Figgis “spread this urban legend to the press in an attempt to gain publicity.” C’mon. Everyone knows the best way to get publicity out of an airport-security incident is to wear the right T-shirt.
Related on World Hum:
* ‘We Will Not Be Silent’ T-Shirt Causes Stir at JFK*
* Update: Lorrie Heasley, ‘The Fockers’ and the United States Constitution
* Special Offer From T-Shirt Hell: ‘Free Speech or Free Travel’
Where in the World Are You, Kelsey Timmerman?
by Jim Benning | 05.31.07 | 1:00 PM ET
Today, we debut “Where in the World Are You?”—a nearly up-to-the-minute interview with a traveler somewhere in the world. Our first traveler is a writer, Kelsey Timmerman, whose response landed in our inbox this morning.
World Hum: Where in the world are you?
The Upside of Delays and Security Lines: Better Airport Cuisine
by Michael Yessis | 05.31.07 | 11:59 AM ET
Regina Schrambling makes the link in a Los Angeles Times food-section story about the rise of local restaurants and cuisine at airports across the U.S. “Hard as it is to believe, the most dreaded places in the country—thanks to flight delays and security hassles—also happen to be sources of excellent local food,” she writes. “And now that travelers are spending more time waiting, the pickings are improving.”
Harry Potter, Billy Graham Get Theme Parks
by Jim Benning | 05.31.07 | 11:43 AM ET
Every day brings news of more amusement parks in the works, on themes ranging from the sacred to the profane. In Charlotte, North Carolina today, 88-year-old evangelist Billy Graham celebrates the dedication of the Billy Graham Library, which, according to some observers and Graham fans, is more like a corny theme park than a dignified museum. “Their concerns start just inside the enormous glass cross that forms the door to the 40,000-square-foot museum,” according to the Los Angeles Times, which headlined its story, Billy Graham, tourist attraction. “The lobby is set up like a barn to evoke Graham’s boyhood on a North Carolina dairy farm. Hens cluck on a soundtrack. A stuffed cat heaves a battery-powered sigh. And amid bales of hay, a cow that looks uncannily lifelike begins to sing.”
Quarantined Air Traveler: ‘I Didn’t Want to Put Anybody at Risk’
by Jim Benning | 05.30.07 | 3:31 PM ET
The quarantined man infected with a particularly dangerous form of tuberculosis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he “didn’t want to put anybody at risk” by flying to Europe for his wedding and honeymoon and returning to the U.S. for treatment. According to the newspaper, “He questioned why nobody told him to cancel his wedding before he left Atlanta—and why the CDC waited until he was on his honeymoon in Rome to order him into isolation.” The man, who is from the Atlanta area and says he has no symptoms, told the newspaper: “I’m a very well-educated, successful, intelligent person. This is insane to me that I have an armed guard outside my door when I’ve cooperated with everything other than the whole solitary confinement in Italy thing.”
Invasion of the Kilt-Wearing, Buttocks-Baring Scots!
by Jim Benning | 05.30.07 | 3:17 PM ET
Our hearts go out to the nation of Poland. Groups of kilt-wearing, underwear-challenged Scottish men drawn to cheap beer are apparently invading the country, getting loaded and, adding insult to injury, yes, lifting their kilts. “It’s easy to spot these so-called ‘tourists’ from a mile off,” sniffed one local paper. Now, authorities are considering changes to the law. According to Scotsman.com: “In the city of Wroclaw, in the south-west of Poland, officials are exploring a kilt ban after being horrified by groups of drunk Scottish men who lifted their kilts to strangers to reveal their buttocks. Local police admit they have been unable to control the groups of maurauding Scots, despite complaints from outraged locals and fed-up bar owners, who claim Scots are rowdy, break glasses and leave pub toilets in a shocking state.”
Trouble in Margaritaville: Is a Tequila Shortage Looming?
by Jim Benning | 05.30.07 | 2:45 PM ET
Not long ago, we read about problems stemming from a glut of agave on the market. Now, Reuters reports that Mexican farmers are burning fields of blue agave used to make tequila so they can plant more corn. The price of the crop has been steadily rising as a result of growing demand for the alternative, corn-based fuel ethanol. As a result, officials estimate that as much as 35 percent less agave will be planted this year. “Those growers are going after what pays best now,” said an official with Mexico’s Tequila Regulatory Council. We’re all for cleaner-burning fuels, but let’s not get crazy here. Think of the poor citizens of Margaritaville. We’re talking severe dehydration possibilities.
Related on World Hum:
* Jimmy Buffett at 60: Still Selling ‘Unsentimental’ Tropical Fantasies
* Jimmy Buffett: Celebrating Changes in Lattitudes
* Ernest Hemingway Sofas, Frida Kahlo Tequila, Renoir Mineral Water and Now Lady Chatterley Thongs?
The Case of the Disappearing $1 Million Hotel Bathtub
by Jim Benning | 05.30.07 | 10:09 AM ET
We like travel-related mysteries, and this is a good one. An 18-carat-gold bathtub that weighs nearly 175 pounds has vanished from an oceanfront Japanese hotel, baffling police. The tub resided in the shared men’s bathroom on the 10th floor of the Kominato Hotel Mikazuki, east of Tokyo. Guests were allowed to use it for free each afternoon, but it was reported missing Wednesday. “We really don’t know how this happened at this stage,” a police official told Reuters. “But what we can assume now is that more than one person was involved in this incident.” Our advice: Even though it’s not exactly their area of expertise, call in the sushi police.
Chinatown Buses: Now Less Thrilling?
by Michael Yessis | 05.30.07 | 8:52 AM ET
When we first posted about the Fung Wah Chinatown buses in 2002, the line hadn’t yet reached its cult status among budget travelers as a cheap but safety-challenged option along the Boston-Washington D.C. corridor. Word of mouth among travelers, a string of unfortunate incidents—a flipped bus and a fire among them—and an in-depth story in the Washington Post have since brought the buses into greater renown, and now it looks like Fung Wah may start acting a little more like a mature travel citizen.
Air Traveler Quarantined, Passengers Warned
by Jim Benning | 05.29.07 | 8:55 PM ET
It’s being widely reported, but in case you missed it: An unidentified man with a particularly dangerous form of tuberculosis who took two trans-Atlantic flights earlier this month has been quarantined and U.S. health officials are suggesting cabin staff and passengers seated near the man be tested for tuberculosis. According to the AP, “The infected man flew from Atlanta to Paris on May 12 aboard Air France Flight 385. He returned to North America on May 24 aboard Czech Air Flight 0104 from Prague to Montreal.” He’s now in isolation in a hospital in Atlanta. It’s the first U.S. government-mandated quarantine in more than 40 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site has a transcript of the agency’s briefing on the case.
Is It Time To Retire ‘Ugly American’ From the Travel Lexicon?
by Michael Yessis | 05.29.07 | 12:10 PM ET
Anthropologists, New York City cabbies, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke, New York Times writer Paul Vitello and many others agree: We need to rethink the use of the term “ugly American.” “Let it be said that no group holds a monopoly on the title of ‘ugly,’” writes Vitello in Sunday’s paper. “Tip-stiffing, line-jumping, excessive price-haggling, sidewalk-blocking-when-stopping- suddenly-to-take-pictures- of-a-person-playing-the- steel-drums—none of these are unique to any national group.” As evidence, Vitello points to the recent Expedia survey of European hoteliers that ranked French, Indian, Chinese, Russian and British tourists as the worst tourist nations in the world.
Roswell, New Mexico Unveils Proposal for UFO Theme Park
by Michael Yessis | 05.29.07 | 9:09 AM ET
My first thought upon reading about the plans: You mean there isn’t already a UFO theme park in Roswell, New Mexico? And are the Roswell UFO Museum and the annual “Roswalien Experience” festival not enough to satisfy those interested in immersing themselves in the minutia of the Roswell Incident? Apparently not.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: From Baghdad to Tom Sawyer Island
by Jim Benning | 05.25.07 | 6:40 PM ET
The Zeitgeist spans the globe this week, as travelers consider daredevil skiing, the world’s most dangerous city and changes to an old-media island.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
For Daredevil Skiing, the Season Is Now
* It’s slush-time at Tuckerman Ravine in New Hampshire
Best Tourists in the World
Expedia Survey of European Hoteliers (current)
Japanese tourists
* And the worst: French tourists
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
One Day in the World’s Most Dangerous City
* A snapshot of a day in Baghdad from Spiegel Online
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Landing of Airbus A380 jet at LAX should be huge
* Seriously? Talk about old news.
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
Disney’s Tom Sawyer Island: Too Old Media for 2007
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Five hidden, affordable beach destinations
* No, Mexico City’s faux playa didn’t make the list
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
Farecast
* Promising “free and accurate airfare predictions”
