Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Photo: Hong Kong Skyline, With Plane
by Jim Benning | 11.08.07 | 12:36 PM ET
The (very cool) photo below was shot in Hong Kong recently during the filming of the next Batman film, “The Dark Knight.” That’s a C-130 cargo plane. As an interesting aside, all hasn’t gone smoothly with the filming. Reports the Guardian: “The trouble began when director Christopher Nolan requested that Hong Kong’s inhabitants leave their lights burning during the film’s night-time shoots in order to present the city in its full, illuminated glory. Letters were reportedly sent to 60 companies along the city’s waterfront area, while building managers were told to ask all residents to comply with the request.” Nolan was met with a collective shrug. According to reports, 80 percent of those asked ignored the request.
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Yahoo! BuzzLuxury Jets Are a Girl’s Best Friend?
by Eva Holland | 11.08.07 | 11:15 AM ET
Media in India have been buzzing over news that the nation’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has given his wife an Airbus A319 jet (like the one pictured) for her 44th birthday. The $60 million birthday gift is tricked out with satellite TV, gaming consoles, wireless Internet, and a sky bar, according to Reuters. Wrote one commentator: “In a country that prizes asceticism—think of Mahatma Gandhi, who visited Buckingham Palace in a loincloth and little else—Ambani is setting spectacular new standards for conspicuous consumption. In Mumbai he’s constructing a 27-storey, US$150 million high-rise apartment block that will house his family of six.”
Karaoke + Cab Ride = Cabaraoke
by Michael Yessis | 11.07.07 | 12:12 PM ET
This has to be the most entertaining way to get around Kansas City. A cab company called Cabaraoke has outfitted its vehicles with karaoke machines and toy musical instruments, allowing passengers to air guitar and belt out songs while they get around town. Even better: Cabaraoke records the performances and uploads the videos to YouTube. The performances are, like most karaoke performances, generally pretty bad but relentlessly entertaining. Like this version of Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville”:
Seoul Does Brunch: South Korea Embraces the Newfound Weekend
by Joanna Kakissis | 11.07.07 | 9:59 AM ET
Photo by Presta, via Flickr (Creative Commons)
As globalization continues its culture-morphing march, it’s brandishing a powerful weapon: brunch. In Seoul, once a city so overworked from a six-day work week that tired South Koreans only socialized late in the evening, a Western-style brunch of toasted bagels and blueberry pancakes is the latest way to bond with family and friends, according to The New York Times.
USA Today on Airport Delays: It’s Not so Bad!
by Jim Benning | 11.06.07 | 4:31 PM ET
While flights out of New York City’s major airports are frequently delayed, “Most of the nation’s aviation system actually is performing relatively well and reducing delays,” USA Today reports. In fact, according to government data, for the first eight months of this year “the largest 31 airports outside the New York region had 8% fewer total delays than during the same period in 2006,” the newspaper adds.
Have U.S. Travelers Been Price Gouged on Their Passports?
by Michael Yessis | 11.06.07 | 4:19 PM ET
Big time, according to U.S. Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Chuck Shumer (D-NY). They have released the results of a study by the Government Accountability Office that reveals travelers have been charged double on certain fees involved in the handling of passport applications by the State Department and the Postal Service. From the AP:
Delta Ups the Meal Ante on Short Flights
by Terry Ward | 11.06.07 | 1:17 PM ET
I knew it spoke sadly for the state of in-flight food affairs last week when I found myself thrilled with the prospect of free Doritos and Dunkin’ Donuts coffee on a JetBlue flight from Orlando to New York (to the airline’s credit, it is one of the only domestic short haul carriers still offering free snacks—and, just my opinion, but I think Dunkin’ Donuts coffee rocks). The days of free food on short flights in America have been gone for a while. So I was pleased to read this AP story about Delta’s decision to enlist celebrity chef Todd English to create a new line of “upscale” in-flight meals that will be available for sale on all Delta flights of 90 minutes or longer by spring 2008.
From New York City to Los Angeles, Michelin Aims to Crack Zagat’s Hold on U.S. Restaurant Guides
by Joanna Kakissis | 11.06.07 | 8:07 AM ET
For decades, travelers in the United States have favored the Zagat Survey to find restaurants. Like the popular hotel guide TripAdvisor, Zagat rates restaurants based on reviews from frequent diners. But now France’s storied Michelin guides are challenging Zagat in hotel and restaurant recommendations in the U.S., writes Adam Goldman of the AP. “Our star system is the measure against the world,” Jean-Luc Naret, director of the Michelin Guides, told Goldman. “The chefs see us as the only independent benchmark.”
Students Abroad: Escaping the American Bubble
by Julia Ross | 11.05.07 | 2:24 PM ET
As we’ve noted before, rising interest in study abroad programs has sparked discussion about how to reduce costs and improve access so more American college students can take part. Now a lengthy Read More »
Culinary Explorer: Getting to Know a Culture by Creating its Cuisine
by Joanna Kakissis | 11.05.07 | 9:47 AM ET
It’s been said that the best way to get to know a country is through its food. As a fan of the food writers Diane Kochilas and Corinne Trang, who combine a traveler’s cultural awareness with a chef’s creativity in their cookbooks, I believe cooking authentic cuisine from abroad helps you get closer to a culture. Dorothy Aksamit went one step further on her trip to the river town of Hoi An, Vietnam: She took a cooking class led by a local chef.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Disney, Dubai and the Mile-High Club
by Michael Yessis | 11.02.07 | 4:00 PM ET
Climate Change and a Journey Across the Inuit’s Arctic
by Eva Holland | 11.02.07 | 2:16 PM ET
In a thoughtful essay in this month’s Arctic-themed issue of The Walrus, Franklyn Griffiths chronicles a trip from one end of the Canadian north to another, flying 15,000 miles to visit Inuit communities and learn what the people on the front lines of climate change have to say on the topic. He found a range of responses. Chief among them: suspicion and skepticism about the warnings emanating from the same environmental NGOs that have campaigned relentlessly against the seal hunt, and from southern politicians who have, in the view of many, rarely done the Inuit any favors.
The Other Problem With ‘Welcome: Portraits of America’
by Michael Yessis | 11.02.07 | 12:27 PM ET
The inclusion of an iconic Canadian landmark in a new U.S. government video designed to promote travel to the States has stirred up controversy, as it should. It’s an embarrassment, to be sure, but the most interesting—and important—thing about the video is the simple fact that it exists. U.S. standing has sunk so low in the world, and so many travelers are staying away from the country, that the government had to borrow some Disney magic, partnering with the company to create a video promoting America as a welcoming place. The seven-minute, 20-second video is already showing at Washington Dulles International Airport and Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, and will soon be seen in the international arrivals areas at other domestic airports and at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide.
From Fiji to Kenya, Travel Hot Spots Brace for Global Warming
by Joanna Kakissis | 11.01.07 | 2:17 PM ET
A ski resort without snow. A scuba club whose coral reefs have succumbed to warmer and stormier seas. A water-guzzling golf resort in a desertifying area. Faced with global warming, the tourism industry must adapt to scenarios like these around the world or risk losing tourists, Elisabeth Rosenthal writes in The New York Times.
Romance By Rail: Europe Does It Better
by Julia Ross | 11.01.07 | 1:30 PM ET
The thought of finding romance on a train from Washington D.C. to New York City—a trip I’ve made many times—strikes me as unlikely. Let’s face it: There’s nothing particularly romantic about Amtrak. But a chance meeting on a European train? On atmosphere alone, I’d give it much better odds. Two train-related events in Europe this fall are reviving the romantic image of rail travel, albeit with a 21st century spin. Reuters reports that German rail operator Deutsche Bahn has introduced speed-dating on an intercity line from Nuremberg to Munich, providing an upscale alternative to the usual pub meet-and-greet, complete with champagne and roses.
