Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Happy Birthday, Baby! Bring on the ‘Dirty Dancing’ Vacation Packages.
by Eva Holland | 10.26.07 | 3:32 AM ET
Talk about a niche market. This summer, the ‘80s chick-flick classic “Dirty Dancing” celebrated its 20th anniversary with a brief return to theaters, a revival of the musical in London’s West End and an anniversary-edition DVD with plenty of bonus footage. (Dare we ask: Where are they now?)
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Yahoo! BuzzBill Maher on the Airbus A380: ‘I Don’t Want to Fly on a Bus’
by Jim Benning | 10.25.07 | 10:43 AM ET
We just noted the debut flight of the world’s largest commercial passenger jet, the Airbus A380. Comic Bill Maher, for one, isn’t impressed. “New Rule, I don’t want to fly on a bus,” he cracked on the latest episode of his HBO series, “Real Time.” “That’s why people pay more money to fly! So they don’t have to take a bus. And I don’t care that it’s huge, because I’ve never once gotten on a flight and thought, boy, I wish there were more people on this plane.”
Related on World Hum:
* Behemoth A380s Touch Down in U.S.
* Enough With the Superjumbo Jets. How About a Superjumbo Bus?
‘This American Life’ on Mapping Your World
by Joanna Kakissis | 10.25.07 | 9:50 AM ET
Mapping doesn’t mean just plotting places on a piece of paper. In a particularly brilliant This American Life episode, host Ira Glass says you can explore your world by mapping each of your five senses. “Every map is the world seen through a different lens,” he said.
A380 Debuts With a ‘Rocking Party at 40,000 Feet’
by Michael Yessis | 10.25.07 | 9:37 AM ET
And why shouldn’t it have been a party? The debut of the superjumbo Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial aircraft, has been anticipated by travelers and aviation geeks for years. The party for today’s successful inaugural flight from Singapore to Sydney began at the Singapore Airlines check-in, where according to the BBC’s Laurence Watts, “passengers were given red-carpet treatment, with photographers on hand to provide them with souvenir photos.”
French Museums to Offer Free Admission
by Michael Yessis | 10.24.07 | 2:05 PM ET
France’s culture minister Christine Albanel announced that 14 museums in the country will offer free admission during the first six months of 2008. The most famous museums in Paris—the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay and the Centre Pompidou—will also take part on a limited basis, according to the AFP. It’s all welcome news for budget travelers, particularly those who have grown accustomed to free museums in Washington D.C., Britain and elsewere in Europe. Albanel said it’s part of an effort to “inspire desire—desire for artistic experiences and culture—in people who are not familiar with these places.”
Best Travel-Themed Halloween Costume Title? ‘Eurasian Traveler’
by Jim Benning | 10.24.07 | 1:06 PM ET
I love that the Halloween Store chain advertises this minimalist outfit as Eurasian Traveler Wig and Moustache Set. Copyright issues probably stand in the way of simply calling it “Borat.” According to the Web site, the costume was “inspired by Borat.” If you’re in need of a travel-themed Halloween costume this year and the “Eurasian Traveler” look doesn’t inspire you, there’s always the traditional Tacky Tourist outfit—a look so popular with Americans that it’s already sold out.
Related on World Hum:
* ‘Borat’ Inks Deal to Write Travel Guides to Kazakhstan,’ U.S. and A.’
Where in the World Are You, Amy Scott?
by World Hum | 10.24.07 | 12:08 PM ET
The subject of our latest nearly up-to-the-minute interview with a traveler somewhere in the world: Amy Scott, a freelance editor. Her response landed in our inbox last night.
Where in the world are you?
Dispatch from Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province
by Eva Holland | 10.24.07 | 10:43 AM ET
I’ve been irked lately by the increasing attention Afghanistan is getting as a reemerging tourist destination. Yes, some visitors are returning to Kabul. But in the south of the country, the war is still being fought, and recent travelers’ reports of cheery residents beginning to pick up the pieces are much harder to find. So I was pleased to find a dissenting perspective in David Common’s recent dispatch from Kandahar, where NATO troops are still involved in heavy fighting and the Taliban sometimes seems to be gaining ground.
San Diego Hotels Fill—With Wildfire Evacuees
by Jim Benning | 10.23.07 | 12:17 PM ET
Usually when I drive past Hotel Circle, a road near the 8 freeway here in San Diego packed with hotels, my heart goes out to the visitors there because, well, they’re staying in a place called Hotel Circle, with views of traffic zooming by on the freeway. It’s not the most attractive location San Diego has to offer. But that’s the least of the concerns of many guests staying in those hotels now. As would-be tourists and business travelers postponed visits to San Diego, canceling hotel reservations to avoid the raging wildfires, locals snapped up hotel rooms in droves as they evacuated threatened or even burning homes. A number of hotels have offered discounts to those in need.
Schrute Farms: Top-Rated ‘Beet-Related Agrotourism Destination’ or Brilliant ‘Office’ Prank?
by Michael Yessis | 10.22.07 | 5:43 PM ET
That’s Schrute as in Dwight Schrute, the ninja-loving paper salesman on the U.S. version of The Office. In last week’s episode, he opened his farm to visitors as a “beet-related agrotourism destination,” offering three themed rooms: America, night-time and, my favorite, irrigation. The plot thread featured Dwight’s shout out to TripAdvisor, which, in a silly and inspired publicity stunt, currently features a real page dedicated to the faux Schrute Farms. Among the reviews: A rave from Dwight’s co-workers Jim and Pam, who visited the farm for a romantic getaway.
Discovering Love and Loss in Niger
by Joanna Kakissis | 10.22.07 | 12:05 PM ET
Away from home and enticingly out-of-context, travelers often find love they couldn’t access in the routine of their lives. Sometimes that love is erotic. Sometimes it’s a love of love itself, as Alexis Wolff discovered in a lovely essay about Niger in The New York Times’s Modern Love column.
Where in the World Are You, Justin Glow?
by World Hum | 10.22.07 | 11:42 AM ET
The subject of our latest nearly up-to-the-minute interview with a traveler somewhere in the world: Justin Glow, the lead blogger at Gadling. His response landed in our inbox this morning.
Where in the world are you?
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: From Greece to Elizabeth Gilbert
by Joanna Kakissis | 10.19.07 | 4:23 PM ET
Spain inspired wanderlust, Colorado spotlighted its hippie Mayberry and yet another British family went on a (yawn) Greek island cruise. And is anyone reading anything other than Elizabeth Gilbert these days? Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph UK (current)
Greek Island Cruise for the Whole Family
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Mushrooms gone wild—Spanish style
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
The New York Times (current)
In Colorado, a ‘Hippie Mayberry’
* Because every state has its own Asheville.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
New York City Guide
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
The Power Traveleler’s Checklist, Part One: Pre-Flight
Most Read Feature
World Hum (posted this week)
1,000 Places to Not go Before You Die
Most Read Blog Post
World Hum (posted this week)
Branson on Fossett: ‘He Truly Was the Adventurer’s Adventurer’
A Daring Cup of Tea in Darjeeling
by Joanna Kakissis | 10.19.07 | 10:47 AM ET
How far would you go for a cup of tea? Matt Gross, the Frugal Traveler for The New York Times, went deep into West Bengal and the Himalayas to explore the tea estates of Darjeeling country and sample varieties of the coveted teas. The hours-long journey to Darjeeling is like “a teetotaler’s version of a Napa Valley tour but without the crowds,” Gross writes. Getting to this remote corner of India is also apparently spine-chilling: the steep drive up and down decrepit roads has caused more than a few fatal plunges and Gross anxiously notes rough trips between estates.
Out of the Wild? Alaskan Town Considers Removing McCandless Bus
by Eva Holland | 10.19.07 | 5:57 AM ET
Future “McCandless pilgrims” could be in for a disappointment. The Alaskan town of Healy, located about 40 kilometers from the old school bus where Christopher McCandless died, is considering the removal, restoration or destruction of the bus before the next wave of greenhorns, inspired by the recent film adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild,” arrive to pay tribute.
