Travel Blog: News and Briefs
The Roadside Motel: ‘Reinventing an American Icon’
by Michael Yessis | 05.24.07 | 2:41 PM ET
While Route 66 sees the sad decline of countless roadside motels, elsewhere in the U.S. they’re on the rise. “The credit goes to a growing number of ‘boutique motels,’ properties dating back to the 1940’s, 1950’s, and early 1960’s that have been bought and completely reimagined by energetic young moteliers with a clear vision of what makes for not merely comfortable but also memorable accommodations,” writes Charles Gandee in the introduction to a roundup of chic motels in Travel + Leisure.
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Yahoo! Buzz‘Borat’ Inks Deal to Write Travel Guides to Kazakhstan, ‘U.S. and A.’
by Michael Yessis | 05.24.07 | 1:17 PM ET
“Borat,” aka Sacha Baron Cohen, will write two books in one, according to a Reuters story highlighting the deal. One part will be called “Borat: Touristic Guidings To Minor Nation of U.S. and A.” The other title: “Borat: Touristic Guidings To Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.” The level of silliness should be off the charts. What I’d like to see, however, is this: a book about Borat’s travels to Phaic Tan or Molvania, all while carrying stuff he bought from SkyMaul. (via Gadling)
Related on World Hum:
* Borat and the ‘Real Kazakhstan’
What’s the True Cost of Travel? Excerpts From ‘The Final Call’
by Michael Yessis | 05.24.07 | 11:50 AM ET
Leo Hickman’s The Final Call: In Search of the True Cost of Our Holidays comes out early next month, and the Guardian has posted two excerpts—part one and part two—from the book. Hickman, who is the paper’s ethical living editor, also fielded questions online today, covering issues ranging from the effectiveness of buying carbon credits to why travelers might want to shun Dubai “to send the signal that much of what is going on there is environmentally insane.”
Inside Great Sushi and the World’s Biggest Fish Market
by Jim Benning | 05.24.07 | 10:48 AM ET
As we’ve noted a number of times lately, Japanese cuisine is getting lots of press these days, from stories about the sudden popularity of 500-year-old kaiseki among hip Western chefs to Tokyo’s thriving restaurant scene. But among the, uh, meatiest pieces I’ve read recently is Nick Tosches’s story in the June issue of Vanity Fair about the world’s greatest fish market, officially called the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Central Wholesale Market, but often referred to simply by its place name, Tsukiji. It’s huge, spanning nearly 40 football fields. Roughly 60,000 people work there. But the most stunning statistic is this: An estimated 2,000 tons or more of fish move through the market daily—by comparison, Tosches notes, at the world’s second largest market, Fulton Fish Market in New York City, 115 tons pass through in an entire year.
Caitlin Snaring Wins National Geographic Bee
by Michael Yessis | 05.23.07 | 5:20 PM ET
Congratulations to 14-year-old Caitlin Snaring from Redmond, Washington, only the second girl to win the annual geography bee. She didn’t miss a single question in two days of competition, and she captured the title in Washington D.C. by answering the question, “What city, divided by a river of the same name, was the imperial capital of Vietnam?” Correct response: Hue. Congratulations also to Samuel Brandt, who won the AAA Travel High School Challenge Monday. The 10th grader from Eugene, Oregon clinched on the question, “Dubrovnik is a popular tourist destination in which country?” Answer: Croatia.
Notes from the Barbecue Trail: From Lockhart, Texas to Lexington, North Carolina
by Michael Yessis | 05.23.07 | 11:20 AM ET
On the spectrum of barbecue love, I fall between someone satisfied with a McRib and the kind of crazed person who would shell out $12,500 for this gold-plated grill. Essentially, I like barbecue enough that I’ll travel to eat the good stuff. Some days I brave the traffic on I-95 south of Washington D.C. for smoked pork shoulders and muddy spuds at Dixie Bones in Woodbridge, Virginia, and not too long ago, inspired by an outstanding series by David Plotz in Slate, my dad and I made the pilgrimage to Lockhart, Texas.
Western-Style Supermarkets Threaten Traditional Indian Vendors
by Michael Yessis | 05.22.07 | 2:04 PM ET
Local markets where Indians—and many travelers—have traditionally purchased their food staples are losing about 40 percent of their business to Western-style supermarkets, according to a BBC story. And that’s before Wal-Mart and Tesco move in with markets of their own next year.
Thousands of Air Travelers Stranded in Europe
by Jim Benning | 05.22.07 | 1:40 PM ET
Thanks to a strike by air traffic controllers and flight attendants in Italy. Ah, Italians striking. I’ll never forget my first strike experience in Italy, shuffling my travel schedule in Venice thanks to a rail strike. Good times.
Latest Weapon in the War on Jet Lag: Viagra?
by Jim Benning | 05.22.07 | 12:27 PM ET
Pico Iyer has described jet lag as a “place that no human had ever been until 40 or so years ago and yet, now, a place where more and more of us spend more and more of our lives. It’s not quite a dream state, but it’s certainly not wakefulness, and though it seems as if we’re visiting another continent, there are no maps or guidebooks to this other world. There are not even any clocks.” Yet some are intent on eliminating this place from our collective experience.
Africa-Wide Air Safety Authority Set For June Debut
by Michael Yessis | 05.22.07 | 12:01 PM ET
The exhilarating, otherworldly and perilous experience of flying within Africa promises to get safer in June with the inauguration of the African Civil Aviation Authority (AFRO-CAA). According to the AP, the AFRO-CAA will be modeled after the EU Aviation Safety Agency and the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency, and, among other things, will for the first time develop uniform technical standards across the continent. ‘“This will be a big step to improve safety in Africa,” said Harry Eggerschwiler, chief of operations for the AFRO-CAA. “When you go to international safety meetings you always hear ‘Africa, Africa.’ Well, we are now doing something about it.”
Confessions of a ‘Shameless Hoarder of Unmarketable Collectibles’
by Michael Yessis | 05.22.07 | 10:33 AM ET
Those “unmarketable collectibles” are otherwise known as travel souvenirs, such as toothpaste from halfway around the world or the receipt for the “donation” to Maoist rebels or, in my case, the “Three Minutes Happiness” bath soak from Japan (pictured) that has graced my bathroom for years. They have a value that could never be recognized by a bidder on eBay.
Route 66 Hotels Face ‘Four-Lane, Divided Highway Called Progress’
by Michael Yessis | 05.21.07 | 4:40 PM ET
More hard evidence of the sad demise of Route 66: The AP reports that “at least 3,000 motels along the route are in various states of repair or disrepair.” They’re now “historical footnotes,” with little or no hope of revival. “Today, many structures that made the road what it was—the diners, family-owned service stations, barbecue joints—have fallen apart,” writes Justin Juozapavicius. “With efforts to fix up these architectural landmarks scarce, time has become the road’s worst enemy.”
Quito: No Longer Just Stopover Country
by Jim Benning | 05.21.07 | 3:42 PM ET
For years now, many travelers have stopped in Quito only briefly while on the way to the Amazon or Galapagos Islands, due in part to concerns over crime, writes Danny Palmerlee in the San Francisco Chronicle. But thanks to a $200 million restoration project in the city’s historic center, crime is down, beauty is up and, according to Palmerlee, Ecuador’s capital is now worth a visit in its own right: “Architects and restoration crews have completed more than 200 separate works, including the city’s cathedral; three historic theaters; the narrow, postcard-perfect street known as ‘La Ronda’; plazas; monasteries; churches; and entire blocks of colonial homes whose wooden balconies make Quito’s streets so picturesque.”
Heading…
Eating Japanese: The World’s ‘My Boom’ Food
by Michael Yessis | 05.21.07 | 10:03 AM ET
Japanese cuisine is having a moment. As we’ve noted, Western chefs are beginning to embrace kaiseki, a 500-year-old Japanese eating tradition. The Los Angeles Times recently highlighted it, and the writers of that story also hit Tokyo’s restaurant scene with Spago chef Lee Hefter. In Sunday’s New York Times T Style Magazine: Travel, Adam Sachs takes his own “professional eating” tour through Tokyo, offering up a quick history of Japanese food and his take on a dining scene that, for depth and variety, “has no equal.”
Experts to Americans: Easy On the Tipping!
by Jim Benning | 05.21.07 | 8:11 AM ET
Sure, in some countries a generous tip for great service is appropriate. But not everywhere. “In Japan, for instance, tipping is viewed as insulting,” writes Rosemary McClure in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times. “In other countries, it’s considered disrespectful to hand a tip to a waiter.” How to avoid being the ugly American shelling out too much money in tips overseas?
