Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Smithsonian Takes on ‘America By Air’
by Julia Ross | 11.27.07 | 9:27 AM ET
As we’ve noted, modern air travel leaves a lot to be desired, tarmac delays and all. But we’ve come a long way since the 1940s, when nurses were brought on board to calm jittery passengers anticipating a bumpy ride in unpressurized planes. I was reminded of the marvels of jet-age flight while visiting a new exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, America by Air, which traces the history of passenger air travel since 1914.
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Yahoo! Buzz800-Year-Old Roman Empire Courier Map Goes on Display. Briefly.
by Michael Yessis | 11.27.07 | 9:11 AM ET
The Tabula Peutingeriana (excerpt pictured), an 800-year-old copy of a chart used by the Roman Empire’s courier service, was pulled from the archives of Austria’s National Library yesterday as part of a celebration of its new “Memory of the World” status by UNESCO.
Aliens in New Mexico Tourism Ads ‘Look Like They’re Going to Suck Your Brains Out’
by Michael Yessis | 11.26.07 | 6:03 PM ET
Great for anyone interested in Roswell. Not so much, apparently, if you’re trying to convince others to visit your state. At least that’s what some key players in New Mexico tourism are saying about an ad campaign centered on not-so-cuddly aliens.
Environmentalist on Antarctica: ‘Do We Want This to Become Disneyland’?
by Jim Benning | 11.26.07 | 12:59 PM ET
The sinking of the cruise ship Explorer in Antarctica a few days ago has prompted some interesting questions, including the one posed by Jim Barnes in a story in today’s New York Times. “There’s been kind of an explosion of tourism in Antarctica,” said Barnes, who is the executive director of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. “Do we want this to become Disneyland or do we want some controls?” While roughly 7,000 tourists visited Antarctica in 1992-93, more than 35,000 are expected this season, and because the region is outside any one country’s domain, controls seem to be few and far between.
In Search of the Perfect Dumpling in Shanghai
by Joanna Kakissis | 11.26.07 | 11:09 AM ET
In Shanghai, the dumpling known as xiao long bao is on the city’s list of “protected traditional treasures.” It was invented in Shanghai, which made an excellent setting for a witty and mouth-watering piece in the International Herald Tribune by intrepid travel writer and World Hum contributor Daisann McLane. During the course of three days, she taste-tested her way through the city, looking for the perfect dumpling.
‘Forget Waterloo’: New Train Route Bringing ‘Two Old Foes Closer’
by Joanna Kakissis | 11.21.07 | 11:52 AM ET
France’s high-speed rail network, which has been coping with a labor strike, was hit by fires and other acts of sabotage overnight, according to reports. But in unrelated news, there’s at least one glimmer of good news coming from some rail service in the region. Historical enemies France and England are getting soft-eyed over the new high-speed rail link between Paris and London, according to the New York Times. A recent full-page ad in the French newspaper Le Figaro declared “Oubliez Waterloo”—forget Waterloo. And the English were talking not about Napoleon’s last stand but the former Waterloo rail terminus station.
The Onion on ‘Thanksgiving Tradition of Sitting Around at Airport’
by Jim Benning | 11.21.07 | 10:24 AM ET
Yes, the Onion News Network offers a video report celebrating the holiday tradition of waiting at the airport. Across the country, millions are “enjoying” the tradition in “time-honored” ways.
Related on World Hum:
* Delays Kick Off Thanksgiving Travel Week
* Three Travel Tips: Surviving Thanksgiving Air Travel
Delays Kick Off Thanksgiving Travel Week
by Jim Benning | 11.19.07 | 12:54 PM ET
Everyone predicted tough travel at U.S. airports this week. It didn’t take long. Today, from Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth to Chicago, Newark and New York City, weather and technical problems have caused flight delays. What’s more, reports CNN, “In Colorado, heavy snow was expected Tuesday and Wednesday…The same weather system could worsen travel conditions in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and the Texas panhandle.” Good luck out there.
Related on World Hum:
* Three Travel Tips: Surviving Thanksgiving Air Travel
Photo by Phing? via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Disney, Debauchery and ‘Our Dumb World’
by Michael Yessis | 11.16.07 | 4:13 PM ET
A holiday weekend is on the horizon, but travelers from Hong Kong to Las Vegas are already poised to cut loose. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most Read Blog Post
World Hum (posted this week)
Top 10 Foreign Cities for Americans to Get Arrested
* Mexico City (pictured) was No. 5.
Most Popular Travel Story
Iloho (current)
Debauchery Tourism Sets Holiday Trend
* From the story: “Las Vegas reigns supreme as the US capital of debaucherism.”
Top City For Nightlife
TripAdvisor (current)
Las Vegas
Most Read Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Woman in SWA Dress Debate Poses Nude
* That would be Kyla Ebbert, and is anyone surprised she said yes to Playboy? The title of her photo spread: “Legs in the Air.”
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
Ten Places You Must Visit Before You Die
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Woman Seen Scattering Ashes at Disneyland
Three Travel Tips: Surviving Thanksgiving Air Travel
by Jim Benning | 11.16.07 | 11:37 AM ET
Travel tips are easy to find on the Internet, but some are better than others. Herewith: World Hum-approved travel tips from around the Web.
It starts today: Thanksgiving travel madness. An estimated 27 million people are expected to fly between now and Nov. 27—up 4 percent from last year. Military air space has been temporarily opened to ease congestion, but it’s going to get ugly out there. What to do?
1) Ship your luggage using a courier service and print your boarding pass at home. Then avoid the airport’s departure level. “When getting to the airport (especially for a morning flight), don’t go to the departure level. It will be a zoo. Besides, you have no baggage to check and you already have your boarding pass. Instead, skip the car and people traffic and head for the arrivals level. In the early morning, no one is there. Then take the escalator upstairs and go through security to your gate.” (Peter Greenberg, MSNBC)
Hostelling Seeks to Honor 100th Anniversary With U.S. Postage Stamp
by Michael Yessis | 11.16.07 | 10:39 AM ET
German schoolteacher Richard Schirrmann started the hostelling movement in 1909, and throughout its history Australia, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan and Sweden have all honored it with commemorative postage stamps. Hostelling International USA wants the United States to join those countries for the 100th anniversary of hostelling, and it’s asking travelers to help by signing an online petition.
Saudi Billionaire Buys First Private Superjumbo A380
by Terry Ward | 11.15.07 | 11:54 AM ET
Oh, to travel like a Saudi prince. Or the wife of India’s richest man. I was driving home from Orlando’s airport a few days ago, having just booked a long haul flight in coach and already dreading the knees-in-my-teeth-feeling to come, when I heard an NPR segment about Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s purchase of his own personal A380 superjumbo jet (like the one pictured) to the tune of just over $300 million. According to an envy-inducing piece in the International Herald Tribune, the prince, worth an estimated $20 billion and the world’s 13th richest man, regularly travels with an entourage of around 50 people.
Bomb-Making Materials Pass U.S. Airport Checkpoints
by Jim Benning | 11.15.07 | 11:05 AM ET
In all, screeners at 19 airport checkpoints failed to detect liquid explosives and other bomb-making materials in a recent study. What’s worse, officials say in most of the cases, those screeners were following approved security procedures. Remarked one Congressman: “The terrorist threat to our airlines is constantly evolving. Is the Transportation Security Administration keeping up? Unfortunately, the news is not good.”
Related on World Hum:
* Air Traffic Controler to United Pilot: ‘Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!’
* TSA Deploys ‘Behavior Detection Officers’ at U.S. Airports
Photo by goldberg via Flickr (Creative Commons).
In the Former Yugoslavia, Monuments to Rocky, Tarzan and…Samantha Fox?
by Joanna Kakissis | 11.14.07 | 5:18 PM ET
A bronze-and-concrete statue of Rocky Balboa exalting in victory anchors the village square of Zitiste, a farming hamlet in Serbia. And, strange as it seems, Rocky isn’t the lone pop icon in the region: A statue of Bruce Lee has been erected in Bosnia, and statues of Tarzan and the former Playboy model and sort-of singer Samantha Fox are also set to go up in the Balkans, which is still recovering from the bloody wars of the 1990s. In a strange and hilarious story in The New York Times, International Herald Tribune writer Dan Bilefsky reports that these monuments to Hollywood and pop culture are “either delighting or alarming cultural critics.” Milica Tomic, the Serbian visual artist, told Bilefsky that the statues are “a dangerous joke in which history is being erased and replaced by Mickey Mouse.”
From Tonga to Texas, Doing the Haka
by Jim Benning | 11.14.07 | 11:31 AM ET
Photo of Maori dance by Gaetan Lee via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Texas is not a place where you’d expect to see the haka—the war dance that originated with New Zealand’s Maori and is performed on a number of Polynesian islands. But that’s changing. The CBS Evening News aired a terrific segment last night on how the migration of Tongans to Dallas Fort-Worth, largely to work in the airline industry, has led one high school football team in the nearby city of Euless to take up the dance as a pre-game ritual.
