Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Please Don’t Hack the Earlobes Off Easter Island’s Big Stone Heads
by Jim Benning | 06.30.08 | 12:46 PM ET
Seriously. Archaeologists and others are worried that surging tourism on Easter Island is bad news for the island’s iconic Moais. We noted that, in March, a Finnish tourist cut an earlobe off one head. It turns out that’s but one of many threats to the big stone heads. “More tourism, more deterioration. More visitors, more loss,” an archaeologist tells the AP.
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Yahoo! BuzzWorld Hum’s Most Read: June 21-27
by World Hum | 06.27.08 | 2:30 PM ET
Our five most popular features and blog posts this week:
1) How to: Use a Squat Toilet
2) Slumming in Rio
3) 10 Wanderlust-Inducing Summer Concerts (pictured)
4) One Man’s Odyssey into ‘Eat, Pray, Love’
5) How to: Break Bread and Brie in France
The Battle Against Porn in Hotels
by Eva Holland | 06.27.08 | 11:50 AM ET
The Smart Set reveals the war various religious groups are waging against pay-per-view porn in big-name hotel chains—and why porn’s days in hotels may be numbered. “Recently,” writes Greg Beato, “representatives from Focus on the Family, Citizens for Community Values, and assorted other professional American finger-waggers met with the top brass at Marriott International in an effort to convince the hotel chain to banish porn from its properties.”
Ice at North Pole May Disappear by This Summer
by Michael Yessis | 06.27.08 | 11:15 AM ET
Travel through a viable Northwest Passage gets closer by the day. From the Independent: “The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic—and worrying—examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer.”
Related on World Hum:
* The Implications of a Viable Northwest Passage
* Seven Wonders of the Shrinking Planet
Japanese Athletes Train Their Taste Buds at Pre-Olympics ‘Food Camp’
by Joanna Kakissis | 06.27.08 | 10:07 AM ET
The Games are all about cultures coming together, but unity’s hard to come by when it comes to food. Especially when you’re from Michelin-starred Japan, home to some of the choosiest eaters in the world. To prepare for three weeks of food in Beijing, Japanese Olympians are attending food training programs to get used to eating Chinese staples like cold spring rolls, fried catfish and noodles—and not with chopsticks but with the plastic cutlery that will be available at the Olympic village, Reuters reports.
When Microbes Attack… World Landmarks
by Joanna Kakissis | 06.26.08 | 12:37 PM ET
Photo by gbaku via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Historical sites from the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia to the Parthenon in Athens are under siege from bacteria, which are blackening, cracking and defacing monuments, The New York Times reports. Can scientists stop them? Many are optimistic, others not so much. “We have to accept that at some moment [the monuments] will disappear,” said Thomas Warscheid, a geomicrobiologist based in Germany. “But we know a lot about how to conserve them for the next 20, 30 years.”
Rome Braces for the ‘Dan Brown Effect’
by Michael Yessis | 06.26.08 | 12:03 PM ET
What does it mean when a world-class city like Rome looks to a big budget movie with a big American star to boost tourism? And what if that movie, “Angels and Demons,” the prequel to “The Da Vinci Code,” allegedly undermines the Roman Catholic Church? As Tom Hanks and company finish filming the movie based on Dan Brown’s book, those questions are being debated in Rome—and in the pages of the New York Times.
More Ways to Green Your Travels
by Joanna Kakissis | 06.26.08 | 11:13 AM ET
Forgoing a car or taxi (and its fumes) in favor of public transportation, walking or biking is one way you can green your vacation, says Grist magazine. Other tips include going on service-oriented vacations to work on an environmental project, buying locally-made goods (do those Greek warrior booties say “Made in China”?) and exploring an area near your hometown rather than on the other side of the world.
Travel with Kids: How to Face the Museum in Summer
by Eva Holland | 06.26.08 | 10:43 AM ET
Emily Bazelon admits that she’s not one for exposing her kids to heavy cultural programming on vacation—most of the time. But, she writes in Slate’s summer vacation special issue, “on this particular Sunday, I was also feeling the prick of inadvertent peer pressure: a friend’s offhand comment that her kids had been to the FDR Memorial more times than she could count. Whereas mine had been there never.” The resulting field trip has mixed results—and Bazelon shares some lessons learned in her essay.
First Moving Skyscraper to be Built in Dubai
by Jim Benning | 06.25.08 | 1:55 PM ET
Eighty ever-shifting floors? Oh, Dubai, you just give and give and give.
England to World: We’re Funny!
by Michael Yessis | 06.25.08 | 12:22 PM ET
It’s true. Even the country’s latest motto is funny (“No Motto Please, We’re British.”). So it makes sense the country is turning to its most comedic citizens and “funny spots” to promote travel.
Should We Blame the Government for Our Poor Air Travel System?
by Michael Yessis | 06.25.08 | 12:19 PM ET
David Ignatius says yes. “We speak of the airline industry as a market failure, but in a deeper sense, it’s a political failure,” he writes in the Washington Post. “The next time you’re stressing in an airport, ask yourself why government doesn’t start helping to fix this mess.”
See the World Through the Eyes of Indie Musicians
by Ben Keene | 06.25.08 | 11:23 AM ET
Some good news for travelers who have ever found the nightlife section of a guidebook lacking: Rockbuch will release an inventive compilation of the collective travel wisdom of more than 30 popular bands. Somewhat disappointingly, the “Indie Travel Guide” dedicates its coverage almost exclusively to the U.S., Canada, Scandinavia and the U.K., but it should offer readers an interesting way to experience quite a few cities nonetheless. Having once spent a couple of days wandering around Bergen, Norway, in search of a decent record shop, I, for one, am curious to know what Sondre Lerche would recommend. The book will be released in Europe first, followed by North America.
Recession Travel: Bad News for Theme Parks
by Eva Holland | 06.25.08 | 10:01 AM ET
Slate’s Daniel Gross is just full of bad news for American travelers this summer. Last month, he warned of the looming recession’s impact on the RV industry, and now he explains why the nation’s theme parks—and particularly the Six Flags chain—could be taking a hit, too. What’s next, the souvenir shot glass industry? Say it ain’t so.
Photo by j.reed via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Hollywood’s Cultural Jabs Get Mixed Reviews
by Elyse Franko | 06.25.08 | 9:55 AM ET
Hindu viewers aren’t showing much love for The Love Guru. According to Foreign Policy’s Passport Blog, they believe Mike Myers’ latest movie “lampoons their faith and reinforces misconceptions about their religion.” But oddly enough, Adam Sandler’s You Don’t Mess With the Zohan is a hit among Israelis, despite its blatant stereotypes of Israeli culture. “I have no problem making fun of Israel, ‘cause I think we are pretty damn funny,” Israeli hip-hop artist Shaanan Streett told the AP.
Related on World Hum:
*‘Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay’ Not Rushdie-esque?
