Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Billy Bragg’s Big Busk: Singing About London
by Michael Yessis | 09.23.08 | 12:21 PM ET
The singer will be leading a come one, come all sing- and strum-along this Saturday at the Southbank Centre in London. The crowd will be singing Bragg’s favorite London songs. He’s got a lot of great ones to choose from, as evidenced by this Wikipedia page of London songs and Time Out’s 50 best London songs.
If I could make it, I’d like “Waterloo Sunset” by the Kinks to make the cut:
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Yahoo! BuzzAn ‘Unscheduled Landing’ Blogged, Twittered
by Michael Yessis | 09.23.08 | 12:01 PM ET
World Hum contributor Pam Mandel’s flight from Seattle to New York was diverted to Chicago O’Hare yesterday after experiencing an “electrical failure.” Her tweets and from-the-scene blog post, complete with photo, offer a fascinating snapshot of what it’s like to go through a landing where “two tires blew and we skidded onto some grass.” She adds: “[N]o big deal, right? Yeah, right.”
Bedbug Infestations Hit Planes, Trains, Route to Santiago de Compostela
by Michael Yessis | 09.23.08 | 11:31 AM ET
The Guardian reports that an “enormous increase in international travel as a result of rising western living standards and low-cost flying is seen as a major factor behind the revival.”
On the ‘New’ Orient Express, it’s the Fantasy That Counts
by Eva Holland | 09.23.08 | 10:15 AM ET
The Independent’s Kate Simon recently took a ride on the Orient Express to celebrate the venerable route’s 125th birthday—but, as she points out in an essay about the trip, the current luxury trains that bear the name are not the true descendants of the original. That honor goes instead to a TGV line out of Strasbourg.
Searching for Borders in West Africa
by Eva Holland | 09.22.08 | 2:40 PM ET
It’s a truism that Africa’s colonial borders were drawn virtually on a whim, but in this compelling essay in The Smart Set, Peter Chilson learns first-hand just how arbitrarily some of those lines on the map were traced—and the real-life impact of those colonial decisions.
JFK JetBlue Terminal Reopens After Morning Evacuation
by Jim Benning | 09.22.08 | 12:51 PM ET
Attention, travelers passing through JFK this week: Please leave your World War II replica grenade paperweights at home. The U.N. Generally Assembly is meeting in New York, and security officials are, um, a little on edge.
‘The Amazing Race’ Wins Emmy—Again
by Jim Benning | 09.22.08 | 11:38 AM ET
For the sixth straight time, the CBS show (and now Travel Channel show) “The Amazing Race” won the Emmy in the “reality competition” category, beating out the likes of “American Idol.” Now that’s amazing.
Arthur Frommer on Cruise Prices: ‘I’ve Never Seen Such Bargains’
by Jim Benning | 09.22.08 | 11:01 AM ET
“[T]his fall, the discounting of cruise prices is more frequent and substantial than ever,” Frommer writes. “I’ve never seen such bargains.” Noteworthy: Even “upscale” cruise lines such as Celebrity are offering great deals, including $359 for a five-night Caribbean cruise.
A Visit to India’s ‘Green’ Isle
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.22.08 | 10:41 AM ET
E Magazine travels to Bangaram, part of the Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian Sea some 200 miles west of Kerala in southern India. It’s a small place—less than a square mile—and it was virtually uninhabited until CGH Earth Hotels opened an (apparently impressive) eco-resort there. Writer Jenny Fowler says the resort “has drawn a green line in the sand” and has taken pains to be sustainable: constructing cottages made of local, biodegradable materials; saving water during monsoons; and forbidding motor vehicles.
Photo binux by via Flickr (Creative Commons).
World Hum’s Most Read: Sept. 13-19
by World Hum | 09.19.08 | 5:37 PM ET
Our five most popular features and blog posts for the week:
1) Audio Slideshow: Promised Land Closed
2) R.I.P. David Foster Wallace
3) 10 Great Travel Race Movies (pictured)
4) How Does Sarah Palin Rank in Foreign Travel Experience?
5) Harrison Ford: When Good Celebrity Travel Stories Go Bad
Movie Tourism, Bond-Style, Comes to Panama
by Eva Holland | 09.19.08 | 9:20 AM ET
Brace yourself, Panama. The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy created a Frodo economy in New Zealand. “Brokeback Mountain” lured fans to Wyoming. Now, Quantum of Solace—the new James Bond flick, which was filmed in the Central American country—just might do the same for Panama. It’s coming out in November, and my guess is that hordes of tourists (and more than a few newspaper travel sections) won’t be far behind.
Jeffrey Tayler’s Latest in The Atlantic
by Jim Benning | 09.19.08 | 9:15 AM ET
As the Moscow correspondent for The Atlantic, World Hum contributor Jeffrey Tayler has been filing some terrific stories lately about Russia, Georgia and U.S. foreign policy. In his latest, Russia: Back to the Future, he questions whether the U.S. should continue to back Georgia’s bid to join NATO.
The Case of the Japanese Tourists and the Graffiti at the Duomo
by Michael Yessis | 09.19.08 | 7:11 AM ET
The Financial Times has a fascinating rundown of an incident earlier this year involving Japanese tourists in Florence, Italy. The visitors, who were mostly students, added their names to a marble wall at the Duomo, which “has become an accepted, if not necessarily desired, activity in Florence,” writes Lindsay Whipp.
Meatball Nations: United in the Love of Kofte, Keftedes and Kebapches
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.19.08 | 6:21 AM ET
Southeastern Europe boasts something like 400 varieties of meatballs, according to Balkan Travellers. Albena Shkodrova looks at the beloved comfort food as served in Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and the former Yugoslav republics—but not after tweaking the United States for its lack of creativity with minced meat. Cue Josh White while visualizing Chef Boyardee.
Photo by fotoosvanrobin via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Can You Dig It? Yes, Actually, You Can.
by Valerie Conners | 09.19.08 | 6:19 AM ET
Every kid with a sandbox, a shovel and a little imagination has pondered digging a hole to China. Now, with this nifty Google Map tunneling tool, you can discover where your hole would actually end. From my place in Philadelphia? I’d pop up off the coast of Australia. And if I actually want to dig a hole from China (specifically, Wuhan), I’d be sipping a fine Malbec in Argentina’s Mendoza region. Not bad.
