Travel Blog
Are You a Member of the ‘Backpack Lunatic Fringe’?
by Jim Benning | 05.11.07 | 9:29 AM ET
If the idea of flying a low-cost European airline with “spotty brand identity” from the U.S. to Europe this summer appeals to you, then aviation consult Michael Boyd would say you qualify. Boyd’s rather bizarre remark appears in a noteworthy USA Today story about European discount carriers entering the U.S. market. Airlines such as Marinair, Eurofly, FlyGlobespan and Condor are now offering budget travelers trans-Atlantic alternatives to the major carriers. They offer cheap flights but have a few drawbacks. “Because these airlines target European leisure travelers, they fly to a limited number of U.S. cities (most notably Orlando, Las Vegas and New York),” the paper reports. “Some flights are seasonal (usually May through October), and frequency varies.”
Photo by pj mac via Flickr (Creative Commons).
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Yahoo! Buzz‘Havana: Autobiography of a City’
by Jim Benning | 05.10.07 | 11:02 AM ET
‘Confucius Craze’ Sweeps China
by Jim Benning | 05.10.07 | 9:55 AM ET
Just how hot is the ancient philosopher in China at the moment? A new self-help book based on the teachings of Confucius is topping the nation’s best-seller list. With its time-worn wisdom, “Notes on Reading the Analects” by Beijing professor Yu Dan appeals to Chinese citizens anxious about by the economic and social changes that have swept the nation in recent years, a Reuters report suggests. But some critics in China are dismissing the book as Confucius-light.
‘Traveler’: Conspiracy Theories Meet ‘On the Road’
by Michael Yessis | 05.10.07 | 9:03 AM ET
What happens when three Yale grad students on summer break plan to travel the United States not using a guidebook but Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road,” but before they can embark, the member of the trio with the oh-so-descriptive name Will Traveler seems to blow up a New York City museum in such a way that his friends Jay and Tyler look responsible, so the duo kicks off its road trip not as a modern day Sal and Dean but as suspected terrorists terrified of getting picked up and hauled to Guantanamo for a crime they didn’t commit? Find out tonight at 10 p.m. when ABC debuts Traveler, or just read Tom Shales’ review in the Washington Post, which contains this hilarious passage:
‘Work Your Way Around the World’: Interview with Susan Griffith
by Michael Yessis | 05.10.07 | 8:14 AM ET
On the eve of the publication of the 13th edition of Work Your Way Around the World, Gadling’s Justin Glow sat with author Susan Griffith to talk about how—and why—travelers might want to put in some hours on the clock while they’re on the road. “[I]n the Swat Valley of northern Pakistan I stumbled across a film being shot with the Himalayas as a backdrop,” Griffith says. “They asked me if I would like a bit part as the Colonel’s daughter, but their faces fell when I had to confess I was no horsewoman. I began to see that if you were a free and unfettered traveler, you could take advantage of all these things and stay on the road, maybe indefinitely, which got me excited about writing a book to guide and encourage people.”
Knife Tricks: A Blogger Goes to North Korea
by Michael Yessis | 05.10.07 | 6:19 AM ET
On his blog Knife Tricks, Paul Karl Lukacs posts a Q&A with himself and asks this: Why go to North Korea? His answer: Why not? He knows the $2,200 he paid for his trip will mostly go to subsidize Kim Jong-Il’s totalitarian regime—he went with a Beijing-based group called Koryo Tours to attend a government-sanctioned festival—but he sees a benefit. He writes: “As the Dalai Lama said about travel to Tibet, ‘Go, and tell the world what you see.’”
‘The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2007’
by Jim Benning | 05.09.07 | 3:31 PM ET
We’ve already noted Travelers’ Tales The Best Travel Writing 2007, which featured stories by men and women. But Travelers’ Tales has also issued a separate volume of women’s-only travel stories, The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2007.
Chiang Mai Under Siege: The Struggle to Save Classic Thai Architecture
by Michael Yessis | 05.09.07 | 2:25 PM ET
The temples of Chiang Mai are coming apart, and more than half of its historic buildings “have come under the wrecking ball,” according to a story in the International Herald Tribune. Preservationists are taking steps to save structures dating back to the Lanna kingdom, but precisely what they can accomplish—and how they can accomplish it—remains to be seen.
Going to a Time-Share Sales Pitch? You’ll Swim with Sharks.
by Jim Benning | 05.09.07 | 12:31 PM ET
On my first trip to Hawaii, when I was 22 and fresh out of college, I got suckered into going to a time-share sales pitch in exchange for a free snorkel trip. A guy in an Aloha shirt standing behind a kiosk explained how it worked. I would just give them a couple of hours of my time and wouldn’t have to buy a thing. Afterward, they’d hand me the snorkel voucher and I’d soon be exploring some of Kauai’s best reefs by boat, ogling tropical fish of every imaginable hue. I had little money and (I thought) all the time in the world, so I figured it wasn’t a bad deal. Inside a room overlooking the Pacific, Hawaiian music played. I munched on a raspberry Danish, sipped freshly squeezed orange juice and, with dozens of others, watched a video about the wonders of vacation time-shares. So far so good. Then out came the salespeople.
Happy Birthday Helvetica, the Perfect Travel Font
by Jim Benning | 05.09.07 | 11:50 AM ET
The famed font turns 50 this year. Among other things, the BBC notes that it’s used often by travel companies. Writes Finlo Rohrer: “Helvetica’s message is this: you are going to get to your destination on time; your plane will not crash; your money is safe in our vault; we will not break the package; the paperwork has been filled in; everything is going to be OK.”
Federal Passengers’ Bill of Rights One Step Closer to Law
by Michael Yessis | 05.09.07 | 10:11 AM ET
Remember all those passengers stranded on Jet Blue planes for double-digit hours? The February incidents spurred members of the United States Congress to propose a Passengers’ Bill of Rights, and last week language written by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) was included in the upcoming Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill.
Air Travel in Africa: Exhilarating, Otherworldly and Perilous
by Michael Yessis | 05.09.07 | 6:34 AM ET
In the wake of the Kenya Airways crash in Cameroon, the AP has taken a look at the state of air travel in Africa. It’s not the first time the media have addressed the safety of flying within the continent post-crash—a quick search turned up a BBC article from 2005 after two crashes in Nigeria, and an International Herald Tribune story covered the safety issue in 2006—and it likely won’t be the last. Is the scrutiny of Africa merited?
Nicolas Sarkozy, You Were Just Elected President of France. How Are You Celebrating?
by Jim Benning | 05.08.07 | 5:12 PM ET
I’m going to Malta to hang out on a luxury yacht!
U.S. Issues New Nepal Travel Warning
by Jim Benning | 05.08.07 | 3:54 PM ET
Nepal travel fans were hoping a peace agreement between Maoist insurgents and the Nepalese government in November would put an end to the violence and robberies that have plagued the Himalayan nation in recent years. No such luck, apparently. As a result of ongoing acts of violence and threats by Maoist insurgents, the State Department has issued a fresh warning to travelers considering a Nepal visit to stay abreast of security information and be ready to change plans.
Swimming Tourism: ‘Ferries Are For Wimps’
by Jim Benning | 05.08.07 | 11:44 AM ET
Personally, I have no problem with people who ride ferries. But former Australian lifeguard Simon Murie, who runs a company that leads trips for island-hopping swimmers, has declared that, yes, “ferries are for wimps.” SwimTrek organizes trips to places like the British Virgin Islands, the Greek Islands and Croatia’s Dalmation Coast so that serious swimmers can spend their holidays island-hopping—in the water, of course. Swimmers cover up to four miles a day and up to 15 miles a week, often making one journey between islands a day with a chase boat. As a swimmer, I find Murie’s description of the experience pretty compelling.
