Travel Blog

Photo of German autobahn by kwerfeldein via Flickr, (Creative Commons).,/div>
Nine additional European countries, most of them former Communist Warsaw Pact states in the east, joined the European Union’s passport-free Schengen zone today. What does that mean? This sentence from the Globe and Mail put it into perspective for me: “This morning, for the first time in history, you can drive from the Russian border in Estonia to the Atlantic beaches of Portugal, across 24 countries, without encountering a single border crossing or having to show your passport at any point.” That’s amazing. The fine print: Not everyone is happy.

You With the Wheeled Luggage, Take Note

by Michael Yessis | 12.21.07 | 9:17 AM ET

Seth Stevenson has issues with you—valid issues, I’d say—and he’s aired them with readers of the New York Times. He would like you and your bag to stop your “wanton destruction” of ankles and airline seats. Also, he thinks your bag is ugly. He writes: “Your dorky rolling bag doesn’t say, ‘I’m embarking on a voyage.’ It says, ‘I’m going to a conference in Cleveland.’”

Related on World Hum:
* ‘If a Barefoot Man Can’t Walk Into Stuckey’s, Why Can he Sit Next to me All the Way to Sydney?’
* Armrest Seating, Anyone?

When Tourism Meets Nationalism

by Joanna Kakissis | 12.20.07 | 2:49 PM ET

It has in a big way in Yan’an, the prefecture in northwestern China that was the center of the Chinese communist revolution from 1935 to 1948. Mao Zedong and other communist leaders lived in caves and pagodas carved into the hillside, and Chinese communists celebrate it as the birthplace of the revolution. And as China has grown into a world power, its leaders are trying to boost national pride through “red tourism” that celebrates communist touchstones such as Yan’an, according to NPR. Of course, Mao’s pagodas are an obvious choice to muscle up nationalism: Today Chinese visitors from other regions visit Yan’an so they can dress up as revolutionaries and sing the communist ditty “The East is Red” with performers wearing traditional peasant clothes.

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One Argument for Dressing up for Your Next Flight

by Jim Benning | 12.20.07 | 1:28 PM ET

“Most of us are stuck in economy class, but not all of us stay there,” writes Christopher Elliott this week. “How do people snag upgrades? Well, one of the secrets of frequent travelers is to look the part….I’ve spoken with several airline folks who have admitted they’ll pick someone who looks like he belongs in the forward cabin.” In other words, this guy probably isn’t getting the nod.

Related on World Hum:
* ‘Really Cool, Well-Traveled’ John Flinn on the Dorky Zip-Off Pant
* In Thailand, Pink is the New Black

Photo by crucially via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

U.S. to Cap Flights at JFK, Newark Liberty Airports

by Michael Yessis | 12.20.07 | 12:53 PM ET

Airline carriers and the United States government have agreed to limit the amount of peak-hour flights at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International, two airports where extreme congestion has caused ripples of flight delays and cancellations across the country. At JFK, only “82 or 83” landings or takeoffs will be allowed per peak-hour, down from as many as 90 according to USA Today; the limit hasn’t been set for Newark. Both limits are expected to be finalized by the time the caps take effect on March 15, 2008.

Related on World Hum:
* New York’s JFK vs. Frankfurt Airport
* JetBlue Apologizes for Stranding Passengers on Planes at JFK

Chilangos on Ice in Mexico City

by Jim Benning | 12.20.07 | 12:52 PM ET

Mexico City’s residents—Chilangos, as they’re often called—are enjoying free ice skating in the city’s central plaza these days. The Los Angeles Times has a nice little video report.

The Arctic: Three Great Books

by Eva Holland | 12.20.07 | 12:15 PM ET

In Three Great Books, we highlight must-reads for a topic or place.

The northern reaches of North America have been inspiring visitors to write about their experiences since the earliest European explorations. Writers from Jack London to Jon Krakauer have told stories of adventure and tragedy in the Arctic, stories that always seem to boil down to the idea of challenging ourselves and testing our ability to survive in one of the harshest and most unforgettable landscapes on earth. My picks range as far south as the northernmost parts of the Prairies, but I think anyone who’s watched the migration of the polar bears through Churchill, Manitoba would argue that they were given a glimpse of life in the Arctic. Three great books:

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What’s Your Travel ‘Dealbreaker’?

by Eva Holland | 12.19.07 | 3:09 PM ET

Not long ago I went for drinks with a few girlfriends and, of course, before too long we gave in to stereotype and turned the conversation to bad dates, bad ex-boyfriends, bad-boys in general. One friend told a story about a relationship that had been rolling along smoothly—until she suggested that the two of them visit Paris together. “I’ve been to Paris,” her soon-to-be ex said casually. “They have one in Vegas.”

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R.I.P. Jack Byron Fields, Photo Essayist

by Jim Benning | 12.19.07 | 2:08 PM ET

Reports the San Francisco Chronicle: Fields’s “photographic essays from far-flung places appeared in magazines such as Life, Look and National Geographic and helped to transform photojournalism.” He was 87.

And the No. 2 Most Memorable Quote of 2007 is…

by Michael Yessis | 12.19.07 | 1:43 PM ET

According to the editor of the Yale Book of Quotations, it’s Miss Teen South Carolina’s “tortuous” and now-infamous answer to a question about Americans being unable to locate the U.S. on a map:

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Love Letter to a Joni Mitchell Road Song

by Jim Benning | 12.19.07 | 11:46 AM ET

In Slate, Ron Rosenbaum celebrates binge-listening to Joni Mitchell’s “Amelia,” from her “Hejira” album. “It’s not just a love song: It’s a road song, it’s a motel song, it’s a Southwestern desert song, it’s a disappearance and death song,” he writes. It’s a lovely piece. I go through Joni Mitchell “Blue” jags from time to time—the song and the album of the same name—so I can relate. Lately, on runs in my neighborhood, I’ve been binge-listening to “Hard Sun” from Eddie Vedder’s “Into the Wild” soundtrack. I expect that to pass soon. Here’s a great YouTube video of Mitchell playing “Amelia” circa 1983:

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‘Beatles’ Ashram’ in India to Become Eco-Hotel, School

by Michael Yessis | 12.19.07 | 10:32 AM ET

Travelers have been making pilgrimages to Rishikesh, India to visit Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram, aka the “Beatles’ ashram,” ever since the Fab Four landed there in the late ‘60s to study Transcendental Meditation and write some songs, including “Revolution” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Soon, though, the rundown 15-acre campus may become a home and school for street children, as well as a 10-room “eco hotel” where visitors “could volunteer to work with the children or simply relax in the same ashram where John Lennon searched for the meaning of life and George Harrison worked to perfect his sitar playing,” according to the Washington Post.

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Spit-Free Trains in China? Say It Ain’t So.

by Julia Ross | 12.19.07 | 10:07 AM ET

Last week, National Public Radio correspondent Rob Gifford filed a series of reports from China’s Yellow River, examining the region’s sobering environmental challenges. I was a big fan of Gifford’s China Road series, which aired on NPR in 2004 and later became a book, so I was happy to follow his recent travels. But it was the Reporter’s Notebook item Gifford posted on NPR’s web site that really got my attention, for one shocking revelation: He claims that the Chinese trains he rode while reporting the latest series were clean and spit-free.

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