Travel Blog
Save the Joshua Tree (Again)
by Joanna Kakissis | 01.27.09 | 2:18 PM ET
We’ve noted, rather sadly, that we can’t imagine Joshua Tree National Park without its signature Joshua tree. (Who can?) Scientists have warned that the giant yucca may disappear in 50 years because global warming is changing the desert’s fragile ecosystem. U2 famously showcased a Joshua tree on the Anton Corbijn-photographed cover of its 1987 album, and I wonder if the band silently praised it during its awesome pre-inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial (or at least after President Obama affirmed his faith in scientists and pledged to help them deal with a planet in peril.)
Ecopreneur John Ivanko is optimistic, if guardedly so. Ivanko, who recently visited the park with his family, offered this ode, with the hope that a new outlook will help save the imperiled, iconic tree and its park, and other “great places” in the natural world.
For nostalgia’s sake, here’s some Corbijn-shot footage of (then youthful) members of U2 wandering the desert.
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Yahoo! BuzzPigs for Pets or Meat!
by David Farley | 01.27.09 | 11:43 AM ET
After reading about the poor standards of pork in Europe (where England gets most of its pork from), pig-eating British journalist Alex Renton became concerned. He puts blame on British supermarkets. He writes in the Guardian: “The fact is that price discounting (you may have noticed we’re in the midst of another ‘value’ war at the moment) has forced the price of pork so low that few farmers can make a profit on a pig, even when produced in a cage on the cheapest feed possible.” The answer, of course, is to stop eating pork, which Renton refused to do. So he took matters into his own hands (or, should I say, taste buds). “My pig is 11 months old now,” he writes admiringly of the piglet he’s now raising for the slaughter.
Plastic Pineapple Passion
by Pam Mandel | 01.27.09 | 10:57 AM ET
There are all kinds of things wrong with it. First, there’s the magnetically attractive plastic container. It’s shaped like a pineapple, of course, with a coin slot in the lid as though you’re actually going to use it as a change bank. Be honest, that’s not going to happen, it’s just going to end up on the tchotchke shelf at some thrift store. Next, there’s the fact that the soft serve is shockingly free of dairy products. Finally, what’s in there that you could possibly need? It’s a cocktail of sugar, empty carbs and, well, OK, pineapple juice is sure to have some nutritional value that’s not totally negated by the soft serve.
I couldn’t help it. When I saw visitors walking about the grounds of the Dole Plantation carrying their very own pineapple floats in their very own pineapple-shaped containers, I devolved into a badly behaved child. “I WANT ONE OF THOSE NOW!” Luckily, my husband felt the same way—and those childhood lessons about sharing kicked in, too. We were able to limit ourselves to one and let me tell you, it was more than enough.
And it was delicious. If you find me totally checked out, not paying attention at all, it’s possible that pictured in the bubble over my head, is one of those pineapple floats from the plantation store. I could go for one about now.
From ‘A Case of You’ to ‘The Hockey Song’: Canada’s National Playlist Unveiled
by Eva Holland | 01.27.09 | 9:37 AM ET
Despite my earlier reservations, I was curious to see the results of the CBC’s search for a Canadian national playlist. Now, more than 100,000 votes later, 49 Songs from North of the 49th Parallel has been unveiled—and, presumably, presented to an unsuspecting President Obama. It’s a mixed bag of vintage rock, classical, jazz and folkier stuff—pop music is strikingly absent, while hip-hop received only a token mention—and probably says as much about CBC Radio’s demographics as it does about Canada. Still, it makes for an interesting read (spot any artists on there that you never realized were Canucks?) and I was tickled to see a couple of my favorites—the Tragically Hip, and the aforementioned hip-hopper, Shad—included.
One final quibble: sure, they’re all by Canadian artists, but I’m not sure how many of the tracks listed here achieve that ever-elusive goal of saying something meaningful about place. The list’s most powerful song in that respect, for my money, is Neil Young’s “Helpless.” Check out video of a live, unplugged performance of the song after the jump:
Morning Links: Polish Milk Bars, Talking Travel With Thomas Friedman and More
by Michael Yessis | 01.27.09 | 8:21 AM ET
- Milk bars in Warsaw are frozen in time, and that’s just one reason people love the relics of the Soviet era.
- Keith Bellows talks to Thomas Friedman about “the future of green technology and travel.”
- Road-tripping Yukon’s Dempster Highway.
- In Australia, incinerated meat “occupies a singular place in the national psyche.”
- World Hum contributor Frank Bures on what’s “possibly Wisconsin’s most famous landmark and definitely one of the world’s strangest tourist attractions.”
- Airports in the U.S. will soon begin testing radar designed to track birds.
- London officials warn: Watch out for those takeaway kebabs!
- Inside the Iron Maiden hotel.
- In the Western U.S. train travel is making “a heady comeback during these volatile energy-conscious times.”
- Scott McCartney on “the quest for perfect airline food.” Wait. Airline food still exists?
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Reading America: The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine
by Jenna Schnuer | 01.26.09 | 3:14 PM ET
U.K. to Hotels: Lighten Up, Please!
by Alexander Basek | 01.26.09 | 2:11 PM ET
Postcards From China
by Julia Ross | 01.26.09 | 1:03 PM ET
Journalist James Fallows, who has been writing from China for The Atlantic since 2006, is just out with a new book, Postcards from Tomorrow Square. It collects some of his best China essays, covering Chinese politics, technology and culture. In the introduction, Fallows says if there’ s one thing he’s learned in two years as a China correspondent, it’s this: “No one can sensibly try to present the ‘real story’ or the ‘overall picture’ of this country. It is simply too big and too contradictory.” Amen.
For more of Fallows’ thoughts on China, see this recent Q&A with the ChinaBeat blog, or visit Fallows’ own blog for The Atlantic.
Martha Stewart’s Whipping Boy?
by David Farley | 01.26.09 | 11:14 AM ET
Food writer Sylvie Bigar sits down with chef Pierre Schaedelin to talk about how he went from top toque at Le Cirque to Martha Stewart’s whipping boy ... er ... chef to cooking at Alain Ducasse’s New York outpost of famed Paris eatery Benoit. What did Schaedelin learn from being Martha’s food slave ... uh, we mean personal chef? Discipline.
Unstoppable ‘Slumdog’: From Slum Tours to the Billboard Chart
by Eva Holland | 01.26.09 | 9:57 AM ET
Fresh off its slew of Oscar nominations, “Slumdog Millionaire” continues to rack up the headlines. In the Telegraph, Nigel Richardson reports on the surge in business that the film’s success has—predictably—brought for Mumbai’s controversial slum tour operators. Slum tours anywhere are a tricky business to begin with; something tells me that those Indians who are already less-than-thrilled about the film’s success—calling it, among other things, “a white man’s imagined India” and “a poverty tour”—will be even less happy to hear that it’s now inspiring tourists to flock to the real-life slums.
How to Ring In an Ox Year
by Julia Ross | 01.26.09 | 9:07 AM ET
Today, millions of Chinese usher in the Year of the Ox by lighting firecrackers, handing out cash-filled red envelopes, feasting on whole fish and texting friends, “Happy Niu Year,” a play on the Mandarin word for “ox,” pronounced “niu.” Me? I’m feeling nostalgic for my old flat in Taipei’s Muzha district, the sound of motor scooters buzzing until midnight, and the raucous atmosphere of Taiwan’s temples, where thousands will pray this week for an auspicious year ahead.
In mainland China, it’s a different story. The holiday period sees the world’s largest annual human migration, making travel a nightmare for those trying to negotiate packed trains and sold-out flights (in fact, most China-based expats leave the country this week). But there are plenty of parties to be had elsewhere, in Chinatowns across the world. So if you’re jonesing for a Chinese culture fix, check out CNN’s round-up of celebrations here.
Morning Links: Road Tripping ‘Amexica,’ Titty Ho and More
by Michael Yessis | 01.26.09 | 8:12 AM ET
- Ed Vulliamy drives the length of the U.S.-Mexico border. Or, as he calls it, “Amexica.”
- Is Mexico City now the world’s greatest food city?
- Paramedics bought Big Macs for stranded AeroMexico passengers in Portland. That might be the only pleasant news from the incident.
- The “tourism gold rush” has subsided in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Blame Mugabe.
- Toronto wrestles with its identity.
- USA Today explores the question of whether the Obama presidency will influence travel to the U.S.
- Super Bowl travel packages are “not exactly a hot ticket.”
- Looks who’s taking on the bad travel economy: William Shatner.
- Motherwell. Glenrothes. New Cumnock. These three towns are in the running for the most dismal in Scotland.
- Crapstone. Titty Ho. Penistone, These and other snicker-worthy place names in Britain have had bloggers, Tweeters and New York Times readers snickering all weekend. Myself included.
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World Hum’s Most Viewed: Jan. 17-23
by World Hum | 01.23.09 | 5:13 PM ET
Image from video by Eric Testroete Our five most popular videos, slideshows and photos of the week:
1) Hawaii: Holoholo Wale
2) Streets of the World: Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.
3) Times Square, New York City
4) ‘This is Japan!’ (pictured)
5) Matt Harding’s 2008 Dancing Video
What We Loved This Week: Street Food, Obama’s Inauguration and More
by World Hum | 01.23.09 | 4:42 PM ET
Our contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.
Frank Bures
I loved my new cookbook, The World of Street Foods: Easy Quick Meals to Cook at Home, which has everything from Tanzanian mango fritters to Thai tom yam to Libyan almond cookies to Mexican hot chocolate. Based I what I know, these recipes look like the real deal.
Jim Benning
Malcolm Gladwell’s hour-long talk on Book TV—you can watch it online here—about the role culture and communication can play in plane crashes. It’s utterly fascinating and changed the way I think about such things. (It’s also, it turns out, quite controversial.) Still, it makes me want to pick up his new book, Outliers: The Story of Success.
Valerie Conners
The inauguration of President Barack Obama, of course! But really, as I’ve tried to absorb the enormity of Tuesday, I’ve been moved by images from around the globe, particularly in this slideshow from Boston.com, which have offered such great perspective on how this moment has affected people well beyond U.S. borders.
Michael Yessis
Going to the National Mall and watching the inauguration. So, so cold out, but an overwhelming, beautiful experience.
Julia Ross
Of the many high points this week, I loved that Obama hightailed it over to the State Department on day two in office, bucked up our diplomats, and broke out his Indonesian. A global president = priceless.
A Trip to Battery Park City
by Rob Verger | 01.23.09 | 2:38 PM ET
I live not far from the Hudson’s shore in upper Manhattan, and on Friday last week after US Airways Flight 1549 ditched successfully in the river, I took the subway down to Battery Park City, where the plane had been secured at a pier. It was a sunny but cold day, and I wandered the area. It was quite a scene: the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Katherine Walker and police boats in the Hudson, emergency services equipment and personnel, and parts of the plane’s tail and left wing (seen here, in this picture I took) sticking up out of the water.
