Travel Blog
Washington D.C. To World: During Inauguration Weekend, We’re Keeping our Bars Open Late For You
by Michael Yessis | 12.03.08 | 11:58 AM ET
The D.C. Council voted to allow bars, nightclubs and restaurants to pour booze until 5 a.m., and to serve food 24 hours a day, from January 17-20. That’s the long weekend before Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. So you may not be able to find a place to sleep, but you’ll always be able to find a place for a Yuengling and a crab cake.
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Yahoo! Buzz‘You Could Literally Smell the Tourists Coming Into the Capitol’
by Michael Yessis | 12.03.08 | 11:52 AM ET
Senator Harry Reid’s staff told him not to say that, but, yeah, he said that. During the opening of the new Capitol Visitors Center, he said, “In the summer because of the heat and high humidity, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol. It may be descriptive but it’s true.” His not-so-populist statement and the opening of the $621 million facility has proved good fodder for writers. My favorite take: Dana Milbank’s column in the Washington Post. He nails Reid, as well as House Minority Leader John Boehner.
He writes:
But where Reid saw toilets and trinkets, Boehner saw history. Recalling the British burning of the unfinished Capitol in 1814, he concluded: “It took 38 years and two wars to truly gain our independence, and it took several generations and a bloody Civil War to end slavery and win freedom for millions of African Americans. And today, we mark the opening of the Capitol Visitors Center.”
So, children, those are the great moments in American history: the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War and the opening of the Capitol Visitor Center.
Bangkok’s Airport ‘Creaks Back to Life’
by Valerie Conners | 12.03.08 | 10:19 AM ET
The international airport here has slowly started the process of reopening, after anti-government protesters who had camped there for a week called off their demonstration following a court’s decision to ban the prime minister from politics and dissolve the governing party. Flights have begun to arrive at the airport, though authorities still estimate it will take days before some 230,000 stranded visitors will be able to leave the country.
The ‘Great Public Spaces’ of the World
by Eva Holland | 12.03.08 | 9:31 AM ET
The non-profit Project for Public Spaces has put together a list of the 60 greatest public spaces in the world—and they’ve gone about it using a pretty compelling definition of “public space.” “These are the places we remember most vividly,” says the PPS site, “the places where serendipitous things happen, the places we tell stories about. They are decidedly local, but can also absorb a fair amount of tourism without losing the qualities that make them great.”
Fair enough. So how about the winners? It’s an eclectic, far-ranging list. I found myself nodding in agreement with Venice’s Campo Santa Margherita, New York’s Grand Central Station, or the Ridge, in Shimla, India—and raising a puzzled eyebrow at the inclusion of the Corpus Christi bus terminal, or the main drag in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown. Over at Reid on Travel, Lonely Planet author Robert Reid offers up 10 spots that PPS missed. (Via Reid on Travel)
Venice ‘Paralyzed’ by Worst Flooding in 20 Years
by Michael Yessis | 12.02.08 | 5:20 PM ET
The Times of London reports that 95 percent of the city is underwater. Travelers are being warned to stay away, though some who are already in Venice are reportedly making the best of the situation.
The Critics: ‘Australia’
by Eva Holland | 12.02.08 | 5:15 PM ET
Well, “Australia” may yet be the next big travel movie, but the cross-country-cattle-drive/war/romance epic certainly isn’t the next big hit with the critics.
Earthrise: ‘How a Picture Transformed Our View of Ourselves’
by Eva Holland | 12.02.08 | 1:41 PM ET
On the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 8 launch, the Guardian offers this thoughtful essay about the mission, its accomplishments and the iconic photograph (pictured) shot by its NASA crew. “Certainly, Earthrise is a striking reminder of Earth’s vulnerability,” Robin McKie writes. “We may have forgotten the men who risked their lives getting to the Moon and who explored its dead landscape—a ‘beat-up’ world as they put it—but the view they brought back of that glittering blue hemisphere continues to mesmerise.”
Architects and Mecca: Redesigning Islam’s Holiest Site
by Eva Holland | 12.01.08 | 1:36 PM ET
A shortlist of 18 possible architects has been drawn up for the daunting task of redesigning the mosque complex at Mecca, the Independent reports. Brits Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid are reportedly among the finalists. The planned redevelopment would more than triple capacity at the site, from the current 900,000 to a mind-boggling 3 million, making it the world’s highest-occupancy building.
California’s Proposition 8 Fallout: Boycott Utah?
by Jim Benning | 12.01.08 | 1:18 PM ET
Supporters of gay marriage—angered by reports that members of the Mormon Church donated millions of dollars to back Proposition 8 on California’s November ballot—are calling for a boycott of travel to Utah, including the Sundance Film Festival.
The Onion: ‘American Airlines Now Charging Fees to Non-Passengers’
by Jim Benning | 12.01.08 | 1:11 PM ET
“Tough times unfortunately mean tough measures,” the airline’s president told America’s finest news source.
What the Mumbai Attacks Say About the City and Travel Security
by Jim Benning | 12.01.08 | 12:15 PM ET
Like everyone, I spent the last few days following updates on the horrible terrorist attacks that killed nearly 200 people, including 18 foreigners, in Mumbai. A couple of articles published in recent days have struck me. In an op-ed in the New York Times, Suketu Mehta explained why Mumbai, of all Indian cities, is an appealing target for terrorists.
Happy Thanksgiving
by Michael Yessis | 11.26.08 | 2:10 PM ET
We’re renewing a World Hum Thanksgiving tradition this year by taking off the next four days. We’ll be back on Monday. Safe travels to all. While you’re out there, may you avoid the holiday traditions shown in this video:
What Food Writers Really Think of Thanksgiving
by Eva Holland | 11.26.08 | 2:09 PM ET
Turns out, they can’t stand the annual turkey fest—at least according to Slate’s Regina Schrambling, who offers a hilarious rant on the subject, just in time for the holidays. “What makes me totally crazy,” she writes, “is the persistent pressure to reinvent a wheel that has been going around quite nicely for more than 200 years. Every fall, writers and editors have to knock themselves out to come up with a gimmick—fast turkey, slow turkey, brined turkey, unbrined turkey—when the meal essentially has to stay the same.”
Catching Up With Rolf Potts
by Jim Benning | 11.26.08 | 1:05 PM ET
World Hum columnist Rolf Potts has been busy. He recently hosted a Thanksgiving-related show for the Travel Channel called “American Pilgrim,” which aired Monday. He’s been touring in support of his new book, Marco Polo Didn’t Go There. And he was the subject of a recent Poets & Writers profile, penned by World Hum’s book editor, Frank Bures. The story just became available online and it not only offers insight into Rolf’s writing career, but it nicely describes the travel publishing landscape at the moment. Writes Bures:
‘Rude Recliners, Armrest Hogs, Shoulder Surfers’: Are You an Annoying Traveler?
by Valerie Conners | 11.26.08 | 11:10 AM ET
A recent poll of travelers’ most irritating behavior by TripAdvisor.com indicates that the number one annoyance is having children kick the back of your seat. Also making the list: people eating stinky meals, loud cellphone talkers and folks taking too long to load their overhead luggage (you know who you are!). And yet there may be help for the irritating traveler.
