Travel Blog
Forget the Anti-Inflammatories. Take Two Vacations (or Even One) and Call Me in the Morning.
by Jim Benning | 07.18.05 | 2:01 PM ET
Check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site before your trip abroad and, after inspecting the long list of horrifying maladies you could contract while away, you just might decide to stay home. But an article in Outpost Magazine points out what many know intuitively: More often than not, travel is good for your health. Sure, you need to beware of potential dangers and get your shots. But beyond that, getting away from work to travel can cure all sorts of maladies and prevent new conditions from arising.
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Yahoo! BuzzNext Up on the Travel Channel: Still More Poker in Vegas
by Jim Benning | 07.18.05 | 11:53 AM ET
We’ve long complained about the Travel Channel’s dearth of programming about, uh, travel. On Sunday, Thomas Swick of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel took a good shot at the cable channel, penning a hilarious column that purports to be the network’s new fall schedule. An excerpt: “8:30-9 p.m. Vegas Idol. Talented young people vie to become the next headliner at Caesars Palace. 9-9:30 p.m. Steve Wynn’s Vegas. The inspiring story of a casino owner who dared to dream. 9:30-10 p.m. Rick Steves’ Vegas. The popular travel expert discovers the simple pleasures of riding a gondola at The Venetian, shopping in a little hill town boutique at the Bellagio, sharing a baguette with a lifeguard at Paris.”
Roadside Religion
by Michael Yessis | 07.18.05 | 12:54 AM ET
Travel and spirituality have long been intertwined, but rarely with the “spectacular absurdity” witnessed by Timothy K. Beal. In 2002, he set out with his wife and two children to explore America’s religious roadside attractions, public spectacles like the Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Florida, and a rebuilt Noah’s Ark in Frostburg, Maryland.
Jetting Off to JET
by Jim Benning | 07.16.05 | 11:42 AM ET
Just posted: Rolf Potts offers advice to a traveler headed to Japan to teach English.
Inside WWOOF
by Jim Benning | 07.15.05 | 7:09 PM ET
Budget travelers are always on the hunt for cheap accommodations. The cover story in this week’s Pittsburgh City Paper explores an increasingly popular (and pesticide-free) option for many travelers: working on organic farms. The story, written by Dan Eldridge, editor of the thoughtful travel zine Young Pioneers, profiles the organization behind the trend, Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF).
“WE SAW LANCE!!!!! WHOOOOO!”
by Jim Benning | 07.14.05 | 12:50 PM ET
Anyone even vaguely familiar with competitive cyling can appreciate yesterday’s weblog post from Rick Steves’ son, Andrew, who is on his first parent-free trip to Europe and watching the Tour de France. His entire post: “WE SAW LANCE!!!!! WHOOOOO! Pictures coming in a couple days, check em out!!!”
An Unhappy Anniversary at the Running of the Bulls
by Jim Benning | 07.14.05 | 12:32 PM ET
The annual Running of the Bulls wrapped up today in Pamplona, Spain. For most participants, it’s a quick, adrenaline-filled sprint that ends safely. But not for everyone. This year’s event marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Matthew Tassio, a 22-year-old Illinois native who was the last person killed in the running. Writer Andrew Walker was watching from the sides that day. In an unusual story in the BBC, Walker recalls the chaotic scene and remembers the fallen traveler. “From time to time, my mind strays back to that cool, sunny morning in 1995, and I think of Matthew, his parents and friends,” Walker writes. “I haven’t been back to Pamplona.”
Far Flung Magazine
by Jim Benning | 07.14.05 | 10:58 AM ET
A new online travel magazine called Far Flung popped up recently with a sharp look and a take on travel that we can relate to. “Far Flung leaves logistics to more informed people with boardrooms and buzzwords,” Editor Drew Irwin writes. “Our job is to present the story of people creating a geography defined more by experience than by grids, numbers and connection speeds.”
Across the U.S. in 200 Days
by Michael Yessis | 07.13.05 | 9:57 AM ET
It’s taking Steve Vaught that long because he’s walking from San Diego to New York City. And because he’s carrying an 85-pound backpack. And because he weighs 400 pounds. It’s part of a plan to lose the weight he gained after a tragic accident. His story is both inspirational and heartbreaking.
“Guns, Germs and Steel” on TV
by Jim Benning | 07.11.05 | 11:08 AM ET
A three-part National Geographic television series based on Jared Diamond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Guns, Germs and Steel debuts tonight on many PBS stations. The book explores why different civilizations developed as they did, and it’s a fascinating read. The television series sounds promising, but at least one critic was unimpressed. In The Washington Post, Stephen Reiss writes that the approach makers of the series took—they included historical reenactments, among other things—just doesn’t work. “Indeed,” he writes, “those of a certain age might feel they’re watching the modern equivalent of a school filmstrip: ponderous in pace, with its didacticism guaranteed to be 100 percent sugar-free.”
Travel Junkets: On the Way Out or More Popular Than Ever?
by Michael Yessis | 07.11.05 | 12:19 AM ET
Letter From London
by Jim Benning | 07.08.05 | 11:20 AM ET
Just posted on World Hum: one traveler’s e-mail home from London after the bombings.
Bombings in London
by Jim Benning | 07.07.05 | 10:14 AM ET
More bad news. The BBC has a detailed report: At least 33 people are dead.
“The Lord God Bird” and the Tourism Boom in Brinkley, Arkansas
by Jim Benning | 07.06.05 | 6:16 PM ET
NPR’s “All Things Considered” featured a terrific, unorthodox segment this afternoon on Sufjan Stevens, a singer-songwriter who plans to explore each of the 50 U.S. states in song. The segment focused on the small Arkansas town of Brinkley, where the ivory-billed woodpecker, once thought extinct, was recently rediscovered. A tourism boom is now reinvigorating the town’s economy, and woodpecker chachkis are suddenly in great demand. In the segment, townspeople are interviewed about the big changes that have come to Brinkley, and Stevens’ song about the town and the woodpecker, entitled “The Lord God Bird,” is played. The song has the elegant, spare sound of an Elliott Smith tune, with an equally seductive melody, and it’s available for free download at NPR.org, where the segment can also be heard.
Hola, Colorful Street Vendor. Can I Take Your Photo?
by Jim Benning | 07.05.05 | 2:23 PM ET
Further evidence that the entire planet will one day become a giant theme park: In Tijuana, Mexico, the new mayor has ordered street vendors to wear traditional clothes in bright colors to please tourists. The new rule, which applies on weekends, took effect June 25 on a small pedestrian thoroughfare. But according to an AP story in USA Today, vendors on Avenida Revolucion, the popular bar-lined street a 20-minute walk from the U.S. border, will soon be required to wear the traditional garb, too. Mayor Jorge “Hank” Rhon said the rule is designed to help visitors “feel Mexico.” Ridiculous.
