Travel Blog
Record-Breaking 23-Hour Nonstop Flight Takes Off
by Michael Yessis | 11.10.05 | 4:35 AM ET
Captain Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann took off from Hong Kong Wednesday morning in a Boeing 777-200LR and set out for London—heading eastbound, the long way around. Four Boeing test pilots are scheduled to share flying duties during the 12,500-nautical-mile flight, which Seattle Times reporter Dominic Gates writes will be a distance record for a commercial jet.
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Yahoo! BuzzMichael Palin Puts Off Retirement, Schedules Another Travel Series
by Michael Yessis | 11.10.05 | 4:33 AM ET
The former Monty Python member told the crowd at a recent charity event in London that he will hit the road again. “I was thinking of retiring,” the 62-year-old Palin said, according to a Chortle report. “But what would I do? Probably just travel.” Palin, who has chronicled his extensive travels in video and book form, says he’ll stay closer to home this time around. Eastern Europe is the likely destination.
Learning About the World, One Disaster and Riot at a Time
by Jim Benning | 11.09.05 | 7:27 PM ET
Some critics maintain that the only time Americans learn about another country is when America attacks it. That’s not fair, though. Americans also learn about other countries when those nations are struck by horrific natural disasters, and when widespread rioting breaks out. Take the case of France. Suddenly, we’re learning all about the African immigrant underclass there. The public radio show The World even saw fit today to interview New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik, author of the memoir Paris to the Moon, about North African cultural life in France.
GoNOMAD Travel Writing Grants
by Jim Benning | 11.09.05 | 4:43 PM ET
The site is giving away $500 in a quarterly contest, and the next entry deadline is Nov. 15.
Jetsetters Magazine Vs. Carl Parkes?
by Jim Benning | 11.09.05 | 3:50 PM ET
Travel writer Carl Parkes has the details on his Web site.
“Defending the Tourists”
by Jim Benning | 11.09.05 | 2:37 PM ET
Ron Mader at Planeta.com has posted an interesting take on the uneasy relationship between travelers and the places they visit. (And I’m not just mentioning it because he quotes me.)
Kabul’s New Five-Star Hotel
by Jim Benning | 11.09.05 | 1:30 PM ET
We just noted the new luxury hotel planned for Baghdad. Not to be outdone, Kabul hosted the opening of a five-star hotel this week, complete with a swimming pool, health club and pastry shop. It’s apparently just the latest sign of progress in Afghanistan. An AP story about the hotel also notes the opening of a fancy Kabul shopping mall this year with the nation’s only escalators. Remarked Ahmad Jan, a 23-year-old tailor visiting from out of town, “I am amazed by these moving stairs.”
Fighting Pirates With a ‘Nonlethal Acoustic Weapon’
by Jim Benning | 11.09.05 | 12:30 PM ET
You no doubt heard about the cruise ship that fought off a pirate attack Saturday. Today’s San Diego Union-Tribune has an interesting story about the “nonlethal acoustic weapon” the cruise ship employed to fend off the pirates. It’s called the Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) and was developed by a San Diego-area company for military use.
Iraq: Danger Zone or Ideal Spot for a “Seven and a Half Star” Tourist Hotel?
by Michael Yessis | 11.08.05 | 4:29 AM ET
Should Robert Young Pelton revise his list of no-go travel zones? Central Iraq, which he recently cited as the top spot on the planet to avoid visiting, has actually seen a rise in travelers, according to Kim Sengupta’s story in The Independent.
Travel Tips: How to Get a Taste of Local Life
by Michael Yessis | 11.08.05 | 4:09 AM ET
CNN’s Marnie Hunter offers a few good ideas for getting beyond the well-trod areas listed in guidebooks by, strangely, quoting several guidebook writers. Among their suggestions: Ask local employees for restaurant picks, take local buses and peruse bulletin boards in coffee shops for local events.
Does Cruising Plus Rock ‘n’ Roll Equal “Cruisapalooza”?
by Jim Benning | 11.07.05 | 2:39 PM ET
Spud Hilton suggests so. He writes in Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle about rock-themed cruises, and particularly about two cruises Royal Caribbean has scheduled for February featuring a dozen groups, among them Dave Matthews and Ozomatli. (Groan-inducing headline: “Artists find rocking the boat a good thing.”) Writes Hilton: “If you’re concerned about Royal Caribbean ships taking on 4,500, um, nontraditional passengers, take comfort that Majesty and Sovereign are two of the company’s oldest vessels. At the pace of this trend, however, how long will it be before a Holland America ship hosts Burning Man? Hmmm.”
“Do We Need to Travel to Write?”
by Jim Benning | 11.07.05 | 1:03 PM ET
That question, posted by someone on the Travelwriters.com bulletin board, has spawned an earnest discussion among travel writers. Dude, that’s why they call it travel writing.
Simon Winchester: Deeply, Roundly Cursed
by Michael Yessis | 11.07.05 | 4:05 AM ET
Only in an infuriatingly analytical way, and it’s all because of his love and knowledge of geology. In a terrific essay in Sunday’s New York Times, Winchester writes that, after an epiphany he had while driving into the Himalayan foothills in India, he no longer sees the beauty of a landscape when he travels but rather the awesome forces that shaped the world.
Cruise Ship Outruns Pirates Off Somalia
by Jim Benning | 11.05.05 | 8:16 PM ET
The cruise industry has been taking great pains to offer more action-oriented trips lately, but not even the wave pools that Royal Caribbean has planned for its ships could top the action on a cruise off Somalia today [Saturday]. Pirates carrying machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked a Seabourn Cruise Line luxury ship carrying 140 passengers. According to CNN, the cruise liner managed to outrun the pirates, which were in two small boats. “There’s some minor damage done to the ship, ” one passenger told a CNN radio affiliate. “There’s no water right now, for instance, in some places, and I believe one of the grenades actually went off in one of the cabins, but everyone on board is fine.”
I Want My Book TV
by Jim Benning | 11.04.05 | 1:31 PM ET
In my admittedly nerdy fantasy world, where books are cool, MTV isn’t the cable channel featured in the anthemic Dire Straits song “Money for Nothing.” It’s Book TV. As in (cue the Mark Knopfler riff and Sting vocals): “I want my Book TV.” A guy can dream. Anyway, I check out the weekend schedule often, and this weekend, the channel has a few shows that might interest World Hum readers.
