Look out, Ewan McGregor. There could be a new travel-writing British actor on the scene. In this item for the Times Online, Colin Firth reflects eloquently on his past travels—from Ethiopia and Italy to a childhood road trip in the Southern U.S.—and notes that while he’s concerned about the environmental impact of flying, he can’t see giving up plane travel entirely: “It’s all too richly rewarding, isn’t it?”

“Toronto. I can’t stand it—the place drives me mad. I’m allowed to say this because I’m Canadian. ... It’s trying to be the New York of the Midwest.” The singer-songwriter also reveals some of his more positive travel experiences and more in this Q&A with The Observer.

Photo by Ian Muttoo via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Oh, Brad Pitt, is there nothing you can’t do? 

Chris who? You probably know his syrupy song “The Lady in Red.” (Video below.) It was huge in the mid-’80s. Turns out the British singer is still huge in Iran, where, for almost three decades, most Western music has been forbidden by the ruling Shiite Muslim clergy. De Burgh’s songs circulated on illegally copied tapes there, and he became rock-star popular. So much so that, in an apparent lifting of the Western music ban, de Burgh recently became the first Western pop musician to visit Iran since the 1979 revolution.

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Can you believe it? Shocking! Sunday’s Los Angeles Times published a run-of-the-mill overview of various issues surrounding frequent-flier miles—yes, some airlines make using miles a major pain. But at the end of the piece, a consultant offered inside info on the frequent-flier-redeeming habits of the stars. Hey, inquiring minds gotta know. Quincy Jones apparently applies his miles toward tickets for friends. Meanwhile, the consultant says, “Peter Fonda is an upgrade junkie. He uses all his miles for upgrades because he never wants to fly coach.” Yes, a true Easy Flier. 

Close followers of Celebrity Travel Watch will recall Cameron Diaz’s visit to Machu Picchu earlier this year, when her backpacker-commie-chic look—the shoulder bag pictured here says “Serve the People” in Chinese—was seen by some in Peru as too commie and not enough chic. (Turns out Maoist propaganda doesn’t always go over so well in a country that’s been terrorized by Maoist insurgents.) Well, now the Los Angeles Times is declaring Machu Picchu a “must-see for the jet set”—and not just celebs with Mao-inspired totes from China. Bill Gates made the trek this year, and in the last week or so Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson landed in Cuzco with plans to visit Machu Picchu, although they apparently scrapped the trip to the Incan ruins after “a run-in with several local journalists.” Officials have taken steps to limit Inca Trail traffic. What’s next? Limits on celebrity visitors?

Related on World Hum:
* Celebrity Travel Watch
* Peru: It’s no Nepal

Photo: AP.

Call it an odd sub-category of dark travel or the grief tourism twist on celebrity obsession. Either way mausoleum tourism is a force to be reckoned with. From Ho Chi Minh’s final resting place in Hanoi to Lenin’s tomb in Moscow, and of course Chairman Mao’s “mao-soleum” in Beijing, travelers line up every day to see the graves of powerful, controversial people. A monument to another much-loved and much-hated figure was just unveiled: a mausoleum for Yasser Arafat, on the grounds of his Ramallah compound.

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I was boarding a flight from San Diego to Washington D.C. last week when I looked up to see former U.S. senator, presidential candidate and erectile dysfunction medication pitchman Bob Dole. He was seated in the last row of first class, rosy-cheeked, with a crisp button-down shirt, watching the hoi polloi shuffle past. He had a vaguely self-satisfied grin on his face that seemed to say, Hey, I may be a fiscal conservative, but I’m willing to cough up something extra for comfort, and boy am I going to be more comfortable than you, with your “complimentary beverage service” and $5 “snack boxes,” during the next five hours. 

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Love him or hate him, our commander-in-chief, George W. Bush, can teach Americans at least one lesson: how to vacation. With only a few weeks of summer remaining, President Bush, like many other world leaders, is trading the stress of executive office for some rest and relaxation. And he’s leaving the majority of U.S. citizens in his Texas dust. Actually, if a survey conducted by a global human resources firm is accurate, even the average Finn, Israeli or Lithuanian would have a hard time keeping up with his seven-year vacation-time total. Because whatever President Bush may lack in creativity—he’s taken 65 trips to Crawford, Texas since entering office—he more than makes up for in number. According to the Houston Chronicle, G.W.B. is well on his way to claiming the White House record for time off, rapidly closing in on the 436 days Reagan racked up during two terms. 

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Last weekend I found myself on the poolside lawn of a Hilton hotel in Carlsbad, California, visiting out-of-town friends staying there. We were watching “Happy Feet” under the stars—their young boy was munching all-you-can-eat popcorn, riveted by the talking penguins on the hotel wall—and I was thinking about Paris Hilton. Her imprisonment was winding down, and I wondered whether her transgressions were having any impact on business at Hilton hotels. Did anyone who’d made a reservation associate the hotel chain with the infamous heiress? Were there any empty spots on the lawn that night because some anti-Paris families had opted instead for a Hyatt?

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Poor Cameron Diaz. She was only going for the commie-chic, retro-kitsch look on her trip to Peru. Instead, she wound up offending Peruvians. On a visit to Machu Picchu Friday for the taping of a Canadian TV show called “4 Real,” Diaz toted an olive green bag featuring a red star and the words “Serve the People” in Chinese. That old Mao-era propoganda is hip among many young people in China—the same crazy kids enjoying plates of “Socialist Economic Model” at Beijing’s Red Capital Club. But is it hip in Peru? Not so much.

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It’s been almost two weeks now since HBO’s immensely popular series “The Sopranos” ended in the booth of a New Jersey diner with an order of onion rings on the table, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” on the jukebox and an abrupt black screen. Now travelers are descending on that diner—actually an ice cream parlor in Bloomfield called Holsten’s, according to an AP story by Janet Frankston Lorin—looking to eat Tony Soprano’s last meal or to sit in that same booth. “The phone just rings constantly all day from people wanting to make reservations,” co-owner Chris Carley said. “They ask ‘Can we reserve the booth? Can we get a T-shirt?”’ Longer “Sopranos” bus tours in New York and New Jersey are also gaining popularity.

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