Here is a great collection of hanging rope foot bridges titled as the "World's Most Dangerous".
Another great "don't try this" travel tip from Dir Journal Blog.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
A Great Peru Travel Blog
If you're heading to Peru you'll want to browse Barbara's excellent blog An American in Lima
She covers everything from culture to food to attractions and as is often the case provides the kind of insights for travel that are lacking in the tourism brochures. You can also interact with Barbara via Twitter
She covers everything from culture to food to attractions and as is often the case provides the kind of insights for travel that are lacking in the tourism brochures. You can also interact with Barbara via Twitter
Sunday, May 10, 2009
World's Strangest Restaurants from Travel and Leisure Magazine
You may not care to dine at any of these places but you'll enjoy the creativity in architecture and interior design that led Travel and Leisure Magazine to name these the "World's Strangest Restaurants"
http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-strangest-restaurants
http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-strangest-restaurants
Concord, MA
This is the field where "The Shot Heard Round The World" rang out in 1775 at the Old North Bridge in the background.
Lexington and Concord dispute the significance of this vs Lexington's less dramatic skirmish with the British, but all agree that Concord's resistance was one of the most significant events in the early history of America.
Lexington and Concord dispute the significance of this vs Lexington's less dramatic skirmish with the British, but all agree that Concord's resistance was one of the most significant events in the early history of America.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Mexico Cruise Prices Plunge Despite Low Risks
The Swine Flu has yet to claim many victims - in fact it now appears likely that the casualties from regular flu will be *hundreds of times greater* than from Swine Flu. Yet the outbreak appears to be having a chilling effect on travel, especially to Mexico.
Obviously individuals perceptions and tolerances for risk vary, but this is probably one of the best times *in your lifetime* to take Cruise trip to Mexico if you can overcome the anxiety you might have worrying about the small chance you'd pick up the flu during your trip. Keep in mind that precautions are so high now my personal guess is that people are actually *less likely* to get sick on a cruise now than before the Swine Flu outbreak.
As with lightning strikes on a golf course we tend to exaggerate the likelihood of dramatica or catastrophic risks and underestimate the likelihood of minor or mundane risks.
Although the Centers for Disease Control caution that this outbreak could become worse, I think most scientists would agree that people should not avoid travel as a result of the Swine Flu and perhaps more importantly would agree that you can reduce your death risk much more substantially by avoiding or cutting back on other "more risky than flu" behaviors such as driving, bicycling, drinking, smoking, etc, etc.
Here's the AA Cruise link that got me thinking about this. This is NOT an subsidized endorsement and there may be other great deals out there.
Obviously individuals perceptions and tolerances for risk vary, but this is probably one of the best times *in your lifetime* to take Cruise trip to Mexico if you can overcome the anxiety you might have worrying about the small chance you'd pick up the flu during your trip. Keep in mind that precautions are so high now my personal guess is that people are actually *less likely* to get sick on a cruise now than before the Swine Flu outbreak.
As with lightning strikes on a golf course we tend to exaggerate the likelihood of dramatica or catastrophic risks and underestimate the likelihood of minor or mundane risks.
Although the Centers for Disease Control caution that this outbreak could become worse, I think most scientists would agree that people should not avoid travel as a result of the Swine Flu and perhaps more importantly would agree that you can reduce your death risk much more substantially by avoiding or cutting back on other "more risky than flu" behaviors such as driving, bicycling, drinking, smoking, etc, etc.
Here's the AA Cruise link that got me thinking about this. This is NOT an subsidized endorsement and there may be other great deals out there.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Britain by Train
Over at the Times Online you can follow the UK Transportation Minister in his whirlwind tour of Britain by train. He'll be travelling thousands of miles on about 40 different trains over a 70 hour period to survey the services and the landscapes, and I can't think of a better way to introduce the public and tourists to the joys of train travel.
Trains offer a slower and more relaxed way to see a country and get a feel for the land and people, and I'm a big fan of this approach. Last year on the China Trip I took two major train routes across about 1800 miles of China. This gave me a chance to quietly reflect on the trip as I took in a ground level view from Hong Kong to Shanghai and Shanghai to Beijing.
I would have to say that train travel can become boring at times even on interesting routes. Our family trip from Portland Oregon to Minneapolis, MN was enjoyable but I probably wouldn't be inclined to do that often as it's a long haul with minimal services in route. Amtrak, as well as the China trains, fail to provide enough entertainment along the way. This is surprising as I think opening the dining car into a lounge-like atmosphere for 24 hours would probably result in a lot more food and beverage sales, as well as potential tips for servers.
Trains offer a slower and more relaxed way to see a country and get a feel for the land and people, and I'm a big fan of this approach. Last year on the China Trip I took two major train routes across about 1800 miles of China. This gave me a chance to quietly reflect on the trip as I took in a ground level view from Hong Kong to Shanghai and Shanghai to Beijing.
I would have to say that train travel can become boring at times even on interesting routes. Our family trip from Portland Oregon to Minneapolis, MN was enjoyable but I probably wouldn't be inclined to do that often as it's a long haul with minimal services in route. Amtrak, as well as the China trains, fail to provide enough entertainment along the way. This is surprising as I think opening the dining car into a lounge-like atmosphere for 24 hours would probably result in a lot more food and beverage sales, as well as potential tips for servers.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Whl.Travel - local voices about local travel
The Whl Travel Network bills itself as one of the largest collections of locally run travel websites, where your information and transactions are handled at the local level rather than by massive consolidators like Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, etc.
I'm not clear how much of the network is truly the voice of locals but this is a great idea and a good source for potentially "less biased" information than you will tend to find on the large sites or even local destination promotion websites.
One of the great challenges of planning trips online is that there is a huge incentive for many sites to showcase their areas very favorably. This is likely true at Whl.Travel as well, but at least you are less likely to be led only to the hotels and attractions that have the best ROI ratios for marketing agencies.
I'm not clear how much of the network is truly the voice of locals but this is a great idea and a good source for potentially "less biased" information than you will tend to find on the large sites or even local destination promotion websites.
One of the great challenges of planning trips online is that there is a huge incentive for many sites to showcase their areas very favorably. This is likely true at Whl.Travel as well, but at least you are less likely to be led only to the hotels and attractions that have the best ROI ratios for marketing agencies.
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