Japanese Airlines First to Install Bidets in the Air

by Justin Glow on

Japan’s All Nippon Airways have announced they will be installing bidets in the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, set to be delivered in May of 2008. This is a first for any commercial airline. (Vladimir Putin had a bidet in his private jet, however.)

With over 60 percent of Japanese households sporting a bidet, this makes sense. But I can’t help but wonder just how much larger the lavatory will have to be to accommodate this. Will the bidet be built into the toilet, or will it be separate? Or will it be a hand-held spray bidet that are common across Asia? The bidet-toilet combo makes the most sense due to the constricted space, but the Dreamliner is a big plane, so who knows?

Someone is going to have to teach me how to use one of those things.

Southwest Airlines to Offer In-flight WiFi?

by Justin Glow on

Sister-site Engadget got a tip from an inside source that a Southwest Airlines company presentation twice mentioned that “Inflight wireless internet connectivity” was being looked into for the low-cost carrier. Personally, I’d welcome the opportunity to do some in-flight browsing. When I fly domestically, nine times out of ten it’s with Southwest, and I wouldn’t hesitate shelling out a few extra bucks for Internet access — especially since their ticket rates are so competitive.

Southwest Airlines has seen a decline in numbers this quarter, and they’ve been announcing new features and re-evaluating old ones in an attempt to “generate more money without destroying what Southwest stands for,” said the Cranky Flier. Southwest has a high reputation to stand up to, but — unless they really screw up by changing things like A-B-C boarding — I’m not too worried. Bring on the wireless Internet!

Best (Authentic) Mexican Restaurants in Los Angeles

by Neil Woodburn on

When Travel and Leisure runs an article about L.A.’s Best Mexican Restaurants, you bet we’re going to cover it here on Gadling.

I’ve spent most of my life in Los Angeles eating Mexican food and when I ran across this article, I confidently assumed that there was nothing new that Travel and Leisure was going to teach me about my hometown.

Boy, was I wrong.

Instead of researching the more popular Mexican restaurants, writer Alexandra Marshall went in search of the more authentic and traditional. This led her to parts of the city to which I’ve never ventured–South Central, Boyle Heights, East LA, to name a few–but places where many immigrants from all over Mexico have come to live, bringing their local cuisine with them.

To further add embarrassment to my faulty sense of the Mexican culinary scene in Los Angeles, she completely ignores the run-of-the-mill burritos, quesadillas, and tacos and dives right into strange concoctions from other parts of Mexico. Here are just a few mouthwatering discoveries she mentions:

Barbacoa – “maguey leaf–wrapped mutton” cooked slowly over a bed of lava rocks
Horchata – “a cold drink with fresh nuts, cinnamon, and vanilla.”
Mole – “a powerful paste of ground chiles, garlic, dried fruit, up to 30 spices, seeds, nuts, and sometimes chocolate.”
Pan de cazón – “a casserole of minced shark meat, beans, and a mild, persimmon-colored tomato”

Yum. And to think I’ve been limiting my palate to tacos and burritos.

The article also features a list of the best places to eat the above mentioned goods. Sorry, but none of them have websites or, for that matter, take credit cards. Yes, this is truly authentic, rural Mexico.

Six Flags New England: A Day Out

by Jamie Rhein on

Here are a few things I discovered about Six Flags New England in Springfield, Massachusetts. If you leave 13 towels and assorted other belongings piled together on two chairs in Hurricaine Harbor water park and forget that the water park closes at 7:00 PM, the park people collect all belongings and bring them to the Lost and Found near the park’s main gate. But, what ends up at Lost and Found is a bit different that what was left behind. Thirteen towels becomes four and a tan pair of child’s sandals possibly walked off with the missing towels. Somehow, an extra pair of sunglasses did end up with all the stuff that was recovered.

Despite the water park snafu, which I have to say has something to do with the thunder and lightening storm that sent us to take shelter under the thatched umbrellas in the water park in the first place, Six Flags is a great day activity for a multi-aged crowd. While the five-year-old went on the kiddie rides in the The Wiggles section, the older kids headed off to the roller coasters. Not just the older kids, but the kids at heart as well. I talked my best friend to go on the Superman: Ride of Steel roller coaster with me even though she swore up and down that under no circumstances would she ever get on it. Two hours after her declaration, there we were, our hands gripping the lap bar, heading towards the sky.

The Superman: Ride of Steel roller coaster is a massive steel thing that’s been named the “Number One Coaster in the World.” For the biggest thrill, sit on the left. That’s the side without the catwalk railing. I can vouch that it feels like being on the edge of the world without any barrier to falling off. I had the brief thought, “Ya, know, I don’t really like this all that much” as I took in the unobstructed view of the Connecticut River. That thought flew out as we flew down the first incline. At the end of the ride that lifted us slightly out of our seats on a couple dips, my friend opened her eyes and said, “That was fun. I’m glad I did it, but never again.”

The Batman: The Dark Night ride coaster that made upside down loops suited both of us more and I’d have gone on it again if we didn’t have to go retrieve our stuff, or what was left of it. [The photo is from The Coaster Critic who blogs about rollercoasters.)

* As a note, the park had nothing to do with the missing stuff. It was totally our fault since we left it for hours on end. Moral of the story: Lock up belongings, or at least remember the water park closes before the rest of the park does.

Why Trains Suck in America

by Neil Woodburn on

My very first trip on a train didn’t occur until after graduating from college in the U.S. and visiting Europe for the first time. Since then, I’ve been on many trains, but only one of which was in the United States.

Train travel, if not already dead, is certainly in the terminal state in the United States. Very few people bother to ever jump on a train and when they do, they discover and antiquated system of delays, inconvenient terminals, and expensive tickets. Amtrak–the major American train service in America–is an embarrassment.

In other countries around the globe, however, trains are not only a lesson in efficiency, but already existing networks and rolling stock are constantly being upgraded into the 21st century, laments David Wolman, writing for Wired Magazine.

Take, for example, the Paris-to-Strasbourg super train which zooms between the two cities at 357 miles per hour. The company which built this high speed rail is now looking for other customers in China and India. But not the United States.

Wolman points out a couple of reasons why train travel is not as popular in the United States;

Distances are much farther between cities than they are in Europe
American roads tend to be in better condition
Gas is cheap

High speed rail is not an impossibility in America, however. There has been talk for years about building a line from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. And currently, there is a bill floating around the California legislature for a high speed rail between Sacramento and San Diego. But don’t get too excited. Wolman points out that the last time such an idea was under consideration in Texas, it was squashed by a powerful Southwest Airlines lobby.

Don’t you just love America at times?