JetBlue airfare sale from the new T5 terminal at JFK

by Jerry Guo on

To celebrate the opening of their new terminal at JFK, the marketing gurus at JetBlue are launching an across-the-board sale on airfare out of New York. One-way flights to Orlando start at $79 and West Palm Beach at $89.

And Aruba is only $169. Pretty low I would say, but it can’t beat Grant’s find earlier this week of $150 tickets to Belize. Since I go to Pittsburgh quite a bit, I plugged in some dates and the fares were actually dramatically lower than they usually are (by 40%).

Good luck in your hunt. And since I’m all about shameless plugs, here’s my review of the new terminal.

Product review – Altec Lansing iM237 Orbit MP3 speaker

by Scott Carmichael on

Back in July I posted a review of the Altec Lansing iM207 “Orbit MP3” speaker. This product has long been one of my favorite gadgets on the road, albeit with a couple of minor issues that annoyed me (the lack of a power light for example).

Altec Lansing clearly listened to their customers, because they just released their newest Orbit MP3 speaker (the iM237).

This portable speaker has the same basic features of the previous model, but adds a “real” power switch and a power indicator light. The power light also shows the battery life by turning red when you are running low.

The tiny speaker produces a mindblowing amount of sound, and it sounds very clear and crisp, with no distortion at all. Of course, it is still a single speaker, so you won’t get that full stereo effect. Audio even has a decent amount of bass.
Altec Lansing also made some design improvements when it comes to carrying the speaker; they added an opening for attaching a wrist strap (included in the box), as well as a nice carrying case with a carabiner for hooking the entire thing to your belt loop or bag.

The speaker runs off 3 AAA batteries which provide enough juice for about a full day of non stop music. When you are not using the Orbit, you can store the audio cord around the bottom of the device and clip the audio jack in place. Like the previous model, the audio jack is still compatible with the previous generation iPhone.

Compared to the previous Orbit MP3 the basic concept has stayed the same, and it produces the same stunningly good sound quality, but the minor changes in design and accessories really make it a big improvement, and well worth the purchase price.

The Orbit MP3 is currently available directly from Altec Lansing ($39.99), or from Amazon.com ($35.11).

South Africa Gearing Up for World Cup…Maybe.

by Josh Lew on

In a little less than 2 years, South Africa will become the only country on its continent to ever host the FIFA World Cup. That is, unless FIFA decides that the country is unprepared and moves the world’s most watched soccer tournament to one of the alternate locations it has already selected. There are concerns about stadiums and infrastructure projects being completed on time. South Africa has announced that a stadium in Port Elizabeth will not be fully constructed by the time a major tune-up tournament is slated to be played there next summer. In addition, the country is plagued by power outages and high crime rates.

But South Africa seems unconcerned and claims that everything will be ready well before the first shot on goal. To promote themselves to travelers, the country’s tourist organization is beginning a major PR push on the BBC World Services Network. The campaign will include television commercial, documentary-style vignettes about destinations in South Africa and an online, user-generated travel guide. It remains to be seen if these efforts will help the country’s image. It could all be undone if FIFA pulls the plug on South Africa 2010.

October 31 onwards: £1 rooms at the Hoxton Hotel

by Abha Malpani on

The last time we posted about cheap rooms ($20 rooms at the Leading Hotels of the World), we were thanked for the information, but for nothing as the promotion failed.

Here’s an excerpt from an email sent by LHW to fellow Gadling blogger Jerry Guo, apologizing for the situation: “…We are extremely sorry for the inconveniences we have caused and regret to advise you that the US$19.28 email promotion scheduled for tomorrow October 2nd shall be postponed. Although our original back-up plan provided a viable solution for the 150,000 people who were registered, it was met with some confusion over submission procedures and timing. In addition, we have become increasingly concerned that a large number of non-registered respondents plan to submit forms which would inundate the system and greatly diminish your chances of securing a US$19.28 rate.”

However, one failed promotion of X company doesn’t mean that a similar promotion by Y company will fail too. So for what it’s worth, here’s how you can *try* (again) to get £1 rooms at the Hoxton Hotel in London.

Starting October 31, at 12 noon (7am New York Time), 500 £1 and 500 £29 rooms at the Hoxton will be up for grabs on their website. The rooms are available between 1st November 2008 – 31st January 2009.

Last July when the hotel ran this promotion, the 1000 rooms were sold within 11 minutes, so other than being able to book quickly, you’re going to need a large stroke of luck to get one. However, so that it’s fair, you are only allowed to book 1 room for 1 night at £1.

Here’s the link with all the information and a step-by-step guide as to how to avail of this promotion.

(Oh and don’t forget that when local daylight time is about to reach Sunday, 2 November 2008, 02:00:00 clocks in NY are turned backward 1 hour).

Good luck!

Undiscovered New York: Take the 7 train to Latin America

by Jeremy Kressmann on

A traveler could spend years exploring the vast region of the globe known as “Latin America.” From the picturesque colonial villages and indigenous cultures of Mexico, to the caipirinhas and Amazon rainforest in Brazil, to gauchos and cosmopolitan Buenos Aires in Argentina, Latin America is a region that defies easy categorization. But what if I told you that with a 30 minute subway ride from Midtown Manhattan, you could visit all of Latin America in a single afternoon?

OK, maybe I’m exaggerating (slightly). But the fact of the matter is that immigration from Latin America to the Big Apple is thriving, and visitors can reap the benefits by taking a mini-tour of Latin America in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. In just two hours along a strip of Roosevelt Avenue, one of the borough’s main thoroughfares, I had the chance to sample delicious Mexican street tacos, visit the shop of an indigenous Amazonian fortune teller and gorge myself on some Argentine sweets at a local bakery.

Tired of New York City pizza? Looking to get some Latin flavor during your trip and save you that flight down to Bogota? Join Undiscovered New York as we tour Roosevelt Avenue, New York’s “mini Latin America.”
What’s to Eat?
Perhaps the biggest attraction along Roosevelt Avenue is the authentic food. What all can you eat? There’s no simple way to answer this question – the amount of food and the countries it comes from is simply mind-boggling. Within a single block you are confronted with street trucks selling Ecuadorian specialties, Cuban lunch counters, cheesy arepas, and Mexican pastries among others. Particularly well-represented are the cuisines of Ecuador and Colombia, with numerous spots selling favorites like seafood stews with hominy, encebollado and fried plantains.

I quickly located a nearby taco stand and ordered myself a soft tortilla stuffed with spicy chorizo. After topping it with some lime and chili sauce I was enjoying some south-of-the-border snacking bliss. But no meal is complete without dessert, right? I stopped in B’Aires, an Argentine-style bakery, where I picked up some pastries stuffed with dulce de leche. Next I visited Vallecito Bakery, a Mexican pastry shop where I sipped on a bottle of lime Jarritos. I’m going to have to go back some other time for the Peruvian ceviche and Uruguayan morcilla. I was too stuffed!

What Else is There to Do?
After you’ve finished polishing off a few authentic tacos or that cup of seafood stew, you’ll probably be looking for something to do. What I found most interesting about this stretch of Roosevelt Avenue was browsing the various shops offering regional crafts and services. Day of the Dead is nearly upon us, and many of the Mexican vendors were selling brightly colored candy skulls, decorations and Pan de Muerto, the holiday’s special bread. I also discovered several shops advertising “Amazonian shaman” fortune tellers. The stores are filled with ritual indigenous trinkets and totems as well as “authentic” Amazon shamans who can tell your future. If shopping or fortune telliing isn’t really your thing, there’s plenty of bars along the strip offering nightly live music from their country of origin.

How to Get There
Though it may seem far away, making your way to Jackson Heights is not as hard as it may seem. Visitors near Times Square or Grand Central Terminal are only a short train ride away. Just grab a purple 7 train heading towards Flushing Main Street in Queens. You’ll be getting off at the 82 St – Jackson Heights. The strip of Roosevelt that runs from 80th to 90th streets is pretty much ground zero, with great restaurants, shops and bars branching off in all directions from the main drag.

Are you ready for some authentic Latin American culture? Vamos!