Tuesday Travel Trivia (Week 1)

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Welcome to Gadling’s newest feature, Tuesday Travel Trivia (also called Trav-Triv, T-Cubed, or the Gadling T-party– take your pick). Each Tuesday, I’ll ask 10 brain-busting travel-related trivia questions and ask you to leave your answers in the comments. The winner, whoever gets the most right out of ten, will be recognized in the subsequent week’s post as a trivia god.

There’s really only one rule when playing the Gadling T-party: No using search engines to figure out the answers. Some of these answers will be easily Google-able, so please resist the urge. Without further ado, here are this week’s questions.

  1. South America has only two countries that are completely landlocked. What are they?
  2. What’s the three-letter New York Stock Exchange symbol for Southwest Airlines?
  3. The Petronas Towers are the tallest twin towers and office buildings in the world. In what country are they located?
  4. Whom do most experts agree is the most powerful man in Iran?
  5. In the movie Rain Man, Tom Cruise’s character Charlie tells Raymond, played by Dustin Hoffman, that every airline in the world has crashed at one time or another. But Raymond disagrees, citing the perfect safety record of which airline?
  6. Which country is more populous, Canada or Mexico?
  7. In 1994, an American citizen named Michael Fay was arrested in Singapore for theft and vandalism, and he was given a somewhat unusual punishment. What was it?
  8. By area, which country is the largest ‘Stan? [e.g. Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, etc.]
  9. True or false: More than 1,000 people live in Greenland.
  10. What is the name of Lonely Planet’s online travel forum?

Stay tuned next Tuesday for the answers… Good luck!

Runaway dog runs away on airport runway

by Mike Barish on

I’ve had flights delayed by weather. I’ve had flights delayed by mechanical issues. I’ve had flights delayed because the hitch connecting the tow vehicle to my plane snapped! But I’ve never had a flight delayed because a runaway dog was loose on the tarmac. Well, that’s exactly what happened at Boston’s Logan Airport this past weekend.

It seems that Choochy the poodle (like Joe the Plumber but less political and more interested in smelling other dogs’ behinds) escaped from her kennel and remained rogue on the runways, taxiways and other nooks and crannies of Logan for 17 hours. Various flights were delayed while police, firefighters and airport personnel tried to corral Choochy.

Thankfully, the story has a happy ending. Choochy was lured to safety with food, treated for only minor injuries and returned to her family. And for the passengers on those delayed flights? Well, a half-hour delay is practically on-time these days. And for me? Well, I got to use that crazy photo of a poodle that I found. So, thanks, Choochy. Feel free to escape again soon.

Photo of the day (10.27.08)

by Abha Malpani on

Flickr user t3mujin has done a phenomenal job capturing this wave splash fiercely against a rock. This is the sort of picture we have all seen when by the sea, but almost impossible to catch properly on camera. This one is so clear and well caught, it almost looks photoshoped or painted over.

It’s a shame that there is no other information about the photo. From the tags, it looks like it could have been taken in Portugal or in Iceland. Anyway, it’s a great shot difficult to get right, so well done t3mujin!

Got a photo you want considered for Photo of the Day? Submit it to the Gadling Flickr pool.

Which U.S. cities charge travelers the most taxes

by Jamie Rhein on

Perhaps you’ve been one of those folks to receive your hotel bill and you clutch your chest in dismay. “My word! How can this be?” you exclaim.

You didn’t touch your mini-bar. You didn’t use the phone. You didn’t slip so much as a washcloth into your luggage. Still, your bill is well over what you expected. What you thought was a bargain vacation has turned into more than you counted on. How come? Taxes, my friend.

The National Business Travel Association recently released information from its study that ranks cities according to the ones that charge the most in taxes and those that charge the least. Taxes on hotels, restaurant meals and gasoline are a handy way for cities to generate revenue. How much revenue depends upon the city. Some cities are a bargain where taxes are concerned. It doesn’t mean they are cheap cities. Their expensive factor is not due to taxes.

Would you guess that Honolulu is the least expensive city tax wise? Three of the other four cheapest tax cities are in Florida. Maybe there is enough revenue generated by tourism in each of them.

The most expensive city for taxes is Chicago.

Here are the top five cities in each category. To read the report on the other 50 cities, click here. A warning, though. Reading the report can make your head swim.

Lowest

  1. Honolulu
  2. Portland, Oregon
  3. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  4. Fort Myers, Florida
  5. West Palm Beach, Florida

Highest

  1. Chicago, Illinois
  2. Nashville, Tennessee
  3. Charlotte, North Carolina
  4. Seattle, Washington
  5. Houston, Texas

Thanks to Steve Stephen’s recent article in the Columbus Dispatch for this heads up on travel costs that can sneak up on you when you’re trying to budget.

Canadians in the hunt to buy Gatwick airport in London

by Jeffrey White on

Back in September I posted about how the BAA, the UK’s largest airport operator, was selling London’s Gatwick airport and another one or two British hubs on orders from Britain’s Competition Commission, which wants to decrease the company’s market dominance.

A few investors are interested, including Australian company MacQuarie, Germany’s Fraport and the owners of Manchester’s airport.

Now add to that list the Vancouver International Airport Authority, which is reportedly part of a $3.1 billion bid to buy Gatwick. Specifically, YCR Airport Services Ltd. is putting in the bid. It’s owned by both the VAA and Citibank.

No word yet on when bids will be reviewed and whittled down to a winner.

The BAA owns giant Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Southampton airports.