Rick Steves Talks Up Tijuana

by Josh Lew on

In a recent syndicated column, European travel guru Rick Steves explains why Tijuana is a worthy travel destination. He admits that, at first, he was down on the border city because of its reputation, but had never visited until recently.

So what did the author and travel show host with the unlikely voice (“he sounds like my Grandmother” a friend once told me) think of life on the other side of the wire? Well, it is definitely not Tuscany: “Bars that feel like saloons come with cheap prostitutes wearing down their stiletto heels at the doors.”

But Steves notes that things were not as raw as he expected: “With this thriving economy comes a thriving culture: music, arts, and an impressive cultural center. The city, while architecturally dilapidated, is extremely clean. The streets were free of litter.” It seems that, despite the recent cartel shootouts, the local government seems to be delivering on its promise to spiff up Tijuana. Sure, the city has gained economically from rubbing against the US, but it is still on the outside looking over the fence. As Steves point out though, there is far more than cheap prescriptions and free flowing agave-based alcohol to this border town.

Continental announces a ‘downsize’ for carry-ons starting November 1

by Jeffrey White on

I’ve never really objected to the checked baggage fees that most airlines now have in place.

As someone who never checked luggage in the past, doesn’t travel with small children (or anyone else, really, for that matter) and typically travels light, I saw the fees more as an incentive for people to make choices in their packing and lighten a plane’s load. If one can’t, or doesn’t want to, then pay the fee.

But recently several major carriers have been reducing the size of acceptable carry-ons, and this does irk the hell out of me, because it smacks of a money grab. Clearly airlines are making good money out of the baggage fees — enough, I’m guessing, for them to be aware of all those other passengers that are choosing to carry-on. If airlines can make it more difficult for those of us that fit into this category, well there’s even more money to made.

In recent months, American Airlines, United, Delta and Northwest have all reduced the size of acceptable carry-ons.

The latest is Continental, which recently sent a note to travel agents that starting November 1, it would be enforcing strict new size restrictions for carry-ons. The 51 linear inches that used to be kosher will be reduced to 45 linear inches, or 9″x14″x22″.

New sizing bins will be installed at all of Continental’s domestic counters. Continental’s carry-on downsizing is effective for all tickets; it doesn’t matter when you purchased them.

Is a scant six inches really that big a deal for your packing? Probably not. And it certainly doesn’t amount to much space savings (or weight savings) on board. Which is why such downsizing should piss you off. Increasingly, people who carry-on are going to be scrutinized at check-in and efforts are going to be made — rightly or wrongly — to force you to check that carry-on, for a fee.

And this should make you mad even if you never carry-on. Why? Because — and we probably all suspected this to begin with, on some level — it proves that the airlines’ claims that all these nettlesome fees that surfaced this year were necessary to combat record high fuel costs were at the very least only partially true. In reality, these were obvious and never-before-explored ways to make money for many airline companies who have rarely been able to turn a profit, even in good times.

Passengers were asked to understand how record-high fuel costs were forcing airlines’ hands. Yet in recent months, as the price of oil has dropped significantly due to the financial crisis, there do not seem to be many airlines hurrying to reduce their taxes or fees, in a good faith effort to put an extra buck or two back in their passengers’ pockets and rebuild traveler loyalty.

US Airways is holding its carry-on size to a 51 inch dimension.

Southwest Airlines, that maverick of the industry, is not changing the size of carry-ons it allows. That’s not surprising: The airline doesn’t have checked baggage fees, fuel charges or any other hidden costs.

Southwest is consistently the most profitable airline in the domestic industry. How does it do it?

Undiscovered New York: Getting Your Dance On

by Jeremy Kressmann on

For a town that has a reputation as “the city that never sleeps,” it’s not surprising to discover New York has an astounding array of nightlife options. From swanky cocktail lounges like Angel’s Share, to cutting edge indie rock clubs like the Bowery Ballroom, to legendary performance spaces like the Apollo Theater, New York has nightlife pretty much down to a science.

But like just about everything else in New York, nightlife hot spots fade in and out of fashion faster than you can drink that $12 cocktail. For every place that’s “in” today there are dozens of famous spots that had their moment in the sun (or dark?) and have long since faded into obscurity. Ever wanted to know about the sweaty Jazz dens where legends like Charlie Parker first cut their teeth? What ever happened to that lighted dancefloor where John Travolta strutted his stuff in Saturday Night Fever? And what’s this you always hear about CBGB and The Ramones?

Click the link below to learn the history of NYC nightlife and see where you can go today to get a taste of the city’s many bygone nightlife eras…The “Jazz Age”
A new form of music began sweeping the United States at the beginning of the 20th Century. Characterized by its emphasis on improvisation and drawing its origins from the American South and African and European music traditions, Jazz took New York nightlife by storm beginning the 1920’s.

Starting in the bars and cafes of Harlem, Jazz began to migrate further south into Manhattan, eventually congregating along a strip of 52nd Street known as “Swing Alley.” Everyone from Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker played gigs in the narrow, crowded basement clubs that lined this famous street. Though many of the hotspots along 52nd have long since shuttered their doors, Jazz is alive and well in 2008 at venues like the nearby Jazz at Lincoln Center as well as downtown institutions like Blue Note and the Village Vanguard.

The Disco Revolution
Arguably no image defined a night out in 1970’s New York quite like John Travolta and his white polyester suit. But Travolta’s rise to fame was just one small part of the emergence of Disco, a New York musical movement whose influence is still felt today. Before Travolta, the first stirrings of Disco arguably occurred at the The Loft, a series of alcohol-free, non-commercial parties hosted by nightlife legend David Mancuso. Mancuso’s technique of blending one song into the next on his high-end audio system arguably kicked off the trend of DJing and beatmatching as it is still practiced today. Soon The Loft had spawned a whole series of more decadent imitators, including the disco-debauchery of Studio 54 and Disco’s musical successor, House music, at the Paradise Garage.

So what happened to the disco history of New York? The famous club featured in Saturday Night Fever was known as the 2001 Odyssey, and was located in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn at 802 64th Street, until it was torn down in 2005. The famous lighted floor was put up for auction shortly thereafter. The Studio 54 building is still around in the guise of the Roundabout Theater, while the famous Paradise Garage at 88 King Street is now parking for Verizon trucks. And David Mancuso? He’s still throwing occasional Loft parties today! Ask a local and cross your fingers, this is one tough invite to get your hands on.

NYC Punk Bares its Teeth
By the mid 1970’s, the beginnings of a new underground rock movement were stirring in New York. Along a rough stretch of the Bowery, a rock club called CBGB’s was opened in 1973 by owner Hilly Kristal. The club’s acronym, standing for “Country, Bluegrass, Blues,” was intended to signify the type of music Kristal hoped to host at the club. But soon the club was taken over by bands like Ramones, Television and Blondie, who didn’t exactly fit this criteria, playing an aggressive, fast new style of rock called Punk.

So can Punk fans still head down to CBGB to check it out today? Sadly the answer is no. Due to a dispute with their landlord, the club was forced to close for good in 2006. Today it has been replaced by a rock-themed John Varvatos clothing boutique which has generally been met by New Yorkers with a mixture of either indifference or disdain. But don’t despair, other second wave Punk landmarks like ABC No Rio are still very much open for business. If you’re really looking to get a little taste of that old Punk attitude, visitors can also head to the strip of shops that line St. Mark’s Place, in Manhattan’s East Village, the unofficial hangout of modern day punks and the place to buy that Ramones t-shirt and maybe an impromptu nose ring.

Someone please go visit this Tokyo broom shop

by Jerry Guo on

Japan is known for its retail hyperspecialization, a big mark upon its reputation as an super-efficient economic powerhouse. For example, maid cafes, or the Japanese equivalent of Hooter’s (but with coffee) have sprung several derivatives including butler cafes, sargeant cafes, and the dubious sexy mommy cafes. There’s even stores that sell glasses that maids wear in the cafes.

So I guess it was inevitable that hyperspecialization just goes kabloom at a certain point. And that point is trying to have a store dedicated to brooms. Apparently this shop (pictured) hasn’t had a customer since Saturday, September 2, 1972, and that customer, it turned out, was looking for a hand brush that they didn’t carry.

This almost sounds too absurd even for Japan–and some commentators are pointing out it’s a joke. Perhaps our resident Japan guru, Matt Firestone, can debunk or confirm this myth. In the meantime, if you come across this place, please please buy something.

[Via Boing Boing]

Galley Gossip: Flight attendant pet peeve #5 – You’re still here?

by Heather Poole on

I’m wearing the blue polyester dress, you know the one, and I’m standing two rows behind you, an arm draped over a seat, a hand gripping the plastic handle of my Travelpro bag. When the lights are turned to bright, I turn around and look at my coworker, and without uttering a word, our eyes say everything that can possibly be said.

Finally you step into the aisle, look at me, and then smile, so I smile at you, and while I’m smiling I watch you dig around inside three different seat back pockets.

“Thanks for a nice flight,” says a voice over the PA, and just like that the voice is gone, along with the rest of the passengers, and crew. It’s just me, my coworker, and you.

When it comes to the deplaning process, there are three types of passengers…

THE ME FIRST PASSENGER: Jumps out of the seat before the seat belt sign has been turned off. If there are other me first passengers standing in the aisle, they will push each other out of the way in order to be the first me first passenger off of the airplane. Don’t you know the first one on should always be the first one off, even when he’s sitting in business, not first.

THE NORMAL PASSENGER: Waits patiently in the seat until the passengers sitting a few rows ahead stand. At this point the normal passenger gathers their belongings, and when the time comes, steps into the aisle, grabs the suitcase out of the bin, and begins to walk to the front of the airplane, not once breaking the rhythmic deplaning flow. Thankfully most passengers are normal passengers – when it comes to getting off the airplane.

THE I’VE GOT ALL DAY (AND NIGHT) PASSENGER – I do hope this is not you. Granted, you are very nice, and quite polite, a dream passenger really, and I did have a wonderful time talking to you in the galley, but the time has come to say goodbye, so buh-bye. Adios time. Look, it’s not forever, we can do this again, but at another time, on a different flight. So go, please, now! No offense, don’t mean to be rude, but the layover is short!

Again I turn around and look at my fellow coworker who is looking at her watch. “Nine hours and twenty minutes,” she mumbles, shaking her head.

Remember, this nine hour and twenty minute layover includes the hour I will get ready for work in the morning, as well as the twenty minutes I need to take the hotel van back to the airport and make my way through security. Which means the layover is more like eight hours. Don’t forget that eight hours includes the ten minute van ride to the hotel tonight, as well as the amount of time it will take the van to get to the airport in order to take us to the hotel, not to mention the time it takes to check-in once we’re at the hotel, after we get in line behind you. Which means that eight hour layover is starting to look more like seven. If you leave now.

While I continue to stand there, waiting, still waiting, I’m wondering why you are just now reaching for your luggage in the overhead bin, and why little Johnny does not have his shoes on, and why your wife or husband or whoever it is you are traveling with is now on all fours looking under the seat, not your group of seats, but three rows ahead, and why oh why are you now standing on the armrest to get a better look into that empty overhead bin?

“I think we’ve got it all,” you say, but before I can breath a sigh of relief, you place your suitcase on the ground and unzip your rollaboard. “You don’t have to wait on us, because we’ll probably be a few more minutes here.”

I’d leave if I could, but I can’t, so I don’t, which is why I’m still standing there, one arm still draped over the seat, a hand still gripping, gripping, gripping the plastic handle of my Travelpro, as a swarm of cabin cleaners make their way to the back of the airplane. That’s when I think I hear, “Mind if I use the bathroom?”

“Oh…umm…sure.” I struggle to move my wheelie bag sideways so you can get by, and as you pass me by, I find myself wondering why? Why here? There’s a much cleaner bathroom in the terminal. Why now? The flight was five and a half hours long. Why me? Don’t answer that!

Okay, here’s what I don’t get. You came to the airport at least an hour before departure, waited in line at security, and then found a place to pick up a few snacks where you had to wait in line to pay, before heading over to the gate area to wait your turn to board. Once on the aircraft, you waited to takeoff, and after we finally took off, a few minutes late, you found yourself waiting for a drink. After enjoying your adult beverage of choice, you spent a very long time waiting to land, and while you waited five hours for this bird to touch ground, you may have found yourself waiting in line to use the lavatory. Eventually we land and you wait your turn to deplane, very patiently, a little too patiently. You’ve finally gotten your things in order, and little Johnny is wearing his shoes, and your wife or husband or whoever it is you are traveling with is no longer crawling around on the floor, so what, exactly, are you waiting for now?

You sling a heavy bag over your shoulder. “I think we’re ready.”

I smile, and this smile is for real, and together we walk to the front of the aircraft. At least I think we’re walking to the front of the aircraft, because you stop, turn around, and look at me. “Mind if I double check one more time to make sure I have everything?”

“Oh…umm…sure, go ahead,” I say, struggling once more to move my wheelie bag sideways, and as you pass me by, I find myself wondering why?

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