Photo of the Day (11.29.10)

by Mike Barish on

Whenever I pack for a trip, I am always incredibly worried that I will forget to pack underwear. Rather than face several weeks in one pair of underpants (or having to begrudgingly purchase several new pairs on the road), I always pack underwear first. Then it’s simply a matter of remembering to put on underwear every morning before setting out for the day.

Heading out sans underwear could lead to an unfortunate penis slip. You simply do not want that to happen when you’re in Thailand focusing on your takraw moves like the man in this photo by Flickr user Mark Fischer. Do yourself (and everyone who might see you) a favor and holster your gun with a solid pair of underpants.

Taken any great photos of underwear athletes on your travels? Why not add them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.

Archaeological treasure trove found at Three Gorges Project in China

by Sean McLachlan on

Archaeologists excavating during the Three Gorges dam project in China have discovered nearly a quarter of a million artifacts, the state-run Xinhua News Agency says.

The world’s largest dam project has created a reservoir that’s 410 miles long and more than half a mile wide. Before that reservoir was flooded, China spent $285 million to hunt for cultural treasures, at times using teams of more than a thousand archaeologists. They’ve uncovered artifacts ranging from medieval statues to early stone tools two million years old. While the sites they came from are now lost beneath the water, the artifacts they yielded will give fresh insight into China’s long history.

Now museums across China are busy conserving the artifacts and hopefully soon many of them will be on display for China’s growing tourist industry.

The Three Gorges Project is itself becoming a tourist attraction. It’s the largest dam project in the world, and the largest electrical generating facility. It’s also highly controversial because it displaced 1.3 million people.

[Photo courtesy user Rehman via Wikimedia Commons]

Unemployed Mexicana airline flight attendants raise more than cash with sexy new calendar

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Who says print is dead?

The newspaper business may be in trouble, but if you find 10 great bodies, take pictures of them and line them up with the months of the year, you could be in business for a while. This is exactly what a handful of unemployed flight attendants from Mexicana airlines did, according to the Associated Press.

They lost their jobs when the carrier filed for bankruptcy and suspended operations, and the sexy calendar is an effort to “to call attention to their own plight and that of their airline – one of the world’s oldest,” the Associated Press reports.

The ladies sport bikinis, sunglasses and provocative uniform variations while making propellers, cockpits and other dirty-sounding airplane parts look a hell of a lot hotter.

Interestingly, the hotties shelled out their own cash for the project, investing around $8,000 to get the glossy delight off the ground. It seems this was money well spent: the first thousand were purchased before the calendar’s official launch last Thursday, and another run of 3,000 is in progress.

[Photo credits: AP/Getty Images]

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Qantas luggage “all tied up” in Melbourne

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It must be those adventure travelers … they’re always so high maintenance.

A rock-climbing rope jammed up some of the Qantas baggage equipment at the Melbourne, Australia airport last night, and as many as 400 pieces of luggage are lying around, waiting to be reunited with their passengers. Of course, the Sydney Morning Herald reports, passengers are welcome to “search through the piles” if they are eager to get their bags sooner.

Meanwhile, Qantas has copped to “bag issues” but nothing more so far. The Sydney Morning herald writes that the airline “could not confirm the number of bags that still needed to be returned to passengers.”

Unsurprisingly, Qantas has offered an apology, something to which the airline has become accustomed recently. The article continues:

“Due to an item from a customer bag jamming the baggage system in Melbourne yesterday, the system was down for a period of time,” he said.

“As we did everything to move backlog bags, the system experienced another problem and we are in the process of clearing the backlog as soon as possible.”

[photo by Skazama via Flickr]

Daily Pampering: Orient-Express launches “Art of Travel” tours through Europe

by Melanie Nayer on

Luxury train operator Orient Express is taking guests on an art journey through Europe, starting in April 2011.

“The Art of Travel” is a series of art tours to Venice, Paris and within England, in conjunction with London’s renowned National Gallery. Guests will learn about the lives of artists such as Canaletto, Bellini, Titian, Veronese, Monet, Rubens, Turner and Constable, all while seeing the places that inspired their work and notable places that house their work today, accompanied by a National Gallery expert.

All tours include at least one night at London’s Goring Hotel and begin at The National Gallery, where a specialist gives a guided introduction to selected masterpieces before the journeys begin. The tours include:
Venice of Canaletto: This seven-day tour gives travelers the opportunity to view Venice through Canaletto’s eyes. Travel from London aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express through France, the snow-capped Alps and northern Italy. In Venice, guests stay at the Hotel Cipriani and trace the footsteps of Canaletto – the artist forever associated with magnificent Venetian views. Trips start at £4,985 (US$8,000) per person.

Venetian Painters: A six-day tour that introduces great masters from Giovanni Bellini and Titian to Veronese. The morning after a tour and dinner at the National Gallery, guests will fly to Venice where they will step back into the Italian Renaissance and explore great sights such as the Doge’s Palace, the Accademia and Ca’ Rezzonica with an expert from the National Gallery close at hand to add depth to all that is viewed. The price of these trips start at £4,320 (US$6,940) per person.

Impressions of Paris: This series of five-day tours focuses on French Impressionism. Guests will trace Claude Monet’s life and will learn about the drama of the birth of a new movement of art – when painters first began painting out in the open air to capture the effects of light. Prices start at £2,990 (US$4,880) per person.

British Pullman: Combining the thrill of a steam-hauled luxury train, complemented by gourmet dining – brunch on the outbound journey and a three-course supper on the return – and delightful scenery, these exclusive tours include Bath’s finest art collections:

  • Collectors and Collecting: This trip is timed to coincide with the reopening of the Holburne Museum in May 2011 following a major project of restoration and extension. Priced at £1,130 (US$1,815) per person.
  • Thomas Gainsborough: This journey focuses on landscape paintings by notable British and European artists including Rubens, Turner and Constable. Priced at £940 (US$1,510) per person.

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