Thai citizens and authorities alike are becoming increasingly frustrated and their frustration can easily be summarized by a headline I keep seeing everywhere: ‘Thailand floods‘. The waters throughout Thailand have now reached preposterous levels. The floods began in late July, but many areas of the country are still under water and, in some respects, it seems the problem is just getting worse. Hundreds have passed away and millions have been affected because of this historical flooding. I came across this animation video, though, which outlines the problem and the solution using, primarily, animated whales. Silly as it seems, I like the video and it helped me to understand the Thailand floods–what’s going on and why–a bit better. Give it watch.
Medieval pilgrims journeyed deep into Africa, archaeologists discover
The Kingdom of Makuria is the quintessential forgotten civilization. Very few people have even heard of it, yet it ruled southern Sudan for hundreds of years and was one of the few kingdoms to defeat the Arabs during their initial expansion in the 7th century AD. Makuria was a Christian kingdom, born out of the collapse of the earlier Christian kingdom of Axum. Makuria survived as a bulwark of Christianity in medieval Africa until it finally collapsed in 1312.
Now excavations of some of its churches at Banganarti and Selib have revealed that this kingdom was a center of pilgrimage, attracting people from as far away as Catalonia, in modern Spain. The 2,300 mile journey from Spain to southern Sudan is a long one even today, but imagine when it had to be done on horseback, walking, and boats powered only by sails and oars. Yet an inscription records that one Catalan named Benesec made the journey almost a thousand years ago, probably to pray for a cure to an illness. “Benesec” was a popular Catalan name in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Another inscription with an accompanying painting shows a Muslim man, Deif Ali, making a pilgrimage to the church to pray for a cure to his blindness. This isn’t as unusual as it might sound. In regions where religions mingle, some people will go to holy places of the other religion. When I covered the Hindu pilgrimage of Kumbh Mela for Reuters back in 2001, I met Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs all coming to be a part of the religious festival.
Makurian artists produced some amazing religious frescoes, like this image of the birth of Jesus, courtesy Wikimedia Commons, and this closeup of St. Anne, also courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Both come from the cathedral of Faras, an important Makurian city.
The churches are in southern Sudan, not the new Republic of South Sudan. The nation of Sudan (the northern one) has many sites of archaeological and historical interest and is a popular destination for adventure travel.
Ski season opens at Mammoth Mountain this week!
While skiers and snowboarders in Colorado have already been on the slopes for a few weeks, their counterparts in California have been forced to patiently wait for their turn to come. Their patience is about to be rewarded however, as Mammoth Mountain, one of the top ski resorts in North America, opens this week.
On Thursday, November 10th, at 8:30 AM, the first chair of the season will begin shuttling eager skiers and snowboarders up the mountain for the first runs of the day. But that will just be the beginning of a four-day celebration at Mammoth that will kick off the new season in grand style with live music, special events, film premieres, and parties all weekend long. For a full schedule of events, which includes autograph signings by the DC Pro Snowboarding Team, a concert by Black Lips and Ra Ra Riot, and much more, click here.
Mammoth also currently has season passes on sale, with an adult pass running just $799. Passes for children and seniors are significantly cheaper than that price, but if you’re interested, you’ll want to act fast. The sale ends November 13, after which they’ll return to their regular price and you’ll end up kicking yourself for not nabbing one sooner.
With an average snowfall of more than 400 inches per year and over 150 trails to ski or ride, you would think the management at Mammoth would be content to lure in visitors with the mountain’s natural wonders alone. But during the off season, they spent more than $20 million on upgrades to the resort, incorporating RFID technology into the lift passes, installing a new quad chairlift, and improving other facilities for their guests. New direct flights from San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities makes it easier than ever to get to the mountain as well, eliminating any excuse you have for not hitting the slopes this winter.
I know the calendar still says November, and winter is still officially six weeks away, but there is already plenty of powder in the mountains. Why not go enjoy some early seasons turns at Mammoth this weekend?
Photo of the day – Bored in Morocco
Some say if you’re bored, then you’re boring (it’s even a lyric in the ’90s favorite song Flagpole Sitta). It’s something older people say to shame you when you’re being a sullen teenager. But I’d argue there are certainly legitimately boring experiences, even while traveling. Waiting for a train in the middle of nowhere. Standing in line for museum tickets. Anything in an airport. But this gentleman in Morocco doesn’t look terribly boring, or at least not his store. I shudder to think how he does inventory. Flickr user Calvin Lee has found something interesting in this man’s boredom and made it a great portrait.
Send us your best travel portraits by adding them to the Gadling Flickr pool and we may choose it for a future Photo of the Day.
Marriott Courtyard unveils new lobby concept, rolls out displays in airports across the country
Courtyard by Marriott has recently begun rolling out improvements to their popular brand. In July, we told you about improvements to their food service model through a their new “Bistro” concept. Now, the brand is rolling out newly-renovated lobbies and has chosen a fitting place for the concept to make its debut – airports.
[Check out this page, on where to find the Lobby Zone displays.]
Popular amongst business travelers and families alike, Courtyard drew loyal fans for their full, hot breakfast buffets. But as the average traveler evolved, hotel executives realized that the area taken up by the breakfast buffet went unused for a good portion of the day. As part of the redesign, the brand re-invented their food service model, transforming the buffet and lobby areas into “bistros” with a quick casual vibe, and re-invented their lobby to match.
The new lobbies include laptop friendly stations with multiple outlets and a giant touchscreen TV where travelers can look up the weather, news and local attractions to help them with their stay. The more modern decor caters to younger and more tech-savvy travelers as well.
%Gallery-138489%We asked Janis Milham, vice president and global brand manager for Courtyard by Marriott, a few questions about the new renovations:
Does the new lobby concept indicate a new type of traveler to your brand, a modernization of the property, or a bit of both?
The redesign of the lobby and public space environment wasn’t simply modernization for the sake of modernization. It was modernization that was informed by evolving guest needs and their desire for a more flexible space to work and relax, as well as their desire for a variety of food and beverage options in both the morning and evening.
Are there any other advancements to the hotels we can be expecting in the coming months?
We’ve recently unveiled the new and exciting GoBoard® 4.0 [which] now provides guests with immediate access to detailed flight departure and arrival information for all local airports and allows guests to send directions to local area restaurants and attractions from the GoBoard® directly to their smart phones.
How did your team design the new concept – what was the thought process behind the change?
We based our design on extensive customer feedback and enlisted the San Francisco-based design firm, IDEO, to create a totally new lobby experience that makes it easy to work, plug-in, socialize and relax.
When can we expect these new lobbies to be rolled out to all hotels? How many are open now?
We currently have over 800 Courtyard hotels in North America, and more than 50% of them will feature the redesigned lobby by the end of the year. We expect that over 90% of our hotels will have the new lobby and public space design by the end of 2013.
Where can travelers find these lobby concepts to test out?
[T]ravelers at Phoenix Terminal 4, Houston Terminal E, near Gate 19, and Baltimore/Washington Concourse A now have an oasis to recharge their devices and their energy before boarding.These are accessible through December 16.
Have you experienced the new lobby concept for yourself? What do you think? Weigh in with your comments, below.