2013 › June

Japan Tests New 311 MPH Maglev Train

by Adam Hodge on

A new maglev train purported to reach speeds of 311 mph was tested for the first time on the Yamanashi test track in Japan this week. When put into service in 2027, the high-speed, magnetically levitated train will connect Tokyo with Nagoya, reducing the travel time from the current hour and a half down to only 40 minutes.

While China currently holds the speed title for in-service commercial trains with its airport-to-city maglev in Shanghai, Japan has long been the global leader in high-speed rail. Its famous Shinkansen bullet train network debuted way back in 1964.

With this new train, the L0, Japan will almost certainly reclaim the “world’s fastest” title. However, the Chinese have claimed they have a train in development that will zip along at over 600 mph.

In any case, the L0 will carry up to 1,000 passengers at a time. And in just over 30 years, Japan will have extended the line to Osaka, 300 miles from Tokyo. The government plans to eventually expand the network around the entire country.

Floating trains zipping around the country at almost half the speed of sound; we, or at least the Japanese, are living in the future.

Video: 102-Year-Old Woman Makes First BASE Jump

by Kraig Becker on

In celebration of her impending milestone birthday, Dorothy Custer wanted to do something a little different this year. So, on the day she turned 102 she decided to make a tandem BASE jump off the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho. That’s a leap of 486 feet and as you can tell from the video below, Dorothy enjoyed ever second of the experience, which also gave her the record as the oldest person to ever make such a jump.

This is a far-cry of last year, when she marked her 101st birthday by ziplining over the Snake River Canyon. We should all be so adventurous and outgoing when we reach 100. Oh, who am I kidding! Most of us will just be happy to reach 100, let alone still enjoying experiences like these.

Photo Of The Day: Blue Ice

by Chris Owen on

This Photo of the Day, titled “Blue Ice,” comes from Gadling Flickr pool member AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker and was captured using a Pentax K-5.

In the caption for this image, Adam humbly tells us this is “just another sunset in Quetico Provincial Park.”

Quetico Provincial Park is a wilderness retreat west of Lake Superior on the Canada-U.S. border. The 1,180,000-acre park is home to over 2000 unofficial, unimproved wilderness campsites and more than 600 lakes.

Want to be featured? Upload your best shots to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. Several times a week we choose our favorite images from the pool as a Photo of the Day.

Tips for being featured: add a caption describing the image and your personal experience when capturing it, details of the photography gear used and any tips you might have for others wanting to emulate your work.

Now, you can also submit photos through Instagram; just mention @GadlingTravel and use the hashtag #gadling when posting your images.

New Study Has Travel By Air Preferred, Thanks To Travel By Sea

by Chris Owen on

A new study out this week says the idea of a cruise vacation is not as popular as it once was, targeting multiple factors for the hit. Regardless of the reason, the numbers show a cruise industry that has its job cut out for it.

Over half of all Americans are less likely to take a cruise now than over a year ago, says the new Harris Poll out this week. But those numbers are heavily skewed to those who have never been on a cruise before and were probably apprehensive about it anyway. Everyone is to a certain degree before their first sailing. Those who have sailed before were not having as many second thoughts.

The March Harris Poll asked 2,052 adults aged 18 and over in an online poll, how they felt about cruising. Those surveyed clearly thought less of cruising since events that included the grounding of Costa Concordia and a fire aboard Carnival Triumph. That trend continued in the May Harris poll, indicating that public perception of cruises continues to fall while airlines soar higher.”More than six in 10 Americans (62 percent) agree that air travel is much more reliable than taking a cruise (up from 57 percent in February), and the majority (56 percent) agree that air travel is much safer (up from 50 percent in February),” says a TravelMole report.

But cruise lines have not stood by idly. Nearly all cruise lines have adopted a new, higher, more efficient focus on safety. The new Cruise Passenger Bill of Rights spells out what will happen in many otherwise cloudy areas.

Will they come back? Better than ever?

Apparently cruise lines think so, investing billions in ships, ports and jobs. Just this week, Costa Cruises announced the building of a new ship, their largest ever.

The 132,500-ton Costa Diadema promises a different experience, breaking up areas of the ship into several ocean-facing venues, each with a different theme. Also, Princess Cruises new generation ship Royal Princess arrived in Southampton for a smattering of inaugural events.

“I wouldn’t give much credibility to the latest Harris or TravelMole polls,” says cruise expert Stewart Chiron, CEO CruiseGuy. “Their findings are highly subjective and run contrary to real life actions of cruise passengers, as ships continue to sail full. “

Maybe it’s a little of the “if you build it, they will come” thing or maybe it’s the faith cruise lines have in their unique travel experience that is becoming more diverse all the time.

“Considering less than 15% of the US population has cruised, I’d say 92% of their respondents have probably never cruised, 75% probably still live with their parents and 48% have never travelled more than 1000 miles from home. Based on current trends, their findings aren’t supported,” concluded Chiron.

Four Down Two Across: The Sterling Highway Out Of Anchorage

by Will Shortz on

The weather here in Alaska has been gorgeous — sunny and warm. Friday’s high was around 70. Robert and I were told this isn’t normal, especially the clear skies.

We started the morning in Anchorage, where I taped my weekly NPR puzzle at KSKA, for airing nationally on Sunday. It involved a game of Categories based on the name HOMER, the town where we were headed. The player did pretty well, but stumbled badly on “Canadian Cities.” So that part of the puzzle won’t make it on the air!

After the taping we headed south on the Sterling Highway, Alaska Route 1, toward Homer, on the southern tip of the Kenai peninsula. Homer bills itself as the Halibut Capital of the World. The drive takes about four hours, with constant views of snow-capped mountains along the way. Part of the route hugs the coast, where we were told we might see whales. No luck on this day, though.

We had lunch at Suzie’s Cafe in the town of Sterling about halfway to Homer. Robert said it was the best chickenburger he’d ever had.

At 5 pm we arrived at Homer High School to play table tennis with the local club. They play in a high-ceilinged school commons in which a giant whale skeleton hangs overhead. About 8-10 players joined us. Good times.

Afterward a club member took us to the local Two Sisters Bakery (not “Three Sisters” as I mistakenly called it it on our Vine) for a seafood dinner. We had fresh halibut and scallops, caught locally. Delicious.

Regarding yesterday’s puzzle, my answer was ENCOURAGE.

Here’s a new one: Take the name HOMER. Change one letter in it and rearrange the result to spell a new word. Then rearrange those same five letters to spell another word. If you have the right ones, the two words can be placed one after the other to spell a familiar 10-letter compound word. What word is it?

Follow Will and Robert’s Trip across Alaska through next week at “Four Down Two Across.”