See Antarctica by air on a 12-hour non-stop flight

by Abha Malpani on

I’ve heard of many cruisers offering trips to the Antarctic, but this is the first time I hear of a flight that takes you over the continent in 12 hours. The Boeing 747-400 covers five main spots on the continent’s east coast.

Organized by Croyden Travel, you can board one of these flights from Sydney or Melbourne, and cost between $999(economy)-$5699(first class). The plane doesn’t land, you don’t require your passport to travel, and you get to change seats once on the flight. Meals and drinks are provided too.

The next flight is new year’s eve 2008; if you take this flight you will be the first to see the Sun of 2009!

Although it sounds great and I’m sure the aerial view of the glaciers is mind-blowing, I’m not sure I’d want to pay that much for a trip where I’m couped up for 12 hours. I’d take a week long cruise instead.

10 tips for smarter flying


World’s most dangerous destinations

by Iva Skoch on

When writing my blog about the recent violence in Chicago last night, I stumbled upon the Forbes list of the world’s most dangerous destinations for 2008.

Here they are:

  • Somalia
  • Iraq
  • Afghanistan
  • Haiti
  • Pakistan
  • Sudan
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Lebanon
  • Zimbabwe
  • Palestine

Although some of these might not exactly be tourist destinations, it is interesting how that list has changed over the years.

Forbes writes that “in the 1970s, a traveler’s worst nightmare might have been a hijacked plane or hostage crisis. Today, the threats are equally perilous but reflect the changing times. Now, a tourist or business traveler might worry more about terrorist attacks on mass transit, getting caught in a spontaneous uprising or a bombing of a nightclub or hotel.”

Bizarre, monstrous sea creatures found in Antarctic waters

by Abha Malpani on

Giant star fish, hydroids (see photo: urrr…mop-like sea animals?), sea-squirts (that really just look like a squirt of gelatin), sea-spiders, daggertooths and sea-pigs, are just a few of the 30,000 rare sea creatures found by a team of researchers on a large-scale survey of Antarctica.

Over 35 days they traveled about 2000-miles collecting specimens on the surface and from the sea-bed as part of the International Polar Year and Census of Antarctic Marine Life programs, which study the diversity of Antarctic marine life. Using advanced video imagine, the researchers also managed to photograph the seafloor to a depth of 2.1 miles.

Published recently in National Geographic, you can see an incredible, jaw-scrunching photo slide-show that gives a taste of these marine species, on their website here.

Find an internet cafe anywhere in the world

by Iva Skoch on

As I was searching for an internet cafe in London this week, I thought it would be really helpful to have a site that lists them all and allows you to search based on your location. And guess what. Of course, that exact site already exists.

Cybercafes.com contains a database of over 4000 internet cafes in 141 countries. So, if you, like me are staying in the Embankment area of London and are looking for a place to log in, you will find there is easyInternetcafe at Strand 54. Which is, incidentally, where I am right now.

I must say, though, at £2 ($4) an hour, it is a little overpriced. You can find places nearby that charge only £.5 per hour, although arguable not as easy to use and consistent as easyInternet.

How to say “I love you” in different languages

by Iva Skoch on

Happy Valentines day, everyone, wherever in the world you happen to be.

Not that I really care for this holiday, but any day is a good day to learn to say I Love you in Swahili: Nakupenda!

Here is a start of the long list:

1. Arabic Ana Behibak (To A Male)
2. Arabic Ana Behibek (To A Female)
3. Assamese Moi Tomak Bhal Pau
4. Bengali Ami Tomay Bhalo bashi
5. Bolivian Quechua Qanta Munani
6. Bulgarian Obicham Te
7. Burmese Chit Pa De
8. Cambodian Bon Sro Lanh Oon
9. Canadian Sh’teme
10. Catalan T’estim Molt (I Love You A Lot)