North Korean departure leaves five detained in Thailand

by Tom Johansmeyer on

A cargo plane loaded with heavy weapons left Pyongyang, North Korea and had not a care in the world … until the crew needed to land for more fuel at Don Mueang airport in Thailand. This emergency stop, according to Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Suthep Thaungsuban, led to an inspection which unveiled missiles, firearms and other implements of mayhem and destruction — 40 tons in all. Apparently, there were plenty of rocket-propelled grenades on board.

According to AFP, Suthep said, “They declared that the goods on board the flight were oil drilling equipment but when we examined we found it was all weaponry.” Four passengers from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus have been detained.

Captain Montol Suchookhorn, a spokesman for the Thai Air Force, explained, “According to my information, the flight originated from North Korea. It was a cargo flight that requested to land at the civilian side of the airport.”

Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was careful to note that this incident doesn’t have an impact on the country’s internal security: “This is a joint collaboration of intelligence. We received a tip-off.”

Don Mueang airport hasn’t closed over this incident.

[Photo by yeowatzup via Flickr]

Ship graveyards from around the world

by Kraig Becker on

Eco-friendly website Environmental Graffiti has an interesting story on their site today that details some of the top cargo ship graveyards from around the world. The article also includes some amazing photos of the rusted out shells of former cargo and cruise ships that have been left to rot in a variety of sun baked locations.

All told, there are five graveyards on the list, including the infamous Skeleton Coast in Namibia, as well as a others along the Aral and Red Seas, the Sahara, and off the coast of Greece. Most of these dumping grounds are desolate, remote deserts that remain uninhabited and mostly unvisited altogether. This, of course, makes them perfect places to deposit these obsolete vessels, but one can’t help but wonder what kind of environmental disasters we’ve created in these places.

Reading about these ship graveyards is sobering to say the least, but it is the excellent photographs that really delivers the story. Seeing these once proud vessels reduced to dilapidated shells left to wither away slowly is kind of sad, and you can’t help but wonder what kind of interesting stories some of these ships have to tell. Looking at them now, it is difficult to think that at one time they roamed the seas, delivering cargo and passengers to exotic locations around the globe. This is kind of an ignoble end to their tours of duty.

International CouchSurfing Day: Do you have a couch lined up?

by Jamie Rhein on

Ten years ago on June 12, CouchSurfing was born–or rather CouchSurfing.com was registered as a domain name and sleeping on the couch of people you just met became an organized system. More than just a way to hook people up with a free place to call it a night, CouchSurfing was created as a way to help make the world a better place.

See, if you stay on the couch of people who have agreed that they like people to stay on their couch as a way to get to know traveling types and expand their connections, the world becomes more friendly. When you make this a global scene, the power just grows.

As a person who CouchSurfed before it was conceived as an organized entity, I can attest to the value of staying with strangers. When I traveled across the United States with a friend of mine after we got out of the Peace Corps, we used our connections of friends to stay with their friends and family members. In most cases it determined where we headed and the experience created a sense that the U.S. was warm, welcoming and friendly.

Our couchsurfing found us staying in: Des Moines, Iowa courtesy of a home for wayward women; at a dairy farm in Vinita, Oklahoma, an itty bitty town; a bachelor pad in downtown San Francisco; and in a house near the beach in Carlsbad, California. At each place we hadn’t met the people before we showed up at their door (or they picked us up at the bus station). The rest of the time we stayed with friends of ours or my family members in various towns and cities in Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and California. Her parents sprung for the hotel room in Seattle and Vancouver and we tented it Utah and at the Rocky Mountain National Park.

That do-it-yourself couchsurfing experience has prompted me to welcome other people who have needed a place to stay into my home which has added to the feeling of expansiveness. It has also created a rich bank of memories of the people who have stayed with us who live in other parts of the world. One of them, Rita Goldman Gelman, author of Tales of a Female Nomad has made couchsurfing an integral part of her life. She stayed with her when we lived in New Delhi and we visited her two summers ago in Seattle.

Without our connections, there’s no way we would have been able to afford this trip and would have missed out on what helped me transition back into a life in the United States (until I moved overseas again).

Thanks to CouchSurfing.com people don’t need to rely on their own connections which might be a paltry number. The whole world is ones oyster thanks to an organized, Internet based system. To date there are 232 countries, 59,929 cities and 1,168,136 people who are registered with couches.

To celebrate International CouchSurfing Day you can also begin looking for a couch in a place you’ve always wanted to go–or offer someone yours. Here are two events happening to celebrate the occassion.

For more Gadling couchsurfing perspectives check out Brook Silva-Braga’s experiences in northern Europe and Tynan’s in Haiti. Neil also vouches for couches and has fond memories of an experience in Kazakhstan.

Keep busy with 44 travel ideas

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If the entire world is too much from which to choose, take a look at The 44 Places to Go in 2009 suggested by the New York Times. Some are obvious, such as Reykjavik, which was been on everyone’s mind 2008. Others are easy, including Washington D.C. Our nation’s capital has plenty of hotels (including the funky Hotel Helix, photo at right), great public transportation and access via two major airports. Of course, there are a few destinations that probably wouldn’t occur to you otherwise. Here are some highlights:

  1. Beirut, Lebanon: two hotels are expected to open this year (including a Four Seasons), and dining at Al-Ajami is top-notch
  2. Fjallnas, Sweden: this is home to a luxury resort up by the Arctic Circle; rates start at €325 a night, but deals are available
  3. Copenhagen, Denmark: the city’s architecture is headed into the 21st century, particularly with the new zoo and theater
  4. Kazakhstan: no, I’m not joking; the new opera house is not to be missed, and a ski resort is in the works

Need more choices? Not a problem! There are forty more here, and after that an entire world in which to poke around.

Amazing Race 13, recap 9: Russians don’t laugh at you, they laugh with you

by Jamie Rhein on

With Terence & Sarah eliminated, and Starr & Nick coming in 1st four times in a row, it was any one of the team’s game during episode 9 of the Amazing Race 13. As the teams headed off to Moscow, Russia from Almaty, Kazakhstan, I was curious what would trip up Nick & Starr and if Andrew & Dan could dump their status as the team with the most trouble with tasks.

Moscow was shown as a complicated city that is more than a little expensive in the taxi department. The city gave two teams a bit of grief. Language barriers and a lack of being able to find directions were consistent problems. By the end of their day, I hope there were shots of vodka waiting.

Travel Tips:

  • Hotel bedroom slippers will temporarily work as shoes.
  • I would find someone who knows English to write down locations in Russian in order to find places more easily. That’s just an observation I had after watching the teams struggle.
  • Keep a sense of humor. It will help.
  • Work out taxi costs before you get in a cab, but it may not do much good.
  • On second thought, when traveling in Moscow, don’t take taxis. They are EXPENSIVE.

Recaps and Cultural Highlights

Even though teams left the Pit Stop in Almaty, Kazakhstan at different times, they were on the same flight to Moscow. The airport scene in Kazakhstan was a hoot once Andrew & Dan showed up. Because they left their shoes at the puppet theater when they dressed up as a cow, there they were shuffling along in hotel slippers. Luckily for them, there was an open shoe store at the airport despite the late hour. Shoes weren’t cheap, however. From what I could tell, the least expensive pair cost $80.

Each bought sneakers and didn’t complain about them pinching, rubbing, or making blisters later on in the episode. I assume that meant they were decent shoes. If anything, these frat boys were pleased with their shoes, but were concerned that their money stash was diminished. What a funny story they have to tell later.

Dallas and Starr had more time to further their interest in each other at the airport. Yawn. As with any romance that starts on the road, I give it a 1 out of 5 chance of succeeding.

What was more interesting was when the teams hit Moscow. The buildings’ magnificence impressed the whole gang, but everyone was focused more on money once they hopped into a taxi.

Moscow is very expensive. A taxi ride from the airport to the first stop at Krutitske Podvorye Monastery cost $100. Not one dollar. One hundred dollars. Other taxi rides to the other tasks seemed to cost about the same due to the distances the teams traveled. Being lost may have added to the price.

The monastery was a beautiful Russian Orthodox building with a church service in progress when the teams arrived. I gave Toni high points for covering her hair with a scarf when she stepped inside the church to light a candle. The candlelighting led to the next clue. As she said, “It’s history…There’s reverence and respect. ” As she pointed out, when in a place of worship, one should act appropriately.

Once she & Dallas received their clue that directed them to Kolosok Camp, a decommissioned military base, they were off again without a hitch. Nick & Starr were close behind until Nick & Starr got lost.

Once at the camp, teams were to chose between marching with soldiers or serving soldiers borscht. All teams initially picked the marching. From Ken & Tina’s amorous attitudes during this activity, it looks like all they need to do to get rid of their marital woes is to put on a uniform once in awhile.

While Toni & Dallas and Ken & Tina were marching away, Nick & Starr were not having one bit of luck with their driver. It didn’t matter that it was Nick’s birthday. They spent a good deal of the time between tasks during this whole episode lost. To their credit, there was minimal snipping, although Nick did ask Starr how crying could help. He should try it sometimes.

In the meantime, even after Nick & Starr finally showed up, Andrew & Dan kept bumbling along at the military camp which provided great guffaws at my house. First, Dan couldn’t correctly wrap his feet with fabric like a good Russian soldier should. “Neit, neit, neit,” the supervisor kept saying. The boys decided to ditch the marching and headed off to serve borscht to the 75 waiting soldiers. Once they found out they had to wear the uniforms to serve soup, it was back to the marching.

That was a bad idea. Andrew couldn’t march to save his life. I was rolling on the floor and my sides hurt from watching him. I like this guy. Even the Russian soldiers were laughing hard at watching them. To his credit, and to Dan’s, they got a kick out of themselves as much as the soldiers did. Back they went to serve the soup. Despite their abysmal luck with tasks, they looked like they were having a great time. They also seemed to be off of their bickering from the last episode.

Once teams finished marching like a soldier or serving watery borscht, they were off to find the town Zhukovsky and the Zhukovsky Bakery. At the bakery, one member had to move 50 sacks of 55-pound sacks of flour from the back of a tractor trailer to the bakery floor. Ken was able to plow on through this task. Once Andrew showed up, he happily kicked with this task as well. Dallas, although keeping his team’s lead, struggled. Nick struggled even more so. No one pulled out their backs. I was anticipating that. Once the flour sacks were moved, it was off to the Pit Stop at Neskuchny Sad Park. As Phil pointed out during some of his descriptions of Moscow, the city is filled with beautiful parks.

Who Won: Toni & Dallas were able to keep their lead and arrived at the Pit Stop first. Finally, a team other than Nick & Starr won a round.

What Toni and Dallas won: A trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Who lost: No one. This was another non-elimination round. After all the laughs at Andrew & Dan’s expense, I’m happy they stayed in the race for at least one more week.These two said they are fine with their underdog status.

That’s a good thing. If they win this race, it will be the biggest comeback ever. It’s a long shot. They have a speed bump to do and absolutely no money because they gave all they had to the taxi driver who dropped them off at the park. If they are still in Moscow next week, I say they are in big trouble. If they head to a new country, they receive more money. As they said, they need a miracle.