Locked Up Abroad new season starts Wednesday

by Chris Owen on

When traveling outside of your home country, experts advise being concerned about political unrest, weather-related events or just the good old criminal activity that can take place anywhere. The National Geographic Channel series that premieres Wednesday night, takes travelers inside what should be one of their worst nightmares as they are Locked Up Abroad.

Originally titled Banged Up Abroad in 2006, the British documentary/docudrama has gone all over the planet recreating stories of travelers arrested and thrown in jail. Fans of the show know skipping that urge to smuggle drugs in or out of a country will go a long way to keeping them out of jail.

Focusing on the events that led up to their arrest, each episode reconstructs a real-life story of otherwise ordinary travelers who get on the wrong side of the law in a foreign land.

The season opener returns to Thailand where NATGEOTV tells us:

“Tim Schrader left his life in Australia to work as an English teacher in Bangkok. While he loved teaching, he was struggling financially and agreed to smuggle between 4 and 8 kilos of heroin for $10,000. Caught by Thai customs officers with more than a hundred times the amount of heroin needed to secure a death sentence, he knew he was finished. But his life changed again when, more than five years after his arrest, Tim received a royal pardon on medical grounds and was free to fly home.”

Want to get warmed up for the season opener? Start with GadlingTV’s Travel Talk – Thailand Part 1: The First 48 Hours, one of our favorites.

The all new season of Locked Up Abroad premieres Wednesday at 8PM Eastern time. A new Locked Up Abroad iPhone App has behind-the-scenes details about episodes and updates on the new season. Watch videos, test survival IQ, and interact with other fans through Twitter and Facebook.

Flickr photo by puuikibeach

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VIDEO: Istanbul in 1967

by Meg Nesterov on


As an expat in Istanbul, I enjoy seeing anything Turkey-related, and this vintage video of the former Constantinople is especially fun to see. Narrated by a droll British commentator, you travel over and around Istanbul, checking out some of the big sights such as Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque, as well as life on the Bosphorus before the bridges were constructed to provide alternate access between the European and Asian sides of the city. Not too much has changed in 45 years, though the traffic seems lighter and the city less crowded than with today’s populate of 13 million (or perhaps more) people. I’d like to say that the Galata Bridge is no longer a “man’s world,” but fishing is still mostly men-only even if women are not only “veiled or hidden away”.

They do miss out on some correct terminology: the “different and delightful” bread ring is a simit, best accompanied by some Turkish cheese or with a full breakfast spread. The “hubble bubble pipe” is a nargile, found at many cafes and bars around the city and savored with a hot glass of çay (only tourists drink the apple stuff) or a cold Efes (if your nargile bar happens to serve alcohol). Barbeque remains a national pastime of the Turks and yes, “any old tin” will do. As in 1967, Istanbul is still the place to savor a fish sandwich fresh from the water, hop on a ferry between continents, and admire your newly shined shoes.

Travel to Japan returning to normal, slowly

by Chris Owen on

In the wake of the major earthquake and resulting tsunami that hit Japan in March, travel disruptions were fueled by a rising death toll, fear of a nuclear disaster plus travel warnings issued worldwide. Now, just a few months later, flights, tours and cruises are returning to normal scheduling.

“We are confident of returning the capacity to full level on July 1” Japan Airlines President Masaru Onishi told the Mainichi Daily News today noting that business travel in Japan has rebounded and Japanese tourists have also resumed making overseas trips following a drop-off after the disaster.
Passenger bookings had fallen nearly 30 percent in March, and were still down by about 20 percent for international routes and 15 percent on domestic routes in April.

Cruise lines are returning too with Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas set to be back calling in Okinawa on August 1st.

“Judging from the current situation in Japan, we are well-assured of the safety of travelling to Japan. Japan has always been an attractive tourist destination and its show of great resilience in the face of the recent crisis has given travelers the confidence to visit the country again,” said Kelvin Tan, regional director Asia Pacific, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

It looks to be a long road to “business as usual” in Japan. The US Department of State downgraded a Travel Warning just after the disaster to a Travel Alert recently, signaling an improvement in conditions but still urges caution:

“Japan is one of the most seismically active places in the world. Tokyo and areas to the Northeast continue to experience strong aftershocks related to the March 11 earthquake. Aftershocks following an earthquake of this magnitude can be expected to continue for more than a year. Identifying potential hazards ahead of time and advance planning can reduce the dangers of serious injury or loss of life from an earthquake” the Department of State notes in their most current analysis.

Photo courtesy Royal Caribbean International

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Photo of the Day – Temple of Heaven

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Today’s photo, taken by Flickr user toffiloff, transports us to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China. The photographer’s perspective, gazing up from the bottom of the stairs at the magnificent Taoist structure, seems to reinforce the building’s spiritual force. A solitary bird in the upper right of the image, floating gently in the breeze, adds an additional layer of visual interest.

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

Photo of the Day- Rainbow Bridge

by Chris Owen on

Today’s Photo of the Day of Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo, Japan, at night. comes from Flickr user Marc-André Mireault who captions “The rainbow does not really come fro the bridge itself, but from the colourful boats in front of it!”

Do you have an image you would like to share with us? Upload it to the Flickr Gadling group pool. If we like your image we might just pick it to be a future Photo of the Day.

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