Beijing tackles trash stench with 100 deodorant guns

by Scott Carmichael on

Fed up with the smell from their largest trash dump, municipal authorities in Beijing are installing 100 deodorant guns aimed to reduce the stench.

The guns can spray about ten gallons of deodorizing liquid up to 175 feet away, but there is no information on what scents will be used. The Beijing landfills are overflowing beyond capacity due to public opposition of 6 incinerator facilities that had been scheduled to open as early as 2007.

Recycling programs are still very rare in the city, and even projects that do sort their trash end up combining the sorted sources once they reach the dumps.

Part of the growing trash problem is being blamed on the “Western lifestyle” adopted by many Chinese, and the move to a more “throwaway culture”.

Now, can someone please develop a deodorizing gun that I can use when I’m sitting next to someone on an airplane who has no sense of smell (or hygiene)?

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Kathmandu busy as climbers and trekkers descend on the Himalaya

by Kraig Becker on

Late March and early April are always a very busy time in Kathmandu as spring finally arrives, granting mountaineers and trekkers access to the Himalaya at last. The city is generally crowded, colorful, and chaotic to begin with, but when the spring climbing and trekking seasons begin, that chaos is taken to another level. Most will only be in town for a brief stay, while they collect their required permits and gear and head out to their various mountain destinations in preparation for their adventures ahead.

Of course, Mt. Everest is one of the top draws for adventure travelers heading to both Nepal and Tibet this time of year. As of this writing, China has once again closed Tibet to visitors, although that is expected to change in the next few days. Once access to the region is restored, mountaineers will travel to Everest’s North Side, officially kicking off the climbing season there, which will run into early June, when the monsoon returns.

On the Nepali side of the mountain, it is business as usual, with regular flights to Lukla already in full swing. The mountain village serves as the gateway to the Khumbu Valley, which in turn gives access to Everest itself. Climbers who are taking on the mountain from the South Side must first make a ten day trek to Base Camp, where teams of Sherpas have been busy preparing for the their arrival for over a week now. Reportedly, poor weather prevented a number of flights from getting out of Kathmandu, over the weekend, but things have improved now, and the regular shuttles are back on schedule.

The route to BC is a popular one with trekkers as well, and although they’ll never stand on the summit of the 29,035 foot tall Everest themselves, they still enjoy the challenges of hiking through the Himalaya. Along the way, they’ll stay in rustic tea houses and experience Sherpa culture first hand, while basking in some of the most breathtaking (literally and figuratively) scenery found anywhere on the planet.

While Everest may be the most famous mountain in the Himalaya, it is hardly the only attraction that draws climbers and trekkers to Nepal. The Annapurna Circuit is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, trekking route in the world, and it attracts its fair share of backpackers as well. This trek runs around the amazing Annapurna Massif, which includes six major peaks, each of which is at least 7200 meters in height. The crown jewel of those peaks is Annapurna I, the 10th highest mountain in the world at 26,545 feet, and one of the toughest to climb as well.

The hustle and bustle of Kathmandu will continue for the next couple of months, with travelers coming and going. Most trekkers will hang around the region for two to three weeks, while the climbers will stay put for as much as two and a half months. Right now, more than any other place on the planet, adventure is in the air in the Himalaya and for travelers that make the trip, the rewards are endless.

Professional honeymooners: dream job or nightmare?

by Laurel Miller on

Does a half-year working honeymoon sound like your idea of a dream job? If so, you might want to contact RunawayBrideandGroom.com, an Irish travel agency catering to destination weddings and honeymoons.

But wait- there’s more! You’ll also be paid 20,000 euros (about $27,000). “The Ultimate Job” is the latest in a series of promotions designed to capture the public imagination and serve as a “brilliant” marketing tool for people and places. The idea was inspired by last year’s blockbuster “Best Job in the World” campaign in Australia.

Winners will travel the globe for six months, and get paid to test out the most romantic wedding and honeymoon destinations around the world. More than 1,000 couples have already applied for the chance to be sent to resorts in Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States. You don’t have to be Irish to apply, but you do have to tout Ireland as part of the process.

Hopefuls have until April 7 to apply for the “horrendous assignment” — as the company teasingly calls it (hee.) — which starts mid-May. B.Y.O. Viagra and UTI medicine.

The winners will be asked to blog about their experiences a few times a week, “when they can get out of the hammock after sipping a glass of champagne,” says Rosemarie Meleady, managing director of RunawayBrideandGroom.com. Assuming they stay sober long enough, they must also write for The Irish Times once a month.

While 182.5 days of globetrotting is a dream job for many (mainly real travel writers), it would still test the limits of even the most solid of couples. Here’s hoping the company also throws in a good divorce lawyer.

One for the Road: Carl Hoffman’s “Lunatic Express”

by Catherine Bodry on
Looking for escape and adventure, Carl Hoffman embarked on a journey to ride some of the world’s most dangerous transport, a trip that he recounts in his new book “Lunatic Express: Discovering the world… Via Its Most Dangerous Buses, Boat, Trains, and Planes” (Broadway Books). A bus through a mountain pass in South America, a crowded ship in South Asia, or an airplane in the Congo – if it had a high rate of fatal accidents, Hoffman sought it out and hopped on.

Though he uses the framework of “danger” as a hook, Hoffman’s story is less about safety and more about the human connections he makes as he chooses the type of transport almost no other traveler will. It’s no coincidence that the riskiest rides are also the cheapest, and he is pleased to discover that he connects to “a whole river of people on the move” – people for whom travel is a necessity instead of a holiday. Rather than danger, Hoffman encounters incredible discomfort; instead of being mugged, he finds he is protected by seatmates, shipmates, and new friends who are curious about his presence among them. In fact, his scariest situation is in Afghanistan, a war zone. There, it’s not simply transport that is dangerous, but his very presence in the country.

His exploration becomes, like so much travel, a search for authenticity and an examination of his own motivations. As a fan of second- (but not third-) class transport, I appreciate Hoffman’s experience off of the tourist trail (even when he’s technically on the tourist trail). He writes, “here, on these buses, I was anywhere but at the end of the earth; I felt right smack in its crowded heart.” This experience is where the value in his book lies.

His use of danger as the structure for his travels yields a fortunate, if not entirely unexpected result: the relationships he forms when crammed into the world’s lowest-class transport, which most travelers can afford to skip.

Travel often provides a clearer picture of the place we come from rather than the place we are visiting, and therefore it’s fitting that Hoffman’s most telling leg of the journey is the home stretch – a cross-country trip on a Greyhound bus from California to Washington DC. Dangerous? Hardly. Uncomfortable? Definitely. But the discomfort of a Greyhound bus, where seats are assigned, the roads are some of the best in the world, and there’s nary a chicken clucking from a box in the aisle, is an altogether different kind of discomfort than he experienced previously. In keeping with the “danger” theme, Hoffman dutifully mentions a recent beheading on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba, but true danger is absent in his trek. Instead, the sweaty, stinking, and seething mass of humanity in the developing world is replaced by the soulless, depressing experience of America’s penniless. Comparing the generosity and curiosity he witnessed in underdeveloped countries to his encounters with American counterparts, Hoffman writes, “we were a bus of lost souls in a country that itself seemed without a soul.” Gone is the fresh, bus station food, the kiosks replaced by “vending machines full of Snickers and Fritos and twenty-ounce blue energy drinks.” Everything, not just his traveling companions, feels empty back home.

Hoffman ends his journey as we all will at some point: alone. Though his words claim otherwise, Hoffman hints at the loneliness of the solo and long-term traveler, arriving to an empty apartment, unable to maintain his relationships, disoriented. He concludes tidily, happily even, though I wonder at his ability to ignore his travel addiction for long.

South by Southeast: Coming home

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Long-term travel forces us to face our fears. Whether it’s eating something unfamiliar or visiting a place that scares us, we’re forced to rely on our wits and abilities in ways we never thought possible. But of all the daring activities that occur during a long trip, none is more frightening than the simple act of returning home.

After spending five months on the road in Southeast Asia, it’s a dilemma I’ve faced as the days and hours counted down to my return. Much like the forces of gravity, the best-laid plans and biggest travel budgets are eventually laid bare, pulled back to earth by the relentless tug of reality. How will your friends and family react to your adventures? Will they care? Is there a job waiting for you, or will you need to look for work? The answers to these questions don’t come easy.

But the end of a life-changing trip doesn’t mean your journey is over. There are ways to translate the lessons of travel into a new way of life. How do we use an amazing adventure to change our lives at home for the better? Keep reading below…Save time to reflect
The minute you step off the airplane at home, the assault begins. Friends and family will unexpectedly show up, wanting to hear about your crazy travels. There will be a huge stack of bills to open. You’ll probably need a new place to live that isn’t a $5/night hostel. In other words, the realities of home will demand your attention.

Before the ritual of daily life sets in, it’s important you set aside time for reflection on your trip. What made you the happiest? Did you have an experience that’s made you think differently about the world? Without this reflection, it’s difficult to translate the experience of travel into new behavior.

Go easy on the stories
Dude, did I tell you about the time I was rock-climbing with endangered spider monkeys in the jungles of Laos? Everyone is going to want to hear about your trip when you return, but there’s a difference between sharing your stories and bragging. No matter how many amazing adventures you had, resist the urge to share everything and anything. Your friends and family are genuinely interested in what you did, but their eyes will glaze over after too many tales. Keep a few of your favorite experiences just for yourself.

See the world with “travel eyes”
Remember that first moment you stepped outside in a new place? It was like being a newborn, thrilled by an alien world of strange stimuli waiting to be explored. Why doesn’t that happen when we come back? By instinct, our brains tune out the familiar – resist the urge to “tune out” when you come back. Try to look at home the way you looked at your trip – as a world of new experiences, people and places that are dying to uncovered.

Don’t fall into old habits
Taking a long-term trip is like going through a time machine. You’ll come home a different person than when you left, but the people and places left behind are still the same. Before you get too cozy, don’t forget what you learned. Maybe you want to change your career. Maybe you’ve discovered a new activity or skill you want to develop. If you don’t make it a priority, then nobody else will – take the initiative to incorporate your travel experience into life at home.

Don’t expect travel to change you
Books like On the Road and movies like The Beach condition us to believe travel is a “transformative” act. Except it’s not always true. Sometimes an amazing trip is simply that and nothing more. Despite everything I mentioned above, you might come home and realize you like your life the way it is. Be satisfied with the accomplishments of what you’ve done and leave it at that.

After more than five months and nine passport stamps in Southeast Asia, I’ve had the privilege to experience a region in flux. But it’s time to return home. Southeast Asia isn’t always a non-stop exotic adventure. But neither is it a place that’s been sanitized and homogenized, lost to the “tourist hordes.” The truth instead, is somewhere in between. Much like our greatest travel fantasies, it’s region that becomes whatever we want it to be. Remember, wherever life or your travels take you, make sure you chart a course “South by Southeast.”

Gadling writer Jeremy Kressmann just got home after five months in Southeast Asia. He’s excited to be back, eating cheese again and looking forward to catching up with family and friends. You can read all the posts from his adventures “South by Southeast” HERE.