What do you need for breakfast on the road?

by Catherine Bodry on

I’m a big fan of breakfast – a big Western breakfast, with eggs and bacon and toast and coffee. And my friend once pointed out after we emerged from our guesthouse in Nha Trang, Vietnam at 4pm after a wild Halloween night that no matter what time of day it is, I need to eat breakfast-y food for my first meal.

When I researched Thailand for Lonely Planet last fall, I ate Thai all the time despite the availability of Western food in tourist towns – except for breakfast. The one or two times I actually craved a Thai breakfast (a savory bowl of rice soup with meat) made me feel that I was finally getting under the skin of the country. I mentioned my need for eggs and toast to another traveler, who said it was that way for many other travelers she knew.

How about you, reader-traveler? Does your body crave the protein, carbs, and salt from eggs, toast, and bacon (or whatever your particular breakfast favorite is), or are you able to dive into the country’s breakfast you’re visiting?

Amazing North Korea trip deal: Arirang for $1,000!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Koryo Tours is offering the least expensive North Korea travel deal I’ve ever seen. Granted, there aren’t many tours to this corner of the world, so there can’t be too many discounts. But, even in this limited field, a $1,000 jaunt to the most isolated country in the world is an incredible find.

For this low price, you can spend three days in North Korea in August (departing from and returning to Beijing). The price of the package includes flights, accommodations, guides, entry fees and the other basics of getting into and out of Pyongyang. You’ll also get two chances to see Arirang – the Mass Games – and a tour of the country’s capital, including the Juche Tower, Kim Il Sung Square and the Pyongyang Metro. Meals are also covered.

The trip runs from August 27 – 29, 2009, with the last date to book August 17, 2009. Students, children and groups of at least three are also eligible for discounts. And, Americans are allowed to take the trip.

There has been nothing like this deal, and the odds of it being offered again are rare. This could be the best chance you have to go to North Korea.

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Slum tours in Jakarta now operating

by Stephen Greenwood on

An Indonesian tour operator, is now offering tourists the chance to see the ‘other’ side of Jakarta – a side tucked away from the sprawling shopping malls and 5-star hotels.

Jakarta Hidden Tours is advertising 3 different separate routes through the slums, allowing you to “explore Jakarta with a local and see how the majority of people live, work and raise their kids”.

“Poverty tourism” has come into the spotlight since the release of Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire.

Robert Finlayson, from Volunteering for International Development from Australia, helps run the tours and believes that the tours help social understanding. “Guilt is like pity, it stops you from seeing people as they actually are,” Finlayson was reported as saying. “What we wanted to say is…People are the same all over the world.”

Head of the Jakarta Urban Poor Consortium advocacy group, Wardah Hafidz, disagrees. “”It creates more problems for us than it helps,” Ms Hafidz said. “If you come with money then it’s a complete language of money. It doesn’t develop the understanding that they (the slum dwellers) are powerful, that they can help themselves.”

What do you think? Should tourists support this type of travel?
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[via AFP]

Great American Road Trip 2009: The fly and drive combo New Mexico to Montana and back

by Jamie Rhein on

For the past seven summers, ever since we moved back from India, we’ve embarked on a Great American Road Trip. The first was the mega version that put 10,000 miles on a new Ford Taurus station wagon in three months. Mind you, this was in 2003 with a 10 year-old and a 1 ½ year old-and without video games, computers or a DVD player.

This year’s version is a fly drive combo. Three months for tootling around between the Atlantic and Pacific is harder to come by-three weeks, doable. Without a burning desire to drive through the Midwest to get to Montana from Ohio like last year when I waxed poetic about Wisconsin’s cheese curds, we flew on Northwest Airlines (aka Delta) over those endless corn and soybean fields to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sure Albuquerque is no where near Montana, our main destination, but there’s a reason for the detour.

I used to live in Albuquerque. So did my husband. Between us, we have loads of friends we haven’t seen since that first road trip. Besides, Albuquerque is a budget destination with cheap flights to get there and inexpensive car rentals for heading out on the open road IF you rent away from the airport (more on that later).

When planning a Great American Road Trip, I highly recommend the fly then drive option. One year we flew to Denver and drove to Montana. Another year we flew to Seattle. With a limited time frame, the flight cuts out the parts you don’t necessarily want to see and provides the time to see those places that you do. If you’re going to be renting a car when you reach your main destination, why not head a few states away for the opportunity to explore the bounties in between?

For us the bounties might be a national park, the largest metal sculptures in the world, a mom and pop restaurant with regional food, or a town that a highway bypassed. Sometimes we know where we’ll stop before we head out, or one of us notices a point on a map and says, “Let’s stop here.”

In the next few weeks, as we’re traveling in a Toyota Sienna van through New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Montana, where the landscape and people have a flavor so unique I could return again and again, I’ll fill you in on the places we’ve stopped and give some Great American Road Trip how-to suggestions.

We passed by Arches National Park a week ago. It’s been a busy week. Stay tuned. Ghost towns, neon and great eats on the way.

[The first photo was taken two years ago at the parade at Flint Creek Valley Days in Philipsburg, Montana where I am now. The second photo was taken last year at the pheasant family sculpture, part of the Enchanted Highway, on the way to Regent, North Dakota.]

Dim Sum Dialogues: Planes, Trams, & Automatic Doors

by Stephen Greenwood on

This is a continuation of yesterday’s column on the transportation of Hong Kong.

After seeing various Youtube videos of the infamous landing at Hong Kong’s now defunct Kai Tak Airport, I’m disappointed that I never had the chance to experience a 747 roaring over a narrow Kowloon street. But the beauty and convenience of Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok Airport make up for that disappointment, and have even earned it the first & second spots on international airport surveys for the past seven years.

For those of you that just can’t wait to throw your savings away at the Happy Valley Racecources, or blow it all in the numerous shopping malls of Hong Kong – the fastest and easiest way (but most costly – $13 USD) to get to the heart of the city is on the MTR’s Airport Express. Covering 35km in just 24 minutes, the trains depart every 12 minutes to the remote airport and convention center. If “investing” your money at the roulette tables of Macau is more to your liking, you don’t even have to officially enter the territory – a direct ferry terminal is situated before immigration in the airport for arriving passengers. The transit system was designed to be tourist-friendly, so there are plenty of accessible options.
Once you get settled inside the city, the MTR remains the most efficient way to get from end to end, or to cross under Victoria Harbor between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon side. But as any well-traveled soul will tell you, the scenic route is often the best – and the Star Ferry offers some of the most enjoyable views of the city at the right price. For roughly USD 25¢, you can ride between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui – a service that has been operating since the 1870’s. The Star Ferry has become a major icon in Hong Kong, so much so that people often rent out ferries for a day to host private events, weddings, and dances on. For USD $500 to $700 for the day, it might not be the most luxurious cruise that you can take on the harbor – so I’d recommend sticking to the regular fare.

However, if the idea of hosting a party on public transport still appeals to you, look no further than HK Tramways. The Hong Kong tram system has been serving the city for over 100 years, with narrow double-decker tramcars running on overhead electric cables through the busiest areas of Hong Kong Island. When the expansion of the MTR threatened to make the tramways redundant, the public concluded to keep the service active because of it’s low fares and frequent stops on popular routes in the city. In my opinion, it is by far the most fun way to travel in Hong Kong. I guarantee that the views from the upper deck combined with the smells and sounds of the markets of Central will keep you entertained for your entire journey. If it doesn’t, I’ll personally mail you the 25¢ you spent on the journey. After you’ve sampled it (and fallen in love with it), get 25 of your HK friends to rent out a tram for USD $150 an hour and party your way through the city. Don’t get too distracted when you pass by Wan Chai though, the private trams run in a full loop that last from 2 hours to 3.5 hours.

Finally, if you refuse to take public transport, or the rain threatens to ruin that new designer item from Lane Crawford, Hong Kong taxis are remarkably cheap and easy to come by. Now I haven’t traveled anywhere in Asia, so this might just be my naivité here – but the taxis in Hong Kong have an amazing feature that I can’t believe doesn’t exist anywhere else (I’m sure it does, so readers help me out) – the back doors open automatically. The driver pulls up to your spot on the sidewalk, pulls a lever and bam – the door is open and ready for you to get in. Genius. Don’t worry about closing it on your way out either, because the driver has that covered too. On average, USD $15 will easily get you from one end of the major urban area to the other – with average city center cab rides being $5. Another reason I don’t particularly miss Los Angeles.

There you have it – the major travel methods in Hong Kong. Now that you (roughly) know how to get around, I’ll be taking you deeper into the destinations and traditions of this eclectic city. If you have specific questions about how to get around, or want to know more about the methods covered here – feel free to leave comments below.