Noisiest places in the world

by Jamie Rhein on

The noisiest city I have been to is Athens–at least what I remember. I’m basing this on a fuzzy memory of an experience crammed onto a bus thinking that the people around me were angry, bit finally decided that they were having a chat and had to raise their voices to be heard above the din of the traffic. That was one bustling place, and I’ve lived in New Delhi.

There’s an article in the New York Times about how noisy Cairo is these days. It’s so noisy with horn honking and teaming people, as a matter of fact, that it’s like living in a factory. If you know anyone who has worked around machinery for a lifetime, think about how often the word “WHAT?!” comes up. Just a tad.

Where else has noise? I found a Web site, “hear-it ” that cites Spain as the country with the most noise and the second loudest country is Japan.

According to The Hearing Journal, San Francisco is the loudest city in the United States beating out New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The quietest city is Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

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The 10 World’s Dirtiest Cities!

Photo of the Day (04/14/08)

by Iva Skoch on

Here it is in all its bare, cold and smoking beauty. A volcanic version of Marlene Dietrich, taylor-made for black and white imagery: Mount Bromo in Java, Indonesia.

This stunning photo was shot by everything-everywhere a little after sunrise, while it was “very overcast and the clouds were very low in the caldera.”

A little after sunrise? Is that the trick to good pictures? Does one have to get up early to become a good photographer? What a downer.

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr Pool and post it. Make sure it is not copyrighted, otherwise we can’t post it here.***

Kashmir to rebrand itself as a golf destination

by Iva Skoch on

Kashmir probably does not evoke emotions of vacationing and relaxation in most people. After 18 years of militant violence, Kashmir wants to rebrand themselves from a heavily militarized Himalayan region to a global golfing destination.

According to this article in the NY Times, Kashmir’s government believes that golf will attract tourists who spend more than the penny-pinching backpackers who still come to trek in the mountains and stay on Srinagar’s latticed wooden houseboats. The state is spending $6.2 million to build a golf course in the winter capital, Jammu, to be completed later in the year, the fifth course in the region, and an international airport is scheduled to open in the summer.

My question is, Is there a country out there, which is supposedly not a golf destination nowadays?

Indonesian masseuses told to padlock pants

by Catherine Bodry on

Is Indonesia reverting to the era of chastity belts? The country recently implemented a policy requiring its female masseuses to wear padlocks on their trousers.

We all know that for some folks, visiting a massage parlor means they’re getting a whole lot more than a back rub. There are specific institutions that cater to these types of customers and I’m certain that those particular “massage therapists” didn’t put in 500 hours and get their massage licenses. Working out the kinks in your back isn’t their specialty.

So it seems to me that putting a padlock on the masseuses’ pants isn’t really solving the masseuse-as-prostitute problem, and, as the State Minister for Women’s Empowerment Meuthia Hatta pointed out, it makes the masseuse appear to be in the wrong, not the customer.

What do you think?

US pilots jump ship; love Emirates

by Iva Skoch on

I had no idea US pilots were leaving the country in droves. I guess it makes sense. All the bankruptcies in the US airline business, pay cuts, frozen pensions, eroded job security and increases in monthly flight hours are not exactly benefits of the job.

This Time article, titled International Departures, describes the mood among pilots working in the US as not exactly filled with motivation. Many US pilots have already switched to working for international carriers, where they can still be treated like “upper-level managers, with something they feel has long been missing in the US: respect.”

Dubai-based Emirates, for example, expects to hire 540 pilots this year. Half the applicants are Americans, compared with just 7% of its current pilots. Over the past four years, over 100 US pilots have been lured by Emirates and their generous benefits package, including over 40 days of vacation and guaranteed annual raises.

I wonder what Kent will say about this trend. Any insights?