Travel Warnings for Americans

by Iva Skoch on

Not that I regularly browse these kinds of Web sites but the U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory Web site actually has some handy information, for example the countries for which Americans have visa requirements.

Among other things, they publish a list of countries with “travel warnings” for Americans. Those countries currently are:

  • Afghanistan
  • Algeria
  • Chad
  • Colombia
  • Congo
  • East Timor
  • Eritrea
  • Indonesia
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Israel
  • Kenya
  • Lebanon
  • Nepal
  • Nigeria
  • Pakistan
  • Philippines
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Somalia
  • Sudan
  • Syria
  • Uzbekistan
  • Yemen
  • France (just kidding)

Thin Green Line

by Erik Olsen on

I go on and on here about how much I love our country’s national parks. I don’t have a particular fondness for the National Park Service’s parent agency, The Department of the Interior (where I worked for two years and which, under the Bush administration has become, according to some, a wretched hive of scum and villainy). But the real people who make the National Park Service run are the rangers, the guys who are on the ground, taking care of the parks and making sure that visitors are both safe and educated about the value of the parks.

Well this may come as a surprise, but lots of other countries have national parks as well. And they have rangers too! Fancy that. And as you might imagine, each of these rangers has a story to tell. And what better way to bring that story to you, dear consumer of visual media, than through a movie.

And so, starting its grand unveiling today a new movie called The Thin Green Line is Out to tell the stories of rangers around the globe. From parks in Africa and Australia to those right here at home, the film is an epic document about how those people on the ground, are taking care of these vital resources. It’s an appropriate day to do this, by the way, because today is World Ranger Day, easily Yogi Bear’s most favorite day of the year…after World Honey Day, of course. Oh, and National Picnic Basket Day.

So take the time to head to a park this summer, and shake hands with a ranger.

Gay.com’s Travel Gaydar: Top 10 Destinations

by Iva Skoch on

Apparently, San Francisco, Key West and New Orleans’ glory has long passed. Now, if you are a) gay and b) hip, you head over to Buenos Aires to party.

“Fed up with following the well-trod lavender road to the end of that boring old rainbow?” Gay.com asks. Here is a list of Top 10 destinations:

  1. Buenos Aires, Argentina
  2. Melbourne, Australia
  3. Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
  4. Hong Kong, China
  5. Cape Town, South Africa
  6. New York, NY, USA
  7. Berlin, Germany
  8. San Diego, CA, USA
  9. Philadelphia, PA, USA
  10. Toronto, Canada

And a few extra on their “gaydar”: Toronto, Rio de Janeiro, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Lisbon.

If travel is anything like real estate, I say follow the gays!

On the Road, Cold Coffee Is a Good Thing

by Iva Skoch on

Struggling to find a good cup of coffee while traveling to remote areas? There is hope for us!

I am a huge iced-coffee fan in the summer time. A friend recently introduced me to a great new thing: cold-pressed coffee. Instead of using hot water and adding ice cubes (often impossible when traveling), you simply mix ground coffee with cold water (and let sit overnight). Guess what – it tastes great and it is noticeably less bitter than regular brewed coffee. Next time I travel, I am packing ground coffee.

NY Times recipe: Cold-Brewed ICED COFFEE

Time: 5 minutes, plus 12 hours’ resting

1/3 cup ground coffee (medium-coarse grind is best) Milk (optional).

  1. In a jar, stir together coffee and 1 1/2 cups cold water. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.

  2. Strain twice through a coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve or a sieve lined with cheesecloth. In a tall glass filled with ice (opt.), mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste. If desired, add milk.

Yield: Two drinks.

(NOTE: To make hot coffee, dilute concentrate one-to-one with water and heat in the microwave.)

Travel Writer Found Dead in China

by Iva Skoch on

Bad news from the travel world today.

Clem Lindenmayer, 47, a seasoned Lonely Planet writer, was reported missing three months ago, after he had set out to climb Mount Gongga, in a remote area of south-west China. Last Thursday, villagers had found his dead body on a mountainside 4,600m (some 13,000ft) above sea level, The Independent reports.

Mr Lindenmayer was from Melbourne and spoke Mandarin, German and Spanish. He had helped to update guides to China, Malaysia, Germany and Sweden. Lonely Planet said he had “developed a special affection for the Swiss Alps”. He was an experienced hiker, author of Trekking in the Patagonian Andes, published in 2003, and Walking in Switzerland.