Golf With a Twist

by Erik Olsen on

I’m not much of a golfer. Most of my friends can attest to that. I’m not horrible, it’s just that I’ve never really mastered the driver, a rather important part of the game. Also, when it comes to being outside, I much prefer hiking or kayaking to hitting a little white ball around a nicely manicured lawn.

But if golf’s your thing, AND you want to add a dose of adventure to the game, you might be interested in a show called Adventure Golf. The program follows around an amateur golfer named Ian Cross as he plays courses in Dubai, Japan, South Africa, Scotland, and Florida. After the round, he takes viewers around the local environs and shows them (one would guess) all the lovely poverty (except in Dubai) that skirts the course.

Budget Asian Airlines

by Neil Woodburn on

There has been quite a bit written lately about the rash of low-fare air carriers in Europe. But what about Asia?

Are some of those same great deals available to travelers hopping around China, Singapore, Thailand, India and other parts of the Orient?

You bet!

National Geographic Traveler has thoughtfully printed a one-page resource for cheap airlines servicing this part of the world. You won’t find any of them included in your Expedia or Kayak searches so spend a moment to familiarize yourself with what’s out there.

Just to whet your appetite, consider Air Deccan. This Bangalore based airline sells seats for as low as $11 to some 33 cities across India. Or, there’s Nok Air which offers domestic flights throughout Thailand for only $28 one way. Man! I sure wish Nok Air existed a few years ago when I spent far too many hours on uncomfortable busses tooling around the south of the country.

Word for the Travel Wise (09/16/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Not much time to point out exotic foreign affairs or make cutesy conversation about the country or word of choice so as a courtesy I will provide you with two words today. That’s what you’re reading this for anyway – right? Besides, I make up the rules.

Today’s word is a Sinhala word used in Sri Lanka:

purusha – men
sthree – women

English is spoken by ten percent of the population and Sinhala is the official and national language of the country. I’ve actually never tried to learn this one much, but judging from the alphabet it looks like a challenge. Omniglot has a great starter page on learning all the characters and use of this English to Sinhala dictionary could slowly help in distinguishing common travel words. Let’s Speak Sinhala offers lessons at a very small and reasonable fee. They appear to be one of the better Sinhala language learning websites.

Past Sinhala words: hari shook, a da, ga ma, ida netu

Photo of the Day (9/16/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on


Today’s shot comes out of Japan from vyxle. I’ve always been a fan of food and beverage shots. They give you a sense of place without even seeing the place. No sumo wrestlers, no geisha, no temples, or dizzying shots from a Tokyo karaoke bar. Just the Lemon drink bottles with a little bit of English and a little bit of Japanese.

Very cool and from the Gadling Flickr pool. Upload your own shots for a chance at the POTD.

Triptie

by Erik Olsen on

Another interesting concept in the Web 2.0 world of travel-related sites. Here is a site called Triptie that, as they put it seeks to create an “online community of travelers, all devoted to planning and sharing their trips.” The idea is that you become a member and go to the site and plan and upload your itinerary. Others have done the same, thus creating a kind of community of itineraries that, one assumes compiles a list of the best places to go, things to see, places to stay and eat etc. Sort of a take off on Amazon’s “people who bought XXX book also bought YYY book. That is, the presumption is that the brains and decisions of multiple travelers is better than those of a single traveler. Very Web 2.0, as i said. I have to say it looks intriguing. The site is in beta, but if you want to learn more, there is a nifty video that helps explain the concept further.