Does food play a role in where you decide to take your vacation? For those interested in taking a delicious trip, Hotels.com surveyed 27,000 international travelers to find out what they believed the best destinations for cuisine were.
According to news.com.au, 32% of respondents said Italy had the best food because of its mouth-watering pizza, pasta and gelato. France, the country of baguettes and pastries, came in second with 24% of the votes. And, in third place with 18% of the votes was Japan with their sashimi, sushi and tempura. Next came mainland China, followed by Spain, the United States, Mexico, Thailand, Taiwan and India.
When the survey analyzed American’s food and travel habits, they found that:
On average, Americans spend 25% to 49% of their daily budget on food when traveling abroad
Americans believed the top three places for food on a budget were the United States, Italy and Mexico
Fifty-six percent of Americans named barbeque as the must-try dish when visiting the United States
Americans believe France is the number one destination for a posh dining experience
Americans named the United States, Italy and Germany as the best places to go for family dining
“Sampling the local cuisine when travelling can be such a rewarding experience and it’s no wonder it plays such a big part in the decision-making process for travellers,” Hotels.com spokeswoman Katherine Birch said.
The folks over at Laughing Squid manage to regularly expand the spectrum of cool information going into my brain. I thank them for that. A while back they posted a little piece about the droplet installation inside of Singapore‘s Changi Airport. Titled “Kinetic Rain,” the installation of 608 copper-plated droplets is jaw-dropping. These droplets emulate rain droplets and through computer-controlled motors in the ceiling, the droplets actually move like waves. Executed by the German art studio ART+COM, this airport attraction is wildly impressive. Take a look at the above video to glean more information about this beautiful airport art.
Who knew locals of one of the most world-renowned food destinations on Earth would go crazy over American burgers?
On July 24, an In-N-Out Burger pop-up restaurant opened in Singapore, lasting less than five minutes before they were completely sold out of patties. Originally scheduled to run from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., locals began lining up for the event at 9:30 a.m. By that time, 300 wristbands, which were necessary to claim one burger per person, had already been distributed.
According to CNNGo, the passionate response was due to the chain’s legacy of being “the” place to get great fast food. Even celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay admit to chowing down on their Animal Style burgers.
The first In-N-Out Burger opened in 1948 in Los Angeles, and has since spread to various locations around the western United States. However, after the response from the pop-up, In-N-Out Burger may want to consider opening a permanent shop in Singapore.
While many Westerners picture watermelon, daiquiris and ice cream when they think of summer, Tokyo gets excited for their traditional treat, broiled eel. In fact, they even have a special day to commemorate the dish, Unagi no Hi, also known as Midsummer Day of the Ox, or Eel Day.
The annual event, which takes place every year at the end of July, took place on Friday, July 27. Apparently, the high content of oil in the animal’s flesh can provide locals with enough energy to get them through the remaining hot summer days. On the holiday, locals will head to their favorite restaurant serving eel to order the dish.
According to CNNGo, a bucket of live eels is traditionally kept under the floorboards of the restaurant, until ordered by a patron. Then, the animal is sliced into filets and pierced with bamboo skewers. From there, they are lightly grilled over charcoal before being steamed to soften the meat and release the oils. Finally, the eel is placed back on the charcoals to broil some more while basting. This method is known as kabayaki, and has been employed since Tokyo was called Edo.
Unfortunately, Tokyo’s neighborhoods are changing, as are people’s tastes. Not only that, but the decrease in eel supplies and the rising price of the dish make this once common meal an occasional splurge. For your next trip, you may want to consider visiting Tokyo to taste the tradition before it’s too late.
As a sports fanatic and traveler who’s always been fascinated by the intersection of nationalism and sport, I never miss the Parade of Nations during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. It’s a little like a quick stroll around the world in that you get a look at athletes from 204 countries around the globe.
You can tell a lot about a country based on how their athletes dress and the way they carry themselves. It’s also a gas to listen to the broadcasters as they try to find something interesting to say about each country and their contingent. In case you missed the parade last night, here are some of the highlights and lowlights.
Borat Makes a Cameo- As the athletes from Kazakhstan made their way into the arena, I had a premonition that Bob Costas and Matt Lauer were going to say something about Borat and sure enough, they did, making reference to the fact that Borat’s version of the Kazakh anthem was played for a Kazakh athlete who won a gold medal at a shooting competition in Kuwait in March.
Andorra’s Old Geezer- Costas took comfort in noting that Joan Tomàs Roca, a 61-year-old sports shooter who served as Andorra’s flag bearer is a year older than he is. But I don’t think Roca’s had nearly as much work done.Coolest Hats- Congratulations to the Olympic contingent from Lesotho, which clearly had the best hats of the evening. Their conical, pointy bamboo hats made them look a bit like Vietnamese rice farmers.
Most Ridiculous Hats: The group from Belize was wearing the kind of hats you’d see on a carnival barker. Why?
Ignominious Distinction: As the athletes from poor Bangladesh entered the stadium, Costas informed American viewers that Bangladesh is the largest country never to win an Olympic medal as their athletes snapped photos and waved to the crowd. Woo-hoo! Now there’s something to shout about.
Most Colorful Robes- When the Cameroonian athletes were introduced, I nearly had to adjust my television set. They wore blinding, black and red robes with almost every color of the rainbow thrown in somewhere. An “A” for effort.
You Wore What? They were only on my screen for a matter of seconds, but I swear the Chilean contingent looked like extras from Zorro the Gay Blade.
Inane Commentary Part 1- Croatia’s flag bearer was a handball goalkeeper, prompting Matt Lauer to make one of the evening’s dumbest remarks.
“Handball – this is a sport that doesn’t have a great foothold in the U.S., but if you’re looking to get an Olympic medal, this would be a good sport to take up,” he said, seemingly at least half serious.
Right, the sport isn’t popular here, so go ahead and take it up, you’ll be sure to get an Olympic medal in it.
Um, We Have Nothing Whatsoever to Say About These Countries- Costas and Lauer had something to say about almost every country but in a few cases they just said the name of the country and nothing else. Surely, the Republic of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire and the other snubbed countries are seething this morning.
Smile!- I wasn’t surprised that the athletes from North Korea weren’t smiling, (you’d be grimacing if you lived there too) but why did the flag bearers from Cape Verde and Armenia look like they were ready to kill someone? I guess they had their game faces on.
A Dig on Badminton and the Danes- Costas introduced the Danish team by mentioning that they were the best non-Asian nation at Badminton. Hmmmm. That probably ranks right up there with being the best at table tennis, excluding the Chinese. And after that ignominious distinction, Costas couldn’t resist a dig at the sport writ large.
“And if you’re looking for badminton coverage, and who isn’t, you can find it on nbcolympics.com,” he said.
Nice Boots!- The Czech team was decked out in some snazzy bright blue rubber rain boots, in a nice dig at the notoriously crap English weather.
Please Drug Test the Independent Olympic Athletes Contingent- There were four “stateless” athletes who came out under the Independent Olympic Athletes grouping and they all clearly looked like they were on something. A blonde from The Netherlands Antilles was jumping around more than an extra in a House of Pain video.
Did George Washington Sire Any Children in Palau?- If anyone can explain to me why Palau’s flag bearer was wearing what appeared to be a colonial-era wig, please let me know in the comments section.
Give That Man a Meal- Mike Tebulo, a marathon runner who served as Malawi’s flag bearer looked like he weighs about 100 pounds. (And according to his bio, he’s actually 119 lbs!)
Coolest Headcovering- Zamzam Mohamed Farah, a track athlete who was Somalia’s flag bearer, wore a power blue head-covering with a big star on her forehead. Without knowing what the cultural significance of this outfit is, I can only say that I thought it was the most badass costume of the night.
Giving Nauru a Break- Lauer mentioned that Nauru had the smallest Olympic delegation but failed to mention that it’s the fattest country in the world.
Ugliest Shirts- OK, Togo, I’m talking to you here. What was up with the garish, gold floral patterned shirts?
Shiny, Happy Spaniards- As I said from the outset, you can tell a lot about a country based upon how its athletes carry themselves and the Spaniards looked like they’d just come from a bar, befitting their nation’s late night party ethos.
Cheer Up Eritrea- So perhaps the Eritrean team has no chance at winning any medals, but why were they so dour looking? Was it the fact that they were kitted out in somber looking gray suits? Or did someone replace their coffee with Folgers crystals?
TEAM USA: Not Tough Enough– I was not a fan of Team USA’s Ralph Lauren metrosexual made-in-China outfits with the big polo player logos and cheesy berets. We want to intimidate people, don’t we? I think we could have taken a lesson from American Samoa, which had a few Rambo-esque shirtless dudes in tribal garb leading their contingent. Now he looked tough.
