We all do it. We hear about a new website that is supposed to be this or that and we sign up for it. At first we’re skeptical or excited, or both. We begin to fill out our profiles and then we get distracted. We never return to said site. Other times, the exact opposite is true and we find our lives turned inside out because of a website. Had it not been for Craigslist, my life would be very different today. I jotted down the URL in early 2003 when I began a search for a new apartment in New York City. Since then, Craigslist has helped to shape every aspect of my life. I’ve found jobs, furniture, pets, housing, gigs, bandmates and roommates on Craigslist. By extension of a roommate found on the site, I found my husband. It’s no stretch to say a website can change your entire life. And by the same token, a website can completely gut and renovate the way you travel.When I came across Golden Book Traveler’s list of 20 Best Travel Websites On The Internet (because the Internet is where websites live), I continued reading past the headline. Some sites listed are ones I stand behind fully. Others are sites I’m now eager to use, including Airbnb, Couch Surfing, Hostel World, Road Sharing and Sleeping In Airports. This list seems promising to me.
The Pacific Ocean has been an active topic here at Gadling lately.
First there was the “Ghost Ship” found adrift off of Canada, then Dave Seminara’s brilliant April Fool’s Day report on the island of Nauru, and last week I waxed philosophical in Vagabond Tales about plastic bottles and what they mean for the people who inhabit the Pacific islands.
Now, to follow up on this topic, I was very pleased to be able to sit down with a woman about to head out on an incredible journey into the heart of the Western Pacific Garbage Patch. Her name is Cynthia Matzke, and starting on May 1 she and a team of researchers are going to sail across the western Pacific to document the marine debris situation. They will also maintain a constant lookout for rogue debris, which may have drifted off course from the Japan tsunami. While sifting through one of the world’s largest aquatic landfills may not seem like your dream vacation, for people like Cynthia and myself who relish traveling into some of the stranger places on the planet, this is kind of a big deal.
As part of an expedition led by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, the 5 Gyres Institute and Pangaea Explorations, Cynthia is going to be sailing where few humans have ventured before. It’s a place with no passport control, no customs and immigration – just a lot of water and trash.
In a word, this is fascinating.
So Cynthia, first off, who are you? Why have you been chosen to head into the Gyre?
I was recommended by the Mayor’s office here on the island of Maui to take part in the expedition. Over the last 14 years on Maui, I have been involved with such projects as the Great Whale Entanglement Response Network and research related to stranded green turtles. I’ve worked as an underwater videographer documenting coral reef disease as well as the head of Trilogy Expedition’s monthly Blue ‘Aina reef clean up campaign. I also was once embedded for nine months with the Makah tribe in the state of Washington as an environmental liaison during the aboriginal whaling issue of 1999.Whoa. So you’re kind of an environmental badass?
Ha. Something like that.
Ok, so tell me what you’re going to be doing
Well, in conjunction with all the organizations above we are going to be collecting and analyzing samples of plastics and marine debris found in the Western Pacific Gyre. This area hasn’t been properly studied in 25 years and very little is known about the size and density of the debris that’s out there. We’re also going to be looking for any debris from the Japan tsunami, which may have drifted off of its projected course, and providing data on the scope and contents of the drift.
Once we get to Japan, I am going to be presenting at the Symposium on Plastic Pollution and the Marine Environment to show footage from the journey and discuss the latest findings. I am so unbelievably excited.
Is radiation a concern?
There is some very mild concern that some of the debris may have traces of radiation, but not enough to keep anyone from going. I still may try to borrow a Geiger counter though. I think testing radiation levels of debris could be a way of either confirming or dispelling people’s beliefs or what you may have heard about it.
According to this NOAA fact sheet, there could still be 1.5 million tons of debris floating out there. I’ve heard reports of perfectly good sailboats, which are adrift and unclaimed. Anything you secretly hope to find?
Not particularly. There may be a lot of sensitivity that’s needed because what is found in the tsunami debris might range from the personal to the gruesome. There’s a lot of cultural sensitivity which could revolve around this issue.
Hmm. Good point. Well, now I feel like a jerk. What type of a boat are you doing this on anyway?
Fourteen of us are going to be sailing from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands to Japan on a 72-foot sailboat named the Sea Dragon. I’ll be at sea for three weeks sleeping in bunks that are four people high and sharing a kitchen only meant to accommodate eight. This isn’t exactly what I’d call a ‘pleasure cruise.’
A sailboat huh? So you know how to sail?
I guess that was one of the factors in my being chosen. I work on a sailboat here in Maui and am expected to take part in full sailing duties.
Do you head back home to Hawaii after Japan?
Actually, after the symposium in Japan, if I raise enough funds I’m going to be traveling to Seoul, South Korea, to talk about my findings and show the footage from the garbage patch. Korea is one of the world’s largest producers of plastics and my hope is to convince businesspeople that there is money to be made in biodegradable and compostable materials. As consumers we really are able to vote with our dollars and speak to what is important.
You said if you raise enough money. What does a trip like this run, even as a researcher?
It’s about $9500/person, so I’m in the middle of a mass fundraising effort as well. Silent auctions, corporate sponsorships – that sort of thing. The boat company I work for in Hawaii (Trilogy Excursions) has thrown down some money, provided me with a huge amount of fundraising support, and they are currently the largest corporate sponsor of my seat on the expedition. As much of a challenge as fundraising can be it really is the most effective way of raising awareness and spreading the word about your message. During the fundraising effort I spoke to a group of fourth grade students on the island of Lana’i (population: 3,300) and I was introduced to a video they made which was inspired by this very expedition.
So they wrote that song themselves? That’s awesome.
Yeah, everything about this is really inspiring and the trip hasn’t even started yet.
Would you call it the trip of a lifetime?
Let’s just say that everything in my life has been building up, in some way, to this very moment right here.
It’s a bloodbath on the front lines of the hotel Wi-Fi war, and our friends at Hotel Chatter are leading the charge.
At issue is the cost of wireless Internet at some hotels, often rising as high as $25 per person per day while the cost is only $350 to the hotel per month. Some think that the hotel industry is gouging customers – many of who already pay hundreds of dollars a night for their rooms. Others, well, think it’s profitable.
Interviewed by Ayesha Durgahee on CNN’s Business Traveler, our friend and managing editor of Hotel Chatter Julianna Shallcross takes the consumers’ side suggesting that, “It just seems like pure profiteering on the hotel’s part.” Between her criticism and the works of CNN and Hotel Chatter, maybe the hotels will start listening.
iPhone travel apps were of no use to me just six months ago. Despite spending much of my time traveling across the globe, I held out on getting an iPhone for what seemed as long as possible. Once I finally did cave and walked into the Apple store with my wallet in hand, my undoing turned out to be much more fun and efficient than I had imagined it would be. So why did I hold out?
I’ve been working online for quite some time now. My first online article was published in 2000. Life has been a series of HTML adjusting and Internet comment treading for me since then. Until fall 2011, I avoided the iPhone and all other smart phones like the plague. I was convinced, for some reason, that having access to my email and all other sorts of toys in my pocket would distract me. I was sure this kind of access would lead to no other conclusion than me being constantly “at work.” The result of not having an iPhone was actually the very thing I feared, I realize now in retrospect. Without portable and constant access to my inbox, I spent a large chunk of my free time tethered to my laptop, hoping to catch emails from editors and clients as they rolled in. It was with great satisfaction that I learned the true benefit of the iPhone: the ability to readily respond to emails without having to be attached at the hip to my MacBook.Instant and continual access to my emails was just the beginning. While sitting in the Apple store for over 3 hours, eager to leave with my new iPhone, time passed remarkably quickly. The representative I was buying the phone from seemed concerned. He brought me an ice cream sandwich from the back. He apologized that the initialization process through Sprint was taking so long; he said it’s not usually so bad. Little did I care; I had already downloaded several free apps while waiting for the paperwork to go through.
Admittedly, I spend a lot of time on my phone these days. I’m sure I’m in good company when I say it’s a great device to have around during times of restless boredom. Long lines don’t bother me so much anymore.
But the iPhone has also been a remedy for many other now-retired daily pains beyond sheer boredom. When I went on tour prior to the iPhone, I actually printed off step-by-step directions from Google Maps. Embarrassing? Perhaps. Efficient? No way. I used to do things like ask strangers for directions, fruitlessly hunt down public restrooms and show up at restaurants that were already closed because I didn’t know their hours. I no longer carry any of these burdens.
Travel has been made easier because of the iPhone and its apps and everyone seems to know it. In fact, everyone seems to be blogging about it – including us. Rather than peruse a never-ending list of isolated iPhone apps that are good for travel, why not peruse a shorter list of roundups wherein the most useful iPhone travel apps are suggested?
Here are some lists I like, containing apps I have found useful in my own travel:
In case you haven’t yet heard of Caine’s Arcade through the social media storm that’s been spreading this video this week, here’s your chance. In short, this cardboard arcade constructed by a 9-year-old boy, Caine, inside of his father’s auto parts store in Los Angeles is a real place you can visit. You can play the arcade games designed by Caine. He’ll even go as far as to feed you winning tickets by hand through a slot in the cardboard “machine.” Before October 2, Caine had only ever entertained one customer, but that one customer happened to be a filmmaker. This video documents the building of the arcade and the special project that brought attention to the arcade. If you’re impressed with Caine’s design skills and motivation, you can even donate to a college fund set up for him on the Caine’s Arcade website. When thinking of where to go in the Los Angeles area, this little boy’s arcade tops my list.