Photo of the Day (8-26-09)

by Jamie Rhein on

Anyone who has traveled in a developing country may notice how this photo by TR Ryan captures perfectly the ingredients of every day village life. See it as a check list, if you will. Chickens? check. Goat? check. Plastic cup? check. Flip flops and bare feet? check and check. A bit of old rusty corrugate serving as a partial wall? check. Bicycle? check. It almost doesn’t matter in which country the scene is set. The ingredients will be the same.

If Dutch painter Jan Vermeer were alive today, he’d turn this shot into a painting. Instead of the woman pouring milk into a bowl, as his subject does in, “The Kitchen Maid,” he would encapsulate in oil and canvas the life of this woman where she lives in Villa Esperanza, Nicaragua ensuring that her children get a meal.

If you have captured a story in a photograph, send it our way at Gadling’s Flickr photo pool. It may be chosen as a Photo of the Day.

Labor Day – How to celebrate if you are abroad

by Annie Scott on

It’s coming up September 7th and you don’t want to miss it: Labor Day. Labor Day is our day to celebrate the strength of our labor and trade organizations, and in this economy, they can use all the bolstering and celebration we’ve got. Also, for Americans, Labor Day symbolizes the end of summer — and for some, the end of wearing white.

(I just try not to wear white shoes after Labor Day. The rest is too hard.)

If you’re abroad, you don’t have to skip Labor Day. There are perfectly good ways to celebrate, wherever you are. First of all, of course, you’re going to need some American food. Perhaps you don’t cook, but if you do, check out some of the apple pie recipes here — you can get the ingredients for apple pie almost anywhere, and what could be more American than that?

Of course, you can also hit up McDonald’s, Subway, or any other uber-American establishment as a way to celebrate — sure, it might not be the best for your health, but it’s easy on the wallet and a good way to honor America’s astonishing legacy of food service — and a number of labor/trade jobs that contribute to that legacy.

Another way to celebrate? Wearing the ol’ red, white and blue. Perhaps you have a little flag lapel pin knocking around somewhere or can pick one up at a local market — this is a good day to wear that pin. It may even help you recognize other expats!

Showing your patriotism works as a way to celebrate almost any American holiday, but for Labor Day in particular? Another thing you can do is take a look at the labor industries in the country you’re in. Check out the awesome old-school skills like blacksmithing, agriculture and even shopkeeping. Tell the workers you appreciate what they’re doing and that in America, we’re honoring them today (September 7th, that is).

And, perhaps most importantly, take the day off. What do Americans do on Labor Day? They don’t labor. Particularly if you are in a laboring profession yourself, this is your day to relax. Have a BBQ and some American beer, go to an American movie, and tell your boss that — sorry — this is your day to chillax. Represent!

Be sure to bring in some of that apple pie the next day, though.

Travel Read: The 10 Best of Everything for Families

by Jamie Rhein on

With summer coming to a close, don’t despair. Use Labor Day’s respite from work as a time to set your sights on future travel. Pouring over the pages of National Geographic’s 10 Best of Everything for Families by Susan H. Magsamen is an eye-candy path to an ideas bonanza. Having future travel goals can help one feel better about being back to work or school.

When I leafed through this book, it was clear, it could take years to sample even a fraction of the ideas. Close to home or far away, the “10 best of everything” includes 10 several times over. For example, do you want to know where you can find the 10 best sandcastle competitions? The 10 best coastal cliffs? How about the 10 best farm visits? The 10 best African gatherings? It’s all here and more.

Magsamen must have had a time of it keeping track of her notes and figuring out how best to organize this vast body of information. The result is impressive.

The book is divided into thematic topics that first covers the different regions of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, and then tackles the U.S. as a whole. No matter what your pleasure, there are destinations a-plenty with appeal for a multiple age crowd. Keep the book’s organization in mind while you browse. I kept having “Aha moments” as in, “so that’s how this book is organized. Clever.”

For example, categories like the “ten best regional specialties” and the “ten best parks and playgrounds” are repeated for each region in chapter one, “The spirit of exploration.” As you move through the pages, you learn about the regions of the U.S. and their simple to access travel options.

To find out things like the best caves in the U.S., however, look in “ten best depths” in chapter three–“traveling to learn.” Both Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, my two favorite caves destinations, are listed with brief descriptions of each. Plus, there are eight more caves. This chapter is also where you’ll find out about African gatherings, as well as, several other events that are ethnic group related. These are only part of the categories.

If your sights are set past the U.S. borders, turn to chapter five, “see the world.” Here are suggestions of the you can’t go wrong going here type destinations.

The last three chapters of the book, “travel wish list,’ “family memories” and “resources” are a round-up of personal experiences and travel tools.

Throughout the book there are quotes, factoids and travel tips related to each topic that fill out the reading pleasure.

Although this is not a book that will give you all the nuts and bolts of a particular destination, it’s a glorious buffet of ideas to return to again and again. The message of the wealth is that you’d better get cracking because there is A LOT to see–as in 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 . . . Pick up the book and you’ll know what I mean.

Oh, yeah. The most important messages are that family travel is fun, and it doesn’t take as much effort or money as one might think.

Mongol Derby is an adventure on horseback

by Kraig Becker on

This past Sunday, a group of 25 riders set out on a unique adventure across the Mongolian Steppe that will have them following in the ancient footsteps of Marco Polo and the fabled horsemen that roamed that region centuries ago, as they raise money for a variety of charities in the country.

The Mongol Derby is the latest idea from the same group that brought us the Mongol Rally. In this case, it pits the entrants on a long distance horse race through some of the most remote areas on the planet as they make the journey from Kharkhorin to Ulaanbaatar following a series of routes that were created as a postal system by Genghis Khan back in 1234 AD. The race directors caution that this isn’t about the speed of the horse however, but more of a test of the skill and stamina of the riders themselves.

Along the route, the riders will have to check into a series of horse stations called Urtuus, where they will be forced to change out their mounts for fresh ones. Veterinarians will also be on hand to ensure that the horses are being well cared for, and not pushed to their limits. The course designers have also taken great pains to design a route that will pass by multiple water sources, meaning the riders and horses won’t have to go far to find a drink.

The website will offer updates on the progress of the riders as well as live tracking of their current locations. There is also a long FAQ that answers a lot of questions about the event as well. So if driving to Mongolia by a very slow car isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps you’d prefer to explore it via horseback instead, either way, the Adventurists have you covered.

An open letter to the soon-to-be new owners of the Travel Channel

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Dear Soon-To-Be New Owners of the Travel Channel,

Most reports are indicating that the Travel Channel’s current owner, Cox Communications, is ready to sell the network for close to $700 million. The companies expected to submit an initial bid (due today) include NBC Universal, Scripps Network, and News Corp.

If anyone from those three corporate behemoths has stumbled across this humble travel blog, allow me to offer you some unsolicited advice for how the Travel Channel could be improved. It’s simple, and it boils down to this: Play travel programming. More precisely, play only travel programming.

As I look over the Travel Channel’s schedule of upcoming shows on its website, I find several whose presence on a travel network can only be explained by some sort of clerical error. Why, for example, is the ridiculous show Ghost Adventures featured anywhere on your schedule? Why does this Thursday evening appear to be devoted entirely to the antics of magician David Blaine? Why is the Robert Redford-Brad Pitt vehicle Spy Game playing this Saturday night? And finally, what the hell does the ubiquitous World Poker Tour have to do with travel? (Answer: “It’s got ‘World’ in the title!”)

To whomever purchases the Travel Channel: If you continue Cox Communications’ infuriating habit of scheduling these non-travel-related shows instead of original travel programming like Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Dhani Tackles the Globe, and, hell, even Bridget’s Sexiest Beaches, you risk alienating your core audience, people who love to travel.

Focusing on magic, poker, and the occult might attract a few channel surfers, but it isn’t worth losing your biggest fans in the process.

Regards,
Aaron Hotfelder