Gadling previews Locked Up Abroad, Season 3

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Just last year, Gadling brought you a first look at a new show on the National Geographic Channel called Locked Up Abroad. The show profiles the harrowing true stories of foreigners who have been arrested or kidnapped while abroad, telling the stories with first person interviews with the victims.

A new season of Locked Up Abroad kicks off on April 1st at 10pm, and Gadling recently had a chance to preview the first episode of the new season. Much like seasons past, it makes for some of the most intense, high-drama television you’ll find anywhere on the dial. The inaugural episode kicks off in Peru, with Locked Up Abroad Cuzco.

Sarah and Simon are fast friends from the UK, agreeing to head to Peru for week of fun and relaxation. But little does Simon know that he’s being conned by his friend Sarah. Sarah is in deep with a loan shark and has agreed to smuggle cocaine back to Europe in exchange for the payoff of her debts. In one of the more callous displays of human deceit ever on television, she invites her friend Simon to come along without telling him anything about the drugs. Things get ugly when the two are apprehended at the airport. Despite total innocence to the whole smuggling plan Simon spent over a year in a horrific Peruvian prison trying to clear his name.

Don’t get me wrong, Locked Up Abroad can be tough to watch. These are certainly emotionally charged stories of individuals forced into bad situations. But much like a train wreck, it can be hard to turn away. You simply want to know how things turn out.

Definitely tune in for the first episode next Wednesday and keep watching Gadling for the latest Locked Up Abroad news.

Chasing Gorillas in Rwanda

by Kraig Becker on

There are many great destinations around the globe in which travelers can get up close and personal with animals in their natural habitat. You can travel to the Serengeti and take in the Great Migration or head to Northern Canada for an encounter with a polar bear. Make the journey to the Galapagos, and you’ll get to see any number of unique creatures found no where else on Earth.

Although there are amazing wildlife encounters on every continent, few can compare with gorilla trekking in Uganda, where each day a very select group of travelers gets the opportunity to hike deep into the jungle and observe the giant primates as they interact with one another. That’s exactly what journalist Jeremy Thompson, and his wife Lynn did, resulting in this really great article on their journey for the Daily Mail.

Jeremy surprised Lynn with the trip to Africa for her 50th birthday, and that trip included a visit to Rwanda, where they joined six other travelers who hiked above 8000 feet for the chance to spend some time with the legendary Rwandan mountain gorillas. The shy and elusive creatures are quite rare. Just 700 of them remain in the wild, and because of that, only about 50 people are allowed to enter their realm on any given day, and even then the encounter lasts just one hour. Luckily for this couple, they booked a second gorilla trek just so they could spend a little more time with the apes.

.For Jeremy, returning to Rwanda was quite an experience in other ways as well. He covered the genocide that occurred there back in 1994, and returning now he found a country that has moved on from its violent past, but hasn’t forgotten it. Not that long ago, the place was one of the most dangerous nations on the planet, and now it’s borders are open and it has a lot to offer the traveler looking for a unique African experience

Undiscovered New York: Secret eating and drinking

by Jeremy Kressmann on

We know New York best for its blockbuster culinary spots. Places like Nobu, Per Se and Le Bernadin tend to get all the attention in the latest Zagat guide writeups. And it’s certainly true that these places offer some of New York’s finest cuisine.

But to take these high-profile (and high priced) dining spots as symbolic of New York’s dining scene would miss other more intriguing trends. Just as much as New Yorkers like to be seen in high profile eateries, they also like to know about those “hidden out of the way” places where the food and drink is just as good and you have to be “in the know” to find it and get in. We’re talking about one of the city’s more recent food trends – hidden speakeasy cocktail lounges and unadvertised restaurants.

For some, this sort of trend can seem a bit obnoxious. Why should a bar or restaurant be hidden from plain view? And who are they trying to keep out anyway? But the fact is many of these places are highly accessible and provide for very fun experiences – you simply need to come with an open mind and know where to find them. The reward for your trouble is often a one-of-a-kind New York eating and drinking experience.

Ever wanted to play detective and sneak through a phone booth to a hidden 1920’s-style cocktail lounge? Interested in eating some of the most authentic Mexican tacos in New York in an unassuming Midtown grocery store? Or perhaps you’d like to try one of the city’s best hamburgers at a hidden greasy-spoon diner? Click below to check Undiscovered New York’s picks for secret eating and drinking in NYC…
Please Don’t Tell
You might already know about the New York hot dog. You know, that flavorless casing of meat they serve up at food carts stationed at every corner? We’re not big fans of the New York hot dog here at Undiscovered New York, but we are fans of Crif Dogs, a quirky hot dog and sausage place in the East Village. The best part about Crif Dogs is that they don’t just serve red hots – step inside what appears to be a simple phone booth on the side of the restaurant and prepare to enter one of New York’s hidden drinking dens.

On the other side of the phone booth lies Please Don’t Tell (PDT), one of the more recent additions to the city’s underground “speakeasy” cocktail lounge scene. This dimly lit drinking establishment serves up high-end specialty cocktails to a small crowd of “in the know” patrons. Make sure to call ahead if you want to stop by – the tiny space fills up quickly during the evening.

Tehuitzingo Taqueria
New York in 2009 does a surprisingly good job with Mexican food. One need only look at restaurants like La Palapa and rejoice at the fact that decently good Mexican has finally made its way to the Big Apple. One of the best results of this trend towards good Mexican is the rise of the casual taqueria stands all around the city. For perhaps one of the city’s more interesting taco experiences, head to the rather unexciting Midtown corner of 47th and 10th Avenue, home to Tehuitzingo Taqueria. Tucked inside the very back of a small Mexican grocery is a small taco stand, barely five feet wide, serving up some of the most delicious tacos you’ll find anywhere in the city, as well as Latin-American refreshments like Jarritos and Horchata.

Burger Joint
New York’s Parker Meridien Hotel along 57th Street is just what you expect: a shiny and modern upscale hotel catering to the city’s more well-to-do visitors. But there’s one experience you don’t have to spend $500 a night on a room to enjoy – the hotel’s greasy-spoon hamburger shack, Burger Joint. Walk through the marbled-tiled lobby and you’ll come to a large red velvet curtain with a small neon sign. Pull back these heavy drapes and you’re suddenly inside a blue-collar burger spot, complete wood-laminate walls and cheesy movie posters taped everywhere. Don’t let the ambience fool you – Burger Joint serves up a delicious mouth-watering hamburger – good enough, in fact, to warrant a visit inside a fancy Midtown hotel.

Heathen in the Holy Land: How I became an Israeli pseudo-celebrity

by Aaron Hotfelder on

To read part one of Gadling’s new “Heathen in the Holy Land” series, go here.

When I told a friend of mine I was headed to Israel for a week, he advised me, only half-jokingly, to look out for car-bombs. A fellow member of my fantasy baseball league suggested that if the worst should happen to me on this trip, we could re-name our league “The Aaron Hotfelder That’s-Why-You-Don’t-Take-a-Trip-to-a-War-Zone Memorial League.”

These reactions, and many others like them, reinforced what I already knew: that my friends are shit-heads. But more importantly for the purposes of this article, that Israel has a definite image problem.

Indeed, most people only ever hear of the country on TV news reports accompanied by stock footage of soldiers launching M-16s or in articles with headlines like “Israeli Soldiers Allege Indiscriminate Killing in Gaza,” or “Israel Hunts West Bank Attackers.”

The Ministry of Tourism for Israel is not blind to the country’s war-torn reputation. Last week, it sponsored a trip for a group of seven travel bloggers (myself included) aimed at improving the country’s public standing. The Ministry showed us the country’s swankiest hotels, most impressive ruins, and most breathtaking landscapes in the hopes that we’d give the country some positive coverage in the blogosphere as a result.

Press trips, those paid-for junkets that have been called travel writing’s “dirty little secret,” are actually relatively common in the print media. But a press trip for bloggers? Isn’t that a waste of money?

That’s what reporters from two different Israeli news programs wanted to know, along with one other important question: “Just what is a blogger?” To answer these questions, one of the reporters followed us around for several hours during our walking tour of Tel Aviv, while the other reporter accompanied us to Jerusalem’s Old Town. Both were followed by a man wielding a giant TV camera and another man carrying a boom mic. Needless to say, our group of seven felt a little like celebrities as we strolled to places like the “Last Supper Room” in Jerusalem and the historic Neve Tzedek neighborhood in Tel Aviv.

We got the the same look from each native Israeli who saw the camera crew following us around– a look which seemed to say, “Who the hell are these people?” To be sure, we did not look like movie stars. Our ragtag group mostly had faces for radio, if you catch my drift.

But these were my fifteen minutes of fame, dammit, and I was going to enjoy them. At a local wine shop in Tel Aviv, I could tell that our group, tired from the brutal schedule which is a staple of most press trips, wasn’t giving the cameraman much material. So with the camera rolling, I ventured a question to the rest of the group:

“So, do you think many people will decide to come to Israel after reading about it on our blogs?” I asked. “Because I do. I’ll bet people flock to Israel in droves after reading our glowing reviews!” The rest of the group stifled laughs and nodded their heads, aware that this contrived conversation was being made for the benefit of the reporter and camera man. Sure, it was a blatant attempt at getting on TV, but I didn’t get care.

In the end, that reporter’s segment on our group– and more importantly, my Israeli TV debut– was pre-empted for a three-hour press conference in which the country’s former president denied a rape charge. (This only served to reinforce my long-standing opposition to rape.) Thankfully, our group’s TV premiere came a couple days later in a two-minute segment on Channel 10. (Brush up on your Hebrew and watch it here.)

While my speaking parts were all cut out of the segment, I was featured quite prominently in several shots (see top photo, striped sweater), proving once again, as if any more proof is needed, that Andy Warhol was right about that fifteen minutes thing.

Disclosure: This week-long trip to Israel was sponsored by the country’s Ministry of Tourism. Unlike the trip, my opinions were not paid for because, dammit, my integrity is not for sale. That is not to say I wouldn’t entertain the right offer.

Great American road trip: Choteau, Montana, Letterman’s hangout is a gem of a town

by Jamie Rhein on

Choteau, Montana where David Letterman married last week at the county courthouse is a gem of a town–the type of off-the beaten-track that beckons people who might be passing through to pull into a parking lot and stay awhile.

When we were on our Great American Road Trip to Montana and back last summer, we pulled into the parking lot of the Old Trail Museum for just “45 minutes” and stuck around for three hours with thoughts of returning some day. This was after staying with friends who live near the base of the Rockies twenty miles from town.

The Old Trail Museum is one of those types that tell unusual tales of western life. There’s the noose that was used for the last hanging in Choteau, for example. I hadn’t seen an actual noose used in an actual hanging before. It catches your attention. The noose is in a display with other artifacts and details about the murder that sent the guy to the gallows.

There are also exhibits about Native Americans, cattle ranching, medical care and whatever else you can think of that has to do with life in the west. One gallery is dedicated to the dinosaurs that once roamed the region.

Along with the main museum are other buildings with a variety of themes. There’s the taxidermy grizzly bear, the cabin dedicated to a Danish pioneer family and an art studio of a prominent Montana artist. I could have spent hours here poking around.

The museum also a great place to pick up books with a Montana theme. Fiction, non-fiction and kids’ fare fill shelves in the gift shop. Here you can buy items made by Blackfoot Indians who live in the state. I went a little nuts with the buying–a problem of mine. But, then again, anything one can do to keep the economy following.

We also helped the economy flow at Alpine Touch, across the street from the museum. Alpine Touch is a brand of specialty spices made in Choteau. While we were buying bottles of the Lite All-Purpose Seasoning, we tossed in several bottles of huckleberry body lotion and huckleberry jelly–also Montana-made.

Chances are, you won’t run into Letterman if you head to Choteau, although people have seen him there. The saucy older woman who is a volunteer at the visitor center mentioned giving him a chuckle when she let Letterman know that he is on too late for her to really know who he is. Who cares who Letterman is was her take, although she did offer that he has been very kind and generous to Choteau.

The great thing about places like Choteau is that it doesn’t matter who you are, you can have the same great glorious time whether you don’t have more than a few nickels to rub together, or you’re a millionaire.

That’s one of the things I thought of when we spent an afternoon wandering around in Sun River Canyon located in the Lewis and Clark National Forest with the brilliant blue sky overhead. Hiking along the trails is free. You can pick up trail maps at the Rocky Mountain Ranger District Trail office in town. We were lucky enough to come across a beaver just as it ducked into a stream to head to its dam.

Before we left Choteau, we would have shopped more, although we did have just enough time to grab some ice cream at the ice-cream shop that’s part of the museum complex. It cost more than a nickel, but it didn’t break the bank.

For anyone looking for a low key fun place to go with families, consider here. It’s only 50 miles from Great Falls, another Montana destination I’d like to have more time for one of these days. One place you might consider staying is the JJJ Wilderness Ranch. We walked around the grounds hoping to snag a horseback ride, but you have to be a paying guest. Next time we’re in Choteau, I’m finding a horse.