Photo of the Day (3.14.09)

by Brenda Yun on


Seeing as I’m in Nicaragua right now, I find it only appropriate to offer an image from this wonderfully hospitable country. I mentioned in my first dispatch that Nicaragua is clearly a developing country and poverty runs rampant right next to 5 star hotels. It’s an unfortunate thing, and it’s something that not just one person with a thinning wallet can do about it. Walking along the dirt road scattered with ramshackle huts on my way to Playa Amarilla with surfboard in hand, I was hit with the reality that the people here just trying to survive and have no luxury like I do of surfing at the break that is just steps away. How could they afford the surfboard anyway? If there’s one thing I intend to do before I leave, it’s to give back a little piece of heaven to these poor neighbors in one way or another.

This photograph depicts three young boys who were gracious enough to pose for ourmanwhere in the colonial town of Granada on Calle Arsenal. Ourmanwhere, a self-proclaimed “serial overseas volunteer” currently based in Cameroon, also has some pretty captivating photographs from Vietnam, Thailand, the UK, and Europe.

If you have some great travel shots you’d like to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day!

Saturday Night Live pokes fun at Hawaiian tourism: Some thoughts

by Jamie Rhein on

Back when Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show poked fun at Butte, Montana because of the Berkeley Pit, the shut-down copper mine that’s almost filled to the brim with toxic water, and is a tourist site anyway, I felt bad. I love Butte, Montana and visit every summer. It was one of my budget travel options back in January. The Daily Show’s version of Butte did not do it justice.

Now Hawaii is in the fray of popular culture tomfoolery. Saturday Night Live poked fun at Hawaiian tourism last week with a skit of fake hula dancers in a restaurant filled with tourists. Within the skit, issues of authenticity, lack of a working wage by those working in the tourist industry, race and other issues that highlight the clash between those looking for a dream vacation and those hired to make the dream happen were mixed together.

Linda Lingle, the governor of Hawaii, is mad about the skit because she feels that it sheds an unfair light on an industry upon which Hawaii depends to a large degree. Because of the economy, Hawaiian tourism is suffering. Bad publicity could do more damage. I’m not too sure about that — particularly if Hawaii uses the skit as a stepping off point to show just how much Hawaii has to offer besides hula dancers. [Saturday Night video after the jump.]

Before I went to Hawaii several years ago, I had Tiki statues and big wooden fork and spoon wall hanging sets in mind. What I found is a lush, culturally rich, gorgeous place that I was enthralled by. We didn’t stay in Waikiki, but with relatives who live on the other side of Oahu. What the governor needs to do is point out how Hawaii is a fascinating state with a history unlike any other.

I’m always amazed when I find out that people went there without going to The Bishop Museum or the Mission Houses Museum or the palace. The role of Hawaii during World War II is also important. A trip to Pearl Harbor and the Punch Bowl shows that. As part of our trip, we went to the Big Island where at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park learned more about volcanoes and Hawaii’s geological make up. These are just a few places that highlight Hawaii’s uniqueness.

I think what the skit did is point out the dissonance between people who head to a place with an idea in their minds about what the location is about without considering the darker side. Any place that tries to bring in tourist dollars could do a similar skit. Saturday Night Live just happened to pick Hawaii. So what if paradise has a darker side? Isn’t that true about anything? It’s the ying and the yang.

On the other side of the dark side is the light which is the reason why Hawaii is such a great place to go on a vacation–just don’t stop at the hula skirts. Have fun with the schlock, notice the disparity, but get out of the places that are geared for the cliche and explore. See what else Hawaii has to offer. It’s plenty, and these days Hawaii is a terrific vacation value.

Admittedly, I think the Saturday Night Live skit is funny. I didn’t watch the episode, but I headed to You Tube as soon as I read about the controversy. The reason I think it’s funny is because I loved watching Dwayne Johnson hula dance. His legs and arm movements just cracked me up. Plus, he looked like he was having a great time.

In case you didn’t see it, here it is. The copy isn’t the best, but you’ll get the idea.

Having Best Job in World Risks Best Job in World Contest

by Tom Johansmeyer on

We all know about “the best job in the world” contest. Well, it seems as though one entry could be, um, tainted. Tourism Queensland is digging into claims by London newspaper The Sun that one candidate for the Hamilton Island gig spread her legs for an illegal Russian porn studio.

All we know so far is that someone will get screwed.

Julia Yalovitsyna, one of the top 50 in the contest worked as both a model and a “coach” for other performers, according to reports from The Sun. She plied her trade in her hometown of Petrazavodsk. Allegedly, of course. Yalovitsyna is being prepared as a witness against her husband, Alexei, who is being prosecuted. Yet, she denies this, too, saying she is “shocked” by the news.

Clearly, she’s done something that resonates with fans, as her entry has garnered 42,319 votes – putting her in second place behind a Taiwanese woman named Clare (who, at least so far, does not have any clear connections to the porn business).

Thankfully, a spokeswoman from Tourism Queenland has said that Yalovitsyna will be permitted to continue in the contest. Thankfully? If work in porn (SFW) were a disqualifier, Gadling would have me out on the street.

Catch her entry video after the jump! Sorry, it’s got none of her previous “work” in it. Hell, vote for her anyway.

[Via Sydney Morning Herald]

More sexy women from the travel world


The inaugural Competitours starts Monday and Team Gadling will be there!

by Kent Wien on

Ok, I think I’m man enough to admit it. My wife and I watch The Amazing Race religiously. Haven’t missed an episode, in fact. I think we both enjoy sitting on the couch while second guessing the strategic choices each team makes as we watch some of their relationships disintegrate while they work their way around the world.

After nearly every episode, I’ve realized two things:

1) I’m incredibly lucky to be married to a non-psychopathic, intelligent and sweet woman who has the ability to see both sides of any argument.

and,

2) I know we could get through the Amazing Race together without destroying our 16-year marriage.

It’s impossible NOT to watch The Amazing Race without imagining how you and your partner, whether it’s your wife, brother, friend, parent or child, would accomplish the tasks and handle the challenges associated with traveling around the world.

Unfortunately, my wife has zero interest in testing our travel skills and marriage on television, and as much as I’d like to do it, I’d never be able to get a month off to fly around the world with her. Not to mention the trouble with finding someone to look after our kids while we’re gallivanting around the globe.

But the day before my 40th birthday in January, the Gadling team received an e-mail from Grant Martin, our editor, telling us about Competitours, an “Amazing Race like” tour of Europe. Close to a dozen teams would be competing for 7 nights at any Starwood hotel (Sheraton, Westin or Le Meridian) worldwide and $700 cash.

Grant wondered if anyone would like to go on the inaugural Competitours trip and write about the experience? Whoever went would have to pay their way, of course – this was no freebie.

I decided to wait until the next day to spring it on my wife.

“Come on, honey! It’d be a blast. And it’s only for a week!”

In a moment of weakness, she caved, probably because it was, in fact my birthday after all. She also gave in to my incessant whining about how I needed the latest Canon digital SLR.

I ran the kiddy-care plan past my sister who lives in Seattle. Could she come to New Hampshire to take care of our girls?

Again, milking the birthday, I was able to convince her that this would be a fun thing to do. I mean, how often do you get to take care of a seven and three-year old, big sis? Shockingly, she agreed.

The event starts on March 15th, when we’ll meet up with ten other teams of two in Newark before heading to our first destination, which has just been revealed. We’re going to Frankfurt, Germany, but we still don’t know the two cities after that.

For us, not knowing the destinations is a big reason to take this trip. While Competitours is a tour operator, they’ve managed to put together a compelling reason to travel, key at a time when many are closely evaluating their expenses.

Each day teams will choose up to 6 of the 9 to 12 tasks in and around a city to accomplish. Bonus points will be given for teams that take on the risk/reward task portion of each challenge. Each task has to be documented with a Flip Mino camera. We’ve chosen the Mino HD version to use.

So my wife and I are excited to report on the launch of this innovative tour here at Gadling, and I’ll enjoy a break from my day job, and the first vacation my wife and I have taken in this decade that didn’t include the kids.

The other teams are coming from all over the country. Five of these teams have been sponsored by FlyerTalk, a forum for frequent flyers that take great pride in racking up miles in rather creative ways. They competed and won the honor of traveling on behalf of FlyerTalk, and some of them have already proven adept at finding out what the third city will be.

So we’ve written off in our minds any chance that we’ll beat these type-A travelers, but we hope to have a great time along the way.

Competitours offers much larger prizes after our inaugural, with one prize that includes 40 nights at a Starwood hotel and $5,000 cash along with a pair of airline tickets. I can’t think of too many travel packages where you can win something so significant.

Follow along with us each day starting on March 16th. We’ll be uploading video of some of the challenges without giving too much of the Competitour secrets away, and introducing you to the other teams.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, take a look at the 8, 10 and 14-day trips Competitours is offering for June, July and August of this year. If you go, please let us know, as we’d love to hear how Competitours evolves from our inaugural/trial/test run that starts this Sunday. Of course, I’ll be using updating everything as it happens via Twitter as well.

For more information, the Chicago Sun Times has written up a nice piece and GoNomad.com that details some examples of the tasks we’ll be given each day. And finally, each team has been encouraged to post about the race from their perspective at BoardingArea.com, so check out our competition. There are some amazing teams competing!

Be sure to follow all of Kent’s posts about the Competitours race.

Kent Wien is a regular here at Gadling with his Cockpit Chronicles and Plane Answers features.

Read what happened for the rest of the week: Pre-departure, departure, day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4 and day 5.

Gadling Take FIVE: Week of March 6 –March 13

by Jamie Rhein on

Happy Friday the 13th. My day has actually gone well. I hope yours has as well. Once again there is a hodge podge of happenings around the world that have captured our notice here at Gadling.