Four good reasons to visit Central America this fall

by Grant Martin on

With many of our travel budgets shrinking this season, now is a great time to consider the halfway point between that costly trip to Europe and the staycation that you’ve been dreading. Oh yes, I’m talking about Central America.

Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua have a lot to offer and are a great alternative to sinking a large chunk of cash into a heavy vacation. They’re close enough so that you can get away for a long weekend, not stuffed with tourists like many of the Mexican port towns and warm enough to cure those chilly fall hangovers.

Why else would we move our Thanksgiving family dinner from Providence down to Panama City? Check out four good reasons below.
The (relative) strength of the dollar: Sure the American dollar has made up some ground against the Euro in the last two months, but hotels in London and Paris are still going to cost you dearly per night. Compare that with some of the four star hotels that go for a third of the price in Panama City then factor in the price of food and entertainment, and you’re saving a ton of money over Europe

Plane tickets are inexpensive: Partially motivated by a slew of fare sales from Continental Airlines, destinations across the entire isthmus are dirt cheap right now. Many fares out of the country this fall are less expensive than domestic tickets across the US.

Diversity of activities: While the region may not have the cliche anglocentric activities you’re used to on vacation, the natural beauty alone is enough to keep vacationers busy ziplining through the forest canopy, sea kayaking or loafing on the beach. Mix in a heaping scoop of American history, keen architecture and an emerging nightlife and you’ve got a winning combination.

Tourism is booming: San Jose, Costa Rica is the perfect model that shows why tourism has worked excellently in Central America. Labor is inexpensive and resources are rich, so tour companies and travel agents will be competing to book your snorkeling trip and give you the best price on your jungle adventure. Furthermore, with the tourism base growing in each respective country, more and more content is now available by word of mouth, through tripadvisor or on gather.com for you to do more organic research.

Piqued your interest? A great place to start your research on a trip to Central America is right here on Gadling. Take a look around our articles on Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala and Nicaragua and check your sock drawer — you’ve got enough rainy day money for a small vacation this fall, right?

Green Nirvana: Thai Buddhist temple built from recycled refuse

by Anna Brones on

Here in the US, we recycle but we don’t always see what our waste goes to. Not so in Thailand where recycling takes on new meaning at the Buddhist temple Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew, 370 miles northeast of Bangkok in the Si Saket province. Also known as Wat Lan Kuad, or “Temple of Million Bottles,” the temple uses discarded bottles to construct everything on the temple site from the crematorium to toilets.

All in all there are about 1.5 million recycled bottles in the temple, and those at the temple are committed to recycling even more. “The more bottles we get, the more buildings we make,” Abbot San Kataboonyo told Reuters.

Recycling doesn’t stop at bottles; mosaics around the temple, mostly of Buddha, are made out of bottle caps. Besides being green, the recycled bottles don’t fade, provide great light and are easy to maintain. Sounds like a pretty cool green location to put on your next eco-tour of Southeast Asia.

Amazing Race Season 3, episode 4: New Zealand where kiwis are hard to stomp with bare feet

by Jamie Rhein on

After Phil recapped that La Paz, at nearly 13,000 feet is the highest capital in the world, and that the feud between Starr & Nick and Christy & Kelly is still a plot twist, the teams headed for Auckland, New Zealand for the 4th episode of The Amazing Race.

Heading to Auckland from La Paz was a slam dunk. Everyone, including Dallas who said, “I don’t even know where New Zealand is,” was on the same flight after they searched out their options via the Internet at the La Paz airport.

After arrival, once they dashed out into the dark of night to find their specially marked cars, the pack dispersed between those who did not get lost and those who did. This was the first time the teams relied on their own driving except for the trip to the airport in Los Angeles.

All remembered to drive on the left side of the road, except for the few moments when one team or another had to double check.

Travel Tips from episode 4:

  • Use an Internet cafe at the airport if one is available to search for flight options.
  • If you need to use the Internet when at an airport but you don’t have a laptop, ask someone if you can borrow his or hers.
  • If you have a flat tire on a highway, there’s nothing wrong with waving down cars until one stops.
  • Use careful, methodical observation to find what you need for a successful journey.
  • Head flashlights make for handy gear.

Recaps and Cultural Observations:

If one is going to drive on the opposite side of the road from which one is used to, the middle of the night seems to be a good time to try it. As soon as the teams jumped into their cars, driving wasn’t the hard part, although Ty and Aja had a flat tire. I swear. Every season of The Amazing Race, one team ends up with a flat. I’m a bit suspicious.

Neither Ty or Aja knew how to change a tire. Aja did the sensible thing. Eventually, if you jump up and down, shouting and waving your arms enough, someone is bound to stop. A burly New Zealander came to the rescue changing the tire lickety split, and this duo, who are definitely NOT having the time of their lives–Ty thinks he should have a T-shirt made that says, “I’m with Fidel”–were on their way once more.

Where were they all teams heading, some with more luck than others? To Gulf Harbor where they were to untangle a Gordian Knot, a big ball of intricately wound rope that looked like a large cat toy. Inside the knot was a clue to the next destination. Those who did not get lost arrived at the dock in the dark. This is one place where head lamps came in handy.

Tina & Ken, on the ball and still working on keeping their own marriage knot tied, untied the knot ball quickly, thus were able to take advantage of the Fast Forward to Auckland’s Sky Tower, the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere.

Here their task was to don sky diving like attire and head up to the very, very, very top. The last part of the feat involved scaling up the building’s radio tower in order to retrieve a Travelocity gnome. Tina, afraid of heights, stilled her nerves by using common sense. There’s no way that the ropes and harness would let her down, she figured. She knew that she wouldn’t fall.

Of course not, that would make for very bad TV. The climb was not easy due to the winds that swayed the tower back and forth. What a rush, though.

As Ken & Tina are playing dare devils on the tower, everyone else either struggled to find the dock or finished the Gordian knot task to head to their next stop at the summit of Mount Eden, the highest point in Auckland and a dormant volcano. This time the teams could drive.

At the top were a slew of Maori warriors doing their warrior routines. The task was to match a drawing of ancestral markings of a Maori warrior’s facial tattoos with the markings of an actual Maori. Because Maori facial tattoos are like fingerprints, no two are alike, this highlighted one aspect of New Zealand culture.

Another task where head lamps came in handy for the teams that arrived here in the dark. Unfortunately, cultural sensitivity headed a bit south with a couple of players. Dallas said he hoped the warriors didn’t eat his mother and one of the divorcees, (they still look a like to me) said, “I’m going to have nightmare about these guys. They’re really scary.”

I wanted to rap each of them upside the head. Dallas’s mother, however, said, “You’re beautiful,” to her warrior and Terrence had the common sense to ignore Sarah when she yelled out, “kiss him, kiss him” after he made his match.

One of the funniest parts of this episode was when Christy & Kelly parked their car at the bottom of the Mt. Eden and ran up. As Andrew & Dan were driving up on the road, they saw the women running up the side and yelled out from their car, “Whey are you walking? It said to drive.” The women insisted they wanted to run. Whatever.

Poor Marisa & Brooke, who are as sweet as can be, had the hardest time getting ahead from the get go. These two have no eye for detail. They got lost out of the airport. At the dock, they ran right past the knot even though they arrived there in the daylight. At Mt. Aden, they had better luck which earned a hug from the Maori.

Next after Mt. eden came a trip to the top of City Life Hotel where they were to look for Travelocity gnomes through binoculars. Once the gnomes were located, they had to retrieve it from either their high or low places and head to the Road Block at the town of Te Puke.

In Te Puke, at Kiwi 360, a landmark that celebrates the kiwi, they could either head to the orchard to climb into a huge vat of kiwis, and in their bare feet, stomp enough of them to make 12 quarts of juice and drink a glass each or head to Blokart Heaven to assemble a blokart and drive it around the track three times.

A blokart is similar to a go-cart but uses a sail instead of an engine to propel it. (This photo is from the Blokart Heaven in Tauranga. There are blokart associations in New Zealand.

Kiwi stomping is hard work and unpleasant. According to each of the team members who tried, the vats were lined with sharp rocks and the kiwis were rough. Toni evoked images of the hilarious I Love Lucy episode when Lucy and Ethel stomped grapes.

Sensitive feet did Ty and Aja in so they headed to Blowkart Heaven to try that. So did Dallas & Toni. Neither of those teams checked to make sure the spout was plugged first before switching tasks. Terrence and Sarah, who figured out that detail first headed quickly to the Pit Stop.

By this time, long after Ken & Kim made it to the Pit Stop at a homestay sheep farm and golf course called Summerhill via helicopter, and Starr may have broken her arm when her blokart overturned for the second time, Marisa & Brooke and Ty & Aja struggled to finish their day in the dark. Even though Andrew & Dan had a heck of a time putting their cart together, they were shocked and over the top delighted to find out that they came in sixth just a little after Kelly & Christy.

As sheep parted at the end of the episode, there came Aja and Ty, exhausted and unsmiling.

“Thank the Lord,” said Aja raising her hands when they found out they were 7th. I was happy for them, but felt bad for Marisa & Brooke. I was rooting for these two during this whole episode because, of all the teams, they seem to have enjoyed themselves and each other the most.

Even when they were stomping kiwis in the dark, one of them said to the other, “I’m so proud of you.” No matter where they were, they seemed to relish the interactions with the local people.

At the Pit Stop, when they found out they were last team in, they teared up prompting Phil’s dad who was waiting with Phil to wrap his arms around them in a big, comforting hug.

Marisa & Brooke’s travel words of wisdom: Travel is a chance to find out more about each other and no one else in their lives has shared these travel experiences with them.

“No one can take that away. Brooke and I will be best friends forever,” said Marisa.

What Ken & Tina won: A 7-day trip to Rio de Janerio.

Gadling Take FIVE: Week of October 12- October 17

by Jamie Rhein on

This week Gadling picked up another blogger Mike Barish who considers Lunchables unusual food.

When I browsed the week’s offerings, money popped out as one of the prevailing themes. With the stock markets doing a roller coaster act, forgetting that the ups give riders a reprieve, it’s no wonder.

  • Scott’s post on American Airlines possible plan to do àla carte pricing offers great suggestions for getting the most umph out of the dollars you fork over for flying.
  • In another managing your travel money venture, Grant outlined how a person can take a short cut to Gold status for Hilton Hotels. Gold status offers more perks and deals.
  • When it comes to traveling in Europe, Jeffery delved into how the current financial crisis might be making European jaunts a cheaper venture for Americans. Considering that I’m heading to Denmark in December, that’s happy news.
  • Aaron wondered just how rich he is and found out that he’s the 730 millionth richest person in the world. His post points out how you can find out your own financial standing in the world. Perhaps the news will give you the feeling that you can afford at least a mini vacation to the next town over.
  • And to round it off, although there is more, Jerry is on the quest for cheap travel in Iceland. He’s already scored a $400 RT ticket. Not bad, Jerry.

Also, for anyone who is looking for some Gadling glory, check out our series Catching the Travel Bug. We’re looking for your stories and will publish our reader submitted favorites.

Joe the Plumber’s Lucas County Ohio: There are decent things to do there. How about a corn maze and Toledo?

by Jamie Rhein on

When I heard Joe the Plumber, the guy McCain made his personal friend in Wednesday night’s presidential debate, was from Holland, Ohio, my first thought was maybe there’s something to do in Holland–a weekend getaway perhaps?

Not exactly. Not Holland, per se, but, it’s close to Sarah Palin’s corn maze for some fall fun. Whitehouse is also in Lucas County.

Corn, Palin and Joe Plumber aside, this is a part of Ohio has been on my list of places to go for sometime–Toledo, specifically.

Just this month, Toledo won first place in the America in Bloom Awards for cities of 100,001 or more people. The award is given to a city for its beautification efforts. Toledo must be lush with flower gardens. The Toledo Botanical Gardens would be a place to start to see the floral bounty.

For art lovers, the Toledo Museum of Art recently expanded its weekend hours because visitors had requested more access to this gem of a museum.

Two aspects of this art museum I’ve always been drawn to are the extensive events and art classes offered each month. Some are one day experiences.

A weekend trip to Toledo could include one of these. Make sure you arrive in time for It’s Friday. Each Friday the museum is open until 10 PM. Tours, music and glass blowing demonstrations are part of the fare.

Also, not to be missed is the museum’s Glass Pavilion where the museum’s collection of more than 5,000 pieces of glass art pieces are housed. The pavilion won an award in 2007 for being the best designed museum.

Another Toledo high point that achieved fame with the television series M*A*S*H is the eatery Tony Packo’s Café. Jamie Farr who played Corporal Max Klinger is from Toledo.

His first mention of Tony Packo’s during an episode came with the line “If you’re ever in Toledo, Ohio, on the Hungarian side of town, Tony Packo’s got the greatest Hungarian hot dogs. Thirty-five cents…”

Known for its chili dogs and Sweet Hot Pickles, Tony Packo’s has been serving up Hungarian style food since 1932.

So, one of these days I’ll head to Toledo, but probably not before Palin’s maze is browner than brown. Maybe next year when the spring flowers have bloomed. First stop, Tony Packo’s. I’ve wanted one of those chili dogs for years.