With so many new bloggers it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with who’s who and whose blogging what piece of scrumptious travel news and oddities from around the planet, but fear not. I’ve read line by line through every post this week here on Gadling and now I give you this brief summary of five from some of the newbies and the old to while away your Friday night.
5. Introducing Gadling’s “Video of the Week”:
Newcomer, Justin Glow does a fab job of bringing a new category to Gadling. Even though we’ve showcased a video or eight in the past we’ve never honored or singled out one for “Video of the Week.” Now is your opportunity to have your travel footage featured on Gadling! Dark Havana alleys, bustling Bangkok markets, or mellowing out on la playa in Ibiza – you’re the driver and the director so you call the shots. Now where are we gonna go?
4.Bad Drivers with Bad Directions:
Speaking of drivers, Dave points us to a great post on man vs. the machine. The machine is the ever-so-popular GPS device man has decided to place all confidence and common sense into while driving on the road. The combination of the two sometimes leads us safely to our final destination or sometimes it simply causes us to ram up against a telephone pole.
3.Travel Theory #124: Travel is Good for the Ego:
Need to boost your spirits and confidence? Why not hit the seas, the road or take a hike? It’s no secret that a good week long vacation away from your home digs does wonders on the mind, body and ego. Take a look at the list at how travel can be just what the doctor ordered and start planning your escape today.
2. Permafrost Disappearing, Siberia Terraforming:
I don’t know if I’m directing you to the post or some of the surprising comments it seems to have generated. Overall, it is this plug on global warming and its effects on Siberia that is most certainly worth a glance. The planet is crying. Can you hear it?
1. New Passport Rules Tomorrow:
Here is a friendly reminder to get your passports my fellow American travelers. Travel by air to Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas or any nation in the Western Hemisphere will require a valid U.S. passport. Afraid to fly or too darn lazy to get a passport? Apparently these rules only apply to air travel, so you can still enter Canada with your driver’s license by car according to the Canadian border patrol officer I spoke to this week. Both land and sea dates keep getting pushed back, but if you travel by air you sure better have one.
Traveling Sans Alcohol … Help!
Nothing speeds up the recovery process of an eight hour, 3rd class train journey through the Rajasthani countryside than making it to your destination in one piece and enjoying an ice cold Kingfisher over a plate of peanuts and potato chips. Being able to enjoy a cold brew any time of the day, in fact, is one of the luxuries of being on the road and away from the daily grind of work. Even so, the lure of alcohol while traveling is sometimes overwhelming, smashing daily budgets, or lowering your safety awareness level, which can put you in some tough situations if you’re not careful.
In the most recent Yahoo! Traveling Light column, a former alcoholic asks travel writer Rolf Potts for advice on dealing with social situations with the intent of not offending anyone while traveling where alcohol is common place. “I wouldn’t travel with the aim of insulting people, but I’m not out to go on an intercontinental bender. Any tips?”
Picking the wrong destination, explains Rolf, could be the first mistake. “There are some parts of the world, however – and I’m thinking of East Asia and Eastern Europe in particular – where drinking is such an ingrained part of the culture that it might be difficult to continually turn down alcohol.”
So what to do if you find yourself in a situation where turning down a drink that’s been offered to you could be a major insult? Simply “tell them you’re allergic to alcohol.” This should mask the focus of choosing not to drink, and instead make it a requirement to stay sober. If it makes you sick, there should be no argument.
To read Rolf’s response in full, head over to Yahoo! Traveling Light.
Giggle-Inducing Photos
I could have saved just one of the photos on this page to do a photo of the day, but as I scrolled down the page, I realized that there are so many hilarious shots here, it deserved its own post.
Many of these shots are travel snapshots, while a few others are not, so I DO feel justified calling this a travel-related post. Take a look at them all, because even though many are obviously staged, they are a testament to human visual creativity.
Venice Is Overrated
While everyone should see Venice at least once, I don’t understand why people find it romantic. I mean, the place is packed with tourists! You can’t be left alone for two seconds before you are either a) in someone’s picture, or b) being asked to take a picture of someone.
The population of Venice has been cut in half in the last 40 years and if the trend continues, there will be no residents of Venice left by 2030. The local color is dissapearing to make space for more tourist buses. I came to the conclusion that Venice must be romantic for the same people who like to proclaim their love for each other in public (i.e., marriage proposals at baseball games.)
I started thinking about Venice when reading the MSN’s 10 Romantic Escapes tips with number 10 featuring, you guessed it, Venice. Bora-Bora, Paris and Dubrovnik, other contenders, I can live with. The sub headline “Our favorite romantic escapes are guaranteed to rekindle a long-standing love, or kick a new one up a notch, all year long”, however, sounds too good to be true. If the relationship lacks romance, even Bora-Bora can be Boring-Boring.
Sanitized Travel
At the risk of talking ad nauseum (yuck, yuck) about getting sick while traveling, National Geographic’s Traveler magazine has a good article this month with the pros and cons of eating street foods versus avoiding local cuisines.
On one hand, they quoted an infectious disease expert and a CDC travel health specialist as saying that, while some folks may be naturally predisposed to intestinal bugs, everyone should watch out when eating foods that have sat around in the open air for very long, as well as fresh (peeled) fruit or veggies, regardless of the locale.
On the other side of the debate is chef and author Anthony Bourdain who says he hasn’t yet gotten sick eating street food, even though he’s known for traveling around the world, eating weird stuff. Further, his TV crew has a running betting pool as to who will be the first victim of local food. His choice comment? It’s the “Purell junkies” who inevitably get sick; better to follow the locals’ lead on what to eat and drink. Avoiding eating local foods can cause you to miss a deep connection with where you are when you travel: “Food is the purest expression of local identity.”
What do you do while traveling, dear readers, just eat it?