Five endangered places you should see now, before they’re gone

by Martha Edwards on

If you knew a place was going to disappear soon, even if it wasn’t one of your top must-see destinations, would you visit it just in case you regretted never seeing it later on? Our brand-new sister blog, the Green Daily, recently published this post on vacation destinations that are on the brink of being extinct. A word to the wise: see them now or you might never get a chance. Here’s what made the list:

  1. Traditional China: Sadly, many Chinese landmarks and artifacts have fallen victim to the Yangtze River Valley damming project, which has flooded many traditional places along the historic body of water. And more of China is disappearing each day, particularly in the Yunnan province.
  2. The San Rafael Glacier, Chile: Glaciers are one tragic victim of this thing we call global warming, and they’re literally turning to water before our eyes. See this one before it disappears.
  3. Quirky Caribbean: When you go to the Caribbean these days, chances are you’ll see very little of the actual culture of this amazing destination — but you’ll see a lot of your all-inclusive resort! Travel outside the box and experience the culture in all it’s glory. Sure, the booze doesn’t flow like water in the real Caribbean, but you’ll have a much more rewarding experience. And you’ll be helping preserve this vibrant, dynamic culture.
  4. Red Sand Dunes, Namibia: Tourism and recreation are quickly eroding this naturally beautiful spot. For a one-of-a-kind experience, see these dunes before they’re gone for good.
  5. Village Culture in Romania: Romania’s mountain villages for up in the alps are a place where tourists can be transported back in time — people even still use carts and horses for transportation! But joining the European Union is sure to have a deep impact on these quaint communities.

Sign up now for your 2009 solar eclipse tour

by Catherine Bodry on

On July 22, 2009, China and the South Pacific will experience a total eclipse of the sun — and tours to see it are selling out almost as soon as they’re announced. Sirius Travels, a company specializing in eclipse tours, said their first tour filled up so fast they had to open another one and are thinking about offering a third.

According to USA Today, “eclipses happen on average about every 18 months. But not all are created equal. Some last just a few seconds; others darken the sky for up to seven minutes. And where they occur makes a huge difference.” Often one will occur over the ocean, or in areas where it’s usually foggy our cloudy. But the 2009 eclipse will be take place over relatively easy-to-reach areas that generally have good weather. Plus it will last a whopping 5 minutes.

Eclipse tours are typically accompanied by an astronomer, and include other astronomical sites. For a list of tour companies that offer such tours, as well as some tips for choosing your trip, read the USA Today article here. Happy star-gazing!

Fight global-warming by eating chicken

by Abha Malpani on

For someone who is a sacrilegious beef-eating Hindu carnivore, I have many ‘official’ reasons to quit eating meat, but I love my steak and chicken-wings, so that’s not going to happen. (In my caste, we cannot even eat egg).

Which is why I was thrilled to read that eating chicken can help combat global warming drastically!

A recent story on Salon explains in a nutshell: the amount of energy and resources we invest in breeding animals for food, alongside naturally toxic excretions of those animals, is more responsible for global-warming than burning fossil fuels. However, poultry are the least polluting. (Gore, did you know this?).

The story throws in some shocking statistics:

  • “livestock accounts for 18 percent of global warming emissions worldwide, more than the entire transportation sector” — why is this not in Al Gore’s film?!
  • “cattle, bison, sheep and goats burp out a lot of methane that traps 23 times more heat per ton than carbon dioxide” — and we’ve been fretting about spraying deodorant?!
  • “the difference between a vegan diet and one that includes cheeseburgers is less than 2 tons of greenhouse gases a year — that’s about the equivalent of switching from a Camry to a Prius” — I wonder what Toyota would have to say about that.

With that in mind, eating beef is the worst; then comes cattle, sheep and goat; and then pork and dairy products are relatively less harmful. Pork and dairy hold the same place in the environment?!

Conclusion: if you want to change your diet to combat global-warming — eating chicken is the best thing you can do. Chickens don’t “burp” methane and they produce only one-tenth the methane of cattle waste.

Now who would have thought!

Tim Cahill goes down Death Valley

by Abha Malpani on

If, in Tim Cahill’s words: “the sight of Death Valley National Park is something akin to scientific pornography for hard-rock geologists,” the piece he wrote on his travel there is soft-porn for the solitary adventure travel-writer.

Metamorphosis used to vaguely tickle my curiosity in geography class at school, but other than that, I have absolutely no interest in geology. I still managed to read Cahill’s detailed narration in National Geographic on Death Valley in one shot, without yawning.

For those of you who don’t know about Death Valley other than being a set for Star Wars, it’s a valley in California that is recognized as the lowest point of the Western Hemisphere and one of the hottest places on the planet; it covers an area of 3-million acres.

It’s called Death Valley after some explorers got lost there around 1845; although only one of them died, they all thought that it would be their grave.

What makes the place interesting other than it’s grim and forbidding name, is that it has sand-dunes as well as snow-capped mountains; multicolored rocks that move, and canyons. It is home to the Timbisha Shoshone tribe, and 1000 types of species and plants — 50 of which are not found anywhere in the world.

Cahill’s feature reads as if you were in an open museum of the Valley — he captures more than the essence of the place. So if you get a kick out of obscure geographical dwellings of our mother earth, you will love this article.

I suggest you start off by reading Cahill’s interview about the trip; then go on to the full article if it did something for you. The feature will be in print in National Geographic’s November issue.

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Costa Rica: No gypsies and hippies allowed

by Iva Skoch on

It is not easy to be a backpacker these days.

I was buying air tickets from New York to Costa Rica (but out of Panama City) over the phone yesterday, using a free voucher. I am glad that I did it over the phone, otherwise I would have been spared this brilliant conversation.

After booking, the Continental operator informed me that a yellow fever vaccine was recommended and that I should have access to $500 in cash. OK, I think I can manage that.

Then, she said I will not be allowed on the plane in New York unless I can prove how I’m getting from Costa Rica to Panama. What? Isn’t the fact that you have no idea how you’ll travel around the entire point of backpacking?

To take it even further, she recited that in Costa Rica “entry is denied to gypsies or those with hippy appearance.” I kid you not.

Are they for real?