Hotel death undiscovered for two weeks: do not disturb

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Be careful when you hang that “Do Not Disturb” sign from your hotel room doorknob. It may take people forever to find you. This is exactly what happened to Kieran Toman at the Hyde Park Towers Hotel just north of London. On July 9, 2010, he left that instruction on his door.

Unfortunately, the 39-year-old starved to death after doing so. His body, described by The Daily Mail as being in “an ’emaciated’ state,” wasn’t found until July 23, 2010. The staff was instructed not to enter without his permission, but the awful smell caused a maid to check out the cause.

Toman had booked a five-month stay at the spot, once home to Jimi Hendrix, but after those first two weeks, the remainder of his reservation was moot.

[Via Business Insider, photo by R.B. Boyer via Flickr]

Planes in Philadelphia and Newark being swept for suspicious materials

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Suspicious items have been found on cargo flights that landed in Newark, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania today. According to the Transportation Security Administration, the planes have been “moved to a remote location … out of an abundance of caution,” according to CNN.

The fire department’s hazardous materials units in Philadelphia responded to situations with two planes – one a UPS flight, the other a 757 with nobody on it. Officials say that the types of material that could be involved aren’t known.

My Fox New York adds:

Homeland Security officials said one of the crew on the cargo plane from Paris, France, landing at Philadelphia around 9 a.m. called authorities thinking a package aboard the plane could have a radioactive makeup, according to MyFoxPhilly.com.

According to My Fox New York, “There are unconfirmed reports that the Newark plane had arrived from Yemen.” Also, a plane bound from Chicago from Yemen was stopped in London when a bomb made from an ink toner cartridge was found.

In a statement, UPS said it’s cooperating with the investigation.

[photo credit: AP]

Favorite hiking spots near Madrid

by Sean McLachlan on

While most people come Madrid to sample the cuisine and see the art museums, Spain has much more to offer. Just an hour from the capital Madrid is the Sierra de Guadarrama, a chain of rough mountains wreathed in pine forest. While the strange rock formations of La Pedriza are perhaps more impressive, the Sierra de Guadarrama is the favorite getaway spot for madrileños because it’s so easy to get to and provides a variety of hikes for all fitness levels. Even out-of-towners will be able to get there and navigate the trails with no trouble.

The hikes start at the little town of Cercedilla, which can be reached by bus from Madrid’s Moncloa station or by train from Atocha station. Both take about an hour. If you want to stay overnight, several hostels and pensions offer cheap accommodation and the little local restaurants serve up traditional food at small-town prices.

First stop should be the visitors’ center just 2km (1.2 miles) uphill from the station. Here you can get a free map (in Spanish, but easy to understand without any linguistic knowledge) and advice on current conditions. There are also the usual nature exhibits to tell you a bit about the land you’re about to see.

From here you can branch off onto one of many trails. Cercedilla is at the head of the dead-end valley of Fuenfría, surrounded on three sides by the Guadarramas. Unlike many trails in Spain, the ones here are actually well marked with color-coded spots on trees and rocks. Various hikes go up the sides of the valley to viewpoints on the surrounding mountains. There’s also a dirt road that loops around the valley high enough to give excellent views and easy access to the peaks. The sides of the valley are sheltered by pine forest, but once you get up towards the peaks you’ll be exposed to the elements. Be sure to bring sunscreen, a hat, and if the weather is at all cool don’t forget some warm clothing. Wet weather gear is necessary sometimes too!

Beau Macksoud of the English-language hiking group Hiking in the Community of Madrid recommends Los Miradores, marked as the orange trail on the map.

“It’s not super difficult but has great views. It’s about 9 km (5.5 miles). Also, if you want to change your path for something more challenging, it crosses with other routes.”

%Gallery-106170%The trails range from short loop hikes you can do in an hour to all-day slogs that will test even the most fit. Most have a marked change in elevation that will get your heart pumping, and don’t forget to explore the bottom of the valley and its sparkling stream.

The Sierra de Guadarrama played a key role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39. The forces of the Second Republic, an uneasy coalition of liberal, socialist, communist, and anarchist parties, defended Madrid in a long siege against the fascist and Catholic forces of General Franco. The mountains were the city’s northern bulwark, and you can still see a string of concrete bunkers that protected the passes and valleys of the Guadarramas. Most aren’t fenced off and are safe to explore.

The Guadarramas are the scene for most of the action in Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, considered by many to be the classic book on the war, although George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia gives a more realistic view of what the war was really like.

So if you’re headed to Madrid, set aside the wine and art museums for a day and head to the mountains!

Azerbaijan’s visa hassles

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Prior to mid-October, as Andrew Mueller notes in today’s Monocolumn, visitors entering Azerbaijan without visas at capital Baku’s Heydar Aliyev Airport had to engage in a bizarre hop from booth to booth to obtain their visas. First, they had to stand in a line to get a passport stamp, then stand in another line to apply for a visa, then wait for the visa to be issued, and then stand in line again to have the visa inspected.

Unnecessary hassles like these are reminiscent of Soviet-era bureaucracy. They feel to many travelers like punishment, even when the reciprocal hassles (those faced by citizens of the country in question trying to enter the visitor’s country) are harsher and require greater advance planning.

Then, in the middle of October, Azerbaijan suddenly changed its visa regime, requiring visitors to obtain visas at the country’s embassies in advance. This requirement is not particularly annoying for tourists, who usually have time to drop their passports off at embassies prior to travel, but it’s a huge hassle for business travelers who often need to travel at the drop of a hat.

Mueller instructively contrasts Azerbaijan’s visa regime tightening with neighbor Georgia’s loosening of visa requirements. Georgia now offers visa-free access to the country for citizens of close to half the world’s nations, and the length of stay following entrance has been extended to a year from 90 days.

Here’s the rub: Azerbaijan is perfectly situated to take advantage of new waves of tourism. Interest in the country is growing, air routes from Europe are quite good, facilities for visitors are expanding, and oil money has Baku flush with venues for visitors to spend money.

But if the country makes it harder for people to visit, fewer will show up.

For the record, Monocle’s daily Monocolumn is a fantastic briefing courtesy of the magazine’s correspondents and contributors from around the world.

[Story source: Andrew Mueller, Monocle; photo credit: indigoprime / Flickr]

Photo of the day (10.28.10)

by Meg Nesterov on


Six months ago today, I arrived in Turkey, jetlagged and excited to begin my current adventure as an expat. Since then, I’ve gotten to know the many hills, museums, and cafes in this city nearly as well as New York. In honor of this anniversary, I chose this photo by Flick user Luke Robinson that says “Istanbul” to me with nary a kebap, bazaar, or minaret in sight. It’s on the Galata Bridge spanning the Golden Horn, where dozens of fishermen stand every day in hopes of catching a fish from the Bosphorus. Some men fish for a living, others fish for pleasure, and you can spot more than a few men wearing suits and leather shoes. Hungry for fish? The bridge’s lower level is packed with fish restaurants serving the catch of the day.

Do you have a great travel photo that captures the essence of a place? Upload it to our Flickr Pool and it could be a future Gadling Photo of the Day.