GadlingTV’s Travel Talk – Thailand Part 9: Hellfire Pass

by Stephen Greenwood on

Gadling TV’s Travel Talk, episode 39 – Click above to watch video after the jump

In the first half of Travel Talk’s grand Thai expedition, we’ve tamed elephants, explored Bangkok’s temples, eaten scorpions, taken in a Muay Thai match, and witnessed a train running directly through a bustling market. Now, we’re taking you to explore a lesser known province of Thailand for a closer look at the culture and traditions of rural Thai life.


In order to supply their expansion into Burma during WWII, the Japanese built the so-called “Death Railway,” which claimed over 100,000 lives from the Asian labourers and Allied POWs forced to work it. We get to experience the memorial at Hellfire Pass- the most grueling section of this infamous railway, then take on some hellfire of our own with the spiciest food Thai cuisine has to offer!

If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.


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Hosts: Stephen Greenwood & Aaron Murphy-Crews
Produced, Edited, and Directed by: Stephen Greenwood & Aaron Murphy-Crews
Special thanks: Tourism Authority of Thailand, Trikaya Tours

Travel Talk took Thailand by storm on invitation from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. No editorial content was guaranteed and Aaron & Stephen were free to openly share all adventures that they embarked upon.

Video of the day: the best burger in Los Angeles

by Elizabeth Seward on

Los Angeles from Dave Pinke on Vimeo.

Even with the Grammys and the Oscars behind us now, it’s still safe to say that Los Angeles is a major travel destination. Especially during months that are just a little too cold for comfort in other parts of the world. Dave Pinke, a traveler and video-making cool guy from NYC, put this video together after one of his trips to L.A. Among his travels featured in this video is his search for the best burger in L.A. And, you know, that’s important information–according to me.

Have a video you wish we’d see? Contact us.

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The Mission District: 3 delicious spots

by Elizabeth Seward on

San Francisco’s Mission District is one that should be explored. Named after San Francisco’s oldest building, the Alta California Mission, this section of town is actually sunnier and warmer more regularly than other sections of San Francisco. This is because it’s flat, surrounded by the city’s hills, and situated precisely so that it is insulated from the fog and wind coming from the west.

The Mission is also an epicenter for Latin culture, phenomenal wall art (murals and graffiti), and live music. And so, with this information in hand, I explored the district for a few days last week. I searched a lot, found a lot, and loved a lot, but these 3 delicious spots are now haunting me–even right now, at this very moment. As I sit in front of the computer and type this, I want to taste the things I tasted from the places again. If you visit The Mission, these stand-out places are my personal recommendations.

1. Dynamo Donuts
These guys must be brainstorming ways to make your stomach growl and waistline grow night and day. With donut flavors like Caramel Apple, Cornmeal Cherry, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip, and Monte Cristo (that one’s filled with ham, gruyere, and house-made jam), these donuts blew my mind. And then they melted in my mouth. In that order.
2. Humphry Slocombe
It doesn’t take much persuading to get me to check out a reportedly good ice cream shop, but man, I’m happy some new San Franciscan friends of mine recommended this spot. Among their interesting and sweet-tasting flavors, they have something I don’t see that ofen: beer-flavored ice cream. And, conclusively, it’s good.

3. Haus Coffee
This minimalistic open-aired loft-like coffeeshop was the exact right place for me to spend an entire day working in The Mission. In terms of space, the space here is used in a way that made me want to work, and work I did. But I also drank their coffee. Ritual Coffee was something I’d incidentally tried a couple days prior and when I saw it advertised out front, I chose my coffeeshop accordingly. Not only was it a good blend, but their mini cupcakes were good, too. Deliciousness + fast free wifi = a coffeeshop you should drop into.

There you have it, 3 things I now want but can no longer have. They’re the bane of my post-San Francisco-trip existence, but they’ll be the highlight of your next San Francisco trip.

Photos by Ben Britz

SXSW: 5 last minute accommodation options

by Elizabeth Seward on

Austin’s biggest festival, South by Southwest, is just around the ever-closer corner. And most decent hotels in town are fully booked. The decent hotels with remaining vacancy, if there are any left, will be charging you for the luxury of staying in a hotel during SXSW. So what’s a film, interactive, and music-lover to do? Bypass the entire festival? No. I don’t think so. Instead, get creative with your search for accommodations. Here are 5 options for last minute SXSW accommodations.

AirBnB has been targeting Austin residents for a while in preparation for this event. There are still rooms available on AirBnB and, if I had to guess, you’ll have more fun staying with some insta-friends than you will holed up in a hotel room too expensive or too far out of town.

HomeAway also still remains a viable Austin SXSW option. With a focus on vacation rentals of all sorts, you’ll see more Austin area destination rentals on HomeAway, like Lake Travis, with your initial search. Dig a little deeper though and there are still some decent close-enough properties up for grabs.
CouchSurfing still exists, despite the growing number of websites offering home owners and renters actual money for sharing their living space. So don’t knock it until you try it and try it if you’re stuck. Especially if you’re stuck, broke, and believe in karma.


Craigslist and its users have secured my housing several times. Although sites like AirBnB are more user-friendly and safeguarding than Craigslist, you definitely still have a chance at securing SXSW accommodations on this always-mysterious original online bulletin board.

Friends and friends of friends. Relatives and relatives of relatives. It may seem far-fetched, but ask around. Maybe you’ve exhausted your internal lists of connections for crashing in Austin and maybe you’ve already asked everyone on Facebook. But don’t draw the line there. Ask those close to you if they know anyone trustworthy in Austin you might be able to crash with. Offer your potential hosts some money for their time and space, cleaning services, and tell them you’ll chip in on drinks and food. Top that off with a warmly-welcomed gift (Out of ideas? A bottle of wine often does the trick) and you might just have yourself a home with some not-so-strange strangers.

Finally, here’s a tip for the road: If you wind up using any of the above accommodation options for SXSW, that means you’ll be staying in someone else’s home. Do not, I repeat, do not get so drunk amid SXSW festivities that you embarrass yourself or damage property. Especially if that whole ‘believing in karma’ line above resonated with you.

Video: ten crazy vending machines from around the world

by Scott Carmichael on

To most of us, the vending machine is where we get a can of Coke or a bag of Cheetos – in other parts of the world, the vending machine is a grocery store, or a discreet porn retailer. We’ve collected ten downright crazy vending machines from around the world.

Machine number 1 is a pizza vending machine – and not just crappy microwave pizza – fresh made pizza from scratch! Looks delicious.

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Condos, a Bentely, a 1965 Corvette? Gold plated handcuffs? Items from $10 to $1.2 million All available using your credit card from the vending machine.

24 hour casual hot food – the Japanese really do get the best vending machines…

Largest vending machine in the world – more like an automated grocery store.

More Japanese vending options – ice cream, t-shirts, socks.

Pets from a vending machine? Of course!

The usual lineup of soda, candy, porn DVD’s and used panties…

In the future, all vending machines will be operated by humans. Literally.

Medicinal marijuana vending machine? Wild Cherry on demand. You still need to show your prescription once at the window, but the rest is all handled at the vending machine.

Live crabs “could also be sold this way” – obviously something we won’t be seeing in the US any time soon.