Gadling Take FIVE: Week of January 31-February 6

by Jamie Rhein on

Despite all the noise of drunk pilots, celebrities, and credit card scams that can pepper the travel scene, there are gems of places not to be missed and stories worth hearing again. Perhaps you’ve read that our dear Matthew Firestone who has graced us with his Big in Japan series for more than a year is off to Africa. No new entries for Big In Japan, but you can keep reading previous posts.

If you haven’t checked out Gadling’s current series, Bowermaster’s Antarctica,do. The photos of the penguins in the gallery are stunning. Each time I read Jon’s work, I’m reminded of the Danish novel, Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow. The setting is not the same–the novel is set in Greenland, but both are versions of a journey into a world of snow, ice, and mystery.

This month, we’re also continuing with our theme of budget travel. Each day at 11:30 am, there will be a new post on how or where to travel without spending a lot of money.

Here are five other offerings to give you some travel inspiration.

  • Kraig offered up the Guangxi Autonomous Region in Southeast China as a travel destination. As he describes in China’s Hidden Outdoor Wonderland, this is a place to head to for an off the beaten track experience that will not disappoint.
  • In his post Destination on the Edge: Seal training , Tom gives the run-down on how you can get a military training experience without joining the military. For anyone thinking about joining the military, this might not be a bad idea. From his description, being in shape sounds like a must.
  • With movie award season here, check out Jeremy’s post Undiscovered New York: A movie lover’s guide to New York. There are tips for how to find out where films were shot, as well as, the hot spots for movie-watching. The guy knows what he’s talking about.
  • Mike’s post The most disappointing tourist attractions has gathered many hits this week. Read the comment section to find out which places others have loved or hated. I agree with Mike’s take on the Taj Mahal. Simply glorious. Another you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it attraction, for me, is the Grand Canyon.
  • When I read Grant’s post Smithsonian opens Forensic Files of the 17th Century, I thought, that’s an exhibit to see. As he points out the exhibit will be on display for two years, but time has a way of passing fast, so put this one on your things to do list.

And because it’s Bob Marley’s birthday, and I really want you to go into this weekend feeling swell, check out this post. The video will make your heart sing. At least it did mine and Karen’s. Karen, by the way has wowed me each week with photography tips that make me think I ought to carry my camera around more.

Off the Beaten Path in Egypt

by Kraig Becker on

Egypt is one of those countries that is incredibly rich with history and culture that it’s nearly impossible to see it all on just one visit. Traditionally visitors to the desert country fly into Cairo and experience its wonders, including the legendary Egyptian Museum, the ancient Kahn el-Khalili Bizarre, and of course the Pyramids and Sphynx. From there, most travelers take a Nile cruise, visit Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and Queens, and then head home.

While that may be the classic list of things to see and do in Egypt, there are plenty of others as well. For instance, Alexandria lies to the north on the Mediterrainian Coast, and has its own array of ancient wonders to explore with surviving relecs from the Roman, Mesopotamian, and of course Egyptian civilizations. And while the Great Pyramids of Giza are the typcial stop for anyone wanting to see those architectural marvels, the much older Step Pyramid is worth the journey as well.

One of the more unique and hidden gems of Egypt is the Siwa Oasis, which is located in the Sand Sea, about 50 miles from the Lybian border. The ancient settlement has existed since at least the 10th Century BC, and is mostly inhabited by ethnic Berbers. Its big draw is the ruins of a temple that were said to be the home of a powerful oracle. There are also a number of tombs from a variety of eras.

Adventure Journey has all the details on how to get to Siwa, and do so on the cheap. The trip requires a bus ride through Alexandria, giving travlers the opportunity to really get off the beaten path and explore a side of Egypt that few ever experience.

Smithsonian opens Forensic Files of the 17th Century

by Grant Martin on

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History opens “Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th- Century Chesapeake” Saturday, an anthropological exhibition studying the way that early colonists in the Chesapeake region lived and died.

Among collected artifacts are about 340 pieces from the SI and 20 other archaeological organizations around the world, including original lead coffins, facial reconstructions, life size models and other eerie windows into the past.

Insiders bill the exhibition as the Smithsonian’s version of CSI, where scientists have examined the remains of these colonists, reconstructed their lives and retold their stories around their past. It should be a pretty interesting story.

The exhibition will be on display for the next two years, so if you can’t make it down to DC anytime soon, you’ve got a little bit of time to build an itinerary. And don’t forget, access the spectrum of Smithsonian Museums is free, so this could be the budget destination that you’ve been looking for.

Bowermaster’s Antarctica — Marguerite Bay

by Jon Bowermaster on

I spent the afternoon walking on a piece of fast ice the size of a small town – floating on the surface, about six feet thick, still attached to the continent – in a fjord known as Beaujoix. Many of the landmarks in the area bear French names, like the big island of Pourquoi Pas, for example, thanks to the early exploits this far south by Frenchman Jean Charcot.

Surrounded on three sides by breathtaking tall mountains and glaciers and on the other by the black Southern Ocean, this is as far south as I’ve ever been. Further south than all but a few ever get along the Peninsula. The reward was a long walk on new snow-covered ice. A dozen leopard seals play along the ice edge and small squadrons of Adelie penguins walk and scoot on their bellies alongside.

We tried to get here last year by sea kayak, but our attempt to sneak through the Gullet just north – a narrow sliver of sometimes-open water – was for naught, and we only got as far as the bottom of Crystal Sound. Our goal last year was to get exactly to this point, to Blailock Island where, on the northeast corner, an old friend, Giles Kershaw, is buried. I think we may have spotted the sight today, marked by a stone cairn, as we trekked.

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I met Giles in the mid-1980s, when he already had a reputation as the very best Arctic and Antarctic pilot in the business. He had flown for the British Antarctic Survey from 1974 to 1979 and had around the world, over both poles, and provided air support for many major expeditions. In 1983 alone he landed at the North Pole twenty-three times. In 1980 he was awarded a medal from the Queen of England, after he flew across a thousand miles of trackless Antarctic white to rescue three South African scientists who had been marooned on an iceberg for eight days. Even among his adventuring peers, Giles was considered the most adventuresome, the most curious, and the most visionary.

In 1985, after successfully helping a pair of wealthy American climbers scale the tallest peak on the continent, Mt. Vinson, he and two Canadian partners (Martyn Williams and Pat Morrow) started what is still the only private business operating in Antarctica. Then called Adventure Network International, they set up a seasonal base camp at Patriot Hills, near the Thiel Mountains in Antarctica’s interior, and flew in climbers, expeditioners and South Pole-bound tourists. Along the way they helped out a fair amount of international scientists, which is why the Antarctic Treaty and its membership – which bans private enterprise here – looked the other way and allowed them to operate.

In 1988 Giles helped lay supply caches between the tip of the Peninsula and the South Pole for my friend Will Steger’s Transantarctica Expedition and, on March 5, 1990, he was killed just near where I walked today. His Antarctica season had just ended and he was on a boat anchored just offshore from here, making experimental flights with a homemade gyrocopter. It crashed into a glacier at the edge of the Jones Ice Shelf. Several years later the mountain that anchors the northeast corner of the island across from where I stand is named for him.

That personal history notwithstanding, this spot on the map is one of the most remarkable places I’ve ever put my feet. Remote, stark, and unrelentingly beautiful. Even turning a full 360, twisting my boots in the soft snow, I can’t take it all in, too enormous to describe or articulate. You’ll have to come see it for yourself one day!

Click HERE for more dispatches from Antarctica!

St. Petersburg photos offer glimpse of a “hidden” past

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Any visitor to Saint Petersburg will quickly understand the city’s reputation as the “crown jewel” of Russia. Built by Russian monarch Peter the Great to compete with the great capitals of Europe, Saint Petersburg’s architecture is characterized by ornate European-style buildings and colorful onion dome cathedrals set along a series of grand canals.

Yet the startling beauty of this former Russian capital city does not immediately reveal the harsh secrets beneath the beautiful facades. During World War II, when city had been renamed as Leningrad by the Soviets, it was the site of a brutal siege by an invading Nazi army. Website English Russia is featuring a series of images taken by photographer Sergei Larenkov, who has superimposed photos taken during the World War II siege with the same locations today.

The siege was a horrible time for the town’s residents. Not only was the city was assaulted by an invading army – they were forced to also endure a brutal winter and dwindling food supplies, leading many to resort to eating their shoes and stray rats (if they were lucky). Meanwhile dead bodies lay decomposing in the streets and machine gun nests staked claim to once busy intersections. Larenkov’s photos effectively connects the viewer these horrific scenes, juxtaposing idyllic 21st Century street shots with stark black and white snapshots of a time of war.

Needless to say, the siege was a horrible moment – but the Germans were eventually beaten back and life slowly returned to normal. Nearly 65 years later, the city is as pretty as ever. Yet as any visitor walks the streets of St. Petersburg circa 2009, lined with gorgeous architecture, chic cafes and trendy boutiques, it’s interesting to think of how far Russia has come from those days of the past – and just how close it came to the brink of disaster.

[Via Environmental Graffiti]