Wanderfly.com travel-planning site launches in beta

by Meg Nesterov on


A new travel-planning website and booking engine is launching this month in beta, and I was excited to give it a test run, having first heard about the site this spring at a EuroCheapo travel happy hour. Wanderfly.com is a “personalized recommendation engine” that takes your interests, budget, and even social network connections to give you inspiration and help you plan your next vacation. Flights and hotels are pulled from Expedia, with restaurant recommendations, activities, and sightseeing descriptions culled from Lonely Planet, FourSquare, NileGuide, and Yelp.

Let’s say you have a week to travel in early September for Labor Day. Budget is under $1,000 per person for flights and hotels, and you’re interested in culture, beaches, and food. Plug all those into the search engine and you’ll get a series of destinations to review, refine, share, and book. While the site still has a few bugs (budget busters would sneak through the filters, the help feature is not fully enabled), the interface is slick and user-friendly, the features are thoughtful, and the content is reliable.

What’s cool about the site:

  • Since I’m currently based in Turkey, I loved that your point of origin could be pretty much anywhere in the world so I could run searches from New York and Istanbul to get a wide variety of places convenient for different parts of the world.
  • A wide (1,200 and growing) network of destinations gave me some ideas I’d never considered or even heard of (Kalingrad, Russia; Azemmour, Morocco; Krabi, Thailand), as well as some more tried-and-true vacation spots(Sunny Isles Beach, Florida; Mykonos, Greece; Split, Croatia).
  • Weather and news tabs give you an idea of the current climate (could be too hot on that Egyptian beach) and happenings, though you might come up with nothing for more obscure destinations. I also love that many of the news feeds are through Twitter accounts like @visitbritain, giving up-to-the-minute quickie items.

What will be cool about the site:

  • Ability to share trip ideas and plans with friends via email or Facebook is great for planning a trip with multiple people or getting feedback on a destination. Currently, Facebook Connect will tell you who you know in a given place, but I’d probably remember if I had a friend in Lutsk, Ukraine.
  • Festivals and special events come up via Eventful, but on the beta site event dates will pop up well after your search range so don’t plan around that blues festival just yet. There are also plans to add destination reviews, currency converters, and travel tips.
  • After all the searching, sorting, and sharing, you can actually book through the site, though only if you have a US credit card. The booking interface is also easy to use and gives options for frequent flier numbers, seat and meal preferences, and room types.

All in all, Wanderfly is a nifty new tool for dreaming and planning your next trip. If they could find a way to integrate time-sensitive deals, local blogs, and multiple-destination trips, this could be the only travel site you need.

5 reasons to be a tourist

by Meg Nesterov on


After three months living in Istanbul, I’ve gained a stable of a few dozen Turkish words to string into awkward sentences; learned some local intel on what soccer teams to root for, where to get the best mantı, and the best Turkish insults (maganda is the local equivalent of guido); and have come to avoid Sultanahmet with the same disdain I used to reserve for Times Square when I lived in New York. Then a funny thing happened while wandering the Asian side or the city with some visiting friends: I stopped worrying and learned to love being a tourist. Letting your guard down and realizing you will ultimately always be a tourist no matter how “local” and “authentic” you can live, no matter how long you explore a place, is remarkably liberating, even fun. The old traveler vs. tourist debate is one of the most pernicious and tiresome in the travel world, and while there’s a lot of truth and value in being an independent traveler, tourists are a good thing, and being a tourist can be a lot less annoying and worthwhile than the travel snobs would have you believe.

  1. Get unabashedly lost – When I make a wrong turn in Istanbul, I’m so self-conscious about being “caught” as someone who doesn’t belong here, I find myself hiding in alleys furtively studying maps, seeking out street signs from the corners of my eyes, and acting as if that wrong turn was entirely planned for and intentional. Yet on a recent trip to Prague, I was on the hunt for a cafe recommended to me by David Farley, and after giving up on the hopes of finding a wifi connection, I started going into bars and shops and asking directions. Eventually I found the (excellent) Meduza Cafe, saw some interesting dive bars/casinos along the way, and got over my shame of toting a map around.
  2. Do something you could do at home – Sure, you came to Paris to see the Louvre and absorb the cafe atmosphere, not to sit in your hotel room and watch pay-per-view movies, but seeing the everyday abroad can be a great window into another culture. I’ve wandered malls in Buenos Aires, gone to the movies in Turkey, and had coffee at a Chilean McDonald’s (I’m also a big fan of zoos). Each place I have been surrounded by locals and experienced a surreal clash of the foreign familiar.
  3. Eat foreign foreign food – Sushi is great in Tokyo, but so is Korean, Chinese, Indian, and Italian; pretty much everything other than Mexican, which for some reason is a total fail in Japan. Just because something isn’t a “native” dish doesn’t mean it isn’t widely enjoyed by locals or “authentic” to the region. If you are insistent on only eating the national foods, you could miss out on great pizza in Colombia or cheap French food in Lebanon.
  4. Speak English – Learning please and thank you in a foreign language will get you a long way and it’s always a good idea to know a few key words, but English has become the lingua franca of the world and using it abroad is often easier and can lead to good conversations. My fractured Turkish is often met with English responses and I’ve met shopkeepers, bartenders, and taxi drivers eager to practice their English, discuss politics (apparently many Turks would like Bill Clinton to be president of their country, who knew?), or ask if the cafe they frequented while studying abroad in Raleigh is still around.
  5. Stop, gawk, and take pictures of stupid things – Another thing New York instills in you is to not look up, watch street performers, or act as if even the most ludicrous spectacle is anything other than commonplace. Remember when virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell played in the D.C. Metro? I’d bet that more tourists than locals stopped to listen. Or what if I’d let my embarrassment prevent Mike Barish from taking a picture of this sign in my neighborhood subway station? Could have been tragic. Soak up as much of the sublime and the ridiculous as you can.

Maybe one day we can eschew the traveler and tourist labels, shed our fanny packs and backpacks, realize we’re all a little obnoxious, and embrace the wonder and fun of exploring a new place in whatever way we want.

Travel fitness: Top 10 spots for yoga around the world

by Gadling Staff on

You can run, walk, hike, climb, swim, surf, and scuba your way to new experiences, but even the most active traveler needs a brief moment of zen every now and again. For those who need more than a few seconds of “Om” to get through their day, check out some of these top spots of yoga around the world:

1. Present Moment Retreat – Troncones Beach, Guerrero in Mexico
If you happen to be down in Guerrero don’t miss the chance to visit the Present Moment Retreat for a yoga vacation you won’t soon forget. Complete with a private beach for meditating and yoga workshops by the ocean. You’ll have the privacy of a deserted Island and the accommodations of a five star hotel. With it’s diverse yoga, meditation and healing workshops this is the perfect place to reconnect your mind, body and soul.

2. Himalayan Institute – Honesdale, PA
You don’t need to be familiar with founder Swami Rama to benefit from the many programs offered at this retreat, set in the rolling hills of the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. You can choose to stay for a weekend, a week, a month or even a long residential stay, where you will encounter a serious approach to hatha yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, eastern philosophy and meditation. Expect zero luxuries other than vegetarian meals, a peaceful setting and authentic, carefully crafted treatments.

3. Esalen Institute – Big Sur, CA
The Esalen institute with its 400 plus workshops, is designed to maximize the human potential. Located in the Santa Lucia Mountains on 27 acres of Big Sur Coastline this retreat offer the perfect atmosphere serious retreaters. Esalen’s unique blend of Eastern and Western philosophies give it a dynamic insight that opens the mind and cultivates the soul. Most people experience Esalen through a weekend or five-day workshop, where you can pick form subjects such as Yoga, somatics, dreams, shamanism, biofeedback, hypnosis and more. You can enjoy the hot springs and bodywork by appointment.4. White Lotus Foundation – Santa Barbara, CA
Founded by the accomplished Ganga White, this mountain oasis sits on ancient canyon grounds-considered sacred by the original inhabitants, the Chumash Indians-overlooking Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean. Personal and group retreats are available year-round with themes like Spirit Dance, Yoga Retreat, and Sacred Breath. A retreat will include any or all of these: daily Hatha yoga classes, hikes in the oak and manzanita forests, meditation within canyon walls, breathing exercises, bodywork, dips in the waterfalls, massage, music, dance, philosophical discussions, a visit to the underground Hopi style “Kiva” temple and vegetarian meals.

5. Sivananda Ashram – Sierra Foothills, CA
One of several Sivananda Yoga Centers around the world, this Sivananda Ashram is on eighty acres of Sierra foothills in Northern California. Founded by Swami Vishnu Devananda, a pioneer of yoga in the Western world, this Ashram is open year-round to practitioners of all abilities. You have a choice to stay a day, a weekend or a month with daily programs and wellness classes that include daily yoga classes, the swami’s five points of yoga (proper exercise, breathing, relaxation, diet, positive thinking/meditation), women’s health, positive thinking, vegetarian cooking, Ayurveda, meditation or a silent retreat.

6. Shambhala Mountain Center – Red Feather Lakes, CO
This Tibetan Buddhism-centered retreat caters to both begins and in-depth practitioners with many programs on yoga, Buddhist meditation, Shambhala warriorship training and much more. Being located on 600 acres in the Colorado Rockies, your surrounded by seemingly limitless natural beauty and an array of animals you might encounter. Besides practicing yoga, you can enjoy a walk in the Botanic Gardens, or a evening massage, a morning Vipassana Insight meditation, or poetry reading. The Shambhala Mountain Center is also home to The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya, the “largest and most elaborate example of Buddhist sacred architecture in North America.”

7. Kalani Oceanside Retreat – Big Island, HI
This island retreat has a lushes setting that borders the ocean and tropical jungle. Incorporating a healing and joyful spirit, guests can enjoy skilled instruction in yoga, healthy vegetarian, creative writing, and Dolphin Dance. There is a year-round Introduction to Yoga retreat offered for those who have wish to begin their spiritual quest. Accommodations cover all budgets, from the colorful Tree House with ocean and horse pasture views to the friendly cottage and the campsite.

8. Satchitananda Ashram – Buckingham, VA
At the 1,000-acre Satchitananda Ashram Yogaville in the Virginia countryside guests enjoy yoga classes, meditation, three vegetarian meals a day, Saturday evening satsang and a visit to Lotus (the Light Of Truth Universal Shrine), an oasis for contemplation and prayer dedicated to world peace and all faiths. The kind of Yoga you will find here combines various branches of yoga such as Hatha, Raja, Bhakti, Karma, Jnana and Japa, to form a scientific system that incorporates your mind, body, and spirit in a most efficient way. Guests stay in air-conditioned dorms, private rooms in two guest houses or campgrounds on a quiet, wooded area. Weekend workshops and programs on anything from Thai Yoga Massage to structural yoga therapy or vegan and vegetarian cooking are also available, as well as teacher certifications.

9. Ashiyana – Goa, India
Located in the land where yoga was born, Ashiyana is more of a personal growth center than simply a yoga hideaway. There are special silent retreats lead by a master that enable guests to look within to glean the nature of the true self. Regular clinics are scheduled throughout the year for various types of yoga-Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Motion Yoga, teacher training and more. If you prefer to practice at your own pace, you can also plan a yoga holiday that eliminates the structure of a formal retreat and group involvement.

10. Ibiza Yoga – Benirras Beach, Ibiza in Spain
On the northwest coast of Europe in a quiet corner of the island people will find an oasis of calm tranquility to practice Ashtanga-based yoga. They can enjoy vegetarian meals and the peace of mind need to ‘find themselves.’ The accommodations of Villa Roca, Villa Palmas, Benirras Beach Apartment and the Pagoda Garden are tasteful and down to earth, and you cannot beat the sunsets.

Photo of the day (7.29.10)

by Meg Nesterov on

Some of the best travel photos tell a story or capture a stranger in a private moment. This candid portrait of a woman in Tel Aviv, Israel reading in a window by Flavio@Flickr does both beautifully. What is she so absorbed in reading? It could be an alarming news story or a love poem, or she could just be catching up on the latest Lindsay Lohan antics. At any rate, her image tells an interesting story and invites the viewer to contemplate what could be going on inside the window.

Do your photos have a great story to tell? Upload them to Gadling’s Flickr group and we might use one for a future Photo of the Day.

Weekending: Beirut

by Meg Nesterov on


One of the best things about life as an expat in Turkey is easy access to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, with many previously far-flung destinations only a few hours’ flight away. I might not plan a week-long vacation in, say, Kosovo, but if I can be there for Friday happy hour and home Monday morning, why not? My main criteria for choosing weekend trips are easy access, no advance visa required, and access to sights and culture I won’t find in Istanbul. Other than that, I pore over the Turkish Airlines timetable like a Stieg Larsson novel, choose a destination, and start planning.

The place: Beirut, Lebanon

All the travel mags have recently hyped Beirut as the “Paris of the Middle East,” a title the city has long boasted but only recently regained after the 2006 bombings. Now it’s *the* place for nightlife in the Middle East, a hot bed of new construction with luxury hotels opening like the Four Seasons and Le Gray, and a diverse mix of culture (Lebanon has 18 official religions, representing Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and the Islamic Druze sect), where you can often hear church bells and the mosque’s call to prayer on the same corner. The downtown district has been beautifully restored, though it lacks a little soul; the Corniche waterfront is pleasant for strolling among Muslim families and locals drinking tea and smoking nargileh pipes; and the university area of Hamra is dotted with cozy pubs and cafes.

%Gallery-97953%Upgrades

  • As the summer gets more oppressively hot in Turkey, I find myself in search of a beach and despite the fact that Istanbul is surrounded by water, options are slim and expensive. Beirut offers many options for refreshment in the form of beach clubs (really a glorified pool complex with restaurants), where you can also take in the daytime social scene with young Lebanese chatting each other up in the pool with a cocktail in one hand and a cigarette in the other (smoking is pretty much the national sport of Lebanon, so be warned). If you’re not wearing stilettos and a bejeweled, designer bikini that probably shouldn’t come into contact with liquid, you’re probably under dressed.
  • The shopping scene downtown has the usual gang of international brands, but nearby Saifi Village has cool boutiques with local, up-and-coming designers. Even more interesting is the Sunday Souq el Ahad flea market, with everything from live chickens to bootleg DVDs to antique clocks, with nary a souvenir or fanny pack in sight. Try saying that about the Grand Bazaar.
  • Expat ease: English is widely spoken and US dollars are used everywhere in addition to Lebanese lira, though getting change in two currencies requires some finely honed math skills. Alcohol is quite readily available and cheaper than in Turkey, with particularly good local wine and laughably cheap duty free prices.

Downgrades

  • With all the hotel openings, the cost of accommodation is pretty steep, with few hotels under $200 in high season and a dearth of good budget options. Looking for a hotel with a pool (a must in summer), I ended up at the Riviera Hotel, where the main draw was the attached beach club and quick walk to Hamra, for $165 a night. Beirut could use a chain like Istanbul’s House Hotels, which has converted historic buildings in trendy neighborhoods into chic and cheap accommodation.
  • As sprawling and inconvenient as Istanbul’s public transportation is, Beirut is even worse with a confusing and rundown bus system and taxi cabs which have no meters (tricky to agree to a price in advance when you don’t speak Arabic or understand what price you should pay). Service taxis are shared cars most locals use to get around, but they are virtually indistinguishable from private taxis and difficult to navigate, as you have to ask where they are going.
  • Beirut has a handful of good museums and good access to day trips, but otherwise your sightseeing can be done in a day or two, which can leave you for more time for people watching at the beach or at a cafe. Contrasted with Istanbul’s endless array of palaces, museums, historical sights, and markets, Beirut works best as a stop on a larger trip or as a relaxation and nightlife-centric getaway.

Getting there

Beirut International Airport is served by flights from Europe and the Middle East; budget carriers Air Baltic and Pegasus connect with most of Europe, and bmi flies from 7 cities in the US via London. Most countries get a free 1-month visa on arrival. There’s no public transit from the airport; arrange a taxi pickup with your hotel, or try to bargain to around $30 – 40. Along with Syria and a dozen other countries, Lebanon will not allow entry to anyone with an Israeli passport stamp, but you shouldn’t have many problems going into Israel with a Lebanese stamp.

Make it a week

Beirut is an exciting, sad, glamorous, and hopeful city, all at the same time and depending on your perspective. It would be worthwhile to extend your trip to explore more of Lebanon or combine with a visit to Syria (also a “go there before it gets discovered” destination but requires you apply for a visa in advance).