Students travel to Japan, help recovery efforts

by Chris Owen on

Travel to Japan was disrupted last year when a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11. The disaster brought an alarming death toll, fear of nuclear explosion and travel alerts cancelling hundreds of flights and stranding tens of thousands of travelers. But that disaster also elicited enormous response from people all over the world who pledged their help to the affected area. As we approach the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, recovery is well under way but there is a lot of work to be done. One of the organizations helping in the effort has students traveling to Japan for an immersive foreign travel experience like no other.

People to People Ambassador Group will be sending over 100 students to Japan in July for the first time since the devastation. These students were so committed to traveling to Japan that they’ve waited a full year to be able to make this trip.

People to People’s Spirit of Japan program puts student ambassadors in the heart of Japan, on an immersive itinerary that provides an immersion in a rural Japanese community where students will work at local schools and farms in the ravaged Tohoku area. The idea is to lend a hand to a host community, providing much needed help doing everything from assisting farmers in clearing their fields to teaching local students English. Working side by side with local citizens during a home stay with a Japanese family is part of the experience as participants offer up close and personal time with those actually affected by the natural disaster.

It is all part of People to People’s mission to get students involved and raise their global awareness with immersive experiential learning through travel.”In our interconnected world, we cannot be isolated-our decisions have an impact on other people, sometimes even those who live half a world away. Global citizens are people who accept a responsibility to others in their local and global community,” says People to People on its website.

Conditions in the affected area were so bad last year that it was unsafe for People to People groups to travel there. Both Narita (NRT) and Haneda airports (HND) which handle international and domestic flights for Tokyo were closed; leaving 14,000 passengers stranded. Sendai airport (SDJ), 300 kilometers to the north, was virtually destroyed by the tsunami.

Many travelers around the world felt the effect of Japan’s airport failures combined with a huge increase in demand for flights into Japan that had a cascading effect on travel. Airports from Canada to London saw delayed flights as the U.S. issued a travel alert urging U.S. citizens to avoid tourism and non-essential travel to Japan.

Here, some of the survivors look back-



Image provided by People to People

Blogger claims to find way around airport body scanners

by Grant Martin on

Jonathan Corbett is on a mission against the Transportation Security Administration. The blogger and activist has been staunchly opposing efforts to implement advanced imaging technology ever since it was introduced to the nation’s airports in 2007, going so far as to file lawsuit over his beliefs. At issue is the agency’s use of the technology, which many claim is no more effective than a magnetometer but that can potentially see sensitive anatomy.

Mr. Corbett keeps a well detailed blog of his fight over at tsaoutofourpants.wordpress.com, and to illustrate his position he claims to have discovered a manner in which to defeat the 3D scanners. By keeping metal objects at one’s sides, Corbett suggests, scanners blend metallic areas into the dark contrasting background, making it difficult for readers to see any hidden objects in profile. To test the theory he takes a small metal case through a scanner in a special side pocket of his own design.

Whether the method or his theories hold any water is still up for debate. While the video shows Mr. Corbett harmlessly passing through security, it doesn’t verify that the process can’t see from other perspectives or that a chance TSA agent may have been not paying attention. If there is a problem with the system, however, we’re glad that someone pointed it out.

Travel safety: are swans dangerous?

by Sean McLachlan on


Mr. Asbo is not a nice swan.

He’s attacked numerous boaters on the River Cam at Cambridge, England, hissing and pecking at anyone who comes close. Back in 2009, he even attacked the Cambridge Rowing Team during their historic May Bumps race. The race had to appoint a special marshal to keep an eye on the naughty bird.

Swans are very territorial, especially when they have a nest full of cygnets (babies). Mr. Asbo and his lady friend have several cygnets a year and their nest is right on the main boating area of the river. This has led to numerous confrontations where Mr. Asbo hisses, snaps at oars, and tries to bat people with his wings. It’s even reported that he’s strong enough to capsize small boats.

His name refers to the Anti-Social Behavior Order, a punishment usually meted out to lager-soaked louts to ban them from playing loud music, being drunk in public, aggressively panhandling, or even stealing eggs. Now local residents have had enough and there are plans to move Mr. Asbo and his family to a rural area 50 miles away, where hopefully he won’t bother anyone.

Swans are one of the many attractions of the English countryside, especially at the popular riverside destinations of Cambridge and Oxford. They are strong, fast, wild animals and should be treated with caution. The Swan Sanctuary says they’re generally not a danger, but their peck can be painful and they can even break your arm or leg if they hit you with their wing.

Attacks are rare, however. Swans only get aggressive if you get near their young, enter their territory, or deliberately antagonize them, like the idiot in this video. Don’t be the idiot in this video.

Insurance gets a second look as travel world evolves

by Chris Owen on

Travel insurance was once something that only the most careful of travelers bought – an option that was easy to pass up and rarely used. But talk of airline bankruptcy, problems on a normally safe cruise vacation, and political unrest around the world have travelers taking a second look. Even impossible-to-predict natural disasters affecting travel are pushing consumers to buy. The travel industry has seen its fair share of major changes and developments in recent years, and 2012 shows no signs of slowing down.

“The big, dramatic stories are what get people thinking about travel insurance,” as Carol Mueller, vice president at Travel Guard North America, a major third-party insurer, told Gadling.

The Costa Concordia grounding, the recent robbing of cruise passengers while on a normally safe shore excursion in safety-challenged Mexico, and the disabling fire on Costa Allegra, have left travelers with questions about cruise ship safety and regulations.

Both cruise lines and airlines have tightened cancellation policies, leaving travelers with stiffer penalties when changing itineraries. News of airline consolidations and bankruptcies continue to make headlines across the globe, as the number of seats available to passengers shrinks even more.Travel experts have predicted that the cost of airfare will continue to rise in 2012 due to factors including: oil prices, increased regulation, fees, and decreased competition.

In a recent story in the Seattle Times, Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel, said, “We’re going to see higher airfares.” Additionally, George Hobica, founder of travel website AirfareWatchdog added, “Fares are probably going to inch up.”

Still, travel to far-away, bucket-list destinations has become increasingly common. Exotic, long haul destinations landed on lists of the “must see” destinations for 2012 compiled by some of the country’s top travel editors and experts.

Travel+Leisure’s Hottest Travel Destinations of 2012 list includes Sri Lanka, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, and Mozambique’s Northern Coast as hot places to visit. Earlier this year, Gadling recommended some highly specific adventures that included traveling to Rwanda for gorilla spotting, a hike and bike tour of Easter Island and a ski trip to the South Pole, among others.

In a world with more places to go and more things that can go wrong, it’s important for travelers to educate themselves on how to cover their investment and safeguard themselves when traveling.

According to Travelguard’s Mueller, “the majority of insured’s file claims are as a result of trip cancellation; interruption or delay; lost or delayed luggage; and medical emergencies. Others take advantage of ‘Cancel for Any Reason’ plans that provide reimbursement in the event that they must call off the trip entirely.”

What travelers don’t realize is that travel insurance plans often do more than just cover the costs of these types of inconveniences. They can serve as a resource for travelers in need, providing assistance services like facilitating cash transfers, making last-minute hotel arrangements, and tracking lost luggage. This type of assistance can be especially helpful in a foreign country, where insurance providers can help locate English-speaking doctors, assist with replacing lost or stolen travel documents, and relay messages to family and friends back home.

Still, buying travel insurance does not protect travelers against all perils. Cruise passengers who buy travel insurance because they are concerned about hurricanes or other weather-related events that might affect their itinerary are often surprised to find out that those are not normally covered reasons for cancellation.

Knowing what is covered and what is not should be a primary focus for travelers considering the valuable protection that a travel insurance policy can provide.

“A good policy can offer you peace of mind for your upcoming vacation,” says consumer expert Chris Elliott, adding “If something goes wrong – if your trip is interrupted or if you have to cancel – you can recover some or all of your costs.”


Flickr photo by F H Mira

Carnaval Mazatlan a festive celebration, but safe?

by Chris Owen on

Carnaval Mazatlan started this week and runs through February 21. Like other celebrations, glittering costumes, exotic foods and dancing street musicians are all part of the festivities. But this year’s Carnaval, while featuring a full program of activities designed for the whole family, comes on the heels of a renewed travel warning to Mexico questioning the safety of a visit south of the border.

“Thousands of North American visitors will join in the full array of festivities, which celebrate Mazatlan’s rich heritage, authentic cuisine, music and welcoming spirit of its residents,” says GoMazatlan, the marketing arm of the Mazatlan Hotel Association.

But will Americans traveling to Mexico be safe?

The U.S Department of State’s updated warning on travel to Mexico points out “an increasing number of innocent people are being targeted by transnational criminal organizations (TCOs)”, something that Mexican President Felipe Calderón generally doesn’t like to acknowledge or discuss says HSsecuritytoday, a web site targeting news and analysis on homeland security affairs.

Issuing a “strong caution” against “nonessential travel to areas within 16 of Mexico’s 31 states,” Spring break trips to Mexico are being discouraged. In fact, National Public Radio (NPR) says Mexican drug wars have gotten so bad that the Mexican people are out on strike – not because they need better wages, but because of crime that’s nearly shut down the country’s tourism industry. In turn, NPR reported how locals and tourists have been “extorted, kidnapped and intimidated by local gangs,” said Huliq just this week.

While Americans may be debating a trip to Carnaval in Mazatlan, Canadians seem to have made a clear decision not to visit. In the latest case troubling Canadians, a Calgary woman was found badly beaten in a five star resort hotel elevator last month in Mazatlan and placed in a medically induced coma later undergoing reconstructive surgery for injuries to her face. The headline in Canadian news reports: Calgary woman Sheila Nabb emerges from coma after horrific Mexico hotel beating. Not good a good sign.

In 2011, six Canadians were killed in Mexico and 50 were assaulted. According to the State Department US citizens murdered in Mexico increased from 35 in 2007 to 120 in 2011.

To be fair, the State Department also says that “the Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect US citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations,” which we found to be true visiting Mazatlan last October where armed Mexican Marines stood watch over Day of the Dead celebrations happening during our visit. But at that time, crime in the state of Sinaloa, where Mazatlan was located, was not a concern.

The travel warning updated by the State Department earlier this month breaks down crime by states in Mexico and notes “You should defer non-essential travel to the state of Sinaloa except the city of Mazatlan where you should exercise caution particularly late at night and in the early morning. One of Mexico’s most powerful TCOs is based in the state of Sinaloa,” which causes concern for many and will probably result in a lower than normal turnout for one of the best Carnaval celebrations in the world.

Dating back 113 years, Mazatlan’s celebration began in 1898 and is today recognized as the third largest Mardi Gras in the world, following Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans. During Mazatlan’s Carnaval, locals and visitors converge for colorful parades, dance performances, art exhibitions, open-air street festivals, outdoor concerts by international artists and a grand firework display.

It will be a shame if, after all that time, Mazatlan’s Carnaval gets shut down by criminal activity. Still, the words of caution by a relative of Canadian Sheila Nabb are hard to ignore: “Stay out of Mexico. It seems to be getting worse and worse.”


Flickr photo by Kashmera