The AAA virtual travel show

by Jamie Rhein on

Technology can certainly be an awesome thing. Yesterday I attended my first virtual travel show through AAA. The show, “Europe is Closer Than You Think” was designed for people to find out about various trips and deals about traveling in Europe. It was set up similarly to a trade show one would attend in person–physically. After registering, with a click of a mouse, an attendee had a variety of choices. One could attend presentations in the auditorium, chat with travel agents and vendors in the exhibit hall, chat with other customers and travel agents in the lounge and find out about other AAA products.

This was a real time occurrence with scheduled events that began and ended at a specified time, although people can still head back to the conference until 11:00 p.m. tonight to catch parts they missed. The presentations were actual talks accompanied by a slide show and time for questions and answers. If you want to check it out, click here for the web site. I think you can register still.

In the hour I attended I:

  • attended a talk about Uniworld Grand River Cruises, a company that conducts cruises on Europe’s rivers,
  • chatted in the lounge with travel agents and travelers who were offering up advice
  • emailed a travel agent about traveling to Europe with children since lately some Gadling readers have posed questions about that. The travel agent emailed me back and is getting back to me today.

This was a fun way to get information, particularly the chat room. I found out one person is going to Ireland on a honeymoon, one guy is going to Denver in April, someone else wanted to know what was the best scenario for enjoying Europe with kids and there was some smatterings of advice about rail tickets. I took notes and will be fashioning posts to cover the details I “heard.” I also dished out some advice myself.

I registered for this event through an email I received a few weeks ago and received a reminder yesterday. For registering, I was enrolled in a chance to win a door prize. For attending, I received more points. I didn’t have a good strategy though since this was my first time to wander around a cyberspace trade show. You accumulate points by attending the various presentations, requesting a private chat and for clicking on the various vendors. At the end I only had 110 points. To be entered in the grand prize contests, I needed 300. Next time, I’ll have this down. There was a trade show in January, so I expect I’ll be getting another email in a couple months about another one.

Travel smart: Ask these questions at your next hotel check-in

by Annie Scott on

Peter Greenberg, NBC’s travel detective, says there are three questions almost no traveler thinks to ask hotels before checking in.

  1. How close is my room to construction? (Few hotels these days are not undergoing some kind of renovation)
  2. Are there any rooms available below the eighth floor? (Fire departments literally cannot fight fires above that height).
  3. What floors have booster pumps on them? (Those will the be the floors with the best water pressure in showers).

Most consumers never think to ask hotel questions beyond whether their room is smoking or nonsmoking, or whether it has a king- or a queen-size bed. Greenberg argues that getting a little smarter with your room queries will dramatically improve your stay.

Got other good questions to ask hotels? Let us know.

Björk offends Chinese over Tibet independence

by Anna Brones on

The status of Tibet is a touchy subject. Abroad, China‘s 58 year occupation of Tibet is seen as controversial, but most Chinese see Tibet as a part of their country. Speak of Tibetan independence is therefore seen as divisive, which is why at Björk’s recent Shanghai concert, she managed to push some serious buttons.

At the end of her Declare Independence song, originally dedicated to Greenland and the Faroe Islands which still have formal links to Denmark, the Icelandic singer shouted “Tibet! Tibet!” clearly indicating her feelings on the controversial issue. Although her statements were greatly appreciated by the Free Tibet Campaign, Björk can probably plan on not being invited back to China anytime soon.


Via Boing Boing

Can you guess where she’s from?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

In the video above, an actress named Amy Walker adopts 21 different English accents in a row, starting in London and working her way to Ireland, France, the Czech Republic, Moscow, Australia, California, and lots of places in between.

Which of these do you think sound the best? For my money, her California accent is spot-on, while her “Southern” accent leaves a little to be desired. Still, pretty amazing!

Why should cyclos be banned in Saigon?

by Grant Martin on

Anna’s earlier post today about the ban of cyclos, the three wheeled transportation so popular in Vietnam, highlights on an important change taking place in Vietnamese society. Yes, many tourists and visitors enjoy cyclo rides from time to time (I know I’ve taken a few), but this ban will do wonders for the traffic situation in Saigon.

Traffic, you see, is a little difficult in Saigon, largely in part due to the number of motorbikes and poor signaling. The sheer volume of motorbikes in the city is staggering; transferring into the city from Ho Chi Minh airport, I was baffled by the number on the street. So with fewer cyclos taking up precious vehicle space, hopefully traffic can streamline itself into a more efficient pattern.

I took the following video in the middle of a weekday, so traffic is light. During weekends, rush hour or holidays, the number of motorbikes is absurd.