This video is a short but sweet time-lapse from Cappadocia, Turkey, where dozens of hot air balloons appear to bounce around like rubber toys as they hover over the region’s famous chimney rock formations. Although balloons depart daily here, passengers certainly get a once in a lifetime experience as they glide over this unique landscape, which includes hundreds of these unique pointed formations as well as the surrounding valleys and vineyards. The adventure comes with a hefty price tag – typically $150 and up per person – but it’s rare to hear of anyone who regrets the experience. Luckily, clear weather conditions are common in this region, and as you’ll see in the video, balloons depart just after sunrise because that is the calmest, coolest part of the day. It’s hard to tell from the sped-up video, but the entire activity lasts between three and four hours. It’s definitely something I’m adding to my travel bucket list!
VIDEO: TEDx Talk On Travel Writing And Global Change
“Travel writers are obligated to meet people, to ask questions, to pay attention,” writer, editor and Gadling contributor Lavinia Spalding told the audience at TEDxParkCity earlier this year. “With that comes a heightened sense of awareness and observation, and some great rewards. On top of a great story, you gain a much richer experience.”
Her talk, titled “Travel Writing and Global Change,” explored the use of travel writing as a tool for sharing stories and inspiring action. And you don’t necessarily need to be a travel writer by trade to take part, she says. “It’s never been easier to write down our stories and find people to read them,” Spalding says. “I strongly believe that everyone here can write a story that makes someone care.”
Spalding issued a challenge to the audience, which we now issue to you. The next time you go somewhere, bring a journal, write a story about someone you meet and share it, whether it’s in an email to friends, in a contest at your local newspaper or even just on Facebook. Who knows? It might just spark a movement.
“There are seven billion people in the world and each one has a story,” Spalding concluded her talk. “I hope that the next time you travel you’ll listen to one, and then I hope you’ll tell it.”
Video: Life In The Ruby Mountains
Nestled in the mountains of northeastern Nevada is a fantastic little ski resort that delivers an unbeatable experience for skiers and snowboarders looking for something completely different. As you would expect, Ruby Mountains provides visitors with a comfortable and inviting lodge, featuring some of the finest cooking around. But when guests leave the lodge behind, the true adventure begins. That’s because Ruby uses helicopters to provide access to more than 200,000 acres of backcountry skiing, giving visitors the opportunity to shred miles of pristine and untouched powder. Better yet, they won’t have to share all of that terrain with anyone other than Ruby Mountains guests, which makes the entire experience an intimate and memorable affair.
The video below is a beautiful one, particularly for a promo. It gives us a great sense of what a stay at Ruby is all about, both in the lodge and out in the powder. The first half of the video will have you licking your lips over the delicious looking food and comfortable atmosphere, while the last portion will get your adrenaline pumping for some outdoor adventure. The snow conditions look absolutely spectacular.
If you’re a skier or snowboarder who has been just about everywhere else in North America, you’ll definitely want to put Ruby Mountains on you radar.
[Photo Credit: Ruby Mountains]
Life in the Ruby Mountains from Joseph Royer on Vimeo.
‘Let’s Make Flight’ Art Project Takes Off At Art Basel Miami Beach (VIDEO)
This year at Art Basel Miami Beach, a citywide annual contemporary art fair, LATAM Airlines Group challenged local artist Ryan Farrell to create a sculpture that would capture the passion of flight. To complete the task, Farrell created “Let’s Make Flight,” an interactive installation piece that uses 15 people-powered bikes and three propellers to lift a plane-shaped kite.
Over the course of Art Basel, which lasts from today through Sunday, December 9, art lovers will be pedaling the project into the air at the MAPS Production House Backlot Studio and Event Space (342 NW 24th St.). Admission is free, and those who participate in the installation can enter a sweepstakes to win bikes, flights and other prizes.
For more from Miami, see additional pictures and another video of the installation process after the jump.
Meet the artist and see how the art installation was made in the video below:
[Photo credit: Source LATAM Airlines Group, S.A.]
Roman Coppola And W Hotels Release Four Travel-Inspired Films
With the help of filmmaker Roman Coppola, son of director Francis Ford Coppola, W Hotels and Intel recently held a travel-inspired screenplay competition. Out of more than 1,000 online entries, four scripts were chosen by Coppola, who then used his production company, The Directors Bureau, to match the winning scripts with emerging directors and actors.
The result are the short films below, each of which takes place at a W Hotel around the world: in Doha, Qatar; Mexico City, Mexico; Washington, DC; and the Maldives. The only other stipulation for screenwriters was that the films had to feature an Intel Ultrabook – kind of like the secret ingredient in an Iron Chef competition. The results are quirky, touching, and sometimes eerie, but most of all great ways to inspire travel and help emerging talent get their feet off the ground.
Modern/Love: Two 20-somethings take the next step in their long-distance cyber romance, meeting in person for the first time during an exotic vacation in Doha, Qatar. Will their tech-enabled feelings hold true in real life?
Screenplay by Amy Jacobowitz
Directed by Lee Toland Krieger
Featuring Robert Schwartzman and Naomi Scott
¡El Tonto!: A socially challenged vacationer in Mexico City, Mexico, strikes up an unlikely friendship with one of the country’s best-known luchadores.
Screenplay by Ben Sayeg
Directed by Lake Bell
Featuring Kyle Mooney and Kyle Mooney
Directed by Lake Bell
Featuring Kyle Mooney and Kyle Mooney
Eugene: A traveler in Washington, DC, gets a mysterious gift: an Ultrabook that grants all his wishes. How will he wield his unexpected powers?
Screenplay by Adam Blampied
Directed by Spencer Susser
Featuring Michael Govier and Karolina Wydra
The Mirror Between Us: Two young women embark on a dream-like adventure through the islands of the Maldives after an event turned both their worlds upside down.
Screenplay by Nicole Beharie
Directed by Kahlil Joseph
Featuring Dan’ee Doty