New travel guide spoofs, “Where not to go before you die.”

by Laurel Miller on

Prolific travel writer Catherine Price is over the whole “bucket list” trend. Annoyed that a crappy movie spawned an obnoxious national book craze of all the things one must see, do, and visit before they kick it, Price decided to strike back. Her new release, 101 Things Not to See Before You Die is a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek compendium based on Price’s own travel experiences.

Some of Price’s picks include The Beijing Tap Water Museum, Times Square on New Year’s Eve, rush hour on a Samoan bus, and Nevada. But the 31-year-old New Yorker is far from being a jaded crank. In a recent CNN interview, she explained, “People shouldn’t take it too seriously– it wasn’t my intention to say all of these places are actually horrible. Some of them are pretty interesting. (The motivation…) was just to liberate people from the feeling there are all these things they have to do. I’m guilty of this myself, but if you’re just going through things checking off lists then you’re not really experiencing them. You’re just doing it like an assignment.”

Hotel cooking classes let you savor travel memories at home

by Laurel Miller on

You know what they say…”take only pictures, leave only memories.” But what if you want to take it home with you? That searing pad ka prow that leaves a film of sweat on your brow, a fragrant bouillabaisse, schnitzel so thin and crisp it practically floats?

What you need is a cooking class, from one of the many resorts, hotels, or cruises offering full or half-day demonstration and hands-on programs that let you recreate regional specialties. Depending upon the class, you might find yourself shopping at the local market for ingredients, visiting wineries, or truffle hunting.

In the Southwest, Inn on the Alameda joins up with the Santa Fe School of Cooking for “Muy Sabrosa,” a package demo class/lunch, and two nights stay, including breakfast, daily wine and cheese reception, and $40 gift certificate to Mucho Gusto cafe. Rates start $376 for two and dates are available throughout the year.

In Jamaica, Jake’s Island Outpost offers private lunch classes utilizing local ingredients, and featuring traditional dishes like “run down,” for just $20 a pop. Farmers often visit Jake’s to sell their produce, while fisherman pull up onto the beach each day, so guests can cook with with freshly-caught seafood. Crystal Cruises has hands-on classes on all Wine & Food sailings, which feature guest celebrity and award-winning chefs, winemakers, and mixologists. Each trip has a theme, such as sushi or Latin American food.

In Europe, Park Hyatt Hamburg has classes focused on seasonal ingredients such as spring asparagus, or cooking a Christmas goose. An October 16 class features quinces, apples, and pears from the “Old Land,” Europe’s largest fruit orchard, just outside of the city. Students will use the fruit to make braised venison with porcini. At Hotel Crillon le Brave, a charming boutique property in the Provence countryside, class participants this fall can immerse themselves in five, half-day intensives, including excursions to local markets, and the aforementioned truffle hunting. In Switzerland, La Réserve Genève’s chef lets guests in on his professional secrets during his Chef Workshops, each based on a different dish or theme, such as fresh pasta, or chocolate.

Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, in Northern Thailand, are famed for their cooking schools and classes. Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa lets students choose from one of four set menus in their half-day program, which includes a guided tour/shopping expedition of the Chiang Saen food market. Over in Abu Dhabi, Desert Islands Resort & Spa, on verdant Sir Bani Yas Island, offers the unusual experience of Arabic cooking classes, where students learn to prepare dishes like moutabel, and prawns haram.

No guidebook required: the joys of ditching an itinerary

by Laurel Miller on

Itineraries and guidebooks can be both a blessing and a curse, when it comes to travel. If you’re the free-spirited, adventurous sort, it sucks to lug a book around, but it’s a good idea-especially if you’re a woman-so you don’t have to leave accommodations to chance should you arrive late at night in a strange town.

I once ended up sleeping in a spider-infested trailer, after spontaneously arriving in a downpour in a Tuscan hill town devoid of rooms for rent. After politely declining the hostal owner’s offer of sharing a bed, I paid ten euros for the trailer, and spent a long, twitchy night imagining things (including the owner) crawling up my legs. Now, I book ahead if I think I may end up stranded.

If you’re a little on the Type-A side, or traveling with someone, a planned itinerary can be helpful, if not relationship-saving. But what happens when you decide to just wing it? Journalist Catherine Price, a contributor to O, the Oprah magazine, recently found out, on a four-day impulse trip to Tokyo. Price decided to let strangers plan every detail of the trip for her, starting with taking the suggestion of a random woman in a San Francisco book store to visit Tokyo. The resulting trip enabled former micro-manager Price to “experience the joy of letting go.” Read more about her fascinating experience.

[Via CNN]
[Photo credit: Flickr user Jaymis]

Transgender American travelers no longer require surgery for passport change

by Laurel Miller on

In a landmark move of fair-mindedness, the folks at the U.S. State Department have announced a new passport policy that will make life easier for many transgender travelers.

Starting June 17th, applicants are no longer required to have sexual reassignment surgery in order to receive a gender change on their passport.

According to CNN, an attending physician’s certification will be required to confirm “passport applicants have undergone treatment for gender transition. Limited-validity passports for applicants who are in the process of gender transition will also be available.”

The State Department also noted that the policy change was made to coincide with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Month. Now if only the federal government would resolve that marriage issue…

Sydney hostel more than budget accomodation: Wake Up! backpackers reviewed

by Laurel Miller on

While I don’t expect anyone to ooze sympathy for the plight of travel writers, the fact is, when we’re not getting hooked up at swanky hotels, we’re often left to sleep on airport floors and bus seats. I actually enjoy those experiences; it’s the eponymous “youth” hostel I’ve grown weary of. I should add that despite their name, hostels (also known as backpackers) aren’t only used by young’un’s. Plenty of middle-aged, and elderly, yet spry, travelers use hostels, because they’re inexpensive and convenient. That said, us oldies need to choose carefully, because many hostels do cater specifically to hard-core partiers.

Hosteling was a blast in my 20’s and 30’s. But sometime around, oh, last year, I hit a wall. As in, sharing a dorm room with a mob of drunk, loutish American frat boys, or squirrelly girls garbed in non-ironic ’80’s attire was not only not fun- it was a form of torture. Such was my recent experience at one Base Backpackers in Sydney. I arrived late at night, with food poisoning, after a long flight. I’d intentionally booked a bed for three nights in a four-person, all-female dorm, with the hope it would reduce my odds of hostel hell. I was wrong.

After paying for three night’s accommodation, I staggered up to the sixth floor, wanting only to crawl into bed. Upon entering my assigned room, I found a gaggle of Scandinavian girls pounding beers, blasting music, and readying for a big night out. One of them gestured toward a dirty, unmade bed (mine), noting only, “It has not been cleaned yet.”

Let’s just say that I was assigned another room. The next morning, I booked a bed for the remainder of my stay at the incredibly kick-ass Wake Up! backpackers mere blocks away.

Confession: I meant to stay there all along, after spotting it on my way to the airport on my last visit. I forgot to write down the name, and for some reason confused it with The Other Place when I looked online, and pre-booked.

Wake Up! is what all hostels should strive to be. It’s not that it offers services and amenities others don’t: it’s that it does a better job, in a better facility, in an atmosphere that isn’t Girls Gone Wild meets Theta Chi. It’s youthful, but the welcoming vibe extends to all ages. The family-owned and -run business opened its doors in 2002, and has consistently racked up accolades ever since.

Located in a historic, seven-story sandstone in the “backpackers ghetto,” Wake Up! sits on the border of Haymarket/Chinatown (inarguably some of the best- and cheapest- eating in Sydney). It’s across the street from the Central Railway Station, five minutes walk to the CBD, and ten minutes to Darling Harbour, and The Rocks/Circular Quay, where the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are located. The bus stop for the beaches is just down the street.

Wake Up’s! staff is friendly and competent, the facilities are clean and modern, and the property offers just about every service a traveler could possibly need: 24-hour web and wireless ($3.50 AUD/hour), travel services, guided city and beach walking tours, a cafe, kitchen, laundry, TV/DVD lounge, storage lockers, airport transfers ($14 AUD), 24-hour
check-in, help line, and security; card access to floors and rooms, job search assistance, and mobile phones and cards for sale. There are also scheduled events like bar hops, beach barbecues, and theme parties.

Rooms range from twins and doubles ($98 AUD/room; $17 for third person), and double en suites ($108/room; $17per extra person) to four, six, eight, and ten-person dorms (some mixed, some female-only) ranging from $38 to $30 per person. Sydney has become heinously expensive, and you’re not likely to find accommodations as nice, and as centrally located, for these prices- a nearby Travelodge is currently listed at $147 USD/night. Note that prices will vary according to season. There’s a 28-day maximum stay, which is convenient for students and job-seekers.

My four-person dorm sported one bunk with a double bed on the bottom (the swinger’s room?), as well as a standard bunk, and a wardrobe. All of the rooms offer great views of Sydney’s southern CBD. Yeah, the decor is a bit tacky- walls painted garish mustard, puce, rose, or swimming pool-blue; white metal bunks, utilitarian carpet, bed linens that look like knock-off Ken Done motifs, but who cares? No one stays in hostels for the interior design, and what’s more important is that this place is CLEAN. The spotless communal bathrooms are massive, well-lit, tiled spaces with functioning shower heads and good water pressure (a rarity in hostelandia).

Should you find yourself in Sydney with a bit of a cramp in your wallet, or if you just want to save your cash for the city’s many other delights, check out Wake Up!
Just be sure to write down the name, first.

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