With the controversial Heathrow Terminal 5 getting ready to hit the spotlight, the question on the minds of thousands of travelers is: What actually makes a good airport?
BBC thinks it is the following five attributes:
In general, people are skeptical that Heathrow will ever be able to accomplish all of those (even with the $8.5 billion Terminal 5). The model airport? Simon Calder, Independent’s travel editor, says: Marseilles.
The dollar has hit a new low against the euro, America is on the verge of recession and global food prices are on an upward spiral. In fact, global food prices have risen by 40% in the last nine months. Add to that the fact that food reserves are at their lowest in 30 years and the global economic situation looks grim. But beyond percentages and figures what does this really mean?
To showcase the real effects of the global rise in food costs the BBC has put together an interesting piece featuring six families from around the world, their shopping lists and exactly how their shopping habits have changed because of the rise in prices.
The six families are from Guatemala, India, Kenya, China, Egypt and the UK. In Guatemala the Rodas family has gone from eating meat five times a week to two. In Egypt the Abdulwahab family speculates a household used to be able to eat for one Egyptian pound; today it costs more than five.
The article also itemizes each family’s shopping list, which provides for some eye-opening figures. The Classik family from the UK spends 10% of its monthly income on food, while in Egypt, the Abdulwahab family spends about 80%. Makes you think twice about complaining about how expensive everything is going to be on your next trip to Europe; travel is still a luxury.
Read the whole BBC article here.
The advantage of the trademark London double decker buses is that they fit a lot of people and provide a great view (for tourists, this is a big plus). The disadvantage is that, sometimes, they apparently don’t fit where a regular bus would, according to BBC today.
This morning, the number 24 bus was diverted diverted along Prince of Wales Road because of a major fire at Camden market on Saturday. There was a sign instructing drivers to use the middle of the road, hence the highest point of the bridge.
However, this bus driver clearly didn’t follow instructions and crashed into a railway bridge in North London, injuring 6 passengers when the roof was pulled off the vehicle and all the windows popped out. Ouch!
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Is flying more your thing? Maybe not to these airports:
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Last month in the UK, Penguin released Tribe: Adventures in a Changing World, by Bruce Parry, a companion to his documentary series of the same name. Tribe, the TV show, has been around for a few years now (known as Going Tribal on Discovery), documenting Parry’s courageous and sometimes controversial encounters with remote tribal groups around the world.
Some of the groups he lived with for a month at a time include the Anuta (Solomon Islands), Kombai (Indonesian Papua), Babongo (Gabon) and Adi (India). The book shares stories from his experiences, and also raises challenging questions about whether or not these tribal groups should be protected.
There are separate DVDs available for all three BBC seasons of the show, with a compilation DVD coming soon. But if you prefer to read firsthand about Parry’s experiences with these fifteen tribal groups, than hunt down a copy of this recently released hardcover book.
My name is Matthew Firestone, and I am a freelance writer for Lonely Planet.
Or should I say BBC Worldwide?
Today, Tony and Maureen Wheeler, who founded Lonely Planet in 1972, sold majority control of the company to BBC Worldwide.
“We felt that BBC Worldwide would provide a platform true to our vision and values, while allowing us to take the business to the next level,” they said.
The BBC said that the deal would strengthen Lonely Planet’s visibility and growth potential, and would allow the guidebook company to access BBC online content.
Currently, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, Oakland and London, with more than 500 office employees and 300 plus on-the-road authors (including me).