Gadling Take FIVE: Week of Oct. 2-Oct. 9

by Jamie Rhein on

We’ve been keeping up with fall foliage and haunted jaunts these last few weeks at Gadling, plus a whole lot more. Perhaps you’ve noticed that we’ve let Mike step away from his Sky Mall Monday desk to take on Outback Australia. This funny guy has a serious side too.

Then there’s Annie who has an eye for fashion. Turns out, she also has an eye for Singapore. As a person who lived in Singapore for three years, I can vouch for Annie’s observations. Her picks of what to eat in Singapore are right on.

Grant has figured out just how to make 24 Hours in Rio de Janeiro an experience worth having.

Jeremy is heading away from his series Undiscovered New York for Southeast Asia. Stay tuned for his missives about his findings.

There’s much more among these weeks offerings. As usual, here are posts that might have slipped your notice:

  • Katie’s Top 10 travel destinations for Twilight fans. Even if you’re not a Twilight fan, these could be fun–particularly that corn maze in Utah.
  • I was particularly pleased to read that Playing for a Change is heading out on tour. Brenda’s been a faithful advocate of this worthwhile global music effort in previous Gadling posts. Likewise, she provided the heads up about the tour. The CD is WONDERFUL. I can’t say that enough.
  • Well-versed in the outdoors as always, Kraig presents a sampling of the best places for fall hikes.
  • For more fall travel, check out my post on vintage trains across the U.S. These are only 10 of them. People, the number of vintage trains in the U.S. is astounding.
  • If there ever was an unusual place to take kids for a road trip meal, Sean found it. I never would have come up with Hooters on my own. Who knew?

See New York through the Gossip Girl lens

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Soak in the sights, sounds and smells of the good life on the latest television tour of Manhattan. The new Gossip Girl tour runs 3 ½ hours and leads fans through the locations used to create the on-screen phenomenon that features the decadent lives of poor little rich kids.

Buses cart fans to the New York Palace, on Madison Ave, home to the Bass and van der Woodsen clans – as well as the Henri Bendel store on Fifth Avenue and The Plaza Hotel‘s Oak Room on the southeast corner of Central Park.

Fortunately, the cost of the tour isn’t commensurate with the lifestyles of the show’s characters. At $40, you’re paying less than the “help” commands. Afterward, be sure to grab brunch at Norma’s where hopefully you can get a look at one of the performers!

Escape to the world’s quietest places

by Katie Hammel on

Life in most places is loud. Planes flying overhead, traffic rushing through the streets, people yelling, talking, phones ringing – it all combines to make an endless racket that follows us throughout our days. If you need to get away for some (literal) peace and quiet, take a look at Forbes Traveler’s list of the World’s Quietest Places.

Many of these aren’t the sort of places where you’ll go crazy from the silence, in fact some of them are plenty noisy. But near and far, they provide places where you can get away from the aural assault of the world and revel in a quiet(er) existence.

Included on the list are destinations like the verdant Hoh Valley in Washington State and Muir Woods in California, both places that are easy to get to from major cities but seem a world away. Further from home, there’s the island of Yap, near Guam, where the “culture is built on adherence to social peace”. The Kalahari Desert, 350,000 square miles of sparsely populated sand and scrub, also makes the list.

Victoria Falls isn’t exactly silent, but the roar of the water as it plummets 350 feet (which can be heard over a mile away) is such a natural sound and so completely shuts out everything else, that it almost feels quiet. Central Park is another unlikely addition to the list. Though it’s located in the middle of what is arguably one of the world’s loudest cities, it provides a quiet solitude away from the noise of daily life.

Roll with the rich in five easy steps: travel like you’re on the Forbes 400

by Tom Johansmeyer on

From peaking through the curtain to first class to eyeing the VIP check-in line at the hotel, travelers are envious creatures. Someone else always has something we want – be it an experience, device or amenity. We fantasize about the perfect travel experiences, wondering what it must be like to [fill in the blank with what you dig most].

Nobody knows how to travel quite like the billionaires on the Forbes 400. Sure, this crowd isn’t hitting hostels, mingling with the locals and doing all the stuff we say we prefer. They’re busy with butlers and maids and yachts and poetry readings (sorry, not joking on this one). You’re not going to get the “genuine” travel experience if you roll like the rich, but who the hell cares? The last thing I’d want is genuine if I had that kind of cash.

Interested in traveling like the insanely wealthy? After the jump, there are five simple steps to running with the big dogs when you tour the world. It’s not nearly as hard as you might think … as long as you have the cash to back it up.

1. Vacation homes are a must
Yes, there’s something to be said for the luxury of a hotel’s best penthouse with butler service, private dining and a special entrance. You don’t want to mix with the proletarians, after all. But, this type of travel means you’re not in control. Eventually, you’ll find boundaries. So, to travel like the insanely rich, buy vacation homes in the places you like best.

2. Yacht or not
Vacation homes are nice, especially when they’re on the water, but you’ll never get away from land. To dart out from your troubles – or a collapsing Ponzi scheme – you need a yacht. Right now, yacht sales are in the tank, so you can get a better price than you may expect. Keep in mind that this is a billionaire‘s game: don’t try to do it on the cheap. If you can’t afford a yacht (or simply don’t want one), you can always explain away your yachtlessness with something about seasickness or a penchant for other vices (like mistresses).

If you do go the yacht route, pimp it out properly. Rupert Murdoch took friends and families on a cruise to Alaska. Just in case that wasn’t enough, his sailboat is decked out with a “technogym,” deep-sea diving equipment and king-sized sleeping cabins.

Do it big.

3. Join a club
Rich people and clubs … crazy. It starts in college, with the likes of Skull and Bones, and by the time these kids become adults, they’re paying ridiculous sums of money just to be allowed to spend money on dinner and drinks. Michael Bloomberg, New York‘s mayor, belongs to the Game Creek Club in Vail, Colorado. The privilege involves a $50,000 initiation fee, but I imagine the grub is fantastic.

4. Have the right friends
Again, Mayor Mike does it right, golfing with Ross Perot and Silvio Berlusconi. They’re both unbelievably wealthy and turned to politics after amassing fortunes in the technology/media space. When you’re that rich, you need to travel with people like you. So, be prepared to trade in your old friends – it’s nothing personal.

5. Do weird stuff
We all know that billionaires are crazy. So, when you travel, you can’t resign yourself to sightseeing, beach-sitting and cocktail-sipping. You have to do something bizarre … because you can. Stephen Spielberg attended a cliff-side poetry reading on Ireland’s Aran Islands before touring the moors on a motorized bike. Oracle chief Larry Ellison prefers speed, flying around in a MiG 29.

Five ways to find there’s no seat at the table (and one way to learn there is)

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Recessions lead to less time at the restaurant table, but the results have been a mixed bag for the top restaurants in the top city in the world. Manhattan‘s highest-profile establishments are still generally filling up during peak times, though you can occasionally worm your way into a great time slot on an important day. Just don’t expect to sit far from the bathroom or the kitchen.

1. Masa
There’s room at Masa, according to Bloomberg News. You’ll pay a fortune, but at least you’ll get to eat. Table for two at 8 PM on a Friday night? Done. Go for the $400 prix-fixe menu. Bar Boulud also had space on Friday at 8 PM. Jean Georges came close, with 8:30 PM available.

2. Adour Alain Ducasse
You can get close to greatness at Adour Alain Ducasse … and I’m not talking about the chef. Lili Rosboch, who went through this ordeal for Bloomberg, was told she could get a spot at 6:30 or 9 PM.

3. Babbo
Good luck: the official word is that you can hope for a cancellation or hope to get a spot at the bar. If you’re trying to plan past the end of the month, don’t bother. Babbo is only taking reservations through October 30, 2009.

4. Craft
Instead of 8 PM, try 5:30 (lunch, instead?). Or, you could get something at Craft after 9:15, it seems. Either way, 8 PM isn’t going to happen, Rosboch learned.

5. Eleven Madison Park
Eleven Madison Park had one of the best responses. Instead of being able to deliver any time on the Friday in question (or the following Saturday), the restaurant offered a time slot several weeks away. Daniel did this, as well. Le Bernardin also suggests booking a month in advance. Momofuku Ko, on the other hand, only takes reservations a week in advance – and insists that you book it online.

And, one more is worth a look …

Per Se
Per Se‘s situation (and answer) must have been a shock to Rosboch’s system. As quoted by her in Bloomberg: “For which Friday night? We are fully reserved. I can put your name on a waiting list. We’re fully booked on the 9th as well. We have nothing in October and we’re booked all the way out till November.”