Santa crawl around the world: Ho! Ho! Ho! from Gadling to you

by Jamie Rhein on

Last Saturday night, Times Square was literally a Santa free for all. I first noticed the Santa madness as I approached from the direction of the Empire State Building while walking along Broadway. Along the way, a group of five Santas passed me. Then another group of Santas strolled by. Then there was a lone Santa and a Santa with Mrs. Claus. There were also elves.

By the time I reached 42nd Street, I wondered if this was some Improv Everywhere stunt. Nope. This was the annual Santa pub crawl where people dress like Santa Claus–some better than others, and wander the streets stopping to pop into a bar now and then or indulge a tourist with a photo op.

These hundreds of jolly Santas provided a surprising night of entertainment and an unusual taste of holiday cheer. There’s nothing quite like seeing Santa Claus taking pictures of tourists who are flanked by other Santas. The guy with the fake ear locks dressed up like a Jewish Santa was my favorite version.

Here are 15 more shots of Santa’s around the world–some in surprising places. Each was taken by a traveler who happened by. From Gadling to you, here’s another version of a Santa crawl. Ho! ho! ho! and enjoy.

Just like when there are hundreds of Santa’s, when there’s only one, magic can happen. This Santa’s kiss is being delivered at a Christmas party for kids in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Evidently, Santa has more to do than listen to kid’s Christmas wishes, make presents and deliver them. This Santa, also in South Africa, is feeding the fish at UShaka Marine World in Durban.

The first time I saw Santa en mass was Christmas Eve in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Take this fellow and multiply him over several times. If I had been thinking, I’d have bought a Santa suit for a song for myself.

These Santas gathered en mass at the Tate Modern in London. Even Santa needs a culture fix.

They make Santa kinda young in Bethlehem, Israel. He has pint-sized Santa pals in Vietnam. Santa suits are plentiful in kids sizes there as well.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina this Santa was witness to a travel related scavenger hunt put on by Midnight Soret, that aims to give people an unique way to see the country. The woman with the paper is a contestant who was able to snap, along with her group of fellow travelers, 66 of the 100 required photos.

This Santa and sidekick Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) are scaling a building in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Zwarte Piet is a version of Santa’s elves. According to the photo’s description, Zwarte Pete arrives in The Netherlands via steamboat from Spain with the aim to deliver presents to children. This building stunt looks like a swell task option for the Amazing Race.

This Santa Claus in Turkey talked turkey with the photographer about how he is concerned about children who suffer in the world and his job is to make them smile.

These Santas are high fiving in Tokyo, Japan.

Santa in Seattle, Washington at the Northgate Mall does not look like a happy fellow even though he wears the suit like it was made for him. Too many naughty kids? Not enough time off between Christmas Eves?

Sometimes Santa’s tasks wander into hawking Santa goods. This fellow is wandering the streets in Azerbaijan. This mostly Muslim country does have Russian traditions in some parts like celebrating the Russian Christmas on December 6.

This Santa is in Russia where he travels with a bear. I wonder if the station wagon in the background is his ride?

This Santa’s “Ho, ho, ho’s” are being delivered at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. The only thing that looks like the visit with Santa at the light up at the zoo in Columbus, Ohio where my son visits Santa is the guy in the red suit and the tinsel garland.

Even Santa has to do the laundry. These duds are line drying in Copenhagen, Denmark. I wonder which bicycle is Santa’s? Maybe the one with the attached carrying case? Santa needs a place for those presents, you know.

Also taken in Denmark, this photo has that warm, cozy feeling of peace. Something one hopes every Santa around the world is bringing along with him–or her–whichever the case may be.

A380 encounters trouble – again

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Everyone was eager to see the Air France A380 leave New York and head for Paris this week, but a fuel-tank issue kept it on the ground at JFK. This was the second problem the world’s largest plane had in getting off the ground since it started bouncing between New York and Paris just under a month ago.

The A380 is nothing short of hefty, accommodating 511 passengers, and it gets thirsty. So, when the airline found that fuel wasn’t moving properly between its tanks, it had to keep the beast on the tarmac. The 21 A380s in operation by four airlines have completed 8,700 flights and carried 3 million passengers.

The plane’s maiden flight was from Paris to New York on November 20, 2009. A week later, an Air France A380 had to return to New York after only 90 minutes in the air because of a technical issue that wasn’t disclosed.

Southwest & SkyMall Bring Yetis & Slankets to New York City

by Mike Barish on
The Southwest Porch in Bryant park has been around this the summer and has provided locals are tourists strolling through that Midtown greens space a place to relax, have a drink and grab a snack inspired by the cities that the airline services. But for three days this week, Southwest has invited Gadling’s favorite catalog, SkyMall, to join the party. With Slankets featured on the cover of the Southwest edition of the catalog, SkyMall made sure to bring plenty of the blanket/robe hybrids to keep guests warm and give away to some lucky attendees. And, one of the catalog’s most popular character’s, the Garden Yeti, was there in a Slanket all his own.

Not being able to resist anything SkyMall-related, I attended the opening night of the event and spoke with SkyMall’s VP of Airline Marketing, Casey Christ. He said that the partnership with Southwest was “natural and helps us connect with our fans outside of the flying experience.” Throughout the evening, attendees who entered the free raffle won Slankets. And one very lucky winner took home her own Garden Yeti.

And where does one find a Slanket that fits 28″ tall Garden Yeti? Well, Mr. Christ took a full-sized Slanket to his local tailor in Phoenix – along with the Garden Yeti – and asked her to make the proper alterations. I salute that talented woman, who I assume remains quite confused.

SkyMall will be joining Southwest at the Southwest Porch today and tomorrow to give away more Slankets and Garden Yetis. If you’d like to join them, be sure to RSVP in advance. The Southwest Porch will be open for snacks, drinks and lounging by their fire pit into January, when they will shut down until New York warms up again.

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Times Square becomes shooting gallery

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you were leaving the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan on Thursday morning,what you saw was not a movie. A plainclothes police officer shot a 25-year-old man; the shot was fatal. But, before going down, the Bronx resident, who was not identified, fired first with a semiautomatic Mac-10. The gunfight broke out over whether the gunman was a scammer, writing tourists’ names on CDs and using that to pressure them into buying.

The bullets flew over Broadway, quite literally, at 11:15 AM. The streets were packed with tourists and shoppers, which is the norm in Times Square on a weekday in December. The police officer involved, who’s been on the force for 17 years, is assigned to enforce street vendor regulations. He saw two people he suspected of a specific scam: (1) approach a tourist, (2)ask for his name, (3) write the name on a CD and (4) demand $10 for the “service.”

Though nobody — except the gunman, of course — was reported to have been hurt, but the situation could have been pretty severe. There were 27 rounds of ammo in the Mac-10. He only got three shots off before a shattered bullet caused the weapon to misfire.

Doubtless, an event like this is bound to reach a first-time visitor to the city … such as Suzanne Davis from Australia: “It’s my first day in New York, so it makes very real what you see in the movies.”

[Photo by Stewart via Flickr]

New York remains top U.S. port of entry

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Through the first nine months of this year, overseas visitors passed mostly through only 15 ports of entry. These spots, according to the Department of Commerce accounted for 84 percent of entry traffic into the United States, gaining two percentage points over the first nine months of 2008. New York‘s JFK airport, Miami and Los Angeles dominated, pulling in 39 percent of all arrivals, up a percentage point from the same period last year.

Only four of the top 15 ports of entry in the United States saw traffic increase year-over-year: Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale. Of the 11 that posted declines, three did so at a double-digit rate. Visitation through Chicago fell a whopping 18 percent, which pushed it to seventh on the list, behind Honolulu. Houston fell a mere 3 percent, bringing up to #12, ahead of Boston. Philadelphia’s 6 percent gain moved it to #14, and a 3 percent increase in traffic through Fort Lauderdale brought it into the top 15 at the bottom spot. Detroit‘s 36 percent fall in overseas arrivals caused it to fall from the top 15.