Train to Machu Picchu set to reopen ahead of schedule

by Kraig Becker on

According to Peru’s transportation minister, the famous train to Machu Picchu will go back into service ahead of schedule, although it will still be three weeks before service is restored to the popular tourist attraction. Early estimates had the railway out of commission for as much as eight weeks after heavy rainstorms caused massive flooding and treacherous mudslides at the end of January. Those same heavy rains caused more than 1300 travelers to be stranded in the ancient Inca fortress for several days as well.

Machu Picchu is Peru’s top tourist attraction, and as such, it is vitally important that they restore access to it, and soon. There are reports that an alternate access route will be established by the middle of the month, but it will involve a five hour drive by car just to reach a different train that can deliver the travelers to Aguas Calientes, the nearest town to the fortress. There are also a few companies using helicopters to deliver visitors to the site, but that is an expensive option that has limited availability at the moment.

Fortunately, the Inca ruins were not damaged by the storms, and the monument remains open to those that can make it to the site. Likewise, the Inca Trail, a popular trekking route to Machu Picchu, suffered little damage as well, but it closes annually in February for crews to clean and repair the route. That work is going on as scheduled and the trail should reopen as planned at the beginning of March.

If you’re planning a trip to Peru in the near future and had hoped to visit the ancient city, be sure to check with your tour operator or guide service as to the current conditions and options. It seems that things are very much in flux at the moment, but access is available for those who really want to go.

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Be safe in overnight trains – International travel tip

by Gadling Staff on

When traveling on overnight trains…

1.) Put your backpack/travel bag in a pillowcase while you sleep on it on an overnight train. It provides an obstacle for thieves.

2.) Also, set up the Coke-can warning system on your compartment door. Put some pennies in a drink can and tie it to the door.

Weather and travel issues dominate UK web use during storm

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Brits set records last week, as nasty weather sent traffic to transportation and weather websites sky-high. For the week ending January 9, 2010, according to Hitwise Intelligence, weather websites were responsible for 1.5 percent of all internet traffic in the United Kingdom. That’s three times higher than the level reached the same week a year earlier. It also beat the last snowstorm, in February 2009, by 26.9 percent. BBC Weather was #12 on the list of all websites visited in the UK, and the Met Office was #22. There were plenty of peeks at how the trains were doing, as the National Rail Enquiries website ranked 56th among all British websites.

Snow dominated the search engines, as well. UK web users logged more than 146,000 searches containing the word “snow” during the four-week period ending January 9, 2010. “Snow forecast” was the most popular. Snow-related searches were up 378 percent compared to the same period the year before. Searches for “snow chains” grew by a factor of 23, with “snow boots” up by a factor of six.

North Korea to announce availability to Americans

by Tom Johansmeyer on

North Korean officials are thinking about opening the country to American visitors all year long. Though we’d still have to use the existing tour operators and have our options constrained once in the country, we’d at least be able to visit the most isolated country on Earth at virtually any time. Since 2005, Americans have only been able to visit during Arirang — and for only up to five days at a time.

Asia Pacific Travel Ltd has been in touch with Korea International Travel Company, North Korea‘s state-run travel business, which said that a decision on the policy regarding U.S. visitors will be made “around January 25. Asia Pacific Travel is also looking into whether Americans will be able to enter the country by train this year. In the past, only air travel has been open to Americans.

According to Walter Keats, President of Asia Pacific Travel, “If the North Koreans let Americans stay longer, we will be able to offer a different and more extensive mix of long and short-stay study tours.”

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[Photo by ninjawil via Flickr]

Hell train hits Chicago 19 hours late

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


The passengers who got stuck in the Channel Tunnel recently had an awful situation, but was it worse than what the passengers who just pulled into Chicago endured? Those who endured the Eurostar incident were stuck for 15 hours without food, water or information. The passengers on Amtrak‘s California Zephyr reached Chicago 19 hours late. One called it “the train from hell,” with local news outlet WMAQ saying the passengers hit town “tired, hungry and stinky.” Severe weather was among the problems that caused the delay, with a pass between two hills in Nebraska suffering from snow drifts more than two stories high. Also, the train hit a pickup truck that got in the way in Iowa.

Food were in short supply on the train, and some of the passengers were pissed that the information from Amtrak flowed about as readily as the water on the train (there wasn’t much). And, it seems goodwill still remains scarce. Though Amtrak is offering hotel rooms to passengers who need them, refunds will only be paid on a case-by-case basis.