VIDEO: Mad Men high-speed rail travel PSA

by Meg Nesterov on


“Would you rather fly into Queens or take the train into Manhattan?” is just one of the great would-be ad taglines in this PSA starring Mad Men actors Vincent Kartheiser and Rich Sommer to promote high-speed rail in America (we’re hoping for a sequel with a Simpsons‘ Monorail-esque jingle). They also argue for the simplicity and convenience of

train travel and how you can save time, money, and aggravation. All of these points were true about the importance of a high-speed rail network in 1965 and they are even more true in 2011, so let’s make it happen!

Learn more on how to support high-speed rail at

www.madfasttrains.com and vote for the video on FunnyorDie.com.

Video: Catching a moving train in Burma

by Meg Nesterov on

A Reddit user submitted this video of people catching a moving train in Yangon, Burma. Note that the train doesn’t actually *stop* in the station. The first woman gets an assist from a train employee as well as a man on the ground, who then has to run down the platform – in flipflops, no less – and catch the train with several bags to carry before it leaves the station. The video uploader explains that the train was running two hours late and had no time to stop, and the man had seven bags to get onto the train in less than a minute.

Imagine Amtrak (or even your local commuter train) adopting this new policy for late trains. Think you are intrepid enough to jump on a moving train with luggage?

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk – Thailand Part 5: Morning Shopping

by Stephen Greenwood on

Gadling TV’s Travel Talk, episode 35 – Click above to watch video after the jump

Travel Talk is back! After our fall hiatus we are excited to bring you our greatest adventure yet: Thailand.

From the vibrant heart of Bangkok to the remote countryside, we traveled by foot, car, boat, motorbike, ox cart and elephant to savor the the splendor of ancient temples, the energy of the muay thai ring, the serenity of rural life, and every single spicy bite of Thai cuisine. We’ll be bringing it all to you in the coming weeks as part of our special 12-part feature: Travel Talk Thailand.

In part five of our adventure, we finally make our escape from Bangkok and head out into the country, stopping on the way to do a little morning shopping- Thai style. Join us as we explore exotic markets, meet Thailand’s most reckless boat driver and see goods delivered to (or should we say “through”?) market in a whole new way.

If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.


Subscribe via iTunes:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Travel Talk feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.

Hosts: Stephen Greenwood & Aaron Murphy-Crews
Produced, Edited, and Directed by: Stephen Greenwood & Aaron Murphy-Crews
Special thanks: Tourism Authority of Thailand, Trikaya Tours

Travel Talk took Thailand by storm on invitation from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. No editorial content was guaranteed and Aaron & Stephen were free to openly share all adventures that they embarked upon.

The slow demise of Amtrak customer service

by Grant Martin on

It is a breathing, filthy mass of humanity in here. Groups of youth are sprawled across the floor, some on computers or smart phones, some eating fast food and others staring forlornly off in the distance, slowly rocking back and forth. A group of ten-odd Amish mill about in quiet companionship, belongings folded solemnly into hard luggage from a generation past. Feverishly, a woman swipes her credit card through the vending machine and stabs at the blue-illuminated lights. *Invalid* it says. *Invalid*.

This is the south Amtrak lounge at Chicago‘s Union Station.

Three hours into our delay with no updates from the staff, it strikes me that if this were the airline industry, then people would be up in arms. Bloggers would be furiously stroking their mustaches and writing angry letters to the executives deep inside of Amtrak ranks, while pundits in the community would be making ombudsman calls. Some sad politician would draft up the the Rail Sanity Act of 2011, only to get it shot down by a filibuster.

Instead, it seems like these Amtrak passengers have accepted their fate and that in a solemn, desperate way they’re starting to bond together and power through it. Somewhere along the way, Americans have just come to accept the fact that Amtrak isn’t reliable and that customer service here doesn’t equal customer service at a hotel or on an airline or cruise ship.

What would be ideal is if Amtrak passengers took a step in the direction of airline passengers — and vice versa. If airline passengers realized how damn hard the industry was trying and what the real effect of weather and logistics was then maybe they’d better appreciate the art of flying. On the flip side, if train customers were more vociferous about the atrocities that they experience then maybe quality could improve. To begin with, complaints and comments should be made on their comments page here.

Five visitation travel tips for divorced dads

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Divorced plus distance equals difficulty – when you have kids. You don’t get to spend as much time with them as you’d like, and the process of going to see them involves lots of time on a bus, train or plane (or even in a car). The trip home leaves you with lots of time to think. There’s nothing easy about this, but you can take some of the sting out. Keep the right frame of mind, and be realistic about how you travel: it makes a profound difference.

Do you take visitation trips a few times a month (or year)? Here are five ways to make it a bit easier, learned from a year of doing this myself:

1. Don’t measure time in minutes: this trap is seductive. You want to spend as much time as possible with your kids, and losing even 10 minutes to traffic or weather can be infuriating. It’s agonizing to be stuck on a bus, realizing it’s time you won’t be able to spend enjoying fatherhood. You can’t let this get to you: it’ll just drive you nuts (and affect your visit). It took me a few months to come to grips with this, and life got much better when I did.2. Leave early: this is especially important if you’re taking a bus, train or plane. You have enough stress already, and rushing for transportation will only heighten it. And, do you really want that to shape your frame of mind when you hug your kids for the first time in a few weeks? Give yourself a cushion up front, even if only to decompress a little. Arriving early can help you do this, too.

3. Distract yourself during the trip: I didn’t’ do this well at first, and I felt it. Even veteran travelers – who have logged hundreds of thousands of miles and are accustomed to bringing books, magazines and laptops – will not be as adept at passing the time on a visitation trip as they expect. Spend too much time dwelling on your situation (as I did for the first few months of three-hour bus rides), and you’ll torture yourself emotionally.

4. Be ready for the return trip: this can be pure living hell inside your head. Give yourself a moment to unwind before going home – you’ll need it. I usually get to the bus station 45 minutes early to collect my thoughts, reflect on the weekend and ease myself out of the mindset of having said goodbye. It helps. A lot. Traveling home accompanied only by your thoughts should become more bearable.

5. Know that it gets easier: or, at least that you’ll get used to it. You’ll find a rhythm, and that will get you through the traveling itself. Over time, you’ll see and feel the changes, and you’ll spend more time enjoying your visits.

Do you have any tips for making visitation travel easier? I’m not the only one who’d love to hear them, I’m sure. Leave a comment to help us all out.

[photo by Rob Young via Flickr]