Watch Jo�o Pedro Rodrigues's video tour hereClick on the map points for more informationFlightsTAP (0845 601 0932, flytap.com) flies from Heathrow and Gatwick to Lisbon from �100.60 rtn inc tax. For further information, see visitportugal.com.Lisbonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Hotel review: 7 Hotel & Diner, Kent
It's happy days at what must surely be the only American-style diner with rooms in BritainSunday, Monday, Happy Days. Tuesday, Wednesday, tum te tum. Corny, but I can't help humming the theme tune to my favourite sitcom, set in romanticised 50s America, as Clare and I pull up outside the 7 Hotel & Diner.This is, quite frankly, an unelectrifying location outside Orpington. In the gaps between passing cars we can see a field and some horses on the opposite side, but a rural idyll this is not. Mind you, it's very handy for junction 4 of the M25, and I always think it's good to have an escape route up your sleeve from motorways which come to a standstill.So why are we here? First, this is a one-off. In all the time I have been trotting about Britain, I have never come across an American-style diner with rooms. Second, I could murder a burger, and third, the interior of the 7 Hotel & Diner (25 rooms, opened in April), has been designed by Shaun Clarkson. Who he, you ask? Mr Clarkson does not do low-key. If you live in London, check out the Drapers Arms in Islington or Cheyne Walk Brasserie, or join me (in a manner of speaking) overnight at Carrington House, reviewed here in 2008 ("Tropical leaves, pink parrots and butterflies romp across the reception rooms, and upstairs the bedrooms have names such as Versace and Hollywood.")Goodbye grey sky, hello blue. Upstairs our twin turns out to be a family room, with a double, and a single tucked into a rather cosy corner. A bold palm print covers one wall, the rest is a cheery ice-blue, including the bathroom tiles.This is a no-frills hotel. Or, given the location, shouldn't that be motel? Furnishings are simple, a dressing table and stool, built-in storage housing kettle with coffee and tea things. Hairdryer, shower cap, fans, sewing things, can be provided on request.We do, however, have free Wi-Fi, loads of good lighting, and the hot orange curtains are black-out lined."I watched a film about Ritchie Valens last night," Clare says. "He was killed in the same plane crash as Buddy Holly. Made me realise what raw talent those people had. Hope there's a jukebox."There is. We've skirted the coffee lounge (which doubles as guest sitting room) into the crazy-slate-walled diner to check out a vintage Rock-Ola beside the bar. It's glory days are long over though. A modern system dishes out Perry Como instead.Settled on to green leather banquettes, we order mocktinis (delicious), corn and ribs ("tasty, bit tough"), and great burgers (mine slathered in chilli, Clare's heaped with devilled crayfish tails) in a sea of fries. Oh, and last but not least, a ridiculous banana split which threatens to make my trousers do exactly that. Wish I'd ordered from the kids' menu.Service is the "can't do enough for you" variety (and that goes for reception, too). The only thing missing is a cameo appearance from Joanie and Chachi.The bathroom extractor seems to have packed up ? it gets a little steamy in the morning. "Comfy bed," says Clare. "But no herbal tea, and we had to keep the window closed to shut out traffic noise. Seven out of 10."Breakfast ? are you kidding? I manage a smoothie to Clare's blueberries and yoghurt pancakes."Something exciting in an unexciting place," she says. It's true ? we're having such a good time on the A224 we don't want to leave.sally.shalam@guardian.co.ukHotelsKentFood and drinkSally Shalamguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
20 Odd Vending Machines Around The World
Move over peanut M&Ms, from fried chicken to tomatoes and bananas, these vending machines take "practical" to new levels.
Hotel review: 7 Hotel & Diner, Kent
It's happy days at what must surely be the only American-style diner with rooms in BritainSunday, Monday, Happy Days. Tuesday, Wednesday, tum te tum. Corny, but I can't help humming the theme tune to my favourite sitcom, set in romanticised 50s America, as Clare and I pull up outside the 7 Hotel & Diner.This is, quite frankly, an unelectrifying location outside Orpington. In the gaps between passing cars we can see a field and some horses on the opposite side, but a rural idyll this is not. Mind you, it's very handy for junction 4 of the M25, and I always think it's good to have an escape route up your sleeve from motorways which come to a standstill.So why are we here? First, this is a one-off. In all the time I have been trotting about Britain, I have never come across an American-style diner with rooms. Second, I could murder a burger, and third, the interior of the 7 Hotel & Diner (25 rooms, opened in April), has been designed by Shaun Clarkson. Who he, you ask? Mr Clarkson does not do low-key. If you live in London, check out the Drapers Arms in Islington or Cheyne Walk Brasserie, or join me (in a manner of speaking) overnight at Carrington House, reviewed here in 2008 ("Tropical leaves, pink parrots and butterflies romp across the reception rooms, and upstairs the bedrooms have names such as Versace and Hollywood.")Goodbye grey sky, hello blue. Upstairs our twin turns out to be a family room, with a double, and a single tucked into a rather cosy corner. A bold palm print covers one wall, the rest is a cheery ice-blue, including the bathroom tiles.This is a no-frills hotel. Or, given the location, shouldn't that be motel? Furnishings are simple, a dressing table and stool, built-in storage housing kettle with coffee and tea things. Hairdryer, shower cap, fans, sewing things, can be provided on request.We do, however, have free Wi-Fi, loads of good lighting, and the hot orange curtains are black-out lined."I watched a film about Ritchie Valens last night," Clare says. "He was killed in the same plane crash as Buddy Holly. Made me realise what raw talent those people had. Hope there's a jukebox."There is. We've skirted the coffee lounge (which doubles as guest sitting room) into the crazy-slate-walled diner to check out a vintage Rock-Ola beside the bar. It's glory days are long over though. A modern system dishes out Perry Como instead.Settled on to green leather banquettes, we order mocktinis (delicious), corn and ribs ("tasty, bit tough"), and great burgers (mine slathered in chilli, Clare's heaped with devilled crayfish tails) in a sea of fries. Oh, and last but not least, a ridiculous banana split which threatens to make my trousers do exactly that. Wish I'd ordered from the kids' menu.Service is the "can't do enough for you" variety (and that goes for reception, too). The only thing missing is a cameo appearance from Joanie and Chachi.The bathroom extractor seems to have packed up ? it gets a little steamy in the morning. "Comfy bed," says Clare. "But no herbal tea, and we had to keep the window closed to shut out traffic noise. Seven out of 10."Breakfast ? are you kidding? I manage a smoothie to Clare's blueberries and yoghurt pancakes."Something exciting in an unexciting place," she says. It's true ? we're having such a good time on the A224 we don't want to leave.sally.shalam@guardian.co.ukHotelsKentFood and drinkSally Shalamguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Warthog Vs. Cheetah
In Africa, the warthog is a constant target for hungry predators, and for one warthog mother, "Half Tusk," the stakes couldn't be higher. She's lost at least half of her litter to predators over the past four years. This year she is preparing to defend her brood from the prowess of lions, leopards and cheetahs looking to make her offspring their next meal. But she can't watch them all the time, and the babies will have to face some challenges alone in order to survive. Queen of the Warthogs airs on Nat Geo Wild Tuesday September 28 at 8P et/pt. Video Preview: Having already lost one of her piglets to a cheetah, this warthog mama is ready to defend her family no matter the cost.
Heart of Madness: How Burning Man Becomes Your Home
Only by letting go of what you think you want and where you are can you find where you truly need to be.
TwiTrip to Newcastle
Follow Benji Lanyado as he live blogs his way around Newcastle using your tips gleaned from Twitter. For a little explanation click here? Read all Benji Lanyado's tweets from his TwiTrip to NewcastleNewcastleUnited KingdomTwitterEnjoy England TwiTripsBenji Lanyadoguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Hotel review: 7 Hotel & Diner, Kent
It's happy days at what must surely be the only American-style diner with rooms in BritainSunday, Monday, Happy Days. Tuesday, Wednesday, tum te tum. Corny, but I can't help humming the theme tune to my favourite sitcom, set in romanticised 50s America, as Clare and I pull up outside the 7 Hotel & Diner.This is, quite frankly, an unelectrifying location outside Orpington. In the gaps between passing cars we can see a field and some horses on the opposite side, but a rural idyll this is not. Mind you, it's very handy for junction 4 of the M25, and I always think it's good to have an escape route up your sleeve from motorways which come to a standstill.So why are we here? First, this is a one-off. In all the time I have been trotting about Britain, I have never come across an American-style diner with rooms. Second, I could murder a burger, and third, the interior of the 7 Hotel & Diner (25 rooms, opened in April), has been designed by Shaun Clarkson. Who he, you ask? Mr Clarkson does not do low-key. If you live in London, check out the Drapers Arms in Islington or Cheyne Walk Brasserie, or join me (in a manner of speaking) overnight at Carrington House, reviewed here in 2008 ("Tropical leaves, pink parrots and butterflies romp across the reception rooms, and upstairs the bedrooms have names such as Versace and Hollywood.")Goodbye grey sky, hello blue. Upstairs our twin turns out to be a family room, with a double, and a single tucked into a rather cosy corner. A bold palm print covers one wall, the rest is a cheery ice-blue, including the bathroom tiles.This is a no-frills hotel. Or, given the location, shouldn't that be motel? Furnishings are simple, a dressing table and stool, built-in storage housing kettle with coffee and tea things. Hairdryer, shower cap, fans, sewing things, can be provided on request.We do, however, have free Wi-Fi, loads of good lighting, and the hot orange curtains are black-out lined."I watched a film about Ritchie Valens last night," Clare says. "He was killed in the same plane crash as Buddy Holly. Made me realise what raw talent those people had. Hope there's a jukebox."There is. We've skirted the coffee lounge (which doubles as guest sitting room) into the crazy-slate-walled diner to check out a vintage Rock-Ola beside the bar. It's glory days are long over though. A modern system dishes out Perry Como instead.Settled on to green leather banquettes, we order mocktinis (delicious), corn and ribs ("tasty, bit tough"), and great burgers (mine slathered in chilli, Clare's heaped with devilled crayfish tails) in a sea of fries. Oh, and last but not least, a ridiculous banana split which threatens to make my trousers do exactly that. Wish I'd ordered from the kids' menu.Service is the "can't do enough for you" variety (and that goes for reception, too). The only thing missing is a cameo appearance from Joanie and Chachi.The bathroom extractor seems to have packed up ? it gets a little steamy in the morning. "Comfy bed," says Clare. "But no herbal tea, and we had to keep the window closed to shut out traffic noise. Seven out of 10."Breakfast ? are you kidding? I manage a smoothie to Clare's blueberries and yoghurt pancakes."Something exciting in an unexciting place," she says. It's true ? we're having such a good time on the A224 we don't want to leave.sally.shalam@guardian.co.ukHotelsKentFood and drinkSally Shalamguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Daily gear deals - $15 luggage scales, Slingbox Solo kit and more
Filed under: Gadling's Daily Deal
Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Wednesday September 29, 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.
Today's first deal comes from Woot.com where you'll find the popular Slingbox Solo along with a set of Powerline devices. With this kit, you can stream your television signal over the Internet, and watch your home TV anywhere in the world. The Powerline boxes mean you won't need to pull a network cable to your TV. On sale for $179.99. Click here for this deal.
Next up is the new CabinMax electronic luggage scale. This compact device comes with free batteries, and weighs luggage up to 100lbs. On sale for $14.95. Click here for this deal.
Today's third deal is for a weird combination of family travel gear - in the kit, you get Connect-Four, an inflatable pillow and noise isolating headphones. Not a bad deal for $7.95, available at Snaggstuff.com.
And finally in today's lineup are the highly rated Audio-Technica ATH-ANC3 noise canceling headphones. These $55 headphones come in a carrying case with plug adapters, an extension cord and replacement earpieces. Click here for this deal.Daily gear deals - $15 luggage scales, Slingbox Solo kit and more originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Wednesday September 29, 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.
Today's first deal comes from Woot.com where you'll find the popular Slingbox Solo along with a set of Powerline devices. With this kit, you can stream your television signal over the Internet, and watch your home TV anywhere in the world. The Powerline boxes mean you won't need to pull a network cable to your TV. On sale for $179.99. Click here for this deal.
Next up is the new CabinMax electronic luggage scale. This compact device comes with free batteries, and weighs luggage up to 100lbs. On sale for $14.95. Click here for this deal.
Today's third deal is for a weird combination of family travel gear - in the kit, you get Connect-Four, an inflatable pillow and noise isolating headphones. Not a bad deal for $7.95, available at Snaggstuff.com.
And finally in today's lineup are the highly rated Audio-Technica ATH-ANC3 noise canceling headphones. These $55 headphones come in a carrying case with plug adapters, an extension cord and replacement earpieces. Click here for this deal.Daily gear deals - $15 luggage scales, Slingbox Solo kit and more originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
NBTA launches first-ever certificate program for sports travel professionals
The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) today launched the NBTA Fundamentals of Sports Travel Management certificate program, the first-ever educational curriculum focused exclusively on this unique sector. Offered entirely online, this self-paced, interactive course, developed with support from the association?s Sports Travel Committee, introduces the basics of managing a sports travel program at the professional, collegiate and youth levels.
Upon successful completion of the course and final exam, participants earn the designation of Sports Travel Professional (STP), which demonstrates mastery of the fundamental concepts of managing a sports travel program.
Craig Banikowski, CCTE, C.P.M., CMM, NBTA President & CEO, said, ?NBTA members who buy for and sell to athletic teams and organizations came to us with the unique challenges they face in travel management. We developed a grassroots network to address their issues, and through that process it became evident that more education and resources were necessary. As the leading provider of education to the global corporate travel community, NBTA is perfectly poised to offer a professional development program tailored to meet the distinctive needs of the sports travel community.?
Featuring interactive elements including video, quizzes, and free-form essays, course participants will learn general sports and travel industry principles, then explore the intersection of these industries and the distinct competencies and skill sets needed to establish or enhance a sports travel management program. The course will touch on topics such as managing supplier relationships, addressing risk management, and using financial and data management to calculate and communicate the value of the program.
Nikki Watson, Assistant Director of Business Intelligence and Project Management for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), led the task force that advised NBTA on the creation of the course. She commented, ?Managing travel for athletic teams and leagues presents challenges unique to our field, and with such a large community of sports travel professionals, an education and certificate course on the basics of this profession will help us to contain costs, manage risks and more efficiently get our teams from one place to another. I am confident that NBTA?s Fundamentals of Sports Travel Management program will be valuable for NCAA member institutions and for our professional and youth counterparts, and that the candidate holding the STP designation will be the sought-after resource when filling team travel manager positions.?
The NBTA Sports Travel Committee, members of which helped to develop the certificate program, include representatives from Anderson University, DePauw University, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, NASCAR, Inc., the NCAA, the NFL Players Association, and the University of Texas.
In addition to NBTA?s Fundamentals of Sports Travel Management course, the association will also hold the first NBTA Sports Travel Conference July 19-20, 2011, in Indianapolis, IN. The conference is the first of its kind, designed to provide a forum for travel professionals working in athletics at all levels and across all sports to address the specific challenges of sports travel management.
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Upon successful completion of the course and final exam, participants earn the designation of Sports Travel Professional (STP), which demonstrates mastery of the fundamental concepts of managing a sports travel program.
Craig Banikowski, CCTE, C.P.M., CMM, NBTA President & CEO, said, ?NBTA members who buy for and sell to athletic teams and organizations came to us with the unique challenges they face in travel management. We developed a grassroots network to address their issues, and through that process it became evident that more education and resources were necessary. As the leading provider of education to the global corporate travel community, NBTA is perfectly poised to offer a professional development program tailored to meet the distinctive needs of the sports travel community.?
Featuring interactive elements including video, quizzes, and free-form essays, course participants will learn general sports and travel industry principles, then explore the intersection of these industries and the distinct competencies and skill sets needed to establish or enhance a sports travel management program. The course will touch on topics such as managing supplier relationships, addressing risk management, and using financial and data management to calculate and communicate the value of the program.
Nikki Watson, Assistant Director of Business Intelligence and Project Management for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), led the task force that advised NBTA on the creation of the course. She commented, ?Managing travel for athletic teams and leagues presents challenges unique to our field, and with such a large community of sports travel professionals, an education and certificate course on the basics of this profession will help us to contain costs, manage risks and more efficiently get our teams from one place to another. I am confident that NBTA?s Fundamentals of Sports Travel Management program will be valuable for NCAA member institutions and for our professional and youth counterparts, and that the candidate holding the STP designation will be the sought-after resource when filling team travel manager positions.?
The NBTA Sports Travel Committee, members of which helped to develop the certificate program, include representatives from Anderson University, DePauw University, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, NASCAR, Inc., the NCAA, the NFL Players Association, and the University of Texas.
In addition to NBTA?s Fundamentals of Sports Travel Management course, the association will also hold the first NBTA Sports Travel Conference July 19-20, 2011, in Indianapolis, IN. The conference is the first of its kind, designed to provide a forum for travel professionals working in athletics at all levels and across all sports to address the specific challenges of sports travel management.
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Letter from France: Why I love Paris in the autumn.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Festivals and Events, Food and Drink, Europe, France
As a concept, "spring forward, fall back" fits Paris to a tee.
The global collective consciousness may well hold the City of Light to be paradise in springtime -- spring rites and spring rain, the spring in the step of forward-looking dreamers who dream of April in Paris, and pipe that old tune. But what about the fall, alias autumn? If you ask me, the unsung season is an equally fine time of year to make Paris your own -- often without the crowds or peak rates.
Forget the foursome of three-syllable months with ponderous names: "September," "October," "November" and "December." Subtract the prosaic "fall" from the notation. Then try singing "Au-tumn in Paaa-ris." It's every bit as catchy as "A-pril." As with April, the "thrill" of autumn sometimes rhymes with "chill," though nowadays climate change can provide T-shirt weather right up to mid-November.
Weather -- la météo -- is the merest part of Paris' fall-back season. For the French, fall stands for the end of enforced rural isolation with in-laws and enfants terribles, the end of sunburns and heat stroke -- climate change again -- and a return to the stimulating animation of this self-consciously enlightened metropolis, la Ville Lumière.
Fall isn't l'automne in Paris anyway, it's la rentrée -- the re-entry. There's the "political re-entry," the "scholastic re-entry," the "cultural re-entry," and others still -- re-entries for food, wine, fashion and industrial action. Falling back into place in autumnal Paris is as natural as gravity, the metaphorical space-capsule of life drifting leaf-like back to Earth, or plummeting like a chestnut, the correlative objective of la rentrée.Continue reading Letter from France: Why I love Paris in the autumn.Letter from France: Why I love Paris in the autumn. originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
As a concept, "spring forward, fall back" fits Paris to a tee.
The global collective consciousness may well hold the City of Light to be paradise in springtime -- spring rites and spring rain, the spring in the step of forward-looking dreamers who dream of April in Paris, and pipe that old tune. But what about the fall, alias autumn? If you ask me, the unsung season is an equally fine time of year to make Paris your own -- often without the crowds or peak rates.
Forget the foursome of three-syllable months with ponderous names: "September," "October," "November" and "December." Subtract the prosaic "fall" from the notation. Then try singing "Au-tumn in Paaa-ris." It's every bit as catchy as "A-pril." As with April, the "thrill" of autumn sometimes rhymes with "chill," though nowadays climate change can provide T-shirt weather right up to mid-November.
Weather -- la météo -- is the merest part of Paris' fall-back season. For the French, fall stands for the end of enforced rural isolation with in-laws and enfants terribles, the end of sunburns and heat stroke -- climate change again -- and a return to the stimulating animation of this self-consciously enlightened metropolis, la Ville Lumière.
Fall isn't l'automne in Paris anyway, it's la rentrée -- the re-entry. There's the "political re-entry," the "scholastic re-entry," the "cultural re-entry," and others still -- re-entries for food, wine, fashion and industrial action. Falling back into place in autumnal Paris is as natural as gravity, the metaphorical space-capsule of life drifting leaf-like back to Earth, or plummeting like a chestnut, the correlative objective of la rentrée.Continue reading Letter from France: Why I love Paris in the autumn.Letter from France: Why I love Paris in the autumn. originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
10 reasons to choose Colombia as your next vacation destination
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Hiking, Scuba Diving, Festivals and Events, Food and Drink, Photos, South America, Colombia, Ecotourism, Budget Travel, Travel SecurityIt's safe, it's affordable, and it's attracting travelers like never before. Colombia, the closest South American getaway to the United States, has seemingly appeared on just about every "hip new travel destination" list over the last few years, including the New York Times list of 31 Places to Go in 2010. So why is everyone raving about it? Here are ten reasons:
10. Medellin Named the world's most dangerous city only two decades ago thanks largely to the exploits of Pablo Escobar, Medellin has cleaned up its act in a big way since the drug lord's death in 1993. Nicknamed the City of Eternal Spring, Medellin's near-perfect climate, cosmopolitan atmosphere, and vibrant nightlife make it a must-visit Colombia destination.
If you can, schedule your trip so that you can witness Medellin's one-of-a-kind Feria de las Flores (Flower Festival) in early August. My fellow travelers who attended could not shut up about it. Check out Anthony Bourdain's thoughts on the city here.
Continue reading 10 reasons to choose Colombia as your next vacation destination10 reasons to choose Colombia as your next vacation destination originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
10. Medellin Named the world's most dangerous city only two decades ago thanks largely to the exploits of Pablo Escobar, Medellin has cleaned up its act in a big way since the drug lord's death in 1993. Nicknamed the City of Eternal Spring, Medellin's near-perfect climate, cosmopolitan atmosphere, and vibrant nightlife make it a must-visit Colombia destination.
If you can, schedule your trip so that you can witness Medellin's one-of-a-kind Feria de las Flores (Flower Festival) in early August. My fellow travelers who attended could not shut up about it. Check out Anthony Bourdain's thoughts on the city here.
Continue reading 10 reasons to choose Colombia as your next vacation destination10 reasons to choose Colombia as your next vacation destination originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
My travels: Karl Pilkington
The 'adventurer, philosopher, knob head' ? and Ricky Gervais sidekick ? gives his verdict on seven wonders of the worldRicky Gervais and Steven Merchant told me the places I'd be visiting: Egypt, Brazil, India, China, Jordan, Peru, Mexico. I have to confess, these are all countries I've never really fancied. If it wasn't for the "wonders", I doubt most people would go. Me and my girlfriend Suzanna mainly go to the Cotswolds, Devon, Spain or Italy. I'm not a proper traveller. I don't like to be challenged or have too much of a change and prefer a week away just to relax.Christ the Redeemer, BrazilWe got to the Big Jesus just as the sun was coming up. It isn't as big as I'd thought it would be, but being there on our own so early in the day felt quite special. It's so high up you can look down through the clouds over the whole of Rio. God knows how they got him up there. The bloke who delivered my washer/dryer from Comet moaned about getting up to my flat on the third floor. I suppose that's why it could be a wonder of the world.We went back down and I had a coconut on the way, which was another first for me. A drink and food all in one. It didn't look like the coconuts you win at fairgrounds. There was no hair on it. I didn't know if that's how they grow here or if it's that Brazilians hate hair on anything and they've waxed them.The Taj Mahal, IndiaEveryone I talked to about India mentioned "Delhi Belly". It's assumed that if you visit India you will get ill. It's the only place in the world that has this reputation. It must be a great place to open a restaurant. There's no comeback if a customer gets the shits from eating your food ? except, well, "Welcome To India". It's as if it's on the menu: starter, main course, pudding, coffee and then the shits.I wasn't really in the mood to see the Taj Mahal, what with the Delhi Belly and everything, but we had to go that day. I was told it is a mausoleum that took 22 years to build. The Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan had it built for his wife, who died giving birth to their fourteenth son.It seems to me like it was something the man had always wanted to build but his wife didn't let him, so when she died he used it as an excuse to build his dream. My uncle always wanted a plasma telly, but his wife didn't want him wasting money on one. Soon as she died he got one.The Great Wall, ChinaOnce I was through the entrance I could see the Wall for miles. We managed to find a bit of the Wall that wasn't too busy. I looked at it. It looked quite new. I was trying to understand what all the fuss was about. My guide book said it was heavily restored in both the 1950s and the 1980s. Surely it can't count as a wonder if it's not original? If when I went to see the Taj Mahal in India I got there to find a new house with a double garage and a gravel driveway, they couldn't still sell it as the Taj Mahal, so why is the Wall getting away with it? Bloody hell, is everything fake in China? The coat I bought, the DVD and now the Wall.The Pyramids, EgyptI really can't believe what a state the Pyramids are in. I thought they had flat rendered sides, but when you get up close, you see how they are just giant boulders balanced on top of each other, like a massive game of Jenga that has got out of hand. I was told how it was only one of the Pyramids that was a wonder of the world, even though there are three of them, which is odd, as they all look the same. It's the Great Pyramid that's the official wonder. I would be annoyed if I was the builder who built one of the other two. It wouldn't surprise me if it was one of the other builders who knocked the nose off the Sphinx in anger after hearing that news.Machu Picchu, PeruThe crew asked me if I was excited about getting closer to Machu Picchu. I said I wasn't. How could I be? I was still ill, hot and exhausted. The views were amazing ? we were on top of the world ? but why people would live up here just doesn't make sense. My mam and dad have retired to Snowdon but they're sick of it being a 15-minute drive to the local Spar. Living high up just isn't practical. Just taking a few steps is really tiring. I'd like to see a sloth from the Amazon live there. It would never move. It would be like an ornament with a heartbeat.Petra, JordanAs impressive as the entrance to the Treasury was, it was still a cave. Yes, it has good "kerb appeal", but once I stuck my head inside there really was nothing to it. If you add that to the fact that it was out of the way, it's fair to say that if it was on Location, Location, Location it wouldn't be on my shortlist.Chichen Itza, MexicoIt's an odd one, Chichen Itza. It was built by the Mayan people and was known for sacrifices and for ripping out people's hearts. Not exactly Alton Towers. So it's an odd thing to make into a tourist attraction. May as well start doing tours around Fred West's house if this is what people want. Chichen Itza is just a pyramid with four sides, with stairs on each side leading to some kind of bungalow on the top. Thinking about it, all those stairs defeat the idea of the bungalow on top.What I learned ?If Michael Palin was heading off to visit the wonders of the world, I'd just tell him not to go on any trips to places that Ricky suggested. I'd tell him not to bother with the wonders and tell him to just sit back and watch rather than go chasing specific experiences. It's like when you use a Dyson vacuum cleaner on a floor that looked quite clean, but then you realise there was all sorts of dust and muck on it. India is like that ? it seems normal, but when you look closer loads of odd stuff is going on.? An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington (Canongate, �16.99) is out now. The eight-part TV series is shown on Thursdays at 9pm on Sky 1Rio de JaneiroIndiaChinaEgyptPeruPetra, JordanMexicoguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Mancuso Rocks Whiteface GS for 11th Career Title
.....Lake Placid, NY (Ski Press)-Three-time Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso captured the 11th U.S. title of her career with a victory in the women's giant slalom to close the 2010 Visa U.S. Alpine Championships at Whiteface Mountain Tuesday."I actually haven't skied giant slalom since the Olympics, so it was nice to get back on my GS skis," Mancuso said.Mancuso was also the giant slalom champion in '09, '05, and '03. With 11 titles, she now moves past U.S. great Andrea Mead Lawrence for the most titles of any American male or female, breaking a record that has stood for 55 years.The weekend brought some closure to a season�in�which�Mancuso had long worked hard ."Coming back from a back injury I always had the goal of getting ready for the Olympics. Even going into last season it hurt. I wanted to keep trying. Just being able to see the reward of the plan paying off was really amazing," Mancuso said.Second place for the day went to Laurenne Ross (Klamath Falls, OR) who produced the fastest second run. Ross was also third in the super G and second in the combined at Whiteface.Malin Hemmingson of Sweden was third followed by U.S. downhill champion Leanne Smith (Conway, NH).The top U.S. junior was Julia Ford (Plymouth, NH) out of U.S. Development Team, though the fastest junior was Erin Mielzynski of Canada. J-2 Foreste Peterson (Berkeley, CA) of the Squaw Valley Ski Team was the next fastest U.S. junior followed by Abby Ghent (Edwards, CO) of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail.The USSA Western Region took the 2010Tom Garner Regions Cup with 2,903 points, followed by the East with1,869 and Rocky/Central with 986.Tuesday also marked the final race for Kaylin Richardson (Edina, MN), a two-time Olympian and seven-year member of the U.S. Ski Team. She ran both runs of giant slalom in a puffy red one piece ski suit circa 1980, with her parents making the trip from Minnesota just to see their daughter's last event.Numerous athletes, including Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) now move directly to Cochran's Ski Area in Richmond, VT for the annual charity slalom hosted by two-time Olympian Jimmy Cochran tomorrow.OFFICIAL RESULTS2010 Visa U.S. Alpine ChampionshipsLake Placid, NY - March 22, 2010Women?s Giant Slalom1. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA, 2:07.522. Laurenne Ross, Klamath Falls, OR, 2:08.113. Malin Hemmingsson, Sweden, 2:08.254. Leanne Smith, Conway, NH, 2:08.985. Megan McJames, Park City, UT, 2:09.17
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
My Favorite Books: Member?s Pick for Week 09/27/10
I travel to celebrate and to dwell in the beauty of humanity. My desire is to really learn to love people to the fullest.
Gap years: Wasted youth?
Ever wondered what students really get up to on their gap years? A report from the Full Moon Party in ThailandUp and down the beach, young western men are unzipping their shorts and peeing into the Gulf of Thailand. Behind them, under the light of the full moon, thousands more shirtless, shoeless Europeans are massed outside 14 beachside bars, their knees bending awkwardly to a soundtrack of the Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber and generic drum'n'bass. And squeezed between the bars and the crowds are 35 wooden stalls, each selling plastic buckets filled with a litre's worth of vodka and Red Bull. The stalls are daubed with deeply dubious slogans, ranging from the lurid to the the moronic. "No Bucket No Boom Boom", "Fuck My Buckets", "Everybody Fuck My Strong Buckets" ? that kind of thing.Welcome to the Full Moon Party, the largest beach rave in the world. Twenty-five years ago, this was a little-known hippy hang-out on the remote Thai island of Koh Phangan. Today, frequented every month by between 10,000 and 30,000 European youngsters, the all-night party is the ultimate destination on south-east Asia's "banana pancake" trail; a mecca for footloose gap-year tourists. This party scene, right here on this beach, is arguably the epitome, the pinnacle, of the modern gap-year experience.Three weeks ago, the chief executive of the universities and colleges admissions service (UCAS) declared to a Sunday newspaper that "the golden age of the gap year is over". Mary Curnock Cook argued that while in the past "a gap year has been when young people take a nice break and go out and see the world", the period should now "be used in a focused way to support an application to the course or university you are targeting". In a year when the number of university applications ? a record 660,000 ? has dwarfed the number of university places available ? 450,000 ? Curnock Cook may have a point.But this is a point that has yet to trickle down, in practical terms, to the nation's school-leavers. In fact, the vast majority of gappers do not use their year-out in anything approaching a fashion that might ? in the eyes of universities ? be viewed as "constructive". Every year around 160,000 British school-leavers take a gap year before entering university. More than 80% of them, says Richard Oliver, chairman of trustees at Year Out, "just go off and travel independently without any real purpose. Sun, sand and sangria, as I call it." Indeed, the trend might even be away from the year of constructive good deeds that Curnock Cook might be thinking of ? a trend towards increasingly mindless hedonism. Hans Hoefer is the founder of Insight travel books, and the man who co-ordinated one of the first guides to Thailand back in the 70s, when fewer tourists visited the entire country (150,000) than now visit Burma annually. These days "gappers" touring Koh Phangan and its surrounding islands are, says Hoefer, "not experiencing anything apart from tourism. It's an absolute joke. They don't want to understand the culture ? they just want to binge. I don't understand why they go."Attempting to understand why they go, however, why this is the modern gap-year experience, is exactly what brings me to the Full Moon Party, surrounded by scores of topless teenagers urinating into the ocean to the words of the Black Eyed Peas' "I gotta feeling/That tonight's gonna be a good night/That tonight's gonna be a good, good night." What exactly is the lure of this beach to teenagers who are, after all, meant to be Britain's brightest? I'm here to find out.When gappers touch down in Bangkok, their first port-of-call is almost always the backpackers' ghetto on the Khao San Road. In The Beach, Alex Garland's 1996 novel about a young man's search for adventure in Thailand, Khao San is described as a decompression chamber between east and west. But when I arrive, it soon becomes clear that even this is a generous description; the Khao San Road actually doesn't feel like it's in Thailand at all. The street is crammed with bars showing premiership football; Britney Spears and Bob Dylan blare out of every speaker; hawkers selling European T-shirts jostle with those selling fake British ID cards. This April, 20 Thais were massacred in clashes between soldiers and anti-government redshirt protesters barely 100 metres from the Khao San Road. But it might as well have been 100 miles away: the Khao San's tourist festivities were barely disrupted. And when Alex, a well-travelled graphic designer from west London who "took several gap years", muses to me that "the Khao San just feels like home", he's spot on, though perhaps not in quite the way he intends: apart from the fat, bald westerners parading their suspiciously beautiful Thai girlfriends, the road could be a carbon copy of Camden High Street.In years gone by, backpackers travelling onwards to the Full Moon Party might have briefly escaped this westernised gauntlet by taking the overnight train or bus down the coast to the ferry terminal of Surat Thani. Today, however, it's almost as cheap to take the plane down ? and so this is what photographer Sean Smith and I end up doing. A couple of cramped ferry journeys bring us finally to Koh Phangan, and it isn't long before I'm talking to the cream of British gappers."You know what the worst thing about travelling is?" asks Londoner Jez, 19 years old, dressed in a vest, and approaching the end of his year out. He enlightens me: "TOURISTS." It's a slightly strange answer: we're sitting on the side of a dirt track near the centre of Had Rin, the main tourist town on Koh Phangan, and venue for tomorrow's Full Moon Party. Tourists are whizzing past every 30 seconds on mopeds belching out acrid fumes. Every second shop is an internet cafe packed with tourists checking Facebook. Every third shop is a travel agent's filled with tourists plotting their next move. It's an odd place to visit if you don't like tourists. And particularly if you yourself are one.But Jez ? a warm, welcoming guy ? doesn't think of himself as a tourist: he's a backpacker. "Most of the people here are backpackers," he insists. "Backpackers are infinitely different to tourists. Backpackers will accept anyone. Whereas tourists are the kind of people who back home would end up in fights. But backpackers have no interest in fighting anyone, do they?"Jez directs this question at Pete, an even friendlier backpacker whom he met a few months ago in Vietnam. Pete, earringed and also wearing a vest, is 23, British and on a different kind of gap year; he's been given a year's leave of absence from the army. For most of his time off, he has been working as a promoter for a bar in Vang Vieng, Laos, but he's back in Had Rin for one last Full Moon Party.Pete couldn't agree more with Jez. "Yup," he says. "Tourists are the people who spend their time fighting here. Tourists are people who go on holiday for two weeks." He pauses, then adds: "So if you can, put in the Guardian, somehow, that this is not a place where you can go for two weeks. This is a place for backpackers. Tourists may pay more money, but they're fucking idiots."Pete's not sure I've got the message, so he leans in once more. "Where I work in Vang Vieng, I saw these two tourist girls with handbags, wearing skirts and dresses. But in Vang Vieng you should be wearing a bikini, and nothing else. So I said to them, 'You girls are a fucking disgrace, get the fuck out of here.' And my job is to get people into a bar! So I've ruined the chance of those people coming into my bar. But that's how much backpackers hate tourists."In The Beach, Richard, the protagonist, is told that "Hat Rin's [sic] a long way past its sell-by date. They sell printed flyers for the full-moon parties now." And that was 14 years ago. But to Jez, even in 2010, the town is still sacred. "I just fucking love this place," he says, "because it just sums up everything about youth. Ten thousand people condensed into one area where they can do every single thing they want to, without any regrets. Back home, you get really shit-faced and there are repercussions. Out here you can do what you want. It's somewhere like Ibiza before it turned shit. It's way cheaper, too."And, of course, there are the backpackers. "As most of the people here are backpackers," Jez re-explains, "you'll be walking along and you'll see someone you know. And then you'll see them again and again. All the people you've met while you're travelling will be here. It's just awesome."The drugs are also a big draw. These guys know exactly which pharmacies sell speed ? and what to ask for when they're at the counter. They know where to go to buy weed, and can name the three bars in town that list magic mushroom milkshakes on the menu.Sounds fun, I say, but if everything here is all so western and familiar ? and if they're spending most of the week off their heads ? are they really experiencing Thailand? Pete is brutally frank. "This isn't a Thai experience," he admits, instantly. "This is a party experience. Chiang Mai and Bangkok, you get a Thai experience. Koh Phangan is a party place." Jez agrees, but is quick to emphasise that, for them, the "party experience" is a supplement to, and not a replacement of, the "Thai experience"."We've gone through the Thai experience," Jez clarifies. "We've seen it, we've done it. So for us this is just a nice way to cap it off and celebrate what we've achieved, all that we've been through. A lot of people just see the Khao San Road and here ? and they're tourists. They're not travellers. They're not going to learn anything here about Thai culture. Whereas going to places like Chiang Mai, you just learn so much about their culture of respect, and the emphasis they place on those . . . those aspects."Jez and Pete are having a "shroom" session with some of their many backpacker friends that evening, and, true to their backpacker philosophy, they invite me along. And so, a few hours later, we rendezvous once more in a bar built high above Sunrise Beach (where, in 24 hours, the Full Moon Party will take place) ? a bar nicknamed, for reasons which soon become apparent, Mushroom Mountain. Turnout is lower than expected; Jez and Pete are joined only by two second-year medical students from Nottingham ? Hailey, who took a gap year, and Laura, who didn't.When I raise Curnock Cook's comments, I get: "That is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard," from Jez, who will start at Newcastle this autumn, studying philosophy. "Taking a gap year was probably the best decision I've ever made. It's taught me more than 18 years in school ever did. I could write you an essay on Shakespeare or tell you the strengths and weaknesses of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, but at the end of the day that means fuck all in the real world, unless you go out and experience it. And fair enough, Koh Phangan isn't really the real world, but it's still an experience."I met a guy three days ago who'd done five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he was telling me that during a Full Moon Party in 2008, he'd had to pull two Swedish girls who'd washed up, dead, out of the sea. To meet people like that, to see the lives that people go through, to escape the private-school bubble that a lot of kids end up in, it really opens your eyes to stuff. Shows you how life isn't just about getting good A-level results, getting a good degree and a good job."Hailey's gap-year experiences were slightly different to Jez's. She didn't go travelling at all, she says, but spent the entire period working in a hospital in order to enhance her application to medical school; a perfect exemplar of the kind of gap year favoured by Curnock Cook. In many ways, though, she wishes she'd chosen a more relaxed path. "I don't know if I should say this," she starts, pauses, then continues: "I was in a verbally abusive relationship for three years, which meant I had no self-confidence. And I turned into a bit of a slut on my gap year because I was really messed up in the head. And then I went to uni, and I thought, 'I don't want to be either of those people I've been, I want to be someone else.' So then I sort of had three personalities. But coming out here on my own, having to go over and talk to people, having to be nice, not an asshole . . . It's been great. It teaches you how to socialise properly. It makes you so much more confident. Coming out here, travelling on your own . . ." She trails off, and then hurriedly starts again: "If I'd done the whole travelling on my own thing in my gap year, I would have been slightly less messed up at uni."I'd been warned that as Full Moon night grew messier, the beach's toilets would be rammed full of lady-boys at work, their feet three-inches-deep in urine. Old hands predicted that when the sun rose the following morning, the sand would be carpeted with couples rolling around on a terrine of broken bottles, cups, buckets, straws, pills, lost flip-flops and unconscious drunks. This isn't quite how it happens on this full moon though. Certainly, the music is crap, and there are sordid aspects ? the bucket stalls; the odd party-goer collapsing to the floor; one man vomiting into the sea beside that long line of urinators. But, despite being sober and solo, I find the atmosphere surprisingly euphoric, and my overall memories are of smiling dancers whose moves became more liberated as the night rolled into morning.One such happy chappy is Francesco, a 19-year-old gapper from Bournemouth whom I encounter near a giant fiery skipping rope. "Mate," he says cheerily, "throw away that notebook, get a bucket, and just get TRASHED." Francesco would probably be described by official backpackers as a tourist ? not that Francesco himself would mind. "There's different ways of travelling," he says. "This is about getting smashed. Getting in the buckets of Chang" ? a local beer ? "and just going for it. Back home, you walk in a pub, you get ID'd. Out here, you just lose the plot."Working-class Francesco comes from the opposite end of the gap-year spectrum to most gappers I meet. "I had to work night and day to get here," he says. "I went round all the hotels back home trying to get work. I ended up working seven days a week, in a call-centre by day, and a pub by night." For him, then, the Full Moon is a once in a lifetime event, and it's hard to begrudge him his utter elation at being here.There is though one group who seem less enamoured with this event: the locals. Though the Full Moon might be the festival highlight of the year for most of the gappers, tourists and backpackers on the beach, for the Thais that run it ? and clean up after it ? the party must seem like a monotonous, monthly chore. As Charlie Cassidy, a tall, bald expat who has lived in Hat Rin for the past decade, explains, "The locals don't actually go to the Full Moon. We go to the after-party up the hill the following morning. The Full Moon's just for the kiddies."At four in the morning, I visit The Rock, a bar perched high above the sand at the opposite end of the beach to Mushroom Mountain. At the back, staring out over the partying crowds below, stands the long-haired Sutti Kuasurkul. Sutti's the man who opened Had Rin's first backpacker accommodation in the mid-80s ? the Paradise Bungalows next door ? and who, legend has it, organised the first Full Moon party shortly afterwards. But rather than smiling proudly at the institution he inspired, Sutti merely looks on forlornly, face motionless, eyes dulled. Would he mind answering a few questions about the origins of the party, I ask him? He shakes his head. Maybe tomorrow, or the next day, he says, before disappearing downstairs."Sutti doesn't really like talking about the party," explains Charlie. "For him, the Full Moon's just some farewell party he held for an Aussie mate back in the 80s, which just happened to catch on." Sutti, it seems, isn't too enamoured with what the party's become. "Sutti?" asks Charlie, rhetorically. "He'd rather be fishing."Fifty metres away, in the DJ's booth at Paradise Bungalows, sits Burmese immigrant DJ Shine ? or just plain Shane to his friends. Shane's 25 and he's lived in Had Rin since he was 16. This, then, is roughly his 50th Full Moon as a DJ, and his 100th overall. And Shane's bored ? bored with playing the same electro-house on the same broken CDJ to the same crowds. He speaks perfect English, complete with a cockney accent, but he's never been to Britain, never visited the British friends he's made during his time on the island. And so, as he plays mix after mix after mix, month after month after month, Shane stares out at the thousands of Europeans who will soon be flying home, and wishes he could one day go with them. "But," he says, "I just can't afford it."Up and down the beach, young western men are still unzipping their shorts and peeing into the Gulf of Thailand. Though I never took a gap year, never took the chance to either let my hair down like this, or do something more constructive, nothing that I've heard or seen here makes me want to join them.Some names and details have been changed.For more on travel gap years, go towww.guardian.co.uk/travel/gap-year-travelGap year travelGap yearsStudentsAsiaThailandHigher educationPatrick Kingsleyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Where's hot now? Sunny autumn getaways
Where to find warm sun and blue skies in October and NovemberCrete GreeceOctober high: 24CThe Greek islands can lose their lustre out of season, but southern Crete falls into the north African climatic zone and basks in sunshine long after other resorts have put up the shutters. The Minoan palace of Knossos and the Samaria Gorge are free of crowds and it's perfect weather for walking in the White Mountains, where the grape and olive harvests are in full swing. The Ammos Hotel, near beautiful Chania, offers chic, contemporary studios with sea views on a beach 5km from the lively port city of Chania.? Doubles from ?131, room only (+30 28210 33003, ammoshotel.com). Easyjet (easyjet.com) flies Gatwick-Chania until the end of October from �197 returnIbiza, SpainOctober high: 23CWhile the rest of the Med slips into an off-season slumber, Ibiza goes out with a bang. The next fortnight sees a wave of "closing parties", with superclubs such as Amnesia and Space bidding a hedonistic farewell to the summer. If it all gets too much, head inland to one of the island's hip agroturismos, where the island's cognoscenti will be hanging out at intimate DJ events and recharging their batteries at swish spas. Es Cucons is a laid-back finca with 15 rooms in the west of the island.? Doubles from ?195 (+34 971 805501, escucons.com). British Airways (ba.com) flies to Ibiza from various UK airports from �150 Marrakech, MoroccoOctober high: 28CFew cities can rival Marrakech for exoticism, but if it's relaxation you're after, leave the bustle of the medina behind and head for the hills. Tigmi, 15 miles from the city, is a peaceful complex of tastefully converted village houses surrounding courtyards. There's a hammam and a large heated pool ? something you won't find in the city-centre riads. A regular shuttle bus into Marrakech ensures guests experience the best of both worlds.? Best of Morocco (08450 264 585, bestofmorocco.co.uk) is offering four nights at Tigmi for the price of three until the end of October. So a four-night stay costs �550pp half-board, including flights and transfersAlgarve, PortugalOctober high: 22CIn autumn the sandy beaches of the western Algarve are empty, and the chestnut forests of the Monchique mountains are at their best. Inntravel has comfortable apartments at the Algarve Quinta, a 19th-century farmhouse 5km from the port of Lagos, handy for secluded bays and walking trails in the mountains.? Inntravel (01653 617001, inntravel.co.uk) has availability at the Quinta from the end of October. Seven nights from 26 October costs �630pp including car hire. From 1 November the price drops to �498pp. Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies from various UK airports to Faro from �61Le Marche, ItalyNovember high: 17CA traditional farmhouse surrounded by olive groves and vineyards is the setting for a four-day gourmet olive break which promises to immerse guests in the specialities of Le Marche region in all its autumn glory. The trip includes visits to food markets, olive oil and wine tastings, gourmet meals based around seasonal fare such as chestnuts and truffles, a cookery demonstration and the chance to help with the olive harvest. ? The four-day package costs �525pp including transfers, three nights' accommodation at the Casal dei Fichi, all meals, visits and demonstrations (+39 734 959 018, casaldeifichi.com). Dates are 5-8 and 12-15 November. Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Ancona from �45 returnProvence, FranceOctober high: 19CTucked away in a sleepy Proven�al village, La Maison de Blauzac is an 18th-century house with a pretty garden and a pool. There are just five guest rooms, simply and elegantly furnished. If you can tear yourself away from the sumptuous views from the garden, the perfectly preserved medieval city of Uz�s and the Roman aqueduct of Pont du Gard are a short drive away. ? Doubles from �95 through i-escape (i-escape.com/lamaisondeblauzac.php). Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies to from Liverpool and Luton to Nimes, 35km away, from �16 returnWinter sunGreeceIbizaMarrakechPortugalItalyMoroccoCreteProvenceFood and drinkHotelsSelf-cateringBeach holidaysLouise Daleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Dreams Resorts & Spas
Photo:
prom243
Dek:
Kids Stay Free!
Valid From:
September 22, 2010
Valid To:
December 23, 2010
Website:
http://www.dreamsresorts.com/promotions.html
Reserve your stay at Dreams Resorts & Spas and, during select travel dates, two kids stay, play and eat free! Valid for two kids staying in the same guestroom as two paying adults.
The "Kids Stay Free" promotion at Dreams Resorts & Spas is valid for two children 12 years old and younger when staying in the same guestroom with 2 paying adults. Kids free is valid on all new reservations for travel during the following dates at all Dreams Resorts & Spas: May 1 thru June 25, 2010 and August 28 thru December 23, 2010.
This offer can be combined with other discounts or offers, with the exception of group?s promotions. Blackout dates and holiday restrictions may apply. Kids free promotion is subject to availability and can modified at any time. Advance reservations are required and can be made through leading travel professionals.
Restrictions and blackout dates may apply. This entire offer is based on availability and can be modified at any time. Not applicable to group bookings. Valid for United States and Canada only.
prom243
Dek:
Kids Stay Free!
Valid From:
September 22, 2010
Valid To:
December 23, 2010
Website:
http://www.dreamsresorts.com/promotions.html
Reserve your stay at Dreams Resorts & Spas and, during select travel dates, two kids stay, play and eat free! Valid for two kids staying in the same guestroom as two paying adults.
The "Kids Stay Free" promotion at Dreams Resorts & Spas is valid for two children 12 years old and younger when staying in the same guestroom with 2 paying adults. Kids free is valid on all new reservations for travel during the following dates at all Dreams Resorts & Spas: May 1 thru June 25, 2010 and August 28 thru December 23, 2010.
This offer can be combined with other discounts or offers, with the exception of group?s promotions. Blackout dates and holiday restrictions may apply. Kids free promotion is subject to availability and can modified at any time. Advance reservations are required and can be made through leading travel professionals.
Restrictions and blackout dates may apply. This entire offer is based on availability and can be modified at any time. Not applicable to group bookings. Valid for United States and Canada only.
What the Southwest/Airtran merger means for consumers
Filed under: Business, Airlines, NewsSouthwest Airlines announced yesterday that it will acquire Airtran in a cash plus stock deal.
Here's what to expect:
1.) Good news for Airtran passengers and travel to/from/through Atlanta in general. Southwest has better service than Airtran, and lower fees (assuming that Southwest keeps the low/no-fee model, see number 4, below). Southwest is not keeping the Airtran brand.
2.) Southwest and Airtran don't have much route overlap, so the merger in and of itself won't lead to higher fares. But both airlines offer aggressive airfare sales almost weekly. We'll see fewer of these, and fares will inch up. Remember, though, that fares can only go so high before consumers stay home, drive, take the BoltBus, or Amtrak. One route that does overlap is Boston to Baltimore, which both airlines fly nonstop for $78 round-trip; but JetBlue flies the route at the same fare, so as long as there are two airlines flying nonstop on the route, prices will stay reasonable. (In fact, Baltimore probably has the most overlapping routes, so we expect fares to go up there.)
3.) More fare pressure if other airlines continue the merger dance. American and US Air must be in panic mode as Southwest continues to grow. What next? An American/US Air marriage? Frontier/Midwest combine with USAir? JetBlue+American? The Southwest/Airtran merger came out of the blue, so anything and everything could be on the table.
4.) This impacts Delta, at least at first, the most. Will Delta eliminate checked bag and ticket change fees on competing routes to/from/through Atlanta to compete with Southwest's fee model? Or will Southwest add fees? Airtran was a minor thorn in Delta's side, but Southwest is going be a major thorn. Airtran was not a particularly healthy airline financially, and Southwest is.
5.) Southwest now becomes an international airline, if it keeps Airtran's routes to Aruba, the Bahamas, etc. It also becomes a multi-aircraft airline, if it keeps Airtran's Boeing 717's along with Southwest's 737 fleet.Continue reading What the Southwest/Airtran merger means for consumersWhat the Southwest/Airtran merger means for consumers originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Here's what to expect:
1.) Good news for Airtran passengers and travel to/from/through Atlanta in general. Southwest has better service than Airtran, and lower fees (assuming that Southwest keeps the low/no-fee model, see number 4, below). Southwest is not keeping the Airtran brand.
2.) Southwest and Airtran don't have much route overlap, so the merger in and of itself won't lead to higher fares. But both airlines offer aggressive airfare sales almost weekly. We'll see fewer of these, and fares will inch up. Remember, though, that fares can only go so high before consumers stay home, drive, take the BoltBus, or Amtrak. One route that does overlap is Boston to Baltimore, which both airlines fly nonstop for $78 round-trip; but JetBlue flies the route at the same fare, so as long as there are two airlines flying nonstop on the route, prices will stay reasonable. (In fact, Baltimore probably has the most overlapping routes, so we expect fares to go up there.)
3.) More fare pressure if other airlines continue the merger dance. American and US Air must be in panic mode as Southwest continues to grow. What next? An American/US Air marriage? Frontier/Midwest combine with USAir? JetBlue+American? The Southwest/Airtran merger came out of the blue, so anything and everything could be on the table.
4.) This impacts Delta, at least at first, the most. Will Delta eliminate checked bag and ticket change fees on competing routes to/from/through Atlanta to compete with Southwest's fee model? Or will Southwest add fees? Airtran was a minor thorn in Delta's side, but Southwest is going be a major thorn. Airtran was not a particularly healthy airline financially, and Southwest is.
5.) Southwest now becomes an international airline, if it keeps Airtran's routes to Aruba, the Bahamas, etc. It also becomes a multi-aircraft airline, if it keeps Airtran's Boeing 717's along with Southwest's 737 fleet.Continue reading What the Southwest/Airtran merger means for consumersWhat the Southwest/Airtran merger means for consumers originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
On the trail of Thai street food
David Thompson, the Michelin-starred evangelist for Thai food, takes Ian Tucker on an evening tour of Bangkok's family-run street food stalls, the true home of the country's culinary traditionSuppertime in downtown Bangkok. A rubbish truck rumbles along the potholed road. An emaciated Chinese man with ribs like chopsticks drags his feet along the wet cement. A rat trots along the pavement with something yellow in its teeth, past our cook and inside the shutters of the premises next door.Welcome to Bangkok's Chinatown, home of one of the world's most piquant culinary experiences. Our guide is David Thompson ? an Australian who has spent the best part of 25 years researching, cooking and evangelising about Thai food: who was awarded the first Michelin star in Europe for a Thai restaurant and was the author of Thai Food ? which made the Top 10 of OFM's list of the best ever cookbooks last month.Thompson has taken us on a 60-minute bumper-to-bumper cab journey across Bangkok's endless flyovers to sample some of the best street food the city can offer. Most of the streets are littered with stalls, stands and trucks, and Thompson has homed in on one. A hole in the wall, featuring a charcoal-heated wok that he reckons "hasn't been cleaned in 50 years". A fluent Thai speaker, Thompson's understanding of the culture often astonishes the locals. He orders everyone ? that's the Observer photographer and me ? the oyster omelette. We sit on plastic stools and wait. We're the only farang or westerners around; as we are for the rest of the night. The omelettes arrive on plastic plates in various colours, with a finger bowl of chilli sauce. Cooking oysters has always seemed like a waste of carbon to me so my hopes are low, but they are rescued by what Thompson calls the "right mucosity" and crunch made possible by the searing wok. The chilli sauce is surprisingly anodyne and sweet; Thompson says he wishes he had the "audacity to bring my own". Yet for 60 baht (just over a quid) a pop it would be "discourteous".Half a dozen other dishes are advertised here but all of our fellow diners choose the omelette. "If you ordered anything else they'd get confused, probably forgotten how to cook it," says Thompson. And this is how Thai street food operates. A stall or a truck gets a reputation for the best gung pat sadtor (stir-fried sadtor beans with prawns, shrimp paste and pork) or somesuch and word spreads; they may also do other meals but the queues will be for the prawn dish.The knowledgeable will also walk on if the wrong family member is wok-side. The middle sister might be stingy with the fish sauce, and given the complex sweet, sour, salt and hot spicing of Thai dishes, the whole taste structure crumbles.But if you want another course, you need another stall. Luckily Thompson has a plan: mains are up the road. "I've got us a table in the best section, in the gutter," he says with characteristic mischief.At this stall, Thompson feels confident enough to order a selection of dishes. The star attraction is slices of duck smoked over sugar cane. And there are plastic plates of pork stir-fried with Chinese olives ("I'm buggered if I know what they are," says Thompson), braised duck intestines ("It tastes like soft rubber bands, which is actually OK") and what turns out to be ever-present over our two days in Bangkok ? a pungent red catfish curry. To spice things up further we are supplied with finger bowls of fish sauce and chillies; to mollify the heat, bowls of sticky rice; for a break from the heat, plates of raw Chinese cabbage, holy basil and sadtor beans; and to wash the heat away, Singha beer.Thompson, who has been with his Thai partner in business and life, Tanongsak Yordwai, for 24 years, holds forth on the plight of the euro and gives his neo-Marxist analysis of the Thai political system. Soon the chatter fades in favour of the food. "This is not bad for something on a plastic plate," says Thompson.So how did a 51-year-old Australian end up a world authority on Thai cooking? Thompson's training began in Sydney's French restaurants in the early 80s, but in 1986 after a holiday in Thailand his head was turned. He returned to Bangkok, spending two years learning all he could about Thai food. Which was tricky as there were no recipe books to study ? dishes were passed down the generations. But Thompson found a teacher called Khun Sombat Janphetchara who had learned to cook at a royal palace. "In her hands the commonplace was transformed into something memorable," he says. He began to collect memorial books, published when a Thai died and which often included their favourite recipes.He returned to Australia and opened a couple of celebrated Thai restaurants in Sydney. But in 2000 Thailand lured him back to consult at the government-backed Suan Dusit academy of Thai cooking ? instructing chefs in the history and preparation of authentic Thai dishes. A year later he opened Nahm at the Halkin Hotel in London and in 2002 it became the first Thai restaurant to win a Michelin star.In the same year he published Thai Food ? an exhaustive work that ran to nearly 700 pages. The 117-page introduction emphasised how Thai cuisine had evolved through migration, custom and economics ? in many ways Thai Food is as much a cultural history as a recipe book.The obvious question is why has it taken an Australian to win respect for Thai cuisine? Fuchsia Dunlop, who has explored China to write award-winning titles including Sichuan Cookery, says there are advantages to being an alien. "Sometimes it is outsiders who are interested in the older things, the traditions. As a foreigner you know what needs to be explained, what's appealing and what will freak people out. To be a kind of bridge, it helps not to be a local."Thompson's latest venture is perhaps his most ambitious: to open a Thai restaurant in Bangkok. In the space previously occupied by a Mediterranean restaurant, he is opening a new Nahm in the chic environs of the Metropolitan hotel. Hotel reception staff say they are pleased since they won't have to send foreign guests away when they ask to eat Thai food.The opening has been delayed: the red shirt riots took place a block away which meant building slowed down; training chefs and creating a menu is taking perfectionist Thompson longer than expected ? "I have one or two chefs who look at me with a degree of circumspection I find almost impertinent."Earlier in the day, while builders work on the interior of the main dining room, Thompson and his team let the hotel staff and the Observer sample some curry dishes which he insists are only "60-70% there". He is most proud of a fish stomach curry, a dish that originates from the 1920s. Made from salted mackerel innards, chicken livers, cockles and a lot of chilli, it is an elemental combination of earth and fire. You might like to know the innards are discarded before serving.There's also a grilled beef curry with chilli leaves, catfish nahm prik pao and a milder coconut crab curry. With each mouthful the eyes start to combust, "It's when the eardrums start to hurt that you know you've eaten enough chilli," says our chef.One of the hotel staff says the food is like her grandmother used to make, which for Thompson couldn't be a finer compliment. "Food from that older generation is better, stronger. To get those undulant tastes that strike a deep chord rather than the superficial tastes you get with modern food, that for me is exciting, it's almost like I'm a culinary archeologist."Thai food ain't about simplicity. It's about the juggling of disparate elements to create a harmonious finish. Like a complex musical chord it's got to have a smooth surface but it doesn't matter what's happening underneath. Simplicity isn't the dictum here, at all. Some westerners think it's a jumble of flavours, but to a Thai that's important, it's the complexity they delight in."Back to the evening downtown and we have moved on to dessert. Thompson has bought ripe durian, "the foie gras of fruit", from one stall ? a fruit with an odour so pungent that Anthony Bourdain described it as "like french kissing your dead grandmother" ? and ordered black sesame dumplings in fresh ginger from another. We devour the yellow garlicky ectoplasm ? and the rich roasted seeds and sharp rhizome liquid of the second dessert make a great sweet and sour palate cleanser.The food in Nahm is pure archive Thai, but the food we've been eating on the street stalls is a hybrid of Thai, Chinese and Malay ? reflecting the waves of immigration, or as Thompson elegantly puts it, "the people pass through and the residue is the cuisine they leave behind".In Thompson's early years in Bangkok he would pass over these fusion dishes. Truth be told, despite its appearance in both of his books, he's a bit sniffy about pat thai ? a dish that was created in the 1940s in response to a government competition. He says that if you ask for it at Nahm you are presented with the bill.But his attitude to street food has softened and he claims to eat little else. A couple of generations ago, Thais were rural folk who ate at home and took pride in offering food to the monks, but as they have moved to the cities they are likely to grab a polythene bag of curry on the way home to reheat. There is almost a stigma attached to cooking for yourself. "There is an embarrassment about spending time in the kitchen, it is seen as old-fashioned and a sign that you haven't made it. Sometimes I know how they feel," Thompson jokes.But for those of us not lucky enough to have these avenues of edibles at our front doors, Thompson has written Thai Street Food ? a tribute to the stallholders and their hyphenated dishes. He was going to open a street food restaurant in London but that fell victim to the credit crunch, so I'm left with no alternative but to try to recreate the experience in my kitchen.First, I must go to London's Chinatown to gather staples of Thai cooking: fish sauce, shrimp paste, white pepper, palm sugar, dried shrimp, sticky rice, pat thai noodles, siracha chilli sauce ? all for around a third of the price and for three times the quantity than at a supermarket.I decide to cook the dish that has a list of ingredients on the briefer side, the stir-fried minced beef with chillies and holy basil. Getting a wok hot enough on a domestic gas hob to give the meat a tasty singe is tricky ? although a fattier cut than sirloin or smaller pieces might have been a better move. And although I opt for the low-end when it comes to numbers of scuds, the chilli overpowers the holy basil ? but there's definitely something oddly soothing about the spicy, eggy, beefy, rice pudding-like result. My guinea pig friend is defeated by the heat once she ladles on the fish and chilli sauce ? I suspect punters on Yaowarat Road wouldn't be so sissy. I resolve to try again with more basil, fattier morsels of meat and fewer chillies.Next evening I try the Thai fried rice, substituting shallots for spring onions and crayfish for crab meat ? and the results look and taste pretty delicious. The salt, black pepper and soy seasoning is way more subtle and I'm disappointed there's not enough for seconds.So until credit conditions improve, Thailand is fortunate to have Thompson, an emigr� defender and propagator of a rich tradition. And restaurant launches aside, that situation is unlikely to change. "It's too late to return to Australia. I think the rest of my life will be here. I will always love Bangkok."The Observer travelled to Bangkok with Thai Airways, thaiair.comFood & drinkThai recipesChefsBangkokThailandAsiaIan Tuckerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Airport Transfers At Cheap Rates For Visiting Tourists
Author : Jamal AcostaOne of the primary concerns faced by travelers and tourists at a new place is to make arrangement for proper airport transfers to take them to their hotel or resort You can either wait and look for any forms of local transport or contact special online services that offer transport facilities for major destinations When you work with such services, you can expect professional quality and a variety of facilities as compared to unstable means of transport through local options However, you need to look at all your choices and keep a few factors in mind before signing up with a particular transfer service
The first and foremost consideration on your part would be to see if the service you want caters to the specified destination Lots of top rated services have a huge network across major cities and locations so if you want Malaga transfers for a business trip or a pick up from Seville from a holiday, you should get it without any problems You should also do a check up to see if all the transfer vehicles have available seats depending on your needs Booking a seat at an early period before travel might be beneficial and even allow you to deal with last minute cancellations without any hassles
The second factor to be taken into account is the reliability of the transfer system Once you arrive at the airport, you should not have to wait for a long time for your vehicle to arrive In case of public shuttle transports, you might have to endure some delay under unavoidable circumstances but if you have booked a private vehicle for business purposes, it should be waiting as you arrive In case you have arranged for Tenerife transfers and there is a delay in flight, the vehicles should schedule themselves according to the changed routines of your arrival
The services provided during the transfer are a major deal maker for such services If you have already paid for Malaga transfers or to any other location, you should be able to choose a vehicle based on your financial abilities You should read up about the luggage restrictions and seating rules so that there are no confusions during the journey You should only travel in proper, well maintained and insured cars so that there are no safety risks at any point of time Tourists enjoying the features of Tenerife transfers can even book a return service from the resort to the airport on a prior booking
The ability of a company to be a good service provider depends on added measures and facilities that are put in for customer benefits If you cannot see your scheduled vehicle at the airport, you should have a local reference number with you where you can call and make alternate arrangements Transfers should be done directly to the door of your destination or to the closest landmarks All your luggage and possessions should be kept secure under all circumstances In the end, you should go with a service that fulfills all these requirements and provides the best of airport transfers on affordable budgets For more resources about Malaga transfers or about Tenerife transfers or even about airport transfers in general, please visit these links.
The first and foremost consideration on your part would be to see if the service you want caters to the specified destination Lots of top rated services have a huge network across major cities and locations so if you want Malaga transfers for a business trip or a pick up from Seville from a holiday, you should get it without any problems You should also do a check up to see if all the transfer vehicles have available seats depending on your needs Booking a seat at an early period before travel might be beneficial and even allow you to deal with last minute cancellations without any hassles
The second factor to be taken into account is the reliability of the transfer system Once you arrive at the airport, you should not have to wait for a long time for your vehicle to arrive In case of public shuttle transports, you might have to endure some delay under unavoidable circumstances but if you have booked a private vehicle for business purposes, it should be waiting as you arrive In case you have arranged for Tenerife transfers and there is a delay in flight, the vehicles should schedule themselves according to the changed routines of your arrival
The services provided during the transfer are a major deal maker for such services If you have already paid for Malaga transfers or to any other location, you should be able to choose a vehicle based on your financial abilities You should read up about the luggage restrictions and seating rules so that there are no confusions during the journey You should only travel in proper, well maintained and insured cars so that there are no safety risks at any point of time Tourists enjoying the features of Tenerife transfers can even book a return service from the resort to the airport on a prior booking
The ability of a company to be a good service provider depends on added measures and facilities that are put in for customer benefits If you cannot see your scheduled vehicle at the airport, you should have a local reference number with you where you can call and make alternate arrangements Transfers should be done directly to the door of your destination or to the closest landmarks All your luggage and possessions should be kept secure under all circumstances In the end, you should go with a service that fulfills all these requirements and provides the best of airport transfers on affordable budgets For more resources about Malaga transfers or about Tenerife transfers or even about airport transfers in general, please visit these links.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Surf to Summit New Zealand
It took five days, 21 hours of sleep, and a few weather-caused detours for four of New Zealand?s ski and surf personalities to set the benchmark for an epic trip for the world?s powder and barrel lovers. From September 14-18, Kiwis Maria Kuzma, Angus Kebbell, Alex Herbert, and Tom Dunbar skied a different peak and surfed a different break each day while traversing New Zealand from north to south in a pair of camper vans. Here are a few pictures and a recap of the ski/surf/road trip that will have you wondering, ?why didn?t I think of that??
By Kevin Luby
By Kevin Luby
Canada's wild wood
In the 1960s the village of Tofino, on Canada's Vancouver Island, attracted draft dodgers, surfers and wilderness freaks. It's easy to see why, says our writer, as he explores the infinite forestsIt is early morning at Chesterman Beach and the Pacific Ocean is in full cry: great roaring chargers smashing on to the rocks, clouds of spray in the air and debris all over the sands. We pick our way between the bodies of yard-long giant squid spat out by the storm. Here and there rocks, marooned by the falling tide, are encrusted with blue mussels and fat-fingered purple and orange starfish. When I ask Charles McDiarmid, who runs the solitary hotel on the beach, if anyone eats the mussels, he looks surprised, "No, I don't think so. I mean we don't need to ? there's so much else."This is Tofino, on the far western shore of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, a place of wild riches: salmon runs that can choke rivers, bears and whales by the thousand, surfing and walking galore and most of all, apparently most infinite of all, forests of cedars and spruce. In the early 1970s, before roads arrived, Tofino welcomed an eclectic mix of surfer dudes, draft dodgers and wilderness freaks. By the 1990s it had gathered the reputation of being a special traveller place, a secret spot where nature and man had reached an epiphany. When I had mentioned Tofino to people who knew Canada, they became misty-eyed: "Paradise!" "Just brilliant" ? tempered with some reservations ? "But we were there long ago ? it can't be as good as it was." So I've come to see what has become of the star-spangled hangout that fought off the loggers, quite literally, in the 1980s and 1990s to establish itself as the New Age/New World wildlife and lifestyle paradise.Charles certainly knows the area: his father was the town's only doctor here in the 1950s, when Tofino was nothing but a fishing and hunting base. I ask him about the hippy-heaven reputation. How did that happen?"Look," he says, "let me show you something."We turn up the beach and walk to a single-storey clapboard building at the treeline: a woodcarver's shed. Inside there are some workbenches laden with half-finished carvings, and on one side a cupboard that opens to reveal something like an altar laid with cloth and lit by a red bulb. But instead of religious artefacts, there are tools ? special tools. I pick up a gouge that has a broad splayed blade and a white curving handle."The blade is from a bit of car chassis," Charles tells me. "The handle is a sperm whale tooth. It was made by a guy called Henry Nolla who came to live on this beach in the early 1960s, then never left. Henry was Tofino's first hippy."The story begins to emerge. Back in the early 1960s Charles's father bought some land and built a beach hut on Chesterman. Soon afterwards Henry drifted into town, a bohemian woodcarver sage who needed a home. He ended up as the McDiarmids' beach hut caretaker, chiselling out totem poles and canoes on the sand with Joe Martin and Roy Henry Vickers, First Nation people with a gift for woodcarving. It was a time when Vietnam war draft dodgers were starting to arrive, drawn by stories of a backwoods hideaway beyond the reach of lawmen and roads. Some took to wandering around naked, swearing they were going to live "at one with nature", and Henry became a guru for them, a benevolent presence, gentle and wise and highly entertaining."In the late 1970s," says Charles, "the loggers were getting closer, and people realised they would have to do something or Tofino would change."In 1984 a local spotted the tell-tale loggers' tape ? used to mark future cuts ? on Meares Island, a pristine 30-square-mile patch of land sitting right in the middle of Clayoquot Sound, the jewel in Tofino's crown, vital for clean water and fish stocks. Over the following decade pitched battles and face-offs eventually halted the loggers. They had already ripped through 90% of Vancouver Island's ancient forests, but at least that final tenth had a chance of survival. Meares Island survived.Next morning I wander into town in search of a boat to take me out into the sound. It doesn't look like development is wreaking havoc here. There are only three streets: a few decent cafes, a supermarket, a bottle store, a great bakery-cum-cafe called the Common Loaf, Roy Vickers' superb gallery of First Nation art (royhenryvickers.com), and various boat trip offices. There are a few Quebecois kids hanging around with guitars, looking like they are doing the full hobo. A couple of local youths in wetsuits cycle past carrying surfboards; others are drinking lattes on cafe verandas ? no Starbucks here.I set off with Mike White, who runs bear-watching trips up Fortune Channel, one of the many arms of Clayoquot Sound. There are plenty of snazzy modern boats on offer at the pier, but I like Mike's approach: his boat is an old wooden motor cruiser, there's a coffee pot bubbling away in the galley, and a stack of binoculars next to the sea charts. As we chug out into a thick mist, I ask about Meares Island and Mike points out a few vague glimpses of tree tops. "It's over there ? we'll see it better when the mist rises."The idea of looking at bears, rather than shooting them, is still quite a new one in British Columbia. Mike tells me he was a crab fisherman when he was younger and in those days, hunters would arrive, get fitted out, then sail up the sound to shoot bears. If there was a growing awareness of the money to be made from conservation, it was a notion peddled by hippies, and so viewed with suspicion by Tofino's other half ? the frontiersmen.Mike, I sense, is a man who straddles the two sides of Tofino. When I ask about the hippy era, he chuckles. "They were all right ? left a load of mess on the beaches, that's all."When we pass a salmon farm, I ask if they have trouble with parasites and the sea being poisoned. He grunts non-committally: "We need the jobs."Slowly the mist clears a little and we spot sea otters playing in the shallows of Meares Island. The fur of the otter has 6,000 times more follicles per square inch than a human head, making it the softest and warmest pelt on earth.When the remnants of Captain Cook's third voyage reached China from the Pacific North-West, Cook's officers faced mutiny when most of the crew realised what a bonanza had slipped under their noses. One seaman had bought a fur with a broken belt buckle on Vancouver Island; now it fetched a small fortune. A full-scale furry goldrush soon developed and the otter was hunted to the very brink of extinction.Barely five minutes after seeing the otters we spot our first black bear, a large male rootling out crabs from under boulders. Mike lets the boat drift in and we get close enough to hear the shells cracking in his jaws. The forest behind the bear has clearly been logged in recent years, but Mike assures me that the clear-felling is not as bad as it used to be. Not so long ago loggers would raze entire valleys without a care for the damage. Now the cuts are smaller and less aggressive. Nevertheless, Meares looks like a proper forest to me, whereas much of the main island has that uniform aspect of a plantation.All told we see three bears, several bald eagles and a clutch of seals. Mike tells me that Meares can be visited by traditional canoe, so back in town I look up Giselle and Simka, daughters of woodcarver Joe Martin. On our paddle out next morning, in yet more mist, Giselle tells me how her father mobilised tribal war canoes to head off the loggers back in 1984."Meares is our ancestral land, but they thought they could just take it ? like they took everything else before."The history of many First Nation peoples is a sorry one. Until the 1970s misguided governments were deliberately dismantling their way of life, often aided by missionaries: longhouses were destroyed, languages untaught and children sent to boarding schools. Only now is some rediscovery and rebuilding taking place. The sisters are trying to learn the language of their tribe, the Tla-o-qui-aht, but it is a struggle. "Not many people actually know how to speak it."After half an hour we reach Meares and tie up under some trees. The path through the forest is a handmade narrow boardwalk that curves and curls through a vast cathedral of trees. This is what I wanted to see: trees as broad as small houses, trees with cavernous interiors, trees growing on trees, trees with streams running under them where tiny salmon hang. This was what all the coastal valleys were once like: covered in cedar forest with specimens so vast that cutting one down was a mammoth task, rarely undertaken. With the arrival of the circular saw in North America in 1814, however, the days of such leafy leviathans were numbered.We linger for two hours, then struggle to leave as the children in the group cannot be persuaded to stop playing inside the hollow giants.Although most of that ancestral forest is gone, there are still marvellous landscapes around Tofino. South of the town the Pacific Rim national park hides many great walks through impressive forest to wild empty beaches. And at Ucluelet, 25 miles away, there is a gem of a coastal stroll, with sudden glimpses of wild coves and mist-shrouded islets.For me, Tofino still has the magic that built its reputation, even if the struggle to maintain such a heritage continues. To this day, Meares Island has no legal protection beyond an injunction granted to the protesters in 1984.Back at Chesterman, Charles shows me around his hotel, the Wickaninnish Inn. It's full of Henry Nolla's carvings, and though Henry died in 2004, his benign presence still warms the place. There cannot be many places where a hippy beachcomber turns his hand to building a Relais & Chateaux-standard hotel on the site of his own beach hut. The result, however, is one of the world's great hotels.The Wickaninnish, I decide, is somehow a microcosm of Tofino itself: despite all the luxuries, the backwoods idiosyncrasies come poking through, and wild nature is never far away. In the restaurant one of the waitresses grabs my arm. "Quick! Look!" And out there, where the dark ocean changes to a paler distant line on the horizon, I see a flurry of black-and-white bodies launching themselves from the swell."Killer whales," she whispers, and for a few seconds the whole restaurant falls silent and every face turns towards the roaring ocean.Wildlife holidaysGreen travelCanadaNorth and Central AmericaKevin Rushbyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Scosche motorMOUTH II - tiny plug and play Bluetooth for your car
Today, audio accessory maker Scosche announced motorMOUTH II - the smallest Bluetooth handsfree car kit and streaming audio receiver ever made. This tiny device is only slightly larger than some headphone jacks, and plugs directly into the AUX input found on most current radios. Once plugged in, the unit turns into a handsfree microphone and audio streamer for Bluetooth music.
Best of all, at just $79.99, it is priced below most decent Bluetooth carkits. The motorMOUTH II comes complete with an AUX extension cable, additional mount and a Y-cable which allows you to use it as a carkit and still plug music in for wired usage. The motorMOUTH II is available from Fry's electronics.
Once plugged in, you'll be able to control the voice dialing feature on your phone, pick up and hang up on phone calls and of course, make handsfree phone calls, without breaking any state or city handsfree laws. Scosche motorMOUTH II - tiny plug and play Bluetooth for your car originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Best of all, at just $79.99, it is priced below most decent Bluetooth carkits. The motorMOUTH II comes complete with an AUX extension cable, additional mount and a Y-cable which allows you to use it as a carkit and still plug music in for wired usage. The motorMOUTH II is available from Fry's electronics.
Once plugged in, you'll be able to control the voice dialing feature on your phone, pick up and hang up on phone calls and of course, make handsfree phone calls, without breaking any state or city handsfree laws. Scosche motorMOUTH II - tiny plug and play Bluetooth for your car originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Ten top Indian rail journeys
Earlier this year Monisha Rajesh travelled the length and breadth of India by train - here she highlights some of the most spectacular routes. Also read her hints and tips on how to navigate the Indian rail networkFrom Wes Anderson and Danny Boyle to Michael Palin and Paul Theroux, Indian Railways have entranced dreamers, intrigued authors and inspired filmmakers. That's because there's no other railway like them on Earth.With 18 million daily passengers, 1.4 million employees and 17,000 trains operating on 64,000 kilometres of track, it's a locomotive pick and mix of sizes, speeds, shapes and colours ? and that's just the passengers.Last November I read an article about India's budget airlines now connecting over 80 cities ? but they still couldn't reach into the country's nooks and crannies: the tea estates of Ledo in Assam; Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India where three oceans meet; Dwarka, the birthplace of Lord Krishna on the westernmost corner of Gujarat, or Jammu's mutinous hills in the north; but there was always a train that could inch into every single place ? no matter how remote.Home to ancient toy trains, royal trains, Mumbai's infamous passenger trains, the new Duronto Express speed trains and even a hospital on wheels, I knew the Indian Railways would have a few tales to tell. Taking a page out of Jules Verne's classic tale, I decided to travel Around India in 80 Trains with Norwegian photographer Harald Haugan in tow, and write a book about the adventure.Between mid-January and May we covered an epic 36,000km ? almost the circumference of the Earth ? and have selected below the 10 journeys that best reflect the unrivalled diversity of travelling around India by train.1. Goa ExpressRoute: Vasco da Gama (Goa) to Londa (Karnataka)On a Sunday afternoon, this train inches past Goan beaches as families splash in the water, friends chat in huddles by the track and the smoke from late afternoon cooking floats into the carriages. Bright pink blossoms hang so close you can reach out and touch them as the train cuts straight into the heart of Goan village life. As it approaches the Western Ghats, the train speeds up through thick jungle, hugging the curves of the mountainside. Keep your eyes peeled for waterfalls in the distance, which increase as the trees thin and the view turns to deep valleys and peaks. On the approach to Londa the sun should just be setting which gives the strange red clay surroundings an ominous glow.? Journey time: 3 hours 30 mins; �2 travelling in sleeper class2. Dibrugarh Rajdhani ExpressRoute: New Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), Tinsukia , Ledo (Assam)Technically, this involves two trains, but you can't take the second without the first as the Tinsukia to Ledo segment is the easternmost tip of the railway. Starting in West Bengal, the super-fast Rajdhani reaches Assam in no time, vast stretches of emerald green paddy and tea plantations on both sides. Unlike south India's rolling greenery, this expanse is completely flat. As night falls, the train sweeps past the Brahmaputra river on the approach to Guwahati and crawls through the city's slums. Hop off the steps and you'll land in someone's cooking. From Tinsukia, the morning passenger train blasts through awe-inspiring landscape before arriving at the end of the track having squeezed past the backs of people's houses so closely you can see what they're eating for breakfast.? Journey time: 16 hours 30 minutes then 1 hr 30 to Ledo; �17 in second-class sleeper with AC3. Nizamuddin Duronto ExpressRoute: Pune (Maharashtra) to New DelhiOne of a new handful of non-stop express trains connecting major cities, the Duronto Express from Pune to Delhi cuts six hours off the normal 26-hour journey. It covers a fantastic route with the most varied topography and the onboard service is excellent. From 11am until sunset, the train trundles past rivers, deserts, mountains and villages and alongside pyramid-like salt mounds drying in the sunshine. Brand new Durontos ? meaning "quick" in Bengali ? offer tasty meals included in the ticket price, second to none cleanliness, new interiors and a sleeker design for reading lights, phone sockets, berths and bottle holders. The added benefit is that the trains are also derailment-proof.? Journey time: 20 hours; �28 in second class A/C sleeper4. Mandovi ExpressRoute: Madgaon (Goa) to MumbaiSandwiched between the Sahyadri hills on the east and the Arabian sea on the west, the Konkan Railway is a stunning route up to Mumbai that hugs India's southwest coastline. The British considered its construction but abandoned the daunting task, leaving it to the Indians to bore through mountains, cross hundreds of rivers and build 92 tunnels and 2,000 bridges ? of which the Panvalnadi bridge is currently the highest viaduct in India. The train doors are usually left open on this breathtaking journey that takes you through sunlit paddy fields lined with coconut and mango trees, small villages bursting with wild flowers and over endless stretches of water leading out to sea.? Journey time: 12 hours 15 mins; �15.50 second class A/C sleeper5. Indian Maharaja Deccan OdysseyRoute: Mumbai to DelhiOnce the ruler of India's railways, the Palace on Wheels has now been dethroned by younger relatives. The elegant Indian Maharaja Deccan Odyssey connects Mumbai and Delhi via Rajasthan and is the closest option to travelling like the Rajput kings once did - so it's not cheap. It is possible to cover the same route by passenger train, but as most local trains are overnight sleepers without air-conditioning, you lose the charm and beauty of the scenery. During the day, you can go tiger-spotting in Ranthambore, visit the rapidly deteriorating caves at Ellora and Ajanta and spend an afternoon at the Taj Mahal. Onboard activities include watching Octopussy from under a giant duvet, dining in a choice of two splendid cars, reading some Kipling in the lounge, or sipping Bombay Sapphire gin while the golden-red magnificence of the Thar desert blasts by.? Great Rail Journeys (+44 (0)1904 521936, Greatrail.com) offers a 10-night tour, including seven nights on the Indian Maharaja Deccan Odyssey plus flights, from �2,925pp based on two sharing6. Island ExpressRoute: Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) to Trivandrum (Kerala)Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India and a sacred spot where three oceans meet, is a great point to start an adventure on the railways. The Island Express leaves at 10.30am and takes just over two hours to reach Trivandrum. As it inches through dense greenery, tightly-packed palm trees and long grassy verges, typical of Kerala, the train fills with a cool lemony-green hue ? so sit in general class to guarantee a good view from the doors and open windows. Giant creepers hang down from the jungle-like expanse and if you look carefully in between, you'll see little churches and houses painted like sugared-almonds, ladies banging washing and men squatting in circles playing cards.? Journey time: 2 hours 15 mins; 40p in general class7. Himalayan QueenRoute: Kalka (Haryana) to Shimla (Himachal Pradesh)India's pretty little metre-gauge railway - famous for its 102 tunnels, 87 bridges and 900 curves - was built in 1903 when English ladies would take their leave of the heat and "summer" in Shimla. But it's satisfying to see the train used by commuters and those selling their wares up and down the hillside, rather than functioning solely for camera-wielding tourists. As Shimla approaches, orchards bloom with tiny red flowers and thin rivulets of water running down ledges suggest that, post-monsoon, waterfalls must be rife. Cows frequently linger on the track, but the train stops regularly en route anyway so passengers can hop off to loiter and enjoy tea and hot pakoras.? Journey Time: 5 hours 10 mins; 46 pence each way8. Jammu MailRoute: Jammu to Udhampur (Jammu state)Construction of this 53km stretch of railway from Jammu to Udhampur has extended the northernmost reach of the Indian Railways into the foothills of the Himalayas. It's another incredible engineering feat that weaves around the rocky faces of the Shivalik mountain range, over wide-mouthed rivers and plunging valleys. Over 20 tunnels and 158 bridges offer up jaw-dropping views, especially from across the Gambhir bridge. On the approach to Udhampur, the land flattens out into something resembling English meadows. And if you're waiting for the frequently delayed train, the station restaurant at Jammu Tawi does the best omelette sandwiches.? Journey time: 3-hour round-trip; 27p each way9. Golden ChariotRoute: Bangalore (Karnataka) to GoaThe train weaves across Karnataka, once home to the Vijayanagara kings who ruled in south India, and is a popular choice with Indian families on holiday. En route the tour stops at Kabini wildlife sanctuary before arriving at the incredible world heritage sites of Hampi and Badami, strewn for miles with boulders, rock-cut sandstone caves and palace and temple ruins. Sit by your cabin window the evening before arriving in Goa and watch the sun stream through the forests before setting on the hills. You'll find this stretch relatively tourist-free. Onboard the rooms are neat, elegant and well-equipped, en-suite showers are hot and powerful, and the swaying dining cars are straight out of an Agatha Christie novel.? Kuoni (01306 747008, kuoni.co.uk) offers nine nights on the Golden Chariot train journey, including flights and transfers, from �2,965pp based on two sharing10. The Toy TrainRoute: New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling (West Bengal)Darjeeling's tiny steam train was initially built as a tramway to exploit the difference in the price of potatoes between Darjeeling and Siliguri, and the hill railway is now considered a World Heritage Site. Travelling at a speed of 12kmph, the Toy Train trundles through dense forests, curving around tea plantations and bringing you as close as possible to the tea-pickers with baskets strapped on their heads. Famous for its reverses, loops and the spiral at Agony Point, the railway line eventually criss-crosses the main road through the town and runs alongside the fruit stalls in the street. Above all, if it's a clear day, you should see the snow-capped tip of Kanchenjunga.? Journey time: 7 hours 15 min; 60pence in standard class? Monisha Rajesh is the author of the blog 80trains.com and is writing a book called Around India in 80 TrainsRail travelIndiaAdventure travelTop 10sguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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