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travellingcari.com - wanderer of the world

travellingcari.com - wanderer of the world
Part travelog, part commentary on the world, its visitors and how technology changes tourism. The author is a student of Tourism and Travel Management at NYU and persistent wanderer.

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Articles

Galápagos
2008-02-01 18:13:00
I’m still behind in reading so I just spotted an interesting article from Sunday’s New York Times: Can Darwin’s Lab Survive Success? During and following this summer’s class in Cultural & Heritage Tourism Development I learned a lot about tourism at World Heritage sites and did my final paper on endangered world heritage. It’s a sad issue that, in my opinion, doesn’t get near the coverage that it should. Although I’ve never been to Galápagos, it’s always interested me stemming from research I did as an undergrad about the economic situation in Ecuador (archive of an old tripod page that defies all laws of good design-sense). I think tourism is just one of the many ways that Ecuador can develop and recover, but at what expense? Ecotourism is a huge boon to some regions, but when a site is placed on the danger list, what’s the responsibility of tour operators and tourists? It’s a good question that I’m not sure...
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but what about the rest of us?
2008-01-28 20:15:00
Prague Airport Drives Homeless out of its Premises I think it’s an interesting step by the Prague government to deal with the homelessness issue, I wonder how it would effect those of us who look less vagrant? Yes, I’m thinking back to May when I spent the night at Prague Airport. To be honest, I didn’t notice a huge number of homeless. That was far more of a problem at Praha Hlavní Nádraží when I’d head there to catch a train. Then again, it wasn’t the depth of winter either. Judging by Prague’s section in Budget Traveller’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports, I’m certainly not the first to do so. In addition there were facilities open to serve those of us there –without a place to sleep or waiting for connections. I wonder how they’d feel if the night time clients were chased out? Tags Prague
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Online Reviews
2008-01-28 04:51:00
Online Reviews of Hotels and Restaurants Flourish in today’s New York Times certainly caught my attention, due in part to last semester’s consulting project. Many of the reader-generated reviews of hotels, restaurants, destinations and other travel services on the Web may have started their lives as independent blogs by travel buffs. But they have consolidated into major online businesses, taking an ever-growing piece of the market from print guides. While there’s no doubt that the resources, financial and otherwise, that come from the big corporations can help a site I can’t help but wonder if it causes the same problems that face the print guides in the end. For example, when Lonely Planet was a smaller entity they were better able to research and update their titles but now, their books have a tendency to go stale. When TripAdvisor and the others have to worry about meeting the needs of a parent entity, will the same thing happen? It’s no secret that...
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Favorite Places: How do you choose?
2008-01-27 18:39:00
A comment from Erica on my Travel: About page got me thinking again… I tried to answer it in a commen, but then I realised there was so much more to it than that. It’s so hard to choose a favorite because places stick to you for so many different reasons. Somehow, I’ve managed to narrow it to a top three: Japan, specifically Kyoto and the Higashiyama district. While I think it’s likely that that she’s one of the many who dress for the day rather than a true geisha, things like this are still a stunning site. I don’t think you can get an idea of just how different Japan is until you see sites like this near Kiyomizudera. I didn’t have much of an interest in Japan prior to my first trip in 2001, but now it has its claws in me and won’t let go. Europe - all of it. The history. When in Prague for the first class last summer, a friend and I were on a cruise on the Vltava River for a different look at Prague. We ended up speaking Span...
More About: Places , Favorite , Choose

Travel Blog Carnival: Week 4
2008-01-26 17:38:00
I’ve been excited about the idea of a Travel Blog Carnival ever since the idea was mentioned in November. When I was first asked to host, I had to turn it down due to time commitments, but I was happy to be able to step in today. As has been the case in the past, there are so many good choices. Here are this week’s top three: My Experience in One of the World’s Most Dangerous Places from Hole in the Donut really struck a chord with me. As was the case in Tony Wheeler’s Bad Lands (and he’s contemplating a sequel!) the experience that the traveler gets, especially an open minded traveler, is often far removed from the dire warnings and classifications on lists such as the one Forbes published. While I’m not sure I have any interest in Zimbabwe, the photos are beautiful. The author hits the nail on the head when she speaks of the “real Zimbabwe” — the country you see with your eyes, not one you hear on a list. So you’ve deci...
More About: Blog Carnival , Week

8 Things Travelers Should Expect…
2008-01-22 17:26:00
it’s not that I don’t agree with Christopher Elliot’s post on the topic, but rather it’s sad that we accept these… Inconvenient “convenience” fees - I think this one bothers me the most. That said, I experienced the fees far more in Japan and Australaia than I did here, so it’s yet another case of the US catching up with the rest of the world. The “convenience” fee that I don’t mind is the exit row and other extended legroom options as Virgin America charges for them. I don’t agree with the airlines that make these available only to elite level, they should be available to those willing to pay. It’s interesting to see how it’s going to shake out with booking fees, as I’ve mentioned before. Gridlock on the ground: the sequel - I agree with Christopher here, Mass Transit. Last school year I was commuting 80+ miles a day on school days from Nyack -> Suffern -> Midtown or Astor Place. I was killing...
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I Refuse to be a “Hostage”
2008-01-14 05:37:00
A Million Miles vs. a Few More Smiles from today’s New York Times While I realize the issue(s) facing those interviewed: Like many other frequent business travelers, he finds that there is only one airline whose flight schedule fits his needs. “I’m not loyal,” he adds. “I’m just a hostage.” it bothers me. Maybe I’m spoiled in the NY area where I have, at minimum, four viable airports (HPN, EWR, LGA and JFK) and innumerable airline choices but I find it very hard to imagine an airport where there is a monopoly. Or if not a monopoly, a time monopoly. If the traveler’s schedule is so strict that only one makes it, how does s/he tolerate the unavoidable delays? In an article on SmarterTravel.com titled “Frequent Flyer Resolutions for 2008,” he wrote, “My first resolution is to continue my gradual disengagement from mileage programs.” In a way, that’s what I’ve been doing. I don’t want to feel tied to one program. Granted, there a...
More About: Hostage

What’s my airline obsession?
2008-01-11 17:03:00
or more precisely, where’s it coming from? I’m not sure where it stemmed from, but something interested me enough to sign up for a book ring of Go: An Airline Adventure last fall. I adored the book and subsequently read Nuts!, which I also loved and this morning started Blue Streak. On Mt. TBR I have From Worst to First and just mooched A Spirit of Greatness. Confession time, I’ve never flown jetBlue or Southwest. Southwest doesn’t have a ton of options from the NYC area and on several occasions where I’ve intended to fly jetBlue, something comes out cheaper. My recent flights to and from LAX are a classic case of this. I’d love to fly into BUR because it’s so much less insane than LAX (although I’ve become somewhat immune to that insanity having been through there some 10 times in 2007) but the times are awful (red eye gets into JFK at 5 AM and the price just isn’t that good. Virgin America is ahead of them by leaps and bounds...
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Smoking Planes
2008-01-10 21:26:00
This MeFi thread re: ashtrays in planes reminded me of the best part of the Virgin America flight that I forgot to mention. The safety demonstration! This isn’t exactly the one I saw, but it’s pretty close. I love that their planes have done away with the obsolete no smoking sign and replaced it with something useful and I adore the seatbelt comment. Good way to make people pay attention. ETA: The Travel Blog Carnival has launched and it’s already garnering some attention. I look forward to my turn to host it. Tags Travel Blog Carnival, Virgin America
More About: Smoking , Planes

Weird Travel Stories: 2007
2008-01-09 16:55:00
from USA Today. I missed this one when it was first published and it came up today when I was looking up something for work. My personal favorite: A fracas involving 20 passengers erupted in June on a flight from Lagos, Nigeria, to London. It was touched off when a passenger took exception to the reclining seat in front of him. Fliers duked it out with fists, bottles and belts, causing the captain to make an emergency landing. Namely because I’ve never understood the huge kerfuffle re: reclining airline seats, yet it’s a frequent topic of conversation on FlyerTalk. Some favorite threads: Just Get Rid of Reclining Seats in Coach Passenger reclined the seat to my knees- so I grabbed and pulled the seat often I guess because I’m only 5′3, someone reclining doesn’t get in too much of my space. Unless, of course, I can’t see my RED screen on VX, and then it’s war! A 64-year-old man was hospitalized earlier this month after chugging a liter of ...
More About: Weird , Travel , Stories

State Department’s Travel Site
2008-01-08 17:13:00
Current Travel Warnings….are they useful? Sure, the information about Kenya is valid: The Department continues to recommend that private American citizens in Kenya evaluate their personal security situation in light of continuing terrorist threats and increasing incidents of violent crime. But is anyone travelling today, especially travelling on such a long flight, not paying attention to the news? Sure, Kenya may not be such an exotic destination to some, but if they’re familiar with the country — they’d be aware of the current situation. Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan… none of these are surprises. Nor should most of the others be to someone who is paying any attention to world events. Now I know that the major news networks here in the US would like us to believe that the only thing of any importance is the presidential elections but I can’t imagine travellers unaware of what’s going on in their destinations. On the ...
More About: Site , State Department , State

when is it worth it to fly?
2008-01-07 18:09:00
sometimes it’s hard to decide. My general rule of thumb is that if the drive is less than five hours, it’s not worth it. Here’s why: with the exception of HPN, I need to allow at least an hour to get to the airports. This applies whether I’m driving from home or taking mass transit from work. If I’m going via mass transit to HPN, then that’s an hour too. two hour arrival time, again that’s with the exception of HPN. The NYC area airports are such a zoo that <2 hours, even without luggage, worries me. 1 hour flight (roughly for a 350 mile drive) de-planing, meeting people or getting tround transport, travel time from the airport… Yep, five hours gone. That’s not to say I haven’t broken that “rule” on several occasions — namely when I don’t feel like driving to Rochester or the fare is so good that it’s not worth it once you figure in gas and tolls. I usually end up regretting it, partially...
More About: Worth

Welcome to 2008
2008-01-03 18:25:00
…just a few days late! But I have an excuse, I was on the road. There is a lot of talk for 2008 travel-related resolutions. Mine is simple. Quit going back to the same places! Easier than it sounds, but I’m going to try. No set travel plans yet for 2008 because I have no idea what vacation time a full-time job will present, so we’ll see. I’d love to do a graduation trip but I don’t think that’s viable. As for the recent trip? LA again. I posted most of the photos, but here are a few favorites: it’s so wrong to see him in Dodger blue but that was a nice billboard on Hollywood Blvd. This was on the way to see Wicked. Coming up through the Tejon Pass* from LA to Bakersfield. Made me chuckle to no end. Mmm. Yummy. That’s at the Crystal Palace. Coming back down the Tejon Pass. Pyramid Lake. I need to work out how to upload the video so you can hear the wind. *I swear I find Wiki articles noted as unreferenced and feel compelled to cle...

A Virgin America Virgin No Longer
2007-12-31 00:25:00
On Friday I went over my normal protests and trekked out to JFK, but for a good reason. VX! I flew from JFK to LAX and that was a nice flight. Highlights: mood lighting — much less harsh than typical airline light, I almost didn’t need my eye mask. IFE/Red Network - lots of fun both for the ability to order food on demand but also for the games. Loved that it was active from boarding to de-boarding, meant that we could continue to play Mahjong as we sat on the taxi way at LAX waiting for a gate. Also the flight journey was GoogleMaps which was fun to play with. The main downsides? The cost of the food and limited selection of same is easy to overcome. Will bring my own next flight. However going to Kennedy is a royal pain. I can’t help being spoiled, EWR is far less of a hassle to get to. I’d love it if VX flew from EWR but that’s not going to stop me from flying it. The price is good, as is the service. Plus, you can’t beat he novelty factor a...
More About: America , Virgin , Virgin America

NYC Restaurant Week: Winter 2008
2007-12-21 20:32:00
The list of participants for Restaurant Week : Winter 2008 is up. Other than this week where I had lunch on Monday at El Centro, yesterday at Carmine’s and dinner tonight at Monster Sushi, my NYC restaurant use is generally limited to such fine dining establishments as Bully’s Deli, Cafe Metro and Cosi. It’s not that I don’t like good food, I do! It’s more a case of running between work and school (worse so last year when I was doing: Nyack–>Suffern–>Manhatt an) and not having time to breathe, let alone eat. And then of course there’s the $$… I’m actualy thinking about participating in Restaurant Week in January. Treat myself to good eats as my last semester starts. There are some old favorites participating but I think I want the excuse to try something new. Carnegie Deli is a possibility as are the sushi joints I spotted. We’ll see… I like Grub Street’s thoughts of Restaurant Week as an “int...

and now Continental joins the fun?
2007-12-20 21:47:00
so in the course of re-visiting Vayama I mentioned United’s new fee. Well guess what, they’re not alone. According to Christopher Elliott’s post on the topic, CO has joined the game too. I love Continental , but paying to book on the website is insane. As I said last time, it’s not like the airlines are paying ...
More About: Travel , Search , Airfare

and now Continental joins the fun…
2007-12-20 21:47:00
so in the course of re-visiting Vayama I mentioned United’s new fee. Well guess what, they’re not alone. According to Christopher Elliott’s post on the topic, CO has joined the game too. I love Continental , but paying to book on the website is insane. As I said last time, it’s not like the airlines are paying a fee or commission, as the online agencies do. Sheer insanity is what it is. I used to like booking directly through CO for the booking bonus, but apparently that’s now gone too. Web 2.0 is supposed to bring convenience, not more fees. Is it a good or bad thing that word is quickly spreading about these new policies? What will be interesting to watch is whether these stick when the recent fare increase did not. I still maintain this is as ridiculous as a brick and mortar store charging us to walk in the door and use their cash register. As always, I’ll vote with my $. Tags Travel:Air, Airfare:Search

Travel Books
2007-12-20 21:04:00
World Hum has a great post on the Travel Books We Loved in 2007. Surprisingly, I haven’t read any of them. Haven’t even heard of more than a few. [Just what I need, a longer wishlist ]. I think the ones I’m most interested in reading are: Words Without Borders: The World Through the Eyes of Writers –Alane Salierno Mason, Dedi Felman and Samantha Schnee Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron (actually already on my wishlist) Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney No particular reason, they just sound interesting, especially the first. My choices don’t surprise me, I tend to read about the same cultures often. There’s another post, also from World Hum on the best travel books of all time (from 2006). I feel slightly more accomplished with this list The ones I’ve read: “The Great Railway Bazaar” by Paul Theroux - good read, although I picked it up and put it down a few times. Very different look at a muc...

Unfriendly Skies
2007-12-18 18:08:00
I’ve really enjoyed reading the New York Times’ new blog: JetLagged. It’s the first airline-centered blog I’ve read that’s written by multiple authors and presents an interesting range of views on different topics. Pico Iyer’s recent post, The Friendliest Country, and the Unfriendliest Skies is a great read. I’ve read a few of Iyer’s books and some of his contributions to anthologies, but I hadn’t read his work in blog format prior to his contributions to JetLagged. When comparing foreign-flag carriers to those operating under the US flag, he noted that they provide good service: instead of the large, angry and tired militants on U.S. flights to Japan, who act as if every question is an insult, and every passenger an injury. While I agree in general, and no currently-operating airline will ever top Singapore, I found the service between the US and Japan to be significantly better than US->elsewhere. I attribute that, in part, ...

Arthur Frommer on the 53 places?
2007-12-17 17:00:00
Arthur Frommer had a very interesting post on the New York Times’ 53 Places to go in 2008 article. Initially I’d written the article off as ‘not my kind of destinations’, however reading Frommer’s post made me think a lot more about it… But instead of citing culture, history, natural wonders, political interest, or interaction with ...
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?Coach Class?: Reader Comments
2007-12-17 06:55:00
The New York Times has on its website some reader comments to their November 25th article, Class Conflict. Some interesting comments, but in my opinion, a lot of over-reaction as well. If flying coach from Sydney to LAX is going to induce a “14 hour panic-attack” then I think there are other issues. I said it ...
More About: Travel , Reader , Comments , Coach

Travel Blog Carnival
2007-12-14 20:17:00
Darren over at Travel Rants has started up a Travel Blog Carnival , and I think this is wonderful. Trusted Travel Blogs had wonderful potential, however that really lost its potential oomph when Timen lost his regular web access while travelling. I’m one of the 23 “founding bloggers” of the Carnival and I look forward to supporting ...
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Vayama: Redux
2007-12-12 19:59:00
I first discovered and mentioned Vayama back in October when I discovered it via a post on Spontaneous Tourism. I admit, I didn’t end up thinking much about Vayama again until I received a comment from Matt, Vayama’s Industry Relations Manager. I like how he handled the contact, an actual question about the content of the ...
More About: Travel , Search , Airfare

Tourism and Social Media
2007-12-11 21:22:00
In the middle of the insanity that is consulting and exploring social media as it relates to tourism (says she who is the *very* late adopter when it comes to some of this), I found an interesting new-to-me blog: Sramana Mitra on Strategy Actually, I lied. I didn’t find it. Google did. Or more precisely this ...
More About: Social , Media , Tourism

The 53 Places to Go in 2008
2007-12-10 20:33:00
interesting article from the New York Times on the 53 Places to Go in 2008 … My thoughts on those I’ve been to, or am likely to go to… 1. Laos - don’t have a huge interest in SE Asia but the history of Laos and the French influence interests me. 2. Lisbon 3. Tunisia 4. Mauritius 5. Mid-Beach, ...
More About: Travel , Reference

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