May 14, 2008
Movie tourism with an Indiana Jones theme
It may be dorky, but I am a big Indiana Jones fan. I still use the opening scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark to work with my ESL students on active and passive voice (they describe what Indy does and what happens to him).
So anyway, this Kayak blog on Indiana Jones movie tourism obviously caught my attention. They mention some destinations Indiana Jones fans might appreciate a little bit extra:
Egypt - day trips from Cairo, the Egyptian museum, and ruins.
Jordan - the ‘Canyon of the Crescent Moon,’ the purported resting place of the Holy Grail was set in Petra (which hopefully some readers will remember).
Sri Lanka - apparently Temple of Doom was set in India but filmed here.
Nepal - great for trekking (we have a few blog entries about Nepal - I think this is the oldest).
Parents get a break on Disney cruise
Since I wrote about Disney a day or so ago, I will follow up this Disney post with something a little different. But first I give this article on how a Disney cruise is one of the best vacations for parents with children because Disney keeps the kids busy and lets parents escape for a bit.
May 13, 2008
How are travel agents doing in the internet age?
This article talks about something that has become kind of a recurring theme on this blog - the role of travel agents. Here, they argue that travel agents are more relevant than ever and that the internet has helped travel agents by allowing them to work from home (although they do acknowledge that some agencies have gone out of business due to the internet).
So, if it’s not airline bookings, what’s generating sales in this market? According to the experts, a shift into niche and specialty markets has proved very profitable for travel agents. There are certain kinds of travel excursions that people aren’t going to plan without consulting someone with experience, said Mike Pina, director of public relations at AAA. Some of these specialty travel areas include adoption travel, health travel, volunteer travel and grandparent travel -- all of which require detailed itinerary planning and instruction, he said.Now if grandparent travel just means traveling with grandparents I don't see why you need any special instruction. I went on a cruise with my grandparents years ago and it was pretty much the same as going on a cruise without them in terms of planning. I suppose if it were climbing a mountain or something you would need to be extra careful...
Anyway, not too long ago we had an example of a successful travel agent. And as many of you know I found that I needed one to figure out how to use my travel rewards from NCL (turns out they gave me the upgrade without charging me any points so I still have lots of points left).
Still I wonder if kids in high school and college now or adults looking for a new career should consider becoming a travel agent considering the challenges and change facing the industry. What do you think?
Disney meal plan and restaurant recommendations
My parents, my wife. and I may be going to Disney this winter as we have some close friends who are crazy about Disney and live in the park (or very close to it - not exactly sure). Anyway, I'm considering the meal plan where you eat at the park restaurants so thought I'd collect some information. Here are a few personal recommendations from people I know:
Epcot Canada = good steak and beer. Mexico is also good. Do not do too many buffets because you will be sick of it by then end of the week.
Liberty Tree Tavern = Buffet with family style turkey, beef and ham, potatoes and greens, plus characters for the kids.
At MGM-Disney Studios, the Sci-fi Diner is a hoot. You sit in tables which resemble cars at a drive-in movie. You watch old 50's Sci-fi movie trailers while you eat. The food is not so great though.
San Angel Inn in Epcot's Mexico Pavilion is a good one. Eat there for dinner and then go outside and watch the fireworks.
Coral Reef Restaurant at Epcot = you sit in a room where one entire wall is made of glass and you watch fish of all kinds swim by. Sharks, sea turtles, you name it. Food is very good too. Must have a reservation though.
The Flying Fish at the Boardwalk = the oak grilled New York strip was out of this world.
If you want to take a second mortgage out you can try Victoria and Albert's in the Grand Floridian.
The Contemporary Grill was very good as well make sure you are there for the fireworks display from the roof, it is great.
Maya's Grill in the Coronado Springs hotel = great steaks, one of the best buys when using the dining plan.
The Plaza Restaurant between Main Street and Tomorrowland = best kept secret in Disney world. A few bucks more expensive than fast food, but excellent. The strawberry/pear salad (depending on season) is great, along with the grilled chicken sandwich - nothing fancy, just excellent food.
Boma is terrific and located at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Best buffet I have ever been too. The chef there is excellent.
The buffet at The Cape May Cafe located in the Beach Club is also very good if you like seafood.
I don't know if I'll be there long enough to try them all! Anyway, I'm told that the Disney meal plan is good for one snack (Soda, popcorn ice cream up to $4.00), one counter meal (pizza, burger, chicken fingers-lunch), and one sit down dinner at almost any Disney restaurant, per person, per day. There are a handful of high end restaurants that aren't covered, but you can trade two regular dinners for one of those dinners if you want. But please don't quote me on that - check the Disney site for details like I will before I make reservations.
May 11, 2008
Fact or fiction: hotel key cards put you at risk for identity theft?
So someone I know too well to stop accepting email from forwarded this to me:
HOTEL KEY CARDSI did a little research, and according to the Pasadena police department, "it would appear that no hotels engage in the practice of storing personal information on key cards."Ever wonder what is on your magnetic key card?
Answer:
a. Customer's name
b. Customer's partial home address
c. Hotel room number
d. Check-in date and out dates
e. Customer's credit card number and expiration date!When you turn them in to the front desk your personal information is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the hotel scanner. An employee can take a hand full of cards home and using a scanning device, access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at your expense.
Simply put, hotels do not erase the information on these cards until an employee reissues the card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the new guest's information is electronically "overwritten" on the card and the previous guest's information is erased in the overwriting process.
But until the ca rd is rewri tten for the next guest, it usually is kept in a drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!
The bottom line is: Keep the cards, take them home with you, or destroy them. NEVER leave them behind in the room or room wastebasket, and NEVER turn them into the front desk when you check out of a room. They will not charge you for the card (it's illegal) and you'll be sure you are not leaving a lot of valuable personal information on it that could be easily lifted off with any simple scanning device card reader.
For the same reason, if you arrive at the airport and discover you still have the card key in your pocket, do not toss it in an airport trash basket. Take it home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially thr ough the electronic information strip!
If you have a small magnet, pass it across the magnetic strip several times. Then try it in the door, it will not work. It erases everything on the card.
Information courtesy of: Pasadena Police Department
So don't bother bringing little magnets or scissors with you to destroy hotel key cards. And remember not to believe every email someone forwards you...
May 10, 2008
Sequoia National Park's inspiring travel pictures
I have a picture of the Lone Cypress from a while ago, and today I was at an outdoor wedding thinking about doing something related to seeing nature for my blog today...
So let's talk about a place I've never been but one that is certainly on my list: Sequoia National Park. Apparently 5 of the world's 10 largest trees are in Sequoia national Park. There's the General Sherman, the Robert E. Lee, and here is the Sentinel:
May 9, 2008
Book on travel writing by Lonely Planet Brazil author
Former Lonely Planet writer, Thomas Kohnstamm, has a book out called Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? He apparently (I haven't read the book - I only just heard about it) argues that travel writers (himself included) fabricate work, accept freebies they're not supposed to. He uses himself as an example - he worked on Lonely Planet Brazil.
Spokesperson for the Associated Board of Travel Agents (Abta), Sean Tipton, defends guide books: "I think they have been a great help and a boon to the travel industry and travelers in general.
"Of course, mistakes will creep [in] - the very nature of any publication means that it
can become out-of-date very quickly, things can change."
As I said, I haven't read the book. But I do have experience with guidebooks and while sometimes they are very helpful (my wife and I found our favorite restaurants of all time - Il Duomo in Assisi and Pizza Re in Rome with help from Let's Go and Lonely Planet respectively), there are other times when we wasted all kinds of time searching for a restaurant that we couldn't find.
I remember one of those guides recommended a cheap hotel in Assisi. They said something about the woman who owns it being one of the nicest people in the world. We get to Assisi, check in, no drama, decide we like the town and want to stay longer. So we ask the person there (the owner's father it turns out) if we can stay another night. He sends us to another room and we think everything's good.
We come back to the hotel and the owner starts yelling at us to get out of her hotel because the room we're in is booked. I asked her why I was getting yelled at when the hotel is one that messed up. Turns out the nicest person in the world was a real jerk. I wonder if the author had accepted a free room or was somehow bribed into making that stupid claim...
Anyway, can anyone review this book for us?
May 8, 2008
Carbon offsets
This article talks about how relatively few Australians buy carbon credits to offset pollution from flying. I know I consider myself environmentally conscious, but I've never bought a carbon credit. Have you?
Not quite back to normal yet
As I take breaks in my final push to finish correcting midterms, I come across articles that I present to you somewhat haphazardly:
An uplifting story about a volunteer program where people give wounded armed forces veterans access to their vacation homes.
Here we have a few book reviews including one travel book: “Home on the Road” (Syren Book Co., 5120 Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis, MN 55416, $14.95 paper) by Catherine Watson. Apparently if you don't vollow a link from Google news you have to register - I really hate that so let me give you the important bit:
I well remember Watson’s wonderful story about riding the Siberian railway years ago, being tailed by a Russian agent and drinking milk laced with formaldehyde. In her new book she describes a day in the small city of Suzdal in the most poetic of terms. Great!Then we have an article on how the cruise business is making Seattle one of America's busies ports but the ships brings environmental problems.I advise you to travel with Watson in this book to far-off places like Newfoundland, Tibet, Biminia and The Falkland Island and, yes, even Minnesota. If you missed her earlier book “Roads Less Traveled” published in 2005, it’s still available from Syren Book Co.
May 5, 2008
Dhani Jones on the Travel Channel: Dhani tackles the Globe
American football player Dhani Jones is filming for the Travel Channel. Apparently he plays with professional sports teams and the show, Dhani Tackles the Globe, focuses on sports that are not popular in America.
This article explains how he'll try to learn hurley, a sport I've never heard of.
I was able to find this clip of him playing rugby, but I don't think it's from the Travel Channel show:
So I guess we have to wait for this new series to come out to see if our complaints about the Travel Channel (and here are some more) have been addressed. Other new series include "Bizarre Worlds," starring "Bizarre Foods" host Andrew Zimmern and "Cruise Season" for a look at cruise ships and port destinations around the world.
Still waiting for someone over there to notice my brilliant idea and make something happen.