Honduras' president Manuel Zelaya woke up to a surprise Sunday morning -- soldiers (and their guns) moving him from a peaceful slumber to the airport, where he was forced onto a plane for Costa Rica, where the dazed official stood in his pajamas. Now, the US State Department has advised against 'non-essential travel' to the country through July 29.
The sudden move by the military has been brewing for weeks. Zelaya had wanted to change the constitution, which limits the presidency to a single four-year term. Recently the Supreme Court disagreed with the constitutionality of Zelaya's efforts, and the military moved in, putting Roberto Micheletti in his place. The US and Organization of American States don't recognize the new government -- and, according to a New York Times article, many locals don't know what to believe yet either.
So what's it like now for travelers?
In the capital Tegucigalpa, things are "quiet, a little lonely" according to Alberto Cruz Rápalo, who runs Leslie's Place, a boutique-y hotel in the affluent district west of the center Colonia Palmira. The only military presence, he says, is "in front of Congress and the president's house." He says mostly journalists are booking rooms at the moment. "It's better if travelers hold off coming at least until next week."
Meanwhile, "things are perfectly normal" in the popular destination of Copán Ruinas -- a town seven-hour bus ride west, known for the nearby Mayan site Copán -- according to Howard Rosenzweig, an American who runs La Casa de Cafe B&B. "You would be hard pressed to see any signs that things are amiss in the country." He says the nearby border with Guatemala is open, but visitors here may have to stick around a day or two. "Buses didn't run Sunday and it appears many bus companies are not running today." A 9pm curfew is supposed to end after today.
According to Rosenzweig, "the vast majority of the population supports the ouster... [who] was very unpopular [for] his pro-Venezuela policies." Though, according to the New York Times, "hundreds of protestors" are facing down military guards at the president's home in Tegucigalpa and CNN describes the capital's situation as "calm but tense."
I'll revise this as I get more information.
Monday, 29 June 2009
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
44 Little Travel Rules No One Tells You
I've gone a few miles over the years. And here are 44 little things about travel I picked up on the way.
1. Wash your hands before you sleep, unless you don't mind it if cute rats lick your fingers clean.
2. When kindness comes from strangers, accept it. If you don't know if they expect a tip, you can offer one -- but don't insist when/if they refuse.
3. Animals will probably attack you if you try to give a Snickers to them.4. It's wise to remember your passport. And don't pack it in a checked-in suitcase like Louisianan Trey Williams did going to that study-abroad program to St Petersburg during that 'first summer of Russia' (1992).
5. Try to accept all invitations -- you really should have time for that cup of tea the silver-haired couple offer you from the balcony in their summer home in Zakopane, or go camping with that Hungarian film crew at a Russian gulag.
6. Car passengers see less than bikers, bikers see less than walkers, walkers see less than stoppers -- ie those who stop and watch.
7. It's OK to have a Coke without ice.
8. It's OK to have beer with ice.
9. It's OK to use your hands to eat.
10. You don't HAVE to eat the larvae or crickets though.
11. Don't use middle finger to beckon locals, or indicate they're tops.
12. Ownership of stuff varies where you go. So when the Indian guy on the overnight bus from Udaipur to Delhi borrows your iPod without really asking, don't get mad, because when you're shivering later on he'll instinctively lend you half his blanket.
13. People without much education abroad often seem to be better educated than a lot of people back home.
14. Always shop for locally made stationary, and buy it when you see it -- it's rarer to find these days.
15. Pack quick-drying, if ugly, clothes but at least one sorda nice shirt so you can see the Budapest opera like I didn't.
16. It's OK to just want a damn hamburger or watch Pretty Woman on channel 31.
17. It's OK to get frustrated or mad sometimes, just try to keep it to yourself as much as you can.
18. No, you don't have to take a group tour, or have advance reservations. But it doesn't automatically make you a bad traveler if you do.
19. Too much hassle where you are? Look around. If you are in the majority -- as foreign traveler -- walk two blocks to another part of town, and get out of that tourist ghetto you're probably in.
20. It's OK to have an opinion of a place, but don't think you 'know' a place after spending two/15/306 days there.
21. Try a couple days without the camera or email.
22. Museums can be great, but are overrated as day-filler attractions.
23. Seeing movies and sports in foreign countries are underrated day-filler attractions. Like the time topless Guatemalan guys hugged me at a Mother's Day b-league soccer game in Xela as they tossed fireworks through the chain fence to police decked up like Storm Troopers.
24. It's OK to be uncomfortable, just be honest if something isn't right for you.
25. Italy is the Citizen Kane of the travel world. It gets all the accolades, and deserves them.
26. You can get as much out of a trip to Western Kansas as Laos. If you try.
27. Always go to visitors centers. Sometimes they give free cookies or popcorn, and the flirty staff sometimes invite you to go out and get drunk (nothing more), as they do in Bogotá.
28. Socks-with-sandals is underrated.
29. Buy a hat. Always buy a locally made hat.
30. Don't put all your expenses in one place -- hotel, hotel restaurant, hotel tours, hotel souvenirs etc -- try to spread out your money for maximum positive effect.
31. Agree on a price before you close the door with any taxi -- that is, if they have a door.
32. Russians look mean, but down deep they're softies that will shame you with their warmth, feed your with their home-grown tomatoes, then intoxicate you with their suddenly produced frosted bottle of vodka.
33. Language-learning vacations -- with homestays and eating beans for supper, particularly in secondary towns off the tourist radar -- is one of the best things you can do abroad.
34. Write a post card. Or am I the only one who feels sorry for post card lobbyists in these digital days? [See the best post card of all time, above.]
35. At small, out-of-the-way museums, ask if the curator will show you around. Sometimes they are and are thrilled to show off the dinosaur bones they personally dug up.
36. Seek out the passionate. Those who love what they do -- making belts, writing poems, pumping gas -- can make you appreciate things you didn't think you were interested in.
37. Take public transit -- a tram (I LOVE trams), subway, ox cart -- at least once, even if you don't need to get where it's going. So few Americans EVER take one, it's sad.
38. Try to take pictures of things that might change: street signs, people's shoes, homemade sandwich ads, key-maker tools, overly bright fashion, heavy metal haircuts, grandmothers selling a single toothbrush outside a Moscow subway station after the USSR fell. Old churches and statues rarely change much, some of that other stuff maybe gone tomorrow.
39. Tip appropriate to local custom.
40. Returns trips to a place are OK, but try not to limit yourself to your next three trips to Las Vegas 12, 13 and 14.
41. Squat toilets are better than sit-down toilets. But it really is still best keeping toilets and showers segregated.
42. Always give one day to a trip to an 'up for grabs' experience -- a rented car to get from A to B, with random stops at unplanned places. You will likely remember it longer than the Met.
43. The tacos might be better back home but please don't say it for all to hear in Cancún.
44. Travelling alone is something everyone should do at least once.
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Review: June in Travel (So Far)
Mexico Rebound! Arrivals to Mexican destinations like Acapulco and Tijuana rebounded from 60% down on 2008’s numbers to about 25% down in recent weeks. Airlines restored cancelled flights – on June 4, Delta put 10 of 11 cut routes back into their lineup – and new routes are coming. Mexican budget airline Volaris, for one, will make its international debut, connecting New Orleans with Mexico City and Toluca in July.
Mexico Safer than the US? The US has doubled Mexico in swine flu cases, and by mid June saw four times the number of new cases as Mexico. Some destinations, like Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel and Puerto Vallarta have zero reported cases in Mexico.
Cartoon Travelogues. Everyone likes a good picture in their books, now animation is starting to travel. Emmanuel Guibert’s fascinating new book The Photographer meshes old photos with new illustrations to show war-torn Afghanistan during the Soviet war. And from late last year, Guy Delisle’s The Burma Chronicles follow a father’s trip in Myanmar. I used to create the tales of Big Happy and Oscar the Whippernsapper in my series of ‘Insain Comix,’ scribbled in notebook paper booklets at Tulsa’s Stevenson Elementary School. Now, I’m seriously thinking of creating the first cartoon guidebook. To…
The Next Big Getaway: Toledo, Ohio? Yes, Toledo. Not long ago, Jet America announced select $9 flights. That’s great, Jay Leno joked on his penultimate monologue as NBC’s Talk Show host, ‘but you have to go to Toledo.’ Actually it’s one of the select eastern destinations – others include Orland, Newark and Minneapolis – but Toledo deserves a look, Mr Leno. First you can follow the footsteps of Jamie Farr, who played Klinger on MASH, wore a ‘Mud Hens’ hat and sung the praise of Tony Packo’s food – you can see a Hens game in one of the country’s best ballparks and have Packo’s Hungarian hot dogs. A recently built Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art is one of a string of secondary-town architectural efforts to bring in tourism. For one day, drive 60 miles east to ferry to Put-in-Bay, home to great kayaking in Lake Erie. Then there’s always the party bus. Sounds great to me.
Dream trip of the month: Me? I’d go big, get a rail pass and fjord-hop my way to the Arctic in Norway’s north then come back down through Sweden. The Swedish krona and Norwegian kroner are nearly 25% down on the dollar from last year.
Friday, 19 June 2009
Travel Animal of the Month
Links:- Info on the walrus
- Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary, Alaska
- New York Aquarium -- home to Tuusaq, who turned two on June 12! 'It's up to the dentist when Tuusaq returns,' the Aquarium tells me.
- New York Times on walruses
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Poll: Cutest Photo of All Time
It's hard knowing what to photograph sometimes. When I spent a summer in Russia in 1992, I skipped all the truly timeless things going on around me -- babushkas outside metro stations selling a single toothbrush in the newly capitalist version of their country, lines of men standing beside dull-gray 'beer trucks' to fill bottles with the single worst beer in this world. Instead I snapped photo after photo of onion-shaped domes that will look the same in 440 years.
But may sometimes I get it more or less right. Like these three contenders for the CUTEST PHOTO OF ALL TIME [ANIMÉ CATEGORY].
It's up to you which wins. Use the poll to the right to vote. And unlike Iran's recent election, your vote will be counted:
But may sometimes I get it more or less right. Like these three contenders for the CUTEST PHOTO OF ALL TIME [ANIMÉ CATEGORY].
It's up to you which wins. Use the poll to the right to vote. And unlike Iran's recent election, your vote will be counted:
1) A RAT WITH A MAP
This photo was taken with something called film in a one-room, couldn't-get-lost-if-you-were-very-boozed-up Belize library. There is very little about it that doesn't make me happy. The most underrated part? A tie between the font-breaking 'M' and the rat's unmatching legs.
2) THE PIG LIKES MATH (BUT NEEDS GLASSES)
In San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico, a school wall is decorated with a sight-impaired pig with a fondness for math (and an equally extreme disdain for pants). I like the hat/bow-tie color coordination.
3) THE BEAR IS MASSAGED (GENTLY) BY VERY LARGE BEES
This bear, in the weird Dalat 'Crazy House' in Vietnam, is exceptionally fond of fellow creatures. He shares his honey with all. And is rewarded for his gesture with a massage by bees the size of marmots. (Yes, that's a bed in the background. The Crazy House is kind of a hotel too. I stayed there once. Never again.)
Monday, 15 June 2009
Taking Out the 'Urgh!' in Pittsburgh
VISITING CHAMPION CITY
Quick: Pittsburgh. Thoughts?
Something like that?
Not really. On a recent trip with my wife and four-month-old daughter (who sleeps at 6:30pm), we decided to be 9-to-5 tourists for a weekend: spend a day on foot around downtown and a second with a rental car. And we found a Pittsburgh that's outgrown its first syllable. Curling about three rivers below forested hills, the surprising 251-year-old city has quietly prettied itself up the past decade. Gone are (most) of the smokestacks, replaced with shimmering new buildings, a slew of public art in the form of four-floor-high murals, 14-foot-fish-on-a-stick and heated water sculptures that trickle all year. The woeful Pirates play baseball in one of the nation's greatest situated parks -- PNC Park -- on the Allegheny a block from the more famous home of the Steelers, Heinz Field.
For much of America, 'the Lake' serves as the only tourist destination. In Pittsburgh, it surrounds downtown. On nice days, boaters zoom up and down the 'Y of water' where the Allegheny and Monongahela form the Ohio, crossed by ped-friendly bridges painted Steeler-gold. I stopped to chat with one boater, a 20-something in an "America" t-shirt and holding a Bud Light, who had docked across from an in-progress Kenny Chesney concert at the Heinz Field. "Yes, everyone knows our sports, but Pittsburgh is a boater's paradise." He had a barbecue grill and a few tiki torches plopped out on the river walkway. "We just have to keep the beer in the boat." I told him that'd never fly at a place like New York's Battery Park. He asked, "Why would you live somewhere like that?"
And I paused.
I live for moments like these -- complete surprises in unexpected places. The essence of travel. I love going to towns and imagining myself a local. Scrolling classifieds for apartment rent rates, passing through neighborhoods to find one for myself, like Pittsburgh's gorgeous Georgetown-style townhouses on quiet shady lanes of the Mexican War Streets historic district (without a doubt my favorite neighborhood name in the USA).
I'll probably never move to Pittsburgh, but it's easy to enjoy for a couple days.
Downtown Walk
For day one, we walked across Andy Warhol Bridge to Andy's museum, where I enjoyed seeing a 1975 letter Mick Jagger wrote to Andy regarding the cover of the Stones' horrible Love You Live album. "I trust you completely... just tell us how much money you'll need." The basement cafe had a chalkboard that read "Six-Pack Cafe" framed with six Lombardi Trophys, celebrating the Steelers Super Bowl success. Later, we had a great greasy late breakfast at the classic Deluca's in The Strip District. A series of non-waifish middle-aged women in shorts alternated as waitstaff. One proudly pointed out the full wall mural of a bizarre Greek scene. "We were in the film Passing Away" -- no, I hadn't heard of it either; came out in 1991 -- "and they painted that for us." Later we walked along the Allegheny River with a $3 lemonade squeezed before our eyes to Point State Park where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River -- a place Huck Finn and Jim should have come if they had made that crucial left at Cairo, Illinois, when drifting down the Mississippi in a book published 125 years ago. Then their great-great grandchildren could have been Steeler fans.
Side Trip
For day two, we drove 90 minutes southeast, along patches of the Laurel Highlands Skyline Drive to Fallingwater, the house Frank Lloyd Wright built for $155,000 atop a waterfall when the rest of country was enduring a depression. It's gorgeous, not even remotely underrated. At nearby Ohiopyle, I felt a bit out of place without a Harley or US flag bandana -- my wife: 'This is not Obama country" -- but was warmly welcomed when I ordered a fried fish sandwich to take to the nearby river to watch spilled kayakers try to recover their rented boats. Above bikers in helmets pedalled across a bridge of the old train line, now part of an in-progress 150-mile network of trails that runs on an old train line from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland.
Pittsburgh? Two days is not enough.
Quick: Pittsburgh. Thoughts?
--> Steel town, smoke-belching factories, a few rivers, a football team so poor it could only afford a decal on one side of its helmet. A place that Interstates 76 and 70 narrowly avoid -- with mercy -- on trans-Pennsylvanian road trips.
Something like that?
Not really. On a recent trip with my wife and four-month-old daughter (who sleeps at 6:30pm), we decided to be 9-to-5 tourists for a weekend: spend a day on foot around downtown and a second with a rental car. And we found a Pittsburgh that's outgrown its first syllable. Curling about three rivers below forested hills, the surprising 251-year-old city has quietly prettied itself up the past decade. Gone are (most) of the smokestacks, replaced with shimmering new buildings, a slew of public art in the form of four-floor-high murals, 14-foot-fish-on-a-stick and heated water sculptures that trickle all year. The woeful Pirates play baseball in one of the nation's greatest situated parks -- PNC Park -- on the Allegheny a block from the more famous home of the Steelers, Heinz Field.
For much of America, 'the Lake' serves as the only tourist destination. In Pittsburgh, it surrounds downtown. On nice days, boaters zoom up and down the 'Y of water' where the Allegheny and Monongahela form the Ohio, crossed by ped-friendly bridges painted Steeler-gold. I stopped to chat with one boater, a 20-something in an "America" t-shirt and holding a Bud Light, who had docked across from an in-progress Kenny Chesney concert at the Heinz Field. "Yes, everyone knows our sports, but Pittsburgh is a boater's paradise." He had a barbecue grill and a few tiki torches plopped out on the river walkway. "We just have to keep the beer in the boat." I told him that'd never fly at a place like New York's Battery Park. He asked, "Why would you live somewhere like that?"And I paused.
I live for moments like these -- complete surprises in unexpected places. The essence of travel. I love going to towns and imagining myself a local. Scrolling classifieds for apartment rent rates, passing through neighborhoods to find one for myself, like Pittsburgh's gorgeous Georgetown-style townhouses on quiet shady lanes of the Mexican War Streets historic district (without a doubt my favorite neighborhood name in the USA).
I'll probably never move to Pittsburgh, but it's easy to enjoy for a couple days.
Downtown Walk
For day one, we walked across Andy Warhol Bridge to Andy's museum, where I enjoyed seeing a 1975 letter Mick Jagger wrote to Andy regarding the cover of the Stones' horrible Love You Live album. "I trust you completely... just tell us how much money you'll need." The basement cafe had a chalkboard that read "Six-Pack Cafe" framed with six Lombardi Trophys, celebrating the Steelers Super Bowl success. Later, we had a great greasy late breakfast at the classic Deluca's in The Strip District. A series of non-waifish middle-aged women in shorts alternated as waitstaff. One proudly pointed out the full wall mural of a bizarre Greek scene. "We were in the film Passing Away" -- no, I hadn't heard of it either; came out in 1991 -- "and they painted that for us." Later we walked along the Allegheny River with a $3 lemonade squeezed before our eyes to Point State Park where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River -- a place Huck Finn and Jim should have come if they had made that crucial left at Cairo, Illinois, when drifting down the Mississippi in a book published 125 years ago. Then their great-great grandchildren could have been Steeler fans.
Side Trip
For day two, we drove 90 minutes southeast, along patches of the Laurel Highlands Skyline Drive to Fallingwater, the house Frank Lloyd Wright built for $155,000 atop a waterfall when the rest of country was enduring a depression. It's gorgeous, not even remotely underrated. At nearby Ohiopyle, I felt a bit out of place without a Harley or US flag bandana -- my wife: 'This is not Obama country" -- but was warmly welcomed when I ordered a fried fish sandwich to take to the nearby river to watch spilled kayakers try to recover their rented boats. Above bikers in helmets pedalled across a bridge of the old train line, now part of an in-progress 150-mile network of trails that runs on an old train line from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland.
Pittsburgh? Two days is not enough.
Friday, 12 June 2009
Smells Like Capitol Spirit
Peter Korn of the Portland Tribune called me last week in his engaging efforts to create a Urban Weird Index. Apparently Portland (Oregon) is trying to "Keep Portland Weird" -- and the story makes a case it's doing a good job. I chipped in that smells make things weird too.
Which of course is a natural segway to one of my favorite attractions, state capitols.
I always go out of my way to visit one. I find the cute, unnecessary tension between city/building nomenclature irresistible (capital/capitol), plus they're often the nicest building in a state and no one else really goes.
In Lincoln's capitol -- called the 'penis of the prairies' for its distinctive architecture -- I accidentally walked between a camera and Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey during an interview. In Carson City, I asked two guards if they wouldn't mind 'sketching the capitol.' 'I have a collection,' I fibbed -- it was my first of a grand total of two staff-made capitol sketches. The older guy shook his head, 'No. We have no time.' I looked up and down the visitor-free, empty halls, then asked the younger guard. 'Would you?' He nodded. 'Sure.' Then he spent 15 careful minutes tracing an image of it from a brochure, as his veteran co-guard watched on silently. I used to have it framed on my wall. Now, tragically, it's lost.
I overnighted in Frankfort once, waking early and was stunned to find at 9:02am I was the second tourist to visit that day. At least I was the first to fake like I was speaking at an official Kentucky podium (above). The gold-domed capitol in Des Moines (right) has the usual historic murals and a sense of grandeur, but an entirely new smell: fried chicken. A basement cafe was cooking up some that day, and I'm guessing legislators broke for lunch early.
Still, that struck me as kinda weird.
Thursday, 11 June 2009
What is a Guidebook?
You probably know what a guidebook is, but many many Americans simply have no idea. While updating guidebooks for Lonely Planet, I've met many people -- often working in various tourism sectors -- who think a "guidebook" is a magazine, or one of those ad-filled brochures a state tourism department puts out seasonally. Some think it's a TV show. Some may be confused by online "travel guides" offered by various online magazines, airlines or travel communities, where the "guide" frequently is the collected postings from random travelers.All that's OK. But I can't help but think that Americans might get more out of their trips if they planned them on their own a bit more. Perhaps it's time to explain what a "guidebook" is, and isn't:
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Mexico Swine Flu Update
Travelers are starting to say "yes" to Mexico again. That's good news for the world's 10th-most visited country that saw arrivals dip by 70% or more during the height of the swine flu coverage last month.
Since May 25, Mexico has four times fewer new swine flu cases as the USA, and now has under half the total number (just over 5700, or one in 19,300 -- in the USA, one in 23,000 have the swine flu). Many traditional beach destinations -- such as Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Cozumel -- have zero reported cases, and tourist arrival numbers are bouncing back to 30% or so under 2008 arrivals numbers in most places. (Some out-of-the-way towns like the San Cristobal de Las Casas in Chiapas are actually ahead of 2008.) Americas Travel, a San Francisco agency that specializes in Latin America, told me they are "very busy with Mexico trips" at the moment.
We've seen the deals in recent weeks -- half-off flights, hotels and package deals -- and now airlines are starting to reconnect suspended flights too. Last week, Delta restored 10 of 11 suspended flights and Cuba started allowing flights between the countries again. More flights are coming. In July, new routes will added by Mexican budget airlines Volaris (between Oakland, Mexico City and Toluca) and AeroMexico (between New Orleans and Mexico City).
One town that hasn't bounced back, per statistics from the Mexican Institute of Immigration, is Playa del Carmen. As of the latest available weekly report (May 18-24), Playa -- a more tasteful Yucatan beach option than Cancun, and one you can reach by 30-minute bus direct from Cancun's airport -- is still 86% down from 2008. One mid-range hotel that I stayed at when updating Lonely Planet's Central America guidebook a couple years ago told me they were practically empty. "We are waiting and waiting. So many cancellations. We hope we have more Mexican tourists at least." They cut their prices from 34 euro to 22 euro.
The case for Mexico travel, however, probably wasn't helped by a shoot-out in Acapulco between a drug cartel and soldiers over the weekend. Eighteen were eventually killed, including two bystanders. The New York Times said, in a surprisingly alarmist article, that Acapulco is "now home to the drug war," surprising considering Lonely Planet's Mexico guide, for example, has long had Acapulco among only a few places clearly linked with it. The writer adds "no part of Mexico may be completely immune from the continuing drug war." It reported the incident happened "a mile" from main tourist areas -- a less alarmist update today changed that to "several miles" -- perhaps forgetting what happens within a mile of Times Square (or Coney Island or the Bronx Zoo) in New York.
Well, I, for one, am not afraid to go to Times Square. Or to Mexico. Anyone have a spare ticket for Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guanajuato or Merida?
Since May 25, Mexico has four times fewer new swine flu cases as the USA, and now has under half the total number (just over 5700, or one in 19,300 -- in the USA, one in 23,000 have the swine flu). Many traditional beach destinations -- such as Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Cozumel -- have zero reported cases, and tourist arrival numbers are bouncing back to 30% or so under 2008 arrivals numbers in most places. (Some out-of-the-way towns like the San Cristobal de Las Casas in Chiapas are actually ahead of 2008.) Americas Travel, a San Francisco agency that specializes in Latin America, told me they are "very busy with Mexico trips" at the moment.
We've seen the deals in recent weeks -- half-off flights, hotels and package deals -- and now airlines are starting to reconnect suspended flights too. Last week, Delta restored 10 of 11 suspended flights and Cuba started allowing flights between the countries again. More flights are coming. In July, new routes will added by Mexican budget airlines Volaris (between Oakland, Mexico City and Toluca) and AeroMexico (between New Orleans and Mexico City).
One town that hasn't bounced back, per statistics from the Mexican Institute of Immigration, is Playa del Carmen. As of the latest available weekly report (May 18-24), Playa -- a more tasteful Yucatan beach option than Cancun, and one you can reach by 30-minute bus direct from Cancun's airport -- is still 86% down from 2008. One mid-range hotel that I stayed at when updating Lonely Planet's Central America guidebook a couple years ago told me they were practically empty. "We are waiting and waiting. So many cancellations. We hope we have more Mexican tourists at least." They cut their prices from 34 euro to 22 euro.
The case for Mexico travel, however, probably wasn't helped by a shoot-out in Acapulco between a drug cartel and soldiers over the weekend. Eighteen were eventually killed, including two bystanders. The New York Times said, in a surprisingly alarmist article, that Acapulco is "now home to the drug war," surprising considering Lonely Planet's Mexico guide, for example, has long had Acapulco among only a few places clearly linked with it. The writer adds "no part of Mexico may be completely immune from the continuing drug war." It reported the incident happened "a mile" from main tourist areas -- a less alarmist update today changed that to "several miles" -- perhaps forgetting what happens within a mile of Times Square (or Coney Island or the Bronx Zoo) in New York.
Well, I, for one, am not afraid to go to Times Square. Or to Mexico. Anyone have a spare ticket for Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guanajuato or Merida?
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Top 8 Questionable US City Tourism Slogans
Question: how do you represent your city or town – be it a major tourist destination, or an out-of-the-way farm town no one really knows about it – in a few snappy words?
Another question: should you even try?
When San Diego’s FM 94.9 radio station asked Lonely Planet for help on the city’s new tourist slogan (‘Happy Happens’) last week, I started poking around to a hundred or so tourism slogans around the country and noticed a few things.
This brings up my list of most questionable ones:
AMARILLO, “Step Into the Real Texas” You been? This Route 66 survivor – famed for its Cadillac Ranch and steaks – situates its stockyards just west, so the eastward breeze coming in from the Rockies sends a cow scent across town. When you catch it, walking on Amarillo parking lots, it’s tempting to look down and be sure NOT to step into the real Texas.
ANNAPOLIS, "Come Sail Away"
The city that used to bill itself as "Crabtown," now asks you to come, listen to 1977 Styx songs, and LEAVE. Essentially, it could be "Drop By. Buy Fudge. Go." This is akin to the Delaware state quarter, which shows a Delawarean (Caesar Rodney) on horseback leaving the state.
DALLAS, “Live Large. Think Big”
I’m not trying to pick on Texas – it’s just a bonus – but this one makes me dizzy. First of all, it’s demanding we double-task. Secondly, is there really a difference between “large” and “big”? Even in Texas? Their website could do without the Coldplay-esque soundtrack too.
FARGO, “Always Warm!”
I love you Fargo, but this is just not true. The average lows in January in Fargo are two degrees below zero.
PHILADELPHIA, “It’s Easy to ___ Here”
What, defecate on a rabbit? Lose your pencil collection? Leaves too many openings for a joke. Also, Philadelphia should ask the Roots, Hall & Oates and the Hooters to team up and re-do that soundtrack.
NORFOLK, “Life. Celebrated Daily”
Norfolk was my first home, but, sorry, Norfolk has 2.16 times the national average murder rate.
SAN DIEGO, “Happy Happens”
It feels worse to say aloud than to see, but considering San Diego’s $8 million tourism campaign is targeting sunny Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Jose, why not “Our Sun Could Beat Up Your Sun”? Or follow Will Ferrell’s Anchor Man to “Pleasure Town” on the back of a unicorn? At least have a photo where a kid's not being knocked in the back of the head with a surfboard as LSD flowers look on.
TOLEDO, “Do Toledo”
Don’t they know what that did for Dallas?
Any questionable ones I missed?
At some point in the future, I'll tackle questionable state tourism slogans.
Another question: should you even try?
When San Diego’s FM 94.9 radio station asked Lonely Planet for help on the city’s new tourist slogan (‘Happy Happens’) last week, I started poking around to a hundred or so tourism slogans around the country and noticed a few things.
- Many towns simply ask you to ‘visit,’ ‘experience’ or ‘discover’ them – no elaboration offered.
- Some demand you do things, with various imperatives (Laramie’s ‘Live the West,’ Chicago’s ‘Make No Little Plans,’ Jefferson City’s less insistent ‘You’ll Feel the History’).
- Others simply describe themselves (Denver’s ‘The Mile-High City,’ Lexington’s ‘Horse Capital of the World’).
- Many stress their proximity to adventure (Casper’s ‘Adventure Capital,’ Eugene’s ‘Real Adventures, Real Close’) or nature (Seattle’s charming ‘MetroNatural’).
- Some don’t worry about it: a list of slogan-free places ranging from Houston to Green Bay.
This brings up my list of most questionable ones:
AMARILLO, “Step Into the Real Texas” You been? This Route 66 survivor – famed for its Cadillac Ranch and steaks – situates its stockyards just west, so the eastward breeze coming in from the Rockies sends a cow scent across town. When you catch it, walking on Amarillo parking lots, it’s tempting to look down and be sure NOT to step into the real Texas.
ANNAPOLIS, "Come Sail Away"
The city that used to bill itself as "Crabtown," now asks you to come, listen to 1977 Styx songs, and LEAVE. Essentially, it could be "Drop By. Buy Fudge. Go." This is akin to the Delaware state quarter, which shows a Delawarean (Caesar Rodney) on horseback leaving the state.
DALLAS, “Live Large. Think Big”
I’m not trying to pick on Texas – it’s just a bonus – but this one makes me dizzy. First of all, it’s demanding we double-task. Secondly, is there really a difference between “large” and “big”? Even in Texas? Their website could do without the Coldplay-esque soundtrack too.
FARGO, “Always Warm!”
I love you Fargo, but this is just not true. The average lows in January in Fargo are two degrees below zero.
PHILADELPHIA, “It’s Easy to ___ Here”
What, defecate on a rabbit? Lose your pencil collection? Leaves too many openings for a joke. Also, Philadelphia should ask the Roots, Hall & Oates and the Hooters to team up and re-do that soundtrack.
NORFOLK, “Life. Celebrated Daily”
Norfolk was my first home, but, sorry, Norfolk has 2.16 times the national average murder rate.
SAN DIEGO, “Happy Happens”
It feels worse to say aloud than to see, but considering San Diego’s $8 million tourism campaign is targeting sunny Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Jose, why not “Our Sun Could Beat Up Your Sun”? Or follow Will Ferrell’s Anchor Man to “Pleasure Town” on the back of a unicorn? At least have a photo where a kid's not being knocked in the back of the head with a surfboard as LSD flowers look on.
TOLEDO, “Do Toledo”
Don’t they know what that did for Dallas?
Any questionable ones I missed?
At some point in the future, I'll tackle questionable state tourism slogans.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Trying to Save San Diego
'OUR SUN COULD BEAT UP YOUR SUN'
Some days work is just fun. This morning Radio FM 94.9 in San Diego interviewed me on ways to save their city. From its slogan.
Recently the city unveiled its new marketing slogan, 'Happy Happens,' which the rock station felt a bit silly. Though I'm sure San Diego will do fine -- it's a reflection of how focus groups in Dallas and Chicago perceived the city: happy -- I was happy to chip in with some alternate ideas.
You can listen to it here.
For fun, I filmed the process -- as part of my efforts to make the travel world more transparent (in explaining how you might want to visit Tulum on your own, take the Trans-Siberian Railway, or understand how radio interviews 'look' behind the scenes).
Here are some real-live, directors-cut, unshaven snippets of the event:
Where Travel Meets Politics: Canada
HEROES FOR ONE DAY
I wrote a piece for World Hum this week on "Travel Writing as a Political Act," expanding from the ideas in Rick Steves' new book Travel as a Political Act.
What it doesn't tell is the one time I ever traveled with a clear political purpose. To change things. To make a difference. To tape up posters to sway a numb local populace.
I did this in CANADA.
My friend Matt and I had become, cheekily enough, huge Canadian Football League fans in the mid '90s. It started by calling Air Canada’s toll-free number to ask what cities had CFL teams, then adopted the closest, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The operator told us the team was North America’s oldest football squad – around since just after the American Civil War – but was in danger of folding.
Matt and I plotted a rescue. We booked train tickets and packed “Save the Ti-Cats” posters thrown together at an East Village Kinko’s and a roll of duct tape.
On the train a Friday or two later we talked with Tommy, a peppy Chinese-American café attendant, who’d clap his hands after delivered a microwaved ham sandwich. He loved his job, but had never heard of the CFL – and didn’t care to. Strangely we had about the same reaction from our Hamilton taxi driver taking us to King St the next morning. “There’s a game scheduled?” The team was 4-13, yet still technically in the playoff hunt. But did anyone care?
They did. A couple hours later, we found the Canadian Football Hall of Fame –and its charmingly defeatist outdoor sculpture Touchdown that highlighted the failed defender – crammed with scores of fans and many old Ti-Cat greats, like Garney Henley and Rufus “Baby” Alexander. One couple in their late 40s – Bob and Pat – helped us sign up for the team’s fan club and eventually would mail a stream of chunky packets filled with photocopied Ti-Cat stories for two seasons to come.
Later Bob and Pat took us to a pep rally at dinky Ivor Wynne Stadium, where we sat amidst the couple hundred fans braving a chilly rainfall. We dutifully clapped along as players matter-of-factly walked out in jerseys and jeans. Then a voice call out over the PA, “We even have some fans who came in from New York to see our Ti-Cats play tomorrow.” Us. We felt like heroes.
That night Matt and I celebrated our success with a pitcher of Sleeman beer each at a hockey bar on King St. Staggering back to the hotel afterward, we tried taping up a few of our hundred posters on random street signs, then gave up after Matt vomited on a curb. I don’t know Canada’s rules regarding public intoxication, but I thank the Hamilton police for their restraint.
The next day, the Ti-Cats lost the game on the last play of the game and missed the playoffs. We figured the dream was over. But Hamilton quickly picked up enough “seasons tickets” (no typo) to save the team from bankruptcy. They hadn't really needed our outside help, but were happy to have two new Ti-Cat fans.
The next season we returned to Canada to see Hamilton play (and lose horribly to) Ottawa in the Canadian capital. Bob and Pat met us at the historic Frank Clair Stadium – which turned 100 last year and sits beside the city’s impressive Rideau Canal. You’d think it’d be a stunning spot for some three-down football. But not for Pat. She shook her head at first gaze and said, “This isn’t nearly as nice as Ivor Wynne.”
Definitely not. I do kinda wish we had a sign that said it.
I wrote a piece for World Hum this week on "Travel Writing as a Political Act," expanding from the ideas in Rick Steves' new book Travel as a Political Act.
What it doesn't tell is the one time I ever traveled with a clear political purpose. To change things. To make a difference. To tape up posters to sway a numb local populace.
I did this in CANADA.
My friend Matt and I had become, cheekily enough, huge Canadian Football League fans in the mid '90s. It started by calling Air Canada’s toll-free number to ask what cities had CFL teams, then adopted the closest, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The operator told us the team was North America’s oldest football squad – around since just after the American Civil War – but was in danger of folding.Matt and I plotted a rescue. We booked train tickets and packed “Save the Ti-Cats” posters thrown together at an East Village Kinko’s and a roll of duct tape.
On the train a Friday or two later we talked with Tommy, a peppy Chinese-American café attendant, who’d clap his hands after delivered a microwaved ham sandwich. He loved his job, but had never heard of the CFL – and didn’t care to. Strangely we had about the same reaction from our Hamilton taxi driver taking us to King St the next morning. “There’s a game scheduled?” The team was 4-13, yet still technically in the playoff hunt. But did anyone care?
They did. A couple hours later, we found the Canadian Football Hall of Fame –and its charmingly defeatist outdoor sculpture Touchdown that highlighted the failed defender – crammed with scores of fans and many old Ti-Cat greats, like Garney Henley and Rufus “Baby” Alexander. One couple in their late 40s – Bob and Pat – helped us sign up for the team’s fan club and eventually would mail a stream of chunky packets filled with photocopied Ti-Cat stories for two seasons to come.
Later Bob and Pat took us to a pep rally at dinky Ivor Wynne Stadium, where we sat amidst the couple hundred fans braving a chilly rainfall. We dutifully clapped along as players matter-of-factly walked out in jerseys and jeans. Then a voice call out over the PA, “We even have some fans who came in from New York to see our Ti-Cats play tomorrow.” Us. We felt like heroes.
That night Matt and I celebrated our success with a pitcher of Sleeman beer each at a hockey bar on King St. Staggering back to the hotel afterward, we tried taping up a few of our hundred posters on random street signs, then gave up after Matt vomited on a curb. I don’t know Canada’s rules regarding public intoxication, but I thank the Hamilton police for their restraint.
The next day, the Ti-Cats lost the game on the last play of the game and missed the playoffs. We figured the dream was over. But Hamilton quickly picked up enough “seasons tickets” (no typo) to save the team from bankruptcy. They hadn't really needed our outside help, but were happy to have two new Ti-Cat fans.
The next season we returned to Canada to see Hamilton play (and lose horribly to) Ottawa in the Canadian capital. Bob and Pat met us at the historic Frank Clair Stadium – which turned 100 last year and sits beside the city’s impressive Rideau Canal. You’d think it’d be a stunning spot for some three-down football. But not for Pat. She shook her head at first gaze and said, “This isn’t nearly as nice as Ivor Wynne.”
Definitely not. I do kinda wish we had a sign that said it.
Monday, 1 June 2009
The Top 19 -acations Are All I Ever Wanted
The 'staycation'? The idea of taking trips to nearby state parks, or seeing your hometown as a destination? It's all good. It has a point. 'Travel' isn't about distance between A and B.
I GET IT.
I'm all about the two-day trip, or trying to see your hometown as a destination. Travel can rejuvenate our dulled curiosity lobes. When I come back home from a trip, I often notice things I normally miss: like roofing details, the color of tree bark, little statues, people on the stoops -- some I even say 'hi' to. That's good.
But do we have to call it a 'staycation?' It just bugs me as a nomenclaturatory device.
So I'll up the ante:
ACHEYBREAKATIONS Trips to the Grand Ole Opry, or roadtripping with Reba. Or staying at home on a staycation and learning the triple two step:
ANDALE-CATIONS Hurry hurry hurry: ten countries in ten days. Preferably in Latin America.
BRAYCATIONS (See Neighcations, add donkey.)
CLAYCATIONS To make pots, or go to group screenings of Ghost. Or if you find weird pots in your 1870s Iowa home and make a website about it.
DAYCATIONS One-day trips. North Californians are particularly good at this -- going up to Muir Woods for the day from San Francisco. It's possible anywhere, of course. Kansas Citians can drive through the Flint Hills, Pittsburghniks can see the first oil well in Titusville. New Yorkers can take the 10-minute cable car to Roosevelt Island, perhaps to do weird things.
EQUIVOCATIONS Lie travel. Going for a three-day trip to Niagara Falls and buying matching t-shirts for your nephew and niece but saying you're going to Jersey to meet Dmitry's new flame Ingrid and to dig for clams.
FEYCATIONS On the Shakespeare trail. (Buy your outfits here.)
FRAYCATIONS One rule about fraycations: never talk about fraycations.
DEAFACATIONS Travel without an iPod.
DRECATIONS Hip-hop travel.
GAYCATIONS Gay travel, or excessively happy.
HEY!CATIONS The only means of correspondence are short interjectory expressions: hey!, ouch!, golly!, sacre bleu!, or is!that!a!donut shop!?
KEVINBACATIONS Skipping the d'Orsay and hitting the nightclubs, and going hog wild like the dancin' farmers in Footloose.
(And is it just me, or is Kenny Loggins going wine on us, and sounding better as time passes since his beardful soundtracks were first released?)
MAYCATIONS Trips in May -- too bad, just missed the chance for a Top 10 list on Maycations.
NEIGHCATIONS Trips to horse races, shows and horse rides. Boots'n'All came up with this list. I add Yakutsk (where horse is eaten) and North Dakota's 96-mile Maah Daah Hey Trail through badlands in Theo Roosevelt National Park.
PRAYCATIONS Going to meditate with monks in Thailand, or with or without monks to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa to pray or pretend to pray in the unreal Jetsons-meets-Jesus Prayer Tower. Then having a curry.
SHEACATIONS These ceased to exist last year. (See future entry for CitiFieldcations.)
SLAYCATIONS Trips to summer heavy metal shows, like Rocklahoma in Pryor (this July: the still-religious Stryper!) or Kavarma, Bulgaria: the heavy metal capital of the world (or at least the only city that remembers Uriah Heep).
TRES-CATIONS Extreme travel - dog sledding, bungee jumps -- but in Quebec.
Bonus points for whoever comes up with an entry for 'Veighcation' first.
I GET IT.
I'm all about the two-day trip, or trying to see your hometown as a destination. Travel can rejuvenate our dulled curiosity lobes. When I come back home from a trip, I often notice things I normally miss: like roofing details, the color of tree bark, little statues, people on the stoops -- some I even say 'hi' to. That's good.
But do we have to call it a 'staycation?' It just bugs me as a nomenclaturatory device.
So I'll up the ante:
ACHEYBREAKATIONS Trips to the Grand Ole Opry, or roadtripping with Reba. Or staying at home on a staycation and learning the triple two step:
ANDALE-CATIONS Hurry hurry hurry: ten countries in ten days. Preferably in Latin America.
BRAYCATIONS (See Neighcations, add donkey.)
CLAYCATIONS To make pots, or go to group screenings of Ghost. Or if you find weird pots in your 1870s Iowa home and make a website about it.DAYCATIONS One-day trips. North Californians are particularly good at this -- going up to Muir Woods for the day from San Francisco. It's possible anywhere, of course. Kansas Citians can drive through the Flint Hills, Pittsburghniks can see the first oil well in Titusville. New Yorkers can take the 10-minute cable car to Roosevelt Island, perhaps to do weird things.
EQUIVOCATIONS Lie travel. Going for a three-day trip to Niagara Falls and buying matching t-shirts for your nephew and niece but saying you're going to Jersey to meet Dmitry's new flame Ingrid and to dig for clams.
FEYCATIONS On the Shakespeare trail. (Buy your outfits here.)
FRAYCATIONS One rule about fraycations: never talk about fraycations.
DEAFACATIONS Travel without an iPod.
DRECATIONS Hip-hop travel.GAYCATIONS Gay travel, or excessively happy.
HEY!CATIONS The only means of correspondence are short interjectory expressions: hey!, ouch!, golly!, sacre bleu!, or is!that!a!donut shop!?
KEVINBACATIONS Skipping the d'Orsay and hitting the nightclubs, and going hog wild like the dancin' farmers in Footloose.
(And is it just me, or is Kenny Loggins going wine on us, and sounding better as time passes since his beardful soundtracks were first released?)MAYCATIONS Trips in May -- too bad, just missed the chance for a Top 10 list on Maycations.
NEIGHCATIONS Trips to horse races, shows and horse rides. Boots'n'All came up with this list. I add Yakutsk (where horse is eaten) and North Dakota's 96-mile Maah Daah Hey Trail through badlands in Theo Roosevelt National Park.
PRAYCATIONS Going to meditate with monks in Thailand, or with or without monks to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa to pray or pretend to pray in the unreal Jetsons-meets-Jesus Prayer Tower. Then having a curry.
SHEACATIONS These ceased to exist last year. (See future entry for CitiFieldcations.)
SLAYCATIONS Trips to summer heavy metal shows, like Rocklahoma in Pryor (this July: the still-religious Stryper!) or Kavarma, Bulgaria: the heavy metal capital of the world (or at least the only city that remembers Uriah Heep).
TRES-CATIONS Extreme travel - dog sledding, bungee jumps -- but in Quebec.
Bonus points for whoever comes up with an entry for 'Veighcation' first.
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