virtualDavis's blog

Travel Podcasts

We share Jen Leo's fascination with (and excitement about) podcasting, and her Travel Podcasts list offered an exciting introduction to some great resources with which we'd been unfamiliar. She lists Erik Olssen over at Gadling and Don George at Lonley Planet which are two of my personal favorites.

FlightAware: Track Flights in the US

This cool tidbit by way of wise, totally plugged-in Joi Ito's blog."This may be old news, but I just saw FlightAware for the first time. It tracks flights in the US that the FAA manages including general aviation. You find a private plane and then drill down to past flights that the plane has made. Quite amazing. I wish they could do t

Vermont: Cross Country Ski Touring

Joanna Walters' "The Inns and Outs of Going Truly Wild" has gotten me pretty primed for snowfall. I was just mentioning the other day that I'm hoping to do plenty of cross country skiing this winter. Wondering if my brother had left his skis in the barn when he moved overseas, or if I'll need to purchae my own.

Grants for Travel Writers

GoNOMAD.com, an alternative travel website based in South Deerfield, MA, has announced the third in a series of grants to help travel writers foster their craft. Each quarter of 2005, the editorial team at GoNOMAD will review applications in the form of a one-page synopsis of where the author wants to go and what kind of a story they want to write. Writers are asked to provide a one-page list of their published travel stories, or links to stories posted on the web. The most promising of these synopses will be culled down to one lucky winner every three months, with four recipients in 2005 receiving the $500 cash award each.

Destination Guide Writing Contest

World Backpackers, an online information resource where backpackers can find and exchange useful info and personal experiences, is celebrating two years online with a travel writing contest. You're invited to translate your own personal experience into travel guide form, and submit it to destination@worldbackpackers.net for consideration. You destination guide must contain descriptions, suggestions and highlights of a particular destination, and it must be based upon your own personal travel experiences. The aim is to gather many destination guides on places all over the world and then to make them freely available on their website, so that other travellers can find cool itinerary suggestions, sightseeing musts, wicked hostels, scary local dishes, and so on. In this way, World Backpackers serves as an online place where backpackers can find and exchange useful destination and travel information.

London Flings from $459

Holiday cheer abounds with Virgin Vacations announcement of it’s London Fling vacation packages that have warmed the hearts of would-be vacationers around the world. After a tough economic year, many would-be travelers have scaled back or canceled holiday vacation packages as a result of shrinking travel budgets. In response to this international trend, travel companies have been scurrying to offer affordable vacation packages to some of the most popular holiday vacation destinations around the world.

Moken "Sea Gypsies" vs. Tourism and Modernity

"Sea Change", a Mother Jones photo essay by Andrew Testa and text by Monika Bauerlein, captures the fragile status of the Moken, Thailand’s "sea gypsies" who we heard so much about in the days after the tsunami. They were heralded as one of a very few upbeat counterpoints to the devastating drama wrought by the angry sea. But now there's a worry that they "could be swept away by an even greater force." Moken Sea GypsiesIn the November/December 2005 Issue of Mother Jones Testa and Bauerlein quite beautifully convey the story of this unique tribe which strattles the Thailand and Myanmar border.

Get paid to Travel!

World66 Travel GrantsWorld66 is offering one helluva good deal to all "would be" travel writers. That's right, they are giving away Travel Grants to travelers who help them update their travel guides. Sounds like a pretty fair deal wright? Here's the skinny. They're giving away ten grants of $1,000 each to travelers able to present a good plan and demonstrate good writing skills. So whip up a good proposal and and send it off World66 before 1 January 2006. They plan to announce the winners within a month, and if you're one of the luchy ten, you've got a year to travel, write and submit your write-up.

Country "Front Porch" Hospitality

You may want to check out Country Inns & Suites for your next excursion. According to their promotions,
"Whether your trip is packed with business or filled with fun, we know you're looking for a soft place to land at the end of the day."
Sounts pretty much standard, right? The usual marketing enticement... They go on: "At Country Inns & Suites it's nice to know you'll always be greeted by a friendly staff, a cozy fire and warm decor that makes you feel right at home." Okay, still a little schtick-y, right? I hear you.Country Inns & Suites But consider that for 12 consecutive years County Inns & Suites has maintained a 98% guest return rating, and they keep scoring high on nationwide guest satisfaction surveys. Not bad. And then there's the free breakfast, free morning newspaper and down home "Book It And Return It" guest lending library. All nice. And fireplaces and swimming pools are a bonus. But the REAL reason for checking out Country Inns & Suites next time you're on the road is there Last-Minute, Best-Priced Travel Deals. Every Wednesday, they offer specially discounted travel opportunities to different destinations. Don't miss out. (Please note that these Hot Deals are only available online.)

Israeli Spa Perspective

At the Mitzpe Hayamim spa in northern Israel, Efrat and Udi Sharir relax on a terrace looking out over the Hula Valley. [Ruth Fremson/The New York Times]Sarah Wildman's "Going to a Spa? Mazel Tov!" in the New York Times' Travel section offers up a welcome alternative to most of the coverage Israel receives in the press. The Israeli spa perspective.
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