We know it’s Friday and that you may very well be out the door and headed to your destination on this long weekend. But if you’re coming up short and could use some inspiration, our Long Weekends guide is at your service. And even if all you have planned is some armchair traveling, we can help there too
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Looking for Long Weekend Plans?
Help Haiti Now is a post from: Jamaica Vacations There have been many conversations had about the many similarities and the many differences between Haiti and Jamaica and I myself have used it as an example of why Jamaicans should care for their all important tourist industry by supporting local business and making sure more of the tourist money stays in Jamaica. On occasion I have found myself stating that Jamaica is not so far from being just like Haiti a few more bad tourist seasons will certainly hold the country in poverty
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Help Haiti Now
Oceanfront Myrtle Beach Resorts and Hotels is a post from: Jamaica Vacations Are you thinking about that spring or summer vacation already? This harsh winter weather has many of us thinking about a nice relaxing summer vacation on a beach somewhere.
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Oceanfront Myrtle Beach Resorts and Hotels
It’s been a year since pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger made his miraculous landing of US Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River. And though no one likes to consider the possibility of being in an airline crash, these tips, from the January/February issue of Traveler, offer several ways to help you stay safe in an emergency. Though the likelihood of being in an airplane accident is infinitesimally small; for the average American it’s roughly the same as hitting the jackpot in a state lottery or having a set of identical quadruplets.
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Surviving the Unthinkable
The Mercy Corps blog , in addition to offering insight into how aid groups are responding to the crisis in Haiti, has satellite images depicting the devastation in Port-au-Prince, and they only begin to show the scope of the damage. In the top photo you can see the collapsed roof of the presidential palace, and the second photo shows displaced people who have gathered in Haiti’s main soccer stadium
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Satellite Images of Haiti
Lawrence Ferber offers us a taste of Hong Kong’s burgeoning wine culture. Long and deservedly holding a reputation as a foodie’s city, Hong Kong just recently received its own Michelin Guide , while 2009 was proclaimed Food & Wine Year. So I was eager to attend Hong Kong’s Wine and Dine Festival , in which a portion of the West Kowloon Waterfront was transformed into a giant carnival of sorts – a snaking labyrinth of stands offering samples of international wines, and plenty of nibbles from local restaurants and a local culinary school
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Champagne and Dim Sum in Hong Kong
The Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro is trying to raise R$7 million to restore the Christ the Redeemer statue. The monument, which sits on top of Corcovado Mountain in Tijuca National Park, is in desperate need of repair, and locals hope to have the restoration complete before Rio hosts the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016
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Daily Radar: 01.14.10
In early January, 1888, a small invitation was received by a number of gentlemen prominent in Washington, D.C.’s scientific and intellectual circles. It read: DEAR SIR: You are invited to be present at a meeting to be held in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club, Friday evening, January 13, at 8 o’clock, for the purpose of considering the advisability of organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge. Very respectfully yours, Gardiner G
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Happy Birthday National Geographic!
A massive earthquake of 7.0 on the Richter scale shook Haiti Tuesday just before 5 p.m. The epicenter of the strike-slip type of quake was just ten miles southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The construction of most buildings in the region was poorly regulated and many of the impoverished residents’ tin-roofed shacks teetered on steep ravines, making them especially vulnerable.
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Earthquake Devastates Haiti
With all the recent concerns about the latest round of changes from TSA, we can’t help but long for the good old days of flying, back before we had to take off our shoes and belts and jackets, empty our pockets, pay exorbitant fees for extra luggage, and worry that full body scans would somehow fall into the wrong hands. The folks at LIFE magazine’s archives have put together this gallery of images depicting aviation’s glory days. Sigh, look at all that legroom! [via The Craft Begins ] Transportation Security Administration – Technology – Energy – Conferences – Aviation
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Life Images: Back When Flying Was Fun
Travel and leisure articles directory is a post from: Jamaica Vacations When you are bored and lonely with nothing left to do but hang out with your old man Rick (I hear ya Jane, I’ll blog more) and you are missing Negril Jamaica and the wonderful articles on JamaicaMAX you can spend some time reading up on other parts of the world by cheking out the Travel Articles at A1Articles.com which offers a wide variety of articles and reviews on worldwide travel destination.
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Travel and leisure articles directory
Old Jamaican in the Caribbean Sea is a post from: Jamaica Vacations Here is a wonderful set of photos taken from the Negril Cliffs which features one of my favorite Jamaican fisherman out in the early morning as the sun rises on yet another beautiful Jamaica day. I watched this guy fish the local waters off and on for over a year before I settled to take his photo without his permission. I probably could have found him and asked him for it but it was nice to chat with him as he went on about his day completely oblivious to me while I sat and watched him from the seaside cliffs of a Negril resort in amazement at his strength and determination.
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Old Jamaican in the Caribbean Sea
In an effort to compete with the ever-growing fleet of cheap buses that are cruising up and down the Northeast corridor, Amtrak has announced that it will begin featuring free Wi-Fi service on its Acela trains starting this March. It’s part of a larger five-year upgrade plan, Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman said in a recent conference call , which also includes the purchase of over 100 locomotives and “several hundred” new passenger cars. Boardman won’t say that the Wi-Fi will always be free, as it may become part of a pricing structure, but it’s certainly an incentive for business travelers to get more done on the road.
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Amtrak To Install Free Wi-Fi on Acela
Our Real Travel columnist Daisann McLane’s latest piece in our January/February issue looks at encountering the grimy, unsanitary, and generally not-so-clean when traveling abroad. Here’s an excerpt: It was my fourth trip to India, and I felt that I could handle anything. Invited to attend a dance performance in a village in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, I’d managed to successfully wrap and tuck myself into a heavy silk sari, earning compliments from my local hosts
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Tackling the Yuck Factor
This year, inspired by our ever-popular “I Heart My City” series on Intelligent Travel, we’re reveling in the holiday season by asking our readers to share their favorite ways to celebrate in their cities. Today’s city-lover is Nick Rowlands , who gives us an ironic twist on Christmas in Cairo . What to share the things that make your city special
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My City Celebrates: Nick’s Cairo
This year, inspired by our ever-popular “I Heart My City” series on Intelligent Travel, we’re reveling in the holiday season by asking our readers to share their favorite ways to celebrate in their cities. Today’s city-lover is Fiona Hillard , of the Glove Box Blog who gives us a dose of Irish cheer from Dublin . What to share the things that make your city special
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My City Celebrates: Fiona’s Dublin
Photo by Norbert Rosing/NGS Manitoba , Canada announced plans late last week to create two wildlife sanctuaries in the boreal forests along the northern section of Hudson Bay, a move they say will help aid in the protection of polar bears, beluga whales, caribou, ringed and bearded seals, and numerous bird populations. The two locations, known as the Kaskatamagan Sipi and Kaskatamagan Wildlife Management Areas, are increasingly becoming destinations for eco-tourists (which we’ve noted on the blog here and here , and experienced firsthand when associate editor Amy Alipio made a visit to Churchill in 2007).
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Canada Moves to Protect Polar Bears
In his story on warm-weather escapes in this month’s issue of Traveler , writer Charles Kulander identified six great affordable hotels that let you commune with nature, including our cover subject, the Cotton Tree Lodge in Punta Gorda, Belize. Here’s his list; check out the full story online . Hix Island House: Vieques, Puerto Rico Crowning a hilltop, these indoor/outdoor concrete lofts open to the elements.
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Sleeping Arrangements: Back to Nature, In Style
Online shopping at ShopWiki for Jamaica Vacations is a post from: Jamaica Vacations Tis the season for some shopping online and while taking care of some last minute holiday shopping I came to realize there are lots of things to purchase for a vacation in Jamaica that one may not normally own already. There is more to bring than the seasons hot bathing suit and a nice sun hat, sunscreen and new sandals can all make your Jamaican vacation a better experience and no mall can beat the selection and prices available online.
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Online shopping at ShopWiki for Jamaica Vacations
Former Traveler photo intern JT Blatty has been spending time in Stockholm , and went out looking to get a new perspective. Read her recent posts on Sweden’s parks and natural foods . On December 16th, the Swedish tour company Upplev Mer will host the grand opening of Roof Tours By Night: The Dark Secrets of Stockholm , the most recent addition to their first-of-its-kind guided rooftop tours, which began in 2007
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Stockholm’s Rooftop Tours