Here are some things that were of interest to me today.

Steve Keenan, Deputy Travel Edtior for the TIMES in the UK had this to say about armchair travel and the ever expanding amount of travel websites. It was an interesting take considering he was introducing a weather website for the UK (Metcheck.com).

“Talking about the weather has always been a favourite pastime. Rows about what the weather will be doing is something new. But in the certain knowledge that it’s going to be chilly and chucking it down for a large part of the winter, forecasting travellers’ intentions is easier to predict. We’re going to push off for a few days, and we’re going to use modern technology to help us do it.

I’m talking about independent travel, the now-established darling of the armchair traveller, who can log on, see when the cheap fares are available, and take off. We can see online forecasts for Tenerife (hot), book a car (cheap) and find a seaside hotel (even cheaper). Thank you, Metcheck, for reminding us to get away.”


Speaking of the UK,  The Telegraph Travel Awards were just announced. Go see who won. I can’t help but laugh at the fact that the Brits chose the Luxor in Las Vegas as the best foreign resort. Oh please. I do like their spa, but….best foreign resort? Come on. And I loved that they also had some “Most disappointing” categories to balance the awards out. It would be interesting to find out if tourist dollars get cut back next year for the most disappointing holiday destinations, Andorra, Gibraltar, Malta, Belgium, and Jamaica.

But what do us Yanks have to say?
According to Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards, it’s all about Australia. Yahoo was just one source giving up the inside scoop. Full details will be in the November issue. Look for it on newstands Oct. 26.

But lets get back to traveling just because there is a cheap deal. Did you guys see the deal Cathay Pacific is running? They’ve got an All Asia Pass for $999.00* (includes a $200 discount for registered Cathay Pacific CyberTravelers). 21 Days. 19 Cities. 1 Fare. Nice! And actually, Qantas is doing something similar for Oz.

Now lets talk about raw deals. Jayne Clark at USA Today just came out with an article about the current state of traveling to Bali. Nick’s BaliBlog.com barely got a blip in her If You Go column. Nick is a story all by himself. Especially what he is doing for hotel reviews. Sure, his Daily News is often quite personal, but those planning a trip to Bali wouldn’t want to go without reading his Hotel Reviews. Nick’s over there visiting the hotels first hand, interviewing the managers and workers, taking pictures, and delivering current rates. This is a LIVE guidebook. Oh well. I guess she had too much to write about to get into specifics.

Bryson.jpgOk, ok, you want some travel lit/photography related stuff…

Bill Bryson the activist…

The San Francisco Chronicle Book Review ran a cover story on Windblown World: The Journals of Jack Kerouac 1947-1954.

“…but the explosive revelations in this first volume of Kerouac’s published journals, “Windblown World,” prove that, for the most part, he has scarcely yet been understood at all.”

And here’s what the New York Times had to say about it.

HellorHighWater.jpgAlso in this week’s Book Review were reviews of:


  • Susan Orlean’s My Kind of Place

  • Peter Heller’s Hell or High Water. He’ll be at Book Passage this Saturday showing a DVD and talking about the kayakers who ran the challenging Tsangpo Gorge in southeastern Tibet. 7 p.m. Saturday at Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista, Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960. Free.

I want to check out this magazine! File Magazine: A Collection of Unexpected Photography. Guess what? They encourage submissions.. I didn’t seen anything about payment, but damn if they wouldn’t make you look cool! Do stop by their Karaoke page.

Oregon is catering to Japanese travel writers.

Here’s a little something for Michael Palin fans. I’m sorry I didn’t find out about the Cheltenham Festival of Literature in time to tell you.

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