London's Olympic Tower Adds...a Slide?
Posted on 05/25/2016, 1:45 PM
ArcelorMittal Orbit The ArcelorMittal Orbit, a twisting metal tower rising 376 ft/114.5 m from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, was built for the 2012 Summer Games. It was bankrolled by a steel concern that was eager to piggyback its brand onto Olympic glory, and it was hoped that "Britain's tallest sculpture," which included an observation deck and much promotion of its recycl...
Why Las Vegas is Now Gearhead Heaven
Posted on 05/24/2016, 5:00 PM
Everyone knows Las Vegas as a place to gamble, hear a concert, writhe at a nightclub or get hitched in a quickie ceremony officiated by “Elvis”. But in the last decade or so, it’s also become a major destination for gearheads….and the friends and family who put up with them. Speed is the primary lure. Vegas is a city that celebrates the “vroom vroom” impulse at several different venues, the m...
Cambodia Regains its Train Lines
Posted on 05/16/2016, 4:45 PM
Photo credit: TrainCambodia.com One of the many consequences of Pol Pot's genocidal 1970s regime in Cambodia was the loss of its railway system. The dictator wanted to bring his country back to medieval times, and part of that meant dismantling its railways. Even though tourism has been booming in Cambodia for the past 15 years, visitors are still forced to get around by plane or by tortuo...
Cambodia Regains its Train Lines
Posted on 05/16/2016, 4:45 PM
Photo credit: TrainCambodia.com One of the many consequences of Pol Pot's genocidal 1970s regime in Cambodia was the loss of its railway system. The dictator wanted to bring his country back to medieval times, and part of that meant dismantling its railways. Even though tourism has been booming in Cambodia for the past 15 years, visitors are still forced to get around by plane or by tortuo...
San Francisco-LA Sleeper "Bus" Debuts
Posted on 05/13/2016, 6:15 PM
This week, there's been a lot of press about the "Hyperloop" companies that are racing to create magnet-powered trains that will shuttle passengers at the speed of sound inside vacuum tubes. Despite small-scale tests that were loudly turned into into public relations moments, they're still concepts unproven on a large scale that are at least a half-decade away from completion, if they ever r...
Airline to RFID-Track All Checked Bags
Posted on 05/05/2016, 10:30 AM
Nice to see a little of that crazy airline profit money poured back into something that benefits passengers: Delta has announced that by the end of the year, its new RFID luggage tagging system will go live. The project cost the airline more than $50 million. Soon, instead of a scannable bar code, luggage tags will contain a microchip with radio-frequency identification (RFID) capability. ...
No More Stretching Out on Empty Flights?
Posted on 04/27/2016, 12:15 PM
This month, some newspapers and magazines published stories that proclaimed things like, "Lie-Flat Seats are Coming to Economy Class." It sounds like a dream come true, right? After years of ignoring Economy—even intentionally making it more uncomfortable so passengers feel the need to pay to upgrade—the airlines are throwing less wealthy travelers a bone! Not so fast. If you take a look ...
Exploring South Walton, Florida
Posted on 04/22/2016, 12:00 PM
Drive for 26 miles in Florida and what will you see? If you’re by the shore, the vistas will likely be a daisy chain of beaches, hotels and strip malls. Especially strip malls. Sometimes it feels like Florida has more of those than any other U.S. state. But not in South Walton, a community on the Gulf of Mexico that comes to an end right before the state starts to dangle towards the Caribbea...
Delta Drops Phone Booking Fee
Posted on 04/22/2016, 7:15 AM
Delta Air Lines has dropped one of its most onerous fees: the $25 it collects to allow you to make a booking by telephone. Now, people who do not book using the Web—because they don't have a computer, for example, or can't use one—will not be penalized with higher prices. Along with that surcharge, it dropped the $35 to make a booking in person at a Delta counter, something relatively few ...
New App is Uber for Last-Minute Homestays
Posted on 04/20/2016, 3:30 AM
A new app has been launched that helps travelers find a last-minute place to crash. It's called Overnight, and to use it, you use it to post that you're in town and what brings you there. That's broadcast to the area and would-be hosts read your listing and ideally, offer you space in their place. Users register with their Facebook profiles, pay via the app (adding a degree of protec...
