Put Your Dreams on Ice: A Peek Inside Sweden's Impressive New Icehotel
Posted on 12/27/2022, 2:00 PM
Sculpted from 500 tons of ice and snow harvested from the Torne River in Sweden, the Icehotel has opened for another winter of chilly overnight stays in the Arctic village of Jukkasjärvi. The seasonal hotel began accepting guests earlier this month and will continue into mid-April. Because the place melts each spring and is built anew over six weeks in the late fall, every iteration of the Iceho...
French Baguettes and Cuban Light Rum Get UNESCO Heritage Status
Posted on 12/06/2022, 6:15 AM
Anyone who has ever bit into a fresh baguette in France already knows that crunchy-chewy creation counts among the exceptional achievements of humanity. But now UNESCO has made it official, adding the beloved French bread to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, along with 38 other newly inscribed one-of-a-kind traditions, arts, festivals, foods, and music style...
Real ID, the Travel Joke that Now Spans a Generation, Is Delayed Yet Again
Posted on 12/05/2022, 2:00 PM
The deadline for all Americans to be using Real I.D., the strengthened identification format that was announced in 2005 after the security disasters of September 11, 2001, has been bumped back yet again. Americans must not really need safer identification at airports and federal buildings that badly, because on Monday the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) just pushed the deadline from May...
Alaska Airlines Launches Electronic Bag Label: See How it Works
Posted on 12/01/2022, 3:45 PM
Alaska Airlines has started rolling out a new electronic bag tag that eliminates the need for printed destination labels for checked luggage. The new devices, which were announced earlier this year, are now available for about 2,500 of the airline's most loyal travelers. The tags will be available for purchase by any passenger starting in 2023. Before their trips, passengers can load the reusable...
Frontier Airlines Hangs Up on Customer Service by Phone
Posted on 11/30/2022, 10:00 AM
Frontier Airlines, the carrier so cheap it won't even allow most passengers to recline seats without fees, has found a new way to cut costs and further contribute to the indignity of flying.Did Frontier lose your baggage during a stopover? Do you have questions about seating your family together? Is the website not working for you?Too bad! Last week, Frontier disconnected its customer service phone...
Verizon Gooses Its International Data Benefits to Be More Competitive
Posted on 11/22/2022, 2:30 PM
Earlier in 2022, smartphone service giant T-Mobile, which gobbled up competitor Sprint in 2020, flexed the power of its post-merger muscle by increasing the speed and data available to its customers who travel abroad.Starting in June, customers who have some T-Mobile plans automatically got 5G of monthly free data in many international destinations, often at crisp 5G speeds, and with no roaming cha...
Washington Metro Finally Connects D.C. with Dulles Airport and Virginia Wine Country
Posted on 11/17/2022, 11:30 AM
After four long years of delays, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s long-awaited Silver Line extension finally opened to the public on Tuesday, November 15, officially connecting the District of Columbia with Dulles International Airport and Virginia’s wine country by Metrorail for the first time. The $3 billion project adds six stations along 11.4 miles of new track stretching...
New BattleBots Live Show to Bring Metal Mayhem to Las Vegas
Posted on 11/11/2022, 10:30 AM
Among the performers you can see in Las Vegas next year: Keith Urban, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, and a murderous fleet of robots fighting to the death. Discovery's BattleBots TV show is getting a live theatrical version. In case you're unfamiliar, the reality competition features teams pitting weaponized, remote-controlled creations against each other in displays of explosive mayhem that's still not an...
Airbnb Is Making It Easier to See Hated Cleaning Fees Earlier in Search
Posted on 11/08/2022, 6:00 AM
Airbnb is at last bringing more—though not complete—transparency to how rental prices are displayed. In December, the company will begin rolling out a feature that lets users of the platform see a rental's total price, including cleaning fees and all other pre-tax charges, in search results, on maps, in filtered searches based on price range, and elsewhere, Airbnb announced yesterday. Up to now...
“No TikTok”: Nepal Bans Video Platform at Top Tourist Spots
Posted on 11/03/2022, 12:45 PM
TikTok creators in Nepal have made such pests of themselves at certain scenic and sacred places that officials have banned use of the platform at tourist attractions throughout the South Asian country. "No TikTok" signs have reportedly gone up at the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Lumbini (traditionally known as Buddha's birthplace), Kathmandu's Boudhanath Stupa (pictured above), and the temples of J...
