Category: Travel

Mar

10

Chile’s Road Back

Posted by Larry Habegger

The powerful earthquake that struck near Concepcion Feb. 27 will affect Chile for years. While much of the country’s tourist infrastructure was undamaged and tourism officials are urging travelers not to cancel their plans to visit, the impact on Chile’s citizens could last a long time.

The New York Times reported that many buildings in Santiago appeared unscathed from the outside, but inside, they were heavily damaged. Other reports suggest that rebuilding will take three to four years. And the quake created little curiosities, such as moving Concepcion 10 feet closer to the sea, and Buenos Aires an inch closer. The temblor could even spike the cost of paper 5 percent and take a huge bite out of the supply of Chilean wine.

Triporati’s Chile expert Wayne Bernhardson, in nearby Uruguay at the time, cited reports from friends that many of the coastal towns in central Chile will never be the same. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Chile, Feature, South America, Travel

Jan

19

Top 31 Places for 2010?

Posted by Larry Habegger

Every year around this time the New York Times (and other publications) publish lists of their favorite destinations for the new year. Often places on the list are obvious, often not, and sometimes there are real surprises.

On the Times’s list this year I’d put Copenhagen, Shanghai, and Costa Rica in the first category, Damascus, Bahia, and Istanbul in the second category, and Shenzhen (China), Koh Kood (Thailand), and Montenegro in the third.

Number 1 on the list, however, is Sri Lanka, and that’s a place I’d put at the top of my list for this year, a country I last visited in 1979. The island is just emerging from three decades of civil war and finally, one hopes, can put such strife behind. The island is rich in archaeological treasures, ancient culture, exotic (from a Western perspective) wildlife, and pristine beaches. Not to mention the home of a revered relic, “Buddha’s Tooth.” It’s time for a return visit.

1 Comment | Filed Under Feature, Travel

Dec

22

The Spirit of the Season at European Christmas Markets

Posted by Larry Habegger

Every year around this time we hear railing against the commercialization of Christmas, and the exhortations to shop and buy and give do get tiring, but they’re nothing new. In fact, they’ve been around a long time, since the Middle Ages, as the many Christmas markets across Europe attest.

The oldest, in the French city of Strasbourg in Alsace on the German border, has been active since 1570. Georgia Hesse, in the San Francisco Chronicle, ably describes the appeal of such markets and the particular draw of Strasbourg, where visitors stroll the lanes where Goethe, Gutenberg, and Albert Schweitzer once wandered.

Many markets last through New Year’s Day and some even run through the Epiphany on January 6, but others close up shop on Christmas Eve, so hurry, time’s running out.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Europe, Feature, Festivals, France, Germany, Markets, Strasbourg, Travel, shopping

Dec

1

The Grand Canyon by Yourself

Posted by Larry Habegger

Can you imagine having the Grand Canyon to yourself? No traffic to the South Rim, no hordes at the visitor center? Henry Shukman in The New York Times takes us on a long hike below the rim during the best time of year for exploration: now.

Why now? Because nobody’s there in winter, and because the sun is your friend, not your foe, when the temperatures drop.

But no matter the season, a hike to the bottom of the canyon is a challenge even for fit hikers. The relentless downhill (a full mile in elevation) takes its toll on the knees, only to force you to turn around and climb back up a mile to get out. But it’s the best way to appreciate the stunning landscape, with layers of rock chronicling the earth’s development, the oldest being almost two billion years old. And challenging as it may be, even an eight-year-old can do it, as Henry’s traveling companion, his son Saul, proves.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Arizona, Desert Travel, Family Travel, Feature, Grand Canyon, Hike/Backpack, North America, Travel, United States

Nov

17

Shanghai Disney

Posted by Darya Mead

President Obama’s visit to Asia this week has been headline news. Another American icon is headed to China soon, as Disney is planning to open a theme park in Shanghai by 2014.

After more than 20 years of wrangling, the Chinese government has granted the US media company the right to build a fanciful park in one of China’s largest and richest cities. A Disney park already exists in Hong Kong but the Shanghai venture will be the first in Mainland China.

Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Amusement Park, Asia, China, Disney, Family Travel, Feature, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Theme Park, Theme Parks, Travel

Oct

30

Beluga Whales, Polar Bears, and the Wilds of Churchill, Manitoba

Posted by Larry Habegger

One October a few years ago I spent a couple of days in Churchill, Manitoba looking for polar bears. Churchill is famously the “Polar Bear Capital of the World”  because so many bears come in to den when the pack ice breaks up on Hudson Bay. In the fall, when Hudson Bay begins to freeze, ice forms first around the spit of land where Churchill sits, and the bears know it. That’s why they gang up here, why thousands of tourists like me come to gawk.

But now there’s a new game in town: snorkeling with belugas. Yep, you can don a dry suit and slip into water that was frozen solid last week and come nose to nose with beluga whales. John Flinn took the plunge and conveyed his experience in the San Francisco Chronicle this week. Continue reading »

1 Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Canada, Churchill, Feature, Manitoba, North America, Sports, Travel, wildlife

Oct

16

Guanajuato’s Cervantes Festival and Magic Realism

Posted by Larry Habegger

One night some years ago I arrived in Guanajuato, Mexico for the first time, knowing little about the place beyond its being yet another Spanish colonial city. When the bus couldn’t get anywhere near my hotel on Jardin de la Union because the streets were jammed with revelers, I got out, shouldered my bags, and plunged into the crowd.

Maybe it was the long bus ride that had warped my ability to make sense of my surroundings, or it could have been my diet of magic realism literature I was on at the time, but the scene I wound through that night presented the kind of phantasmagoria that can induce hallucinations. Was everyone in costume? Was it a warmup for Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead? Colors flashed by, shouts and laughter and the melodious rhythms of Spanish ricocheted off balconied buildings. Smoke from street stalls carried the scent of grilled meat. And I continued to push my way, gently because this was a happy throng, across the plaza to the hotel. Continue reading »

1 Comment | Filed Under Concert, Culture, Feature, Festivals, Mexico, Music, Nightlife, North America, Travel

Oct

6

Kayaking the Mekong River

Posted by Larry Habegger

In the late ’60s and early ’70s the thought of a trip down the Mekong was the stuff of nightmares. The place was a war zone, and the only way to see it was courtesy of Uncle Sam. But thankfully times change, and today the great river that runs from China through Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam is accessible to anyone who wants to put paddle to water, assuming you have the proper paperwork and know your way around.

Which is a good reason to find an outfitter who can handle the logistics. Some top adventure companies offer trips on the Mekong, but these are mostly cruises. For journeys by kayak, Bangkok-based river explorer Steve Van Beek brings something extra: 40 years of residence in Southeast Asia and almost as many years exploring the region’s rivers. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Asia, Canoe/Kayak, China, Feature, Laos, Thailand, Travel

Sep

22

Autumn in Tuolumne Meadows

Posted by Larry Habegger

Now is the time. The crowds are gone, the days are clear and warm and the nights are cool to cold. Mosquitoes and just about every other flying insect have bedded down for the winter or perished in the chill. Campsites are available. And Yosemite’s vaunted Tuolumne Meadows is as beautiful in the fall as ever.

I spent the 4th of July holiday weekend there, my first visit in 25 years, which told me a couple of things: just how quickly time can pass and a quarter of a lifetime can slip beneath your feet; and how short-sighted I’d been to allow so many years to drift away without making the simple four-hour-plus drive up from San Francisco. I swam in Tenaya Lake, fished the pools and streams that fed into it, got some strikes in the Tuolumne River as it wound through the meadows, and later, at Cathedral Lake, saw a trout with a head as big as my fist emerge from the depths to strike my lure repeatedly before losing interest, too smart to be caught by an occasional fisherman like me. Continue reading »

3 Comments | Filed Under Adventure Travel, California, Camping, Eco Friendly Travel, Family Travel, Feature, Fishing, Hike/Backpack, North America, Northern California, Travel, United States, Yosemite, wildlife

Aug

12

JetBlue’s All-You-Can-Jet Pass

Posted by Larry Habegger

Feel like some jet-setting this fall? JetBlue just made it a little easier. For $599 you can fly as much as you want from September 8 to October 8. But you have to buy the pass before August 21, and JetBlue’s release says supplies are limited. So, if you have a lot of traveling to do on JetBlue’s routes, get going.

1 Comment | Filed Under Air Travel, Deals, Travel

More dispatches »