British Air, you suck

Once upon a time, I actually enjoyed flying with British Air and would go out of my way to fly with them. Since that time, the quality of BA has plummeted like a skydiver who forgot to put on his chute. For higher prices, you get to take less luggage and eat crappier food and deal with staff who struggle to be nice to you...

Apparently I'm not the only one who has issues with BA. What kind of crap is that anyway, dumping a corpse next to a passenger? (Do we even know what she died of? Is it safe and hygienic to place a corpse next to someone for 5 hours in room temperature heat and recirculated air?) Oh, and with the wailing relatives bonus prize? With no real explanation or apology. Especially when the passenger who has to deal with it all is a first class passenger who paid for first class service?

If this is how first class passengers are treated, imagine how bad things are in economy class...

And then to top things off, when asking about compensation for the ordeal, being told to "get over it"?! What kind of shit is that?!

The worst thing about it is that crap like this is going to become more commonplace as airlines are cutting service and brain cells (sheesh, don't they have routines for dealing with dead passengers and their wailing relatives?!) so that the CEOs can get bigger, fatter bonuses...

Vigelandsparken censored...

Censorship at the famous Vigeland Park in Oslo. Someone couldn't handle naked statues or nudity at all and thought it would be worthwhile to put black paper "porn bars" on the statues' genitals and boobs...

OK... while vandalism is vandalism, it could have been much worse... that crying baby's head has been cut off a few times for starters, so this is really "nothing" in comparison, but still... that someone must really have a lot of time on their hands...

(btw - it's a bit too early for "russ" pranks)

worth its weight in gold... and then some...

SA tourism overtakes gold in foreign exchange

South Africa has beaten all previous tourism records - attracting more than six million visitors in the first nine months of last year.

The latest statistics, covering the period from January to September 2006, show a 14 percent increase in tourism compared to the same time in 2005.

Opening a conference on business tourism in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said: "We are well on our way to surpassing the annual record set in 2006."

The largest source of tourism growth came from Africa, with an 18 percent increase, but the overall growth was also swelled by an increase of about 10 percent more visitors from North America. "Although it was off a low base, we saw a massive 42 percent increase in visitors from the Russian Federation, 24 percent more visitors from Hungary and 17 percent more visitors from Finland," Van Schalkwyk said.

He noted that the tourism industry now generated more foreign exchange than gold, and was one of the biggest contributors to the sustained economic growth spurt that started in 1999.

From Asia there had been a 4,5 percent increase in visitors - which included a 17,5 percent increase in Indian tourists and "excellent growth" from Japan, Thailand and Singapore.

However, a disappointment was the decrease in visitors from China, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Van Schalkwyk said there were opportunities to expand the more lucrative "business tourism" sector from the present figure of five percent by doubling the number of business tourists over the next three years.

Now this is all despite safety concerns...

Ring of Fat Travels - food tourism

From CNN.com:

Traveling to eat: A growing taste for food tourism

NEW YORK (AP) -- Surrounded by imported pasta and grains, Carol Berger inhales deeply, raises her arms and shuts her eyes in appreciation.

"Look at that beautiful prosciutto over there," she sighs, pointing at a glass case filled with meats, while others on the guided tasting tour shuffle into the shop to gape at a large jar of black truffles.

The expedition through the specialty shops of Manhattan's Chelsea Market is just one stop on the Florida resident's culinary ramble through New York City -- and she's not alone.

A new study says that 27 million Americans have made culinary activities a part of their travels within the last three years.

"It's something that really took off in the past five years or so," said Cathy Keefe, the manager of media relations for the Travel Industry Association of America, which helped pay for the study along with Gourmet magazine and other organizations.

Of the 160 million U.S. residents who travel for leisure, about 1 in 6 have recently taken a food tour, enrolled in a cooking class, toured a winery or otherwise participated in culinary activities as part of a vacation, according to the study.

Nearly half of that group took a trip or chose a destination because of the food and wine activities they would find there.

Walking from a bread bakery toward a wholesale seafood shop across the way, Berger, a payroll tax accountant from Del Ray Beach, Florida, said her trip to New York -- planned with a group of foodie friends she calls her "dinner club" -- was motivated by food.

"We come to New York to do restaurants," she said, recounting one particularly eye-opening experience: "It was the first time I tried sea urchin, and it was fabulous."

New York state is one of the most popular destinations for food travel, outdone only by California and Florida, according to the TIA study.

Cultural connections
For Carmen Botez, that crush of interest became apparent last year, when the 29-year-old found herself essentially drafted into becoming a tour guide. After launching a Web magazine offering a virtual "chocolate tour of New York," Botez was deluged by hundreds of requests for the real thing. She has since launched her own company, New York Chocolate Tours, which charges visitors $70 apiece for a tasting tour of the city's high-end sweets shops.

The interest in culinary tourism has accompanied a rise in emphasis on food throughout American culture, said Barry Glassner, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California and author of the book "Gospel of Food," published last month.

"We define ourselves by how we eat. We show others and we show ourselves what kind of people we are by how adventurous we are about food," he said.

Glassner attributed the shift, which he said has accelerated over the last five to 10 years, in part to the many foods that new waves of immigrants have brought with them to America.

The increased availability of new items at supermarkets around the nation, the appearance of more food-oriented television programming, and the many Internet food discussion boards have also played a role, he said.

"Many people now when they travel would be ashamed to come home and say they didn't see the main museum or didn't taste the national dish," said Glassner. "We believe that if we've tasted their food we've gotten closer to their culture."

Guided tours
That may account for the success of companies like The International Kitchen. The Chicago-based enterprise, which offers cooking-class vacations to Europe, has been growing each year, said owner Karen Herbst.

Foods of New York Tours Inc., which charges $40 for the tour of Chelsea Market and for its other excursions around the city, is also drawing a growing crowd. After recent expansion of 30 percent yearly, ticket sales for 2006 totaled more than 14,000 -- up from about 2,500 in 2000, said owner Todd Lefkovic.

Companies following a similar model -- offering tours that alternate walking, talking and tasting -- have been springing up elsewhere around the country. Shane Kost, who opened Chicago Food Planet tours last year, said the company became profitable almost immediately. Kelly Hamilton said her New Orleans Culinary History Tours were fully booked within months after opening in 2004, although business has since slowed following Hurricane Katrina.

The tours, Hamilton said, allow people to go beyond the usual sightseeing to experience a destination more intimately, incorporating the senses of taste, touch and smell. In Chicago, Kost focuses on showing people spots that are local secrets, helping them feel like they're going off the beaten path.

Of course, for many tourists, culinary travel is less about education and more about finding unique eating and drinking experiences. More than half the travelers who seek out food and wine activities make a point of trying local cuisine and restaurants, according to the TIA study, which was performed by Edge Research and surveyed 2,364 leisure travelers between July 21 and August 9.

The study respondents had volunteered to participate in online questionnaires, and results were then weighted to reflect the general population.

Pam Hays, of Fayetteville, Texas, said she and her husband make sure to sample the local cuisine wherever they travel.

"In New York," she said, "at breakfast we discuss lunch; at lunch we discuss afternoon snack; at afternoon snack we discuss dinner."

Hays, who was on the Chelsea Market tour, is a general manager at a restaurant, but plenty of others can enjoy such activities without that kind of expertise.

"We're not connoisseurs," said Mark Littlejohn, a merchant sailor from Long Beach, California, also on the tour. "This is to me more interesting than museums. ... You can actually experience it."

Hmm... I think I want to go to Tuscany or something... ;-)

US travel - the best places for value vacations for 2007

Hotwire Travel Value Index: Best Places for Value Vacations for 2007.

Atlanta, Georgia tops the list. It's an OK place; I don't find their top three bargain bullets of "things to do" particularly appealing, but whatever. My personal recommendation from the top ten list is Washington, DC. The Smithsonian museums are fantastic, the National Zoo is also great, and it's very easy to get around to all the sites in Washington, DC without having to drive a car.

I've been to seven of the top ten cities, but it's been a while since I've been to any of them...

how *not* to travel by air...

From News24:

Why plane stowaways die

The body of a young South African plane stowaway has been returned home from Los Angeles.

Stowaways on boats or trucks often die from lack of oxygen or from dehydration. Those on planes have a far quicker exit. Few people know how inhospitable conditions can be 10 000 metres up in the air.

Why do almost none of these plane stowaways survive?

• The hiding place is unsafe. Most stowaways hide in the wheel wells of aeroplanes. This is the area near to the wing recess where the landing gear retracts. Most wheel wells have enough space for a small adult to crawl into and hide. Access is gained when the plane is stationary. A stowaway would climb the landing gear into the area where the wheel retracts. Once the plane takes off a stowaway is protected by metal coverings that close over the wheel well opening. But if the landing gear does not retract properly the pilot will keep trying until it does. This could lead to the stowaway being crushed.


• Wheel wells are not pressurised. As the plane ascends, there is a corresponding drop in atmospheric pressure. Because the wheel wells are not pressurised (as the inside of the plane is), there is a lack of oxygen. Decompression sickness occurs when pressure surrounding the body is reduced. Nitrogen gas bubbles form in the bloodstream and tissue fluids. This causes pain in muscles and joints and can damage tissue, nerves and organs. Divers who surface too quickly also suffer from decompression sickness.


• No air and no heat. A stowaway faces two life-threatening conditions: hypoxia and hypothermia. Hypoxia occurs because of a lack of oxygen. Hypothermia occurs when there is a drop in the core body temperature to below 32 degrees Celsius. The body is unable to perform normal functions. This results in unconsciousness and if the temperature remains freezing, death will follow. At such high altitudes it is extremely cold - colder than most people will ever experience - and the temperature could fall to minus 45 degrees Celsius. It is more or less impossible to survive this kind of cold without adequate gear.


• Fall to pieces. A stowaway can plunge to death when the landing gear is lowered. Landing gear is lowered well before landing – sometimes a few hundred metres - and if there is nothing to hold on to, preventing a fall would be difficult. It is thought that many stowaways on planes are never discovered, because they fall out before planes land. Lack of oxygen also causes blackouts, rendering stowaways unconscious and unable to do anything for themselves.

(Leandra Engelbrecht, Health24, February 2007)
Sources: Wikipedia.org, Flightsafety.org

tourist in my own town - the Madiba: Man of Destiny exhibit

boyfriend of feitpingvin and I went to see Peter Magubane's "Madiba: Man of Destiny" photo exhibit at the International Cultural Center and Museum here in Oslo. It is about the life of Nelson Mandela and the fight against apartheid from the end of the 1950s to Mandela's release to now - the new South Africa.

Magubane captured many disturbing episodes during the apartheid regime, including Mandela's arrest, student demonstrations, various massacres, and the resulting funerals. His photographs have been show in, among others, Life magazine, The New York Times, National Geographic and Time magazine. For his efforts, Magubane has been jailed and tortured, and even banned from taking any photographs at all. It's a good thing he never let anything stop him...

I think some of my favorite photos were ones where white people were also included. It's very obvious that the blacks were opposed to the evils of the apartheid regime. It's easy to forget how many white South Africans were also involved in the struggle. I'm not sure what my absolute favorite photo was though. I think I'll have to go back and have a look again. The exhibit was free after all ;-)

There are lots of good museums in Oslo. Several of them have free admission. We really need to get our act together and visit them more often...

the new seven wonders...

Yes! You can vote for the new seven wonders of the world. The results will be announced the 7th of July, 2007. 07-07-07. Get it? ;-)

dragon temporarily slayed - idiots ruining things for everyone

I was saddened to read that a bunch of asshats vandalized Gaudi's famous dragon that does nothing but mind its own business at the entrance of Parc Güell in Barcelona, Spain...

What kind of losers would do something like this? *sigh*

By the way, don't let this stop you from going to Parc Güell. It is one of the nicest places I have ever visited in my life. Even if you're not into Gaudi or architecture, the park itself is beautiful, and it's a good place to relax, people-watch, and maybe even catch a concert like my friends and I did when we were there in 2003...

Here's my photo of the famous dragon:

the more-than-mile high club

sex in space tourism?

child-free travel

Recently in Aftenposten's consumer section for travfel, there have been articles about how some charter tour companies are setting up various forms of child-free travel.

In the first article, one company is setting up a special class on their plane to Thailand - the customer pays extra for it, and children between the ages of 0 and 12 are not allowed to travel in this class.

The second article is about a hotel that another tour company uses; this hotel has a minimum age limit of 18 years but if you shell out a ton of money, you can bring your children.

And, of course, there have been complaints about this. I really don't understand why. There are plenty of things out there for families with children that are not suitable for people without children. Why are they so upset that options are also being made for the child-free, a growing (and relatively wealthy) demographic group? Is it because of that? Are they jealous of the lifestyle that the once had but can never have again?

From some of the reader comments, it also seems like some individuals are taking child-free travel arrangements personally. A critique of their parenting skills... or should I say lack of? It's no wonder people don't want to sit next to kids on planes when the kid screams the whole flight and kicks the back of your seat and the parents don't do a damn thing about it. And before you get your knickers in a knot, I'm not talking about babies who cry during take-off and landing. Especially considering most shut up and go to sleep in between...

Oh, and I can't even imagine why any responsible parent would take their children to an adults-only hotel where the guests want to do, well, adult things...

Table Mountain muggers spark vigilante fears

I can see how vigilantism would be tempting. The fact that there is a risk of it shows that the police aren't doing their job properly.

You will also see a quote in the article: 'Take off all your jewellery when you're on the mountain'. OK, fine. We all know that muggers like shiny jewelry. (As opposed to the 35 Rand (because I was too lazy to bargain down) necklace I was wearing while I was up there.) But general advice you read "everywhere" includes "not flashing your fancy camera" or something along those lines... um, duh? The reason a lot of us go up there in the first place is... *drumroll*... TO TAKE PICTURES!

Anyway...

From IOL.co.za:

Vigilantes will not be tolerated on Table Mountain.

That was the word from Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) manager Brett Myrdal, following offers to TMNP from people wanting to take the law into their own hands by mounting armed patrols to "deal" with robbers responsible for a spate of muggings in the park in recent months.

The current hotspot is around Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, adjacent to TMNP, and Skeleton Gorge, where more than 20 people have been robbed - mostly at knifepoint - in the past two months.

So far, no arrests have been made that have led to successful prosecutions.

Sources close to the investigation say that in response to the attacks, representatives of some hiking and climbing clubs on the Peninsula have threatened to arm themselves, group together and hunt down the gang believed to be responsible for the attacks.

Myrdal said: "We welcome public support of our efforts to put an end to crime in the park but we cannot, and will not, tolerate vigilante groups taking the law into their own hands.

What I would like to see happen is for some Krav Maga practitioner (or whatever other self defense/martial art) tourist kick the ass of some mugger, only for the mugger to stumble back and step on and get bitten by a poisonous snake. That would be so cool...

worse than terrorism...

Those of you who have ever been to Egypt will probably be nodding your heads in agreement here...

Egyptian tourism minister bemoans pushy merchants

Pushy bazaar merchants and poor waiter service are a bigger threat to Egypt's tourism industry than the bombs of Islamic militants, Tourism Minister Zoheir Garranah told AFP in an interview.

When I was in Egypt in 1993, there was all this crap going on about militants attacking tourists blah blah... well, aside from an alleged bomb threat to a Western-style nightclub at the hotel we stayed at, we didn't encounter any crazy militants. For the most part, we found Egyptians to be quite friendly towards tourists...

We did encounter the pushy merchants. And damn, they were obnoxious. The most annoying ones were the ones who would physically push/drag you into their stores, maybe serve you a drink (always refuse these!), and expect you to buy something before you leave... The guys at Khan el-Khalili who swarm you and put a flower necklace/bracelet on you and expect payment are also rather irritating... blah...

Otherwise, I don't remember customer service (restaurants, hotels etc.) being too bad, but of course this trip was 14 years ago...

travel-inspired eating - Portugal

Bacalhau is king in Portugal. Everyone eats it, and there are countless ways to prepare it. Here is one of those ways...

Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá. This variant of bacalhau comes from Porto.

Ingredients:
600 g. bacalhau (soaked overnight)
1 kg potatoes
2 dl olive oil
2 cloves garlic, cut into round slices
2 onions, sliced into thin round half-moon rings
1 bay leaf
1 soupspooon chopped parsley
2 chopped hard-boiled eggs + 1 hard boiled egg sliced in rings
30 g black olives, pitted and sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Skin the potatoes, and boil them in salted water. When cooked, drain water and cut into round slices.

Boil the bacalhau and drain it. Pick it clean of skin and bones and shred it into small flakes.

Heat up the olive oil, onion, garlic, and bay leaf in a wide pot. Stir from time to time until the mixture cooks without getting brown.

Add bacalhau and potatoes, and season with pepper. Stir carefully, and transfer to a baking dish and spread the mixture without pressing it down.

Bake in an oven set to 170 C until the dish browns (around 15 minutes). Take the dish out of the oven and fold in the hard-boiled eggs, olives, and parsley. Garnish with the remaining egg.

Yummy yum...

township tourism is booming...

Township tourism is booming in South Africa

The article mentions, among other things Major Ndaba. We met him when we did a township tour hehe... it's interesting reading about him in CNN...

travelling to Oslo? (with update)

If you are, I strongly recommend not staying at any Scandic hotel. Here's why...

The hotel discriminates against Cubans - article in Norwegian - article in English

So because the United States government has some kind of childish gripe with Cuba, a Cuban delegation to a conference in Norway was suddenly told they were not allowed to stay in a Norwegian hotel. In Norway. A country that does not have some kind of childish gripe with Cuba. How dignified and mature of the hotel owners and certain members of its staff (not). This group of Cubans had otherwise been using the hotel for the past five years for this conference, before the chain was bought up by Hilton...

All that the administrative director of the hotel, Geir Lundkvist, has to say is that he "regrets the situation." Wow. Regrets? What a spineless wanker! (I'll bet he's more sorry about this making Aftenposten and probably a few other blogs than my own than kicking out the Cubans.) He doesn't even have the balls to explain himself. Or tell big boss Hilton to piss off. I wonder what the deal is anyway, what kind of kickbacks he's getting... Then again, it could be a ploy to bring attention to the fact that the hotel owners are a bunch of twats...

Nonetheless, this kind of discrimination is unacceptable. And un-Norwegian. It is not normal to suddenly start banning specific nationalities from hotels or whatever here. I really hope that there is an investigation as to what extent this is legal in Norway. I hope Scandic gets sued for this. In the meantime, stay away from the hotels...

Update: Hah! Charges filed!

stupid, irresponsible tourist

Liquid paraffin frees woman

Oudtshoorn - Rescuers battled for 10 hours at the Cango Caves near Oudtshoorn to free an overweight woman who became stuck in a narrow passage, trapping 23 other tourists in the caves.

Overweight must be the first major understatement of 2007. I mean damn, 23 other people were trapped by that stupid cow's fat ass!

"The woman had been warned she was not suited for the route... She was told at the ticket office that she was too big to take part in the specific section.... The woman was extremely offended and laid a charge with management.

When you're told you're too big to walk through caves with narrow passages, you should listen. The people who work at the Caves know more about them than you do...

Well, I guess it's better to be humiliated than offended. I really hope these others photographed the ordeal and blogged it...

Fortunately, there was no damage to the caves. I really hope they start to get more strict about enforcing the rules regarding who can, and more importantly can not enter the caves...

Happy New Year!

May 2007 bring you happiness, prosperity, good health, and lots of new adventures...

travel-inspired eating

Once again, I'm in a South Africa mood. On another site where I hang out, we're doing a Secret Santa, and a few days ago, I got my gift - South Africa-themed random items. Among these items, a CD filled with interesting South African music, including The Click Song...

Anyway, RoF doesn't care about music. Only food. So on to the recipe...

A few things first. A little warning - this is meant to be made a day ahead of serving time. I didn't do this (didn't read the recipe carefully enough before making it :). The dish was still quite delicious...

Also, the recipe says serve with pasta. I made pan-fried potatoes and salad to go with the dish and it worked out nicely.

Braised chicken thighs with red wine, sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar

(Serves 8)

16-18 chicken thigh portions (ca 2 kg)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
salt and milled black pepper
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup shredded basil leaves, or 2 tsp dried oregano
125 g sun-dried tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Trim excess fat from the chicken. Heat oil in a heavy, ovenproof casserole and brown the chicken on both sides over a medium-high heat, in 3-4 batches. When finished with each batch, remove chicken and set aside.

Reduce the heat and add the onions, some salt and pepper. Cook gently for 5-10 minutes or until very soft but not browned. Add small amounts of water to avoid browning, if necessary. Stir in garlic, herbs, and sun-dried tomatoes. Add chicken pieces to casserole. Add stock and wine, and bake in oven at 160 C for about an hour or until chicken is done. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate overnight.

Before reheating the chicken, remove any congealed fat from the surface. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Check seasonings. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, and continue reheating on stovetop (or in oven at 160 C) until chicken is heated, about 20-30 minutes.

Serve with hot small pasta sprinkled with shredded basil or chopped parsley.

Recipe source: Cape Town Food

We drank Groot Constantia's 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon with our meal and it was a lovely match.

RoF is very stuffed and happy...

still obsessed *sigh* ;-)

On the first day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
A penguin in a baobab tree...

On the second day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Two Cape turtle doves
And a penguin in a baobab tree...

On the third day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Three Guinea fowl
Two Cape turtle doves
And a penguin in a baobab tree...

Uh... OK, OK, I'll stop now hehe...

Won't some nice random person(s) out there give us some free roundtrip tickets from Oslo to Cape Town? ;-)