Jaunted

First Class Travel

Air India Breaks Out the Bling In First Class

June 9, 2009 at 8:47 AM | 1 Comment

When we last took a peek at the first class cabin of an Air India Boeing 777, we were a little concerned about the bright Bollywood-purple lighting in the publicity shots. So we sighed with relief when we saw this "real life" shot of what business class and first class looks like on a recent flight from Delhi to London.

The scary purple-ness is gone, and now what we see is blissful gold bling. Beyond what you can see in this picture, there's even more shiny gold bits with gold trim on the windows and other parts of the seats. This is so Bollywood that we're practically awaiting dancing girls to come down the aisles; we already spot a colorful sari off to the left.

In case you're tempted to mix in with this bling, a one-way business class ticket—they call it Executive—from Delhi to London will set you back just under 72,000 Rupees ($1,500); or you could just rent a good Bollywood DVD for $3.95.

Related Stories:
· Air India's First Class Seats Have That Bollywood Glow [Jaunted]
· First Class Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: vm2827]

Laid-Off Travel

Ex-IBM Employees Can Rebuild Karma In India

March 26, 2009 at 4:56 PM | 0 Comments

Computing giant IBM is poised to cut about 5,000 jobs in North America according to company memo leaks. But internal sources claim the jobs aren't really being cut -- just shifted to India in a continuing effort to slice costs, although the company won't publicly confirm that strategy. We suggest IBM employees facing a "reduction in force" respond by invading India. Just kidding! Maybe just a visit:

Blue City -- Country Walkers' tour of Rajasthan, the northwestern state where Jaipur is located, features tours of cities like Jodhpur which is in fact known as the Blue City. (Jaipur is the Pink City -- fair's fair!)

Bharatanatyam -- Continental flies to many major cities in India, perhaps even carrying the trainers for IBM"s next brain trust. And where better to get your first taste of Indian classical dance than Chennai, a cultural capital and the home of 2009 Best Song and Best Score winner A.R. Rahman.

Barefooted -- You might have to travel through Britain to get the best deal, but we've always been fascinated by Indians' favorite beach vacation spot on the west coast.

Related Stories:
· IBM Layoffs Include Wide Ranging U.S. Job Cuts [Information Week]
· Great Fares to India [Continental.com]
· Laid-Off Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Foraggio Fotographic]

Cruising With Celebs

The Life Aquatic with Jean-Michel Cousteau

March 11, 2009 at 1:56 PM | 0 Comments

A lot of cruises offer snorkeling or other underwater entertainment as part of your ticket price. But what's there to see, and how will you know what you're looking at? Regent Seven Seas Cruises solves that problem by taking aboard Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of the famous underwater ecologist who was the inspiration for Bill Murray's character in "The Life Aquatic."

The Mumbai-to-Cape Town includes a whopping nine days at sea, but that just means more opportunities to spot local wildlife under the sea. Cousteau will give lectures and show slideshows of his adventures with dad Jacques and carrying on his legacy, and a travel photographer will offer pointers on how to get the best pictures of that gorgeous coral.

True, a 19-night cruise pushes the limits of what most allotments of vacation days can provide. But you have time now to start hoarding your days off! Besides, everyone's still going on cruises, right?

Related Stories:
· 19-Night India and Africa Cruise [Signature Travel Network]
· Also on Regent Seven Seas: Relive the Moon Landing on the High Seas [Jaunted]
· Cruising with Celebs coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: detroitsunrise]

Airport WiFi

Mumbai City Network Is Dead, Airport Access Remains

March 11, 2009 at 9:11 AM | 0 Comments

There probably isn't much dancing in the streets of Mumbai over the city's stalled public-private WiFi project. The resultant cloud of connectivity wouldn't have been free to local residents, but it would have cost just Rs 50 ($1) to get hooked up -- a bargain compared to the cost of installing an Internet connection in a business or private residence.

Sadly, the dream of cheap Internet access exploded with the terrorist attacks last November, and now police are actively working to shut down open WiFi networks in case people who bear the city ill will try to use them. At least at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, you can buy access through Tata Indicom at the price of Rs 57 ($1.11) for 50 minutes -- slightly cheaper than it would have cost on the city network that now will never be.

Found a signal so clear it makes you say "Jai Ho"? Let us know.

Related Stories:
· BMC's Rs 50 plan to make Mumbai WiFi-enabled [Times of India]
· After Mumbai, Will India Ban Google Earth? [Jaunted]
· Police in India sweep for unsecured Wi-Fi networks [Network World]
· Airport WiFi Map [Jaunted]

Tours

An In-Depth Report of the 'Slumdog Millionaire' Tours

March 6, 2009 at 2:56 PM | 0 Comments

We wondered last month whether Slumdog Millionaire jaunts through Mumbai's slums were inspiring or exploitative, and now the London Paper is back from India with a full report on Reality Tours and Travel's excursion through the Dharavi slums where the movie is set. The verdict? Well, still complicated. Aspects of it do sound like kind of a creep-tastic thing to do:

...walking down the tightly packed warrens of the residential area seems hugely invasive. Families are packed into single rooms and squeezing past the open doorways feels like walking through someone’s living room – we hear the blast of a TV, mothers scolding their children and the clatter of pots and pans being cleared away…

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First Class Travel

Air India's First Class Seats Have That Bollywood Glow

March 3, 2009 at 11:17 AM | 0 Comments

Is it special lighting they used for this photo shoot or is Air India actually flying UFOs instead of airplanes? Our first impression of the first class cabin of Air India's Boeing 777-200LR was that this soft purpleness would freak us out a bit.

But, we took a deep breath, looked beyond the lilac and actually were pleased with what we saw. Spacious? Check. Comfortable and private? Check, check. Even a nice satiny-looking pillow there to keep us company.

Our only question now: with all that space there, was it really necessary for Air India to ban fat stewardesses?

Related Stories:
· Air China First Class Is Great But Not Fantastic [Jaunted]
· How First Class on Singapore Airlines Spent Christmas [Jaunted]
· Air India Bans Fat Stewardesses [Jaunted]

[Photo: kapil_b]

The Competition

Freida Pinto Runs From Her Travel-Host Past

February 27, 2009 at 10:01 AM | 0 Comments

Today, she's the star of a pretty well liked Best Picture winner. But "Slumdog Millionaire" star Freida Pinto was in our line of work before she played the beautiful, victimized Latika: As the host of "Full Circle," an India-based travel show, the Mumbai native perfected the English skills that would get her noticed by "Slumdog" director Danny Boyle.

Pinto was just a model doing spots for companies like Wrigley's and DeBeers when, at age 21, she signed on to host "Full Circle" on Zee TV Asia Pacific, which focused on Asian destinations and culture. In the above clip, Pinto is presenting in Malaysia.

The two years she spent on the show comprised her first experience in front of the camera -- but "Slumdog" won't be her last: The Indian actress just signed on to costar in Woody Allen's next movie along with Josh Brolin and Naomi Watts. Now, who's going to make an epic movie about us?

Related Stories:
· "Slumdog Millionaire" Tour: Effective or Exploitative? [Jaunted]
· Flying Getting Way Cheaper. In India. [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: NDTV Movies]

Travel Tours

'Slumdog Millionaire' Tour: Effective or Exploitative?

January 23, 2009 at 1:41 PM | 0 Comments

First comes the critical accolades, next come the tourists: The same week "Slumdog Millionaire" got ten Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, a Mumbai company announced it would start offering the "Slumdog Experience," giving film lovers the chance to see the real-life neighborhoods in Danny Boyle's movie.

Reality Tours and Travel is no flash in the pan: The joint India-English owned company was founded two years ago to introduce visitors to the Dharavai slum outside of Mumbai. Cameras are not allowed and visitors travel on foot in order to be as inconspicuous as possible, with the guides speaking to local residents as they travel.

Of course anyone who has seen "Slumdog Millionaire," in which our hero works for a spell as a tour guide in Agra, knows the, er, perils of shady operators on the road. But we're liking the do-gooder aspect of pumping the profits from these tours (a 2.5-hour trip is $10) back into the surrounding communities, including into an associated NGO providing vocational training and English lessons. It seems like a better way to enact change than, say, trying to win a milli on a national game show.

Related Stories:
· Slum Tours [Reality Tours and Travel]
· Slumdog Millionaire: The Experience [Faded Youth Blog]
· Slum Visits: Tourism or Voyeurism? [NYTimes article via Realitytoursandtravel.com]
· Movie Set Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Guardian.co.uk]

The Competition

Mischa Barton Learns It's No Longer The '60s

December 30, 2008 at 12:35 PM | 0 Comments

Early this year, before "staycation" finally, regrettably, caught on, learning holidays looked to be the emerging travel trend of 2008. And at least one celeb is trying to keep the dream alive: Mischa Barton has been traipsing around India--and blogging about it!

From her official site:

I must admit I used to make fun of people who were all into yoga and chai tea thinking it was another ridiculous health fad. But now I'm that person! First of all Masala Chai tea, the traditional way with milk and sugar is delicious, and this is coming from a brit who only likes my breakfast tea!

I must say my goal coming here was to learn to play the sitar and it's coming along real slow as apparently it's not that easy to procure a great sitar teacher here, I guess it not late 60's with Ravi Shankar and George Harrison roaming around unfortunately!!!!

Even all those exclamation points, it seems, don't make it easy to pick a 20-something-string lute.

Related Stories:
· Hi, It's Mischa Checkin In [Official Site]
· Shirtless Man Moves Into Our Territory [Jaunted]
· Learning Holidays coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Mischa in Dubai earlier this year: Mischa Barton]

Airfare Deals

Flying Getting Way Cheaper. In India.

December 30, 2008 at 10:00 AM | 0 Comments

It may not help you get to Vegas to take advantage of awesome hotel deals, but the across-the-board fare cuts in India will make your trip there quite a bit cheaper if you plan of flying from city to city to see all the giant country has to offer.

Air India is slashing domestic fares by as much as 82 percent while competitor Jet Airways announced Monday it would cut ticket prices by 40 percent. Kingfisher Airlines says it too is planning to lower fares in 2009--two days from now--but hasn't yet released specifics.

Indian carriers are facing the same softening demand as airlines in the US, but since fuel bills are also dropping, they can afford the fare cuts--at least for now. Not long ago, we were hearing that the airline meltdown is hitting Asia hardest, so we're waiting to see just how sticky these deals will be.

Related Stories:
· Air India Announces Fare Cut [Economic Times]
· Go To Goa, But Don't Party On The Beach This Xmas [Jaunted]
· Air India Bans Fat Stewardesses [Jaunted]

[Photo: Cubbie_n_Vegas]

Christmas Alternatives

Go To Goa, But Don't Party On The Beach This Xmas

December 22, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments

Since we mentioned the cool idea of a Christmas vacation in beautifully-decorated Goa, India, the local authorities have been making important decisions.

We're still keen on the idea but wanted to let you know that they have now banned beach parties from December 23 through to January 5, based on security fears. However, the authorities say that all the hotel-based functions will still go ahead, as will the local traditional celebrations we were swooning over.

So while you mightn't get your midnight swim in, the beach party ban probably makes it a bit safer for everyone. And we're really glad they haven't done anything really crazy like banning the cashew cakes and baklava-esque pastries. That'd make us revise our travel advice for sure.

Related Stories:
· Beach Parties Banned in Goa Over Terrorist Fears [The Age]
· Xmas in Goa: BYO Grinch [Jaunted]
· India Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Poo-tee-weet?]

Christmas Alternatives

Xmas in Goa: BYO Grinch

December 17, 2008 at 2:03 PM | 0 Comments

If taking off for India means missing the yearly round-the-clock viewings of Christmas "classics" like "Miracle on 34th Street" and that horrible cartoon "Frosty The Snowman," we'll be packed and ready to go in 10 minutes. Instead, keep Christmas the Goan way, in honor of the west-coast state which maintains enough of its Portuguese roots to honor the holiday in the majority-Hindu country.

The streets are decorated with lights and elaborate paper stars, pictured. A Goa Christmas typically begins with Missa de Galo, late-night masses that bleed into the early morning hours, after which party-goers eat cashew cakes and a baklava-esque pastry with coconut called bebinca. Since there's no snow, your only worry is how long you'll have to wait after eating to hit the beach, although that's more of an adopted-tourist tradition than long-standing Indian rite.

Note: While the terrorist attacks in Mumbai have dampened tourism all over India, we're standing with Peter Greenberg and defending a visit to the country, on the grounds that common tourist haunts are on high alert. This could also translate into some mean last-minute deals on the ground. Still, travel at your own risk.

Related Stories:
· Super World Travelers Go to Goa [Jaunted]
· So, Just How Safe Is India? [Jaunted]
· Christmas in Goa [Travelblog.org]
· A Lovely Christmas in Goa [Seattle Times]

[Photo: pjhaveri]