Possible further airport hell averted! The latest reports out of Bangkok have it that Suvarnabhumi could be reopen as early as December 5, though other estimates say rebooting BKK could take at least another week or longer.

Don't order your last celebratory bowl of Pad Thai just yet, though: With as many as a few hundred thousand other people clamoring to get out of the country, flights are bound to be the definition of overbooked for days if not weeks. What's the best exit strategy, then? For now, it's the Vietnam-era U-Tapao airfield, a 90-mile drive south of Bangkok, which is currently operating some international flights.

Among the carriers making connections to international airports that won't be total nightmares for the rest of 2008 are AirAsia, Cathay Pacific, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines. AirAsia in particular has lots of flights, including departures to Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Shenzhen and Singapore.

Related Stories:
· AirAsia "Rescue Flights" [Official Site]
· Bangkok Protests: What to Do if You're in Thailand [Telegraph]
· Bangkok International Airport Still Protest Central [Jaunted]

[Photo: AirAsia]]]> pbb 2008-12-02T15:05:23-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/2/142050/432

New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress managed to shoot himself in the right leg with a .40-caliber Glock pistol early Saturday morning in what's now exploding into a case about much more than a bumbling football hero packing heat.

The self-inflicted shooting happened at Latin Quarter, a club inside the Radisson Lexington Hotel in Midtown. Hilariously--for anyone not recently shot anyway--the hotel's website says of the club:

Shake a leg, enjoy Chefs Ralph Mercado, Marty Arret and Alex Garcia's "LatAsian" creations at our nightclub, the Latin Quarter.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who's made gun control a major issue of his administration, is pushing hard to get Plax thrown in "the slammer" for violating New York's strict gun laws, which mandate a minimum of 3.5 years for illegal handgun possession. Burress' lawyer says the wideout plans to plead not guilty to both weapons charges he's facing. No matter how a trial may play out, after the incident on 48th Street, Plax will always be remembered as the guy who went to a club at least 34 blocks north of anywhere decent.

Related Stories:
· Latin Quarter [Official Site]
· Burress Reports to Giants for Medical Treatment [NYT]
· Where Is... coverage [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-12-02T14:20:50-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/2/104840/026

Blair Waldorf would never approve! "Gossip Girl" guy Chace Crawford had some friends over to his parents' house in Dallas for Thanksgiving--notably costars Jessica Szohr (with whom his character is currently romantic linked on the show) and Ed Westwick, who were all spotted at Dallas-Fort Worth International on their way back to Manhattan. (Westwick is from Hertfordshire, England; Szohr hails from Menominee Falls, Wisconsin.) No Taylor Momsen? What a shame.

For one of them, though, the trip might have held some more significance: Ed and Jessica caught a later flight and were spotted "canoodling" out of "Gossip Girl" territory--though not out of range of their rabid fans. They even flew back together in coach! So what horrible name better suits this unholy pairing: Chunessa? JessEd? Brookhattan?

Related Stories:
· Gossip Girl Stars Making Some Real Life Gossip [Perez]
· Airport Gossip [Page Six]
· "Gossip Girl" coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: People.com]]]> egw 2008-12-02T13:30:24-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/2/83813/9277

The now-official recession has led us to spend the past month pointing out our favorite cheapskate eateries, but it has now come to our attention that the economic crisis may be killing the actual concept of the restaurant altogether.

Financial Times columnist (and failed restaurant owner) Nicholas Landry explains:]]> BS 2008-12-02T13:06:33-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/2/8579/11610

We normally don't get too excited about food travel shows. Seriously, how many times can you watch Anthony Bourdain eat a sheep testicle or some other bizarre find you're never going to actually taste?

But we're intrigued to check out the Travel Channel's new series Man v. Food, in which host Adam Richman travels across America investigating our most nationalistic culinary tradition: Eating as much as is humanly possible.

Richman visits the kind of places that offer you a 72-ounce steak for free, if you can finish it without vomiting. Items on deck for the show, which starts Wednesday, include the Ohio Deli's "biggest Dagwood sandwich in the country"--a 2.5-pound behemoth of ham, turkey and roast beef; the 30-inch pizza at Big Pie Pizza in Atlanta; and "the hottest curry in the world" at New York's Brick Lane.

After the jump, video of Adam taking on Big Texas Steak Ranch's 72-ounce sirloin. ]]> BS 2008-12-02T12:57:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/2/7281/13760

Although winter is in full swing across much of the country, theme parks located in the more chilly locations still have a lot to offer for the holidays. Hersheypark has reopened its doors to visitors to help you celebrate the season. ]]> kjb 2008-12-02T10:30:23-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/12/2/72336/3428

Except in a few forward-thinking cities, advertising eyesores are as much a part of the urban fabric as cabs and skyscrapers. But we'd be happy to tolerate the newest marketing in Chicago, where today's high is forecast to be 34: Stove Top Stuffing will be blasting hot air into 10 bus shelters until the end of the month.

Kraft, the company that makes Stove Top, has hired the advertising agency that controls bus stops in the city to add heat-channeling metal plates to the roofs of shelters in downtown Chicago, though we're still trying to figure out exactly where all the hot spots are. (At least a couple are along Michigan Avenue and along State Street.)

The idea behind the so-called experiential ads is that you'll feel warm and fuzzy when waiting for your bus, just like you do when you're gobbling down holiday fixin's. Kraft also plans to hand out sample size cups of stuffing this month to drive home the connection. Whatever: We're just trying to warm up, thanks!

Related Stories:
· Hot Food, and Air, at Bus Stops [NYT]
· Three Is a Trend: Billboard-Free Cities [Jaunted]

[Photo: arekd]]]> pbb 2008-12-02T10:05:23-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/