Travel

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To the Forbidden City and Back (for More)

February 10, 2012 at 6:28 PM | by | Comments (0)

FAME:
Imagine a beautiful garden. Now imagine six of them, in an airport
YESSSSS. Candy shops!
Virgin Atlantic will be bringing the Upper Class sexy back

Also: Now THIS is an outdoor festival full of great people. Washington's Woodstock?
LAME:
5 mistakes tourists make in the Forbidden City
No naan for you on Air India
Pour one out for these seven defunct airlines

Also: Ugggh. Body scans go down under

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Hanging Out at Singapore's Changi Airport: Terminal 3's SilverKris Lounge

Where: Singapore-Changi International, Singapore
February 10, 2012 at 6:08 PM | by | Comments (0)

There's a reason Singapore-Changi International Airport consistently wins awards; it's because the place is ah-may-zing. After spending much time at the three main terminals earlier this week, we're sharing with you our favorite, can't-miss bits of this massive travel hub.

Today: The Singapore Airlines SilverKris lounge in Terminal 3

Champagne at the ready, showers for the sweaty, hot food for light meals and stylish chairs for resting our heels. These are a few of our favorite things...when it comes to airline lounges and, of course, the Terminal 3 Singapore Airlines SilverKris lounge at Changi Airport has it all in spades. In fact, they even have some pretty tasty chicken tikka and if that doesn't prove the quality of the place, then we don't know what does.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: The Hyper Chocolate Bar of Hungary

February 10, 2012 at 4:15 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

From just two days in Budapest the other week, it seems like we could fill six months worth of Foreign Grocery Friday features. Offensive, weird, funny-sounding...who knew snacks and candy could be so odd?

The best of the bunch, though, was the Hyper chocolate bar—or, as the packet has it: "The wafer for big people."

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See the Hopelessly Adorable New Baby Anteater at Florida's Brevard Zoo

February 10, 2012 at 2:45 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida isn't the largest zoo in the country, though it does clock in at a very respectable 50 acres. There are areas containing wildlife from Africa, Australia and Asia, and Florida. Then there's a section with with all kinds of jaguars, monkeys, reptiles, and (especially) vultures. The zoo's Wikipedia entry even features a digital marque promising that you can feed gentle giraffes. Just so there's no confusion, we like feeding gentle giraffes. We'd even be willing to feed non-gentle giraffes, if it came to that.

More importantly for the immediate circumstances, all-things-adorable blog Zooborns reports that the Brevard Zoo has just had its first ever birth of a Giant Anteater. The little guy or girl—it turns out that you can't really tell the gender of baby Giant Anteaters—will spend the next year of his or her life riding on the back of mom Boo. She and father Abner are said to be pleased by how everything is progressing.

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Take a 'Journey 2' Hawaii's Kualoa Ranch

February 10, 2012 at 1:28 PM | by | Comments (0)

This weekend the family friendly 3D sequel to the 2008 hit Journey to the Center of the Earth heads into theaters. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island centers around Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson), who receives a message from his long-lost grandfather Alexander Anderson (Michael Caine) from a fabled Mysterious Island. Sean decides to find the island but has to take along his stepfather, Hank (Dwayne Johnson), their pilot Gabato (Luis Guzmán), and his strong-willed daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens) on this journey of a lifetime.

The movie's plot might not sound too original, but its locations make up for it. Journey 2 was filmed in Oahu, Hawaii, around the Waimea Valley and Kualoa Ranch.

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We Wish All Airports Had This Sign

Where: Beijing, China
February 10, 2012 at 12:31 PM | by | Comments (0)

While racing to finish up work, stuff the last necessary items into our suitcase (we would not be a good candidate for I am Packed right now), print out our boarding passes, double-check our camera equipment, charging cords and TSA-sized toiletries and do other last-minute errands before hopping on a flight, we caught eye of this snapshot from the Beijing International Airport in our photo archives.

Posted just before the trains to the baggage claim, it says: Relax. Train Comes Every Three Minutes.

Isn't that just...nice? We wish all airports had that sign so that us hyper-active, worrywart travelers could at least take a moment off (or three minutes) from stressing.

There's another bonus for the OCD traveler at Beijing's airport, as the lifts and train cars are frequently disinfected. But of course, we understand if you still want to bring your own personal hand sanitizer.

[Photo: juliana]

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10 Outstanding Travel Instagrams: Week of February 6

February 10, 2012 at 10:17 AM | by | Comments (0)

We're kind of obsessed with browsing Instagram for travel inspiration and, every other Friday, we'll bring you 10 of our favorite shots that impart major wanderlust. Don't forget to follow our own shots on Instagram under "jaunted," "hotelchatter" and "vegaschatter."

· Photo via photosbylinda — God, Budapest looks so good in black & white.

· Photo via contax_h — Awesome escalator symmetry at HKG.

· Photo via nytimesfashion — The night before NY Fashion Week...so lovely at Lincoln Center.

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The City's Music Scene Will Be the First Thing to Welcome You to Seattle

February 10, 2012 at 9:50 AM | by | Comments (0)

The airport that serves the greater Seattle area—Seattle–Tacoma International Airport or Sea-Tac—is already a pretty decent airport, but now they’re bringing a taste of the local music scene to those arriving for the first time. The airport is spending some cash on a slice of musical marketing, and they’re hoping that the "Sea-Tac Airport Music Initiative" will have passengers humming long after they've passed through the concourses and terminals.

Passengers can use the airport’s free WiFi to access the airport’s official webplayer, where they can tap into airport-approved tunes, and of course there have been more than a few live concerts right in the middle of the airport. Local artists have been reading the overhead announcements, and there are even music videos streaming on the monitors near the baggage claim area. Sir Mix-A-Lot, Jerry Cantrell, and Macklemore are just some of the artists lending their voices to remind passengers to watch their baggage at all times.

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It's British Airways, Alaska Airlines and Frontier Up and Away with New Routes

February 10, 2012 at 9:21 AM | by | Comments (0)

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Alaska Airlines:
All that Starbucks has them buzzing about the nifty fifty, and that’s why Alaska Airlines is looking to expand towards the East Coast. The carrier is launching a nonstop option to Philadelphia all the way from Seattle beginning on June 11.

The flights will run each and every day of the week, and the planes leave from Seattle and in the morning and depart from Philadelphia in the evening—no red-eyes needed. Alaska Airlines is also connecting to one other new spot, as they’ll also be sending jets back and forth between Seattle and Ft. Lauderdale each and every day of the week. These Florida flights start up on July 16, and if you book before February 13 there’s even some introductory fares where you might just score a deal.

· Air New Zealand:
If you’re looking to head to Bali you might as well stop over and check out New Zealand first, as the airline is launching some new nonstop service between Bali and Auckland a couple times per week. It will just be seasonal service for them between June and October, and the new options will all get done thanks to some of the airline’s Boeing 767-300s. The flight will take about eight hours or so, and that should save you a decent amount of time by not needing a layover. Tickets for the new flights go on sale later this month, so if you’re thinking about adding on a little bit of paradise to your Kiwi adventure now’s the time to do it.

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Like Many Other Things at JFK, the New Hilton Hotel is Delayed

February 9, 2012 at 6:47 PM | by | Comments (0)


Our sis site HotelChatter does a bang-up job of covering the latest news and trends in the hotel world. We're also including a few links from VegasChatter, the newest member to the family. So check in and stay awhile.

HotelChatter:
· Wait a little longer for the new Hilton at JFK Airport
· The newer new tallest hotel in the world
· A champagne bar at the Hilton Maldives? Of course.
· Atlantic City needs another hotel like...like what?

VegasChatter:
· Um, Canadian food in Vegas. Hmm.
· A cheap and easy way to start playing craps
· March Madness! March Madness! March Madness!
· Vegas history: The Stardust

[Photo: wikia]

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Going to The Great Wall of China and Resisting the Urge to Get a Subway Footlong

Where: China
February 9, 2012 at 6:03 PM | by | Comments (0)

There may no longer be a Starbucks at The Forbidden City in China but there is a Subway sandwich shop at The Great Wall. Seriously.

You can find the footlong mecca at the entrance to the impressive 2.5-kilometer stretch of the Great Wall in Mutianyu. From here you can walk in, out and around several of the 22 watchtowers that were built during the early Ming dynasty.

Some of the steps are steep and tiny and, as to be expected, you need to watch where you're going.There are no handrails and very few informational signs. It's just you, the wall and silence (well, when the other tourists aren't chattering that is. We managed to grab a quick little video on our iPhone of the Mutianyu section. Enjoy!

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You Guys, Delta Just Did a Flashmob

February 9, 2012 at 4:14 PM | by | Comment (1)

Oh my god. Well if it wasn't obvious before, it is now: airline/airport flashmobs are the new black.

Latest on the travel flashmob trend is Delta, who just barely released a 5-minute dance, incorporating flight crew and operations peeps from ATL, JFK, DTW and TOC (Technical Operations Center).

It starts off corny, but stay with it. It gets...cornier, but omg do we want to hug everyone involved. See the full video:

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