12/31/2007 at 1:30 PM
Tags: 2007 Jaunted Travel Awards, Jaunted Field Trips, Central America Travel, Guatemala Field Trip (all tags)
If there was ever a Jaunted Field Trip that made us want to close the laptop and report immediately to the airport, it was Claire Duffett's Romp through Guatemala and Belize. Hell, with views like the one above, how could you not wanna skip down to Central America right now?
Claire worked her way through drug-happy San Pedro La Laguna before trekking to Semuc Champey to get in touch with nature. Though her Rough Guide occasionally steered her wrong, it also got things right. And there's no question that while most of us freeze our way into the new year, her snorkeling trip sounds just divine.
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12/31/2007 at 12:45 PM
Tags: 2007 Jaunted Travel Awards, Embedded Travel Guides, Japan Travel, Osaka Travel Guide (all tags)
Our embedded travel guides have filed reports from around the world this year, from London to Buenos Aires. But our favorite was AJ McGuire's Osaka Travel Guide for its mix of great info, booze-soaked stories and absolute weirdness.
Whether he was drinking up the nightlife scene, shopping for life-size Predator statues or eating every dumpling in sight, AJ brought us the best of Japan's Second City. And when all the stress of seeing the sights got to be too much, he even had some useful tips on how to mellow out in the countryside. Think you know your town as well as AJ knows Osaka? Get in touch, and maybe you'll be taking the prize for Best Embedded Report next year.
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by Jaunted
12/31/2007 at 12:00 PM
Tags: 2007 Jaunted Travel Awards, Airports, Airport Photo Shoots, Ashley Tisdale (all tags)
It had to be Ashley Tisdale at LAX. While Paris' luggage made us laugh, it took a photo shoot with this High School Musical star to put us in touch with our inner tween.
Ashley wasn't the only Disney girl snapped in an airport this year. Vanessa Hudgens showed up at LAX this month, toting a teddy bear and tons of luggage. Christina Aguilera and Cameron Diaz both went further afield, dropping in at Seoul's Incheon Airport this summer. But for nailing that "airport comfortable" look--and reminding us that some people are too young to have seen Planes, Trains and Automobiles--Tisdale takes this year's top honors.
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12/31/2007 at 11:00 AM
Tags: 2007 Jaunted Travel Awards, Television Travel, TV Travel, Gossip Girl, Best Show Ever (all tags)
We love tracking the Amazing Race, and this year brought us not one but two seasons. But the mashup that took the interwebs by storm in '07 was our Gossip Girl Map.
All credit due to Cecily von Ziegesar, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage for turning New York City into the character of the show. With Dan, Serena, Blair, Nate and the rest of the team running all around town, we never ran low on places to map. Here's hoping the TV writers' strike doesn't kill the show before we get the chance to plot a few more of Chuck Bass' favorite spots.
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12/31/2007 at 10:30 AM
Tags: 2007 Jaunted Travel Awards, Airport Hell, Airline Hell (all tags)
This year, it was all about Getting Trapped on the Tarmac. JetBlue started the trend way back in February with the Hostage Crisis at JFK. (We got lucky and spent our delay at JFK at the airport bar.) Those who weren't so lucky got together and started a movement--and a blog, natch.
As the summer of delays wore on, more and more passengers got trapped by airlines, including the rabble-rousers on Continental Flight 1669. (We can't imagine spending 14 hours on the ground, like some poor souls on a Royal Air Maroc flight.) The worst of the tarmac horror stories involved backed up toilets and other nastiness we'd rather not think about this early in the morning.
All that said, get ready for an interesting 2008. New York State's new passenger bill of rights goes into effect tomorrow--and is sure to spark some litigation. Fun!
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by Jaunted
12/31/2007 at 10:00 AM
Tags: 2007 Jaunted Travel Awards, TSA, Kip Hawley, Security, Airport Security (all tags)
As much as we hate to do it, this award goes out to Kip Hawley for the second year in a row. Had he unintentionally sent another email criticizing his customers, maybe Ben Baldanza would grab the prize. But for overseeing the TSA through 2007, Hawley takes it again.
Doesn't the agency have an incredibly difficult job? Sure it does. But the TSA can keep planes safe without meaningless (and randomly enforced) liquid bans, behavioral profiling (that doesn't work) and data mining. If Hawley wants to avoid the hat trick in '08, he could start by implementing smart, effective security that's proactive not reactive.
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12/28/2007 at 3:00 PM
Tags: 2007 Jaunted Travel Awards (all tags)
This was a tricky category this year, but after some debate, we finally came up with the top spot of 2007: It's the United States of America.
Seriously! We can't walk down the streets of New York for the crowds of Europeans who are shopping up a storm in the city on the backs of their strong currencies. And with prices so high on the Continent, Americans can skip it for all the stuff to see on their home turf.
Need some help with ideas? This year we've discovered music venues from San Francisco to Seattle, explored New Orleans, tracked down some great raw bars and scoured Upstate New York. If none of that suits, you can always just set out on an epic road trip.
[Photo: jurek d.]
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