Travel Guide

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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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Awesome Blog Alert: 'I Am Packed'

February 9, 2012 at 3:30 PM | by | Comment (1)

What'd you pack? It's not a question you ask your friends and family when it comes time to zip up the bags and head on out on a trip; it's a question asked by a curious traveling public, of every traveler ever. Yeah, we want to see inside your suitcase or duffel, and though it's true that most of the time it's to compare packing prowess, it's also because the world enjoys stuff.

Without further ado, let us introduce the Air New Zealand-backed photoblog I Am Packed, which has one purpose: to feature the well laid-out contents of a traveler's bag, plus minimal information about the person (name, age, hometown, destination). It's beautifully simple, oddly inspirational and—best of all—'they take submissions.

Their archives only go back as far as August 2011, so you won't while away the entire day scrolling down the site. We had a similar series that started in September 2011, but ended with the year (here's a post from it). This way, the magic of peeking into other people's bags continues.

[Photo: screenshot]

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Where to Smoke, Drink and WiFi When Flying Out of Nassau

Where: Nassau, Bahamas
February 9, 2012 at 1:45 PM | by | Comments (0)

Work on the new international arrivals hall at Nassau's Lynden Pindling International Airport is still underway—but the departures areas are looking pretty nice and, as far as we could tell when flying out on Monday, functioning faster than they did in the past.

One improvement you may be interested in if you like a cigar or a stiff drink before waving goodbye to the Bahamas is the Graycliff Divan Airport Lounge.

This spinoff of the Graycliff hotel, restaurant and cigar company opened its double lounge—one smoking, one non-smoking—last spring opposte Gate C41 in the US departures terminal.

You may not realize it's an airport lounge at first because it looks like a tschotske-filled boutique—and in fact it is. To register for access to your lounge of choice, you must enter through the gift shop.

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Angry Birds in an Airplane! Kinda Sorta.

February 9, 2012 at 11:40 AM | by | Comments (0)

We're not going to lie, but Angry Birds might still be our favorite game to play on a plane. It can be played when in airplane mode (ahem, Alec Baldwin) and is the only game that makes us occasionally laugh aloud, all while flinging birds towards mean little pigs. Well, the creators of the game have already announced opening up theme parks designed around the game, but there's more (of course).

If you're huge fan and you've already got Angry Birds flip flops, hoodies, keychains and all those little tchotchkes, our recommendation for your next layover in Helskini is to stop pulling the slingshot and hit the new shop for your favorite characters. The Finnish masterminds behind the game have opened up a little plane-shaped Angry Birds kiosk-shop in the middle of Helsinki International Airport.

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How To Get Tickets To The Sasquatch! Festival in Washington

February 9, 2012 at 10:35 AM | by | Comments (0)

This week the Sasquatch! Festival announced their 2012 lineup featuring some old favorites, like Jack White and Beck, as well as newer groups like Bon Iver.

The tenth incarnation of the fest, which will be held on Memorial Day Weekend (May 25-28) at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, will also bring the laughs with comedy acts like Tenacious D, the Portlandia duo of Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, and comedians Nick Kroll, Todd Barry, and Rob Delaney.

Four-day passes for Sasquatch! start at $315 (which includes standard camping) and go on sale Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Also, for the first time this year, festival goers will be able to come and go with a wristband allowing re-entry to the festival grounds.

For more information about the fest line-up or buying tickets, visit sasquatchfestival.com.

[Photo: SceneInTheDark]

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Sugar High, Up High: Five Exceptional Airport Candy Shops

February 9, 2012 at 9:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

If you’re flying next week, beware the red and pink cheap chocolates of the Hudson News airport outlets. While sending something in advance of Valentine’s Day is probably the best idea, you can always grab something nice for him or her on your way home from the airport, and no we're not talking about flowers from an arrivals hall vending machine. Here’s five airport candy shops that should satisfy any sweetie’s sweet tooth:

Sugar Pop - Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

Even if you don’t need something for the upcoming Hallmark holiday, it’s worth it to stop in at Sugar Pop within the mall section of Terminal 1-Lindbergh. The place is loaded with different colors and sugary options, and they even have some teddy bears and other cuddly critters to go along with all those calories. This isn’t exactly the place for gourmet confections, but if you’re looking for oversized lollipops or personalized treats, it'll more than do.

Candy Empire – Singapore-Changi Airport

Sitting within the basement level of Terminal 3 is the spot you need to visit for chocolates, cookies, and everything in between. They promise stuff from Australia, Europe, and the United States, so if you can’t find something that fits your needs, you don’t know what you need. A few pieces of foreign candy from Candy Empire should hopefully smooth over any sort of trouble caused by not being home on Valentine's Day.

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Add Cathay Pacific to the Mobile Boarding Pass Club

February 9, 2012 at 9:00 AM | by | Comments (0)

Mobile boarding passes are finally pretty much becoming the norm here in the US, but we do realize that there are still plenty of carriers where it isn’t yet an option. Step by step, other airlines are coming over to the tech-friendly side, and this week it’s Cathay Pacific upgrading their offerings with mobile boarding passes.

Cathay Pacific is starting off small, so you won’t be able to utilize any mobile boarding passes leaving from the United States just yet. The paper-free process is now available in Auckland, NZ—as well in Hong Kong. Passengers who do their check-ins online will have the chance to receive their boarding information right on their mobile devices, and then it just takes a swipe and scan to hop aboard both select Dragonair and Cathay Pacific flights.

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It's That Time of the Year for the Barneys Warehouse Sale

February 9, 2012 at 8:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

So there's less than a week until Valentine's Day, you say? We say who cares, since the Barneys Warehouse Sale arrives first, and if you'd just as soon express your love to a pair of shoes as your loved one, then it's time to mobilize.

The Barneys Warehouse Sale hits LA starting on February 11, finally taking NYC on February 16. It's the real deal, elbowing-among-the-racks event, with designer clothing, shoes and some accessories at least 60% off. Most is, however, gloriously 75% off or more.

Believe it or not, many foreigners actually fly in for the NY sale; it's legendary. This is why Barneys sale workers hand out garbage bags to hold your potential purchases, because this is the sale where everyone stocks up on labels for the year. Some examples for women: tons of Lanvin, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Christopher Kane, Jil Sander and the odd Rodarte here and there. For men, it's a range of your wildest dreams, including Dior Homme, Prada (Prada for everyone), Alexander McQueen, Woolrich, John Varvatos and Paul Smith. The pertinent details:

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What Not to Do in The Forbidden City: The Top Five Tourist Mistakes

Where: Beijing, China
February 8, 2012 at 5:43 PM | by | Comments (0)

One of the top tourist sites to visit in Beijing is the Forbidden City, the former Imperial Palace.

We told you the other month how powerful it was arriving at Tiananmen Square—which sits across from the Forbidden City—but today we're telling you what NOT TO DO when you actually step inside the imperial walls. As always, these are just our tips so by all means, please add your own!

So without further ado, here is the Jaunted guide of What Not To Do In The Forbidden City: The Top 5 Tourist Mistakes.

5. Don't pay for your tickets with a credit card
Both locals and tourists mostly pay cash in the city, and the admission booths only had one window that accepted credit cards. Since we don't read or speak Mandarin or any other Asian language, there was a bit of back and forth with the cashiers about which one had the credit card machine. Save yourself the trouble and bring 40 RMB ($6.35) with you, per person.

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The Newest Foursquare City Badges: Baltimore, Richmond, Des Moines, Oklahoma City and Stamford

February 8, 2012 at 2:56 PM | by | Comments (0)

So, while Foursquare was churning out all those shiny new international city badges, they were also thinking about good ol' America, and the fact that there are plenty of towns with awesome venues that would benefit from the exposure and tourism that comes with a special badge. A contest pitted individual Foursquare user-created lists against each other, and the winners were named today.

These winners, and therefore the next cities to have their own Foursquare badges, are: Baltimore, MD; Richmond, VA; Des Moines, IA; Oklahoma City, OK; and Stamford, CT.

Some pretty random choices in there, but they must pack a punch considering other cities in the running were Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Portland and Nashville. Personally we're all about a Detroit badge, but it seems we'll be waiting a little longer.

Now, How to get the city badges:

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Madonna Will Kick Off Her 2012-2013 World Tour in Israel with Some 30,000 Tickets

Where: Israel
February 8, 2012 at 2:53 PM | by | Comments (0)

The last time Madonna performed in Israel was in 2009, when she held two concerts as part of her record-shattering Sticky & Sweet tour. This time the newly-rechristianed Queen of Pop is not just holding any old concert in Israel, but using the event to kick off her entire 2012 world tour.

The Israelis are, needless to say, pretty excited. They're not as excited as Perez Hilton—who brought out lots and lots of exclamation points for the announcement—but they are still pretty excited.

The world tour will kick off on May 29th in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan and stretch all the way into 2013. After Israel Madonna will travel to a couple other Middle East venues before departing for Europe, where she'll do 26 additional spots over the course of two months. From there it's off to North America to do yet another set of 26 venues, then to Latin America, then to Australia. Before everything is said and done she will have played 90 concerts.

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