Stories about Travel from December, 2006
Haiti: Competition for AA on Miami-Port-au-Prince
Jojo of Collectif Haiti de Provence is happy (Fr) that Spirit Airlines is offering a Miami-Port-au-Prince flight in addition to American Airlines’ but cautions: “Spirit Airlines is welcome so long as it doesn't align itself to the detriment of the public with American Airlines’ practices. $370 for a 2 hour...
The Balkans: Main 2006 Stories
Ed of Balkan Baby lists the most important regional stories of 2006: “Slovenia moves towards Eurozone,” “Croatia and Serbia Disappoint at World Cup,” “Croatia Stop-Start its way towards EU,” etc.
Hungary: Van Gogh Exhibition
Pestcentric advises against visiting a Van Gogh exhibition in Budapest.
Estonia: A New Republic Piece
Itching for Eestimaa reviews a travel piece on Estonia in the latest New Republic.
Serbia, USA: What Serbs Think About America
In his blog post called “America is shaking”, Neven Andjelic shares his opinion on the United States (SRP): This big country is shaking. A number of events have caused the current condition. None of them has anything to do with my arrival to Berkley four months ago when I first...
Russia: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Economic Boom
White Sun of the Desert writes about the economic boom in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Indonesia: Monitor Lizard in Resort Pool
Emma Good Egg describes her encounter with a monitor lizard in a resort swimming pool in Bali.
Russia: Moscow Half a Century Ago
LJ user fool_4_lifetime found a rare photo album in a Moscow dump – Im Flug nach Moskau, by Erich Einhorn, ARTIA, 1959 – and scanned and posted 60 spreads of Moscow photos from it in the moya_moskva (My Moscow) LJ community. (Warning: bandwidth intensive!) Here is one of the photos:...
Russia: New Year's Celebration
White Sun of the Desert writes about New Year celebrations in Russia.
Belize: What do Christmas vacationers want?
Lee Vanderwalker in Caye Caulker, Belize, wonders: “Why do you think people vacation at Christmas time. Do you think they expect a traditional American Christmas? Do you think that if we play Marvin Gaye they will forget about Christmas?“
Ukraine: The New Year's
Carpetblogger posts pictures and writes about the New Year's in Kyiv.
Russia: “No Bears, Only Beauties” in St. Pete
Russian Marketing Blog writes about a St. Petersburg promotion campaign: “It would cost the City Council about 1 million Euros to place 300 billboards in London, Amsterdam and Paris till the middle of December.”
Russia: A Blogger's Short Stories
Copydude is posting short stories – one, two, three, four – he wrote while in Tatarstan: “They come under the category of ‘True Lies’ – or what writers prefer to call ’semi-documentary’. I wrote them about real people – but sourced largely from local gossip.”
This Week's Saudi Blog Roundup
The Human Rights Watch visit to Saudi Arabia is still making headlines, 80 rats were found on a Saudi Airlines plane, a Bible was denied entry into Saudi, the Quran is now recognized as the second-most wanted Christmas gift in Denmark, and Sheikh Dot is back. Now, for the roundup…...
Estonia: Estonica
A Step At A Time links to Estonica, “a web encyclopedia about Estonia, in English and Estonian.”
The Balkans: Reading List
South East Europe Online compiles a list of English-language books on the Balkans.
Estonia, Latvia: EU for Non-Citizens
Itching for Eestimaa reports that the Council of the European Union now permits non-citizen residents of Latvia and Estonia to travel in the EU without visas: “Hopefully those newcomers that couldn't make it in Estonia can press their luck elsewhere.”
Laos: Touristy Vang Vieng
Popagandhi leaves Laos in a hurry after discovering how touristy Laotian city of Vang Vieng has become. Laos was one of the last South East Asian country to be opened to tourists. “Everybody sold the same mediocre and expensive food tailored for the Western palate. Everybody played the same music....
Malaysia: Cheating Penang Cab Drivers
Blueheeler has a post on the cheating taxi drivers in Malaysian city of Penang. “I still enjoyed Penang, but when it was time to get a taxi, it pissed me off slightly, knowing that all the bloody drivers are out to make more money from me than they should. Today,...
Malaysia: Maglev link between Singapore and Malaysia
Rajan Rishyakaran analayses the various forms of rapid transport links being considered between Malaysian city of Johor Bahru and Singapore and feels that planners should make better use of the existing infrastructure rather than coming up with exotic ideas like maglev trains.
Trinidad & Tobago: World Cup Cricket Visa Requirements
“Aussie cricket fans are furious about new visa entry requirements to go to World Cup matches in Antigua, Jamaica and Barbados. It's the first time they have ever needed such visas, and they go at a whopping $128 a piece.” The Caribbean Beat blog wonders about the wisdom of the...