Great reads #11

A bumper reading roundup this week. Inside, we have some stringent warnings about the risks of becoming a traveling hippie and tales of Paris in the Fifties.

Fantastic travel articles

Brave New Traveler published "Budget Travelers Are Hippie Scum" by F. Daniel Harbecke, which talks about just how much he dislikes hippie travelers. A great quote from the article:

"The downward spiral begins innocently: You meet someone from another country, perhaps talk to them. You accept a bottle from a friendly young lady. You begin to notice aesthetics and music.

You voice opinions and express your personality. Soon you’ll quit your job at the bank, view foreign policy as important and accept anything natural without question.

You are now a hippie."

Gadling posted "Do children on planes bother you?", and my answer has to be a definite 'yes'. Apparently, I'm certainly not alone as a survey showed that "well over 90% of the polled readers said that they would support another cabin for families with children." Screaming kids on long haul flights is the reason I always recommend to pack earplugs in your carry-on bag!

In a more surprising article at Gadling, a company has developed an electric shock bracelet that they think every air passenger should wear, see "Company patents electrical shock device to be used for aviation security" to see how Lampered wants us to be collared and electroshocked when traveling! Pardon the pun, but this is a shockingly stupid idea.

Intelligent Travel has an interview with Stanley Karnow about "Paris in the Fifties" compared to now. From the article:

It’s a beautiful city, and the marvelous thing is that it’s the best walking city in the world. When I was a kid in Paris, I didn’t have any money. If I didn’t take a bus—which I did often, because in those days they had buses with platforms in the bus, so you could be hanging out back, having a cigarette and looking at the city—if you didn’t do that, you’d walk. Up and down, and so forth, so I got to know the city from the ground up. You would learn a lot about French history, because the streets are all named for historical figures—musicians, writers, composers. In Hemingway’s words, it was a moveable feast.

Rambling Traveler posted "Pulpit Rock in Norway", some great photos and history of this amazing natural feature.

Worryingly, Peter Greenberg reports that the 'no-fly list' is inaccurate in "News Analysis: Terror List Found Inaccurate and Outdated". Apparently, "Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine Mr. Fine said that federal agencies created procedures to spot errors, but that it didn’t always remove outdated records from the watch list." What does this mean for travelers? That if you get listed here for some reason, you'll probably end up with this following you for the rest of your life, guilty or not.

Other interesting reads around the web

I really love using my Holga plastic toy camera to take pictures. It's a piece of crap, really, as it's cheap, unreliable, and technically just horrible. It does however take some intriguing and unique photos like this of some oil drums in London's Docklands. The UK's The Independent has a great piece on how the modest Holga is making a comeback in "The cult of Holga: The sixties' camera makes a comeback". Recommended reading for anyone tiring of the artificial look of most digital photography. Long live film!Thank you!

In an article that made me think about wasting food, the BBC's piece "The lost art of leftovers" states that it's "6.7 million tonnes of food we throw away each year" and how our grandparents didn't do this. The skills of using leftover food has vanished with our throwaway culture, and besides costing the average UK household £400 per year (about $800), it's horrible for carbon emissions levels. If you're concerned about your carbon emissions and what you can do, see the eyeflare.com roundup of carbon offsetting organizations.

5 most read on eyeflare.com last week

A lot of outdoor activities this week, with surfing, kayaking, hiking, castle tours, and steel wire death slides getting the clicks. These 5 articles got the most views during the last week:

1. 10 amazing castles in Ireland - Ireland is as famous for castles as it is for Guinness. Dotted everywhere on the Emerald Isle, the castles connect modern day tourists with the dramatic history of Ireland
2. Brazil's Florianopolis is perfect for surf holidays - The island of Florianopolis, in Brazil's Santa Catarina province, is one of the world's best surfing spots. There are a massive 42 beaches on the island and some of the world's best known surfing hot spots like Praia Mole and Praia Galheta
3. Visit Kauai for the outdoors - Only 20 minutes from Honolulu by air, is the tropical paradise of Kauai, Hawaii. It's an outdoor paradise, and its famous for fishing, golfing, and beautiful nature. It's the northern-most island in the Hawaii island chain and the oldest
4. Fantasticable flights get your heart pumping - Adrenaline junkies will love this experience. Fantasticables are joyrides where you're strung to a metal wire and fly between mountaintops in a glorified baby carrier 1,200 feet off the ground!
5. Kayaking is adventure eco-travel for everyone - For the environmentally aware adventure traveler, kayaking is a great option either as a vacation theme or a day's activity. Here's rundown on what kayaking is and what you'll need to get some time on the water

Send me your best travel articles

If you've got any travel articles you'd like to share, and maybe get included in next week's roundup, please email me at jack@eyeflare.com or use the contact form.

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