Tagged With "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
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Re: The Biggest Plane You've Never Seen
Looks rather like a stuffed goose trying to take flight. The kind of aircraft that belongs in an aviation museum, not in the sky.
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Re: Norwegian bank is out of cash, on purpose
I think what we're seeing here is a blindness in planning, which goes beyond questions of technology. You've identified some scenarios where cashless becomes hopeless/helpless. I see the same kind of lack of forethought when I see several huge residential towers being built in downtown Brooklyn...on top of already overcrowded subway stations, and with no forethought to larger sewer or water connections... In the bleakest possible view, we may self-destruct not through a world war, but...
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Re: Heidelberg Castle: Where Gumbo Was (#135)
Nice memories of a fun place to visit. I seem to recall there's an interesting old pharmacy/pharmacist museum in the Castle. Not exactly the kind of thing you find often.
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Re: Flights to Cuba: lots of planes, not so many passengers
Many returning tourists will be telling their American friends that life in a third world country - like Cuba - is worse than just having only one flavour of Ice Cream.
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo? # 8.8
I'm wondering if they're downspouts. Three of the five continue above the roof, maybe vents of some kind. And 1 of the 2 remaining appears not to go all the way to the roof. But not sure this diversion will solve the problem of where the possibly-non-downspouts are located. Onward fans.
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Re: Not-Favorite Fliers: Inattentive Parents, Boozers, Chatty Cathy
Conde Nast was far too kind to narrow things down to only a few categories. There are many other inconsiderate sinners. Incidentally, when I have offered to trade seats with the inattentive parent of a seat kicker, I have always been refused. Apparently, they worry that, if the tables were turned and I were seated behind them, there would be payback. They are right.
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #6
OK. So we know it is Asian, and that it was built by colonizers/invaders from another country. Since the architecture is Asian, I think we can assume the invaders were, too. The problem then is the next term: "link them with a settlement of people from a third country." That seems to imply that the "third country" people are NOT across a border in their own land but are also in the invaded country, but living separately from the invaders. If I'm correct in guessing the bridge at upwards of...
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #6
I'm still sticking with my argument directly above: The bridge does not cross a border. The terms are very specific: It connects to "a settlement of people FROM a third country," not IN a third country.
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #6
Originally Posted by PHeymont: I'm still sticking with my argument directly above: The bridge does not cross a border. The terms are very specific: It connects to "a settlement of people FROM a third country," not IN a third country. I think PHeymont is correct.
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo #6
Originally Posted by PHeymont: " I'm still sticking with my argument directly above: The bridge does not cross a border. The terms are very specific: It connects to "a settlement of people FROM a third country," not IN a third country." Just to move the discussion forward a bit, PHeymont's analysis is correct.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Dec. 21, 2013: Fujian Life
I love the photo too, Club2013! It's the kind of every day scene that tells me more about a place than most anything else. Those arms have seen a lot of hard work in their time.
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Re: It's not snow: silvery cholla cactus, backlit, Christmas Day in Green Valley, AZ
I bet your friend said to use "fish nose" plyers. The same kind you use to get a deeply swallowed hook out of a fish.
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Re: Where in the World is Gumbo? #8.5
WorkerBee... Thanks for the kind comment...I only wish I had been able to keep the secret longer--but you are a true sharp-eye! More Solution discussion HERE .
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Re: Classic American Cars #5
Impressive WorkerBee,F-car & Rodney Kiser.A relative of mine had a 55 Fair lane.If I remember right, the carb had some kind of oil bath?
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Re: Newgrange; Ireland’s ancient Passage Tomb
GarryRF was kind enough to take me to that church It's impressive. People just walk old walls too there like it's no big deal. I guess it's really what you're used to
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct 8, 2013: Cologne, Germany
Thanks for the note, Pheymont. I saw the main BANK OF IRELAND building in Dublin a few days, which is windowless. All the window spaces were filled in with rock (in a tasteful manner). Seems the government decided to levy a window tax. The company responded in kind.
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Re: Staying In Touch on the Road: Part 1
No, Mac, that doesn't cross any sort of policy. We want to help travelers get good honest feedback about products that might be helpful to them on the road (or conversely that aren't worth the money). What's not tolerated is people paid to promote products on our website and providing dishonest information. Ravpower is exactly the kind of unit I'm looking for. Need to go order it soon.
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Re: Staying In Touch on the Road: Part 1
By the way...here's my solution to the other charger issue (plugging in at home). It's a 5-port USB host that has a short cord to plug in (no brick to get in the way at the outlet) and takes 5 standard USB cords for your devices...the kind that come with your device, although more are available cheaply. The five outputs include 2 2100mA for iPad, 2 1000mA for most phones, and 1 1300mA for Samsung. All can be used for any device up to the designated output (that is, you can plug your phone...
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Re: Staying In Touch on the Road: Part 1
PowerStick only charges from a USB port. The PowerStick has a capacity of 750mAh Perfect ! That is all that I need for my modest travel needs - just a little juice for a camera or my old flip (!) phone, if needed during a day of sightseeing. The PowerStick is only about the size of a pen, takes no thought to use and does not involve batteries. My kind of tool. Travelers who carry a lot more toys have greater needs than little me.
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Re: Traveling for Local Food
To be honest, Varsity ain't what it was when I was in college...there's better places around. Some good stuff on Marietta St. near the convention center, and lots of good places in Decatur area (we're near there). That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for to make up our road trip.
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Everyone's been very helpful! I can't tell you what a great welcoming and helpful group of people you are. My uncle is an employee of Delta, so he has some kind of free ticket that requires me to fly on Delta only (no partners). I will have him check into the dates. I like the idea of flying up to Manchester, slowly working my way to London then returning from Paris. I think going to Amsterdam is more than I can bite off now, plus I want to spend the time seeing stuff, not traveling all the...
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Re: The Valley Island of Maui: 2) Haleakala National Park
US Immigration is a bit of a hassle, although most Canadians receive about a smooth a ride as possible. In most Canadian airports, you can actually clear immigration within Canada, rather than the USA (infinitely preferable because the lines are so much shorter). Not sure if that's true of Montreal, though. Thank you for your kind words about the Hawaii blogs. Hawaii is a special place. I've always gone and explored it by myself, so in this setting I tend to drift to isolated places that are...
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Re: The Tulou of Fujian Province
HistoryDigger, I'll explain. At the end of the first day of tulou visits, the large tour bus rendezvoused with a small van and it was indicated that I should bring my things and come with a young man. Since no one could explain, I had to simply trust and go along, an interesting sensation. I later realized that I was the only one who had opted for the second day. The young man drove me to a very basic village of mostly new buildings built, I suspect but of course don't know, for...
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Re: Capital of Culture Series: Liverpool
No, not thinking of mills and chimneys, necessarily--note my very pre-Industrial Revolution examples--but certainly industrial, and by the nature of sizable cities with people living in close quarters and with the side-products of their industry, an argument can be made for dirty. It's not a slam...it's just the condition of cities that are alive. Here's a quotation, by the way, from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health: The industrial revolution in England had by the beginning...
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Re: Airbus Survey: 41% Willing to Pay for More Space
Good for Airbus! It seems the airline industry may have reached a tipping point where people will pay a little more for a little comfort. I hope that's the case and that they listen and provide options. I always look for a good airfare, but I also look at what kind of comfort that airfare buys me and am willing to pay a little more for a little more. 8-12 hours on a plane is not great fun, although I can divert my attention usually. But it's made infinitely more pleasant by a few extra...
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Re: "Spotted on the Road". Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Car #2... I don't know what kind of Dodges you guys have up north there, but that's a Chevy Camaro in the picture. Hey, somebody tell him what year?
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Re: Doctor List for Traveling
Mac says, a good travel insurance policy is an absolute requirement - The part he left off was "for me", for him. Insurance, any kind, is playing the odds. When you buy it you're betting you'll have a disaster. When you don't you're figuring the likelihood of a dire event is low. If you take an occasional trip of short duration and can afford insurance, sure, why not. When the number & length of trips begins to mount and the budget becomes more of an issue then maybe not. It's called...
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Re: Tour in a BMW Isetta?
Definitely only two. What's over the third wheel is the engine, a two-stroke single-cylinder motorcycle engine. While looking for a picture to show you, I discovered that the BMW version was only one of quite a few licensed for production all over Europe by its Italian developer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta
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Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP
John's point about the ratio between the two tiers is interesting (we looked at that a little in a forum post this week on value of miles). My guess--and it's just that--is that the same kind of yield-management used to set prices has taken a look at this and is carefully balancing loyalty vs. burn... I can't really compare East vs West availability personally; my school schedules have defined when I can travel well enough that I'm able to start hunting tickets 330 days out, when the...
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Re: When Debit and Credit Cards aren't your best traveling choices
When you go to Sri Lanka, take cash along as well. The larger establishments will definitely take credit cards, but smaller business and restaurants won't. And ATM cards have been slow to find their way into the country, especially in remote locations. The currency there is more stable, but still you won't get the kind of spread we did in Argentina. Best to exchange it at a bank, or ask your hotel people how many US $$ things are.
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#313)
If you can identify the object in the photo, you will have a good idea of what kind of building we are in here. It is a key site in the town.
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Re: Birmingham's Greatest Buildings
I enjoyed Birmingham's architecture a lot, it has changed and it is still changing in a pleasant way. Unfortunately many British people are stuck to the old image of other UK cities, the same can be said for other cities such as Manchester or Leeds. They are totally underestimated because people think they still are those kind of purely industrial minor cities devoted to production but it's not like this anymore. A weekend or day trip is enough to make you change your mind
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Re: Italian town bans barking
If this ban will be enforced, it is effectively a ban on having dogs in that town, because by their nature, dogs will bark. Some do it more than others, but they all will bark sometime. You can try to control and discipline them, but that will have limited success. People love their dogs. I know that's true of me and it's true of many others. Doesn't sound like the kind of place I'd want to live in.
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Re: South Dakota State Capital, Pierre – The Land of Infinite Variety
The third and forth would be Honolulu and Juneu
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Re: 10 Most Popular Tourist Attractions in Udaipur
Thanks a lot for the kind words.... Regards
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#238)
Fresh clues for Friday...by now you should know what kind of place we're in, and something of its times...but which one is it? Keep watching!
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#268)
Some more clues from our destination of interest that I think tell you a lot about the kind of place we're visiting.
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Re: Frommers Color Complete Guides: A New Debut
PortMoresby and Vivie- Thanks for the kind words. I am really excited that these books are out and really good. Garry, I haven't read Frommers England yet .I read the new France and Spain Guides and I liked them so I'm hopeful about England. Frommers is incuding different price ranges now and from what I've seen ,it's a lot more budget choices too
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Re: Eiffel Tower Premiers Ultra Modern Glass Floor to Public
I'm kind of excited to see it ! Paris seems to handle tourism so well and change while holding on to something unique.
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Re: Granville Island Market, Vancouver. 2) Seafood and the rest
Thank you for your kind words, Garry! Besides the good food and their freshness, I love markets for all their colors and smells, and for the hustle and bustle of the crowd. It's the stuff good travels are made of!
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#67)
Looks like a park of some kind. That bridge on the cliff looks more decorative than functional.
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Re: Gumbo’s Pic of the Day, November 14, 2014: Postcards from Morocco - Ait Ben Haddou
Good to know, Mac, and I hope you'll be kind enough to share some of those carpet-making, couscous-cooking photos with us sometime!
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Re: Memphis, Tennessee 2) The King's chariots
What a great collection, beautiful images that you have captured through your camera and like to share with us. I loved to see the different models of cars and you gave me a place where I can see a wide variety of cars. I will go there with my brother after his visit hoover dam with friends because he is also like such kind of things.
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo (#59)
It kind of reminds me a train station....Maybe one of the Paris stations.
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1970's and 1980's
Hi again GarryRF Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed this collection of photos. You are correct that these cars are definitely kept warm and secure in garages all over Thunder Bay during the harsh winter months, which makes it all the more special to see them out and about in the summertime. Just another reason why I love summers in the Great White North, eh.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 8, 2014: Onion Soup, Pied de Cochon
It was delicious. It's what I go there for, while my wife eats platters of shellfish. The broth is rich and sweet with caramelized onion, the cheese is excellent...and yes, it's not just spoonfood! And, as you suggest, soup of that kind IS a meal, not an appetizer! I had a salad with it, but no main.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov. 18, 2014: Just How Popular is the Eiffel Tower?
Hope you were able to keep your wallet in that throng. Exactly the kind of place Paris' expert pick-pockets like to frequent. And yes, it's amazing popular, even well into the evening.
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Re: Where in the World is TravelGumbo? #56
Some of the headgear on those guys looks kind of "western." Could this be somewhere in western U.S.?
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Re: Salt River Tubing -- Mesa, Arizona
Sounds like my kind of river cruise. It's fun in cooler climates, too: my experiences have been on the upper reaches of the Delaware, but the feeling of just "being there" must be similar!