Tagged With "Caste system"
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A summer trip to Valencia, Spain
Last Summer, in 2014, I went on an internship program in Valencia, Spain. My internship took place in a nice hotel near the center of the town and lasted 3 months. While I was there I could visit and enjoy many touristic points while also...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, April 25, 2015: Форт-Росс (Fort Ross)
It had been raining off and on as I drove down California Highway 1 along the Mendocino and Sonoma County coast, when I arrived at the closed gate to Fort Ross State Historic park, a real blow. I hadn’t visited this beautiful and...
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Holy Space Rays, Batman! Boeing patents "force field"
Boeing has taken a leaf from science fiction and turned it into a patent for a force field that could protect airplanes (and other objects) from damaging explosions. The title of the patent is "method and system for shockwave attenuation via...
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Road Trip, Day 4: Fort Mason, San Francisco
March 12, 2015 I drove south through Sonoma and Marin Counties, past the houseboats on the bay at Sausalito, across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, and arrived earlier than the hostel’s official 3:00 check-in...
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Look What's Coming To Airports in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates soon will deploy biometric e-gates at all entry points The system will use eye scans, facial recognition, fingerprinting, and be able to detect forged Passports. Read More on Tnooz:...
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A striking moment for travel in France
Not the best day for travelers in France, as air traffic controllers continue to strike, grounding hundreds of flights. Long-haul international flights continue, but domestic cancellations and shorter international flights are affected. The...
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Florida warned: take action against future flooding
17th c. Castillo de San Marcos, guarding America's oldest city, may be endangered by rising waters. With all the jokes about earthquakes in California creating ocean-front lots in Nevada, it's easy to forget that things are changing in numbers...
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AA, USAir: Next step, combining reservations
USAir, AA planes at Washington on the morning of their 2013 merger. That was the easy part... Now that American/USAir is past the legal hurdles, tidied up labor contracts, and merged the loyalty programs, they're ready for the big one: merging...
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"Poo-Powered" buses debut in Bristol, Oslo
Yes, the headline's real...buses powered by human waste are on the road, one in Bristol, and more than 100 in Oslo. They're diesel buses, powered by methane, the same as the natural gas-powered buses elsewhere...except that the methane in this case is...
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Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park (The Place of Refuge), Big Island of Hawaii (Where Gumbo was #113)
Perhaps the best place on the Big Island to enjoy a sunset (from many great possibilities), Pu’uhonua o Honaunau (the Place of Refuge) is a remarkable destination. This is a National Historic site which should be...
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American completes "re-banking" its hubs
American Airlines has completed a series of schedule changes at its Miami, Chicago and Dallas hubs to create shorter layovers, and so far it appears to be working. That's the report from a respected airline blog, Cranky Flier . A few...
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Spirit grows its route system
Spirit, the penny-pinching fee-hiking airline everyone loves to say they hate, must be doing something right, because they're able to launch nine new non-stop routes from Atlanta and 3 from Los Angeles in the next few months. The routes will be...
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NY to DC in 40 minutes by train? Maybe!
A US rail promoter is trying to get funds and approval to build a maglev (magnetic levitation) train line between NYC and DC. TNEM, the company, has already applied for permits to build on an old right-of-way between DC and Baltimore. Magnetic...
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Airline scheduling: Hurry up and wait, or run like crazy?
Have you ever stopped to wonder, while planning a trip, how your airline’s schedule was planned? Especially when it seems you’re about to be condemned to a headlong half-marathon across the airport to a flight that leaves all-too-soon, or...
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Can 'smart' seats make crowding bearable?
That's sort of the idea behind some new design initiatives for airline seating. Panasonic, and some others, are betting that by designing all the elements of a seat together (seat, inflight entertainment screen, power outlets and more) the elements...
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Kudos to Virgin Australia!!
In a dramatic switch from the shrinking benefits one generally experiences if sitting in the back of an aircraft in the 21st century, Virgin Australia is doing tangible things to actually make this a more enjoyable place to travel. Coming to...
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Wearable technology finding a niche for air crews
More and more technology is coming in wearable form: watches from Apple and Samsung, Google Glass, and more to come. And airlines and other aviation companies are starting to see a place for it onboard. Instead of using a wired phone to contact...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, April 23, 2015: The 1903 Wright Flyer, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
I heard a joke once that said "Y'know the Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.? They actually have stuff in there!" Case-in-point, the 1903 Wright Flyer. Many reproductions of the Wright Flyer have been made, but this is...
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Another "not a good day" for travel
After days of stress on the U.S. air transporation system due to weather, a new wave of flight cancellations is hitting Monday travelers for February 23rd. By noon Sunday, nearly a thousand Monday flights had been cancelled, with more expected by...
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Fort Barrancas Has it All: Cannons, Gun Turrets,Tunnels and Great Views
Fort Barrancas is located within the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. You have to show your drivers license, or other ID, to enter the base. It sits on the barranca ,or bluff, overlooking the entrance to Pensacola Bay. This National Historic Landmark...
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Another "ultra low-fare" carrier ups its game
Frontier Airlines, which has been transforming itself into an ultra low-fare carrier like Allegiant and Spirit, is also expanding its route system, and seems to be targeting Delta by opening new routes from Atlanta to cities Delta serves from...
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Underground Puerto Rico: The Camuy River Caverns
If Old San Juan and the El Yunque rain forest and the beaches have been drawing visitors for hundreds of years, that's certainly not true for this hidden attraction: a vast, and still-not-fully-explored system of caves, carved out by the world's...
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Another storm alert: Check with your carrier no matter where!
Thousands of flights, mostly to and from Northeast destinations have been cancelled because of the Sunday, Feb. 15 storm that will heavily affect already-affected airports including Boston, the 3 NYC airports and more. But that's not the end of...
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Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour of Seattle
Seattle's Pioneer Square is only the icing on the cake of Seattle's early history, preserved below. Samantha takes us along on a tour.
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Spain's 'killer lake' to be disarmed
Carbon dioxide trapped in water at an abandoned mine site has the potential to erupt and replace oxygen, killing hundreds. Help is on the way.
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Oct. 13, 2017: Grand Cascade, Alnwick Garden, Northumberland
Ian Cook takes us on a behind the scenes look at what makes this beautiful fountain work.
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Strasbourg: Self-service tour of Alsatian food
PHeymont tries something new: A self-service gourmet food tour, organized by the Strasbourg Office de Tourisme.
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October 12, 2017: Disneyland Monorail System, California
Ottoman has a look at the pioneering transportation system of Disneyland.
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Stockholm gets hybrid electric bikes
Stockholm will upgrade its bike rental system with new electric-option equipment and many more bikes.
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September 14, 2017: Cars Land, Disney California Adventure Park
Inspired by the Disney·Pixar franchise "Cars", Disney brings Radiator Springs to life in "Cars Land" at Disney California Adventure Park.
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Say 'Cheese' and board your flight? Maybe
JetBlue concludes a successful test of facial recognition for boarding, and Delta tries it out at baggage drop.
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Boeing, Airbus tout their good news
Perpetual rivals Boeing and Airbus both have good news for their shareholders and fans.
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TSA signs off on 'no unpacking' scanners
Good news for air travelers: TSA has signed off on new scanners, tested recently, that could speed up scanning and end the 3-1-1 liquid system.
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No more TGV: France says 'Oui' to new name
France rebrands its TGV trains as 'inOui' as the country edges closer to rail competition and more discount flights.
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A Rambler in Portland, Oregon
A few days in Portland, spending more time wandering the streets than the big sights, but finding plenty to see.
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New airport kiosks know where they're needed
Star Wars, meet the airport. Sita Labs intelligent kiosks can not only check you in and take your bags—they know where to go to greet you.
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Eastern Europe Rail Odyssey: Istanbul to Sofia
Wilbur's exotic train journeys continue, today with stops in Istanbul, Thessaloniki, Meteora (Kalambaka), Skopje, Niš, ending in Sofia. If you love train travel stories, you'll love this post.
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July 23, 2017: Salt Lake, Salt Mines & Salt Caravans, Ethiopia
Grand Escapes shares a most remarkable landscape, unlike any other today. We visit the salt lake and mines in The Danikil Depression.
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Arctic Terns at Long Nanny
A special bird preserve, Long Nanny is the breeding ground of several ground nesting species including the lovely arctic tern whose photos are highlighted in this post. Arctic terns have among the longest migratory route of any bird.
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June 13, 2017: Ornate Interior and Yorkshire Stone
All Saints Church in Northallerton, England is a treasure hidden in plain sight, and revealed by the camera of Paul Hunter.
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House panel votes big changes for FAA
The House Transportation Committee is working on the FAA appropriation bill, and is proposing a slew of new rules to go with it.
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Barcelona free WiFi now on city buses
Barcelona's free public WiFi network now covers its entire city bus system, but for real speed you'll still need to go indoors
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End of the line for Amtrak long-distance routes?
Nearly all long-distance passenger trains would be discontinued under the administration's budget proposal.
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Certosa e Museo di San Martino, Naples
A hilltop monastery dating to the 14th century is a stunning museum of history and especially of the art of the baroque era.
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There's a long, long trail a-winding, at the airport
As airports get bigger and bigger, the distance within gets longer and longer...now you know the numbers!
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May 13, 2017: How narrow can it get?
Is tourism really reaching the vanishing point? This picture from Passau, Germany makes it look that way!
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Japan's luxury train: a cruise ship on rails
A new 10-car train takes 34 passengers on a luxury cruise to some of Japan's beauty spots in incredible luxury.
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Journey through Karnataka: Bijapur and Gulbarga
Professor Abe's journey continues into Northern Karnatka, from Badami to Bijapur and then on to Gulbarga. There are a large number of Muslims in the region.
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Oslo plans big-scale driverless-bus test
Oslo is moving toward a large-scale live test of small driverless buses, starting early next year.