Trail of Tears [The Howl of Nature]
Posted by in Mountain Madness, Survival, The Howl of Nature
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You know when you’re just riding along on your bike, thinking about dinner and that time you once bunny hopped a really big branch, and then a 450-lb red hartebeest just totally takes you out at about 50mph? No? It’s unlikely, but in case you haven’t already seen this incredible bike race highlight, here it is, for your twisted, sadistic pleasure. Via AdventureJournal.
9 Days in Iraq [Happy Hellidays]
Posted by in Books + Media, Hotel Hell, Human Sacrifice, Nothing to Declare, Off The Map, Road Warriors, The Unfriendly Skies
Tagged Paula Froelich
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Writer Paula Froelich describes her recent 9-day vacation in Iraq including “159 checkpoints in one day,” wearing a synthetic fiber burka, hitting known-terrorist hangouts, and basically kicking it in “The Red Zone” for her upcoming story in Playboy, which you now have a legitimate reason to buy.
ONLY Weeks Left to Enter ‘World’s Unluckiest Traveler 2: The Rescue’ Contest
Posted by in Books + Media, Close Calls
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From High Seas Heroics to Airport Assistance and more, Travel Guard® North America Wants Your Random Acts of Kindness
Stevens Point, Wisc. – (August 4, 2011) With only weeks left to enter the World’s Unluckiest Traveler 2: The Rescue contest, Travel Guard North America (www.travelguard.com), a leader in travel insurance and assistance services, is urging the public to recognize the unsung heroes of travel by sharing tales of random acts of kindness. Whether a concierge went above and beyond, an airline employee provided special assistance or a fellow traveler helped save a trip, Travel Guard wants to hear about it. With a $10,000 Hero’s Vacation and airfare for two at stake, stories of random acts of kindness witnessed while traveling have been streaming in throughout the summer.
Submissions to date include “Baboon Rescue in Kenya,” the story of an American visitor who saved the lives, and lunches, of his tour group thanks to some quick thinking. The group was exploring African wildlife areas when they stopped for a lunch break and unwittingly encountered a troop of baboons. Spotting some cookies the group had packed for lunch, the baboons raced toward them, pouncing on the cookies and nearly landing on a small child. The brave member of the group took charge, distracting the baboons, causing them to retreat while his fellow tour members escaped to safety.
“Attack of the Gallbladder” is the story of a couple who met their driver, Martin, in Germany after disembarking from a European river cruise. The trio made a pit stop in a small town on their way to Prague, when the wife began suffering a gallbladder attack. Martin drove the couple to the local hospital, served as a translator and waited for hours while the doctors ran a series of tests. Afterward, he helped them pick up prescriptions and took them to their hotel in Prague, only to make another trip to a different hospital at 7 a.m. the next morning. The wife was admitted and treated until she could return home for surgery with Martin there every step of the way!
The entry “Trip to Visit Mom” tells of a mother traveling alone with her two young children to visit their grandmother in Florida. Her hands were full with the kids and their belongings during a layover at a busy airport, when a pilot saved the day by offering his help and carrying the one-year-old to the gate.
“From unlikely rescues to medical emergencies, I am encouraged by the random acts of kindness that shine through the hectic nature of travel,” said Carol Mueller, vice president, Travel Guard North America. “Whether it’s one traveler helping another or a travel industry employee who saved the day, we believe the travel tales of kindness we continue to receive will inspire individuals to take a minute and help someone in need.”
Entries will be accepted on www.travelguard.com through Labor Day, September 5. On September 27, World Tourism Day, Travel Guard will announce the 10 best stories, as chosen by a panel of travel experts including:
Throughout the month of October, the public will vote for the ultimate act of kindness from 10 finalists. The winning hero, as voted by North America, will be awarded a $10,000 Hero’s Vacation. The person who nominated the winning story will win airfare for two anywhere in the U.S.
Travel Guard’s “World’s Unluckiest Traveler” app, available for Android and iPhone, makes it easy to stay up-to-date with the contest while on the run. The public is also encouraged to spread the love by sharing their favorite stories of travel good deeds via Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. For more information on the contest and a full set of rules and regulations, visit www.travelguard.com.
About Travel Guard
Travel Guard, a Chartis company and worldwide leader in travel insurance and assistance, provides products and services to millions of travelers around the globe, including a wide range of emergency services through its wholly-owned assistance centers located in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Travel Guard helps leisure and business travelers alike solve problems and manage risks. Travel Guard’s global reach, unparalleled service quality and proven operational capabilities allow clients to receive best-in-class care. Travel Guard’s suite of technology platforms enables seamless integration with all major travel distribution systems and supplier channels. The travel insurance products marketed by Travel Guard are underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries and affiliates of Chartis Inc. For additional information, please visit our websites at www.travelguard.com and www.travelguardworldwide.com.
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND OR SALES PRESENTATION IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS CONTEST AND SWEEPSTAKES. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. The Travel Guard “Random Act of Kindness” Promotion starts May 30, 2011 at 9:00:00 AM EST and ends October 31, 2011 at 11:59:59 PM EST. Open to legal residents of the United States (excluding U.S. Territories), age 21 and over, and residents of Canada (excluding Quebec) over the age of majority in their province/territory, at the time of entry. The Promotion consists of a Video/Photo Contest (“Contest”) component and a Voter Sweepstakes (“Sweepstakes”) Component. To Enter the Contest: Beginning May 30, 2011 at 9:00:00 AM EST and ending September 5, 2011 at 11:59:59 PM EST go to www.TravelGuard.com and submit either a video or a photo along with an accompanying story describing your submission (between 10 and 200 words), about a random act of kindness by someone who has helped you or someone else when away from home, along with your full name, email address, phone number, country and state/province/territory of residence and a username and password, and the full name, email address, phone number, country and state/province/territory of residence of the Nominee. Contest Entries must be submitted by September 5, 2011 at 11:59:59 PM EST. Limit one Unique Contest Entry per person/household per day. To Enter the Sweepstakes: Beginning October 1, 2011 at 9:00 AM EST and ending October 31, 2011 at 11:59:59 PM EST, go to www.TravelGuard.com, and vote for one of the eligible Contest Entries, enter your full name, email address, phone number, country and state/province/territory of residence and a username and password. You will receive one (1) entry into the Sweepstakes (“Entry”) for your Vote if you voted for the eventual Contest Grand Prize Winner. Limit one (1) Vote/Entry per person/email address per day. Odds of winning the Sweepstakes Prize depends on the number of Votes received for the Contest Grand Prize Winner during the Voting Period. Sponsor: Travel Guard Group, Inc., 3300 Business Park Drive, Stevens Point, Wisconsin 54482. Void in Puerto Rico and all other U.S. territories, Quebec and where prohibited by law. Subject to full official rules, available at www.TravelGuard.com/Unlucky.
Travel Guard’s sponsorship of the World’s Unluckiest Traveler Contest is not intended to represent in any respect that Travel Guard’s insurance plans cover any of the events depicted in any single entry. For full and complete insurance coverage details, please contact Travel Guard directly.
Something about that country was making me want to go under the knife.
Here, a yarn by Wayward Betty writer Kate Clark, via Hairpin and Gawker.com, which picked it up. The moral? Go big, then go home.
One of the reasons plastic surgery is cheaper in Thailand is that the entire process is streamlined. Same-day consultations and surgery make the process more efficient, so instead of making an appointment, you basically sit in a line and wait until the doctor can see you.
The waiting room is packed and feels like that afterlife scene from Beetlejuice: we’re all kind of messed up, looking around wondering what happened to whom and what needs fixing. With some of the patients it’s clear: a child with a harelip, a burn victim, and a row of lady-boys waiting for sex change operations. Then there are the rest of us: Europeans, Australians, and Americans who are either seeking nose jobs, facelifts, liposuction, or implants (me).
The hospital is colorful and bright, and — this is my favorite part — the nurses are on roller skates, wearing tight suits like flight attendants in the ’60s, gliding by with documents, medication, syringes. There’s also techno music playing in the background as if the whole experience should say, “Plastic surgery is fun! Let’s do it again!” Similarly, throughout the hospital advertisements encourage you to “Be happy. Be beautiful” and include a running list of procedures you can undergo to make this happen… Continue reading
Trial by Volcano [Lonely Island] |
The Brooding Woman. Paul Gaugin, 1891.
What does it feel like, that first night abroad and alone? Here, in a taut, vivid meditation on the nature of recomposing the self in a new, thrillingly different—and more than a little dangerous—environment, frequent contributor Kate Erickson explains the sensation with a searching, poetic eye. —Christian
I lied when I told Liz, a math teacher on the Portuguese Azores, that I could drive her manual transmission Toyota. Liz needed someone to feed her two dogs and two cats while she visited her family in the States. By the transportation email, we had already covered accommodations; her hundred-year old farmhouse sat in the brambles of a retired, tiered vineyard. Geography: the Azores are halfway between New York and Lisbon, a volcanic archipelago softened by purple hydrangeas. And timeframe: a month, July, the most glorious of the Azores year. I was just out of college, and I was emailing from my parents’ basement in Kentucky.
On June thirtieth my connecting flight from Newark hit a luggage rack, and Air Portugal dismissed all passengers to a crusty Ramada Inn. For one, two, then three days, I was stranded poolside with a dozen woebegone Portuguese grandmothers. They sunbathed and cried; I walked laps in stale jeans and a t-shirt, because Air Portugal had sent my checked bag on without me.
When I finally arrived to Terceira, Liz had been gone for forty-eight hours. Her wild-haired friend, also a teacher at the Air Force base high school, collected and debriefed me. House keys are in the car, unlocked; car keys in a bowl on the kitchen counter. Front door is triple-locked, deadbolt sticks, because Liz only just started using it again.
“These break-ins! Only in the off-base homes, of course, but elaborate as heists. It’s sleeping gas through an open window, then robbery as loud as they please.” She picked at mud on her dashboard. “I recommend locking the windows and shutters, both. Stuffy beats no DVD player.” The friend careened us around a blind turn and slammed to a stop for the cattle jogging downhill, into an open field. “Be careful of this,” she said, wagging a finger at the cows. “They stampede willy-nilly. My God!” She slammed her palm into the steering wheel. “I almost forgot. The cat died. Not your fault, of course.”
“What?” I said. Continue reading
Texas Twister [The Unfriendly Skies]
Posted by in The Unfriendly Skies
Tagged Diane Redcay, Texas, TravelGuard, World's Unluckiest Traveler Contest
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Come fly away with me, my love!
We married on Valentine’s day left the next day for Texas. Our first fight out was delayed for de-icing we made it to our second stop but the plane we were to get on had a problem with the door: it wouldn’t open. We had to take another fight only to have missed the fight to Texas. After several hours of waiting we finally got a fight to Texas—but not to the airport we wanted. We were very tired and wanted to get to our hotel, only to find out they lost our luggage. We had no clothing and and lost half a day on our honeymoon. The next day about 1pm we received our luggage. We did, however, make the most of our 24 hours we had left of our honeymoon. —Diane Redcay, Coudersport, Pa. was a top-ten finalist of the 2010 World’s Unluckiest Traveler Contest, from TravelGuard Insurance, beating out some 800 other tales of woe.
Seeing Stars [Drive Like Hell] |
Seatbelts? With this view? Nah...
It happened in Granados, Mexico, in the summer of 1997. I was 13 and visiting relatives on a family vacation. After a feast with family, laughing together, we got into the back of red pick-up truck. Seat belts in a truck bed? Don’t be ridiculous! Bright stars in a clear sky filled night. Suddenly a brilliant light obliterated the stars and then – crash! Hit head on by a drunk driver. I flew straight forward and hit my head on my cousin’s head, fracturing her skull. Then my head was flung backwards and it slammed into the bed of the truck. I woke up hours later in a small clinic dazed and confused. I was sent home, but in unbearable pain from head to toe. So I was taken to Hermosillo, where X-rays showed a C4 vertebral fracture. I had to return home to start eighth grade wearing a neck brace. You would think that my classmates would be comforting – hah! All got was laughter and teasing. The only consolation was that I got an A on my essay about what I did that summer – I survived! —Jessica Lopez of Oxnard, California was a top-ten finalist in the 2010 World’s Unluckiest Traveler Contest, from TravelGuard Insurance, beating out some 800 other tales of woe.
Floating to Paradise on the S.S. Montezuma [Howl of Nature] |
Plenty of room, come on aboard!
After a semester abroad in Costa Rica, I traveled with a friend through Central America. We missed the last ferry from Guatemala to Belize, so we hitched a ride on a large canoe that was filled with at least fourteen people, piled high with cargo, and equipped with an outboard motor. Everything started out well, but far from land the motor cut out. The crewmen tried to start it, but nothing happened. Suddenly, I noticed what looked like a black wall in the distance approaching us quickly. It was a wall of rain!
To top it all off, my friend started to have Montezuma’s Revenge, with no opportunity for relief in sight short of jumping overboard. I started getting really frightened, imagining our overloaded canoe, which now seemed dinky in the vast ocean, getting tossed and sinking in a tropical storm. When the torrential downpour hit us, my friend and I had no protection. We huddled together and prayed that we would survive. We did, but I tell you we both kissed the ground gratefully when we reached Belize. Then my friend ran off to find a much-needed bathroom.—Carmia Feldman, Davis, Calif. was a finalist in the the 2010 World’s Unluckiest Traveler Contest, from TravelGuard Insurance, beating out some 800 other tales of woe.
Damn the Mosquitoes [When Animals Attack]
Posted by in Run or Die, The Howl of Nature, Uncategorized, When Animals Attack
Tagged India, Tim Brookes
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Come here often?
In order to reach India in time to watch the monsoon make landfall, I had to leave so abruptly I didn’t have time for all my shots. The only thing I needed to worry about, my doctor said, were mosquitoes. If I were bitten by a mosquito during daylight, I would get dengue fever, if I were bitten at night it would be by a different mosquito and I’d get malaria, and if I were bitten a rural area with paddy fields I’d get Japanese encephalitis.
A week later I was on a barge in what I was pretty sure qualified as a rural area, just across the canal from some paddy fields. The first mosquitoes arrived just as night began to fall. Wonderful. I was about to attract a complete trifecta of mosquito-born diseases. Continue reading
One Last Chip and Salsa for Papa [Insult, Meet Injury] |
Beware the Salsa of Doom!
Our family traveled for an unlucky reason: a reunion to commemorate the premature death of my father. Right after the funeral, the relatives still needed to be together, so we agreed to meet in Mexico to hug, cry, and wind down. We were traveling with four children under the age of five. In Mexico City, where it topped 100 degrees, the customs line moved slower than they are plugging the Gulf oil leak. We wilted in the heat and used up our energy entertaining the small children in the hours long line. We finally cleared customs just as our connecting flight was boarding. We sprinted all the way to the gate. The agent was in the process of giving away our seats to standby passengers. She would not give us our seats back! The next flight was 8 hours later, so she offered us a meal voucher for the airport restaurant. While we knew not to drink the water, my daughter and I ate the table salsa and paid for it by vomiting all night. Our vacation to honor a dead relative nearly killed us. —Jeff Michel, Deerpoint, Ill.