Did you Declare your Porn?

What?! As an American living in Australia I have flown in an out of Australian almost more times than I can count. That means filling out countless declaration forms and going through immigration. I must really NOT be reading the forms because apparently it asks you to declare any pornography you may or may not be bringing into the country. Don't tell Customs, but I was once told unless you are carrying an excessive amount of raw food, it's best to just tick NO to everything.

So that is what I do. But I can also honestly say I've never brought home any pornography on any of my trips. This article was very interesting, and quite enlightening. Evidently the Australian Sex Party has stood up for the rights of its members and petitioned to have the claim forms amended to read 'illegal pornography' instead of simply pornography. This act was meant to save innocent couples from revealing their romantic holiday photos.

Yet, even with the amendment, there are no provision stated as to what constitutes illegal porn versus allowed porn. Hmm...a very interesting article for the travel section I have to say, and I am a bit surprised to see it in the travel section. I don't even really know if this should count as news to be honest. Maybe it should just be press release on the Sex Parties website, not a top article in the Sydney Morning Herald Travel section. What a joke.

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/porn-laws-confuse-travellers-20101018-16qn6.html

Google Triumphs Again

As a marketer, Google has stuck me with a double edged sword. In order to reach my consumer I have to jump through 100 flaming hoops in my website creation and content management. And just when I think I've got it figured out, Google changes the rules to push me back in search rankings.

But as a consumer I love Google. It helps me find everything I need quickly and easily. At least I think so- maybe the best companies struggle like me to figure the SEO game out, and only the slimy ones get through the search results.

I guess it's a risk we all have to take. But that aside- Google is set to come out with something truly fantastic, a Travel aggregator! According to this article I found on the Sydney Morning Herald, Google is in the process of developing a new search function with a soon to be acquired travel software company to help consumers troll the mess of travel websites for the very best deals.

As it stands currently, even though there are countless flight search sites, I still find I must check at least 5 to 10 websites to find the very best deal. And even then, the prices are changing so frequently I must check them all again everyday. I consider myself an expert in finding the best travel deals, with all the jet-setting I do, and have felt the lack of a suitable product in the market for finding deals.

This article is not only extremely exciting for travel enthusiasts and the thrifty traveller, but anyone really who finds online booking a bit of a challenge. This new development is a consumers dream, and a commercial nightmare. It will force travel agents, travel companies, and airlines to be more transparent with their pricing, and I am hoping it will push prices down in order to foster more competition.

As far as the article itself goes, I enjoyed it as it is suited for the travel section, it's well written, and well researched. It provides good insights from the right sources, but my only critique is I'm really not sure where the end paragraph about Expedia fits into the overall article. It's a bit off topic if you ask me. It would be great if they were able to provide additional links, or potentially a time frame to look forward to. I guess we will just have to keep checking back!


http://www.smh.com.au/travel/traveller-tips/google-travel-search-revolution-a-giant-leap-20101007-169cv.html

Airline seats even smaller?!

They're charging us for check on luggage, charging us for carry on luggage, charging us for exit row seats. Airlines all over the world post global financial crisis have been doing everything they can to stay afloat. Just when we thought the limited space between rows in the cattle section couldn't get any worse an aviation company in Italy has pushed the boundaries even further.

In an article on smh.com.au, they reveal the world's smallest airline seat, resembling the seats from a 15 second roller-coaster ride. It seems at a recent Airline Expo in California many airlines revealed future plans of radical ways to cut costs and pack more passengers on every flight. One such strategy European budget airlines Ryanair uncovered was the idea of creating a series of 'standing' rows in the back of the plane. 
I find it really hard to believe the lengths airlines are going to make our journeys that much more PAINFUL. The flights aren't getting any cheaper, if anything they are becoming more expensive and more uncomfortable. They should really be investigating ways to save money that don't involve negative repercussions on the consumer.

Airlines like V Australia and Richard Branson's suite of airlines have it right. They offer great service, reasonable food, reasonable seating, and great prices. If they can figure it out why can't these other airlines?! This is a great travel article because it's letting the consumer know what we are in for before it happens and we become more involved in the behind the scenes workings of the travel industry. Unless the cost of the ticket was 50% less than it is now there is no way I would be caught sitting on the roller-coaster seat!




http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/saddle-up-worlds-smallest-airline-seat-unveiled-20100914-15ad6.html

Tired of Hotels? Try a Homestay!

Ever thought of visiting India? Interested in getting a truly unique cultural experience? It seems there are more and more local options to get a new travel experience. According to this article Homestays, namely in India, are becoming more and more popular as a lodging option.

This article in The Guardian.co.uk stuck out to me. I've only ever heard of Homestays through Study abroad programs or student travel sites. At first glance it's a pretty straightforward and informative article, but a bit stiff for me. The author gives us a very simple intro into the growing popularity of Homestays, but with no evidence of this 'trend.' They then launch into a list of possible Homestays options in India with some background on the property, location, area, and what's included.

Nelpura homestay, Alappuzha, Kerala" width="460" height="276">
What I think would be great would be an accompanying article that gives a few peoples personal experiences on one of these homestays and possibly some ratings. As the article sits now, it seems to be a marketing push by a Homestay agency that represents the different properties. If you look closely you can notice that under each 'Homestay' option is a link to a lot of the same websites. My keen (some may say skeptical) sales and marketing eye makes me think the site may have paid some sort of advertising fee to be featured in this article. But on further inspection it seems possibly the author was given an 'assignment' to find out some Homestay options and he/she simply googled the topic and this is what they found. The author doesn't really have any heart or any real investigative information about these places. So on that front it's a rather weak article because they author hasn't done any reporting.

While I like the premise of the article, picking a new and different way to stay while traveling, the article was not executed well. The author could have added so many other dimensions to the story and provided more useful and practical information for potential travellers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/sep/07/india-homestays-top-10

Think you know London? Think again!

I've been to London a handful of times, but every time it's been in transit between European romps, and only for a very short time. I've stayed in a couple different suburbs, but never had enough time to really explore. Sadly, I think this is a picture of London the large proportion of masses get as it's seen as a hub to the prettier, and better weathered countries of Europe. However, it seems there truly are some gems 'off the beaten path' as close as East London.


This is the kind of travel article I have been craving and I'm so happy that I found it. It combines all the things I think a great travel article should have: A new discovery, sensory experiences, setting a scene the reader can become immersed in, and an objective surveying of what the location has to offer. I was instantly drawn in by the authors tone and style, she made me want to hop on a plane to London and bicycle to East London tomorrow.

One of my favourite descriptions in the article was "On a recent visit, I was browsing the shelves of house-made jams with the cookbook author Anissa Helou, who sometimes holds cooking classes in her nearby loft, and after we stepped outside, a perfectly silent electric car whipped around the corner. The driver and Ms. Helou knew each other, and as they said their hellos under a bank of trees four stories tall, I felt that I was looking into the future, to a time when cities are gentle and everybody is friendly."

Her descriptions of the artsy and eclectic neighbourhoods of easygoing cafe culture was a stark juxtaposition of the mad streets of Central London. Perhaps the fact that most of the areas in East London are not properly served by the underground service helps the area keep its quaintness. No matter the cause, it's refreshing to discover through the authors article that there are hidden gems in London, and even sources of culinary prowess outside of some overly greasy fish and chips in a dingy pub.

Not only did it draw me in with her colourful anecdotes, but also it gave a widespread appraisal of several nearby areas and hot spots to hit depending on your personal interests. In addition to that, the article concludes with an easy to understand list of places to visit if you decide to go. I've listed these suggestions below. More articles like this please!!

IF YOU GO

Boundary (2-4 Boundary Street; 44-20-7729-1051; theboundary.co.uk). Doubles from £200, or $302 at $1.52 to the pound.

Broadway Market (broadwaymarket.co.uk). Open Saturdays.

Caravan (3 Redchurch Street; 44-20-7033-3532; caravanstyle.com).

Columbia Road Flower Market (columbiaroad.info). Open Sundays.

Fin and Flounder (71 Broadway Market; 44-783-801-8395; www.finandflounder.com).

Hostem (41-43 Redchurch Street; 44-20-7739 9733; hostem.co.uk).

Leila’s Shop (17 Calvert Avenue; 44-20-7729-9789).

Rochelle Canteen (Rochelle School, Arnold Circus; 44-20-7729-5677; arnoldandhenderson.com).

Shoreditch House (Ebor Street; 44-20-7739-5040; shoreditchhouse.com) Double rooms from £75.

Towpath (Regent’s Canal by Whitmore Bridge).

Violet (47 Wilton Way; violetcakes.com).

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/travel/05nextstop.html?ref=travel

Uncovering Travel Secrets

I recently found this article on the SMH website and was drawn to it. Typically when reading travel articles on mainstream websites we only get the hot spots. You know the places I'm talking about- New York, London, India, Thailand...the list goes one. Essentially it's the places we've already heard about 100 times...and they authors are scraping for new things to say about them.

But this place, Da Nang, Vietnam, is somewhere I've never heard of. Vietnam has been on my hit list of places to visit for a while, but I've never looked too closer into my options of places to go outside of Hanoi. Sure, if you've been you may have come across it. But as the article leads us to believe it's never been a tourist destination, but a hidden gem that tourist happen to stumble upon on the way from one hot spot to the next. Yet it seems people are now starting to notice what travel surprises it has to offer from culinary to cultural respite.

One of my favourite excerpts from the article is "Da Nang was like the middle child between two over-achieving siblings, who was largely left to do its own thing."


I enjoyed this article not only because it's offering something different and new, but also because it's written in such a way that the reader is able to find themselves at the table with the author. We get to enjoy the powerful flavours of the clam dish, and feel our guts full of tasty treats while staring out at the beautiful sea. A large number of travellers only like to stick to the beaten track.

However, for those of us who like to step off the trail and discover something new, this article is great for that. It's not a cut and dry travel sales article where a tour company is suggested- it's an experiential viewpoint. My few gripes are that if you read the bottom of the article you find out the author was a guest of a specific accommodation & specific travel company. I would rather see authors who have made their own way and formed an objective view of several places to give their own suggestion.

I would have liked several accommodation suggestions, and maybe some pros and cons about the place instead of all pros. But overall I enjoyed the style of writing as well as offering up a new destination.

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/look-whos-coming-out-of-the-shell-20100902-14qc5.html

Paris: City of Romance or Raunch?

As part of a 'Paris' special series of articles, including a photo tour, tips on getting there, how to get around when you are there and cheap trip options, I chose the 'Paris for Beginners' article.
Having travelled to Paris a few times in my backpacking career, I could have used a bit of real world advice that may have saved me some pain and suffering. I headed to Paris after high school, full of romantic dreams ready to use my French and eat baguettes. When I arrived I realized the French were stereotyped rude because they actually were rude. Horribly rude. No one would listen to my 'French' or help me at all when I was completely lost and could not find my hostel, walking over 10kms with a 25kg backpack...that it just a small snapshot.



In this article, the author gives a rather brief overview of how to get around and some pros and a few cons. It's a pretty fluffy article if you ask me and I'm not convinced it really gives any concrete tips for first time visitors to Paris. I think the fact that the audience is American the author really should have highlighted the 'right' when to act when you arrive- say you are Canadian! The French HATE Americans among others.

Paris is a beautiful city, I would not discount that. There are so many great things to do, but I think it's important for travellers to be realistic on their first visit. If you have stacks of money to spend and can afford luxury then Paris will be a breeze for you. But for the rest of us we need to know where to go where people might be helpful, what French to know, and how to pretend to have a French accent!

One thing I definitely agreed with the author on was the fact that one might be able to overlook hitting up the Louvre. Unless you are an art fanatic it's best to avoid a huge headache. I personally didn't go in- it was overpriced (i was a starving backpacker) and the lines were insane. Everyone I spoke to said they could have not gone in-you couldn't even see the Mona Lisa because in real life it was tiny, had a massive protective cover over it, and the crowd around it was about 10 deep in every direction.

So this article in my opinion could have offered much better 'first time' insight.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-paris-20100822,0,3185666.story

Another Top 10- Travel Trends

Found on the Time's website in their travel section, this article caught my eye. It's another top 10 type article but slightly different. It lists the Top 10 trends in travel, each as separate 'mini' articles, which you can choose to only read one, or click through the whole lot. Some of them are interesting and new, such as the opener which is the trend towards cruising solo, and the increase in Cruiser lines to cater to the single traveller. But others such as Electronic boarding passes, and hotels that are nonrefundable or changeable. Typically it's standard to have a no refund/no change policy on very low price deals. The airlines have been doing it for years, and so have hotels, I suppose it's just not as publicized.

Also, each 'mini' article page, has it's own image. But I have to say the images are pretty weak, and do no add much to the article. I also found this technique or forcing the reader to click through each time they wanted to read the next tip was really tedious. As most know the online audience is an extremely fickle and impatient one. If someone has to click too many times to get to the information they are looking for, they will simple move on. This article is an example of that. Had the Top Ten been something I could scroll down through, I would be more apt to read it in its entirety. But as it's not user friendly in the slightest, were I not commenting on behalf of an assignment I would have simply moved on to read something else.

I think sometimes online journalists get caught up trying to follow the 'formula' and lose sight of what the online reader is looking for and his/hers reading behaviours.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1986719_1986718,00.html

Top Ten's- are they affective?

This article, found in the UK's Guardian website, is a classic example of a Top Ten. Nicola Iseard has written a series of articles similar to this, and regularly contributes to the Travel section of the newspapers website.

Although not particularly captivating, she has taking the season of year and put together a list of good places to visit from London that still have warm temperatures. Being situated on the airline hub to dozens of beautiful, tropical, and generally warm places in Europe it does not seem much of a feat to find 10 great places to go. The real challenge here is to find 10 NEW places that most people would never think of going. The hidden gems. Because that's why most people travel, well I know at least from my own experience. We want to go somewhere new, we want to discover something really special for ourselves that maybe no one else we know has.

Nicola has compiled a pretty straightforward list, providing temperatures, a brief blurb about the location, a suggestion of where to stay, and a plug for an airline who flies there. Both the accommodation and airlines have easy to access links, so should you want to book this trip the online media allows you to do so instantly. I think this is one of the great things about online journalism and travel.

I felt the article lacked any depth or new personal insight into any of the locations. Although there were a few new locations  people wouldn't think of, it seemed just a reiteration of the usual suspects plucked straight from an already published travel book. As far as travel writing goes, the more affective ones have some new advice, new finds, or some personal revelations. This article, although structured well was just a bit too dry for my liking to be in the travel section.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/aug/17/autumn-sun-short-haul-breaks

Travel article with commercial twist

I found this article in the travel and destination section of the SMH. Masked as news slanted article about a new trend of young Aussies making return holidays to London, but in a more mature fashion. The article is interesting enough, detailing the method in which young Aussies who once made the shoe string trip to London to experience life on the smallest amount of money are returning on holiday leave with more money and therefore enjoying more luxuries.

Yet from the second paragraph of the article I began noticing a "Student Flights" cropping up every other paragraph. Student Flights is introduced as somewhat of an expert who is providing new insight into a current travel trend in Australia, however as the article goes on it seems they are the only resource contacted. Not only are they the source of this 'new' information, they are also the expert on what to do, and just so happen to offer special flights deals at the conclusion of the article. 

It seems it's more of an excuse of an article to plug Student Flights- and I'm probably right when I suppose that Student Flights bought an advertising package where they got an ad as well as a small editorial coverage disguised as news. Overall not impressed with this practice as it gives journalism a bad name. We shouldn't have to read articles with a sifter in order to decifer whether it is real news, or just a commercial plug.

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/get-back-postbackpacking-aussies-return-to-london-20100805-11k4j.html

Frugal Existence

Found on New York Times online, this travel blog follows a journalist who is living the 'frugal' life on a trip around the world. I'm particularly interested in travel articles like this because I've been there and done that when it comes to traveling on pennies. I think there is definitely a huge gap in the market for educating young and old about the ability for anyone to travel the world no matter your budget.

This blog, currently filled with Seth Kugel's day to day exploits on a mission to make his way back from South America on less than $500. I found it interesting not only because I am personally interested in it, but also because it does a great job of bringing in colourful experiences from his journey. He paints a picture with his words of the characters he encounters, and the epic locations he is able to discover. His entries are a healthy mixture of interesting stories as well as providing new and interesting money savings options. 

In this particular entry, he uncovers new accommodation options like homestays. I think this is also a great discovery because as far as newsworthiness, most people already know about hostel's. But since the premier of 'The Hostel' movie, some people may be turned off from staying at the low cost hotel. Yet, homestays, according to Kugel can be a really telling experience that is not only inexpensive, but a great cultural experience. So far I think Kugel's blog offers an example of good travel journalism that using online media can reach a large number of people looking for just this information.

http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/a-homestay-among-the-tzutujil/

And it Begins

As part of my quest to become some sort of Journalist I've created this blog to critique one Travel article a week for 12 weeks. With the aim of not only discovering new and interesting travel tid bits, I hope to discover what works and what doesn't when it comes to captivating a reader. I shall shame those whose prose is trivial, and celebrate those who invite readers with their tantilizaing travel stories. Here goes nothing.