Gettin’ Eaten By A Croc

No, no…not him – that was a stingray remember?

I read this today and almost spit my coffee out laughing.

Florida sheriff’s deputies jumped into a dark lake and pulled a naked man from the jaws of an alligator early Wednesday, authorities said.

Four deputies waded through waist-deep mud, wrestled the man free and pulled him about 40 yards back to shore to a waiting ambulance, Judd said.

“He was totally naked,” Judd said of the victim, identified as 45-year-old Adrian Apgar.

“He admitted that he’d been smoking crack cocaine. But still, it’s a human life,” Judd said at a news conference. “Our deputies don’t ask questions, they respond and they save people.”

lol

Where are the Travel Deals of the Week?

Well, I was thinking about it and every week I pick the cheapest prices and the places I think you guys might find most interesting. Starting next week I’ll have deals to and from countries all over the world, inside and outside of the US, and lead you to some travel agents I know that have given me really good deals in the past.

FYI on the travel agents, it’s not a money thing, I never advertise or post anything for personal gain, I just want to help nurture that travel seed we all have…

So, all of this being said, where do you guys want to hear about? Perhaps I focus on England too much, or flights out of New York… or Fiji (which is a very bad place to go at the moment).

It doesn’t have to necessarily have to be somewhere you will go, but I’ll just keep them in mind and post some prices when they come my way. Although, if you are going somewhere – you can always let me know and I’ll put the word out too see if there is a good deal out there for you ? Cause that’s what hommies do you know

If You Drink Wine for a Happy Heart

Keep in mind the part of the world the (red) wine is from. All kinds of wine get you drunk my friend, but might as well do some good for your heart at the same time.

Those seeking a longevity-boosting tipple should turn their attention to red wines from Sardinia and south-west France, a study concludes.UK researchers discovered chemicals called procyanidins were responsible for red wine’s well-documented heart-protecting effect.

And they found traditionally made wines from these areas had more procyanidins than wines in other parts of the world.

The researchers believe the way that wines are made is the key.

In traditional wine making, said Professor Corder, grapes have a three to four week fermentation period, allowing for full extraction of the chemical from the skin and the seed.

How Long Will You Wait At the Airport for Your Next Flight?

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the US has created a security checkpoint wait time calculator that takes information from each airport and creates a nifty list that will give you a pretty good estimate of how long you can expect to wait.

It being prime travel season in the US, I thought this might be of interest.

Bitch in French

There are bitches in other languages to. In case you run into a francophone one say,

une garce – “a bitch”.

Of course this works for the ones that don’t understand as well. Use and abuse tout le monde!

International Faux Pas

As an anthropology nut, I must tell you the single most important thing you should do before traveling overseas is to learn a little bit of the culture. Throw in some language too and people will be nicer, you’ll have an easier time getting around, and the understanding you gain will give you an appreciation for the country and people you encounter.

Get a book on the place you plan to go. Until then I found a nice little list of faux pas (things that will rub people the wrong way) across the globe. I selected the following countries for a variety of reasons, but you can check out the entire list here. Of course, nothing is better than the real thing, if you have anything to add, we’d love to hear it.

Thanks!

• Turkey
• Korea
• Slovakia
• Philippines
• Hungary

How the Airlines Determine Ticket Prices

Same as everything else, supply and demand.

The most important variable is competition. Until airline deregulation in the late 1970s, rates for flights were more-or-less determined by distance. Now, ticket prices have almost nothing to do with how far you’re traveling and more to do with how many airlines are competing for your business.

An airline will adjust its ticket prices on a minute-by-minute basis, depending on what competitors are charging. But how do they know the other guys’ prices? Each airline enters its rates into the Airline Tariff Publishing Co. computer system, which in turn supplies information about all the others.

Snakes on a Plane, Almost

Someone got caught in southeast Asia trying to smuggle in a bunch of reptiles (poor things, even though some are snakes). I guess the smuggler had never heard of X-Ray technology which allows airport screeners to see the insides of luggage from a TV screen [INSERT *DUH* HERE]

Well, glad he got caught, I hear Thailand’s prisons are spectacular this time of year.

experiencing eastern europe

here are some things i learned during my awesome trip to Bratislava, Slovakia this weekend:

1) always leave ample time for traveling by train and bus to an airport; you never know how much traffic there might be or the weather conditions!

2) try to buy a roundtrip train ticket especially if traveling through Milano Centrale because it is such a huge train station and you can save time if you already have a ticket ready

3) bus #61 in Bratislava goes from the airport to the city center and tram #14 takes you to Patio Hostel (we learned this in a difficult fashion). a bus ticket costs 22 SKK, but you can get away with no ticket at all (all you rebels out there!)
4) Slovakia was formerly part of the USSR, so no commie jokes, please.

5) really, all you need for a weekend is about 5000 SKK, which is about $184.

6) Bratislava is not as touristy as other European cities such as Milan or Paris, so don’t expect everyone to speak English. yes, most of the young people do speak English, but you should always try to speak Slovak because it’s just the polite thing to do.

7) Slovakians, as well as pretty much any other people, don’t like loud Americans who draw attention to themselves. therefore, try to blend in rather than sticking out like a sore thumb.

traditional slovakian food consists of a lot of sausage, dumplings, and poppy seeds. as well as weird combinations of these things. Vinea is a traditional drink… more like an aperatif which is delicious. oh and get a cheap sandwich from one of the 24-hr stands at like 3 am. SO good.
9) i have heard that Americans smile way too much, but i really realized this in Slovakia. don’t expect everyone to smile back! i think that’s definitely a big cultural difference.

10) GO TO BRATISLAVA! i loved the fact that it wasn’t smothered in tourists

Cheap as Dirt, Bratislava

Yes, just like Eurotrip, that nickel will take you a long way.

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