Things are looking up for those traveling through New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Delta Air Lines. After years of planning, and as part of a $1.4 billion investment, the carrier and partners opened a shiny new terminal today.

Under the 360,000-square-foot expansion, Delta says that the company not only renovated check-in areas and other facilities, but also added nine new gates, new retail and dining offerings, a 24,000-square-foot Delta Sky Club with a rooftop terrace and an improved baggage handling system. In addition to the expansion opening today, a second phase of redevelopment will bring 11 more gates, upping the total number to 27 upon completion in summer 2015.

The renovated terminal primes Delta to take (even more) advantage of the largest hub of aviation activity in the United States, New York. Delta says the company provides service to more destinations from New York than any other airline, and is also investing more than $160 million to expand and update their terminals at LaGuardia Airport.

To get a better look at JFK's Terminal 4, check out the video after the jump.

If you've visited Istanbul or any of the country of Turkey in the past, you had to stand in line to buy a tourist visa sticker (in cash only, payable in USD or Euro) before getting in a longer line to get through border control and out of the airport. If you forgot to buy the Turkish visa first, you'd have to get out of line and hope that a nice person would let you cut back in once you got the sticker. Now, you can apply online and sail right through to the Immigration line, eliminating one step.

The new e-Visa program is available to citizens of most countries, including the United States, Canada, and European Union. Like the sticker system, it costs $20 and your visa is valid for multiple entries for 90 days (the visa is valid for 180 days but you can only stay up to 90 without applying for residency). You can apply up to 24 hours before departure, though they advise one week. If you forget to apply online, don't worry, the old visa desk will still be available at the airport.

Apply for your Turkish visa at www.evisa.gov.tr

Russia might be the last place you'd ever think to go surfing but surfers are nothing if not adventurous. In pursuit of the perfect wave, they are liable to go just about anywhere on the planet - from the frigid Arctic waters of Scandinavia to Pakistan's perilous Makran Coast. So when they show up on the remote volcanic coasts of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, is anyone really that surprised?

These guys from SURFER Magazine are particularly dedicated to their favorite sport, crashing through isolated Siberian forest in a military-grade off-road truck to find unexplored shores. On the way they find enough hot springs, friendly locals, pristine rivers and wild forest to satisfy anybody's adventure travel cravings, even if sweet shallow barrels don't get you stoked.

You know the drill. Mid-sized city revives a long-dormant warehouse district with art galleries, a baseball park, hipster bars, food trucks, even a Spaghetti Warehouse. Locals love it, then brace for a tourism boom that doesn't really come.

But Tulsa's reviving Brady District is different. It has Woody Guthrie.

In truth, this city in the Oklahoma hills where I grew up hasn't offered much outside appeal since the oil wells dried up or Route 66 became a toll road. And for decades, the Brady, across the tracks from downtown, was the quietest, darkest place in a town better known for its TV evangelist Oral Roberts. In fact, the Brady might have been left for good if not for a couple classic music venues, including Cain's Ballroom, where Bob Wills put swing into country music in the '30s.

Now the once-abandoned red-brick townhouses are home to glass-blowing schools, violin shops, falafel stands, cafes, outdoor films and yoga classes, and even the Hanson brothers' studio 3CG. Nora Guthrie, the frizzy haired daughter of the legendary folk hero, calls this area the perfect place for the new Woody Guthrie Center. "It's like SoHo in 1969 to 1971," she says of her former New York neighborhood. "There's this budding creativity, not caring about a specific idea, just a notion to do something."

In other words, Woody would approve.

Do you find yourself bored by the typical hotel's amenities? Butler services, organic mini bars and other bells and whistles just don't do it for you anymore? Well how about staying in a hotel with a vertical wind tunnel? And maybe after that you can unwind in the world's first zero-gravity spa? It sounds pretty out there, but those features are actually part of the plans for a Space Hotel in Barcelona, Spain.

The company behind the project, Mobilona, recently announced their vision for the complex, which includes a hotel, private apartments, a 24-hour shopping mall and a marina. All of this would be built on a Dubai-style, man-made island giving guests sea views no matter which way their room faces. A stay in the 2,000-suite hotel – which looks like something out of a sci-fi movie – would cost between 300 and 1500 euros per night.

Yesterday, 80-year-old mountaineer Yiuchiro Miura successfully reached the summit of Mt. Everest, setting a new age record in the process. Miura, who has climbed the mountain on two previous occasions, is now the oldest person to ever stand on top of the tallest mountain on the planet. But just how long he'll hold that distinction remains to be seen.

There were some concerns about the weather conditions heading to the summit, as the forecasts had called for high winds. Bad weather could have scrubbed Miura's summit attempt, but fortunately the predicted shift didn't come. As a result, it was a good day for climbing and although it was cold on the summit, the Japanese alpinist and his son Gota managed to reach the top in a safe and timely fashion. They spent roughly a half-hour on the summit celebrating their accomplishment and calling home to their support team via satellite phone before heading back down.

We told you about Miura's quest to climb Everest a few weeks back, noting at the time that he was vying for the title of the oldest to achieve that feat with 81-year-old Min Bahadur Sherchan of Nepal. Sherchan has yet to begin his climb as a stomach ailment has kept him in Base Camp in recent days. He says that he is feeling stronger now and hopes to make a summit bid next week. If he is successful, he'll wrest the title of oldest Everest climber away from his Japanese rival. In 2008, at the age of 76, Sherchan topped out one day ahead of Miura, nabbing the record that has stood for the past five years.

Sherchan will have to have a little luck go his way, however, as the weather forecasts indicate the current summit window will close in the next few days. It is unclear whether or not another window will open before the end of the month, which traditionally sees a shifting of the jet stream that signals the arrival of the seasonal monsoons. When that happens, no one will be able to climb Everest until the fall at the earliest.

Looking at the gorgeous beach landscape above, you might think you were looking at Hawaii or New Zealand. Today's Photo of the Day was actually taken in Yemen, a Middle Eastern country, which just celebrated its Unity Day after being consolidated in 1990, and the first Arab country to give women the right to vote. With borders on the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea, there's no shortage of beaches, but while the US State Department still has a warning against travel to Yemen, you might just have to enjoy them virtually.

Want to see your travel photos as a Photo of the Day? Share your Creative Commons shots with us on Flickr in the Gadling photo pool.

Travelers' rights are often difficult to define. We know about the so-called Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, designed to give air travelers some relief in a deregulated airline industry when things go wrong. When held on the tarmac for too long, passengers now have the right to get off the aircraft. Bumped against your will? You might be entitled to denied boarding compensation in the form of a check or cash. But what about cruise travelers? What rights do they have when things go wrong? The new Cruise Industry Passenger Bill Of Rights has answers.

Released this week by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the cruise industry organization that includes cruise lines, industry suppliers and travel agencies, the Cruise Industry Passenger Bill Of Rights details what should happen when things go wrong on a cruise ship. Unlike the airline version though, the cruise passenger bill of rights is more of an explanation of what cruise lines normally and customarily have been doing, as opposed to a set of laws for which fines can be levied against a cruise line that breaks them.

Still, there is value to cruise travelers in what the bill holds, if for no other reason than to educate buyers about what to expect. Experts agree.

"CLIA's Passenger Bill of Rights is a very good policy for passengers and the cruise industry as it crystallizes rights and responsibilities in a consistent manner across all member cruise lines," cruise expert Stewart Chiron, CEO of CruiseGuy told Gadling.

Riding the rails through Europe is an often-romanticized journey - unless, of course, you're referring to a subway system. In that case, the only time people bump into each other tends to cause annoyance, with most choosing to sit alone and stare at a book or advertisement in a desperate attempt to avoid eye contact with fellow travelers (not to mention buskers).

But an initiative by the Prague public transport system intends to change the way people feel about getting from here to there by introducing singles-only "love trains," Spiegel Online is reporting. A spokesman for Ropid, the city's public transport authority, told the news outlet the initiative is part of a long-term campaign that aims to bring to light activities you can do while riding public transport that you cannot do inside your car (like reading or playing games on your cellphone ... or in this case, getting to know a complete stranger). Ropid plans to work with dating agencies to help facilitate the program, which will only operate on nights and weekends - cause as GOOD points out, you don't want to risk running into Mr. Right before you've had your morning coffee.

[via GOOD]

Yesterday, United Airlines revealed new uniforms. United crew walked the runway as part of their 25th anniversary celebration at Newark-Liberty's Terminal C. The new United style rolls out on June 25.

"We are pleased to celebrate United's long history at our Newark hub - a premier global gateway and a powerful economic engine," said Jeff Smisek, United's chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a press release. "We continue to make investments in our terminal facilities, our services and our people to ensure United's Terminal C remains a great place for our customers and co-workers."

Yesterday, travelers arriving and departing at Newark Liberty joined United employees in an anniversary celebration where customers had opportunities to earn prizes, travel discounts and bonus MileagePlus miles. The airline also had a temporary exhibit all about how air travel has evolved since 1988.