Gadling

I didn't look very long before choosing this photo. I love the soft light and the grainy quality of the photo, which gives it the quality of an old photograph. The soft, sweeping saris contrast with the stout walls, which seem to frame the women. This scene was captured by arunchs (who we've featured many times for Photo of the Day) in Tamil Nadu, India.

Have a travel photo to share with the world? Upload it to Gadling's Flickr pool and we'll consider it for our Photo of the Day feature.

We celebrated Earth Day here at Gadling with a contest, an ode, and a ticket out of hell. Not bad.

Also this week:

• Kelsey gave us a surfing lesson.
• Grant reviewed Burton's Sleeper Hoodie v2.0, and I'm seriously intrigued. Grant also had a nice chat with Virgin CEO David Cush -- check it out here.
  
• Matthew listed 5 mistakes that newcomers to Japan make.
• In his series Plane Answers, Kent responded to the question "When did first class become the crew lounge?"
• Jeremy brought us the news that the Inca Trail is booked up through September. If you're headed to Peru make sure you've got alternative plans for trekking to Machu Picchu.
  

That's all! Have a fabulous weekend.

My friend has a sticker on his bike that reads "I don't need a war to power my bike." Indeed, it seems that biking (or good old-fashioned hoofing it) might be one of the last conflict-free modes of transportation. As alternative fuel options are explored in order to lessen the world's dependency on oil, it appears that the same old problems aren't going to go away.

Take biofuel, for example.

The managing director general of the Asian Development Bank, Rajat Nag, suggests that governments who subsidize biofuel production are contributing to global starvation.

"Giving subsidies for biofuels ... basically acts as an implicit tax on staple foods," he says.

What this means is that if a country is focused on producing fuel, then it's not focused on producing food. With riots erupting over the past few weeks over food shortages in the Caribbean and Africa, it's obvious that the world is approaching a crisis point. The U.S., for example, is the largest producer of ethanol, which is produced from corn and other grain crops. The U.S. government has heavily subsidized ethanol production, paying farmer to produce ethanol.

I love the idea of running my car on recycled vegetable oil, and it seems like that is what the grass-roots biofuel movement is all about. But turning the world's fields into ethanol producers does not seem like a long-term solution.

It's just gotten easier and cheaper to phone home from almost anywhere in the world.

Skype, the internet telephone service that allows users to make phone calls over the internet to other Skype users free of charge, has just announced its new service: unlimited international calls to 34 nations for $9.95 per month. That includes calls made from your computer to land lines and mobile phones. And that's really cheap.

So if you're taking a round-the-world trip, say, and your grandmother isn't ready to learn how to use Skype, then you can call her at home from an internet cafe. No more phone cards and learning how to use the various public phone systems that seem to change with each country.

It might not be long before even E.T. can really phone home.

These two look like they're having a real heart to heart. I wonder who gets to ride in that bright and comfy-looking saddle -- when I took a camel safari in India, my ride was not so plush and I certainly felt it after three days. Flickr user arunchs captured this scene in Rajasthan, India, where I also took my three-day camel ride.

Have any photos of plush rides from your travels? Upload them to Gadling's Flickr pool and we'll consider them for our Photo of the Day feature.

I suppose this week will go down in travel-writing history as the week of the TKA. In case you've been at the South Pole all week, that would be the Thomas Kohnstamm affair. The whole fiasco prompted all stages of grief in the travel-writing world: shock, denial, anger, despair, and, finally, acceptance -- sort of. Aaron, Jeffrey and Justin covered the scandal, and if you'd like a play-by-play, read the following posts:

• Lonely Planet writer admits he never visited country he wrote about
• 5 reasons to be outraged by the Lonely Planet fraud
• Thoughts on the Lonely Planet scandal: guidebooks are a sham
• 'Unethical' Lonely Planet writer not unethical at all, though he wants us to think so for the sake of promoting his own book
• Choice reviews of Lonely Planet: Columbia from Amazon.com
• Does Thomas Kohnstamm deserve an apology?
• Rest in peace, Lonely Planet scandal: a final note from Thomas Kohnstamm

Other stuff happened this week, too. Here are a few examples:

• Grant flew Virgin America -- read his review of the airline here.
  
• Aaron discussed whether or not it's okay to hire a servant in a foreign country.
  
• The Dalai Lama visited Seattle.
  
• Jamie told us how to get a great deal on theatre tickets by waiting for "rush" tickets.
  
• And, of course, we got the news that Delta and Northwest are officially going to merge.
  

Hope you have a scandal-free weekend.

New "whole body imaging" (or millimeter wave machines) to be set up at JFK and LAX can tell what's under your clothes. Talk about motivation for clean underpants.

The Transportation Security Administration has been testing the machines in Phoenix and is all set to expand to other airports. But don't worry -- travelers at JFK who wore their grannies and don't want anyone to know have the option of a pat-down instead. Travelers at LAX will pass through regular security and then be randomly chosen for the body scan.

A survey conducted by the TSA in Phoenix revealed that 90% of passengers preferred the whole body imaging over a pat-down.

Which would you prefer?

On the Map of World Happiness, Denmark comes out in first place. Sweden, Finland, and Canada were also top 10 contenders (the US only ranked #23. I have a feeling that happiness might be directly related to universal health care, but that's just me).

Tim Ferriss, lifestyle designer and author of the 4-Hour Workweek, just happens to have some Danish blood pumping through his cheerful veins, and he's laid out six other reasons to visit Denmark (in case is being the happiest damn place on the planet isn't enough for you). Here they are, but check out his blog for details:

1. More than 80% of Danes speak English.
   
2. You can visit Christiania, the anarchist state of Scandinavia.
   
3. They know how to pair wines and food better than the French or Italians, or so Ferriss claims.
   
4. The genetically gifted population seems to be modestly unaware of their good looks.
   
5. Danish design is incredible, even if IKEA does name its doormats after Danish locations.
   
6. Small location, great transportation.
   

What more can you ask for?

Showoff. Well, okay -- that's pretty cool, and if I could do a back-flip I might be tempted to show off a little, too. TarikB snapped this photo on the north coast of Trinidad. I love the way the back-flipper seems to float effortlessly in the air -- check out how relaxed his feet appear to be. Also great is the young lady looking on, and I wonder if she's the reason he's doing back-flips.

Have any showy travel photos to share? Upload them to Gadling's Flickr pool and we'll consider them for our Photo of the Day feature.

This week can be summed up in one word: delayed. If you had somewhere important to be this week that required a domestic flight, you have my sympathies. Now, let's focus on the fun stuff:

• Kelsey gave us tips on how to not look like a "gringo" in Mexico. One tip: lose the fanny pack (which, honestly? You should've lost in 1987).
  
• Erik covered the efficacy of rectal malarial drugs. You read it right -- rectal malaria drugs. Happy reading.
• Aaron reported on two grammar geeks who embarked on what they're calling the "Typo Hunt Across America." The really sad part about the story? I totally love that stuff and am secretly jealous of their trip.
  
• Want to see the world's coolest conveyor belt? Click here.
  
• Unless you live in a hole somewhere, you're probably aware that Skybus went bankrupt this week. The bankruptcy really dumped cold water on Jamie's plans -- how has it affected yours?

That's five! Happy Friday.