Gadling http://www.gadling.com Gadling http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/%SiteURL%/media/feedlogo.gif Gadling http://www.gadling.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[New airport terminals, once delayed, prep for opening this year]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/13/new-airport-terminals-once-delayed-prep-for-opening-this-year/http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/13/new-airport-terminals-once-delayed-prep-for-opening-this-year/http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/13/new-airport-terminals-once-delayed-prep-for-opening-this-year/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

new airport terminalsNew airport terminals can add time-saving features to existing facilities, bringing the latest in technology and security. If and when they open. Local and worldwide economic conditions caused projects to be delayed or shelved for a while. Now, several new facilities are preparing to open and new projects are being approved, signaling a brighter future to come.

The long anticipated and twice delayed inauguration of a new terminal at the Daniel Oduber International Airport (LIR) in Liberia, capital of the northwest province of Guanacaste, is happening this week.

"Costa Rica will be in a very advantageous situation, since we will have the best secondary airport in all of Central America, and perhaps one of the best in Latin America," Transport Minister Francisco Jiménez told Ticotimes. "This will be a very important part of the development of the northern Pacific region."

The airport will have the capacity to provide service to 1,500 passengers during peak hours and boasts security upgrades, temporary holding rooms for detained passengers, and dormitories for people in the process of being deported. Said to be the answer to notorious Liberia airport lines that sometimes stretch outside of the terminal, the new facility will be a welcome addition.

Continue reading New airport terminals, once delayed, prep for opening this year

New airport terminals, once delayed, prep for opening this year originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>airport constructionairport remodelingAirportConstructionAirportRemodelingAMR CorpCaribbeanCentral AmericaCosta RicaFinanceLASLas vegasLas Vegas, NevadaLasVegasLatin AmericaLiberiaLocalMcCarran International AirportMIAMiami International airportMiamiInternationalAirportnew airport constructionNew airport terminalsNewAirportConstructionNewAirportTerminalsNortheast RegionThe Miami HeraldU.S.Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[World's worst places: Top 10 places you do not want to visit in 2012]]>http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/06/worlds-worst-places-top-10-places-you-do-not-want-to-visit-in/http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/06/worlds-worst-places-top-10-places-you-do-not-want-to-visit-in/http://www.gadling.com/2012/01/06/worlds-worst-places-top-10-places-you-do-not-want-to-visit-in/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

world's worst places

What comes to mind when you think of the world's worst place? While it is easy to complain about rural Wal-marts, La Guardia, Applebee's, and any government office with motor vehicle in its title, none of those places escalate the game from nuisance to immediate danger. All of them can be horrible, yes, but a threatened existence they do not pose.

The places on this list are the bad places. Some have run out of hope. Others have fought war for so long it is the new normal. Most are exceptionally dangerous and heartbreaking. And while none of them are fighting for write-ups by travel bloggers or inspiring travel with the NetJet set, some of these locations may someday be on the travel map. After all, it was not long ago that current hot-spots like Cambodia and Croatia would have made such a list.

Gallery: World's worst cities

10. Harare, Zimbabwe9. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea9. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea9. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea9. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (ship)

Continue reading World's worst places: Top 10 places you do not want to visit in 2012

World's worst places: Top 10 places you do not want to visit in 2012 originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>afghanistanbrasilBrazilCite SoleilCiteSoleilciudad juarezCiudadJuarezDemocratic Republic of the CongoDemocraticRepublicOfTheCongodrcfaminehaitiharareJustin DelaneyJustinDelaneykandaharKinshasaLiberiaMexicoMOGmogadishumonroviapapua new guineaPapuaNewGuineaport au princeport moresbyPortAuPrincePortMoresbyrio de janeiroRioDeJaneirorocinhasanaaSocotrasomaliatop 10Top10warworlds worst placesWorldsWorstPlacesYemenzimbabweFri, 06 Jan 2012 08:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Africa's new middle class benefits travel]]>http://www.gadling.com/2011/05/12/africas-new-middle-class-benefits-travel/http://www.gadling.com/2011/05/12/africas-new-middle-class-benefits-travel/http://www.gadling.com/2011/05/12/africas-new-middle-class-benefits-travel/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

Africa, EthiopiaAfrica's middle class is growing.

The African Development Bank says one in three Africans are now middle class. While the bank's definition isn't comparable to the Western definition--the African middle class makes $2-$20 a day--the lifestyle is similar. Middle-class Africans tend to be professionals or small business owners and instead of worrying about basics such as food and shelter, their main concerns are getting better health care and getting their kids into university.

The bank says the countries with the biggest middle class are Botswana, Gabon, and Tunisia, while Liberia, Mozambique, and Rwanda have the smallest. The BBC has an interesting photo gallery profiling members of this rapidly growing class.

So how does this affect travel? With an growing middle class you get more domestic tourism, good news for non-Africans traveling in Africa. More regional airlines are cropping up, and comfortable buses provide an appealing alternative to the bone-shaking rattletraps familiar to travelers in Africa.

It also makes consumer goods easier to find. This generally means cheap Chinese exports of even worse quality than what we're accustomed to in the West, but in bigger cities quality goods are readily available. There's also an increasing number of nice restaurants and cafes geared towards locals. Internet access is also improving.

During my Ethiopian road trip and my two months living in Harar I benefited from Ethiopia's middle class. Mobile phone coverage is available everywhere except remote villages and the wilderness, and although the Internet is slow, there are Internet cafes in every town. Improved education meant there many people who could speak English and who could help me learn some Amharic and Harari. Often I could take a more comfortable "luxury" bus rather than be stuffed in a local bus with an entire village of passengers. Self-styled budget travelers may turn their nose up at spending an extra two dollars to be comfortable, but the middle class buses are quicker and you're more likely to meet someone you can talk to.

In fact, I made some good friends on the luxury bus to Harar. A group of Ethiopian pharmacy students showed me the town and gave me insights into their lives. University education is free in Ethiopia if you pass a rigorous entrance exam. The government even pays for your room and board, and you pay them back by working a government job for some time after you get out. The students I met will be setting off to villages to provide basic health care.

Nearly all these students, and in fact nearly all middle-class Africans I've met, yearn to go to the West. One even called her country "a prison". While heading to the West may be a good career move, it hurts the continent. As one African pointed out in the BBC photo gallery, the money it takes to get to Europe can start up a nice business in Africa.

Africa's new middle class benefits travel originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 12 May 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AfricaAfrica tourismAfrica travelAfrican middle classAfricanMiddleClassAfricaTourismAfricaTraveldeveloping worldDevelopingWorldeconomicseconomyeconpmic developmentEconpmicDevelopmentmiddle classMiddleClassphotophoto essayphoto essaysPhotoEssayPhotoEssaysphotographyphotosprofessionalprofessionalssmall businesssmall business ownersmall business ownerssmall businessesSmallBusinessSmallBusinessesSmallBusinessOwnerSmallBusinessOwnersthird worldThirdWorldThu, 12 May 2011 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Inexperinced Captain Blamed for Antarctic Cruise Ship Sinking]]>http://www.gadling.com/2009/04/17/inexperinced-captain-blamed-for-antarctic-cruise-ship-sinking/http://www.gadling.com/2009/04/17/inexperinced-captain-blamed-for-antarctic-cruise-ship-sinking/http://www.gadling.com/2009/04/17/inexperinced-captain-blamed-for-antarctic-cruise-ship-sinking/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Back in November of 2007 a cruise ship, called the Explorer, owned and operated by GAP Adventures, a well known and respected adventure travel operator, went down in the Southern Ocean. Fortunately, none of the 154 people on board were killed, or even injured for that matter, and rescue ships were on the scene within hours. But many were left to wonder how such an accident could happen.

Eighteen months after the incident occurred, the Liberian Maritime Bureau has released its report, citing an "inexperienced and over confident" captain as the biggest reason the ship went down. According to this story in the U.K.'s Independent, investigators feel that if it weren't for the unusually calm weather at the time, this could have easily become the worst disaster in Antarctic history.

The report also sheds more details on the accident, saying that the captain of the ship ran his vessel into what is described as a "wall of ice", traveling at a high rate of speed, seriously misjudging the thickness of that ice. The collision tore a ten foot long cut in the hull of the vessel, much larger than was previously reported, sending it to the bottom of the ocean.

Continue reading Inexperinced Captain Blamed for Antarctic Cruise Ship Sinking

Inexperinced Captain Blamed for Antarctic Cruise Ship Sinking originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>antarcticantarcticacruisecruise shipcruisesCruiseShipexplorerjon bowermasterJonBowermasterms explorerMsExplorersouthern oceanSouthernOceanFri, 17 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Delta flight diversion doesn't save conjoined twins]]>http://www.gadling.com/2008/11/21/delta-flight-diversion-doesnt-save-conjoined-twins/http://www.gadling.com/2008/11/21/delta-flight-diversion-doesnt-save-conjoined-twins/http://www.gadling.com/2008/11/21/delta-flight-diversion-doesnt-save-conjoined-twins/#commentsFiled under: ,

After writing the Winona post another flight diversion story came out. Winona's seemed trivial in comparison, although I'm always interested to sift through vagueness of words like "sick," and who gets what treatment.

The latest diversion story that I read at CBCnews.com has a sad ending. Yesterday, a Delta plane taking Liberian conjoined twins from Brussels to New York had to make an emergency landing at Halifax airport after the twins stopped breathing. The mother, sitting next to them, noticed the problem. A doctor on board provided help, but the twins died before the plane landed.

The one month-old twins were on their way to New York for treatment. Once in Halifax, the mother and twins were taken to a medical examiners office to find out what went wrong, and the other passengers who were sitting close by were interviewed. The plane continued to JFK once the mother and babies were off and the interviews were completed.

Being on an airplane with conjoined twins would be dramatic as it is. When I read the story, I imagined what it would be like to be on the plane rooting for their survival, but to no avail.

Now, several people have had a flight experience and a story to tell that most of us will never have in our lifetimes. So sad to think about that mother. [This photo from One Tree Hill Studios is of a plane landing at Halifax.]

Delta flight diversion doesn't save conjoined twins originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>conjoined twinsConjoinedTwinsdramaJFKmedical storiesMedicalStoriesWinona ryderWinonaRyderFri, 21 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Surging food prices force Liberians to eat spaghetti]]>http://www.gadling.com/2008/04/24/surging-food-prices-force-liberians-to-eat-spaghetti/http://www.gadling.com/2008/04/24/surging-food-prices-force-liberians-to-eat-spaghetti/http://www.gadling.com/2008/04/24/surging-food-prices-force-liberians-to-eat-spaghetti/#commentsFiled under: , ,

If you had to choose one, would you go for rice or pasta?

The rapid increase in food prices world wide might not be affecting the West much, but in many countries around the globe, it means changing their life-long habits and switching to cheaper foods, BBC reports.

For example, Liberia, which imports 90% of its rice from Asia and the US, saw prices more than double in the last six months, making it out of reach for ordinary Liberians. So they turn to pasta.

Spaghetti shacks are apparently springing up everywhere in working-class Monrovia. Liberians like to prepare their spaghetti "the Liberian way", with lots of African chili pepper and cut into pieces to make it easier to eat.

Don't be surprised if the next Italian celebrity chef comes from Liberia.

Surging food prices force Liberians to eat spaghetti originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>liberiamonroviapastaricespaghettiThu, 24 Apr 2008 12:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Your kid misbehaving? Send him to Liberia]]>http://www.gadling.com/2007/12/14/your-kid-misbehaving-send-him-to-liberia/http://www.gadling.com/2007/12/14/your-kid-misbehaving-send-him-to-liberia/http://www.gadling.com/2007/12/14/your-kid-misbehaving-send-him-to-liberia/#commentsFiled under: ,

From the New York Times city front-page today comes a remarkable story of a Staten Island mother who sent her teenage son back to Liberia. He was starting to turn to drugs, gangs, and all those other things that inner-city teens find tempting them on the street corner. Her solution was to send him to live with her brother in war-torn Liberia.

I won't ruin the story for you--it's pretty long but worth the read. What I wanted to ponder was in what situations a mother would make this choice. There are roughly 4,000 other Liberians living in her neighborhood. Should the parents of misbehaving teens send them back to the homeland, trading a violence-riddled life in the ghettos for a violence-riddled life in another ghetto? Of course, the violence on these continents are of different sorts. But it's clear in this instance that the mother truly loved her son, it must have been a difficult decision indeed. The article really made me think about the bond between mother and son, and the worlds of Liberia and Staten Island--how similar and starkly different they can be.

Your kid misbehaving? Send him to Liberia originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>refugeeFri, 14 Dec 2007 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The World's Most Dangerous Destinations for 2007]]>http://www.gadling.com/2007/03/22/the-worlds-most-dangerous-destinations-for-2007/http://www.gadling.com/2007/03/22/the-worlds-most-dangerous-destinations-for-2007/http://www.gadling.com/2007/03/22/the-worlds-most-dangerous-destinations-for-2007/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BurundiHere at Gadling, we usually profile places people WANT to go. However, sometimes it's useful to mention places to avoid. Consequently, here's an interesting (and not altogether surprising) list of the 2007's 12 Most Dangerous Destinations:

  • Somalia
  • Iraq
  • Afghanistan
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Côte d'Ivoire
  • Pakistan
  • Burundi
  • Sri Lanka
  • Haiti
  • Chad
  • Lebanon
  • Liberia

Of course, you probably don't think of these places as vacation destinations, unless you're a whacked-out Robert Young Pelton. However, employees of governments, oil and mining industries, and telecom industries are increasingly being dispatched to these locations. If you work for one of those groups, be certain to ask about insurance, hazard pay -- and a bodyguard.

Interestingly, the piece argues that the world is NOT getting more dangerous right now. Rather, globalization and the attendant "shrinking" of the planet is largely responsible for making the world APPEAR more dangerous now than before. Whether or not you agree with that assertion, the article is interesting, and the gallery is frightening.

The World's Most Dangerous Destinations for 2007 originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 22 Mar 2007 15:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dangerousThu, 22 Mar 2007 15:37:00 EST<![CDATA[Fifteen Most Dangerous Trips?]]>http://www.gadling.com/2006/02/24/fifteen-most-dangerous-trips/http://www.gadling.com/2006/02/24/fifteen-most-dangerous-trips/http://www.gadling.com/2006/02/24/fifteen-most-dangerous-trips/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

There's a really terrific book out there called Non-Zero by Robert Wright, that I urge you all to read. The book's premise is that there is a design to nature, an evolving complexity in all things, including human society. Forget "Intelligent Design", at least as far as there being a single supreme being overseeing all the change, that's not what this is about. His point is that things evolve the way Darwin said they did, but that the evolution seems to have a direction, and that direction is towards something he calls a Non-Zero world, where things improve through cooperation rather than (or in addition to) competition. If you look at the world today, you'd have to agree that (Iraq and a few other places...re: below notwithstanding) things have overall become much more peaceful, more organized, more safe.

Why the mini-essay? Because I think it is relevant to a piece I just read over at MSNBC/Forbes that lists the to fifteen most dangerous places in the world. That is, with so many places on the globe basically safe for travel, with the world, as I suggest become increasingly safe (if not sterile in some places) there are still countries you'd really think twice or three times about before visiting. These are not really places you'd plan to take your next honeymoon, but if you thrive on danger, you might consider traveling to them. What are these places, you ask? Here's the list:

o. Afghanistan
o. Burundi
o. Cote d'Ivoire
o. Democratic Republic of the Congo
o. Georgia
o. Haiti
o. Iraq
o. Liberia
o. Pakistan
o. Papua New Guinea
o. Russia (Chechnya)
o. Somalia
o. Sudan
o. Zimbabwe

Fifteen Most Dangerous Trips? originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 24 Feb 2006 12:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Fri, 24 Feb 2006 12:19:00 EST<![CDATA[Africa Travel: Liberia]]>http://www.gadling.com/2006/02/17/africa-travel-liberia/http://www.gadling.com/2006/02/17/africa-travel-liberia/http://www.gadling.com/2006/02/17/africa-travel-liberia/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

LiberiaLiberia's political history is something I've been wanting to get knee-deep in for the longest. As an African-American I find the resettlement of process of 'free men of color' from America back into Liberia in 1822 fascinating. Liberia is a country that sits  between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone off the North Atlantic Ocean in western Africa and of all the west African countries Africans were plucked from and sent abroad to work in fields it blows me away that under the American Colonization Society they decided Liberia was the appropriate place. When the settlers made their way into the so called 'Promised Land' they did not become reintegrated into the African society and referred to themselves as Americans. (Wikipedia is a great source of info for continued reading.) So not to ramble on about Liberia's complex political history it just makes me wonder the exact place from where my own ancestors came. Something that makes me think.

Today Liberia sees little tourists as it struggles to clean up a messy past filled with civil wars and is considered a huge no-go-zone by several travel publications. However, learning about the country and traveling by books and photos will keep the interested engaged for days. Friends of Liberia is an incredible site with up-to-date information, photos, projects and tips on how to help Liberia in becoming socially and economically stable. The site was started by a USA-based network of former Peace Corps workers who have been honored on numerous occasions for their dedication to Liberia. A must visit!

Africa Travel: Liberia originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 17 Feb 2006 19:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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