Mar 16th, 2011 at 3:30PM: Every year, many people visit Istanbul to shop in the historic Grand Bazaar to haggle over carpets, Turkish tea glasses, and souvenir t-shirts. But most locals do their shopping in Istanbul's many malls, markets, high streets like Istiklal near Taksim Square and Bağdat on the Asian side, and neighborhoods such as posh Nişantaşı and funky Çukurcuma. This year, from March 18 to April 26, ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
dubai posts
Retail therapy: Istanbul ShoppingFest begins March 18
Mar 16th, 2011 at 3:30PM: Every year, many people visit Istanbul to shop in the historic Grand Bazaar to haggle over carpets, Turkish tea glasses, and souvenir t-shirts. But most locals do their shopping in Istanbul's many malls, markets, high streets like Istiklal near Taksim Square and Bağdat on the Asian side, and neighborhoods such as posh Nişantaşı and funky Çukurcuma. This year, from March 18 to April 26, ...Travel to Sri Lanka grows, along with obstacles for tourism
Feb 1st, 2011 at 11:00AM: Since the end of the Tamil Tiger confilct in May 2009, travel to Sri Lanka has been increasing, with the country celebrating their 600,000th foreign tourist last month. This year, 700,000 are expected with tourism growing to 2.5 million a year within 5 years, reports the BBC. "The nature has blessed us with beautiful beaches, waterfalls, exotic wildlife and historic places. We as a nation have a ...World's highest restaurant opens in Dubai
Jan 26th, 2011 at 9:30AM: Want to get high? It won't be illegal if you do it at Burj Khalifa's At.mosphere, which surpasses Toronto's 360 Restaurant as the world's highest restaurant. The downtown Dubai restaurant strands at 1,350 feet high (that's level 123, for those who care).
The restaurant seats 210 guests and offers both a dining and bar area. Both emphasize fresh products and healthy, simple cooking - all food is ...Daily Pampering: Dubai Shopping Festival hotel packages
Jan 11th, 2011 at 4:00PM: You read the title right, fashionistas: There's an entire festival devoted to shopping that takes place in Dubai, and Emirates Airlines has partnered with hotels and luxury retailers to offer travelers a few good discounts and a place to drop their bags after a long day of shopping.
The 15th annual Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) begins on Jan. 20 and runs until Feb. 20 in the glamorous city of ...Ritz-Carlton ready to open first new hotel of 2011: Dubai International Financial Centre
Jan 4th, 2011 at 9:30AM:
The Ritz-Carlton hotel group is gearing up for an exciting 2011. Amid the flurry of anticipation for the opening of the tallest hotel in the world in Hong Kong, the hotel group is also preparing for its first opening of the year, The Ritz -Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), slated to welcome guests on Jan. 12, 2011.
The 341-room hotel, with 124 executive residences, will ...Abu Dhabi police find snakes on a plane ... and squirrels and parrots
Dec 7th, 2010 at 2:30PM: You know that the United Arab Emirates is not to be outdone, right? So, when an 89-year-old lady's dog gets loose on an American flight, the Middle East has to find a way to trump it. And, you know it was better than a dog and a cat or an angry monkey.
On a flight from Indonesia to the United Arab Emirates, a passenger was reported to have "four snakes, two parrots and a squirrel inside a box" ...Grantourismo blogger on guidebooks and travel writing
Nov 30th, 2010 at 11:00AM: Last week I posted a Q & A with blogger Lara Dunston and her husband and partner Terence Carter about their travel project and blog Grantourismo. In addition to good advice about renting a vacation apartment and getting "under the skin" of a place when traveling, they had a lot of interesting things to say about guidebooks, both from their experiences writing them and how they see travelers ...Q & A with Grantourismo round-the-world slow travel bloggers
Nov 24th, 2010 at 2:00PM:
With all the holiday travel madness just beginning, sometimes it's nice to take a breath and think about taking travel more slowly. I recently had a chance to meet up with blogger Lara Dunston and her photographer-writer husband, Terence Carter, of the round-the-world travel project and blog, Grantourismo while they were traveling through Istanbul. Lara and Terence hosted me at their fabulous ...Five ways to get to Kabul, Afghanistan
Nov 2nd, 2010 at 8:00AM: Does your definition of "adventure travel" involve a safety briefing and equipment to keep you safe? If so, there's a hard-core version of the concept that you've been missing. Chase the ultimate thrill in Afghanistan, and your world will never be the same. In case you haven't heard, there's a war going on, not to mention plenty of corruption. You will have an adventure to talk about when if you ...Photo of the Day (8.17.10)
Aug 17th, 2010 at 5:45PM:
Anyone know how to order a half-caf venti soy no foam latte in Arabic?
As I'm sure you've guessed, today's Photo of the Day comes from the city of immense scale, renowned elegance, & other worldly air conditioning bills; Dubai. Flickr user JonRawlinson snapped the shot in Dubai's Ibn Battuta Mall, where the iconic coffee kiosk has become somewhat of an attraction in and of itself.
...Air Berlin's two-for-one promo
Jun 23rd, 2010 at 5:00PM: Air Berlin, the German low-cost carrier that gets typically great reviews for its various old-school perks seldom associated with budget airlines (assigned seating, checked bags carried through to connecting flights, and free snacks, drinks, and newspapers) is promoting a great special offer, today through June 28.
The offer sees the airline selling two-for-one Berlin-Miami and Berlin-Dubai ...Gucci to launch new hotel in Dubai
Jun 8th, 2010 at 1:30PM: As is the case in the fashion world, when one designer makes a statement the others will follow.
Enter: Italian fashion icon Gucci, who will launch its own hotel chain in Dubai, only a few months after the opening of Giorgio Armani's hotel in Dubai's Burj Khalifa.
Lorens Ziller, the managing director for Elisabetta Gucci Hotels says the first ever Gucci hotel will open in Dubai's Media City ...GadlingTV's Travel Talk 015: World drinking laws & Portland's hippest destinations!
Jun 2nd, 2010 at 9:00AM:
GadlingTV's Travel Talk, episode 15 – Click above to watch video after the jump
In our continuation from last week, we continue to dissect drinking laws around the world - tune in to find out who is the most liberal (no regulation at all) and where in the world you won't find a single bar.
We wrap up our Portland tour with a showcase of some of the hippest spots that the ...Luxury travel and fashion unite inside the Armani Hotel Dubai
Apr 29th, 2010 at 4:30PM: Cities often serve as a mecca for fashion trends. From New York City to Milan to Paris, fashion knows no limits when it comes cat-walking down the boulevard. Each new season boasts a new must-have fabric, cut or hemline, but there's more to fashion than what you wear. While most bank accounts can't justify the $1,000 gladiator sandals or an Alexander McQueen ostrich feather dress (starting price ...Are hotel star ratings getting out of hand?
Apr 5th, 2010 at 4:30PM: At one time, staying in a "four-star hotel" meant you were experiencing the peak of luxury. Luxurious rooms, top-notch accommodations and plenty of amenities. But increasingly a four-star hotel is no longer enough, with uber-high-end properties in Europe racing to claim six or, in the case of the Burj-al-Arab in Dubai, even seven-star ratings. At what point do the hotel stars become meaningless? ...Galley Gossip: Flight attendant is sent to prison for sexy texting
Mar 18th, 2010 at 9:30AM: Recently someone said to me, "I travel on international flights all the time to visit family and I've noticed that the women who work for the airlines are getting older. Is this okay?"
Is this okay? Is this okay! I couldn't decide whether to laugh or throw whatever was in my hand at the time. Instead I took a deep breath and replied, "Of course it's okay! Women age. So do passengers."
I mean ...British couple in Dubai faces jail time for kissing
Mar 16th, 2010 at 12:30PM: PDAs (Public Displays of Affection) can make some people a little uncomfortable, but in Dubai, they'll send you to jail.
Until recently, Dubai was booming. Tourism and business travel were growing at at an exponential rate, and Dubai became a household name-destination seemingly overnight. One of the dangers of a boom like this is that some new visitors think every place has the same rules, and ...Gadling TV's Travel Talk 003: Black Boxes, Body Scanners, Vegas, Wedding Bells, & Sushi done right!
Mar 3rd, 2010 at 7:00PM:
Gadling TV's Travel Talk, episode 3 – Click above to watch video after the jump
We're back! And this time we've brought you a show straight from the Vegas strip.
In this week's episode - we discuss a new ban on Indian rail rooftop travel, monitoring pilot's conversations in the cockpit, where the first body scanners will appear in the United States, and a little history ...Aquarium springs a leak in Dubai Mall
Feb 26th, 2010 at 8:30AM: The giant fish tank inside the Dubai Mall sprang a leak Wednesday, pouring water out into the halls, and stranding some shoppers inside an elevator for 45 minutes, while others scrambled to reach dry ground. Emergency response teams rushed to the scene to repair the crack, as 100 retail shops near by closed for business and custodial personnel worked to contain the flooding.
Everything about ...Dubai's Burj unexpectedly closed to the public
Feb 9th, 2010 at 9:00AM: The world's tallest building has abruptly closed to the public after only a month of being open to the public. Apparently, electric problems are partially to blame for the closure of the Dubai's Burj, which undoubtedly leaves many disappointed tourists looking up at the tower, instead of down from the half-mile high observation deck.
The closure of the Burj Khalifa's (the new name appointed to ...
