7 Days; 7 Travel Stories

1. Choo Choo Cachoo

While sleek new passenger trains streak through Europe, Japan and other corners of the world at speeds nearing 200 mph, most U.S. passenger trains chug along at little more than highway speeds — slowed by a half-century of federal preference for spending on roads and airports. But advocates say millions of Americans may be ready to embrace high-speed rail for everything from business travel to vacations because of soaring gas prices, airport delays and congested freeways that slow travel and contribute to air pollution.

Congress is considering a six-year Amtrak funding bill co-sponsored by 40 senators that would provide the first matching federal grants for rail projects. The measure proposes $100 million in first-year grants, paltry considering that California alone needs $40 billion for a mammoth bullet train project that would link San Francisco and Sacramento with Los Angeles and San Diego. Some argue federal money would be better spent to research electric-powered cars and other cutting-edge travel alternatives, rather than the ribbons of steel that triggered America's westward expansion in the 1800s.

The six-year-old Acela Express is the only U.S. rail line that tops the 125 mph considered "high speed" by international standards. And even supporters concede it barely qualifies, hitting its maximum 150 mph for less than 20 miles from Boston to Washington, D.C., and averaging just 86 mph over the full 456-mile run. AP

2. Airherent Behavior

In a year of record flight delays and baggage mishandling, hope is on the horizon. One solution: an airport where the only people are the passengers. The Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam is floating a vision of travelers lined up at self-service kiosks where they would check in, tag their bags, drop them into luggage chutes, select their seats and print out boarding passes. In about five years, there will be hardly any counters with humans behind them, Schiphol officials predict. Schiphol officials expect that, by 2015, about 90 percent of its passengers would use the self-service machines, allowing the airport to handle a 50 percent increase in travelers while reducing the typical time in line by 10 percent. LA Times

A 23-year-old woman who boarded a Southwest Airlines plane in a short skirt for a flight to Arizona says she was led off the plane for wearing an outfit that was considered too skimpy. A spokesperson for the Dallas-based airline said a customer service supervisor asked her to leave the plane and addressed her in the walkway leading back to the terminal, "away from the other customers. The employee felt the outfit "revealed too much" but was placated after the woman made adjustments that included covering her stomach. ETN

3. Dollar Delights

With the dollars value eroding against the euro and the British pound, there are a few places where US currency still has muscle. Experts at Hotwire.com and Orbitz.com agree on two destinations where exchange rates are favorable and prices are low: Thailand and Argentina. Hotwire's travel expert says you can still get a $12 steak dinner and an $8 bottle of wine in Buenos Aires, A spokesperson for Orbitz notes that you can find three- and four-star hotels in Phuket, Thailand, for under $120 a night. Other suggestions: Chile, Turkey, Vietnam and Mexico. In Santiago, for example, the cost of a good meal is about $12, and you can find hotels for around $110. And Mexico, with an 11-1 exchange rate on pesos to dollars, remains affordable and accessible. Mercury News

4. Online

http://www.farecast.com/, known for predicting domestic air ticket prices, is now testing a similar service for hotel pricing. http://www.kayak.com/ allows customers to search for hotel review results in three ways: in a list, on a map or in a photo slide show. http://www.hotels.com/ introduced a rate calendar that gives travelers a quick view of the lowest room rates for the coming days and months. NY Times

A study by online travel tracker PhoCusWright found that 84% of leisure travelers this year took or plan to take at least one long weekend trip. According to the annual study, weekend travelers spend $6 of every $10 on travel Web sites, vs. just $3 of every $10 for those taking vacations of a week or longer. http://www.kayak.com/ last month unveiled a search tool specifically for weekend air fares. Among other things, the new service lets users compare flight prices for upcoming weekends or for all weekends in a specified month.

http://www.orbitz.com/ has also jumped on the bandwagon. In June, it started offering an application called Orbitz Insider Deals. The application can be downloaded from Orbitz's Web site. A custom feature makes it easier to book last-minute weekend trips. The application lets users book hotels as well as flights for long weekends by setting date parameters for their trip. Expedia and Travelocity also offer last-minute weekend getaway package options on their Web sites. CNNMoney.com

5. Something To Care About

World Responsible Tourism Day will be on Nov. 14. Working in conjunction with Tourism Cares, the travel industry’s non profit dedicated to protecting and enhancing the traveling experience for the present and future generations of all consumers, ASTA will work to beautify the grounds at George Washington’s historic home, Mount Vernon, in Mount Vernon, Va. ASTA will also develop member materials to increase awareness and further educate clients on the power of responsible travel and the role they play. Additionally, several ASTA members will travel to Peru with ASTA partner, Global Volunteers. Global Volunteers is an organization that assists tourists in planning volunteer vacations so they might perform humanitarian work in various countries around the world.

6. Change Your Life

That's the concept resorts are selling to a growing number of people for whom an exotic getaway just isn't enough. From luxury hotel resorts to rustic retreats, yoga offerings and yoga-centric vacations have increasingly become a carrot to lure vacationers that want more than a fabulous place to stay and entertainment.

Marketing and research firm Ypartnership said its latest survey of affluent travelers - the top 7 percent of U.S. households, or those that bring in more than $150,000 a year - showed 30 percent of respondents named yoga as their favorite spa program or service. Massage was the most popular with 65 percent.Yoga vacations come in many incarnations. The high end can range from packages at luxury resorts to all-inclusive vacations to India, Chile, Bali or elsewhere. The spectrum of choices includes more austere retreats that offer the bare bones - more meditation than amenities - and cost much less. Forbes

7. Elephant Walk

Namibia's Environment and Tourism Minister called on Namibians to exercise greater care in regions where elephants abound following the death of four people in the past six weeks in run-ins with the giant animals. The minister urged residents to avoid walking around at night and avoid disturbing elephants in any way. Since the beginning of the year, 10 so-called problem elephants have had to be killed in Erongo and the eastern Otjozondjupa regions.

After receiving several complaints about damage caused by elephants to property, the ministry has begun looking at ways to reduce the conflict between people and wildlife. A higher hunting quota for "problem" elephants and crocodiles roaming outside national parks and conservancies has been set for 2007 and 2008 in the Caprivi and Kavango regions, which have the highest concentration of elephants.Namibia's elephant population fluctuates because elephants in the north-eastern Caprivi Strip roam across the border into and from neighboring countries, particularly Botswana.Environment officials estimate at more than 20 000 the number of elephants in the Caprivi, with about 3 000 in the Kavango region. ETN/mg.com

Rich’s Weekend Reader is published by AndTyler222 Communications. All rights reserved. Information from various sources and mostly rewritten. andtyler222@verizon.net