Happy Fourth of July to anyone planning to blow something up tonight! Here are the most popular topics on the Word Travels Forum this week:
Remember you can ask your own question, and our local experts will hunt down the answer for you!
Showing posts with label mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mexico. Show all posts
Monday, July 4, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
5 Controversial Kinds of Travel
Most of us travel for the same reasons: to see a new place, relax and unwind, or do something that we enjoy. But in the 21st century, with any worldwide destination no more than a day's journey away, people are travelling for entirely new reasons. Some of these are quite controversial, and come under fire from various groups.
We've compiled a list of five controversial kinds of travel that for the most part didn't exist last century. Here they are:
Medical Tourism - Sure, buses of pensioners head from the US to Canada to get cheaper medicine, but would you go abroad for a major procedure? One of the most popular kinds of medical tourism is plastic surgery: those with the cash can hop on a plane, spend a month relaxing in a resort, and come home with a tan and a new nose!
Controversy: It's hard to gauge the quality of facilities in other countries, and there are horror stories floating around of scam artists in back-alley clinics using unsafe equipment and techniques.
Dark Tourism - Also called 'black' tourism or grief tourism, Dark Tourism involves travel to places that are associated with death and suffering. Well-known examples include former Nazi concentration camps, Chernobyl, and gruesome attractions like the London Dungeons.
Controversy: While most people agree that it is important to remember atrocities and genocides in order to ensure they never happen again, some argue that promoting them as tourism destinations glamorises violence.
Voluntourism - While many of us choose to use our vacation time to relax or visit family, some are opting to donate their time to charity and volunteer with charities or non-profits as they holiday in exotic destinations. Volunteers pay their own way, but spend part or all of their holiday working with conservation groups or aid organisations.
Controversy: While there is a definite 'feel good' aspect to voluntourism, many argue that a steady stream of unskilled volunteer labour denies jobs to locals and benefits poor communities less than funding skilled, long-term workers.
Suicide Tourism - In most countries euthanasia is illegal, so some people with terminal illnesses opt to travel to countries that allow the practise to end their lives legally and painlessly. While there are infamous places that attract high numbers of suicides (the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Aokigahara Forest in Japan, for example), suicide tourism is focused on assisted suicide.
Controversy: The controversy over the practise of assisted suicide is hotly debated in many countries.
Antitourism - Some people just don't like to be told where they can't go. In fact, a small number of travellers find a thrill in going to places that they shouldn't, that no one else will visit. The State Department's Travel Warning list reads like a bucket list to these adventurers. Also known as 'macho' tourism, antitourists purposefully seek out dangerous destinations for unique experiences and bragging rights.
Controversy: There's an obvious danger factor, and many consider antitourism unnecessarily reckless. Adventurous travellers who get into trouble cost government money and resources to assist.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Top 5 Strangest Food Festivals
There are a lot of food festivals around the world, but some focus less on enjoying a good meal and more on playing with their food! Here are our top 5 strangest food festivals around the world:
Night of the Radishes (Noche de Rábanos) - There's a large radish found in Mexico that can grow up to 6.6 pounds (3kg) and 20 inches (50cm) long. The people of Oaxaca do something interesting with these radishes each December, carving them into people, animals, and anything else they can think of. The carvings are judged, and the winner gets their picture in the paper.
Sea Worm Festival (Bau Nyale) - Each year the people of Indonesia rush into the ocean to collect as many sea worms as possible, and then they cook them and eat them. Although there's nothing pretty about sea worms, there's a romantic legend associated with this festival. Long ago, a beautiful princess had so many determined suitors that she threw herself into the ocean to prevent their going to war over her. When she died, her hair turned into sea worms, now the symbol of the Sasak people.
La Tomatina - One of the world's biggest food fights, La Tomatina takes place in Spain each August. The festival starts with participants trying to knock a ham off the top of a greased pole. Once that happens, people throw tomatoes at each other until the streets of Valencia run red. No one knows quite how it got started, but people like it so it continues to happen each year.
Gloucester Cheese Roll and Wake - A tradition in Gloucester for hundreds of years, this popular event in the Cotswolds involves competitors rolling a large, round Double Gloucester Cheese down a steep hill and attempting to catch it. The first person over the finish line wins the cheese. Unfortunately, this event was cancelled in 2010 and it is uncertain if it will return.
Lopburi Monkey Buffet - This annual feast in Thailand is unusual, simply because no one who attends gets to eat anything. Well, no people get to eat anything. The guests of honour are the local Macaque monkeys, who chow down on fruits and vegetables, and even get to enjoy a soft drink or two. The monkeys live in the ruins of local temples, and are huge tourist attractions. The Buffet is the village's way of thanking them!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Word Travels Forum Round-Up #09
On the Word Travels Forum, you can pose your travel questions to our team of experts all over the world, and they'll find the answer for you! Here's what people are talking about this week:
You can ask your own question here!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Top 5 Cities for Chocolate
There are many reasons people choose to visit certain cities, but I can't think of a better one than chocolate! Here are some of the top cities for chocolate tourism:
Zurich, Switzerland - Zurich chocolate factories read like a who’s who of chocolatiers: Toblerone, Truescher,Cailler-Nestle, Lindt and Sprungli all call it home. With such amazing choices at their doorsteps, it’s no wonder the Swiss consume more chocolate per person than any other country in the world! There are of course chocolate shops wherever you look (like Truffe, Schrober and Merkur), but bargain-hunters can find discounts at the Lindt factory shop.
San Francisco, California - Just as you'll find gold at the end of the rainbow, there is surely chocolate at the end of the trolley car line in San Francisco. Ghirardelli Square has been feeding people joy since 1852, and their cafe is always packed with both locals and tourists from around the world. Across the bay, the Scherffen Berger factory no longer gives tours, but don't miss Joseph Schmidt's amazing boutique.
Hershey, Pennsylvania - With a name that's synonymous with chocolate, it's no wonder that Hershey made this list: "Chocolate Town, USA" is home to both the Hershey factory and the HB Reese Candy Company, and even boasts Hershey Park, a chocolate-themed amusement park!
Oaxaca, Mexico - Oaxaca is the heart of chocolate production in Mexico, and some say where the treat was invented centuries ago by the ancient Mesoamericans. You'll be spoiled for choice with restaurants, cafes and factories all offering mouth-watering options, but the town's specialty is it's hot cocoa, which most locals start every day with. Or you can take a chocolate-making class and brew your own!
Brussels, Belgium - With 12 chocolate factories, 16 chocolate museums, and over 2,000 chocolate shops, Brussels is undoubtedly the chocolate capital of the world! The city has a long tradition of lovingly handcrafted delicacies, including their specialty, the chocolate praline, and is home to Godiva, Neuhaus, and Leonidas.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Word Travels Forum Round-Up #07
It's our Monday Forum Round-Up, so here are the hottest topics for the week:
Not the info you're looking for? Ask our local experts yourself on the forum!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Word Travels Forum Round-Up #03
Here are the hottest topics burning up our travel forum right now:
Why not take advantage of our network of experts to ask your own questions?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Win a Trip to Puerto Vallarta!
Toronto Life is giving away a trip to Puerto Vallarta on the west coast of Mexico for a family of four!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)