5 Best Places to See Cherry Blossoms (besides Japan)

With the recent tragic events in Japan, there aren't many tourists making the journey to Sakura and Kyoto for the cherry blossom festivals there. Many people don't know, however, that there are other cities that have spectacular displays of pink blossoms each spring, and events and festivals to go with them. Here are a few of the other best places to see cherry blossoms:

San Francisco – California’s best city for pink flowers, San Francisco hosts a cherry blossom festival every April. The best places to go are Golden Gate Park, and the San Jose Heritage Garden, which is a little out of town but has an entire field of cherry blossom trees.

Vancouver – Vancouver is Canada’s cherry blossom capital. Their events run from mid-March through the end of April. The best streets to see the flowers is 7th Avenue in Mount Pleasant, but the city offers a cherry blossom viewing map that you can download here.

Honolulu – Hawaii has its own tradition of cherry blossoms, which bloom in Honolulu, and Waimea on the Big Island. The best place to see them is in Church Row Park, where the cherry blossom festival is held. Hawaii’s cherry blossoms bloom early though, so this event is usually held in February.

Seoul – If your heart is set on going east, South Korea has spectacular displays each April. The best place to go is Seoul, which has beautiful pink and white vistas at Mount Namsan and Seoul Forest. For a real treat, visit Children’s Grand Park, which lights up its more than 1,000 cherry blossom trees each night.

Washington DC – Outside of Japan, Washington DC is the place to go to see cherry blossom trees. The landscape positively explodes pink everywhere you look, and it becomes nearly impossible to take a bad picture. It all stems from 3,000 cherry trees given to the US by Japan as a sign of goodwill, and each spring the city hosts the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The best place to see the cherry blossoms is in Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park.

Image by katmere.

Travel Movie: Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet depicts the relationship between a German mountain climber Heinrich Harrer and the young Dalai Lama, over the period when the Chinese occupation of Tibet began. The 1997 film helped to launch Brad Pitt as a movie star, and the did much to raise awareness of the occupation and what it meant for the Tibetan people.

The Chinese government predictably protested the film, which is very respectful of Tibetan culture and depicts Chinese authorities as arrogant. Pitt was banned from ever travelling to China.

The movie was widely criticised for slow pacing, and glossing over Harrer's past as a Nazi SS officer. Brad Pitt's accent was also listed as the third worst in movie history by Empire. As a travel movie though, we can only complain that most of the footage was actually shot in Argentina. Only 20 minutes of the film is actually showing Tibet. Granted, they had to do that bit secretly.

Verdict: Skip it. (and rent Kundun instead)

Does Your Hotel Have Bedbugs?

The last thing anyone wants is a great night's sleep in a beautiful hotel, only to wake up covered in itchy red blotches. Yuck! The recent bedbug crisis in New York City has many travellers worried that they'll be unknowingly sharing their pricey hotel room with unwanted bedmates.

So before you book a hotel in the US or Canada, check it against the

Bed Bug Registry, where previous guests can report incidents of bed bugs.

If you do end up with being bitten, the best thing you can do is apply an antiseptic cream. There are natural remedies for bedbug bites using herbs like lavender, mint, and black walnut; and applying ice can help to calm the itchiness.

Remember to wrap your luggage and clothing in plastic bags and leave them in the sun for a couple of days to prevent hitch hikers, as bed bugs can't endure extreme heat.

Image from here.

Word Travels Forum Round-Up #17

It's Monday, so here are the travel questions people have been talking about on the Word Travels Forum this week:

Trains in Switzerland

ID to get into Canada from the US

Driving to Chile from Canada

Japan earthquake and tsunami updates

Got any questions of your own? You can ask them on the forum and our local experts will find an answer for you!

Image from Erik Charlton.

Win a Trip to Zanzibar!

Okay South Africans, this one's for you! You can win a trip for two to Zanzibar from Travelstart!

More info here.

Image from here.

Top 5 Travel Songs

It seems like most songs these days are written to inspire people to fall in love (or lust!), have a good time, or feel better about a break-up. There are some songs that just make you want to hit the road, however, whether they're about a certain place, or just driving nowhere in particular. Here's our list of the top 5 songs about travelling:

Cruisin' - Originally by Smokey Robinson, I first heard this song in the little-known karaoke movie Duets, where Gwyneth Paltrow accompanies Huey Lewis. Now both versions hold a certain nostalgia for me, and it makes me itch to take a road trip.

Route 66 - This classic from Nat King Cole name-drops towns like rappers name kinds of booze. It gets your foot tapping so much you'll be planning the drive from Chicago to LA in no time flat.

Sail Away - The sultry sounds of this song tempts even the hardest heart to jump on a boat and sail into the sunset, especially with that special someone. Far more inviting than that Enya thing.

Leaving on a Jet Plane - Who hasn't hummed this song to themselves while being dropped at the airport? Ironically, John Denver died in a plane crash, but this song remains one of his greatest hits.

Roam - This has got to be the most cheerful ode to getting your travel on that I've ever heard! It's inspired women around the world to get up and go, whether they have a travel partner or not. And as it reminds us, many trips begin and end 'with a kiss'.

Image from Laura Evans Music.

Travel Movie: Once Upon a Time in Mexico

The top news in Mexico these days is all about drug lords battling the authorities in the streets. The 2003 film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, like its prequels (Desperado and El Mariachi) depicts this perfectly (almost prophetically).

The other thing it gets right however, is the brilliancy of the dust-covered colours and the underlying beauty of the country beyond the smog of Mexico City. Each scene is composed like a postcard, and at the end of the movie you're rather wanting to hop on a plane, despite the violence. Filmed in Guanajuato, Querétaro, and San Miguel de Allende, it leaves behind the seediness of Tijuana and plastic resorts of Acapulco and shows you a taste of the real Mexico, with a soundtrack to match. A little over the top? Sure. But fun.

Verdict: Rent it

Image from here.