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THE CHILL-LIST
“With the lowest noise and light pollution levels, Iceland comes in third place on the list. It enjoys 36 days of annual leave each year and gets to enjoy the sights of one of the world’s greatest natural phenomena – the Northern Lights.” Can you guess what the chillest and second chillest countries in the world are according to Lonely Planet? I’m just saying, if Iceland is third with 36 days of annual leave, what do the others have?! Not going to lie…reading through this article again is making it really tough to get this newsletter done!
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OPPOSITE OF CHILL-LIST
I probably should have started with this since it’ll probably mess you up after all that chilling earlier, especially if you have travel plans to any of the orange (I’m not talking about the White House) or red places on the map. Forbes shares the travel risk map: “Put together by global risk experts International SOS in collaboration with Control Risks, the map looks at different aspects of risk including medical, security and road safety, rating them across five levels from lowest to highest. The criteria used to define risk levels varies for each category and are quite detailed.” Believe it or not, there is good news: the world is actually safer to visit than ever before.
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GORILLAX
How does a jungle escape with adventure, volcanoes, and gorillas sound to you? I’m not talking about hanging out with M’Baku from Wakanda (Wakanda forever). I’m talking about Rwanda, right here in our own backyard: Earth. From CNN: “Almost a quarter of a century after it was headline news as it was sucked into a vortex of violence and genocide that left it in ruins, the central African country has flourished, and is now regarded as one of the safest places on the continent for travelers. The main draw remains Volcanoes National Park in the northwest, home to a 480-strong population of mountain gorillas made famous by Dian Fossey, the American researcher played by Sigourney Weaver in ‘Gorillas in the Mist.'”
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GOOD JOB TOURISM, SORRY EVERYONE ELSE
“Last year was a very good year for international tourism, according to a new report from the United Nations World Tourism Organization. In 2018, there were 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals, a figure the UNWTO didn’t expect global tourism to hit until 2020.” Good job tourism! Sorry everyone else who has had to suffer from too much of it. I mean you all know me, I’m all for folks exploring new places, cultures and people, but more important than the quantity is the quality: what are people actually doing (and what are they spending) when they’re touring.
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ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER TRAVEL TOOL (BUT WORTH IT?)
Feels like we’re constantly bombarded with tools to help us plan our travels better. Luxury Travel Diary shares more about a new: “Sophisticated tool and analysis which enables you to travel the world in style at a massive discount. This tool will also help you do mileage runs and monitor fares for wherever you fly from and to.” May be worth a try.
And, for when you do all that traveling, wouldn’t it be handy to know the best restaurants to grab a bite in the most busy US airports? From Food and Wine: “F&W’s ultimate airport dining survival guide features the best places to eat and drink in airports around the country, from Carolina-style barbecue in Charlotte and fresh sushi in Atlanta, to the culinary juggernaut that is Terminal 5 in NYC’s JFK.” Wait, so it’s not Shake Shack at JFK’s terminal 4??
Thanks,
Joe Naaman
Managing Editor, Waywinds
Keep Exploring!