Category Archives: Travel

Belgium put up for sale on EBay, fetches 10 million EUR

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A frustrated Belgian citizen has posted, for sale on eBay, the state of Belgium. As you all know, Belgium has not been able to put together a government because the Flemish and Walloon politicians have not managed to reach a deal, many months after the elections. Calls for the independence of Flanders are getting louder. Flanders is very prosperous and speaks Flemish; Wallonia is very poor, a recipient of charity from the Flemish and of course they speak French. It was the other way around before World War II. Wallonia was prosperous and the French-speaking Belgians controlled Belgium, forcing the Flemish to speak French, conduct official affairs in French, and worship the French-speaking king. There’s so much animosity right now between the two groups, it’s hard to see how long Belgium can last. The Flemish resent how the Walloons still continue demanding such a huge voice and of course money from the wealthier Flemish region.

Back to the eBay “sale” of Belgium:

[Gerrit] Six placed the advertisement on Saturday, offering free delivery, but pointing out that the country was coming secondhand and that potential buyers would have to take on over $300 billion (euro220 billion) in national debt.

eBay pulled the ad after having bidding reached 10 million EUR.

European Parliament seeks to scrap stupid no liquids rules

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For a year now, air travelers have been burdened by the stupidest rules on earth that do not improve safety and lead only to delays and waste. The no-liquids rule adopted by the European Union last year has finally come under fire from members of the European Parliament. According to the Financial Times:

“European legislators called for a review of the continent’s anti-terrorism policies yesterday, including the scrapping of limits on taking liquids on board aircraft . . . MEPs also voted to force the European Commission to publish the secret regulation limiting air passengers to five 100ml bottles of fluid, which has increased queues at airports, saying that unless it had a valid reason it should be scrapped. If the Commission does not comply within three months it can be taken to the European Court of Justice.”

While European airports (with the exception of those in the UK) are not as horrible as US airports, the travel experience deteriorated noticeably after the liquids rules came into effect.

Guide to 75 online travel resources

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Mashable has posted a guide to 75+ online travel resources from well-known ones like Travelocity to smaller sites such as Dopplr (still in private beta). Go to:

http://mashable.com/2007/08/14/travel-toolbox/ 

At the end of the article is a list of useful resources for Gmail, online polling, online presentations, WordPress plugins, etc.

Review of Yotel, a stylish budget hotel in the UK

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Cyrus Farivar, a technology writer from San Francisco, stayed overnight at the recently opened Yotel right in Gatwick Airport, London. Yotel is the new chain of Japanese-inspired stylish budget hotels in airports. He says:

Basically once you get out of the baggage claim and clear customs, there’s an elevator that goes down one floor — and all of a sudden, it’s like you’re in this serene space that shouldn’t exist in a loud international airport like this one. To the left is a set of computers where you check it — once you’re confirmed (it almost feel like you
should get a retinal scan), it prints out your receipt with your WiFi code on it, and gives you the keycard to your room. Gatwick’s Yotel currently has 46 rooms, and from what I can tell about one-third of them are the “premium” class rooms, which are slightly bigger, with and extra three inches of television screen (23″ vs. 20″) and are the ones shown in the photos on the website. The premium will run you 82 GBP ($168) vs. the “standard” room, which is what I have, which “only” costs 55 GBP ($110) for 24 hours. The minimum charge for the room is 25 GBP ($50) for four hours.

To read the entire review, click here.

UPDATE: Yotel is opening a hotel at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.