Tuesday, March 25, 2008
North Korea Opens Its First Hostel... in Berlin
Where you sleep when you visit Berlin may just have become political again. According to Bloomberg News, the North Korean government is taking some of its unused embassy space, left over from when their operations were much larger in the former East German capital, and turning a section of their building into a Hostel.
Expected to open in May, Cityhostel Berlin will include a Korean restaurant and a Grand Piano apparently. The cost per night? 20 Euros a night (or roughly $31) for a bed. That's actually on the high end of competitive for Berlin, where even in high season, dorm beds generally run for about 14 or 15 Euros a night. But they don't get the added benefit of funding one of the world's most repressive and horrifying regimes in the process.
Sometimes it makes sense to consider where your travel dollar is going. A lot of hostels in the developing world can make you wonder if the money you are spending is going to the community around you, or going back to the owner's home country. In this case, where the money is being headed is most definitely worth consideration. After all, in this Korean restaurant it might be worth considering that eating Kimchi in this hostel isn't keeping North Koreans from eating tree bark to stay alive, even if the money is going to North Korea.
Expected to open in May, Cityhostel Berlin will include a Korean restaurant and a Grand Piano apparently. The cost per night? 20 Euros a night (or roughly $31) for a bed. That's actually on the high end of competitive for Berlin, where even in high season, dorm beds generally run for about 14 or 15 Euros a night. But they don't get the added benefit of funding one of the world's most repressive and horrifying regimes in the process.
Sometimes it makes sense to consider where your travel dollar is going. A lot of hostels in the developing world can make you wonder if the money you are spending is going to the community around you, or going back to the owner's home country. In this case, where the money is being headed is most definitely worth consideration. After all, in this Korean restaurant it might be worth considering that eating Kimchi in this hostel isn't keeping North Koreans from eating tree bark to stay alive, even if the money is going to North Korea.
Labels: berlin, germany, hostels, north korea, travel
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Sunday Blogs of Note
Things I'm loving this week online this week are as follows:
Skybus airlines launched this week out of Columbus. Jaunted was there with an entertaining liveblog of the first few flights.
MSNBC reports that Las Vegas tourists are skipping the walking they might get on their vacation for motorized scooters usually reserved for the handicapped.
Has anyone seen the airplane air purifiers that are being sold some places? Hook it up to your little personal air jet thing and it supposedly makes the clean air cleaner or something? They're mostly forbidden, and might start the occasional on board fire - maybe. Fly Away Cafe was on that this week.
I'm fascinated with Knife Tricks. It's my favorite blog of late - all about his recent trip to North Korea. This week, Dog Soup!
Finally, Salon's Ask the Pilot describes the worst airport on earth. It's in Senegal.
Things I'm loving this week online this week are as follows:
Skybus airlines launched this week out of Columbus. Jaunted was there with an entertaining liveblog of the first few flights.
MSNBC reports that Las Vegas tourists are skipping the walking they might get on their vacation for motorized scooters usually reserved for the handicapped.
Has anyone seen the airplane air purifiers that are being sold some places? Hook it up to your little personal air jet thing and it supposedly makes the clean air cleaner or something? They're mostly forbidden, and might start the occasional on board fire - maybe. Fly Away Cafe was on that this week.
I'm fascinated with Knife Tricks. It's my favorite blog of late - all about his recent trip to North Korea. This week, Dog Soup!
Finally, Salon's Ask the Pilot describes the worst airport on earth. It's in Senegal.
Labels: airplanes, airports, blogs, las vegas, north korea, skybus, travel
Monday, May 21, 2007
The blogs worth reading...
Every day, I find another travel blog to explore, and there's always a couple things worth sharing. Here's what I loved this week.
The New York Times is all about Weissbier! They took a tour of Northern Germany and explored the different kinds of regional brews that Germany was famous for before everyone learned to love the Pilsner.
Have I mentioned how much I'm loving Knife Tricks lately? My new favorite blog is bringing out piece by piece stories of his visit to North Korea and I'm absolutely enthralled.
Oh yeah, Slate has a great photo essay on Seattle and its architectural revolution over the last thirty years or so.
Every day, I find another travel blog to explore, and there's always a couple things worth sharing. Here's what I loved this week.
The New York Times is all about Weissbier! They took a tour of Northern Germany and explored the different kinds of regional brews that Germany was famous for before everyone learned to love the Pilsner.
Have I mentioned how much I'm loving Knife Tricks lately? My new favorite blog is bringing out piece by piece stories of his visit to North Korea and I'm absolutely enthralled.
Oh yeah, Slate has a great photo essay on Seattle and its architectural revolution over the last thirty years or so.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Blogs I'm Loving.
Once a week or so, I want to share the blogs that I loved reading these past few days. Two really struck me this week.
First, with Delta and Northwest exiting bankruptcy, we all know that it's a good thing for the airline itself. But is it good for the average Joe Economyclass? Upgrade: Travel Better isn't so sure.
Second, I love a good exotic travel story. And these days, it doesn't get more far flung than Pyongyang. In fact, it doesn't get more exotic than flying there on the state run airline of North Korea. Knife Tricks reviews his flight on Air Koryo.
Once a week or so, I want to share the blogs that I loved reading these past few days. Two really struck me this week.
First, with Delta and Northwest exiting bankruptcy, we all know that it's a good thing for the airline itself. But is it good for the average Joe Economyclass? Upgrade: Travel Better isn't so sure.
Second, I love a good exotic travel story. And these days, it doesn't get more far flung than Pyongyang. In fact, it doesn't get more exotic than flying there on the state run airline of North Korea. Knife Tricks reviews his flight on Air Koryo.
