News

Last week, a terrorist attack rocked one of the world's most neutral and seemingly quiet nations. The attacks that took place in Norway left over 70 people dead and many wondering -- how did this happen and why Norway?

Last Friday night (Taiwan time), I remember casually glancing at Facebook updates on my iPhone when something caught my eye. I read it three times just to be sure - a fellow friend and TravBuddy, Liz (Quest), posted that Oslo had just been the site of a bomb explosion.

Oslo? Really?

We instantly turned on the TV and watched CNN International, which was still only getting a few initial images and limited information at that moment. It brought back a flood of memories from 09/11 and watching the terror unfold live on television that morning. While the coverage on CNN International was pretty thorough, I learned from a friend and colleague back in the United States that the domestic feed of CNN was sporadic and limited to periodic updates interspersed throughout regular programming. While everything was unfolding during the second attack on the Youth Camp, Liz was online providing updates and reliable information from news sources back in Norway itself.

Since the tragic events of Friday, July 22nd, I've been searching for the right way to pay tribute to our TravBuddies in Norway and express our support during such a difficult and tragic time.

Today, I am going to let Liz, one of our more well-known Norwegian TravBuddies, have the floor.

This weekend has been an interesting one for the airlines, as part of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) shut down after a breakdown in politics on Friday. Unable to come to an agreement over extending the operating authority of the FAA, federal airline taxes in the United States will no longer be collected.

Good News, right? Not necessarily.

Before you rejoice -- this has the potential to be a major failure on many levels and could ultimately cost travelers more in the long run, not to mention added delays. The FAA taxes total about $200 million a week and go toward funding airline and airport related projects that many now be delayed and ultimately jack up costs in the long run. And, just because the FAA is not currently collecting these taxes, it doesn't mean the airlines are passing those savings on to you.

Russia's always had a bit of a reputation as a drinking capital. Some might argue that the scale of that reputation's a little unfounded (according to recent stats, there are three countries that throw more of the stuff down their throats), but most can see the point. Recent reclassifications might go some way to reducing the sheer volume: in a move aimed at allowing the sale of weaker alcohol to be controlled, beer and other drinks will be reclassified from foodstuff to an alcohol category in 2013. Incredibly, up until then, beer will remain classified as a 'foodstuff' alongside any other alcoholic substance that falls under a 10% cut off. The classification means that anyone of any age can buy alcohol of up to that strength, and anyone can consume it.

The BBC's report on the change of status comments that people in Russia are 'regularly consuming beer in the park as if it were a coffee or soft drink', and that beer is currently the fastest growing product in the alcohol market, with vodka sales down 30% over the past decade and beer sales up more than 40%. Beer can be bought un-restricted around the clock in any kiosk you can find open in Russia, and while American areas with a 21 year age restriction might contain youngsters looking on enviously, the sales have clearly become a problem locally. The average adult alcohol consumption in Russia is currently more than double what the World Health Organization considers to be a 'critical' level.

What have you done in the past seven months? Whatever it is, we're fairly sure it will fade into the background compared to watch ex Welsh international rugby player Richard Parks has achieved. Personally, his last seven months’ worth of effort comfortably eclipses everything I've done with my life. The 737 challenge involved Richard climbing the highest peaks on each continent, as well as traveling to three poles (yes, three, for some reason the team have also nominated Everest as a pole), all inside that time period of seven months. Richard completed his challenge on the 12th of July 2011, by summiting the highest peak in Europe, Russia's 5,642m Mount Elbus, and quipping from the top that he doesn't believe he has another mountain in him 'for another couple of months'. If we were him, we'd be putting our feet up for at least the rest of the year. The total time he spent completing the challenge was 6 months, 11 days. 7 hours and 53 minutes.

Richard's challenge is in aid of Marie Curie cancer care, a charity which he said is close to his own family’s heart, with a fundraising target of an impressive £1 million. As a former international rugby player, Richard was clearly already in great physical shape, but his challenge also demonstrates that almost anyone can push themselves to a physical limit if they put their heart and soul into it. Just 30 months ago, Richard had never climbed a mountain of any notable size. While he completed his challenge with the help of numerous sports professionals, he was able to learn all the skills necessary and train at enough altitude over the 18 months training he put in before the challenge to ensure that he succeeded in climbing some real monsters, and dragging himself across the snow to both the north and south extremities.

One thing that is evident while perusing TravBuddy blogs is the universal love of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Some TravBuddies make it their mission to visit one on all their travels, some just keep lists, and others strive to visit every single one in the world. When the "List" feature came out on TravBuddy, I think UNESCO World Heritage sites was one of the most popular types created.

Well, for those keeping track of UNESCO happenings, they recently announced the results for 2011 and there are 25 new inscribed properties. For those on the track to visit them all, you might find yourself even further behind unless you've lucked out by visiting some of these sites already!

For 2011, 21 new culture sites, 3 natural sites, 1 mixed site, and 1 extension were granted. For today's post, let's look briefly at five of these new inscriptions.