TravelPod News

If you thought the airport couldn’t get worse, rampant consumerism continues to fuel the push on the boundaries of appropriate advertising space.

Some airports in the US are considering adding these types of interactive floor ads to amuse bored travelers in the terminal. Could you imagine the bottlenecks that could result as people play with soccer balls while other people in mad dashes to make their flight on time try to get by? Wow. Talk about chaos.

What do you think about interactive floor ads? Amusing or annoying? Tell me about it in the TravelPod travel forums.

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

The Earth Times has been reporting that Cambodian authorities will be cracking down on the marijuana-laced pizzas found all over the backpacker circuit in that country. Eating a slice of so-called “happy pizza” has been a backpacker rite of passage for a while now. So what will become of the hippy paradise now that the ganj is no longer a welcome pizza topping?

Cambodians aren’t the only ones to mix recreational drugs into food.

Have you tried the space cakes in Amsterdam? How about the mushroom shakes in Vang Vieng? Let us know about your experience in the TravelPod travel forums.

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

Feeling stressed? Maybe it’s time to start a blog. Two recent articles expound upon the benefits of blogging for your mental health. One article from CNN and another from ABC in Australia cite scientific and anecdotal evidence showing how blogging can bring you back from the brink of death, (in the case of one suicidal woman) and how you can create a stronger circle of friends, simply by writing about your daily experiences on the internet.

While doctors say that blogging should never replace actual psychotherapy, some say that blogging can work well with an established therapy program. It can create a strong social support system, helping you gather a group of people who really care about you.

Has blogging saved your sanity? Traveling is stressful and it’s a great help when you know that your friends and family are behind you. Sometimes your social network can push you along, even when you feel like giving up.

Share your thoughts about blogging and mental health with other travelers in the TravelPod forums.

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

Designers Jacky Wu, Neo Chen & Eric Liu have released their concept idea of an airline ticket that comes with a synchronized watch. When you buy your ticket, the vendor programs the time for you and you can wear the watch for the rest of your trip (assuming the batteries will last longer than your trip, of course).

It’s a neat idea but in this age of airline downsizing, I’m pretty sure nobody will spring for adding this little gadget onto each and every ticket. It seems to me that the world’s still doing pretty well with everyone wearing their own watches. Last time I checked it was still spinning…

Got something to say about it? Chat about this idea in the TravelPod forums.

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

Here’s some more positive press about TravelPod’s Traveler IQ Challenge, found in Brisbane’s Courier Mail. It was featured alongside other enlightening games such as freerice.com and nothingbutnets.net.

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

If you haven’t heard already, Orkut is Google’s version of Facebook. TravelPod’s Traveler IQ Challenge game application has recently been approved for use on the social networking site. It was one of a group of only 28 approved worldwide.

Right now, you can only use it if you are registered in India or Estonia, but soon, it will be available to the whole world. Can’t wait? Just set your country information in your profile to India or Estonia, and you can start using the application.

Right now, my IQ is 118, and my score is 192,434. Think you can beat it?

Like all the other Traveler IQ apps, this one lets you compete with your friends on the leaderboard. Download and add the Traveler IQ Challenge application, then add me to your list of friends and let the competition begin!

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

Traveler IQ has once again been placed among the most popular travel-related applications on Facebook. Check out the article on the USA Today website.

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

This little gadget is pretty cool. Most people have stories about a cell phone saving their life, but sometimes, if you’re out in the wilderness, or you’re just out of cell phone range, you’re going to need a satellite phone to get help.

Back in 1999, I remember lugging a satellite phone into the backwoods of the Yukon that was the size of a large briefcase and really heavy. Those days are thankfully over with the advent of smaller GPS devices, intense communications research, and this handy doohickey.

You can check in with your friends and family, and automatically send them a canned email that lets them know you’re OK, or you can call for help and dial 911 if you run into trouble.

The one critique I have about it, is that there is no way to input variable text into the email while you’re out in the bush or sailing the seven seas. I’m assuming a feature like this, however, is not far away.

What do you think?

Has a cell phone ever saved your life while traveling?

Would you rather use one of these things instead?

Let me know in the TravelPod forums!

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager