Humor | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

A Rotten Person Travels The Caribbean – One Of the Funniest Travel Books Ever Written

Published September 3, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

A Rotten Person Travels The Caribbean, by Gary Buslik

A Rotten Person Travels The Caribbean by Gary Buslik, is an hysterically funny, make you choke on laughter, make tears run down your cheeks, novel about a lifetime of Caribbean travel.

I actually met Gary Buslik – briefly – at a gathering of travel bloggers. For some unknown reason, he decided that I would be a perfect candidate to review his travel narrative. I receive many such requests; sadly most of them turn out to be poorly written novels full of bad grammar and misspellings that leave me wondering what the point was. Not so with Buslik’s effort. From the moment I opened the front cover, I couldn’t put it down. I read most of it in a day, sitting in my favorite coffee shop while willfully ignoring the other patrons, who stared at me each time I laughed out loud – which was often.

Buslik’s singularly cynical life view – he is not kidding when he calls himself a rotten person – translates into some of the funniest stories I have ever read. While I don’t doubt for a moment that the stories are true (I believe he actually peed on Idi Amin and has discovered the secret of chicken rectums), but after reading chapters describing trips taken with his wife I need convincing that he’s been married to the same woman for more than 20 years. Whether his wife is mythical or just has a lot thicker skin than I do, their marital travels (and fights over potential trips) result in some gut-splitting situations.

If you want a good read that is guaranteed to make you laugh, buy A Rotten Person Travels The Caribbean (see link to Amazon.com below), but do not – I repeat DO NOT – try to read it while drinking coffee or you’ll be snorting java through your nostrils.

Buy Buslik’s book at Amazon.com

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Posted in Travel writing |

Tagged A Rotten Person Travels The Caribbean, Books, Gary Buslik, Humor, reading, Travel, writing |

15 Comments

Gettting Around On Public Transportation in New York Is About To Get A Little More Complicated

Published June 27, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

In recent decades, major sports teams have been selling naming rights to their stadiums. San Francisco’s historic Candlestick Park was renamed 3-Com Stadium, the Arizona Diamondbacks play in Bank One Ballpark, and Heinz Stadium is home to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bowl games sell corporate sponsorships (i.e.: the 96th Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi or the Valero Energy Alamo Bowl) and although they often turn event names into lengthy, tongue-twisting titles, the sponsorships also provide much needed revenue. It is precisely this revenue source that prompted officials in New York City to consider selling naming rights to some very unconventional facilities.

Faced with a massive $2 billion deficit, New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority began searching for corporate sponsors for – of all things – the city’s subway stops. For five years the MTA offered corporate naming rights to the underground but there were no takers – until now. If the $4 million deal is approved, Barclays Bank will be added to the already lengthy named Atlantic Avenue, Pacific Street and Flatbush Avenue subway stop in downtown Brooklyn. Although in this case the sponsorship may make sense (the subway stop will serve Barclays Center, a new sports arena scheduled to open in 2012), it certainly begs the question of whether traveling around NYC will still have that authentic New York flavor when conductors find themselves announcing “McDonald’s Big Mac Lincoln Center,” or “Yahoo! Rockefeller Center.”

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Posted in Northeast US travel |

Tagged authentic, Barclays Bank, Baseball, blogsherpa, bowl games, football, Humor, Metropolitan Transit Authority, MTA, naming rights, New York, New York City, public transportation, stadiums, subway, Travel, USA |

Travel Back In Time With Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, And Art Linkletter

Published April 11, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

I admit it. I sometimes carry the definition of travel to extremes. Hole In The Donut’s theme is “the inner and outer journey.” The outer journey – basically everything that has to do with travel – is broad enough to allow me to write about destinations, attractions, events, accommodations, and travel industry news.

The inner journey is where I deviate from the traditional view of travel. We all have different stories, but our common denominator is that we are all trying to find a way to be happy. So – and I know this is a stretch – I ask that you travel back in time with me to the early days of television. These two YouTube clips from The Art Linkletter Show and The Carol Burnett Show will make you roar with laughter. After all, any excuse to laugh is a good one. Enjoy.

Continue reading →

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Tagged art linkletter, carol burnett, harvey korman, house party, Humor, kids say the darndest things, tim conway, Travel, videos, woman |

8 Comments

Hitchhiking Around The World

Published February 7, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

Author’s update: As of March 11, 2011, the Hitchhikers.org site seems to be down, but the Hitchhikers.org Facebook Page lists some alternate resources for hitchhiking. I have not checked into any of them personally and am not even sure that the Facebook Page is in any way related to the original organization I wrote about, but their links may be worth checking out.

There are dozens of ways to get free or budget accommodations when you travel. At CouchSurfing.com you can find someone almost anywhere in the world who will allow you to sleep on their couch for free. HouseCarers.com lists home owners who provide free accommodations to travelers who will act as caretakers for their property while they are out of town. Still other agencies arrange for free or reduced accommodations in return for volunteer work.

But I have never heard of a way to get free transportation. Until now. I recently learned about Hitchhikers.org, a website that provides travelers with a way to search for rides from Los Angeles to Costa Rica, from Dar es Salaam to Madrid, or just from Amsterdam to Paris. Drivers who are looking for some company (or sometimes a modest fee) submit their rides to the site and hitchhikers search for routes that match their travel plans. They connect through the website and then handle their own arrangements from that point. There is no fee for posting or searching for rides, nor for contacting posters, and the website is available in more than 10 languages. Continue reading →

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Tagged budget, couch surfing, free accommodations, hitchhiking, house caretaking, house sitting, Humor, Travel |

13 Comments

Hysterical New Rule For Obese Canadian Airline Passengers

Published February 6, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

On January 10, 2008, the Canadian Transportation Agency passed the “one-person-one-fare” policy that prohibits Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz, and WestJet from charging more than one fare for “persons with disabilities who require additional seating for themselves, including those determined to be functionally disabled by obesity for purposes of air travel.”

The airlines were given one year to comply but the problem was how to implement the policy. Although the CTA stated that the decision “does not apply to persons who are obese but not disabled as a result of their obesity,” the potential for abuse was obvious. Earlier this month, Air Canada and WestJet announced they will require disabled or obese passengers seeking a second seat to fill out a five page form and send it in for review well before their flight date. The form requires doctors to – get this – measure the patient’s behind. They’ve even provided an illustration and instructions to facilitate the process: Continue reading →

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Posted in Travel industry news |

Tagged Air Canada, Canadian Transportation Agency, CTA, disablities, Humor, obese, obesity, one passenger one fare, Travel, West Jet |

24 Comments

Speaking Of India

Published January 24, 2009 | By Barbara Weibel

The synchronicity of the world constantly amazes me. Yesterday I wrote about traveling to India, and today I receive an email from my friend, Dorothy, who hails from Edinburgh, Scotland. Dorothy and I became fast friends when we both attended a very special Yoga retreat in a remote area of central India a few years ago.

Dorothy strikes a Yoga pose on a deserted beach

We ended up in adjacent bunks but we shared more than a bedroom – we both came down with a case of Delhi Belly and kept each other company from our sickbeds. Here’s what she sent me as a reminder: Continue reading →