Fly Favorites: May 2010

This phat-ass image by ESCOBAS.

See who's artistically reppin' your hood at Cit/ID.

A Brother in Sweden profiles the Noo Awlins Indians (thas hah we say it in Flawda).

Der Spiegel highlights "May Day Riot Tourism in Berlin" while the Economist covers Germany's French-like attempt to save its language from that gaudy party-crasher, English.

Dhani Jones is back tackling the globe Mondays on the Travel Channel (does this fool ever wear shirts?).

Using "The Beautiful Hortense" and Chihuahuan Mennonites to appropriately describe place at Cuaderno Inédito.

Fall for the next installment in the Cities of Love film series: Rio, Eu Te Amo (here's hoping it's more like the sparkling Paris, Je t'aime and less like the Wonder Bread NY edition; I want to love this movie).

Fly photographs and classy culture from the Motherland on Out and About Africa.

The current time in Paris, brought to you by funky Franco-Japanese timepiece, Uniqlock.

Resurrecting the Miami Herald's award-winning series on Afro-Latin America.

The hoof-stompin', devil-worshippin' Satanique Samba Trio (click "Imperialist Pigs" for the English site, LOL).

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Fly Favorites: April 2010

Faux-WWII posters for the fly-ass crib at Urban Bazaar Posters.

The New York Times on why French is indeed not an endangered language.

Jetrosexual expat Kiratiana helps deserving web designer Denise Jacobs get to Londontowne.

National Geographic Traveler offers a heart-tugging treatise on the goodbyes of travel.

NoDebtWorldTravel insists you shake off the Haterade and hit the road.

To the East: peep the Asia issue of Black Expat Magazine.

Fellow Florida A&M University alums Andrea and Teri go crazysexycool abroad at Travelista.tv.

Jaunted's "Five In-Flight Things That Will Remain Free From Hidden Airline Fees" (for now).

Kick it in Paris or Costa Rica with the Black Atlas traveler sweepstakes.

Kelly of Travellious on "Why You Should Always Have a Trip Planned." Amen.

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Fly Favorites: February 2010

CNN Traveller highlights the diverse and sundry architecture of beautiful Downtown Cairo.

Carlo Alcos of Matador Trips takes five weeks to cycle around that faded Caribbean beauty, Cuba.

From Seoul to the Seine, photographer and very stylish fille Felicia Shelton has unveiled her new online portfolio.

Tom Brokaw takes the blame off Canada with this insightful portrait of his home country.

Canadian brother Ricardo Arthur discusses b-boys and black culture in Japan.

Brandie of Out and About Africa profiles DC-opian Bernos.org and their fly African t-shirts and blog.

My So-Called Life in France gets hilariously indignant about "Gerdard Dipardoo's" bleaching of the racially-mixed auteur Alexandre Dumas.

The New York Times goes in-depth on how to click it and ticket flights the frugal way.

Camille of Adventures in Wheelville shows us what's up during Carnival in snowy Slovenia.

When in the City by the Bay, check out the slick and soulful Museum of the African Diaspora, and donate to the cause.

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Fly Favorites: January 2010

Designer Tyler Thompson spruces up the boring-ass boarding pass.

Black Expat interviews the always adroit American Black Chick in London Europe on life across the Cess Pool Pond.

Very decent Time article on the historical relationship between Haiti and her neighbor, the Dominican Republic.

Matador Trips' photo essay "Big Cities Under Snow" knocks 'em dead with wintry wonder.

Vagablogging outlines a few unexpected Carnival options, should Rio, New Orleans, or Venice strike you as old hat.

wejetset's city notes lets you add to or take away inspired urban insights from global cities.

The New York Times scopes out Colombian colonial treasure Villa de Leyva (Remembered it! Wrote it down! Took the picture [above]!).

Rome Photo Blog and Daily Dose of Imagery. Sit and stare.

"Disgraced" Lonely Planeteer "Thomas Kohnstamm" lists "Nine Subversive Travel Books" on World Hum. Don't miss the "argument" in the comments section on "monolingual, white Americans." ;-)

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Three Months, Six Continents, Three-Point-Five Grand

Through a combination of one-time tip-offs and dogged research, the universe (and the economy) conspired in my favor to send me traipsing round the Urf this fall with the following ticket prices:

Jacksonville → Baltimore - $88
New York → Dublin - $234
Dublin → London - $48
London → Stockholm - $90
Stockholm → Berlin - $13
Berlin → Istanbul - $68
Istanbul → Cairo - $248
Cairo → Abu Dhabi → Mumbai - $370
Delhi → Kuala Lumpur - $197
Kuala Lumpur ↔ Macau - $85
Kuala Lumpur → Los Angeles - $630 (business class)
Los Angeles ↔ Sydney - $651
Los Angeles → São Paulo → Orlando - $740

Plus several other bus and train trips and short flights = US$3500

Actually, you can get a cheaper round-the-world ticket from specialized agencies like Airtreks or Air Brokers, which allow changes in routing and scheduling for a year, or you could pay a bit more and have a slew of stops on multiple continents with an airline alliance such as oneworld, but a) I ain't have all the money at one time, b) I needed to add a wide-open Brazil flight to the end of the trip (I arrive in Sampa on November 20 and head back to Florida for my brother's wedding next April), and c) what got me on my way was that business class trans-Pacific flight.

Even if you don't have a month off from work or three grand to spend on some grandiose neo-Grand Tour, the ridiculous cost of airplane tickets these days prove that international travel is not a millionaire's game; there's no reason not to pop over for a weekend somewhere that requires a passport.

Check the websites I mentioned here and get packing.

Fly Favorites: May 2009

This month, I've run across several interesting Internet items that I thought I'd share with you, my dear readers, starting with:

• My most recent, original, brand spankin' new essay, "Of Sacrifice and Uncertainty," over at Travellious.

• The newest tome from The Art of Non-conformity's Chris Guillebeau (inspiration personified), The Unconventional Guide to Art and Money, available in affordable "Starving Artist" and deluxe "Picasso" editions.

Photo uploaded by CitySkip

• A bittersweet homage to New York (Fuckin') City's bad ol' days of the 70s at Vanity Fair.

• The world's crappiest flights, hotels, meals, and toilets razzed by noted travel personalities over at the Titanic Awards.

• Newsweek's poignant, stunning photo essay on that enigmatic, rising Middle Eastern power formerly known as Persia, titled "Emerging Iran: Poised Between Tradition and Modernity."

Photo by fadogirl

• The English meanings of place names like Malibu, Chicago, and Lake Tahoe (plus fun-to-say places like Chattanooga, Okeechobee, Tuscaloosa, and Idaho-Udaho-which-one-is-a-state?) with National Geographic's interactive map, Native Names. Bet you can't find which names mean "person of dirty water," "let's have intercourse," or "falling hair."
  

• An Associated Press reporter's wacky seven-day swine flu stop-over, "Week's Quarantine in China," at MSNBC.

• The Los Angeles Times on South Korea's somewhat misguided attempt at rebranding its international image.

• Aerial views of the concrete swirls of Spaghetti Junctions, Mix Masters, Mixing Bowls, and Hillside Stranglers from around the world, featured at wejetset.

Photo by Marcelo Gregorin Coelho

• America's Next Top Model coverage of fashion in Brazil's biggest burg, favela-style, and the funky new English-language print and virtual travel guide to my favoritest city on Urf, Total São Paulo, which debuts with hot-spot reviews and a salacious call girl interview (kudos to TSP for 'going there' with what most people, myself included, love about Brazil...the sex!).

• Fodor's breakdown of the ins-and-outs and fine print of European budget airlines.

• Brandie at Out and About Africa's design-conscious travelogue of a boat trip down the Nile.

• Bogotá's Sunday-morning ritual of bike-riding, roller-blading, and general promenading through high-altitude streets in Streetfilms' ten-minute short, Bogotá Ciclovia. This makes me miss living in the Colombian capital.

• World Hum's humorous inner-workings of American state travel booths at this year's "Visit America Pageant" in Miami Beach. Also, celebrating their eighth anniversary, World Hum rounds up their "Eight Great Stories on the Travel Writing Life" that might make you want to drop everything and go Hemmingway.

Fly Brother welcomes your views. If this post hit the spot, please comment below and/or click .

Stupid Cheap Summer Airfares That You Would Be Stupid to Ignore

Photo by Gun Sydney

These are some of the deals I've found for round-trip international travel in June, July, and August (some even extend into the fall, when the weather's heating up Down Under). Dust off the passport (or apply for one) and get them bags packed:

Chicago to Dublin*, Ireland - $498 on Delta

Chicago to San Jose, Costa Rica - $277 on TACA

Los Angeles to Buenos Aires, Argentina - $598 on United

Los Angeles to Frankfurt*, Germany - $517 on Delta

Los Angeles to Manila, Philippines - $588 on Delta

Los Angeles to Panama City, Panama - $297 on American

New York-JFK to Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep. - $341 on JetBlue

New York-LaGuardia to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - $513 on United ($541 on Delta)

Newark to Berlin*, Germany - $519 on Continental/KLM

Newark to Cartagena, Colombia - $393 on Continental/Copa

Newark to Sydney, Australia - $712 on United ($573 from LA!!!!!!)

San Francisco to Tokyo, Japan - $454 on Air Canada (early-mid June only)

Washington to Frankfurt*, Germany - $526 on Lufthansa

*Once in Germany or Ireland, you can hop over to almost any other major European city for as little as $40 each way.

And right now, round trips from the East Coast out West and vice-versa are also stupid cheap, often $200 or less, so not living in San Fran or LA is no excuse; DC people, hit that Chinatown Bus to The City. I found these fares by first checking the forums on frequent traveler website FlyerTalk, then verifying on the individual airline sites, or on Farecast, Orbitz, Expedia, Farecompare, or Airfare Watchdog (which is especially handy by alerting you of fare sales from any airport you desire). If you can, play around with the dates or destinations; I'm sure you'll find something worth salivating over.

Fly Brother welcomes your views. If this post hit the spot, please comment below and/or click .

Fly Favorites: April 09

Over the last few weeks, I've run across several interesting Internet items that I thought I'd share with you, my dear readers, starting with:

• A Hundred Single Ladies in Piccadilly Circus

• Life Magazine's brand-new online gallery of stunning travel photographs.

• Jet Set Zero: "...a group of twenty-somethings traveling the world after only three months of minimum-wage work. We started with nothing to see just how far we can go, and have a few good adventures along the way." Why the HELL didn't I think of this when I was in MY 20s?

• Writer Christine Garvin's treatise on cultural interloping, "White By Birth, Another Heritage By Choice", at Matador Network's Brave New Traveler blog.

• The Micro Machines-style interactive map of casino development on the Las Vegas Strip from the Las Vegas Sun newspaper (It's more interesting if you start at 2007 and work backwards).

• The humorous rundown, over at World Hum, of the tightrope walk that is international dating etiquette: "Around the World in Five Dates".

• Gawjus Jawjuh peach and consummate salsera, Zhaleh, currently in Korea, and some of the darnedest things people say to her, as elucidated at Supa Dupa Fly Seoul Sista.

• Smelling, tasting, and feeling the Cidade Maravilhosa through my computer screen while being swept up in Alex Forman's visceral travel dispatch on Rio de Janeiro over at Nerve (This is inspired prose!).
  

• Upgrade: Travel Better's thoughtful, thorough report on The Best Airfare Comparison Sites, and I guarantee you, it ain't Orbitz or Expedia.
  


• The very impressive Afro-Swedish culture and lifestyle e-magazine, Urbanlife, and its review of the hilarious French race-changing comedy, Agathe Cléry (You HAVE to watch the trailer).
  

Photo by Taro Taylor

• Taro Taylor's astounding photographs of the people and landscapes of the South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea.

• Travellious' quick-n-easy guide to getting your first passport, for those of you who still haven't caught on that true ballers go through Immigration, biyotch!
  
  
• And last, but not least, IHOP is finally in all 50 states. BDT.