More on the Mexico hotel explosion...Mexican authorities changing their tune?

I was a little suspicious of that swamp gas story.

When we got news yesterday of the hotel explosion near Playa del Carmen, south of Cancun in Mexico, I wrote in this space that it sounded a little strange. After all, hotels and other properties have been built near swamps or on former swamp land for years and we never hear of such explosions. It simply sounded odd to me when a state prosecutor and local officials blamed swamp gas.

I'm not saying this happened, but if I was a hotel operator I'd probably want to blame natural causes rather than anything operational. So perhaps the initial explanation was understandable. But today, according to recent reports in the Star, it appears it might have been another issue.

An authority for the federal Environmental and Natural Resources Secretariat (Semarnat) agency today said the problem likely was linked to an operational or maintenance issue at the hotel.

“I’m nearly 100 per cent sure that it was due to an operational problem in the hotel’s infrastructure, and not an accumulation of gas in underground caves,” said Gabriela Lima Laurents of Semarnat. “If that was the case, not only (the state of) Quintana Roo but the entire (Yucatan) peninsula would be in danger to explode or would have already blown."

Now, I'm going to put my suspicious journalist hat on again and make the following point. I have no idea what happened down there. But if you're a federal agency in a government somewhere, and you're worried about tourism in your country, the last thing you want is anyone thinking that a whole bunch of hotels could go "boom" at any moment. The best-case scenario would be that an explosion like this was simply human error and, thus, limited to one specific property. Like I say, I'm not judging anyone here. I'm simply pointing out that if the explosion at the Grand Princess Riviera Hotel was because of a problem at that hotel and that hotel only, it would make folks in Mexico tourism breathe a little bit easier. Don't you think?

That having been said, it sounds more plausible to me that there was a hotel malfunction than some issue with methane gas. I did, however, read a couple stories this morning about how scientists were suggesting that methane could be responsible, and they're a lot smarter than I am. Which leaves me rather perplexed and still very much of the opinion that we should all be diligent in researching and selecting vacations, and safety should be one of the criteria.

I''m not suggesting any particular country is at fault, but I'd probably feel better staying in a high-rise in a country where people are paid a decent wage and where there are firm standards for construction and maintenance of hotels and other tourist sites.

In the meantime, let's see how the investigations play out with the situation at hand....

FREE HOTEL ROOMS IF YOU GET FILMED IN BED?

I spotted a great item on the wires about how a Swedish porn king (didn't know they had any, but there you go) is touting the idea of building five-star hotels that people could stay in for free. It sounds too good to be true, and it is. The catch, however, is a wee bit unusual.

Berth Milton, who runs something called Private Media, says the rooms would be gratis only if guests agreed to have their sexual exploits broadcast on the web.

I dunno, Berth. There are a lot of people out there who would PAY to have their exploits broadcast on the web if you ask me. So I think you're, um, blowing an opportunity here to pad your pocketbook.

That issue aside, Milton isn't thinking small. He's talking about 100 properties and thinks each hotel could generate $43.8 million a year in subscriptions from folks watching at home. I can see one in Toronto, perhaps at, and you'll have to forgive me for this, Exhibition Place.

Milton says the hotels have to have a wide appeal, and here's a great quote.

"It has to be a hotel for non-swingers as well - not super-explicit where everybody's running around naked. That takes the style and class out of it."

God forbid we remove the class from such a stylistic, tasteful idea, Berth. Geez.

Milton says it's critical that the idea is, um, fully formed.

"The important thing is to go all the way - not halfway or a third of the way. Imagine how they were laughing at Steve Jobs and Bill Gates when they came up with their own ideas."

Good luck, Mr. Milton. The style gurus of the world are counting on you to do this right.

 

 

 

Mexico explosion raises issues travellers should be aware of...St. Kitts trouble

It's pretty horrifying to read the story in today's Star about the explosion that ripped through a hotel in the popular Playa del Carmen region of Mexico. Losing a child is especially painful and something no parent should have to go through.

Authorities say five Canadians and two Mexicans died in the powerful explosion yesterday at the Grand Riviera Princess Hotel, south of Cancun. Two other Canadians remain in critical condition.

I don't think it's cause for panic, as it's a seemingly unusual occurence. But we still don't seem to have very solid information about what exactly caused the explosion. It sounds like it COULD be a buildup of methane, perhaps from a nearby swamp.

If I was travelling to this part of Mexico, and it's important to stress this is something that occurred in one tiny portion of the country, I'd want to know what's under my hotel, and how close my hotel is to this particular swamp. What about other swamps?

I don't know. A lot of Florida is built around swampland, but I've never heard of hotels blowing up like this down around the Everglades or anything. I'll take authorities at their word for now, but as a journalist I have to be wary of the party line.

Francisco Alor, attorney general for the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, said reports suggest "an accumulation of gases produced by decomposing organic material in the subsoil, and this gas produced the explosion."

“Expert examiners and civil defence personnel will have to determine if the underground space filled with swampy water that remained in this zone when the building was constructed four years ago, could have generated this type of gases,” he said.

Officials said no gas lines were located in the area where the blast occurred.

It's still early, but the issue certainly is disturbing. What other hotels are in this region, exactly? How close are they to this swamp that seems to be attracting attention? If I was a traveler, I'd want to find out precisely where my hotel is compared to the Grand Riviera Princess.

The Grand Sunset Princess appears to be right next door, according to some web maps I've found. There are several popular Mayakoba resorts just up the beach a bit, but Mike Taylor at Fairmont tells me the Fairmont Mayakoba is 15 or 20 minutes away.

Fairmont released a statement about 2 p.m., which I'm providing here in its entirety:

Fairmont Mayakoba sends its condolences to those affected by the incident at the Grand Princess Riviera Hotel that occurred on November 14, 2010. Local Playa del Carmen authorities have the situation under control and have assured us that this was an isolated incident only affecting that property. Fairmont Mayakoba is operating normally; as reference, our property is located 2 kilometers away from the Grand Princess Riviera Maya Hotel. All local services and attractions are also operating normally. We do not expect any service interruptions for current or upcoming guests.  Fairmont Mayakoba is not affiliated to the Grand Princess Riviera Hotel, nor are our sister properties in Mexico, Bermuda and Arizona.

On top of this, it is also important to note Jim that Fairmont Mayakoba's ongoing inspections and safety procedures comply with local regulations, with international standards, and the comprehensive standards dictated by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to ensure the safety and well being of our visitors and colleagues.

It's hard for travelers here to get all the information, but if I was headed to that region I'd want to do all the research I could before putting my family up for the night. Good on Fairmont for getting the information out there.

If you have any concerns let me know at jbyers@thestar.ca.

ST. KITTS ROBBERY

Not great news for the tourism folks in St. Kitts, either. Associated Press reports a group of visitors on a cruise day-trip were robbed of their wallets and cameras.

Apparently someone threw an old tree across the road in the middle of a jungle-like area. When the bus driver got out to remove the tree, two masked gunmen pounced, on 16 passengers from the Celebrity Mercury ship, then fled into the forest or jungle.

Police say the tourists from the Celebrity Mercury ship were traveling to the Brimstone Hill Fortress, a park popular with visitors. No one was harmed, according to the AP report.

It's pretty rare, but we did see a tourist from a cruise ship killed in what was said to be a gang-related shooting in St. Thomas.

Isolated incidents, but disturbing to be sure.

PEARSON PROBLEMS..AND NUTS TO YOU

Flew home from Australia yesterday, then caught an Air Canada flight from Los Angeles to Toronto. Our plane was on the ground at 8:21 p.m. and at the gate at 8:28 or so. When did the first bit of luggage arrive? 9:01 p.m.

That's a whopping 33 minutes on my watch. Even if I'm off by 10 per cent, it's a full half hour for the FIRST suitcase to come tumbling down the belt.

Hugely unacceptable, Pearson. I've heard them blame the airlines, but as a passenger I don't give a damn. All I know is when I arrive at most other airports in the world, luggage arrives within a few minutes of the plane hitting the gate. Sometimes it's even there before I make it to baggage claim, but it's almost always slow as molasses at Pearson.

It's not just me. An acquaintance of mine who holds public office (nope, not saying) says they've complained many times to Pearson about it and they just blame the airline.

What's up, guys?

While I'm on the subject of airlines and airports, I had a nice flight with Qantas on my way from Sydney to Los Angeles. I ordered breakfast, and don't remember what the menu said. But when my muesli arrived, I noticed there were nuts in the bowl.

I have a mild allergy to most nuts, so I was curious what they were. I asked the flight attendant.

"I have no idea," she said. "I think they're macadamia nuts."

I think they were, too. But I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to take a chance. So I picked them out of my bowl.

I suppose I could've said "I have a small nut allergy, can you tell me what these are?" Okay. But still, when you're on a plane two hours from the nearest bit of land and you're a flight attendant in a day when nut allergies of a very severe nature are quite common and someone asks you, "What kind of nuts are these," I think it calls for a response that's slightly better than "I have no idea, I think they're macadamia nuts."

A friend of mine at the Star says it drives her crazy that they still serve nuts of any kind on a plane. Her kids have severe peanut allergies and she has to clothe them in long pants and long sleeves in case someone else has peanuts on the plane.

Banning nuts entirely on a plane is a whole other issue. But I'd think that, given the nature of the problem, we'd have a bit more sensitivity.

It was my only issue with the flight, so I don't want to dump on Qantas. They had a great selection of movies and TV shows on the plane and everything went smoothly. They even gave me an upgrade, which I"m quite grateful for after eight days traipsing around Australia and meeting some wonderful people and seeing some remarkable sights. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't point out what I think is a flaw in their service...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Tour of the World stops in St. Petersburg...Palm Springs heating up

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Of the stops on Star Travel’s Grand Tour list, St. Petersburg may be the most unfamiliar to Canadians. It’s not easy to enter; you need an entry visa, which can top $200 for just a short stay. It’s expensive, with few bargains to be had for food, souvenirs or accommodations. It’s thought of as unwelcoming to westerners.

Yet, when we were putting together our itinerary of top destinations to visit this fall, the Russian metropolis of nearly 5 million was one of the first to make the cut. That’s because it’s among the most unique big cities in the world. Distinctly Russian with its onion-dome churches (the shapes are actually meant to resemble candles with burning flames) and giant statue of Vladimir Lenin near its southern boundary, St. Petersburg is also the most European city in the country.

With more than 400 bridges, there’s a resemblance to Amsterdam. Peter the Great, who commissioned the city to be built in the 18^th century, had an affinity for all things Dutch. So there are hundreds of kilometres of canalways, lots of low-lying buildings and green spaces, and pedestrian-friendly streets in the heart of the city. Peter and his successors spent lavishly on building palaces and ornate buildings throughout the city and surrounding area.

The most exquisite of them include the Hermitage museum, the focus of this week’s Grand Tour installment. The Hermitage has the largest collection of paintings of any museum in the world. You’ll find two dozen Rembrandts, as well as Da Vincis, Raphaels, Monets, Picassos, and work from just about any other master you can name.

The Hermitage is on the bank of the Neva River, facing Petrograd, one of the St. Petersburg’s larger islands and home to the Grand Mosque. A boat ride on the Neva will take you to Peterhof, Peter’s summer residence that was fashioned on Versailles.

One of Europe’s busiest shopping streets is Nevskiy Prospect, which is filled with designer fashion stores, hotels, markets and historic buildings like the Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral, a major Russian orthodox church.

Although Russians learn English in school, older citizens tend to be out of practice speaking it. When you do find an English speaker, it’s like finding an old friend. The Other Side bar and O’Hooligan’s Irish Pub, both close to the Hermitage and Palace Square, are good spots to run into ex-patriate Anglophones.

As for the Russian people, the Americans, Australians, Canadians and British who are living in St. Petersburg say they’re not easy to get to know but once you do they’re wonderful. For visitors, the language barrier is an issue, but the people in the hospitality industry are very helpful, and more and more of them speak English. If you can’t talk to the Russians, you’ll at least enjoy looking at them. Many of the women are tall and thin, dressed in heels and designer clothes, and you figure if they’re going all out to impress then the guys must be attractive too.

The food’s great, the vodka’s outstanding, the weather isn’t as cold as you might think, and the culture and history are utterly fascinating. St. Petersburg was on our list, and probably should be on yours too.

PALM SPRINGS EAGER FOR CANADIANS 

Palm Springs, California, is ready for an influx of Canadians. WestJet begins twice-weekly flights from Toronto on Feb. 2 to the beautiful desert city surrounded by mountains in the Coachella Valley, just a couple hours east of downtown Los Angeles.

“We love the snowbirds. Canada is our No. 1 market, followed by Britain and Germany,” says Hillary Angel of VisitPalmSprings.com. 

WestJet already flies direct from Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. And soon Torontonians will be able to get easier access to one of the biggest music festivals in the world. The annual Coachella Festival has become, in less than 20 years, among the most star-studded music and arts gatherings going. The site of the April event at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio is just a half-hour drive from Palm Springs.

The city of 20,000 is also close to Joshua Tree. The famous national park that every U2 fan has heard of will celebrate its 75^th anniversary in 2011. Other enticements include an annual Modernism Week in February that shows off Palm Springs’ unique collection of mid-20^th-century architecture and a 22-year-old film festival that runs in January.

There’s also loads of golf and seven casinos in the area, plus days of 20 Celsius and up in the winter, and some pretty neat looking boutique hotels, not to mention funky bars and some great restaurants, everything from sushi to steak and Thai. Travel Editor Jim Byers loves the tom yum goong soup at Thai Smile in nearby Palm Desert.

If you’re looking for a warm-weather getaway this winter, Palm Spring is definitely worth checking out.

 

Sunset at Ayers Rock/Uluru in Australia; somebody found a Packers game!

AYERS ROCK/ULURU, Australia - Wow.

I expected a few people would be in the parking lot at Uluru to watch the sun go down. I didn't expect a Lambeau Field/Green Bay Packers tailgate party.

But that's what I got. I'm staying at a wonderful resort called Longitude 131, which overlooks Uluru or Ayers Rock from a few miles away. They said they'd take us to Uluru for the sunset, including champagne and cheese and crackers, so I was naturally all over that. I expected a few buses, but instead it was a madhouse, with dozens of tables set up with wine and beer and veggies and crackers and shrimp and stew and all sorts of food and drink, with a couple dozen buses in the parking lot spewing out hundreds of visitors intent on seeing the legendry sunset.

It was  slightly disapponting today, with a little too much cloud cover for a really great sunset. But it still was pretty cool to see all the zanineess surrounding the nightly ritual. Not to mention the rock itself, which is hugely impressive and all I expected it to be.

I started the day with a nice walk around the rim of Kings Canyon, also known as Watarrka, about 300 clicks from here. It was fun, but not quite as overpowering as my first visit to Uluru.

I had a quick walk near one of the waterholes at the base of the rock, then had to return my rental car. I checked into Longitude 131, which features remarkable, one-on-one service and an open bar, plus units that look like tents scattered along a hill with great view of Uluru. I grabbed a five-minute swim, then had a 15-minute helicopter tour (see photo), followed by the sunset viewing and then dinner on the sands of the outback, complete with a didgeridoo player and a fellow who explained the night stars to Longitude 131 guests on a warm, beautiful night in the bush near the hotel.

Great food, fascinating insights and wonderful guests, one of whom gave me a couple Benadryl-like pills to combat the worst itch/hives I've had in my life. Maybe it was a plant at Kings Canyon, I don't know, but I'm a mess of hives and it's horribly, horribly itchy. Someone at dinner suggested I rub toothpaste on my skin, which I just tried. It doesn't seem to help but I smell pretty minty, anyway.

More to come when I get the chance, but I have a 5:30 a.m. wakeup call for some touring of the Olgas, another wonderful geographic feature of the Northern Territories.

 

Australia's Outback Alive with Colour this year...First glimpse of King's Canyon

KING'S CANYON/WATARRKA NATIONAL PARK, AUSTRALIA - It's the Outback. But not as desolate as you might expect.

They've had a remarkble amount of rainfall in the so-called Red Centre of Australia this year, and the wildflowers are out in force. A number of roads have been flooded, one not far from here was under two metres of water the other day after a big storm.

Michael at King's Canyon Resort tells me he spoke with an elder in one of the local aboriginal groups the other day and the man told him that white men have been coming to the Outback regularly since the 1960's and none had ever seen this much rain.

The flowers are pretty, for sure, but the folks at Thrifty Car Rental also added some colour by renting me  rather bright, flowery yellow Hyundai, which I"m sitting in now in the early morning dark so I can leach off the Internet signl in the hotel reception area, which isn't quite open. I think I can get a signal at the pub but it's a little early for that, even in Australia.

Michael showed me a great spot for photos last night, and I'm hugely grateful. Gave me a couple of good camera tips, too, which helped produce the images I'll have down the road in Star Travel.

Oh, speaking of the pub here at King's Canyon, I need to do a shout out to helper/bartender Rebecca Clement, who's visiting Australia after attending high school. She's from Elora, for gosh sakes, and met some Canadian girls while travelling in the Outback and decided to stay and make some money. She's a nice kid, and I got a picture of her so her folks will know she's okay, although she's on Facebook so it's not like she's incommunicado out here. She's only had a week at the job but says it's fun, and it's certainly an education!

Once again, maybe it's the Internet connections out here or something I dunno, but I can't load any photos into my blog right now. It's driving me crazy. So the only thing I can think of is to post them on Twitter. You can find me on Twitter under the username jbyers11. Not the same as viewing them here, but I"ll send four or five right now so at least they're there.

Looking forward to my hike this morning at King's Canyon, which we don't hear about so much in Canada but looks just as impressive as Ayers Rock/Uluru. Bye for now.

Australia whirlwind: Bondi sculpture, Lord Howe, back to Sydney, Ayers Rock

SYDNEY (For now) - Phew. It's my own fault, but I'm a wee bit gassed.

I flew a week or so ago to Hawaii via Phoenix. Then I went from Maui to Honolulu to Sydney. Three nights in Sydney, then two nights on beautiful Lord Howe Island. Then a night in Sydney last night before an early morning rise and a trip to the airport, where I"m getting ready to board a flight for Ayers Rock. Uluru is the aboriginal name, which I prefer, but there you go.

Actually, I'm flying to the Ayers Rock airport but then getting a car and driving three hours to King's Canyon, where I'll spend one night before driving right back again tomorrow for two nights in and around Uluru and the Olgas. Crazy, but it's the trip of a lifetime for me so what the heck.

Not much time for words. Suffice to say I had a great time at Bondi Beach surfing (thanks, Leo). They also had the sculpture walk on from Bondi to Tamarama beach and on to Bronte. It's not enough the people here have a beautiful view and incredible walks. No, they have to go and install world class sculpture along the coastal path and really make the rest of the world envious. Thanks.

I couldn't load any photos of Lord Howe Island yesterday for some reason, so here's one taken from the patio at Capella Lodge (hi, Mark and Libby and Robyn on staff, who hails from Saskatchewan and has to constantly explain "Green Rider Fever" to her mates in Australia. Plenty more photos to come in Star Travel in the new year!

Thanks to the folks again at Arajilla, and thanks to the Shangri-La hotel in Sydney for a nice stay last night.

I had a great room overlooking the harbour, and the folks at the hotel tell me all rooms face one part of Sydney's harbour or another. It's a busy, busy place and they have a great bar on the 36th floor with all sorts of cocktails presented by bartender Tristan Allen, a good guy and a wicked mixologist.

 

 

Lord Howe Island, Australia: one of the most beautiful places on the planet

LORD HOWE ISLAND, New South Wales, Australia - Unbelievable.

I've been here almost two days now, and I can't remember a trip that's been so relaxed. It helps that this island is a paradise where they only allow some 400 people at a time because of it's world heritage status and fragile environment.

It's the world's most southerly coral reef, situated not far north of Sydney but about a 100-minute flight northeast, roughly a third of the way to New Zealand. There are some 19 properties on the island, but most are quite small and apartment-style, with only a couple true resorts. I'm staying at a marvellous spot called Arajilla, with modern units nestled in a forest-setting with incredible food. The lagoon beach is a two-minute walk away, and there's a wonderful stretch of sand called Ned's Beach about a 10 minute walk away, with far better coral reefs and more plentiful fish than I saw on my only trip to the Great Barrier Reef back in 2000.

There are two enormous, basalt mountains at one end of the island, and they tower over the crystal-clear lagoon. It's like having a double shot of the famous mountain on Bora-Bora. But there's also some wonderful pasture land and high sea cliffs and other sights that feel a lot like Ireland or Newfoundland.

Toss in some incredibly hospitable people, a "town" with a post office, a restaurant and five shops or so, no traffic lights, no cell phone reception (Hurray) and a speed limit of 25 km/hour and you've got a recipe for magic.

I don't have much Internet access so I'll have to leave at that for now. Sadly, I can't download any of my photos on the blog right now. I'll try again later. Damn.

Anyway, suffice to say there will be a major story coming up in the travel section, with lots of photos. So stay tuned. It's been wonderful, and the pictures should be pretty good....

If you're on Twitter, you should be able to find a couple of my photos at the twitter address jbyers11...

 

 

Sydney and Opera House (or is it Oprah House?) tour...Visit Britain time is here

SYDNEY (and TORONTO) - Still pretty rainy here in Sydney. Unusual for this time of year, but we can probably blame El Nina. Or El Nino. Or some kind of weird climactic situation.

It was close to 30 degrees here a week ago, and it's usually in the mid-20's by now as Sydney approaches the summer. This would be the equivalent of early May for them, so it's usually a brilliant time of year. Instead, it's gone from beautiful to bizarre, with daytime temperatures in the teens and plenty of wind and cool rain.

It's not helping my photographs, but it's still a great place to walk around. I spent the morning near the Royal Botanical Gardens, getting shots of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Later I did a tour of the Opera House, where I learned there are 1,056,006 (exactly) ceramic tiles on the roofs of the various sail-like buildings. Pretty amazing.

My tour guide showed us the lovely interiors and said that among those who have appeared in the main hall are Michael Buble and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who apparently won his last Mr. Olympia (or something like that) title in these hallowed halls. The project was slated to take three years and cost $7 million, but ended up taking 16 years at a cost of $102 million. Oprah Winfrey will be here for a slew of shows next month, which means lots of people are calling it the Sydney Oprah House, and sorry about that.

Unlike our pathetic SkyDome/Rogers Centre, however, the Opera House put Sydney on the map. Or, rather, embellished its placement as a forward-thinking/hip city. It's now impossible to think of Sydney without it, as it would be to think of Cape Town without Table Mountain or San Francisco without the Golden Gate Bridge. Toronto has improved, but we have a long way to go if we want to be in the big leagues with cities like those. It takes vision, something even David Miller lacked when it came right down to it.

Anyway, it's great to be in a place that's so cutting-edge. I had lunch in the historic Rocks district and ate at a place called Sake, a dynamite Japanese joint where one of the specialties is an appetizer called Sashimi Tacos. Sounds bizarre, but a crunch taco surrounding fresh tuna or salmon sashimi and onions  and soy and spices is absolutey brilliant. Comes with glasses of sugar-rimmed Sake, which never hurts. Likewise the sashimi with soy and thinly-sliced jalapeno peppers were top-notch. Call it Jap-Mex if you want; I call it fabulous.

I wanted to see Manly Beach and the North Head bluffs, but it was raining and I only had time for the ferry ride. Still, it's magical to see Sydney's Harbour even in the mist, and to realize how lucky folks are down this way to have so much water and beautiful beaches and tumbling, rocky bluffs all around them. Manly reminds me of Vancouver with the waterfront and the pine trees and the high-rise apartments.

I took dinner at a spot called Wine Odyssey, where they have dozens of bottles of wine where you can slip a special card into a slot and get various sizes of all sorts of wines in a variety of prices. It's very sophisticated (albeit expensive) and really lets you try a whole variety of wines by reading the labels and the little ads or blurbs that accompany them. The food is decent, but the wine selection is superb. A fun spot, topped only by a brief stop at the Fortune of War Pub, which dates back to the 1860s and has atmosphere to spare. A great guitar player/singer was singing Aussie country songs last night including ones about the Yukon Gold Rush and an old English song about Ernie, the fastest milkman in the west. It was great fun.

I remembered it was a pub that Star sports types Dave Perkins and Doug Smith and I visited the night before the start of the 2000 Summer Olympics. I remember running into Paul Beeston's daughter down near the harbour at around midnight and thinking it was a good idea to call Beest in New York, where he was working at the commissioner of baseball's office. We had a couple too many Victoria Bitters, I think, and I doubt Paul liked being woken up at 5 a.m. by a bunch of sodden Toronto Star reporters. But it was fun for us.

More later on Australia and Sydney. But now it's time for a short update from Star Travel writer Adrian Brijbassi, who attended a Visit Britain event in Toronto Thursday night.

VISIT BRITAIN

The Olympics are coming to London, and they’re going to help draw millions to Great Britain before, during and after the 2012 Summer Games. On Thursday night, VisitBritain, the British tourism agency, hosted a press gathering at the King Edward Hotel to fill us in on what’s happening around England, Scotland and Wales beyond just athletics.

Of the nearly 750,000 Canadians who cross the Atlantic to Great Britain annually, more than three-quarters are return guests, VisitBritain says. Those numbers indicate both the strong bond our nations have and the comfort we feel travelling to the land of Shakespeare and the Queen. With the exchange rate more favorable for Canadians than it’s been in years ($1 will get you about 60 pence), a trip over the pond is enticing these days. There’s also lots more excitement than just the Olympics, including: Elizabeth II’s 60th anniversary on the throne (also in 2012) and a potential royal wedding (c’mon, Will, get that ring on Kate’s finger already).

One of the highlights discussed in Toronto includes a plan by Wales to have a walking path circling that coastal nation. Wales has a total area of more than 20,000 square kilometres, so that’s no mere footpath for an evening stroll they’re setting up.

“It would be very hard to imagine anyone walking the entire path, so we’ll have a Dylan Thomas stretch, and other stretches named after historic figures or prominent people, and visitors will definitely want to walk the length of those,” says Bob Titley, a PR consultant for Visit Wales.

The London Olympics will run from July 27 to August 12, 2012, and is expected to generate about $3.5 billion in tourism spending during the next decade.

If you’re thinking about heading to Britain between now and the Summer Games, keep reading Star Travel. We’ll get you prepared for what’s new in and around London well before Usain Bolt takes a run at another gold.

 

On the Rocks in Sydney...Linda Barnard cruises...Newzapalooza Concert T.O.

SYDNEY - It's been almost exactly ten years, but I finally made it back to Australia.

It took a rather long, 10-1/2 hour flight from Honolulu, but I managed to get into downtown Sydney just before sunset. Someone apparently left the refrigerator door open, however, as it was 16 Celsius and a touch drizzly when I landed. Not quite what I had in mind, but perhaps it'll change Friday.

Anyway, I have a super room at the Park Hyatt with an awesome view - right across the harbour - of the Sydney Opera House. I keep looking up from my laptop to see that it's really there, and apparently it is.

Had dinner in the Rocks at a place that Nicholas here at the Park Hyatt (he's from Newmarket, Ontario and says his mom reads the Star; Hi, Mom!) recommended. It's called Sailors Thai, and it turns out to be the same Thai place my wife and I went to 10 years ago on our only sojourn down to the Rocks. Pretty funny, I thought. Great food. Not cheap; $26 for a solitary noodle dish with veggies, prawns and a smattering of calamari. With a beer and tip it came to $40 Australian, and the Aussie dollar's at par or maybe above the loonie, so it's not like 10 years ago when I got 30 per cent on the Canadian buck.

That being said, it's a great town and I can't wait to check it out tomorrow after some (hopefully) shut eye.

LINDA BARNARD AT SEA

It's always nice to hear from The Star's roving reporters, especially crazy (in the best way) ones like Linda Barnard, ace movie critic. Here's Linda's most recent post....

Ahoy mayteys! Today's highlight was passing by the  kennels on the 11th level this morning on my walk and just happening to be there for the official portraits of the 8 dogs travelling on the ship, all decked out in Queen Mary blankets for their pictures. The 2 cats were not invited to the party. There's an old photo on board of an eccentric walking his pet raccoon in the 1930s.
Newfoundland is 400 miles to the southwest and England waits 1,200 miles ahead. So I am literally in the middle of nowhere. I have seen more rainbows (six) than passing ships (1). The ship is rolling in heavyish seas but it's actually very pleasant; there's a reason mothers rock their babies. Last night was the Black and White Ball and it was as posh as you'd expect. Our dining table (two best girlfriends from college now celebrating turning 50) a pair of fantastically hilarious gay boys from Leeds, Rolly, who lives in England and Wisconsin and me - we are having a blast. But now I must go. Yes, it's time for BINGO.

Don't judge, people.

Linda

NEWZAPALOOZA

Feeling crushed by the weight of a gruelling election campaign? Flattened by the ponderous rhetoric and runaway bocce balls? Battered by trains and drowning in gravy?

Then you need Newzapalooza, the Battle of Toronto’s Media Bands, on Friday, Nov. 5th. Clear your mind with the pulsating sound of working journalists ditching their day jobs. Seven great bands, drawn from the newsrooms of the nation’s media capital, scrapping it out for every last bit of market share they can find. Plus this year’s very special guest band - the Toronto Police Service Coppertones - will be on hand to keep the peace and the beat.

 

Legendary host Mike Bullard brings the funny and keeps things ticking with his crack panel of critically acclaimed critics - The Star’s Ben Rayner, The Sun’s Jane Stevenson and CBC’s Errol Nazareth. You could win some of the stunning prizes culled from the finest merchants of Leslieville, all while taking in the magnificent splendour of the iconic Opera House, one of the city’s most storied live music venues.

 

And if that isn’t enough to send you home satisfied, remember that every penny raised goes straight to the Children’s Aid Foundation. Tickets $20 and available at the door or through our website (www.newzapalooza.ca). Check us out on Facebook and Twitter (#Newzapalooza) too.

 

Ride the Wild Surf in Maui, a tour of the lonely north shore road, and...aloha

WAILUKU, MAUI, HAWAII - That was a crazy, crazy day. I woke up at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel to absolutely thunderous surf. The breakers were hitting the beach at three to four feet, which is high even for winter.

Most folks stood on the beach in safety, but a few youngsters (mostly) braved the big waves crashing on the sand. I went in for a few minutes but steered clear of trying to body surf a wave that was pounding down on the sand with what looked like hurricane force. It was a great reminder of nature's power, although it meant I couldnt' get in any snorkeling up at Kapalua or Napili Beach as I had hoped.

I was treated to a fabulous lunch at Pineapple Grill at the golf resort in Kapalua, right on the lovely Bay course. There was a great Asian-inspired beef short rib dish and a good dish with clams and truffle butter. Tops was a serving of what they call forbidden rice; a black rice from China that they cook al dente and then finish off with coconut milk. Outstanding stuff, so thanks, folks.

As I was saying yesterday, Maui used to rely on the mainland for most of its food. But the Pineapple Grill says it gets 85 per cent of its material from the Hawaiian Islands, and that's called pretty sustainable food sourcing I think.

I wanted to drive the north shore to get to Wailuku, which is where I was staying the night due to a 6:26 a.m. flight to Honolulu, so I drove up past Kapalua to famous Honolua Bay. I'd seen three or four foot waves there before, but these were 10-feet and occasionally surging, I think, to as much as 15 (the photo here is actually one of the smaller ones). Huge waves; just crushingly large. A couple guys had some bad wipeouts, but a few had long, zig-zagging runs up and down the huge, curling faces of the waves and had to have lasted half a minute. I can surf a little at tame places like Waikiki or Lahaina, but anything over two feet and I'm toast. Watching these guys was just tremendous, and I can only imagine the size of the surf on the north shore of Oahu, home to famous surf breaks at Waimea Bay and Banzai Pipeline. (I actually saw some pipeline-like tubes at Kaanapali, which was awesome).

There were hundreds of folks gathered on the cliffs above to watch it all unfold on a perfect, hot November day. Tremendous stuff.

From there I wound my way up towards the northern tip of the island, but not before running into Mel Witt. I don't want to spoil my Maui story for our Grand Tour series, so lets' just say Witt is a former NFL player who now resides in a ramshackle "house" at the side of the road and dispenses water, banana bread, hand-made jewelry...and funky poetry. He also likes to embrace any young ladies who happen to come by, as you can see.

 It's a beautiful part of the island that looks, at times, more like the coast of Ireland or Scotland. The green, jagged faces of the West Maui Mountains appear above you, but down near the water it's scrub trees and red rock or lava rock, with enormous blue-white waves crashing heavily onto the land after making a journey from somewhere near Alaska or northern British Columbia. There's a blowhole that spouts water high in the air after every wave hits an underground cavern, and not far along a pretty narrow road is the tiny village of Kahakuloa, one of the last old-time outposts in Hawaii. There are only a couple of hundred residents, and it's a half hour drive along a tiny, tiny road to Wailuku. But it's got a lovely church and a couple stands for banana bread or fruit juice, not to mention tremendous views of a giant rock called Kahakuloa Head.

All in all, a wonderful drive. Not as long as the drive to Hana. Not as pretty in some eyes, but I think it's marvellous and I'd highly recommend it for a nice afternoon. It was perfectly clear all the way from Kapalua to Wailuku, a town that has come a long way. Market Street in Wailuku has some nice restaurants and some cute shops and a cool gallery run by Pat Masumoto called Galerie Ha, who has a sweet painting near her desk of her with her mother. Awwwwww......

What was more amazing than the clear weather all the way around the north end of the island was a clear view this morning of the top of Puu Kukui, the mountain that dominates West Maui. It's the second wettest spot in the world, with hundreds of inches of rainfall every year. The top is almost always shrouded in heavy cloud, but today it was as clear as could be.

I've been to Maui 15 or 16 times (sorry), and usually spent a week or so. And I'd never seen the top of the mountain, so it was a HUGE thrill to spot it out the window of my plane on the way to Honolulu. The guy I was sitting next to, a Maui resident named Larry who's a great guy, said he'd NEVER seen the top of the mountain, so it was a wonderful way to say aloha to my favourite place in this wonderful, wonderful world. I HATE leaving this place, but it's not bad at all this time as I'm flying in a couple hours to Sydney, Australia; next stop for the Toronto Star Travel department's GRAND TOUR. Look for the Maui story in the Saturday paper in a couple weeks, with Sydney coming in a little later.

Thanks again to everyone at the Paia Inn, Mama's Fish House, Hotel Hana-Maui, The Grand Wailea, Ka'anapali Beach Hotel, the Napili Kai Beach Resort, Merriman's restaurant, the Pineapple Grill and the very cute Wailuku Inn, as well as the funny guys at O Saigon cafe in Wailuku. And special mahalo to Charlene!

Aloha, Maui, and a hui hou (until we meet again). Oh, and one last sunset shot, this one from Napili Beach!