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- German airline offers comet-gazing flight
- Okinawa's International Avenue: A guide to Naha's massive entertainment zone
- Kombi’s last rites: Farewell to a travel icon
| German airline offers comet-gazing flight Posted: 11 Mar 2013 06:59 AM PDT Stargazers gearing up for this weekend's close encounter with the comet Pan-STARRS may be able to get an even better view than they expected. Eclipse Travel, a German travel company based in Bonn, will take 88 people to see the comet from a plane, flying 11 kilometers (36,000 feet) above the Earth. Pan-STARRS is expected to have the longest visible tail length and span next Saturday, March 16, when the flight is taking place. Eclipse Travel claims the flight will give even better views of the comet than those on the ground. The Bonn-based astronomical travel company has teamed up with charter agency Air Partner and Air Berlin to organize a Boeing 737-700 flight, AB1000, for its first comet observation trip. The one-time flight will follow a zig-zag flight plan to give all passengers the best possible views. Flyers can reserve two adjoining seats or an entire row if they don't want to share the window. While stargazers on the ground may have to endure views through clouds and smog, at 11,000 meters in altitude the atmosphere is thinner and air is more transparent for a clearer view, says Eclipse's website. The comet, already visible in the Southern Hemisphere, is the first of two to be visible to the naked eye this year. NASA scientists predict Pan-STARRS could rival the stars of the Big Dipper in brightness as it passes 100 million miles from Earth.
Dazzling displayThe comet could show a dazzling tail of gas and dust through the night sky. However, NASA scientists say the show could also be a bust if the comet crumbles under the heat and gravitational pull of the Sun. Astronomers in Hawaii discovered Pan-STARRS in 2011. Comet ISON is expected to pass by Earth in November 2013. It is expected to be one of the brightest comets ever seen and may even out-shine the moon. Tickets are US$470-663 for the two-hour comet observation, available at Eclipse Travel. A Rhineland specialty buffet will be served before the flight takes off at 7:25 p.m. Eclipse Travel, Bonn, Germany; +49 (0) 228 222 600; www.eclipse-reisen.de; flight will take place on March 16, 2013      |
| Okinawa's International Avenue: A guide to Naha's massive entertainment zone Posted: 10 Mar 2013 03:00 PM PDT If you travel by air to Okinawa you'll more than likely start and end your journey in Naha, the island prefecture's capital and largest city. With a metropolitan area covering most of the southern portion of this subtropical paradise, Naha (population 321,000) has been a port of entry for travelers and goods since the 15th century. The city's most popular attraction is easily Kokusai Dori (International Avenue), a massive shopping and eating strip that cuts a 1.6 kilometer diagonal across the city center. Whether you need to buy o-miyage (travel gift) before you return home, want a feel for the local culture before you explore the rest of the island or just grab a greasy burger, Naha's Kokusai Dori is the place. Lay of the Kokusai Dori land
More on CNN: Exploring Okinawa's World War II battlefields Its name was inspired by the "Ernie Pyle International Theater," built after the war in honor of the American journalist who died during the Okinawa invasion. Today, both locals and foreign travelers pass through this mega-shopping and eating zone, along with resident expats (mostly American and European teachers from local schools) and Okinawa-based U.S. military personnel. The main Kokusai Street is stuffed with restaurants and shops, from Starbucks to small eateries serving Okinawan classics. While many of these businesses cater to the tourist trade, locals come to Kokusai Dori to hit the restaurants and clubs located on the avenue and side streets. Heiwa Dori Shopping Arcade
Entering from the Heiwa Dori archway immediately off of the main street, you'll see shops selling brightly colored tropical-style island clothing, glassware and pottery, as well as small restaurants, food vendors and liquor stores selling awamori, Okinawa's robust rice whiskey. More on CNN: A guide to awamori, Okinawa's tropical drink of choice In one small store, proprietor Kojyou Hidesada proudly displays jars of Habushu (or habu sake); awamori with a well-preserved habu (indigenous pit viper) inside. Thought in local folklore to transfer the snake's sturdy health and virility to the drinker, most buyers are just fascinated to see a large snake in a jar of whiskey.
Makishi MarketAs you wind through the many intersecting alleyways of shops and enter the Makishi Market area of Heiwa Dowri, you'll find a commotion of shoppers around the fresh fish and meat market. This is the place to find both the familiar, strange and never-seen-before varieties of seafood, pork and an assortment of seaweed, vegetables, herbs and spices. You can pick out your favorite ingredients and have them cooked onsite and sent directly upstairs to a public eating area. Tsyboya districtAt the very end of Heiwa Dori, as you exit the backside of the mall, Tsuboya district is known for its traditional Okinawa pottery. More on CNN: Okinawa: Which island is for you? On a street cobbled with smooth limestone rocks cut from ancient Okinawa coral beds, small shops and cafés are mixed in with local residential homes. The shops offer a variety of Okinawa pottery that includes everything from household dishes and bowls to decorative art pieces and the ubiquitous Shisa dog statues, reputed to guard home entrances and ward off evil spirits. For a modern shopping experience there's the Omoromachi Shintoshin (New Town) shopping area nearby. Built on land reclaimed from U.S. base closings, the mega-complex is just north of Kokusai Dori via a short taxi or monorail ride, or about a 10-minute walk. Omoromachi's offerings include the Naha Main Place mall and an enormous DFS (Duty Free Store) outlet. When to go, how to get thereKokusai Dori is almost always lively, but the best days and times to visit are Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Most Sundays the street will be blocked off for pedestrian-only traffic. On these days there are often street performers, food vendors or local festivals featuring young and brightly dressed performers doing traditional folk dance and music. Getting there: Kokusaidori Street starts at the Naha Bus Terminal and is near Makishi Station on the Okinawa Monorail.    |
| Kombi’s last rites: Farewell to a travel icon Posted: 07 Mar 2013 10:45 PM PST On a backpacking trip to Europe back in 1973, a 20-year-old Californian named Gary Garfield shelled out US$700 to set himself up for the months of travel ahead. He spent a chunk of that money on a 1967 Volkswagen Kombi, figuring to combine transportation and accommodation in one slightly rickety but reliable vehicle. He ripped out the seats, put in a platform bed and installed shelves and cupboards.
Garfield spent the next 10 months in this mobile home with his wife battling desert sands in Algeria, food poisoning in Tunisia and enduring six-week stints with no contact with friends or family. Along with all the experiences of that epic adventure there was one constant -- that Kombi. A similar story is told by countless other travelers.
The first Kombi rolled out of the factory in 1950 -- production will end in 2013. VW is calling it quits because the vehicle won't meet new safety standards set to come into force in 2014 in Brazil, the only country where the model is still manufactured. Upgrading it with dual front airbags and anti-lock brakes was ruled too costly. For now, around 250 Kombis continue to be produced at a lone plant in Sao Bernardo do Campo each day. Come next year, those sluggishly powering their way along highways and up mountain passes, being overtaken by virtually all other traffic, will be all that remain -- ageing steel bodies from a time when people were less concerned about getting somewhere fast. We pause here to reflect on what made the Kombi a travel icon.
Hippies and surfersThe Kombi became synonymous in the 1960s and 1970s with hippies and surfers, its utilitarian features -- capable of carrying surf boards, musical equipment and various loads inside or on its roof -- combining well with its cheap price (secondhand Kombis could be picked up for a couple hundred bucks) and easy maintenance. Garfield's van required the repair of one flat tire and a new battery in 10 months of travel. Many people named their Kombis, like iReporter Jason Kauffman, 40, who affectionately called his Kombi "Double D."
"I have no desire to own anything except an old VW," Kauffman insists. Other iReporters named their vans "Bus Gus," "Homer," "Claire" and "Charlotte." Vince Moellering, 32, explains, "Cars like the VW van are more than just cars, they're cultural icons." Those who traveled in one in their youth keep the memories with them. Others own their van (or vans) for decades before passing them to offspring. Even people without "VW lineage," as iReporter Bryan Scott calls it, can find themselves bitten by the urge to up and travel in a Kombi.
Second life onlineOnline communities provide space to share stories and trade "ideas that help keep our vans going," says Moellering. Australia's Kombi Club is an online forum, co-founded and sponsored by The Bus Stop, a parts distributor. "Roy" from The Bus Stop says the business supplies Kombi enthusiasts in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and Canada and other countries. "Once you've driven a Kombi, you're hooked for life," he says. But why?
After all, these VW vans, at least in their original form, are underpowered, slow, have dodgy suspension and don't offer much comfort in either heat or cold. "The Kombi exemplifies the free spirit of peace activists, lovers, world travelers, campers and families moving about together across this planet," says Garfield. "I can't think of any other vehicle that transcends both age, economic and social strata." "Few vehicles scream: 'Let's go exploring!' the way a VW van does," says Moellering.
Modern modificationSimplicity has helped the Kombi remain relevant in a new century. It's undergone plenty of modifications, but its outward appearance remains instantly recognizable. The model being produced in Brazil is based on the second phase of the Type 2 (VW's Type 1 was the Beetle), which was produced in Germany from 1967–1979. It differs from the first phase with a larger engine, more overall weight and a bay window, rather than the previous model's split-windscreen.
Numerous iterations have brought speed and body width increases, automatic transmission and an engine switch from air-cooled to water-cooled. It's not a complicated machine -- handy when something goes wrong. Kombi owner Bryan Scott says part of the VW appeal for him was, "we'd always heard that a bus could be fixed anywhere and by anyone." Jason Kauffman says its iconic status comes down to versatility: "You can travel in it, sleep in it, it gets decent fuel mileage and it's very compact compared to large motor homes." Vince Moellering refers to the Kombi's jack of all trades nature, saying he's used his "as a camper, a mountain bike hauler, a moving van and a construction supply truck."
German effectivenessThe versatility of a Kombi goes right back to its name, which comes from the German "Kombinationskraftwagen," a combination of passenger and cargo vehicle. Its ability to carry both passengers and piles of stuff makes the Kombi more than a mode of transport. "The bus is both our home and a member of our family," says Bryan Scott. "We talk to it as we decide a path for each day, coax it slowly over the next hill and thank it as we arrive at each new destination."
The vehicle also provides an undisputed conversation starter. "VWs in general are a universal language through the world," says Jason Kauffman. "Locals in each country we visit love the bus, and just like those back home they stop to tell us their stories and ask to hear ours," adds Scott. The common bond is drawn tightest among current owners," says Vince Moellering. "This is a breed of people unlike any other, a huge extended family, willing and able to do whatever is necessary to support each other. "The most common questions encountered when meeting new van friends out on the road are: 'Where have you been?' and 'What have you broken?'"
Not necessarily the end of the roadDevotion to the Kombi helps loyalists remain upbeat about the end of production. "As long as enthusiastic owners keep the remaining cars and their spirit alive, a cease in active production has little effect on the overall existence of the vehicle," says Moellering. When Gary Garfield completed his 1973 tour in the bus that had served him so reliably, he sold it for a profit of US$100. Then he "watched it drive away to offer its new owners fond memories." When the factory gates clang shut in December, well-preserved Kombis will rumble on along the road, and in the recollections of 63 years of travelers.    |
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