Author Topic: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck  (Read 8371 times)

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Offline georgiapeach

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"The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« on: November 23, 2020, 07:44:25 AM »
 :bigwelcome


Please join me in welcoming Edward to RFF!


I have been following his insightful TAR articles for years...I think he may have been my first "blogger" to follow!


He is additionally an activist for travel, privacy. surveillance and Human rights. His articles on these are well worth studying.


This will be his spot to share anyting he likes with us...I think you will enjoy and appreciate his work as much as I do! Feell free to comment, ask questions, and enjoy!


His website can be found here:  https://hasbrouck.org/


 :hfive:
















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Offline Slowhatch

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2020, 04:49:38 PM »
 :welcome: Nice to see him here; I've subscribed to "Papers, Please" for a few years now.


Offline theschnauzers

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2020, 09:57:59 PM »
I remember his blogging from the early seasons way back when, and those were always insightful.Lost track of those blogs at some point, but I’m glad to know he’s been at it in the meantime, and that he will be able to share his insights here! Welcome!
-- theschnauzers

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2020, 09:25:47 PM »
Thanks very much to all for the welcome. I've missed a few episodes and most of a season when I was travelling in places where TAR wasn't being broadcast, or when I was diverted by a family emergency. But I've covered almost every other season and episode.

My focus for  the start has been what real-world travellers can lear from watching TAR, and other travel commentary. Some of my columns are more directly releated to the race, some not so much, some not at all. If you are looking for Soap Opera Digest commentary about the racers, you may want to look elsewhere.

I've interviewed a few cast members, and I had one of the first major spoilers. Many cast members have used my columns to help prepare for the race.

I'm impressed and appeciative of all the spoilers here. I use them to help know where the race will be going, and where I might need to be prepared to write about when it is broadcast. Thanks to all the TAR detectives!

There are links to all my TAR columns here:
https://hasbrouck.org/amazingrace/

You can also subscribe to my e-mail newsletter, which includes my articles on each TAR episide plus other news:
https://hasbrouck.org/newsletter/

My articles about the current season so far are here:
https://hasbrouck.org/amazingrace32/index2.html

1. Wednesday, 14 October 2020 (Cody and Nathan eliminated):
Los Angeles, CA (USA) - Port of Spain, Trinidad (Trinidad & Tobago) - Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002547.html

2. Wednesday, 21 October 2020 (LaVonne and Kellie eliminated):
Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago) - Bogotá (Colombia) - Nemocón (Colombia) - Bogotá (Colombia)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002549.html

3. Wednesday, 28 October 2020 (Frank and Jerry eliminated):
Bogotá (Colombia) - Manaus (Brazil)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002550.html

4. Wednesday, 4 November 2020:
Manaus (Brazil) - Asunción (Paraguay)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002553.html

5. Wednesday, 11 November 2020 (Victoria and Michelle eliminated)
Asunción (Paraguay) - Roissy (France) - Chantilly (France) - Paris (France)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002554.html

6. Wednesday, 18 November 2020 (Alana and Leo eliminated):
Paris (France) - Berlin (Germany) - Almaty (Qazakstan)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002556.html

7. Wednesday, 25 November 2020 (Haley and Kaylynn eliminated):
Almaty (Qazakstan) - Hyderabad, Telangana (India)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002557.html

(I have my own way of counting what is an episode. I've been internally consistent about it, but it may not correspond with yours, especially when there are 2-hour episodes.)

Feedback is welcomed, here or in comments on my blog for those who don't read this forum.

Bon voyage!

Edward
« Last Edit: November 28, 2020, 09:30:23 PM by The Practical Nomad »

Offline claude_24hrs

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2020, 07:39:56 PM »
I do remember Hasbrouck blogs on the earlier seasons of TAR that I've read before.


Offline georgiapeach

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #5 on: December 06, 2020, 05:01:06 AM »
Always enjoyed your articles. Thnks for sharing them here!
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Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #6 on: December 06, 2020, 05:24:15 PM »
The Amazing Race 32, Episode 8:
Hyderabad, Telangana (India) - Siem Reap (Cambodia)

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002559.html
« Last Edit: December 10, 2020, 12:54:36 PM by The Practical Nomad »

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #7 on: December 13, 2020, 09:06:48 PM »
The Amazing Race 32, Episode 9:
Siem Reap (Cambodia) - Manila (Philippines)

Travel Regrets:
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002561.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2020, 09:11:23 PM »
The Amazing Race 32, Episode 10:
Manila (Philippines) - New Orleans, LA (USA)

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002564.html

Real-world lessons from the reality-TV show about the future of travel and the relationship between paying guests and paid hosts, during the pandemic and after.

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #9 on: January 07, 2022, 04:57:17 PM »
The Amazing Race 33, Episode 1:
USA - London, England (U.K.)

Maybe you’re not sure if you are ready for travel, much less for international travel, long-haul flights, or a trip around the world. But the new season of The Amazing Race is a chance to explore these ideas and clarify our own (revised) travel goals, plans, and expectations.

Broadcasts of The Amazing Race have resumed after a hiatus of more than a year — with changes, some yet to be revealed, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This renews the question this TV series has always raised: “What, if anything, can I learn about real world travel from a reality-TV show?”

More:
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002637.html


Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2022, 08:06:12 PM »
The Amazing Race 33, Episode 2:
London, England (U.K.) - Glascow, Scotland (U.K.)

This week’s episode of The Amazing Race 33 was filmed at the end of February 2020, just before the production was suspended and the cast and crew were sent home to wait out the Covid-19 pandemic for a year and a half before resuming.

With that in mind, I wouldn’t have been surprised if this episode had overtones of nostalgia for “the ghost of travel past”. But instead, it inadvertently highlighted an aspect of travel that the TV producers and cast members couldn’t have known would grow significantly during the pandemic, and that we can expect to play a greater role in future travel in both Europe and the USA: overnight long-distance trains....

More:
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002638.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #11 on: January 24, 2022, 08:59:06 PM »
The Amazing Race 33, Episode 3:
St. Gallen (Switzerland) - Schwägalp (Switzerland) - Säntis (Switzerland) - Urnäsch (Switzerland)- Altstätten (Switzerland)

One of the most obvious changes when filming of The Amazing Race 33 resumed after a 19-month COVID-19 interruption is that the cast (and the portion of the TV production crew travelling with them) were transported back to Europe to resume the race on a Boeing 757 chartered (and repainted) just for the reality-TV show, rather than on scheduled airline flights.

The day before viewers of The Amazing Race got their first look at the show’s Boeing 757 in its new paint job, another newly-repainted Boeing 757 was rolled out for reporters (I was invited, but couldn’t make it to San Bernardino) by Northern Pacific Airways, a nascent Anchorage-based airline that has bought six mothballed off-lease 757s formerly operated by American Airlines and plans to acquire more as the sole type of plane in its initial fleet.

What is “Northern Pacific Airways”, or what will it be? Why would a new intercontinental airline base itself in Anchorage, of all places, or base its business plan on a discontinued model of narrow-bodied plane? Why would “The Amazing Race” choose to charter a plane of that same type? And what, if anything, does this have to do with the changes in travel and the travel industry wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic?...

More:
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002639.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #12 on: February 01, 2022, 11:05:06 AM »
The Amazing Race 33, Episode 4

Altstätten (Switzerland) - Ticino (Switzerland) - Lugano (Switzerland)

The Gotthard Tunnel(s) and the pandemic and post-pandemic future of cruises, cruise ships, and ocean travel:

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002641.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #13 on: February 05, 2022, 09:39:38 AM »
The Amazing Race 33, Episode 5:

Lugano (Switzerland) - Milan (Italy) - Bastia, Corsica (France) - Altiani, Corsica (France) - Corte, Corsica (France)

If you are travelling around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, what places will you choose to visit? What health measures and related red tape will travel require? What will travel across international borders be like?

We got our first look at how the producers of The Amazing Race addressed these questions in this week’s episode, filmed in September 2021 after the planned route of the race around the world had been revised to make it possible to resume the race, on a much-modified route, despite the continued pandemic and continued restrictions on international (and in some cases domestic) travel....

More:

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002642.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #14 on: February 12, 2022, 09:23:44 AM »
The Amazing Race 33, Episode 6:

Corte, Corsica (France) - Zonza, Corsica (France) - Bonifacio, Corsica (France)

I talked last week about the complications of getting to and from Corsica during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week, with The Amazing Race 33 still exploring this island in the Western Mediterranean, we got to see more of what you might do once you get to Corsica — or at least what the Tourism Agency of Corsica, which co-sponsored this episode of the reality-TV show, thought would attract the most (and highest-spending) visitors....

More on Corsica and the patterns of pandemic travel:

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002643.html


Offline TheBayAreaGuy

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #15 on: February 15, 2022, 12:10:57 AM »
Hey Edward,

Is there a way your articles can be saved on https://web.archive.org/ ?

They don't seem to be saved there.

Thanks very much to all for the welcome. I've missed a few episodes and most of a season when I was travelling in places where TAR wasn't being broadcast, or when I was diverted by a family emergency. But I've covered almost every other season and episode.

My focus for  the start has been what real-world travellers can lear from watching TAR, and other travel commentary. Some of my columns are more directly releated to the race, some not so much, some not at all. If you are looking for Soap Opera Digest commentary about the racers, you may want to look elsewhere.

I've interviewed a few cast members, and I had one of the first major spoilers. Many cast members have used my columns to help prepare for the race.

I'm impressed and appeciative of all the spoilers here. I use them to help know where the race will be going, and where I might need to be prepared to write about when it is broadcast. Thanks to all the TAR detectives!

There are links to all my TAR columns here:
https://hasbrouck.org/amazingrace/

You can also subscribe to my e-mail newsletter, which includes my articles on each TAR episide plus other news:
https://hasbrouck.org/newsletter/

My articles about the current season so far are here:
https://hasbrouck.org/amazingrace32/index2.html

1. Wednesday, 14 October 2020 (Cody and Nathan eliminated):
Los Angeles, CA (USA) - Port of Spain, Trinidad (Trinidad & Tobago) - Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002547.html

2. Wednesday, 21 October 2020 (LaVonne and Kellie eliminated):
Tobago (Trinidad & Tobago) - Bogotá (Colombia) - Nemocón (Colombia) - Bogotá (Colombia)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002549.html

3. Wednesday, 28 October 2020 (Frank and Jerry eliminated):
Bogotá (Colombia) - Manaus (Brazil)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002550.html

4. Wednesday, 4 November 2020:
Manaus (Brazil) - Asunción (Paraguay)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002553.html

5. Wednesday, 11 November 2020 (Victoria and Michelle eliminated)
Asunción (Paraguay) - Roissy (France) - Chantilly (France) - Paris (France)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002554.html

6. Wednesday, 18 November 2020 (Alana and Leo eliminated):
Paris (France) - Berlin (Germany) - Almaty (Qazakstan)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002556.html

7. Wednesday, 25 November 2020 (Haley and Kaylynn eliminated):
Almaty (Qazakstan) - Hyderabad, Telangana (India)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002557.html

(I have my own way of counting what is an episode. I've been internally consistent about it, but it may not correspond with yours, especially when there are 2-hour episodes.)

Feedback is welcomed, here or in comments on my blog for those who don't read this forum.

Bon voyage!

Edward

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #16 on: February 15, 2022, 04:41:05 AM »
Hey Edward,

Is there a way your articles can be saved on https://web.archive.org/ ?

They don't seem to be saved there.

They are all available on my own Web site at:

https://hasbrouck.org/amazingrace/

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #17 on: February 19, 2022, 11:29:40 AM »
The Amazing Race 33, Episode 7:
Bonifacio, Corsica (France) - Thessaloniki, Macedonia (Greece)

This episode of The Amazing Race 33 takes place in the environs of the city known today as Thessaloniki, on the north-eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the portion of Macedonia that is now part of Greece.

In the USA, popular images of “Greece” and “the Balkans” barely if at all intersect. Few people in the USA think of Greece as a Balkan country. But while borders within the Balkans are, of course, contested, Macedonia is actually quite central to Balkan history and to many maps of the Balkans as a region.

Once upon a time, Macedonia was the center of the empire of Alexander the Great. For those of you who haven’t been keeping score on the latest Balkan wars and changes in names and borders, a substantial part of Macedonia is now in Greece, another large part (formerly part of Yugoslavia) is now the independent country of North Macedonia (extra credit if you can name its capital, and double points if you can pronounce it!) , and still another sizable part is in Bulgaria. Advocates for a greater Macedonia also include smaller portions of Serbia, Albania, and Kosovo in their claims.

Each of these countries has their own perspective on this paradigmatically Balkanized region and city. If you’re in Thessaloniki and want the dominant local narrative of the most recent century or two of the region’s history, as told by its current inhabitants, a good place to start is the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in central Thessaloniki. For a longer-term historical view by an outsider, see Mark Mazower’s Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, just as the racers jetted ahead of any ordinary travellers. Between legs of The Amazing Race 33, another chartered jet ferried the cast and crew of the reality-TV show to Thessaloniki from the island of Corsica in the Western Mediterranean. If you don’t have a private jet, how do you get to Thessaloniki in the first place?

Perhaps unintentionally, TV advertisements can lead us to an answer, although not the only one....

More:

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002644.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #18 on: March 06, 2022, 09:39:23 AM »
The Amazing Race 33, Episode 8:
Thessaloniki, Macedonia (Greece)

-----

[PHOTO: Skateboarders at the base of the White Tower in Thessaloniki,
which was the finish line of this leg of The Amazing Race 33.]

I watched this episode of "The Amazing Race 33" with my stepfather, whose
Greek-speaking and Greek-identified parents came to the USA as refugees
from the city across the Aegean Sea from Thessaloniki in “Asia Minor” then
known in Greek as Smyrna, and today in Turkish as Izmir.

We were both pleased to see the reality-TV show call attention to
Thessaloniki, but disappointed that it highlighted so little of what makes
this under-appreciated city so interesting and enjoyable to visit....

-----

More, including photos and links:
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002645.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #19 on: March 07, 2022, 09:41:02 AM »
The Amazing Race 33, Episode 9 (season finale):

Thessaloniki, Macedonia (Greece) - Lisbon (Portugal) - Almada (Portugal) - Setúbal (Portugal) - Sesimbra (Portugal) - Lisbon (Portugal) - Portsmouth, NH (USA) - Los Angeles, CA (USA) - Carson, CA (USA)

After another flight on their chartered Boeing 757 from Greece to Portugal, the cast of The Amazing Race 33 was driven across the Ponte 25 de Abril from Lisbon (on the north bank of the Targus River estuary) to Almada (on the south bank) to resume racing at the foot of the monumental statue of Christ the King....

More including photos and links:

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002646.html


Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #20 on: September 24, 2022, 06:51:24 PM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 1:
Los Angeles, CA (USA) - Munich, Bavaria (Germany)

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002656.html

What can we learn from this new season and episode of "The Amazing Race" about the "new normal" of post-pandemic and COVID-endemic travel?

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #21 on: October 02, 2022, 01:43:20 PM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 2
Munich, Bavaria (Germany) - Innsbruck (Austria)

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002658.html

Which will prove to have been of larger or more lasting significance to travel, 9/11 or COVID-19?

What else has changed in 20 years of "The Amazing Race"?

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #22 on: October 17, 2022, 09:13:15 AM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 3 (two-part episode)
Innsbruck (Austria) - Bologna (Italy) - Florence (Italy)

Have you ever been in the middle of a big trip and thought, “I just want to go home”?

That’s what happened to Sharik near the end of an especially long day of navigation, driving, and (sometimes physical) challenges in this double-length leg of The Amazing Race 34....

Thoughts on travel, the autism spectrum, and the pandemic:

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002660.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #23 on: October 20, 2022, 05:30:57 PM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 4
Florence (Italy) - Aqaba (Jordan) - Wadi Rum (Jordan) - Petra (Jordan)

Phil Keoghan welcomed the cast of The Amazing Race 34 onto their chartered jet flight from Florence to Aqaba by telling them that this would be the first time that "The Amazing Race" had visited Jordan.

Why Jordan? Why now? Why not sooner?

More:
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002661.html


Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #24 on: November 06, 2022, 12:35:31 PM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 5:
Amman, Jordan

COVID-19 testing

Will and Abby were eliminated from "The Amazing Race 34" not because they finished last in this leg of the reality-TV race but because they tested positive for COVID-19 after the previous episode was filmed.

That’s a reminder both of the ongoing risk of infection with COVID-19, even if you have had it already and/or have been vaccinated, and of the continued importance of COVID-19 testing, even if it is no longer required by law for travel to, from, or within most countries.

Choosing to resume some travel doesn’t have to mean, and shouldn’t mean, ignoring the risks to ourselves and others of COVID-19 infection. If the COVID-19 pandemic is over, that’s only because COVID-19 is now endemic. We don’t have to travel exactly the same way we did before the pandemic. COVID-19 self-testing before and after especially risky activities (large indoor gatherings, long flights or train or bus rides, etc.) or if we feel sick — the same protocols as are now followed during filming of "The Amazing Race" and other Hollywood movies and TV shows — is one of the important changes we can and should make in our travel habits for the indefinite future....

More:
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002662.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #25 on: November 06, 2022, 12:38:57 PM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 6:
Amman (Jordan) - Toulouse (France) - Château de Beynac (France) - Château de Commargue (France) - Domme (France)

Face masks (“respirators”) for safer travel

As I noted last week, one team of contestants on The Amazing Race 34 was eliminated before the last episode because they tested positive for COVID-19. Since then, the remainder of the cast of the reality-TV travel show has more often, although not always, been shown wearing face masks when they are close to other people.

Viruses and bacteria are invisible to the naked eye, and it’s easy for the threat they pose to be “out of sight, out of mind”. As for real-world travellers, it sometimes takes having someone close to us test positive or get sick to remind us of the risks we are taking of infection and/or trip interruption if we resume travelling exactly the way we used to, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 testing is required — more strictly than in almost any other industry in the USA — by Hollywood TV and movie production protocols and union agreements. But masking, at least on camera on "The Amazing Race 34", seems to have been left to cast members’ own judgement....

Our choices are about reducing risk, not eliminating risk. We can no more avoid all risk-taking when we travel than if we stay home. Travel, like everything we do, is inherently risky, and many of the hazards of life are the same whether or not we travel. To keep things in perspective, the greatest risk of death or serious injury to travellers still comes from car crashes. That calls into question the balance of risks in choosing, as the producers of this season of The Amazing Race have done, to have the racers travel by car rather than by train or bus.

During the AIDS pandemic, thinking and advice about risk-taking evolved from sexual abstinence to “safe sex” to “safer sex”. That conceptual framework of “harm reduction” is applicable today to travel: If we are travelling again “after the pandemic”, what can we do to practice “safer travel”, recognizing that there is no such thing (before, during, or after the COVID-19 pandemic) as “safe travel”?...


More:
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002663.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #26 on: November 14, 2022, 11:00:39 AM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 7:

Domme (France) - Toulouse (France)
A case study in COVID-19, travel, and insurance

Master of ceremonies Phil Keoghan sends off the racers at the start of each season of "The Amazing Race" with the line, “Travel safe!” But what does that mean? And is it even possible?

My previous couple of columns prompted the e-mail message below from an online acquaintance. With their permission, I am sharing their story, not as a conclusionary parable but as food for thought:

https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002665.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #27 on: November 21, 2022, 09:20:40 AM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 8:
Toulouse (France) - Malaga (Spain)

"The Amazing Race 34" left Toulouse without a visit to, or mention of, the major reason Toulouse attracts tourists.

In some cities, that wouldn’t be a bad thing. Tourists have diverse interests, and I’ve enjoyed visits to places where I never went near any of the marquee attractions. Finding less-crowded alternatives to the best-known attractions may be a higher priority than usual for some travellers in times of continued concern for COVID-19. And what if you’ve already “been there, done that”, and want to explore more of a city or region? Toulouse isn’t prominent on the bucket lists of visitors to France, but it rivals Lyon as the third most populous city in the country after Paris and Marseille. There’s more to see and do almost anywhere, especially in a big city, than shows up on any “must-see” or “must-do” list.

But because even the main attractions in Toulouse aren’t top of mind for foreign visitors, it’s worth pointing them out to those who might be interested and might otherwise pass through (I’ve changed trains in Toulouse, and in Lyons, without having had time to stop over in either of those cities), or nearby, without realizing what they were missing....

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https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002666.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #28 on: November 26, 2022, 09:00:48 AM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 9:
Malaga (Spain) - Ronda (Spain)

What to do where cash isn’t king

One of the trends accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the reduced acceptance of cash as a form of payment.

Earlier in this season of The Amazing Race, for example, Molly and Emily made a wrong turn into a parking garage and then couldn’t figure out how to get out without a credit or debit card to use at the unattended pay station at the exit. Eventually, they found another pay station elsewhere in the garage that took cash in Euro notes or coins. But not infrequently these days, there is no provision at all for cash-payment fallback.

Although COVID-19 is spread primarily by air, not by surface contact, fear of surface contagion has provided a rationale (or a pretext, for those businesses and public agencies that already had other reasons, as many did) to stop accepting cash. In other travel contexts, including at TSA checkpoints, the fallacy that “contactless is safer” is invoked even when the alternative to handing over a physical document is having to remove your face mask, which is clearly much more dangerous. Similarly, “For health reasons, we only accept contactless payments,” is an easier sell and seems less customer-unfriendly than, “Your bills and coins aren’t accepted here any more.”

More and more products, services, and points of payment are unavailable without a credit or debit card or some other form of plastic or virtual payment such as a smartphone payment account or a stored-value mass transit farecard.

You can’t always anticipate when and where cash won’t be accepted, and no single type of card or form of virtual payment is universally accepted. In some European countries, for example, payments that in the U.S. would be made by credit or debit card are instead made by transfers directly between bank accounts. If you don’t have an account with an IBAN (International Bank Account Number), which U.S. bank accounts don’t have, you’re out of luck. In China, many merchants and public and private services — from bikeshare rentals to the tiniest tea stalls — not only don’t accept cash but accept only AliPay or WeChat Pay (not Google Pay or Apple Pay), and/or are accessible only through smartphone apps that are available only for phones with Chinese SIM cards and phone numbers and have user interfaces only in Chinese. Sometimes you can cut a deal with a sympathetic bystander: you give them 10 Yuan (US$1.50) in cash, and they buy you a bowl of noodles from the street vendor using their smartphone. If you hold out cash, and a merchant turns it down, a local will often step in to help, even if you don’t speak the local language. But depending on the setting (what if you are alone at an unattended kiosk?) and the product or service, that isn’t always an option....

With cash, you can limit your exposure to pickpockets and snatch thieves, especially when you are making small purchases in crowded public places, by carrying only a small amount of local currency on your person or easily accessible — enough for a day or two or the largest impulse purchase you might want to make. You can keep most of your cash, as well as your credit cards, buried deep in your luggage, or locked up in your hotel, hostel, or apartment if that seems sufficiently secure.

Is there anything similar that you can do to limit the risk you are taking when you hold out a credit or debit card, or your phone, to pay your bus fare or make a small purchase in a crowded market?...

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https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002667.html


Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #29 on: December 03, 2022, 10:03:31 AM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 10:

Malaga (Spain) - Keflavik (Iceland)- Sólheimajökull Glacier (Iceland) - Thingvellir National Park (Iceland) - Gullfoss (Iceland)

The best decision made by any of cast members during this week’s episode of The Amazing Race 34 in Iceland may have been the choice by David and Aubrey to take a two-hour penalty (which they knew would almost certainly mean their elimination from the race) rather than make a third try to complete a memorization task while snorkeling through a crack in the rocks filled with glacial meltwater. The decisive challenge involved memorizing a timeline of major eruptions of Icelandic volcanoes, including Surtsey in 1963 and Eyjafjallajökull in 2010.

Knowing when to fold can be key to winning a game or to staying alive. Extra points to David and Aubrey for having the presence of mind to make a difficult choice despite being cold, tired, and motivated by the chance at a million-dollar prize for the winner of the race. David didn’t know how to swim, or at least not well, and they no longer thought it would be safe to go back in the water, especially after they had already been through a cold, wet, and possibly even more strenuous canyoneering challenge....

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Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #30 on: December 11, 2022, 10:42:49 AM »
The Amazing Race 34, Episode 11:
Keflavik, Iceland - Lynchburg, TN (USA) - Nashville, TN (USA)

Travelling around the world… without travelling around the world

The Amazing Race 34 ended this week on the historic former stage of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Music lovers from throughout the USA come to Nashville (and Branson, MO) for country music. But is country music really the epitome of “American” music? And is Nashville really “Music City USA”?

Yes and no, depending on who you ask. Country music is an important component of U.S. musical culture and music tourism, but it’s not the only one. For some visitors, seeing a musical “live on Broadway” may be the quintessential U.S. musical experience. Others see African-American jazz and blues, and the rock-n-roll that grew out of them, as the most significant contribution of the USA to world music. When foreigners come to the USA on music pilgrimages, they may visit Harlem for jazz (even if they are afraid to go to Harlem alone, and go in guided tour groups), or Chicago for blues (even if they go to North Side clubs, rather than to sites of blues history on the South Side), and never think of Nashville.

My point isn’t to put down country music or music tourism to Nashville or Branson. Rather, it’s that different people in the USA are listening to different kinds of music and identifying with different flavors of “American” culture. These include immigrant and minority cultures and subcultures that are both equally American and equally interesting for visitors who seek them out and pay attention to them.

Obvious enough, you may say — but do we have this in mind when we travel to other places?

The Amazing Race 34 was described, as usual, as a race “around the world”. In reality, it took place entirely in the USA, Europe, and the Levant.

Jordan isn’t in Europe, but neither is it a stand-in for all the other continents.

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Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #31 on: October 24, 2023, 11:59:36 AM »
Edward Hasbrouck’s weekly commentary on The Amazing Race, Season 35 (Fall 2023):
https://hasbrouck.org/amazingrace35/index2.html

Wednesday, 27 September 2023 (Sheridan and Alexandra eliminated):
Los Angeles, CA (USA) - Bangkok (Thailand)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002692.html

Wednesday, 4 October 2023 (Iliana and Elizabeth eliminated):
Bangkok (Thailand) - Nakhon Pathom (Thailand)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002693.html

Wednesday, 11 October 2023 - Wednesday, 18 October 2023 (2-part episode; Victor and Jocelyn eliminated):
Nakhon Pathom (Thailand) - Bangkok (Thailand - Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) - Can Tho (Vietnam)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002694.html

(I know some people will count this last as 2 legs. You are free to do so. But since we were told that there would be no "non-elimination" legs, and counting this as 2 legs would mean that the first of the 2 was a non-elimination leg, I'm counting this -- as I have consistently done in similar cases in prior seasons -- a s single 2-part episode.)   

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #32 on: November 21, 2023, 09:48:03 AM »
Wednesday, 25 October 2023 (Ian and Joe eliminated):
Can Tho (Vietnam) - Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) - Jaipur (India)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002696.html

Wednesday, 1 November 2023 (Yeremi and Liam eliminated):
Jaipur (India)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002697.html

Wednesday, 8 November 2023 (Andrea and Malaina eliminated):
Jaipur (India) - Frankfurt (Germany) - Burg Rheinstein (Germany) - Cologne (Germany)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002698.html
(includes FAQ on the 49-Euro "Deutschland-Ticket")

Wednesday, 15 November 2023 (Lena and Morgan eliminated):
Cologne (Germany) - Frankfurt (Germany) - Vienna (Austria) - Ljubljana (Slovenia) - Lake Bled (Slovenia) - Planica (Slovenia) - Ljubljana (Slovenia)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002699.html


Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #33 on: November 27, 2023, 11:51:20 AM »
Wednesday, 22 November 2023 ( (Chelsea and Robbin eliminated):
Ljubljana (Slovenia) - Postojna (Slovenia) - Piran (Slovenia) - Socerb (Slovenia)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002700.html

Offline The Practical Nomad

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Re: "The Practical Nomad"--Edward Hasbrouck
« Reply #34 on: December 18, 2023, 08:43:19 AM »
Wednesday, 29 November 2023 (Ashlie and Todd eliminated):
Socerb (Slovenia) - Stockholm (Sweden)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002702.html

Wednesday, 6 December 2023 (Anna Leigh and Steve eliminated):
Stockholm (Sweden) - Dublin (Ireland)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002703.html

Wednesday, 13 December 2023 (season finale; John and Greg finish first):
Dublin (Ireland) - SeaTac, WA (USA) - Seattle, WA (USA) - Kenmore, WA (USA) - Redmond, WA (USA)
https://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/002707.html