Picture from DigitalGlobe-Imagery, Flickr

Thailand is underwater. The country is dealing with massive flooding from heavy rains and the city of Bangkok is now being evacuated as the water makes it’s way to the city.

Since July, Thailand has been suffering from heavy rainstorms causing flash flooding and displacing people throughout the country. Some areas are under 1.5 meters of water and now, the water is moving to displace the 12 million people of Bangkok.

Residents of the city have tried to take actions to protect their belongings by loading up their car and parking them on highway overpasses. They’ve also tried to stock up on supplies, but stores have rationed food and toilet paper to limit hoarding. Already, stores have run out of bottled water. Stores are fully stocked with oxymorons.

The Thailand government has declared a public holiday from October 27th through the 31st to allow residents to evacuate during the time the city is predicted to be flooded. No word on where residents will go, considering the entire area surrounding Bangkok is flooded.

No matter when it is, Japan had a 6.6 earthquake exactly one month after an earthquake and tsunami devastated the country. The country is slowly crumbling apart and the world is watching via videos of light fixtures rock back and forth.

CNN reported that some fires had broken out after the most recent quake hit northern Japan but tremors were felt in Tokyo. In fact, an HTG insider there told us that after shocks are happening every day. (He also mentioned that Japan has a cool warning system that sends out warnings to everyone’s cell phone, but often you’ll feel a quake then have your phone buzz that an earthquake is coming.)

This morning, some Japanese officials said that the leaking reactor is not getting worse, though it may be a long time before anything gets better. We’re not even sure how to handle that news.

As for potential travelers, if you’re planning on going to Japan to help, then by all means, go. If you’re planning on going there for fun — well, maybe look at some where else.

After much media hype, the big wave ready to hit Hawaii fizzled and didn’t do much of anything. Most major media stations were scrambling for potential horrific coverage. They were all obviously disappointed. So go back to the beach.

An 8.9 earthquake off the coast of Japan created a 30-foot tsunami that swept away boats, houses and just about every thing else more than a mile inland in Northern Japan.

In other words, it’s a mess.

Now a tsunami is racing toward Hawaii and the west coast of the US.

The only advice we can offer is GET AWAY FROM THE BEACH.

A young Asian man disguised himself as an elderly senior and boarded a flight bound for Vancouver, Canada, from Hong Kong on an Air Canada flight. Authorities from the Border Services Officers apprehended him upon landing in Canada.

The plan was brilliantly simple: He flew with a disguise kit, complete with a silicone mask of an elderly white man, a brown cap, glasses and sweater.Witnesses claim he walked like an old man, but his hands were oddly young-looking.

Another tip off? He went to the bathroom as a wrinkled white man and—Shazaam!—emerged a youthful Asian man in his 20s. We know radiation ages you, but typically not in reverse. Ancient Chinese secret?

When asked why he flew in disguise, the man claimed he was seeking refugee protection. He was able to board the plane in Hong Kong by swapping boarding cards with another passenger, purportedly a U.S. citizen born in 1955, and used a frequent flier card, Aeroplan, as identification.

It’s a bit surprising that no one has tried this stunt before, and if they have, were able to pull it off successfully.

Now, if I could only find my clown suit and floppy red shoes…

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

You and the whole family fly to India on your own jet with your entourage and equipment arriving in multiple planes before you. Bring your own limo and helicopter because you can. Have the cities your visiting sanitized in preparation for your arrival. Demand that the streets be closed so you can travel the streets without dealing with fans. Rent out the whole hotel, all 560 rooms, restaurants and banquet rooms. Rent out another 200+ rooms in adjacent hotels. Bring your own personal chefs, because you never know if you want a midnight snack or a seven course meal.

You can do all of this and more if you’re the President.

President Obama boards Air Force 1; Picture from whitehouse.gov

President Obama and Michelle are visiting India for three days in early November. Security concerns are so high that secret service agents have already been dispatched and are working with Indian officials on how to ensure the President’s safety.

Nothing is being left to chance. The entire Taj Mahal Palace hotel has been booked, as have rooms in adjacent hotels to protect the President and Michelle and house the numerous persons traveling on this detail. The hotel, which is on the coast, will have constant surveillance both on land and in the water, with US Naval ships positioned within 300km of the hotel.

Streets along any of the routes that the President or Michelle take will be shutdown over the time they’re in town, buildings will be sanitized and staffed with security personnel, and daily life of all residents of Mumbai will cease to exist for two days.

So, if you find yourself wanting to travel like a rock star, get your campaign registration ready. 2012 will be here before you know it.

This is especially true when you have to share it with 20,000,000 people, most of whom seem to possess either a car horn or extra-sharp elbows. Needless to say, sometimes, it is nice to get away. Unfortunately, due to the vagaries of contracted corporate life, I was not allowed to fulfill my dream of simply taking off for weeks to explore the wilds of Southeast Asia. As such, I had to find an alternative respite to city life. I found it in Century Park:

Amongst other attractions, Century Park features an amphitheater, tandem bicycle and paddle boat rentals, and some of the only publicly owned grass you can actually approach/breathe on/sit on in Shanghai. As such, it serves as marvelous setting for anything from a picnic to an ultimate Frisbee game. However, there is much more than grass to appreciate in Century Park. There are also numerous jogging paths and intricately plotted gardens. In grand Shanghai style, there’s a man-made lake that is rumored to hold over 300,000 fish (even the lakes are densely populated):

Of course, there are always reminders that you haven’t really escaped from the megalopolis, but rather, are just temporarily hiding from it.

It’s so tall that it becomes a literal pain in the neck to photograph. As far as supertall skyscrapers (yes, that’s an actual qualification – apparently “really really really tall” wasn’t as catchy) its a fairly impressive.

Among other things, it features the world’s highest observation deck, the world’s highest hotel, and a somewhat surreal lighting scheme. Of course, tipplers can also appreciate it as the world’s largest bottle opener:

The first few floors of the tower are open to the public in the form of boutiques and western-themed restaurants. Some stretch the imagination more than others: even as a New Englander who has savored poutine and Labatt Blue many times, I was surprised to find an entire restaurant dedicated to Canadian cuisine. However, culinary wizardry is not the only treat that awaits a visitor to the SWFC; it also features the nicest public toilets I have ever encountered:

Upon first glance, it may not appear much different than the commode you have in your backyard, or, if you’re lucky, the water closet you had newly installed in the small room next to the kitchen. However, when one takes a closer look, it becomes apparent that this magnificent throne has more in common with the space shuttle than a regular cistern:

Keep in mind, this technology is not protected by any velvet ropes, it is being freely offered to anyone who wanders into the building. To paraphrase Deng Xiaoping, one of the fathers of modern China: “To have bathroom technology previously available only to the rich is glorious.”

Photos by Chris Eckel

This comes with its own set of highs and lows. Dealing with clueless tourists and honking horns at all hours of the night may make for longer days, but at least my commute is easy and I can always impress people when they ask my address. Little do they know my apartment consists of a stove and toilet balanced precariously above my pillow.

But tonight, I had another reason to celebrate my apartment’s location: A parade!

For a few hours, the entire street was shut down, which doesn’t necessarily help my commute, but did provide a great bird’s eye view of the festivities. Sitting on my makeshift balcony, I was able to soak up all the action and manged to take some photos of some of the more colorful floats:

The occasion was the kickoff extravaganza for the Shanghai Tourism Festival, which as far as I can tell is a massive marketing blitz to drum up tourism; as if the World Expo and the October National Day didn’t do anything.

However, oddly enough, in addition to all the Chinese cities and regions advertising, there were numerous other countries represented as well, including some Brazilian samba dancers that gave my right index finger a workout as I took about 200 pictures in 30 seconds:

And then a hometown tour de force: An American marching band — an Americana parade staple, but unheard of in China.

I was tremendously disappointed when they weren’t followed by a rolling pep rally and the big game against Shanghai University’s arch-rivals, but I guess you can’t have it all.

However, for one night at least, the street was filled with joyous noise, rather than the chorus of easily exasperated cab drivers. I guess that’s progress.

All photos by Chris Eckel

Two men, dressed in raincoats and helmets, opened up fire on a tourist bus filled with Taiwanese tourists, which prompted travel warnings from the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Ironically, Taiwan, which had two citizens wounded in the shooting, did not issue a warning.

The US warning for India was actually issued on Sept. 1, before the weekend shooting, in response to the coming October Commonwealth Games.

The weekend incident could have been much worse, as a nearby car caught fire immediately following the shooting. Apparently the men in raincoats had built a crude pressure cooker bomb (or they were canning some Tandoori chicken).

Would you want to spend a couple of weeks in here?

hitting the open road.

The problem is: China can build cars a lot faster than it can build roads. Now it has created the mother of all snarls: A never ending traffic jam.

According to CNN, the traffic jam started on Aug. 14 along the Beijing-Tibet Expressway — expressway taking on more of a propaganda meaning than literal meaning. The traffic jam now stretches more than 60 miles with very little end in sight. (Had this been the former Soviet Union, the line would now be 200 miles, as people were trained to jump into any line forming, just in case someone was going to give out something good.)

The Associated Press reported that the traffic jam could last for weeks, by then Chinese authorities can start picking up bodies and never admit any traffic jam ever existed.