The best international journalist of 2010
Max Hartshorne and his partner, Cindy traveled to Cancun, Mexico and left with some excellent material for an award-winning travel story!
GoNOMAD’s very own Max Hartshorne, travel writer and company owner, has just been named the winner for 2010 International Journalism Awards, for his online article about his travels to Cancun, Mexico!
Congratulations, Max!
Max’s article covers one week in the man-made resort town of Cancun. Didn’t know it was man-made? Well you will learn that fact, as well as many others when you read his interesting, fact and history-laden travel piece, titled “Ecotourism in Cancun: Wilder Than We Expected!”
I honestly never gave much thought about traveling to Cancun before reading this article, wanting to avoid the drunken slew of teenagers and 20-somethings that are known to flock there for spring break and year-round, until I read this article. It’s not just a spring break destination, it’s a haven for ecotourism.
Here’s a clip from the competition, stating the first, second and third place Internet winners:
The Cancun Convention And Visitors Bureau Announces Winners Of The 2010 International Journalism Awards.
After a tough deliberation by judges of the 2010 International Journalism Awards, the Cancun CVB has announced the results of this year’s competitive contest:
Internet
• First Place, Max Hartshorne (United States and Canada) from the www.gonomad.com portal for the work “Ecotourism in Cancun: Wilder Than We Expected!”
• Second Place, Howard Hian (United States and Canada) from the www.travels-with-hian.com portal for “Quintessential Quintana Roo”
• Honorable Mention goes to Swimming with the Whale Sharks from Deirdre Mullins (Ireland) from the portal www.rte.ie
Fly to New Zealand While Staying Horizontal
If you’re anything like me, you just can’t sleep on planes. I’m not a great sleeper as it is and no matter how hard I try, being stuck in an upright sitting position for hours at a time on a red eye flight just doesn’t give me a fulfilling REM cycle.
Finally there is a way to satisfy the travel craving while comfortably and effectively avoiding jet lag, and Air New Zealand has it: Cuddle Class Couches. Purchase three seats in a coach cabin and you could be napping on a “sky couch” on your next 24-hour flight to the South Pacific.
“Sky couches” are seats that have a folding-out component which essentially turns the regular seats into flat, comfy beds (don’t worry, they come with full sized pillows). They will take up the first 11 rows in the 
economy cabin of the carrier’s new Boeing 777-300 planes.
As early as this December, couples wanting to sleep side-by-side, strangers wanting to snuggle or and parents with children who want a flat space to play trucks on will all be able to use and love the new and innovative “sky couches.”
For two adults travelling, purchasing the Skycouch will be based on buying two seats at standard prices with the third seat at approximately half price. Full airfare details will be announced when it goes on sale in late April. The first routes to offer travelers the “Sky Couch” will be between Auckland and Los Angeles from December 2010 and Auckland and London from April 2011. All other services will feature the seats by around 2012.
100 Tons of Thai Rice to Haiti
The World Food Programme is providing 100 tons of rice to starving earthquake victims in Haiti.
Today, 100 tons of rice will be flown from Bankok, Thailand to Alaska. From Alaska to Miami. From Miami to the Dominican Republic, and then finally transferred to where it is most needed: to Haiti.
Donated by the Thai government and supported by President Piyasvasti Amranand, the rice is intended to help bring relief to the already impoverished, disaster stricken Haiti which experienced a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2010.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), over 3 million people may need food assistance in the wake of the earthquake. Even before the quake, almost 2 million people were considered ‘food insecure’, meaning they needed assistance to stave off hunger.
The donated rice will travel over 36 hours by Thai Airways (THAI), Thailand’s national carrier, on one of their humanitarian cargo freighters, A Boeing 747-300F aircraft. When not providing sustinence to the victims in Haiti, THAI provides flight service to more than 74 destinations in 36 countries and five continents. It is the fastest service to Southeast Asia, from Los Angeles to Bangkok and beyond. This year marks THAI’s 50th Anniversary, commencing in May 2010.
WFP is accepting donations from anyone who is able. Click Here to donate to WFP or help out by participating in the online community’s efforts to feed Haiti.
Avoid Getting Scammed When Giving To Charity
For many people, seeing an earthquake destroy what was already the poorest nation in the western hemisphere is a topic that in some people, stirs heavy emotion and drives others to try to help. Some people just cant resist giving every time a “Help Haiti” fundraiser knocks at their door.
While the disaster in Haiti is receiving many selfless donations and support, there unfortunately remains among us the opposite kind of person. Scammers come out in these times of need and take advantage of the altrustic actions of those with softer hearts, posing as fundraisers and keeping their collections for their own personal use.
Below are some tips to ensure that whatever you give goes directly to where it is needed. These tips are important because in a place of devasation like Haiti, every bit counts.
1. Check credentials of unrecognized organizations and /or individuals, even if they say they are from a well known charity. You’ll be better off if you can donate directly to the charity. For example, a donation through the Stand With Haiti website will ensure that your donation will reach who it was intended for. A “text to donate” source can also be used. Texting HAITI to 90999 will donate $10 to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts. The $10 will be charged to your cell phone bill.
2. Listen carefully and ask for details if someone claims to be calling from a medical center at a disaster site. Scammers may claim to have news about a loved one and asks that money be sent for treatment. One way to find out if the call if for real is to hang up and try to reach the medical center in question through proper channels, (i.e. verify the number through a phone book or operator assistance). Do not use the potential scammer’s contact details to call back.
3. Only travel to a disaster region as part of an official, organized relief mission. They’ll give proper training and support to stop you becoming part of the problem, rather than a solution to it.
4. Always check that the seals on bottled waters haven’t been broken. Scammers have been known to sell recycled bottles that have merely been filled up with tap water.
5. Watch your stuff. Keep your wallet or purse with you at all times, and distribute your money and cards around your body. It’s a good idea for men not to keep their wallet in the usual back pants pocket, as that is another easy target. Petty thievery is more common than you might think.
6. Don’t get drugged. If someone buys you a drink, watch them get it from the bar and deliver it to you, or better yet, go to the bar with them. It’s not unknown for travelers to be drugged unwittingly and end up lost and alone with all their gear gone.
7. Know what you should and should not have to pay for. There have been reports of scams targeting people traveling to the USA. Beware of scam websites that charge for an approved travel authorization for the US Visa waiver program, which is actually free. While the websites appear genuine, the personal details provided via these websites may involve identity fraud.