Intelligent Travel

Get Pampered, Naturally

IT's been fascinated with the Lost Girls for a while now—you know, the three women who left their NYC media jobs for a year of traveling the world. Now that they're back in the States, we've asked them to share a few of their favorite moments. First up? A visit to an authentic spa in Bali: 

When we stumbled upon the open-air Ayung Spa at the Ubud Hanging Gardens in Bali, Indonesia, we considered it paradise found. The thatched-roof treatment rooms felt like tree houses suspended above the Ayung River in a jungle canopy. Unlike some spas that play CDs of chirping birds and running water, the ambiance here is 100 percent natural. And that goes for the products as well: Each treatment uses essential oils and salves made from tropical spices, fruits, and flowers organically and locally grown in the Balinese countryside. Here are three examples of bliss-filled treatments that'll soothe your body and soul—all while keeping you in touch with Mother Nature.

1. Ayung massage: Feeling blocked? A therapist will help you unwind using long strokes that follow energy (aka "prana") channels running through the body to open up any blockages and replenish your self with a renewed vitality. Organic essential oils such as peppermint help boost circulation and green tea soothes skin with powerful antioxidants.

Swiss Solutions

These days, a growing number of Swiss resort towns are hard-pressed to ignore global warming. Take Pontresina, perched 5,900 feet above sea level near the Italian border (and our new vote for town with the cheesiest marketing slogan: "a symphony in p-major"). Further up the mountain—and just above a 17th-century church and the area’s leading hotels—a coating of warming permafrost looms. Built four years ago as a preventative measure against avalanches, a $6.5 million dam stands guard between the permafrost and Pontresina.

According to NPR, the creation of the dam wasn’t an easy sell to residents, who doubted the seriousness of the issue and worried how tourists would react. But local authorities remedied the uneasiness by transforming the dam into a highlight along a new kind of tourist attraction: a climate change trail.

Winin' and Dinin' on the Island

   

Who says the Big Apple is the only place to find good eats in New York? IT recently headed to Long Island and was pleased to find a host of places that tickled our taste buds. Here are a few of our favorites:

Kitchen A Bistro: Tucked away across from a liquor store in St. James, this European-style café serves a mostly organic menu that changes daily to accommodate the freshest ingredients. Chef Eric Lomando has served dishes like “chorizo steamed baby clams Farro” and “sauté barramundi chick pea puree and broccoli rabe.” Be sure to save room for dessert—their pastry chef creates sweets like “African nectar crème brûlée” and “flourless chocolate cake.” The recently redesigned dining room only seats about 25 people, so be sure to get there early—the restaurant's been known to have a line of people waiting in the parking lot. This North Shore Bistro is cash-only, very casual, and BYOB.

Next Up: The Personal Blimp

Looking for the perfect way to study the forest canopy of the Ecuadorian jungle? How about creeping along noiselessly at tree level? In an adventure that seems straight out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the longtime dream of two pilots in Amherst, Massachusetts, is finally becoming a reality.

A self-described “dot com computer geek” for more than 20 years, Dan Nachbar wanted a change of pace. So the veteran pilot and his engineering buddy Mike Kuehlmuss dedicated themselves to finding a way to combine the stunning views provided by small aircraft—without all the the noise. The result: The Personal Blimp, and, if all goes well with the FAA, you can have one too!

Currently, the FAA classifies Nachbar's blimp as "experimental," but the good news about this designation is that they're pretty laissez-faire, he says. “You can basically build what you want to build and fly it.”

And he does, taking his wife, kids, and investors for rides in the two-seat, two ton, 102-foot craft.

Carnival of Cities: IT's Sustainable Edition

Welcome to IT's Sustainable edition of the Carnival of Cities. Long story short, IT's always partying at other blog carnivals, so we figured it was time to buck up and host our own. In honor of the occasion, we're supplying two (didn't want to be cheap now, did we?) imaginary kegs of EcoBrew and 22 orders of organic Elysian Fields Lamb Chops. Grab your biodegradable cup (and fork) and let's party!

Editor's note: Last week, we made a call out to our readers to send in great blog posts about sustainable cities. We received a few interesting entries about cities, but none with a focus on sustainability. Instead of canceling our carnival, we decided to go ahead and post these non-sustainable (though mostly authentic) city entries anyway. However, to keep with the urban eco-conscious we so eagerly were hoping for, IT did some hunting and found many a great post that do have something to do with our theme. You'll see our finds (in green) mixed in below.

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Architecture

The Dirt interviews NYC's Chief Urban designer, Alex Washburn, on building green 

Inhabitat writes about a new energy-efficient city gate in Dusseldorf.

BldgBlog on why the  building sector must be carbon neutral by 2030.

Best Practices

BoingBoing covers San Francisco's plan to turn their Lights Out! on October 20.

On Wired's blog, we read that the Los Angeles "smog police" are staking out polluting vehicles by parking white vans, equipped with ultraviolet and infrared sensors that measure the amount of pollution spewing out of the tailpipes of passing cars, near the L.A. freeway on ramp, as well as other places around the city.

BlogTo tells us the Virgin Festival in Toronto goes green.
 
Here's an idea from Sustainable Melbourne: Create a website dedicated to sustaining your city! 

Dining

Seabird presents Good eats (with kids) in Miami posted at SeaBird Chronicles, saying, "Kid-friendly restaurants in Miami!"

Isabella J Mori presents Great Restaurants and Food Shopping in Kits posted at My Kitsilano, saying, "If you ever come to Vancouver, don't forget to spend some time in one of its most famous neighbourhoods, Kitsilano. And when you do, this post will help you find some of the best places to eat."

 

Bulldozing Paradise

IT prefers praising good practices. But sometimes, it's necessary to bemoan the bad. As National Geographic Traveler's ecotourism editor Jonathan Tourtellot notes in October's Destination Watch column, the Portuguese hotel chain Pestana has begun building a large hotel with a casino on the island of São Tomé and Príncipe, off the central African coast.

The hotel will be built literally on top of a historic fort from the 17th century, says Bruce Potter of the Island Resources Foundation.

True Nature Country Fair

It's been a while since IT covered a fair or festival—too many light displays, art installations, sand castles, and huhu grubs last season, we suppose. However, after writer Kathryn O'Shea-Evans introduced us to this sustainable fest, our obsession was renewed. In her own words:

I'm all for funnel cake and roller coasters, but the Organic Growers School has come up with a different end-of-summer fair. Modeled after Maine’s all-organic Common Ground Fair, the first annual True Nature Country Fair (September 28-30 in Mills River, North Carolina) makes sustainability the issue of the hour. On 940 acres of wilderness, just 20 minutes south of Asheville, you can hear lectures on homesteading, buy from Southern Appalachia’s most sustainable vendors, and take workshops on everything from biodiesel to producing your own herbal remedies in your backyard. Eight bluegrass bands take the stage throughout the weekend, including mesmerizing folk croonster Ian Thomas. Look for me up front, dancing my own version of the tilt-a-whirl.

Goats Cut Carbon Emissions

If you've been in Washington State recently you might have noticed something a little furry. That’s because the University of Washington is doing a bit of gardening… not with pesticides and gas-guzzling lawnmowers, but with goats.

We kid you not. A herd of 60 goats romped through the main campus in August, delighting in weeds like blackberry bushes, ivy, and salal (a hemlock relative). The goats were hired by the university’s Integrated Pest Management program, which seeks to find pest-ridding alternatives to chemical processes. The UW's Bothell campus hired goats a few weeks earlier, and is considering acquiring a permanent herd. Not only are goats cheaper than human labor, but they also provide free fertilizer. The university says that they are using goats as a way to cut its carbon emissions.

WWOOF-ing ’Round the World

We here at IT know it all too well, but let's face it - traveling is an expensive hobby. From plane tickets and lodging to food and extracurriculars, wanting to see the world can put a big hole in your pocket.  But in 1971, organic farm supporter Sue Coppard got sick of not being able to afford to see the countryside, so she started a work-exchange program that has been going strong - and saving travelers money - ever since.

Originally called "Working Weekends on Organic Farms," WWOOF began as a weekend-long program in the U.K., allowing WWOOF members to work on organic farms for a couple of days in exchange for free room and board. After WWOOFers (as these volunteers are officially called) decided a weekend was not nearly long enough to suit their travel needs, the organization became "Willing Workers on Organic Farms" and eventually, expanding beyond the U.K., "World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms."

IT to Host Carnival of Cities

Our bidding process was hardly as competitive as the IOC's, but IT's still pretty psyched to be hosting the Carnival of Cities next Monday. Our theme is...(drum roll)...sustainable cities. Has your blog posted a recent story about a low carbon-emitting city? Have you read a post on someone else's blog that sang the praises for green urban practices? IT's Sustainable edition of Carnival of Cities will be a collection of great blog posts for us city-loving, eco-conscious folk. So, hurry up and send along your ideas. Please submit all nominations using this form; and to ensure IT has time to set up for the Carnival, please submit all nominations by noon on Sunday, September 23.

See you for the festivities next Monday!

Elephant & Castle Goes Green

London's Elephant & Castle quarter (not to be confused with the popular North American foodie chain) recently unveiled its plan for the Castle House skyscraper, an eco-residential tower project in South London. Castle House is just one part of the district's Regeneration Program, which aims to improve the overall living and business conditions of the area.  According to Elephant & Castle,

The [regeneration] scheme will be carbon neutral, despite almost tripling the number of homes and businesses in the area, and with a focus on renewable energies including wind and solar power, it will set a new benchmark for green development of the highest eco-standards.

The location of the Castle House and its design were decided after a full site analysis was done to look at internal planning efficiencies, access requirements, and wind. Striving for an Ecohomes (the UK's version of the American LEED system) rating of “excellent,” the complex (one 43-story high-rise and one five-story pavilion) will feature three nine-meter (30-foot) diameter wind turbines and a combined heat and power plant. Castle House's carbon emissions are expected to be 15% lower than the benchmarks set by the city and energy costs per apartment are expected to be up to 40% less than the typical UK housing average, according to Multiplex Developments.  There will be about 408 apartments in the two-building complex. Construction on the Castle House will begin this fall, and is set to finish by early 2010.

Buyer Beware: Carbon Offsets

A recent front page article in the Washington Post caught our eye because it tackled the sticky and oh-so-trendy issue of the carbon offset, calling it "among the most unusual of commodities":

Its substance is intangible, the absence of something. Some pollution would have existed, somewhere, sometime, the seller says, but now it won't.

This booming, unregulated market trades in outcomes that are hard to measure and, in some cases,  generates profits for companies while providing no real benefit to the environment. IT was troubled to learn that some consumers who purchased offsets were paying for nothing other than a "renewable energy certificate": i.e. a piece of paper claiming that their purchase led to the creation of clean energy. IT would condone this practice (especially if the certificate were delivered as a paper-saving PDF) if the certificate actually reflected positive change. However, since many such certificates are purchased after the energy is produced, many environmentalists fear the consumer is buying something that would have been produced anyway.

So, what's a traveler to do? The Post hints that more FTC regulation is coming. But for now, when offsetting your lifestyle or your next trip, think twice before investing in a company. Don't get out your checkbook for the first hit that comes up on a Google search. Ask the company if their results have been scientifically proven to create quality renewable energy, and make sure you know exactly where your money is going. It also helps if the company is certified by an independent organization. According to the folks at Sustainable Travel International, two of the most respected carbon offset certification groups include Green-e for domestic offsets and the CDM Gold Standard for international offset projects. Happy shopping!

Where the Buffalo Roam

North and South Dakota may be better associated with blustery temps and the big, empty prairies of Laura Ingalls Wilder than, say, appealing vacation spots. But au contraire: pockets of the Midwest are reverting to their natural state with a new emphasis on land conservation, eco-tourism, and recreational ranches. Much of these efforts are focused on, of all things, bison, a species once nearly extinct that now boasts herds half a million strong in North America. And who doesn’t secretly long to roam free with the buffalo?

According to USA Today, “The private sector, state and local governments and non-profit groups are pouring money into preserving land and returning it to wildlife. Small towns are still dying, but economic enterprises are emerging from this environmental effort—from bison and dried-fruit snacks produced by Native Americans in South Dakota to Lewis and Clark Trail motorcoach tours in Nebraska.”

Buggin' IT with Butterflies

Summer’s not quite over yet, but as IT melts in the D.C. heat, we’re already thinking ahead to autumn, when East Coast foliage turns to a sea of russet and orange and parts of the country are witness to their own wave of black and orange: the annual monarch migration.

Beginning late August and ending in November, millions of monarchs make their way from Canada to the California coast and the Transvolcanic Range in Mexico. No one’s quite sure how they do it— monarchs are the only butterfly to migrate so far over several generations, which means none ever makes the more than 2,000-mile trek more than once—fascinating both butterfly enthusiasts and scientists alike.

The Jury's In: Boston Hotel Goes Green

Need a place to crash in Beantown? As of September 1st, Jurys Boston Hotel in scenic Back Bay is offsetting 100 percent of its electricity by purchasing certified renewable energy credits. Sound too good to be true? It doesn't stop there. The in-house restaurant buys local produce whenever possible; an Ozone laundry system cuts down on chemical and hot water use; housekeeping uses environmentally friendly cleaning supplies; and Energy Star appliances—including water-conserving showerheads and compact fluorescent lighting—are ubiquitous.

Jurys is the first hotel in Boston to completely offset its electricity, and it's leading the pack compared to most hotels nationwide. How can they afford it? Jurys uses almost one-third less energy than similar buildings and saves more than $200,000, according to the EPA, which gave the hotel an Energy Star rating last year.

But conserving energy doesn't make this hotel (rooms start at $250) any less luxurious. Housed in a 1920s building that is the former location of the Boston Police Headquarters, this 225-room hotel offers AAA four-diamond amenities and a fantastic location, just a few blocks from Boston Common. From the Irish bar Cuffs, a nod to the hotel's heritage, to the lobby's unique wall fountain and posh, Turkish cotton bathrobes in each room, IT can't wait to splurge on a New England getaway.

UNESCO's Creative Meccas

Some days, hunkering down with a good book is nothing short of blissful retreat. So when IT heard that just across the pond, wordsmiths like Yann Martel, Ilan Pappe, and Esther Freud recently emerged from their writer caves to rub shoulders with ordinary folks at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, we couldn’t help but get a little tingly with wanderlust.

The 17-day annual event wrapped up August 27, but as the world’s only UNESCO City of Literature, Edinburgh offers plenty of year-round finds for bookworm travelers, from literary pub crawls to a Writers’ Museum.

A quick glance at the rest of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network reveals a power list of other global cities worth exploring by travelers in the so-called "creative class."