Category: Travel
My favorite things Bolivia
Yes, violinist Jaime Laredo is from Cochabamba, but that does not sum up what is special about Bolivia. I’ve been to maybe ninety countries, and often I think Bolivia is the most exotic and wild of them all. For a simple contrast, so many aspects of Yemen have fed into streams we are familiar with, and Yemeni food is instantly recognizable, even if you have never been to the Arabian peninsula.
The main strands of Bolivian indigenous life — which I estimate to represent sixty percent of the country or more — have barely touched America or Europe. It is all strange. It is (mostly) deeply beautiful, like visiting another planet. The sky is intense, and the potatoes and corn taste much stronger than what we we Americans are used to. “I went there to eat a purple potato” is a coherent and indeed a wise sentence. Llama jerky is a major dish.
There is a three-toed sloth in the Santa Cruz park. Pink flamingos and lithium on the other side of the country. La Paz is set in a bowl of sorts where you can look either up or down and see homes carved into mountains. The altitude (in some parts of the country) never ceases to feel like a strain, and the Andes are the world’s largest mountain range. Some of the indigenous politicians have run against the Western Enlightenment. On the Altiplano I encountered some of the most miserable-looking people. The beautiful women have an intensity and a heartiness. The bowler hat remains in style.
Most of the hotels aren’t very good. The country has been landlocked for some time, and has lost territory in three different wars. There are over thirty official languages and it is the number four country in the world for number of butterfly species. You will not find a higher percentage of expressionless, stone-faced petty merchants.
Due to hydrocarbons, the country is growing at over six percent a year. My favorite movie set in Bolivia is Even the Rain, a Spanish production I believe.
I strongly recommend a visit to Bolivia.
But as for Santa Cruz, well…that is something altogether different.
The decline of the week-long vacation (America fact of the day)
Nine million Americans took a week off in July 1976, the peak month each year for summer travel. Yet in July 2014, just seven million did. Keeping in mind that 60 million more Americans have jobs today than in 1976, that adds up to a huge decline in the share of workers taking vacations.
Some rough calculations show, in fact, that about 80 percent of workers once took an annual weeklong vacation — and now, just 56 percent do.
That is from Evan Soltas, there is more here. And Evan offers a bit more here.
Cochabamba bleg
Thank you all for the Santa Cruz tips. I’ll also be in Cochabamba, and so I request your advice for that destination too. Bolivia is one of the world’s most underrated travel spots, so if you haven’t already gone you should start thinking about such a trip.
Santa Cruz, Bolivia bleg
I’ll be there soon enough. Please tell me what to do, what to eat, and how to understand what I am doing. I thank you all in advance.
Thwarted jetpack markets in everything
This time Newport Beach, CA is the villain, or the guardian of public safety, depending on your point of view:
While demand for such thrill rides seems limitless, the supply has been curtailed by the Newport Beach City Council. Alarmed by noise complaints and safety concerns, the council approved a six-month moratorium on new jetpack businesses this summer, dashing the hopes of several would-be operators. The move has left Jetpack America as the only oceanfront flight school in town for now, cornering the market on what some see as an ever-expanding audience, thanks in large part to video clips posted online and Internet deals that lure new customers to the shores of Newport Beach, an idyllic setting less than 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The devices cost $10k (formerly 100k), they push you 40 feet up, and you can go 30 mph. You can still do it in New Jersey, Delaware, and Florida, though further regulations are coming. How is this for a good sentence?:
The jetpack universe is small, but growing.
The full story is here, by Jennifer Medina, interesting throughout.
Thinking Inside the Box
I like this library building in Nice, France.
German leberkas meatloaf and sweet sausages with mustard arbitrage
A man exploited the perks of business-class travel to feast for free 35 times in a year at Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA’s) Munich airport lounge — without ever taking off.
The man used the flexibility of the one-way fare to Zurich to repeatedly reschedule his travel plans after gaining access to food and drink, Munich district court said in a statement. Lufthansa canceled the ticket after more than a year and refunded the price, only for the man to purchase a replacement.
The court ruled that lounge services are provided on the assumption that travelers will seek to fly, and ordered the man to pay Lufthansa 1,980 euros ($2,705), equal to about 55 euros per visit or more than twice the cost of the 744.46-euro ticket. Lufthansa pursued a prosecution only after the man bought the second ticket with the intention of resuming his foraging raids.
Business-class fares typically offer the flexibility to rebook when plans change, while offering perks such as access to premium lounges, conference facilities and showers. The Munich facility at Lufthansa second-biggest hub offers Bavaria’s Loewenbraeu beer on tap, together with local delicacies including leberkas meatloaf and sausages with sweet mustard.
The link is here and for the pointer I thank Hugo Lindgren. And yes, I know there are various spellings of “leberkas.”
The polity that is China dissident “markets” in everything
Activists tell of ‘being travelled’ – sent on lavish trips, chaperoned by police – to keep them out of the government’s way.
As top Communist leaders gathered in Beijing the veteran Chinese political activist He Depu was obliged to leave town – on an all-expenses-paid holiday to the tropical island of Hainan, complete with police escorts.
It is an unusual method of muzzling dissent, but He is one of dozens of campaigners who rights groups say have been forced to take vacations – sometimes featuring luxurious hotels beside sun-drenched beaches, trips to tourist sites and lavish dinners – courtesy of the authorities.
It happens so often that dissidents have coined a phrase for it: “being travelled”.
He, 57, had not been charged with any crime but officers took him 1,400 miles (2,300km) to Hainan for 10 days to ensure he was not in the capital for this year’s annual meeting of China’s legislature, he said.
Two policemen accompanied him, his wife and another dissident for dips in the ocean and visits to a large Buddha statue, he said.
“We had a pretty good time because a decent amount of money was spent on the trip – the local government paid for everything.”
Altogether eight activists have told Agence France-Presse of being forced on holiday in recent years.
The pointer is from Mark Thorson.
Montreal bleg
Where should I eat there? And what is the best place for vegetarian or Indian food? I thank you all in advance for whatever aid you can offer.
Prophets of the Marginal Revolution (a recurring series)
“Los Angeles on cusp of becoming ‘major’ walkable city, study says.”
Despite its long love affair with the car, Los Angeles is on the cusp of becoming a “major” walkable urban area. And doing so could do wonders for its real estate market, at least in spots.
That’s the gist of a new report released Tuesday by SmartGrowth America and George Washington University, which measured the number of walkable urban neighborhoods in 30 big metro areas and looked at the potential to develop more.
The original MR post was here, and for the pointer I thank…Alex.
Cities at or near their all-time peaks of excellence
I would cite a few:
1. Berlin
2. Kuala Lumpur
3. Mexico City
4. San Francisco
5. Seoul
6. Toronto
7. Stockholm
8. Lagos
Higher living standards count toward this designation, but they are not enough. Vienna’s general excellence was higher in the 20s, even though the city was much poorer back then, and so Vienna cannot make the list.
Los Angeles probably peaked in the 80s and New York arguably peaked in the postwar period through the 1970s or 80s. Chicago might have a claim. Can you think of others? Does Shanghai have a chance, or did it peak around 2000 or so, before it got so polluted and crowded?
What do CEOs do on vacation?
Not that much in economic terms, or so it seems according to a new paper by David Yarmack:
This paper shows connections between chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) absences from headquarters and corporate news disclosures. I identify CEO absences by merging records of corporate jet flights and CEOs’ property ownership near leisure destinations. CEOs travel to their vacation homes just after companies report favorable news, and CEOs return to headquarters right before subsequent news releases. When CEOs are away, companies announce less news, mandatory disclosures occur later, and stock volatility falls sharply. Volatility increases when CEOs return to work. CEOs spend fewer days out of the office when ownership is high and when weather is bad at their vacation homes.
The published version is here, other versions are here. Hat tip goes to the excellent Kevin Lewis.
More cars, fewer pedestrian deaths
Michael Blastland and David Spiegelhalter have a new book about risk — The Norm Chronicles: Stories and Numbers About Dangers and Death — and it does actually have new material on what is by now a somewhat worn out topic. Here is one example:
In 1951 there were fewer than 4 million registered vehicles on the roads in Britain. They meandered the highways free of restrictions such as road markings, traffic calming, certificates for roadworthiness, or low-impact bumpers. Children played in the streets and walked to school. The result was that 907 children under 15 were killed on the roads in 1951, including 707 pedestrians and 130 cyclists. Even this was less than the 1,400 a year killed before the war.
The carnage had dropped to 533 child deaths in 1995, to 124 in 2008, to 81 in 2009, and in 2010 to 55 — each a tragedy for the family, but still a staggering 90 percent fall over 60 years.
You can buy the book here.
Markets in everything the packing culture that is New York
The division of labor is indeed limited by the extent of the market:
New York City mommies with money to burn are hiring professional organizers to pack their kids’ trunks for summer camp — because their darlings can’t live without their 1,000-thread-count sheets.
Barbara Reich of Resourceful Consultants says she and other high-paid neat freaks have been inundated with requests — and the job is no small feat.
It takes three to four hours to pack for clients who demand that she fit all of the comforts of home in the luggage, including delicate touches like French-milled soaps and scented candles.
At $250 an hour, the cost for a well-packed kid can run $1,000.
There is more here, via the excellent Mark Thorson.
Which are the most expensive American airports?
Per mile traveled, the new list is this:
1. Cincinnati
2. Birmingham
3. Memphis
4. Dallas Love Field
5. Charlotte
A few points strike me. First, not too long ago Cincinnati was rated as the very best U.S. airport by global standards. At the time I thought that was silly and now we can see further reason why. We should rate airports by consumer plus producer surplus, not by whether they scare away enough customers to make the experience a more pleasant one for the remaining diehards.
Second, these airports may have relatively high proportions of business travelers, as cited by the original article linked above at the top.
Third, theories of market power and fixed costs might predict that the most expensive airports, in per mile terms, should be found in the middle of the country or at least clustered near a lot of other airports. Let’s say a consumer has to pay for (at least) two items in a fare. The first is the marginal cost of the fuel and the labor, which will vary with distance in traditional fashion. Second, consumers must pay to cover the fixed costs of “flying at all,” which would include for instance upkeep on airport facilities, maintenance, meeting FAA regulations, teaching the pilots how to land, and so on. A lot of these costs do not vary proportionally with the length of the flight and you have to incur them for even very short flights. Airports with a lot of very short flights thus will be more expensive on average, in per mile terms. We also can expect these airports to be clustered in the middle of the country near a lot of other airports.
Which is the cheapest American airport in per mile terms? It’s not in the fifty states at all — San Juan, Puerto Rico.