Taking off Travel blog

Wherever you happen to be celebrating them, carnivals are a time to let your inhibitions go and enjoy the music, dancing, costumes, parades and festive atmosphere. In many countries, carnivals take place just before a period of privation, such as Lent (derived from the Latin words carne vale – goodbye to meat). They give people to chance to feast before a time of austerity. In others, it’s about celebrating the advent of good weather in the spring. Here are some of the famous carnivals around the world, plus one you might be less familiar with.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Held for four days before Ash Wednesday, this is the most famous carnival in the world. Revelers say goodbye to the pleasures of the flesh in an orgy of music and dancing. If you get the chance to visit, don’t miss the Samba Parade.

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

Trinidad and Tobago

This is the best carnival in the Caribbean. The build up to it starts just after Christmas (and sometimes before), with celebrations reaching a head on the Monday (J’ouvert ) and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Calypso music and the steel drums invented in that country are everywhere, and it’s a great place for a celebration.

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

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I spent most of last week in Chicago attending a conference for one of my clients. That was partly the inspiration behind my post on O’Hare International. So did the airport and the trip in general live up to expectations?
Heading In

I found the airport pretty well organized and on my way in, it was easy to find my way to the luggage carousels, the exit and the airport parking lots, outside which my bus was waiting. From there it was a short ride to Hilton Indian Lakes in Bloomingdale. While not as fancy as the Cancun Hilton, this hotel was more than adequate, with good food, a nice pool and a great jacuzzi. The conference wasn’t half bad either.

At the end of it, I had one more day before it was time to fly home, so I headed downtown. Driven by a cabbie who, in his own words ‘used to have a problem with road rage’, we sat on the highway for more than two hours to make what should have been a half hour drive. Memorial Day weekend is a bad time to travel and although we thought we’d left early enough – we hadn’t. Read more »

This is the second and final part of my account of a recent trip to Cancun, Mexico.

The hotel also had a well equipped gym (priced at $11 per day, though according to the hotel’s own literature it was supposed to be free). I made it in there for a workout one day, opting to swim instead on the other days. Other facilities included a spa, a few shops and an excellent restaurant. Food was included in the conference package, so I was able to breakfast on smoked salmon, scrambled egg and mini croissants every morning, with a selection of delicacies for lunch and dinner.

Mexican Special

The first night, before the conference started, we went to a place called La Destileria, where we sampled a range of Mexican dishes (the jalapenos are really hot) and drank some wine while listening to a mariachi band. Very touristy but still enjoyable. Then it was back to the hotel bar to sample tequila and sangrita – served in two shot glasses and drunk together – before heading to bed. Read more »

This could be a good year for hotel deals.

If you’re traveling for business this year, then your hotel probably won’t cost much more than it did last year. Although hotel buyers haven’t seen major falls in domestic rates for 2009, there haven’t been any increases either. In part, this is because those negotiating corporate room rates have shown their willingness to go elsewhere if the price quoted doesn’t suit their budget. Domestic hotel demand is expected to drop and room rates to drop with it, so be on the lookout for some good deals as the year progressed. (Full story here.)

Key Influencers In Business Travel

Business Travel News has named its top business travel executives for 2008. These were nominated by industry executives. Airline decision makers dominate the list, with some influencers from government departments. Read more »