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Feeling A Little Pinned Down?
Need to get out more? If you’re feeling a little over-worked under-traveled and are unable to take a vacation from your day job, then pin yourself a staycation on the Hipmunk Pinterest page! Use your lunch hour to pin yourself a one-way ticket to your ideal getaway using our photo collection of food, festivals, and far away lands.
Harry the Lego-Loving Hermit Crab
This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads
Presenting Harry the Hermit Crab, living in the Atlantis Discovery area of Legoland in Windsor, UK. And by "living in Legoland" I mean LIVING in Legoland: his shell is made entirely of lego.
When he needed a new home, the staff decided to construct an optional shell for him, which he seems to like quite a bit.
According to Liane Riley, a senior aquarist at Legoland: “We decided to give Harry a wider choice and the model makers here created a special Lego house just for him. We weren’t really sure if he’d actually move in, but he rejected the sea and snail shells on offer and seems very comfortable in his new home”.
Adorable photo via Huffington Post UK; by Steve Parsons/PA Wire
For a video of Harry stumbling and crawling in his bright lego shell: YouTube video (not embeddable, otherwise we would have!) viewable here.
-Jodi.
New: Get Hooked Up with Hipmunk!
Hey there, savvy travelers, ready to get a bit more savvy? As of today, Hipmunk will make sure you never miss a meeting due to a flight and will ensure you always stay at the best hotel near your meetings and appointments. No, we’re not psychic, but with mobile calendar integration we’ll help you make the best travel choices. Now, you’ll be able to hook up your personal, work, and even your friend’s, family’s, and colleague’s calendars into your flight and hotel results. Here’s how it works: When you download the most recent update to the Hipmunk iOS and Android apps, you’ll see an option to “Show My Calendars,” go ahead and switch that on: Conduct your flight search like usual, and notice how your calendar events appear as vertical lines under the flights that conflict. You’ll also see the title of the event at the bottom. When flights aren’t playing nice with scheduled meetings, we’ll notify you on-screen of the conflict:
If you’re ok with missing some meetings, continue on to book per usual. If not, you can go back and select another non-conflicting flight. On the hotel side, we also give you the option to show your events. And the cool thing is, we plot them all on the map alongside your hotel results so you can easily visualize hotels in relation to your events and obligations. Your events are shown by a gold flag with the date of the event highlighted: If you don’t want to rely on public transit and want to walk between meetings, we give you a list of the highest ecstasy hotels as sorted by proximity to an individual event:
While we’re happy to help you fly agony-free and bring ecstasy to your hotel stay, what we don’t do is violate your privacy. We solemnly swear to leave your personal calendar and meeting information exactly where we found it, on your phone! Scouts honor. Now vamanos, you’ve got flights to catch and meetings to make! Head to the AppStore or Google Play to get the free Hipmunk iOS and Android apps.
Practical tips from four years of round-the-world adventures
This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads
In my time as the Wandering Hipmunk (just over a year now) I've been posting my updates from such far-flung places as Thailand and Laos and Jordan and Morocco. I tend to focus on fun stuff from around the web that you Hipmunks will hopefully enjoy, and some of my own photos in between. For today's post, I wanted to give a bit of backstory and some practical advice from my own travels.
I wanted to travel for years, having seen a documentary about the Trans-Siberian trains in 1996 that had me dreaming of exploring them firsthand. So after saving up while working as a lawyer for 5 years, I quit my job on April 1, 2008 (not an April Fool's Joke!). I expected to travel the world for a year and then return to lawyering in New York.
What happened was that my Legal Nomads blog - which I initially started to keep my mother updated about where I was heading - began to get readers that were not my mother, which led to freelance work, which led to more travelling. And now, 4 years after I quit for a 1-year trip, I'm writing this post on The Hipmunk from Bangkok, with no end in sight.
Colourful umbrellas at a Thai market
So, on this year's travel-versary, I wanted to list out some of the lessons learned and practical tips for those of you looking to long-term travel for yourselves. I tried to keep the list varied, from packing advice ("don't listen to the people who tell you to leave your jeans at home") to strategies for bus rides ("bring a bag of oranges, the smaller the better") to fears ("solo travel does not mean that you're lonely" - you meet some very ... interesting people along the way -->)
The full post is here. I hope you find the tips and insight helpful. Feel free to ask any questions you might have in the comments and I'll be happy to answer them!
-Jodi
You Must Be Trippin'
Notice anything different about your travel itinerary today? Unless you were already planning to take a trip through hyperspace aboard the Millennium Falcon, then you might have noticed a new fleet of vehicles and layover stops at your disposal. Always the one for surprises, the Hipmunk returns to guide travelers to their final destinations through the most unexpected means.
Want to discover the fun with friends? Click Share on the homepage to summon your prank loving pals.
An edible cookbook? Why not!
This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads
A creative project from German design firm Korefe takes a cookbook and makes it different... and edible.
Made from fresh pasta that can actually be baked into a dish of lasagna, the quirky cookbook actually turns into one great looking meal! Unfortunately this is only a special project for a German publishing house and not being sold individually, but extra points for a great concept.
Per Korefe:
"The first and only cookbook you can actually read, cook and eat. Made out of 100% fresh pasta it can be opened, filled with ingredients and finally be cooked."
And the finished product:
I hope they start selling them because it would make for a very fun gift.
-Jodi
Free Wifi, Courtesy Of Hipmunk!
If you’ve missed your flight or simply are an early bird and have some time to kill before you board, Hipmunk and Cloud Nine Media encourage you to log in to the free wifi we’ve provided at any of the following airports: San Jose (SJC), Palm Beach (PBI), Pittsburgh (PIT), and Seattle (SEA).
Available now until the end of this month (tick-tock!). Log on for free and tell your traveling Twitter pals about the #freewifi!
New: Hipmunk Teams with Cathay Pacific On The Heels Of HK Sevens
Considering a trip across the Pacific? Well, we just partnered with Cathay Pacific Airlines to help you with that! You can now book that trip on Cathay directly through Hipmunk. For all our rugby fans out there, if you missed experiencing Hong Kong Sevens live, be sure to book with Cathay on Hipmunk and we’ll get you there for game time. For all our stateside friends, the “HK7” as it’s known in the rugby world, is like the Super Bowl of the sport and held annually in China. Cathay is one of HK7’s longest running sponsors and they have the photos to prove it – it’s like the Superbowl and Mardi Gras had a baby. We just caught this hilarious Cathay Pacific spot (above) for the recent event and thought we’d share. Note: No snack carts were harmed in the making of this video. If there is anything these rugby players can learn from the Cathay ladies in red, it’s how to hustle! Happy travels on Cathay Pacific and remember – no scrumming, lunging, punting, or tackling about the cabin when the seat belt sign is illuminated.
Google Street View in the Amazon
This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads
Timed to commemorate World Forest Day last week, Google released a video of its street view cameras on the Rio Negro River. Technically these are not streets, but the waterways are thoroughfares of traffic much like our roads and are an important source of life and transportation in the Amazon.
Google announced the Amazon project last August on its blog, partnering up with the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS), a local non-profit conservation organization. From the August post:
We’ll pedal the Street View trike along the narrow dirt paths of the Amazon villages and maneuver it up close to where civilization meets the rainforest. We’ll also mount it onto a boat to take photographs as the boat floats down the river. The tripod—which is the same system we use to capture imagery of business interiors—will also be used to give you a sense of what it’s like to live and work in places such as an Amazonian community center and school.
The video below, released last week, shows the fascinating results of the project:
-Jodi
Street Mapping Paris
This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads
French creative studio Le3 has put together a beautiful street mapping project of a tiger running the streets of Paris at night:
According to L3, no post-production FX was involved - they filmed the lights moving alongside them as they roamed the city. The full video is below. Mesmerizing!
Golden Tiger from le3paris on Vimeo. HT @borntotrek
Keepin' Austin Weird at SXSW
Well, I'm happy to say we all made it back from SXSW, with only one close call.
If you haven't been to Austin, TX, you should definitely consider a trip to this charming, southern city. Living by the motto "Keep Austin Weird," the city celebrates each unique dynamic within its limits. Walking through downtown, you'll easily get glimpses into the burgeoning tech scene, cool indie music culture, active and athletic running groups, and wafts of authentic BBQ.
The Hipmunk hit those same streets and attended many a SXSW party. We began with the Institute of Higher Awesome Studies party, and after surprising party-goers and generating a lot of "Awws," the Hipmunk enjoyed a spicy Bloody Mary (yes, at noon!) and crashed the Grubwithus photo booth.
We were overwhelmed with the number of kids, adults, fans, and Hipmunk first-timers that flocked to take pics, tell us about the travels they booked through us, and share the Hipmunk love. It was amazing to finally meet some of the folks we've been tweeting with for over a year and put real faces to those 140 character messages.
We moved about three steps every 15 minutes and handed out loads of luggage tags, t-shirts, hoodies, and stickers.
And can you believe someone actually let the 'munk borrow their bike??
We even got stopped by the local Austin police! The citation? Being too cute, of course.
But after a little sweet talk from Russell, we avoided the cuffs, and it all turned out alright.
We definitely did our part to Keep Austin Weird over the course of four days, and it was a blast.
We mingled with lots of other cool startups including folks from SeatGeek, Highlight, HotelTonight, Liftopia, and Twilio, got interviewed live on-set by TechCrunchTV, ate at some amazing places like Jeffrey's, had Salt Lick BBQ at Six Lounge, and visited the supposedly haunted Driskill (no sightings, though) for some old timey cocktails.
Stay tuned for our Austin destination guide, and keep an eye out at the next SXSW for the Hipmunk!
-- Jacqueline
The CN Tower in shadow, with Toronto below
This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads
I'm from Canada so perhaps I'm slightly biased here, but I saw this photo of Toronto from the CN Tower's Facebook page today and it just took my breath away.
Taken on Saturday from Horizons restaurant, it shows the tower itself (all 1815.4 ft of it) reflected in shadow on the clouds below, with Toronto partially visible beneath it:
What a view. I had to share it here.
-Jodi
p.s. For those of you heading to Toronto, don't miss the CN Tower EdgeWalk, where you can wander around outside the tower, 116 stories above the city.
Up close & personal with lions, thanks to the BeetleCam
This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads
In 2009, U.K. wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas embarked on a project to take close-up, wide-angle photographs of African animals. To do so, he built BeetleCam, a small remote control buggy with a DSLR camera mounted on top. He took it to Tanzania with his brother Matt... where it took a slew of up-close photos, and was soon dismantled by lions.
The brothers decided to give the BeetleCam another go in 2011, this time in Kenya. Here are some of their photos:
Masai Mara Lion by Will & Matt Burrard-Lucas
Lioness Roar by Will & Matt Burrard-Lucas
The lions of the Masai Mara are even more wondrous when seen in video form, below:
If you'd like to follow the BeetleCam, you can connect with Will on Twitter, his website or on Facebook. Lions like you've never seen them before!
-Jodi
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A whole new way to look at guacomole
This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads
Part of what makes travel so interesting for me is its ability to take the familiar and make it totally unfamiliar once again. Be it a simple bus ride turning into a huge adventure to a newfound appreciation for sunsets around the world, there's no shortage of ways to be surprised as you move.
The video below is an embodiment of the same principle, taking a familiar concept to a whole other level. Created by stop-motion animator Adam Pesapane (aka PES) the animated short below will change the way you look at guacamole forever.
(If this looks familiar, you've probably seen his popular short, "Western Spaghetti.")
-Jodi
The Many Colors of Holi
This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads
This week marks the celebration of Holi, a Hindu festival of colours celebrated around the world, from Singapore:
(Photo credit: Gary Arndt)
to Jaipur:
(Photo credit: Shannon O'Donnell)
and further afield.
Holi is celebrated in commemoration of Spring's arrival, on the first full moon of March. It's certainly on my bucket list for travel, and the following photo, from Reuters Adnan Abidi, is a small glimpse of why:
Beautiful and chaotic all at once!
For more photos (including the one above), please click on over to the 31 colour-drenched Holi photos that Alan Taylor has curated on In Focus.
-Jodi
We're Hipmunking SXSW
We'll give you one guess to figure out who's headed down to Austin tomorrow for the annual SXSW festival...
Yup, that's right! The Hipmunk (with five of us in tow) are headed down to Austin, TX to enjoy some tech, film, music, and, of course, BBQ.
The Hipmunk won't be hard to miss, but here's where you can find us:
Co-founder and CEO Adam Goldstein will speak on the "Lean Startup: Baby Got (Feed)Back" panel on Saturday, 3/10. He goes on stage at 5pm at the Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon C.
On Sunday, 3/11, the Hipmunk will be touring the city in the Grubwithus mobile photo booth, because who doesn't like some good photo booth shenanigans! Follow us on Twitter to find out where we are and to meet up for some fun.
We'll be bringing the Hipmunk around the festival grounds on Monday, 3/12, to hand out Hipmunk hoodies, t-shirts and free Gogo wifi codes. But don't expect everything to be free--we'll probably make you do something silly (and take pics for the blog!) in order to get some gear.
And on Tuesday, 3/13, co-founder and CTO Steve Huffman will speak on the "Community-Centered Design" panel. You can catch him at 12:30pm at the Austin Convention Center, Room 5ABC.
And if you can't make it down there, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest and greatest happenings, sights, stories and pics from SX. Here are some folks to follow:
@thehipmunk
@jacqattack
@jyzhou
@russellbarnett
-- Jacqueline
Dim sum in Thailand? Why not!
This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads
Back in May of last year, I posted about the 10 Thai foods that will make your mouth water. I'm back in Thailand now after a fall in Morocco and Turkey and I realize I've left one thing out: the dim sum, steamed deliciousness that one normally associates with China.
With all the wonderful street eats on offer, I've noticed a proliferation of huge steaming drums in all the night markets, from thick bbq pork buns to tiny wontons to steamed crab, still in the shell. For 40 cents a pop (80 for two) it's hard to turn down and I obviously had to try them all before sharing them here ;)
And the closeups:
Steamed crab, in the half shell -
Steamed shrimp & veggie shumai:
And of course, mochi for dessert, stuffed with thick red bean paste:
It's a reminder to me that while the traditionally Thai dishes are delicious, I'd be remiss not to try some of the other food on offer, from Chinese-style crispy pork to these glorious dim sum treats.
Where to get it: Sunday night walking street, Chiang Mai, inside the courtyard of Wat Sum Pow.