For Jake Williams, nothing means success like wrack and ruin. Mr. Williams had studied business marketing in college before withdrawing and pursuing a full-time career as an urban explorer, researching and telling the stories of abandoned properties. He films his excursions and, as the producer of Bright Sun Films, shares them on YouTube. The subjects…
Hawaii residents on Sunday were bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Douglas, which was threatening to bring sustained winds near 85 miles per hour and up to 15 inches of rain in some areas, forecasters said. If Douglas, which was downgraded to a Category 1, reaches the islands, it would be only the third hurricane…
LOPBURI, Thailand — The customers waiting outside a bank in Lopburi, Thailand, left their jewelry at home and kept other treasures out of sight. But danger lurked anyway. In broad daylight, they watched a thief steal an iced tea and a vandal brazenly attack a motorcycle seat. One woman quit her place in the line,…
I am in the Catskills in a charming, tucked-away treehouse of an inn. My room, walking distance to hiking trails, overlooks a waterfall. Morning coffee and evening vodka-tonic are taken on the deck where the temperature clocks in at a marvelous 75 degrees. Owls hoot. Birds chirrup. Wind tickles my legs. During the coronavirus lockdown…
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Museums that seemed on the brink of reopening in New York are staying shut after Gov. Andrew Cuomo modified the state’s reopening plan last week. In California, arts institutions that had briefly reopened have had to padlock their doors once again. As the coronavirus epidemic continues to intensify across the country, museums…
COLD SPRING, N.Y. — I’ve been cheating, and it’s likely you have been too: Six feet apart is a lot farther away than most people seem to hope it is. I know this because at the recent reopening of Magazzino Italian Art, the museum of postwar and contemporary work here in the Hudson Valley, I…
As air travel has ticked up in the last month, airlines have divided into two camps: those blocking strategic seats to offer more space, and those willing to fill planes to capacity. In the latter camp, United Airlines never instituted limits and continues to sell all available seats as demand allows. As of July 1,…
ADEJE, Spain — Music blared from a beachfront cafe along the normally bustling southwestern coast of Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands. But several tables sat empty, a month after a Covid-19 lockdown had ended, and the doors to many resorts remained shut. Though tourism is returning to southern Europe — stretching from Portugal…
At this point in the summer — and the pandemic — the desire to escape to a place far away might be overwhelming. Even with so many borders closed, podcasts can transport you elsewhere, making them a good alternative to real, out-of-the-house travel. Here’s a collection of immersive audio experiences that are almost as immersive…
Over the past six weeks, countries across the globe have gradually begun to reopen to travelers, both domestic and foreign. But the travel world, still mired in an unyielding pandemic, is drastically altered. This is especially so for workers in the tourism industry. Their workplaces are now filled with restrictions and health measures, uncertainty and…