The truth about Chattanooga

Imagine if you could leave your cubicle behind and travel the world for a year. That's what Brook Silva-Braga did when he was 25. Along the way, he videotaped parts of his experience, and he subsequently produced a documentary of the trip. He gave Budget Travel this first-person account of his round-the-world adventure. In a couple of weeks from now, he'll be offering DVDs of his documentary at his website, and the show is expected to air on national TV later this summer. Meet the Pirates. In case you haven't heard, the folks who invented "Survivor" have cooked up a new reality TV series, called "Pirate Master." The show will send 16 modern-day pirates on a high seas adventure to scour the waters of the Eastern Caribbean for 33 days in search of hidden treasure worth a million bucks. The show will be set in, and around, the nation of Dominica, (pronounced Dom-in-eek-a), which is located near Martinique. The series debuts May 31 on CBS. Details here and here. The Travel Channel has picked its next set of aspiring travel journalists for its 5 Takes reality series. In case you haven't seen past seasons of the series, here's the premise: Five young travelers are outfitted with laptops and video cameras and are sent to a destination with only about $50 a day to spend. These aspiring journalists then offer their perspectives for eight weeks. The new season, focusing on Buenos Aires and other stops in Latin America, premieres June 2, and features aspiring travel journalists like Vinnie Costa. Details here. Hey, Amazing Race fans! Check out Jaunted's nifty online interactive map for tracking the latest edition of the Amazing Race. Jaunted's crack team has created this mash-up Google map. For an explanation of mashup Google maps, click here.

Book a stylish, centrally-located London hotel at a discount. Budget Travel recently introduced readers to the Hoxton Hotel, which debuted last fall in London's financial district. Each of the hotel's 205 rooms feature "wood paneling, down duvets and pillows, and a fridge filled with free mineral water and milk." (See article here.) Turns out that the EuroCheapo blog has discovered a trick for booking a stay at this cool hotel at a discount. Simply sign up for the hotel's email newsletter, which offers exclusive sales. You'll find rooms available for between $10 and $160 a night. (Even a $160 a night room is still a deal in London, because of the watery value of the U.S. dollar agains the British pound.) Details here. And for more suggestions for cheap hotels in London, click here. Good-bye, seatback TVs on airplanes. Hello, personal media players.... ...American Airlines will be offering passengers multi-media devices with Bose noise-canceling headphones to passengers on selected long-haul flights out of Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. The devices come pre-loaded with a dozen feature films, up to 15 hours of TV programs, and hundreds of hours of popular tunes, according to this press release. American will charge a fee to coach passengers who want to use the device. The airline hasn't announced the exact fee, but the rumor is that it will be about $5 a flight. First-class and business passengers will get to use the devices for free, of course. If the test is successful, American will make the devices available on all of its long-haul flights. Readers offer their own photography tips. This Just In recently directed readers to this slide show offering advice on "How to take better pictures of your friends." Reader Ed Fitzgerald offers the following additional tip: "What you didn't say was that you also moved in closer and got rid of that competing background that had that awful flash highlight that is distracting. Most people do not crop close enough in the camera when they are taking people pictures." Consider yourself warned. For more reader tips on traveling smarter, click here.)

More than 20 million people have already voted in the new Seven Wonders of the World international campaign launched by Swiss explorer Bernard Weber back in 1999. (Of the seven ancient wonders, only the pyramids are still standing.) The Statue of Liberty, Easter Island, Sydney Opera House, Christ Redeemer Statue, Stonehenge, and Angkor Wat are among the 21 finalists selected by architectural experts. You have until July 6 to vote for your favorites. The following evening--yes, that would be 7/7/07--the winning landmarks will be announced at a flashy ceremony broadcast live from the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon; the mixed bag of performers and celebrity guests includes Jose Carreras, Chaka Khan, and Neil Armstrong. Abreu Tours, which specializes in travel to Portugal, has organized various Seven Wonders packages, starting at $431 per person for three nights at the Amazonia Lisboa hotel, based on double occupancy, and a type C ticket to the event. While it may not sound like it, type C ticket holders actually have the best views of the stage. Abreu's package offers savings on both the lodging and on the tickets, which are valued at up to $190 per person, plus booking fees. For more discounted travel to Portugal, check out a recent Real Deal for airfare and a week in Lisbon and Porto from $1,044. Update (7/3): To vote, visit this website: http://www.new7wonders.com, click on a photo, and follow the instructions for voting.