TSA Removes Full-Body Scanners for Increased Privacy

Sometimes it's hard to be modest about your travels. While you wait in the security line on the way home from your latest adventure, you might be brainstorming which jealousy-inducing details to brag about (er, share) with friends at home—but you're probably not hoping to share any intimate info with the TSA agent in your lane.

Thanks to a 2012 FAA reform act, many full-body scanners will soon be removed from airports because they could not update their software to meet privacy standards in time. According to the TSA blog, only scanners that show stick figure-esque outlines of travelers, rather than direct images, will now be allowed for security use. The removal of the Rapiscan machines, they explain, should also speed up security lines now that agents can monitor scans at the lane, rather than in a private room. Other full-body scanners that employ the Automated Target Recognition privacy software will remain in use.

So how do you, our friendly Fodorites, feel about the tightened privacy measures? "We've never worried about our privacy. Whatever it takes to make us as safe as possible while flying is more than OK with us," commented member 1965, making the security-over-privacy argument that emerged popular on the Fodor's forum. Other commenters lamented that the new software will still require the clumsy shoes-belt-wallet removal dance while standing in line. You can't beat our travel vets for helpful tips though—members julia1 and ms_go suggest looking into the TSA Pre-Check program for quicker and easier passage through security lines.

Photo Credits: "ATR Monitor After Alarm" via TSA Blog

More by Elizabeth Lynch, Fodor's Contributor

Stylish Safari Camp Opens in Kenya

Who says that going on a safari must translate to "roughing it?" Last week a new luxurious safari camp opened in Kenya, perfect for those lusting after a safari but aren't keen on letting go of modern conveniences.

The Olare Mara Kempinski Masai Mara consists of 12 roomy tents—five with twin beds and seven for double-occupancy—within the gorgeous Olare Orok Conservancy, where a large community of lion prides roams. Each tent was built on a 700-acre swath of land with an elevated deck with a private balcony featuring unobstructed views of the Mara Plains and the Ntiakitiak River so that even when you are in your room you never lose sight of the breathtaking surroundings. En suite bathrooms (with a hair dryer, so your locks are never out of place; and bath salts to comfort tired muscles in a soaking tub), seating areas with sofas and rugs, and a comfortable four-poster bed are in each tent. For newlyweds embarking on safari together, there is even a honeymoon suite with a private plunge pool.

While lounging in the camp's swimming pool, with a flute of Champagne, guests are treated to sightings of the camp's resident hippos. Daily chauffeured drives into the Mara are marked by authentic "bush" dining, where food is prepared deep in the African bush. Guests don't have to lift a finger...except to eat, of course. Back at the camp, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are available in a variety of dining spaces so that you never get bored with the view. Many of the meals are crafted from ingredients harvested from the on-site organic garden. About 70 percent of the camp's energy is harnessed from solar power.

A three-night/four-day stay starts at $435 per night per person (based on double-occupancy accommodations) and includes airstrip transfers, food and drink, two game drives each day, and conservancy fees. Olare Mara Kempinski Masai Mara is a one-hour flight from Nairobi or 90 minutes from Mombasa.

Kristine Hansen is a freelance writer based in Milwaukee where she reports on food, wine, and travel topics around the globe for Fodors.com, along with new-hotel openings. She also writes for Wine Enthusiast, TIME, Whole Living and American Way. In 2006 she co-authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Coffee and Tea (Alpha Books/Penguin). You can follow her on Twitter @kristineahansen orthrough her web site.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Olare Mara Kempinksi

More by Kristine Hansen, Fodor's Contributor

Where to See Wild Animals in Vegas

Bugsy and Virginia made their comeback at the Flamingo Las Vegasrecently. Now the duo, an homage to the resort's original owner Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and his girlfriend Virginia Hill, live in the Wildlife Habitat.

The recently rehabilitated brown pelicans were rescued by the Pacific Wildlife Project and the Flamingo adopted the birds, one male and one female. The pair was rendered flightless after injuries sustained from being entangled by fishing lines. To make room for the pair, the Wildlife Habitat spiffed up the place, repainting the island and installing a dock where they can perch.

This free attraction is open 24 hours a day with two presentations daily at 8:30 am and 2 pm.

The 15-acre habitat is home to four species of turtles, eight species of ducks, black swans, black neck swans, five pound white sturgeon, several 30-pound koi fish, 40-pound catfish, and 50-pound grass-carp, five parrots, 10 pink flamingos, two helmet guineafowls, two ibis, and now two brown pelicans. (Oh my, indeed!) In total, the habitat is home to about 500 animals and it continues to grow and repopulate as needed.

More Wild Animals on the Strip

Head over to the V Theater at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort for the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater. Here, 15 cats, 10 dogs, a swan, duck, and parrots perform for audiences Thursday through Tuesday at 4 pm. Dogs jump ropes, cats push strollers, and all get involved in skits and stunts such as a doggie fire brigade rescuing cats.

At Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage, guests can see pools with bottle nose dolphins complete with an underwater viewing area. Just past the dolphins find the Secret Garden enclosure, where you will see Royal White Tigers, white lions, panthers, and leopards. The secret garden and habitat is open daily from 10 am to 6:30 pm.

Watch out. Mandalay Bay's animals can scare the heck out of you. The Shark Reef aquarium features aquatic animals and fish from the world's tropical waters. See sharks of all kinds, along with sawfish, giant rays, endangered green sea turtles, piranha, jellies, and the rare golden crocodile. In all, there are more than 2,000 animals in 1.6 million gallons of water. The aquarium is open daily from 10 am to 10 pm. Those who don't want to pay for admittance can see turtles and small sharks on display in a smaller free aquarium by Mandalay Bays's check in desk.

Mermaids swim with stingrays and sharks, as well as 4,000 tropical fish in the 117,000-gallon reef aquarium at the Silverton, just four miles south of the Strip. Feeding shows are run daily at daily at 1:30 pm and 4:30 pm. A marine biologist inside the tank will answer questions posed by visitors. Mermaid swims are scheduled Thursday from 2:15 to 8:45 pm, Friday and Saturday from 2:15 to 9:45 pm, and Sunday from 11:30 am to 6:45 pm. Also at the Silvern, the Bass Pro Shop features an 18,000-gallon water feature simulating Red Rock Canyon's rock formations is filled with live Koi. Smaller fresh water tanks inside feature trout, channel catfish, carp, and bass and include a flowing canyon river featuring ducks, turtles, bluegills, and sturgeon.

Photo credits: Flamingoes and Pelicans courtesy of Flamingo Las Vegas

More by Susan Stapleton, Fodor's Contributor

World Festivals: Bikaner Camel Festival, India

By Anja Mutić

Think you've got the best hairstylist in the world? Find yourself in India's Thar Desert for the annual Bikaner Camel Festival (this year, January 26-28) and you'll rethink that at the sight of the camels' haircuts.

Every January, camel owners from all over the desert state of Rajasthan come to the colorful celebration of the hardy humped animal that has made this remote region of northern India less of an isolated place. While these sturdy animals, called the "ships of the desert", still get loaded with cargo for long desert treks, they come into their own once a year during the spectacle.

It all starts with a procession of camels from all over Rajasthan, decked out with multicolored bridles, bejeweled necks, and jingling anklets. During the camel pageant, the proud owners show off their camels' decorations and jewelry. Highlights include camel dance and acrobatics performances, with the surly creatures displaying intricate footwork and graceful movements directed by their owners.

There are also tug-of-war contests, neck-swaying camel races, and competitions for best fur-cutting design, camel milking, and best camel haircut. Don't miss the Mr. Desert contest, where the local men compete for the trophy of the best turned-out man—they are judged by their moustache, turban, ornaments, and overall appearance.

Throughout the festival, visitors can enjoy tea and sweets made of camel milk and participate in a variety of village games. Evenings feature folk performances such as skirt-swirling dances and fire dances.

The opening and closing ceremony is typically held in the fortified desert city of Bikaner, home to India's only camel breeding farm, with a fireworks display that illuminates the desert skies around Bikaner in a grand finale. This year, the opening festival is held in the village of Ladera, located 45km from the town of Bikaner, with the closing ceremony in the town itself.

While you can attend this man-and-animal affair on your own steam, you get many perks if you book a bespoke itinerary with Micato Safaris. Veritable India insiders, they can arrange one-of-a-kind experiences, such as high tea with the Princess of Bikaner (provided she's in town).

Where to Stay: Your best bet is Gajner Palace, a 6000-acre lakeside palace-complex, a heritage property originally built by a Maharaja on the edge of a lake. A half-an-hour's drive away from Bikaner, it offers nature walks, desert safaris, sanctuary dinners, and boat rides.

Insider Tip: Pack woolens, as mornings and nights in the desert tend to get pretty chilly.

Photo credits: Bikaner Camel Festival via iStockPhoto

Five Reasons to Visit Terracina, Italy

By Eva Sandoval

As if you need five whole reasons to head to an Italian beach town. But there's more to Terracina—a city in the province of Latium, halfway between Rome and Naples—than the obvious perks of sun, sand, and handsome Italians on Vespas. Just ask the hordes of tourists who throng the city each summer, nearly doubling the 45,000-strong population. Or ask the citizens of the nearby towns, who make daytrips to Terracina rain or shine. What makes this small city worth the trek? Read on, my friend. Read on.

Mount Circeo: Terracina is snug against the Tyrrhenian Sea on the Riviera of Ulysses; so-called because legend has it that Odysseus sailed through on his travels. Nothing says "Odysseus was here" like Mount Circeo, rising out of the sea like the jagged profile of a reclining witch. The sorceress Circe is said to have lived there, plotting to turn Greek sailors into beasts. This uniquely-shaped rock formation is visible from other towns along the Riviera of Ulysses—and is, in fact, the site of the township San Felice Circeo—but Terracina is at just the right distance to create the perfect panorama of sea, sky, and mountain. The Mount Circeo is visible from most points in the city, perhaps none as overwhelming as when you're standing in the sea, looking North. Each evening, the mountain goes up in flames: no two sunsets ever alike.

The Ancient Quarter: Most Italian cities have ancient quarters, sometimes shockingly different to each other even within the same region. Unlike the blue-and-white centro storico of nearby Sperlonga, Terracina's centro storico is ochre-hued and green shuttered, with razor-narrow cobblestone streets. There are the ruins of a mosaic-covered Capitolium and a massive rose-tinted square, housing cafés, the Fascist-era town hall and the Cathedral of San Cesareo, built on the ruins of a Roman temple between the 5th and 6th centuries C.E. The ancient quarter's few nightspots attract live music fans, mesmerized tourists, and locals looking for peace and quiet. A few Aperol sprizz cocktails and they sprawl themselves on the old stones like stray cats.

The View from the Temple of Jove Anxur: The Temple of Jove Anxur is perhaps Terracina's most famous historical site. Built by the Romans in the 1st century C.E. at the apex of Mount Saint Angelo, the 1402m high temple overlooks a bewitching crescent of scenery, including the sea, Mount Circeo, and the city below. The view is impossibly romantic; the site of countless passionate encounters over the past two thousand years. If those temple walls could talk...

The Food: Is there any joy greater than eating fresh seafood at the beach? Terracina's restaurant scene ranges from family-run mainstays to seafood shacks and small osterias helmed by pioneering young chefs. The typical regional seafood specialties may be enjoyed—risotto alla pescatora, calamari fritti—while land-grown culinary treasures include spicy boar sausage and bombe; deep-fried filled doughnuts traditionally eaten hot, at night. Terracina hosts a number of sagre(festivals) including a strawberry festival in late Spring, a chestnut festival in the fall, and a muscatel grape festival in late Summer. They say that Terracina's muscatel wine was the wine of Ulysses and that Terracina's muscatel grapes are the sweetest in the region.

The Music: And now on to practical matters: what do people do in Terracina for fun? For a relatively small city, Terracina has an excellent music scene, attracting fans from all over the province. Local bands likeChicken Prod.Inc rejuvenate traditional folk music; Muiravale Freetown produces Italian reggae; Anxur Kingz creates Italian rap tracks with rhymes written in Terracina's local dialect. Local spinmaster "DJ Amaro" mixes funky beats like a chemist. Terracina's musicians and promoters tirelessly seek to heighten the city's presence in the Italian and global music scenes—there's even a fledgling recording studio. Each year, the mod-themed Anxur Festival draws the area's best musical acts and hordes of vespas from all over Italy and the UK.

Photo credits: View of Terracina courtesy of Eva Sandoval; Temple of Jove Anxur via iStockPhoto; Terracina via iStockPhoto; Bombolone courtesy of Wikimedia/ChildofMidnight

A Beach Getaway Within Panama City

In 2013 travelers to Panama can enjoy a luxury beach vacation without leaving Panama City. Across the fabled Bridge of Americas over the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal and down a winding road is Playa Bonita or "pretty beach," a resort area just minutes from downtown Panama City. The small cove with a one-mile-stretch of sand and only two resorts may not exactly be Miami Beach; however, last January's opening of the Westin Playa Bonita alongside the Intercontinental Playa Bonita has given Panama City a viable, if compact, resort area with amenities you'd expect to find in, say, Jamaica or the Domincan Republic. And recently the area got a nice bump in amenities offered with the Westin's Aquabella Sensory Spa by Clarins.

Completed in October, Clarins' state-of-the art technology introduces a modern, destination-spa experience to the area. Navigate your way through the "Thermal Circuit"—a network of treatment chambers that deliver hot-, cold-, and hydrotherapies. Waterflow and temperatures are adjusted in each treatment to relieve tension and promote deep relaxation. For example, the "Heat Experience" portion of the circuit has such esoteric but delightful features as the amethyst crystal steam room, a detoxifying treatment that diffuses essential oils through amethyst crystal. In all there are 16 treatment rooms and a full menu of massages, facials, and baths, as well as a beauty salon and large fitness center. Spa treatments are by appointment and available to both Westin and Intercontinental guests. However, Intercontinental guests would be hard-pressed to forgo their own 10,000 square foot spa, also by Clarins.

And therein lies the beauty of this small Panama City oasis. You don't have to choose. Day-use fees may apply to some of the facilities, but between the two resorts guests can choose among 9 restaurants, from Latin steakhouse to Asian-fusion; 9 pools, including the Westin's extensive canal pool, and 2 gorgeous cocktail lounges with live entertainment. Both hotels have kids' clubs, making them great family destinations.

When you're ready to explore some of Panama's must-see attractions such as Calzada Amador, the Miraflores Locks, Casco Viejo, or the soon to be opened Frank Gehry Bio Museum, you're just a short cab ride away. It all makes for a kind-of mini mega-resort destination, perfect if you want to experience the urban highlights and excitement of Panama City from a more secluded home base.

When to Go: Playa Bonita is a year-round beach escape for locals, particularly on weekends, but fewer crowds and lower rates are found from mid July through the end of August.

Photo credits: All photos courtesy of Westin Playa Bonita

What to Pack for an Expedition Cruise

Here's a tip for when you're headed out on your first expedition cruise: forget everything you know about itineraries to the Caribbean or the Italian Riviera. These trips to more remote destinations will feature activities focused on local culture, native wildlife, and full-on adventure.

You’ll be up and out of your cabin early, spend the day exploring, and get back to your ship late. You won't need formalwear, and you can ditch accessories. Instead, you'll need to tote items like necessary travel documents, versatile utility clothes, high-quality photo equipment, medication, and back-to-basic supplies.

Travel Documents

Most cruise lines take you step-by-step through which travel documents are required for your cruise. If you’re traveling internationally, you’ll need a passport. If you don’t yet have one, apply ASAP at the Bureau of Consular Services (part of the U.S. Department of State).

Depending on the countries your itinerary calls upon, you may also need visas. The US. Department of State runs down country-specific requirements.

Be sure to bring photocopies of all your documents or scan them and put them on a flash drive on cloud services like Google Docs (Pack the copies separately from the originals.) Finally, make sure that a friend back home has copies. If something goes wrong and you lose your passport and identification, having access to copies will speed the replacement process.

Clothing

Expedition cruising is active in nature and nearly all shore excursions include walking, hiking, biking, swimming, hopping in and out of a Zodiac—to name a few. You’ll want to pack comfortable, quick-dry, loose-fitting clothing for warm-weather destinations. For colder destinations, they key is layers, including thermal underwear, wind-stopper shirts, and fleece vests. Warm gloves and hats are a must. For in-between climates, a pair of "convertible" pants comes in handy. Zip off the portion below the knee for instant shorts when the day turns warm.

Visit outdoor stores like REI or Cabela’s to review your clothing options. Some hats, shirts, and pants are even treated with bug repellant, which can be a lifesaver on the savanna or in a rain forest. The Travel Outfitter by Abercrombie & Kent offer packing lists for Polar regions, Africa, and the Galapagos.

Don’t forget to familiarize yourself with local customs and expectations. Women should wear pants or long skirts when necessary, and carry a scarf to cover their heads when entering certain houses of worship, like mosques in the Middle East.

Camera Gear & Communications Equipment

Even if you’re no paparazzi, don’t go on a cruise like this without taking a camera. A good quality point-and-shoot is a must for casual photogs, while serious photographers and amateurs alike will opt for digital or film SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses. Don’t forget extra batteries and memory cards as well as a waterproof camera bag to store everything in.

You’ll probably also want to bring a phone. You can rent country-specific cell or satellite phones from Cellular Abroad. GMS phones, like iPhones, will work overseas once you authorize additional services. Watch the fees. Non-GMS phones require that country-specific SIM cards be installed.

Regardless of what type of gear you carry, think about registering it withU.S. Customs and Border Patrol before you leave your home airport. You may be asked to pay the duty on the items when re-entering the United States unless you have proof that you owned the equipment prior to the trip. (The same goes for expensive jewelry, though Fodors.com suggests you omit those sorts of things from your list of must-pack items when it comes to expedition cruising.)

Medication

If your vacation takes you far from home, it’s best to consult a doctor specializing in travel medicine before departing. Primary care physicians don’t always know which diseases are prevalent in distant lands. The International Society of Travel Medicine can help you find a specialist in your area. He or she will suggest which shots, if any, you need before your trip and what prophylactic medications you should bring (think Malaria prevention and anti-diarrhea pills).

Don’t neglect over-the-counter medications. It’s always wise to pack heartburn relievers (calcium carbonate), cold and flu tablets, and antibiotic ointment.

Don’t Over-pack

Here’s our final bit of advice: don’t over-pack. It will be tempting to bring more than you’ll need. Remember that most ships can provide laundry services, so you don’t need to have different outfits for each day of the week. For maximum no-frills thrill, focus on the must-have items and leave all the rest at home.

Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions