Ken Hegan

MSN

February 24, 2012

MSN Travel post: Hipmunk revolutionizes flight + hotel searches

I travel a lot because I’m a world-famous, globetrotting travel writer (Translation: “I’m on the run from loan sharks and their thumb-breaking debt collectors”). So I book a ton of flights, using Travelocity and Expedia. But now that I’ve found Hipmunk, I never want to use either one again. Founded two years ago in San…
February 20, 2012

KLM invites you to Stewardress Yourself

When it comes to offbeat Web promos, KLM is miles ahead of its competition. The Dutch airline has embraced social media so warmly, they’re like those otters holding hands. KLM has already created Web games for older passengers, and painted their airplane exterior with faces of their Facebook fans [which made the plane look like…
February 17, 2012

Flying with Fido? Think twice: more pets die on Delta flights

Here’s a sobering government statistic (if you’re currently drunk): According to the US federal government, more pets died on Delta flights last year than on any other US airline. The Department of Transportation says more than two million pets travel by air each year in the USA. And of the 35 pets that died on…
February 17, 2012

MSN Travel Gear Guide: roll the dice on your travels

Here’s a fun way to choose where to travel next: don’t choose any direction at all. Instead, trust a pair of digital dice to direct your next adventure. They’re called Zufall (German for ‘random chance’) and it’s a simple way to keep yourself moving and exploring. First you download the app to your iPhone ($1.99)…
February 14, 2012

Get a leg up on Bangkok taxis

So it’s Valentine’s Day and if you’re a guy in a relationship, you’re stressed (unlike Fred and Barney here who are curiuosly chilled out). Let’s face it, guys: every move you make today and tonight will be heavily scrutinized. Not necessarily by your girlfriend or wife…but by her girlfriends. Do too little for your lady…
February 8, 2012

February travel: Carnaval, She-ninjas, Chuck Norris, and kung fu monkeys

Uh oh. According to CNN, 3,000 Iranian women are training to become ninjas. We are so dead. I’ll predict it here: when the Pentagon sees this clip, they’ll immediately call off the invasion. And when Chuck Norris sees this, he’ll know whom he’s fighting in his next three movies. When I saw this clip, I…
February 1, 2012

MSN Travel Gear Guide: Vacuum-packin’ suitcase!

I’m a notorious over-packer. The only way I can excuse my space-wasting packrat mentality is by convincing myself that I’m a big strong fella who actually enjoys an invigorating workout every time I lug my monstrous-sized bag onto a bus, train, or airport check-in scale But I’m changing my ways; this year I will bring…
January 30, 2012

Postcards from Costa Rica 3: Bullet wounds, machete scars, and the path less taken

After two great weeks, it’s our last night in the Costa Rican jungle beach hut known as Congo Bongo. Our next-hut neighbours just popped by for dinner (Translation: we invited them to cook fish for us). The chef/dad/father is a chipper South African who I’ll call ‘Todd’ and he’s accompanied by his charming young wife…
January 28, 2012

Postcards from Costa Rica 2: Flavoured beer & Deadly White Zebra Tigers

Cocles Beach at Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica I’m 12 days into my dream vacation, and the trip is going brilliantly. We’re staying in Congo Bongo, a funky jungle beach house near Manzanillo, on Costa Rica’s under-visited Caribbean shoreline.
January 25, 2012

Postcards: Sun and kisses from Costa Rica

One week into my dream vacation, and my freckles have started to merge. The weather in Costa Rica is gorgeous. We’ve surfed, biked, kayaked, beat Germans at volleyball, toured a sloth reserve, and sipped scotch on the hot white sand. My superfine girlfriend and family are getting along famously (well, at least they haven’t lunged…