My friend and former roommate, Laia Prats (who also happens to be an incredible designer), is selling t-shirts featuring her Japanese-inspired original designs. They’re awesome, selling for $19.50, and all proceeds go to the Red Cross to benefit Japan. You can also use coupon code “SPRING2011” to save $10 off an order of $50 or more. Rumor has it other items are coming soon (possibly including an apron), so check back often after completing your first order!

Another equally talented friend, photojournalist Ikuru Kuwajima, has been on the ground in Tokyo for the last week, posting photos on his blog. Keep an eye out for updates, and check the photo captions in magazines and newspapers — you might just be staring at one of his photos. Good luck, Ikuru!

I’ve had a busy week in New Orleans, so I’ll leave you with two of my favorite photos so far. Most krewe members (the generous folks who toss beads to the crowd while riding on floats) are masked, but CNN anchor Anderson Cooper made an unmasked appearance during tonight’s Krewe of Endymion parade in the Garden District.

And below, a pair of NOPD cruisers illuminate discarded bead packaging, as officers force the crowd to exit the street during a parade.

This afternoon I arrived in New Orleans, and I’ll be here through early next week. I’m in town to see a good friend, but as my visit happens to coincide with Mardi Gras, I imagine there will be plenty of photos and stories to share over the next few days. I’ve only been in the city for eight hours, but I’ve already managed to eat crawfish and gumbo, and watch three parades. Though I haven’t seen many iPhones in the city, Apple still had a presence tonight — iMuse (photo above) was one of the final floats in the Krewe of Muses parade in the Garden District.

I’m not one to spend much time watching amateur videos on YouTube, but I stopped working to watch this video of Space Shuttle Discovery’s final launch — shot from a passenger aircraft flying near Kennedy Space Center — over and over for about 30 minutes. Don’t send me any complaints when you end up doing the same! I’ll let the video speak for itself.

Via geek.com.

I spent nearly two weeks this month and last touring Israel, from the Golan Heights in the north to the Negev (desert) in the south. Over the next two weeks, I’m going to be sharing photos and stories from the trip. Click here for more information.

Today’s post focuses on the city of Tzfat and the Galilee region, both located in the North District of Israel near Syria and Lebanon. The photo above was taken at sunrise at the Sea of Galilee, in the town of Tiberias.

The town of Tsvat is the center of Jewish mysticism. But it’s also a typical Israeli town, with plenty of restaurants, Internet cafes, and nightlife. The town’s high elevation contributes to its seasonal climate, with warm summers and cool winters — it’s not unusual for the town to be blanketed in snow, on occasion.

Click the “read more” link for more photos from Tzfat and Galilee!

As the highest city in Israel, Tsvat sits at an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet.

As certain sacred texts are forbidden from being destroyed, they’re often stored for hundreds of years.

The town of Tiberias is a popular tourist destination, known for its natural hot springs.

Located on the border of Syria, tourists have a clear view of eastern part of the country from the hills near Tiberias.

Click here for a complete list of posts about Israel.

It’s not often that I completely disconnect from the wired world, regardless of where I’m traveling, but on my recent trip to Israel, it simply wasn’t logistically possible to post to my blog each day, as I’ve done on every other trip. It wasn’t a vacation, or a media trip — I participated in a program called Taglit-Birthright Israel, which offers a completely free trip to Israel for young adults (18-26) of Jewish descent. As I’ve just about reached the upper age limit, this was my last year of eligibility. Like many other participants, I’ve become secular enough that many of my friends and professional colleagues didn’t even know that I was Jewish, and one of Taglit’s objectives is to help young Jews reconnect with their heritage, and Israel.

I plan to use the next week or two to share some of Israel’s attractions, but please keep in mind that this blog’s roots are certainly not political — it’s really just about cool tech, incredible places, and good food. I’m going to do my best to avoid commenting on the political situation altogether, instead focusing on Israel as a tourist destination. Many other tourists I met weren’t Jewish, and my trip wasn’t religious or political in nature (like the four photos I chose to display here). So, if you care to discuss Israel’s politics, please send me an email, rather than posting a comment here. Because the trip’s objective was far detached from Middle East politics, and access to media was hard to come by, I wasn’t even able to closely follow the events in Egypt until I arrived in Europe, despite being so close to the border.

I hope you enjoy seeing Israel through my eyes — I had an incredible time, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that spending two weeks without Internet was incredibly difficult.

As this is my first actual vacation in quite some time, I’m doing my best to limit time spent at the computer each day. I’m hiding in Honolulu until Friday, but I’ll of course be taking plenty of photos (such as this shot of Waikiki at sunset), and will post here whenever possible. For real-time updates, follow me on Twitter — @zachhonig.

Aloha!

As a photographer, a trip the highest point is a must for me when visiting each city, assuming I won’t be spending an arm and a leg to do so. Admission to N Seoul Tower (I assume the N represents Namsan Mountain, where the Tower is located) costs about $12, including a roundtrip cable car ride, so I didn’t hesitate to head up at sunset this evening. The tower measures 777 feet (from the base), and the views are decent enough to justify the ticket price.

Click the “read more” link for more photos from the Tower!

You can access the Tower by cable car (the terminal station and cable car can be seen towards the bottom of the image above).

Oddly enough, Pyongyang, North Korea is recognized with a window at the Tower, located just 120 miles from Seoul.

The Seoul Tower is home to the city’s “highest elevation restroom,” as the elevator announced during our accent. I waited until everyone left before snapping a photo.

Still somewhat of a mystery, photos of Manhattan were on display at the center of the observatory level.

This image of a woman walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is titled “Backview of woman.”

Comprised of 263 islands, there’s much more to Hong Kong than busy streets and skyscrapers. Lantau Island is the largest, and on the west coast of Lantau Island sits Tai O, a small fishing village just over an hour from downtown Hong Kong that has become a popular tourist attraction while maintaining much of its original function and character.

Coined the “Venice of Hong Kong,” many of the homes at Tai O are built on stilts hovering over canals.

Click the “read more” link for more photos, including a rare pink dolphin, spotted in the South China Sea.

It’s just about 1:30 a.m. in Hong Kong, so I’m going to bed soon, but before I do, I’m going to rank my 10 trips, based on the destination itself, not the friends I traveled with or visited (please friends, this is not to be taken personally).

Click the “read more” link to see how I rank my 10 JetBlue destinations!

1. Bermuda — My favorite destination also happened to be my first solo trip. There’s just so much to see and do in Bermuda, and with incredibly cheap 90-minute flights from JFK, there’s no reason not to go.

2. St. Maarten — I’m definitely an aviation geek, and Maho Beach, just a few feet from SXM airport, is by far the best place to watch planes land and take off in the world. Beyond that, the people of St. Maarten are incredibly friendly, the island is clean and safe, and the beaches are pristine.

3. San Francisco, CA — I’ve been to SF many times, but I love the weather, the food, and the people that live there. If I didn’t love living in NYC so much, I wouldn’t mind calling San Francisco home.

4. Denver, CO — With the Great American Beer Festival, great friends, a home-cooked brunch, and bike rides, my trip to Denver was a ton of fun, but the city definitely ranks up there as a great destination in itself. There’s plenty to do both in summer and especially in the winter, with some of the country’s best skiing just an hour or two from the airport.

5. San Jose, Costa Rica — The city of San Jose itself isn’t much to speak of, but there’s plenty to see nearby, and Costa Rica is an all-around incredible destination.

6. Las Vegas, NV — If you’ve never been to Vegas, it’s definitely worth a visit. I’ve spent several weeks in sin city for work over the years, and your wallet can thin out very quickly when you’re not traveling with an expense account. I won’t get into detail, but Vegas totally killed my admittedly unrealistic $2,000 AYCJ travel budget, even though we stayed with friends.

7. Seattle, WA — Despite the constant rain, Seattle is a great destination for hiking, skiing and seafood. My trip was incredibly short, but I’d return if I had a friend or two to show me around.

8. Phoenix, AZ — Phoenix is a great place to live and retire, but unless you like hiking in 110+ degree weather, there isn’t a whole lot for tourists to do.

9. Syracuse, NY — Unfortunately Syracuse didn’t seem to be a popular destination among All You Can Jet travelers. When I was waiting in the departure lounge during the first week, the gate agent announced that I was their first AYCJ traveler of the year. Syracuse University is not far from the airport, but unless you have someone to visit, there isn’t much to do.

10. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic — I admittedly was not at all impressed with Punta Cana. It’s a new destination for JetBlue, but the top-rated all-inclusive hotel I stayed at was not very nice, it rained the entire time I was there, and the road from the airport was barely paved. Apparently it’s also not very safe. I’d highly recommend visiting Bermuda, or Riviera Maya in Mexico instead.

I can’t wait for September 2011 (assuming JetBlue offers All You Can Jet yet again)! I’ll be traveling around Asia for the next three weeks, so stay tuned for posts from Hong Kong, Macau, Bangkok, Seoul, Beijing, and more!