BCAA Travel Blog

1. What is the world’s oldest airline?
A. British Airways
B. Pan-American
C. KLM
D. Lufthansa

2. The fabled Orient Express originally began its rail journey in which European city?
A. Paris
B. Vienna
C. London
D. Prague

3. Which cruise line offers the “Elvis Cruise,” a rocking four-day voyage that takes passengers from New Orleans to Cozumel, Mexico?
A. Holland America
B. Carnival
C. Royal Caribbean
D. Norwegian

4. What nation is often referred to as “the Hermit Kingdom”?
A. Bhutan
B. Laos
C. Saudi Arabia
D. North Korea

5. Based on its annual number of arrivals and departures, what is the world’s busiest airport?
A. London’s Gatwick Airport
B. Los Angeles’ International Airport
C. Tokyo’s Narita International Airport
D. Atlanta’s Hartfield-Jackson International Airport

6. In which city would you be in if you were gazing at the Bridge of Sighs?
A. Stockholm
B. Budapest
C. Venice
D. Amsterdam

7. Seattle’s Fremont district is known for its eclectic offerings, including yoga studios, organic espresso shops and a Summer Solstice parade featuring participants clad only in body paint. A large bronze statue of what former world leader can be seen on Fremont’s main boulevard, posed in front of a Taco Del Mar restaurant?
A. Vladimir Lenin
B. Benito Mussolini
C. Saddam Hussein
D. Fidel Castro

8. Panama hats are not made in Panama. Which country actually produces them?
A. Brazil
B. Ecuador
C. Portugal
D. Argentina

9. In which European capital do tourists climb the Spanish Steps?
A. Paris
B. Madrid
C. Rome
D. Helsinki

10. Where is the world’s highest railway located?
A. China
B. Peru
C. Mexico
D. Switzerland

11. If Superman was going to leap over the world’s tallest building, which structure would he have to hop over?
A. Taipei 101, Taiwan
B. Petrona Towers, Malaysia
C. CN Tower, Canada
D. Burj Dubai, United Arab Emirates

12. Which European country uses its Latin name–Helvetia–on its postage stamps?
A. Denmark
B. Switzerland
C. Italy
D. Belgium

13. In which state will you find the southernmost point in the U.S.?
A. Florida
B. Texas
C. Hawaii
D. California

14. In August 1986, a large volume of poisonous gas mysteriously emanated from Lake Nyos, killing more than 1,700 people in which African country?
A. Ghana
B. Ethiopia
C. Cameroon
D. Angola

15. Which famous cocktail was was invented in the early 1900s by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon at the Raffles Hotel?
A. Golden Cadillac
B. Bloody Mary
C. Pina Colada
D. Singapore Sling

Answers

1. C) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was founded by a group of investors and bankers on October 7, 1919, making it the oldest carrier in the world still operating under its original name. The airline’s first flight departed on May 17, 1920, carrying two British journalists and a number of newspapers. Pilot Jerry Shaw flew a De Havilland DH-16 from Amsterdam to London.

2. A) The Orient Express’s original route, which was inaugurated on October 4, 1883, went from Paris to Giurgiu in Romania, via Munich and Vienna. At Giurgiu, passengers were ferried across the Danube River to Rousse in Bulgaria to pick up another train to Varna, from where they completed their journey to Istanbul by ferry.

3. B) Created in 2007, this cruise brings together some 1,400 Elvis Presley fanatics for a four-day celebration of the various phases of the King’s musical life and career. A number of themed events are also featured, including an Elvis tribute contest.

4. D) Although the term “the Hermit Kingdom” is applied to North Korea today because of its political isolationism, the nickname originated in the 19th century when Korea’s rulers tried to prevent the opening of the country to foreign trade by closing its borders. The first documented use of “hermit” in reference to Korea is in the title of William Elliot Griffis’s 1882 book, Corea: The Hermit Nation. Oddly, Griffis had never visited Korea, did not speak the language and had no first-hand experience with the country.

5. D) For the last three years, Atlanta’s Hartfield-Jackson has ranked number one in air traffic. In 2007, it set the world record for most aircraft movements in one year with 994,346. The world’s second busiest airport is Chicago’s O’Hare; the third busiest is London’s Gatwick.

6. C) Spanning the Palazzo Rio, or Palace River, the enclosed bridge is made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons with the interrogation rooms in the Doge’s palace. The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. It was given the name by Lord Byron in the 19th century.

7. A) The statue originated in Poprad, Slovakia, where it was erected in 1988. It tumbled along with other out of fashion statues when the Soviets went down in 1989. For a time, the 7-ton Lenin lay face down in the mud at the Poprad dump–until rescued by American entrepreneur Lewis Carpenter, who mortgaged his house to buy and transport the statue to Seattle. Carpenter died in a car accident in 1994. To recover the statue debt, Carpenter’s family made an arrangement to loan it to the Fremont district until a buyer emerged. To date, no one has. The current asking price is $250,000.

8. B) These misnamed hats were popular with the workers who built the Panama Canal; when U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt visited the site. The fibre used to make the hats comes from the plaited leaves of the toquilla plant in Ecuador’s lowland jungle, but the centre of production is Cuenca, an Andean city situated at 8,468 feet above sea level.

9. C) This monumental Roman stairway of 138 steps was built with funds supplied by French diplomat Étienne Gueffier in 1725. It linked the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, still located in Palazzo Monaldeschi in the piazza below, with the Trinità dei Monti above.

10. A) Completed in 2005, China’s Qinghai-Tibet railway stretches 1,956 kilometres. The highest point of the railway (Tanggula Pass) is 5,072 meters above sea level, at least 200 meters higher than the Peruvian railway in the Andes, which was previously the world’s most elevated track. More than 960 kilometres of the line runs at an altitude higher than 4,000 metres.

11. D) The Burj Dubai is currently the tallest skyscraper, freestanding structure, and man-made structure of any type on the planet. Still under construction, the behemoth is slated to be completed in September 2009. The final height of Burj Dubai is officially being kept a secret due to competition from other buildings under construction. However, figures released by a contractor on the project have suggested a height of around 818 metres.

12. B) The name Helvetia was the Roman name for an ancient region of central Europe between the Alps and the Jura Mountains that corresponds to the western part of modern Switzerland. The country continues to use the name when it is inappropriate or inconvenient to use any or all of its four official languages. Thus, the name Helvetia appears on Swiss postage stamps and coins.

13. C) To find the most southerly point in the 50 U.S. states, you have to travel west to Ka Lae, Hawaii, located at (18°55′N). Cape Sable, Florida, located at (25°7′N), is the southernmost point on the U.S. mainland.

14. C) The tragedy occurred at Lake Nyos, about 322 kilometres northwest of Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé. The gas killed all living things within a 25-kilometre radius of the lake. Most of the victims died in their sleep. Scientists later concluded that the lake’s lower levels had become saturated with carbon dioxide gas due to gaseous discharge from the extinct volcano beneath.

15. D) The pink “girly drink,” was invented around 1910 at Singapore’s Raffles Hotel. The original recipe used gin, cherry brandy and Benedictine. The drink was shaken and strained into a glass, and then filled to individual taste with club soda.

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