Someone once asked me if I was traveling because I was running away from something. The question took me by surprise—I had to stop and ask myself if I really was running away. But the answer was quickly ‘no.’ In half-Italian, half-English (equalling a less-than-ideal communication style) I tried to explain my motivations for travel. They only came out as simple superlatives—’Excitement!’ and ‘Adventure!’—without a trace of nuance that you’d normally have with a common … Read more »

Ever wanted to walk in Phileas Fogg’s footsteps, circumnavigating the globe in 80 days? The hero of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days pulls it off using only boats and trains to get around.

Obviously today you could do it much faster going by plane (the current record is 32 hours, 49 minutes and 3 … Read more »

I’m surprised they haven’t yet done a movie based on this book, one of the greatest American novels of all time. Although it seems like talks for the movie have been on for years, only now do they finally have a screenplay by writer Russel Banks, and pre-production has begun. It is to be produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by Walter Salles, who also directed The Motorcycle Diaries.

The cast … Read more »

Looking for a really specific package tour?  How about nude tourism?

The majority of options for nudists abroad are tasteful clubs and cruises; luxury resorts have opened their doors to all-nude sections, and there is even a nude airline.  In fact, Bare Necessities, a Texas-based travel agency, specializes in clothing optional cruises and resort vacations.  Most places catering to clothing optional tourism go by the tagline, “nude is not lewd,” stressing that they … Read more »

“Boredom greases the cogs in the machinery of marvels. Oh, God, will you be bored. The three days waiting for an Indonesian bureaucrat to issue you a travel permit; the rock slide in Costa Rica that caused a twenty-three-hour traffic jam; the five-day wait for the Congo River passenger barge; the eight sweaty hours spent in the transit lounge of the Bujumbara airport, waiting for crews to clean up the wreckage of the last plane … Read more »

While some long-term travelers aren’t setting out on their trips with the intention of keeping a blog or a journal, and most don’t intend to write books about their travels, more and more people are not only keeping track of their journeys for their own amusement – more and more travelers are making their experiences public with websites and blogs dedicated to their trips. The problem now is an embarrassment of riches – there are … Read more »

As one of the largest insurers in the world receives an $85 billion dollar bridge loan from the United States’ government, and some of the largest and oldest banking institutions fall by the wayside, what have I been doing? Wondering which mountain I will hike in the weekend

One of the great things, as the world goes into economic meltdown, is that a traveller tends to be on the outside looking in. Of … Read more »

The most stressful time in my journeys is when I first land in a new country and have to figure out how to get into the city. I’m tired, disoriented and totally lost.

Some cities make this easy. Hong Kong has the Airport Express, a high-speed train that goes to Central. Kuala Lumpur has an equivalent in the KLIA Ekspres (that’s really how it’s spelled). Paris and Singapore have subways that … Read more »

I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them. – Mark Twain

Traveling in groups has its benefits. It can be more cost-effective, you’re pulled into such interesting experiences, and it could be a good way to bond with people you love. However, the best friends don’t always make the best travel companions. I had to learn this lesson … Read more »