Perhaps the most prolific traveler of the season is none other than Old Saint Nick himself. In order to deliver presents to an estimated 800 million households across the world in one evening, he must travel more than 5 million kilometers per hour.

While an especially American phenomenon, Santa Claus has roots throughout Europe. Saint Nicholas of Myra, now a part of Turkey, was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop who was famous for … Read more »

The trouble started last summer when a laid-off construction worker set up a hot dog stand on the South Side of my current city, Bethlehem, Pa. Some loved it, some hated it, and a six-month debate on vendors ensued. The conclusion came last night when City Council voted to severely curtail street vending.

My time spent … Read more »

Matt Gross recently wrote an excellent article at World Hum, called “The Minor Glories of Constant Motion.” It details what for Matt may be a typical morning on the go. He wakes early to go to the airport in Taiwan and along the way, his cab gets a flat tire. As he watches the driver change the tire, another cab pulls over and he gets in … Read more »

Just a reminder for people who haven’t seen or heard of it yet, Google Voice is pretty freaking sweet.

Like its associated friend Skype, Google Voice is a VoIP service that allows you to call numbers from its website, after you’ve added a little credit to your account.  however, unlike Skype, Google Voice has a few more handy features:

Google Voice assigns you a permanent phone number, that can be forwarded to any … Read more »

At this time of year far flung travellers all around the globe are flooding airports, train stations, and roadways in the hopes of seeing their loved ones’ smiling faces for the holidays. However, for us seemingly professional travellers, making our way home for the holidays can seem like tedious work. Sure, we’re used to being in airports … Read more »

Back when I wrote Vagabonding, I designed the end-of-chapter resources so that they could be continually updated online and stay as useful and relevant as possible. Recently, with the editorial help of Justin Glow and input from dozens of readers, I added to (and reorganized) my online resources at Vagabonding.net.

I’ve copied the index links below. If you feel that anything is missing … Read more »

It seems like the idea of traveling without somehow documenting your adventures online is a pretty uncommon one these days – so the question of how to document a trip has morphed somewhat from “should I keep a blog?” to “what kind of blog should I keep?” The question on the BootsnAll boards that we’re featuring this month fits in the latter category.

BootsnAll member Shawnosaurus is about to leave on a long trip, … Read more »

I’ve been accused of always finishing a destination-related book with the comment, “I want to go to … (the name of the destination).” Fiction or nonfiction, it doesn’t really matter. If it’s a good book, the text allows me to conjure in my mind what the place is like. If it’s not so great, I wonder what the writer is missing, and what I’d find if … Read more »

Whether we want the responsibility or not, we represent our countries when we’re on the road. Have you ever cringed at the bad behavior of another traveler from your home country?

Matador Abroad had an article titled, Do you represent your country when you travel? I’d say the answer is a definite yes.  You become the face of your country to the locals you meet abroad, as well as to your fellow travelers.

While … Read more »

Panama City, Panama

Travelers, perhaps even these photographed in Panama on Christmas Day 2008, can sometimes be found pondering the meaning of “home”. They may do so in a hostel lobby in Paris, from a park bench in Cartagena, on a rumbling train in Siberia, or atop a seawall … Read more »