Kanchanaburi, Thailand The photo above, which shows a gravestone belonging to one of the nearly 7,000 Allied POWs buried at the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand, illustrates the difficulty we have in making sense of tragedy. Last week two talented photojournalists, Chris Hondros and Tim Hetherington , were killed in the Libyan city of Misrata....

Over the past few weeks, I've been trying to learn more about motivations for travel. "Why?" seems to be the most urgent question put to travelers. It's asked not just by others, but also by the conscience. Everyone seems to want an explanation -- friends, family, former/current/potential romances, current or future employers. Whenever someone asks,...

Here's a question for the serial vagabonds out there, or at least folks who've made two or more trips abroad: What draws you back to the road? I'm curious about the actual, specific behaviors that motivate you to buy yet another plane ticket. Call them activities, pursuits, hobbies, favorite pastimes, things to do, whatever. Please...

I like to criticize technology's effects on travel -- how it can shut us off from both sight and sound, turn soul-searching into wi-fi searching, and funnel hours of exploration into the confines of a monitor. But today, the man in dark glasses reminded me how blogging can push you further into the analog world....

This recent New York Times piece highlights old age as a never-ending adventure, but there are far more desperate, fundamental reasons why elderly people are deciding they'd rather be abroad than at home. Here are three less-discussed motivations for senior long-term travel (the first two are illustrated below by Lawrence Osborne 's unflinching Bangkok Days...