2008 January

Won’t You Be Our Neighbor?

Like what you see? Subscribe to the full RSS feed. Hi neighbor! Just a quick repost of the info below to let you know where you can find Vagabondish on several of the web’s most popular social content/networking sites … If you’re a member of any of these communities, feel free to add us as a friend. Digg: […]

Vast Grotto Discovered Under Norwegian Glacier

Glacier experts in Norway have reason to rejoice after recently uncovering a sensational new grotto, formed under the Nigard Glacier in Sogn og Fjordane. Experts say they’ve never seen a grotto as large as this one - it’s about 8 meters high, 20-30 meters deep, and a full 20 meters wide. Experts are calling the […]

Ahoy, Bloggers! Carnival’s Blogger’s Cruise to Set Sail

Carnival has announced the first blogger’s cruise. A group of 700 readers who regularly follow Carnival Freedom Cruise Director John Heald’s blog, set sail for the Caribbean this week. Heald’s humorous blog is full of self deprecating humor and snippets of cruise life (including difficult guests who insist their booking included a plate of caviar […]

How to Choose the Perfect Backpack

Chris Cook explains why finding the right backpack all depends on the type of trip you’re planning.

Farecast Your Flights for Big Savings

I find booking airline tickets online to be a soul-sucking task. With dozens of windows and tabs open, and search engines galore finding me the “guaranteed cheapest” tickets available, all I find are discrepancies. When I am blessed with an open itinerary, what I want to know is when the cheapest flights will become available, not […]

Finland’s Shouting Men’s Choir

The northern Finnish town of Oulu has been described as ‘Just like Geelong, but colder and with more fish.’ It is home to, among other things, the World Air Guitar Championship. It is also the birthplace of the Shouting Men’s Choir: thirty men in black suits, yelling. Finns, by and large, are quiet people. Silence doesn’t have […]

Visiting Mr. Friendly and (Almost) Drowning in the Gulf of Thailand

Even in the friendly isles of the Gulf of Thailand, paradise has its pratfalls. John M. Edwards grabs an orange life vest and deems it a beautiful day for a ferry sinking.

Beijing Moves Towards a Plastic Free World

China gets a lot of bad press on just about everything – lead tainted products, pollution levels, labor laws, and politics. But National Geographic is reporting that Beijing has taken a welcome initiative in cutting down environmental pollution by banning the use and sale of some plastic bags in the country. The legislation, slated to […]

Photo of the Moment: Cadillac Ranch, Texas

Cadillac Ranch, Texas © Jody Morris

New York City Launches First Coin-Operated Pay-to-Pottie Toilets

The first of New York City’s twenty automated self cleaning toilets opened its sliding doors to the public recently. The glass and steel toilets which are the size of a newsstand are part of a billion dollar arrangement with Spanish street furniture company Cemusa to provide the city with matching bike racks, pay toilets […]

Bizarre Culture: Dancing Waiters of Pizza Hut, India [Video]

I’ve been to Pizza Hut plenty of times as a boy and confess to having never been treated to a show like this. I’m calling corporate.

Contest Reminder: Win a Free “A Map for Saturday” DVD

Just a reminder to our loyal readers that the Vagabondish weekly contest drawing to win a free A Map for Saturday DVD is tomorrow at noon. To enter to win, simply subscribe to Vagabondish by entering your e-mail address in the box on the right. (We promise never to spam you. Ever.) Note to RSS […]

Perfecting Chinese Smiles in Time for the Olympics

Beijing is all wrapped in a flurry of activity before the Olympic Games open in June this year. Billions are being spent to ensure the city puts its best foot forward. Subways and roads are being spruced up, and entire neighborhoods have been razed to give the city a face lift in […]

Girl’s Message in a Bottle Found 3,000 Miles Away

A message in a bottle dropped in the ocean by a young girl traveled halfway around the globe before being discovered and read by a Park ranger. © miss pupik In December 2006, thirteen year old Alexus Monds and her brother dropped theses bottles into the sea, while holidaying in Atlantic City with family, and promptly forgot […]

East River Waterfalls to be Unveiled in July

According to Gothamist, the East River waterfalls project is scheduled to come to New York in July. The $15 million project consists of 4 man made waterfalls, each measuring between 90 feet and 120 feet and constructed over scaffolding to give it the appearance of a building under construction. Each of the four waterfalls will […]

Winter Surfing in Toronto

Winter isn’t the time you’d expect many people to be surfing, and much less in Canada which has some of the fiercest winters. For two Toronto based surfers however winter is the best time to don their neoprene suits and head out with their boards to ride the waves. Temperatures can be sub-zero, but Mark Karvonen, […]

Photo of the Moment: Shopping Cart Art, Vermont

Cambodian Land Mine Museum

The founder of the Cambodian Land Mine Museum, Aki Ra, was an orphan and a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge. Receiving his first rifle at the age of ten, he himself laid hundreds of mines. He joined the United Nations Transitional Authority of Cambodia in 1994, where he was trained to disarm the countless […]

Arctic Travel: Racing on Thin Ice

The sound of tiny spikes on wheels crunching through snow was the only sound we heard for miles. The dark umber landscape was caked in fresh, knee deep snow. An obvious glutton for frigid temperatures, I once again find myself adventuring through Lappland country not far from the Arctic. This time around, we had a date […]

Going Green with a Vengeance in Tokyo

Tokyo has never been known for its vast parklands. Green space accounts for just four percent of the city, compared to twelve percent in New York. The rapid reconstruction efforts post World War II ensured that Tokyo quickly evolved into a concrete jungle with skyscrapers clogging the city, and every available inch used […]

First Passenger Flight Touches Down in Antarctica

An Australia–Antarctica passenger jet made its first successful landing at the very first runway in Antarctica. Scientists at the Australian-Antarctica division have reason to cheer – the four and a half hour long flight will mean no more 5 week sea trips to reach the ice continent, at least during summer. The laser leveled runway measures 2.5 […]

Thailand Restaurant Offers One-Stop Vasectomy and Snack Shopping

Thailand restaurant Cabbages and Condoms is for sex education first, and eating second. Instead of a post-meal mint, diners receive condoms. The food is quite excellent, along with their lovely beer garden. There is even nearby parking, which is somewhat of a rarity in Bangkok. The restaurant was founded by Mechai Viravaidya, an Australian-born Scot/Thai man […]

Chicago Suburb Pimps Its Stop Signs

A Chicago suburb is trying to get drivers to pay attention to stop signs (those oft-missed, bright red, octagonal signs that spell out S-T-O-P … yes … those ones) by adding a touch of humor to them. Now, drivers who might otherwise ignore the signs as part of the shrubbery, have to at least […]

Radar, the Inspector Dog: Canine Joins Staff at Florida Airport

Next time you’re taxiing down the runway at Southwest Florida International airport, don’t be alarmed if you spot a Border Collie yapping along outside your window – he’s the newest staff member, and just doing his job. © aurorasoul The Collie named Radar is specially trained to patrol the runways to scare away birds. […]

5 Ways to Stay Healthy on the Backpacker’s Road

Amanda offers a bit of advice on how to stay healthy while on the road.

Yellow Fever Alert in Brazil

The BBC is reporting a yellow fever alert in Brazil. Brazilian authorities are asking travelers headed to the country to check their vaccination needs, after a man died of yellow fever, the first such case in urban Brazil since 1942. In recent weeks, as many as 12 suspected yellow fever cases have been reported, and at least […]

New York Bar Introduces Frequent Drinker Program

Happy hour at a New York bar just got a lot hic … hic … happier. The Pacific Standard bar has introduced a reward plan for heavy drinkers. Customers buying drinks will be allowed to chalk up points that lead to prizes – ranging from a beer to a return ticket to California. […]

Britain’s People in Order - From 1 to 100 [Video]

Part of the Portable Film Festival, People in Order is: … part of a series of short films that assembles the people of Britain in a given order. In just 3 minutes, we meet 100 different people who are arranged according to their age, starting from age 1. There’s something so charming and captivating about this, particularly […]

Latin Fury Explodes at Buenos Aires Airport

Passengers at Buenos Aires airport were in no mood to be conciliatory when informed that their international flights would be delayed for the second day running. Ticket counter panes were smashed, and the poor staff members had garbage and other things flung at them in anger. The images carried by state television showed thousands of furious […]