2008 March

TravelChannel.com Has Acquired Us!

As of noon this Wednesday, as part of a deal that’s been several months in the making, Vagabondish.com will become an official subsidiary of TravelChannel.com.

Namibia’s Skeleton Coast: ‘The Land God Made in Anger’

Like what you see? Subscribe to the full RSS feed. Local bushmen call it, ‘The Land God Made in Anger.’ You could land on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast - but you couldn’t leave it. Sailors would be pushed ashore in heavy surf - sometimes in dense ocean fog, to boot - and beach themselves. The next morning, […]

Photo of the Moment: Monks, Luang Prabang

Frozen in Time: Improv Everywhere Effect Spreads

When a clip of the first Improv Everywhere freezing event in Grand Central Station was posted on you Tube, it caused an instant buzz. The sight of more than 200 people freezing in their tracks in the middle of otherwise frenetic Grand Central Station for a full five minutes was remarkable, and struck a […]

Japanese Grave Maker Develops High Tech Gravestone

It was just a matter of time before the dead got high tech, and Japan is unsurprisingly showing the way. A Japanese grave stone maker has developed grave stones with embedded bar codes in them. When visitors visit the gravesites of their dead relatives, they can take a picture of the tag with their cell […]

Finnish MP Proposes “Love Vacation” Law

© Mayr Here’s a law that would be hard to break. Finnish MP Tommy Tabermann has proposed a law that would enable couples to enjoy a week of “love vacation” time. The proposal, which has already been debated by Finish parliament, would allow couples to accrue love holiday time the same way they accrue summer […]

36 Hours in San Francisco, California

The stores on Fisherman’s Wharf filled with shot glasses declare, “I left my heart in San Francisco.” Sadly, what many people see in the City by the Bay is little more than the trappings of tour buses and t-shirt vendors. But it doesn’t take much to venture away from the hawkers and to […]

Photo of the Moment: Boats Ashore, Luang Prabang

Photo of the Moment: Reindeer and Children, Siberia

Reindeer and Children, Siberia © ugraland

MapJack Gives Google Street View Much Needed Competition

A new mapping tool promises to give Google Street View a run for its money. MapJack is presently restricted to San Francisco, Chiang Mai, and Sausalito, but offers crisp lifelike images of the streets and areas you’re navigating. The screen is divided into two levels- the bottom half shows you an aerial map of the city, […]

Grandma’s Living on a Jet Plane

Since, 1994, Jo Ann Ussery has been enjoying a high flying lifestyle. That year, Jo Ann found herself homeless after a storm bought trees down on her house and the spunky grandma was forced to look for alternative housing. Her brother-in-law, who happened to be an air traffic controller at Greenwood Airport, suggested she look […]

“Deltalina” Jazzes Up Delta’s New Safety Video

It works to draw attention to just about every product and service known to mankind, so why not use it to jazz up those boring airline safety videos on board, huh? Delta Airline’s new safety video is causing a buzz because of its Angelina Jolie look-alike presenter - sexy stewardess Katherine Lee. The airline has […]

Photo of the Moment: Reflecting Lake, Luray Caverns

Sleeping Under the Stars in Finland’s Glass Igloos

Sleeping on ice beds in igloos in the freezing North is almost passé. The new trend is glass igloos in the heart of Lapland that allow guests to enjoy the beauty of snow storms and the spectacular Northern Lights without having to freeze their butts off. These glass igloos are available for rent at the […]

How To Use All Five Senses When You Travel

There’s more to travel than just sight-seeing. Amanda Kendle offers a few tips on how to dust off your other four senses.

Olympic Athletes Unhappy with Beijing’s Squat Toilets

© boni_face Chinese Olympic authorities are scrambling to refit toilets after complaints that some Olympic venues had squat toilets instead of the sit down model favored by Westerners. Athletes, miffed at the prospect of having to squat to do their stuff, reportedly companied and refitting work is currently underway at some otherwise high-tech venues, like the Water […]

The Incredible Shrinking Dollar: Amsterdam Turning Away U.S. Currency

If you wanted a reality check about the actual state of the beleaguered U.S. dollar, you might want to head to Amsterdam where small currency exchange firms are turning away dollars. The US currency has fallen badly against the Euro with one Euro currently worth roughly $1.58. Tourists looking to exchange their dollars have to […]

Photo of the Moment: Sukhothai Sunset, Thailand

Sukhothai Sunset, Thailand © MJ Mac

Getting “Off The Beaten Path”: Just Another Traveler’s Cliché

Nora Dunn wonders if travelers can still “get off the beaten path”. Or is it just another cliché?

Travel Photo Contest: Win a $40 Amazon Gift Card!

Our friend and vagabond extraordinaire, Greg Rodgers, over at StartBackpacking.com is holding a travel photo contest for your chance to win a $40 Amazon Gift Card. The rules are simple: All you have to do is post your craziest travel photo and a brief story behind it. It can be funny, dangerous, beautiful, […]

Photo of the Moment: Northern Lights, Iceland

Eiffel Tower to Receive an Extension?

Paris’ most famous landmark may receive an extension as part of its 120th birthday celebrations. A Paris-based architectural firm has won a contest to redesign the tower’s public access areas. The firm, Serero’s, winning design features an extension of the top floors of the tower, without the need for any permanent structural changes to the […]

Practical Trip Planning (Part 3): Finding Cheap Accommodations

Chris Cook continues with the third installment in his Practical Trip Planning series on how to find cheap accommodations.

How I Saved Over 66% on Airfare in 20 Minutes

It’s amazing what you can accomplish with a little investigative legwork these days. You can save on fancy hotel accommodations by finding auctions. Heck - you can save even more by finding ways to stay rent free. You can save on car rental charges by getting free upgrades if you know how. But how […]

Photo of the Moment: Bucegi Mountains, Romania

Cosplish School Opens in Tokyo

To the long list of English language hybrids around the world, you can add a new dialect – Cosplish. It has its origins in Tokyo, and more specifically, in the slang used in cos-play, or costume play, which has fans of anime and manga comics dressing up and speaking like the animated characters. If you’d […]

Bizarre Japanese Art of Inemuri

Japanese Art of Inemuri “To be asleep, but present.” This is the Japanese art - or gift - of ‘inemuri.’ In the most sleep-deprived nation on Earth, the Japanese talent for falling asleep anywhere - on trains, in elevators, during meetings - is both necessary, and admired. In Japan’s workaholic culture, falling asleep out of exhaustion is […]

Terrorizing Gnome Has Argentineans Running Scared

A group of Argentinean teenagers claim to have spotted a … ahem … gnome that “terrorized” them with his manic laugh and shuffling gait. Well, maybe not exactly manic laugh, although the creature in the video, does have a creepy, staggering walk. The teenagers who filmed the video in their hometown in the province of […]