2008 April

Student Twitters His Way Out of Egyptian Jail

Like what you see? Subscribe to the full RSS feed.If you’ve been dragging your feet on joining the tweeting army of Twitterers, the story of James Buck might just spur you to join. James, an American student from University of California Berkeley was in Cairo studying the country’s leftists. While covering an anti-government protest […]

The Guantanamo Bay Beach Cages of Bondi, Australia [Photo]

© tarotastic Really, really bizarre. I still haven’t figured out if this is Photoshopped or not. Anyone know for sure? Update: Evidently it’s part of an art installation, according to the Sydney Morning Herald: Inside each of the interconnected four-by-four metre cells was a beach umbrella, a blow-up bed and a garbage bag. It’s called 21 Beach […]

Photo of the Moment: Pizza Man, New York City

Medical Treatment in a Foreign Country: Learn to Expect the Unexpected

Amanda Kendle explains why expecting the unexpected goes a long way towards preparing for medical treatment while traveling abroad.

GPS Technology Helps Visitors Trace the Berlin Wall

Visitors to Berlin are often disappointed to find few remaining traces of the Berlin wall, and no delineation between the eastern and western parts of the city. When the wall came down, most of it was sold, frustrating history buffs who might otherwise want to visit the forbidding structure that symbolized the difference between […]

Photo of the Moment: Forgotten Village of Kamarbon, Iran

How to Stay in Touch While Traveling [Review]

Matthew Kepnes reviews three ways to stay in touch while traveling: Skype, calling cards and cell phones.

Photo of the Moment: Tarsier Primate, Philippines

Japan Celebrates Annual ‘Festival of the Steel Phallus’

Festival of the Steel Phallus, Japan © Saya M. Every year, hundreds of camera wielding tourists gather around the Kanamara Shrine in Kawasaki, Japan to see something they’ll never get to see in their home towns – a large, twelve foot pink representation of a penis being held aloft by chanting men, and paraded down the […]

Venezuela TV Station Replaces ‘The Simpsons’ with ‘Baywatch’ for the Good of the Children

Homer Simpson has lost to Baywatch babes in the battle for the minds of Venezuela’s children. A TV station in the country has yanked The Simpsons off air, and replaced it with Baywatch. According to a spokesperson, the decision came after viewer complaints about the characters in the iconic Simpsons show, although neither the country’s National […]

Andrew Zimmern Sings Pepto Bismol’s Praises [Video]

I want to like Andrew Zimmern. I really do. I appreciate what he’s doing, but I can’t help but think that he’s all too closely riding Bourdain’s coattails. Plus, he’s just not a very good television host. Note: my slurping rant. But this is just positively painful. Between his all-pink get-up and […]

Photo of the Moment: World’s Largest Animated Talking Man, Minnesota

Turn Your Cell Phone Into a Phrase Book with Trippo

Finally, there’s a way to tell that snooty French waiter your soup is cold without having to fumble through a phrasebook. A new translation tool called Trippo promises to do just that with the help of your cell phone. Trippo is a client-server application that works on all mobile phones that have a data card. […]

Russian Inventor Rolls Out Sauna on Wheels

A Russian inventor has crafted a mobile sauna – an old military truck fitted with a fully functioning sauna. The truck is fitted with an 88 gallon overhead tank, fired by a wood burning stove to provide steam. It makes sense that the idea comes from Russia. Russians are known for their love of banyas, […]

4 Guidebook Alternatives for Frugal Travelers

Nora Dunn pinpoints four alternatives to help you ditch your traditional travel guidebooks and plan your entire trip online.

Photo of the Moment: The Wild Aubrac Region, France

American Confirmed Dead on Bolivia’s ‘Highway of Death’

An American cyclist has been confirmed dead after his mountain bike plunged off a 70 meter cliff while biking down Bolivia’s infamous Highway of Death. Kenneth Mitchell was part of a tourist group, one of several that conduct biking and cycling tours down the treacherous stretch of road, called Yungas Road. At the height of […]

Japan’s Annual Naked Man Festival

A bizarre ancient festival in the city of Okayama brings together lucky amulets, wooden sticks and men in white diapers, like the ones worn by Sumo wrestlers. In ancient Japan, the festival marked the culmination of the 14-day New Year festivities, during which monks presented paper amulets to the elders of the community. The demand […]

Photo of the Moment: Morning Commute, New York City

Just Another Weekday Commute, NYC © Del Far

4 Small Achievements in Travel: Being Proud of Ordering Pizza

Long term travel can be frustrating. Amanda Kendle explains why sometimes it’s the small daily achievements that inspire you to keep going.

Cheap Anytime, Anywhere Internet Service for Travelers

An internet service company promises to give business travelers a way around hefty hotel internet fees, and expensive two year contracts with the big providers. For a fee of $5.95 a day, Rovair will ship you a mobile aircard to connect to your computer’s standard USB port to access the internet anywhere. Shipping is quick, and […]

Photo of the Moment: Bamboo Jungle, Maui

7 Unrivaled Earth Day Events Around the World

Kimberly Lang and Elizabeth Sanberg reveal the seven can’t-miss Earth Day celebrations this year.

The Humble Umbrella Goes High Tech: WiFi, Built-In Camera, Espresso Maker

Okay, not specifically travel related, but flashpackers will love this one … Mary Poppins would have been more than impressed. A new high tech umbrella that allows you to take pictures with an built-in digital camera as you’re sauntering along, promises to extricate the umbrella from its fuddy duddy image and give it some high […]

Photo of the Moment: Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Moto Culture: How to Be an Easy Rider in Southeast Asia

Stepping onto the tarmac after a grueling 24-hour journey from Chicago, my new acquaintance John and I were to meet our colleagues for lunch at one of the numerous open-air cafes on Phnom Penh’s breezy riverside. Barely able to spit out a coherent a sentence, I still felt exhilarated by my first few moments in […]

Cell Phone Jammer Promises the Gift of Silence

Annoying ring tones getting on your nerves? The powerful sounding T1000 has the power to jam all cell phones in your immediate vicinity. Built to resemble a cell phone (albeit one from 1995), the gadget will block all cellular phone signals within a 10 foot radius, including text messages. All calls will […]

Photo of the Moment: The Underground, New York City

How Busy Should Your Trip Be?

Nora Dunn discusses the importance of striking a balance between setting an itinerary to best take advantage of your time, while still leaving yourself open to the “hum of possibility”.

World’s Oldest Tree (8,000 Years Young) Found in Sweden

Scientists have identified a cluster of spruce trees in the Dalarna Province of Sweden as being the oldest in the world. The Norway spruce trees were found in a mountainous region in Western Sweden. Carbon dating tests have revealed one of the trees to have taken root around 8000 years ago, which officially makes it […]

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