A few years ago when I was visiting Alaska, one of the more interesting portions of the trip was the 45-minute drive from Anchorage to Girdwood along the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet. This is one of the world's rare bodies of water that features bore tides, an amazing scene. The highway is one of only 15 roads in the United States that have been designated an "All-American Road." What about some of the world's greatest highways?
posted on Apr 17, 2008 - View this thread

I know a man who once went to Sioux City, not one of the world’s leading destinations, precisely because he had never been there before. More than a decade later he still talks about the experience, from the Sergeant Floyd obelisk to the dog track of North Sioux and the meat packing plant converted to a shopping mall. The same impulse explains a non-specialist’s reading a history of Byzantine iconography or a survey of Australian wildlife. Both offer a break in daily life and an enlargement of our sense of wonder and possibility. That awareness can provide a sense of transcendence, and connection, or even the spark of divine discontent that leads people to change their lives.

360 Cities contains over 6,000 fantastically shot virtual reality panoramas of 50+ cities worldwide. It's also accessible through Google Earth and Google Maps. Too immersive for you? Well, check out VeniVidiWiki to discover points of interest with videos, nature areas and parks, restaurants, hotels, and other travel-related stuff.
posted on Apr 3, 2008 - View this thread

All those passengers delayed amid the chaotic opening of Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5? Some are actually homeless locals wearing "floral shirts, fanny packs and other travel accessories to blend in."
posted on Mar 31, 2008 - View this thread

A "no-return, solo mission" to Mars? The comments - 179 of them as of the time of this post - are even more interesting than the article.
posted on Mar 7, 2008 - View this thread

Single-link YouTube: TSA Gangstaz - Belt Buckle Moneyclip (NSFW audio) [via]
posted on Feb 26, 2008 - View this thread

Guardian travel writer's teenage son given travel blog, gets savaged. Highlights here.
posted on Feb 15, 2008 - View this thread

Plan your trip to a far away spot on the globe. You might wish to walk in a straight line or maybe just take the shortest route (other than, perhaps, digging). Take your camera in case you pass one of these.
posted on Feb 6, 2008 - View this thread

Why is your plane late? Airlines can make more money selling 70 airplanes worth of tickets per hour than they could if they limited themselves to the 60 airplanes per hour that the runway can handle. A long but excellent post on what is causing the delays at the airport.
posted on Jan 30, 2008 - View this thread

Is this the end of the bus timetable? It can be bloody cold in Helsinki in January. The last thing you want to do is hang around too long for a bus or tram. Soon you won't have to because Helsinki City Transport is currently fitting *its entire fleet* with Linux servers. Not only will each bus or tram become a travelling wireless hotspot, but you will be able to see exactly where in the city your new bus actually is. Meaning that you only step into the bitter cold the minute before it arrives. (its in beta but you can see the effects of the live trial)
posted on Jan 27, 2008 - View this thread

Odyssey of State Capitols and State Suspicion. "The story behind an exhibition: postcards, designs, photography, travels, history, stamps and law enforcement." [Via BB.]
posted on Jan 22, 2008 - View this thread

Like to faire une photo? You're not alone. The inimitable (but perhaps for not much longer) National Geographic magazine has advice for taking portraits, travel photography, landscapes, excitingly vague 'adventure' photos and even plan old digital photography. After you've created magic how about selling it or getting published? Sharing is so 2007.
posted on Jan 20, 2008 - View this thread

Sacred Destinations. Nearly every culture in human history has sought to encounter and honor the divine, the mysterious, the supernatural or the extraordinary in some way. This most often occurs at sacred sites - special places where the physical world seems to meet the spiritual world. From ancient wonders, to Greek temples, to Biblical sites, and everything in between, the website has a vast collection of photo galleries and maps. The website's founder also maintains a travel blog and posts recent pictures on Flickr.
posted on Jan 17, 2008 - View this thread

"23 days, 12 states, five Canadian provinces, and 10,923 miles. We came within a hundred miles of the Arctic Circle and 500 miles of Russia. And we saw the most beautiful place that can be imagined." In June of last year, Clint and Robin drove from Chicago to Alaska and back again. Last August they headed into the great American west. Along the way they took some beautiful photos and made some inspired observations. If you've got some time on your hands, and some wanderlust in your heart, read along.
posted on Dec 26, 2007 - View this thread

Warp Drive, When? "Have you ever wondered when we will be able to travel to distant stars as easily as in science fiction stories?"
posted on Dec 15, 2007 - View this thread

The Four Essential Travel Phrases in 435 languages + 242 dialects + 49 conlangs!
Including Popculture English and more!
See also: I Can Eat Glass...it does not hurt me.
posted on Dec 10, 2007 - View this thread

Maritime New York
posted on Dec 6, 2007 - View this thread

Sketches of Japanese Manners and Customs (1867).
posted on Dec 5, 2007 - View this thread

Carta Marina - From 1518 to 1519, Olaus Magnus made a journey across Sweden. On his journey, he encountered fish the size of elephants, sea serpents, demons and a tribe of pygmies.
posted on Dec 3, 2007 - View this thread

Footloose in America: around the world in 20 years A husband-wife team left their home in June of 2001 to circumnavigate the world by foot, and they took their mule along with them. They haven't gotten very far but it sounds like they've had lots of adventures in the past six years, as they walk from town to town doing odd jobs. [via this flickr photo/story]
posted on Nov 20, 2007 - View this thread

Know your world? [via and from]
posted on Nov 20, 2007 - View this thread

Remember when air travel was viewed as glamorous and exciting? Of course you don't. So check out this collection of vintage flight attendant photos: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
posted on Nov 13, 2007 - View this thread

UK native Karl Bushby has been walking around the world since 1998. No, literally: walking. around. the. world. It hasn't been without its trials, of course (resolution). He isn't expected home until 2012.
posted on Nov 3, 2007 - View this thread

An interesting post detailing how airline prices for the holidays have been going up faster than last year.
posted on Oct 25, 2007 - View this thread

Bike Hacks! Bored with your generic two-wheeler? Check out this collection of funky bicycle modifications. My favorite is the grocery cart.
posted on Oct 18, 2007 - View this thread

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is proposing new rules regarding passenger pre-screening both domestically and internationally. Interestingly, this includes flights that overfly the continental US without ever touching the ground.
posted on Oct 12, 2007 - View this thread

Do you know the way to San Jose? I found this googling for map images for an animated title sequence I am doing. Wow. A treasure trove of antique maps of every age, description and location.
posted on Oct 12, 2007 - View this thread

During the 1858 senatorial campaign, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas faced each other in a series of seven official political debates. The first debate took place in this north-central Illinois town on August 21.
posted on Oct 7, 2007 - View this thread

Tired of waiting an hour for your luggage? Can't fit all your gear into a tiny suitcase? Struggling to find the perfect carry-on? OneBag can help.
posted on Oct 4, 2007 - View this thread

In the 19th century, English author Favell Mortimer wrote several books describing various countries to children. Apparently she didn't travel much.
posted on Oct 2, 2007 - View this thread

Thousand Islands The Thousand Islands are a chain of islands that straddle the U.S.-Canada border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. The islands stretch for about 50 mi (80 km) downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario. The U.S. islands are in the state of New York. The islands, which number 1,865 in all, range in size from over 100 km² to smaller islands occupied by a single residence, to even smaller uninhabited outcroppings of rocks that are home to migratory waterfowl.
posted on Oct 1, 2007 - View this thread

Today's Washington Post: "The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government officials."
posted on Sep 22, 2007 - View this thread

Wanted to know where to buy smoke in Ketchikan, Alaska? Here is a community written travel site where the advice can be dramatic, "Traffiking=DEATH....Don't get caught!!!!!!," or oddly politically topical. Or just plain helpful. Bon Voyage!
posted on Sep 21, 2007 - View this thread

COLOURlovers blog - science, design, art, culture, travel - you name it, they can relate it back to color.
posted on Sep 20, 2007 - View this thread

Fueled by Rice - Five recent grads from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's Unviersity recently set off from Beijing to bike across Asia and Europe. The goal of their bike trip is to spread international good will on the local level and advocate reducing carbon emissions and living slower-paced, more enjoyable lives. Along the way they will bike through rural areas and play music in villages. As they travel, the group is posting photos, a blog, and will attempt to get a podcast up and running. They've even got the site up in Chinese, though the site seems to be blocked for most folks in China.
posted on Sep 17, 2007 - View this thread

The first OzBus left London last night. A latter day Magic Bus, the new service will cover 15 000 miles in 12 weeks and cross 20 countries before reaching it's destination. Follow one pasenger's journey here.
posted on Sep 17, 2007 - View this thread

Primary Terminal: Foster + Partners chosen for Branson's [YouTube] spaceport.
posted on Sep 6, 2007 - View this thread

Wutaishan: Pilgrimage to Five Peak Mountain.
posted on Aug 22, 2007 - View this thread

See Rock City. See Seven States.
posted on Aug 8, 2007 - View this thread

Lost Art is the fascinating site of Brazilian Mefite Ignacio Aronovich and Louise Chin. It's a deep vein of adventurous, quirky, and kinky photo essays from around the globe. Scroll down on the main page to see a text menu or browse the visual index. Much content is NSFW but - stick with "adventure" and "travel" if that's a concern - or view the SFW slide show Our Year in Pictures 2006 (with sound) or without sound.
posted on Jun 25, 2007 - View this thread

Applications for UK visas are being denied for ridiculous reasons, says an independent monitor report. Among the reasons: never having been on holiday before, "failing to complete pivotal areas of Section 6", and "plan[ning] a holiday for no particular purpose other than sightseeing. BBC readers contribute their stories - from potential bridesmaids being told that they were only going to marry English men like their sister was doing, to not having good enough German.
posted on Jun 21, 2007 - View this thread

vayama is a very slick flight booking site.
posted on Jun 20, 2007 - View this thread

Confessions of A Long Distance Sailor - I had been sitting in dark rooms, punching computer keys, for years. I had always wanted to learn SCUBA diving, hike around in the tropics, so I booked a flight to Hawaii. But a month later I was in — are you ready? — a traffic jam on Maui. I understand now, from the moment I touched that sailboat's dock lines, I was doomed to sail.
posted on Jun 17, 2007 - View this thread

Ride the hound. Greyhound Lines has always been the travel choice for Americas' poor. Visit the Greyhound Museum. Hear some stories. Take the Greyhound trivia challenge.
posted on Jun 16, 2007 - View this thread

"It's a gathering of tribes. Strange, nerdy tribes." The only guide to San Diego's Comic-Con 2007 you'll need, courtesy of The Comics Reporter (And former Suck.com contributor) Tom Spurgeon.
posted on May 28, 2007 - View this thread

A striking essay with photos documenting a visit to the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Mark Resnicoff, a database programmer and amateur photographer, visited Chernobyl and took a schwack of atmospheric photos. This reminded me of a set of slightly-controversial Chernobyl photos from 2004. Wikipedia provides a little context on KiddofSpeed, the photographer in question with an awesome Engrishesque nickname.
posted on May 27, 2007 - View this thread

Waymarking.com provides tools for you to catalog, mark­ and visit interesting and useful locations around the world. It's a fun site, packed with photographs, information and maps; a useful resource and tool for GeoCaching and other interests. Among the various categories included is Oddball Museums: The Glore Psychiatric Museum, Musee Mechanique, The National Plastics Museum with lots of great pics and links to other sites, Museum of Burlesque [nsfw], The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, Orange Show, wbur Museums of Dirt, Plumbing, Antiquated Technology, Lizzie Borden and more oddities.
posted on May 26, 2007 - View this thread

Round-the-world travel guides from Perpetual Travel, Boots 'n' All and Travellers Lounge.
posted on May 23, 2007 - View this thread

FlightMemory.com You must remember this: Passengers can wax nostalgic about flights they made and missed. Launched in Germany last year, this free site made its English-language debut last month.
posted on May 14, 2007 - View this thread

Poorism or Poverty Tourism is a growing trend among otherwise thrill-jaded first world tourists and is engendering a lively debate as to whether "poorists" are helping the impoverished areas they are guided through, or are merely gawking voyeurs.
posted on May 11, 2007 - View this thread