It's More Fun in the Philippines [video]

A cool promo video for the warm, welcoming, and diverse set of tropical islands in Southeast Asia.

He Visited All Countries in the World - Without Boarding a Plane?

Graham Hughes, a British man from Liverpool, just set a record by visiting 201 countries - all the countries of the world - without flying on a single airplane!

What a great accomplishment, but think you can do it too? I mean, visiting some countries can be challenging in itself (for safety/security reasons), but traveling to some remote places without an airplane - I can only imagine!

"He says people tend to wonder how he got into the further-out countries like North Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan, but he says they were the easy ones." Ok, I can trust him on that I guess. And yes, getting to all those small island nations in the South Pacific seems particularly difficult!

Empty America: San Francisco without the People

Live in the city is bustling, but it can also be lonely.

Here's a fascinating and beautifully-made time-lapse video from Thrash Lab. It shows scenes from the beautiful city of San Francisco, but with all traces of living people removed. Imagine the amount of Photoshopping needed to pull this off. It's simply stunning. Bravo!



Watch San Francisco Time Lapse (Empty America) on Youtube.

A Look at the Greatest Journeys

For many of us intrepid travelers, the thrill of our journeys comes with breaking through into the unknown. The discovery of new places and meeting new people seems to evoke a sort of parallel self-discovery within ourselves. By putting ourselves in a new environment, we challenge ourselves to grow in some way. It's truly invigorating.

Some of the greatest  journeys in history have done just that, pushing out into the frontier, and, in many cases, challenging the collective values and knowledge of society itself. For any full-time traveler, travel enthusiast, or aspiring traveler, learning about these historic journeys is fascinating, enriching, and inspiring.

And I just discovered a great interactive map, brought to you by the fine people at GOOD. Check it out, and enjoy: History's greatest journeys, from Magellan to Kerouac.

Time-Lapse Video: Road Trip Across the USA

I love time lapse videos, and I really love road trips. So having discovered this video, I feel obliged to share it! This guy drove across the USA, seeing many of the most iconic sights along the way. If you ever have the chance to make such a trip, do it! The size and diversity of landscapes in the States is almost overwhelming, and this video does a pretty good job of showing what you can see in your car.

(For best viewing, watch the video in fullscreen!)

Traveling Shoes [Video]

With no recent travel adventures myself to share, I thought I'd share a fascinating and inspiring travel video. It shows a very cool idea: Having your shoes be travel guestbook/souvenir. Check it out!

From Follow the Foot.

Some Travel Inspiration from The World Geography

A great and simple website that I often find myself browsing endlessly is The World Geography. It's mainly a compilation of pages listing interesting destinations, but some of them are truly fascinating. Here's a sampling I have recently browsed through:

33 Picturesque European Towns and Villages

9 Unique and Unusual Travel Destinations

11 of the Most Colorful Cities in the World

9 Offbeat Countries

10 Tallest Trees on Earth

9 Really Unusual Deserts

11 Leaning Towers from Around the World - did you know that Big Ben leans slightly? (and that the tower itself isn't actually named "Big Ben"?)

Top 9 Strange Streets in the World

14 Strange and Interesting Facts Worldwide

A Beautiful Photo from Every U.S. State

and finally: 10 Unbelievably Beautiful Places You've Probably Never Heard Of

Made in Iceland

Here's an amazing video about Iceland, from the perspective of a girl who hiked across this spectacular land. It does a fairly good job of capturing the sense of other-worldliness and pure wonder that you can only get from visiting Iceland yourself!

MADE IN ICELAND from Klara Harden on Vimeo.