I’ve long been intrigued by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s extensive “insiders’ tips” site, uwishunu.com (pronounced “You wish you knew”). It features a wide range of blog posts by Philadelphians, on everything from swishy restaurants to tattoo festivals. And the city promotes the site in all the usual Web 2.0 ways, from Twitter to […]

Given the economy, more and more people are considering house swapping as a great way to save money on their next trip. (Of course, “like a local” sorts have been doing it for years, as much to get a taste of local culture as to cut down on expenses.) On your next swap, here are […]

For all of those who (like me) stood up and cheered when Slumdog Millionaire won the best picture Oscar, here’s a weirdly compelling little video about life in Mumbai made by three boys, aged 8 and 9. They call themselves The 3 Musketeers, which I suspect is a shout-out to the film. The video, which […]

I’m sure most of you who have been to Europe have done some part of the “famous old churches” circuit. Westminster Abbey? Been there. Notre-Dame? Seen it. Lovely as they are, once you’ve seen 10 of them, they all start to blur together a bit. Another problem with some of Europe’s historic churches is that […]

My book draw is now closed, and ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! I did the random draw this morning, and Colengal will be receiving a copy of my book, Wanderlust: A Social History of Travel. Colengal, I will be e-mailing you privately to get your snail mail address. Thanks so much to everyone […]

So you’ve been to the Empire State Building, seen the Metropolitan Museum of Art and gone to Carnegie Hall. But you’ve just scratched the surface of everything New York has to offer–Manhattan is just one borough, after all! This video by Peter Greenberg offers good tips on some offbeat things to see and do, the […]

It’s not easy being green, and it’s not easy blending in with the locals when you’re travelling, either–particularly if you’re surrounded by a very different culture. But camouflaging yourself can have all sorts of benefits. You’ll feel less conspicuous, so it will be easier to relax. You won’t stand out as a target for pickpockets […]

I’ve long been a fan of B.C. Ferries‘ scenic routes, ever since I took my first trip from Vancouver to Victoria (well, from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, if you want to get technical) over two decades ago. And my enthusiasm was rekindled earlier this month when I had the chance to hop aboard several ferries […]

It’s one of many weird things about the Great White North: we produce quite a few movies, but it can be devilishly hard to find them on Canadian movie screens. Mainly that’s because every jumbo-plex has multiple screens devoted to the latest Hollywood action flick or slasher movie; partly it’s because a disturbingly high percentage […]

The couchsurfing craze continues to spread, as this recent article from the Times of Malta shows: Want to become a couch-surfer? The Maltese traveller profiled in the piece fits the usual couchsurfing stereotype–20-something, single and footloose–but he claims even families are jumping on the bandwagon.