This month’s contest theme stood out as soon as we ironed out our schedule. The world is full of wonder, and certainly the animal kingdom is one source of endless awe. That being said, we would like to congratulate Kimondo as this month’s winner, for the dramatic shot titled: “Thirsty Elephants.” Here’s what she had to share about the shot:

We were traveling in our jeep with rooftent to experience the real, wild Africa. It took us 5 weeks and about 7,700 kilometers. After the first two-and-a-half weeks we ended up on this little, wobbly boat on the Chobe River. The sun was casting her last rays for the day and everywhere we looked were giraffes, baboons and elephants. This big herd on the photo came down to the river to have drink and rinse of the dust of the day. A real African moment and one to never forget!

Matt described the photo as “simply spectacular,” and Maria as “exquisite.” Brit, on the other hand, took a deeper approach, “their reputation of having an incredible memory makes me wonder about wonderful things.” Regardless, I think we all agree that a photo and moment such as this, as Kimondo explains, is “one to never forget.”

You can see more of Kimondo’s excellent work at her Flickr page. Our next theme, throughout September, will be another visual spectacular. Join our Flickr group and upload your shots of “The World’s Icons.” We look forward to seeing more incredible talent!

Impressive vistas, grilled meat on an open flame, shots of faces that tell a story all of their own — this stunning video of Lebanon tells centuries worth of tales without saying a word.

James Lewis’ video from his travels in Lebanon better be good: a glimpse at his Vimeo page reveals he works for a visual effects company that worked on both “The Dark Knight” and “Inception.”

Check out the poignant images at 1:58 where a young boy points out the bullet holes in a wall, presumably in the country’s capital of Beirut, a reminder of some of the city’s not-so-better (but hopefully long-in-the-past) days.

[video by James Lewis/Vimeo via The Expeditioner's Travel Video Group]

When I first heard the term “flashpacker,” I instantly thought of the Bill Bryson book, “A Walk in the Woods.” The main characters are hiking the Appalachian Trail and running into people representing, more or less, a microcosm of society. One person they met was totally and utterly clueless about what it takes to complete that kind of undertaking. Through their conversation, the hiker explained that, rather than be educated about things, he would simply rely on the many gadgets and gizmos that filled his backpack and dangled from his straps. I’m not quite sure the outcome of his adventure, but one can only assume.

This, to me, was my initial vision of flashpacking. Keeping this in mind after many years of travel all over the world, I’ve come to understand that this is a fluid term, one that is seemingly evolving with the world. I wouldn’t quite call myself a flashpacker just yet, but I will admit that I have tendencies to swing that way. It wasn’t long ago that I carried everything on my back. Even some trips now call for that. Now that I’m pushing 30, I know I won’t be blacklisted from the travel community if my hostel reservation includes a private bathroom. (more…)

What’s more fun than getting off a plane and immediately being hit up for cash just to step foot outside the airport? (I’ll answer my own question. The answer is: getting the seat next to the lavatory for your 16-hour flight. Oh the stories you’ll tell.)

The fact is, visas are never fun, especially for those of us saving every last penny for the actual trip. But the least you can do is make it one of the less stressful parts of your pre-trip by planning way ahead. So I present to you: how to get your visa to Vietnam.

If you’re a U.S. citizen, the first thing you need to do is check out Vietnam’s Consular Services web site here. This page runs down all the things you’re going to need to do.

1) Find your passport. Check in between couch cushions, in the back of your dog’s house, or if you’re a tycoon from the 1890′s, try that safe behind the painting in your wood-paneled office.

2) Fill out an application (Word/PDF). Make sure you kind of know your plans. They’re going to ask whether you need a single visa ($30) or a visa good for multiple entries (necessary if you’re traveling back and forth from nearby Cambodia or Laos). Keep in mind that prices go up depending on whether you’re going back and forth during a one-month stay or if you’re traveling longer ($50 for under one month, $80 for under six months, and $120 for six months to one year). And that’s just for the “stamping fee.” For the processing fee, handling fee, etc . . . , the fee is actually higher (but, conveniently, not listed). Call ahead of time and ask exactly how much you need to pay: (202) 861 – 2293.

Also, don’t forget you’re going to need to include a passport-sized photo too with your paperwork. (more…)

Rolf Potts, author of “Marco Polo Didn’t Go There” and receiver of all questions travel-related in the column “Ask Rolf” on World Hum, has decided to pack his bags this late August and hit the road, traveling through 12 countries, five continents, and crossing the equator four times. So what, you ask? People do these kinds of trips all the time. Well, actually, there’s a catch: there will no baggage. And I’m not talking about disgruntled girlfriends being left back at home.

Rolf, in a half philosophical, half self-hygiene experiment, will be forgoing the usual luggage and simply taking a pair of multi-pocketed pants that will be home to a toothbrush, iPod, and some extra clothing — kind of like that homeless guy on the subway I saw this morning. Traveling in this spartan matter, Rolf will be visiting London, Paris, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, South Africa (for a safari), Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, then then back to the U.S. for a cross-country trek to New York City. Naturally, this will all be blogged about at the No Baggage Challenge site, where you can also find a map and recent videos.

USA Today recently sat down with Rolf (and by “sat down” I mean sitting down at computers and exchanging e-mails) and asked him what exactly he was looking to get out of this trip, other than a few potential rashes in embarrassing locations. (more…)

I can still remember what the crisp air smelled like. It was sweet and earthy with hints of eucalyptus and fresh dew.  The sky, always impossibly blue, seemed vaster on the open plains and grasslands then it had back home. The sounds of birds chirping tender songs awakened me each morning — their fervor inspiring my enthusiasm for the day ahead. Safari became more than just a journey along the African savanna — it sparked a connection to the natural world that has become a part of my existence.

It has been over a year since my trip to South Africa, and I still turn to old photos, news clippings, and personal memories to rekindle the internal peace I found during my stay. I was reminded of my visit to Phinda Game Reserve while reading Lucia van der Post’s “The Beautiful North” in the Financial Times, where she discusses her exploration of places less traveled, but worth visiting in northern Zambia.

Zambia is home to what is arguably some of the most pristine reserves in Africa. The southern region is where most travelers often spend their holiday, but by doing so they will be missing something quite spectacular.

As the article points out, North Luangwa National Park in northern Zambia is one of the best spots for walking safaris in a genuinely rustic setting. “It’s a raw and empty wilderness and these days that is something to be savored,” recalls Van der Post. There are no designer lodges or cars, just camps that sleep 28 people at a time. The accommodations are generously spread out “so that as you sit at sunset, your feet dangling in the clear and shallow waters of the Mwaleshi river, a glass of Pommery in hand, you have the illusion that you and your little group have all Africa to yourselves.” (more…)

By Justin Calderon

Button-faced gibbons lankily toss themselves through the canopy, a petite mouse deer gnaws at a bush below, and Betek — the chief and shaman of his tribe — methodically whittles another blow dart to such slender precision it nearly becomes invisible to the eye. He sheathes the final product into a vacant hole in the honeycombed interior of his bamboo case and draws another dart from his thick, curly black hair to smooth it out with a leaf coarse as crocodile hide.

Like most men from his tribe, his survival solely depends on his weapon — the instrument with which he shall obtain food for his family. He props himself proudly upright with the 1.5-meter bamboo blowpipe held at his side, standing proudly like a giddy child fond of his new walking stick. The hunt this afternoon will be pleasant, for the section of the jungle he has chosen to roam today is shaded with several densely layered canopies creating a green, leafy ceiling upwards of five stories above his head. This rainforest has been part of the Orang Asli, or original people, for an unrecorded amount of time, and because time is not a concept Betek is frank with, his age, as well as all the members of his family and surrounding tribes, is unknown, lost in the perpetual heat of the 140-million-year-old rainforest here in central Malaysia they call home. (more…)

“This is an emergency announcement. We may shortly need to make an emergency landing on water.” — Announcement heard by 275 passengers aboard a Tuesday-night British Airways flight from London to Hong Kong. The message was a mistake.

[Yahoo]

Friday, late August, cool summer breezes . . . um, why are you sitting here reading this site? Oh yeah, that pesky day job. First off, thanks, come again. Second, let’s be honest, by this time of day you’ve already checked out mentally a long time ago, so to give you a little bit of virtual wanderlust, I direct you to the Guardian’s recent collection of backpacking tales from trekkers during a gap year (that’s British for taking a year off and traveling before joining the real world and going to school or getting a job).

These seven tales of adventure include  a 9,000-mile journey by bike to India, volunteering at a HIV/AIDS orphanage in Cambodia, and hitchhiking (using Gumtree.com) from England to Israel. But beware, the whole hitchhiking thing can present some problems for those looking to really get to know the countries their traveling through, as that hitchhiker found out. “In some cars, especially after a night spent camping just off the hard-shoulder, my head would droop and 12 hours later I’d wake to realize I’d missed an entire country (sorry Slovakia, Bulgaria and northern Israel), but the further east I went, the more unfamiliar the scenery became and the more often my eyes would stay open.”

[Hamburg bitte by rpb1001/Flickr]

Just like our itineraries are different, so are our levels of comfort. Some people prefer to bring the bare necessities, needing to pack light for their meandering feet, while others need to bring a personalized blanket for sentimental coziness. A recent article in The Toronto Star highlighted the importance of “packing a bit of home to cushion the road.” In it, Josh Noel provides some examples of what you can load up on to lighten your mood: An electric toothbrush, your own alarm clock, and framed family photos, just to name a few.

These items might seem a bit much, and I think they are — as the article was directed towards the business traveler audience — but his advice makes sense. For whatever reason that compels us to travel — either our company we work for or some innate desire — it helps when you have a tangible reminder of home with you. (more…)

Today, people from all over are traveling everywhere. With such an increase in diversity, the common question is: where are you from? People want to know where your ancestors are from. It fulfills a not-so-secret curiosity, the same one that propels people to travel.

What if you plate it for people? With, say, haggis. Curiosity and belly simultaneously sated.

Such is Daniel Audet and Yvon Marois’ motives when they established the Ruée vers Gould, as this recent article in The Montreal Gazatte highlighted. Although their haggis is not wrapped in sheep’s stomach or has mashed up lungs, it does contain traces of  ”chopped heart and liver (plus suet, oatmeal, ground lamb and spices).”

Just outside of Sherbrooke, Québec, the inn is situated in the old general store in Gould — a town with historic Scottish pioneer roots. The duo started the inn in 1995 to put the local “Scottish culture on display.” As well, the Scottish flair for entertaining was taken into account. Sporting kilts, the pair serve an authentic Scottish brunch consisting of 40 items. And you’d come here looking for authentic French culture.

Okay, you may have traveled to some “rustic,” “off-the-beaten-path,” or, dare I say, “quaint” towns during your travels, but how many of them can you say are actually denoted as being “magic”? And not by some made-up huckster like J.K. Rowling or Rick Steves, but somebody credible, like the Mexican Government!

As Jaunted reported back in June, Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism is in the process of spending $150 million to restore certain villages across the country, which will include makeovers for museums, convents and churches, all in an effort to draw more visitors to one of these lucky 35 Pueblos Magicos.

This week, the SF Chronicle hit up one such enchanted village, Valle de Bravo, a town known not so much for its local charm, but for its influx of wealthy Mexicans that head there for weekend getaways. But, as the paper notes, it’s not all bad. “Yes, Valle has been discovered by the Travel + Leisure contingent, but budget travelers who don’t require resort-style pampering will find plenty of affordable places to lay their heads within walking distance of the square.” (more…)

I’ve always taken one of my Grandfather’s saying to heart: You simply can’t make soup out of poop. He certainly had a knack for restoring things that couldn’t have otherwise been resurrected without his magic, but he certainly knew when to throw in the towel when something was beyond repair.

This may not be the most accurate of analogies regarding the news story I’d like to share with you today, but it’s a good chance to impart some of Grandpa Wick’s wisdom on all of you. Actually, I can’t come up with a proper analogy, now that I think of it. I can’t say “a diamond in the rough” really works. Neither does, “make the best of what you’re got.” Regardless, sometimes amidst the silliest, lamest, or dumbest things in life, there is a silver lining . . . somewhere . . . usually.

At the ABC News travel desk, they noticed that cruise ships — yes, the dreaded “c” word Matt usually edits off into the netherworld –– are starting to join the ranks of the elite drinking culture. Spreading throughout ships worldwide are champagne bars, pubs, coffee shops, sport and martini bars. Thank goodness. (more…)