Debateably famous travel blogger Leif Pettersen, best known for his tireless perseverance in the face of having no idea what’s he’s doing, banged out a scathing response to clickbait that he clicked on and immediately regretted earlier this week. Pettersen seems to have taken issue with the body of the…

US immigration gets an upgrade (read, stupider than ever) Since 2010, in addition to many fine programs, the fledgling Brand USA (aka the Travel Promotion Act), “dedicated to increasing inbound international travel to the United States,” has spent untold millions of dollars making US immigration procedures quicker and simpler. While…

This, amazingly, is a real thing. Shanty Town at Emoya Luxury Hotel and Spa outside Bloemfontein, South Africa gives visitors the opportunity to fulfill their bucket list item of temporarily, safely living like a real life destitute person. For just $82 per night, you too can sleep in a real…

I may or may not have snapped this morning after twice being the victim of an unnamed marketing firm’s arbitrary email spamming practices – once with the original spam, then again with a “follow-up” spam two days later inquiring if I still might be interested in the original spam, despite…

Tim Cahill once said “In good travel writing, something on the trip always has to go wrong.” If this is true, then after my most recent Lonely Planet research trip in Romania and Moldova, I should have a book deal landing on my desk any second. At least I hope…

Flying from Pisa to New York was the most profound test of my Buddha-like patience for rudeness and psychoses since I tried to buy a car in Romania. My immediate neighbor was a batshit crazy woman from the Dominican Republic, who was totally helpless, unable to even fill in her…