Best Blogs of the Week & What in the World?

Best Blogs of the Week

I read a lot of travel blogs every week. Every day, even. Since I’m constantly coming across good reads, I’ve decided to highlight some of the best and most interesting posts, photos, videos and general blogging gems from all over the web that I’ve discovered in the past week.

Though I try to read a diverse sampling of things, there’s no way that I can possibly get to it all. So, if you have an interesting post that you’d like me to check out and consider for next week, please let me know in the comments! Who knows? Maybe I’ll fall in love with it. At the very least, I’ll leave you my two cents in a comment.

What I’m Reading

Castara, Tobago: an undiscovered gem wrapped in awesomeness wrapped in paper cliché at Go, See, Write

Michael has really outdone himself on this one. He takes us on a journey through Tobago in one of the funniest destination reviews I’ve ever read. It’s impossible to explain without giving too much away. So, I’ll simply say: read this. You’ll chuckle.

Travel Bloggers Unite: United we Stand, Divided we Fall at Hello, Meet World

Spurred by some recent condescending comments made on Twitter, Jenneil reminds us travel bloggers that, in the end, we’re all in this together. We should stand united instead of trying to compete with one another, because, when it comes down to it, we all share the same passion — travel. She gives 5 very good reasons explaining why we shouldn’t view the travel blogosphere as a competition, but rather as a community. I couldn’t agree more.

How We Decide Which Countries to Visit at Where’s Poople

Jack and Jill are diligently preparing for their 2011 RTW trip, trying to iron out all the details and decide which countries they absolutely must visit. In this post, they describe all the influences that go into putting together their itinerary — from things like cost and ease of obtaining a visa, to thinking about whether a country is someplace they could enjoy later in life. This couple is just starting out, but I have a feeling they’re ones to watch.

Patagonia at World Travel for Couples

This post isn’t just for couples — it’s a great resource for anyone curious about traveling through rugged Patagonia. Adam gives a run-down of all the important stuff: what to see, when to go, what the weather will be like, how to get around, and how much to expect to spend. I learned a lot from this!

Exploring Bali — A Backpackingmatt.com Travel Video at Backpacking Matt

Matt has just finished up his time in SE Asia (for now, at least). One of the places he explored was the Indonesian island of Bali, which is famous for being… well, awesome. He put together a travel video of his adventures there, which is both entertaining and informative. Plus, there are monkeys! Well worth a watch.

40 Flightsters You Should Know About at Flightster Blog

Flightster put together this list of 40 travel bloggers you should know about — and it even includes yours truly! If you’re looking for some new bloggers to follow, definitely check out this list. Just by looking at it, you can tell a lot of work went into it.

Passports With Purpose reminder

If you haven’t already checked out Passports With Purpose, the travel bloggers’ fundraiser, please do! The goal is to raise $50,000 to build a village in India. Currently, the amount raised stands at $42,000. We’re nearly there! But we can’t slack off yet. The minimum donation is only $10. Just TEN DOLLARS! And, by donating, you can be in the running to win some truly awesome prizes. Read more about this awesome fundraiser here.

What in the World?

Check out what’s going on around the world this week.

The U.S.

Whistle-blower site WikiLeaks was at it again this weekend, releasing hundreds of thousands of diplomatic U.S. cables online on Sunday. The State Dept. tried to stop the leak of the classified documents, which give insight into the backstage world of international diplomacy. WikiLeaks shared the cables with major news outlets around the world, who also reported on them. The documents divulge candid comments from world leaders, and detail occasional pressure tactics aimed at hot spots like Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea. Some of the cables paint unflattering pictures of foreign leaders.

What do you think of WikiLeaks? Is it a threat to national security, or a good way to keep the government in check?

Let’s all observe a moment of silence in honor of Leslie Nielsen, who died over the weekend at age 84. I’ll forever remember him from his role in “Airplane,” and his famous “And don’t call me Shirley” line.

Asia

Tensions are ridiculously high right now between South Korea and its northern neighbor. On Sunday, South Korea’s leader took responsibility for failing to protect his citizens from the deadly North Korean artillery attack last week, and vowed “tough consequences” for any future aggression from the North. At the same time, the U.S. and South Korea began military exercises off the coast, which Pyongyang is calling a build-up in preparation for war. Things could get ugly over there soon.

Europe

On Sunday, Swiss voters approved a plan to automatically deport foreigners who commit serious crimes or fraud, such as murder, rape, drug dealing or benefit fraud. So if you’re a criminal but not a Swiss citizen, Switzerland may not be the ideal place for you to go. Legal experts predict that the law will be challenged, especially since it calls for the automatic deportation of foreign criminals without any sort of judicial review.

The EU over the weekend agreed on an $89 billion bailout loan for struggling Ireland. Finance ministers met in an emergency meeting in Brussels to hammer out all the details.

A retired electrician in France claims to have 271 undocumented Picasso creations sitting in his garage, and they appear to be authentic. Picasso’s heirs are claiming fraud, but the man says he did some work for Picasso at three of his homes decades ago, and was given a trunk of the master’s artwork by the artist’s second wife as a gift. The pieces include lithographs, portraits, a watercolor and sketches from Picasso’s Cubist period. The electrician and his wife don’t plan to sell the artwork (if they are even allowed to keep it all), but it would be worth millions. Just 9 of the works are valued at more than 40 million euro on their own.

The Caribbean

Haiti held its big presidential election on Sunday, but nearly all the major candidates called a halt to the election before the day was over, caliming voter fraud and calling on their supporters to stage protests in the streets. Voting was not suspended, however, though the electoral council has assured Haitians that any claims of voter fraud will be investigated. Preliminary results aren’t expected until next week, and it’s likely that many run-off races will be necessary.

The Power of Twitter

The 66th Ashes cricket contest between England and Australia began last week. And a Massachusetts woman with the Twitter ID @theashes has become an improbable Twitter star. People began following her, thinking her account was connected with the cricket contest. Her initial response tweet read: “I AM NOT A FREAKING CRICKET MATCH!!!” But as her followers grew by the thousands over the weekend, the 22-year-old babysitter began to have more fun with her newfound fame. Now, Qantas is offering to fly @theashes to Australia for The Ashes, and Vodaphone has offered to pay for match tickets for her. She doesn’t know much about cricket, but plans to learn all the rules now. How cool is this??

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