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

9 Things you May or May Not Know About Africa at Phil in the Blank

While I was expecting something funny and sarcastic in this post from Phil, I was pleasantly surprised to actually learn a lot of things about Africa that I didn’t know before. The continent, while ON my “list,” isn’t exactly right at the top. And the information in this post mostly made me realize how much I have to learn! For example, did you know there are roughly 1,500 spoken languages in Africa? I didn’t!

What I’ve learned from slinging pisco sours at Bacon is Magic

Ayngelina is a fantastic travel blogger. Chances are you’ve heard of her. Currently, she’s working as a bartender in a hostel in Cusco, Peru. This (funny) post highlights some of the things she’s learned from living and working in a Peruvian hostel. If you haven’t checked out Ayngelina’s site lately — do it. It’s been redesigned, and is better than ever!

Top 3 Bars in Havana to Get Drunk Like Hemingway at Just Travelous

Who doesn’t enjoy reading about Cuba, that elusive, off-limits land to us Americans? This post was even more fun, because it mixes Cuba with literature — or, at least places where a literary figure once got wasted. Yvonne has fun with this post, writing about 3 Havana bars that Hemingway once frequented. My favorite part of each mini-review is the “What did Hemingway do here?” line.

In BIG pictures: funny road signs from around the world at Global Grasshopper

I love compilations of funny travel photos. And pictures of funny signs from around the world are my favorite. Whether it’s “lost in translation” moments or just ridiculous illustrations, I love them all. And this grouping did not fail to make me laugh.

5 Things Every Woman Should Know About Men… While Traveling at 1000 Places to Fight Before You Die

Traveling with a significant other often poses some unique challenges. Not only are you traveling with another person, but you’re traveling with another person of the opposite sex. This can obviously lead to some tension if you’re not aware of each others’ quirks and interests. In this post, Mike and Luci share some things women should be aware of in regards to the men they’re traveling with.

6 Dumb Reasons People Don’t Travel at Gap Year Escape

In this guest post by yours truly, I look at some of the excuses people make for not traveling — “I’m too poor,” “I have no time,” “It’s dangerous,” etc. These, of course, are all really dumb excuses. I’m of the opinion that, if you really want to travel, you’ll find a way to make it happen.

What in the World?

Here’s a look at what’s going on around the world this week:

The U.S.

In my neck of the woods (in northwest Ohio), we’re dealing with our own sort of natural disaster — flooding. After a few feet of piled-up snow mixed with 2+ inches of rain overnight on Sunday, most of northern Ohio is battling with swollen rivers and streams early this week. As I write this, the downtown and outlying portions of the city I live in is slowly being submerged.

Remember how I said last week that Wisconsin Democratic Senators had fled the state to stall a vote on a bill that would strip unions of collective bargaining rights? Well, they’re still MIA. They’re still holding out. Meanwhile, thousands of protesters have taken up residence in the Capitol, staging various sit-ins. On Sunday, after the protesters defied a deadline to vacate the building, the police decided not to make any arrests, as long as the protesters remained peaceful. How nice.

Oceania

The earthquake toll in New Zealand has climbed to around 240 a week after a massive quake rattled Christchurch and brought many buildings to the ground. Rescue crews are still working to recover bodies, but the whole country paused for a few minutes today to mourn the loss.

Africa/The Middle-East

Things in Libya have taken a turn for the worst — and the weird. Leader Moammar Gadhafi has essentially declared war on his own people, with loyalists attacking protesting rebels and rebels preparing for airstrikes called for by Gadhafi. But, while the wider world is aware of all this, Gadhafi is still insisting that nothing is wrong, and that no violence at all has taken place in the capital of Tripoli. He still maintains that the people of Libya are madly in love with him. Riiiight, Mr. Crazy Pants.

In Tunisia, where all the unrest began, the prime minister of the country’s caretaker government resigned over the weekend, followed by the Industry and Technology Minister resgining on Monday. Riots have continued in the capital, where clashes between protesters and riot police over the weekend left 6 people dead.

Protests also broke out in Oman over the weekend — just one more Gulf country to add to the list. One person was confirmed dead on Sunday.

All this turmoil is making many countries nervous about Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil producer. On Sunday, more than 100 leading Saudi academics and activists urged King Abdullah to enact sweeping reforms in order to pre-empt any unrest. One of the reforms suggested is setting up a constitutional monarchy.

South America

In Brazil on Friday, a mad motorist intentionally drove his car through a pack of more than 100 cycling activists, sending bikes and screaming riders flying through the air. At least 40 people were injured, and the culprit fled the scene. He was later caught, and told police that the cyclists had surrounded his car and started beating on it, which caused him to panic. The police aren’t buying his story though, and he could face attempted homicide charges.

Indian Ocean

Pirates are apparently becoming a bit bolder these days. A week ago, pirates holding 4 Americans captive after hijacking their yacht killed all 4 hostages because they were being closely followed by a U.S. warship. On Monday, pirates captured a Danish sailboat with 4 adults and 3 children aboard. This is the first time pirates have taken kids hostage.

Asia

Due to a booming travel industry, China plans to build at least 45 new airports in the next 5 years. The country plans to spend $230 billion to expand air travel, and its air travel market is expected to pass North America as the world’s biggest in the coming decades.

Disturbing News of the Week

I haven’t had anything to fit into this category for a while, but I finally found the perfect story this week. In London, local government officials confiscated ice cream made with human breast milk from a London shop. … HUMAN BREAST MILK. … I wish I was kidding. And it actually gets a bit more creepy — the ice cream, sold by a parlor called the Icecreamists, was being marketed as “Baby Gaga,” and sold out when first put on sale on Friday. … Barf.

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