For fresh inspiration to get up and go somewhere, to be open to the new and the different, the following bloggers have plenty to offer:

• new views of the beauty of hidden underwater habitats and inhabitants,
• the opportunity to discover a contemporary adaptation of the ageless nomadic market model (on a train!),
• insights into the challenges of multicultural identity as a young Asian-Australian, and finally,
• a classic tale of how travel can be the perfect antidote to our fear of neighbor.

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For a photography feast:

Peek in on this talented world-traveling photographer, passionate about diving and with a specialty in underwater marine photography: Indahs.

This site is heaps of beautiful; I just can’t get enough and neither can my wannabe marine biologist daughter.

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One-of-a-kind blog:

Vignettes from a couple who has traveled far, but slowly; they opt for trains and boats rather than planes, out of concern for the environment: Without Wings.

The title of this particular post, “The Great Train Bazaar: Trans-Mongolian Railway” caught my eye and I loved the story.  The short version is that the two guys sharing their sleeper-compartment run a black market business out of the train during the five day journey. The episode is a funny, if somewhat uncomfortable, glimpse into socio-cultural and micro-econ happenings in a remote corner of our world.

Moments such as these are the reason we can’t get enough of travel, people.  Love this stuff.

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An Asian-Australian who writes about identity and multiculturalism:

Mabel Kwong’s site appeals to me on so many levels.  She is smart and thoughtful and introspective, but not too much, and she asks all the right questions.

 

The header image of a globe carrying a question mark hooked me: fellow confused bloggers unite!

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The Mad Traveler cheesehead

In this post, published in November 2015 while the world debate raged about what to do about the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis, seasoned traveler and writer Kevin Revolinski reflects on a short trip to Syria almost two decades earlier during which he caught the travel bug (not the fun one but the other kind) and limped his way back to the Turkish border.  He reminisces about being on the receiving end of generous hospitality from Syrians whom he had never before met.

It’s a good reminder that throughout the world there are all kinds of neighbors: some let their dog leave behind souvenirs all over your backyard, and others go out of their way to make sure that you are comfortably settled in a hotel, even after you barf all over their cab.

It’s a great grand world.

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So there you have it: a celebration of beauty and the natural world, a fix for lovers of anthropology and cultural diversity, plus a reminder that refugees were not always refugees, but just regular people doing regular things. Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check back next week for the next installment of recommended online reads.