This month GoNOMAD's editors explore the world by air, land and sea to check out fun and interesting destinations for your next vacation. Editor Max Hartshorne flies to England to report on the historic city of York, an ancient Roman city once home to a colony of Vikings, Associate Editor Stephen Hartshorne takes a fun-filled train trip across Canada, and Senior Travel Editor Kent St. John sails around Cape Horn at the tip of South America, braving some of the world's wickedest waters.
Enshi Canyon - photo by Jean Miller Spoljaric
Esha Samajpati and Pinaki Chakraborty climb Mt. Pisgah in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom and our newest contributor, Jean Miller Spoljaric, hikes treacherous mountain pathways through the Enshi Canyon, known as China's grand canyon, and visits Shanghai, the next great world city.
Gary Singh explores Hawaii's Big Island and Beth Simmons tours the network of national parks in New York Harbor and writes about the hundreds of miles of waterways waiting to be explored in the nation's wildlife reuges.
Ana Prundaru offers a tour of Tokyo's most famous neighborhoods and Devon Magoon reports on volunteer opportunities in Kenya. Devon also reviews Faery Tale, a book by Signe Pike about her search for enchantment in the modern world.
GoNOMAD catches up with award-winning author Brandon Wilson in Italy for a Q & A about his books and his travels, and Ashutosh Ratnam visits the monkeys in Galtaji Temple in Jaipur, India.
All and all, it's just another month of top-notch travel writing on GoNOMAD!
Stories published in November 2010 on GoNOMAD:
Rounding Cape Horn: The World's Wickedest Waters
Magellan, Drake and Darwin are just some of the many to 'Round the Horn.' Many others sleep at the bottom of some of the world’s wickedest waters. Tradition was that a sailor who passed the Horn was allowed to wear a gold hoop earring in the left ear, the ear facing the Cape while sailing east. Such a feat also allowed one to get a tattoo of a fully rigged ship. My trip on the Mare Australis was blissfully peaceful and comfortable...
York, England: Romans and Vikings in The Original York Walking over one of the many road and footbridges over the River Ouse, the sun glinted off the water and onto the terraces of the cafes, and it was indeed a beautiful morn on one of Northern England’s most scenic cities. York is known far and wide as a place to get away to, a touristy sort of town with major league attractions, and York is firmly looking ahead in 2011, with lots of exciting exhibits taking place in and around the city...
Touring Canada by Train: It's The Way to Go!
We visited four great Canadian cities, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec, and that gave us plenty to blog and tweet about -- the all-night 'Nuit Blanche' festival in Toronto, the Houses of Parliament and the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, the Lantern Festival at the Montreal Botanical Gardens and the Otto Dix Exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, the orchards and vineyards of the Ile d'Orleans in Quebec, and lots of other cool attractions.
Enshi, China: Discovering China's Grand Canyon
My recent trip to the Hubei (Hu-bay) Province of Central China proved to be a real eye-opener. It was culture shock for me, but life as they know it for them. I traveled from Beijing to Wuhan, China, and on to Enshi, the home to China’s Grand Canyon. Enshi city was vibrant and alive, but nothing could have prepared me for the China I was about to see in the mountainous areas of Enshi Canyon.
Vermont's Northeast Kingdom: Bucolic Beauty and Outdoor Adventure
The remote northeastern corner of Vermont, bordering Canada, consists of the three counties of Essex, Orleans and Caledonia. It was named the Northeast Kingdom in 1949 by the late George Aiken, then US senator from Vermont. A champion of causes of importance for rural America, Aiken found the name befitting to the seclusion and distinctiveness of the area. Author Patricia Schultz wrote, “This could very well be the most beautiful place in America."
Tokyo Neighborhood Guide: Seeing the Sights When I told a friend I would be going to Tokyo, he told me I would either hate or love Japan's largest city. He was convinced of this because, first of all, unlike other cities, Tokyo, its people and their mentalities are not at all easy to comprehend, posing a challenging task for those who want to integrate themselves into Japanese life. Further, one has to like, or at least not mind, crowded subways, tiny apartments and dizzying modern skyscrapers...
Jamaica Bay: “The Jewel of New York Harbor”
My first time traveling to the Big Apple and I’m going on a tour of its National Parks? Really? Really. What most New Yorkers don’t realize is that they live in an estuary that is also home to wildlife. In reality it’s a blend of humanity and nature, city and water, that makes New York City what it is today, America’s metropolis. An astounding total of 23 National Parks call New York Harbor home...
Jaipur, India: The Monkey Business Traveler
Galtaji, as it is reverently referred to, calls to different people in different voices. Devotion brings some to the Sun Temple built in the 18th century. Awe draws others to the panoramic view-points overlooking Jaipur that dot the hill. A want of choice sees uniform-clad schoolchildren being ferried in as part of the token exam-ending picnic. A morbid fear of Rhesus macaques is what has brought me here...
One Step at a Time: Q & A with Brandon Wilson
Brandon Wilson is an award-winning travel writer with a passion for trekking. He and his wife Cheryl hiked 650 miles through the Himalayas along an ancient pilgrims' trail from Tibet to Nepal. He has also walked the Way of St. James, twice, as well as the Via de la Plata and St. Olaf's Way in Norway. He hiked the 1150-mile Via Francigena from England to Rome and the 2600-mile Templar Trail from France to Jersusalem...
Searching for Faeries: A Magical Journey of Self Discovery
In her new book Faery Tale: One Woman's Search for Enchantment in a Modern World, Signe Pike makes rediscovering the magical beliefs of childhood exciting again as she documents her unique and charming expedition across the map. As she endeavors to rekindle the child-like beauty of belief, Pike delves into a passionate search for people and places that hold the promise of magic. Or, more specifically, faeries...
Where to Go When: Italy, A Seasonal Travel Guide
Italy is in many ways the ultimate travel destination. Author Frances Mayes wrote the foreword to Where to Go When: Italy. "No other country has the infinite variety of Italy," she writes, "from the tip of a Dolomite mountain to the southernmost wave on Pantelleria." Readers can view sample itineraries for the perfect trip to scores of Italy’s tucked-away paradises, accompanied by the ideal month to visit...
Volunteering in Kenya: An Unforgettable Opportunity An estimated one billion people in the world live in third world slums. That's about one out of every six people on the planet. Thankfully, there are organizations like the AID Kenya Foundation looking to help in whatever way possible. AID Kenya is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to mobilize voluntary humanitarian aid and development assistance for orphans, vulnerable children, women and disadvantaged populations in rural-urban Kenya...
Hawaii's Big Island: Somewhere Between East and West
On the Island of Hawai'i, also known as the Big Island, the Mauna Kea Access Road slithers its way past the visitor’s station and up to a dozen observatories at 13,790 feet above sea level. I definitely feel somewhere between East and West. For example, the Visitor Information Station at 9,300 feet above sea level sells miso soup packets and bumper stickers that say, “Beware of Invisible Cows.”
Shanghai, China: The Next Great World City
Shanghai, is an amazing city! I consider myself fortunate to have visited it during the 41st World’s Fair, the 2010 World Expo. While in Shanghai, I walked the Bund and went on a unforgettable boat cruise along the Huangpu River. I visited a 120-year-old Buddhist temple and a 700-year-old Confucian temple. China tested the ‘vegetarian’ in me as I ate some crazy foods, including homemade dumplings made by street vendors...
A Thousand Miles of Water Trails Waiting to be Explored
Many National Wildlife Refuges in the U.S. with rivers, lakes, marshes, and even swamps offer visitors guided tours and boat rentals. Water trails are marked for the public as they paddle at their leisure while getting an up-close and personal view of nature. And don’t forget your binoculars and camera because there are lots of birds to be seen and wild creatures waiting for their close-up!
