wandering around world

Wandering Footsteps: Wandering the World One Step at a Time » A travel journal following a family on their overland trip around the world.

Welcome to Wandering Footsteps, the travel journal of a nomadic family on an overland trip around the world. With thirty years of travel experience, a round-the-world trip already under our belt, a newly-converted bus, and a new baby in tow, this journey is bound to be interesting! Join us in our global wanderings - we've saved an extra seat just for you!

- Brittany, Bruno, and Phoenix

• East Africa (36)
• Horn of Africa (9)
• North Africa (21)
• Southern Africa (94)
• West Africa (66)
• Middle East (24)
• South Asia (98)
• South East Asia (46)
• Northern Europe (7)
• Southern Europe (25)
• Western Europe (31)
• Location Independent (22)
• North America (104)
• South America (3)

Blog Topics

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How to Plan an Around the World Itinerary in 8 Steps

Last updated on January 5, 2024 by Shannon

You’re planning an around the world trip . Congrats! My one-year trip turned into a decade of wandering and it transformed my life . My own one-year trip itinerary took me through 15 countries and countless experiences—but narrowing down my dream countries to just 15 was hard.

After so many years on the road—and after several round the world trips since that first one—I have some hard learned advice for anyone planning their own route and building their own trip around the world. If you’re planning a world trip, it’s usually a long-term route of at least a few months and up to a year around the world, or more.

These are eight ideas—eight steps really—to help narrow your travel itinerary down to those stops along your route that will fit your budget, highlight the most memorable places to you, and make sense for the trip you’ve always dreamed of taking.

Table of Contents

1. Make an itinerary bucket list for the entire world.

The inspiration phase of planning your round the world trip itinerary is one of the most fun. Maybe you already have a laundry list of places you hope to cram into your world trip itinerary. Or perhaps you’ve nailed down a few key experiences but you’re open to more inspiration. You should absolutely start with a long bucket list of locations all over the world, because weather and route might automatically strike a few off the list for you.

If you’re curious for more travel ideas, browse the  best travel books sorted by destination , or search for long-reads and podcast recommendations on my Destination Travel Guides . Use these books and resources for inspiration on not only places to add to your round the world route, but activities, too.

Perhaps you read The Devil’s Picnic and subsequently add Paris to your list for that stinky but toothsome Époisses de Bourgogne cheese, or you add Bhutan because of its intriguing portrayal in The Geography of Bliss (that’s what has it on the itinerary for my next around the world trip!).

Books and podcasts are a phenomenal way to expand your idea of what is possible on your trip.

Once you have a list of dream destinations for your travel itinerary, highlight up to five that are your absolute priorities—these will become the bedrock of your around the world trip. The rest of the places on your list will slot in around those stops based on timing, weather, and more.

How granularly you plan is personal—some travelers leave with a precise list of destinations and timelines, while others plan the first couple of months of their round the world trop.

My three key travel destinations:

For my first year, I had three key activities on my list. The first was diving the Great Barrier Reef —that’s why my trip started in Australia . The second was meeting my cousin in India and backpacking north from Mumbai together for two months before ending our time together at a volunteer placement in Nepal . The third was time-sensitive as I had always dreamed of attending the Edinburgh Fringe Festival , which takes place every August in Scotland.

Later, when I traveled with my 11-year-old niece for six months in Southeast Asia , I led her through some basic Google searches so that she could see what was on offer. We planned our joint world trip itinerary together centered around her three biggies: an ethical elephant encounter , ziplining somewhere, and visiting Angkor Wat .

2. Pick a direction around the world.

From your home country, your travel itinerary will take you either east to west, or west to east around the world. Backtracking is not ideal—it’s expensive, causes more jet lag, and is bad for the environment. Use this strategy whether you use a round the world ticket (which requires this stipulation) or if you book flights as you travel.

Pros and cons of traveling east:

• Science says this direction is harder on your body and produces more jet lag . The short of it is because you are losing time when you fly through time several zones, but your body actually prefers cycles slightly longer than 24 hours, not shorter.
• You’ll need to become a pro at minimizing jet lag so you don’t lose several days to it in each new location.
• If you’re planning a very long RTW trip, perhaps 18 months or more, and your itinerary creeps around the world, then you will likely not notice the difference much.

Pros and cons of traveling west:

• As noted, your body actually prefers days that run longer than 24 hours, so your internal clock has a much easier time adding hours into your day. This means fewer nights adjusting and staring at the hotel ceiling at 3am.
• Your body can do at least two hours of time zone jumping in this direction without having a noticeable effect on you, so it’s ideal to slowly hop west around the world. And if you’re crossing the Pacific from the U.S., your largest time zone change will likely occur at the beginning of your trip, so you can then enjoy more relaxing travel for the many months afterwards.

How I decided my world trip direction:

I was lucky that two of my key experiences could bookend my trip. Scotland and Australia are not close, so it was easy to plan many of my other dream destinations to fill the space between these countries.

Since I planned to leave the U.S. in November, it was easy to surmise that starting my trip in Australia, which was entering summer, made the most sense. Then I would make my way west toward Scotland for Edinburgh Fringe, handily skirting both winter in Europe and summer in Asia.

3. Find creative overland routes.

Whew, you now have a list of dream destinations for your world trip and a direction of travel. Now it’s time to fill in the space in your itinerary. And you’ll do that by using local transportation, which is a lot more fun than flying—you’ll see more of the country and culture, and you’ll have richer travel experiences .

Go back now to those handful of key destinations from your bucket list that. These are the foundational bedrocks of your world trip itinerary. These dots on the map should lend a rough overview of a route. If they don’t, if one is just an outlier that makes it hard to see logical jumps, narrow your list down to four, and see if that helps—if you truly love the idea of an experience, but it doesn’t fit this trip it might make a great trip on its own in a couple years time.

Now, your world trip itinerary needs the details, and those usually come from visiting clusters of bordering countries—you’ll be crossing overland among many of these destinations. (For that to work, however, check visa restrictions for your nationality as some countries require visas in advance, or don’t allow crossings at certain borders).

Popular routes ( backpacking Southeast Asia , for example), have only a few restrictions and those are easily handled online, or in the days before your border crossing.

Start dotting the map with the countries that are very close to your bedrock destinations. That looks like this: If trekking in Nepal is a bedrock item, and India’s Golden Triangle and Sri Lanka were both on your dream list, then it makes sense to add them into your route, since you’ll definitely be in the region.

My creative overland routes:

As I planned my itinerary, a dear friend announced she wanted to meet me in Florence, Italy in June. That became another bedrock item with a firm date, so I now had a time I had to leave South Asia and head to Eastern Europe.

Nearby Croatia was on my tentative list, and I had a friend in Bosnia , so both of those became stops on my itinerary that helped give it shape. Prague hadn’t been on my list, but I decided to move north through Eastern Europe after leaving Bosnia.

I filled in adventurous stops that would take me from my friend in Italy in June to Scotland in August—plenty of time for rafting in Slovenia , finding charming towns in Czech Republic , biking Amsterdam like a local, and walking through the Lake District of England first!

Research activities in countries you’re considering.

If there are countries nearby your “must-visit” locations, use a site like GetYourGuide to research the types of activities you could see and do if you visited these adjacent destinations as well. I like checking out the day tour sites more than a guidebook at this stage because it’s a very quick overview of the must-dos in each location.

4. Research festivals in your favored locations.

Local festivals around the world are amazingly full of life, culture, and fun. It’s a huge letdown when you learn too late that you missed a major religious and celebratory festival by just a few days. And it’s also a shock if you arrive thinking it’s shoulder season but you really arrived during Brazil’s carnival.

Plan your route to coincide with the dates of festivals that seem most fun for you (this is especially important for trips with kids, because they love the excitement, colors, and foods at these types of events. You’ll need to book accommodation early depending on the event, so that may take some flexibility from your world travel route, but it’s worth it.

Here are a few favorite annual festivals that many travelers plan around: La Tomatina in Spain in late August; Holi the Festival of Colors  in India around early March; Thailand’s Songkran Water Festival often falls within April and its Loy Krathong Lantern Festival falls in late October or early November.

Festivals around the world I sought out:

When my cousin told me should could only meet in India in February, and I knew we’d be there for two months, I went into planning mode to decide where we should celebrate Holi the Festival of Colors . It was a real highlight of my trip and I am so glad our world travel itinerary allowed us to experience this incredible Indian festival.

Then, of course, was the Fringe Festival —that was one of my bedrock destinations so it was definitely on the planned route.

5. Play Tetris with locations to fit your travel budget.

I stuck to an amazing year-long world travel budget that came in under $20,000. The only way I could do that was by carefully planning my time to favor budget-friendly countries, and then add in high-cost countries in smaller supply.

Research each of your dream destinations ahead of time because some places you might assume are budget actually cost more than you imagine (a safari in Africa is not cheap, nor is accommodation in much of Africa, but visiting a dream destination on the continent is worth it). Japan may be in Asia, but it’s pricey, too. Central America and Mexico are easy on your budget, as are parts of South America.

How I made my RTW travel budget work:

Australia , England, Scotland, and Ireland were mega expensive and represented three of my eleven months on the road. India and Nepal were, by far, the cheapest places (even cheaper than backpacking Southeast Asia ), and it was actually difficult to go over budget during the three-and-a-half months that I backpacked South Asia.

I spent the other months in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, two regions that are in the discount to mid-range. All told, I was able to easily average $50 a day, even though some days in Europe topped $100.

6. Plan around weather trends.

On your trip, research destinations ahead of time and plan according to your own weather preferences. While it’s not likely you will hit every destination in your preferred season, you should know when monsoon season makes a paradise island unenjoyable, or when blizzards will thwart a planned ski trip.

Research using this great rundown of shoulder season locations around the world, and this European shoulder season list , and this very cool map of a a sample round the itinerary featuring perfect weather in every location.

Why I chased summer around the world:

I planned my trip itinerary to chase summer around the world. As a native Floridian, my tolerance for heat is higher than most others, and I deeply enjoy warmth. A year of summer was lovely.

Whether your around the world trip chases summer or snow—and note it’s way easier to pack for long-term travel when you can leave behind thick jackets and boots—you’ll want to pack effectively using packing cubes .

I have probably 20 packing cubes after 15+ years of travel—cubes of all shapes, sizes, and uses to fit every trip. This eight-pack starter set is well-priced, durable, and will give you a worthy introduction into the sheer magic of packing cubes.

7. Consider how you will fly.

When planning your itinerary, you have to consider more than just major long-haul flights. On my travels, I research local budget airlines too, and I always have a good idea of which regions of the world offer affordable puddle-jumper flights. If you’re considering buying round the world tickets , read my insider tips and advice first!

Southeast Asia has AirAsia and Vietjet, among others. Europe has many budget carriers: Vueling, Ryan Air, and EasyJet. And JetStar has good flight deals in South Asia. By checking for budget airline routes, I know that I can easily visit more countries in a region if there are sub $100 flights around the area. (Tip: this is an amazing interactive map of low-cost airline routes ).

My transportation choices:

I priced out my year on the road and found it was cheaper to combine overland travel with local carriers than it would have been to buy a RTW ticket up front. I also have a guide to how I find good flight deals , since I never buy round the world airfare.

Generally, flights are likely necessary unless you plan an entirely overland route around the world , but flights are harmful if you solely rely on this form of transportation, so truly consider how you can incorporate other options, such as buying a Eurail ticket in Europe, or a Greyhound bus ticket to travel down the east coast of Australia.

Don’t forget to  book travel insurance for your trip —a great policy provides coverage in case of medical emergencies, lost or stolen gear, adventure sports riders, and more. I’ve used  IMG Global  for more than a decade  highly recommend it !

8. Remove some destinations from your world trip itinerary.

There is no wrong way to plan your route around the world, and there is no perfect number of places that you can visit in a year—it all depends on what you’re looking for on your trip. And no matter how carefully you plan, you will love some places, feel mediocre toward others, and perhaps even leave early from a few. You won’t know until you set out which type of places and experiences best fit your long-term travel style.

But please keep in mind that the pace of short-term travels is very different from a multi-month trip. Create a route that travels slowly, avoids the dreaded travel-fatigue , and includes destinations you have long dreamed of visiting. To do that, you now need to take a critical eye to your trip and trim the fat.

Is there something you added it because it seemed fun and was moderately close, but it wasn’t a bedrock item? Or perhaps it’s a location you love the idea of so much that you know you will plan a trip there in the future if you skip it now. Snip those from your world travel itinerary right now and you will be shooting me an email of thanks once you’re on the road.

The countries I cut from my around the world trip:

The best advice other travelers gave me when I asked for itinerary advice in a travel forum was to remove an entire leg of the trip. I had hoped to backpack Scandinavia between my time in the Czech Republic and Amsterdam, but long-term travelers assured me that I would be grateful for wiggle room in my itinerary by that stage of my trip (nine months into it).

Plus, they accurately pointed out that I just couldn’t swing these very expensive countries on my limited travel budget.

Turns out that I burned out a month before reaching Czech Republic and camped out in Slovenia for an extra two weeks—if I had been dead-set on Scandinavia, I would have never had time to do that while still making it to Edinburgh Fringe in time! (And let’s not even think about what Scandinavia would have done to my travel budget!).

If you’re overwhelmed about planning the nitty-gritty details on a months-long trip around the world, know that a rough route suffices. All you truly need before you leave home is logistics for the first couple of weeks—you can easily sort out the rest on the road. I promise.

Really, I promise. It seems scary but I swear to you that you will be grateful for flexibility once you land, and that it’s completely possible to plan the smaller details as you go. Moving between countries and regions was infinitely easier than I had anticipated before my first round the world.

Your Next Steps for Planning an Around the World Itinerary

Research places around the world and assemble a dream list of locations. That’s really the first step and should be a lot of fun.

While my travel books selections are a starting point, you can also peruse guidebooks for inspiration. I always buy a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide for my first planned destination (and then I swap it along the way for each new country), and before my first round the world trip I checked out a stack of 25 guidebooks from my library. Do your research and dream big before you even begin selecting an itinerary and paring down your list of destinations.

This is my core page compiling resources on How to Travel the World and here are a few other pages sharing advice specifically for long-term travel planning.

• How Much Does it Cost to Travel the World
• How to Save for Travel
• Free Destination Travel Guides
• Best Credit and Debit Cards for Travel
• How to Pack for Long-Term Travel
• How to Pick the Right Travel Insurance

How to Travel the World

Free resources and first-hand advice on how to plan long-term and round the world travels.

Essential Travel Planning Resources

❗ Yes, you need travel insurance . IMG Global is the travel insurance I’ve used for well over a decade of traveling solo, and with kids. Here’s why .

🧳 Smart packing can save your trip. Shop my favorite travel gear , including all of the packing essentials for world travel , gear to keep you safe on the road, my favorite travel books , and more.

🛏️ Find great accommodation . Booking.com is essentially the only hotel booking site that I use. It has a wide and affordable selection of traditional hotels, but also hostels and vacation rentals, too. Use these pro tips to find the best travel accommodation .

📍 Navigate more effectively. Rome2Rio is super handy to assess the full range of transport options between two cities—shows everything from flights to trains, buses, minibuses, and more. If you’re booking a rental car, I’ve always found the best deals on RentalCars.com .

✈️ Book affordable flights. Expedia is one of the first places I look for low-cost flights .

☕ Peruse all of my tips for round the world travel , or learn how to move and live abroad .

12 Things I Learned Wandering the World

For over two decades, I crisscrossed the world, fueled by an unquenchable thirst for discovery. Every locale, from bustling cities to serene landscapes, offered a unique narrative, weaving together lessons about humanity and the interconnectedness of our experiences. My travels were more than just marking places on a map; they became journeys of introspection and personal growth.

Every bend in the road, every face I met, held a story that shed light on our shared human spirit and the ties that bind us, regardless of geography or culture. Through the tales that follow, I aim to share the lessons from my wanderings and invite you to reflect on your own personal journeys.

Lessons from Wandering Around the World

The following are some of the things I learned wandering the world:

1. I learned that people all over the world want the same basic things: enough to eat, clear water, decent shelter, good health, education and opportunities for their children, an honest way to earn some money and respect.

2. I learned that some of the poorest people on this planet are also some of the most generous. They share what they have, even if it is only a glass of water.  When someone offers you something from the heart it can be considered very rude to refuse the generosity.

3. I learned I could be comfortable in the company of world leaders and dignitaries and, with people in the slums of Africa, South America, and Asia.  Take away our outer trappings and labels to find underneath we are all the same.

4. I learned you have no idea what you will do when mugged. In Lesotho,  I had a knife to my throat and still negotiated to keep the things in my bag while offering them my money.  They agreed. Foolishness or a moment of total clarity?

5. I learned that each culture has a different interpretation of personal space. From experience, I have found that the more populated a country is the less personal space you are given.

6. I learned in some countries going by local bus meant sharing a space with more than just people.  As this is the only means of transportation for many, you could find yourself sharing a space with an assortment of chickens, goats, produce, and anything else that needed to be transported.

7. I learned to appreciate everything I had and yet to have no attachment to them.  This was taught to me when Iraq invaded Kuwait. During this war, I lost most of my possessions, including all my professional documents.  Things can be replaced.

8. I learned how resourceful I was.  In Zambia, daily skyrocketing inflation resulted in a diminishing salary. Being open to suggestions, I found alternative means of earning more money and lived well for two years, becoming closer to the local people.

9. I learned to trust strangers.  In Alexandra, Egypt, a friend and I were standing under a street sign trying to decipher the Arabic on our map with the Arabic on the sign when an elderly man stopped to help.  With gestures, we indicated where we wanted to go.  He called someone, and a young boy appeared, then he waved for us to follow the boy.  We did and we arrived at our destination.  Later, we discovered we were in a part of the city that most Egyptians wouldn’t enter unless they absolutely had to.  Sometimes you just have to trust and know everything will be just fine.

10. I learned the joy of spontaneous laughter, singing, and dancing with new friends in Greece, Russia, and Latvia.  Freedom is completely enjoying the moment.

11. I learned to be completely aware of my surroundings and notice things that were slightly off.  In Ethiopia, this saved me from being shot at.  I was driving toward the center of a small city when I noticed how still everything was.  In an instant, I knew something was wrong.  Within seconds I was facing tanks, soldiers, and a mob of people.  Because I had slowed down, I was able to take the next corner and get out there right before shots were fired. Trust that voice that says, “Get out now”!

12. I learned to experience life fully and to embrace whatever was presented.  I learned to love all people and to respect this beautiful planet that we live on.

You don’t need to wander the world like I did for experiences, they are present all around you every day.  You just have to be willing to look at the blessings each holds.

What lessons have you learned from your life experiences?  I would love to hear them.

About The Author

Carolynne Melnyk

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31 thoughts on “12 Things I Learned Wandering the World”

Carolynne, regarding number 3, I wonder if you were also comfortable with people living in the slums in North America and Europe.

Hi Jude, I appreciate your comment. I work in an inner city area in my city. I have observed generosity among the poor here the same I did elsewhere. Just like anywhere else there are a variety of folks all over.

Thank you for asking.

A lot of the things learnt could be learnt from books or simple reflection. Without looking out of the windows I know everything under heaven, according to Laozi, the first teacher of Taoism. The more one travels, the less one knows, he wrote in a little book of maxims (chapter 47) before disappearing into the wilderness beyond China’s frontiers. A millennium later, the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Chiyii says, “Across the world’s horizon, there’re no strangers. Fellow travellers sharing the same fate do not need to be acquaintances before.”

Hsiaoshuang, thank you for the comment.

You are correct in saying a lot of things can be learnt from books or reflection. We do know everything under the sun. Sometimes we need the experience of something for it to have a deeper meaning.

What a inspiring read. The key idea here is we are all the same, as you pretty much said. Keep up the good work :)

Hi Rhys, I am happy your found it inspiring. In the end whatever we do, we are all the same.

Thank you for the comment. BE in Joy!

Your text inspiring me and make me feel so happy!!!!! I didnt travel a lot but i understand what you means!!!!! Thanks a lot for share it with us!!!! Life is so intuitive some time!!!!

Hello Maryse, It is a joy to know you have been inspired and the article left you feeling happy. It is not the travelling that is important, but the gems or lesson we learn for all of our experiences.

Keep being inspired.

As a teacher, I have learned much from students. After one particular rant on overusing certain words and cliches, a student reminded me, “But they may be new to us.”

Thank you for the comment.

It is good to be reminded that what is ordinary or common place to us might be something completely new to another. Looking at the weld with a different set of eyes.

An excellent perspective on the world. I do disagree with the “learning everything from a book” comment. Although learned people are we’ll read, first hand experiences make the learning real. NEVER trade travelling and living in other countries for just reading about it.

Hi Shirley, Thank you for your supportive comment. Travelling has shaped me in ways that reading would never have done. Experience is the greatest teacher and travelling provides the school. I also acknowledge that it is not for everyone, especially the way I did it.

Happy travels!

I truly agree with point no.2 – travelling through sub-Sahara Africa, I was blown away by the generosity and happiness of people that had so little in comparison to myself and the rest of the Western world. It was refreshing and certainly helped garner a different perspective.

And in regards to point no.11 and your ‘voice’; in all my years of solo travel, my gut instinct has not once let me down!

Lovely article :)

Hello Tony, Nice to meet a fellow traveller. I so agree with your point about he generosity and happiness of people with so little. These lovely people left a beautiful print on my soul.

That gut instinct or voice is the best friend a person can have, whether trailing or not.

Thank you so much for sharing. And wishing you more happy travels.

Wow, you’ve been in so much different situations, meet so much different people, even death walked near the corner. I believe you know a thing or two about people and living this life.

Hi Ion, Thank you so much for your comment.

Yes, I have had a full and wonderful life up to now and plan to keep experiencing life to the fullest. Each experience is a gift of learning and growing.

BE in joy and embrace life!

hi carolynne, i loved so much your positive learning stuff. you explained so beautifully. i get to learn that how each thing can be so genuine and can do wonders in your life. thank you so much, i am grateful to you for sharing with us.

with lots of love and blessings for you. megha

Thank you for the comment. I thrilled that you found my article helpful and interesting. I believe that everything is a lesson and there are precious gems in each moment.

All the best on your journey!

My dear sister. You are such an inspirational lady. From day one when we met in Brazil many moons ago we connected. Im honouread to have spend 5 discovery weeks with you in Peru. You enhance my life every day with your kindness, passion, knowledge and love. Much gratitude to you for your teachings. Xx

Viola, Thank you for your beautiful kind words.

It is always special when spirits unite!

When I travelled alon back then, I learned also to trust strangers but I also carefully choose if the person looks decent or not. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

#11 I too am very aware of my surroundings. It has saved me from a butt-load of trouble. It’s sad to see that people are becoming less and less aware of their surroundings due to them constantly being on their phones.

Thank you for the post Carolynne.

Something valuable I learned while travelling South America was after getting robbed on a bus. I learned that no matter how many people want to hurt you, there are always more people that want to help you. Always look for the helpers.

Dear Carolynne,

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. They bring joy to my heart! You’re so right – traveling does shape us -as it opens our minds and our hearts. I believe love, respect and curiosity are the secret formula for a happy and fulfilling life. Travel enhances it all!

Best wishes to you in your journey. Suzie

Thanks for this post. I’ve really enjoyed it. I also travel a lot and I have to say that not everyone can enjoy and appreciate things that happen to them. Moreover, not everyone can make some conclusions after.

I learned that people from different cultures have more in common than not, being human seems to trump everything. Susan

I learned so so much about myself while traveling. I feel that each significant trip has been a rehearsal for what was coming up in my life. I learned to be a child again in Russia, I learned to be fully present in Egypt and I learned to reconnect with God in Indonesia. I am so grateful for all my far away trips that, paradoxically, brought me closer to myself.

What a great article. I personally love travelling around the world (as much as my budget allows me to). “some of the poorest people are the most generous” is something I couldn’t agree more on. It is often said that in poor countries you get robbed right away, whereas the truth is that a lot of the people living there are firendly and won’t share the few things they have.

Dear Carolynne

I also keep learning that I often haven’t learnt what I thought I had. I think (read hope) the continual re-assessment of what we think we have learnt is part of the journey. I’m constantly re-learning, for example, that I don’t know more than the people I am talking to about how they should lead their lives…often I think I do…but I dont. Thanks for the article. Alex.

Hi, Thanks for sharing your experiences……. The 13th Thing that i would like to add on the list is that,’We all should start learning from each others experiences, successes, failures,……..why to experiment things on ourselves and then learn…what one experiences, the same is experienced by others…after all we all are same, one and HUMANS!!!!!!!

http://sharelovenlive.blogspot.in http://lifeindjail.blogspot.in

Hi Carolyne, Thanks for the wonderful post. I have never traveled outside my home home country Nepal. But we have an amazing range of geographical, linguistic and cultural diversity for such a small country as ours and traveling the length and breadth of the country, I also have come to same ‘learnings’. I hope, someday I will be able to travel the world like you. I don’t wish to travel just for spectacles, seeing and tales to tell but for wisdom and to find deeper meaning in life.

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Hotels & Resorts

What is your favorite hotel or resort when you travel? We have something for every mood on Wander With Wonder . Fun hotels. Chic boutique inns. Exclusive and luxurious hotels. All-inclusive resorts. The hotel can become a memorable part of any vacation.

These are a few of our top picks for some of our most memorable stays:

• 3 Luxe and Storied Hotels for Your Next Siem Reap Visit
• Hotel Altstadt Vienna
• 5 Iconic Hotels of the West
• Raffles Hotel Singapore is the Essence of Luxury
• Mandapa A Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Bali
• Romantic Beach Getaway: Pueblo Bonita Pacifica
• Inn at Newport Ranch
• St. Ermin’s Hotel London
• La Quinta Resort & Club
• Discovering Wow Moments at Hotel Mousai in Mexico
• Kenwood Inn & Spa: Luxury Inn in Sonoma
• The Best Luxury Accommodations in Arizona
• Le Blanc Spa Resort Cancun

Luxury Travel

Our  Wander With Wonder travel experts explore the world to discover luxury resorts, spas, boutique hotels, and luxe activities. We share the best stories, provide reviews, and entice you with photographs to help you plan your luxury travel escape.

Here are a few of our favorite luxury travel experiences:

• Trains and Spas Offer Magical Moments with Rocky Mountaineer
• Caribbean Wow at Hilton La Romana All-Inclusive Adult Resort
• Honeymoons in Phuket
• Spa Resorts in Thailand: Luxurious Koh Samui Spa Resorts
• An Insider’s Guide to Siem Reap
• Ultimate Guide to 2 Days in Wadi Rum
• Old City Bangkok
• Dubai Has it All

National Parks

Travel America’s national parks from the Grand Canyon and Yosemite in the West to the Great Smoky Mountains in the East and the Everglades in the South.

Along with National Parks, we also cover National Historic Sites, National Monuments, National Wildlife Refuges, National Memorials, and Native American parks.

Our  Wander With Wonder travel experts bring tips, stunning photography, what to see, and news to enhance your National Park visit.

Check out a few of our favorite national parks, memorials, monuments, historic sites, and wildlife refuges, as well as Native American parks:

• Acadia National Park
• Arches National Park
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Canyonlands National Park
• Capitol Reef National Park
• Chiricahua National Monument
• Death Valley National Park
• Fort Davis National Historic Site
• Glacier National Park
• Grand Canyon National Park
• Grand Teton National Park
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Mesa Verde National Park
• Navajo Nation Parks
• Olympic National Park
• Oregon Caves National Monument
• Painted Desert National Park
• Petrified Forest National Park
• Rocky Mountain National Park
• Saguaro National Park
• San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
• Shenandoah National Park
• St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
• Walnut Canyon National Monument
• Wright Brothers National Memorial
• Yellowstone National Park
• Zion National Park

Here are a few of our favorite stories to help you get out and explore the national parks across the USA:

• Exploring Aviation History in North Carolina
• Top Things to Do in Saguaro National Park
• Explore Arizona’s Largest Sky Island at Chiricahua National Monument
• The Best Things to Do at Glacier National Park
• Top Places to Visit on The Grand Canyon’s South Rim
• Hiking Shenandoah National Park
• Best Places to Visit in Grand Teton National Park
• Escape to the Quiet Side of Acadia at Schoodic Peninsula
• Navajo Nation Parks: Southwestern Road Trip
• Dinosaur Hunter: Dinosaur Valley State Park Texas
• An Oasis in the Desert at Death Valley National Park

Outdoor Travel

Our  Wander With Wonder outdoor travel experts visit places of natural beauty when they travel Around the World or Across the Street™. We offer exciting stories and photographs to help you plan your outdoor travel adventures.

Perhaps you prefer outdoor travel during the summer when you can go hiking, camping, fishing, swimming, horseback riding, or biking. Does outdoor travel in winter excite you, when you can go skiing and dog sledding? We have you covered no matter when you prefer to explore the outdoors.

Here are a few of our favorite outdoor travel stories:

• South Lake Tahoe Guide for Summer
• Ponca State Park
• 10 Best Beach Vacation Escapes
• Fly Fishing in Vail, Colorado
• Exploring Iowa’s Scenic Valley Trail via Railbikes
• Discovering Costa Rica’s Wildlife
• Romantic Winter Weekend in Myrtle Beach
• Sober Travel to Costa Rica
• Discover Serious Powder at Grand Targhee Ski Resort
• 11 Amazing Outdoor Winter Activities in Phoenix
• Discovering Crystal River: Florida’s Nature Coast
• Fall in the Colorado Rockies
• Head to Huaraz for One of the Best Hikes in Peru
• Wilderness Camps at The Broadmoor in Colorado
• Rafting the Mighty Ocoee: Tennessee’s Whitewater Rapids

Pet-Friendly Travel

Do you love to travel and want to share your adventures with your four-legged friends? Our  Wander With Wonder travel experts offer tips and tricks for traveling with your pets.

We also have some suggestions for the best pet-friendly destinations.

Here are a few of our favorite stories that you can use to help plan your pet-friendly travels:

• Fido-Friendly Getaway on the Delmarva Peninsula
• Whidbey Island for Dog Lovers
• Pet Lovers’ Guide to Milwaukee
• A Dog-Friendly Fourth of July: Sunriver in Central Oregon
• 6 Dog-Friendly Highlights When Wandering Around Moab, UT
• Tiptoe Through the Oregon Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest with Your Dog

Take a road trip to explore the highways, byways, and backroads across the USA and elsewhere.

Road trips are a great way to experience the communities along your route. We recommend getting off the interstates and exploring the small towns. What you discover on your road trip can create memories of a lifetime. A road trip can be one of your best memories, even in Hawaii .

Remember to prepare for your road trip. Here are some of our recommendations for the best coolers , tabletop grills , and even a few great snacks to help you enjoy your road trip.

Here are some of our favorite road trips in the Western and Southwestern US, where you can enjoy wide-open spaces and majestic mountain backdrops:

• Discover Food in The Dalles and Along the East Gorge Food Trail
• Off the Beaten Path: California Gold Country
• Explore the Marion Farm Loop in Willamette Valley
• 10 Things to Do in Jerome, AZ
• Day Trips from Phoenix: Eclectic Cave Creek
• 5 Great Arizona Road Trips
• 5 Great Day Trips from Portland, OR
• Wine Tasting Day Trip to Dundee, Oregon
• Mt. Hood Scenic Loop: Favorite Day Trip from Portland
• Columbia River Gorge Washington: Road Trip on the Less-Traveled Side

Looking for a road trip across Texas? Everything is bigger in Texas, including the highways. Texas offers some of the most unique road trips in the US. Here are a few of our favorite Texas road trips:

• 9 Road Trips from Austin, Texas
• 9 Day Trips from San Antonio
• 8 Road Trips from Houston
• 11 of the Best Parks for Central Texas Camping

Road trips through the Midwest allow you to explore the country’s heartland. From prairies to rolling hills, don’t simply pass through the Midwest—stop and explore. Here are a few of our favorite stories about Midwest road trips:

• Midwest Family Fun Tubing the Niobrara
• Cedarburg, WI: Discover Your Own Hallmark Moments
• Midwest Road Trip: Fun and Quirky Stops from Nebraska to South Dakota
• Decorah, Iowa: Small Midwest Town with Big Charm
• Beaver’s Bend Getaways in Oklahoma
• An Iowa Road Trip to Discover Americana
• Exploring Wisconsin’s Cranberry Highway

Exploring the Southern US? Life slows down in the South, so take some time and explore the backroads and byways. As you go up the coast to the Mid-Atlantic, the beauty continues as the pace quickens. Here are some of our favorite stories about road trips in the South and Mid-Atlantic states:

• Discover Art in Bentonville, Arkansas
• Explore the Beaches of Wilmington, NC
• Exploring Small Maryland Towns of Charlestown and North East

Road trips through New England are beautiful any time of the year. In fall, there’s no better place for leaf-peeping. Here are a few of our favorite stories about New England road trips:

• A Mother-Daughters Northern New England Road Trip
• Vermont in the Fall Road Trip
• Maine Road Trip: Exploring the North Coast
• Explore Bennington and Discover Covered Bridges in Vermont
• Southern Maine Road Trip: A Drive for the Ages
• A New Hampshire Road Trip: Exploring the Lakes Region
• Fall in Cape Cod: Driving Tour in New England
• A Finger Lakes NY Road Trip

Road trips are also exceptional in places around the world. If you are based in the US, you can rent a car and take to the road to explore other parts of the world. Here are a few of our favorite stories about road trips in places around the world:

• Experience the Upscale Side of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia
• Croatia Road Trip in an RV
• Discover Morocco in a Van

Travel Tips

Travel tips from our travel experts will ensure your journeys are informed and effortless. On Wander With Wonder , we share travel tips on where to stay, what to wear, and what to pack for your travels.

Concerned about financing your travels ? We have suggestions. Worried about cyber-safety while traveling ? We offer some guidelines. Wondering how to take great travel photos ? Check out our pro photo tips.

These are a few of our top picks for the best travel tips and news stories:

• How to Become a Confident Solo Traveler
• 6 Ways to Deal with Travel Fatigue
• How to Travel the World on a Shoestring Budget
• Dos and Don’ts of Dressing for a Long-Distance Flight
• Accessories to Pair with Your Swimsuit for Your Next Caribbean Vacation
• 6 Travel Tips from Seasoned Travelers
• 6 Things to Make Your International Journey Hassle-Free
• Monarc Eco-Friendly Bags
• Packing Light for a Weekend Getaway: Tips from Thomas Peter Maletta
• Travelers Guide: Landscape Photography Tips

Wellness Travel & Spas

Use your travel time to enhance your well-being. Our  Wander With Wonder travel experts guide you to the best spas, hot springs, wellness resorts, yoga retreats, and more.

Our photos and personal stories are here to help you choose the best wellness travel destinations.

Here are a few of our favorite stories about wellness travel and spa experiences:

• Rejuvenate in the Pagosa Springs Hot Springs
• Wellness Retreat at SCP Redmond Hotel in Oregon
• Couples Getaway at Utah’s Red Mountain Resort
• Spa Resorts in Thailand
• Ojo Santa Fe Spa Resort
• Marival Armony: Global Spa in Punta Mita, Mexico
• Forest Bathing: Learning to Be in the Moment
• The Cove Luxury Spa in Idaho
• SpaWell Tucson
• Sound Bathing at La Copa in Careyes, Mexico
• The Magic of Fall in Sedona, Arizona
• Wow Experience at The Ritz-Carlton Dallas Spa

Hello everyone!

I’m a 22 years old guy from Italy with the passion for traveling and the dream to see the whole world. This year i’m leaving for my first big solo adventure to the other side of the world: Australia! The purpose of this blog is to share my experience and to hopefully help or inspire people who want to start traveling. 

How to apply for a Working Holiday Visa in Australia

Travel tips and guides.

We are Birthe & Brecht , travel bloggers and food lovers. In 2015 we both quit our traditional job and left on a 1 year trip around the world. Having caught the travel bug, we’ve been travelling on and off from our home in Belgium ever since.

Wandering the World is aimed at people who love planning their own travels , just like we do. Aside from our experience we try to give you all the information you need to visit a specific destination. We even track all of our expenses so you know exactly how much things will cost you.

Another way we try to make your travel planning easier is by adding a map to all of our stories and having markers throughout the text, showing you exact locations. This marker shows you where we are right now , for example. Try clicking on it!

When visiting places we try to focus on value : we don’t have money to burn on 5 star hotels all the time, but won’t be sleeping in 20-person dorms either. We love experiencing new things and discovering the best a place has to offer. Whether that’s beaches, diving, hiking, bungee jumping, food or dancing, we’ll try it all.

So follow in our footsteps and start planning your next trip!

Where we’ve been

Interested in our thoughts and tips for a specific destination? Just click on any of the blue countries below or go to our destinations page!

Our latest posts

What to eat in Barcelona

How to get from Barcelona Airport to the city centre

Bike Tour in Barcelona with Baja Bikes

Start wandering the world, get the right gear.

Visit our favourite places in the world

Get your adrenaline fix

Eat your way around the world

Go on a city trip

Get in touch!

We love talking to other travellers. Contact us through our social media accounts or just send us a plain old email . Check out our Meet Up page if you’d like to meet us in person.

Keep wandering the world! Birthe & Brecht

Places Around The World That I Shall Never Forget

And as that random idea slowly became reality, and the years of wandering around the world passed by, I made sure that I never forgot that stone wall. I made sure that I never forgot the mesmerizing, ancient temple that was in front of me at the time or the dense jungle, the first jungle I had ever seen, that surrounded me.

While I always talk about the people I meet being the most rewarding aspect of a life of travel, let’s face it, sometimes people can truly ruin our day. Since I started traveling, I’ve been vomited on, spit on and hissed at. I’ve been peed on, yelled at, chased down the road, pickpocketed, threatened, shoved and hit by a car. I’ve been ripped off, tricked, cheated and just absolutely screwed over.

I still love people of course but man, I must admit that I’m also grateful for those special places out there, those spots and locations around the world that have provided me with some time to just be alone with my thoughts, those spots and locations that have etched themselves into my memory or have changed the course of my life forever, for one reason or another.

That wall, that temple, that jungle at Angkor Wat, Cambodia, back on December 31st, 1999, is one such example for me.

This post is to celebrate the locations that prove so meaningful to each of us during our adventures. And it doesn’t matter how well-known or unknown a particular place may be or what other people think of the place either. All that matters is that a single spot on this planet had a major impact on our life at some point in time.

My Favorite Spots Around the World

It’s not every day that I find myself in the middle of nowhere, in Yemen, standing on a massive rock jutting far out over a valley below, with a view so appealing that I could have spent one month right there without moving or ever closing my eyes. Why would I want to close my eyes when I had such a sight before me?

Luckily, however, I didn’t spend one month there in the end. If I had, I would have missed the opportunity to stand in a location that even fewer people will ever get a chance to see, a place so spectacular that even six months after my visit, I still had a difficult time believing was real. The only reason I know it wasn’t actually a dream is because I still have a piece of my boarding pass from my flight to Socotra Island …

Other locations have forced me to realize how lucky I am to be traveling, how lucky I am to be in a place that I never would have known about had I not thrown that backpack on my back and taken that first step into the world…

That might be the Piatra Craiului Mountains above, in the heart of Romania or surreal Fanning Island, Kiribati, an island of 300 people way out there in the middle of the South Pacific, both of which have helped shape who I am…

There’s no way I can explain the feeling I had when I spent a couple of days along the too-gorgeous-to-be-real Napali coastline on the Hawaiian island of Kauai or when I drove from Darwin to Broome, straight through the most absolute nothingness I have ever seen, up there in the northwest of Australia, or when I just sat under the trees in the zocalo of Valladolid, Mexico, listening to the sweet tunes of a mariachi band, all while observing, and welcoming, the thoughts, the questions, the answers, the inspiration, the clarity, that those surroundings provided me.

And as I stated in my last post, you can call me a tourist for visiting, and enjoying, Las Vegas. Well, you can also call me a tourist for stating that I’ll take that touristy cable car up to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa any day, or that I’ll gladly contemplate life while looking out over the magnificent New York City skyline from 88 floors above the ground.

I’ll also always remember, as a younger, more naive traveler, crossing that rickety foot bridge over the Hunza River, just outside the small village of Passu, Pakistan. I remember stopping for a few moments half-way across, wondering if I was still on planet Earth as I stared at the magical Karaokaram Mountains, and knowing full well that after a visit into this remote, unchartered land, my life would never be the same again…

So, as I sit here today and allow my mind to wander through the years behind me, I instantly recognize that, from the Geirangerfjord in Norway to the Gros Morne National Park outside of Cornerbrook, Newfoundland, from the brilliant views of colorful Bundi, India while high up on the hill above town to my stay at the remote Bengstskar Lighthouse in the Archipelago Sea some 25 kilometers off the coast of Finland, I have repeatedly been inspired by so many remarkable places that I have visited during my travels.

And these are the kind of places that, for me personally, didn’t simply make for good photos. These are the kind of places that had such an impact on my life, both due to the location itself as well as the period of my life that I happened to come across them, the kind of places where I distinctly remember a change, maybe a change in my way of thinking or in my beliefs or maybe a change in my goals or dreams.

Yes, I love the people I meet every day during this adventure of mine, but heck, I sure won’t forget many of the places I’ve been to either.

And I’m certain that every traveler would say a similar thing.

What are some of the special places that have had a major impact on your life? For those who have yet to travel, what are some of the places you absolutely can’t wait to experience?

New blog posts, honest updates from my 21 years of constant travel, personal recommendations and the best of travel from around the world.

96 Comments

You know I have always believed that things happen for good and a single instance can change your direction of life! Being a traveler is a bliss and nowhere you can find this kind of satisfaction! Great post Earl!

Glad that you put the Geirangerfjord in Norway on the list. I wonder whether you’ve been to Preikestolen in Stavanger or not…it is a spectacular place.

What about Mt. Bromo in East java- Indonesia? and Raja Ampat islands (Papua-Indonesia)…. hoping that you will have chance to go there, or have you?

Hey Felicity – I’ve been to Stavanger and Preikstolen actually, another beautiful place of course!

I have not been to Java though, one day…

I know I’m a little late to this post, but this was very well written and speaks to all travelers. By far one of my favorite posts. I remember sitting on the rocky shore of Corniglia, Italy watching the waves crash and feeling the mist fly by with some of my best friends, contemplating my life and finding out that I wanted something more than the 9-5 american dream that many of my classmates dreamt of. It is because of wanderers like you and many others that I hope to one day (in the near future) travel for a living and (crossing my fingers) start a successful travel blog. Thank you for everything you do!

Hey Nate – You’ll make it happen if it you stay focused on that goal!

Wow. Those photos are brilliant. That photo on the bridge in Pakistan looks extremely dodgy and the rock in Yemen is class. Great post.

Hey Earl, I LOVE your blog man!! I only check out a few on a regular basis and your one of em’! I am currently beginning what will hopefully be a very loooooong travel in May starting in Oz. My own blog emptytravels.com is brand new and in its juvenile stages but any advice for an aspiring travel blogger would be much loved!! Thanks!! Tyler.

Hey Tyler – Congrats on your upcoming trip and on your blog as well! If you want to send me an email through the site, we can discuss your blog in more detail.

I also really enjoyed your post about being up in the clock tower for an hour & a half, and how it cleared your mind. Being around water, or somewhere up high does seem to help with clarity. Somebody told me once that a lot of spiritual communities are situated in such places. It may be the negative ions! Here’s a mainstream article about it: https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/negative-ions-create-positive-vibes

Myself, I am dreaming of swimming in the cenote in Yucatan some day. Any trip with lots of swimming and maybe some high places too … perfect.

you have been to a bunch of amazing places. I am planing to go to kirabati, this places seems surreal !

This is a great post and i totally agree! The moral of the story is you will really never know what place will have an impact in your life! Keep on rocking Earl!

Earl, thanks for another inspiring post. What incredible pictures! One place I won’t soon forget is the region in Michoacán where the monarchs migrate to in the winter. I was there 2 weeks ago at the El Rosario and Sierra Chincua Biosphere reserves and seeing the monarchs huddled en masse on the oyamel fir trees and fluttering when the sun came out, was truly magical. Another place is Erg Chebbi in the Sahara at Sunset. Stunning.

[…] Places Around The World That I Shall Never Forget from Wandering Earl […]

Earl, this is ne of my favorite posts of yours! Awesome!

Thank you Jen!!

Walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain changed me. It gave me a new confidence about traveling.

Crete is my special place. Sometimes there is no explaining why you feel so “right” in certain parts of the world. It was in Crete that I declared that I am never going to return to my old life. New paths have to be made and I am willing.

Namibia is next on my list. I leave in a week and I am giddy with excitement.

Great post. Got me thinking.

Hey Laura – Enjoy Namibia!!

Earl… I have being reading your posts and various other blogs trying to prepare myself for the worst that can happen during my travels. However I can’t seem to form a scene where I will be “peed on”! How does one live through that? lol

Hey Tati – Just go to India and you’ll see what I’m talking about 🙂

Indeed. When you wrote “Since I started traveling, I’ve been vomited on, spit on and hissed at. I’ve been peed on, yelled at, chased down the road, pickpocketed, threatened, shoved and hit by a car. I’ve been ripped off, tricked, cheated and just absolutely screwed over,” I was half-expecting you to add “and that was in my first hour outside of Delhi airport.”

It also would have made me chuckle if you’d said “And that was in the my first week in Switzerland.”

@Crazy Sanchez – I could see how one might think that! But luckily, that was all over a 14 year period instead 🙂

What a great post! Those photos are just as inspiring as your words. Cannot wait to fulfill my needs for RTW travel!

Great post….The Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald, Switzerland. Rustic little place tucked away high up in the Swiss Alps, only reachable by cable car, but wow is it worth the stay! Absolutely awe-inspiring, nothing like waking up in the morning, walking outside and being smacked in the face with pristine beauty of the top of the Swiss Alps. It’s like visiting the inside of a postcard…images that will never leave me, one of those places that just force you to sit back, breathe deep, and be thrilled to be alive

The beaches and cliffs of Cabo de Gata in Spain have to be the most beautiful and awe striking places I’ve seen in my life. I haven’t been to many places YET, but to end a trip to Almería by seeing the incredible landscape next to the vast Mediterranean Sea had me speechless. I had a hard time leaving because I could have just stood there all day to gaze upon such perfection! The rocks, the water, the setting sun, the warm sand, the mountains behind me; there’s nothing else I could have asked for that day! That time spent on the coastline will forever be a reminder of why I must continue to travel. It was a flawless end to an ideal trip.

Robben Island Cape Town was the epitome of my visit to Cape Town in 2013. I will go back.

One of the most recent life changing moments which has truly proven to shift the direction of my life that I didn’t expect prior was spending New Year’s Day on a motor boat with two other beautiful souls in Syracuse, Sicily. The light that glistened a silvery light onto the surface of the water from the over-cast sky changed me so, so much that I did not extend my teaching contract this semester in Rome, Italy and I’m well on my way to travel the seven seas, literally.

Earl, your blog posts are always a breath of fresh air to the soul. I’m very glad you’ve had many transcendent experiences while pursuing your passion. I too hope to have many more.

Hey Sergio – Seems like quite a powerful experience you had…anything that changes the course of our lives like that is something you will never forget I’m sure. Thanks for reading as always!

My moment probably came when I was in Barcelona and I had this overwhelming urge to stay there and learn Spanish. I wondered what I was actually doing with my life and worried that I couldn’t change it as rapidly as I would like.

This year I’m travelling for a year across Asia and Australia. I absolutely cannot wait. Reading about your adventures spurs me on through the fear of leaving my secure life behind.

Hella inspirational. Thanks for sharing and for continuing to challenge me to pursue a life of travel!

What a list, and pictures to match! The name of the game is inspiration. Norway and Yemen are definitely at the top of my list, and I love how you always include a location back in the States.

What a nice blog post, and such beautiful pictures. Thank you so much for the inspiration. I am also full time traveling, and places like the one you show in the post are the reason why I get up out of bed every day, to explore the world, motivated to discover and being amazed.

I always love places which are not easy to reach and make me feel like I am at the end of the world. For example Cape Reinga in New Zealand, or more recently Pantai Kerachut (turtle beach) in Malaysia. Other places that always gives me goosebumps, are the skylines of Tokyo and Yokohama. Getting introduced to Japan changed my life tremendously.

Great round up! There are some places that you can just never forget. Have to say the Bolivian Salt Flats was one for me. It is truly a surreal landscape, a photographers dream! Even though it was freezing cold and we’d been on a 3 day tour living on basic food supplies and cramped into the back of a 4X4 all day, finally arriving to the salt flats made it all worth it! Photos just can’t do this place justice.

Absolutely beautiful Earl. Exactly. It’s not just about the awesome photos or cool sights. It really does matter what it does to your soul when you are there. What period in your life… What about that place that speaks to you. For me, it was Pai in Thailand. 🙂

Great post man! Amazing places! Some of the pictures are breathtaking! I liked the picture of the Geirangerfjord in Norway and also loved the Fanning Island in Kirbati! They are paradises on earth! Simply amazing!:-)

Man am I glad you wrote this post. I obviously love meeting new people on my travels, but I do think natural landscapes captivate me a bit more. When I’m completely awestruck by something, it forces me to chill out a bit and really appreciate this life.

My two most recent life-changing places include the Kaçkar Mountains in northeastern Turkey, and being proposed to on top of a random mountain/volcano somewhere in Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland. Both were completely devoid of people (other than the ones I was with) and I remember feeling so calm, so content.

It sounds cheesy but this is post really is so inspiring ! I cannot wait to start travelling further afield again – Socotra Island looks almost other-worldy !

Cycling down a volcano in Bali has to be my favourite travelling moment, although forgetting to put an SD card in my camera is also one of my biggest regrets !

Fantastic post, I felt as if was traveling along with you as you described each of this amazing locations. I would have to say watching the sunrise on the summit of Haleakala, Hawaii was life changing to me. Another would be standing on a tiny bridge with my husband in Venice one evening just watching the gondolas glide by us in silence – pure joy!

So true that there are some moments in time that you certainly remember forever. One of ours would be watching the sun set in Porto, Portugal and deciding to live a nomadic lifestyle. A few months later we quit our jobs for good and now we’ve been on the road for nearly 8 months, loving every moment. Great post, thanks for sharing.

For me there are also a few significant travel experiences I’ve had that I feel have changed me forever. Wading through flood waters in Inle Lake in Burma, scuba diving and bbqing with newly made friends in Alexandria, Egypt, avoiding election curfew in Zimbabwe, riding motos through the Ugandan countryside… for some reason all of these experiences stand out in the same way you mentioned. There was a surreal and permanent change that took place through the experience of them. Travel is absolutely incredible 🙂

For me, Cambodia also holds a special place. It was when I fell in love with both traveling and Asia. And, now I live in Asia!

I really loved going on safari in Africa, especially in Namibia. I also have been affected by the Middle East, as I really love the culture, desert and people of the region.

Your posts on Yemen make me really want to go there.

ah i get so frustrated trying to explain this to people! once again you’ve summed it up perfectly! but the places that i feel changed my life were the plains of swaziland in africa – where i decided that travel photojournalism was what i wanted to do, and what i would do. and right here in australia – the cape byron lighthouse in byron bay – sitting with two new met backpackers and deciding that it doesn’t matter that everyone thinks I’m crazy and dreaming too big. if i say i want to travel, I’m going to travel. i think that lighthouse was the first time I’ve ever noticeably felt complete, and ever felt so happy.

Hey Miki – I know that lighthouse well myself…and congrats on your decision to turn travel into a lifestyle. Once you feel that moment of pure happiness, it’s hard to give up your goals at that point!

Hi Earl! I’ve been following your blog ever since you told me about your life long travel adventure siting next to me on that flight from London to Miami in mid-November, hope you remember me 🙂 We had a great time in Miami, and ate at some of the places you recommended!

Your blog is a real inspiration, and I have admired your thoughts, laughed with your funny stories and touched by your honesty! Although we never got around to write a blog ourselves while backpacking in Peru and Chile, I’ve started to write travel letters to family and friends. So who knows, maybe some day I will get around to write that blog.

We are now back home, and I’m already starting to get that itchy-feeling of “must get out there again”! In the meantime I will have the amazing experience of our recent trip. We visited some amazing places in Peru, but little can be compared to the feeling of crossing the Inti Punku (Sun Gate) of Macchu Picchu, after a four days of very though hiking, struggling with altitude, and getting the first glimpse of one of the New 7 Wonders of the world. Or hiking in Chilean Southern Patagonia. After several days of terribly bad weather, we arrived exhausted to the amazing Torres del Paine. So beautiful, so serene, so quiet, I felt in peace and united with the magnificent nature. It was a truly life-changing experience. Lofoten in Northern Norway is another place that made such an impact on me.

I agree that Geirangerfjorden and Table mountain are amazing. Great post!

Let me know if you ever come back to Norway/ Bergen 🙂

Hey Kathy – Of course I remember and I had no idea you were following the blog!

And that’s great to know that you had such a rewarding trip, so full of seemingly challenging but incredible experiences. I really do need to visit Macchu Picchu one of these days soon!

I shall let you know if I end up in Bergen at some point as well 🙂

Amazing post Earl! And definitely amazing places. Just one question, when you say you were more naive when you crossed that rickety foot bridge, do you mean naive for crossing it or in general younger and more naive? I’d definitely give it a try if I had the chance! Would you do it again?

Anyway, places that changed my life include sitting on that rock in cape Finisterre, Spain, after finishing the camino de Santiago…I believe I spent there a bit more than an hour just lost in my own head.

I hardly remember any names, but several Indonesian mountains. Just standing on top any of them and taking in the breathtaking view makes me wonder how sad I would have been if I hadn’t decided to travel!

Hey Mina – I just meant that I was more naive in general. I didn’t even hesitate those days to not only cross such a bridge, but to even enter that region, which was not the safest at the time. Would I do it all again? Absolutely! But I would probably take a longer time to think things through first at this point 🙂

Now you’ve mentioned Geirangerfjord I’m reminiscing about my own Scandinavian adventures, especially the journey up to Nordkapp through Finnish Lapland. Of course for solitude, the Mongolian steppe cannot be beaten. I have been lucky to spend quite some time in Mongolia and every time I got out of Ulaanbaatar I felt blessed to be alive in this incredible world. The wide open spaces with no trails, just rocky outcrops to navigate by and sit upon provided the perfect meditation. The central square in Bukhara, sipping tea and watching the world go by is another favourite. I used to have a rock in a valley near where I used to live just outside Nairobi. That’s where I dreamed my big dream. I thought of that rock the other day, but I don’t go there anymore (now I live inside Nairobi). I need to find another rock though …. to help me through this implementation of my big dream 🙂

Standing on a rocky outcrop on Isla Espanola in the Galapagos Islands, staring out at the sea & contemplating what an isolated location I was standing in. Had let the rest of my group go on ahead so I was all alone, apart from a bunch of marine iguanas sunbathing on the rocks around me, and some seals lazing on the beach below. I don’t want to get all deep & zen or anything, but it was almost a spiritual experience.

It’s great that even after people treated you poorly you can look on the bright side of things. There are so many places I want to go that I’m sure I don’t even know about yet. So far the most impact has come from hiking to Machu Picchu.

Amazing photos…thank you.

Places that changed who I am. Sitting on top of a Mayan temple at Coba, it seemed like I could see the edge of the world. Waking up in the jungle in El Remate, Guatemala and the drive to Tikal at sunrise. Driving the Amalfi coast winding up the hillside to the town of Ravello. Walking amongst the runs at Paestum in southern Italy and there is absolutely no one around. The Yucatan and the Caribbean Sea. Memories forever.

I look forward to all your posts but this one really resonated with me. And you’re absolutely right, some places (and people, also!) make an enormous impact at certain times in our lives. P.S. Beautiful photos, too!

“Dawn at the main square in Krakow, Poland” so true… I love everything about this city.

Earl, great travel spots!

I’ve spent the last 3 years living and working in some of the US’ most remote and isolated national parks, and traveling abroad. I recently moved back home, because the dream needs funds, but I would have to say that the most significant place I have ever been to is the island of Isle Royale, in the middle of Lake Superior. The least visited national park, but gets the most repeat visitors, because it changes the lives of everyone who visits. It was the place that brought me back from the deep, saved my life, and sent me back out to live in the world again. You should definitely visit it some time. nps.gov/isro

Hey Antonio – I shall definitely check that out…thanks for telling me about it!

Wow Kiribati looks amazing! Personally the places that impact me most are the deserts. Currently trying to decide which one to visit next 🙂

So great you went hiking in the Romanian Carpatian mountains, they’re absolutely gorgeous and definitely off the beaten path. I grew up climbing them and it’s one of my happy places

Hey Iulia – I would live up there in those mountains if I could!

Lovely write-up and pictures! Well, I’d love to go back to many places. There are quite a few that have inspired me, enriched me both as a person and as a traveler. I am a greedy traveler – I have so many places yet to see and so many places I want to go back to! I’d like to spend quality time in Rajasthan, Uttarakhan and Himachal Pradesh. I have already been to these places and would like to explore them even more deeply.

Some places just creep into the deepest corners of our soul. I agree with other comments before me, your photos are absolutely stunning, a real treat for internet travelers, and an inspiration to go out and explore.

I think that the place that made the biggest footprint on my soul is London. Even after living there a few years, I still used to pinch myself on bus as it drove past St Paul’s, past Parliament or along the Thames. I also became pregnant with my first child there, so that has probably helped forge an emotional attachment to the great city!

I would have to say Edinburgh, Scotland. Specifically performing in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in front of thousands of people. Being on the esplanade every night was a glorious feeling.

This is great, man. I know what you mean with those certain special places, the ones that imprint themselves on your memory so hard it feels like you’ll never forget what they looked and felt and smelt and sounded like.

My “I wanna do this forever!” moment was at a guesthouse just off the beach in Indonesia (Pantai Bira, Sulawesi) while I was talking to a Dutch couple that had lived in the country many years back.

My ‘spot’, though, was some mountainside in the Gokyo Valley in Nepal. Alone on a towering mountain with a commanding view of glaciers in the foreground and Everest in the back… it was one of the most amazing things.

Seeing your photos and reading about your experiences, though, reinforces that desire to get out and find new places to be amazed by too!

Love the pictures. I know the saying well of “it’s not about the destination but about the journey.” For me, it’s about both. I think it’s possible (and as I read, you do too) that a destination can change me or play a special part in shaping who we are. I remember so many beautiful, wonderful, exotic, different, and just plain okay places that gave me a new piece of myself. It’s a wonderful thing, this travel bug! Thanks for sharing!

Your beautiful post today is just another reason why I look forward to your updates.. Thank you Earl..

Thank you for reading Aleta!

What an incredible story and pictures! You are such an inspiration. My palms totally got sweaty looking at that rickety bridge in Pakistan. I’m not sure I would have been able to do it!

Hey Hilarye – Trust me, if you were standing at the start of that bridge and you had a chance to cross into the unbelievable mountains on the other side, you would have done it too.

Uluru in Australia it made me realise that I should see my own country (Australia) before seeing the world.

[…] out some blogs this morning, I read a great post from Wandering Earl (yes, another one) about the places around the world he shall never forget and how they changed him. I had prepared this quote for next week but his post made me decide to switch and share it with […]

Outside of Angkor Wat, you have quite a unique set of unforgettable places. And you are right, people are great, but they can sometimes really suck. I would pick Bako National Park in Borneo, Khao Yai National Park in Thailand, the Everglades in Florida, Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, any good cross-country ski trail with good snow, and the Lower Wisconsin River Valley in Wisconsin as some of my unforgettable places.

Hey Ted – That’s great to hear about Khao Yai as I’m including a few days inside that park during my Wandering Earl Tour to SE Asia that I’ll offer for later this year!

I loved NYC, White Sands and the Grand Canyon, Grindelwald in Switzerland and Santorini in Greece.

I won’t forget most of where we’ve been, what we’ve done, or who we’ve met, because all of these things shaped who we are and from where we’ve come. Alas, there are always very special things that constantly remain on the brain as a reminder of something simply life-changing and, frankly, fairly emotional.

Really nice post, sir!

Earl, Grand Canyon, Chichen Itza, Niagara Falls, Costa Rica, and many more. Puerto Vallarta, safest place I have ever been! Brian.

Since I started traveling, I’ve been vomited on, spit on and hissed at. I’ve been peed on, yelled at, chased down the road, pickpocketed, threatened, shoved and hit by a car. I’ve been ripped off, tricked, cheated and just absolutely screwed over.

You didn’t mention kidnapped and interrogated over a bullet. Unless those fall under the “absolutely screwed over” category 🙂

I’m so looking forward to experiencing some of these places in person!

Hey Michele – Good point…I guess I did just assume those fell into that category and wanted to give more general examples of unfortunate human interactions 🙂

Earl, you never fail to amaze. I get up in the morning, put on a pot of coffee, turn on some world music then check to see if my favorite travel blogger has left me something to whisk me away to far off places. I enjoy the prod you give to get my mind working. My body is home, but my thoughts soon soar with your guidance.

The list maker that I am, you immediately had me making notes of all the places in the world that made an impression on my psyche. Do you have all day? The nut shell version of where I was when experiencing a few of my many epiphany’s;

On top of a live volcano in Guatemala all night with it shooting lava up a hundred feet into the air, less than a hundred feet away from where I sat. It was like a 500 pound bomb going off every few minutes all night. Then came the sunrise, a full spectrum of colors from the horizon to straight up.

Looking down at the ultra marine blue waters from the ferry’s railing as it crossed into Greek waters from Italy, or out the train window in my “motherland” Germany as it passed the yellow mustard fields of Spring, both on my first solo backpack trip to Europe.

Looking up 18,000 feet while trekking to the summits of the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna from the Annapurna Circuit trail in the gorge between them.

Or, overlooking a burning pyre at night on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, India. The smell of the smoke and the only light coming from fire torches still sends chills up my spine.

Thanks Earl, for sending me off into memory land once again.

Hey Steve – That’s quite a short list! And I have a similar thing about Varanasi as well…it takes mere seconds for me to feel those chills whenever I think back to those ghats.

The Guatemala volcano must have been unreal…I’ve spent the past few minutes trying to imagine what that would be like but of course, it’s nothing like actually being there when you were.

That bridge looks terrifying! Was there a net underneath or can you just fall over?

Hey Michelle – No net at all. It’s a bridge used by locals to get to their sheep pastures on the other side of the river.

Loved the post!

I’ve had similar experiences while traveling. Right now, it comes to mind one moment, while standing on top of a sand dune at the desert of Rajasthan in India, there were only 2 more persons with me at the moment, not another soul around us for miles and miles and I was just there with a dumb smile in my face, knowing that this was it, one of the happiest moments of my life.

That bridge. Not me. Nope. Never.

Earl, I have been reading your blog and following your adventures for some time but have not yet provided a comment. Today I can’t help myself. Your post is incredible, and puts into words what I can not explain to people with regards to my endless need to travel and experience. Pictures of places regularly take me back to the feelings I experienced while there. Places that evokes strong feeling that immediately pop to mind include The Bayon, Angkor, Cambodia; Karnak Temple, Egypt; Taktsang Monastery, Bhutan; and Angel’s Landing, Zion, Utah. Thanks for transporting me away from my day job and back to these places – if only for a moment.

@mintsmoothie: Thank you for commenting and I’m glad that you managed to have a mini-vacation in the middle of your work day 🙂

Not a bad list of special places you have there either!

This is such a great post! I love hearing about how travel affects people! 1988 we went backpacking through Turkey. Back then, no Americans would go because of the movie Midnight Express:-). We went to Goreme in Cappadocia for about a week. Just incredible! We stayed in a cave and walked through the canyons and hoodoo homes, ate great Turkish food, and visited tons of archeological and historic sites. It was awesome! Then, off to Olo Dinez beach- we chose it because we saw a poster in a shop and asked where it was. We slept in a shack for a week, laid on the beach, swam, and ate great Turkish food. We will always love Turkey and the Turkish people- it changed our lives!

Hey Patrick, should be waiting for Earl to respond but I remembered he wrote about this and I dug out the post for you: https://www.wanderingearl.com/how-does-a-permanent-nomad-pack/

Amazing Earl! I think it’s extra special when the people and the place take equal seating in the experience. When the elements come together it’s truly unforgettable!

I’d say some of the sights in New Zealand and Egypt are the ones that truly stick with me the most. I can’t wait to get to Asia one day.

This post just took my breath away. The notion that it is possible to come away from places just a little different inside is what moves me to travel. Some people connect with people. I connect with places. And you illustrated beautifully in this post that incredible exchange of energy that we can have with a particular location. I call these places my “heart” places because I think I leave a little piece of my heart in each one. Thank you so much for sharing this post.

For all the flack you give yourself in taking crappy photos, these are pretty good! It’s funny, isn’t it, how the intersection of time in your life and the place you find yourself in the world can come together in such a meaningful way like this. Lovely post, Earl.

Hey Sam – That’s what I’m talking about and I love how that can turn any moment in time into a memorable moment and any place, regardless of where it may be, into one of the most special locations on the planet.

I have been reading your blog for a while and love it. I am thinking of doing some traveling by back pack and wondered if you had a list of the basics to take to keep things light and the travel fun.

Thanks so much John Starr

Hey John – I would link to the same post that Forest linked to below: https://www.wanderingearl.com/how-does-a-permanent-nomad-pack/

Hope that helps!

Wow Earl, I am at a lack of words as to how this article is making me feel. Enchanted is the word, I guess, It’s as if I’ve just teleported to each and every one of the photos above. This is why I like reading your blog so much, the read is a trip of it’s own.

So happy to see you’ve mentioned Table Mountain, as I’ve lived right next to it for a couple of months and still can’t put it’s beauty into words.

As to your question, What I’ll never forget is swiftly seeing a humpback whale while diving in rural Mozambique. It wasn’t the whale alone, but the whole lifestyle I found myself in; untouched nature, a culture hidden from the world, life in its rawest form.

Thanks for sharing these moments Earl. Your life is an inspiration to us aiming full throttle at this nomadic life.

Hey Ruan – Not only is it excellent that you lived so close to Table Mountain, but that you still appreciated it despite seeing it every day. It sure does offer one of the most beautiful views on the planet.

Dawn at the main square in Krakow, Poland, no one about but me….

Lauterbrünnen, Switzerland…and the waterfalls that fall above the main street. I remember wishing I could just stay and read a good book.

Moloka’i…..anyone who has been there knows what I mean.

Hallstatt, Austria……a true fairy tale

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28 Beautiful Travel Words that Describe Wanderlust Perfectly

Describe your travels with these unique and beautiful travel words from different languages around the world.

I love travelling and I love languages, so imagine my excitement when I came across a treasure trove of travel words and wanderlust synonyms that describe how we feel before, during, and after we travel. 

Just like a photo can’t fully capture what it feels like to stand on the edge of a fjord , neither can ‘wanderlust’ fully express how we feel when we crave our next adventure. These travel words are literary gems which have been gathered from languages around the world. From Japanese to Swedish , Latin to Greek , travel brochures of the future will be peppered with travel words like of resfeber , livsnjutare, and coddiwomple .

Wanderlust meaning

As you’ll see in the list below, every language has its own variation of how it explains and defines what wanderlust is. In English, wanderlust means to have a strong desire for or impulse to travel, wander and explore the world.

Learn a language from home

During these times it can be bittersweet to think about travelling when we have to stay at home and practice social distancing, let this list of wanderlust-filled words inspire you to a learn a language from home and prepare yourself for your next trip. Being travel fluent is the best way to enrich your travel experiences.

Without further ado, here are 28 beautiful travel words you should slip into your vocabulary. When you’re done, take and look at this collection of inspirational travel quotes . I’d love to hear which ones are your favourites in the comment section below.

Table of Contents

• Eleutheromania
• Quaquaversal
• Schwellenangst
• Strikhedonia
• Livsnjutare
• Novaturient
• Coddiwomple

1. Resfeber  (n.)

Origin: Swedish

Definition: The meaning of resfeber refers to the restless race of the traveller’s heart before the journey begins when anxiety and anticipation are tangled together.

It’s that moment just after you buy your plane tickets and excitement and fear floods in all at once, creating a mixture of emotions that make you feel anxious or physically ill.

For more inspiration, don’t miss my guide to cool gifts for language learners and the best travel accessories and travel gadgets here.

2. Sonder (v.)

Origin: Unknown

Definition: The realisation that each passerby is living a life as complex as your own.

The full definition, taken from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows reads:

[Sonder is] the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries, and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

I often feel this way when I pass groups of strangers, speaking a language that is completely foreign to me, and realise just how incredibly big the world is. We all have a life that is full of different connections, memories and possibilities. That’s sonder.

The internet suggests this may not be a real word, either way, the concept is beautiful.

3. Solivagant (adj.)

Origin: Latin

Definition: Wandering alone. A solitary adventurer who travels or wanders the globe.

Not all those who wander are lost, but all those who wander alone are definitely solivagants . From the Latin word solivagus , meaning lonely or solitary, solivagant describes anyone who enjoys meandering around new countries, alone, in order to take it all in.

4. Fernweh (n.)

Origin: German

Definition: This German word,means an ache to get away and travel to a distant place, a feeling  even stronger than wanderlust. If wanderlust wasn’t poetic enough for you, allow me to present fernweh , a German word that literally translates to “distance-sickness.”

While someone with wanderlust might sit at home and happily fantasise about all the places they might visit, someone with fernweh would feel a deeper sense of longing, a sort of homesickness but for foreign lands.  For me, it’s wanting to be back in Rome . Fernweh is one of most those beautiful untranslatable words I’ve ever come across.

Carry this beautiful word with you with my Fernweh T-Shirt available in men’s and ladies styles and black or white. Buy it here.

5. Sehnsucht (n.)

Definition: A wistful longing and yearning in the heart for travels past and future.

One author translated it as the “ inconsolable longing in the human heart for we know not what .” Another compared it to “ a longing for a far-off country, but not one which we could identify.”

When you return from travelling and wish you could do it all over again and experience every moment like it was the first.

6. Eleutheromania (n.)

Origin: Greek

Definition: An intense and irresistible desire for freedom.

We all want to be free, and travelling shows us how the freedom in the lives of others that is different from our own. Eleutheromania describes a person who has a strong desire and obsession for freedom.

7. Cockaigne (n.)

Origin: French , Middle French

Definition: An imaginary land of luxury and idleness.

Every destination seem like a wonderland or cockaigne before you set foot there and see it for yourself.

The term c ockaigne ” comes from the Middle French phrase pais de cocaigne, which literally means “the land of plenty.” The word was first popularised in a 13th-century French poem that is known in English as “The Land of Cockaigne.”

8. Quaquaversal (adj.)

Definition: Moving or happening in every direction instantaneously.

This perfectly describes my state when I’m in a new place and want to see and do everything at once.

9. Dérive (n)

Origin: French

Definition: A spontaneous and unplanned journey where the traveller leaves their life behind allows themselves to be guided by the landscape and architecture.

Literally translated as “drift”,  dérive is the idea that even if you drift you will end up on the right path. This could describe life in general, but it also describes small journeys. When you’re wandering through a new city and you just happen to wander on a path that takes you to great discoveries.

10. Ecophobia (n.)

Origin: English

Definition: This word came into English word via Greek and means a fear or dislike of one’s home.

I don’t dislike my home, but recently I can’t stop thinking about going back to Lofoten, Norway.

11. Numinous (adj.)

Definition: A powerful feeling of both fear and fascination, of being in awe and overwhelmed by what is before you.

Originally, this word refers to having a strong religious or spiritual quality; but it can also be used to describe how you feel when you see things that are so beautiful that you realise how wonderful the world is and the small part you play in it.   Hiking Trolltunga was a numinous moment for me.

12. Schwellenangst (n.)

Definition: Fear of crossing a threshold to begin a new chapter.

From s chwelle (“threshold”) and a ngst (“anxiety”), this word explains that feeling you get before deciding to set out on a new journey. Argh! Did I make the right decision?

13. Strikhedonia (n.)

Definition: The pleasure of being able to say “to hell with it”.

Another personal favourite word on this list. Not only is it the joy I feel, but the freedom to be able to say “to hell with it” and book that next trip and embark on your next adventure.

14. Vagary (v.)

Definition: A whimsical or roaming journey.

From Latin, vagārī meaning “ to roam”, is an unpredictable idea, desire or action to travelling without knowing the destination, and not caring.

15. Livsnjutare (n)

Definition: Literally meaning, “enjoyer of life”, this describes a person who loves life deeply and lives it to the extreme.

If you’re reading this, that’s probably you!  Need more inspiration?

16. Commuovere (v.)

Origin: Italian

Definition: To stir, to touch, to move to tears.

Just like the euphoric emotions I felt whilst whale watching.

17. Sturmfrei (adj.)

Definition: The freedom of being alone and being able to do what you want.

Literally translating to “stormfree”, this describes the freedom of not being watched by others and being alone in a place where you have the freedom and ability to do what you want.

Another great German word. Travelling solo can be especially rewarding because you have complete control. No compromises, no one else to please. Just you and the big wide world.

18. Saudade (n.)

Origin: Portuguese

Definition: This Portuguese word describes the emotional state of nostalgia and longing for someone or something distant. S audade  was once described as “the love that remains” after someone is gone.

Saudade  is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events that brought excitement and happiness but now triggers the senses and makes one live again.

19. Yūgen (n.)

Origin: Japanese

Definition: A profound and mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe.

An awareness of the Universe that triggers emotional responses too deep and powerful for words.

20. Acatalepsy (n.)

Definition: The impossibility of comprehending the universe.

Henry Miller said “ One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. ” Do we ever really understand the world and what we see on our  travels,  and how they mould us? Sometimes, if at all, it takes time to discover how these things change our lives.

21. Trouvaille (n.)

Definition: A chance encounter with something wonderful.

Whether it’s stumbling across a hidden back street, a quaint cafe, or connecting with a local, trouvaille describes those magical moments we experience in our journeys. 

22. Hygge (n.)

Origin: Danish

Definition: Pronounced hue-guh , hygge describes the warm feeling you get while enjoying the company of great friends and all life has to offer.

Hygge is the conscious appreciation of recognising everything you have and enjoying to the present moment.

23. Onism (n.)

Definition: The world is a big place as not everyone will get to see it. Onism describes understanding that we’ll never get to see it all. It’s the frustration of being stuck in just one body that can only inhabit one place at a time. I felt this way before going to Copenhagen !

Similar to the Swedish word ‘resfeber’, onism describes the feeling of knowing that you’ll never be able to see it all. They say that the more you travel, the harder it gets to stay in one place.

24. Novaturient (adj.)

Definition: A desire to change and alter your life.

This was exactly how I felt when I quit my job and moved to Rome . There was this strong urge that pulled me towards my dream of pursuing a life of speaking Italian and travelling. I knew I  wouldn’t be living my life if I didn’t go.

25. Yoko meshi (n.)

Definition: This untranslatable gem describes the stress of speaking a foreign language .

The Japanese word ‘meshi’ literally means ‘boiled rice’ and ‘yoko’ means ‘horizontal,’ together it means ‘a meal eaten sideways.’ The Japanese have created a beautiful way of describing the unique kind of stress you experience when speaking a foreign language. Furthermore, ‘yoko’ also references the fact that Japanese is normally written vertically, whereas most foreign languages are written horizontally. Clever, right?

Related: 69 Wonderful Japanese Expressions That Will Brighten Your Day

26. Selcouth (adj.)

Origin: Old English

Definition: When everything you see and experience is unfamiliar and strange, yet you find it marvellous anyway.

It’s that feeling you get when you travel to a foreign land and food, culture, customs, or language, is strange and different to everything you’ve experienced before, yet you love it and find it fascinating.

27. Eudaimonia (n.)

Definition: A state of being happy whilst travelling and everything feels great.

That intense excitement and appreciation when you travel and everything feels great. Seeing the Northern Lights was one of the best experiences of my life, a feeling I won’t forget.

28. Coddiwomple (v.)

Origin: English slang

Definition: To travel purposefully towards an unknown destination.

A brilliant word, coddiwomple is when you have a vague idea of your destination within a care for how long it takes to arrive. A great example is when you go hiking, you know you’ll eventually reach the summit, but every part of the trail along the way is just as beautiful.    Like the time I hiked Norway’s Trolltunga.

If you enjoyed these words, then let wordsmiths Stephen King, Mark Twain and the Dalai Lama transport you around the world with these inspirational travel quotes or start using some of the beautiful untranslatable words from other languages.

Want to know more about learning languages? Start here!

• 18 Unexpected Advantages & Health Benefits of Learning A Foreign Language
• The World’s Most Beautiful Untranslatable Words from Around the World: The Ultimate List A-Z
• 13 Ways to Seamlessly Integrate Language Learning into Your Daily Life
• What Type of Language Learner Are You? Your 4-Step Personalised Learning Plan
• 15 Top Language Learning Resources You Should Use
• 7 Reasons Why You Should Go on a Language Holiday
• 11 Life-Changing Reasons Why You Should Learn a Language
• How to Learn Your First Foreign Language in 8 Simple Steps: A Beginner’s Guide
• 42 beautiful Inspirational Quotes for Language Learners
• Language learning tips: 11 Polyglots Reveal The Secrets of Their Success
• Top 10 Best Ways to Learn a Language Better and Faster
• How to Learn Italian Before Your Trip
• Free Travel Phrase Guides
• How a ‘Potato’ improved my French Pronunciation
• How Many Languages are there in the World?
• Hilarious Idiomatic Expressions that Will Brighten Your Day
• 78 FREE Dictionaries to Learn a Language Fast [Free eBook Download]
• 22 KEY Travel Phrases That Will Transform Your Travels [Free Guide]

Over to you!

Which one of these travel words do you identify with the most? What others would you add? Let me know using the comments section below or join me on social media to start a conversation.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post.

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Michele creates language learning guides and courses for travel. What separates her from other instructors is her ability to explain complex grammar in a no-nonsense, straightforward manner using her unique 80/20 method. Get her free guide 9 reasons you’re not fluent…YET & how to fix it! Planning a trip? Learn the local language with her 80/20 method for less than the cost of eating at a tourist trap restaurant Start learning today!

Italian Cognates & Loanwords: 17 Rules to Expand Your Vocabulary + FREE PDF

124 inspirational travel quotes that’ll make you want to travel in 2022, 12 comments.

Amazing list! One word I’d add is the Dutch word “gezellig” or “gezelligheid” – similarly to hygge, it describes a feeling of warmth/comfort/coziness/quaintness in certain settings or around certain people.

Thank you so much for sharing this Heba. So interesting to learn that Dutch has a similar word 🙂

This is such a fun article! Love these words and phrases!

Glad to hear it! Thank you so much, Eric 🙂

So many of these describe me or my feelings about seeing the world. But, if I had to pick one, the one that best describes how I choose my destinations would be “selcouth”. I so want to be a stranger in a strange land. To have my belief that there is no such thing as “normal” affirmed again and again and over again.

What a beautiful word. Thanks for sharing, Janet 🙂

Thanks Michele what a wonderful list of inspirational words. It nearly made me cry as I realised that I suffer from acute eleutheromania! ha

Thanks Juliana 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed this list. Eleutheromania? I know how you feel hehe

Unique list i must say – If you want to add one more word than check this !

In Hindi language (India) traveler called as “Musafir”

thanks Niraj 🙂

Thanks for sharing this! Really enjoyed it a lot ❤

Thanks Donah, I’m so glad you enjoyed it 😉

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Virtual Wandering Around The World With Us

June 19, 2021 • TravelOpel Admin

1. Sunset in Lofoten - Norway

From @xxlofoten

2. The sounds of nature, Switzerland is simply beautiful and unique

From @switzerland_by_marc

3. How beautiful is this Blue nemophila field? Hitachi Seaside Park - Japan

From @1min.traveller

4. Sicily - Italy is simply gorgeous

From @alexpreview

5. Cheers to summer, who’s excited to travel this summer? At Santorini - Greece

From @_letstravel_

6. Rose garden in South Korea, how beautiful

From @yoon_the_road

7. Moss covered rocks in Arizona, a little bit slip but beautiful anyway

From @cbezerraphotos

8. This palm-sized sugar glider is native to the forests of Indonesia, Australia and Papua New Guinea

From @thisisanimalsworld

9. A perfect day for camping. Would you sleep in a tent like this?

From @hazeloakfarms

10. A new dawn in Shanghai, China

From goodboy2038 via TikTok

11. An enchanting sunset at Cabo, Mexico. Would you ever visit Mexico?

From @sofiazambrano

12. Summer vibes in Southern California. Would you and your doggo do this?

From @stylwire

13. Desert adventures in Dubai, enjoy every moment

From @waelzz00

14. These drone skills are next level around this incredible Villa at Cape Town, South Africa

From @celiasmith

15. An epic road under water in China. Would you drive across this flooded road? At Poyang Lake, China

From @geomorphological_landscapes

16. Rate footage of Migaloo, the famous albino humpback whale around Great Barrier Reef

From @greenislandcairns

17. Cape Town vibes

18. Greece is opening up! Who’s going with this summer??

From @flylikebuttterfly

19. Skating from an empty Times Square, New York. Have you even seen Times Square this empty?

From @jerometraveller / @gabriel.desanti

20. Me and my friends walking into the weekend like...

From @lilypolda

21. Have you ever seen such a colorful snake? Not a fan but this is amazing

From @jayprehistoricpets

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The art of wandering: share your stories of walking in cities

What have you discovered from exploring cities on foot, and what does urban walking mean to you? Share your memories and experiences here

Urban walking can be an act of exploration, exercise, political protest, practicality or discovery. There is no better way to get to know a city than to tread its streets, wander between the buildings and stroll aimlessly.

The Situationist International movement , founded in 1957 and spearheaded by French theorist Guy Debord, was based on the concept of “psychogeography” – the study of the emotional effects of physical environments. Their recommended psychogeographical walks, known as dérives (drifts), involved exploring the city by foot ruled only by your emotional mood and which direction it pulled you in. People have been going on, and writing about, psychogeographical walks ever since – from Will Self to Iain Sinclair .

But, as Lauren Elkin writes in her book Flâneuse: Women Walk the City , “the roots of what [psychogeographers] do lie in a 19th-century phenomenon – the flâneur, a figure of privilege and leisure, with the time and money to amble around the city at will. He is both stimulated and agitated by the buzz and hum of the city, the crowd; he is both part of and separate from the urban spectacle, both actor and observer.”

Urban walking isn’t always about pleasure, though. Charles Dickens explored the noctural experience of London on foot in his essay Night Walks . Suffering from insomnia, too distressed to sleep, he would wander the city streets at night, discovering some of the darker, bleaker sides of the city.

“Cities have always offered anonymity, variety, and conjunction, qualities best basked in by walking,” wrote Rebecca Solnit in her fantastic book about the act and art of walking, Wanderlust . “Walking the streets is what links up reading the map with living one’s life ... It makes sense of the maze all around.” Solnit also describes how walking leaves us free to think “without being wholly lost in our thoughts”.

In many parts of the world, the rise of the car and digital communications has rendered it less necessary to walk around cities. Some places, particularly in the US, are so car-dominated that people give you strange looks if you choose to walk. But by losing the appreciation of walking, are we letting go of an important experience?

Whether you stroll around your own city or explore others by foot, share your experiences of urban walking around the world. Does a wander through the streets soothe you – or induce stress? What have you unexpectedly discovered on city rambles? Have you used walking as an act of protest – or has a daydreaming stroll sparked creativity?

Share your experiences, stories and pictures of walking around cities below, and we’ll feature some of the contributions on Guardian Cities .

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The real story behind the world’s ‘wandering rocks’

Creating surreal-looking scenes, these glacial erratics inspire legends but also offer scientists clues about climate change over millennia.

Ever come across a rock that looked strangely out of place? The odds are good that it’s a glacial erratic, transported by an ice flow and left somewhere else when melting occurred, in some cases hundreds of miles away from the original location.

Erratics can range from palm-size pebbles to boulders as big as houses. They rest in fields, on mountainsides, and under the sea. But these wandering rocks—like the one pictured, near Ingleborough mountain, in England ’s Yorkshire Dales—stand out from their surroundings.

( Discover the forgotten fossil hunter who transformed Britain’s Jurassic Coast .)

Their lithology, or physical composition, can be different from the bedrock where they landed, often making for scenes so surprising that they’ve become draws for travelers and the focus of local legends.

But the rocks themselves tell stories, and for scientists who know how to read the landscape, erratics can reveal clues to the movement of Earth’s frozen expanses over the course of many millennia.  

“They led to the discovery of much more extensive glaciation, continental glaciation, what we now call the Ice Age,” says Edward Evenson, a glaciologist at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.  

As today’s glaciers melt and retreat, future erratics will likely tell the story of human-caused climate change too.

This story appears in the May 2021 issue of National Geographic magazine.

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The Wandering Earth: why you need to see China’s latest sci-fi blockbuster

The Wandering Earth is the world's highest-grossing film so far in 2019. Image:  REUTERS/Stringer

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As China demonstrated its space credentials by landing a lunar probe on the far side of the moon in January 2019, a science fiction movie was hitting mainland cinemas that could also redefine China’s credentials as a maker of global cinema.

The Wandering Earth, directed by Frant Gwo is the world’s highest-grossing film so far in 2019 with box office takings of almost US$700m at last count – mainly from China itself. The film is based on the novela of the same title, written in 2000 by Chinese science-fiction author Liu Cixin, about Earth’s migration to a new solar system to escape annihilation.

Liu was at the forefront of Chinese science fiction in the 1980s, an era where China reconnected with the world after its long internal political struggles of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and the 1970s. Liu’s first full-length novel China2185, written in 1989, combines a utopian futuristic vision with critical commentary on the social and political issues facing China. China2185 was never officially published but it was distributed free via multiple online reading platforms and is considered by critics as the foundation novel for Chinese science fiction.

Liu has continued to write and publish stories which share similar ideas, a vision for a better world through scientific fantasy. These novels include The Devil’s Bricks (2002), The Era of Supernova (2003), Ball Lightning (2004) and The Three-Body Problem trilogy. The latter trilogy, which was given rave reviews by both Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg , was adapted as a screenplay for a film under the same title, but has yet to see the light of day. Amazon also reportedly has plans for a three-part, US$1 billion TV series.

Have you read?

Two charts that explore china's digital dividend, berlin festival aims for gender equality with half of films by women, this is china's ai female news anchor.

Liu won a fistful of awards including the 2015 Hugo Award for best novel for the English translation of The Three-Body Problem trilogy and the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society as well as various nominations.

Love letter

Clarke is one of Liu’s idols, as well as George Orwell – who, he said: “showed me that science fiction can reflect and critique reality from an angle that does not exist in mainstream literature”. His great filmic influences include Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), James Cameron’s Terminator 2 (1991), and Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (2014).

Liu’s Wandering Earth is meant as a love letter – not only to his literary and cinematic idols but also his ideal of humanity. But the film is also a demonstration to a global audience what the modern Chinese film industry can achieve. It is an epic on the scale that can comfortably compete with Hollywood blockbusters, the first real break-out success for China’s sci-fi industry after several failures, including Future X-Cops (2010) or Bleeding Steel (2017) neither of which made a mark internationally .

The film was released on February 5, 2019 – the New Year holiday in China – and was marketed as emblematic of national pride. Catching up with Hollywood has long been a state-driven ambition for the Chinese film industry – which has been given the hopeful tag of “ Huallywood ”. It’s a massive production – a total budget of $50m involving more than 7,000 cast and crew. Special effects and post-production featured international companies such as Base FX, Bottleship VFX, Dexter Studios, Macrograph, More VFX, Pixomondo and Black Nomad and the end product has a similar look to films such as Gravity (2013) or The Martian (2015). It’s a story of growing confidence and sophistication among Chinese filmmakers.

Manifesto for a new China

It’s also a story which reflects China’s growing geopolitical importance. Earth faces annihilation at the hands of an ageing and rapidly expanding sun. A United Earth Government takes the decision to propel the planet to another system by using enormous thrusters running on fusion power built across the planet but coordinated by China – now the dominant global power. China’s leadership qualities are encapsulated in a sequence where a speech delivered by a Chinese schoolgirl turns global despondency about the dangers of the mission into hope for the future.

Like so many Hollywood sci-fi movies in the past have promoted American values, the film delivers a manifesto of Chinese exceptionalism. Only China has engineers capable in solving this complex problem. Only China has the will and the leadership to see the world through a crisis so huge that even the artificial intelligence that has been harnessed to help has told the rest of the world to just give up. I will leave it to you to draw your own conclusions about the message this aims to deliver about global crises faced by our own world today.

As well as China itself, the film has been released in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand where it is doing brisk box office . A UK theatrical release date has yet to be announced, but Netflix has acquired the film’s global digital rights (apart from China). It will be a chance for non-Chinese audiences to get a feel for the sort of themes that mainstream film audiences are used to now in China, themes that reflect a new world order that is developing at an ever-more rapid pace.

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Just arrived? Why not wander around the streets of Paris for a while?

Wander around

To wander around is to move around a place in a casual, aimless manner

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“Wander around.” This is a great phrasal verb to know.

To wander around is to move around a place in a casual, aimless manner. When you wander around, you don’t have a specific direction or purpose. You’re moving at a leisurely pace. You’re not looking at your watch. You’re not on a deadline. You don’t have a planned route.

When you wander around, the goal, the purpose is the movement, the exploration, the discovery; there’s no destination. And the key with “wander around” is that it’s a physical place. You can’t “wander around” a website. If you use “wander around,” you have to refer to a physical place.

When I travel, I often go to cities. And when I get to a new city, I always take some time on the first day to just wander around. I just did this in Oaxaca, a city in the south of Mexico. My flight got there around noon. I settled into my room. And then I wandered around for a few hours.

I walked around leisurely. I let my curiosity be my guide. I didn’t follow a route. I didn’t look at a map. I didn’t have a destination in mind. The whole goal, the whole purpose, was to walk wherever my curiosity took me. That’s “wander around.”

Often in the movies—does this happen in real life? I’m not sure—anyway, in the movies, if someone has a lot on their mind, they often wander around their own city at night. They walk around the streets—not with a destination in mind, but just for the sake of walking. I don’t do that. If I have a lot on my mind and I can’t sleep, I just toss and turn for hours. Maybe I should wander around a little bit to clear my head.

You can wander around inside, too. I like to wander around a bookstore. Bookstores are designed for people to wander around. There are so many sections. There are special displays. There are places to sit. There’s always something to discover. If you like to read, you can wander around the bookstore for a few minutes or a few hours. You go from here to there, you stop, you read a little, you let your eyes scan the shelves, you walk slowly, you go back and check something you saw before. This is wander around.

When I go shopping—if it’s not for books—I’m an in-and-out kind of a shopper. I don’t like to wander around the mall . It stresses me out. I want an objective. I want to go the store I need to go to. I want to get my stuff. And then I want to leave. I don’t like to wander around the mall.

But the mall was built for wandering, it was built for people who do like to wander around. There are lots of corridors. The escalators lead you to new places. There are fountains and food courts and entertainment and special displays. Every store has something different. If you like shopping, you might like to wander around the mall—you might even wander around for a few hours and not buy anything. Not my kind of entertainment, but maybe it’s yours.

You can wander around an office. If you work in a big office, you can walk up and down the corridors, go to different floors, chat with people, network. I just finished the Walter Isaacson biography of Elon Musk. And the book talks about how Musk likes to wander around the Tesla and SpaceX factories, talking to the engineers. He wanders around—he casually goes from place to place, talking to his employees.

Where else can you wander around? You can wander around a museum. If it’s a small museum, I like to go in order, I want a strategy. I’ll go room to room. But sometimes if the museum is really big, I like to wander around…to walk around without a strategy or plan.

You can wander around a park, a playground, or a zoo. I told you about my trip to Oaxaca. I went to the botanic gardens there. Typically, you can wander around the botanic gardens. But this one was different. This was a guided tour. You have to follow the path; you have to follow the tour guide. You’re not allowed to wander around.

See you next time!

And that is all for today’s Plain English. Nice job, you’ve got a new expression, a new phrasal verb to use. And you can practice using it, too, and get direct, personal, human feedback from me if you want to. It’s all at PlainEnglish.com. Right on the page with the transcript of this episode, there’s a practice area. You just write a sentence using “wander around,” and I’ll read it and give you feedback. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly in there, too.

The transcript part is free. The personal feedback on your writing is one of the benefits of Plain English Plus+. Make all your mistakes right there, in the web site, so that when you go out in the real world, you’re equipped, you’re confident, you’re prepared to use “wander around” and the hundreds of other expressions at PlainEnglish.com

That’s all for today. We’ll be back on Thursday with part two of today’s story. See you then.

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Americans arrested in Congo amid accusations of coup attempt

An army spokesperson told state television that a coup attempt Sunday had been swiftly stopped by Congolese security forces.

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said Sunday they had arrested several foreigners who were allegedly involved in a thwarted coup attempt after a shootout in the capital left three people dead.

The short official statements did little to address questions raised by the apparently amateur tactics of the alleged plotters and their ease in accessing one of Congo’s most secure sites.

Congolese army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Sylvain Ekenge told state television in a brief statement that the coup attempt had been swiftly stopped by Congolese security forces.

The U.S. ambassador tweeted that she had received reports that U.S. citizens were involved, and local media published footage of two men under arrest, their hands clasped pleadingly, with pictures of a passport that indicated one was a 36-year-old U.S. citizen born in Maryland. Media reports indicated that three other Americans were also arrested. The reports could not be independently confirmed.

“I am shocked by the events of this morning and very concerned by reports of American citizens allegedly involved,” Ambassador Lucy Tamlyn tweeted in French. “… We will cooperate with DRC authorities to the fullest extent as they investigate these criminal acts and hold accountable any U.S. citizen involved.”

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Congo is home to nearly 100 million people, and endemic corruption and repeated civil wars mean most people live in desperate poverty despite the central African nation’s mineral riches, which include gold, copper, nickel and cobalt — vital for the world’s green energy transition.

Parliamentary leadership elections were supposed to be held over the weekend, but they were postponed by President Félix Tshisekedi. He won a second term in a chaotic December vote that was widely criticized for poor planning and a lack of transparency.

The three deaths reportedly occurred at the residence of Vital Kamerhe — a member of parliament previously jailed for corruption but now running to become speaker — which was allegedly attacked before the presidential palace.

“Two of the police officers assigned to his guard, as well as one of the attackers, lost their lives,” Kamerhe’s spokesman Michel Moto Muhima posted on X.

The coup attempt appears to have been led by Christian Malanga , a 41-year-old man who set up a political organization among the Congolese diaspora in the United States and proclaimed himself president of Congo in exile. Congolese intelligence suspected him of previously trying to assassinate President Joseph Kabila, said Dino Mahtani, who has held senior positions for the United Nations in Congo; Kabila was president from 2001 to 2019.

Mahtani said Congolese intelligence had previously told him that Malanga was a former U.S. military officer of Congolese origin; Malanga himself posted online that he had been an Air Force junior ROTC cadet and had led a Congolese military unit. The Washington Post was not immediately able to verify those claims.

Later Sunday, Ekenge, the army spokesman, told the Associated Press that the suspected coup leader, Christian Malanga, was killed at the presidential palace after he resisted arrest by guards.

One of the Americans arrested had a passport in the name of Benjamin Zalman-Polun, according to Congolese television. His social media profiles described him as an American cannabis entrepreneur. In 2014, Zalman-Polun pleaded guilty before a court in Washington to possessing and conspiring to distribute less than 50 kilos of marijuana, court documents showed. A 2022 article in Africa Intelligence connected Zalman-Polun to Malanga’s gold business in Mozambique.

In videos posted on Malanga’s Facebook page and other social media earlier Sunday, men in military uniforms can be seen wandering somewhat aimlessly around the presidential palace, taking down flags, chanting “New Zaire” and filming themselves waving weapons and swearing. There are at least two White men wearing masks. At one point, an American accent off camera says, “It’s jammed”; at another point, someone says in English, “Felix, we’re coming for you n-----” — a racist slur rarely used in Congo.

In most of the videos posted online, the men do not hold their weapons ready; one is leaning against a wall. There is no sign of resistance — or a plan. In another video, a man presumed to be Malanga screams, “Felix, you’re out” while armed men behind him check their phones or adjust their berets before producing a flag associated with Zaire, the country’s former name.

The amateur nature of the coup attempt and the way the group of men were able to access one of Kinshasa’s most heavily guarded government sites with so little resistance provoked many questions among Congo watchers.

“Obviously, Malanga has been used by somebody,” Mahtani said. “There’s many people unhappy with the president inside the Congo and ambitious powers outside the Congo who want him removed — and a lot of it connects to resource ambitions, including gold.”

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The annual eBird taxonomy update IS NOW UNDERWAY . Work will still go on in the background for the next few weeks to update existing checklists, update maps etc., but the revised taxonomy should start to appear as you enter new checklists. It is worth having a look at some of the Australian species that are being split with the latest 2023 update.

Lesser Sand-Plover ( Charadrius mongolus ) is split into:

• Siberian Sand-Plover ( Anarhynchus mongolus )
• Tibetan Sand-Plover ( Anarhynchus atrifrons )

Siberian Sand-Plover is the expected former subspecies that migrates to Australia.

Tibetan Sand-Plover  is a possible vagrant to northwest Australia.

The bigger bird in the back and on the left is an Australian Tern, the smaller bird in the front and on the right is a Gull-billed Tern.

Gull-billed Tern ( Gelochelidon nilotica ) is split into:

• Gull-billed Tern ( Gelochelidon nilotica )
• Australian Tern ( Gelochelidon macrotarsa )

Australian Tern is a resident species in Australia.

Royal Albatross ( Diomedea epomophora ) is split into:

• Northern Royal Albatross ( Diomedea sanfordi )
• Southern Royal Albatross ( Diomedea epomophora )

Both species are regularly observed in Australian waters, being most frequently seen off the south-east coast from Sydney to Port Macdonnell, with occasional sightings further north along the east coast and further west as far as south-west Western Australia.

Distinguishing between the two taxa can be challenging at times, but subtle differences in wing plumage allow for the confident identification of most birds with good enough views.

Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans ) is split into:

• Snowy Albatross ( Diomedea exulans ) (formerly “Wandering Albatross (Snowy)”)
• Tristan Albatross ( Diomedea dabbenena ) (formerly “Wandering Albatross (Tristan)”)
• Antipodean Albatross ( Diomedea antipodensis ) (formerly “Wandering Albatross (New Zealand)” and “Wandering Albatross (Gibson’s)”)
• Amsterdam Albatross ( Diomedea amsterdamensis ) (formerly “Wandering Albatross (Amsterdam)”)

Snowy Albatross and Antipodean Albatross are both regularly observed in southern Australian waters from south-east Queensland to Perth, whereas Tristan Albatross and Amsterdam Albatross are very rare vagrants to the region, with fewer than five records of each.

Distinguishing between the taxa is challenging and identification typically requires determination of a bird’s sex and age class before it can confidently be assigned to species level.

This bird is an Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, the Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross is rarely seen offshore of Australia.

Yellow-nosed Albatross ( Thalassarche chlororhynchos ) is split into:

• Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross ( Thalassarche chlororhynchos )
• Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross ( Thalassarche carteri )

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross is a rare vagrant to Australian waters, having been recorded about ten times off the southern coast of Australia from New South Wales to Western Australia.

Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross is much more common in Australian waters and can regularly be seen offshore from south-east Queensland to Perth during the cooler months of the year.

The two species can be distinguished from each other by the brightness of the plumage on their head ( Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross tend to have an ashy wash, whereas Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross are much paler white) and the thickness of the yellow stripe down their bill (the “nose” – narrower in Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross than Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross ).

Cattle Egret ( Bubulcus ibis ) is split into:

• Western Cattle Egret ( Bubulcus ibis )
• Eastern Cattle Egret ( Bubulcus coromandus )

Western Cattle Egret is expected from Europe, Africa, Middle East, Americas (also Hawaii).

Eastern Cattle Egret is expected east from the Indian subcontinent, across S and E Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Intermediate Egret ( Ardea intermedia ) is split into:

• Yellow-billed Egret ( Ardea brachyrhyncha )
• Medium Egret ( Ardea intermedia )
• Plumed Egret ( Ardea plumifera )

Plumed Egret  is the expected former subspecies in Australia. Watch out for possible rare vagrant  Medium Egret  from Indonesia (with dark tip to beak, and a black beak in breeding plumage) which has been recorded in WA and Indian Ocean islands.  Yellow-billed Egret  is found in Africa and is not expected in Australia.

Eclectus Parrot ( Eclectus roratus ) is split into four species:

• Papuan Eclectus ( Eclectus polychloros ) is the new name you need for the former subspecies that is found in Australia.

Papuan Pitta ( Erythropitta macklotii ) is split into two species:

• South Papuan Pitta ( Erythropitta macklotii ) is the new name you need for the former subspecies that migrates between southern New Guinea and Cape York.

Arafura Fantail ( Rhipidura dryas ) is split into:

• Supertramp Fantail ( Rhipidura semicollaris )
• Arafura Fantail ( Rhipidura dryas )

Arafura Fantail  is still the name you need for the former subspecies that is found across Australia (and becomes an Australian endemic).

Supertramp Fantail  has been recorded on Ashmore Reef a few times.

Rufous Fantail ( Rhipidura rufifrons ) is split into many species:

• Australian Rufous Fantail ( Rhipidura rufifrons ) is the new name you need for the former subspecies that is found in Australia (and becomes an Australian endemic species).

Olive-backed Sunbird ( Cinnyris jugularis ) is split into eight species:

• Sahul Sunbird ( Cinnyris frenatus ) is the new name you need for the former subspecies that is found in Australia.

COMMON NAME CHANGE

Lemon-bellied Flycatcher becomes Lemon-bellied Flyrobin

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Alligator found wandering MacDill Air Force Base relocated to Florida zoo

How Black Mats Can Keep Dementia Patients Safe and Happy

D ementia is a condition that affects millions of people around the world, causing changes in their memory, thinking and behavior. One of the challenges that people with dementia and their caregivers face is wandering, which can lead to accidents, injuries or even death.

Wandering is often triggered by confusion, boredom, anxiety or curiosity. People with dementia may wander because they are looking for something familiar, trying to escape from a stressful situation, or following a habit or routine. Sometimes, they may not even realize that they are wandering.

One of the ways to prevent wandering is to use black mats in front of unsafe areas, such as outside exits. This technique is based on the observation that people with dementia may have visual perception problems, meaning that they may see things differently than they really are.

For example, they may see a dark space on the floor as a hole, and avoid stepping on it due to a fear of falling. This can create a natural barrier that discourages them from leaving the safe zone. This technique is considered an alternative to antipsychotic drugs and lockdown units, which may have negative effects on the person’s dignity, health and well-being.

However, this technique may also raise ethical concerns, as it uses fear and deception to control the person’s behavior. Some people may argue that this is disrespectful and manipulative, and that it may not work for everyone or in every situation.

Chuck Klosterman, a columnist for The New York Times Magazine, addressed this dilemma in his The Ethicist column. He wrote: “When dealing with ethical dilemmas involving those who have lost the ability to reasonably lobby on their own behalf, one must consider what they would most likely prefer if they were still in a position to do so.”

He added: “If a dementia patient were in a position to describe how she would want to be treated, I’d assume she would want the maximum level of independence, the highest degree of protection and the greatest potential for mental clarity. This concept comes closest to achieving those goals.”

The Alzheimer’s Society, a leading charity for people with dementia and their carers, also offers some advice on how to support a person experiencing changes in perception. They suggest: “By responding in a supportive way, you can keep up their confidence and help them to cope with the misunderstanding.”

They also recommend some ways to make the home environment safer and more comfortable for people with dementia, such as using bright colors, clear labels, familiar pictures and avoiding patterns or clutter.

The use of black mats is not the only solution for wandering, but it may be a helpful option for some people with dementia and their caregivers. As Psychiatric Times noted: “The third, a verbal interpretation of the visual deception created by a black mat, is a threat rather than a distraction. Demented patients’ avoidance of dark mats, tiles, or even lines on the floor has long been observed-and sometimes exploited clinically-although we could not locate any studies of the effectiveness and safety of this maneuver.”

Relevant articles:

– How to safeguard against visual pitfalls – Alzheimer’s and Dementia, Alzlive.com, December 12, 2012

– How can dementia change a person’s perception?, Alzheimer’s Society, no date

– A Dark Side of Dementia Care, Psychiatric Times, April 15, 2014