55-year-old Indian citizen Kashi Samaddar has completed an almost-seven year trip around the world. He has visited all 194 countries in the world, thereby setting a world record.

He spent £350,000 to visit every country on earth in the shortest time possible and thereby earnt himself a mention in the Guinness Book of Records – just don’t expect to be thrilled by his pictures.

Samaddar’s mission was inspired by trouble he had in South Africa in 2002 over his Indian passport. Samaddar then vowed to visit every country in the world to show it could be done.

The globe trotting adventurer was determined to complete the whole trip using his Indian passport – despite opportunities to adopt Australian and Canadian citizenship – as he wanted to prove an Indian could travel the world.

He also wanted to highlight the difficulties some nationalities encounter obtaining visas to enter countries – a problem he is very familiar with.

‘The most difficult visa to get was Moldova, which took me almost three years with many rejections,’ he said.

‘The problem isn’t with big countries like America, England or places in Europe, a lot of the time it’s smaller countries who don’t know what they should be doing.’

To abide by Guinness Book rules, he traveled using only public transportation. The rules state you only have to set foot in a country to count it, which may explain Samaddar less-than-impressive tourist photographs.

The photo above is of Kashi’s last place visited: Serbia Kosova on May 27 of 2008.

Links: Article at Daily Mail | More at World Records Academy.

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by digimouse.

I don’t know how you can ride for more than a mile on a penny farthing {wiki}. No brakes, no gears, and no stopping, or you’ll fall off! These five lunatics have managed thousands of miles on them. For example, Thomas Stevens rode one of these early bicycles around the world!

The only supplies Stevens had when he set out from San Francisco were fresh socks, one clean shirt, a raincoat that did double duty as a tent, and a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver. Because paved roads and automobiles were so scarce at the time, Stevens restricted most of his journey to wagon trails, towpaths, limited public roads, and, on sometimes even railroad tracks. Naturally, the penny-farthing was not built for the same rugged terrain as a locomotive. Therefore, he was often forced to walk, carrying his bike, hopping the railroad tracks, hoping that he would never hear the sound of a locomotive bearing down on him from behind.

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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by delrond.

Maggie the dog had a passport that would make most jet setters jealous, and over the course of her life she has crossed borders, braved wars, and experienced the world. Maggie managed to make friends on both sides of the conflict, with all walks of life, proving the old adage that dogs are  man’s best friend. Enjoy this tribute to a dog’s life well lived.

She was born on Cape Cod and came of age in Boston. But she lived in Jerusalem and walked the ancient, cobbled streets of the Old City where she begged on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She swam in the Sea of Galilee and climbed the Mount of Olives and crossed the Allenby Bridge at the Jordan River. She lived for a while on the rugged coast of Brittany in France and eventually crossed over by ferry, past the White Cliffs of Dover to arrive in London where she spent many long afternoons in a great, old pub.

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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by CherryBomb.

Nothing draws attention like oversized objects, and when you’re traveling along the highway, hungry people notice big food. During the 1930s, buildings that look like something else popped up all over to draw in travelers, and many still exist. See 24 examples of appetizing architecture in this collection. Shown is the Big Duck in Flanders, New York. Link -via the Presurfer

Photo: A. Butorin

Not only is this park in the Siberian-Yakutsk region an extremely beautiful sight, but is also regarded as a historically significant area in Earth’s development. The massive tree-like pillars draw tourists and paleontologists regularly, but getting there isn’t easy.

Many spend a lot just to get there and to take a look. This place is where…Siberian woods stand untouched and the only way to get there is to take a four day journey from Moscow city. First, you have to take a flight so long that if you flew opposite direction you could easily come to New York…Then upon the arrival to Yakutia region, the land from where the significant part of world’s diamonds production originate from. Then from there the only way to go to this place is by a boat. Armed native individuals can offer you a “cheap” $500 trip on a small boat, so in three days you can be on spot.

More awesome photos at EnglishRussia:

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The travel industry may be suffering during these tough economic times, but hotels in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have found a way to attract new visitors – let them sleep in beds of freshly raked hay in converted barns. For as little as 8 Euros per night ($11 U.S.),  backpackers, couples, families, and (in the case of one German hotel) groups of up to 60 can bond by eating together around a camp fire and then
rolling around in the hay.

Without the need for new construction, heavy laundry bills or other forms of high energy consumption, hay hotels are also an effective means of low-impact, sustainable tourism.

Link – via holeinthedonut

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by baweibel.

Hey, Neatoramanauts I’m back from my little hiatus with my family and I’ve got a fascinating video about a little cat named “Kitty” and its owners Laetitia and Guillaume backpacking from Miami to Argentina.

Thankfully, Google has a French to English translating option (the translation is a little rough, though) so using that I’ll give you the low down on this neat adventure:

1 euro each, 15 000km, 13 countries, 3 years running. Some are willing to kill people for a paper called money.

In a world of economic crisis where money becomes obsessive and when life is hard without money, this young couple from discovering the concept of money through meetings, poor, rich, middle class, everyone tells them how they live or survive.

Still believe in the phrase “money does not buy happiness, it is through their journey that no man will discover, learn, suffer and seek answers to their questions.

He will share the adventure at breast height with both cameras and their companion Kitty, a kitten appeared two months on the road in Louisiana. Sacred destiny for a cat!

More than a walk, a look at a changing society.

Check out more here:

Official site – Link
Blog – Link

** For those of you with no experience reading or understanding French scroll all the way down the page (on the blog) and you’ll see a tiny bar that says “Google Translate”. Use that to choose your language and you should be set!

Summer is almost upon us, and with it, comes the strange and wonderful food festivals around the country. Cheese, watermelon… pierogi?  I’m all over that one. Yum, pierogi!

Brynn Mannino of Woman’s Day has a list of 12 of the most spectacular summer food festivals in the States. Take, for instance, the Pierogi Fest in Whiting, Indiana:

Celebrate everyone’s favorite potato dumplings at the Pierogi Fest in Whiting, Indiana, beginning July 24th. What started as a way to honor the Eastern European heritage of many in the nearby communities has grown into an event that has been featured on The Food Network and in the pages of Bon Appetit magazine. Fun-filled activities include a pierogi eating contest, a pierogi toss and a polka parade! Last year’s festival even featured the “World’s Largest Pierogi,” which was made with 27 lbs of flour, 18 eggs, 58 potatoes, two gallons of water, “too much” butter and “lots o’ onions.” Total weight? 92 lbs!

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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by ahammel.

Yes, that’s right a volcanic plug. It sounds dangerous but at this stage in its life, Taung Kalat poses no threat. A volcanic plug (sometimes called a ‘neck’) is formed when magma, on its way up through a vent on an active volcano, hardens inside the vent. While the volcano is active this could well lead to the mother of all explosions and it would, you have to admit, be a shame if this beautiful monastery was to be catapulted in to the stratosphere. However, the volcano is thought (perhaps we should say hoped) to be extinct.

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(image credit: Flickr user exfordy)

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by taliesyn30.

Archaeology is a religion for illuminated individuals, however if you cross the Gods you will suffer the consequences. Many men have risked their lives in pursuit of historical relics, many have never returned.

The Valley of the Kings in Egypt is located on the West  bank of the Nile River within “the heart of the Theban Necropolis”. This illuminated place is said to hold the wealth of Egypt where Kings and Queens were laid to rest and their treasure was buried with them. Many men have died risking their lives to discover the mysteries of this sacred place, some have never returned.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by lannaxe96.

Continuing today’s special theme: Expedia has announced affordable trips to mars. It’s now cheaper to vacation on Mars than to visit Las Vegas!

That’s right! Expedia has dropped all booking fees—including fees on flights to Mars. Right now you can save over $3 trillion on a Mars vacation—and in this economy, you can’t afford NOT to go!

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by MatthewInman.

Months later, I received an email from a William Diesslin, regarding my photos of Matten:

You didn’t know it at the time, but you photographed my great
grandfather’s store front! I’ve attached the photo for your reference.”

I scoured my photos until I found what seemed to be a match for the historic black and white picture Diesslin had sent. During the next few weeks, I learned the rest of the story. Diesslin’s search for his ancestry had been unsuccessful until he discovered my blog. Once he saw my photo he was able to identify the present day building and track down the owners, who confirmed the store had originally belonged to his great grandfather.

In a subsequent email he remarked:

"This will be a landmark for my family as my dad was orphaned at 14
years old, all family history was lost. Your photos may have opened up
a long lost link to my ancestors.”

There’s more to the story, like the fact that Diesslin stayed in that very building (it is now a hostel) back in the 1980’s and had abslutely no idea that it had any connection to his family. The series of coincidences are so bizarre as to be almost unbelievable. To read the rest of the story, and to see the histoic and present day photos, visit Hole In The Donut Travel Blog.

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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by baweibel.

Says Travel Telegraph blog: “You don’t need to buy anything. Just look up at the ceiling and see the amazing baskets shaped like giraffes, dragons, fish, even a lobster. There are wicker unicorns, cornucopia, moose heads…I could go on.” Check out the slide show!

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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by telegraph.

The dirtiest hotel in America?  According to millions of voters and reviewers, that distinction goes to the Carter Hotel in Times Square, New York city.  Everything from rats and mysterious stains to dead bodies under the bed have earned this one star hotel this unique distinction. 

"Hey, maybe Times Square isn’t so Disneyfied after all; millions of travelers on Trip Advisor have voted Hotel Carter on West 43rd Street the #1 filthiest place to stay in America. Comments on Trip Advisor range from revolting ("I don’t know where to begin… Roaches, rats, mice, horrible smells, dirty sheets, horrifying bathrooms, outlets that hang out of walls… But the worst part about it was that at 4 a.m. I woke up to a bunch of guys breaking into our hotel room while we were sleeping!!") to panicked ("It’s like a HORROR movie in real life, it’s so bad that its just not for real. Barack Obama, please shut it down!").

Hotel Carter’s manager tells NY1 that because they are a one star hotel, they have one star standards of cleanliness. But we’re pretty sure even a one star hotel shouldn’t be charging $130 for rooms that come with a dead body under the bed."

See also TripAdvisor’s  Top 10 list of the filthiest hotels in America.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.

DarkRoastedBlend has what is indesputably the most comprehensive and impressive collection of dangerous roads around the world – and part six to the ongoing series is no exception.

Want to feel happy and safe? Then gaze on this picture for a while, because the rest of this page is only going to unnerve and distress you.

Link

Japanese citizen, Hiroshi Nohara, has decided to live in the Mexico City airport for 3 months and with apparently no reason. Since September 2, his home has been in the terminal and he has survived off food and clothing donations from travelers and airport shops lookin for advertising. In his own words, he claims to have no reason for staying so long:

“I don’t understand why I’m here,” he said through a visiting interpreter originally hired by a television station. “I don’t have a reason.”

He is now a minor celebrity in the city, as his refusal to go home has ignited the city’s imagination. Neither Mexican or Japanese authorities have been able to help persuade him to leave and he may stay put until his visa runs out in Early March.

Link Via Tokyo Mango