At Home In The Wasteland Travel Blog

(Courtesy of the Chicago Wikipedia entry) Despite traveling to the far reaches of the world, from Pyongyang to Cairo to Rome to London, there are a surprisingly large number of major U.S. cities that I have yet to visit. One of these would be Chicago. I’ve been pretty close; I once had a business meeting [...]

Despite living in Southern California for 18 years, I have only made it to Mexico once, when I was in middle school. We spent our summers in Oceanside, north of San Diego, and one day my mom and some of her friends decided that we should take a daytrip to Tijuana. I really don’t think [...]

I’ve always had a desire to visit the Maldives, a group of remote islands located in the Indian Ocean, 435 miles south-west of Sri Lanka and 250 miles south-west of India. The main draw of the Maldives, of course, are the 1,000 uninhabited islets. Yes, you could literally have a remote island all to yourself. [...]

Back in 2007 I posted a list of destinations that were high on my wishlist at the same time. Since posting that list, I’ve managed to cross off three of those destinations: China, North Korea, and Ukraine. I’ve decided to once again highlight a few of the destinations that are high on my travel wishlist. [...]

Iraq is officially welcoming tourists: Well, here she was in the lobby of a Baghdad hotel, ending a 17-day tour around one of the world’s ultimate danger destinations. “It had always been on my list,” said Ms. Gilbert, wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with a cartoon cat and the phrase “Life Is Good.” “If it opened [...]

I have never been on a cruise and I have absolutely no desire to go on one. I imagine a huge boat filled with drunk people gorging themselves on boring food, playing slot machines, laying by a pool, and occasionally getting off the boat to visit random bars in some port city. Aside from the [...]

Dudes, I’ve got a serious case of wanderlust right now. As such, I’ve spent way too much time researching possible travel destinations. I’d love to go to Turkmenistan…maybe in 2010. According to the WSJ, Turkmenistan is becoming more “tourist friendly”: Since Mr. Niyazov died in 2006, the country has tentatively begun to open up. Regular [...]

7 Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union: Deserted Cities, Buildings, Bases and More and 7 (More) Abandoned Wonders of the Former Soviet Union: From Mining Towns to Oil Rig Cities. I’d really like to visit Neft Daşları (Oil Rocks), located in the Caspian Sea about 45km offshore of Baku, but apparently getting permission from [...]

“Where are you going next? And DON’T say North Korea.” “Uh, China, I think, and maybe a weekend in Pyongyang.” Despite my dad’s wishes otherwise, I’m still determined to get to North Korea by 2010, as I mentioned a few years ago. For a limited time this year, the North Korean government issued visas to [...]

I couldn’t fall asleep last night so I started making a mental list of trips I’d like to go on soon (as in…over a 5-10 year period). If you know me well, you’re aware that at any given time I am probably thinking about someplace I’d rather be than where I currently am. Here’s a [...]