~ Early Web Links ~

Vagabonding is an award-winning round-the-world travelogue by Mike, a Chicago-based traveler who spent a year journeying solo through Asia and Africa before YouTube and social media made such adventures commonplace. The site features video highlights, a written travelogue, photo archives, and a route map covering destinations from Cambodia and India to Uganda, South Africa, and beyond.

DFR is a personal lifestream and blog by a New Zealand-based writer who documents adventures in his Jeep, international travels with a well-worn £18 backpack, and major life milestones like a new baby and a new home. Posts mix outdoor excursions through sand dunes and bush tracks with reflective personal writing, making it an engaging slice-of-life journal from Aotearoa.

Vinologue is a wine and travel guide publisher specializing in regional wine books covering areas like Priorat, Georgia, Dalmatia, Montsant, and the Costa Brava. The site by Hudin.com offers enotourism resources, tastings, tours, and an online shop for wine enthusiasts exploring off-the-beaten-path wine regions.

The Man in Seat 61 is a comprehensive train travel guide covering rail routes across the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa, and beyond, with detailed advice on tickets, fares, passes, and booking tips. Created by Mark Smith, this award-winning site has won multiple Best Travel Website honors and is considered the definitive reference for anyone wanting to travel the world by train instead of flying.

Mike's Thoughts is a personal blog chronicling everyday life in Cambodia and travels across Southeast Asia, Mexico, and the United States. Posts range from quiet daily observations to reflections on life abroad, making it an intimate window into expat wandering.

Juha Liikala is a Finnish software engineer and nomadic traveler who documents his wanderings across Italy, Bali, the Caribbean, and beyond through blog posts and microblog updates. The site blends personal reflections on travel, technology, and social media culture with a warm, conversational tone and a growing archive of longform and short-form writing.

Randomwire is a long-running travel blog focused on Asia, chronicling journeys through China, Japan, and beyond with an emphasis on place, memory, and slow observation. Posts cover everything from pilgrimages and stone carvings in Sichuan to architecture in Tokyo, offering a thoughtful and unhurried perspective on the continent.

Expedition 360 documents Jason Lewis and his international team's historic human-powered circumnavigation of the globe, covering over 45,000 miles by bicycle, kayak, rowing, skating, and a pedal-powered boat between 1994 and 2007. The site chronicles one of the last great firsts in exploration while also highlighting the team's climate advocacy and UNESCO educational partnerships focused on environmental stewardship.

Run by Alan A. Lew (The Travel Geographer), this blog catalogs and reviews Web 2.0 websites and online tools related to travel and tourism, covering services like destination finders, staycation sites, and trip planners. Posts evaluate whether early travel startups lived up to their promises, making it a useful snapshot of the travel tech landscape from the mid-to-late 2000s.

Scott Gilbertson chronicles the full-time nomadic life of a family of five living in a vintage 1969 Dodge Travco motorhome, weaving together travel journals, nature observations, and photography from across the United States. The site blends thoughtful personal essays with stunning location photography, covering everything from Minnesota waterfalls to Gulf Coast sunsets over seven years on the road.