Traveling the World

This doesn't have anything to do with genealogy...

Mark Schatzker has a job I can only dream of, in my wildest dreams... A little over a month ago, on March 5, 2007, he began his trip Around the World in 80 Days - the kicker is, he's being paid to do it!

In his first post on February 27th Mark states: "The conditions of this trip are as follows: I cannot take a plane or helicopter, I cannot travel more than 100 miles per hour, and I must complete the journey-travel west out of New York and arrive from the east-in precisely 80 days. The intention is to rediscover "slow travel," of the way humans moved across vast distances back when Jules Verne wrote his famous book about Phileas Fog and before commercial airliners painted their lines across the skies."

And a bit further down: "The good news is that unlike so many world travelers, I have a sweet budget. I owe my good fortune to the fact that I will be writing about this journey in the pages of Conde Nast Traveler, a magazine with a taste of the good life. They are paying me not only to see the world, but to live well while doing so. As journalistic assignments go, it doesn't get better than this. How I lucked into it, I cannot explain."

Into day 36, Mark has left China and is now on his way through Mongolia on the Trans-Mongolian Railway. You can read all about his travels on his blog "80 Days or Bust" which is very interesting, to say the least.

Also, the Travel Channel has a relatively new series going on now. "Inspired by Patricia Schultz's best-selling travel book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die chronicles the journey of a young couple who put their lives on hold to travel the world for 14 weeks. Albin and Melanie Ulle, newlyweds from Colorado, experience the vast beauty and diverse cultures of 13 amazing countries and approximately 100 of the 1,000 Places from the book, while unearthing all the local charms and traditions along the way!"