Chicago to Cairo for $698: Chicago, I know Obama’s heading to Copenhagen to pull for you guys, but if I was a gambling man (if - ha!) my bet would be that Rio’s getting the Olympics. Take heart in this great deal to Cairo via Turkish Airlines.

L.A. to Hanoi for $670: Book by October 5th for this sweet deal through China Airlines.

NYC to Beijing for $765 (!): Not only is it cheap, and not only is it on Emirates — one of the world’s best airliners — but for an extra fee you can hang out in your layover city of Dubai for a few days and explore before heading on to China.

There are plenty of movie and TV related tours you can take in New York City, such as the infamous “Sex and the City” tour, the “Sopranos” tour, and the I’m-in-a-gaudy-tour-bus tour. (Any chance of a forthcoming “Bored to Death” tour? Unlikely, but good show.)

But how about a tour you would actually want to take? Presenting the self-guided “Mad Men” tour, courtesy of Travel + Leisure.

Eat shucked oysters where Don and Roger prepare for the Nixon account (the Oyster Bar). Grab a rooftop drink where Don shacks up in lieu of the living room couch (the Roosevelt Hotel). Shop where Rachel oversees her family retail empire (Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue).

I’ll throw one into the mix. Head to the current incarnation of Penn Station, the abomination that Sterling Cooper was going to help promote to replace the glorious old Penn Station. A good first-hand view of the importance of Preservationism.

Let’s be honest, what’s not to love about Sweden? The place that gave us the infamous bikini team, has now designated its first National Marine park, just so they could have a place to frolic. Well, a guy can dream, right?

Kosterhavet National Marine Park is found in the Koster Islands, between Sweden and Norway, and the most westerly inhabited islands in Sweden. You can reach the park by boat from Strömstad, Sweden (pictured above).

The Guardian offers up an in-depth view on the park, discovering its nearly stress free lifestyle, and even better activities. From scuba diving, to hiking, sea kayaking, and crayfish safaris, the almost carless islands offer just about anything an outdoorist could imagine. Long standing as nature reserves, the islands got bolstered into national park status due to the over 6,000 different marine species calling it home.

Trick question. The answer is that it depends. Are you in Spanish or French Basque country? What’s the difference? To find out, the NYT takes a road trip through both countries, starting from the westernmost part of the region in the beach town of Bakio — about an hour north of Bilbao — where it’s easy for one to forget they’re even in Spain, then across the border into France to St.-Jean-de-Luz and nearby Bidart, where the Basqueness is hidden beneath a veneer of definite French culture, and where it takes a little gastronomical research to uncover the region’s history (shops selling Basque favorites fromage de brebis and cherry marmalades).

And to answer the question?

“The two halves are connected: more than cousins, but not quite brothers. And yet they borrow tradition as well from their host countries. To start the day in Spain and end in France, or vice versa, was to play roulette with eating times: Spanish Basques eat with Spain, lunch at 2 or 3 and dinner at 10. The French Basques eat with Paris, lunch at 12:30 and dinner at 8.”

Did you know that about 10 percent of the Earth is more than 48 hours away (by way of land travel) from the nearest city? Take that to “Jeopardy.” With roads, airplanes, satellites, and whatever else is out there taking pictures and measurements along the way, the true sense of remoteness is almost nonexistent. Recently, I even posted on an island only accessible by a 30-hour boat ride.

Even remoteness can be subjective, though. Is it inaccessibility, isolation, both? This article, from howstuffworks.com, lists a point in northern China (Eurasian Pole of Inaccessibility) as the farthest from any ocean, at 1,553 miles. And the farther from any land? Point Nemo, found in the South Pacific, is a full 1,553 miles from any mainland surface.

If visiting the most isolated people in the world interests you, head to Tristan da Cunha (the population is only 270 and it’s nearly 3,000 kilometers from South Africa, its closest mainland). It was once an important maritime stop to the Cape of Good Hope. Ships have virtually stopped heading that way because of the Suez Canal, and the only other visitors consist of the occasional fisherman and a pair of U.K. doctors that arrive once a year.

Suck that Trebek.

A traveler’s thoughts on the strangest and most unfamiliar part of any trip: coming home.

By Alexandra Bregman

A Traveler’s Guise

Outside my hometown, Connecticut was a dirty word. I never wanted to tell anyone I was from Westport, Connecticut, the original location of the “Martha Stewart Show,” of the original film “The Stepford Wives,” the stuff of headbands and sailboats. To me, telling a New Yorker of my Connecticut origins was like stamping a “spoiled” sign on my forehead and trying to explain to foreigners where Connecticut was usually boiled down to a brief “it’s near New York.” Admitting the truth conjured images of pastels and cold blondes, not of a welcoming home.

It’s important to note that despite my connotations, I always knew Connecticut was not exactly Dante’s “Inferno.” The contradiction, whether I admitted it or not, was that I resented having so much to appreciate as a rambunctious adventurer. Connecticut may be lovely, but my great fear was of getting too comfortable, without ever seeing the world.

A Traveler’s Eyes

Like many angst-ridden suburban youths eager to renounce a Lexus-packed hometown, I went to Europe for a year. The exercise of fleeing to a more cultured continent is an age-old ritual. Before I left, every PTA mom and college student was spilling stories of their big trips, recollecting everything from a few weeks in Spain or a questionable fling with some Swedish girls in a tent. Every story, every “Europe will change your life” comment, all felt just as false as my disillusionment with Connecticut. I had the idea that if I went to Europe, I could sincerely define myself and escape the mundane clichés for good.

I stayed with a very kind host family in Paris for a year, and with a traditionally light French academic schedule — fraught with university strikes — I traveled extensively, profiting from all that Europe had to offer. I ate baguettes and fancy cheese, I took long walks along the Seine, I went to museums for free. Basically, I lived the glamor I’d always aspired to. It was wonderful. (more…)

As I wrap up my time in Asia, I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to squeeze in a trip to one of the most idyllic of Asian destinations out there: Japan. A few hostel reservations have finally been made between my scouring of the guidebook, forums, and posts here. With my JR Pass officially in hand (it is not available in Japan), I’m nearly on my way. Isn’t trip preparation and anticipation a great aspect of travel?

This is literally Japan 101 for me. The rumors of breaking the bank on the notoriously expensive island have kept me away from there, until now. I’m nearly a stone’s throw away, in Korea, and not visiting Japan would be awfully regrettable, regardless of price. So in just over a week, I will set foot in Tokyo’s Narita Airport for a weeklong whirlwind of the country. Conveyor belt sushi, the heart of modern technology, mesmerizing temples, geisha, and capsules; it’s going to be a phenomenal trip.

With only a week’s time there, I’ve decided to do “classic” Japan; splitting time between Tokyo’s glitzy modernity, and staying grounded in Kyoto’s ancient traditions. Weather permitting, a foray in the direction Mt. Fuji would appease the adventurer in me, but that looks to be a game time decision.

With that rough outline, and my trip notes doing little more than circling specifics, are there any suggestions you could offer? Particular neighborhoods, temples, foods, sites? Matt offered up a great suggestion of Memory Lane, a cool back alley and the inspiration behind “Blade Runner.” Really, the sheer number of possibilities is mind blowing in a place like this, so I’m happy to entertain any suggestions from the seasoned veterans out there. Simply leave a comment below, and I’ll keep you posted until I depart.

While I’m here I’ll be posting entries and pictures as I can. I’m sure there will be enough to share for a while.

Did you catch the New York Times’ spectacular (and I don’t use that word liberally) collection of reader-submitted photos from their summer vacation? What started out as just a few earlier in the week has grown to a few hundred amazing photos from around the world. Here’s the link. Makes me question my own photo-taking skills.

Check back on October 11th when the editors shall descend from their gold-encrusted thrones of Mt. Olympus and choose the best submissions. As of this date, no prize has been offered, other than that of fame and glory.

Doesn’t the word “skiing” kind of look weird when it’s written, what with that double “i” and all. It looks like it should be Dutch or Swedish or something. But I digress . . .

Looking for really cheap lift tix this winter for resorts in the U.S. and Canada? Check out the site Liftopia. Kind of like the Kayak of lift tickets, the site promises discounts of up to 60% off.

Giving it a whirl myself today, the site seemed not not to have any dates available yet, but I assume this is because it’s a little too early in the year for the mountains to start selling discount tickets. But it’s worth bookmarking and checking out as winter (shudder) descends.

The island of St. Vincent (not to be confused with the singer named St. Vincent) is actually the main island of the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and it contains an active volcano — which last blew its lid in 1979 — that could one day obliterate St. Vincent, leaving St. Vincent without St. Vincent, which would then make the name of the country be “and the Grenadines.” Got that?

It’s also a great place to go island-hopping, as this Times article describes when they head to Tobago Cays, an uninhabited nature reserve consisting of 5 islands, spectacular beaches, and unforgettable snorkeling.

Also nearby is the island of Canouan, accessible via a 12-minute plane ride, and the seven square mile sized Bequia, an hour-long ferry ride from the main island.

Flights in November are about $546 from New York, $1164 from London, and $466 from Miami.

Traveling is about new experiences, right? No matter where you are, from Philly to Phuket, there is a local cuisine to try. Good, bad, repulsive, or even responsive, there are some things people put down which, itself, can easily be the experience you are looking for.

This BootsnAll article outlines ten wacky foods eaten around the world. Balut in the Philippines (an egg boiled and served just before it was due to hatch), a Sardinian bread now banned because of its larvae content, and fried Cambodian tarantulas top my list of “no thank yous.”

I can vouch for two on the list. Puffer fish is delicious, if you can get passed the idea of eating something 1,250 times more poisonous than cyanide (all removed, of course) and the live octopus in Korea, called Sannakji. It’s literally snatched from an aquarium, set on a plate, and served in all its suctioning glory. The charm of this food is more the battle than the taste, and it can truly be a battle. Chew well; it’ll suction itself to anything if you let it.

I’d also like to offer up another wretched delicacy I’ve indulged in, beondegi. This is steamed or roasted silkworm larvae, a hit with the Korean street vendors, and just as gross as it sounds.

Bon appetite!

LuggagePoint has this great visual chart of the world’s 50 most popular tourist destinations. Sadly enough, a quick glance at the graphic shows how popular the Disney parks are, not only in the U.S., but in Europe and Asia as well.

Is there any way to describe the horror that Disneyland Paris beats out the Louvre by over 3 million people a year? (Or that Disneyland Tokyo beats out the Great Wall of China.) Sorry Disney enthusiasts, I just don’t get you.

Not that I planned to do it when I headed there, but I figured what better place to obtain my Scuba Open Water Certification than in Tofo, Mozambique, home to some of the world’s most diverse collection of aquatic life, including whale sharks, sea turtles, humpback whales, and perhaps most famously, manta rays (in fact Tofo’s home to the Manta & Whale Shark Research Center).

So what’s it like? Amazing. How to describe it? Kind of impossible. Which is why a visual aid would probably work best. The above vid takes place at the legendary Manta Reef, a “cleaning station” where mantas congregate to allow small fish to eat away the dead and infected flesh from any wounds they may have (likely from a shark). The dive is about 30 meters which means you need an advanced diver certification to do it, but the extra work is well worth the hassle. You could also lay around on the empty beach all day and watch as others do all the work. I’m just saying . . .