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Paul Theroux on his novel “The Bad Angel Brothers,” and the contradictions of the global economy.
Paul Theroux on the merits of travel and the paradoxes of the global economy
Oh me! Oh life! by Walt Whitman
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish, Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d, Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid…
Seeking real crowds beats crowdsourcing (from The Vagabond’s Way book launch)
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Rolf and Ernest White II talk about using what money you have to create the life you want.
How does one determine what counts as a “visit” to another country?
For travelers seeking to keep track of how many countries they’ve visited, a common question is: What, exactly, counts as a “visit” When Kiki and I hiked through the Finnskogen region of Norway, for example, the trail took us across the border into Sweden’s Värmland province, before it looped us back into Norwegian territory a…
Preconceptions can blur what you see firsthand on the road (with Eddy Harris)
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Legendary travel writer Eddy L. Harris on why an attitude of “let’s go find out” is a great travel ethos.
Travel deviations can be as appealing as travel plans, with Ari Shaffir
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Ari Shaffir talks about why getting lost on the road can be a good thing, as presented in Rolf’s new book, The Vagabond’s Way.
Seeing 1950s American culture through Norwegian eyes at a Sørum car club
It took a trip to Norway, of all places, for me to learn of an American car known as the “Vagabond” — a proto-hatchback manufactured by Michigan’s Kaiser Motors in the late 1940s. One curious thrill of travel is the opportunity it offers you to see your own country through the eyes of another culture.…
Maya Angelou’s “Passports to Understanding” (1993)
Human beings are more alike than unlike, and what is true anywhere is true everywhere, yet I encourage travel to as many destinations as possible for the sake of education as well as pleasure. It is necessary, especially for Americans, to see other lands and experience other cultures. The American, living in this vast country…
Paul Fussell’s introduction to The Norton Book of Travel (1987)
(an excerpt) Why is travel so exciting? Partly because it triggers the thrill of escape, from the constriction of the daily, the job, the boss, the parents. ‘A great part of the pleasure of travel,’ says Freud, ‘lies in the fulfillment of . . . early wishes to escape the family and especially the father.’…
The Vagabond’s Way: An audio introduction to Rolf’s new book
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An audio excerpt from the introduction of Rolf’s new book, The Vagabond’s Way
Rest days (like this one in Norway) are key to the long-term travel experience
Of the many pleasurable travel moments I found amid my August 2022 journey through Norway, I got a curious thrill out of the afternoon I spent dozing in this hammock, alongside a forest-fringed lake not far from Sørumsand. Over the years I’ve come to believe that the multifarious sights and activities a new place offers…