The "Man or Bear?" debate has dominated internet discourse for the past week or two (TL;DR In a viral TikTok video, a man asks eight women if they’d rather be stuck in a forest with a man or a bear. Seven say they'd prefer the bear). Here's a unique perspective from Laura Killingbeck, a contributor to Bikepacking magazine, who actually did leave mankind behind to live in nature with bears. "'Would you rather be stuck in a forest with a man or a bear?' is just another way of asking, 'Are you afraid of men?' she writes. "It’s the same question I’ve been fielding for the entirety of my life as a solo female traveler. It’s the same question that hovers over women all the time as we move through the world."
In January 1956, 20-year-old Joy Fox was nursing a broken heart, so she sold her engagement ring, left her home in the small riverside town of Wivenhoe, England, and set off on adventure. She's been traveling solo ever since. The BBC spoke to her about her first trip to Italy, her 84th birthday vacation to view the Northern Lights, and where she's going next.
Good morning as the sun rises eastern Utah on day two of Amtrak's California Zephyr train from California to Chicago. Today we will follow the Colorado River into the Rocky Mountains, arrive in Denver, and fall asleep in Nebraska. Follow along with me! 😎🚆 Questions welcome and encouraged along the day.
From Afghanistan, to the UK, to Chile, to Tibet and beyond—here are 24 fantastic books from travelers all over the world. Add these to your must-read list!
"The first thing I learned upon arriving in Liechtenstein, the tiny, Alpine principality sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria, was that I’d been pronouncing it all wrong." —Andrew Altschul for AFAR
When tik tok teaches you things.
Do men do this when they travel?
Alt: Interior of a hotel door jerry-rigged with interlocked clothes hangers to prevent someone from busting in while I sleep. The peep hole is covered with a paper doilie.