human nature

The 77 most inspirational travel quotes ever penned

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Borobudur in IndonesiaPambudi Yoga Perdana/Shutterstock

Our favourite inspirational travel quotes that encouraged us to travel – with abandon – over the years. Maybe they will do the same for you…

For us, there is no such thing as luxury travel; travel is, by default, a luxury. It is a privilege provided by the country of our birth, a privilege that many are not as fortunate to enjoy.

Sometimes, we have to pinch ourselves at just how ridiculous our lives have become: an ex-teacher and jobbing writer travelling the world for a living. It is absurd, it is astonishing, and it is a luxury.

Concrete jungles: the world’s most urban countries

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world's most urban countries lead

We take a look at the world’s most urban countries and why they go hand in hand with the most stressed

City life is stressful. It presses on our weary bones, wafts through windows on pungent fumes and boxes up our personal space.

Happiest countries in the world 2020 – ranked

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happiest-countries-map-lead-image-2020-photos

The happiest countries in the world 2020 have been ranked and for the third year running, Finland is the happiest country in the world

Happiness is a nebulous thing; hard to grasp and harder to hold onto. Scientists, economists and philosophers have defined it through the ages as a combination of different things, among them health, wealth, companionship and security.

Most stressed countries in the world

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map of the most stressed countries in the worldGallup

We look at the most stressed countries in the world according to Gallup’s latest survey. The results may well surprise you

How did you feel yesterday? Did you feel physical pain? Experience enjoyment? Worry? Anger? What about stress?

These are the questions put to 151,000 adults in 142 countries across the world as part of the Gallup Global Emotions Report, which measures life’s intangibles – feelings and emotions – that traditional economic indicators such as GDP were never intended to capture.

12 of Earth’s most remote places and communities

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Tristan is part of the most remote inhabited archipelago in the worldYagerq/CC0

From eastern Greenland to northern Alaska, we explore some of the most remote places on the face of the Earth

Whether it’s astronomical distances, inhospitable climates or extreme terrains that define these remote and hostile lands, there’s one thing they all have in common: they’re on my bucket list. That and the fact that people live there.

Poorest countries in the world – ranked

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interesting facts about Ethiopia poor countryAtlas & Boots

African nations dominate the ranking of the poorest countries in the world based on the latest data from the World Bank

We all have preconceptions about places. Take Ethiopia for example. As children of the eighties, Kia and I were only too aware of the struggles Ethiopia has faced historically: political unrest, civil war and, of course, famine.

It was easy then to imagine a vast desolate dust bowl ahead of our visit in 2017. 

Interesting facts about the world’s least-known countries

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Two men in vanuatu, one of the world’s least-known countriesChristopher Hogue Thompson/Creative Commons

A selection of some of the most interesting facts about the world’s least-known countries we’ve picked up over the years

This is a subjective topic I know. What counts as an interesting fact? What counts as one of the world’s least-known countries?

There is no scientific answer but when this question was posed on Q&A site Quora, it certainly threw up some noteworthy particulars about some of the more obscure sovereign and not-so-sovereign states of the world. 

Below I’ve picked out some of the most interesting facts about the world’s least-known countries we’ve gleaned from visiting over 80 countries.

Call of the wild: disconnecting from daily life

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Desconnexions lead

A strange evening with Desconnexions in Catalonia reminds us why it’s so important to get off our laptops and occasionally leave our phones at home

I was on Wikipedia reading about a 2015 controversy involving a judge on the New Zealand version of X Factor when I realised I was doing it again: wasting time reading about a person I didn’t know involved in an event I didn’t care about on a show I didn’t watch.

I had fallen down the internet rabbit hole – again.

Crowd control: the world’s least densely populated countries

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least densely populated countries feat image

Are those living in the world’s least densely populated countries happier than those living in more crowded ones? 

Finland was recently named the happiest country in the world. As with previous years, it is clear that developed, conflict-free nations with stable governments tend to rank higher in these indexes.

What’s interesting is that many of the world’s happiest countries also have relatively low population density. Finland, Norway, Iceland, Canada, New Zealand and Australia all have fewer than 20 people per square kilometre (followed closely by Sweden with 22.12), and all appear in the top 10 happiest countries.

Flinders Chase National Park: what not to miss

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Flinders Chase National Park Remarkable RocksAtlas & Boots

Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island is one of South Australia’s finest parks. We take a look at seven sights not to be missed

Sprawled across the western end of Kangaroo Island, Flinders Chase National Park is home to wild coastline, diverse wildlife and some truly extraordinary landmarks. The park has steadily recovered from bushfires that destroyed over 400 sq km of land in 2007, and today offers a uniquely Australian landscape of sugar-gum canopies and mallee scrub. 

Asian girl, English boy: what we learned from DNA testing

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Ahead of our trip to Asia this year, we turned to 23andMe for some home truths about our roots

I never felt exotic growing up. I was one of eight Bangladeshi children in a street full of Bangladeshi residents in an area full of Bangladeshi immigrants.

The world is not getting better

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world is not getting better lead 2020

Life for humans may be improving but what about everything else that shares our planet?

In trying times, social media users tend to share think pieces, charts and graphics proving that humanity has never had it so good.

These graphics focus on the growth of lovely things like basic education, literacy, democracy and vaccination, and the decline of awful things like extreme poverty and child mortality.

7 great travel mysteries from around the world

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The moai of Easter island draw tens of thousands of visitors

If there’s one thing I enjoy more than a good adventure yarn, it’s a good adventure yarn with a mysterious ending. Here are some of my favourite travel mysteries from around the world (and one from  outside of it).

12 maps that changed our world view

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maps-that-changed-our-world-view-lead

In ode of this great instrument of adventure, we run through 12 maps that changed our world view

There are few things that evoke the romanticism of adventure quite like a map – especially old maps. Full of exotic names (Persia, Abyssinia, Rhodesia!) and olde worlde lettering, they are reminiscent of a time when men sacrificed their lives for adventure and exploration.

Maps ignite hopes and inspire dreams. They encourage one to sail away from the safe harbour and, in the words of Mark Twain, to explore, to dream, to discover.

10 epic journeys of discovery

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Public Domain

Humans are an intrepid race. For centuries, explorers have disappeared over the horizon in search of new lands and distant shores on epic journeys of discovery. Thanks to these pioneers we’re able to follow in their footsteps now and forevermore.

4 heartwarming travel tales

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happiest-countries-in-the-world

Hear four heartwarming travel stories we’ve heard over the years. If no. 2 doesn’t make you cry, you are probably a robot!

1. How a mother lost in travel chaos was found

Cancelled. Cancelled. Cancelled, begins Agnes Mwangale’s tale of travel. It was 6pm on 15th April 2010 and she had just arrived at Toronto airport. As she scanned the arrivals board, her stomach churned and she realised that everything would not be okay – despite the promise she had made her mother.

12 most common expat problems

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We list the 12 most common expat problems. The problems fall into three main areas: relationships, money and culture shock

Over the course of the past year, we have used our expat survey to gather advice for expats and their loved ones, most popularly 8 tips to know before you go and 6 things not to say to an expat.  

Here, we list the 12 most common expat problems based on InterNations’ broader Expat Insider survey.

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