Wanderlust

Some people like to travel to get away from the stresses and worries of everyday life. Others like to explore different cultures and ideas. Finally, there are the risk takers who push the limits of their existence in the quest for the best thrill, or, at the very least, a posthumous Darwin award. Please note that none of these activities are endorsed by TravBuddy, and that our dear, valued readers should participate in them at their own risk.

5. Great White Shark Cage Diving

Getting into the water with one of nature's most efficient and deadly predators hardly sounds like my idea of a good time. Tourists are taken out to sea on a boat, fish and blood are thrown into water, and then the fun begins. Accompanied by the music to the soundtrack of Jaws, divers are lowered into a steel cage from the boat to get a glimpse of the "men in grey suits."

Run for your life! Source

Shark diving is becoming increasingly popular in South Africa and Australia, places which already have a higher incidence of fatal shark attacks. Adding to the excitement is the fact that there have been stories of boats that are so dangerously overloaded with people that the risk of being crowded off while the feeding frenzy is going on below only increases.

There are arguments that shark diving and chumming the water with fish parts are causing more and more Great Whites to associate humans with food. Although there are no proven links yet, I don't think it takes a genius to figure out that it's probably true. If pigeons can figure this out when they swarm unsuspecting humans on park benches, I'm pretty sure one of the world's most efficient killing machines can draw the same conclusion. As a surfer, I tend to agree with these assessments, and would rather not aggravate Great Whites in their home turf.

Still not convinced of the danger? Then check out this video of a Great White nearly taking off a diver's head while he's inside the cage.

4. Eating Fugu in Japan

Fugu (the Japanese word for pufferfish), contains a poison that paralyzes the muscles while the victim remains fully conscious. Conscious until he dies of asphyxiation 4-6 hours later. Generally, however, Fugu is quite safe to eat. Chefs typically undergo years of training and need special licenses from the government. The death toll has decreased from 176 in 1958, to relatively rare incidents in modern times. Most deaths now result from unsuspecting fishermen or untrained cooks eating non-properly prepared meat.

Floating ball of poison Source

Still, you have to wonder at the logic of deriving pleasure out of eating something that could potentially cause a horrifying death. Apparently, some chefs leave enough poison on the fish so that it causes a numbing sensation of the tongue and lips. Apparently, this is also supposed to be fun and delicious. Consider this: After World War II, some homeless people were killed after scrounging around in the trash cans outside of Fugu restaurants and eating the leftover Fugu. The government had to regulate disposal of Fugu by saying that it needed to be double bagged, stored in special Fugu waste containers, and destroyed at special Fugu waste facilities. Sounds a lot like disposing of radioactive waste.

And who can forget the Simpson's episode where Homer eats a plate of deadly Fugu?

Virgin Galactic, a space tourism "airline" conceived by eccentric billionaire Richard Branson, unveils its new design, SpaceShipTwo today. SpaceShipOne, the first version of the spacecraft, won the X-Prize in 2004 and was the first privately funded human space flight. Fortunately, the designs of the space ships are more creative than their names:

SpaceShipOne in action. Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Spaceship_One_in_flight_1.jpg

SpaceShipTwo. Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Spaceshiptwo_final.jpg

The first 500 seats on flights are being sold for $200,000 a piece, which begs the question: If you had $200,000, would you rather spend it on 15 minutes of weightlessness in outer space, or traveling around the world for years? Another thing to factor in would be risk - private spaceflight is still on the bleeding edge of technology, and accidents are bound to happen; Almost exactly a year ago, an explosion occurred during a test of the engine rocket systems for SpaceShipTwo, killing three people.

Personally, I'd rather spend the money visiting more earthly destinations. Although space would be an incredible experience, it seems like it will only be a destination for the super rich for quite some time.

Onebag:
www.onebag.com - The ultimate guide to packing light. If you find that you are always lugging around too many suitcases and bags on your trip, this is the site for you. Covers everything from what kind of luggage bag you should get, key items to pack, and how exactly to pack everything in. Going to go out on a limb here and say that this is probably the most thorough guide to travel packing available in the history of mankind.

America's Best Bathroom:
http://www.bestrestroom.com/vote.php - Can't wait until November's presidential election and want to get your voting skills in shape? Vote for America's Best Restroom. While clearly a PR stunt to promote Cintas restroom cleaning services, there are some really interesting and novel looking restrooms here. It's too bad the photos aren't bigger, but my favorite is probably Brio Restaurant's heaven and hell theme.

Afghanistan: 40 years later
http://www.pbase.com/qleap/image/83230527 - Stunning photo comparing Paghman Gardens in 1967 to 2007. Hard to believe that it is the same place. Even if the original photo is highly glamorized, it's hard to ignore the shocking lack of trees and plant life in the latter photo.

When people think up the dream beach vacation, they often conjure up images of unspoiled, pristine stretches of sand free from other people. But too often, they all end up crowding the same destinations, which often get developed and lose the charm that originally made them such enticing places. If you're looking to avoid the masses at Waikiki or Cancun, and don't mind doing a little bit more work, refuges from throngs of bikini clad, beer drinking mobs still exist, and Punta Banco is a prime example of this.

Indigenous people still live near town and walk to the market in Punta Banco to get supplies. The coastal route they come along is only accessible at low tide.

Punta Banco provides few traditional amenities. There are no restaurants here, but you might be able to get a cooked meal at the "bar" or a place behind the church during certain hours (i.e. if the cook is home). There is one hostel with spartan rooms, and a few extremely basic rooms available above the bar for $5 a night. Pavones, a more developed town about an hour away by walking, has slightly more accommodations and more dining options. But, given the gorgeous natural scenery here, you probably wont be spending much time in your room anyway.

Let me preface this by first saying that I am a proud American. But the quality of service on nearly any USA airline is worse than contemptible. In a nation that prides itself on customer service, with entire classes devoted to this topic in the nation's best business schools, you'd think that at least one company in this multi-billion dollar industry would get it. True, airlines are losing tons of money right now, but last I checked, if your company is losing tons of money the last thing you want to do is alienate existing customers.

Here is an example. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently released statistics ranking the major airlines in terms of on-time reliability. Here is the list of the top 10:

1. US Airways
2. Alaska
3. Delta
4. Southwest
5. AirTran
6. JetBlue
7. Continental
8. Northwest
9. United
10. American

Let's look at the top performer, US Airways, for New York's La Guardia Airport. Remember, in terms of reliability, this is the best our proud nation has to offer. Only 79% of flights arrived on time in May. American Airline flights only arrived on time 58% of the time. Compare this to any other industry. What if Google was only operational 79% of the time? Or what if your doctor only prescribed you the correct medication 58% of the time? What if your best employee only showed up to work on time 79% of the time?