With 5 million international visitors each year, Amsterdam is recognized as one of Europe’s top tourist destinations and is easily the most visited city in the Netherlands. Whether you’re looking for breathtaking art from the Renaissance to the Modern, great restaurants and shopping, or fare of a more ‘botanical’ nature, it will have you covered. Of course, for all of these reasons and more, Amsterdam can feel overwhelmingly busy and full of tourists – which can get tiring and old fast. What few people realize is that there is a city equally worth visiting and often overlooked by international travellers 20 minutes from Amsterdam that can offer a great escape or stand-alone experience.

Enter Utrecht. One of the Netherlands’ oldest, and arguably, most charming cities.

In 2011, I had the opportunity to move from Toronto to Utrecht for the better part of a year for work. While I had visited the Netherlands on many occasions prior to the move, Utrecht was one of a few cities I was completely unfamiliar with. As a tourist, this was largely due to the lure of a good party in Amsterdam. As a Dutch citizen, family visits were located elsewhere.

Since moving back to Toronto in 2012, I have returned five times to Utrecht, and I continue to find new attractions, activities, restaurants, and bars to make each visit more than worth while. It is probably these same spots that prompted Lonely Planet to feature Utrecht as one of the world’s top ten unsung places in 2012. For the same reasons, we’ll be launching a new Departful series highlighting everything from history to happy hour in Utrecht.

Over the next few weeks, check back to learn more about this incredible city, and some of the many reasons you should include it on your next European vacation. Until then, here are a few photos:

Like Gangnam Style, David after the Dentist, and Keyboard Cat before it, the ‘Harlem Shake’ has quickly become a viral sensation. Thankfully, just like each of these videos, within a few weeks it will take its throne as an occasional and obscure reference (possibly on Family Guy) that is otherwise completely forgotten.

Unlike many other viral videos, however, a single ‘Harlem Shake’ was not stand alone in its success. It was a ‘sensation’ more participatory in nature: a call to action urging everyone, everywhere, to act like an idiot and terrorize the dance floor. It even became a form of protest in some parts of the world; so, with little more than a camera and soundtrack at hand, countless people heeded the call.

Before the Harlem Shake fizzles all but out of existence – or returns to its rightful status as a legitimate form of dance – it seemed worth sharing how far-reaching and truly global this YouTube-driven epidemic has been. With that, here are 10 great locations infected by the Harlem Shake.

1. The Eiffel Tower: Paris, France

2. I Amsterdam, Museumplein: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

3. The Great Wall of China

4. Lion’s Head: Cape Town, South Africa

5. Pyramids: near Cairo, Egypt

6. Machu Piccho, Peru

7. The Grand Canyon: Arizona, USA

8. Carthage, Tunisia

9. Brooklyn Bridge: New York, USA

And of course…

10. Haarlem Train Station: Haarlem, The Netherlands

Religion aside, it’s hard to overlook the beauty and architectural prowess of Europe’s historic churches and cathedrals. While some of these buildings have become major tourist attractions or continue to host parishioners, however, others have fallen into disuse and demand significant fees for upkeep. It’s not uncommon as a result to find churches repurposed as condos, offices, community centers, shops or even pubs. Unfortunately, some of these conversions can be more damaging to the original structure than the lack maintenance might have been.

In Maastricht, a medieval city located in the southern part of the Netherlands, architects Merkx + Girod have managed to find a way to reopen and repurpose one such church as a breathtaking bookstore without damaging or disrupting the building’s historic elements: Meet Selexyz Dominicanen.

A Quick History

In the thirteenth century, a Dominican Order based in the Netherlands constructed a Gothic-style church and monastery in the heart of the ancient city of Maastricht. In 1794, however, the church was heavily damaged during the Napoleonic invasion, and the order was forced to dissolve and leave the city. While many of the city’s churches were converted for military purposes following the invasion, the Dominican church was re-assigned as a parish church until 1805, when it too was relocated.

Since then, and with no congregation, the Dominican church has been used as a warehouse, an archive, and most recently as a parking garage for bicycles.

The Good Book(s)

In 2007, the church underwent a dramatic transformation that saw the under-used space turned into what has since been described as the world’s most beautiful bookstore.

Today, the 750 square meter church contains 1,200 square meters of shopping space thanks to the modern three-story stack that lets shoppers explore thousands of books while getting a close-up look at stunning seventeenth century paintings that adorn the vault ceiling. In addition to the huge collection of Dutch and English language books, the store also features a great cafe in the church ‘apse’ where the alter and choir would otherwise be located. Beyond serving up a solid cappuccino, the cafe is regularly used to host cultural activities like book-signings, lectures, debates, and concerts.

Here are a few more photos of this ‘heavenly’ bookstore:

“So, let me get this straight” said the Indian security guard with a look of – what was it? – benevolent bemusement upon his face at the sight of the sweat-dripping, caked-in-mud, heaving mess of a crazy man standing before him.

“Your name is Alex. You’re from Canada, but you live in South Korea. Yesterday you came to Kuala Lumpur to start your winter holiday. This afternoon you met a group of strange men you’ve never seen before and proceeded to come with them 45 minutes to the outskirts of town. Then you all ran through the jungle, at which point you lost everyone. You have no food, water, cell phone, keys, money, way to contact anybody and your bag with everything in it is in the back of some guy’s truck somewhere in the vicinity of this mountain, you hope, but you’re not sure exactly where.”

Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

Thankfully, he saw fit to skip the parts where I had managed to let a group of mostly pot-bellied, middle-aged Malaysians run away from me, got off on the wrong trail, and, stricken with the fear, began to seriously contemplate spending the night alone in the jungle while I laboured breathing that bordered on hyperventilation…

Just another Monday evening with the Kuala Lumpur Mother Hash. “On-on” indeed.

A Hash House History

The story of the Hash House Harriers – a “running club with a drinking problem” (or perhaps “drinking club with a running problem” is more apt, depending on which chapter you’re hashing with) dates back to 1938, with its origins stretching all the way back to mid-19th century Britain. There, the popular running games “Paper Chase” and “Hare and Hounds” took root. While “Paper Chase” was predominantly a children’s game that involved following a set trail over cross-country terrain, “Hare and Hounds” groups were aimed towards adults and stressed fitness and race preparation. As the name indicates, the spirit of the club came from hunting, as hunters often used dogs to help chase down rabbits.

Participants of the Lima Hash House Harriers crossing a log bridge in Lunahuaná.

 
Several “Hare and Hounds” groups already existed in the Federated Malay States (modern-day Malaysia) by the mid-1930′s, in cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Johor Baru, Georgetown and Malacca. Then, in 1938, several British civil servants and businessmen in Kuala Lumpur created an offshoot group that combined “Paper Chase” with “Hare and Hounds,” one that placed decidedly less emphasis on the physical fitness aspects of the activity and more on the social side.

The brainchild of A.S. Gispert, Cecil Lee, Frederick “Horse” Thomson, Ronald “Torch” Bennett, John Woodrow and H.M. Doig, the club took its name from the local Selangor Club Chambers, where the members lived, socialized and ate. Affectionately derided as the “Hash House” for its bland and uninspired cuisine, the new group was called the “Hash House Harriers.”

By 15 August 1941 the group had completed 117 runs, but operations were suspended while the Japanese occupied the Federated Malay States during WWII. The next run was not to take place until August 1946, by which time political tensions had created an atmosphere that made the runs increasingly more difficult to conduct. In fact, in 1950 the Kuala Lumpur city authorities declared that all groups must formally register and have a charter, which was drawn up in typical good humour and embodied the soul of the HHH:

• To promote physical fitness amongst its members
• To get rid of weekend hangovers
• To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it with beer
• To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel

The first branch club opened in 1947 in Bordighera, Italy (close to Milan), but lax record keeping and an official folding in the early 1960′s led many to believe that the second hash (known as the “Father Hash”) began in Singapore. By 1965 there were 10 clubs mostly around South-East Asia, and by the mid-70′s there were almost 50 clubs across 14 countries. Multiplying like rabbits over the ensuing decades, today there are upwards of 2000 active clubs running in nearly every country on earth – there are even two chartered clubs in Antarctica.

The first Red Dress Hash in South America, held in Chaclacayo, near Lima, Peru.

 
The typical trail is anywhere from 7-12 km in length, but as with all hash clubs this is just an approximation as everything varies from group to group. Marked with paper, chalk, flour, sawdust, spray paint etc., runs can take place across an array of terrains and in any weather conditions, from downpours in urban city streets to jungles, mountains, rice paddies and everything in between. While some trails are set “live,” with a “hare” heading off 10-15 minutes ahead of the pack to set the course, others are set “dead” well ahead of time. Several “checkpoints” along the way snake off in all directions, with a handful of false trails leading runners astray and one true trail continuing along the correct path. The idea is to give the “hare” in live runs a chance to stay ahead, to give stragglers in the back an opportunity to catch up and, of course, to give inexperienced runners a chance to get completely lost.

At least that’s how it felt when I looked up from tying my shoe at a checkpoint to see that the runners that had seemed so close to me had vanished.

Back to my run

As the familiar calls of “on-on!” and the call of the blaring horn began to fade from up ahead, I put my trust, as I had been strongly advised, in “following the paper.” I followed this mantra admirably, but unfortunately no one saw fit to mention that several different hash groups existed in Kuala Lumpur and that one of them had recently conducted their own run through the very same jungle, with their course coming perilously close to ours at one junction.

Panda Hash House Harriers on a ‘run’ near Chengdu, China.

 
So as daylight descended and dusk drew near, I found myself “following the paper” as my eyes continued to fight to adjust to the diminishing light. After 5-10 minutes, the calls and the horn had dissipated entirely and I bent over to pick up one of the pieces of paper marking the trail I was on. It read “G7 Hash,” and I recognized the name and the symbol were completely different from the one I’d been following up to that point.

Shit.

As my breathing grew more rapid and shallow and my frantic cries of “on call!” elicited no response, three thoughts entered my head: just follow this trail, even if it is for another group it will lead you out eventually; that was an idiotic first thought, if this is just the beginning of the other trail instead of the end you might be headed back in to the jungle, so just sit down and wait for someone to find you; they weren’t joking with me when they said they’d lost two guests before.

I thought the kindly British expat, who worked for oil giant Petronas and had driven me out to the run, had been putting me on when he said that two runners who had decided to take on the Mother Hash had ended up spending more time in the jungle than they’d cared to. One was found at 3 am and was surprisingly calm about it, while the other came out at 7 or 8 am the next morning and was none-too-pleased. The serious look on his face while he recalled these stories put me off a little, but it didn’t really hit home that he was serious until I saw the assembled runners and their GPS devices, trail running shoes, high socks, bottles of water and other supplies that seemed more fit for a few days with Bear Grylls than a leisurely jog. No matter, I thought. Just stick with the group and you’ll be fine.

But even this was too much to ask apparently, and it was not without a significant sigh of relief that I stumbled out of the forest and onto the side of a steep hill just after 8 p.m., approximately 2 minutes before total darkness set in. So I’d gotten myself out…now all that was left to do was find everyone else.

It was then that I met the Indian security guard who, to his credit, saw through the highly improbable story and realized I actually needed some help (I’m guessing the look of utter defeat etched on my face combined with my ghastly appearance did the trick). So he called his Chinese manager – who of course spoke perfect, fluent English – and at that moment my brain finally began to function again as I remembered that several members had their mobile phone numbers listed on the group website. So he looked up the site on his smart phone, called the gentleman who had brought me, and approximately 45 seconds later he came around the corner to pick me up.

“What the hell did you go and do that for? We were just over there.”

The post-run circle, a staple of the social side of H3 groups everywhere, was already well under way, and the reward for my harrowing experience was an immediate good-natured chiding of “Where the fuck have you been?!?!” and a few consecutive down-downs, where I had to finish a frosty adult beverage in one go or risk pouring the remaining contents of the cup onto my head. Other members were subsequently called up by their ridiculously lewd hash names – which are earned for notorious episodes or physical/personality traits (or sometimes simply after completing a set number of runs) – and recognized or chastised for a number of feats or offenses both real and (more likely) imagined in the same way, with more down-downs and drinking songs.

By the time I’d finally calmed down (and had taken a shower with cold water and shampoo, having decided to throw all of my clothes, socks and shoes into the jungle and do the next 25 days on the road with only a pair of flip-flops) it was time for the on-after, a huge cookout of incredible homemade Chinese food. And as people sat around, eating, talking, laughing and drinking, the only thing I could think about was just how alive I truly felt.

How to get involved in Hash running

No idea how to start hashing? Nervous that you’re not fit enough? Not to worry. There’s information everywhere and clubs for everyone. Your best bet is a quick Google search, as websites, newsletters and magazines with hash news are in abundance. Many major international cities have at least one chapter, with many having several. There are men’s groups, women’s groups, coed groups, even runs for kids and families. Every H3 club has their own style, with some focused more on running and others on the social aspect. Just look one up, or talk to someone, and jump right in.

Photos courtesy of Flickr, dani920; Auswandern Malaysia; and Wikimedia Commons, Jair Zuta La Rosa

Whether you consider yourself an avid traveler or not, take some time to watch this talk. It might shift your perspective on where you are now, or on where you might choose to go next.

About Robin Esrock

Robin Esrock is a South African-born travel writer and international television personality, based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Robin Esrock’s success as a global adventurer, travel writer, TV producer and international TV personality was no accident, although it did start with one. Struck down on his bike at a Vancouver intersection, Robin hobbled away with a broken kneecap, and one year later, a modest $20,000 insurance settlement. It was just enough for him pack up his things, quit his job, and set off on a one-year solo round-the-world backpacking adventure to 24 countries. He named his journey Modern Gonzo, and committed to record his year of living dangerously, with online weekly reports, photography, videos, and interviews with every person he met. In doing so, he pioneered a new era of multi-platform, switched-on and wired-in travel journalism, leading to adventures beyond his wildest dreams.

Image Courtesy of Esrock World Media; Video Courtesy of TED, via Creative Commons license “Attribution – NonCommercial – NonDerivative” licence.

A special thanks to Carlos Alcos from Matador Network for bringing this talk to our attention.

I’m pretty sure the average person does a good job of not falling in holes when they’re at home. So you’d think then that this wouldn’t be a legitimate problem for the average traveler. Unfortunately, depending on where you are, it can be. To show you what I mean, here are two cautionary tales about friends of mine who have quite literally taken the plunge, which I sincerely hope will help you avoid falling to the same fate. Both stories come from friends visiting Africa for the first time, although I’m sure their lessons are widely applicable elsewhere.

Uganda: “If you can’t see it, don’t trust it: 

We hadn’t even been in Kampala 12 hours when my friend Adam managed to fall waist deep in a hole. I’m pretty sure that’s a record. It was his first time in Africa and our accommodation was outside the city. After dumping our bags, we recruited a local to take us around town. First stop: a good restaurant for dinner. By this time it was already quite dark out and our tour guide took us to an open air spot on one of the main streets. He parked the car on the side of the road, we got out and went in. At some point before we got our meals, Adam decided he wanted his jacket from the car, so our driver gave him the keys and he left. Now, here’s the thing about Kampala: a main street does not necessarily mean a well lit street. Sometimes in place of a sidewalk or stretch of road there are deep, intermittently covered sewerage ditches. Ten minutes later Adam came back limping with sewage up to his knee, in significant pain, and exclaimed:

“Guys, I just fell in a f***ing hole. I went for the door, and scissored the ditch up to my hip. I didn’t see it at all. It seriously hurts.”

Our driver had pulled up right beside a ditch, which in the dark was virtually invisible. Of course, between our fits of laughter at Adam’s misfortune, we probably should have been more appreciative about how lucky we were that we didn’t all get out of the car and immediately fall.

Nigeria: “Even if you can see it, don’t trust it”: 

Jill, on the other hand, had had quite a significant amount of experience traveling through the developing world before she fell in a hole in Lagos, Nigeria. If you’ve never been, there are a lot of people in Nigeria. A lot!  And when you’re there it feels like everyone lives in Lagos. That means that pretty much everything, and I mean everything, happens slowly. Even something as simple as walking down the street can be excruciatingly laborious when you’re crammed on the sidewalk with hundreds of other people. It requires a certain patience that only comes from accepting that things are the way they are.

Of course, not one to get stuck behind slow walkers, Jill decided to leap across a ditch to perfectly good walking space that no one was using. Except that it wasn’t. Perhaps the fact that none of the locals had chosen to walk this particular path should have been her first clue, but never one to follow the herd, Jill decided to forge her own path. Unfortunately, that path turned out to be a hole filled with garbage and sewage so thick it looked solid. Other than a bruised ego and the loss of a good pair of Birkenstocks (oh, and being covered in sewage), the fall didn’t cost her much. The complete shock of the ENTIRE crowd of locals witnessing a white girl jump with full conviction into garbage on the other hand, was priceless.

While I’d like to have shared these cautionary stories to provide some form of lesson, perhaps about the state of sanitation and waste disposal in parts of the developing world, in the end, it just seemed worthwhile cementing these tales in our collective online memory. It’s also fun to have an opportunity to remind Adam and Jill that their stories are not easily forgotten. That said, I sincerely hope that in having read this, you will all be able to avoid a similar, embarrassing, fate.

Photo Courtesy of Elma Els Botha and TIA MYSOA

Meet FlightAware

FlightAware offers free live flight tracking for private and commercial flights around the world by aggregating over 50 live data sources plus feedback from a large online community. For day’s like today, however, it is probably best to skip right to FlightAware’s real time cancellation chart, which lets users sort through cancelled flights by airline, departure, or destination airport. These options are particularly useful considering there are already 3,072 cancelled flights today – most of which involve travel to, from, or within North America. You can also check your flight status by date, just in case you are flying tomorrow or later in the week.

If you do have to head to an airport this week, try out FlightAware before you leave home. It could save you a drive to the airport, or a call/lengthy waiting-time on hold with your airline. Of course, if your flight isn’t cancelled, give yourself extra time to get to the airport and drive slow, or take public transit.

Thanks to Mashable for letting us know about this great tool. Hopefully not too many of us will see our next flight listed.

Thumbnail Photo courtesy of Flickr, Dru!, Screenshot courtesy of FlightAware

You can view more in our original post, or by visiting They Draw and Travel, which currently features over 650 different maps that are available for sale with a portion of the proceeds supporting the artists.

With that, here are fifteen more creative, and beautifully illustrated, travel maps! Let us know which one is your favourite in the comment section below.

Charleston, South Carolina, by Rob Beals

Toronto, See the World in Just One City, by Megan Marin

So Sweet Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, Thailand, by Piyada Sirikul

Sindulang Waterfall, Bandung, Indonesia, by Rizal Rizal

Saint Petersburg, Russia, by Svetlana Ermakova

Philadelphia, PA, by Alison Whittington

Monument Valley, by James Orndorf

Montevideo, Uruguay, by Marcelo Mattos

Mon Montreal, Canada, by Bjorn Feldmann

Kham Chanot Forest, Thailand, by Supitcha Senarak

Keuka Lake, New York, by Lisa Jane Smith

Iceland, by Collin

Around the Balkans in Forty Days, by Alexandre Cartographik

Gourmet Buenos Aires, Argentina, by Anna Mendes

Iceland Round Trip, by Patra Tawatpol

Maps courtesy of They Draw and Travel; Thumbnail and Slider Image by Bjorn Feldmann

Even a quick visit to the travel section of Apple’s App Store can be overwhelming. With literally thousands of apps available to help you traverse the globe, finding a tried and trusted few can be a challenge. As a result, the launch of another travel app can seem about as exciting as returning to work after a great trip and is rarely worth much fanfare. With that said, I was happy this week to make an addition to my travel app arsenal: Fly Delta for iPad

Released as part of a $140 million technology investment by Delta Airlines, Fly Delta for iPad is loaded with features to take you through the booking process, improve your inflight experience, and help you explore wherever it is that you end up. The app includes free destination guides, the ability to book and check into flights, travel reminders, inflight entertainment information, a Delta app store to download additional movies, books, and music, map functionality to help you get directions to and from the airport, and, perhaps the most innovative feature, “Glass Bottom Jet”.

Glass Bottom Jet allows you to follow your journey while in air on an aerial map that shows your flight’s location, trajectory, and speed. While this is already standard on many inflight screens, this touchscreen version also pulls location-specific data from your Facebook and Twitter networks. For example, if you were flying over New York, Glass Bottom Jet would highlight which of your friends have been there, and share related check-ins and status updates about that location.

In addition to these features, the application also supports multiple user accounts for households with more than one frequent traveler, and information about your SkyMiles account, a feature already standard on the Delta iPhone app: Fly Delta – Delta Air Lines

While I’ve only used the app for a few days, and have experienced the occasional crash when using some of the app’s more robust features, I would still highly recommend the free download – especially for those who frequently travel using SkyTeam carriers or collect Delta SkyMiles.

Find out more about this new app and other Delta technology upgrades in their press release.

Do you have a favourite travel app for your smartphone or tablet? Let us know in the comment section below so we can check it out!

Thumbnail and image courtesy of Delta Airlines, Fly Delta for iPad.

To help answer this, the Hospitality Management Program at Concordia University St. Paul, released an infographic looking into some of the ‘hottest’ tourist destinations that Americans plan to visit this winter. The odd part is, few are actually hot. While some, like Palm Beach, Aruba, and San Juan, Puerto Rico boast more palatable climates, New York and London top the charts for domestic and international travel, respectively. Oddly, neither have a beach or a mountain. Check out these, and other top destinations in the infographic below.

Are you planning any winter travel this year? If so, let us know where in the comment section below. Also, we’re curious to what extent the weather/temperature plays an important role in your decision making.

Cold Weather Wanderlust infographic by skylargrey.