Top of the World July 21, 2003 Sani Pass, Makhotlong, Lesotho

With the exception of Lonely Planet books, most of what I've learned about my destinations comes from the web. For both my benefit and yours, here are some of the better travel sites I've found.

Great Amtrak Adventure: My friend Mark takes an epic rail journey with his Dad. Their daily journal and photos as they circumnavigated a continent.

TerrysTrek.com: A guy from Indiana who's starting just a few weeks before me. He's headed for Southeast Asia first.

Vagabonding.com: Another round-the-world traveler who's just starting. A pretty ambitions site.

Cyber-Nomad.com: A travelogue by a guy named Matt Lerner. He did a solo RTW adventure. I read this almost every day for inspiration. He finished his trip just before I started.

BootsnAll.com: A nice site with all you ever wanted to know about planning and going on a Round-the-World trip.

WorldIsRound.com: With the disappearance of JustLikeBeingThere, this is another decent place to satiate your need for travel photography.

Lonely Planet Online: Almost as good as the books. Guides to every country in the world, along with the best travel bulletin board I've seen.

University of Texas Map Collection: A great collection of maps from all over the world divided by continent.

CentralAsiaNews.net: Now that the Times of Central Asia has gone to a subscription service, these guys will have to do. Pretty good coverage of the most fascinating part of the world.

The State Department's Travel Site: I've heard and observed that they're very cautious, but the travel warnings are at least a good read. Maybe even good reason to change plans.