We here at Matouring are not politically driven, but we do care about the world's people. Do you ever shed a tear for some countries and its people who take the brunt of the pain when another country steps on top of it? Can you think of any countries that might do that,…
History
Every so often, we hear of groups of people that fall outside of "traditional" society. Sometimes they are expelled from that society, or sometimes they simply leave. There are many, though, who find their place and thrive. One example of this are the Uyghurs. According to Wikipedia, the Uyghurs, alternatively spelled…
One day, very soon, the existing Powers That Be will shuffle of their mortal coils and, with any luck, the rest of them will wake up to the fact that the rest of the 8,045,311,437+ humans will want peace. They will want prosperity. And, most of all, they will want to be free…
Listening to Marvin, all night long and living in French caves was all the rage in 1964. And if that doesn't make you want to be a cave dweller - even if you think that you know France - then what about this? Trôo is a charming village located in the Loire Valley region…
In this place in time, today - January of 2024 - the idea of having holidays in Russia may not seem appealing or even plausible to many. Moscow and Washington are rattling their sabers again, and the weight of that activity is throwing the world off balance yet again. But it wasn't always…
It's funny how some people see things differently than others, especially when those people come from a new city or country. Their perspective is often fresh and surprising to "the locals." So, when you get a glance at what you see before you, it's like a brand new day. Your tired view…
If you're like us, when we travel, we love to try our best to zip through the tourist traps and then slow down to visit and linger in the hidden spots. The benefits of this are obvious, but sometimes it's easy to take the easy way out. But, you'll really be missing out…
. . . with many a winding turn as The Hollies once said in their song "He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother." And, sadly isn't that the truth, even more today? In today's world climate, every day, every footstep feels longer, heavier and more ponderous. But let's put this simile aside for now and…
Indulge us as we look to the past of travel and, in some aspects, compare it to modern travel. In many ways, today's air travel is light years away from even the 1970s. Those of us who flew in that time period would slump into our "state-of-art" jet liner seats and marvel at how…
As is our wont, we present yet another post focused on history and travel. But this one takes several different slants, and ones that we hope you'll investigate. Specifically, here we feature live history that you can not only read about (and watch the video,) but this is history where you can…
As Anthony Bourdain once said " If I'm in Rome for only 48 hours, I would consider it a sin against God to not eat cacio e pepe, the most uniquely Roman of pastas, in some crummy little joint where Romans eat. I'd much rather do that than go to the Vatican. That's Rome to…
We're always looking for adventure, no matter where it lies. And, in some cases, lies are part of the package. Our governments are sketchy at best, and there is so little that we know, although the electric interwebs are there, assisting the curious, the believers and the non-believers to allow the truth come…
What a tempting and delicious mélange is Europe. Ever-changing, never-changing and full to the rim of things to do, the Motherland will keep you entertained and enthused until you take your last breath, practically. After all of the world wars that this place has endured, it still remains, almost like 27 birds flying…
Here's another one of those posts where you get to experience places that you may never see, but should. But this one is very particular, because it focuses on a particular place (in this case, Japan) in a particular city (Nishinomiya) and, amongst other joys, it hosts a delightful little (or should we say…
We love aircraft, flying and everything that swirls around it. And speaking of swirls, that might just be you as you try to unravel the sometimes impenetrable jargon that is part of aviation. The industry uses it for very specific purposes, and one of the main purposes is to keep passengers safe and…
If you're not too much into history, you might want to jump to any of our other 2000+ posts, but you may also want to stick with us here, because this is a wide-reaching discussion on how New York City blossomed into the behemoth that it is, and why - if you're the curious type…
The title of this post may need an introduction - sort of, one step further than beyond going round in circles. And, despite the rather tame and obscure title, it does pertain to travel. In aviation parlance, these kinds of triangles are known as triangle routes. Cunningly enough, they're called triangle routes because…
Apologies in advance for the mini-sermon here, but it always breaks our hearts when we see people unable to live their lives to the fullest due to geopolitical nonsense, as we are seeing now (this is December 2023.) Like a broken record, the same blindness and self-aggrandizement by a "select few" around the globe…
Airships. What goes around comes around. And how many times did the Jefferson Airplane change their name? Quite a few times. But, that clumsy introduction will now elegantly segue into the real meat and potatoes of this post; airships. Most people reel in horror when the "airship" word is mentioned,…
Feel free to sing to this post, as it's mystery, riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma meaning that no-one really knows. Here's a hint: The reflex is a lonely child, who's waiting by the park. The reflex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark. And watching over lucky clover,…