Thanks to everyone who commented on my recent post about how to deal with old guidebooks. I've decided to keep only the most recent edition of any particular country. It may sound like a big deal but I've actually ending ditching a grand total of two books. Hey, it's a start.

In moving my office back home I've just rediscovered one book which I definitely won't be ditching. Before Lonely Planet and before Rough Guides, the Commercial Press of Jerusalem was publishing the "Path-Finder Guide to Palestine, Transjordan and Syria".

The slim volume was produced in 1941 for Australian and New Zealand troops based in Egypt before they moved on to battle in North Africa in World War 2. I picked up my copy at a garage sale in Auckland.

The focus is firmly on the sights, and while there are no reveiws of hotels or restaurants an ad for the "Piccadilly!!! Cafe" offers "Good Food!! Good Drinks!! Dancing!! Orchestra!! Prompt Service!!" - (almost...) everything an ANZAC soldier could want on his R & R.

Apparently there was no shortage of exclamation marks back then.

For such a modest little book, it's a poignant read as it covers places like the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek, Beirut, Nablus and Damascus - all map references with very different historical resonance almost seventy years after it was first published. in 1941.

It is sad, but true. The cheapest rental cars in Europe typically come equipped with stickers advertising the rental car company. And, no, we are not talking subtle advertising here. The car companies, Alimex in the Czech Republic, and others, such as Sixti (renting similarly "stickered" Smart cars for as little as $6/day, as well as other cars, all over Europe) do it.

The car in the picture is a Skoda I rented in Prague to drive to Switzerland, not realizing that it would look like this. Needless to say, the circus-car made quite a few heads turn around the upscale Lake Geneva. BUT, it did cost less than a dinner for two in Lausanne. In fact, if you drive this thing in Switzerland, it is quite likely people will just pick up dinner for you out of pity.

One thing about it is practical. When someone asks you how much you paid for the rental, you can just point at the door, which prominently displays: 450Kc/day. (That would be some $20/day, even given the sad state of the dollar these days.) Of course, it only works if they didn't notice the price from a mile away...

I quite like having a popular tourist destination all to myself.

Unfortunately, this usually means one of two things; either I'm traveling in the off season and it is raining, or some recent catastrophe or civil unrest has swept through the region.

Or, it's the Middle East.

A recent article in The Guardian explores the lone silver lining behind the current dark clouds enveloping the Middle East since the most recent war started; empty tourist locations.

Kevin Rushby discusses the advantages that something horrific as war has for the adventurous travel; cheaper accommodations, far more welcoming locals, and even special treats like using historic bathrooms in house museums.

Sure, it's a bit sick to plug travel to such places during such times, but I have to admit, Rushby does make a good case for doing so.

Drum roll please... Yes, folks you guessed right! It is time again for our weekly update and though it's been a little more quiet than usual we've still got some goodies out there and here is this week's list:

5. International Internet Cafés: Type Fast!
For those of us who still haven't learned how to shut the world we know and the world that knows us back home out and off while on vacation here is a fine blurb on International Internet Cafés. Personally, I try to avoid these as the connections are always cruddy and the rates price out pretty ridiculous on some occasions, but if you're the type that relies on lightening fast communication to say "hi" to mom rather than snail mailing a post card you'll want to peek into this piece.

4. Best Stargazing Destination's in America:
It's a bird, it's a plane, no - it's the stars... When I found this amazing article on stargazing in the U.S. in Nat Geo's Adventure magazine I wanted to take off to Bryce Canyon and howl at the moon. As bad as it sounds star gazing isn't something you can do out of your backyard anymore with the increase of light-pollution, but if you're as passionate about seeing one of the most phenomenal natural light shows taking place every night, you'll head to this piece and then book your own excursion to see the stars.

3. World Hum Top 30 Travel Books:
If the temperatures start climbing too high becoming a couch potato won't be so bad provided you're still taking your mind some place. Start your summer reading off with some of the travel classics found on World Hum's list. Like Erik who brings our attention to the list, I have a tremendous amount of catching up to do when it comes to some of the fine works mentioned.

2. Traveling Syria:
This one gets picked simply because Syria is a destination we touch on very little and probably one we should blog on more often. For now we have this cool inside look from Outside Magazine writer Patrick Symms to hold us over until we make it there on our own.

1. Hidden Gems: Hell
Go to Hell. Seriously! Willy Volk gets this week's top nod with his fiery travel tales to Hell and back. Go see for yourself.

Syria never made the famous axis of evil, but I'd read way back when that Bush and company have long held deep suspicions of Syria. Perhaps for good reason, but let's not get into politics here. Suffice it to say, Syria would be an interesting place to visit. If you need mer convincing of that fact, take a look at this piece on traveling Syria.

Outside Magazine's Patrick Symms take a long gander at the country and finds it a fascinating place filled with deep religiosity and not just a few historically significant places. It is also a place that plays prominently into the current conflict in Iraq, Symms calls it "a kind of small-scale Cambodia to Iraq's Vietnam". The article does a fine job revealing the complexities of the country and is very much worth a read.