Photo of the day – Rural Mailboxes

by Meg Nesterov on


Living abroad, one of the things I miss most about the US is mail. Sure, much of it is junk nowadays, but nothing beats the thrill of getting a new magazine, letter from a friend or a postcard in the mail. In Turkey, getting a package or letter from overseas can be a maddening (and expensive) experience dealing with customs and I miss the everyday ritual of checking the mailbox. When I first traveled to England, I was amazed that they get mail delivered more than once a day (though I’m sure it’s been cut down like many other services in the modern age)! This photo from rural Calgary by Flickr user Chris Maki made me imagine how the ritual of checking the mail would take on more importance if you had to travel a distance to the mailbox.

Have you seen any unusual mailboxes in your travels? What does mail mean to you when traveling? Add your mail (or other travel) photos to the Gadling Flickr pool and you could be featured as a future Photo of the Day.

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of April 22

by Adrienne Wilson on

Time to catch up on some of what you may have missed over the week… Without delay let’s hop right to it!

5. Write for Wend:
Here is your chance to get your travel writing out there and into a new glossy. Don’t save all those adventure tales for the grandkids – write for Wend and share them with us all.

4. 24 Hours of Flickr:
This May 5th Flickr is calling all around the world to photograph their daily routine and submit one single great photo from the day for an event/project called 24 Hours of Flickr. While something like such has been done before, it is still awesome to participate in if you haven’t before and love the Flickr community.

3. Environmentalist Greats Tour:
Heal the world and make it a better place – Yes? Then why not head out on one of these mean-green-eco-machine type tours… Okay, they aren’t mean, but you get the picture.

2. Underwater Post Offices and Mailboxes Around the World:
I have a hard enough time finding a post office on land and I’m not one of the greatest swimmers, so going underwater to mail off a package isn’t quite my thing. For those who do love exploring the ocean fully clad in scuba gear and discovering new exotic creatures (like underwater mailboxes) please send me a little something when you’re down there. I’d appreciate it.

1. A Canadian In Beijing: Two-Wheeled Matrimony:
Ember doesn’t stop does she? In fact she recently found a bike to keep her going and going in the land where bicycles almost totally rule the road. See what’s happening in Beijing now that she has her first set of wheels.