Salon :: Tech & Business

Ask the pilot: You call this traveling? Twenty-one days, 15 countries, 45,000 miles -- without setting foot outdoors

Last month I posed an unusual challenge. I asked readers to come up with the longest, most elaborate international itinerary possible that does not entail contact with fresh air or local soil. "The conveniences of modern <a href="http://dir.salon.com/topics/food_and_travel/">travel</a>," I had written, "specifically the invention of the enclosed jetway and the in-terminal hotel, have made it possible to construct extended international journeys, as it were, stopping in any number of countries, without ever stepping outside." Several people responded, but none were as comprehensive as I'd hoped. (Which isn't surprising, maybe, since the mere thought of such a trip is enough to induce severe jet lag, dehydration and deep-vein thrombosis.) Ideally, this perverse non-adventure would circumnavigate the globe with minimal backtracking. It should feature a full night's layover in as many countries as possible, including at least one on each continent. Each point should be connectable nonstop in accordance with published airline schedules -- that is, no zigzagging detours to intermediate hubs in order to make it work. <P>So I took the challenge myself, and here is what I came up with. Try to imagine you are with me.<p>...</p><img src="http://feeds.salon.com/~r/salon/tech/~4/231328688" height="1" width="1"/>

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