As someone who’s been saving money for her first true solo trip in the new year, I certainly have my fears and reservations. My brain keeps trying to intimidate me with worst-case scenarios and excuses to stay home and stick to my normal routine. But the entire point of solo traveling is to get yourself out of your comfort zone. 

Here’s how to start solo traveling in the new year.

1. Start Small

Many people assume that traveling must involve week-long or even month-long trips to luxurious resorts or expensive hotels. However, true traveling doesn’t need to break the bank. In fact, it’s smart to start small and work your way up to longer stays at more remote locations. 

Even if it’s a short overnight adventure somewhere within driving distance, it’s still a step in the right direction. For example, make reservations for one at a nearby restaurant, book that local Airbnb that’s a few towns over, or schedule a short weekend trip in a small city you’ve always wanted to visit.

Once you’re comfortable doing things alone, you can expand your horizon a bit more, extending your travels or branching out to further locations. Starting small ensures you won’t overwhelm your nervous system too quickly, which could end up turning you off to the idea entirely. It’s okay to go at your own pace.

2. Create an Itinerary That Inspires and Excites You

When you plan your first solo travel trip, make sure you have a light itinerary to follow. That way, you don’t show up unprepared or overwhelmed by choices.

For example, I’m personally turning my solo trip to New England into a mini writer’s retreat. I aim to visit specific cafes in the area, explore quaint downtowns, spend some time in nature, and cozy up in my Airbnb to write my current novel. I have a list of must-visit eateries, landmarks, and shops to try in the process. 

You don’t need to schedule every minute of every day when planning your trip, but it’s helpful to have a general idea of things you’d like to do and places you’d like to see.

3. Take the Proper Safety Precautions

Traveling alone—especially as a woman—can be intimidating. No matter how long you’ve been adventuring solo, you might still notice fear creep in when embarking on your journey. This is completely valid, but it doesn’t mean you should avoid solo travel altogether.

Instead of canceling your trip, just take the proper precautions to keep yourself safe and secure. For example, sharing your travel plans—and perhaps even your location—with loved ones can make solo trips feel less threatening. If it helps, perhaps have one person check in with you throughout the day, and if something feels off, know you can count on them to help you back home.

Additionally, choose a place you’ve researched and that you know is safe, as well as a hotel or Airbnb host you trust. Always be aware of your surroundings, take the proper precautions, and trust your intuition along the way.

The post 3 Solo Traveling Tips for People Who Just Need to Get Away for a Bit appeared first on VICE.

These travel-friendly sex essentials are all small enough to tuck into a carry-on, but still fun enough to make “I’m going to bed early” sound suspicious. And don’t worry—together they cover everything from lube and clean-up to vibes, rings, and condoms that don’t feel like a downgrade from your at-home setup.

ALSO FUN: 8 Best Lovense Sex Toys You Should Gift Your Partner This Christmas

Satisfyer Epic Cock Ring

This vibrating ring is small enough to pass as a charger in your toiletry bag, but built for genuinely intense vibration once it’s in place. The stretchy silicone band hugs the base of the penis, while the motor sits on top to send buzz directly where bodies are actually grinding together. Because it’s rechargeable and waterproof, you can charge it in your hotel bathroom and rinse it off in the shower without drama. If you’ve ever tried to be quiet in a creaky childhood bedroom, this can keep the party going while your hands stay free to keep the headboard from slamming.

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Satisfyer

Epic Duo Cock Ring (opens in a new window)

$24.62 at Amazon

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Good Vibrations Fascinator Throw

This travel-size Fascinator Throw is the difference between hot sex and replacing a ruined duvet. It’s a compact, foldable blanket that looks like a normal plush throw but is lined with a moisture-proof barrier, so all the fluids stay on the blanket instead of soaking the mattress. The travel size is easy to roll up and toss into a tote or suitcase, and you can just wash and reuse it instead of panic-hiding it under the bed. It’s very “adult sleepover kit,” and honestly, I wish I’d started packing one years ago.

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Liberator

Fascinator Throw (opens in a new window)

$124.98 at Amazon

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Uberlube Silver Travel + Refill Bundle

A good silicone lube fixes more often than you’d think. Uberlube’s travel kit comes with a sleek little metal travel vial that looks like a perfume sample, plus a larger refill bottle you leave at home. The lube itself is silky, long-lasting, and doesn’t go sticky, which is clutch if you’re sneaking a quick session in and don’t have time for a full shower. Trust me when I say a couple of pumps go a long way.

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Überlube

Silver Travel + Refill Bundle (opens in a new window)

$33.25 at Amazon

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Flamingo Travel Razor Kit for Women

This Flamingo travel kit gets you a mini handle that fits both body and pubic blade cartridges, plus two little foaming shave gels and a vented travel case that keeps everything from rusting in your toiletry bag. The blades are five-blade cartridges with a 360-degree lubricating ribbon and aloe-shea butter strip, so you’re less likely to razor-burn your bikini line. Technically, this is a beauty product, but functionally, it’s pre-sex logistics in a TSA-friendly package.

Womanizer Peach Rechargeable Clitoral Stimulator

If you’re trying to get off in a house full of relatives, suction toys are your best friends. The Womanizer Peach is tiny, super cute, and uses “air pulse” suction on the clitoris instead of a big, buzzy motor. It has multiple intensity levels, a soft silicone tip, and a travel lock, so it won’t start humming in your carry-on mid-security line. It’s rechargeable, waterproof, and designed for very focused stimulation, too. Check, check, and orgasmic-level check.

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Lovehoney

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$69.99 at Lovehoney

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Ace Stroker Men’s Masturbation Sleeve

Travel can be brutal if you’re used to toys at home and suddenly stuck with only your hand and bad Wi-Fi. The Ace stroker is a compact masturbation sleeve with a soft, textured interior that adds way more nuance than a rushed shower jerk-off. From the outside, it looks like a harmless black cylinder, so you can hide it in a shoe or dopp kit without raising eyebrows. It’s also easier to clean than a full-size toy, which matters when the only sink you have access to is in a shared bathroom.

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Lushense

Voila Ace Stroker (opens in a new window)

$18 at Lushense

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LELO Bijoux Warming Massage Oil

A good massage oil is the stealthiest sex toy you can pack, and LELO’s warming oil is specifically designed to feel luxe without being sticky. A few drops warm on contact and give a slow, glidey slip that works for back rubs, butt grabs, and everything in between. It can pass as a self-care item if anyone snoops, but in reality, it’s a very efficient way to go from “holiday stress” to “naked on the hotel bed” in about fifteen minutes.

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LELO

Warming Massage Oil (opens in a new window)

$27.90 at LELO

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Vesper 2 Necklace Vibe

The Vesper 2 is a legitimately pretty necklace that also happens to be a small, powerful vibrator. It looks like a minimalist metal pendant on a chain, but the “pendant” unscrews into a USB-rechargeable vibe with multiple speeds and patterns. Because it passes as jewelry, you can wear it through the airport, to family dinner, or out to a holiday party and then quietly plug it into a USB port later like it’s no big deal.

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Vesper

Vesper 2 Necklace Vibe (opens in a new window)

$109 at Babeland

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Future Method Anal Douche Kit

If anal is on your holiday menu, trying to improvise with a random drugstore bottle and your parents’ shower is… not the vibe. Future Method’s anal douche kit is designed by an anal-health-focused brand and comes with a reusable bulb and angled nozzles that make prepping faster, gentler, and more controlled. It’s compact enough to pack and much more hygienic than whatever mystery plastic is hanging in a rental shower. Again, I’m not saying you need to announce you brought your own anal care setup, but if you’ve ever tried to get ready for butt stuff in a shared bathroom, you know why this makes the list.

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Future Method

Anal Douche Kit (opens in a new window)

$24.99 at Amazon

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We-Vibe Touch X

The Touch X is one of those small, pebble-shaped items that ends up doing every job on the trip: clit stim, nipple play, edging, whatever your sleep-schedule-ruined brain can dream up. It has multiple intensities and patterns, a soft silicone body, and a shape that fits easily in your palm or under your hand during partnered sex. Toss it in the inside pocket of your carry-on and you’ve got a whole arsenal of orgasms in something roughly the size of an AirPods case.

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We-Vibe

We-Vibe Touch X (opens in a new window)

Available at Amazon

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Trojan G.O.A.T. Non-Latex Condoms

You can pack all the toys in the world, but if your partner is latex-sensitive and you forgot condoms, the holiday horniness dies fast. Trojan’s G.O.A.T. condoms use an ultra-flexible non-latex material that’s soft, odorless, and designed to move with you instead of feeling like a plastic bag. They’re lubricated with a smooth silicone lube and designed to transfer body heat more easily, making them feel less like a barrier and more like a slightly glossier version of skin-on-skin. It’s 2025, and no one should ever sacrifice safety in the name of a good time in your childhood bedroom.

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Trojan

G.O.A.T. Latex-Free Lubricated Condoms for Men (opens in a new window)

$9.99 at Amazon

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The post Travel-Friendly Sex Essentials for the Holidays For Those Who Still Want to Play appeared first on VICE.

That isn’t so, according to a new study published in the journal Microbiome. Northwestern University Environmental microbiologist Erica Hartmann and her team collected facemasks worn by travelers and healthcare workers. They also snagged a few that were unworn for comparison, to give scientists a better idea of what gross stuff, and how much of it, makes its way to our faces.

“We realized that we could use face masks as a cheap, easy air-sampling device for personal exposures and general exposures,” said Hartmann in a released statement. Turns out, not much of it all, at least in hospitals and airplanes.

Turns Out Airplane and Hospital Air Is Way Cleaner Than You Think

After extracting DNA from the outside of the masks, researchers identified 407 microbial species. Sounds like a lot. Sounds like a festival of disease slamming into your face at all times. However, most of these were mundane skin bacteria. Potentially harmful germs were present only in trace amounts, with no evidence of active infection.

Airplane and hospital air also looked strangely similar, in that both environments are basically giant clouds of human skin microbes. No matter where you are, the microbes around you mostly come from the people near you, not the place itself.

Slightly more troubling was a grab bag of antibiotic resistance genes, reiterating something that we’ve been learning a lot in recent years: antibiotic resistance is worryingly widespread. The genes are obviously not dangerous on their own, but hint toward a larger, potentially more dangerous threat humanity may face down the line.

The study focused only on airborne exposure, so it doesn’t account for the filthy, disgusting paws on some of the cretins that walk into these places and touch everything. So they can account for what’s going on people’s hands, but as far as the air in hospitals and airplanes is concerned, take a big sigh of relief because it’s a lot less filthy than you think.

But maybe consider wearing a mask for safety purposes, just in case… especially if you’re vulnerable.

The post The Truth About Airplane and Hospital Air, According to Science appeared first on VICE.

A common first impression of Belén, a floating Peruvian city with a sprawling wet market on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, is “Christ, this place stinks.”

Belén market sells just about anything. Bottled ayahuasca. Shish kabobs made from grilled larvae. Skinned howler monkeys. Yellow-footed tortoises, gutted alive and sold to women with the promise that the meat tames jealous men. The skin of a jaguar, steaks made from sliced caiman, and giant containers packed with turtle eggs—all of which are sold alongside more mundane items, like flour, sugar, and rice. Belén, in other words, is a one-stop shop for the Amazonian town of Iquitos’ local residents. It’s also a powder keg for disease. 

“If an epidemic ever happens in Peru,” a local guide told VICE, “it’ll have started in Belén, I swear to God.” 

Wet markets like Belén tend to get a bad rap. A really bad rap. For a long time the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, has been posited as ground zero for the Covid-19 pandemic. The very first Covid-19 cases in people were reported there, and most of them were traced to a particular corner of the market where vendors sold wild animals in cramped, unsanitary conditions; raccoon dogs, hedgehogs, bamboo rats, complex-toothed flying squirrels, civets, badgers, and minks were all crammed together, to be sold as pets and food.

Of course, the actual origins of the pandemic are still highly disputed. Regardless of how it started, however, one thing is certain: Covid-19 is a zoonotic disease. In other words, a pathogen that’s transmitted between animals and humans. And some wet markets pose a risk of zoonotic spillover.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that over three quarters of new infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin. 

Bing Lin, a journalist and postdoctoral research associate at the University of Sydney, told VICE that the majority of wet markets are harmless. Many in Europe and North America are more akin to a farmer’s market than a dangerous emporium capable of causing the apocalypse. The real danger resides in the small fraction of markets dealing in live and wild animals, he said. “When wild animals are mixed with livestock and sold live next to meat and seafood, the chances for viruses to ‘jump’ species go way up,” Lin said. “Add poor sanitation, stressed animals, and constant human contact, and you’ve got a recipe for spillover.” 

In the wake of the pandemic, and despite the fact that most zoonotic transmissions come from industrial farming and domesticated animals, the “overwhelming response to Covid-19 was ‘ban the wildlife trade,’” Dr. Dilys Roe, the principal researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development, told VICE. 

The political effort to do so, however, has largely failed.

Wet markets in Belén, Wuhan, as well as those in Africa, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere in Latin America, were supposed to either shut down or get a total sanitary makeover. China largely followed through; it shuttered many of its wet markets, even banning aspects of the illicit wildlife trade outright. The World Health Organization called for a permanent global ban on live wild animal sales, as well as improved hygiene and regulation in wet markets. There was even a United Nations plan in place to overhaul Belén completely.

But none of it materialized. Within a few years, many wet markets around the world came roaring back to life, returning to their former disgusting glory. 

“With the pandemic’s origins still unresolved, the global pressure to reform wet markets soon faded,” Lin explained. “Plus, these markets are a way of life that sustain millions of livelihoods, so overhauling them can be infeasible. Targeting high-risk wet markets makes more sense than trying to fix the whole system, but even that takes money, enforcement, and political will—all in short supply.” 

Dr. Roe echoed this, adding that many markets, including those in West Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, and the Congo and Amazon basins, are informal, ad hoc, remote and rural, places difficult for authorities to identify in the first place, let alone properly regulate. 

“Many places where markets occur lack the resources and capacity to put in place the necessary food hygiene, animal handling standards, and biosecurity measures that would be needed to effectively contain diseases,” she said. “And many of the clients of these markets are poor people who similarly don’t have the luxury of being bothered about things like food hygiene. In the case of wildlife markets, some of this is illegal and so by definition, unrecorded and hence unregulated.” 

In Brazzaville, the Republic of the Congo’s capital, the Drage (or marche de Dragage, as it’s called in French) is a nocturnal wet market. There, muddy stalls sell unrefrigerated bats, rodents, and reptiles under the pale Congolese moonlight. Wet markets elsewhere in the Congo Basin sometimes sell bushmeat from the jungle, often gorillas and chimpanzees. Bushmeat is linked to Ebola, HIV, monkeypox, and Henipavirus. In fact, an Ebola outbreak in 2001 is rumored to have started in one such wet market. 

In much of the Global South, Lin said, wet markets aren’t a luxury, but a part of daily life. “They bring fresh, affordable food where supermarkets and refrigeration are rare, and they’re a lifeline for small farmers, fishers, and vendors who rely on selling directly to communities.”

Reform, then, can be a political and social tightrope. Blanket bans often backfire, which drives the wildlife trade underground. A smarter approach, according to Lin, is targeted reform: better hygiene and infrastructure, keeping live animals separate from food stalls, regulating the wildlife trade, and giving vendors support to transition. 

In a post-pandemic world, wet markets remain too narrow a focus in public health. They are just a node among many where zoonoses might emerge. Industrial farming, deforestation, and the global wildlife trade pose graver threats to human health than wet markets do. 

“Millions of people around the world rely on wild meat and informal markets. Yes, we need to clamp down on unsustainable and illegal use of wildlife. But demonizing markets, which are a lifeline to many, is not the way to do this,” Roe said.

“A singular focus on wet markets risks ignoring the bigger, but more politically challenging picture.”

Follow Ryan Biller on X @rybiller

The post Wild Danger: The Dilemma of Peru’s Floating City Wet Market appeared first on VICE.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the move could create “mass chaos.” Industry experts seem to agree. “If you don’t have to travel during all of this, maybe you shouldn’t,” Ben Mutzabaugh, senior aviation reporter for The Points Guy, told the New York Post. He called the situation “unprecedented.”

Still, not everyone can stay grounded. For those who have to fly, airlines and travel experts have started sharing their best damage-control tactics.

How to Deal With the Turbulence

1. Go nonstop whenever possible.

Connecting flights are the first dominoes to fall when delays ripple through the system. “Take a nonstop flight if you can,” Mutzabaugh said. “It’s worth paying extra to avoid being stranded halfway.”

2. Add extra layover time.

If you do need to connect, pad your itinerary. A longer layover—think two or three hours—gives you a fighting chance to make your next flight. “We’re really triaging the problem here,” Mutzabaugh said.

3. Get close to your final destination.

When connecting, pick a layover city near your endpoint. That way, if the second leg gets canceled, you can rent a car or catch a train and still make it.

4. Skip basic economy fares for now.

They’re the least flexible tickets, and in this mess, flexibility is everything. Mutzabaugh warns against non-changeable fares and suggests using credit cards that include travel insurance.

5. Stay glued to your airline’s app.

Every major carrier says it’s pushing real-time alerts through mobile apps and websites. American Airlines and United have promised proactive notifications and rebooking options. Delta, Southwest, Frontier, and Alaska are doing the same. Frontier even issued a flexible travel policy through November 12, waiving change fees for most affected travelers.

6. Check for refunds—even if your flight still exists.

United is allowing refunds on any ticket, including nonrefundable and basic economy fares, if customers no longer wish to travel. Delta and Southwest are offering similar leniency. Always confirm through the airline’s site or app before assuming you’re out of luck.

7. Pack patience.

Schedules are “like dominoes,” Mutzabaugh said, meaning one day’s cancellations could fall into the holidays. Even after flights resume, disruptions may linger into December.

No one knows how long the shutdown—or the flight insanity—will last. But if you do have to fly this month, plan as if you’re navigating a storm. Bring chargers, snacks, and try to stay positive.

The post How to Survive the FAA Flight Cuts No One Saw Coming appeared first on VICE.

According to new data from the gaming platform SpinBlitz, the world’s most haunted destination sits on American soil. Researchers compared thousands of TripAdvisor reviews and folklore archives to rank the places where ghost stories and tourism have become impossible to separate.

1. Salem, Massachusetts (4.9/5)

Salem, most known for the 1692 Witch Trials, has learned to make a living off its own dark history. Each October, more than a million visitors crowd the narrow streets for psychic fairs, walking tours, and candlelit reenactments. The Witch House and the Salem Witch Trials Memorial stay packed, but what’s really impressive is how a town built on hysteria has turned itself into a full-fledged tourism brand.

2. Corvin Castle, Romania (4.9/5)

Corvin Castle looks like a place literally designed to host ghosts. The Gothic stronghold in Hunedoara once held Vlad the Impaler, and locals say his spirit never left. Tourists claim to feel cold drafts in sealed chambers and hear voices where no one’s standing. 

3. Lizzie Borden House, Fall River, Massachusetts (4.8/5)

The murder that inspired a nursery rhyme still creeps through the creaky walls of the Borden home. Overnight guests claim to hear footsteps on the stairs and axes in the distance. Each October, the “murder room” books out months in advance.

4. Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia (4.6/5)

Once one of the harshest prisons in America, its crumbling cellblocks now host ghost tours and immersive horror events. Staff report strange figures in old guard towers, while visitors swear they’ve heard cell doors slam when no one’s around. Al Capone supposedly saw a ghost here, too, but he also drank bathtub gin daily, so, grain of salt.

5. Hill of Crosses, Lithuania (4.7/5)

The Hill of Crosses in Lithuania holds more than 200,000 crucifixes and rosaries left by pilgrims over the past two centuries. During the day, it feels sacred. At night, locals report strange lights weaving through the crosses and faint voices carried by the wind. The scene is both beautiful and unnerving.

6. Tower of London, England (4.6/5)

A millennium of beheadings and betrayal is bound to lead to some ghostly hauntings. Visitors still report sightings of Anne Boleyn roaming the halls, and the ravens who claim the tower as home are one of the most photographed spectacles.

7. Aokigahara Forest, Japan (4.3/5) 

Known as the “Sea of Trees,” this forest near Mount Fuji has a creepy, dark reputation. Compasses malfunction, paths twist back on themselves, and locals say spirits whisper from the moss-covered roots.

The rest of the list includes Edinburgh Castle, Charleville Castle, and Banff Springs Hotel. The ghosts may or may not be real. The obsession definitely is.

The post The 7 Most Haunted Places on Earth—and Why We Keep Visiting Them appeared first on VICE.

When the world opened up like a slow-motion oyster after the Covid lockdowns and I began indulging in regular flights again, I knew my old-fashioned airplane sleeping position of “limp crash test dummy” wasn’t going to fly any longer. I needed a good neck pillow.

No, I needed a great neck pillow.

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Travelrest

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finding a neck pillow that didn’t suck

Like most people, I wasn’t much of a connoisseur of neck pillows. Asking friends and family what they liked was met with blank stares. They either slumped forward as I’d been doing, or they just used “one of those big, donut-shaped ones” they’d get out of an airport vending machine.

So I Googled. Or more specifically, I Googled but added “Reddit” to my search query. People were raving about the Travelrest Nest, maybe because it rhymed. After reading enough praise heaped onto a chunk of blue microfiber-covered foam shaped like one of those toilet donuts in the hospital, I figured that was good enough for me. I bought one in preparation for an 11-hour flight.

I was into the peaceful, tranquil blue microfiber. I was up in the blue sky, most often flying on airlines at the time decked out in blue interiors (jetBlue, Delta, United, KLM), and perhaps I was just in the mood for more blue. You can get it in gray, if you like.

Much more than its looks, I cared about how it felt. The back is flat and has grippy rubber patches so that it sits flat against the seat’s headrest, rather than pushing your head forward at a weird angle like the donut-shaped neck pillows.

A Velcro-style clasp closes around the front to pull the two side bolsters tight against each other, which provides support for your chin to keep it from drooping when you nod off. The side bolsters are high and let me, a side sleeper, rest my head to the side without it moving much from its vertical position.

Overall, the Travelrest Nest does a good job at keeping your neck upright, which reduces the chances of you waking up with a sore neck after a few stolen hours of sleep.

It still can’t match that one time I got an entire row to myself on an overnight flight aboard an Airbus A380, when I made a little bed with sheets and everything, but it’s a heck of a lot better than the other neck pillows I’ve used over the last 30 years.

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Travelrest

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Available at Amazon

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Available at Walmart

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The post I Fly a Lot. This Neck Pillow Finally Let Me Sleep on Planes. appeared first on VICE.

Here are 6 roadside attractions that are strange, kitchy, and the perfect reason to pull over for a bit:

1. Cadillac Ranch – Amarillo, Texas

Ten Cadillacs are buried nose-first in the desert outside Amarillo. A millionaire paid a San Francisco art collective to create the installation in 1974, supposedly to chart the evolution of the Cadillac tailfin. Now it’s basically a public spray-paint free-for-all. Bring a can (or buy one there), add your tag, and watch it get covered within hours.

2. The World’s Only Corn Palace – Mitchell, South Dakota

Mitchell decided to brand itself with corn and never looked back. The Corn Palace is a 19th-century ode to agriculture where the exterior is redecorated each year with hundreds of thousands of halved cobs arranged into enormous murals. About half a million people swing by annually. So, yep, you can make an entire tourist economy out of produce.

3. Hole in the Rock – Moab, Utah

In the 1940s, one family spent twelve years carving a 14-room house directly into a sandstone cliff. The place has a chimney, oversized tub, and a Roosevelt bust out front, because why not? Tours still run daily, and the gift shop sells jewelry made by the original owner’s widow.

4. The Enchanted Highway – Regent, North Dakota

For 32 miles, the prairie is interrupted by massive welded-metal sculptures—deer, pheasants, grasshoppers. They’re the work of Gary Greff, a former teacher who taught himself to weld in the 1980s to put his tiny hometown on the map. His pièce de résistance, “Geese in Flight,” weighs over 150,000 pounds.

5. Largest Ball of Twine – Cawker, Kansas

The Midwest has multiple twine balls competing for recognition, but Cawker City’s is the heavyweight. Started by a farmer in 1953, it now weighs more than 17,000 pounds and has its own annual “twine-a-thon.” A farmer’s idle pastime eventually snowballed into a roadside monument built on sheer persistence…and probably boredom.

6. Salvation Mountain – Imperial County, California

East of the Salton Sea, Leonard Knight spent three decades layering adobe and paint onto a desert hillside to create his technicolor shrine. Covered in religious slogans and candy-colored hearts, the mountain has become an unlikely pilgrimage site for travelers, artists, and Instagrammers.

Long stretches of highway can make you a little delirious. These bizarre roadside stops are a great place to re-center, see some weirdness, and then go about your day wondering what the hell you just saw. 

The post 6 Weird Roadside Attractions in America That Are Totally Worth Pulling Over For appeared first on VICE.

I know what you’re thinking: wtf is travel dysmorphia? You’ve likely heard of body dysmorphia disorder, which is a mental health condition that causes individuals to fixate on perceived flaws regarding their physical appearance.

While travel dysmorphia isn’t an actual diagnosable disorder, it refers to a preoccupation with travel—or, in this case, lack thereof. People with this dysmorphia basically feel as though they haven’t traveled nearly enough, especially when comparing themselves to others.

The study, conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Scenic Group, found that only 10% of Americans feel they’ve achieved their travel goals.

“These findings speak to the deeper emotional realities surrounding modern travel. Travel has become more than a milestone—it’s now a marker of fulfillment and success,” said Ken Muskat, President of Scenic Group USA and LATAM, per Talker Research. “People aren’t just falling behind on destinations; they’re falling behind on the experiences they thought would define this chapter of life, and they’re not sure how to catch up.”

Do You Have Travel Dysmorphia?

To me, travel dysmorphia sounds like yet another consequence of social media, where people feel ashamed for not being able to access life’s luxuries. 

There are, of course, two sides to this issue: on one hand, most of us can barely afford rent and groceries, much less travel the world. It can be frustrating to see a rich influencer book more trips in one year than we have in a lifetime, but hey, can we blame them for taking advantage of the opportunities they’ve been handed? 

On the other hand, many travelers accept the risks of following a non-traditional path, either making a living by traveling or simply sacrificing their sense of security and stability to pursue their dreams. Some put themselves into debt; others reject societal expectations, like buying a home, settling down, or starting a family.

Neither is right nor wrong.

What Is Driving Travel Dysmorphia?

I think we can all relate to the feeling of missing out on our own lives. Every day, while browsing my social media feed, I see another friend or influencer traveling to a new location. One person is in Greece for a wedding; another is backpacking in Japan; a third is solo-traveling in Costa Rica, where learning how to surf and live like a local. 

It’s enough to make anyone feel like they’re behind.

In fact, according to the survey, 47% of Gen Z said influencer and YouTube content contributes to their travel dysmorphia. Furthermore, 55% reported that social media makes them feel like they’re falling behind in life.

Is this the influencer’s (or your free-spirited best friend’s) fault? Of course not. No one is responsible for living according to someone else’s rules or comfort level, so as not to trigger insecurity or jealousy in another person.

That being said, this is heartbreaking data, pointing to a major disconnect between influencer culture/social media and reality—as well as a broken system that values labor over fulfillment, but I digress.

What we often don’t see online are the countless other individuals who are leading more practical lifestyles, working mundane 9-to-5s, and following repetitive routines. And so, we believe we’re the only ones missing out.

What’s Stopping Us From Traveling?

I think we can all agree that traveling requires time off from work (if you’re working in the office or on a strict schedule), money, freedom, and—typically—a lack of personal obligations, like taking care of kids or a sick parent.

According to the survey, some of the most common obstacles preventing people from traveling include cost (63%), work commitments (19%), family responsibilities (19%), and logistical fatigue (18%).

This begs the question: Is traveling reserved for the privileged? Are the rest of us simply destined to stay miserable? 

I don’t believe so. Although it’s certainly more accessible to those who actually have the resources to do it, there are plenty of ways to travel on a budget or pursue a digital nomad lifestyle.

However, this also doesn’t mean you can’t be satisfied in your stable career and small town, either.

It is essential to recognize that social media isn’t always an accurate representation of how most people live. Most of us can’t bounce around the world on a whim, living out of a van or hopping on a train to the next location for months at a time. 

That’s not to dissuade you from trying to cultivate that lifestyle, if that’s your dream. It’s certainly achievable, but it does come with its sacrifices—and it does, unfortunately, require careful planning and the necessary resources.

Moral of this story? If you want to travel more, try to find realistic ways you can do so—even if just a weekend trip somewhere drivable. Who’s to say that doesn’t count as “traveling”?

And instead of comparing your life to an influencer’s, let their content inspire you. Otherwise, there’s an unfollow button for a reason.

The post Travel Dysmorphia Is a Real Thing—Do You Have It? appeared first on VICE.

The new train made its inaugural journey from D.C.’s Union Station to New York’s Penn Station this week. Amtrak President Roger Harris called it “a new standard for American train travel,” and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy showed up to use the moment as a flex for broader government goals—public safety, economic growth, and bringing Union Station back to “its former glory.”

The NextGen Acela can technically reach speeds of 160 mph, making it the fastest train in Amtrak’s fleet. The previous Acelas maxed out at 150 mph. But here’s the kicker: according to current schedules, it’s actually slower. Some trips between D.C. and NYC now take three to seven minutes longer than before. Amtrak says the faster times will come once other infrastructure upgrades kick in. Mmm k. 

NextGen Acela Trains Arrive in the US—But Amtrak’s 160 MPH Upgrade Comes With a Hefty Price Tag

Still, the trains themselves are an upgrade—on paper, at least. You’ll find more legroom, privacy headrests, and 5G-enabled Wi-Fi. There’s also an expanded menu of food and drinks, a sleeker design, and 27% more seats per train. A total of 28 trains are expected to enter service by 2027, running up and down the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston.

But “premium” comes at a cost. A one-way business class ticket from D.C. to NYC was $498 on launch day, according to Amtrak’s site. And a ride to Boston? Normally, an hour flight for around $115? Over $500. For that price, a traveler might expect to arrive a little faster, or at least feel like they’re paying for more than just mood lighting and outlets.

To be fair, the trains were built in the U.S. with components from 29 states and over 180 suppliers. Amtrak claims the project supported 15,000 domestic jobs. That’s the kind of thing transportation officials love to highlight, especially with a $2.4 billion yearly budget to justify.

Sleek new shell, same old tracks. It’s progress, kind of.

The post Amtrak Brings ‘Premium’ 160 MPH Trains to the US appeared first on VICE.