Legend has it that Alexander the Great died of exhaustion induced causes while traveling to Macedonia after partially conquering the last frontier of India. Problem with transport and logistics meant that transporting thousands-strong army and heavy war material took months, and even such a small act as crossing a monsoon-swelled river resulted in dozens of deaths. Building such mammoths like the pyramids of Egypt and Mexico took the lives of hundreds of workers and slaves. The logistics company DHL spoofed on this concept showing how the logistics of such a huge task as building the great pyramids can be accomplished easily by fetching their services. While travel has always given clarion calls to the brave and the restless, and our myths and legends are filled with heroic exploits of an Odysseus or a Beowulf, the logistics of travel, especially when travel involved a large party, has been a recipe for disaster. In myths and epics, miraculous solutions have been provided – like bridging the Palk Strait with rocks thrown by a monkey army in the Indian religious epic Ramayana - however, real life situations have always been testy. Both Columbus and Magellan had to face a mutinous crew during stages of their epic journeys. Real life tales of such old journeys are filled with chapters of heroism, disease, depravity, cowardice, folly, luck and absolute recklessness.

Thankfully, things have become easier since Marco Polo and Columbus. While steam power provided the needed horse power to move people and materials on land and sea, better road networks ensured easier access. The invention of dynamite came of use not only in the battlefield, but also to remove barriers during road-building. Engineers and professional service providers were involved in providing easier transit, better access-ways and access-points, and faster and more efficient transport.

Unfortunately, no one can escape travel. While one usually travels for a purpose and has a destination, many contend that the real fun of travel is in the journey rather than in the destination. The purpose of travel might be various – it might be to rescue a damsel in distress (as in the quoted Ramayana), to inform (as Pheidippides ran to inform of Athenian victory), romance (as in the story of the Sleeping Beauty), or it might be something as mundane as going to office. Fortunately, we have progressed far enough to travel fast and easy. Ironically, with the withdrawal of Concorde, our fastest travel speed has come down. Nevertheless, travel and tourism remains the chief occupations for many of us, or we are perchance compelled to travel.

This section is a complete portal to the world of travel, transportation and tourism. Regardless of what the motive, mode or destination of travel is, this section of the website is sure to salivate even the most cynical of traveler.

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