Dracula really did live in a castle in Transylvania. But this ain't it.

The leaves are turning. The nights are getting longer. There’s creepiness in the air. Yes, we’re fast approaching Halloween!

In keeping with this creepiest of seasons, let’s talk about creepy travel. More specifically, a really nasty 15th century Romanian prince, Vlad Tepes, Prince of Wallachia and the real-life inspiration for the baddest of Halloween ghouls, Dracula.

Indeed, he was bad. His alias, Vlad ‘The Impaler’ says graphic things of his favorite form of justice. The guy was about as bad as you can get. And yes, he really did live in a castle within the mystic realm of Transylvania.

Contrary to what the tourist board of Romania might have you believe, Tepes had little, if anything to do with Bran Castle. For the real goods on Dracula’s Castle, you need venture further south, to the top of the Arges River valley. That’s where you’ll find Poienari Castle. Tepes spend much time here in the 15th century. And befittingly, the castle sits in ruins, far off the beaten track. Yet for the intrepid, ghoulish traveller looking for the true hang-out of Stoker’s inspiration for our favourite vampire, it waits, as it has for five centuries, hinting of the horrors that transpired within.

Creepy travel alert: Poienari Castle in Transylvania is the real Dracula's Castle.

The Amazing Race is amazing television

I’m not normally one for sitting at home watching TV when there’s a whole world of things to do (like travelling!!) but tonight is an exception. The nine time Emmy award-winning The Amazing Race returns tonight for what promises to be another season of thrill, chills, dips, highs and lows across this planet we call Earth. All delivered right to your door step. Yup, Phil Keoghan and the crew are back – it’s The Amazing Race Season 19!

In this day of sedentary lifestyles, violent TV shows and movies, terrorism and other evils and otherwise gloomy issues that affect our health and understanding of the world and our place in it, that’s great news.

The Amazing Race is amazing television. More than that, it’s a chance to break out of our solipsistic shells and travel with these sometimes likable (and sometimes very unlikable) teams of Americans as they venture across the planet and discover that, yes, there are other cultures beyond our borders, each with their own joys and challenges. And for a brief moment, we’re part of them.

The Amazing Race is amazing television. Straight up. And I, for one, believe that it brings this planet closer together.

What’s on your bucket list? If you’re open to suggestions, the folks at MSN Travel have a few ideas. Some of them might seem familiar…shark diving anyone? Tour of Chernobyl? Note to MSN, you saw it here first. Hee Hee.

Kidding aside, check out MSN Travel’s list of the World’s Most Dangerous Tourist Attractions for some unique ways to experience life with a healthy kick of adrenaline. And if you’re concerned that dangerous travel is to, well, dangerous, ask yourself if it’s worse for your health than a Big Mac with fries

Disneyland might be the happiest place on Earth, but for these sad and abandoned amusement parks, the echoes of laughter and happy times are long gone. There are more than you might think – in the United States alone there are at least a hundred theme parks since abandoned and left to sit as a reminder of times past. Among them, SIx Flags New Orleans, the Pripyat Amusement Park near Chernobyl and the rather family-unfriendly Koga Family Land in Koga, Japan. Check out this list of the most incredible, if not creepy, abandoned theme parks around the world.

Think of surfing and the obvious names pop up: Hawaii, Jeffery’s Bay and California. And there are plenty of other popular surfing destinations, but sometimes there’s ridiculous surf in other places that don’t register in the collective surfing conscious. As with any form of adventure travel, in the surfing world it pays to get off the beaten track. Check out six surf destinations you’d never think of at gadling.com

Now this looks freakin’ cool. Some people do the beach gig for their vacation. Others do the cabin by the lake routine. Kudos to both. But personally, I like doing things that normally make people look twice and ask if I’ve lost my marbles. Of course I have…and that’s why I want to chase tornadoes for my next vacation! That involves traipsing across the mid-western states for about a week and searching for, what else, a tornado! Gee Toto I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore. You’re right Dorothy, we crossed the state line about five minutes ago and now we’re in Oklahoma, AKA Tornado Central.

Wanna chase tornadoes on your next vacation?

Seriously though, I love this idea. Most tours are based out of Oklahoma City, between May and September, which is when most tornadoes occur. And the central United States gets more twisters than any other spot on the globe. But, twisters can happen anywhere. Even in good old Nanaimo BC! Want proof? Check out this video, of a twister that formed on the Malaspina Strait. And here’s a link to Tempest Tours who, if you go on Trip Advisor, appears to be way up there in terms of spotting a tornado on every tour. I so wanna do this in about two years. The cost? Around $2500 for five days.

Anyway, video of a tornado near Nanaimo BC, which formed on water and is therefore called a waterspout. Tornadoes in BC. Too weird. But an interesting thought none the less.

Hey guys, how’d you like your isotope sandwich?  Um, I’d like mine easy on the cesium please.  Golly I’m such a kidder.

Seriously though, this is definitely a twist on adventure travel, and a far cry from sitting on the beach drinking pina coladas.  Twenty-five years ago this month, the worst nuclear disaster occurred, at Chernobyl, in the former USSR, now the Ukraine.  How did the nearby areas survive a complete nuclear meltdown?  Um…well anyway, it’s 2011, the nearest town, Pripyat, has been pretty much left untouched since that fateful day, and believe it or not, there is life in and around Chernobyl.  Animal life, including bear, lynx, beaver, wild horses and other species long believed extinct from the area have moved in.  The area’s been strictly off-limits for 25 years, and sparrows are literally nesting in the reactor!  It’s now the largest nature sanctuary in Europe, and has been deemed safe enough for tours since 2004.  You’ve got to go with a guide and a geiger counter, mind you, but tourists and those with a morbid fascination for apocalyptic travel are taking the trek to Chernobyl.

Some cool pictures here.  The one of the abandoned ferris wheel, in an amusement park that was to open four days after the accident, is downright creepy.  Still, people are making the journey to Chernobyl.  Admit it, you’d rather dodge nuclear fall-out and risk growing a third (and fourth) eye from lingering radioactivity in a former Soviet nuclear reactor than sitting on a beach with a Corona in Mexico any day, right?

Well, I would.  But I have been told I need professional help on more than a few occasions.  Here’s the link to the tour.  And if anyone actually does this tour, let me know how it goes!

The promise of another year and the opportunities to do awesome things.  Like backpacking, the best way to see the world and meet the people that call it home.  Forget hotels with concierge service and heated pools.  Grab your backpack, your money belt and an open mind.  Then check out Off Track Planet’s Top 10 Backpacking Travel Destinations For 2011, and get your ass out there and enjoy life!

As promised, five cool things to do in dangerous places, part two, courtesy of those crazy, highly disturbed, certifiable, and the best part, like-minded, people at Off Track Planet. Old man 2010 is on his death bed, and with this comes the promise of a new, exciting year to attain scars, infections, probably Malaria and a host of other pleasantries in our ongoing efforts to do stupid and highly enjoyable things in places where we definitely shouldn’t go. In other words, the kind of thing that I would do.

Let’s go fly a kite in Pakistan!!!

God bless you, Off Track Planet.

Old man 2010 is nearing the end of his lifespan, and with that comes the promise of a new year.  Granted we still have a month called December to get through first.  I don’t know about you, but I need a vacation already.  Here are some ideas: Five Fun Things to Do in Dangerous Places (Part 1), courtesy of our off-track friends at Off Track Planet.  Skydiving in Iraq anyone?  Sign me up!