Truck Rest

Many people think of the world as being static. All the borders are set, no one is expanding or at war losing land and therefore most people assume that their map from ten years ago is still accurate. The truth is that there are still wars over land and the country lines are still in flux. Governments take over certain lands, areas secede from their nation, and nations split apart. In the past ten years there have been some fairly major changes in geography and therefore a world map from ten years ago is no longer accurate to the reality of political and geographic situations. Some of these may seem silly, but in the matter of world politics and travel they are incredibly important.

In 2005 Serbia and Montenegro were one country. In 2006 they agreed to split into two countries. Having been two countries a long time ago it was not hard for them to choose the state lines again, but it did mark the end of an important Yugoslavian state.

Timore-Leste also known as East Timore gained it’s own independence in 2002 from its other half West Timore, and from Indonesia. Both states reside on the small island of Timore. East Timore in particular has seen hard times over the years. First they were colonized by Portugal, and when that was over, Indonesia invaded the small country. It was a long and bloody battle for independence, and the people are still suffering for it, but many of them still believe that it was for the best.

There have also been a number of capitol cities that have changed. While they have for the most part been in small countries, it is important for the world traveler to know where the new capitol cities are for any given area. These small changes also affect the accuracy of maps . The capitol of Myanmar changed in 2005 from Yangon sometimes referred to as Rangoon and was moved to Naypyidaw an area that is less known by most westerners. One year later the capitol of Palau changed from Koror and moved to Melekeok.

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