There are so many excellent articles and blog posts each month that it's impossible to keep track of all. In this monthly feature we try to capture the best of the travel web in one single place. We're on the look-out for the best posts to recognise them in a special round-up post.

Here we feature the top posts of June 2011 in three completely random categories:

1. Best Historical post 
2. Best Ancient Wonders post  
3. Best Off the Beaten Track post

There's also an award for Best Photo of the month. There are of course many contenders for these prestigious titles, which are selected in an entirely subjective and unaccountable manner. If you have a post that you would like us to consider for the July awards just send us the link to the post via Twitter (@Tourdust) or in the comments box below. So on to the winning posts:

 

Best Historical Post - Japanese British history in Penang by The Longest Way Home

For most Brits our knowledge of the details of the brutality of the war fought with the Japanese across eastern Asia in the 1940s is vague at best. It was fascinating therefore to read this moving account from Dave at The Longest Way Home of his visit to an old British fort in Penang. Still bearing the scars of its bitter legacy, most local people do not choose to venture near to the place. Indeed even tourists only visit the area for paint-balling rather than learning a little about the bloody history that SE Asia had to endure. 

 

Best Ancient Wonders post - Ancient Ruins Overload and How Petra Saved Me by LandLopers

 

The Jordanian Tourist Board has been very busy in recent weeks inviting the great and good of the travel blogging world to sample the highlights their country has to offer. What has followed are a series of posts that describe the history, the cuisine, the culture and of course the sights of Jordan. One of my favourite posts is this one by Matt Long of LandLopers, in which he describes his feelings of indifference to some of the initial historical sites and how these were blown away once he arrived at Petra. Looking at his excellent photos it's easy to see why.

Best 'Off the beaten track' post - A Very Young Country by Travels with a Nine Year Old

 

In these days of ubiquitous travel blogs it's rare to find an article about a place that others have written little about. So it was refreshing to come across this informative post from the Travels with a Nine Year Old blog about a recent visit to East Timor. An independent state for a little over a decade, this tiny nation is still very much off-the-beaten-track. This post provides a brief history lesson on the conflict that has blighted this fledgling nation and also an insight into what visitors there might expect to find. 

Best Photo - Sky Aflame in Moray by Keith aka Traveling Savage

Always having had a soft spot for a good sunset I was instantly drawn to this photo. Keith's lyrical description of witnessing this spectacle only adds to the wonder of this northern scene.