For most of us trip planning involves things like guidebooks, maps and maybe a tour of Flickr to check out some photos of the area. All of those a great tools, but don’t forget some other things — like music.

No I don’t mean a new iPod, I mean local music — bands, musicians, clubs and shows that are happening in the area your headed to. Thanks to the web, it’s pretty easy to find a wealth of information about music happening around the world.

So how do you find information about local music on the web? Well, there’s tons of local dedicated music sites, just head to Google and plugin your destination and the word music for a possible start. For instance, I’m planning a trip to Paris next year and stumbled across the Paris DJs site which has a wonderfully eclectic selection of music and podcasts.

Speaking of podcasts, the iTunes Store’s podcast section can provide a wealth of information — again just plugin your destination and see what pops up. Podcasts are a nice way to get a feel for the music of a place before you leave. Once you’re at your destination, scan the local papers for band names or artists you recognize from your pre-trip musical explorations.

Of course not everywhere you’re going to go has a vibrant local music scene, so finding information about what’s happening while you’re there can be a bit hit or miss. As a last resort, there’s always the many travel forums on the web — try Thorn Tree or others. Just sign up, read through the FAQs and post something asking for local music tips and recommendations.

If you have other ideas for discovering music in your travels, be sure to post your suggestions in the comments below.

You can often land up wasting a lot of time in airports during layovers. Because I, as an Indian, need a visa to go practically anywhere (except Jamaica!), I get frustrated by the visa process and try my best not to have layovers where, if I don’t have a visa, I have to vegetate at the airport.

However, I have hosted many friends flying through Dubai and Madrid, with layovers for a day or two, and deciding the “best” things to do with them when they are visiting for such a short time, is definitley challenging.

Conde Nast Traveler held a contest over summer where readers wrote in to suggest cool layover activities in various cities. They received approximately 200 comments from which 6 winners were selected. Now, Conde Nast Traveler writer Michael Kinsley is on a round-the-world trip doing the activities suggested by those 6.

As written in The Perrin Post, his itinerary is: “Seattle-Los Angeles-Auckland-Singapore-Dubai-Zurich-Amsterdam-London-Reykjavik-Copenhagen-Seattle. In L.A. he’ll go to the beach, in Auckland he’ll take a segway tour of the city, in Dubai he’ll hit the Mall of the Emirates for shopping and skiing, in Amsterdam he’ll go to the Red Light District to smoke a joint, at Heathrow he’ll dine at The Fat Duck in nearby Bray, and in Reykjavik he’ll soak in the Blue Lagoon.”

He will be blogging the entire trip, which you can read here.

This trip has unique-value, no? What do you do on layovers?

As a vagabonder, and a woman, I sometimes reflect on how it is I ended up feeling like a Vagabonder in the first place.  Especially since it has caused a lot of difficulties in my personal relationships…being the one who’s always on the go means being the one who’s always leaving people behind.

As vagabonders, we find ourselves seeking, not running away.  We’re not necessarily looking for anything except adventure, enjoyment, meeting new people.  “So why can’t you do that at home?” I’ve been asked more than once.  And the answer is: you can.  But why limit yourself?

I don’t think there has ever been any one defining moment that made me feel nomadism was the “right” way to be; I’ve just always known that wandering was more fun than staying still.  I started as a kid with my mother on two-week vacations, and graduated to a Rotary Exchange program as a teenager — and recently received another Rotary scholarship for study in Australia.

Right after graduating high school, I worked for seven months and then went to Europe and Morocco to wander for six months under my own steam.  I’ve taken conference trips, resort vacations, and a week-long jaunt to Honduras to get my open water diving certification.  Recently, I’ve been on tour through Canada and the US…I’ve been going since May and show no signs of stopping so far.

How did you know you were a wanderer?  Where was your first trip?  How did you get there?

“I see narrow orders, limited tightness, but will / not run to that easy victory: / still around the looser, wider forces at work: / I will try / to fasten into order enlarging grasps of disorder, widening / scope, but enjoying the freedom that / Scope eludes my grasp, that there is no finality of vision, / that I have perceived nothing completely, / that tomorrow a new walk is a new walk.”
–A.R. Ammons, “Corson’s Inlet” (1965)

Missing home is an integral part of being away from home. You’re in a strange place, you may be away from a partner, you don’t have the same ‘in’ jokes that your buddies back home have, no one can pronounce your name (let alone your home town) correctly, and nobody makes a roast chicken dinner like your mom.

There are ways to combat the misery of loneliness. Rather than run off a list of all the obvious remedies (get out and meet people, see things etc), I’ve decided to concentrate on one solution that I’ve only recently begin to enjoy - webcaming!

Talking via skype with just audio is fine, but you can miss the little facial expressions that those people back home might not relay with just sound - maybe a smirk or a look of disbelief.

Looking may be fine, but can sometimes become a bit awkward when you’re just chatting about the weather (or maybe trying to surf the net as the conversation becomes stale, ahem). Why not try and make it a bit more interesting! Have your mom sit you at the dinner table while the family has their meals, or have the camera perched on the coffee table for a bit as your friends hang out one evening. As strange (/sad?) as it sounds, it really can make you feel like you are there. One of the highlights for me was seeing my newborn niece, as my sisters, parents and in-laws all gathered around.

These epic moments can sometimes make you feel out of the loop, but just remember, you cam be there!

There are so many times when I associate food with a travel destination. Crepes and Paris, gelatto and Rome, China and kung pao chicken, the list is endless. One of the saddest parts about going home is missing out on all the great eats you had while traveling.

That’s why the good folks at National Geographic have set up Foods of the World, a shopping site and online community for international cuisine fanatics.

What dishes do you miss from your times on the road?

Whenever we make general observations about people from a specific state or country, we’re a step away from stereotyping or, at worst, racism. But anyone who travels extensively tends to make their own generalizations about an area’s personality, regardless of how inaccurate our own observations might be.

The Wall Street Journal recently featured a study led by Peter Jason Rentfrow, a lecturer in the University of Cambridge in England. The study shows the different personality types prevalent in each state in the USA. The personality types evaluated in the study were extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness.

Although some results were somewhat expected based on common generalizations, there were some surprises. For example, West Virginia was the state that came out as most neurotic, and North Dakota was the most extroverted.

Because it touches on personality types, the study could be easily used to reinforce negative stereotypes, but it all depends on perspective. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

It’s also a wake-up call for proud residents of the great state of wherever — some of whom aren’t fond of the findings. Mr. Rentfrow said he’s had to help some of them feel better. Yes, North Dakota and Wyoming rank quite low in openness to new ideas. But why label them narrow-minded and insular? Say, instead, he suggests, that they value tradition. New York may be neurotic, but he offers another way to put it: “It’s a state in touch with its feelings.”
Source: “The United States of Mind” by Stephanie Simon, The Wall Street Journal

The article also features an interactive map that allows readers to look at the results of the study a bit deeper.

Do you think geography has an effect on one’s personality? Does the research reflect or contradict any of your experiences when traveling in America?

Okay. So I know I go on and on about the power of social networking sites to connect travelers from around the world. What can I say? I really see them as a game-changer.

This week, there’s more anecdotal evidence to support my case. First up: An interesting post over at the great quit-your-job-and-travel-the-world blog, Almost Fearless: The Brave New World of Twitter. In the post, Christine lists a couple of examples of travel writers who’ve gotten work thanks to their Twitter posts being noticed - it was a follow-up to another post at Nerd’s Eye View, called Vagabond Shoes — which by the way is a must-read for aspiring travel writers looking for some inspiration!

Next, the hard numbers: Reuters is reporting that social networking has surpassed pornography as the most used service on the web! If that doesn’t tell you about the power of these sites, I don’t know what will.

I always used to collect emails from friends made when I traveled - you know the routine, passing a ratty notebook or a page torn out of a journal around the hostel common room on your last night. Those email addresses rarely resulted in lasting friendships, though. Now, with something as simple as adding them as a friend on Facebook, there’s no excuse not to keep in touch. Since getting involved in social networking, I’ve stayed in contact with nearly every Couchsurfer I’ve ever hosted, plus a lot of other travel friends made along the way.

Of course I’m not suggesting that travelers should spend all day long on Twitter or Facebook, or - better yet - a dedicated social networking site for travelers, like Matador.

But I do think these sites can change the way we connect with other people that we meet on our travels, and can help connect us to those fellow travelers that we haven’t even met yet, too.

If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to sign up for Twitter…

There are long trips, years spent on the road — and many of us have been fortunate enough to take them — but then there are epic journeys that go somewhat beyond what most of us will ever do.

Consider the journey of husband and wife team Alex and Sonia Poussin: for three years the French couple walked 8,700 miles across Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Sea of Galilee.

Now that’s a journey. The best part is the Poussin’s filmed the whole thing and a mini-series will be out on PBS soon (actually it’s already started in many areas, check this guide to see about times in your area).

Of course regular Travel Channel viewers have probably already seen parts of the mini-series, which aired some time ago. But for those of you who (like me) don’t have cable, here’s you chance to watch a truly remarkable trip.

While PBS version appears to be more heavily edited, the Poussin’s did all the filming themselves and the footage is quite raw, both visually and emotionally. The Poussin’s endure everything from fatigue, dehydration, blazing sun, prowling hyenas, even malaria and quite a bit more. But not everything is grueling, the pair meet a truly remarkable and beautiful collection of people and places along the way.

Here’s a preview of the PBS special to whet your appetite: Africa Trek

If video isn’t your thing, be sure to check out the book the two wrote.

[via Ze Frank, whose headline "A long ass walk" is admittedly much better than mine. Photo courtesy of Africa Trek Series]