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Keep in mind that LeapNow will not accept applications from those under 25 years old and the average age of instructors for Where There Be Dragons is 29 years old.
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One of my favorite parts of Rolf’s book “Vagabonding” is where he talks about improvising what form of transport to take. He says it’s one of the best ways to get into adventures, and I agree.
Travel website VirtualTourist.com has compiled a list of the Top 10 Wild Rides for Travelers. I have a personal fondess of ferry boats (not very daring, I know). I’ve ridden on them in Hong Kong and Bangkok, and they were among the highlights of those trips. I’ve also gotten around on motorized cyclos in Thailand and the Philippines. Got any stories of whacked-out wheeled or wheel-less transport you’ve taken in the past?
Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” is a book that many travelers and nature lovers hold close to their hearts. This makes it disheartening to read a recent Scientific American blog post about how recent studies show that many species in Walden Pond are facing local extinction.
“Despite the fact that ~60% of all natural areas in Concord are undeveloped or have remained well protected, a striking number of species have become locally extinct: 27% of the species documented by Thoreau have been lost, and 36% exist in such low population abundances that their extirpation may be imminent.”
Source: Phylogenetic patterns of species loss in Thoreau’s woods are driven by climate change, by Charles Davis, et al.
Anyone who keeps tabs on the news over the past few years knows that this isn’t just happening in Walden Pond. It’s happening almost everywhere.
Stories like this might give us the urge to visit Concord or some other area facing similar ecological problems. Often, this urge stems from an honest attempt to support local conservation efforts or get a final glimpse of a dying wilderness. For better or for worse, it is this urge that ecotourism efforts are counting on.
The goal of ecotourism is noble, The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines it as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people. (Source: TIES Website )” It might be good news that this kind of tourism accounts for at least 20% of international tourists.
Still, ecotourism has its critics. Tours that focus on watching whales, turtles, and bears, sometimes end up killing or hurting the animals they intended to protect. Also, the flood of new travelers sometimes leaves an area more polluted and creates greater demand for local natural resources. This is especially common in destinations that have poor regulation, or areas where ecotourism programs have not been reviewed before they were implemented.
What options are left for the traveler who wants to preserve the wilderness? Do we just send checks or conduct online information campaigns? There must be a middle ground where we can travel to an endangered ecosystem responsibly, so we can truly know the areas we are trying to protect.
As Thoreau once wrote, “In wildness is the preservation of the world.” Perhaps it might be possible to appreciate and see this wildness for ourselves and, at the same time, preserve it.
In your opinion, does ecotourism work? What is your experience when it comes to visiting areas that are heavily marketed as ecotourism destinations?
One of our favorite Kiwi families has hit the road! Eight children, two parents, and one grandpa are almost a month into their round-the-world trip, scheduled to last for several years.
We first met them in May 2007 when they were preparing for their journey. After a couple of updates during the past year and a half, they are on the road!
From assembling a massive first aid kit to dealing with paperwork galore, the Kiwi family had plenty of preparations to make, but it has finally paid off: they are currently in Southeast Asia, enjoying the daily rituals of life, celebrating birthdays, eating chicken heads, and surviving car troubles; no day is typical on the road.
Their humorous writing style and plethora of photos lead to a good read for all travel-hungry souls. In one blog entry, they ponder the origin of their intestinal ailment,
What could we have eaten? I wonder!!!! Was it one of the at-least-twice-a-day curries or the treeful of rambutans or perhaps the Mee Rojak, which we have on good authority (and I quote) “Some meerojaks (cousin to small, stripey, weasly African animal what stands on its hind legs looking cute in telecommunication ads) burn a hole in yer bum, so beware of indulging prior to train trip.
The family plans to travel around until March, then head for Mongolia and continue onward with their journey, eventually ending up in Europe. They are keeping their options open with their itinerary and looking into a variety of possibilities.
To see where the family is and what they’re up to, check their Pilgrims’ Progress blog.
Do you remember what travel was like before the internet? Me either. I have some fuzzy memories of a time before discount airfare searches, hotel finders, route planners, Lonely Planet forums and Bootsnall guides, but I try to block out the dark days.
Of course while all that stuff is incredibly handy, I find the best effect the internet has had on travel is opening a fascinating window into other traveler’s adventure. From canned travel communities with blogging features, to custom built WordPress sites, the internet is an amazing array of traveler’s tales.
Of course simple publishing tools do not great writers make. For every great travel site I stumble across there are countless other examples of dull, “and then we went here and then we went there,” travel narratives. As with all things online the chaff far outnumbers the wheat.
Luckily I somehow manage to keep finding more great online travel writing, like Notes from the Road, a gorgeous and very well-written site that’s hardly new (it launched in 1999 and was in fact showcased alongside Vagablogging when Time Magazine picked its favorite travel blogs a while back), but well worth adding to your list if you haven’t discovered it already.
Notes from the Road creator Erik Gauger describes the site as “a project in experimental travel writing — it is about subjective travel; the kind of real world of random things and real people.” It most definitely lives up to that description and Gauger’s writing ranges from witty to heartbreaking with none of the mundane itinerary recounts that plague so similar attempts.
The site is also drop dead gorgeous thanks to Gauger’s prowess with his old school 4×5 camera (not exactly an example of traveling light, but the results are stunning).
Gauger also neatly sums up the problem with so much professional travel writing:
Travel writing always gets a bad rap, because of ‘The azure sea was undulating and the hotel was fabulous.’ But travel writing can be funny, powerful and personal. Every non-fiction writer has that capacity to exaggerate; his experiences happen far away from the second opinion. After all, it makes the author look the hero. But travel writing implies honesty and research. And that’s why Notes from the Road is about the unvarnished, messy truth of travel, told by a regular guy.
If you’re looking for some refreshingly engaging travel writing, check out Notes from the Road and if you have any favorite sites in the same vein be sure to let everyone know in the comments.
For those wanting a way to share their travel experiences or get back on the road (or to earn a little extra money), I’ve seen a few competitions recently that might interest you. Check them out:
Road Junky 2008 Gonzo Travel Writing Contest—Hell Trips
To apply: Submit a story about one of your own true-life hell trips—described in the contest guidelines as “your worst journeys, your near-death experiences, when you were robbed, beaten up, extorted, heartbroken or brainwashed.” The story should be 800-1500 words long.
Prizes: $400 (first), $200 (second), $100 (third)
Deadline: December 31, 2008
Check out last year’s winners.
Lonely Planet TV—Best Travel Video
To apply: Upload your favorite travel video, on any subject, from any location, shot with any type of camera. If chosen, it’ll become a part of Lonely Planet’s permanent collection, and be featured on both the lonelyplanet.tv website and LP’s YouTube channel.
Prize: $500
Deadline: I could be wrong, but it seems open-ended
Check out the videos already posted on their site.
2009 WorldNomads.com Travel Writing Scholarship
To apply: Write a 500-word travel essay on either ‘A Journey that Changed Lives,’ ‘Responsible Travel,’ or ‘Adventure in an Unknown Culture.’
Prize: A trip to India for a 10-day tour with The Blue Yonder. Then touch base with a travel writing mentor before another 10 days of reviewing and writing for the Footprint India Handbook.
Deadline: January 9, 2009
Check out last year’s winner.
One of the most sought after exploration routes in history, the fabled Northwest Passage, may soon be open to both explorers and vagabonds alike. Of course Roald Amundsen “found” the northwest passage way back in 1903, but the ice pack surrounding the North Pole has traditionally meant that it was navigable for only, at most, a few months a year.
That’s not exactly what all the various explorers throughout the centuries had in mind, but now, thanks to global warming, the northwest passage is well on its way to being a valid travel route. And yes, I’m sure most of us would probably rather the Northwest Passage remain blocked in favor of some good news about climate change, but it appears that that won’t be the case.
Most of the interest in the Northwest Passage is from shipping companies who would love to find a faster way from A to B over the pole. How much faster? Using the Northwest Passage cuts the distance from Japan to the Netherlands (a good average for Europe to Asia sea routes) in half.
But the potential impact of the Northwest Passage goes far beyond shipping. As a recent piece on the Atlantic’s newly redesigned website points out, “with this sea change will come the rise and fall of international seaports, newfound access to nearly a quarter of the world’s remaining undiscovered oil and gas reserves, and a recalibration of geo-strategic power.”
On a more practical level for the average vagabond, the Northwest Passage means several things — a new area to explore and potentially more budget seafaring routes. It could also mean easier access to seldom visited areas like northern Siberia, Norway, Canada and more.
The most notable of those is potential increase in budget seafaring routes. While booking passage on a container ship is more expensive than flying, that may change. Faster, cheaper routes could bring down the price of sea travel even as pricier oil drives the cost of air travel up.
Most online activity amongst traveling youth is restricted to the US or Europe. It is not common to find vagabonding adventurers 1) who are Indian, 2) in India, 3) Indians in India. So when I found a really cool initiative born in India that involves traveling and making a difference, I was excited and had to share it.
The first thing you see in their promotional video is Che Guevara’s famous quote: “Let the world change you, and then you can change the world.” This road-trip across India for change seems to have been born from this idea.
Put together by a small group of Bits Pilani students based in India, under the banner of YoFa (short for Youth Factor), a program called “Grassroutes” has been launched. Under this program, YoFa is looking for 6 teams of 4-6 people (each) to travel for 10-days in India. On their travels, they are expected to try and understand the local problems in the area, find the grassroot level change-makers, and bring back their stories as inspiration that will spread awareness and help change. Best said on their blog: “We believe that a dose of inspiration combined with the energy of the youth can actually make a few dents in the universe. Grassroutes is just an effort to bring the two together.”
The route is pre-defined and team applications are now open. Unfortunately you have to apply in a team, and have to be under 25. Although India based, it does not say that you need to be a resident in India to apply. But I imagine if you are not, your commitment to their cause will have to be more than evident.
Applications have to be submitted by November 15, results will be announced by November 25. The trip will take place in December (2008). All trip expenses will be covered. You will be expected to take photos and video on the trip, which later, a production team will help you put together to get a message out.
For full details, check out their Q&A section here.
Professional musicians (and itinerant buskers) who hit the road are finding it increasingly difficult to get their sometimes priceless instruments onto airplanes. After September 11 and the lockdown on airport “security”, where going to the airport means waiting in interminable lines only to discover that you have to remove your shoes, get rid of your toothpaste, and hand over your dignity, TSA officials are now deeming musical instruments a potential hazard to airport security.
It has been common practice for musicians who can afford it to buy an extra seat for their ungainly instrument (cello, upright bass, even some guitars), to avoid having it go in the hazardous cargo hold, where temperature fluctuations can leave it catastrophically out of tune if it hasn’t been completely crushed by someone’s uncle’s gun case. Lately, musicians have reported having problems with airlines refusing to check in their instrument, not allowing it except on particular planes, and plane-checking it anyway. In this case, there isn’t much to do except borrow an instrument wherever they’re going or buy a cheap instrument and pack it well.
Those who can’t afford an extra seat (read: most vagabonders) and yet still want to bring some music on the road have several options: buy a lightweight traveling guitar like a Vagabond or Traveler, carry on their old favorite and hope for the best, or ship it in the hold and (you guessed it) hope for the best. It’s hard to figure out how to pack your guitar for maximal protection; if you’re carrying it on, a soft travel case improves its chances of fitting in an overhead compartment but reduces its survival rate if it gets checked at the last minute. A hard-shell travel case with interior padding is more protective but almost certainly guarantees that your guitar will be checked, after which it may not be durable enough and will definitely not protect against temperature changes.
Furthermore, the little extras that musicians have to carry — extra strings, cleaners, reeds, whatever — may garner some suspicion at the sceurity line. Packing them in your case, if you are checking it, may get them lost by personnel who don’t understand that the bow needs to go *in* the case instead of in the cargo hold. Be aware and ready to answer questions about what you are bringing, why you are bringing it (remember: if you are planning on busking, some customs officials do not look kindly on your stating that you plan to earn money in whatever country you are going to, without a work permit), and leave yourself a lot of extra time to allow them to shuffle your paperwork.
Good luck!
“Vagabonding is not like bulk shopping: The value of your travels does not hinge on how many stamps you have in your passport when you get home — and the slow, nuanced experience of a single country is always better than the hurried, superficial experience of forty countries.”
–Rolf Potts, Vagabonding (2003)
