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Back in September I traveled to rural Wales for the excellent DO Lectures series, which features talks and presentations by cutting-edge experts from a wide variety of disciplines — from mountaineers to sustainable architects to graphic designers. I spoke on vagabonding and the ethic of long-term travel, and video from that lecture is now available online. My talk is in keeping with similar presentations I’ve done for my Vagabonding and Read more »
It’s widely acknowledged that travel widens your perspective. The more you open yourself to the world, the more of a chance that you may meet somebody who will change how you think about things for the rest of your life.
A couple of years ago, my husband and I visited the island of Hvar, part of Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast. The lush, green island is popular … Read more »
With the recession ongoing, it’s as a good time as ever to go vagabonding. On my trip around Southeast Asia, I met loads of accountants, financial analysts, etc. who had gotten laid off. Many got sizable severance packages too, providing an immediate travel fund. (If only we could all be so lucky!) Many were actually glad to finally have the time to see the world.
How do you handle the transition from a fast-paced job … Read more »
Anata, West Bank
In my book 30 Reasons to Travel: Photographs and Reflections from Southeast Asia, I offer several non-standard reasons for hitting the road. Here is the most counterintuitive of the bunch: “Hating”.
In a perfect world, of course, there would be no need to hate, because we would … Read more »
In Surviving Paradise, author Peter Rudiak-Gould recounts his year as a volunteer English teacher for WorldTeach on the South Pacific island of Ujae. Part of the Ujae Atoll in the Marshall Islands and measuring only one third of a square mile in area, Peter circumnavigated his new island home before lunch on his first day.
Fresh out of college and hoping to find a remote paradise, to … Read more »
The preparation of a feast is underway. Just-cut string beans, snow peas, potatoes. Scents materializing. Cabinet doors flying open and threatening foreheads, then smacking closed with a shot.
A dozen socks competing for space on the tile floor. Bubbling oil and fast chopping. Aboriginal techno from an MP3 player. Water running.
The chaos is streamlining into a simultaneous finish. The wiped-off table is still waxy. I turn to … Read more »
Blue Highways is one of my favorite books. I still remember reading it for the first time, and though back then I had yet to venture far outside of the US, I was filled with the desire to set out with no plans, no fixed destination, just an imperative to wander, to explore. I remember reading the words of … Read more »
Everyone remembers the strangers that stopped to point you in the right direction, offer a tip on where to eat or practice a bit of English, but what about the hundreds that passed you by?
Tom Swick has a thoughtful essay over at World Hum, musing on the crowds of indifferent strangers that we pass everyday in our travels. Those who are, as Swick … Read more »
In my traveling about the web, I keep an eye out for beautiful art that you can take with you. This little illustrated web story, about an exchange student who comes to visit, is from the Guardian.
Everyone can use a little art to brighten their day.
Throughout all of my travels I have never once hoofed it to the road and ceremoniously raised a thumb in hopes of hitching a ride. Have I missed some sort of backpacker’s right of passage? Or have I avoided certain death?
Hitchhiking has some kind of romantic allure to me, and I’ve always been keen … Read more »