Defining adventure

A friend of mine has a very specific definition of adventure: It must involve danger to life and limb. Mountain climbing? Check. Diving with sharks? Check. Taking on a new assignment at work? Nothing doing.

For me, adventure has always included all of the above. Even taking a walk through my neighborhood has an air of adventure when I begin, not knowing what route I’ll take … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (3)  | January 20, 2011
Category: Adventure Travel, General

Fasting in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia draws travelers for many reasons; for the experience of a foreign culture quite unlike one’s own, for the lush scenery, or the life experience. However, like most other areas of the world, there is an undeniable amount of party culture associated with this region that draws a certain traveler. I’ve seen photos and read the same number of accounts of Thailand’s breathtaking scenery as of its epic parties. Living in Asia, I’ve met … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Fasting in Southeast Asia  | January 19, 2011
Category: Asia, Travel Health

Two thumbs up to a good hotel or hostel

Damascus, Syria

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” wrote Charles Dickens in the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities. He was referring to life in an area of Europe in the late 1700s, but one could also feasibly slap this line into … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Two thumbs up to a good hotel or hostel  | January 18, 2011
Category: Asia, Hostels/Hotels, Images from the road, Notes from the collective travel mind

The “real” character of a place is always changing

“Part of our identity comes from a sense of place; the context that gives us status and a sense of belonging in the world. So if the “real” nature of a place is, or becomes, something different than the narrative we’ve used to build our identities, what does that mean? At the very least, it means we lose the power of insider knowledge and status. At worst, it means we run the risk of being … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (3)  | January 17, 2011
Category: Travel Quote of the Day

The hassle of arranging meet-ups with travelers

SIM cards and top-up cards for mobile phones

SIM cards and top-up cards. Photo: Karl Baron/Flickr Creative Commons

The situation: you’re out and about in an exotic land. You meet some cool travelers, open-minded and fun. You all fervently promise to meet up later that night. What happens? You show up on time, but your new friends are nowhere to be found.

Lifehacker recently had a post titled, … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (3)  | January 14, 2011
Category: Notes from the collective travel mind, Vagabonding Advice

Travel strategy: visit friends living abroad

Three years ago, I changed my travel plans in order to visit friends living in Croatia. The country was definitely on my list, however it didn’t happen to be in the top five “must go now” destinations at the time. What changed my mind? My friends were nearing retirement age, and would soon leave Croatia for their homes back in the United States and Honduras.

What … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | January 13, 2011
Category: Hospitality, Lifestyle Design

Finding novelty in a world of habit

The world outside my house is currently blanketed in snow, a monochrome world of white interrupted only by the dark, wet trunks of trees, the red brick of chimneys, the occasional green of shrubs poking through. The world outside my windows is the same as it was yesterday, and yet, it’s totally different to my eyes.

Where I live snow is a novelty. One or … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (2)  | January 11, 2011
Category: Simplicity, Vagabonding Life

Things that can kill you in Australia

You know, much has been made of the vast toxicity of Australian wildlife.  There is a story of a shark leaping onto the beach to lock jaws around the leg of a 12 year old boy…it had to be hit in the head with blunt instruments to get it to let go.  There are tales of the incredibly venomous taipan, which, to  sort of quote Bill Bryson, is a snake of such extraordinary danger that … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (4)  | January 11, 2011
Category: General, Oceania