Do you visit one place over and over again?

An Internet meme going around is about five guys who took the same photo for 30 years. These were friends who would vacation together at Copco Lake. What started as a lark turned into a regular tradition: the group of people, the poses and facial expressions stayed constant.

Reading that story prompted me to wonder if I’ve ever done anything like that. Then … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (5)  | July 30, 2012
Category: Notes from the collective travel mind

Some days the best plan for travel is not having a plan

“I hit the streets every day with no real plan besides walking and seeing what happens or taking a taxi across town and finding my way back. Or I look out the top of the hotel and see an area and say, okay, I’m going there today—that slum, that village. I go through souks and bazaars and stores. People come up and ask, “My friend, what are you doing here?” My icebreaker is, “I’m here … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | July 30, 2012
Category: Travel Quote of the Day

Vagabonding Field Report: slowing down in Salta la linda, Argentina

Cost/day: £20

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?

Cerro San Bernardo, SaltaCowboys, everywhere – or gauchos as they are called here. It isn’t a daily occurrence, but every now and then a whole bunch will sweep into town and ride around, dressed up to the nines complete with fancy hats and tassels. They look spectacular.

Describe a … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Vagabonding Field Report: slowing down in Salta la linda, Argentina  | July 28, 2012
Category: South America, Vagabonding Field Reports, Volunteering Abroad

Vagabonding Field Report: Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya by bus

      

Cost/day: $30/day

 

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?

After spending several months in Africa, I have seen a lot of strange things and it has all begun to be quite normal. Therefore, the contrast of Kigali, Rwanda was actually the strangest thing I have seen in a while https://mirziamov.ru/zaym-bez-otkaza. The … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (4)  | July 28, 2012
Category: Africa, Destinations, General, Vagabonding Field Reports

Photograph the details of your life

Technology has made it easier to take pictures. Cameras have gotten more compact. Snapping a postcard perfect picture at the edge of the Grand Canyon will later jog your memory of that moment but so could a google image search keywords “grand canyon.” I say that not to discourage the classical snap shots of iconic places–I’ve taken plenty over the years–but to encourage you to be creative and capture the details of your life.

  … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Photograph the details of your life  | July 26, 2012
Category: Images from the road, On The Road

How Tim Ferriss and Silicon Valley techies hack their trips

Business travelers, also known as “road warriors,” are some of the most experienced trip hackers around. Although here at Vagabonding we espouse slower wandering, these hard-core types have streamlined the process to a science. Their advice appeared in this New York Times article: How the tough get going: Silicon Valley travel tips. Prominently featured in the article is Tim Ferriss, known as the author of … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | July 23, 2012
Category: Air Travel, Lifestyle Design, Notes from the collective travel mind, Travel Gear, Travel Tech

Elias Canetti on the mysteries of haggling

“In the souks, however, the price that is named first is an unfathomable riddle. No one knows in advance what it will be, not even the merchant, because in any case there are many prices. Each one relates to a different situation, a different customer, a different time of day, a different day of the week. There are prices for single objects and prices for two or more together. There are prices for foreigners visiting … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Elias Canetti on the mysteries of haggling  | July 23, 2012
Category: Travel Quote of the Day

Vagabonding Field Report: Sun and Sand in Cabo San Lucas

Cost/day: $60

 

I thought the ingredients for a great time at the beach were sun, sand, water and maybe a little mariachi music. That was before I saw the pirate ship in all its glory. It was full-size, fully beached, and had a water slide running through the middle of it.

The pirate ship slide is fairly emblematic of my entire stay in Cabo, not really authentically Mexican, but so fun I didn’t care.

Read more »

Posted by | Comments (3)  | July 21, 2012
Category: Vagabonding Field Reports

Vagabonding Field Report: Over-landing Southern and Eastern Africa

Cost/day: $50-75

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately? In Malawi I was introduced to the water spirit Tokoloshe. It resembles a human figure – two hands and two feet – but with extremely exaggerated features like the massive belly and enormous mouth and tongue. I have never seen anything quite like it and decided I … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Vagabonding Field Report: Over-landing Southern and Eastern Africa  | July 21, 2012
Category: Africa, Vagabonding Field Reports