What is the hardest thing about living abroad?

To your friends and family back home, it might seem like you’re living an endless vacation. Especially if you only share cool photos on Facebook (I’ve been guilty of that). But long-term expats know better. The challenges of residing in a foreign country are very real. There was a discussion thread on Quora titled, What is the hardest thing about living abroad?

Looking … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (7)  | November 5, 2012
Category: Expat Life, Notes from the collective travel mind

Vagablogging Field Reports: chasing altitude in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Cost: $20 a day

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

In and around Huaraz it’s common to see elderly Quechua woman ambling along paths, bent backed, hauling heavy loads in carrying cloths called K’eperina. Garbed in colourful attire, bowler hats perched upon their heads, they doggedly trek along steep, high altitude slopes that would have fit twenty-somethings huffing and puffing. One of these woman I remember particularly well, because she looked positively ancient. She hopped … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (2)  | November 3, 2012
Category: Adventure Travel, South America, Vagabonding Field Reports

Even a stroll in one’s own neighborhood can reveal infinite diversity

“The sudden change of ambiance in a street within the space of a few meters; the evident division of a city into zones of distinct psychic atmospheres; the path of least resistance which is automatically followed in aimless strolls (and which has no relation to the physical contour of the ground); the appealing or repelling character of certain places — all this seems to be neglected. In any case it is never envisaged as depending … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Even a stroll in one’s own neighborhood can reveal infinite diversity  | November 3, 2012
Category: Travel Quote of the Day

The Banana Pancake Syndrome: watch your steps

Some twenty odd years ago, Ian Mckaye – at the time the angry singer of straight edge punk pioneers Minor Threat – sung “guilty of being white”. The lines of the aggressive chorus blazed into my mind as I stepped at the airport’s immigration line to re-enter Malaysia; a bunch of what seemed young Australians … Read more »

Flying domestically (usa) with a service dog

Flying with your Service Dog takes a bit of pre-planning. Most airlines require 48 hours advance notice about your canine partner. Initially tickets can be booked online through a collective search website like CheapOair. Before purchasing tickets, check out the Airlines direct website for Service Animal rules. Under Federal Law airlines are required to allow Service Animals but a few are friendlier about it than others.

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Posted by | Comments (3)  | November 1, 2012
Category: Air Travel, Female Travelers, General, North America, On The Road, Solo Travel, Vagabonding Styles