You have to get off the paved road to see where you are

“We all know that it’s possible to drive from here to California and stay at more or less the same motel the entire way, in a landscape where certain elements never change. This might have been an interesting experience thirty years ago when it was still new. It might be an interesting experience is you were V.S Naipaul just arrived here from England. But basically it’s a challenge to one’s powers of describing the humdrum. … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on You have to get off the paved road to see where you are  | March 31, 2014
Category: Travel Quote of the Day

Travel writing today and yesterday: an interview with Kent Davis of DatAsia Press

Sometimes I wonder if modern travel writing still has anything fresh to say, and I can’t really find a satisfactory answer.

This question became much more pressing after I discovered an American publisher who reprints old travel writing gems from early 20th century’s Asia. I’m talking about DatAsia press, based in Florida.

Congai-Cover-Front-500Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | March 30, 2014
Category: Asia, Travel Writing

Vagabonding Case Study: Wandertooth (Geoff and Katie Matthews)

Geoff & Katie MatthewsWandertooth_Portugal

Age:
Geoff: 37
Katie: 33
Hometown:
Geoff: Calgary, Alberta
Katie: Vancouver, BC
Quote:
Geoff’s favorite: “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often” by John Henry Newman.
Katie’s favorite: “Not all who wander are lost” by J. R. R. Tolkien. I also like … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Vagabonding Case Study: Wandertooth (Geoff and Katie Matthews)  | March 28, 2014
Category: Vagabonding Case Studies

7 things that will help you understand using travel rewards cards to your advantage

creditcardstack

From the very beginning of our travel together, my husband and I have done all of our international flying with frequent-flier-miles. With Asia and Easter Island both on our itinerary for our first gap-year of travel, crossing the distances we had in mind would have seemed financially impossible for us without frequent flier … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | March 27, 2014
Category: Air Travel, Travel Bargains

Field Report: Ayres Rock – The beauty and the culture of the red centre

A big red rock, Kangaroo Dancing, Thorny Lizards and beautiful sunsets 20140323-144410.jpg Cost/day: In our fist 3 day stay at Ayres Rock Resort we must have spent about $30 a day, give or take, on food and drink. This however doesn’t include the $25 for a 3 day pass to the Uluru National Park or the $72 we paid for the first 3 night stay on the campground. If … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Field Report: Ayres Rock – The beauty and the culture of the red centre  | March 26, 2014
Category: Oceania, Vagabonding Field Reports

Vagabonding Book Club: Chapter 2: Earn your freedom

crossing into Guatemala through the iron gate

An excerpt from  Chapter Two: Earn Your Freedom: Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, by Rolf Potts

“Vagabonding is about gaining the courage to loosen your grip on the so called certainties of the world. Vagabonding is about refusing to exile travel to some other, seemingly more appropriate, time of your life. … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (2)  | March 25, 2014
Category: Travel Writing

Travel is an implicit search for difference

“We board our jumbo jets precisely to find a world where there are no jumbo jets. We pass through security to get to a land where there is no more need to do so. We look for Elysium in distant lands where there are no hamburger stands and satellite dishes and telephones — and yet all the while men have come before us and built and installed precisely those things that we were hoping to … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | March 24, 2014
Category: Travel Quote of the Day

Preparing to hike the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

I am writing from my sleeping bag in the Lima airport, getting ready to go to “bed” for the night on the food court floor. Today starts my two week trip to Peru, and I have an early flight to Cusco in the morning. In some ways I feel prepared (for instance right now I have a sleeping bag, ear plugs, and eye mask, while I see other struggling to sleep/fight sleep at food court … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (5)  | March 23, 2014
Category: Adventure Travel, Backpacking, South America

Must I get “Off The Beaten Path” when I travel?

Ankor Thom

I’m a big advocate of getting off the beaten path, but I would agree that there’s nothing wrong with the attractions of the “tourist trail.” These standard attractions—from Machu Picchu and Angkor Wat right on down to small-town museums and curiosities—are part of what inspires people to travel in the first place.

So why do salty … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Must I get “Off The Beaten Path” when I travel?  | March 22, 2014
Category: Rolf Potts