“Ask Rolf” at the newly revamped WorldHum.com

Last month, my travel advice column, “Ask Rolf“, debuted at the newly revamped World Hum website. This column is similar to the Vagabonding Q&A page I’ve been maintaining since the release of my book a couple years ago — and I continue to welcome readers’ questions about the intricacies of travel, and of long-term travel in particular.

For example, the current question at World Hum comes from Johanna in Hawaii. “I am getting ready to travel for a year or so,” she says. “I drink a lot of water and am a little concerned about the cost of daily bottled water. Are any water filters effective on tap water in foreign countries, or is it still unsafe?” To see my reply, go to the Ask Rolf page here.

Other questions I’ve answered in recent weeks involve issues such as how to prepare for a stint of teaching ESL in Japan, which world regions are ideal for a first-time vagabonder, and whether or not one should go vagabonding right out of high school. To ask your own travel question, send me an email at askrolf@worldhum.com.

As for the “new” World Hum, it’s exciting to see new content, new travel departments, and new page design at a site that was already setting new standards for independent literary travel publishing (World Hum has landed three essays in the last two editions of Best American Travel Writing — which is more than many major travel magazines). In addition to the standard Dispatches, Q&A, and Blog departments, new elements to the site include travel book reviews by Frank Bures, a travel How To column by Terry Ward, a Speaker’s Corner for examining travel issues and news, a Greetings From section for brief reports from overseas travelers, and an online store where one can buy books by World Hum contributors. Thus, as much as ever, World Hum is a site worth going back to several times a week.

Writers interested in submitting to World Hum should check out the online submission guidelines.