http://www.vagablogging.net Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:00:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It used to be that just about every advance in technology was accompanied by someone deciding to take it around the world -- bikes, cars, balloons, boats, you name it. Maybe it's technology that's changed, maybe it's us, in either case the round the world trip has become a touch ... http://www.vagablogging.net/around-the-world-with-the-lost-cyclist.html Within the backpacker lexicon there is a certain unwritten assumption that everything must be done on the most severe cheap. That all corners must be cut, as one must go without as much as possible to become this Champion of Cheap. One of the first lessons we learn on the ... http://www.vagablogging.net/culinary-vagabonding.html "The habituation of workers to the assembly line was made easier by another innovation of the early twentieth century: consumer debt. As Jackson Lears has argued, through the installment plan previously unthinkable acquisitions became thinkable, and more than thinkable: it became normal to carry debt. The display of a new ... http://www.vagablogging.net/consumer-debt-has-a-way-of-trapping-ones-life-into-a-holding-pattern.html Spring is just around the corner, as are a handful of festivals in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. If you’re looking for a break, but want to avoid typical Spring Break destinations, here are the spots to hit in late March through early May: The BVI Spring Regatta ... http://www.vagablogging.net/spring-festivals-in-the-caribbean-and-latin-america.html [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="418" caption="Illustration: Azby Brown"][/caption] The news is full these days about a "green revolution." Is it really the wave of the future? Or is it actually a return to the past, when living in harmony with the environment was standard practice? The Tokyo expat magazine Metropolis published excerpts from ... http://www.vagablogging.net/tokyos-ancient-eco-past.html Ko Phangan, Thailand Not many years ago (in the grand scheme of things), most of us were in diapers, not yet knowing what country we were from or even what a country. We didn't yet know we were Christian, Muslim, Skeptical, or whatever. We didn't know we were Republican or Democrat, ... http://www.vagablogging.net/babies-a-reason-to-travel.html As I noted in last week's column, I am now on the ground, quite literally, in Jacmel, Haiti. Here I lie in my REI tent that I purchased off of craigslist last week, in a field next to the United Nations outpost, across from the small airport where large white ... http://www.vagablogging.net/resiliancy-in-the-face-of-tragedy.html Initiation ceremony -- it conjures images of torchlight processions, Masonic robes, fratboys with paddle bruises, Navy SEALs hoisting logs. Initiation ceremonies mark a transition from one place to another, and it's often more of a psychological step than a physical one. While settling into what I'll call  "India mode" over the ... http://www.vagablogging.net/the-initiation-rites-of-travel.html [caption id="attachment_7861" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sullivan McLeod and surfboard"][/caption] One of the gifts of aiming big is that sometimes, you actually reach your goals.  It's all too easy to fall into the idea that if you've never done something before, well, then, you probably can't do it at all, or at least ... http://www.vagablogging.net/when-you-dont-have-any-experience-do-it-anyway.html [caption id="attachment_7733" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Safe sex while traveling"][/caption] A recent Swiss study of 59,000 respondents found that women and men travelers are prone to different diseases while on the road.  The study found that female travelers are more prone to gastrointestinal ailments, particularly traveler's diarrhea (bring your rehydration kits, ladies!), colds, ... http://www.vagablogging.net/men-and-women-get-different-diseases-while-traveling.html