http://www.vagablogging.net Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:00:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The adventure of tasting local foods-- exotic fruits, spicy street food, fresh juices, unrecognizable dishes-- every meal is a new surprise. For me though, eating is just the beginning. I want to know the entire process from start to finish in order to bring the knowledge (and the good eats) ... http://www.vagablogging.net/culinary-adventures.html Looks like trains could make a big comeback, according to this Associated Press report.  It's a long article covering the different ways rail transit might be boosted in the United States in the future.  Some of the highlights: --California is proposing a high-speed rail system to connect San Francisco, Los Angeles, ... http://www.vagablogging.net/train-travel-gains-traction-in-us.html Now that telecommuting is gaining popularity, more and more people are seeing that long term travel isn't as distant and far-fetched as they thought.  After all, you can go on the trip of your dreams and still make money.  Location-independent freelancers, such as former Vagablogging writer Lea Woodward, travel the ... http://www.vagablogging.net/travel-and-work-can-they-coexist.html Rory MacLean's 'The Oatmeal Ark' is part travel memoir, part historical fiction. Or maybe it's part history book, and part travel fiction. It's hard to pin this book down: it blurs the line between fact and fiction, past and present. The book follows the fictional Beagan Gillean as he travels ... http://www.vagablogging.net/book-review-the-oatmeal-ark.html Yahoo news reports that Cuba recently welcomed its 2 millionth tourist of 2008, which is notable primarily for the fact that almost none of those tourists were Americans. Sadly, even in this day and age, Americans are not legally allowed to visit Cuba. The interesting, and very good news, for U.S. ... http://www.vagablogging.net/americas-in-cuba-perhaps-someday-soon.html I remember cutting out a magazine ad years ago. It showed an elderly couple, in their robes in recliners, with a quote: "Remember that time we almost went to Europe?" My question to you: What will it take for you to go on your dream trip? I'm as guilty as the next. ... http://www.vagablogging.net/what-will-it-take-for-you-to-go.html Couchsurfing.com is nothing short of a vagabonding phenomenon, and, as we recently noted, it might even be catching on with corporate travelers. On the surface it has obvious appeal -- free accommodations on the road can extend your travel budget by weeks, if not months, and you'll get to meet ... http://www.vagablogging.net/lessons-from-a-couchsurfing-nightmare.html Last week I summed-up thoughts behind leaving Spain and moving back to Dubai. I want to continue that theme by ranting about all those people who have said to me "welcome back to reality". (I'm not refering to readers of this site, but to those family and friends who have ... http://www.vagablogging.net/handling-the-transition-back-to-reality.html The unfortunate other side of my previous post (about sex on the road): getting dumped.  A nomadic lifestyle leads you to meeting and getting attached to lots of new people, many of whom are specifically drawn by your wandering ways and seemingly romantic presence.  You're in and out of their ... http://www.vagablogging.net/getting-dumped.html "Even bad experiences when you travel seem almost mythical -- they are bad experiences, but also stories that you will tell around a table sometime, exotic in their badness." --Susan Orlean, "A Lonely Heart in Bhutan," Best American Travel Writing 2007 http://www.vagablogging.net/bad-experiences-have-a-different-resonance-when-you-travel.html