Traveling Light at Yahoo! News

Thanks to last week’s RolfPotts.com server crash, World Hum and Written Road have already scooped me on this — but I did want to officially announce that I’ve debuted a weekly column at Yahoo! News, called Traveling Light. My first column, entitled “A Bittersweet Farewell to ‘Traveler’s D’“, humorously examines the debut of an experimental new vaccine for traveler’s diarrhea, and what this reveals about the state of international travel today. As I say in my essay:

Sure, on one level “traveler’s D” is awful — a stomach-crippling, itinerary-destroying scourge that is best avoided at all costs. On another level, however, dealing with traveler’s diarrhea has always been an important rite of passage for independent travelers. Much like old soldiers bonding over shared tales of combat, salty world travelers have always taken pleasure in comparing the gastrointestinal intricacies of, say, Ecuador or Fiji with those found in Tanzania or Belarus. Now, with a vaccine on the horizon, heated traveler debates about the horrors of “Delhi Belly” versus “Montezuma’s Revenge” could become a thing of the past.

This is a good thing, I know — but it’s also a sign of how travel is becoming less and less an experience of the unfamiliar. Indeed, in recent years, technology has made it possible to never fully leave the lives we lead at home, even as we wander the far corners of the earth.

The article also gives tips for leaving “home” at home when you’re on the road.

Full essay columns such as this will run every other week in “Traveling Light”, with the off-weeks reserved for “Rolf’s Indie Travel Notebook”, a biweekly compendium of quotes, Q&A, and book recommendations similar to what you’ve seen here at Vagablogging over the years.

I’ll give the heads-up on this blog whenever new essay columns debut — and of course I’m always open to story ideas and feedback!