 |
“If every journey makes us wiser about the world, it also returns us to a sort of childhood. In alien parts, we speak more simply, in our own or some other language, more freely, unencumbered by the histories that we carry around at home, and look more excitedly, with eyes of wonder.” –Pico Iyer, Video Night in Kathmandu (1988)
Wherever I go in the world I usually find myself on a leisurely walk that leads to an old (or not so old) cemetery. Although they vary greatly, they are often shaded and quiet with no other visitors around. Taking a break in a cemetery can offer a much needed chance for some peace and quiet in the midst of a bustling city.
If you don’t … Read more »
One of the most fun parts of travel is sampling street food. Cheap, delicious and ubiquitous, I can’t think of a more enjoyable way to get into a culture. There’s also the added convenience of being able to point at things, rather than wrestling with a menu that doesn’t have English or pictures. Here’s an article on Concierge.com about Street Food around the World that got me salivating and starting to plan my next … Read more »
I came across an alarming article via TreeHugger today. Two raw foodists were charged with smuggling when they were bringing 2.5 pounds of raw chocolate through the US-Canadian border. Canadian authorities mistook the chocolate for hashish.
But their trouble with customs didn’t stop there. On another trip within the US, they were arrested at an airport with the same charges. From the article:
Desperate to prove themselves … Read more »
Two weeks ago I dropped a brief reference to Matador – the social network and blogging community for travelers – into a post about the power of social networking.
A reader named Mojo who’d just taken off on an extended trip (inspired in large part by Rolf’s book!) saw my post, joined Matador, and the rest, as they say, is history. He’s been entertaining the Matador community with his lively, funny … Read more »
Someone I follow on the Twitter web service is traveling in Greece right now and posted an interesting “tweet” earlier today: “looking for a laundromat… the mundane stuff is what makes travel feel real.”
Not only is this exactly the sort of thing that makes Twitter so interesting — mundanity recast — it’s also something that most travel writing overlooks: when you’re traveling even the … Read more »
Crazy politics aside, it’s just as crazy to not vote in the upcoming US elections—even if you’re living abroad or traveling on November 4th. (I’m a huge believer in accounting for every vote. Have you seen how close some of these elections have been?)
Eva posted a great blog about the topic a few weeks ago, but I wanted to add a few links for last-minute registering and voting tips for vagabonds.
Good … Read more »
Those of us born in the last forty years tend to take cheap air travel for granted, but rising oil costs, environmental concerns and the current economic crisis could mean the end to cheap plane flights.
The New Republic recently published a rather depressing piece about the future of air travel under the gloomy title, The End of Aviation.
Mass aviation could be … Read more »
Living here in Madrid, I often feel left out when it comes to cool traveler/travel-writing events. If you want to be upclose-and-personal with those heavily in action in the travel industry, New York seems like the place to be.
So those of you living in NYC, interested in travel as well as travel-writing, here’s an event you might want to rock up to: What: David Farley’s next Restless Legs reading session. Restless Legs … Read more »
Staying in physical shape while traveling is sometimes difficult. Given, you’re on the “carry everything in a huge backpack and forget to eat” diet (or, if you’re unlucky or eating a lot of fruit, the “Delhi Belly” diet), but sometimes you would like to exercise in a more directed way.
Many gyms offer “trial memberships” that are good for one or two weeks. This allows you to use all the gym facilities for free, and … Read more »