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Leon, Nicaragua
I have several regrets in life, and here is one: I didn’t ask if she was okay.
It was late on a cold January night and I was standing alone at the Trocadero, looking at the Eiffel Tower. At some point, through the faint and assorted sounds of the city, I … Read more »
It seems inevitable. Every few years, some magazine or popular site comes up with a ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’ list. Sometimes the lists are qualified, such as Deborah Cadbury’s Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, or CEDAM International’s Seven Wonders of the Underwater World, but more often than not, the claim is simply New, which … Read more »
I broke a contract this week. I’d agreed to take a room at a miniature guesthouse here in Varanasi, but backed out at the last second. Changed my mind and went with an equally priced room in a much larger guesthouse. Why? For the neighbors.
Here at the new spot, I just opened the door onto the shared balcony and found a neighbor taking down … Read more »
Fflying is without a doubt the fastest and easiest way to get abroad. Flying even has its own mystic, as films like Up In The Air celebrate, but flying is not without its downsides — you miss out on the scenery, the people and all the experiences of traveling by land or sea.
Flying is, as … Read more »
When most people (outside of Australia) think of Bali, they tend to think of a tropical island paradise, dense with brightly-colored birds and laughing brown faces. Maybe they think of Elizabeth Gilbert’s ubiquitous Eat, Pray, Love or Susan Golden Gelman’s Tales of a Female Nomad or a destination wedding.
In Australia, many people pop over to Bali for a weekend since there are a variety of activities to do and there are many cheap hotels … Read more »
For travelers who save up their vagabonding days to follow festivals like Burning Man and Coachella, Love Parade might just be for you. The festival started in the late 1980s and has since grown to epic proportions. This massive party takes place every summer in a new location in Germany.
The … Read more »
“The practice of soulful travel is to discover the overlapping point between history and everyday life, the way to find the essence of every place, every day: in the markets, small chapels, out-of-the-way parks, craft shops. Curiosity about the extraordinary in the ordinary moves the heart of the traveler intent on seeing behind the veil of tourism.” –Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage (1998)
With only a couple of months to go until kick-off of the first games in the 2010 World Cup tournament, the footy fanatics in the BootsnAll office are almost literally salivating over the countdown. Two of my colleagues will be in South Africa for the duration of the games, and luckily they made their travel arrangements more than a year ago – because there just aren’t many World Cup travel deals to be … Read more »
When we travel, we often scrutinize our interaction with residents of the areas we’re visiting. How do we get up close and connect in a way we might miss if we were just passing through? How can we get a local perspective on what life is like in a different place? The answer is often to slow down, be open to new … Read more »
Some travelers go to a place that seems wonderful. They think, “Wow, I want to live here.” But after they move, they realize that living somewhere is a much different situation than simply passing through as a traveler. As a traveler, you see the wonderful sights. As an expat, you get an up-close look at the challenges of adjusting to a new culture.
Visas and immigration are a big headache in most countries. It’s easy … Read more »