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The Atlantic had an article titled Welcome to America, Please Be On Time: What Guide Books Tell Foreign Visitors to the U.S. It was a little disorienting to read about your own country from the perspective of a foreigner. When you live in a place where you grow up, it doesn’t occur to you to pick up the tourist literature. For context, … Read more »
“The travel narrative is the oldest in the world, the story the wanderer tells to the folk gathered around the fire after his or her return from a journey. “This is what I saw” — news from the wider world; the odd, the strange, the shocking, tales of beasts or of other people. “They’re just like us!” or “They’re not like us at all” The traveler’s tale is always in the nature of a report. … Read more »
Francis Tapon was born and raised in San Francisco, California and has traveled to over 75 countries. He co-founded a successful Silicon Valley company, and he has also worked at Hitachi Data Systems and Microsoft. He thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. In 2007, he became the first person to do a round … Read more »
(CP> I’m preparing for my next trip overseas, so this month I decided to share a trip I took in 2010, as part of the Mongol Rally. If you’re looking for an irreverent race that is challenging, yet incredibly fun, check it out.)
Cost/day: ~$40/day (food / gas)
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?
I’m fairly sure … Read more »
Located 300km South of Okinawa, Miyakojima and his tiny surroundings islands, are the quintessential beach destinations. This almost completely flat islands retain a very traditional living, where the day is spent working in the sugar cane fields or fishing with little boats. Miyako ancient culture has survived much better than his famous neighbor Okinawa.
There is so much more to long-term, RTW travel than just traipsing around the globe, seeing famous sites, eating the local food, and just generally being on one long vacation. Long-term travel provides people with the opportunities to try new things and give back to the places they are visiting.
If you’re hoping to leave your home … Read more »
Gone are the days of flipping through a phrasebook, frantically trying to find the words to communicate. Today it’s all about the apps, especially if you’re traveling to a country where Internet connections are widespread (and where the spoken language is not an obscure dialect).
A new voice translation app has been riding high on Apple’s Top 25 paid apps list: iTranslate Voice ($0.99). Speak into this nifty little app in any one of … Read more »
Savvy travelers probably know these things, but I know some who are still behind the curve and going abroad soon. So here’s an update: Though many report having no problems at all using their US mag-stripe cards and ordinary ATM cards abroad, make sure your credit or debit card has a smart chip. The global standard is … Read more »
Kek Lok Si temple @ Penang – Picture by Kit Chan 2010 Most people passing through Penang do so because of the UNESCO World Heritage status given to this Malaysian tropical island on July 7th, 2008. Few stay more than the couple days needed to breeze through the main sites and … Read more »
Through the travel website World Hum I discovered an essay that begins with a unique question: “Could geeking out over a mutually beloved novel surpass even alcohol as the ultimate social icebreaker?”
What do you think? Have you bonded with someone because of a novel?
I have!
Bryan Basamanowicz then continues to say, “Quite like the bond formed between travelers on similar journeys, the bond formed around a favorite novel is … Read more »