Larissa and Michael Milne

www.changesinlongitude.com

Age: 53

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Quote: “Don’t wait for the perfect time to see the world. It may not come.”

I can’t believe it’s been eleven years since Rolf’s first book, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel was published.

I remember picking up my first copy, thumbing through, and thinking, “This guy… this guy has nailed it.”

I wasn’t a new traveler, having been raised by gypsy … Read more »

“Many of the greatest travel books of the late 20th century were about epic journeys, often by young men, conveying the raw intoxication of travel during a moment in life when time is endless, and deadlines and commitments are non-existent; when experience is all you hope to achieve and when the world is laid out before you like a map.” –William Dalrymple, “Home truths on abroad,” The Guardian, September 18, 2009

Southeast Asia is has long been a standard on the backpacking circuit and you’ll be hard pressed to find a country that doesn’t have it’s share of well worn boot tracks between hostels and suggested highlights. Laos is no exception. It is, perhaps, less traversed than Thailand and Vietnam, which sandwich it’s long narrow countryside between … Read more »

“Unlike the oil industry, which is scrutinized at all levels, travel writing has become an extension of the industry. With few exceptions, travel writing and travel sections share the singular goal of helping consumers spend their money pursuing the dream of a perfect trip. They seldom write critical reviews; only articles about what to do and what to buy and how to experience a destination. This “feel-good” approach is rare even in lifestyle journalism, which … Read more »

“A virtuous life doesn’t reward you with travel.” — Rolf Potts

I had the pleasure of connecting with Rolf in person this week. I’ve written on his blog since 2012 and we’ve passed a few notes back and forth as we’ve shared the occasional orbit in cyber-space but there’s something different about connecting at eye level and feeling someone’s presence and … Read more »

“Impatient people…find that travel is slow and full of nuisance and delay — that there’s no instant gratification. Or that there’s only one bus or train a week and you might get stuck. They haven’t got the patience for it but that’s what travel teaches you. Temperamentally, people are less suited to travel than ever because the Internet is so quick in offering answers. But they’re not always the right answers.” –Paul Theroux, Gadling … Read more »

Last weekend, on a sunny Saturday morning at a local Seattle-area library, I kicked off the first of several ninety-minute “Travel talks” I plan to give this year. The seminar-style presentations, which I call “Traveling The Best of Europe Independently & On A Budget” will be free, presented at assorted libraries in the Seattle metro area.

I began doing these talks several years ago after answering the umpteenth question about how to travel independently in … Read more »

Whenever you go on a trip to visit foreign lands or distant places, remember that they are all someone’s home and backyard.

— Vera Nazarian

Our first year traveling full time we spent on bicycles. It was a beautiful way to see the world. The drumbeat of pedal strokes become meditation, if you do it long enough. The … Read more »

“Wit, style, a keen and original mind, an eye for the unusual — these are what delight us in the travelogue writer. The compiler of a guidebook, on the other hand, must be a totally different kind of person. His job is to report the location, dimensions, age, and life-history of the monuments, and only incidentally, if at all the emotions or associations they arouse in his breast. Wit and originality have no place in … Read more »