Don’t sacrifice the experience for the story

I find myself, more often than not, looking at travel experiences through a writer’s lens. Every meal, every trek, every chance meeting has the potential to be material for a travel piece. On boat rides, I think about phrasing. On long bus rides, I scroll through pictures, looking for the right one to go with the idea in my head. In cars, I pass the time by writing down thoughts that pop into my head … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | November 27, 2014
Category: General, Travel Writing

Veterans Day and historic military sites

Veterans’ Day in the US and the UK is replete with ceremonies (concerts and parades in the US, red poppies in the UK) to commemorate those who served their country in uniform. Aside from a great opportunity to thank those that fought in foreign lands, it’s a great opportunity to remember some of the historic sites that can give testament to the events they witnessed.

While some sites are now little more than quiet fields … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | November 16, 2014
Category: Europe, Notes from the collective travel mind, On The Road, Travel Writing

Magic bus: on the hippie trail from Istanbul to India

Magic Bus

This book found me, not the other way around. Tucked between a hat from the Karen region in the north of Thailand, an Indian pashmina and a pile of silk and cotton shawls plucked from market stalls across Indonesia. I pulled a long, tie dyed piece from the depths of the cardboard box, draped it over … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Magic bus: on the hippie trail from Istanbul to India  | November 11, 2014
Category: Travel Writing

On Baksheesh

Egyptian Train

Photo Credit: walidhassanein via Compfight cc I’m riding a second-class train up the Nile valley when a boy in an official-looking blue jacket beckons me to the other side of the carriage.

“Look,” he whispers, pointing outside. “Beautiful!”

I look out the window to see a red sun streaking the sky with bands … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on On Baksheesh  | October 25, 2014
Category: Hospitality, Languages and Culture, Travel Writing, Vagabonding Styles

Book Review: Vanishing Tales from Ancient Trails by James Dorsey

VANISHING TALES FROM ANCIENT TRAILS by James Dorsey, 2014, Vagabundo Magazine Publishing. Buy on Amazon.

DorseyVanishingTrailsWhen I first found his writing on celebrated travel webzine Perceptive Travel, there was one thing that made me an instant James Dorsey’s fan. It was the amount of literary adrenaline he was able to … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Book Review: Vanishing Tales from Ancient Trails by James Dorsey  | September 28, 2014
Category: Africa, Asia, South America, Travel Writing

Finding new perspectives on familiar places

It can be difficult to find new angles through which to view places you already know well. Human nature being what is, it takes a conscious effort to see anything through new eyes. We tend to see only what we’re familiar with, and what strikes our vision on the most surface levels: the old buildings, the people, the streets, the here-and-now bustle that is so easy to get caught up in. But shifting our approach … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | September 14, 2014
Category: Europe, Notes from the collective travel mind, Travel Writing

10 sizzling hot travel tips from Sir Francis Bacon

Bacon

1) Make travel a part of your life’s education

Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience. He that travelleth into a country, before he hath some entrance into the language, goeth to school, and not to travel.

2) Keep a travel journal, at sea or on land

Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on 10 sizzling hot travel tips from Sir Francis Bacon  | September 12, 2014
Category: Travel Writing

Wild Life by Lisa Alpine: a book review and interview on the importance of spontanous travel

2014-08-30 20.09.04

Have you ever wanted to leave civilization behind and embark on a multitude of journeys where you simply live and explore?

That’s exactly what Lisa Alpine did.

At 18 years old, she left sunny California for the rainy streets of Vienna and beyond, Europe. In Wild Life: Travel Adventures of a Worldly Woman, she recounts 14 stories gathered … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | September 7, 2014
Category: Travel Writing

Is all writing travel writing?

New Zealand

Some writer once said; “There are only two stories: man goes on a journey; or stranger comes to town.”

Some other writer said; “Those are the same story.”

The quotes above have been attributed to writers as diverse as Dostoevsky and John Gardner. Despite their flippancy, there’s an undeniable verisimilitude there – a sense that yes, we are constantly stuck (or liberated) in the … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (3)  | September 2, 2014
Category: Travel Writing