There is no longer need to steal little shampoo and shower-gel bottle from hotels! I have found every budget travelers dream come true store that sells everything in mini-size -- personal care items: shampoo, non-rinse shampoo (just what you need for camping!) shower gel, deodorant, toothpaste, moisturizer; travel-size first-aid kits; long-life food products; name it...

We all know that traveling educates, but learning from simply being exposed to other cultures is one thing, and learning from an expert is another. A good guide can make a tremendous difference to your trip, especially if you have specific interests, like for instance: architecture, archeology, history, cuisine, theology, art or music. If you...

I've long been a fan of the travel-oriented literary mag Granta , but have always lamented the fact that it features so little content on its website. Thankfully, that's all changing. Yesterday, Granta finally unveiled its redesigned site, including an " Online Only " section of content perfect for those of us who move around...

This month at the RolfPotts.com Travel Writers page, Rolf interviews Peter Greenberg, author of The Complete Travel Detective Bible and travel editor for the Today Show on NBC. Here are a couple highlights from their Q&A: "My writing career got started as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin. In a campus of 33,000 students...

I can't remember the last time I made a list of things to do when I was on a trip. I decide where to go, read a bit about the place so I'm not completely ignorant when I get there, and then I just go with how I feel. I'm not fussed what time I...

A couple of months ago Allison talked about Pico Iyer's new book The Open Road: The Global Journey of the fourteenth Dalai Lama -- the book is now available for sale. I've always enjoyed Pico Iyer's writing and feel some affinity towards him because of his Indian roots. Also, although not at all religious, there...

If you're a biker you are probably always looking out for motorbike routes to do. Planning them is fun and the unforeseen feeds adventure, however I think you need to be a bit more careful planning them than if you were driving a car -- you don't want to be stranded on a highway with...

When I read a recent story on CNN that talks about how the age at which people (in the West) get bitten by the travel-bug is decreasing, I felt both good and envious. I've been lucky to have parents who moved around a lot, so I have lived in more places than many since a...

You can never decipher what motivates one to take the trips they take. It may make you wonder, but it really doesn't matter. Through friend, fellow writer and traveler Sean Mclachlan , I learned about Andy Strangeway , the "Island Man" -- a Yorkshireman who has slept on every Scottish island more than 40 hectares...

I recently spent some time humphing over the popularity of companies such as OzBus and the newly launched Buddha Bus over at Gadling -- personally not understanding their popularity or people's motivation to opt for such trips. There are other better options (in my opinion), and who better to take pointers from than long-distance overland...

This month at the RolfPotts.com Writers page I interview Gayle Keck , who has written for Gourmet, GQ, Islands, Executive Traveler, Four Seasons and the Washington Post , where she created a monthly column on travel magazines. She tells me how her career began with a challenge from a friend. "A friend challenged me to...

I can't remember ever using a travel-agent. That's probably because I find organized trips too much pressure -- I feel trapped. There is nothing wrong with getting a travel-agent to book your flights and make your itinerary; they are good with suggestions and often get the best rates if you want to cover multiple things-to-see-places-to-visit....

I took a career break for 6-months in 2006; I'm still on it. I often refer to job-quitting in my posts and always encourage it because I know (from personal experience) it sounds great but how DIFFICULT it is to do. The comfort bubble that your "career" allows you to bop in, often becomes too...

Just when I thought there can't be any more innovative use of maps, I stumbled upon Hitotoki (such a cute name!). Japanese for "a moment", the site describes itself as a narrative map; a literary project connecting individual stories to specific locations around the world; "cityscape gymnastics from finely groomed humans" (-- this last sentence...

I heard of Road Junky a while ago, but having forsaken travel-guidebooks for the last couple of years, I never bothered to look into it more until today when I stumbled upon its website. With content positioned as resource for the independent traveler -- "what the Lonely Planet doesn't tell you" -- the first impression...

Every time I take photos on my digital camera 1) I take AGES to download them on to my computer, 2) I can't get myself to sit down and organize my photos (they are currently in more than 20 "to sort" folders, 3) they are not backed-up, so should my computer crash or die, I...

"If the whole world were watching, what story would you tell?" That's what I read when I opened the Pangea Day website and it hit me like slap. The world has uncountable issues. Traveling and living in different cultures opens your eyes and minds to what's going on outside your comfort zone. The resulting impact...

When I decided to quit my job and move abroad with the aim of personal growth by immersing myself into another culture, it took me a good 18-months after I had the idea, to actually take the leap. Sometimes you just need that last push to just do it. For me, it was Rolf's Vagabonding...

This month at the RolfPotts.com Travel Writers page, I interview Patrick Smith , author of Ask the Pilot: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel . Here are some of the highlights from our Q&A: "I'd never have traipsed off to sixty countries if I hadn't fallen in love with aviation first, and if...

You cannot not read a headline like that; it sums up every traveler's eternal wish. There are endless ways to do this and resources on how to are abundant, you just have to look and be able to choose ones more reliable than the others. What you choose depends on the price (not monetary) you...