In researching how to prepare for an around the world trip, one will surely find any number of useful checklists that mention everything from booking air travel and lodging to what to pack, registering your trip with the state department, and setting up a Skype account so that you can call home cheaply.

Two of the classic “must-dos” are to consult a travel clinic about what immunizations one might need and to bring along a … Read more »

For those of us who don’t have a permanent physical disability, it can sometimes be difficult to imagine what the world is like for those who do. Buildings that are pretty easy to navigate with two working legs become impossible in a wheelchair: my university, which prides itself on being wheelchair friendly and accessible, once left a classmate with cerebral palsy stranded on the fourth floor of a building when they decided to service the … Read more »

A lot of travelers are romanced by the kind of retreat from civilization found in the pages of Henry David Thoreau and Carl G. Jung. Taking a break from our regular lives and living simply in nature is not only personally rewarding, it may be a little more essential to our well being than many may previously have thought.

However, embarking on a journey such as this requires the same amount of research … Read more »

I got stopped by the police last night because my flashlight was at half-power. Specifically, my car had a headlight out. I couldn’t see the whole road, and the road couldn’t see much of me.

The officer wanted to make sure I knew, because people often overlook their lack of illumination. It’s easy to do. You can get by with one headlight, streetlamps mask the outage, or it’s … Read more »

As any health conscious person may know, it’s actually pretty hard to get all of the essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs from food alone. Even for the most health conscious person, it is still a difficult task. So how do you maintain a proper intake of vitamins while traveling?

While I’ve moved countries several times, or lived between 2 countries for an … Read more »

One thing you might notice rather quickly after arriving in Korea is the bounty of ginseng available seemingly everywhere. Dried ginseng leaves have found their way into many popular teas across North America and experienced quite a boom. In this form the effects of ginseng are considerably milder, and it is certainly a much watered-down experience of the … Read more »

Among expats in Asia, having access to high-quality, affordable health care is one of the biggest advantages of living overseas. For retirees, it’s often the first consideration in choosing where to relocate to. Travelers are now looking outside their own borders when they need treatment.  The main reason is because it’s so expensive to go to the hospital in America, according to this info graphic: U.S. health care spending vs. the globe.

CNN had … Read more »

Bangkok, Thailand

It is 8:00 p.m. in Cairo and I’ve just crawled out of bed to tend to this blog. I have a fever and am feeling pretty darn miserable. My creativity feels stunted and, given that all I want to do right now is lay back down with the … Read more »

Recently Rolf posted some tips on making the transition into life as ESL teacher in Korea. But what happens after you’ve been in the country for a while and you’re starting to feel worn down by the hidden demands of teaching? Here are some great ways to relax and stay healthy while getting to know the … Read more »

Clean water is one of the major issues facing the developing world. As outsiders, vagabonds typically rely on bottled water in such areas, but plastic water bottles are a major contributor to disturbing things such as the Pacific’s trash island, to say nothing of the strain they put on local landfills.

The far better option … Read more »