Have Itch, Will Travel

Travel blogs may be  informative ,  entertaining, or introspective like a diary , but perhaps more importantly, they can  serve as a key communication tool between the travelers and the ones that were left behind. Why travel blogs are better than email: People can choose to read about your adventures when they want. Comments and feedback are in one place rather than several individual emails that you may have to respond to.  Better navigation system More appealing aesthetics and readability Customisable Built-in features such as maps and albums There are many free travel blog services. Some are basic and easy to use, while others allow customisation if you are familiar with  HTML and CSS.  I've had a look at several of the popular ones and review them briefly here to help you decide. GetJealous : For absolute novices. The most basic travel blog site I've come across. It has some major limitations in that there is no design freedom and a maximum upload of 40

Some people have managed to backpack with one bag the size of a carry-on. There are obvious advantages to ultralight travel : Greater  security :  you can stay with your bag at all times. Saves time : no need to check-in or wait for your bag at airport carousels. A  lighter load: increases your mobility for running after a bus that's just pulling away from the curb... or escape muggers and dodge sniper bullets better. You will still look like a tourist, but at least not as obvious as the person with a 70L pack next to you. There are disadvantages too: Regular  clothes washing: ultra-light travel relies on only having a few sets of outfits. S acrificing "luxury":  half your toiletries, heels, and your favorite pair of jeans may not be conducive to light packing. There's some risk of leaving something behind that you end up needing. No   multi-tool or pocket-knifes are allowed in airplane cabins. Here are some things to consider when you're de

It's easy to read a guidebook, choose the places you want to go, then look at a map and say, "Let's start here, then go here, here, then here, along this coast, across here and back to here." If you are traveling mostly overland, it is essential to investigate the possibility of your intended route, especially if you have mountains, jungles, and rivers along the way. For example, the only way to to reach Brazil from the top coast of South America is to float down the Amazon River to Belem, unless you want to pay for an expensive flight. And there are no roads connecting Colombia and Panama. Maps marked with roads are useful to see just how far out of the way some places are and decide if you are willing to spend 18 hours on a bus to see one novelty thing in the middle of nowhere. Google Maps  is one of the most useful and accessible tools for route planning, but if you're like me, you may find enjoyment from an actual map that you can tack up on the wall. On

Not long after I blurted, "Yes! I've always wanted to travel there too!" and was excited at the thought of having someone to travel through scary South America with, I realised that I wasn't sure if Julie and I were  compatible enough to travel together. Seeing someone every other day is different to spending 24 hours a day with them in potentially stressful situations. We are going to see the best and absolute worst of each other. Here are a couple of interesting and though-provoking reading on the topic of traveling with friends: Travelling With Friends from Great Gap Years : Concise and to-the-point How To Survive Traveling With Friends from Travel Lady Magazine Something else to consider is when to go . As soon as possible, Julie decided. That was all well and good, but there are things that impact on "now". Money is the main issue. Weather  also comes into the discussion and other seasonal things to think about include festivals and local

People's personal experiences are the number one way to become excited about a coming trip and also obtain a wealth of information. You can talk to travel agents , your friends , their friends... and of course, travel blogs are excellent for this. Here are some Latin America ones I enjoyed to get you started: Channelling The Cane Spirits : Jeremy has a detailed and observational writing style. Ellie And Mike's Trip : Plentiful photos and easy to read. Mark And Chrissie : Definitely worth a look. Another resource is the humble travel brochure. Brochures can be mailed free to you from some tour sites like Geckos Adventures and Tucan Travel . You don't have to travel with that tour company, but you can benefit from their brochures. Itineraries ,   approximate  costs , and ideas of what to pack  are some of the information you can draw out. During the early stages of trip planning, reading widely for ideas and information will help determine what experiences are avai

I've never been big on reading. Occasionally I read non-fiction like biographies, preachy political books, and Harry Potter . To entertain myself on a long flight from BNE to LAX, I browsed the excellent airport bookstore to select a book that fulfilled three criteria: it was to be non-fiction, thick, and popular or award-winning. I found  Wild Swans: Three Daughters Of China  by Jung Chang. Suddenly, I was interested in Chinese history. I read about The Cultural Revolution, Chairman Mao, and bid on  eBay  for Mao badges and Little Red Books. Years later, I followed  Wendy Wu Tours through parts of China and returned with a growing curiosity about communism, socialism and marxism. I let my newfound interest slip to a colleague who seemed to latch onto me as a rare opportunity to discuss socialism, Chomsky, The Washington Consensus, US politics, and capitalism. He lent me a few Noam Chomsky books, which led to more books about the US government, the CIA, Cuba, Che Guevara an