Have Itch, Will Travel

Strumming on a guitar is a great way to get out of your head and I'll miss this significant part of my down time while I'm traveling. The guitar is already a portable instrument, but people have found ways to make them  smaller and lighter for travel. Note that these images are not to scale. Hollow Bodied Acoustics There are several acoustic travel guitars available (nylon string is available from some makers) but they're not just smaller and lighter guitars. Consideration has been made in choosing their materials so that they withstand environmental extremes like airplane cargo holds , and the knocks and bumps of camping and hiking. Here are some popular ones: Martin Backpacker Washburn Rover Vagabond From left to right: Martin Backpacker, Washburn Rover and the Vagabond These are "true" acoustics as they have hollow bodies and sound holes to project sound without amplification , necessarily making them the largest of the travel guitars. They are m...

I glossed over this topic in an earlier post , but I thought that it didn't quite ramble enough. 1. The Half Rule Of Packing If you lay out all the clothes you want to bring and reduce them by  halve , you will still have enough to wear. True to this rule, I ended up wearing only half the clothes I packed during my China trip.  It may be challenging to think beyond "just in case", but why pack something that you'll use once or twice? A place that has cold snaps is sure to sell scarves if you are caught without one. A place where it rains sometimes will surely have umbrellas if you need one. 2. Need Versus Want Be honest with yourself. Do you  need it, or do you just want to have it with you? There are some things we can go without, but the trade-off may be that we are a little unhappier without it. It's a matter of balancing light travel and creature comforts. Sleeping bag : Some argue that you never need to use your own because there are ones availa...

Does this perfect shoe exist? You can find a lot of discussion on what shoes to bring travelling. A Google search with lead you to these if you wish to investigate, however, I did not find any to be particularly helpful. Firstly, consider what conditions you will encounter on your travels. The bitter cold : Winter trips or up in high altitudes. Lots of walking : What else do backpackers do besides drink? Walk through urban settings and some like to do a bit of hiking. Mud and water : Jungle trips, river visits or adventure sports like rafting. Casual urban : Strolls, sightseeing and hanging about. The beach : Sand and water. Nights out : Restaurants, clubs, bars and parties. The Incredible Three Shoe Plan After deep deliberation, I have come across the perfect shoe combination for nearly all of my needs... theoretically... 1. Hybrid Water Sport Trail Running Shoes At first, these shoes look like normal sneakers, but they have particular features that make them mo...

Travel-specific blog hosts may feature built-in maps, a message board for people to contact you, and an album to share your photos. The inclusion of these useful tools are typically at the expense of design freedom. If you choose a general blog host like Blogger for greater design freedom as I have, you can easily turn it into a travel blog by adding  widgets . Widgets are bunches of code like Javascript or Flash that can be embedded in any page that supports script code. You've probably come across them already without realizing it. They can be anything from a chat box, some information about the current weather, animated photo collections, or a countdown clock. Many blog host sites have their own optional widgets or are compatible with widget developers. Trip Tracking With Maps It can be a challenge finding just the right travel map widget for a blog. Here are some: TravBuddy : Nice maps, but no travel tracker. It highlights the whole country you've visited. If you use t...