04.29.08
Researching Travel Destinations
Great post in Vagablogging, titled “How researching destination opens doors”:
“So go ahead. Invest some time in making the world a bigger, more varied, more dynamic place. Look at that map on your wall, and find somewhere you’ve never been and never wanted to go– Uruguay, Tajikistan, El Salvador, wherever. Dig up some pictures of the country, read an article or two about it, see if they have any English-language newspapers. After thirty minutes, I admit, you still might not want to go there– but it probably won’t be because the place is uninteresting.”
I find that when I can’t travel, the next best thing is always reading about some place I’d never considered before.
I got this habit from researching places BEFORE I traveled there, but one day realized that — since anticipation is always half the fun of any trip — it’s never too early to start learning about a place you hope to visit in the future.
Link (via Vagablogging)
04.01.08
Leave The iPod at Home When Traveling
From Rolf Potts’ blog:
“When I suggest to people that they don’t bring their iPod on a long trip, they often react as if I’ve told them not to bring any underwear. But it’s a perfectly sane suggestion, even for the tech-savvy, music-loving vagabond.”
I like Reason # 5: “Most places already have a built-in soundtrack. Bangkok isn’t Bangkok without its distinct sounds. This holds true for most cities, and rural areas as well. Honking horns, screeching tires, the white noise of people chattering in a foreign language– failing to experience these is failing to experience a place at all.”
Link (via Vagablogging)
03.29.08
Keeping Travel As Simple As Possible
Here’s a great post on the Zen Habits blog titled “36 Great Tips for Keeping Travel as Simple As Possible”.
“Many of us have had the nightmare experience of lugging around too much luggage, waiting in the baggage claims area, trying to cram too many activities into each day, and generally being so stressed that we need a vacation when we get home.
Instead, simplify your travel.”
This reminds me a lot of our previous post on “Traveling With One Bag” (a post that seemed to be rather popular).
Link (to “36 Great Tips for Keeping Travel as Simple as Possible” on Zen Habits)
10.26.07
World’s Cheapest Travel Destinations
MSN Travel recent did a story about “The World’s Cheapest Destinations”.
Travel can be cheaper than most people think. The real problem — especially for Americans — is getting the time off to travel.
According to the article, Laos is one of the best bargains in Southeast Asia. I’ve never been there, but have heard great things from everyone who has.
Zambia and Honduras would also probably make my short list for places I hope to visit in the future.
Link (to “The World’s Cheapest Destinations” on MSN Travel)
10.06.07
Traveling With One Bag
“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller
I’ve always thought that was such a great quote. The more I travel, the less I carry. I don’t go places to see my stuff from home, and hate walking around looking for a place to stay while lugging heavy suitcases.
So I was delighted when our friends at Neatorama.com recently posted a link to this site about “One Bag” traveling. I haven’t had time to really dig into it yet, but I love the idea.
The last few times I’ve gone abroad, I have challenged myself to take the minimum amount of things possible. I find that I only really need clothes and a few bathroom sink items (toothbrush, soap, shaving razor, etc.). And, yes, it usually all fits in one small carry-on bag.
Link (to Onebag.com, “The Art and Science of Travelling Light”)
Link (to Neatorama.com post)
08.29.07
World’s Largest Casino Opens In China
According to Yahoo News: “With the crash of a champagne bottle against a gondola, Macau’s Venetian casino opened Tuesday, dwarfing anything in Las Vegas and big enough, its operators say, to shift the magnetic north of the gambling world to this small city in southern China.”
Incidentally, I visited Macau last December and got to gamble a bit at the new Wynn Casino. While it was Las Vegas beautiful, I thought the minimum bids were a bit high for me. For actual casino play, I much preferred Seoul, Korea, where the tables were cheap and the free drinks were always flowing. Seoul may not have all the glitz and dancing waterfalls, but you can get out of there without losing your shirt!
(It should be noted that I base almost all my casino reviews on roulette — the ONLY game as far as we here at Spiddlement are concerned.)
It is expected by many that Japan, not wanting to lose entertainment yen to China’s many new casinos, will soon vote to open its own casinos around Tokyo Bay. YEAH! (Right now all we have are noisy pachinko parlors.)
