After more than 39 hours in the air and nearly 19,000 miles flown across 15 flights I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of Jet Blue’s All You Can Jet promotion. With that much flying I had the in-flight commercials memorized and had no problem deciding what snacks to choose (plantain chips are interesting but you…
Sunday night I got a little travel fix, or at least an international culture fix. The girlfriend of one of my old high school friends is planning a trip to Southern India and she was interested in ashrams. When she discovered that I spent eight days at Sivinanda Ashram in Nyer Dam on my last…
It’s time to update when strangers are leaving posts asking if you’re still alive. I am still alive but a lot has changed since I got home over a year ago. I was waiting to write a long, insightful post but it never happened. You might laugh when I say that I’m a very private…
Me-go Mix: Track 9 “Analakely” — Lola To download using Windows “right click” and save to disk. Mac users, you know what to do. The sprawling market at the end of Analakely Street in downtown Antananarivo Sometimes when you’re traveling in a country you hear a handful of popular songs over and over. Lola’s songs…
The email just came… my photo of a lemur in Isialo National Park in Madagascar will definitely be in Issue #4 of Everywhere Magazine! I haven’t seen a publication date for the issue yet (I’m guessing August/September) but you can catch a sneak peek or click through the whole issue here. My photo is toward…
I was searching for an email address last night and came across this appropriate email from my dad, who passed away almost three years ago. Megan, It is over. Kerry conceded this afternoon. He couldn’t win Ohio even with the provisional ballots yet to be counted. Bush gave his triumphant winning speech. The stock market…
One thing I hear all the time is “when are you going to write a book?” I’m sure most RTW travelers hear similar requests and reply with the same ambivalence as I do. Every once in a while I ask what kind of book they suggest I write and I’ve been surprised by the answer.…
If there’s one thing that I could spend less on when I travel it’s souvenirs. When I first started traveling around Europe in 1997 I bought few souvenirs at all. Europe’s expensive and I couldn’t bear to pay for lunch, let alone cheap imported “stuff” to fill up my backpack. Over the years I’ve bought…
Me-go Mix: Track 8 “Wanaume Mabinti” — Lady JayDee To download using Windows “right click” and save to disk. Mac users, you know what to do. At the end of my trip I wanted to buy some music that reminded me of my time in Eastern Africa. A lot of the music heard around town…
Me-go Mix: Track 7 “Gondar” — Madingo Afework Traveling around Northern Ethiopia I spent a lot of time on buses, including four days round trip to Lalibela. The long rides were always accompanied by upbeat and high-pitched music. Before I left Addis Ababa I wanted to pick up a CD of music that would remind…
Me-go Mix: Track 6 “Manahirana” — Lola To download using Windows “right click” and save to disk. Mac users, you know what to do. The owner of the music store forced the employee to pose for this picture against his will. After I was finished everyone looked at the photo and made fun of him,…
I knew the U.S. Military was desperate for recruits but I didn’t know how much so. This morning I got a call from a woman inquiring about my “interest in the military.” Apparently I was put on a list as someone who “indicated an interest in the military.” Fess up, which one of you signed…
Me-go Mix: Track 5 “Superstar” — S.H.E. (???) This song was everywhere during my first trip to China in Phase I. It was blasting from every other storefront, sung by teenagers walking down the street and playing every time I turned on the TV. S.H.E., a Taiwanese trio formed from the winners of a singing…
I am in the process of doing a little housekeeping on this blog and the supporting pages. I appreciate that so many of you have written to tell me how well-organized the site is, but there must be something that is hard to find or confusing. As a usability test I’d appreciate any feedback on…
The streets are empty around my neck of the woods and it seems everyone’s left for spring break. I was thinking about my trip around Europe during spring break in 1998 and took a look at my gigantic photo albums. Some of you may have heard me reference my cartwheel photos before, although I often…
Me-go Mix: Track 4 “Raat Baaki” — DJ Akbar Sami To download using Windows “right click” and save to disk. Mac users, you know what to do. Chowpatty Beach in Mumbai (Bombay) at sunset. Behind me is a busy six lane road, a Baskin Robbins and a Levi’s store. Despite that, this scene feels like…
Me-go Mix: Track 3 “Ji Xiang San Bao (?????)” — Burenbayaer To download using Windows “right click” and save to disk. Mac users, you know what to do. If there’s one song that reminds me of my recent travels in China it’s Ji Xiang San Bao. During 2004’s Phase I, a handful of pop songs…
Me-go Mix: Track 2 “Amanda” — Javex To download using Windows “right click” and save to disk. Mac users, you know what to do. My first morning in Kigali, Rwanda, Grace and I woke up to a man knocking on our hotel room door. It was the hotel manager, insisting in broken English, that there…
I want to thank all of you who voted to send me to Martinique in February. Although the results have been delayed for some reason, I am fairly certain that I did not win. I had a solid, steady pace throughout the month only to be suddenly surpassed in the last two days by a…
This is just a reminder that the travel writing contest I’ve been participating in ends today, the 28th of February. Despite my recent lead in voting, I’ve suddenly fallen behind by about 350 votes in the past two days. If you haven’t already voted for my story please spare a minute to head over to…