August 2009 Archive
A Little Adrift
Life looked good for Shannon — she had a well-paying job, a nice place in Los Angeles, and was starting to get some acting auditions — but then she hit the wall. She’s putting that life on hold for a round the world travel adventure, which has already taken her through Australia, Asia and into Europe.
The Backpack Foodie
Let the salivation begin. Daniel and Helene are on a one-year journey through Asia, the Middle East and Africa, inspired by the principle that “to taste someone’s food is to know the flavor of their life.”
Have Internet Will Travel
Armed with little more than a laptop, web design/development professionals Kelly and Mike have traded in the 9-5 for a nomadic life of freelancing and travel.
Dan’s Adventure
A year after getting his travel feet wet on a jaunt to the Dominican Republic, Dan is setting out on the biggest trip of his life — a round the word trip through Africa, Asia, Oceania, South America and North America.
Zooming In: Seeing More by Slowing Down
At mid-morning, the humidity was so intense it felt moody, filling the air with heaviness, leaving clothes sweat-soaked. Wavering between heading indoors for some air-conditioning or continuing on with the planned walk, I pushed the camera strap high on my shoulder and waited for the light to change. Over the morning traffic, a din came from across the road — Indie-pop loud and fast pulsed from speakers that hung low in shop door corners, delivery trucks moved along the streets and jack hammers vibrated from a nearby worksite. I crossed the road hurried along by workers, narrowly avoided a group of young women in brightly coloured saris rushing to a bus, and found some shade under the eave of a souvenir shop roof. A young trendily dressed worker stood outside next to a table stacked with Indie CDs singing and swaying to the beat while yelling out to his friends as they passed. Around me the noise increased, the traffic grew and the aromatic smells of incense and spices began to fill the air.
I was in Little India in Singapore on a Friday morning in February as business was opening for the day. One of the city’s oldest and liveliest districts, Little India is a popular retreat for backpackers and tourists — all wanting something of the Indian way without going to India. Its abundant colour, aroma, history and vibe stimulate even the most regressed senses.
Another F***ing Travel Blog
TD and Kim are two San Franciscan natives who took advantage of an unexpected lay-off to set off for 15 months of Round the World travel.
Saran Surviving Vienna
Saran is a self-described over-educated, underemployed African-American living in Vienna. Her blog is an honest look at the struggles of getting by in a foreign city without being allowed to get a job.
Travel Guy
After spending 11 months in Ecuador volunteering as an English teacher, Jon Brandt is back in the US biding his time before his next trip. Destination: Buenos Aires.
Digging for Family Roots in Uzbekistan
When his family had been deported from their homes in eastern Poland in 1940, my dad was only 9 years old. He saw his father for the last time in his home village of Niechniewicze (now in Belarus) when he had been taken into custody by Soviet forces and transported to Siberia. Only recently my dad, who is in his late seventies, learned through military archives that his father had succumbed to typhoid in 1942 and had been buried in the military cemetery of Kermine, now renamed Navoi in central Uzbekistan. Having read so much about the Silk Road and seen the incredible images of Samarkand and Bukhara, the chance to travel to these fabled cities and investigate some of my heritage was too good to pass by.
Wayfaring Wanderer
Jessica is a talented photographer living in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her blog features photos and short snippets from travels around her home and beyond.
