This particular ‘candy trail’ is the invention of Michael Robert Powell. He may not hand out sweets as we know them, but between his travel tales and electric artwork, his site fits the title he has chosen. Michael cuts through the proverbial bullshit of travel and the nomadic lifestyle. Please realize you have been warned – but you will also enjoy.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | the candy trail… | No comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: adventure travel, cultural experiences, expat life, long-term travel, Perpetual Travel, photography, Round the world, solo travel, Travel artisan

Road to Nowhere in Particular, Photo by Gretchen Wilson-Kalav

What do you say when someone contacts you, plies you with flattering comments and asks you to be part of something quite unique?

My response was ‘I’ll think about it. I’ll think about it more. I’ll think about it a lot more. I’ll ask very key questions and then – -you got it – I’ll think about it even more’. Ultimately, the answer became obvious and I answered with a ‘yes’. Granted, flattery rarely hurts but it also rarely plays into my final decisions about participating in any particular project. As I just mentioned to someone else recently, give me a good reason to do something and you win. Give me bullshit and you lose. With that said…

Image Courtesy of Vagabond Explorer

Wade Shepard of Vagabond Journey has just unleashed Vagabond Explorer Magazine.

Yes, he used flattery in his request but also gave me several very good reasons why I should become a contributor, reviewing travel blogs I consider worthy of recognition. My real life job is reading travel blogs daily and there are an amazing number out there just ripe for the choosing. Just so you know, the magazine will be available on a quarterly basis as a PDF download. (FYI, four to five blogs/sites will be reviewed in each release.) It also comes with a very small price tag of $5.00 USD per issue.

Vagabond Explorer is a mix of articles, photography, commentary, tips/tricks and a whole plethora of other travel information. The concept: Be the explorer – whether it’s from your armchair or while you are on the road. Each contributor hails from their own original location and their own ‘space in time’. But, each has chosen to venture out and explore the world around them one way or another. (Okay, I’m the only one with 2-3 weeks vacation time while the rest live their lives moving across borders regularly. I believe in vicarious travel though only out of current necessity. I’m also very jealous.) Regardless, Vagabond Explorer will rival any other travel magazine available and will spur you to become your own navigator to places unknown. Again, with all that said, let me introduce you to the contributors who have already been coined as VE’s Posse:

Wade Shepard

Wade Shepard

Vagabond Journey: Editor and the man behind the concept curtain – handing out hearts, brains, courage and a way home. Okay, make that a way to travel. He is the Wizard of VE’s Oz. (Sorry Toto, it’s doggy daycare for you while everyone travels.) Only time will tell what is really in that ‘bag of special things’.

Craig Heinburger

Travelvice: The artistically creative man behind the visuals. We thank him for his designs, graphics and cover work. (I think he had something to do with the ‘horse of many colors’ and suggested using the powdered Jello™ for those scenes. If you don’t get the reference, check out your movie history about the Emerald City.)

Dave

Dave

The Longest Way Home: The ‘Tin Man’ who expresses his opinions through his startling photography and poignant commentaries. He may be ‘stuck’ in his travels once in awhile, but someone always comes along with an oilcan to set him free. Just ignore the squeaking. I know the oilcan is here somewhere…

Jasmine Stephenson

Jasmine Wanders: Jasmine, to me, is Vagabond Explorer’s Glinda. Having worked with her in the past, I picture her helping all the ‘Munchkins’ and making the world a much better place. (I, by no means, use Munchkins in a negative way. Jasmine works diligently to improve the lives of those who are less fortunate than us. We must get her a wand.)

Sam Langley

Cubicle Ditcher: Sorry Sam, I was just introduced to you recently via Vagabond Explorer. But, from what I have read on Sam’s site, I believe people should check it out, as it’s great stuff! Anyone able to leave the 9-5 daily grind for travel has my support. If you have no objections, I will say you are the Scarecrow who left the corporate cornfields for much greener pastures.

Michael Robert Powell

The Candy Trail: Michael is Vagabond Explorer’s lion who received the gift of courage somewhere around 1988. Through his nomadic travels, he has encountered some very unusual situations and has lived to tell the (true) tales to us all. Some of his writings may come with an ‘age appropriate’ warning at times, but don’t shy away from them as they are well worth the read.

Ani St. Amand

Ani St. Amand

Vagabond Journey/Explorer Contributor: Ani’s yellow brick road is paved with wood and steel. In other words, she follows the path of the iron horses as she rides the rails all around the world. She has been described as a modern day hobo who has a love of trains and hopping those freighters while they make their scheduled stops. So, wave at the next train that passes by because Ani may just wave back.

Steven Mendoza

Vagabond Journey/Explorer Contributor: Steven is definitely not in Kansas anymore. (I’m not sure if Steven has ever been in Kansas but he does hail from the Untied States.) I do know he has spent many years in Japan and most recently survived the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Though he has now returned to his home country, Steven’s (first) article is a reminder to us all that the earth and its inhabitants don’t always play fair.

Gretchen Wilson-Kalav

TravelBlogs: I guess I’m Dorothy when it comes to this project. Yes, Dorothy did travel from Kansas to Oz and back. (Been to Kansas.) But, her journey was also just a dream. While the above-mentioned contributors write about their own experiences, I will be telling you about other travelers and their experiences. I’ll be the one performing Toto’s doggy daycare while seeking out the emeralds hidden within the city of travel blogs.

Vagabond Explorer is available as a PDF download for the small price of $5.00 USD per issue FREE! (Yes, it’s really FREE!)

Click Here and Download Now!

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | Vagabond Explorer Magazine Unleashed! | 4 comments |
Post categories: Site news
Post tags: cultural experiences, living abroad, long-term travel, solo travel, travel advise, travel magazine, travel with kids, travel writing

Claire van den Heever and Iain Manley decided to leave London and visit Shanghai. It took them 18 months, 39,000 kilometers, 20 countries and several bad hotels to complete the task. They are now on their return trip to Cape Town, South Africa, where they both call ‘home’.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | Old World Wandering: A Travelogue | No comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: Africa, Asia, couples, Europe, India, long-term travel

Try covering 44 countries on 6 continents without ever having an airline boarding pass in hand at some point. This is exactly what Michael Hodson accomplished over a 16 month period. He may be a lawyer by trade but he’s a traveler at heart. After a stint back home, he’s “On the Road Again” and no doubt has Willy Nelson playing on his (mental) jukebox.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | Go, See, Write: Tales of Overland Adventure | No comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: Africa, Asia, Europe, long-term travel, Middle East, North America, Oceania, overland travel, South America

Mary Anne Oxendale has lived as an ex-pat for most of her adult life. She’s gone from backpacker to EFL teacher and has been blogging for quite a long time. Not only are her sites (yes, more than one) filled with wisdom and wit -emphasis on wisdom and wit – she still finds time to… TRAVEL! Oh, and pose with a bronze statue.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | A Totally Impractical Guide to Living in Shanghai | One comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: China, cultural experiences, expat blog, expat life, female travellers, long-term travel, teaching, travel writing, Turkey

…Which, in Greek, means “And so I speak of you and of me”. Roxanne Krystali does just that as a Conflict Management Professional who has been helping women worldwide. Using her camera and the written word, she chronicles her work, thoughts, encounters, locations and oh so much more.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | Etsi milw gia sena kai gia mena | No comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: activism, Africa, Central America, cultural experiences, female travellers, long-term travel, photography, working on the road

In 2009, “Drifter Vagabond” started his blog with the best intentions to update it regularly, post photographs, thoughts and observations as he travels across the world. He has certainly held up his end of the bargain with a style and flare that is uniquely his own. His ongoing travel tales will surely keep one coming back again and again.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | Drifting Aimless: Alone Around the World | No comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: Africa, Australia, India, living on the road, long-term travel, photography, Round the world, solo travel

Phil Paoletta was a school teacher in Washington D.C. when he decided his batteries needed a bit of recharging. Having studied in Ghana a few years ago, Phil finds himself back in the country. His site is a mix of his journey, the music he creates and collects, and stories of the people he has met along the way. Whether he will stay or move on is up in the air but isn’t that is part of the joy of travel?

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | Phil in the Blank | No comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: activism, Africa, cultural experiences, Ghana, long-term travel, music, solo travel

It’s been a year since Lainie and her son, Miro (then age 10), began their quest to live more simply on the road of life. Career burn-out, long hours, a failing economy and dwindling mother-son time aided in the decision to embark on this journey. Their website is a combination of blogs and podcasts that are truly inspirational.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | Raising Miro on the Road of Life | One comment |
Post categories: Blogs
Post tags: activism, Central America, cultural experiences, expat life, family travel, long-term travel, parenting, South America, travel with kids

At The Berlin Wall: Germany 2007

1. On your blog’s home page, it states: “In 2007, Tony and Thomas decided to quit their jobs, leave the security of sedentary life behind, and travel the globe full time.” The three of us know there is a more important back-story. Was this the main reason why you decided to travel?

…You are right that there is an important back-story that strongly contributed to our decision to go nomadic.

What we say on our blog is true. One day, we simply decided we had had enough of sedentary life with all its complexities, complications and, most importantly, monotony. But you are right that there is an important back-story that strongly contributed to our decision to go nomadic.

Thomas and I are a bi-national gay couple. We have been together for over 17 years and this time has been filled with a series of legal and cultural hurdles, which have strongly contributed to our identity as contemporary nomads. For our first 8 years together, there was no real legal option for us to live together in the same country. We created our own solution by bouncing around between Africa, Europe, the U.S., and Central America.

After the laws in Germany changed, Thomas and I settled in Berlin where we attempted to establish a more grounded, traditional life. We quickly discovered our unconventional history made life in Germany quite a challenge. Imagine going into a job interview and trying to explain, “Well, I have had to bounce around the world to bypass visa restrictions which would have made my relationship with my partner impossible.” Not an easy sell, especially in Germany.

Rather than begging for acceptance and understanding, Thomas and I began to yearn for the freedom and sense of liberation that travel provides. We began to realize that we needed to return to our nomadic roots and, once again, we decided to create our own solutions. Our solution was to free ourselves from the limitations of any one country.

2. Dr. Lisa M. Nunn (University of San Diego; San Diego, California) has been documenting your lives over the past 8 years in her “Excluded: Immigration Struggles of a Gay Bi-National Couple” video. Do you feel this venue has been helpful in getting the word out about the disparity in the U.S. immigration regulations?

Absolutely. The documentary follows us from the U.S. to Germany to Cambodia and details how our struggle evolved along the way. We discuss unjust immigration policies in the U.S., the pain of leaving my family in California behind, cultural challenges in Germany, and ultimately why we chose to go nomadic. We hope the documentary will help educate people on bi-national same-sex couples and, perhaps, challenge assumptions about controversial issues such as gay marriage and immigration policy.

You can view the documentary online at: www.excludedthemovie.com

3. What advice do you have for others in your situation?

I would say, for the immediate future, don’t sit around waiting for people to save you, save yourself.

I would say, for the immediate future, don’t sit around waiting for people to save you, save yourself. Once you and your partner are in a stable place, speak out and work to change unfair policies. However, always remember that this is your life, so make it as good as possible while you are working for change.

Gokyo Valley: Nepal 2007

Starting ContemporaryNomad.com was our way of bounding over the hurdles in one great leap. Actually, we don’t really discuss our immigration issues on ContemporaryNomad.com. Our web site and blog are about adventure, culture, travel, wildlife and the environment. It’s a space where we can define ourselves with exciting topics rather than dwell on the injustice we have experienced. It is our escape from all the garbage that we left behind. We are discovering it provides an escape for many other people as well.

4. Is this your first long-term trip or have you traveled through other parts of the world together?

I have always loved to travel. As a student, I studied and traveled in France, the Soviet Union, China, Morocco, and Taiwan. Thomas also did the classic InterRail trip through Western Europe as well as studying in the U.S.

When Thomas and I first met in 1993, we took off on an extraordinary 18-month overland journey from Germany to South Africa via Eastern Europe and the Middle East. It was this trip that really cemented our love for travel and defined us as serious adventurers. We crossed the Sudan in mid-summer, explored post-communist Eritrea and Ethiopia, witnessed the atrocities in Rwanda from the neighboring countries of Uganda and Zaire, and saw the final remnants of apartheid crumble in a newly independent South Africa. It was an amazing and life-altering journey.

With the Himba Tribe: Namibia 1995

In 2001, we spent five months in Central America traveling between Belize and Nicaragua. In 2003, we spent three months in Madagascar, a country we had desperately wanted to visit during our trans-Africa trip. In addition to these longer trips, Thomas and I have traveled extensively in the U.S. and Europe.

I have traveled to 78 countries and Thomas has traveled to 57 countries. But these numbers are rather meaningless to us. What we are truly proud of is the depth of our travels. We have spent large amounts of time in many of the countries we have visited and have had the opportunity to explore some of the world’s most remote regions. For example, we spent 15 months in India criss-crossing the country detailing its diversity on our blog. Moreover, we have visited many countries several times taking in new regions on each visit.

5. Having traveled through several countries, has the bi-national gay couple relationship created additional problems for either of you?

We have experienced the most obvious anti-gay sentiment in the U.S. One of our worst experiences took place in Wyoming. We were stopped by police in a speed-trap for going two miles an hour over the speed limit. The police realized we were a couple when they discovered the car was registered in both our names. The police became quite threatening and we were seriously worried for our safety. It’s a long story, but we made it out of there in one piece.

Interestingly, in the Islamic world and conservative India, we experienced very few problems because men traveling together and sharing rooms is such a normal part of the cultures.

On a couple of occasions in Central America, we were denied hotel rooms, but that wasn’t a huge problem. Interestingly, in the Islamic world and conservative India, we experienced very few problems because men traveling together and sharing rooms is such a normal part of the cultures.

And we experienced an interesting bi-national problem organizing a trip to Tibet, which had nothing to do with being gay. While we were in Kathmandu, we wanted to make a quick return trip to Lhasa. At that time, the Chinese government was requiring people to join escorted tours, but bizarrely they would not allow people with different nationalities to join the same tour. They wanted us to hire two separate jeeps, two separate drivers, and two official Chinese “guides.” In a weird twist of irony, heterosexual bi-national couples were having the same problem.

6. Changing “horses” – what has been the highlight of your travels thus far?

Wow, that’s hard to answer because we have had so many incredible experiences. We were exceptionally lucky to be able to explore the Omo region in southwestern Ethiopia right after the country opened up for independent travel. We are both very into wildlife so the mountain gorillas in Zaire, tigers in India, and whale sharks here in the Philippines are all major highlights. In 2007, we managed to travel to Mount Kailash in western Tibet, which was the realization of a twenty- year dream for me. All of our Himalayan treks qualify as highlights: trans-Zanskar, the Annapurna Circuit and the Everest region. I think we have a hundred highlights.

7. Where do your journeys lead you from here?

Good question, we have no idea where we are going to be next month.

Wreck Dive in Puerto Galera: Philippines 2010

8. Thomas: Which one of you is the better diver? (LOL! Trick question.)

I want to say I am, but I have recently been called an air-sucking pig during a forum discussion about the pros and cons of a certain dive shop. I have to agree that Tony uses less air, but does that make him a better diver?

9. Tony: Same (trick) question.

Clearly I am Although Thomas has an amazing ability to spot perfectly camouflaged scorpion fish. And he found an amazing black frogfish the other day that I NEVER would have seen!

You can follow Tony & Thomas (or Thomas & Tony, take your pick) at ContemporaryNomad.

Editor’s notes: All photographs courtesy of ContemporaryNomad.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | Dart Strikes Map: An Interview with Tony and Thomas | 10 comments |
Post categories: Interviews
Post tags: activism, Africa, Asia, bi-national couples, Central America, cultural experiences, Europe, living abroad, long-term travel, Middle East, United States