Jill and Stacey Do the Roo: Guest Blog

Jill and Stacey are two girls from Canada who left the cold behind to “Do the Roo” (Travel Australia). I asked them to do a guest article telling me the best “can’t miss” experiences if I ever make my way down under. Check out videos and articles of their adventures on their blog! Hey Brook!
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Bed Bugs: Stealth Vampires

Good night Sleep tight Don’t let the Bed bugs bite And if they do Take your shoe Beat them till They’re black and blue. I’ve been in denial for many months. Only in the past couple weeks have I confronted the reality that the large, welt-like clusters that have been popping up on my body
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Couchsurfing

I’ve stayed in hostels, hotels, motels, even Holiday Inns. The most interesting, funnest, and inexpensive accommodations I’ve ever had, however, have been in strangers’ homes. Couchsurfing.org is a non-profit social engineering project that uses the internet to match adventuresome travelers with willing hosts. I first learned about couchsurfing when I lived in Europe about 5 years ago.
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Negotiating Tactics for Travelers

I’m like most Americans: I pay sticker price. In our daily routines, we are so used to paying the asking price that our negotiating skills are weak, if we have them at all. Traveling to non-Westernized nations is a terrific way to hone that skill. What I’ve found in negotiating is that there is no
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Reading While Traveling

One of my resolutions for this year is to replace time spent surfing the internet and following current events with time for anything more meaningful, for instance pleasure reading. Reading great mind-bending books while on the road is an incredible way to shoot an already intense experience into the stratosphere. Reading has to be the best leisure activity
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10 Things I Hate About Hostels

Have you ever stayed in a hostel? I have about a dozen hostel-going experiences in Europe, Asia, and North America and taken wholly, the negatives approximate the positives. Why do I continue going to hostels? They are very inexpensive and unmatched sources of traveler information! There are, however, too many negatives to ignore, and as
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Taiwan: More Than Just Factories! What?

I’ve been in Taiwan nearly a week and have really enjoyed the place. Believe it or not, there is more to Taiwan than factories making products for Americans! Who would’ve thought? In all my travels, I look for cultural peculiarities. Many other travelers I meet are interested in shopping or in clubbing or in researching
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A 15 Pound Pack for Longterm Travel? Here Are the Contents!

Goal: Travel indefinitely around the Pacific Rim equipped with nothing more than a 15 pound backpack. One of the things I really take pride in, is my ability to travel light. Other travelers use suitcases, multiple bags, or gargantuan expeditionary backpacks that look like they must weigh a hundred pounds. My Last year I traveled
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Travel Prep

After being home one month, I’m already itching to get back on the road, and that means lots of preparation. Today I looked at an old camper for my pickup in the hopes of doing a budget road trip to all 50 states. My dad suggested we trade my rarely-used 7mm rifle for the camper
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Sprint Tourism: Seeing the Big Stuff on Layovers

Within three days, I saw three remarkable man-made structures: Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, and the Great Wall of China . How did I do this and more, with no planning? By making the most of my layovers. Anyone else with a little time and energy can do the same.
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