Departing, by Elsie esq.
“You kids don’t know how good you’ve got it,” says Grandpa from the backseat. He may be right — especially when it comes to travel. What Grandpa had to endure for better leisure traveling these days can make your head spin around: the fickle, unreliable airlines, the volatile political situations, the disease, poverty and rampaging Godzillas just to name a few.
It’s hard to quantify just how much the traveling experience has improved from your grandpa’s, or even your dad’s era to ours, but there’s little doubt that as travelers we’ve got it pretty good. From the smooth transcontinental flights, that our bags typically arrive with us, our web check-ins, etickets, electronic itineraries, planning, booking and moving around the globe, there’s no doubt it’s better now than it ever has been. And it’s in no small part due to the pitfalls the previous generation was exposed to.
To demonstrate the point, here’s how modern traveling is better than it’s ever been:
In case you haven’t seen this (it’s been out for awhile) well, it’s quite a stunner. A young man, Christoph Rehage, sets off on a year-long journey across northern China, on foot! One thing I can say about it, besides the amazing visual style, is it will likely make you rethink your opinion that your pile of dishes in the sink is a monumental task.
Matador Network has an enlightening interview with this Mr. Rehage for your reading pleasure. His best quote, when asked about the obstacles he had to overcome:
[The] foot-pains being the first one. Then there are all kinds of different pains to follow, hopelessness and self-doubt being the most difficult to overcome. It sounds a bit tacky, but the biggest obstacle is always within ourselves.
He of course made it, and traversed well over 4000 kilometers in the process.
Enjoy the vid, and have a great weekend!
![Presidential Office Building [ Taipei ] by d'n'c.](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3066/2745512285_ef01ae8a0d.jpg "Presidential Office Building")
It’s a sad and unfortunate fact that many travelers don’t put Taiwan high on their travel wishlist; it may be the most underrated of all the South East Asian countries. To highlight the missed opportunities of skipping a connection in Taipei, this Wednesday we’ve put together enough things to do in Taiwan to keep you busy for half a day or half a year. If you’re on your way to Asia and are even mildly adventurous Taiwan will quickly surprise you.
Situated 80 miles off the coast of mainland China, the city is abuzz with what’s new and not so new. Surely, the past 50 years has had an adverse effect on the popular opinion, with its perceived endless sprawling factories, electronics assembly plants and swatches of endless neon glowing menacingly through some kind of dystopian gloom.
While the western half of the island may be somewhat overdone with urban sprawl there’s so much to do in the country you’ll forget the reputation and leave comfortable, relaxed and delighted you came, likely with a memory card full of photographs. Mist-covered mountains, hot springs, national parks and a culture as ancient and rich as any in the entire eastern hemisphere.
Taiwan offers visitors a hypermodern skin, an ancient Chinese skeleton and an aboriginal soul. And more than that, Taiwan has some of the world’s warmest people, affable to a fault and so filled with rénqíng wèi (which, roughly translated, means “personal affection”) that few who come to Taiwan a stranger leave that way. ~ Lonely Planet
You wanted it, craved it, dreamt about it, and after the years of rumors, the unabashed hype, the gasping for bated breath, last week Apple finally unveiled his latest piece of techno idolatry – the unfortunately tagged “iPad”. Along
with the rest of the universe, travelers and travel bloggers have been waiting for the newest piece of Jobsian hardware to make their lives on the road a little easier. While the iPad is certainly one sexy piece of hardware that will undoubtedly change the way people view their media, travelers have reason to be disappointed for what it doesn’t quite do for their particular type of mobile lifestyle.
If this was something you’ve been hankering for, you’ve probably read your share of articles last week to find out what it can do (if not, here’s a great catch-all article). I won’t waste your time with specs. But I’ll say right away the sad and revealing truth: as a long distance traveler, the iPad is NOT what you’ve been waiting for — at least not yet. Sorry folks.
I’ll tell you why.
An around the world trip is quite possibly one of the most important thing you will do in your life. This may seem like an exaggeration, but even the mot cynical Washington insider can bet on a 
life-altering experience. It’s a proven way to change your attitude, your worldview and your karma forever.
What’s also true is that a big trip costs money — sometimes lots of it. But it doesn’t have to break you. So how do you cut yourself a piece of pie in the sky without having to settle for a life without an around-the-world experience? Make it cost less, that’s how. Here are the 10 best ways to make your trip more affordable without having to let go of the dream.
After nearly years of speculation it was finally announced today that Air New Zealand (yes, New Zealand again) will be giving the people exactly what they want, a good night’s sleep. The seats in their 777s are to be
adaptable so that people can stretch out from window to aisle.
Coined “the Skycouch” the genius is in its simplicity: flip-out extensions to the seat bottom and movable armrests. These features can set up a bed of sorts that allow for two people to lie down side-by-side, for one person to have ample flopping space or for a family to play games and actually enjoy a long flight for a change.
The around the world travel idea has been popping up a lot lately, and outside its admittedly tight-knit circles. More and more people are pushing the comfortable borders of Europe when not more 
than 20 years ago only the most adventurous American would consider traveling elsewhere. These days anywhere is fair game.
Yes, people are finally envisioning a vastly larger destination palate. Landscapes with hugely exotic sights and sounds are available without the extra effort that was formerly obligatory. The digital age has shown us just how small our world can be and our ability to get there is changing Disney World into Real World with an ease our parents would have been jealous of.
New Zealand has been appearing in my consciousness a lot recently — a couple of my friends just returned from there and at least one fellow travel-blogger has written from there recently. Why? Call it synchronicity, or perhaps it’s the summer weather or the overall draw of this amazing nation.
There’s no denying the splendor, diversity and beauty of New Zealand. This Friday, take a trip through the scenery by way of the following adeptly put-together travel video by the NZ tourist bureau.
A handful of optimists out there are saying the Great Recession is winding down. But for many of the penny-pinching masses life still isn’t all caviar and yachting. Quite the contrary—budgets are still very much in fashion. But since travel never seems to be far off the lifestyle radar, how people 
travel has been angling more toward the new era. To help those who are augmenting their travel funds with ramen-noodle and tap-water dinners, I’ve put together a list of top places where the US dollar will make the most noise, the ones with the highest bang-for-buck quotient.
Generally speaking, your first-world money tends to deliver best results in developing nations, places like Central America, South East Asia and destinations such as Eastern Europe and India, where the local economy must support people who make less money. Of course some will argue that traveling to these places creates an ethical disparity since you may be contributing to the economy only to take advantage of it. I tend to disagree – most of these places are downright stunning. But even with the uneasy philosophical arguments echoing, in terms of traveling experiences, they really can’t be beat.
It’s always good to memorize a few words of a country’s language before setting off on your trip, if not only to appear polite when your visiting.
Mandarin Chinese is arguably one of the world’s most difficult languages to learn as an English speaker. Fortunately The Travel Linguist has taken it upon themselves to help untangle your tongue just in time for your trip to China. Included are such time-honored classics as “hello”, “goodbye”, “thank you”, “do you speak English” and the always timeless, “where is the bathroom?”
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