Owner: Traveling Stories Magazine URL:http://www.traveling-stories-magazine.com Join Date: Sat, 04 Aug 2007 06:02:00 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Traveling Stories Magazine is a community oriented site dedicated to telling the tales of independent adventure travelers. Daily travel articles and stories provide a fascinating read and a chance to both stay up to date and to connect with fellow like mi Site statistics:Click here
Tips To Volunteer Without Using A Placement Organization 2007-08-03 14:26:46 Is Voluntourism weighing down volunteer based organizations or helping them stay afloat?
After reading an interesting couple of articles about Voluntourism by Rob on his site Go Budget Travel, I have decided to help provide some tips to avoid being caught in a volunteer placement program which will ultimately charge you a fortune without the majority of the money going back to the project.
The only time I think placements are appropriate are for the first time traveler who doesn’t have any experience and is feeling very intimidated. In this case a very short placement may be helpful as the program will provide an informative basis from which you can grow your own traveling wings.
Tips On How to Organize Your Own Volunteer
ing Experience
1. Idealist.org is an excellent resource which has thousands of postings for volunteers throughout the world.
2. Research the volunteer placement websites and gain enough information to find the organization through google and contact the coordina Read more:Organization
, Placement
Corrupt Police: Usually The Real Criminals 2007-08-02 08:59:03 Bargaining and keeping a close eye on your money is always a challenging affair while traveling in developing countries.
Chris at Nomad4Ever writes a great piece on how to avoid being scammed by Police
in Bali. His principals can be applied to most developing countries.
I remember hearing a story of a foreigner in Cambodia who was quite down and critical of the country. While his friends when out for “Happy” Pizza, he was robbed at gun point of his money and passport.
Frantically, he went to the police station to make a report. The police were asleep in the cells, but did reluctantly put on their pants to make a report. The catch was they demanded $50 payment to begin the investigation. After handing over the bill, the police offered to drive him to his hotel, but not before pulling into a gas station and forcing the foreigner to fill up the tank.
The next morning a group of officers showed up at the hotel demanding another $100 to continue searching for the “unknown& Read more:Corrupt
, Criminals
Live Aboard Sailing: The Independent Travelers Dream 2007-08-01 12:07:15
This past weekend I worked on a traditional wooden schooner (pictured above) sailing along the east coast of Nova Scotia up to Cape Breton. Continually being exposed to the world of sailing has made me realize the opportunity which boating has for the independent traveler.Have you every thought of owning your own sail boat? These are some of the many reasons why owning and traveling in your own sail boat can be so appealing to the independent traveler.
1. You really are completely independent and free to travel at will
Unlike other forms of transportation, sailing enables you to pick up and drop anchor where ever you like. On a moments notice you can travel almost anywhere in the world. The only thing stopping you is not the cost of travel (as it costs the same traveling as staying at anchor), but your ambition to take on another challenge.
2. Sailing
can be very cheap
If you live aboard your boat, you can get away without paying any housing costs. Many sailors will come to shore Read more:Dream
, Travelers
Brother’s Reunite in Costa Rica by Jorge Gomez 2007-07-31 13:47:39 The last time I saw my brother, he was only an 8 year old boy and it was hard for him to understand why I wouldn’t be able to spend any more weekends with him playing cowboys and indians in the backyard. I was almost 15 at the time and I was about to embark in a life changing experience.
I would be leaving Cuba forever and moving to another country with my mother, my stepfather and my 3 years old half sister. My parents had divorced when I was 1 year old and they eventually remarry and had children with their new spouses. My brother was born 7 years later. My father religiously picked me up every other weekend and took me to his new home where I would play with my brother every hour of the day.
Costa Rica
was my new country, and although I was excited about making new friends and visiting new places, there was a part of me that longed for those summer days where me and my brother would climb trees, build small camp fires or just tease each other until one of us would get mad. Then, j Read more:Brother
, Gomez
Community of Great Traveling Websites 2007-07-30 20:43:46 In a great project which I came across through the interesting travel blog of TravelMinx, quality travel sites furthering the travel community through sharing their favorite sites.
This community was originally created by Richard on his blog A Month in Venice and is being expanded by other bloggers who add their favorite blogs.
I have added Nomad 4 Ever and Lost Globe for their consistent and innovative travel writing. Through this list I have also learned of several new travel blogs which is always exciting to follow.
If you would like to join this project simply copy the list below and move the “add ons” to the “Original” list and then add your own favorite travel sites to the list.
___________________Start Copying Here___________________
My Adds
Nomad 4 Ever
Lost Globe
The Originals
Leave America
Rambling Traveler
Go Budget Travel
A Month In Venice
TravelMinx
Budget Globetrotting
Ubertramp
GoBackpacking
Vagabondish
Brave Read more:Great
, Traveling
, Websites
Irish FireHall and Pub: Why They Just Don’t Mix 2007-07-30 15:43:43
In a one horse Irish
town, my friend was staying in the only Inn which happened to be across from the only fire fighting station which happened to be attached to the only pub. About three blocks up the only road, the church happened to catch fire and the alarm was sounded throughout the town.
Peaking through the curtains of his Inn, my friend saw eight of the Irish firemen frantically stumble out of the pub around the corner into the firehall, followed seconds later by the screaming horns of the firetruck as it barrelled out of the garage. The bleary eyed truck driver took the corner much sharper then usual, and 5 of the Irish Firefighters went flying off the side of the truck as their drunken grip loosened under the surprising turn.
Startled and bewildered, the 5 Irishmen picked their pride and gear off the ground and stumbled up the hill yelling ancient Irish profanities al
We Had Been Royally Duped, Kerala India 2007-07-25 16:59:10 It happened many years ago when the Arabian Gulf countries were on its way to becoming what they are now. It was at that time that there began an exodus of people from India
, especially from Kerala
, to these countries in search of lucrative jobs. Many got there through proper channels and some using devious ways. This story which actually happened to me took place as the result of following the crooked path.
All those who were fortunate enough to reach countries like Dubai used to send thousands of rupees home every month. And when they came on leave, flaunting ‘foreen’ goods all around, the faces of the less fortunate turned green with envy.
To me personally, it began with the efforts to reach Dubai. I requested for help from my friends or relatives who were already there, but none come forward to make me realize my earnest dreams.
One day I was accosted by a fellow dressed in clothes evidently brought from Dubai. He asked me if I wanted to get to the golden city, and I replie
THE ESSENTIAL MINDSET OF A TRAVELER 2007-07-24 16:26:57 For a traveler, traveling should be first and foremost a learning experience.
Traveling to remote and unusual places far from the standard and well traveled tourist destinations can rekindle adventure spirit of a traveler and renew a sense of perspective in his daily life.
Such remote places are often very sensitive to outside disruption and exist in a delicate cultural or environmental balance. So, a traveler holds a responsibility to protect this balance.
The three most essential aspects which a traveler should follow are:
1- Understand and observe local customs – a traveler should acquaint himself with the cultures and customs of the lands he visits and respect them.
It is possible that other cultures may take offense to certain innocent and unassuming gestures. For instance, in some societies people do not wish to be photographed without their prior permission. Such regulations should be strictly followed.
2- Support the local economy - a traveler should stay in
July’s Interesting Travel Postings 2007-07-23 16:25:50 A few of the most interesting postings from around the online traveling world. If you know or have an interesting story feel free to let us know.
Rob at Go Budget Travel
has created a great list of traveling expenses for 94 different cities around the world.
Kirsty at Brave New Traveler has brought up the very real benifits for working while traveling that span far beyond monitary taking you into the rhealm of the real traveler.
Dan at his blog The Lost Globe discusses a list of the current 7 wonders of the world. They are all impressive sights and scattered across the globe from dense jungles to barren deserts.
Share This
Traveling Stories From Around The Web 2007-08-06 13:33:58 Carnivals create community! This weeks edition of Stories
From The Web is quite diverse as usual.
We’ll begin with Millionaire Mommy Next Door who writes 10 Ways to Save on Travel Expenses posted at Millionaire Mommy Next Door.
Next Jason Antic relays Centralia: An Eerie Preview of Post-Apocalyptic Earth posted at We Go to Cool Places.
The Malaysian Life discusses Malaysia in The Malaysian Life: August 2007 posted at The Malaysian Life.
Elvis D writes a humorous little story called Forum posted at 365fiction.
Stephanie details The Infamous Alaskan Backpacking Trip posted at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.
And finally, another Stephanie writes Remembering a Frugal Florida Vacation posted at Stop the Ride!.
If you have a traveling story on your site and would like to be included in the Traveling
Stories Magazine weekly carnival, please click HERE.
Share This
Hippy Profiling: How Governments and Airlines Profile Passengers 2007-08-04 10:37:31 Ever heard of hippy profiling? Surprisingly many countries make legal stipulations to airlines regarding the profiling of their passengers. For example, the Costa Rican government dictates to the airline that they will refuse “hippies” entrance into the country. If the airlines allow someone onto their flight who is denied entrance into the country for being a “hippy”, the airline will be fined and charged for your return flight. This shifts the screening process to the clerk at the airline check-in counter.
While this is official policy, it must all be taken with a grain of salt because if you’ve ever been to Costa Rica you know that its full of “hippies” and I’ve never heard of anyone getting denied entrance for being a “hippy”.
Even still, it is disconcerting that official profiling exists in such an institutional manner. While everyone may have various opinions on the matter, I have always found that “cleanin Read more:Airlines
, Governments
, Hippy
, Passengers
, Profiling
Seoul > Indonesia 2007-08-08 21:43:48 There are bugs in the mail for me. Three Japanese stag beetles via surface mail, 3 months to Canada, food supply of insect jelly. They are hidden in between some books and are very most illegal.
Hopefully I will stick around Canada long enough to see them again.
Also shipped off my large paintings with insurance…And told Mom not to open them…I lied: ‘Because I want to be there to show you’.
Really it’s making sure she doesn’t see how graphic my imagination can get.
The second last lesson for my private student we shot at each other with roman candles in an empty school playground at night…in English.
The last lesson meal of live octopus and sushi with the Kim family. My private student, Taekyung, saying goodbye after 9 months of being his ‘English Brother’.
Mr. Kim gave me his wrist watch, Calvin Klein, a present to him from the president of Daewoo motors, motion powered and batteryless.
Euree, his 17-year-old daughter, real Read more:Indonesia
, Seoul
South Beach, Miami…What WAS Miami? 2007-08-07 21:27:39 February, March & April.
What was Miami
…
Miami was a strange fire, and I–I was a lonesome loathsome ponderous child, swimming in the ocean at night so that no one could hear me singing out to sea.
It was a strange heat & sitting around talking to an A-wall Veteran of the War in Iraq & the Gulf War while the Air Conditioner chugged & we sweated all day in our bunker.
“…And I’ll tell yah…When you’ve…When you are ordered to kill, you follow through. I followed through, execution at point blank range…With a…With a handgun.
You’ll never get that blood off you. It’s on your hands, it’s on your face…It’s in the mirror…” he said.
“I bet,” I choked.
This man like a sick dog afraid of thunder on vacation, only ever leaving his room at night, at four AM, because then there’d be nobody watching.
Miami was bouts of extreme pomp & feeling.
Drove down from snowy Ontario, thirty hours through Pennsylvania, New York, South
Carolina, Nor Read more:Beach
, South Beach
Korea > Indonesia > Korea > Canada 2007-08-10 22:16:29 I knew what Indonesia
was…
It wasn’t a good vacation. It was a few facts of life.
It was hunger with a mouth & a polite, demonic, writhing tung.
It was me in tears on top a volcano on my very last day — eating a breakfast of eggs cooked on the black rocks.
It was the two of us.
Bezoe & Dave — heading into the misty jungle of Bali on two motorcycles at midnight with plans to find a tent & sleep there.
Wading through floodwaters in Jakarta, eating supper in a restaurant with a foot of water lapping up the legs — the wake of cars driving passed on the milkshake-colored streets comes through the open door & into the open diner.
It was eight Indonesians & one Canadian under a tarp on the train tracks at night — an impoverished soiree beneath monsoon rains & a full moon in the slums of Jakarta — waling on guitars & getting in shit for the noise.
So at another venue, beneath the roof of a vacated food stand, we continued Read more:Canada
, Korea
Pregnancy Scare 2007-08-09 21:57:36 Thursday night Bezoe’s father died of stress.
He had two wives and two families in Indonesia and couldn’t support either of them.
He was bleeding internally and externally.
A few weeks earlier I’d overheard Bezoe’s last conversation with his father as we were walking…somewhere.
Bezoe hung up the phone.
“Who was that?” I asked.
“So weird,” he said. “My father is so…Huh…”
“What’s up?” I asked. “He alright?”
“He was so quiet…” he said. “And then he said: ‘Bezoe come home soon’.”
Bezoe calls me first after he hears. I think back to Zazu who called me when her mother died and I promised myself I’d be better with words, this time…
3 AM and I’m in bed and I get a message from Bezoe.
“I am sad. MY father daed.”
He comes over in a taxi and we drink pitchers and have…What starts off as an awkward attempt a Read more:Pregnancy
, Scare
Essential Backpacking Items for Everyday Life 2007-08-15 14:43:56 Developed by years of backpacking and inspired less by my father’s hand-me-down survival training techniques than by Batman’s utility belt, my habit is to go everywhere with the most essential supplies. Everywhere. A bike ride through my neighbourhood is as well stocked against disaster as a trek along the Allegheny Trail.
Of course, “essential” is in the eye of the beholder. But I like to be prepared for any minor inconvenience. “Roughing it” doesn’t have to mean enduring a broken fingernail, does it? Sure, I fall just a bit on the fastidious side, but my Inspector Gadgetism has occasionally come to the aid of a fellow traveller in need.
My inventory is categorized, which helps me retrieve things quicker and replenish supplies more efficiently. If you shop for the smallest gadgets for your own utility belt (I actually use several tiny cloth zipper bags that I can toss into a backpack, fanny pack or suitcase), you’ll be amazed at how much space you can save. Here’s w Read more:Backpacking
, Essential
, Items
They Don’t Speak Spanish in Buenos Aires 2007-08-12 16:43:22 Five months ago I moved to Buenos Aires
to learn Spanish
. No one warned me that they do not speak Spanish there. They speak Castellano but more importantly in the Capital city they speak almost pure slang. Babies (nenes), street kids (pibes), parents (viejos) and grandparents (abuelos) will dizzy foreigners with words they know will make no sense. So here it is, the cheat sheet. I am inviting you into the clubhouse…weather or not you will make the cut as a true local (porteno) is up to you. Here are the basics, practice them with an Italian accent and you’ll be somewhat prepared.
First a little history: The foundation of BA slang, Lunfardo, was born together with the tango in the end of the 19th century. The base of Lunfardo has a lot to do with the poor street life and with the immigration that populated the city; originally Spanish and Italian, followed later by Russians, Germans, and other northern European countries. Thus, naturally combining different languages and cultu
Leaving For Las Vegas in Red Alert! 2007-08-18 18:47:06 My wife and I met on the Internet, dated by cross-country flights (Tampa, Florida – Vancouver, BC), and chose to meet halfway to get married in Vegas
.htm">Las Vegas
, Nevada, by Elvis Presley. You know, the same old story.
But wait! On the morning of our Elvis-bound flights, we woke up in our respective countries to the news that another barrel full of US-bound nut jobs were just arrested in England and that a Red Alert
had been established at the airlines. Orange Alert prevailed in the US, which is disruptive enough. But my Canadian cutie was suddenly facing possible body cavity searches – and not by her fiancé!
Now, we all know that you should check with the airport prior to any trip to confirm your flight and how long the anticipated lines will be. But on this day, it was anybody’s guess. We each managed to arrive well before our respective flight, but it didn’t seem to matter in either case.
Tampa International proved to be its usual laid-back self. My E-ticket che Read more:Leaving
Drastic Measures on the Road: Metric vs. English 2007-08-17 13:37:23 In my teens, I was so enamoured by hiking and biking that I missed the seemingly obligatory fascination with cars. Once I was a bit older and wiser – and still without a driver’s license – I took the environmentally friendly stance of supporting public transportation for many years. Finally, I succumbed to practicalities and became licensed, insured, and burdened with car payments.
Then came the hard part. I’m not talking about learning how to drive a stick shift, although that was no picnic, believe me. And the question of whether to fill my tank with gasoline, diesel, or salad oil was thankfully resolved by my country’s dogged pursuit to own and burn every last drop of foreign oil. No, even suffering steering wheels on the right side pales in comparison to the dreaded road conversions.
Get out your calculators, class, and let’s go crazy. If a car that gets 23 miles per gallon leaves Seattle, Washington at noon and drives north for 200 miles, how many kilometre Read more:Drastic
, English
, Measures
, Metric
My Trip Around the World 2007-08-17 07:53:54 For four months I lived and studied on a ship. It was a floating university of sorts, a small cruise ship named the MV Explorer. It housed five hundred university students and about a hundred and fifty crew and staff. There was Internet, fresh food and clean linens every day. For being in the middle of the ocean, the amenities were downright cozy. Rumors abound when one lives on a boat. The amount of fresh food was staggering and theories were generated constantly about the ship containing its own greenhouse and grow centers. Or about pirate sightings or exotic diseases infiltrating our ranks. For a while there was a very real concern that we weren’t going to be able to dock because too many passengers had come down with TD after our stop in Vietnam. After India, we were without Internet—what had been deemed as a luxury early on in the trip had by that point been totally taken for granted. When you have a ship full of young, angsty college aged kids, taking a Read more:World
Spending the Day In a Cuban Jail With My Dad 2007-08-16 14:20:13 If you ever find yourself in Havana, don’t try to cheat the system. My dad is the type of person who is always looking for deals, always looking for ways to beat the system. He’s the type of guy who, as the saying goes, ‘goes broke saving money.’
My family and I took a trip to Havana in the mid 1990’s. It promised a new and exciting world that barely any Americans had seen since the Bay of Pigs. I was about ten at the time, so a lot of the appeal and incredibleness of Cuba was lost on me. The snorkeling was fun and the food was good. The people, I thought, wore a little too much spandex and there were an extraordinary amount of old American cars farting around, but I’m sure that if I went back now, with more mature eyes, it would be a totally different place. But my innocence and naivety probably helped immensely on one occasion that will forever live in infamy in family lore and Cuban
criminal records.
The day started out as innocently as any Read more:Spending
Picture Perfect Travel Photography 2007-08-21 18:36:14
Unless you’re a purist, or working for National Geographic, consider leaving your expensive camcorder or SLR camera at home during your next trip. Especially when film or tape is involved, heat, cold, humidity, stray light, and even ambient electromagnetic fields can ruin your media. You will find yourself invariably rationing your limited number of still shots or taped minutes, missing some precious opportunities.
I say: go digital. Now, while cell phone pictures and video are getting better – and you can phone them home at a moment’s notice – they are still relatively low-resolution. Besides, your cellular service may not be available everywhere you travel, and you may prefer leaving the phone home anyway.
I would avoid taking an expensive digital camera or camcorder on a hike over rough terrain, or where local sticky fingers pose a special problem. My preference is a relatively inexpensive pocket-sized multi-purpose camera, what eBay calls a “specialty camera.” For arou Read more:Perfect
, Picture
, Picture Perfect
, Travel
The Joys of Snake 2007-08-20 21:52:05 Lost in the backstreets in the backcountry of some far off foreign place, I reluctantly pondered the victim of my whims. I had come to eat snake, a local delicacy and aphrodisiac, and I had come to the right place. Upon ordering, I was quickly hurried to a back room, lined wall to wall with cages of various soon-to-be-dinners. There were things I could easily recognize; rabbits, snakes, chickens…and things, which upon first glance, I had never seen before.
I was led to a large cage in the middle of the room and told to pick a snake from the hundreds that slithered around and over each other within the confines of the cage. Indiana Jones would not have been very pleased.
I love food. I really do. I am one of the most adventurous eaters I know, but something about the process irked me. I have never before looked my dinner in the eye (at least, before it’s cooked), much less hand pick it and sentenced it to an immediate doom. I was totally unable to formulate an opinion fr Read more:Snake
An Interesting Quote by Orison Swett Marden 2007-08-26 11:39:19 An article by Dave at Go Back Packing sparked some interesting thoughts. The article was based around the following quote:
The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone. — Orison Swett Marden
Interesting quote, although I think there is always an aspect of circumstance. An example would be a great highly skilled businessman who in the great depression would likely be a failure while a poor businessmen in a economic boom could be a great success.
So if you can recognize the influence which you personally hold and that of fortune or circumstance, then you realize that your achievements are not purely your own, but are both are also highly dependent on factors beyond your control.
Share This
Read more:Quote
Things My Father Told Me to Never Tell My Mother 2007-08-25 18:19:59 When it came to weekend exploring, it was my father and me all the way. Sometimes it was simply an innocent fishing trip, or an afternoon learning to shoot arrows or ride a horse. Some trips were business related, although Dad never seemed to wear his Navy uniform during these trips to nearby cities. Hmm.
Anyway, we had a bond between us as brothers of the road. There was no reason to tell Mom that the only public restrooms sometimes were the bushes behind a roadside billboard. In the spirit of partnership and humility - so it was explained to me - the daily catch of fish was attributed to both of us, even if my father only caught one small pan fish to my five monsters. And that cut on Dad’s cheek was from a wayward tree branch, not a civilian’s fist at that bar on the way home.
We spent a lot of time just inside the forests of America, before developers and speculators fenced off such natural land. Dad taught me how to hunt, fish and forage, build a cozy Read more:Father
Red Carded For Life 2007-08-23 22:23:40
We stepped off of the plane and, seemingly, into the middle of Columbia. Within minutes of landing in the country, we were sitting in the middle of Bucaramanga watching Atlético Bucaramanga take on highly regarded Liga Deportivo Universitaria Quito in a contested and passionate football game (That’s ‘soccer’ for us Yanks). Everything relating to soccer in Columbia is witnessed and played with such fervor, that it would make the Pope blush.
The instances of an overzealous soccer culture in Columbia are numerous. In 1994, a defender for the national side, Andrés Escobar, was shot and killed in Barranquilla, by a fan upset at Escobar and the team’s failures at the World Cup, after having scored an ‘own goal’ in the World Cup that summer, thus eliminating the team, and the country, from World Cup 1994 in the United States—the deadly mistake was actually in a game against the USA, one of Columbia’s biggest rivals in the tournament.
A little further back in histor
What Draws Us to New Places? 2007-08-29 14:52:09 I traveled a lot as I grew up in a military family, and continued to travel out of habit after leaving the nest. The question of where to go was easy as a child; I had no say. Uncle Sam picked my father’s next port of call, and we moved there.
As an adult, I had a bit more say in the matter. Just a bit. National monuments, historical sites, cities of reputation, stomping grounds of relatives, and favourite places of my past filled my dance card. I always tried to incorporate walking and biking, my preferred modes of personal transportation, and always took a camera.
But there were attractions that eluded me. Budget, work schedules, and personal entanglements seemed to keep me in North America. I traveled the Pacific Rim as a child, and now yearn to cross an ocean again. The UK, land of Emma Peel and home of Monty Python, beckon. As does Australia, the British version of the American West.
But New Zealand shines the brightest beacon. Partly nostalgic for my youth in Hawaii, partly ent Read more:Places
Making Love to the Bus 2007-08-29 00:26:34 The longest trip I’ve ever taken on a bus was an overnighter in Egypt. Frankly, it was one overnight bus trip too many. What ensued was later referred to as ‘making love to the bus.’ It was hot, it was sweaty and I was constantly changing positions. It challenged even my most basic notions of pleasure and pain and heaven and hell.
We left from Sharm El Shiek in the early evening, set to arrive in Alexandria eleven hours later. We had to be in Alexandria the next day and that was the last bus out of town. There was a small liquor store we somehow found near the bus stop and we loaded up, hoping to get so blissfully drunk that we wouldn’t remember the ride at all.
None of us had the heart to really go full throttle waiting for the bus with a bunch of native Egyptians all eying us warily. I drank a little bit of whiskey to help dull the senses, but that was it. We all knew it was a stupid idea to begin with, especially before a long bus ride. A kid, in his early teens, wa Read more:Making Love
Recommend Site To A Friend
