Empty Roads

Lunar Eclipses: How do they work?

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:19:00 +0200

Yesterday the Sun, Earth and Moon were aligned exactly, with Earth in the middle. In effect sky gazers in much of the world witnessed a total lunar eclipse, said to be the longest in 21th century. Since the moon passed through near-center of the Earth's shadow, the eclipse lasted for a total of 1 hour and 40 minutes. It was visible over Europe and South America after sunset, over Africa and most of Asia, and Australia before sunrise. This was the first of the two lunar eclipses in 2011. Next one is due for December 10 and will be seen in most parts of the world, excluding South America and parts of Western Africa.

What is a lunar eclipse and when does it occur?

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth's shadow falls on the Moon. This can only happen when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned. In the process Earth obscures Sun's rays from reaching the Moon. Lunar eclipses can only occur at full moon - that is when the Moon is behind the Earth in relation to the Sun. But that raises an obvious question, why doesn't lunar eclipse occur every month?

Video explaining why lunar eclipse doesn't occur every month

As it turns out, the Moon's orbit is slightly inclined (by about 5 degrees) with respect to Earth's orbit around the Sun. As a result, the Moon crosses the Earth's orbital plane twice every month, at points called nodes. When the plane is crossed during Full Moon or New Moon (when nodes are aligned with the Sun and Earth), eclipses occur. The former causes a lunar eclipse, while the latter causes a solar eclipse.

Lunar orbit in relation to Earth's orbital plane at different times of the year

Why does the Moon turn red during lunar eclipse?

Lunar eclipse phases

During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth prevents Sun's rays from striking the Moon directly. Even though Moon is positioned behind the Earth, indirect sunlight can still reach and illuminate it. As the sunlight reaches Earth some of the rays are bent and redirected through the atmosphere and onto the Moon. In the process most of the blue light gets filtered out - ie. the more atmosphere in sunlight's way, the more blue and green rays get scattered. What remains is red sunlight because reddish wavelengths are more penetrating.

New Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:22:00 +0200

A quick update on things.

In the next few days I will be adding 'Tall Tales' from around the World - They will be available here - (Tall Tales page in above menu). The idea is to collect tales from other travelers. As part of it, I will also import my travel stories from my personal blog. They're quite lengthy so I don't think posting them on the main page as individual posts would be a good idea. Instead I will just post an update whenever a new entry will be added to the 'Tall Tales' page.

I have also recently started with topics about Geography. I will be writing about interesting facts about Earth as well as cultural & physical aspects of places I have visited - mainly those. From time to time I will write about places I am yet to visit. I plan to add reviews and brief descriptions of regions / countries / cities too (>something similar to this paragraph about Laos in one of my previous posts). I figured it would go along well with Travel topic. Travel and Geography posts should interchange with every new post - at least that is what I plan to do.

As for the blog appearance. I am gathering ideas for my blog banner - the one I have now is too dark. I need something brighter and colorful to be in contrast to the background. If you have an idea, let me know.

I'm also experimenting with 'like' boxes and promotion of this blog on other "busy sites". It is slowly gaining momentum (I hope so!), but sometimes things do go backwards. For now, you can connect to this blog on Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon and YouSayToo.

Understanding Geographic Coordinates

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:14:00 +0200

Nowadays it seems almost pointless to understand geographic coordinates, let alone calculate the distance between two points on Earth described by them. Even though there is little practical use to an average person who has just recently stumbled upon Earth's coordinates, it remains to be one of the most important tools used in navigation and long distance travel.

Throughout human history, one of the most important questions has been, 'Where are we?'. As people migrated, the next logical question was, 'Where are you going?'. So it was obviously a good idea to come up with something that would be used to describe one location in reference to the other. Even after the invention of navigational instruments, such as compass and quadrant, most of the exploration was based on landscape features and on celestial navigation. So, it is not surprising that Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered America (for Europeans), even though he was supposed to sail to India by going west to reach the Far East. At his death, he was still convinced that his explorations had been along the east coast of Asia. [Columbus's reaction as he was being explained where India is.] Jokes aside, Columbus was a great explorer.

It was not until mid-18th century, however, that the measurement of geographic coordinates was possible. Surprisingly, latitude has been used since some two thousand years ago but it was fairly useless without longitude which was finally understood in the 18th century. With latitude and longitude known it was finally possible to establish a geographic coordinate system that enabled every location on Earth to be defined by a set of numbers, known as the geographic coordinate.

What is Latitude and Longitude?

Latitude (not to be confused with altitude) is the distance from the equator. The distance from equator is called 'angular distance' because it is the angle that is being measured. If you draw a line from Earth's core to the surface on equator you will get a base 0° line. Drawing the second line from the core to any location on the surface and measuring the angle between the two lines will give you an latitude angular distance given in degrees (°), minutes (') and seconds ("), followed by the direction in relation to equator - N for North, S for South OR the minus (-) prefix for South . (eg. 45° S = -45°). Since equator is the mid-point from North to South, it doesn't have a direction affix and is commonly known as 0° latitude. Imaginary curves of constant latitude (running east-west) are known as lines of latitude. Each line is parallel to equator, and for this reason they are also known as parallels. Geographic North and South Pole are two points on the Earth's surface that are the farthest from equator. They both have 90° angular distance from equator. (ie. North Pole = 90° N, South Pole = 90° S). Latitude ranges from 0 degrees at equator, to 90 degrees at North Pole (-90 degrees at South Pole).

Longitude, much like latitude, describes an angular distance. Instead of equator, the starting point for longitude is the Prime Meridian - an imaginary line running north-south through Greenwich in London. The reason for this lies in this particular meridian's popularity in late 19th century. Most explorers and overseas traders of that time used the Greenwich Meridian as the reference meridian on their maps, so it was only natural that it was later selected as the official Prime Meridian.
Every location west of Prime Meridian is given an affix W (eg. 110° W), while locations east of it are given E affix (eg. 60° E). The interpretation of East and West is a bit different than that of North and South. That is because the meridians, unlike lines of latitude, are not parallel. They intersect at the poles. If they were parallel, the grid may look somewhat normal on the globe, but as soon as you would try to stretch it into a map, you would notice the chaos.
Since meridians aren't parallel, it is a little harder to pick up the difference between West and East than North and South. Where exactly does East become West? As it turns out the Prime Meridian goes around the World and divides the two. From Greenwich (going north) it crosses the North Pole, Bering Strait (going south), then barely misses New Zealand, crosses the South Pole and makes its way up north over the Western Africa. Most of the land mass is East of Prime Meridian, thanks to Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Longitude ranges from 0 degrees at the Prime Meridian, to 180 degrees in both directions - West and East.

Knowing both latitude and longitude, it is possible to assign coordinates to every place on Earth. For example, New York City has the coordinates: 40°43′N 74°00′W.

Simple Facts, Simple Maths

Since Earth is spherical, every degree of longitude does not represent equal distances. Latitude, however, does. This means that difference of 1 geographic minute (1') in north-south direction is the same everywhere on Earth and is close to 1.8km. The same cannot be said for the difference of 1 minute in longitude. Meridians are not parallel so the length (in km) of 1' in east-west direction varies with latitudinal position - in simple terms, the length (in km) of 1' in east-west direction is different on equator than it is close to the North/South Pole, as it is anywhere in between.

It is quite easy to calculate the distance between two coordinates. All you need to know is Earth's radius (~6400km), coordinates and have basic knowledge of trigonometric functions.
This is not 100% accurate though - I rounded up Earth's Radius and assumed that Earth is a perfect sphere (it's not). Also, the distance between two locations is linear (for easier calculations), not spherical, so if you calculate the distance between North and South Pole, you will get the distance through the Earth's core and not around the globe. Similar can be said for other large distances.

When calculating, it is essential to convert units into degrees only. (eg. 30' = 0.5°).
1° = 60' = 3600"
(1' = 60")

North-South Calculations:

There are two coastal towns in South Korea, Anmyeon-do (36°20'N 126°21'E) and Sapsi-do (36°28.5'N 126°21'E). They are both of almost same longitude (I skipped geo. seconds).

The distance between two coordinates of same longitude is calculated like this:

y = sin ([difference in latitude]) * [Earth's radius] =
= sin (8.5') * 6400km =
= sin (8.5/60) * 6400km =
= (~) 15.8km

The two towns are 15.8km apart.

East-West Calculations:

Two towns/cities in Vietnam, Chợ Ái Nghĩa (15°53'N 108°06'E) and Hội An (15°53'N 108°19.5'E).

The distance between two coordinates of same latitude is calculated like this:

x = |((cos [latitude coordinate]) * 2pi * [Earth's radius]) * [difference in longitude]) / 360 | =
= |(cos (15.9°) * 2 * 3.14 * 6400km * (13.5')) / 360| =
= |(cos (15.9°) * 2 * 3.14 * 6400km * (13.5/60)) / 360| =
= (~) 24.2km

Hội An and Chợ Ái Nghĩa are 24.2km from each other.

East-West & North-South Calculations:

To do this you must separately calculate the north-south and east-west distances. Once you have them, you use the Pythagorean theorem to get the distance between the two coordinates.

x² + y² = a²
a = sqrt(x² + y²), where 'a' is the distance between two coordinates.

Mekong by Speedboat

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:07:00 +0200

Earlier this year I went on a speedboat trip down the Mekong river - from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang in Laos.
It was just a small part of my three month trip from Bangkok to Hanoi.

Mekong connecting Huay Xai and Luang Prabang (in blue color)

A few words about Laos

Known as the SE Asia’s most languid country, Laos is a perfect place to practise being horizontal. The country is officially known as Lao PDR - Lao People’s Democratic Republic (which is more than often jokingly referred to as Lao Please Don’t Rush) and is one of the rare countries in the world where you get to see communist flags hanging from the classic French provincial style buildings.
Fortressed by a chain of high mountains, traveling through Laos is all but easy in this slow-paced country. Since tourism is relatively new to the region, much of the country still remains unexplored by travelers, thus wrapping it in a much-yearned mist.
Despite a healthy economic growth, the country is apparently still struggling to escape its status as one of the poorest nations on Earth. Infrastructure is disastrous. Railways are non-existent. Highways are but a dream in Laos for now (at least until China decides to improve its trade routes to Thailand). The country’s most important roads are narrow and damaged, ensuring a bumpy ride. More than just a few roads are closed down during the monsoon season (flooded). River transport is very much alive on Mekong, but it’s costly.

Boat trip from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang

Huay Xai is a small border town. By the looks of it, it must have once - in somewhat recent history - been an important fishing town (or maybe still is) and important link in opium trafficking. Nowadays, the traces of the past are well hidden by the rapidly developing industry that is tourism.
There isn't much to do there. It's a ghost town once the sun goes down. Most travelers stop just for one day - unwillingly. Boats and buses leave in the early morning so whoever arrives there later is stuck there for a day. The same happened to me.

There's a reason I crossed the border (from Thailand) at this particular place - I wanted to take the speedboat down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang. It's roughly 300km down the river. I knew it was somewhat dangerous. A few people die on that river every year, crashing into rocks. Before I went there I spent quite a lot of time asking everything there is to know about that stretch of the river.

This is the quote that convinced me to take the speedboat:

the speed “boat” to Luang Prabang, about one of the most exciting things i have ever done, Lonely Planet tells you to not do it and take the slowboat instead as supposedly, people die every year crashing into rocks. Fuck that, SO AWESOME, DO IT! It took me 6 hours to get to Luang Prabang whereas the slowboat takes 2 whole days plus you look like a bitch.

by anonymous /trv/ler

I would do the trip injustice if I only said it was great. It was by far the most adrenaline-induced experience I've had in years. 300km down the river in 6 hours. Zigzaging around the sharp rocks in the middle of the river was outstanding. Even though it was a bit uncomfortable because of the helmet, life-jacket , hardly any room for legs + benches that barely passed as seats, it was well worth it.

(audio cuts out mid-video for about 30sec. I accidentally pushed the mute button)

Local girls on the riverside

Our speedboat

Rocks on Mekong

Travel Movies

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Thu, 9 Jun 2011 15:15:00 +0200

Whether it's a bicycle trip to the nearest town, or a multi-month tour across continents, travel is a ubiquitous factor in most of the films and it's often enough to inspire us to escape our daily routine and see the world.

Below are the seven travel movies that I recently watched. They are definitely worth seeing if you are nomadic at heart.

Into the Wild (2007) [Trailer]

A movie about a university graduate who abandons his possessions and wanders all across US to prepare himself to live in the wilderness in Alaska.
The movie is based on a true story. It's one of the most inspiring and complete movies I have ever watched. Great actors, beautiful scenes, very emotional.

The Way Back (2010) [Trailer]

A young military officer is sent to Siberia during WWII. Making friends with six others, they escape and walk 4000 miles south to India.
While the scenery is simply amazing and the acting quite decent, some of the characters lack depth. I sometimes got the feeling they were cutting scenes. It's still worth watching if you're into travel movies.

Seven Years in Tibet (1997) [Trailer]

An Austrian mountain climber Heinrich Harrer and several others go on an expedition to climb Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas. Having failed, they return to the camp where they learn that war has been declared on Germany, so they are arrested by British authorities in India. Eventually Harrer and his friend escape and wander around Tibet until they reach Lhasa, where Harrer befriends the 13th Dalai Lama
The real beauty of this film lies in Tibetan people and scenery.

Eurotrip (2004) [Trailer]

A high school grad Scott Thomas embarks on a overseas trip to Berlin to find the girl he met online. Along for the ride is his best friend Cooper. On the way they run into other friends and together they travel across Europe.
The movie is hilarious but it isn't so much about traveling - moving from one place to another - than it is about exploring and exaggerating every possible European stereotype or cliché.

The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) [Trailer]

An Argentinian student Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (later better known as Ernesto Che Guevera) leaves his studies behind to accompany his friend on the journey throughout Latin America.
This movie nicely shows the transition from Che's carefree persona until later becoming more and more inclined to help the people and turning into a man who later changed the world.

127 Hours (2010) [Trailer]

The movie is based on a extraordinary true story of a mountain climber Aron Ralston who sets on adventure to the canyons in Utah without telling anyone. As he's exploring the canyons, a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him. He spends the next five days trying to save himself.
It is a quite emotional film with some very realistic scenes. I wouldn't recommend it to the faint-hearted though.

Up (2009) [Trailer]

A schoolboy Carl Fredrickson is passionate about traveling and hopes that one day he will visit the Lost Land in South America. He meets a girl Ellie who feels the same, but life gets in their way and they're forced to stay at home. Many years later Ellie dies. Carl remembers the promise he made to her, ties balloons to his house and flies away.
Even though it's animated, the film has everything - hilarious comedy, soul, unusual characters, amazing effects. All those combined make it special.

What travel movies have you recently watched?
Which ones would you recommend?

Suggested by commenters:

Easy Rider (1969)
Vanishing Point (1971)

List of Travel Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Wed, 8 Jun 2011 14:19:00 +0200

Have you ever checked in at the hostel, met all the interesting people, some of which could play a guitar, and then sung songs with a bunch of strangers? What were the most played songs?

Here's a list of the "travel" songs that I've heard most often in such places, either sung or on mp3s. Some of these have found way to my playlist as well.

Popular
Oasis - Wonderwall
Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere over the Rainbow / Wonderful World (cover)
Counting Crows - Mr Jones
Blind Melon - No Rain
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower
Iggy Pop - The Passenger
Eddie Vedder - Society
Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild
Johnny Cash - Solitary Man
Harry Chapin - Cats In The Cradle
Marc B. - Comin' Up
Traveling Wilburys - Tweeter And The Monkey Man
Men at Work - Land Down Under
Mike Oldfield - Man In The rain
Opus - Live is Life
The Beatles - Yesterday
The Police - Message In A Bottle
The Police - Walking On The Moon
The Hooters - Johnny B
The Hooters - 500 Miles
Bob Marley - Three Little Birds
The Eagles - Hotel California
Freddie Mercury - Living on my own
Enigma - Return To Innocence
Rolling Stones - Jumping Jack Flash
CCR - Have You Ever Seen The Rain?
CCR - Fortunate Son
Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water
U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name
Green Day - Time of Your Life
Neil Young - Heart of Gold
Death Cab For Cutie - I will Follow You Into The Dark
Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place
Top Petty - Time To Move On
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird
Joan Osborne - One of Us
Guns N Roses - Knocking on Heaven's Door
Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
Jimmy Buffett - Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes
Lenny Kravitz - Fly Away
Chris Brown - Forever
Nirvana - Come As You Are
R.E.M - Losing my Religion
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh)
The Doors - The End
Seeed - Aufstehn
Crash Test Dummies - MMM MMM MMM MMM
Bob Dylan - Blowing In The Wind
AC/DC - Highway to Hell [added]

Songs about places
Katie Melua - Nine Million Bicycles
Robbie Williams - The Road To Mandalay
Mike Oldfield - To France
Vinyl Shakerz - One Night in Bangkok
Sash - Ecuador
Simon & Garfunkel - Scarborough Fair
Paul McCartney - Mull Of Kintyre
Kim Wilde - Cambodia
Toto - Africa
Cat Stevens - Katmandu
Peter, Bjorn and John - Amsterdam

Songs About How To Travel (eg. by boat, by train, by car, on foot, …)
CCR - Proud Mary
Arlo Guthrie - City of New Orleans
Modest Mouse - World At Large
The Proclaimers - I'm gonna be (500 Miles)

Instrumental
Ludovico Einaudi - Oltremare
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound Of Silence
Explosions In The Sky - Your Hand In Mine
Explosions in the sky - First breath after coma [added]
Caspian - Sycamore
Mogwai - Take Me Somewhere Nice
Mogwai - Yes I Am A Long Way From Home
Crystalline - Instrumental Piano Music
Wim Mertens - Struggle For Pleasure
ATB - No Fate (But What We Make)

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Over the Rainbow seems to have become this century's Kumbaya.

Which songs have you come across while traveling? Or if you aren't a traveler, which other songs do you think would fit in the list?

Airline Travel Myths

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Sun, 5 Jun 2011 15:20:00 +0200

ABC News recently listed 6 Airline Travel Myths, including whether opening a door mid-flight can be done and what happens when your luggage is mishandled.

"There are a couple of reasons for this, but the big one is cabin pressure which, in effect, seals the doors shut. Plus many aircraft doors are "plug-type" in design meaning the doors are bigger than the opening (unless they are rotated). Again, though, once cabins begin to pressurize, which occurs as the plane begins to taxi, well - forget it. Those doors are shut."

Road Traffic in Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Fri, 27 May 2011 22:20:00 +0200

Despite being the former capital of Vietnam, Huế is a relatively quiet city. The traffic there may not be as chaotic as in cities like Hanoi, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and Phnom Penh (Cambodia), but it's still quite a sight. Accidents do occur, just not as many as one would imagine.

I shot this in Huế, near the Citadel

Location of Huế

One of the side roads in HCMC's center.

Saigon is by far the worst when it comes to traffic. Crossing the street in the endless sea of motorbikes is quite an experience. The idea is to slowly move across the street while motorbikes flow around you. (Watch out for buses.)

(Traffic in Saigon - by tkimsing)

What is Adventure?

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:04:00 +0200

Different people have different opinions about what an adventure is, but most will agree that it's usually an exciting, risky experience with an uncertain outcome. But still, it's all relative, anyway.
Adventure involves stretching your body or mind, or both. I prefer the latter and traveling does this. Sure, skiing on extreme terrain at a local ski resort, climbing the highest mountain, or rafting down the river sounds exciting. But even more so if you do it thousands of miles away from home.
Although you don't have to try out all the extreme sports to feel adventurous. Simply being in another country on your own is adventurous enough for most. Hitchhiking, getting off the beaten track, avoiding organized tours is my way of feeling adventurous.

I recently backpacked through SE Asia and on several occasions I ended up walking or hitchhiking my way to next destination. I tried to avoid transports arranged through guesthouses and other organized tours as much as possible. When I was at Si Phan Don (Laos), I crossed the Mekong river on a wooden raft and then walked to the main route that leads to Cambodian border (~30km to the south). I had only been waving (thumbing isn't recognized there) for 5 minutes when a bus stopped right behind me. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I was in a hurry so I got on and went all the way to Siem Reap (Cambodia) for a relatively cheap price, if I don't count the border visa scam which is impossible to avoid.
I ran into some folks in Siem Reap that thought hitchhiking there was insane. But they flew into Siem Reap direct and had everything organized. I didn't think what I was doing was that big of a deal, but they did. I do think what I did was adventurous, but not as much as they thought. It's all relative.

I came to a point with my traveling when I just decided that there wasn't really any redeeming value in being scared. What fun is it if you're scared? I suppose you can call that adventure but it's not really fun. It's just a matter of what you are comfortable with, and you should stretch your comfort zone, but how much is always the question.

What is adventure for you? What type of adventures appeal to you?

Solo Travel: 5 Reasons To Travel Alone

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:16:00 +0200

I've traveled to quite a few countries, mostly with my family and school. During those travels there was always a part of me that longed to separate from the group. I wanted to see what's it like to be on my own. In groups I always felt too safe, as if I had cheated somehow.
Several years have passed since my last trip with family and in that time I have been on three backpacking trips, alone.

The fear of being on my own seems to omit me until the last moment - usually as I'm about to board a plane it strikes me that I'm going half way around the world to some country that is rarely heard from at home. That's when fear kicks in, not the real fear, just an unusual feeling associated with fear. But it disappears after a few hours/days in the country. At least that's how it's been so far.

I usually set goals for trips - more often than not, it is to escape the comfortability of a daily routine, to end the lack of responsibility and experience something new again for a change. Whenever I decide to go somewhere, family and friends can't resist the urge to toss out comments and protests - saying my plans are unsafe and that I "barely hatched" and should therefore not walk the Earth alone. In a way I'm grateful for their commenting. It reinforces my initial decision because I want to prove them wrong.

So, what is so unique about solo travel?
Here are my reasons:

1. Independence

Traveling alone is an experience of ultimate freedom. When on your own, you don't have to rely on others and nobody is going to judge you. You are free to go where you want, when you want, however you want. You can sleep late, skip breakfast, wander around at 4am, change plans at the last moment, and nobody is going to say a word. No debates, no arguing, no compromises. It's all up to you.

In the beginning it may take some time to realize that you are free to do whatever you please. You may subconsciously avoid doing some things even if you're interested in them, just because that's how you would act back at home. Let go of that. Give yourself permission to explore the unknown.

2) Learn To Expect The Unexpected

By learning to expect the unexpected I mean getting thrown off the bus at some small village late in the evening, miles away from your desired destination, and instead of panicking, you would simply laugh. Or arrive in an unfamiliar city at 2am and not worry about a thing. Or walk on the road for hours before finally getting a ride and feel good about it.

You would be surprised what all can (and will) go wrong during your solo travel. While it may be frustrating at first, you'll learn to cope with the unexpected and stop caring so much about everything. Sooner or later you may even start appreciating all of it.

I still remember my first solo trip when I was 18. I arrived at the Singapore Changi Airport (which is on the other side of the world) and I didn't have a clue how to get into the city. So I panicked a little. I wandered around airport for ~2 hours before figuring out where I needed to go. I was reluctant of asking for advice. Big mistake. After finally arriving in the city centre I was even more lost. It was getting dark and I still needed to find accommodation. Tired and lost I sat on the sidewalk, trying to calm down and come up with a solution. After a while I managed to convince myself it's not a big deal and soon after I found the hostel I was looking for.

The more such experiences, the better - the quicker you get used to all kind of situations.

3) Leave Home (And Travel Companions) Behind

Traveling with friends doesn't allow you to experience the far-flung country in its true colours. If you bring a friend, you may find yourselves spending most of the time talking about home-related things/gossip that don't belong in the environment you're in. Thus you tend to miss a lot of details. Bringing a friend with you often means you're packing remnants of home along with other things.

When traveling solo, observation becomes means of entertainment. I've seen people traveling as a couple or in group who, rather than noticing the diverse landscapes out of the train/bus window, were lost discussing which movie they've watched and arguing about trivial things. If only they knew what they had missed.

Also, traveling with friends will only prevent you from being truly yourself. They serve as a "safety-lock" which doesn't allow you to change - they constantly remind you of who you are.

4) Meet The Locals

You are likely to meet far more people when you're on your own than you would if you're protected by "invisible shield" made by your friends. Locals and other lone travelers tend to avoid groups because it's harder to make contact with a group than with an individual. Socializing is easier because you're alone - you're easier to get to.

In Vietnam, wherever I'd been I couldn't sit down without having at least one local approach me and discuss things in English. Obviously the main reason was to practice english - some students came equipped with 2 dictionaries in their small bags. It was really an interesting experience talking to so many locals, discussing various topics.
One time I was sitting in the park in Hanoi, tired after a whole day of sightseeing. I noticed a Vietnamese girl sitting on a bench on the opposite side. I just acknowledged she was there and continued watching the traffic and people walking by. After ~15 minutes she approached me, really shy, and wanted to practice english. She had only been learning english for 3 months so there was a lot of pointing and waving with hands. Awesome experience. This would have never happened if I had friends with me.

5) Growth

Traveling solo will definitely play a key role in your own personal development. Any long trip will change you, probably for the better. People change through time, but it usually takes years to develop a different view on the world. Traveling accelerates this.
Every trip enriches you - whether you've become more confident, or you've learnt things about yourself that you previously had not known, or changed your view on certain things. Chances are you will like and be proud of your new self.

Walking into the unknown by yourself isn't for everyone though. It also has its downsides - being lonely and taking risks are the top reasons why many choose not to travel alone. If you're still in dilemma whether you should try it or not - go for it! In the end, the positive aspects by far outweigh the negative. And as Tairaka1985 said below one of my previous posts:

"Traveling is a wonderful thing. It really opens your mind up to how other people exist in this world. I recommend that everyone travel to somewhere far away at least once in their life. Usually the experience makes a good impression."

Travel Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Mon, 23 May 2011 02:15:00 +0200

Enjoy the awesome visual journey through beautiful landscapes accompanied by a stunning song. If this doesn't make you want to travel, then.. we don't have much in common. :P

I Break Horses - Hearts from Bella Union on Vimeo.

Arriving Passengers

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Sat, 21 May 2011 16:13:00 +0200

Not really travel related, or maybe. After a long flight, this is probably the best thing to cheer you up. Unfortunately, it was a one time occasion.

Watch arriving passengers at Heathrow Terminal 5. No instruments were used in the film.

For more visit: http://www.facebook.com/tmobileuk

How to Be Comfortable on a Long Airplane Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Fri, 20 May 2011 21:04:00 +0200

Unless you're a first-timer or a long-flight junkie, chances are you are not going to like those boring overseas flights.
Apart from waiting long hours there are also other things that may annoy you - things like changes in pressure, THAT kid crying 2 rows behind you, guy next to you waking you up to go to the toilet, silly flight attendants being too friendly, pretty much pointless passenger announcements and the ever-present turbolence (you will encounter it at least once in your flight. If not, consider yourself extremely lucky).

So what to do to minimize the annoyance?
Here's how..

Things to take with you

First you should make a list of things to take on an airplane. Here's a pretty good list, just to give you an idea:

- Travel pillow
- Sleeping mask
- Books to read/Games to play/Movies to watch
- Wear long sleeves and long pants (it gets cold)
- Melatonin* (reset your body clock while you're on the plane)
- Comfortable shoes (you want to easily take them off)
- Mints (bad breath)

*You shouldn't worry about this if you're a teenager or in your 20s, 30s. You're young enough to deal with time zones with ease.

Picking your seat

Try to get an aisle seat, or even better, travel with family/friends and take up an entire row. That way you won't have to deal with strangers and being overly polite to them. For many it's also easier to have someone else ask YOU to move, than having to do this yourself.

Aisle seats also give you more room for your legs, you can stretch them out in the corridor. Although beware, I had been stepped on numerous times because of that.

Sleeping

Try to sleep as soon as night hits the zone the plane is in. It'll be hard but trust me, it pays loads. Your body clock tends to self-adjust as you fly.

Airplane Food

Avoid eating chicken served on the plane, most of the time it gives you diarrhea. Same goes for some meats, if they taste raw or really sour avoid them like the plague. In fact, try to avoid all plane food you can't tolerate after the first bite. Chances are you'll feel ill if you do eat it.

Drink plenty of water. The air on board the plane is very dry. It's easy to become dehydrated.

Restrooms

Use the restrooms before entering the plane, or when not much people have used them, it makes them more tolerable. A lot.
I've learned to use toilets before flights, so I never have to get up during the flight and go to the toilet.

Other

Bring a pen, you'll thank me later. Seriously.

Wear warm clothes, it gets cold in the plane and the heating system can help until a certain point, but then it's cold everywhere.

Earplugs may come handy as well.

Don't look at the time or an in-flight map too often during your flight. It will only make everything longer.

Long-flight airplanes will most likely be equipped with pillows, plankets, headphone set, and a screen built into the seat in front of you. Make sure the screen actually works - if not, ask to for another seat. Airlines usually have a huge collection of movies and songs, but kudos to you if you manage to get to the end of the movie without being interrupted 10+times by PA or something else.

And for christ's sake put all the stuff you'll need in one bag and the other in the other. You'll be moving around and shuffling with the bags a lot less, and helps you too a lot.

Vagabonding

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Fri, 20 May 2011 13:44:00 +0200

Here's a great HowTo street survival.
http://vagabondacrosstheworld.blogspot.com/

It's definitely one of those must-read websites if you decide to vagabond yourself. Lots of great tips and stories - hitchhiking, keeping clean on the road, where to eat/how to find food, where to sleep, earning money, avoiding trouble, ...

Definitely worth reading it.

Thanks to zoron.

What to pack for your trip?

noreply@blogger.com (Empty) — Thu, 19 May 2011 22:45:00 +0200

This is one of the best Travel websites I came across - Universal Packing List website: http://upl.codeq.info/

All you need to do is to select the region you're traveling to, activities you'll do there, how long will you travel for and similar things that will help you with your packing.