In the past, we’ve shied away from travelogue-style writing and tried to keep things sharp and tip-based. Do you like the current mix, or do you want to know more about what hosts Craig and Linda are up to as we travel around South America, Europe and Asia this year?

All entries go into the draw to win an improved Indie Travel Podcast experience for you and your friends!

Quick poll: Should we write more about us? is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

This Canyon in the State of Chiapas, Southeast Mexico, is an explosion of greenery, water and wildlife. It begins near the city of Chiapa de Corzo, stretches for about 35km, crossing a number of impressive cliffs, finally ending at the reservoir of the hydroelectric dam Chicoasén.

The Canyon del Sumidero can be visited by boat or driving along the miradores (viewing points) at the top of the cliffs that surround it. We opted for the aquatic option and joined a boat trip at the Cahuaré embarcadero. Prior to departure, there is ordinarily a long wait required until enough people arrive to fill the boat. We were quite fortunate, however, in that a number of people turned up shortly after us, so we didn’t need to wait for long. After putting on our life vests we were ready to go!

The boatman took us to some of the interesting spots along the Canyon. The first one was the Cueva de Colores (Colours Cave), a small cave which has some interesting pinkish colours on the ceiling and a small statue of Virgin of Guadalupe. This was just a hint of how religion and symbols have a central presence everywhere in Chiapas. Later, toward the middle of the boat trip, we arrived at the highest point of the Canyon, a cliff that reaches nearly 1000m, where the mountains from both sides of the river create an impressive gate full of life surrounded by nature.

My favourite spot was a curious formation called the Christmas Tree. During the rainy season it becomes a waterfall, but during the winter, when the rain is not so abundant, instead of the waterfall an interesting formation is created covered with moss that resembles a Christmas Tree. It was quite a coincidence to be there in Christmas season to contemplate this interesting sight.

After an hour on the boat trip, we arrived at the end of the Sumidero Canyon, where the river meets the Chicoasén dam, a massive generator of electricity for Mexico. On the way back to the embarcadero we spent some time trying to spot spider monkeys, birds and crocodiles. We were fortunate to see all of them. Luckily the crocodile that we saw was just a small one. Although it’s quite tempting to sink your hands into the warm water (which I did), it’s probably not the wisest thing to do just in case there are some bigger crocs around!

I would like to thank Hotel Los Angeles for supporting this article by kindly offering a discount on their rates during my stay in Chiapa de Corzo.

Sumidero Canyon: looking for crocodiles under a Christmas tree is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

When we booked our tickets to South America, Europe, and Asia we booked and paid for one check-in bag between us, more than enough for the stuff we’re carrying. However, at around the same time we booked tickets to Christchurch for a week, and the baggage fee was so high we decided we didn’t want to pay it and would make do with carry-on luggage.

Well, I imagine you can guess what our rookie mistake was. We showed up at the airport with a bag to check in. We still could have taken it with us – if we wanted to pay $80 each way. That’s about two-thirds of the total cost of the tickets! We managed to repack the essentials into carry-on bags and my mum picked up the other one – thanks Mum!

So the tip for today is – check your tickets before you head to the airport. Check the date, the time, and what luggage you can take. It’s also a good idea to double-check details like which terminal you’re flying from, what you can put in your carry-on bag, and when you need to check in.

Don’t make the same mistakes we made, and you’ll have a great trip.

141 – Rookie flying mistakes is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Travel photo: Green lizard on a branch in Sarawak, Malaysia

• Batu Caves, Malaysia
• Kuala Lumpur travel guide

Travel photo: Lizard in Sarawak, Malaysia is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

The problem is two-fold: firstly, I use my headphones a lot, so I want them to be comfortable and very, very good at isolating outside noise. If I can’t hear background noise, I can keep the volume down and protect my hearing long-term. Secondly, I tend to wear them to sleep, listening to podcasts or audiobooks instead of reading in a communal dorm room. They also act as earplugs to drown out snorers and other unfamiliar noise.

I was listening to a podcast just before Christmas and heard mention of a product called SleepPhones. SleepPhones, the speaker enthused, were designed to go to sleep with. I checked out the website and, sure enough, they looked perfect. I had to try a set.

I’ve had them for a month now and I’m quite impressed. They came with minimal packaging, which is good for the environment and, as a full-time traveller, all packaging and manuals quickly get binned anyway. I was sent two colours of polar-fleece headbands, black and blue, with a standard 3.5mm cable protruding from the back. The cable was longer than normal to help keep some slack when turning in the night.

It’s summer here in New Zealand and I was a little concerned about how hot my head was going to feel during the humid nights. While it seldom gets above 25 degrees Celcius, humidity can make it feel hotter than Perth at 40. While I had some nights where it was uncomfortable, most of the time I’ve been waking up in the morning feeling fine. In fact, it helps by acting an impromptu sweat band.

Don't photograph heavy sleepers with their Sleepphones in!

Lastly, the most important thing: sound quality. Unlike in-ear headphones, which I prefer, SleepPhones do not block outside noise, nor do they pump sound directly into your ear. This means the volume has to be a little higher than I would like and, at times, Linda’s complained she can hear what I’m listening to. When you lie down on your side, the speaker is pressed close to your ear and the apparent volume increases.

The sound quality is quite good: it definitely has enough definition for my listening habits, and an audiophile friend thought it was excellent considering the material padding between the ear and the speaker. It’s not going to rival Bose, Sennheisser or Logitech’s new Ultimate Ears (which I’d love to get my hands on!) but it’s more than good enough for casual users. And, let’s face it, you’re falling asleep when you use them anyway.

I’m in love with my new SleepPhones but I’m not sure, with the current exchange rate against the New Zealand dollar, if I would have shelled out US$54. If I was earning in US dollars, it would be a no-brainer. I’m looking forward to wearing them on my next long flight: they’ll sit comfortably on my ears for the whole flight and I can just pull the band over my eyes as a sleeping mask.

Now I just need to buy a new set of in-ear headphones with a mic, and I’ll be all set.

SleepPhones – Review is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Kuala Lumpur is a big place that looks like the shinier parts of every modern city in the world, with a sleek commuter rail system, and fast trains, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, none of which interest me when abroad. It’s hard to feel like I’m having an adventure while drinking a root beer from an A&W like the one back home.

So I strapped my world to my back and walked to a commuter rail station, looking woefully out of place among businessmen and students. No matter. Soon I would be at KL Sentral, the main transit station where I could escape to somewhere I felt more at home. I had no idea where that could be, and it didn’t matter — that feeling would return and tell me, as it guides everyone who trusts their instincts.

KL Sentral is the place to catch the KLIA Express train out to the airport, trains to Singapore or Thailand, buses to the interior and everything else. It’s where the adventure starts, with a feeling like being in one of the wings of Grand Central Station in New York City — people hurrying everywhere, fast-food counters in the walls and giant flickering displays with arrivals and departures.

All of the commuter rail lines connect to KL Sentral, either directly or by linking to another line. I arrived easily. Without a cellphone, without the internet, without a plan, there was nowhere I needed to be and no way to reach me with other people’s problems … and no way to ruin the adventure with over-planning. It took me years to discover this freedom, and to realize how simple it is for anyone to step into the madding hordes and disappear and know, truly know, that wherever you end up things will be just fine.

The big, expensive international flights take off from KLIA — that’s where my Malaysian Airlines flights come in, but I couldn’t afford any other flights out of that terminal. An hour away by taxi or bus is the Low Cost Carrier Terminal, where Air Asia will sell you a ticket on the spot for any plane that leaves more than twenty minutes later. Other budget airlines pull up to those gates as well, and when you buy a ticket, you buy whatever seat you reach in the rush to fill the plane. They let you out onto the tarmac and point you to the plane. There are usually two ladders up into the fuselage and a great rush of people with oversized carry-on bags all trying to make it inside first to get the best seats.

Then they’re off to Johor Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Manila, Chiang Mai … all these exotic-sounding places, in Malaysia or countries where you get a visa upon arrival either free or very, very cheap. I could go there and pick a plane, put my money down and let come what may. Anyone could, any time of day, and worry about the rest when you land.

But I wanted a bus, for some reason I didn’t question. The best station for long-distance buses is three stops away, taking the green line to the gold line and stopping at Plaza Rakyat, on the edge of China Town. I could walk or grab a taxi, but following that old impulse, I got back on the commuter train and made it there in just a few minutes. With some mini-bananas and a dragon fruit from a hawker near the train stop, I hoofed it over to the bus station and looked in awe at the people, stalls, noise, lights, and touts. Everyone was selling something, either tickets or taxis or chopped fruit in a bag. It was exactly the kind of chaos that blissfully overwhelms me, such that in having entirely too much to take in, I shut it all out and focused on the simple task of walking and reading the signs.

There are destinations all around Malaysia, like the Cameron Highlands and their tea plantations, or Penang with their restored British fortress where tourists play paintball. For most of the cities, I had no idea what to expect … so I looked at the departure times, searching for the next bus to anywhere.

It was Melaka, a name that sounded right in my mind. The ticket spelled it differently — Malacca — from the sign, which was itself a different spelling — Malaka — than I saw on the bus placard. Phonetics are important for white guys in Asia.

I paid about three bucks US, threw my bag under the bus, and rode off.

When you take the next bus, or train, or plane to anywhere, you don’t worry about accommodation or ruin the adventure with over-planning. It took me years to discover this freedom. You can sort it out at the other end — if you don’t have a guidebook, you walk a few blocks from the station and hail a cab. The touts that wait for travelers like me are usually rip-off artists, but the regular cabbies you hail out of traffic a few streets over are the kind of folks I don’t mind trusting. I got a ride, and simply said “cheap hotel”. He asked me where, and gave me an introduction to Melaka — the Indian district, China Town, the old Dutch city center … so many choices.

It was the perfect way to start an adventure.

Next bus to anywhere is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Click play or click to open (for free) in iTunes:

Essentials

• Passport
• Tickets
• Wallet
• Pen

Entertainment

• Book
• Puzzle
• Games
• iPod
• Diary

Clothes

• Light jumper
• Undies
• Clothes for destination

Sustenance

• Water bottle
• Snack

Toiletry items

• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Brush or comb
• Medication
• Contact lenses and solution
• Painkillers, sleeping pills
• Moisturiser
• Lip balm

Comfort items

• Sleep mask and earplugs
• Sleep phones
• Sweets

Miscellaneous

• Computer and other electronics
• Anything you can’t afford to lose

This list can be adapted for bus and train trips as well — or any trip where you will be separated from your main bag for any length of time. You won’t need all of these items — just pick and choose the ones that are most relevant to you. So, what do you put in your carry-on?

140 – Carry on luggage packing list is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Because I’m really an auditory learner, I started off listening to lots of podcasts from iTunes but I found it really difficult to find any that caught my attention. I’m so busy and learning Spanish is so tough for me, that I really need to be entertained or I pass it off and work on other, more enjoyable, projects. The same is true for many of the systems to help you learn Spanish online: I just struggled to find time for them because I didn’t enjoy them — and learning Spanish was something I did on my downtime.

Bueno, entonces…

OK, so … I was offered the chance to try a new language learning programme based in Buenos Aires. Because the course was developed in Latin America it more closely suited the type of Spanish I wanted to learn and since it was custom-built for iPods and media devices, I could do it while waiting for the bus or whenever I had some downtime while out and about.

The thirty lessons are video files, which you can download in five .zip files or have delivered on DVD. You can also buy some lessons individually from the iTunes app store. The cheapest way is to get the video downloads in one shot for US$147 while the DVDs come in at $199. Each lesson is around 35 minutes long and is hosted by Jemina — a hot Spanish teacher, and David — her flirtatious British student. The interplay between them gets quite heated at times and, in fact, one episode was banned from the Apple store for their discussion of the Kama Sutra! Let’s just say this is a language programme with adult themes.

David and Jemina are joined by a few other characters, like the Professor who explains grammar points and a man and woman who take turns at expanding vocabulary points or talking around a topic. The change of voice and pace come at regular intervals and give good structure to the show, breaking up the story with various expansions.

At times the conversation goes over my head, at other times David’s jokes seem a bit too adolescent, but the shows always make me laugh and because of that, I come back to it time and time again. Because you’re both hearing and seeing the conversations (thanks to the colour-coded magic whiteboard) there’s a high retention factor and there’s a great motivation to re-watch sections.

Is it good for you?

My impression is that Bueno, Entonces… is good for:

• Spanish learners at beginner to intermediate level. More advanced learners who have had little immersion will probably benefit from the native-style language use.
• Visual and auditory learners.
• People who don’t have a puritanical streak. If you find South Park hideously offensive, then it might not be for you.
• People who wish to focus on learning Argentinian or Latin American Spanish.

Read more or buy it here

As someone who teaches English to speakers of other languages for about half the year, I wish I had material like Bueno, Entonces for my class. It’s an excellent learning programme and the research that I’ve read on language acquisition has been put to good use throughout the script and delivery.

Win a trip to Buenos Aires

Bueno Entonces is giving away a trip to Buenos Aires for one lucky person! To enter, visit the blog and follow the instructions there.

A copy of Bueno, Entonces… was made available for review. If you buy it through the links on this page, we receive a commission. Which we like.

Review: Bueno Entonces – Learn Spanish on your iPod is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Bedouin Camp at Sunset, Wadi Rum, Jordan

• Free online travel magazine
• Travel guides

Travel photo: Bedouin camp at Wadi Rum is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Flight security systems all over the world have a common core aim – to keep flights safe for passengers, for crew and (since 9/11) for those on the ground. Despite this common aim, and the attempts of some countries’ security organisations (notably the TSA in the USA), there is a wide disparity on how security is applied.

Some of the main security changes since the underpants bomber incident are outlined below. There’s also some advice on how to reduce the hassles of flight security garnered from the experience of over a thousand flights including over a dozen since Christmas 2009.

Changes in security

Rules are changing almost daily, however at the time of writing there have been two main changes which seem likely to remain.

The first change is that international passengers flying to the USA are getting a pat-down and inspection of carry-on luggage at the gate. In some places this is being taken very seriously with a thorough check, but in many places the checks are cursory as people don’t think it contributes much to safety. It is compulsory for certain countries and passengers but otherwise random.

The second change is that the USA is increasing the number of air marshalls on flights to, from and within their country. Action by passengers, whether security personnel or other flyers (e.g. Jasper Schuringa on December 25th) is now seen as the most effective improvement in flight security since 9/11 (and including United flight 93 on 9/11).

It is not clear if a third significant change, the increased rollout of the nude imaging screening machines, will be temporary or permanent. There are a number of concerns that have not yet been adequately resolved – protection of children being one. While children could be exempted from using these machines this opens a big security loophole.

It is also likely that moves announced in 2009 to remove the liquids carry-on restrictions will be quietly dropped for political reasons.

Tips for flyers

Changes to flight security rules are going to keep lines long and painful.

There are things passengers can do to reduce the hassle:

• Before heading to the airport, check the rules posted on the airline’s website.
• If a trip involves multiple airlines or countries, prepare for the lowest common denominator. For example if one country allows liquids to be carried on but another doesn’t, then don’t bring liquids.
• Reduce the amount of baggage being carried on board, and especially the items in your pockets. Fewer items means it’s easier to pass through security – quicker bag checks, less time needed to empty pockets at the metal detector. Some travellers go further and also wear shoes that are easily removed and belts with small buckles so that they don’t trigger the metal detector.
• Allow more time between connecting flights and before departure.
• At some airports, passengers with elite frequent flyer status or who are flying first/business class can use priority security lanes.
• If you’ll have trouble standing in a queue for an extended period of time then arrange with your airline in advance for wheelchair assistance.
• Pick the fast-moving security lines – normally the ones filled with business travellers move fastest.

How do you feel about the latest security changes? Please share any tips you have on navigating flight security more easily.

Changes to flight security rules is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Download this show in iTunes or click play to listen:

This week we interview world Ski Cross champion Ashleigh McIvor about the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, independent travel in BC, and her local’s advice for the ski resorts and restaurants.

The 2010 Games seem a perfect time to visit Vancouver, so Ashleigh also talks about how you can win exclusive access to one of thirteen of British Columbia’s ski resorts for you and nineteen friends. That’s five days of luxury living and lift access after the Vancouver Olympic Games end.

Ashleigh at the Cypress Games 2009

Community news

Thanks for the outpouring of support from last week. We have had several great people get in touch to help us with editing, finding photos and basically running the site. Thank you!

We still need a pile of responses to our simple survey: What would you buy from us:

We also want to give a shout-out to David Brodie from Travel in Ten who arranged today’s interview for us. Thanks, mate!

To keep up with Indie Travel Podcast day to day, find us on Facebook or follow us on twitter.

Photos supplied

139 – Visit Vancouver – Skiing Vacation and Winter Olympics is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Sheep shearing shed, Mungo National Park, Australia

• Road trip Australia
• Queensland road trip
• Perth travel guide

Travel photo: Mungo National Park, Australia is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Angkor aims to cover Angkor Wat and the nearby town of Siem Reap. It’s written for independent travellers and covers restaurants and accommodation options for a variety of budgets. Travelfish, the publishers, have years of experience in producing top-quality independent travel information for South East Asia.

When I first opened the app and admired the pretty splash screen, I was a bit disoriented. The app runs in horizontal mode, rather than the vertical way I normally hold my iPod touch. Navigation was easy with eight clean icons leading the way into different areas. Since I’m still several months away from Angkor myself, I headed straight to the Background section.

Title screen for Angkor travel guide for iPhone / iPod touch

The layout, which is similar right through the app, allows you to swipe left and right to navigate different sections such as history, background information and planning advice. Each section has a short blurb and the invitation to drop into the different sub-chapters. It’s written in a relaxed style, but is packed with details, making for good reading. Research is done by mysterious and secret Travelfish researchers, and recommendations and reviews are up to their normal, high standard.

The highlights of all the practical research sections — Sleep, Eat & meet, and See & do — are linked with an interactive map, which can be quickly filtered to show you nearby attractions, amenities or … bars. There’s also a geo-location system which, not having the iPhone GPS system, I couldn’t play with. Not that it would have done me much good from Auckland, New Zealand.

Map filtering options for the Angkor iPhone / iPod touch app

The maps also play a big part in the four walking tours that the app offers. I think these are an excellent way to help plan a day or half-day around Siam Reap and the historical sites, like Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Skimming through the offerings gives me a good idea of layout and the time it would take to navigate what the area has to offer. They seem perfect for those with limited time, who need to see a lot before running off again.

The whole app comes together with the bookmark function, which is available from every article and description. This allows you to save your personal highlights and pertinent information to a central place, meaning you don’t have to go searching for it every time you want to find it. A universal search function is sadly missing, and something I hope to see included along with all the social functions that are planned (see interview below).

An interview with the creator

I wanted to get a bit more information from Stuart McDonald, the author and co-founder of Travelfish.

1. You’ve previously complained about the quality of many iPhone travel guides. Were you concerned about putting your material out there in this format?

Stuart McDonald: No, not at all. We saw the current lack of really well-designed travel guide apps to be an opportunity. Designing for the iPhone gives you the ability to add in all sorts of neat features — like the interactive maps, walking tours and photo galleries. And because there is really no limit to how much information you can put in, we decided to write a lot of new material just for the App, so it contains around an extra 40,000 words of information. The App turned into a great way for us to really showcase Angkor Wat and Cambodia and we think we’ve nailed it.

2. Are you happy with the first edition of the guide? What are some improvements you’d like to see in the future?

SM: Yes, we’re delighted with it! A few minor bugs have popped up (typos etc) but overall, for a first go at iPhone App making, we’re very happy with it.

A raft of new features will be built into the App through 2010, including the ability for users to download information updates into the App — so it really becomes the guidebook that updates itself. There are also plans to add in the ability for users to add new properties themselves along with reviews and photos. These updates will all be released as free upgrades to the existing App (and the other apps on the way).

3. The iPhone guide is different to the material in the PDF guide you sell to the region. What kind of editorial and style decisions went into writing for an iPhone app?

SM: You’re a little more restricted structure- and style-wise in writing for the iPhone than say for the web or for a PDF, but the same basics hold — the information needs to be easy to digest. We achieved this by breaking up each section of the App into smaller chunks, so for instance while it contains a 9,000 word history of Cambodia, that has been broken up into 16 chapters, each of which is in short paragraphs and accompanied by relevant photos.

We wanted to present an experience that was akin to standing in a bookstore flipping through a book. The App contains a gallery of 200 photos, plus about another 100 or so outside the gallery. The user can “swish” through the different sections of the App and see clearly written text accompanied by a relevant photo. We think this effect really differentiates the App from any of the other travel guide Apps currently on the market.

Recommendation

At US$7.95, I think Travelfish’s Angkor app is a valuable addition to your travel planning. It’s a steal, if you think about the information you get. Because you don’t need an internet connection, I would certainly consider it as an alternative to a traditional paper guidebook to the region, and I look forward to the series being filled out so I could potentially avoid killing trees entirely.

Win a copy of Angkor for your iPhone or iPod touch

Travelfish has given us a copy of Angkor to give away. You must supply your own iPod touch or iPhone and have access to iTunes and the iTunes Store. The competition is open to everyone but you have to be able to use (or create) a US iTunes account to use the redemption coupon.

To enter, leave a comment below telling us why you love South East Asia or why you’d love to visit. You can get one bonus entry by tweeting the following:

Win a copy of @travelfish’s Angkor app with @indietravel – http://su.pr/7Yhgpj – I just entered.

The competition closes at 12pm NZ time on 27 January 2010.

Angkor – A travel app from Travelfish is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Sitting on Mt Victoria, Devonport overlooking the Hauraki Gulf with Rangitoto in the background

The Pohutukawa -- New Zealand Christmas tree -- in blossom this summer

Linda spotted this shag while out kayaking near Okahu Bay, Auckland

Grapes on the vine at Ransom winery, just north of Auckland

Angela, our ITP t-shirt wearer (and designer), takes the short-cut home from the fishing spot

Big 360 views from Te Whau Point, Waiheke (and an expensive winery restaurant)

The last few days of Inverness Estate -- a Clevedon winery ... the owners have sold up!

Auckland City from the ferry crossing between Devonport and downtown

Welsh listener, Rhi, getting her feet wet at the Goat Island Marine Reserve, Leigh

Big moon over Doubtless Bay, Northland

All photos are copyright Craig and Linda Martin, 2009-2010.

Like these?

You can see more and add your own photos to the Indie Travel Podcast group on Flickr; one of the world’s biggest photo sharing sites.

Ten Auckland and Northland New Zealand travel photos is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Hit play or listen in iTunes (free).

Get in the water

Head to the beach, lake or river and jump on in. If you’re not much of a swimmer, you can wade and sunbathe, and if you’re a water baby give one of these a try:

New Zealand summer travel - Rock jumping

• Go kayaking
• Go surfing
• Go windsurfing
• Swim with whales or dolphins (or watch from the beach if they pass while you’re sunbathing)
• Go fishing – from a boat, a jetty or the rocks

Get active

There’s plenty to do back on land, too.

• Go hiking – try one of the Great Walks or head into one of the many forests
• Go for a bike ride
• Go rollerblading along Auckland’s waterfront
• Go camping
• Do some adventure sports

Enjoy the cuisine

Nothing like a cold beer by the pool

Go to outdoor events

There’s certainly no shortage of these, though sometimes finding out where they are being held can be a bit of a mission. Ask at the tourist info office, or search online. Lots of things happen in local parks, so heading to one of these can be a good way to get to know an area you wouldn’t have otherwise visited.

• Music in Parks
• Christmas in the Park (Auckland Domain)
• Summer Shakespeare
• Outdoor cinemas
• Outdoor theatre

So head outside and enjoy the sun, and don’t forget to slip, slop, slap and wrap: slip on a t-shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on a hat, and wrap on some sunglasses.

Help us start 2010 well

Fill in our one-question survey, then find out how to help the Indie Travel Podcast.

138 – How to enjoy the NZ summer is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Travel photo: Roman floor mosaic, Ostia Antica, Italy

• Rome travel guide
• Top ten hostels worldwide

Travel photo: Roman floor mosaic, Ostia Antica, Italy is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

In 2009 we decided that we were spending so much time on our labour of love that we had to stop one of three things: stop travelling, stop working, or stop the site. We decided to follow our hearts and over the last seven months have been doing less and less real work to free ourselves up to develop the site, serve you — our awesome world-travel-loving audience — and travel more. Of course, that means the site has to start paying the bills. So … how can you help us?

1. Review us in iTunes

Part of our income comes from advertising on the audio (and this year the video) podcast. The more people who listen to the show, the better advertisers we can find and the better shows we can produce. Giving us a review in iTunes is the best way to help us grow the show! Please do this as it only takes a minute and makes a huge difference.

Click here to open iTunes and review the Indie Travel Podcast. Give us five stars and write a sentence or two about why you love the show.

We’re also on directories like Podcast Alley and the Zune marketplace. If they’re where you spend time, please review us there.

2. Tell us what you’ll buy from us

We want to develop a library of resources that you find useful. What should we create next?

3. Tell someone about us

I wasn’t joking about the audience thing! We’re really hoping to grow our audience in 2010, so please help us out. You can:

• Talk to a real person
• Email a link to the show to somebody – this link will open the podcast in itunes (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=280043653) or send them to http://indietravelpodcast.com to have a look around and sign up for the email newsletter.
• Get a subscription to our travel magazine. By having a copy around the house, you can easily show people the great opportunities there are in the world of budget and independent travel.

4. Join us on Facebook

We’re at http://facebook.com/indietravel – become a fan. After you become a fan, you can share the page with your friends, using the “share” button on the bottom of the left column. By sharing our page with your friends, you help more people find us.

You can also find (and share) us on Twitter, Youtube, Flickr and other sites. Check our contact page for all our online locations.

5. Talk to us

Craig or Linda personally answer each email we receive. We don’t outsource it or anything like that. You can email your thoughts on the show, your podcast ideas, or simply tell us your travel plans … that’s what gets us really excited and we’d be glad to help when we can.

6. Do you know a potential advertiser?

If you know a company or have a contact who might be interested in advertising with us, tell THEM not us. Here’s our most recent media kit … feel free to download it and forward it to people who might fit well with Indie Travel Podcast. If you’re happy to travel with them, they’ll probably fit the show well so it’s a win-win for all involved.

Download the most recent media kit (PDF). Now email it to the right person.

7. Can you give us some time?

Running a site like this is time consuming and being on the road can make internet access and writing time difficult to come by. If you have a spare 30-60 minutes a week to give us, we probably have some things for you to do that will make a real difference to the show. It might be research, marketing, editing or something you’ve never done before. We’d love to have you on board with us. Contact us.

8. Can you give us some money?

We’re making more products which you will be able to buy to support us and the site, but we really prefer to give things away for free, when we can afford it. 99% of Indie Travel Podcast materials are free: the stories, the audio, the video, the digital magainze, the … you get the idea. We currently need US$300 to buy a couple of 500 gig hard drives: one for the video footage we’re taking this year, and a second to back up that data. Can you help us get that US$300? Ten dollars from you will quickly help us reach that goal:

We know life is busy and tough and we really appreciate you spending time with us each week as you visit the site or listen to the podcast. We hope we continue to entertain you this year and that you continue to learn from our mistakes as we travel around the world. I mean, the whole point is to help you have more fun that we do! Thanks for being a part of Indie Travel Podcast.

How you can help us run and grow Indie Travel Podcast is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

While airfare, transport and accommodation is covered, costs like food, drink and activities outside of the tour package are not. The prize is, thankfully, open to anyone in the world — a nice change from all the US-only competitions.

The winner will be expected to blog and publish photos and video of their trip and talk about the environmental effects of tourism in developing tourism destinations. Matt said,

The winner will be required to blog about their trip and what they learned. You will have to blog for the two weeks you are on the trip as well as when you return home, discussing what you learned, how the trip made a difference to you, and about environmental and sustainable tourism. A blog url, site, and quick tutorial on websites will be provided for you. You’ll need a camera or video camera of your own and will have to post two blogs per week.

To find out more and enter, visit Nomadic Matt’s.

Win a trip to Costa Rica is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

However, to the unsuspecting traveller, Mongolia’s extreme temperatures and erratic climate can be a bit of a shock to the system. With a bit of preparation, you can have an amazing trip.

Camping gear

If you are camping or sleeping in a yurt, you need a -10°C (yes that’s a minus) down sleeping bag. I’ve seen plenty of people freezing at night because they bought an inferior bag. “But the salesperson in the camping shop told me it would be warm enough!” The sales person is not going out to the Gobi Desert to try it out are they? You are! Pay the extra.

Get yourself a good Therma-rest self-inflating mattress to keep the cold and sometimes rocky ground away from your body.

If you need to bring your own tent, you‘ll need one that’s sturdy enough to withstand 60kph winds. A low, compact dome tent that you can peg right to the ground with no gaps will stop sand and dust getting in during a windstorm.

Clothing

Mongolian hunter and his eagle

A warm jumper, a thermal long-sleeve top, thermal tights, a warm beanie (knitted hat) and a decent-sized scarf to cover your head, face and neck will help you cope with suddenly icy conditions, wind and the odd dust storm. Lastly, you absolutely cannot do without a good windproof, waterproof jacket. I also took a pair of windproof ski pants, as the icy-cold wind can be very cutting. Clothes can be purchased at the Central Market in Ulaanbataar. It sells anything and everything.

Thieves

There has been a huge increase in the number of pickpockets and thieves in Ulaanbataar over the past few years. If you want to keep your stuff safe then don’t flaunt it. If you carry a daypack on your back, don’t carry valuables in it. Keep your hands on your camera (and/or binoculars) all the time, and keep it in front of your body. A flash-looking camera bag might look great on your shoulder but it will be emptied before you can blink.

Its best not to carry a wallet but rather stash some cash about your person. Put it in a zipped pocket at the front of your shirt or pants, in a money belt strapped to your body or in your bra. A pocket pinned to the inside of your shirt works, too.

Food

There’s a good variety of International food in Ulaanbataar including vegetarian — despite what the Lonely Planet Mongolia Guide Book tells you. The markets provide lots of fresh fruit and vegetables in the city but in the smaller towns there’s not as much fresh produce so stock up in the city before you head out into the countryside. You can buy fresh yoghurt and meat in many of the towns. Mongolians are very clean folks and their food is cooked fresh but be mindful that our Western stomachs are not used to the ‘different’ bugs they have over there.

Bullock cart travelling through the snow, Mongolia

Purchase some probiotics to help your stomach before you leave – try Travel Bug by Ethical Nutrients, which you can buy online.

Water

Bottled water is available for purchase in every town in Mongolia, but a filter will save you a lot of cash. We take a small Russian filter called Aquaphor with us, everywhere we travel. It weighs two hundred grams and fits in one hand, and takes out heavy metals, cholera, typhoid, chlorine and many other bugs. We filter water from wells and rivers everywhere in Mongolia. The water in Mongolian countryside looks clean and clear but there are millions of sheep, goats, horses, cows, gazelles, wild ass and camels shitting in the water supplies everywhere, so it should definitely be filtered.

First aid kit and vaccinations

In the city of Ulaanbataar there are many pharmacies and some of the larger towns also have them. You can buy most medicines over the counter, including antibiotics. Some useful natural remedies to take with you to Mongolia are arnica, teatree oil, oil of cloves, colloidal silver, and tea tree insect repellent. You can find vaccination information at the Travel Doctor.

Survival tips for travel in Mongolia is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Any readers, friends and friends-to-be are welcome to drop by, have a drink, and a chat.

When: 8pm Tuesday, January 12, 2010.
Where: Rakinos, Level 1/35 High Street, Auckland City.
Why: Why not? Chris isn’t in Auckland very often. Craig and Linda are taking off for South America in February too. Come have a drink with us.
RSVP: Feel free to turn up, but an idea of numbers would be nice. You can RSVP using the contact form on Art of Non-conformity.

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Who is Chris?

Chris Guillebeau is a world traveller and aims to visit every country in the world in five years. He is also a writer and aims to help people live their dreams by finding financial freedom through unconventional businesses.

Auckland meet-up with Chris Guillebeau is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

New York City hardly requires any introduction— people in even the most remote corners of the world have heard of this dynamic city, and most travelers — regardless of their budget — aspire to pass through this so-called “crossroads of the world” at some point.
But there’s the New York City of TV and movie fame and the New York City of guidebooks. Both are different from the New York of New Yorkers.

New York City means different things to different people… maybe that’s why it has so many nicknames. One writer has documented as many as 98, though I’d never heard of half of them. The three most popular nicknames — and the ones you’ve probably heard before — are The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps, and Gotham.

Before it was given the name it carries today, New York City was known as New Amsterdam, a nod of recognition to the city’s Dutch founders. The city was renamed in 1664, and played an important early role in US politics, serving as the nation’s capital from 1785 until 1790.

Layout

Located in the southern part of New York State, New York City is not the capital of New York, though those of us who live here think our city is the center not just of the state, but of the world!

New York City is made up of five boroughs, loosely understood as counties: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and — the most famous of all — Manhattan.

New York can seem utterly overwhelming to first-time visitors. You’re in for a surprise, though: it’s actually one of the US’s most compact and navigable cities, especially if your visit is confined to Manhattan.

Even for the most directionally impaired traveler, it’s easy to get oriented in Manhattan, which is laid out on a grid system. The Hudson River is to your west; the East River is to your east. In between, avenues run west to east and streets run south to north. The number of the avenues gets lower as you move east; street numbers get higher as you move north. The system doesn’t apply completely downtown, where many street names — Wall, Canal, Houston — hark back to the early days of the city. Grab a free map in any subway station and you’ll be oriented in no time.

Accommodation

The price of lodging can be pretty sobering, especially if you blew your budget on drinks, but there are deals to be had. The average price of a hostel dorm is $35 to $45, with the best deals to be had at Big Apple Hostel in Times Square and Chelsea International Hostel. Chelsea’s a location that can’t be beat for art lovers, nightclubbers, and foodies, but the accommodation here is cut-rate for a reason: shabby and no-frills. If you’re planning to stay in the city for three months or longer, you may want to check out the work exchange program offered by the Jazz Hostel.

If you’re a step above hostels but don’t quite have a Plaza, Ritz, or Trump pocketbook, the best mid-range options can be found at chain hotels like Holiday Inn, Ramada Inn, and Comfort Inn in Long Island City. Don’t be mislead by the name of the neighborhood — Long Island City is NOT in Long Island; it’s in Queens. Though it’s not in Manhattan, Long Island City is just five minutes from Times Square by subway. The difference that five minutes can make on your wallet is worth it… nightly rates can be found for as low as $79 before tax.

If your budget is a bit more, ahem, generous, Manhattan is home to the flagships of many hotel chains and in recent years has experienced a boutique hotel boom. Prices at boutique properties like GEM Hotel start around $140, depending on the season, but if you’re flush with cash, the Four Seasons offers rooms ranging from $600 to just short of $1,000.

Food

Pidgeon sits on the Empire State building, New York

You CAN find all those things here, but it’d be a shame if you limit yourself to them. For one thing, street food has become incredibly sophisticated in the past few years, and you can find dumplings, ice cream and Belgian waffles, BBQ, enchiladas, Jamaican jerk chicken, and Indian biryani all dished out of food trucks that park temporarily at curbs all over the city.

Traveling foodies shouldn’t miss Chelsea Market, a former Nabisco warehouse converted into a food and shopping arcade. Thai, Italian, American seafood, and organic local fare are just a few of the specialties here, and the bakeries turning out fresh breads and pastries can’t be beat. Visit in the late afternoon, when many of the shops sell their goods, including sandwiches, at half price.

Transport

Waiting for the subway, New York City

To and from the airports
New York City is serviced by three major airports: LaGuardia and JFK, which are in the city, and Newark, which is just across the Hudson River in Newark, New Jersey.

La Guardia, which handles most domestic flights, is the airport that’s closest to the city center, just eight miles from midtown Manhattan. From La Guardia, you can take the M60 bus into Manhattan, but be sure to have the exact fare of $2.25 (no bills!) on hand. Taxis are readily available, too, but avoid the men inside the terminal who approach you with offers of taxi service and opt for the yellow cab instead. NYC taxis now accept major debit and credit cards if you’d prefer to pay with plastic instead of cash.

JFK, approximately 12 miles from midtown Manhattan, is the airport you’re most likely to fly into if you’re arriving in New York from abroad. Like La Guardia, you can catch a bus or a taxi into the city from the airport, but a taxi will be pricey; budget at least $40. Either option is likely to have you spending the first part of your vacation annoyed with New York City traffic. A better bet is to take the AirTrain out of the airport and to the city subway system.

Newark, about 16 miles from midtown Manhattan, is an option for visitors arriving by plane; like JFK, it handles many international flights. Taxis and train service are available from Newark, dropping passengers off in the heart of the city. Be prepared to pay for the taxi ride, though; depending on traffic and your specific destination, the fare can run upwards of $50.

Attractions – free

Most guide books recommend the same set of tried and true tourist attractions, but New York City offers many more activities and sites to see than can possibly fit into the pages of even the most novel and comprehensive guide.

One of the newest attractions, the High Line, is an elevated park that currently runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street; eventually it will extend all the way to 34th Street. It doesn’t cost a dime to visit, and though the warmer months are the best times to walk along the High Line’s path, enjoying views of the Hudson River and the native plants landscaping the High Line, it’s such a lovely park that it’s worth a visit any time you’re in town.

During the summer months and into early fall, it’s just a short walk from the High Line to the Hudson River Park, which runs almost the entire length of Manhattan. This park —more than ten years in the making — is composed of cycling, running, and rollerblading paths, places for picnicking and enjoying open-air concerts and movies (both of which are offered by the city for free during the summer), and kayak launches. All of these activities are free.

New York city boasts a large number of parks

Attractions – seasonal

If you’re visiting in winter months, you can enjoy ice skating for free in Bryant Park, located behind the main branch of the New York Public Library. Skates are provided. In summer months, free films are offered on the same lawn every Monday night.

Attractions – paid

The stunning art-deco Chrysler building

If the outdoors isn’t your thing, then there’s plenty of indoor entertainment to keep you busy throughout your visit. The Comix Comedy Club in the newly trendy Meatpacking District has a comedy night called Get Your Yucks for Only Five Bucks; it’s just one of dozens of comedy clubs around the city. And if you’re one of the many visitors who want to see a Broadway show, be sure to check the cut rate ticket vendor, TKTS.

If you’re the museum type, don’t overlook some of the smaller, lesser-known institutions. They don’t have the name recognition that MOMA and the Met do, but the Museum of Chinese in America and El Museo del Barrio are both wonderful neighborhood museums showcasing artwork reflecting the cultural diversity of New York. With lower ticket prices and fewer visitors, you don’t really have an excuse NOT to visit these museums. If you’re really on the cheap, though, I recommend following Newyorkology on Twitter. She maintains a list of free admission days as well as other announcements about current events around the city.

Guidebooks

Every major guidebook publisher has a New York City title in its collection, but some of the offbeat guides written by locals offer travelers of all types specialized guides that are better choices. Whatever your interest, there’s a guide for it: Off the Beaten Subway Track, Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, Bloom’s Literary Guide to New York, Slow Food Guide to New York City, Jazz Guide to New York City, and The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to New York City.

Where to next?

Once you’ve “done” New York — though, to be honest, one’s never really DONE with New York — you can easily use the city as a jumping-off point for any other major East Coast destination, including Boston, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Budget buses, including Fung Wah and Bolt, offer tickets between $1.00 and $20.00; Bolt buses are becoming increasingly popular with frequent travelers on a budget, not the least reason being that they’re equipped with WiFi. Amtrak trains and, of course, the airports, also serve as points of departure if you’re in a hurry to move faster.

After New York, though, you might just need a rest!

HostelBookers is an independent budget accommodation website – run by travelers, for travelers! Our aim is to provide the best online booking service for backpackers and budget travelers that reflects the quality and value they deserve.

We’re proud to be the only hostel booking website that doesn’t charge a booking fee. And, with thousands of ratings and reviews from past guests, we offer customers a clearer picture of the facilities and feel of each hostel.

If you’re looking for a great New York hostel, you can search and book hundreds of excellent cheap stays across the city with HostelBookers.

HostelBookers has also launched a Lowest Price Guarantee on all their budget accommodation – if you can find the same New York hostel for less on another website, we’ll refund the difference!

This podcast was scripted and recorded by Julie Schwietert Collazo.

137 – New York City travel guide is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Travel photo: Mohammed Ali Mosque, Cairo, Egypt

• Egypt (unplanned) travel video

Travel photo: Mohammed Ali Mosque, Cairo, Egypt is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

In retrospect, this particular display ranked no more than three out ten – a few leaps, a tale wag and that was it – but I was transfixed. I wanted more.

I have to admit, I’d been a dubious when my wife suggested a whale-watching holiday – too much exposure to those dippy whale song CDs, perhaps. Still, as always, I gave in, so off we went, 11 hours from London to Cape Town and two more to drive to the village of Hermanus about 100 miles east.

Tired and jaded, we arrived late on a warm October afternoon, and gazed at a still sea. Then, from around the corner, a classical chant resonated, and I muttered that this must be our first whale song wacko, overdosing on the euphoria of the previous week’s annual Whale Festival – only to discover our singer was a 12-year-old from what is still called ‘the black township’ and he was singing in Italian (his granny had given him a Pavarotti cassette): my first lesson about the world’s ‘whale capital’: even its buskers have style.

The official Hermanus whale crier is a feature of the festival

Southern Rights travel in growing numbers between the Antarctic and southern Africa each year doing their eating (krill) in the cold waters, returning to the warm Cape waters to have their calves, and breed again. Their favourite spot on the African leg is the eastern seaboard of the Western Cape (over 200 come each year). High season is August to November. Other whales – humpbacks and Orcas – make occasional appearances but mainly it’s the Southern Right, which grows to 50 feet and is distinguished by the barnacles and white scab-like features on its neck, its round nose and the absence of a dorsal fin.

Our daily routine started with the whale crier to get the latest on where these beasts were heading. Some of these spots are rocky outcrops that allowed viewing from 15 meters away and we soon became accustomed with their range of tricks: breaching (leaping out of the water and diving back in), sky hopping (head-up), lob tailing and sailing (tale up variations). No-one seems sure why they leap around like this – for a laugh, to test the wind or cool down, perhaps.

When we’d had our fill of passive oohing and aahing, I suggested a cliff top walk and we set off, soon to be confronted by our first day of bad weather, so we were the only ones to brave the two-mile stretch between the Old Harbour and the New Harbour. Or so we assumed until a head popped out of a bush and we were met by a rough “hello” as a shaggy man blocked our path. “From England, hey!” I nodded nervously and he continued: “Me too. Barry Barnard, born in Clapham but had to leave 30 years ago. Murdered my brother – on my birthday. Caught him sleeping with my wife. Stabbed them both to death. It’s my birthday today. Beautiful with the sea and whales, hey.” He fished in his pocket and I wondered whether he was looking for another knife, but instead he produced an identity document, proving he is indeed Barry Barnard and it was his birthday. We said our nervy goodbyes but it took a while to focus on anything else.

A trio of scurrying dassies, a pack of babooons and a pair of mating meerkats passed without comment but eventually the charm of the whales worked its way back. The wind stilled and the beasts came closer, so that we could see the barnacles and hear their moans and splashes. Even our blasé older daughter Tessa, 17, managed enthusiasm and I found myself joining in. “Ah, there’s Simone again,” I said. To which Tessa responded: “Don’t be daft. You can see from the markings. It’s definitely Wayne” – the sort of madness that comes from a week of watching these creatures.

Hermanus was once a fishing village but the whales have changed that. It has quadrupled in size over the past decade and taken on a Mediterranean feel. Of course it is still a South African town and if you divert your gaze you notice the clientele at the restaurants and boutiques are foreigners or well-to-do local whites, while the buskers and council workers are black. But the picture of prosperity is not all illusion. The tourist dividend – raked in through high council rates and vigilant parking attendants – helps pay for security guards who keep crime rates low and for the army of bushwhackers who attack alien vegetation. The whales also do their bit in creating thousands of private jobs from curio sellers to shop assistants. So you get the feeling that just by being there you’re doing your bit.

Whale watching at Hermanus, South Africa

Our second leg took us to another hundred miles down the east coast to a nature reserve called De Hoop, where you can spot the whales from the vantage point of a beachside cabin, and again, the giant beasts were there to meet us, doing their range of tricks – heads-up, tales-up and those huge leaps whose splash can be heard from hundreds of meters away. The rest of the wildlife there did their best to keep up – on one morning run I was overtaken by an ostrich, crossed paths with a herd of zebra, kept my distance from a pair of giant Eland and got road-blocked by a large troop of baboons.

Finally we headed back in the direction of Cape Town, to Boulders – a still-water hamlet outside Simonstown – part of False Bay on the warm seaside of the Cape Peninsula. Its prime attraction is its colony of African (Jackass) penguins, who waddle around, occasionally leaving deposits of green poo as they progress. Boulders has a series of beaches, with no waves, making it the perfect spot for snorkling – to watch the diving penguins catching small fish.

The locals also boasted their whales could out-do those of Hermanus any day but there was scant evidence of this and anyway, I thought I’d done my share of whale watching for one holiday. At least that was until our final morning, when I spotted three huge whales coming close to shore, prompting a despite-myself dash to a huge boulder outcrop, where the mating group (one female and two males) rolled around, making a lot of squeaky noise and splashing me – about seven meters away. And there was no mistaking what they’re about – the Southern Right, said to be the best-endowed of all the mammals – has a 12-foot penis.

It is only close-up that you get a full sense of just how enormous these strange creatures are, and I wanted to get even closer. Eventually, ignoring warnings that a single flip from a tail or fin can break a man in half, I dived in and swam around them, only to be scared back to the rock by a solitary blue bottle jellyfish. And there I remained for three hours, just watching the group as they moaned and squeaked and rolled around, with me laughing aloud with the kind of ecstasy that comes from seeing something momentous, strange and wonderful. Eventually my wife nudged me – cases to be packed, planes to be caught – but it was with great reluctance that I said goodbye, drained of snide remarks and full of throat-choking admiration.

Editors note: The Hermanus whale watching festival was mentioned in the events section of the first edition of the Indie Travel Podcast travel magazine.

A sceptic’s guide to whale watching is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Press play or click here to open in iTunes.

America’s South West contains many deserts filled with areas of immense beauty and natural wonders. Starting in Las Vegas, today’s host Chris Christensen takes us west on an American road trip to four beautiful spots:

1. Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a spectacular site, but we’re going to do it a little differently. Most visitors approach from the South, but we’re going to visit the North rim of the Grand Canyon. The north rim has less tourists than the south, so it’s going to be quieter and more relaxed. You can hike down the canyon to camp on the valley floor or check out the views and continue on.

Grand Canyon, North Rim

The north rim is at a higher elevation than the south, so don’t visit in winter unless you like driving through snow. Chris recommends this whole itinerary is best done in September, or sometime in Autumn, to avoid the extremes of desert temperatures and, for later stops, spring thaws causing fast-flowing rivers.

2. Page, Arizona and Antelope Canyon

Next stop is in Page, Arizona where one can camp at Lake Powell. Lake Powell is a popular haunt for houseboats, so you may be able to stay onboard and get out on the water. Page was built for dam builders, and the tour of the dam is recommended. Wake early in the morning and begin to explore Antelope Canyon, a stunning slot canyon.

Antelope Canyon is characterised by its sleek red sandstone and narrow slot canyons. Start at the Lower Antelope Canyon, which is maintained by the Navajo nation, and climb down into the canyon. Walk through as far as you are able and, as Chris says, if you can’t take a good picture here, it’s time to sell your camera and try something else.

Antelope Canyon slot canyon

Time your journey to make it to the Upper Antelope Canyon by noon to enjoy the overhead light streaming down from above and the shafts of sunlight cutting through the canyon’s shade. Access to Upper Antelope Canyon is wheelchair friendly, while the Lower Canyon is not.

3. Bryce National Park

Continuing on to Bryce National Park to watch the sun rise over a sea of hoodoos – naturally occurring spires of rock. Bryce is high and cold, so make sure you have a warm sleeping bag if you’re camping overnight. After breakfast, hike the Navajo trail through the park.

Bryce National Park

4. Zion National Park

Zion National Park is contains even more canyons to hike through. If you’re brave hike the rim at Angel’s Landing which has big drop offs on either side of the trail; it’s not recommended if you have a fear of heights.

Virgin River, Zion National Park

If it hasn’t been raining, you can do a half-day hike up Virgin river, which flows through the valley of the canyon. Rent hiking gear there and, if you’re planning a full day or multi-day walk, you need a permit from the Parks department. Chris recommends you depart early to avoid crowds and take lunch to eat once you reach your turning point.

Chris talks about these destinations in more depth in episodes 15-18 of the Amateur Traveler.

If you have more time

This Southwest America road trip itinerary can take around 5 days depending on how fast you move. For those with more time, detour to see:

• Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
• Monument Valley
• Canyon de Chelly National Monument
• Natural Bridges National Monument
• Moab, Utah

Chris podcasts at the Amateur Traveler and is taking the plunge into full-time podcasting this January; he might need to rename the show! We wish him all the best for the new year, and to you:

Happy new year! 2010? Bring it on!

American South West Road Trip is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand

• Travel South East Asia
• Kuala Lumpur travel guide
• Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City travel guide

Travel photo: Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

This is Durga Puja, the biggest festival in Bengal. Each year around the end of September to the middle of October Goddess Durga comes to life all across this northeast region of India. It is during this time that Bengalis witness six days of prayer and celebration in honor of the coming of Ma Durga who leaves her husband Shiva’s home to visit the earth for a few days.

According to ancient Hindu scripture, Ma Durga, a protective and motherly Goddess, was created by a collective effort of the Gods when Mohashashur, a man with super powers became a little power hungry and was on a path to destroy the earth and the heavens. She was sent to earth and Mohashashur fell in love with her. A battle was arranged between Durga and her admirer; if Mohashashur won, they would marry. Long story short, Durga defeated the evil Mohashashur and it is this victory over evil that Bengalis celebrate today during the Durga Puja festival.

In preparation for the Puja, communities invest thousands of dollars to create enormous pandals, ornate make-shift temples. Pandals often follow themes that change from year to year and each community competes to have the largest, most ornate and creative pandal of all. On the second day of the Puja, called Sasthi, the Durga statues are placed in the pandals across the city. On each day of the celebration Bengalis perform special Pujas or prayers. Bijoya Dasami, the final day of the festival, marks the victory of Durga over Mohashashur and of good over evil.

A golden image of Durga with her ten arms inside a Pandal

The image of Durga always has ten arms, each armed with a different weapon used to battle evil. In every pandal you will see that Durga is surrounded by her consort of Gods and Goddesses. The set-up in every pandal is the same: Ganesh the elephant God on the far left, then Laxmi the Goddess of wealth, in the center is always Ma Durga, then Saraswati the Goddess of learning and music, and finally Durga’s son Kartik.

Women at the Pandal on Dasami - Durga Puja festival

Dasami, the final day of the Puja, is the most eventful. In the daytime married women gather in the pandals, present offerings to Durga and her consort, and play with sindoor, smearing it all over each others’ faces. In the evening is when Durga is taken from the pandal and paraded to the Ganges. Throwing the Goddess in the Ganges is symbolic of sending her home once again.

Durga Puja travel advice

Durga Puja offers a unique experience to any visitor. The sites, sounds, and colors are not to be found elsewhere. If you decide to head to Kolkata to witness this be sure to be respectful of Hindu customs: don’t wear shorts, skirts, or revealing clothes in the pandals. Also book a hostel or hotel room well in advance. This is a busy time in the city with many visitors from all over the country so finding a room upon arrival could be next to impossible. Most importantly, bring a good camera because the Puja is a photographer’s dreamland, countless unique images.

Durga Puja: A Bengali Tradition is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Magic Castle

It’s hard to describe a visit to the Magic Castle.  Nestled on a hill just north of Hollywood Blvd the Magic Castle was once a house, but has been expanded and turned into a private Magicians Club.  Inside you’ll find 3 theaters, 4 bars, a piano playing ghost (she takes requests), a restaurant, an eclectic collection of memorabilia from Houdini to Hello Dolly and the best magicians in the country.  Six magicians perform every night in the theaters, and there are also a number of informal spots in the castle where member magicians come to practice new tricks, or just show off for the visitors. With a new set of magicians in the theaters each week, every trip to the castle is different.  With all the nooks are crannies of the castle you’ll make new discoveries with each visit.  It’s probably my favorite place in Los Angeles.

The catches:
1) Ages 21 and up only for evening shows. (Weekend brunch shows are open to all ages.)

2) There’s a strict dress code.  Suit and ties for men, cocktail or evening wear women.  (Weekend brunch shows have a more relaxed dress code, check the website for details.)

3) It’s not cheap:  $8 valet (there’s no other option for parking), $20-25 door charge, Around $20-$30 for dinner (dinner is a required cost, unless you are a member). Drinks run around $8.

4) The biggest difficulty in visiting the castle is getting an invitation for evening shows.  No invites (just reservations) are needed for weekend brunch shows, but evening shows are the way to go if you can get in.  If you don’t “know someone who knows someone”, your best bet is to check the website and see who’s performing when you want to go.  Pick one of the magicians, send them an incredibly polite email and most likely they’ll send you an invite.  Don’t give up if the first magician you try says no.  It is a private club and some magicians and members have been burned by people who they’ve given invites to.  Once you have your invitation be sure to also make reservations!

Taping of a TV Show

Hollywood has the glitzy name, but most of the actual business of show business happens in Studio City, Burbank or Culver City.  Taking a studio tour might give you a quick idea of how it works, but to truly get the behind the scenes it’s more than worth the time to go to a taping.  Many sitcoms, talk shows and game shows are filmed in front of a studio audience.  It’s a fascinating look at another world.  Be warned though. Some of the magic wears off after the 3rd or 4th take of the same joke.  You’ll realize that in show business, the “business” comes first.

A TV studio audience - Something to do in LA

The catches:
1) Be prepared for it to take longer than you think.  Filming a 30 minute sit-com (only 22 minutes without the commercials) can take about 4 hours and you’ll need to show up at least an hour ahead of time.  Don’t worry, they’ll have a comedian working the audience to keep you entertained even while they’re doing boring things like moving the cameras between shots. By the end of the evening you may start wishing they’d stop interrupting the comedian with the filming.

2) Being an audience member is free, but you need to get tickets ahead of time.  TVtix is a good site.  Careful, tickets for popular shows run out quickly, but you may be able to get last-minute tickets for new shows either on the website or by wandering around Hollywood Blvd as studios sometimes send people out to the touristy areas to gather audience members.

The Hollywood Bowl

The Hollywood Bowl is a fantastic concert hall build in 1922 in the hills of Hollywood.  Just visiting the Bowl is an event in itself, regardless of who’s preforming.  Prices for open-air bench seats are quite reasonable, but you can also spring for some very nice box seats.  To do the Bowl like a local, take public transportation and bring a picnic dinner and wine.

The Bowl has something for everyone.  The schedule is dominated by classical and jazz, but this year’s performers ranged from The Killers to Eric Clapton to Kylie Minogue. KCRW’s World Music series is always popular.

Outdoor theatre, the Hollywood Bowl, is an LA favourite

The Catches:
1) The Hollywood Bowl is only open April – October.

3) Bench seating in an open air theatre can get cold.  Yes, even in Los Angeles.  Bring layers and something soft to sit on.

2) Parking is ridiculous.  Stacked parking and a huge audience means that you can end up being stuck in your parking spot an hour after the concert ends.  Luckily there’s easy public transportation to and from the Hollywood Bowl.  Check the website for more details.

Three Los Angeles sights to go out of your way for is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

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Tokyo, Japan is a busy city full of interesting sites and sounds, but what do you do if you are in Tokyo for Christmas, or New Year’s Eve? There’s plenty to see and do, but nothing that quite equates to a European Christmas. Our British expat hosts, Joseph Tame and Honor Dargan, take us on a tour and explain some of things we’ll see, hear and experience if visiting Japan for the holidays.

We previously spoke to Honor about Japanese travel. She runs Tokyotopia and does a great job of supplying travel tips for Tokyo and Japan. Joseph Tame blogs at Tame Goes Wild and podcasts as part of the Pokya network.

Feeling festive? Read our Christmas travel guide or more on Tokyo, Japan from Honor.

Tokyo Christmas and a Tokyo New Year! is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

The Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

• Improve your America road trip
• Traveling Poet in Sedona
• Colorado wine country

Travel photo: Grand Canyon, Arizona is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

The book package, No Debt World Travel, comprises an 80 page pdf, nine audio interviews with other travellers, and a few screencasts and extra pdfs. The book is aimed at first-time travellers and really holds your hand through several areas that seem common-sense to me. (You’re not going to get mugged because you travel and some accommodation providers don’t have bed bugs or dirty bathrooms. Really.) That aside it covers the basics of budget travel well and points to several good resources to help you research and plan your travels.

The title make me expect to see a much heavier cash flow focus in the book. While Brian covers dealing with your banks, cards, and bills he seems to be coming from a position of some financial strength. With the change left over from selling a house in the States, I think I could travel debt-free for a while too! And I think the disconnect I feel best reflects the target audience.

No Debt World Travel is not for someone finishing college and eager to hit the road, its for a late twenties to forties (or older!) audience that has never travelled, but always dreamed of it. It’s for someone who says travel is too expensive, or too hard, or too … whatever. A regular Indie Travel Podcast reader or listener is going to have heard most of the advice before, but Brian does a good job at helping someone step out and start travelling.

The added extras were interesting; I especially enjoyed hearing the perspective of several other people; some bloggers, some industry workers, and the baby-steps needed to get started in a travel lifestyle. It could have all done with some serious post-production though: each piece needs some editing and starts pretty rough.

Would I recommend it to you? Watch the video to find out:

Subscribe to Indie Travel Podcast videos on Youtube.

A copy of No Debt World Travel was supplied for review by the author. If you buy through these links, we receive a commission. And we like that. Just in case you were wondering.

No debt world travel – review is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

1. Blending in

Try to blend in with your surroundings as much as possible, aiming for comfortable, slightly worn versions of what you see around you. This doesn’t mean wearing zip-off cargo pants and a stained t-shirt everywhere you go –- you’d stand out a mile in downtown Manhattan, for instance -– but rather just trying to dress and act like the locals do.

Keep expensive cameras, jewellery and electronics out of sight, or better still, don’t bring them with you in the first place. Carry a plain daypack rather than a leather handbag. While this is easier to do in some places than others, in general if you could pass for a local university student you’ve probably got your look about right.

2. Know where you’re going

Take the time before you set off each day to plan your route and memorise major landmarks or intersections along the way. Keep your maps and guidebooks in your daypack — if you really need to check them while you’re out, duck into a shop or alleyway to do so.

Nothing says ‘target’ more than someone blindly walking along the street with their nose buried in a Lonely Planet. Knowing where you’re going and heading there with a purposeful stride is a great way of avoiding unwanted attention.

3. Pickpockets

The most effective defence against thieves is to make yourself an unattractive target. Keep your valuables out of sight and be aware of your surroundings in crowded areas. Using a money belt is one way of securing your money and passports, albeit an irritating one, but in general pockets with zips or buttons are fine.

Ensure that you have a source of funds kept separate to the rest of your valuables, whether it be a credit card in an inside pocket or some cash in a sock at the bottom of your pack.

4. Be prepared

Take the time when preparing for your trip to take physical and electronic copies of all the important documents you need, especially passports, tickets and itineraries. Print out a sheet of paper with contact details for friends, family, bank, insurance company etc. Keep all of this information together in a small plastic bag separate to the original documents, and also email the electronic versions to yourself to access on the road.

If the worst happens, make sure that you still have access to the information you need to get yourself out of trouble. When you’re travelling, let someone know where you are going and what your intentions are, especially when you’re heading off the beaten trail.

5. Travel insurance

It is often said that if you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel. Believe it. The backpacker trails of the world are littered with those who came before you and thought otherwise, only to find themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing except a sense of regret and an expensive bill.

Make sure that your insurance covers you for every country you want to visit and every activity that you might possibly want to do, and that it includes sufficient medical, loss and repatriation cover for your needs. If in any doubt, ask before you leave on your trip, or find another insurer. You don’t want to be paying by the minute to argue with the insurance company from several thousand miles away.

6. Don’t panic!

Once you’ve dealt with all of the above, relax and enjoy your travels. The vast majority of people that you meet are warm, friendly and looking to help you, so trust your instincts and give them the chance to do so.

With a few simple precautions before and during your trip, you can help ensure that you have an incredibly fun, enjoyable and relaxed time on the road. Safe travels!

Travel safety tips – the essentials is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Kirsty and Carly are sisters from South Australia, so they felt it was a great chance to see the sights and experience another part of Australia as they travelled from Brisbane down the coast to Sydney.

They won the gig by putting together the following video as part of their application. I love the stop-motion; great stuff! There are still two chances to be part of Vantastic, so check out the application process.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The NSW road trip

If a picture says a thousand words…

Kirsty and Carly drove Geoff the Van almost 3,000 kilometers between Brisbane and Sydney. Some of their personal highlights included surf camp and sky diving:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cliff diving at Yamba:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the end, their number one road trip tip was to try to see less in more time. Even with six weeks the coastal highway through NSW was still too long! There were too many things to do and not enough time.

You can read more about their adventures (and see more videos and photos) on their travel journal.

NSW Road trip documentary

Their final road trip documentary is going to be competing with the six other teams’ videos to win a huge prize package including flights and AU$10,000 of spending money.

You can apply for your own WorldNomad’s Vantastic Journey and get six weeks of Australia road trip adventures yourself. For more information on road trips, see our road trip planning resource page.

Most successful travel bloggers

We were most surprised and honoured to be mentioned among the most successful travel bloggers of 2009, as chosen by online backpacker website, Off Track Planet. We’re amongst good company, with some excellent small- and medium-sized sites mentioned.

134 – Australia Road Trip, Vantastic NSW is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

The Golden Pavilion, Kyoto, Japan

• Around the world with Gary Arndt
• Tokyo travel with an expat
• Tokyo: City of blinding lights

Travel photo: Golden Pavilion, Kyoto, Japan is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

But it was probably the best ‘travelogue’ I’ve read all year.

I don’t normally read travelogues because I travel so much myself, so it’s nice to read about something else for a change of pace. But I wouldn’t put Neon Pilgrim into the category of travelogue; it’s so much more of an emotional journey, where the travel and location is purely a coincidental backdrop for a much more intense internal journey happening inside.

The background

Lisa is unfit. She’s depressed and fallen into a deep emotional well. However, due to circumstances of serendipity, she’s chosen to return to a place she’s been before: Shikoku Island, in Japan. Her goal is to walk the Shikoku Pilgrimage, a Buddhist spiritual quest to visit 88 temples associated with Japanese Monk K?kai, founder of the Shingdon School of Japanese Buddhism.

Pilgrims of this journey, known as henro, have a number of options for making their way: cars, buses, taxis. But Lisa has chosen to go on foot, the most difficult option, especially given her condition.

Pilgrims also have many options of accommodation on their stay, from plush hotels to simple inns. Lisa chooses to only accept free or inexpensive accommodation, known as tsuyado or Henro houses. This doesn’t always go to plan, as Lisa describes.

The story

Lisa gives us a bit of brief introduction, then drops us at the beginning of the pilgrimage route. She gathers her necessary supplies, and sets out. Encountering trouble from the get-go, things go pretty poorly for the first couple of days. Then, things get worse, with Lisa at the point of hysterics and the reader wondering what the next 100 pages are going to be about, because she’s never going to make it.

Lisa picks herself up off the ground (again, literally and figuratively) and continues the struggle. But it gets worse. A whole lot worse. Thankfully, after about temple 25 or so, Lisa does manage to get into her stride before hitting an emotional wall that looks pretty insurmountable.

It’s not for me to tell you the ending — how unfair would that be? — but it would be safe to say that Lisa did make it back to the mainland to at least tell us the story. And what an incredible story; I feel as if I myself have been on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, walked into the temples and had my book signed. I could feel the searing heat of the Japanese summer, and feel the cool breeze of the ocean shore. Well edited and beautifully crafted, I can’t imagine any better way of experiencing the 88 Temples except, of course, in person.

In summary…

There’s lots of techno-jargon when it comes to Buddhist pilgrimages in Japan, apparently — I feel that after reading this book, I have a whole new set of vocabulary. But Lisa basically puts us on her shoulder and slowly and carefully walks us through the whole learning process — for better or worse!

So, look past the cover and the title on this one — I don’t know what it means anyway — and join Lisa on her perilous, humorous, and sometimes just bizarre tour around Shikoku Island. As I said, this is not a travelogue — it’s a spiritual journey. And a damn good one. Walk with care.

A copy of Neon Pilgrim was supplied for review. Buy Neon Pilgrimhere.

Review: Neon Pilgrim is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

The only dilemma is, since there are so many restaurants in Sydney to choose from, how does one know if the food is any good and value for money? The following list of great eats are all located within a small radius of the city, and will feed you well for an average of $20 per person.

1. Fratelli Fresh

7 Danks Street, Waterloo
I cannot stop raving about this place. Top-quality Italian-style food, made with ultra-fresh ingredients which you can pick up downstairs from the shop and supermarket. Quite pricey, but the recipes are interesting, the food tastes great, and the whole package tops other similar cafes on Danks Street. Around $25 for breakfast in a homey environment with overly-helpful staff.

2. Thairiffic

109 King Street, Newtown
There’s a Thai restaurant every few hundred meters in Newtown, but this restaurant wins in terms of ambiance, service, and food. During summer months enjoy the breeze dining in the candlelit courtyard. Another good, cheaper Thai place is Saap Thai on 378 Pitt Street, in the city, which I reckon makes the best Pad See Ew on this side of Sydney.

3. Din Tai Fung

644 George Street, Sydney (in the World Square Shopping Centre)

For really good-quality dumplings, head here. Be prepared to queue for a short while, but your wait will be rewarded by freshly steamed authentic dumplings, Taiwanese style. They also make really good herbal soups, perfect for a cold day. Again, not on the cheap side, be prepared to spend about $20-$30 each.

4. Makoto

119 Liverpool Street, Sydney

You always know a place is good when people are willing to wait two hours for a spot in a Sydney restaurant! They don’t accept bookings, and when you arrive a number will be given to you for a place in the queue. For one or two people, it is easier to snag a seat on the delectable sushi train. If you are a larger group, you might be convinced to sit apart from your companions if you cannot bear to wait any longer. The rolls are made fresh when you order them, in the freshest seaweed wrap I have ever tried. For the sushi train, around $25 would be more than enough.

5. Hung Cheung Chinese Restaurant

338 Marrickville Road, Marrickville
This place might be a little off the beaten track, but its quality of food and service is worth the extra effort compared to the many generic yumcha and Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. There are none of the grumpy faces pushing those delicious food carts here. Dim sum portions are slightly more generous and prices are slightly more affordable, about $20 each for a satisfying feed.

6. Faheem Fast Food

196 Enmore Road, Enmore
I discovered this place by accident, and have since returned there more times than I can remember. Faheem outshines everyone else for its tasty Indian/Pakistani fare, and on weekends this is evident by the queues outside its small shop while their nearby competitors sit around staring at their empty tables. It costs less than $20 each for some awesome tandoori and tikka.

7. Pho 236

236 King Street, Newtown
Don’t be turned off by the tacky decor and old rickety furniture at this Vietnamese joint. The environment may be no-frills, but for less than $10 each, expect a freshly cooked meal that will satisfy your wallet and your tummy. Great soups and rice varieties.

8. Encasa

423 Pitt Street, Sydney
It’s hard to find good Spanish tapas in the Sydney CBD, and this is better than any of the other restaurants in the Spanish Quarter along Liverpool Street. The servings are big for the price and the ambiance is reminiscent of a cute Spanish restaurant. You do have to book in advance unless you are happy to wait by the bar and have a few drinks while waiting for a late table. You almost feel like you are right there in Seville chomping on good ol’ patatas bravas.

9. Petersham Charcoal Chicken

98 New Canterbury Road, Petersham
No one does Portuguese Charcoal Chicken better than this little shop in the inner west. Judge for yourself by the perpetually long queues all afternoon and all evening. Don’t expect great service, as the staff will be too busy filling mountains of orders so be sure to know exactly what you want or have time for your hesitation. Approximately $12 for a whole chicken, plus $4 or $5 for a nice side salad.

10. Prague

42 Kellett Street, Potts Point
Last but not least, a slightly fancier restaurant. This is really good, hearty Czech food, declared by a fellow Czech that it was the best Sydney has to offer. It’s quite expensive, but worth it for those delicious bread dumplings with sauerkraut once in a while. The wine is also excellent. Be prepared to spend around $50 each.

As I write these words, my stomach is already growling. These are my top Sydney restaurants … Where in your city can you find similarly great eats?

Ten great restaurants in Sydney is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

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We’re definitely not recommending you scrap your travel plans and have a “staycation” (and oh, how we hate that word), but there’s a lot about your home town or region that you’ll never have seen because you just weren’t looking. And we’re not just talking about the tourist attractions, either.

How to be a tourist in your own backyard

1.Take a camera

Start small, by taking a camera with you. Head into the city, alone or with a friend, and decide on a number of photos you’d like to take. Keep your eyes open, and if you see anything worth taking a photo of, take it – even if it’s something you’ve seen a million times already.

2. Get a tourist brochure

Go online or into the tourist information office and get information about your town. Usually there will be a list of recommended sights to see. Do them all. Take photos at each attraction, and blog about it afterwards. If there are a lot of things to do, divide the list into regions and spend a day in each region, but try to do everything, no matter how many times you’ve done it before.

3. Go public transport

If you’re like us and you drive everywhere, using public transport can be an adventure in itself. But even if you catch the train every day, you can still make it exciting. Get a map of the public transport network, close your eyes and point at it; the stop closest to your finger is your destination for the day. Buy a ticket, hop on the bus or train and just wander around. How is it different to your neighbourhood? How is it the same? Take photos and blog about it afterwards.

4. Choose a theme

Perhaps you don’t feel like doing touristy things, or the things in the tourist brochures feel a bit stale. Or maybe you’ve just followed our advice and DONE all the things in the tourist brochure. No worries – you can still dig deeper. Choose a theme and explore everything your city has to offer in keeping with that theme. You could visit all the parks within a 10km radius of your house, or all the cafes in the central business district. You might need to make a list and tick it off as you go – and make sure you keep taking photos.

Theme ideas:

• visit every park
• visit every cafe
• visit every winery
• visit every children’s playground and go down the slide
• visit every building that’s over 100 years old, or that was built in a certain year
• have a picnic at every beach
• do a pub crawl

5. Become a collector

Becoming a collector is similar to choosing a theme, but a little more refined. Instead of choosing things to do, you’re choosing things to find. They might be things you can pick up and keep, or things you can only take a photo of. Once you’ve chosen, head out and start collecting.

We were once in Vienna for an extra day after missing a flight and didn’t feel up to visiting any of the tourist attractions – we’d seen everything we wanted to, and felt a bit bitter about still being in the city. So we decided to head out and collect photos of stencil art – small street-art paintings spraypainted onto walls and fences using stencils. We saw a side of Vienna we’d never seen before, and chose to go down streets we wouldn’t normally have taken. Plus, we turned a negative experience into a great memory.

What does your town have to offer that you’ve never considered looking for? You could collect photos of posters, or of different street signs. Or you could collect physical items like funny-shaped leaves or the sugar sachets from different cafes.

Collection ideas – photos

• street art (stencil art, graffiti, posters)
• road signs
• interesting letterboxes or fences
• flowers

Collection ideas – physical items

• sugar sachets
• beer mats
• admission tickets

6. Geocaching

Getting a little bit more technical here! You’ll need a global positioning system (GPS) device to try this one, but the expense is usually worth it. Basically, people hide something somewhere, and take note of its location using global co-ordinates. You then enter those co-ordinates into your GPS and it’ll tell you how far away you are from the cache. Follow the arrow on your GPS and you’ll find the treasure … except it’s not usually that simple!

So what are you waiting for? Choose a technique and head out to discover your city. What have you learned? Leave comments below.

Community ties

This week we met up with Nomadic Matt (who also wrote Five good reasons to take a gap year for us) and Karol Gadja (who wrote 7 reasons hostels suck, and how to deal with it for us). There’s a brief chat with them at the end of this show.

Also, make sure you enter to win a copy of Fodor’s Turkey guide book.

133 – How to be a tourist in your own backyard is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Goats at Wadi Rum, Jordan

Travel photo: Goats at Wadi Rum is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Turkey has always been regarded by travelers as somewhat questionable as a tourist destination, partly because of all the misconceptions about Islam, the main religion of the country, and partly because of its somewhat dodgy neighbors (Syria, Iraq). But the reality is that there is nothing further from the truth. Modern enough to be described as European, exotic enough to have more than half of its territory in Asia, Turkey has, in fact, one of the richest histories on the globe; with cities dating back to centuries before Christ, Roman conquerors, Greek monuments, Byzantine churches and Ottoman mosques.

Add some well-preserved ruins, jaw-dropping landscapes and the unique lunar landscapes of Cappadocia and you have a perfect destination to explore. Meet the friendly and always talkative locals and experiment with one of the best cuisines and best transport systems in Europe (and their affordable prices) and you have nothing else to lose, except your misconceptions.

The new Fodor’s Turkey guide is a good way to help you start planning a trip to the country. The 2009 edition is now in full color, which adds more excitement to your research in comparison with its main competitor, Lonely Planet. If you can afford only one guide, bear in mind that while the latter is more practical and backpacker-oriented (which means always valuable but sometimes full of silly tips, such as “how not to be caught with a joint”), the former is more profound in its researches, and might be more interesting for culture vultures and travelers into ancient history

Fodor’s introduces the country dividing by it into six different regions, helping travelers to pinpoint exactly what they’re after: ancient sites, beaches, castles, museums etc. The guide exposes not only the highlights of each one, but also delves into more detail — apart from the typical where-to-stay-how-to-go, the new guide shows how you can have a great experience once you are there: boating up the Bosphorus in Istanbul, staying in a cave hotel or ballooning over Cappadocia, boarding a cruise on the Mediterranean coasts and so on.

The guide also provides valuable information about Turkey nowadays: politics, Islam, the process of joining the European Union and an essential chapter of FAQs: Is Turkey cheap? Will it be hard to find alcohol in a Muslim country? Do women need to cover up? Should I be afraid of terrorism? The do’s and don’ts are all in there. Another plus is the World of Mouth section, which consists of short quotes by travelers, who share their experiences of traveling in the country.

The main drawback is its layout. Sometimes there’s too much information on one page and it can be hard to focus. Another disadvantage is the rating system. Hotel and restaurant prices, for example, are represented by symbols, with a key in the opening pages of each chapter. However the divisions vary from “less than €50″ to “more than €200″. This means if you have a budget of €15 for accommodation you’ll need to use the Internet to check the real price of your room. Other symbols are not clear and you need to go back to the key every now and then to double-check what they mean.

Although confusing, is just a matter of getting used to the guide to make it work for you. Fodor’s Turkey guide is a great, handy introduction for people who don’t know anything about the country, as well for those who are already planning to go there. Iyi yolculuklar! (Happy traveling!)

A copy of Fodor’s Turkey, 7th Edition (Full-Color Gold Guides)was supplied for review.

Giveaway!

Thanks to Fodors, we have a copy of this guidebook to send to you! To go in the draw, simply tell us why you would like to visit Turkey in the comments below. One winner will be randomly drawn at 12pm December 16 (NZST) and contacted by email.

BONUS ENTRY: Get a bonus entry through Twitter by following @indietravel and tweeting:

Win a copy of @fodorstravel’s guide to Turkey thanks to @indietravel http://su.pr/1FQqvP #travel #turkey

Review: Fodor’s Turkey is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Taroko Gorge was established as a national park while Taiwan was still under Japanese rule in the 1930s, and is arguably the top tourist destination on the island. Getting to Taroko Gorge is not difficult at all. If you are coming from Taipei, you can get a direct two-hour train to Hualien; the best time to arrive is during daylight. Try to get your train ticket for the left-hand side of the train as the tracks follow the coastline for a majority of the ride and offer excellent views of the ocean.

Sights in Taroko National Park

Known as Ihla Formosa, or beautiful island, Taroko Gorge does not disappoint. Onlookers are drawn to the pristine blue water of the Liwu River, which knifes its way through the canyon walls. There are many areas to explore in the canyon, such as the hiking trails. Many are marked “closed”, but that does not deter backpackers from testing them out. A thick layer of fog will often blanket the top of the gorge and create stunning effects. For the animal enthusiast, Taroko Gorge offers a variety of birds and wildlife: the park is even home to several species of boars.

Hualien Hotels and hostels

Finding accommodation in Hualien is very easy, even on weekends. Don’t worry about booking in advance as many Hualien hotels are within a short walking distance from the train station. For travelers on a budget, Hualien also offers several formidable hostels.

Transport and Taroko Gorge tours

There are three main options for getting to Taroko Gorge. The first option is to sign up and ride one of the tour buses lined up outside the station. Several companies will compete for your business to charter you to the gorge. This approach is easy but lacks the freedom your average backpacker desires. Also, most of the tours are in Mandarin.

Second on the list is to rent a scooter. The gorge is only twenty minutes from Hualien and many tourists feel this is a great option for seeing the gorge. You may not be able to rent a scooter without providing an adequate Taiwanese operating license, but it is still worth a shot.

Finally, finding a taxi is not difficult at all. There are several drivers who speak English and are more than welcome to take you to stunning lookout points along the coast as well as the gorge. A full eight-hour day with a personal chauffeur will run to around US$20. Taxi drivers can take you to beautiful beaches and other non-touristy areas that are located down slim mountain pass roads, too narrow for a bus to navigate.

Taiwan’s Taroko Gorge is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

In today’s show, Craig and Linda express the itchiness of their feet and desperate need to hit the road again. At the same time, there’s plenty of work to be done in preparation! This show gives you a good overview of the practical aspects of preparing for long term travel, including:

• Health checks, first aid kits and vaccinations.
• Passports, visas and red tape.
• Selling stuff and downsizing.
• What to pack for travel.
• Doing a travel budget and saving for travel.

And now for something completely different

Passports with purpose

Passports with Purpose is an awesome travel blog charity fundraiser which was started last year. Travel bloggers work together to find sponsorship and raise funds for a charity, led by these awesome women. This year, our goal is to raise US$13,000 to build a school in Cambodia (through an approved US-based charity). The fundraising lasts until December 21 and the community has already raised over US$10,000!

For each $10 you donate, you can elect to go into the draw for one of many great prizes supplied by travel bloggers and the travel companies they’ve roped into taking part. We were sad we couldn’t afford to contribute anything this year, but look forward to doing so in the future.

Please donate to Passports with Purpose this year (and good luck on the prize draws).

132 – Preparing and waiting and having itchy feet is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

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St Peter's skyline, Vatican City, with Rome in the fore- and back-ground

• Free travel guide: Rome, Italy

Travel photo: St Peter’s skyline, Vatican City is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

• Regular width (1280 x 1024)
• Widescreen (1920 × 1200)

Travel wallpaper :: December 2009 :: Grand Teton Mountains is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

In this issue:

• Our cover feature is the New Zealand summer. Throughout several pages we give you a brief tour of the best places to spend your summer in the world’s adventure capital.
• The British Ski Cross coach gives us the low-down on skiing and snowboarding through Europe, along with some strange and fantastic sports to try in the snow and ice.
• Visit the dragons on Komodo and explore the island of Rinca with some stunning close-up photos of the giant reptiles.
• Thinking of photos, Indie Travel Podcast regular Sherry Ott catches the bustle of Vietnam’s streets with a photo essay on transport in the capital.
• We visit Lake Titicaca, Peru and spend time with the Uros people and their floating villages.
• Go off the grid in New Mexico with an alternative community, Shanti.
• Head out of Santiago to Valparaiso, Chile
• Get wild on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia
• Find out about upcoming travel writer JoAnna Haugen (who was recently at Burning Man)

Plus our regular columns

• The Adventure Doc handles the hows, whys and whats of vaccinations and travel.
• Kim Mance looks into an international tour of female political leaders.
• Christine Gilbert talks through the journey of becoming a digital nomad.
• Darren Cronian shows us how to avoid being ripped off when booking online.
• There’s book reviews (with Vera Marie Badertscher) and blog reviews and plenty of stunning photos throughout.

How do it get it?

Grab a print subscription for US$40 and have four copies delivered to your door.
Download a free digital copy from http://indietravelpodcast.com/magazine or in iTunes.

How do I get back issues?

We believe in giving free content where we can, but we also believe in paying our contributors (and eating ourselves)! To balance the two needs, we are going to charge a token fee for backcopies of the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine. You can buy a PDF of issue one from the magazine page.

Travel Magazine – issue two is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

We wedged ourselves and our luggage into the cheap “clasico” seats just as the train began its halting journey out of the station. It whistled its way through Lima’s shoddier suburbs, greeted with excitement by kids in school uniforms and grandmothers leaning out of windows. After all, this historic train only runs twice a month.

The Central Andes Railway was completed in 1909 to link Andean mining towns with the port at Callao, and it held the title of world’s highest train until 2005. Shut down in the 90s because of terrorist activity, the mountain train line was finally reopened as a tourist attraction in November 2000, providing the perfect train vacation.

Building the line had been an impressive feat: it traverses six climatic zones, 58 bridges, 66 tunnels and nine zigzags, and it climbs 28 meters for every kilometer of track to reach its highest point at 4781 meters. The numbers, however, say nothing about the beauty of the ride itself.

The route follows the Rio Rimac past small towns and fields through an ever-narrowing valley hedged in by bare, brown mountains. After an hour or so of gentle climbing the train track reaches San Bartolomé, where we passengers were invited to step out and watch the locomotive being reversed on a manually-powered turn table.

This was my first view of the Andes, of the precarious terraces and mud-brick homes clinging to the hillside. As we gained altitude past where even terraced farming can be sustained, the earth turned a bloody shade of red, and the grasses grew short and spiky like deep-green sea urchins. Neon-yellow lumps of moss carpeted the empty spaces of this surreal sea-scape, and there were hints of snow on the ground and in the air.

At the highest point of the mountain train’s route — the passenger station of Ticlio — we stopped for a photo of the lake and the grazing llamas. Our breath swirled out white as we posed, grinning, in front of snow-capped peaks. For many it was the first experience at such a high altitude, and by the time we climbed back onto the train we were all exhausted. The entire car was subdued for the next few hours as we gently dropped back down, aiming for 3,254 meters at Huancayo.

The Andes train journey today is highly geared toward tourists: informational literature is provided, as well as announcements in Spanish, English and French at all points of interest. An attendant fluent in all three languages brought us breakfast, lunch, and coca tea for the altitude, and nurses stood by to help those suffering from altitude sickness. For anyone bored by the relentlessly beautiful Andes mountain scenery, there is also a bar located in the last car, blaring dance music and serving up pisco sours.

The journey takes about 11 hours, and tickets are S/.100 (US $35) for “clasico” and S/.200 (US $70) for “tourist.” Tickets can be purchased at the Teleticket office in any Wongs Hipermercado in Lima. Incas del Peru has a schedule on their website.

More train stories

• Train travel New Zealand: the Overlander
• Love on the rails
• An interview on train travel with Mark Smith of Seat61

Andes mountains adventure train is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Layout

In practice, Prague is quite easy to negotiate and if you enjoy walking a city, it’s one of the best. On paper, however, things get confusing as there are several different systems in place to describe how things are laid out … and two of them involve numbering the districts! We’ll be talking mainly about the city centre, which has most of the attractions, so we’ll break things up using the more descriptive names of:

• Old Town (Staré mesto)
• Lesser Town (Malá strana)
• New Town (Nové mesto)
• Jewish Town (Josefov)
• Castle (Hradcany)
• Vysehrad (Vyšehrad)

Accommodation

Prague is a bit of a backpacker haven, thanks to the cheap places to eat, play and to stay. The two big names that we hear again and again are Sir Toby’s and Miss Sophies … these hostels are pretty much Europe-renowned for their fun atmosphere and the great people that they attract.

Hostels seem to be spread right throughout all the main central areas and, to be honest, most things are an easy walk. We stayed in a rather soulless apartment block/hostel which was only a 15-minute walk from Stare Mesto – the old town.

Camping is also a popular summer option. There are campsites along the Vltava river, close to the zoo. These tend to be small and crowded during the high season, so book ahead or have a backup plan!

Food and drink

Lunch is the big meal in Prague, with red meat and potatoes being a main feature of a serious sit-down meal. We found that magical cover charges appeared on our restaurant bill that weren’t on the menu and we had difficulty getting them removed sometimes. If in doubt, ask before you order. The same goes for sides like bread that come to your table unasked for. If you don’t touch it, you shouldn’t pay for it. Prices for that kind of thing should be very, very small though.

Street vendors were everywhere, which kept Linda happy. During winter there’s lots of mulled wine for sale and hot dogs to be eaten. The hot dogs were a little on the tasteless side, so take the mustard even if you’re not a great fan! Another favourite was a sweet bread product. The dough was cooked on a circular steel tube then rolled in sugar and cinnamon.

The Czech Republic is serious Pilsner country, with the famous brand Pilsner Urquell being the foremost. There’s also the real budweisers … you know, the beer from Budwies or Budejovice. The local Prague beer though, is Staropramen, which is an excellent lager and dirt cheap in most bars throughout Prague.

Transport

There’s an integrated system with the bus, tram and subway (called metro). You can get cheaper “non-transfer” tickets which allow one journey, or a transfer ticket which allows you to hop on and hop off in a 75-minute period. Non-transfer tickets are not valid on night trams and buses or for the Petrin Funicular; luggage costs extra, so buy a separate ticket for large bags.

Validate your ticket before entering the metro and as soon as you enter a bus or tram for the first time. Keep your ticket on you until it expires. Ticket inspectors will issue on-the-spot fines for invalid tickets or not having tickets for big bags. They have red-and-yellow ID cards and should give you an official receipt; be aware of false inspectors.

Attractions – free

It could be said that the whole city is a free attraction; it was mainly undamaged throughout world war two so, unlike much of Europe, the beautiful medieval buildings remain to be photographed. It gives the whole thing a fairy-tale feeling which has made it such an attractive place to visit.

Some of the highlights are:
The “Old town”, especially the central square with the astronomical clock and the gothic buildings, particularly the Tyn church. Next to the “Old Town” is the “New Town” which was built in the 14th century. Walking through these two large squares and the roads between them is certainly enough to keep one entranced for a day or so if you stop in at some of the little restaurants, bars and shops. This is also where you’re find the Dancing House, by Frank Gehry.

There are dozens of bridges across the Vltava River and several in Prague, but one in particular stands out: the Charles Bridge. It’s wide and beautiful with statues all along it. In fact, it’s so wide that a bustling mini-market of souvenir-sellers, buskers, painters and craftspeople line both sides of it!

You’ll pass through the “lesser town”, Mala Strana, on your way up to the castle. There are great views from here and some excellent places to relax and look over Prague.

Attractions – paid

Prague Castle

Access to the castle complex is free, you need to pay for access to some areas. The easiest way to do this is to buy a castle pass and an audio guide — the audio guide will also let you skip the queues into Vitus Cathedral on a busy day. If you are likely to get castled out, wander around for free and only pay for entrance if something looks great. Things tend to happen on the hour: watch the changing of the guard ceremony and listen to the bells toll.

Prague Museums

The National Museum’s main building is at the top of Wenceslas Square, but other galleries and buildings are spread throughout the city. If you’re interested, buy a combined pass which is valid for all of them for three days, rather than just paying the basic entrance price. There are extra charges for filming/photographing. Museum entrance is free on the first Monday of each month.

Prague was home to some excellent artists and two that are both contemporary and accessible: the Mucha museum houses works of Alphonse Mucha, a predominant figure in Art Nouveau. Franz Kafka was also a Prague resident and has a museum in the lesser town.

Another important museum is the communist museum which shows many of the ways Prague and what was then Czechoslovakia changed under the regime.

Jewish Quarter

In the Jewish quarter you’ll find some spectacular sites, including the Old New Synagogue, the Jewish Museum, and the cemetery. The Nazis intended for the area to be a museum of the extinct Jewish race; nowadays it’s an inhabited area full of museums of European Jewish life past and present. The museums have paid entry, but if you’re going into more than a couple, a combined ticket will give you access at a greatly reduced price. Speaking to other travellers about Prague on Twitter, the Jewish cemetery came up again and again as the most memorable thing about their visit.

Attractions – seasonal

May is the month of the renowned Prague Spring Classical Music Festival, drawing stars and fans of serious music from around the world. Not really my kind of thing, but it gives a focal point to the season.

Christmas markets are Prague’s most famous event, with visitors coming from around Europe on short breaks to visit and shop. The markets are spread throughout the city and are easy to find … and enjoy.

Guidebooks

All your favourite guidebook publishers have good guides to Prague. The Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring has enough information on the city to make the most of a short trip, though I found it really lacked the historical background that makes Prague such a fascinating place. Reading around, the Rough Guide worked well for that. Since Prague is such a visually rich city, Eyewitness’s visual slant is perfect. They’re light on the practical information side though.

Where to next

• Day trip to Sedlec Ostlery at Kutna Hora.
• Ceske Budejovice or Cesky Krumlov, then south to Austria via Linz.
• Head west into Germany – Dresden or Leipzig; or south-west to Nuremberg or Munich.
• South-east takes you through to Bratislava or to Vienna.
• East to Poland; Wroclaw is close and probably your entry city.

We flew out of Prague, but judging by journeys in other parts of the country, I’d probably recommend a coach over the train unless you’re making a reasonably short journey, like out to Kutna Hora or one of the nearby towns (and there are some beautiful places nearby).

Click here to subscribe to the Indie Travel Podcast in iTunes or check out more of our online travel guides.

Also read:

• Vienna travel guide
• Prague astrological clock video
• Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

131 – Prague travel guide is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Junks at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

• Travel guide to Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon, Vietnam
• Travel in South East Asia
• Cutting out the middle man

Travel photo: Ha Long Bay, Vietnam is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Accessible travel, or disabled travel, seems to be a fast-growing sector as cities work to make their facilities and transport systems more friendly for the “lap-packer”. I’m sure we all agree, there’s a long way to go.

Craig Grimes said,

Although it’s not very professional, it does give disabled people an idea of what to expect in Barcelona with regards to access and also generally what you can do. I should be recording a more professional version of this either in Dec or Jan with Spanish director Manual Mira which will hopefully give us funding to do some more in other places.

Good luck with the ongoing series, Craig, and to all our wheelchair-travel visitors, travel well!

Lap-packing: the accessible indie traveller is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

1. Hostels are sociable

Hostels are excellent places for meeting like-minded travellers. With a constant flow of people from all over the world, hostels are a global melting pot for people interested in the region where the hostel is based and the people who live there. It seems that hotels create a feeling of individualism and people tend to be closed and reserved. On the other hand, hostels have common rooms and a friendly vibe that promotes meeting your fellow travellers.

I’ve found most of my best “secret” travel tips and destination pointers in hostel common rooms. Need to know the cheapest way to get there? What the border crossing is like? Where to get a good exchange rate? Need a travel companion for a couple of days or weeks? Hostels provide.

Really enjoy it by being friendly, helpful and avoiding dumb arguments. Share travel information without being overbearing. Be considerate of the group’s mood and individual needs and move the party to a local bar mid-evening.

2. Hostels are well-located

Urban hostels tend to be located near the popular tourist attractions and on main public transport lines. This couldn’t be better for the indie traveller; using public transport is often a financial necessity, but some of us love it to get a taste of public life. Being a few minutes away from your must-see attractions can be a lifesaver and, because of the small size of most hostels, they’re able to get closer to the centre for cheaper rent than hotels.

Hostels can also be found in wild and weird places. The historic hostel movement provided places for urban youth to get out of the city and spend time in rural or wilderness environments. This is the basis for the HI/YHA movement (and some hangovers remain, like single-sex dorms and late-night curfews!). From reconditioned train carriages in highland Scotland to the middle of New Zealand’s Arthur’s Pass, hostels can be comfortable gateways to amazing hikes.

Really enjoy it by booking something that suits your plans; think of transport, location, and your travel style … if you want to party all night, book somewhere near the nightclubs.

3. Hostels have friendly staff

Saying any industry has “friendly staff” can only ever be a gross generalisation, but I’m going to try anyway: in my experience, hostel staff have been more friendly, relaxed and helpful than in other accommodation services I’ve used. Admittedly, some have been so relaxed as to be completely useless, others have been so hung-over as to be quite unfriendly, and there was one hostel run by an elderly lady in Sofia that was kind of like staying with your Auntie Gertrude.

I find hostel staff generally fall into three camps: The ex-traveller owner-operator has plenty of stories from their own travels and occasionally stories they’ve stolen and adapted from passing guests. The local expert is normally young and enjoys the metropolitan feel of working in a hostel. He or she knows the cheapest place to buy beer and can give you a working brief of even the most obscure local legends. Then there’s the out-of-cash backpacker who is spending a few weeks or months working in the hostel, for free accommodation and a few bucks an hour. This might be in order to stay in the city they love or just to get cashed up for the next leg.

Really enjoy it by having a decent chat with your hosts. Rather than treating them like parts in the vacation machine, treat them like people and fellow travellers on the road.

4. Hostels have cheap services

Ever paid €1.50 to have a sock washed? Paul once had to after misunderstanding the laundry price list in a guest house. I’ve used hostel washing machines for as little as €2 a load (Vienna), and that fit in all the clothes I currently owned. Sitting around in a towel while things dry is a bit weird … I’ll admit that. Talking of sitting around in a towel, our hostel in Tallinn came equipped with a free sauna — perfect for the blazing summer temperatures of under 12°C.

The Kismet Dao hostel in Brasov, Romania was never going to be expensive, but they were the only hostel in Transylvania with 24-hour hot water. That’s flash! We took the “shagging room”, got given a free beer for every night we stayed and they had a free laundry service. They organised a tour of all the famous (and not so famous) local castles for a small group of us. The tour was great: a minivan full of people for about €12 each plus entrance fees to some of the castles. The driver — who pointed at the map for us more than he looked at the road — dropped us at each gate, gave us an approximate time we should move on by, then left us to it. Cheap, relaxed, indie, perfect.

Really enjoy it by making use of what specials they’ve got now. Other hostels probably won’t have these deals, so make use of them while you can.

5. Support the local economy

Most hostels are locally owned and operated, meaning that your money goes back into the local economy. The is the complete opposite to most big-brand resorts and hotels which are owned by overseas corporations (although there is a trend towards multi-national hostel chains). Leaving money in the local economy is part of responsible travel.

Admittedly, backpackers tend to spend less, sometimes much less, than their family vacation and business travelling counterparts; however studies in Australia have shown that more money remains in local circulation and — although they spend less per day — backpackers spend more time in a region which greatly improves their contribution to the whole tourism sector.

Really enjoy it by being conscious of where you’re money is going. Shop local where you can — pay fair prices, and shop with a clear conscience.

6. Hostels have free wifi

I’ve never stayed in a hotel that has given me free wifi. Never. But I’ve stayed in at least two dozen hostels that have. To be fair, we actively look for wifi and internet access while we’re choosing our hostel — as more and more of our income is moving online, it’s a necessity rather than an option. I’ve also been in quite a few places that had free computers for use.

Really enjoy it by doing your research ahead of time and figuring out how much you need internet access in a given time period.

7. Hostels have bars

This might be a pro or a con, depending on your temperament, but I really like hostels that have built-in bars or cafes … as long as there is another quieter common room and the rooms are sufficiently far away. Bars give another social element to a hostel and mean that, after a hard day’s sightseeing, you don’t need to head out again for a drink after dinner. Long-term travelling isn’t a continual party, so you don’t always want to be out on the town. There’s a need for space sometimes and a hostel bar can give you that along with the beverage of your choice.

Some bars more closely resemble nightclubs though and, personally, that’s something I try to avoid. I guess the classic example that comes to mind is in Vienna, Austria. There’s a hostel area around the Westbahnhof, at the top end of Mariahilferstrasse. One hostel there, Wombats, is a well-known party hostel with a loud bar and loud clientelle. The smoked-glass windows allow people on the street to look into the front lobby. Five minutes down the road, Hostel Ruthensteiner has a bar between the kitchen and the lounge. There’s a piano and a couple of guitars hanging from the wall. Sometimes guests play, other times they just chat and drink with the radio playing in the background. Two hostels with bars; two very different atmospheres … you get to choose what you want.

Thoughts

There are reasons hostels suck and reasons hostels rock. In the end, you have to find something that suits your travel style and what you like to do.

If I had an eighth point to make, I’d definitely give props to hostels for their kookiness, strangeness and general individualism. I like hostels with straggling bookshelves, unusual owners, and rather oblique understandings about the way things work. Hostels with spa pools (Queenstown, NZ), hostels with immigration police interviews (Belgrade, Serbia), hostels with free beer (lots!), hostels with a river in the backyard (Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic), hostels that open just for you and don’t appear to have any staff (Melk, Austria), hostels with pet dogs (Dunedin, NZ), hostels where you have to show a marriage license to get a private room (Northern Italy): in short, hostels rock.

7 reasons hostels rock and how to really enjoy them is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

Cedars in the mist, Yakushima Japan

Also read:

• Travel to Tokyo, Japan

Travel photo: Yakushima, Japan is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.

The title (How to Become a Travel Ninja: Travel Hacking Anywhere in the World) has a hint of meme-heavy web humour but accurately describes the book’s goal: to help you travel more, and more cheaply. It focusses exclusively on airline travel, especially long-haul and round-the-world travel. While it is aimed at a North American audience, it is a little more internationally-friendly than Frequent Flyer Master, suggesting alternative countries to start from, it still best suits someone from, or close to, the States.

The book starts with some assumptions about your current travel skills (and resources to help you catch up if you’re not there), then sets the scene with a chapter on why travel seems so unfriendly (price of oil and economic woes coming to the fore). The next three chapters (round-the-world travel, “creative” accommodation, and “how to go anywhere in the world”) make up the bulk of the book’s information. Things finish with another three chapters on troubleshooting your booking and dealing with overbooked flights; a Q and A; and a link-heavy resource section that’s highly recommended.

The content

In my mind, the central chapters are the most useful for people planning lots of air travel. The section on round-the-world travel talks about all the major programmes in some depth and also includes alternative passes. It usefully points out current “cheap” countries from which to start your RTW, with promised email updates as things change and special offers become available. The “creative lodging” chapter mainly served to outline hotel reward programmes, but mention was also made of hostels, guesthouses, couchsurfing and the hospitality club. How to anywhere in the world has details on local budget airlines, regional passes and special deals. This is especially useful for planning your own itinerary in an unknown place. It still wasn’t able to get me cheap return flights from Buenes Aires to Bogota (one of my current preoccupations) … but I found cheaper options than the local travel agents.

The troubleshooting section nails common problems with best-chance solutions for the impossible ones (full flight, being waitlisted, not having a visa) and raises awareness of others (connecting flights with different airlines and timezone confusion). Hopefully you won’t have to use this section, but the strategies are common sense and I have used variations on them myself. The Q and A and resource sections both seemed a little light to me, but some of the themes there are greatly expanded in the new Frequent Flyer Book.

Extras

Along with the PDF are two extras: a 30 minute audio file and a travel-hacking spreadsheet. The audio is interesting and engaging — a Q and A format —, with some added tips and tricks that are not in the book. Although audio is more time consuming (in terms of information given to time taken), I’m finding it a great medium for little stories and tips that don’t fit into the narrative flow of a book. The spreadsheet is interesting; I uploaded it into Google documents (I seldom use traditional Office software) and it converted without any problems. It has several sheets allowing you to record your flights, miles available on a programme, miles earned on various credit cards, lists of “current” RTW prices (with space for exchange rates), and a few lists of countries, air passes and connections for trip planning. I’m not much of a spreadsheet guy (I’m INTP for Myers-Briggs aficionados) but it might work well for you.

Who is it good for?

Overall, Travel Ninja is not for those with much international travel experience. It is great for those planning their first trip, or who have not done much airline booking in the past five years (since the rise of online booking, budget airlines and fading legacy profits). If you feel you paid too much for a previous trip, it’s also well worth the investment. You will probably save money if you are planning a round-the-world trip or extended backpacking trip with multiple point-to-point tickets (which is how we plan most of our flights). Links to non-local budget airlines and reward programmes are also useful and well currated by the author, perfect if you need to cut down on your research time.

Buy Travel Ninja for US$39 or bundle it with Frequent Flyer Master for US$88.

Travel Ninja by Chris Guillebeau is published by the author. A copy was made available for review and we earn commission off copies bought through the above links.

Also read:

• Frequent Flyer Master review
• On your way to a free flight

Travel Ninja – Review is happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes, free online travel magazine, or have the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine delivered.