It was there, in a tiny corner of this busy city store that the gears in my head started creaking together, sketching out the dubious plan that went something like “hike into the wilderness… spend a solitary night on a mountain.”

Spending all that money on my new tent was sobering: I’d never been on a solo trek. My mind started buzzing incessantly: “How would I find my way if I lost the path? Will my sister’s sleeping bag keep me warm enough? And how the hell do I pitch this tent anyway?”

I’d never really done much hiking by myself. Sure, I’d done lots of short hikes with partners, and a handful of 4-5 hour day hikes, but nothing the scale of 48 hours alone in the wilderness.

Since then I’ve completed my first solo in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, hiking into the green sea of eucalyptus to spend the night alone under a large cave on Mount Solitary before hiking out the next day. It was a spectacular trek into the wild, along a popular yet empty trail that had recently claimed a young man’s life.

Packing checklist

Make sure you pack the essentials so that you have everything you need, and return safely from your first solo in the wilderness.

1. Overnight backpack
2. Tent with fly and footing
3. Sleeping bag and liner
4. Sleeping mat
5. Matches
6. Water
7. Thermal underwear
8. Thermal fleece outerwear
9. Wet weather jacket
10. Two days’ worth of clothes (t-shirt, trousers, underwear, boots, socks)
11. Extra socks
12. Two days worth of food: I suggest two packets of ramen, one spring onion, six shitake mushrooms, two 200g blocks of chocolate, three bagels, two small avocados, two small apples, an orange, and tea or coffee
13. Camping stove
14. Camping cookware and utensils
15. LED camping lantern
16. LED torch
17. Poncho
18. Camera
19. Mini tripod
20. Swiss army knife
21. Journal and pen

What nobody tells you

Nobody tells you about the quirky little details of hiking alone in the wilderness. Like how ten minutes into the hike, the muscles in your lower back and shoulders start complaining about the 25 kg pack which holds all of your supplies for the next 48 hours. Or how bad your socks will smell inside your tent tonight. I suppose if they did, less of us would be so eager to get out there into it.

The epic posters in the outdoors shops don’t even come close to telling you about these nuances, nor do they hint at the other more satisfying details. Like the satisfaction you get from discovering a trail that only reveals itself five meters or so at a time. Or how the wind announces itself unexpectedly: whispering, then whooshing as it winds its way through a valley. The trees around you anticipate silently, then swoosh excitedly as their canopies sway and play when the wind hits.

Tips and tricks

• Research your trek – spend a day chatting with locals to get the inside scoop.
  Check in with local authorities – better safe than sorry.
• Allow extra time – if the locals tell you it will take three hours, then allow five. You are unfamiliar with the trek, and besides, you’ll want to be able to take your time and savour the journey.
• Leave early – even if it means a cold morning start, you will reap the benefits when you reach your destination early enough to give you time to relax, unwind, and enjoy the surroundings before sunset.
• Train your body – one thought my back and shoulders kept grumbling about on my solo was “I wish I had trained for this”. Take your pack on day hikes and fill it as if you were going overnight to get your body used to the weight and bulk beforehand.
• Leave your iPod behind – bring a journal instead, and savour the silence of the wilderness. There’s nothing like gazing into the depths of a campfire with only your thoughts as companions; take the opportunity to discover something new about yourself!

Nobody tells you either, about how the warm shower you take when you return will be one of the best showers you have had in your life. Perhaps ever. Or, about how satisfied you will feel as you stretch your sore legs and drain the last of your cold beer while you savour a juicy rump steak and gaze into the fireplace at the local pub.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Prepare for your first solo overnight trek

We’ve been looking at new ways to serve you, new ways to publish the best advice for independent travellers, and we are really excited to have the freedom of form that a magazine brings.

In short:

What? An Indie Travel Podcast Magazine with destination features, how-to’s and photo essays.
How? We print in New Zealand and ship an A5 magazine to your door. You can also read online.
When? Subscriptions are available for purchase now and the first magazine will be delivered September 1, 2009. After that, it’ll be every three months.

How’s it going to work?

In 2009 we’ll be releasing the magazine free on site — you can read 100% of the content online and for nothing. You can read it on site or download a PDF to read anywhere you want. In 2010, free digital copies will ONLY be available to iTunes, email and RSS subscribers. If you’re not keen for that, you can continue to read on site for a small yearly fee.

What about the print?

Paper isn’t cheap, so we’re going to have to charge you to hold a copy in your hands. It’s going to be worth it though: this beautiful little A5 magazine will fit perfectly in your pack and look awesome on your coffee table. We have a great digital designer on board to make sure everything looks smoking hot.

Subscribe now

You can buy your yearly subscription now for only NZ$36.00 plus postage. For most countries that works out at NZ$49.00 for a year’s print+digital subscription including tax and delivery — at current exchange rates that’s only US$30, £19 or €22. Postage is cheaper in New Zealand and Australia. Sweet.

What’s in issue one?

Issue one is going to rock. Amongst other gems, we have:

• People in a conflict zone: Myanmar/Burma
• A pull-out guide to travel in Tonga
• A photo essay from Lagos, Nigeria
• Everything you wanted to know about eating tapas in Seville
• Pages of reviews: books, gear, sites and resources
• Columns from full-time travellers and industry experts

It’s cheaper to buy now

Security

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If you don’t like the quality of your magazine, that’s fine. Let us know within 30 days of delivery and we’ll refund 100% of your subscription fees. To be honest, we can’t imagine that happening though.

Advertising

Companies with an interest in the travel sector can download our media kit and book advertising space in the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine. We have amazing first-edition rates which you must take advantage of. Download the media kit now.

Stockists

Booksellers and magazine stockists can contact Craig Martin using our contact form.

What more can we tell you?

ITP Magazine - 1 year print subscription

Score yourself four hot copies of the Indie Travel Podcast Magazine over the coming year.
Delivered to your inner city apartment, rustic town or nearest-village-the-4×4-comes-to, this magazine’s written for you by young, independent travellers.

While a digital copy can be delivered straight to iTunes, there's nothing quite like a glossy magazine to sit on your desk or in your pack. Printed in A5 format, it's perfect reading for the plane, train or a rainy night at the hostel.

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Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Indie Travel Podcast Magazine – Coming soon

Lastovo Island, Croatia

Croatia is an up-and-coming hot-spot in Eastern Europe, with hordes of tourists descending on the cities of Split and Dubrovnik along with the arrival of mainstream low-cost carriers. While these cities are great for exploration and sampling the Croatian lifestyle, try getting some fresh air by heading out to Lastovo Island. Only the hearty make it out to this tiny paradise in the Mediterranean – a five-hour ferry journey from Split. You’ll be rewarded with lush forest, gorgeous shorelines, and solitude. You can also sample some of the Lastovo Maraština, a white wine from here that is popular across the country. Be sure to book your lodging before you hop on the ferry – there are no hotels on Lastovo but there’s plenty of private accommodation.

Phu Qhoc Island, Vietnam

With an easy one-hour direct flight from Ho Chi Minh City, you’ll land in Phu Qhoc and wonder why the island isn’t overrun with tourists. Far out on the very southern coast of Vietnam and close to the Cambodian coast – it was disputed territory until as recently as the late 1980s – Phu Qhoc is just as gorgeous as Halong Bay, but far more off the beaten path. Unspoilt beaches, waterfalls, war memorials, pearls, and rare dogs are just some of the bizarre array of sights on display. Spend your nights in one of the adorable guesthouses that are dotted across the island.

Aqueduct Beach, Israel

This beach takes its name from an ancient Roman aqueduct gracing its harbour – built in the first century AD – which offers endless photo opportunities and a unique environment to just relax. In stark contrast to the people-watching activity on other Israeli beaches, here things are quite casual and decidedly low key. The waters are safe for swimming if the tides are not too rough, but there are also several historical attractions to explore should the sun’s ray get a little too hot. Shore-side amenities are limited so be sure to bring everything you need with you.

Port Shoreham, Canada

Port Shoreham, on the east coast of Nova Scotia, is one of those places where you could spend days endlessly walking the beach, picking up stones and shells and watching the surf gently roll in. You’ll have first choice on one of the many picnic tables where you can gaze out across gorgeous blue waters of Chedabucto Bay. There are minimal facilities here but you can camp in the nearby town of Boylston (June-September), where an interpretive display awaits you, describing the medieval tale of a Scottish earl who made his way from Orkney and landed here in Nova Scotia.

Imperial Beach, United States

Although not completely desolate territory, Imperial Beach sits 20 miles south of San Diego and just north of the Mexican border, making it America’s most south-western destination. In contrast to the rest of California’s hip and trendy coastline, Imperial Beach is somewhat of a kitsch and quirky hippy community. In the 70s the town was infamous as a rough biker enclave; today the atmosphere is much more welcoming but retains a unique character and some scars of its past – some areas of town are still dilapidated. This is a very family-friendly stop, especially during the annual sand castle competition, but check with lifeguards regarding swimming – at times pollution makes the water unsafe for swimming.

Azores, Portugal

The Azores are a tiny cluster of islands are nearly 1,000 miles from the Portuguese coast. Despite direct, regular air service from Portugal, the atmosphere here has remained quiet and rural. The scenic vistas available are indescribable and hardly believable – pools of clear green waters, blinding pink sunsets, and soothing volcanic sand are just some of the highlights. You’ll have lots of opportunity for swimming, either in the sea or man-made salt-water pools. Don’t miss the hiking trails for some of those great views, or dolphin and whale watching when not relaxing under the sunny Portuguese skies.

So, if you’re keen on the idea of beautiful clear water for swimming, and empty beaches for sunbathing, take your pick of a beach mentioned above, and enjoy the sun!

Photos by hoyasmeg and paulhami on Flickr.com.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Six indie places to soak up the sunshine this summer

Spaceships is a company that started up in New Zealand to provide campervans for the budget traveller. It now has branches in Australia and the UK and is expanding into Europe. It’s doing well, and deserves to, since the product is fantastic.

You might have seen the distinctive, bright-orange vans driving around – we had, but we hadn’t considered hiring one. Actually, we were going to nick their design and convert a car ourselves. But we were more than happy to have a go in a real Spaceship.

A Spaceship is a converted people-mover, a seven- or eight-seater car like a Toyota Estima or Lucida. The back seats are replaced by two-thirds of a bed, which you extend at night – it can be extended to full length in either direction. Under the bed there’s storage space, where you find the fridge, the cooker and all the cooking and cleaning equipment.

Our trip started in Christchurch, where we picked up the car from a helpful staff member. We drove down to Dunedin, and were amazed at how easy it was to drive – but then, it’s a car, not a traditional campervan, so I suppose that made sense. The idea was to sleep in the van, but we didn’t actually manage that until night three, when we found a gorgeous beach in the Catlins. The view was incredible and the food we cooked up was pretty tasty too. Since it was winter, it got dark really early, so we retired into the Spaceship to watch a DVD.

In the end, we slept in the van about one night in two, and despite the weather being atrocious, we weren’t cold at all. We mostly stayed at DOC campsites, but we did park on the side of the road a couple of times when we couldn’t find a suitable camp.

Pros

The thing I liked most about the Spaceship is how easy it is to drive. It’s much smaller than a full-size campervan, so you can park in a regular parking space, but it’s got everything you need to sleep, cook and generally have a good time. The features are also fantastic – fridge, cooking equipment, DVD player and DVDs. And the staff are helpful and willing to help you when you have problems.

Cons

The only cons I could think of are related to accessories. A Tourist Radio decoder box is provided free when you pick up your Spaceship. It took us a while to raise the enthusiasm to listen to it, and gave it a couple of hours before relegating it back to the glove box. The local area information is useful and valid, but the radio segments are overscripted, poorly acted and patronising. Not a great combination.

Similarly, the sat-nav devices Spaceships have on offer are the worst I’ve ever come across. They aren’t worth the extra fee – in fact, I’d consider paying not to have one! They are difficult to program, irritating to listen to, and sometimes send you in the wrong direction entirely. We were better off with a map – and Spaceships provide good ones for free.

Recommendation

A Spaceship is a great way to see New Zealand – it’s easy to drive, comfortable to sleep in, and the support and accessories smooth the way even further. I’d recommend it for any independent or budget traveller who wants to see as much of New Zealand as they can at a reasonable price. It’s also useful for families or travellers who plan to stay in motels or holiday parks, but want the freedom of being able to camp by a beach for a few days of the trip.

A Spaceship was provided free for review.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Travel in a Spaceship

Working on sustainable projects is a great way to make this dream a reality. You have the opportunity to see the world in a meaningful way, as well as contributing to the local environment. There are a variety of options to choose from – just find the one that suits you best, and go for it!

Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF)

WWOOF hosts offer volunteers food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. WWOOF organizations link people who want to volunteer on organic farms or smallholdings with people who are looking for volunteer help. Visit the WWOOF website to search for your perfect farm work stay.

Lotan Kibbutz in Israel has opportunities for volunteers to learn about organic agriculture, permaculture and sustainable living as well.

Try an internship

Sound simple? Interning is often the easiest way to earn your keep and travel too. Look for causes and organizations you believe in. Jump-start your search at Idealist.

Eco-resort jobs

Gardening, cooking, building tree houses, the experience of working on an eco-resort requires one to be a jack-of-all trades. The Black Sheep Inn in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador takes volunteers, as does Saba Ecolodge on Saba Island in the Caribbean. Search for opportunities around the world on the Eco Tropical Resorts website.

Environmental education camps

Love kids? Environmental education camps offer myriad opportunities to work and travel. Look at summercamps.com for international placements.

Become a research assistant

Visit university job sites such as Texas A & M University to find local and international opportunities. Also try looking into field research stations, some take volunteers and will provide room and board. It may even lead to a career change!

Work with wildlife

There are many opportunities throughout the world to work in as a wildlife rehabilitator. Greece, Bulgaria, Finland, and Venezuela are a few countries with many organizations. The International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council and Green Volunteers are good places to start. Wildlife tracking is lesser known as an option but just as rewarding.

Park work

National and international opportunities abound. In the USA try CoolWorks or The Student Conservation Association.

There are so many options to choose from, there’s sure to be one that will allow you to follow your dream. Whether you end up working as a teacher, researcher or rehabilitator, follow your passion and you can’t go wrong.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Best sustainable ways to work abroad

We interviewed several people for our recent Vantastic podcast. One of those people was Peter Burke, Managing Director of Traveller’s Auto Barn, Australia. Peter has a wealth of experience and knowledge of Australia’s roads and an appreciation for the problems a visitor goes through when buying or hiring a car.

The audio file below is our full interview — edited slightly to eradicate some of the sound problems we had.

Buying or hiring a car

Peter walks us through the advantages of buying or hiring a van or car for your Australian road trip. He also explains the services that his company offers their clients.

Dangers and fixes

Australian driving conditions offer unique dangers to drivers. Peter tells us how to avoid hitting a Kangaroo, not get lost in the desert, the wonders (and prices!) of the Australian Auto Club and many other practical tips.

The spirit of the road

Peter infuses the interview with personal stories from the road and tales of some of the characters he’s met along the way.

Vantastic adventure

WorldNomads is flying seven teams of people to Australia in order to jump in a pimped-out Traveller’s Auto Barn vehicle and take off on their own six-week road trip. You can find out more about Vantastic here or apply now. It’s an excellent chance to visit Australia and get some of these stories yourself.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Roadtrip in Australia

And then they ask why.

So I try to put into words all that the South Island has to offer – wide open spaces, the scenery, the adrenalin-pumping adventures, the food, the wine, and great people.

Now, thanks to the new Lonely Planet New Zealand’s South Island Guidebook, all the words I need to describe this awesome place can be found in a single, compact guidebook.

Compiled in the usual Lonely Planet format, the guidebook starts by profiling New Zealand’s history, culture, indigenous people, and environment. Written by a diverse group of contributing authors, including American Tony Horwitz who writes about Captain James Cook, this section provides a useful introduction to New Zealand.

The rest of the book, written by three seasoned LP writers, is location specific and focuses on all the South Island has to offer. Well, almost. For some reason, known only to Lonely Planet, the location-specific section starts in Wellington which seems a little bizarre. If this guidebook is all about New Zealand’s South Island, why in the world does its opening chapters focus in great detail on the capital city of Wellington, which, as far as I know, is still in the North Island.

Whatever the reason, it means except for a dozen pages discussing ‘Active South Island’ in the profile section, readers will be a third of the way through the book before they even reach the South Island. But it’s worth the wait (or read) because the rest of the book is jam-packed full of South Island goodness, ranging from where to find the cheapest crayfish in Kaikoura to how to bike your way around the wineries of Marlborough, from bone carving in Hokitika to glacier climbing the Franz Joseph and anything and everything in between.

Cities and towns around the South Island are highlighted with suggested itineraries, walking tours, activities, as well as information on shopping, eating, drinking, and sleeping. But Lonely Planet knows that most visitors to New Zealand don’t come all this way just to spend time in the cities. They want to experience the great outdoors, something that the South Island has in abundance. And so this guidebook offers plenty of advice and information on the where, how, and when of having a totally unique Kiwi experience.

Anyone considering a trip to New Zealand should pick up a copy of this new Lonely Planet New Zealand’s South Island guidebook. It will lead you in the right direction. It’s definitely got me wanting to pack my bags and hit the road.

Lonely Planet New Zealand’s South Island was provided free for review.
Image courtesy of lonelyplanet.com.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Book Review: Lonely Planet New Zealand’s South Island

*Disclaimer: A few notes about my trip will help explain my actions and will help you better tailor things to fit your own particular needs. I am traveling abroad for nine months, in Southeast Asia and South Africa. I’ll live in Cambodia for two months, travel around SE Asia during August, live in South Africa for five months, and spend the last month traveling around Africa. I will also be working as a legal intern for the entire time, and am required to bring my notebook computer to my job in South Africa. Lip gloss is not optional.

Getting your plane tickets

There are plenty of options for purchasing international airfares, but you should go with who you feel comfortable with. I booked my ticket through Vayama because I love their format, the fact that they always had the lowest (reliable) prices, and their positive online reviews. I also love their travel and etiquette guides. Other people swear by Kayak.

To find who you’re most comfortable with, it’s best to start early, visit as many sites as you can, Farecast your options, and see how you feel. If one site is offering fares that are significantly less expensive than all the others, be wary. Check out their online reviews before you buy. There’s nothing worse than getting stuck in a remote location with an unresponsive travel agent. Oh yeah, and buy the travel insurance.

Chris Guillebeau and the Traveller’s Lounge both have good guides to buying tickets, and Dave Prine summed it up well here on the Indie Travel Podcast.

Vaccinations and medications

Make sure you prepare in advance for vaccinations, as many need to be given at least four weeks before you leave. Find your vaccination records and head to the hospital or medical center early – preferably six to eight weeks before you’re due to depart. Vaccinations can be pricey, even with insurance, but really, the disease would cost more.

Make sure you pack a good supply of any medication that is essential to your health, and it may also be a good idea to pack some Cipro or Z-packs in case of diarrhea and some Pepto Bismol. Most countries will have a full range of medications for any ailment you can imagine, but your favourite med might not be available. Some countries don’t have a great reputation for supplying quality medication – so do some research before you go, you may have to plan ahead. I always keep Motrin and Ny/Dayquil with me but I’m looking forward to learning about local remedies and adding to my medicine cabinet!

Insurance

Travel
This is something you want to have. If anything happens to you in a remote location chances are you’ll need to be airlifted somewhere and this is not free. I was lucky to get a good deal on travel insurance through my university – if you have any affiliations you can use, there’s probably a discount available for you. I recommend worldnomads.com or hthstudents.com.

Contents
Some travel insurance policies cover property and some don’t. Those that do usually have a value limit, and objects over that value are either not covered, or need to be itemized individually – and there’s usually an extra charge for that. My travel insurance doesn’t cover property, so I made sure that my renter’s insurance covers everything. If you are bringing anything you will want to have replaced if it’s lost or stolen, check your policies and make sure you’re covered. Keep a Google Docs list of all of your property and serial numbers/etc. so you can retrieve it anywhere if you need to, and it’s also a good idea to take a photo of the item with its receipt.

Documents and records

You’re going to need copies of your birth certificate, driver’s license, and passport, at the very least. Be sure to make copies of these things and keep multiple copies with you (in different places) and to leave copies with someone you trust at home. Also, scan the copies and email them to yourself so you always have them available.

Packing

There are many quality resources to help you decide what to pack, but the overall message is to pack light. For nine months I have one 50lb suitcase, a laptop case, and a messenger bag. If you’re not packing business clothes and don’t need a laptop your load will be significantly lighter. Two things that seriously lightened my load? Travel towel and travel sheets. For good packing tips, visit OneBag, or there are several articles to choose from here.

Guidebooks and websites

Again, there is a wealth of information out there, and you need to find something that works for you. Some people swear on guidebooks, others operate completely online. As for me, I’m traveling with the Lonely Planet Southeast Asia On a Shoestring but I also frequently check Travelfish.org and create my own mini-guide of all of the advice and recommendations that I’ve been given from friends. I made a point to interview everyone I knew who had been to SE Asia and I got incredible advice about places that aren’t in any travel guide. Nomadic Matt has a lot of useful advice too.

Short-term living is definitely my favorite way to travel. I love spending a few months in each new place rather than skipping through for a couple of days. The rewards produced by this method of travel by far outweigh the challenges and I highly recommend, at least once, living somewhere completely different for a while. Hopefully, these tips will help you get started!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Preparing for long-term travel (or short-term living)

I started as a blogger over a year ago. My goal was to be wildly successful and a hugely popular blogger who, like ProBlogger, makes a ton of money talking about what he loves. I think most people who start a blog do that. Six months into it I was putting in a lot of hours and not making any money. I was making lots of friends in the blogging world but no money. I thought if I got traffic I would get money. People would click on my ads and poof! I can quit my day job. But it doesn’t work that way.

I have a healthy scepticism of most “make money” books and of all “make money” ebooks. I’ve been publishing online since the late ’90s and, there was a serious phase in the early 2000’s when I devoured everything I could find on the matter. I feel this book offers value for money and gives concrete strategies but, at times, downplays the fanatic amount of hours it takes to launch a site and nurse it to a profitable state.

Matt now claims to be making US$3,000 a month from his travel websites, with his blog as the leading standard. By email, I probed Matt further to discover how much time this took — and how much of that income was profit. Apparently less than 20 hours a week goes into site work and maintenance, with further time spent socialising on networking sites like Twitter. One should also note the $3,000 is gross income, that is, it doesn’t including running costs or expenses.

The skinny

This book is a good primer for a beginner who is interested in the technical side of personal publishing online. While it comprehensively outlines concrete strategies for starting a site, standard search engine optimisation and internet marketing techniques, it misses many of the traditional skills of branding, audience research and marketing.

To my mind, this ebook does a very good job as a guide to setting up a professional looking blog and then generating traffic through search engines and social media traffic. It would be of interest to an enthusiast looking for a clear way to start an excellent travel blog or someone considering this as a business model.

Is it right for you?

If you’re a typical Indie Travel Podcast reader, you’re dreaming of, planning, or part-way through an extensive overseas trip. If you hit the road for six months and market well during that time, you might build up an extensive audience. When you stop travelling, your audience will probably disappear. This book isn’t going to help you make money during your trip: stay non-commercial and love your audience.

If you’re looking to blog for a long time — more than a year — and consider it as a job rather than a travelogue, Matt’s ebook will condense and clarify much of the information available online and help you target it to a travel blog. If you’re interested in setting up a blog for fun or profit, but you don’t have time to search the web to compare free information, this book is also perfect. A current travel blogger could also find it useful to improve their SEO strategies and transition their site for long-term sustainability and possible profit.

How to make money from your travel blog by Matthew Kepnes, 2009, was supplied for review by the author. Self-published, it’s available for US$27.00.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

REVIEW: Make money with your travel blog by Matthew Kepnes

When traveling, it is always nice to have a great place to stay where meeting other travelers is an easy affair. This can be difficult if you are on your own, on a budget and not sure where to make home base. The obvious solution is to stay in a friendly hostel.

A hostel is a great place to find a cheap dorm bed or room for the night, but can also be the perfect place to meet like-minded travelers. There are some exceptional individuals out there who can enhance your already amazing adventure, but you need to find them.

In a major city there are usually a multitude of hostels to choose from. So how can you be sure you are going to pick the best hostel with the best chance of finding some companions to pal around with while you are in town?

Stay in a dorm

The way to meet people is by being with people and there is no better way to do that than rooming with them. Now this does not mean trying to find a roommate, so stop having flashbacks of your college freshman year experiences!

Hostels usually have two types of room – private and shared. You and your companions have a private room all to yourselves, but in a shared room you’ll be sharing with strangers – you just book your bed, rather than the room.

Shared rooms are usually known as dorms, and can vary in size from two beds to over a hundred. In general, a mid-sized room of six to twelve beds is what you’re after, unless you prefer to feel like you’re sleeping in a Mumbai train station. Actually, the train station would be preferable to some large dorm rooms. And safer.

Staying in a hostel dorm is cheap and allows you to meet some very interesting fellow travellers. Remember to be respectful of your dormmates and their belongings, and always be open for a chat. This conversation could be the first step in a travel companionship.

Choose your crowd

Another good way to narrow down your hostel search is by figuring out what kind of people you want to meet. Are you looking for a group to go out with and have a romping good time, or a mellower crowd that are down for cruising some museums and a cozy intimate evening in the hostel’s common room?

If you are looking to not only get the most out of a city during the day, but also at night, finding a hostel with its own bar is probably the right choice for you. Even if you aren’t the biggest drinker the chances are some of the other people in the hostel are, and this is where they are going to meet up. Besides, even if you only want to check out the local night life or have a good conversation, finding a hostel with a popular bar is a quick way to meet some other people right away.

Hostel bars are a great meeting place for those travelers just beginning their night, since the hostel bar is often the first stop of a night in town. Plus, it’s common for the bartender’s friends to stop by as well, which is a great chance to brush shoulders with some locals. Having a conversation with the local bartender and his mates might help you decide where the best places to go out that night will be.

So book a bed in a hostel dorm – you’ll get more out of the destination, and might just make some great friends along the way.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Hostels: the solo traveler’s social club

The author points out that there are a variety of off-the-wall ways to find cheaper air travel, or to get upgrades or other perks. But many travellers don’t want to sign up for hundreds of credit cards to get air points, they just want to find and book cheap tickets in a fairly traditional manner. This book caters to those people.

Sanberg introduces the reader to her tried-and-true method of finding cheap air tickets, a simple process which she makes even simpler by providing a couple of worksheets to follow. She rounds up the most useful websites to visit, and suggests several strategies for using these websites to their full potential.

She also recognises that when booking tickets, travellers may have varying degrees of flexibility. She presents different strategies to follow depending on how flexible you are about when and where you want to travel, as some websites are best used for fixed dates and destinations, where others allow you to search a wider range.

The advice is clear and easy to follow, but sadly the format of the book leaves a fair bit to be desired. For me, the design of a book is almost as important as the content, since the presentation of information greatly affects how you view what you’re reading. In How to find cheap airline tickets, style choices detract from the valuable information – it looks like the text has just been imported from a Word document and converted to pdf. In addition, one page of the book is landscape while the others are portrait-oriented, and there’s a lot of white space.

However, the relaxed writing style and useful graphics mean that this is a useful, easy-to-read resource for anyone who wants some straightforward tips about hos to find cheap air tickets. I recommend it for people who want an easy solution for managing and understanding the many booking websites, and for those who just want to save money on booking air tickets.

How to find cheap airline tickets, 2009, was supplied for review by the author. It is available online for US$19.95.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Review: How to find cheap airline tickets by Elizabeth Sanberg

You may wonder how on earth you can live out of a suitcase or backpack. I can’t say it’s easy, but with a few of these tips, you’ll at least make sure your whole ‘home’ doesn’t smell like your dirty socks!

You are staring at your 4,000 cubic inches of space to fill getting ready for your long-term travel; if there was ever a time to be obsessive-compulsive, it’s now.

When you live out of a suitcase or backpack, organization is key!

These are the steps I used to manage my ‘studio apartment’.

1. Everything has its place

The key to organizing your pack is to not make changes. Always put things in the same place. Decide where you put your toothbrush and always put it back in the same pocket of your toiletry case. I had a backpack pocket that was specifically for my electronics, a place where my shoes fit, a special home for my earrings, my sunglasses fit perfectly into my sneakers, and I always knew where my bikini was. This ‘same-same’ strategy not only helps you pack quickly, but more importantly it helps you keep track of things and avoid losing them. You’ll know right away if you are missing something because it won’t be in its assigned ‘place’.

2. Manage dirty clothes grammatically

One of the hardest things to do is manage the smells in your suitcase; namely the segregation of dirty clothes and clean clothes. When traveling you can’t do laundry every day, and sometimes you can’t even do laundry for a couple of weeks; therefore I advise you to manage your dirty clothes through comparatives and superlatives. This means you separate your clothes into piles of dirty, dirtier, and dirtiest; or if you prefer smelly, smellier, and smelliest. To assess this, you often have to get close to your clothes, really close – and smell them. Assess the odor, and put it in the appropriate comparative or superlative pile, then see the next tip.

3. Go green

You can save the planet AND control your suitcase odor, what more can you ask for? As you travel, save plastic bags to manage your dirty (see comparative/superlative piles above) contents. If you can manage saving different color bags, this is even better. Put your smelly clothes in the pink bag, the smellier clothes in the white bag, and the smelliest clothes in the blue bag. You may want to consider ‘double-bagging’ that blue bag.

When you pack the smelly and smellier bags, these are potentially clothes you can still wear again; dirty, but not too dirty. So, make sure you don’t just chuck them in the bag, but you fold or roll them to keep them nice. You don’t need to close up the bag, you can let it breathe; you’re just providing a little barrier from the clean items. However when the clothes reach the smelliest bag, then you know that they are done. Close it tightly and don’t take them out again until they are to be washed! I also use plastic bags to put my shoes in as they tend to carry odors with them too, so it’s a good idea to separate them if you can. This plastic bag system is cheaper then buying expensive suitcase organizers; and it’s good for the environment!

4. Smell the roses

It’s a great idea to not only separate your dirty, smelly clothes in plastic bags, but I also recommend adding a whiff of freshness to those bags. There are a number of options here for trying to keep the bags smelling nice. I used to carry a little spray bottle of Fabreeze with me to douse the clothes before they went into a bag. Another great option is to purchase the little deodorant shoe balls and chuck a couple in each bag. Actually I had about eight of these little balls that I would use in shoes, in my dirty bags, in the bottom of my backpack and other little pockets. They are cheap, light, and they make a difference! If you want to go really budget and light, then simply pick up a packet of dryer sheets. They have to be replaced from time to time, but place them between layers of clothes and it will protect your pack from smelling like your shoes!

5. Clean house

The last step is obvious. Find a place to wash those clothes and enjoy the bliss of having a clean backpack. It’s just like sleeping on clean sheets … heavenly!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

How to live out of a suitcase

Belgium
You order beer of course! The top Belgium beers are Duvel and Chimay, but watch out, these beers are quite strong, with a high alcohol content compared to other beers. Should you be in the mood for something a little bit lighter, go for Kriek, which is a sweet-tasting beer due to it being fermented with cherries. I have been told only girls drink this, but surely the blokes shouldn’t be embarrassed to try it. For a white beer, try Hoegaarden.

France
As one of the largest producers in the world, surely wine rules in France. There’s so much choice – merlot, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, chardonnay. All of them are slightly different depending on which region they’re from. Wines from the Graves and Gaillac regions are some of the best. For something a bit unusual, there is also a peculiar anise-flavoured drink called pastis, typically associated with the south of France. Be warned though, it’s an acquired taste. If you are curious enough to try it, go for Ricard or Pastis 51.

Spain
The best thing about ordering a drink from Spanish taverns is that they almost always come with a free plate of delicious tapas. Don’t get boring old sangria. Instead, a great drink to order is Rebujito , a traditional wine and soda cocktail found traditionally in Seville. Another excellent wine-based drink is Tinto de Verano, made with red wine and soda. The Spanish tequila is also pretty good, as I found out the hard way.

Portugal
Super Bock is one of the best lagers in Portugal. You can also order it mixed with lemonade, which makes a refreshing alternative. For port wine (or Vinho do Porto), pay lovely Porto a visit, the home of many grand port wine houses scattered near and around the Douro river. These port wine houses are really worth visiting, as they not only offer free tours but also free sampling of ruby, tawny, and white port. Some popular ones include Sandeman and Grahams, where they also sell vintage port. I was lucky enough to be given a tasting from a €180 vintage bottle!

Czech Republic
Drink-lovers will love this country because alcohol is extremely cheap. After partying with some locals, I developed a taste for Fernet Citrus, which is a bitter liquor with a lemon twist. If you prefer a sweeter drink, go for Maby Slivovice, a tasty fruit-based brandy. Do keep an eye on those shots though! For a typical beer, what else but Pilsner Urquell?

To traveling
I fondly recall having a really good time in every one of these places. I hope this guide has been useful, and most importantly, remember to be safe, know your limits, and happy bar-hopping! So, cheers, santé, na zdraví, prost, wherever you are!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

A drink-lover’s guide to Europe

I’ve just returned from a trip to the Middle East, and I had an unbelievable time. But booking the trip was a little tricky, since my plans changed right before I bought my ticket. I had intended to spend five days in Morocco with my friend Alma, then explore the country for a further five days on my own. But Morocco fell through, and I found myself looking for flights to Istanbul instead.

I was still spending five days with Alma, but I decided to leave Turkey after that (I’d been there before). I looked for other places to visit for the remainder of my trip, and I settled on Cairo and Dubai, and with a little creativity I was able to come up with an itinerary that worked well for me. Here are a few of the ways I managed to pull that off.

Shop around

While searching for a decent flight to Istanbul, I used three websites at once (Travelocity, Orbitz, and Kayak.com), entering different dates and routes. Not only did prices vary among the three sites (even for the same flight), but there were routes one site would offer that the others didn’t. But don’t limit yourself to websites. If you have the time, talk to a travel agent. Or several.

Try “nesting” tickets

Instead of incorporating every stop into one ticket purchase, I ended up buying two tickets: a roundtrip ticket from LA to Istanbul, and then a multi-flight ticket from Istanbul to Cairo, then to Dubai, then back to Istanbul. This way, I covered the first and last legs of the trip (the more expensive ticket and also the only certain part of the trip at that time) as early as possible to get a decent price, and then I went back for the shorter legs of the trip when I had a better idea of my plans and options.

But don’t be afraid to consider a multi-destination ticket

The three sites I listed above let you enter multiple destinations and dates. After a little tweaking, I was able to come up with an itinerary that allowed me to visit Cairo and Dubai, which worked better for me than if I had simply purchased a round-trip ticket to one location.

Spread the word

Dubai became a destination simply because mentioned to a friend I was thinking of going there. Only then did I discover she was planning to be in Dubai during that time, making Dubai an even more desirable destination for me. I plugged that into the equation and eventually found a ticket that worked.

Watch for interesting connections

Istanbul had many direct flights to Dubai, but I noticed there were a lot of connections through Cairo (as well as several other cities). I looked into a stopover and changed a few travel dates, and I was able to spend two days in Cairo.

Be flexible

With Istanbul the only definite part of the trip at first, I looked at several other places to go for the days I was floating. There were numerous affordable flights from Istanbul to Romania, Warsaw, Athens, and several other locales. If I didn’t have to get a visa in advance, I would’ve chosen a flight to India and spent two days in Mumbai. It helps to keep your options open!

So, don’t despair if your travel plans fall through at the last minute – with a bit of investigative research, you could have a more interesting vacation than you had originally planned.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Six ways to get the plane ticket you want

The book starts out promisingly – there’s a mention of my home country, New Zealand, on page two – and continues in a light, easy-to-read style. It’s well-formatted: the information is presented clearly and cleanly, and there are lots of useful personal stories throughout the book, both in the main text and as diary-like inserts.

Wanderlust and Lipstick is clearly aimed towards an American market, which cuts off readers from other countries and backgrounds to some extent. This is clear right from the introduction, when the author suggests an excuse for not travelling might be that “you’ve never been on a plane, and flying is such a hassle these days” – I can’t identify with that at all! Many websites and other resources listed are USA-centric as well, and some Americanisms in the writing style grate occasionally.

However, the advice is sound and well thought-out. The author advises against going into debt to travel, and provides a worksheet so reluctant travellers can process their dreams and put it all down on paper. The advice is up-to-date, with useful websites listed and there’s even an explanation on podcasting – no mention of the Indie Travel Podcast, though!

Some things in the book go against my personal experience as a traveller – I wouldn’t use the author’s advice on budgeting or exchanging money, for example. And the information on hostelling was possibly correct ten years ago, but is now scanty and misleading, focussing on HI hostels and glossing over the new breed of hostels which are frequented by a wide variety of travellers and sometimes feature female-only dorms. Hopefully this omission will be corrected in the new edition, which has recently been released.

I’d recommend this book to anyone, male or female, who wants inspiration and solid information about travel. It’s especially useful for women who want to travel but need some encouragement, or who don’t feel they have the skills they need to travel alone. It’s also a good resource for any new traveller, to dip into before the trip or to use as an on-the-road resource.

Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Soloby Beth Whitman is published by Globe Trekker Press, this edition 2007. It was supplied for review and is available to buy from Amazon.com.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Review: Wanderlust and lipstick by Beth Whitman

By foot:

The US has three major cross-country hiking trails, which are collectively called the Triple Crown. They are the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the Appalachian Trail. The Appalacian Trail is generally thought of as the easiest one to plan for as there are more resources and a larger support system along the trail.

Though these are the most well-known of the major trails there are many others to consider. There are seven other National Scenic Trails as well as many, many other long-distance trails. A good overview of the national recreation trails can be found on AmericanTrails.org.

Biking in Colorado

By bike:

For those who prefer to travel at more than three miles an hour there are many resources for cycling across the country. Cyclists can create their own routes just by looking at road maps, but not all roads are made for cycling. There are a lot of internet resources out there, but the best one-stop source for maps and information on long-distance cycling in the US is the Adventure Cycling Association website. You’ll find everything you need: road maps, how-to guides, guided tours, and a yellow pages section to help you find other people looking for companions to cycle with.

They also run a number of guided tours throughout the year and throughout the country. These are an excellent alternative to taking your own trip, if you’re not comfortable with doing all the planning or prefer to travel with an expert, or (in the case of some trips) a van that carries all your gear. I took their Introduction to Cycling Touring course last year and had an excellent time learning the basics while on a 5 day trip through the Rocky Mountains.

Adventure Cycling currently has their own “Route Network” with routes that cross the county and detailed directions for each. However, they are also working with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to develop additional routes that will criss-cross the country in an even more complete “US Bicycle Route System.”

Another good resource for cycle touring is Randonneurs.

For finding both hiking and cycling trails try the Rails-to-Trails Conservatory, an organization that works to convert abandoned railroad tracks to a network of trails. Trails lengths range from less than a mile to hundreds of miles long.

Kayaking or canoeing

If floating down a river in a kayak is more your style, there are plenty of possibilities there as well. Minnesota, known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” has tens of thousands of possible single or multi-day trips. Maine and Oregon are also known for their waterways, but there are many others.

Three more resources for kayaking and canoeing.

• Go Paddle
• Kayaking Journal
• Visit Mississippi – this link takes you directly to their kayaking page.

While you’re on the road, record your adventures in a diary or travel blog, and get inspiration by reading about other peoples’ trips. Whether you’re hiking, cycling or kayaking it’s amazing how much more you can see when you slow down. As added bonuses, food will taste better, people will be nicer, and you’ll have more than just a tan to show off when your vacation is done. Mix it up on your next trip and use those muscles.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Self-powered travel in the US

The book is a tie-in to a new American TV show called “Adventures with Purpose” and, specifically, an episode called “Morocco: Quest for the Kasbah” which is also hosted by Richard Bangs. The advertising copy makes great claims for the author; how have I never heard of this “renowned explorer” and “the world’s foremost adventurer”? It must be something to do with the lack of PBS shows in New Zealand because he’s produced several TV documentaries and thirteen other books.

Of structure and style

The book is constructed as a linear narrative with several jumps between trips to Morocco. At times it almost degenerates into a “what-I ate-for-lunch” diary but manages to redeem itself by offering glimpses of Moroccan life along the way. The view Richard offers seems alien to me: not because of the landscape, but because of how it is viewed. Maybe it’s a generational or cultural gap, but I struggled to align myself with this way of looking at a place.

The writing style was also too flowery for my taste. At times it was difficult to follow as I struggled with unusual metaphors which would have been better suited to a spoken conversation or perhaps a TV screen. Here, they came across as overwritten and verging on pretentious.

Questions and answers

The first question I hoped this book would answer is “what is a kasbah?” I was quite lost for some time! The glossy photo insert in the middle of the book has only one picture of one, and that as a backdrop. The introduction takes us to an African river descent, the first few chapters to hiking in the Atlas mountains … and still no mention of a kasbah. Perhaps that’s the publisher’s fault, forcing an interesting journey into the constraints of the TV show. In any case, it left me hanging.

Rather than helping me off the ledge, the book offers a glimpse here, a peek there, slowly weaving insight through stories and recorded conversations. As a result, I understand something of the spirit of a kasbah, but couldn’t recognise one if I was standing next to it. The author’s laboured juxtaposition of digital nomads and kasbah dwellers casts as much light on the subject as the recorded conversations between himself and tourism representatives. In the readers’ quest for the kasbah, the kasbah itself is somewhat missing.

The skinny

What the book does do well is tell stories: little narratives that capture a splash of colour or the heat of the desert sun. Taken as a collection of short stories, this book succeeds in transporting us from mountain villages to Casablanca. We see women’s working collectives; the many tricks of recalcitrant mountain guides; and a young boy turning down his first opportunity to smoke a hookah pipe. Not every snapshot rings true though; there’s something too romantic, too reductionist about them that leaves one in doubt.

Unfortunately, this is not a book I would recommend you run out and buy. It would serve well as further reading for someone who enjoys the TV series or someone wanting a taste of Morocco before their journey. In the end these continued glimpses make us want to go and experience the cities, fortresses and mountains ourselves, to find our own nomadic shelter and muddle through the thronging streets of the bazaars. And that can’t be a bad thing.

Quest For The Kasbah by Richard Bangs is published by Open Road Guides, this edition 2009. It was supplied for review and is available to buy from Amazon.com.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Review: Quest for the kasbah by Richard Bangs

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Today’s task: spread the word

We’re a third of the way through our subscription drive and picking up steam. We need some more help though so please tell people about it! The Indie Travel Podcast is a great site — we’ve got a groovy travel community and recently won Lonely Planet’s Best Travel Podcast 2009 — but not enough people know about it!

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During the next 10 days please send some tweets about us…here are some ideas:

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Site of the day? Indie Travel Podcast – http://indietravelpodcast.com. They’re giving away $100 of vouchers this month.

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At the bottom of the left sidebar, there’s a “share” button. Hit this and post a link to your profile or send it to travel-loving friends. Tell them we’re giving away $100 of vouchers this month! They’ll like that.

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Still 20 days to go

Thanks for helping us get close to our goal of 2,000 in May! Right now we have around 1,550 people on the feeds. There’s still 20 days to go in our subscription drive: we’re closing in on 2,000 and still dreaming of 3,000 — we can do it with your help!

How can I subscribe?

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How to subscribe to a podcast in iTunes from Craig Martin on Vimeo.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

2,000 in May! Twitter, Facebook and Blog day

When I decided to travel around the world, the first place I went was the Pacific. I’ve always had a fascination with small countries and the Pacific has them in spades. I discovered the Pacific to be one of the most wonderful, and under-explored, places on Earth to travel. While they are not easy to visit, it is a memorable experience for any traveler. Here are some of my favorite islands:

Big Island of Hawaii

Seaside on the Big Island of Hawaii

Beach on Rarotonga

Sunset and Samos

Rock Islands of Palau

Pohnpei Lagoon

Maoi on Easter Island

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Favorite Pacific Islands

Specifically, we want people to subscribe to the show in iTunes by clicking this button, then clicking “subscribe” on the iTunes page.

If you haven’t done this, then try now. It’s painless and free. This video shows you how.

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How are we going make 2,000 in May?

We’re going to do this with lots of your help!

Over the next few weeks we’ll be asking you to do specific actions to help us raise awareness of the Indie Travel Podcast. We think we’ve got a great site here, but next to no-one knows about it! Keep an eye on the site or subscribe to our email newsletter or RSS feed to keep up to date with your mission and results.

The goal: 2,000 in May

We can easily count how many people are checking the RSS feeds each day. On April 31 — as we start — we have 492 people checking the feed in iTunes and 984 people on the RSS feed. That’s a total of 1,476 people.

WE WANT 2,000! That’s the goal: raising this number to 2,000 by the end of May. I think we can do it, so while our realistic goal is 2000, our dream goal is 3,000.

Today the figures are:
fans and

What can I do?

One of the surest ways to raise these numbers is by having positive reviews in the iTunes store. We want you to leave a five-star review today. Would you do that for us?

• Click this link to open the Indie Travel Podcast in iTunes.
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• Choose five stars from the drop-down menu, then leave a short review saying what you like about us. It can be one sentence or a whole paragraph — up to you!

What’s in it for me?

We’ll give a US$50 iTunes or Amazon voucher to one reviewer on May 15th and one on May 30th. The sooner you review, the more chances you have!

We don’t have any way to contact you through the iTunes store, so when you’re done, leave a comment here and tell us what country you’re in and your iTunes username so we can confirm it.

Reviews by Country

Each country’s iTunes store has its own review section: if I’m looking in New Zealand, I can’t see the reviews in America. To this end, we’re having an informal competition to see which country gets the most reviews.

As we start…

It’s pretty poor! Where are you Europe? Where are you Asia? South America?Even the Aussies need to make sure New Zealand doesn’t beat them. Let’s see which country gets the most gains through May and who can top the table for most reviews in 30 days … GO!

And make sure you comment here for two chances at a US$50 voucher.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

2,000 in May! Win an iTunes or Amazon voucher

Gluttony

I love visiting a country for its cuisine. Every place seems to have its own special fare when it comes to food, and we should all definitely sample them as part of our stay. Who can resist those tempting Parisian patisseries, calling out to us from every corner? What about the delicious tapas in Granada taverns, complemented by a cool beer, or a simple mouth-watering currywurst in Berlin? Let’s not forget about delicious Belgian chocolates. Every traveler should try at least one local delicacy, even on a tight budget.

Greed

Although the traditional definition of this sin relates to financial pursuits, it can also relate to travel pursuits. That is, once we get a taste of the travel bug, we just want more. When I started planning my trip, the only places I wanted to go to were France and Spain. I was going to spent three months in those two countries and that was it. However when I arrived, greed grabbed me by the toes and spiraled my ambition sky-high, and I ended up going to a total of 16 European countries over about six months.

Sloth

It’s OK to travel and do absolutely nothing – just to laze about and not venture out to any of the places you’re visiting – and sometimes that feels like a sin. But having days off is an important part of long-term travel, as these days help you recover physically and mentally. For me, if my body and mind didn’t become over-weary from going place to place every few days, I would just keep going. On these occasions, I take a break from sight-seeing, and my entire day consists mainly of sleeping, eating, reading, and surfing the internet. These lazy moments really help keep the mind fresh, and ready the following day to continue with wayward adventures.

Lust

Inevitably, this rates quite highly on the travel chart. Traveling solo does have its ups and downs, and the downs are easily remedied by companionship, as explained to a greater extent in this other article.

Wrath

Often described as anger, rage, or vengeance, unfortunately these feelings do manifest themselves on our travels. Traveling is filled with unpredictable moments, especially if we discover changes in plans too late, or if we miss our transportation for whatever reason, or simply if we meet hostile people along the way. Alone and tired, sometimes we react unfavorably to certain situations. Just remember that getting pissed off never really solved any problems. So take a deep breath, and learn to develop a sense of calm to help you get through tough situations.

Envy

Although travelers are certainly guilty of this one (perhaps another traveler has been to more places than you, or just returned from your dream destination), it seems that non-travelers are more likely to be prone to this Deadly Sin. From experience, this feeling often emanates from less-traveled people, who inform me that the luxury of traveling is difficult to achieve for them. They say to me “I wish I could do what you’re doing, you’re so lucky”. I disagree. As long as choices are made, compromises acknowledged, and decisions followed through, travel is possible for everyone.

Pride

This is also known as vanity. And if you’re feeling a bit proud, that’s normal really, since travel is an achievement. Whether you’re traveling alone or in a group, you will face challenges and overcome them somewhere along the way, and that’s something to be proud of. Having just completed a grand trip through three continents and 18 countries, by myself through thick and thin, I just can’t help being guilty of this one!

What travel sins are you guilty of? Leave a comment below.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Facing them on our travels

The book is divided into seven geographic chapters with an index of activities, countries and times at the back. North America picks up around 110 pages; Africa gets 54 pages as does Latin America and the Caribbean; Europe has 50 pages; Asia, 46; and Australasia, New Zealand and the polar regions only 35 pages between them all.

Each activity has an “is this for me?” section which rates activities in four categories: physical, psychological, skill and wow factor. Each category is ranked with between one and five stars along with a sentence fragment explaining the types of challenges one would face.

Starting with an area I know well, New Zealand, I was pleased with the suggested activities. Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few adventures to be had. They focussed on hiking and watersports and were all good choices to showcase the country’s natural beauty.

I moved from there to Western Australia; where I am as I write. Nothing. No sports fishing where salt-water crocodiles can snatch the catch from your rod, no swimming with whale sharks off the coast, no outback adventure on the Bibbulmun track. What was I to do? My next Pacific stop is Tonga and, surprisingly, there was no entry there either. For information, a good online travel guide would be a much better bet.

Those disappointments aside, this is the book I’d keep on my coffee table, if I ever settled down long enough to have one. Opening a page at random will give you half a dozen ideas for further travel and motivate you to explore your backyard and learn some new skills, whether that’s basic climbing or working on your swimming skills. I’ve already been motivated to have a decent go at windsurfing this year and there’s a picture on page 173 which has me looking longingly at kayaks.

Mmm. Kayaks.

The Rough Guide to Ultimate Adventures 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) by Greg Witt is published by Rough Guides, this edition 2008. It was supplied for review and is available to buy from Amazon.com.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Review: The Rough Guide to Ultimate Adventures

Choose a hostel over a hotel

The stereotype of basic bunkhouses filled with drunken students has been replaced by a new breed of budget accommodation – the boutique or ‘flashpacking’ hostel. Catering to the increasing number of travelers looking for low prices but a higher standard of facilities, these hostels are a great alternative to hotels, even for those who wouldn’t necessarily consider themselves ‘backpackers’.

The new, chic properties offer such style and convenience that, aside from the prices and the dorms, they wouldn’t look out of place in a hotel (see London hostels like Palmers Lodge, housed in a restored mansion, or arty and unique Lisbon Lounge in the Portuguese capital).

Hostels can also have some great additional benefits, such as kitchens – try self-catering a few meals to avoid the expense of eating out every night.

Escape hidden costs

Traveling is full of hidden ‘extras,’ from airline taxes to insurance, that all add up to damage your budget – and this can also be the case when booking accommodation in advance. Head to HostelBookers to search and book your accommodation online – it’s the only independent booking website that doesn’t charge a booking fee.

In addition, watch out for currency hedging – some websites increase the conversion rate from a hostel’s local currency to earn themselves additional commission on every booking they receive.

Before you travel, it’s also a good idea to read reviews and ratings of the accommodation from other guests, or check out one of the increasing numbers of hostel videos available, to get a clear picture of what’s on offer. That way, there’ll be no nasty surprises when you arrive at your destination, and no need to dip into the emergency funds for another hostel!

Make time for research

Booking a bed at the really cheap hostels might not actually be the best idea. Instead, look carefully at the facilities on offer in each case – somewhere that includes internet and breakfast (and lunch if you help yourself to an extra roll) in the price of a room could actually work out cheapest overall.

Location is another important factor – hostels on the outskirts of a city are typically less expensive than those in the center, but using pricey public transport to and from the sights every day can make costs add up in the long run.

If you’re only staying in a destination for a few days, a hostel within walking distance of the sights could be better value, but it could also make sense to stay further out if the transport is both convenient and cheap – look out for city passes that offer entrance to top attractions and unlimited local travel.

Either way, a little research can make all the difference when it comes to real ‘value for money’!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

How to stick to your accommodation budget

Linda and I are so happy that the Indie Travel Podcast has been announced Lonely Planet’s Best Podcast 2009. Over the last few years we’ve been working hard to build this obsessive hobby into a professional yet friendly and honest resource for all independent travellers. We’re glad this has been recognised by one of the biggest brands in travel writing.

The Indie Travel Podcast is a weekly travel show delivered on site and directly into iTunes. Audio shows feature locations, stories and independent travel advice and are complemented by Travel Talks videos and articles by travellers around the world.

The Lonely Planet Blog Awards were announced at a San Francisco event attended by travel writers, bloggers and editors as well as live on Twitter. We were unable to attend, being in Adelaide, Australia at the time, but Linda and I put together this short acceptance speech at Henley Beach:

The awards were decided 50% by popular vote and 50% by the judges’ decision. With a big push from family, friends and you — our regular readers and listeners — we finished second in the public vote. This put us in a strong position, but it was a stressful week after that! The judging panel were on our side and we won the category with 17 points out of 20.

Get into the podcast!

New visitor? No idea what podcasting is? That’s fine — it’s nothing scary. Drop your first name and your email address into the form here and we’ll send you a weekly update with site news and links to our latest articles each week.

If you have iTunes, get free audio and video shows as we publish them. Just click the subscribe button when you get there — it’s all free and always will be. People who use RSS readers, such as Google Reader can subscribe here.

At the moment, people get the newsletter, people follow in iTunes and people subscribe to the RSS feed.

What next?

Having just celebrated 100 episodes and over three years of full-time travel, we’re looking forward to exploring China, Tonga and New Zealand this year before heading to South America to start a round-the-world trip in 2010. Of course, we’ll be growing the podcast and providing more independent travel tips, advice and stories from around the world.

So thanks! From Craig and Linda at the Indie Travel Podcast — the best travel podcast in the world. Apparently.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Best Travel Podcast 2009

In this situation airlines have two choices – fly less and/or cut fares. So far in 2009 some of the best prices in years have been on offer on some routes. For example earlier in March Iberia offered USA to Europe from as little as US$220 return including taxes.

Here are three useful ways to save with practical tips and examples.

• Be informed – of as many great fare sales as possible.
• Be flexible – to improve your chances of being able to use a sale airfare.
• Airfares may be cheaper from a different departure point.

Be informed

To take advantage you need to be aware of air fare sales.

• Keep in touch with others who are also looking out for great fares to harness the power of thousands of eyeballs searching for bargains. This is most efficiently done through social communities such as twitter (search on fare, deal, #travel or #traveldeals for example) or FlyerTalk (the mileage run deals forum in particular), or through noted consumer sites such as The Perrin Post. You can sign up for alerts at FareCompare which has software continuously searching across all major airlines (mostly limited to routes either to or from USA).



• Sign up for email notifications of as many airlines as possible. Sign up even for airlines you may not wish to fly because many airlines match sale fares offered by other airlines. Reading that one airline is offering a sale on a route you like to fly may give you an early warning (of up to several hours) of a match by an airline which you prefer to fly. It goes without saying that you need to check your email regularly – some sales only last a day.
• Know which low cost airlines fly to places you want to go to, and sign up for their emails in particular. The best fares are only up for very short periods and don’t normally appear on online travel agent sites.
• Find out when airlines release their best sale fares and check their website regularly at that time – for example Virgin Blue has a daily happy hour at 12 noon, Air NZ has $1 reserve international auctions every Thursday (NZ date for flights from New Zealand).

Be flexible

Be flexible with your travel dates or destination, so you can take advantage of sales. I bet many of the people who took advantage of the recent $200-300 fare on American Airlines to Moscow hadn’t been looking specifically for Moscow fares.

Find a cheaper place to start

A trickier way to save is to buy fares from places where they are lower. While it sounds easy it is not always obvious where fares may be lower. For example:

• If you are in USA but close to the Canadian border or go there frequently, check if fares from Canada are cheaper than from USA. They are not normally but could be when a sale or fare war is on.
• Take advantage of indirect competition. For example, British Airways competes with Alitalia in the Italy to USA market – their fares on the route may be lower than Alitalia’s (to compensate for the disadvantage of transferring through London).
• In some cases the fares are so much lower from neighbouring countries or cities as to more than offset the cost of an extra flight to and from the neighbour destination (on a separate ticket). For example, for someone in Australia travelling to Asia it can be cheaper buying a ticket from New Zealand to Asia, and a separate ticket between Australia and New Zealand, than it is to buy a ticket from Australia to Asia. This doesn’t always work – the recent sales between USA and Australia and vice versa were much cheaper than sales between USA and New Zealand.

2009 is the year for bargains

A word of caution. The current situation is unsustainable for most airlines. Some flights have already been cut. The longer the recession lasts the more flights that will be dropped. 2009 may be the time to get the very best bargain airfares before fares get raised again.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

How to save on airfares in this recession

In Immersion Travel USA, Sheryl Kayne challenges the idea of shallow travel, and encourages and equips readers to have meaningful, active vacations all across the United States. It’s an inspirational book, designed to get people thinking about alternatives to the traditional sight-seeing holiday, and it’s also a guide – full of practical information and contact details.

At 430 pages, it’s a little heavy to carry about, and as a guide it’s not the kind of book you’d read cover-to-cover. But it’s easy to dip into if you’re looking for travel inspiration or a short description of someone’s time at one of the many excursion options. The four main sections – help, learn, care, and play – cover a variety of possible experiences, and the writing style is fresh and clear.

Unfortunately, the formatting of the book is less-than-ideal, with a large typeface and unjustified text somewhat taking away from the content of the book. I would have found
the book easier to read and navigate if it was thinner and more tightly styled, with programs occupying one page or perhaps a double-page spread, rather than running on into each other and being broken up by stories, photos and pullquotes.

That said, the stories, photos and quotes, as well as the snippets of information scattered throughout the book, help to provide a well-rounded description of destinations when paired with Sheryl’s explanation paragraph.

Immersion Travel USA is a good place to start if you want to be inspired to see more, and experience more, of the United States. I just hope the format is improved in the next edition!

Immersion Travel USA: The Best & Most Meaningful Volunteering, Living, and Learning Excursionsis published by Countryman, this edition 2008. It was supplied for review and is available to buy from Amazon.com.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Review: Immersion Travel USA by Sheryl Kayne

The National Parks pass is one of the best deals out there for exploring America. Officially titled the rather clunky “America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Pass,” it gives you unlimited admission for a year into all federal fee areas. This includes all 58 National Parks, the 73 National Monuments, and the 28 National Memorials in addition to many other federally managed areas.

If you’re only visiting one or two parks a year it makes more financial sense to pay the normal entrance fee, but on a road trip (especially out west) the fees quickly rack up if you don’t have a pass . The “crown jewels” of the park system – the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Yellowstone and Yosemite, for example – have steeper entrance fees of $20 a week (per car). At $80 for the year a National Parks Pass can save you a whole lot of money.

The Pass can be purchased ahead of time online or by mail, but it’s easiest to wait until you get to the first park you want to visit. It’s a good idea to bring cash, as some smaller locations don’t take credit cards or checks. When you buy a pass, one person will be the passholder, and that person will need to show their ID whenever they use the pass. You can also get a joint pass with a spouse, so either person can show their ID at the entrance. Entrance fees are by car, so the pass will also let in whoever else is in the car with you. (There are separate rules for bicyclists and hikers entering the parks.)

Get a little more for your money

Officially, the pass is good for one year from the date you get it, but the Park Service only keeps track of the month. For instance, whether you get your pass on July 1st or July 25th, it will be good until July 31st of the following year. Getting your pass at the beginning of the month and will give you a bit of extra time on it.

Additionally, if you’re 62 or older (and a US citizen), you can get a lifetime pass for a one-time processing fee of $10. Disabled individuals can get a pass for free. In addition to admission, these passes are good for other discounts at the national parks including camping fees.

What’s NOT included:

Campgrounds

Most developed campgrounds will cost extra. In national parks, usually $5-$20 per night. You can, however do dispersed camping on many other federal lands for free.

Some guided tours

Many of the ranger-led talks at the national parks are free once you’ve paid for admission, however some of the longer ones have an additional cost. At Gettysburg National Military Park, for instance, guided tours around the battlefield (at least a full-day experience), will cost extra. The cost for some tours is per group, and not per person so hooking up with other travelers can save you money.

Backcountry and Special Use Permits

The national parks are full of multi-day backpacking trails, but some charge for their backcountry permits. Rangers who catch you without a permit will require that you leave immediately. Even if you’re backpacking in an area that doesn’t charge, check in with the rangers and let them know when you expect to be back so they can send out a search party if something goes wrong.

State parks

State parks generally don’t receive federal funding and are separate from the National Parks System. Unfortunately their campgrounds are often more expensive as well. However many states (such as California, which has over 120 state parks and beaches), have their own annual pass program. Checking out the state parks (especially in Utah and Arizona which have stunning scenery) are a great way to discover little-known gems.

If you’re only in the US for a few weeks and are planning on staying in the cities the National Parks pass won’t do you much good. But if you’re planning on taking a road trip (especially in the west, where most of the National Parks are) then the “America the Beautiful Pass” can save you a great deal of money.

The federal government runs an amazing array of spectacular parks and historical monuments. Personally, my favorites are Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado. What are yours?

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

The best real estate deal in the US

Why do we do it?

It might be induced out of sheer loneliness or fueled by a night of alcoholic shenanigans. Our real lives seem so far, far away and we think ‘why not, we only live once?’ and take the plunge. Every human being has to embrace their needs, and never are we more thirsty for intimacy while we are alone in a distant land. There is no use denying it or repressing it. Why reject our primal requirements? It is just as essential as beer. It is about having a good time, safely and responsibly, as long as both parties are on the same platform. Nothing can be worse then giving someone the wrong idea, or worse, empty promises.

So, with that in mind, I’m sure we will all agree that holiday flings have all the benefits of a relationship – the deep conversations, the amazing sex, the good company, without any of the usual commitments or expectations. Feelings, bah, who needs them? They cause unnecessary burdens and stress. Like a certain movie quotes, ‘Make me feel good, NOW!’ and get on with it. I know, we single travelers are a selfish bunch indeed.

What if it’s true love?

With any casual encounter, there’s the possibility of it turning into something more, or so you think. Anyone with an ounce of romance in their bodies believes in the ‘Before Sunrise’ dream, the idea of meeting the love of your life on the road. You meet someone in an exotic location and share a deep connection. You experience the same sensations. You are both deliriously happy discovering new things about each other. Surely this is fate?

What if it’s not?

Be cynical. It is better to believe in the idea of a transient affair than to expect it to turn out to be a fairy-tale romance. The last thing anyone wants to do is to continue traveling with a sad mind and a heavy heart. That truly is no fun at all for anyone involved, when there’s still so much to do and see. There are still tons of people to meet and before you know it, someone else will come along.

Happily ever after?

However, if it does work out, then evidently the select few have discovered something the rest of the world can only fantasize about! That is, being swept off your feet by a handsome stranger or beautiful foreigner.

Have you met the love of your life while traveling? A shy glance on the train or a subtle conversation which developed into the ultimate love affair? Please share your stories of love and intimacy on the road, and perhaps the old-fashioned romantic in me might just emerge. Even if just for a while!

So, happy campers, have a blast, and remember to be safe and not sorry!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Disposable love: hooking up on the road

Look before leaving home

Before anything, check out the park’s website to find out the dates and hours the park will be open, which dates are blacked out (depending on the type of pass you’re using), and what promotions are offered (deals on annual passes, groups discounts, internet-only offers, etc.). You should also be able to find out parking prices and which areas of the park might not be currently open. This should give you an idea of what your costs will be and if it’s worth it to you and your group to make the trip.

Consider an annual pass

If you think you might attend a particular park more than once during the year, it might be a wise investment to get the annual/multi-visit pass. In some parks, annual passes are currently the same price as a daily pass. In this case, get the annual pass anyway, since the park often includes coupon books or other extras for the annual membership.

Clip coupons

Amusement park coupons appear everywhere from Sunday newspaper ads to soda cans. Save them as soon as you see them, even if you don’t plan to visit that specific park just yet. It’s better to have the coupons on hand just in case you need them later.

Pack a lunch

Pack a cooler and avoid the overinflated food prices inside the park. Most places won’t allow you to bring in outside food and drinks, but they’ll allow you re-entry (make sure you get your hand stamped if needed) so take advantage of this and have a frugal picnic in the car at a fraction of the price of what’s being charged inside.

Arrive early

Try to arrive before the park officially opens. This way, you’ll get a spot closer to the entrance, and you’ll start the day off as early as possible to avoid the long lines that can develop quickly for some rides (as long as you hit those first). While this won’t necessarily save you money, it will help you get more value for the ticket price.

Shop at the end

Avoid impulse shopping. Give yourself some time to think about whether you’ll really get value from what you think you need to buy right then and there. At the end of the day, almost everything you wanted will still be available (souvenirs, sweets, and even photos taken on various rides). Once you’re ready to head out, choose the items you truly want (and are willing to carry back to the car) and make sure they’re not items you can buy anywhere else easily…and at a lower price.

Car concerns

When traveling in a group, try to take as few vehicles as possible. This will reduce not only fuel costs but parking fees as well. I’d recommend parking in the cheapest lot possible, since it’s often not much farther away than “premium” parking lots, and there’s usually some type of shuttle to bring you to the park anyway. And if you’re considering an annual pass, you might want to consider an annual parking pass as well if they provide a decent discount or benefit.

Be your own shutterbug

Steer clear of the overpriced photos taken by park staff and bring your own camera. It’s much cheaper to hand your camera to a fellow park patron (or even an employee) to snap a pic of you and your friends, and most places will let you pose with the characters even if you take the photos yourself. Just don’t forget the extra batteries and a large memory card.

Above all, keep in mind that while you can eliminate several of the costs of attending amusement parks, it’s not a crime if you shell out a few bucks here and there for an overpriced treat or memento of your visit. The most important part of your day is that you have fun.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Eight ways to save money at amusement parks

It is because it’s a beautiful, well-crafted coffee-table book that is great to dip into to discover new destinations and experiences. But those of us expecting to find all the best places to see in Earth will be disappointed – far too much is left out for it to really fill its remit.

The introduction says that the 1000 experiences described in the book are the personal recommendations of Rough Guide writers, and, fair enough, Rough Guides don’t cover the entire world yet. But any book that purports to be a guide to the world really shouldn’t miss out a fifth of the countries in it! Sure, Andorra and the Vatican are tiny, but Kazakhstan and Cyprus are surely worth a mention.

While a lot is included in this book, it isn’t spread evenly enough. The USA, the UK, Spain, Italy, Australia and New Zealand are over-represented, with 40 countries of the world excluded completely. My personal pet peeve is that tiny Malta has four inclusions, where my next travel destination, Tonga, has none at all. Also, some of the experiences are very similar to one another – if you’ve done one, you probably won’t want to do the others – for example, the three helicopter experiences listed for New Zealand – helibiking, heliskiing and helihiking.

That said, most of what is included in the book deserves to be there – a variety of experiences are included, from eating and drinking, to typical tourist pastimes, to adventure sports. Since my favourite part of travelling is sampling the local cuisine, it was great to see so many entries about trying local food and drink – wine, beer, cider and sherry all feature.

The layout is also great. The book is divided into 21 sections, each with a title page featuring a map of the region, and a Miscellany double page that’s packed with interesting facts and tips. The experiences themselves are individually numbered and titled (some in a rather irritating manner), and arranged attractively on brightly coloured pages that are packed with inspiring photos.

The size and weight of this tome mean that you’re unlikely to take it with you on a trip around the world, and too much is missing for it to really be useful for trip planning, but it’s a fantastic inspirational book. It’d make a nice gift for someone who has always dreamed of travel, or someone who’s interested in different cultures.

Make the Most of Your Time on Earth is published by Rough Guides, this edition 2007. It was supplied for review and is available to buy from Amazon.com.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Review: The Rough Guide to the World: Make the most of your time on Earth

Not so this time. This time, I went Miami with play, not work, on my mind: ten days on the beach a few weeks before peak spring-break season. I thought I was just there to party and relax. It turns out that Miami has more to it than I expected.

South Beach is of course known for its party scene, and for good reason. Home to the hottest clubs, the warmest weather, and the fakest bodies, South Beach is everything it’s famous for and more.

However, there is another, more cultural, family-friendly side to South Beach as well. Leave the trendy area near the boutique hotels and restaurants behind and head north. The higher streets, towards North Beach, are home to fewer tanned supermodels and more little old men and young families. This part of the beach is home to apartments, not hotels, and the somewhat grittier side of South Beach is just a few blocks off the beach. This translates to a less crowded, more local feel on the ocean. The northern end is also home to some of the prettiest water and most interesting shells. The walk is definitely worth it if the children are with you or if your plastic surgery appointment isn’t until next month.

The culture strip

Further up on the north side is another destination frequently ignored by tourists: the Miami City Ballet. South Beach, in fact, is home to a few museums and cultural destinations often ignored by the beach-seeking crowd. The Lincoln Theatre is a gorgeous Art Deco building that features a symphony and plenty of exciting musical and artistic events. The Wolfsonian Museum is home to remarkable exhibits, including a current exhibit of all of the artwork featured on the Chateau Mouton Rothschild wine labels. South Beach, like Miami itself, is home to a variety of artwork – not only architecture, but also visual and performing arts that are worth a second look.

South Beach is also home to a fantastic international scene. The Miami International Travelers Hostel is home to an international crowd that does everything from tours of the South Beach architecture to VIP trips to the hottest clubs. They also serve free breakfast, lunch, and dinner and are the perfect place to stay if you’re alone, with friends, or looking for a young, international group to get to know South Beach.

If you’re French, speak French, love France, or just like French food, A La Folie on Espanola Way is the perfect place to enjoy a crepe, quiche, or café au lait. This gorgeous little café is home to good-looking French employees and a customer base of practically every Parisian in Miami (or so it seems). The atmosphere is that of a café on the Seine and if you’re homesick or want to practice your language skills, this is the place to go.

Miami is known for being the playground of the stars. Rich, sexy, exciting and expensive, it certainly fits this description. However, given a little research and an accidental step into the right corner, and South Beach turns out to be family-friendly, culturally wealthy, and a great international destination. Give South Beach a try, you may be surprised at what you find!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

The many faces of Miami

Technically, a podcast is audio or video delivered through RSS feed enclosures. Podcasts are made from short audio shows and this guide is a great resource to help budding podcasters along the way.

Before reading this, read:

• Travel Podcast Scholarship 2009
• Scripting and interviewing for a podcast
• Travel Podcast equipment and recording

Getting your stuff together

How do you import your interview into Garageband? Simply drag and drop your interview audio file below the track you’ve been recording. You’ll now see two tracks, one below the other and you can simply drag-and-drop to position them next to each other.

Before adding music, you’ll want to get both your interview and your “studio” recording at the same volume. For that, you’ll want to use the Levelator.

The Levelator

Export your sound file from the programme you’re working with as a .wav or a .aiff (.aiff and .aif are the same). Now drag and drop that file into the Levelator.

This baby can work magic on an audio file, especially where there are different people speaking. It attempts to make the entire audio file the same level and is remarkably successful.

After the programme’s finished you’ll have two files: podcast.aiff and podcast.aiff.output – the levelated output file will have brought everyone’s voices to the same level. This saves hours of time.

At this point, you might be ready to finish or bring your spoken work back into Garageband to add music.

Preparing to publish

Mp3 is the industry standard audio file, so finally convert your .aiff using iTunes or lame. With iTunes, you can change the encoding by clicking Advanced > Create MP3 Version. I normally mix to 48kb mono. This can be changed in Preferences > Import settings. Alternatively, the Lame mp3 encoder is a high quality encoder and freely available from Sourceforge. It’s an excellent all-platform solution.

Adjusting gain

Now it’s time to adjust the volume of your track. I prefer to use mp3Gain to do this. Once again, it’s a free cross-platform download.

The programme allows me to set a standard volume for all of my audio files ensuring I don’t blow people’s ears out or people’s speakers up (sorry Chris!). The settings I use are shown in the following screenshot.

ID3 Tags

Now your voice is ready to be broadcast around the world, but before we go there, let’s tidy up the packaging.

I hate downloading audio files, chucking them into iTunes and losing them. To make sure your listeners don’t have the same problem it’s important to set the correct ID3 tag for each one. This can be done easily in iTunes, but other software options include Multi ID3 Tag Editor.

To change ID3 information in iTunes, locate the file and open the information panel by clicking File > Get Info. Click on the “Info” tab and enter as much information as is helpful. Work your way through the different tabs: many podcasters add show notes into the “Lyrics” field.

It’s increasingly important to include an image as this is what shows when using iTunes’s Coverflow or list view, as well as on iPods and other mp3 players.

We want to wish everyone all the best with their applications for the WorldNomads Travel Podcast Scholarship! Good luck.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Travel Podcast editing and post-production

Spending hours poring through millions of travel websites to find the right advice, the right tour, and the right hotel; you are essentially dealing with the middle man. The middle man is generally a travel agency which promotes the local business, hotel, or tour. These travel agencies generally know that there can be a big margin to be made selling to people who are accustomed to spending western prices. This is especially true for travel into less-developed countries where prices are vastly lower than what we are used to paying.

Price hike

For example, when I booked a tour to hike the Inca Trail in Peru, I booked it through a travel company online. There was a lovely description of the daily hike/activities and photos to ease my trepidations about traveling to Peru and doing a difficult trek. They did a lovely job of marketing the tour and I bit.

When I arrived in Peru I was expecting to meet up with a representative from the company. Instead, I met up with the representative of a local tour company that had essentially been hired to provide me the trek that was described on the website. The trek was excellent; everything I had hoped for. However, I realized that if I had simply arrived in Peru and then found this trekking agency, I would have saved over $150 on the exact same tour. Instead that $150 went to the middle man.

Go local

I decided to test out this theory in Vietnam. I did a bit of pricing research online for a one-day trip to Cai Be and Vinh Long in the Mekong Delta. I chose three companies that offered the exact same tour and checked prices. The three online providers offered this tour for around $66 per person including lunch and transportation. Not bad. However after living here in Ho Chi Minh City for five months and knowing that a nice dinner and beer only costs $6, this seemed a bit steep.

Instead I walked to my local tour company in the backpacker district and asked about their tours. Their literature even had this blurb, “We are a tour operator (International Tour Operator License No 0744/ TCDL-GPLHQT ), not a travel agency; this means that you are dealing direct with the people who provide the actual services and not through a “broker” who is selling someone else’s tour.” It looks like I was on the right track to savings!

They informed me I could join an open tour leaving tomorrow for $12 including lunch and transportation. An open tour basically means that you go with other people on a bus and travel as a group as opposed to a private tour. In the name of saving money and realizing that I would be doing the exact same things as the other more expensive website tours, I chose the open tour. I took my $54 in savings and was perfectly happy to save that money for something else!

Eliminate the middle man

Now, I’m not telling everyone to abandon travel agents and the web, some people are not ready to make that leap into the unknown backpacker world of spontaneity and unplanned travel. However, in these economic times when you are trying to pinch pennies and make your travel dollar last longer, one way to save money is to eliminate the middle man and do your research and booking once you arrive. Get to know the local companies and find out what they offer. It’s generally the exact same tour for a lower price.

The thought of hopping on a plane without a plan may be terrifying for you. However, it’s something to consider if you want to do recession-proof travel! Go local!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Eliminating the Middle Man

Ben Curtis, from Notes from Spain and Notes in Spanish agrees:

It’s great that Lonely Planet is recognising travel bloggers like this, especially at a time when some ‘Social media’ experts amazingly seem to think that blogging is a bit old-fashioned compared to the ADD, quick-hit, new media kids on the block like Twitter and Facebook. Blogs are just as important as they have ever been, and LP is right to recognise the fact.

Experimental

This year they’re running the competition under the “labs” banner; their experimental online division. Because it’s experimental, there’s a little bit of give and take in the system, so when I realized there was no podcast category, I had to pipe up with a tweet of my own. Soon, I was pleased to see, a podcast category was added and with a celebratory tweet announced to the world that nominations were open.

Web-based awards have always struggled with popular vote: they’re open to manipulation and often quality sites are left languishing as unheard-of competitors game the system. It’s true that new faces can often outperform older, more established blogs with their enthusiasm and fresh point of view, but a blog read by 100 people shouldn’t be able to gather more votes than one read by 1,000. In this post Matthew Cashmore describes how the public and judges’ voting influence each other now that nominations are closed. Many hope that a similar system is used during next year’s nominations.

Our own subscription base at Indie Travel Podcast is relatively small: around 1,200 people at present with another 200+ receiving updates by email. I was surprised to find we had made it into the final five travel podcasts! We are, without doubt, smaller than the other English-language podcasts although we obviously enjoy quite fervent support and are growing quickly.

I’d like to take this chance to briefly showcase the excellent work being done by our competitors and, although you have to vote for us, a chance to find some new material for your ipod.

Amateur Traveler

The Amateur Traveler is run by Chris Christensen and has long been one of our favourite travel podcasts. Each week he interviews someone who has recently travelled to an exciting destination or gives similarly formatted tales and tips from his own travels. The archives are a good place to go when researching a destination or subscribe to get a weekly dose of memories or inspiration.

I’ve written several articles for the Amateur Traveler and Linda’s been interviewed about New Zealand and Malta. We even managed to meet Chris while we were all in London – he’s the only travel podcaster we’ve managed to meet in real life.

Notes from Spain

Run by Ben Curtis and Marina Diez, Notes from Spain gives travel tips, local-life snapshots and on-location travelogues from Spain. Having the viewpoints of British expat Ben and local knowledge from Marina helps us get an insight from both sides of the Spain-travelling coin.

While the blog is still active, podcasts have dried up recently, with nothing published since early January: come back guys!

Notes in Spanish

Also produced by Ben and Marina, Notes in Spanish comprises three language-learning podcasts for beginner, intermediate and advanced Spanish learners with downloadable worksheets and a forum for homework to be checked and learners to connect. With our recent foray into learning Spanish, we’ve found the beginner’s podcast to be well-produced and helpful too.

How did a language-learning podcast make its way into a travel podcast competition? Remember it is year one! There’s some strange sites cropping up under various categories and many people have requested tighter category classification or vetting during the nomination process and this is something to expect next year.

Viajero del Mundo

Unfortunately our Spanish isn’t yet good enough to comment on the quality of our last competitor, Viajero del Mundo … We’re studying! Next year, perhaps.

Of course, you can find us — the Indie Travel Podcast — here and on iTunes.

Linda and I want to firstly thank all of our authors. You help make the site more vibrant and bring important voices to the Indie Travel Podcast. We also want to wish everyone all the best. Whoever comes out first, we’re happy to be listed alongside such great competition. If Lonely Planet can bring more public awareness to travel podcasting in general, we all win.

And all our readers and listeners should head over to Lonely Planet and vote before March 20!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Lonely Planet Travel Blog Awards

It’s a little red dot in-between sprawling Malaysia and massive Indonesia that travelers usually just pass through in transit while visiting other, more exotic locales.

With such a small land area, there isn’t much to see or do in Singapore. What’s a traveler to do while you’re stuck in transit? If you’re adventurous in the ways of the culinary, then we’ve got just the suggestion for you.

It’s Makan (Eat-ing) Time!

Singapore prides itself on being the region’s culinary center. While that is certainly an arguable claim, Singapore does set a high standard for its neighboring countries. Its culinary roots stem from the three different ethnic groups that call Singapore home: the Chinese, Malays and Indians.

As such, you’ll be able to find a wide variety of food here, usually tweaked (or as Singaporeans would say, perfected) beyond its original taste to suit the Singaporean palate.

For this excursion, I’ll take you to Chinatown, where you can find a host of hawker centers serving hearty meals. Recommended get-up? Shorts and sandals my friend – it gets hot here, and even more so in the bustling hawker centers.

Amoy Street Food Center

Our first stop is the Amoy Street Food Center, at the farther edge of the Chinatown area. It’s a two-storey complex hosting a good 40-60 stalls serving all kinds of food, drinks, and desserts.

We’ll start out with something healthy, the Fish Soup (or Fish Porridge). It’s a simple dish of sliced fish meat, vegetables and sometimes prawns in a flavorful soup. The key to the dish is in the soup, and how the meat is cooked – fresh, moist, and not overcooked. Served with rice, this makes an excellent lunch combination to mix and match with whatever else catches your eye.

Amoy Street Food Center has two stalls famed for their Fish Soup, both located on the second floor. My personal favorite is Piao Ji Fish Soup where the fish meat slices are larger and each meal is cooked individually, ensuring its quality.

The other famed stall, Han Kee Fish Porridge, serves a slightly smaller portion, with more thinly sliced fish meat. This stall is known as one of the icons of Amoy Street, and is proclaimed by many as “the best Fish Soup” in the whole of Singapore. Many rave about how the soup is tastier, the meat fresher and the overall package more cost-worthy (it is cheaper than Piao Ji).

Personally, I find them both just as tasty, but the larger portion of fish meat at Piao Ji ensures it gets my nod.

The Amoy Street Food Center is also host to several other stalls worthy of attention, one of which serves excellent traditional Chinese desserts and is located on the second storey as well.

This time around however, we’ll take a walk further out to try another dessert stall. After all, we don’t want to spend the whole afternoon just eating here, but exploring as well!

Onwards towards Desserts, at Temple Street

The walk through to Temple Street will take you by a few of Singapore’s CBD landmarks. You’ll probably pass through the Red Dot Museum, a preserved heritage complex playing host to hip bars and restaurants, as well as showcasing various exhibitions in modern and contemporary art. True to its name, the whole building is painted red, so there’s no way you can miss it!

Further out, you’ll pass by the newly constructed Buddhist Tooth Relic Temple of Singapore. This recent development plays host to the Buddha Tooth Relic Stupa, which are available for viewing between three and six in the afternoon. The Temple also houses a Buddhist Culture Museum, a Gallery (Aranya) and a Theatre (Nagapuspa).

Finally, not far from there you’ll find Temple Street. Turn into it and head towards the end for a taste of traditional Chinese desserts!

Right before the main road, opposite the McDonalds, you will find Mei Heong Yuen Dessert, another local favorite. Beware, the place is always crowded and the desserts run out quickly, so come early!

The signature dish here is the Mango Sago and Pomelo – mango cubes and shaved ice served in chilled coconut milk and sago, topped with shavings and bits of pomelo. The sweet mangoes contrast nicely with the bitter pomelo, a cold refreshing dessert that’s perfect for Singapore’s hot climate!

Another personal favorite is the Tangyuan, a traditional dessert featuring glutinous rice balls filled with sesame paste, served with chopped peanuts and sugar.

Dim-Sum Dinner

No trip to Chinatown is complete without tasting the delectable dim-sums on offer, so we’ll explore Chinatown some more and make our way to Yum Cha Restaurant for dinner, at neighboring Trengganu Street.

Dim sum are usually served during breakfast or lunch, but here in Singapore they’ve decided to dispense with that tradition. You can enjoy dim sum for dinner, or even late-night supper!

Standard dim-sum choices are the shrimp dumplings (har gau), pork dumplings (siu mai), buns (char-siew pao) and rice-noodle rolls (cheong fun).

For the more adventurous, try the phoenix talons (fung zao). These are chicken feet – deep fried, boiled and marinated in black bean sauce, and steamed again right before serving. The skin and meat fall right off the bone, with a very light and fluffy texture.

Other than the har gau, my personal favorites are the goose liver xiao long bao, fried carrot cake and the garlic soft shell crabs. Finish the meal off with Seafood and Century Egg Congee for a hearty, fulfilling meal!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Makan Time in Singapore!

Before reading this, read:

Recording podcasts on your computer

Most laptops have built-in microphones, but few are high quality. However with a little creative sound engineering, your built-in microphone can produce sound that’s good enough quality. The difficulty is that the computer makes all sorts of noise which is very close to the microphone: it’s impossible to eliminate this although it can be mitigated in post-production.

Getting your microphone some way from the laptop is a good idea: a USB headset, like you would use for gaming or Skype calls, would do the trick. Many podcasters use these rather than investing in professional equipment and, if you’re already carrying one to keep in touch with home, it’s a perfect solution.

Portable recorders for travel podcasting

If you would like to get away from the laptop for more freedom and portability, then a “cheap” portable recorder might be what you’re after: unfortunately “cheap” starts at around US$150. 

Three popular field recorders for podcasters are the
M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96,Marantz PMD620and the Zoom H2 Handy. 

After extensive research — focusing on these three choices — we bought a Zoom H2 in 2008 and can definitely recommend it as a great microphone for travel podcasters. It’s light, runs on ubiquitous AA batteries, records to SD and can simulate surround sound thanks to the four microphones within its head. The winner of the World Nomads travel podcast scholarship will receive a Microtrack II.

Recording environment

Obviously we want the recording environment to be as quiet as possible; this can be quite difficult when you’re travelling full time. Traffic noise, hostel dwellers and echoing hotel rooms with noisy air conditioning all seek to damage our recording. 
Do all you can to minimize sound then make a recording with some lead time, a couple of words (I believe, “testing, testing, one, two, three” is the traditional formula) and listen to it with your headphones. Is there too much background hiss? Try increasing the “gain” on your recorder so the background noise is lessened but your voice isn’t cutting out. If you don’t have gain control, you can try to deal with this in your audio software. 
 
While we want it to be as good as possible, most podcast listeners have some grace. The more interesting your content, the more likely they are to forgive you the occasional bad recording session. People understand that an independent podcaster doesn’t have a radio production manager standing behind their back to add depth to the sound field and fiddle with gain and, for now at least, they’re happy with our indie efforts. 
 

Recording podcasts using Garageband

Words like gain, reverb and echo don’t mean a lot unless you’re an audiophile. Fortunately, basic knowledge and good software go a long way in helping us use them. Let’s look at creating a “podcast voice” profile using Apple’s Garageband which aims to minimise hiss and avoid vocal flatness.

After some fine-tuning this will ensure that all your recordings sound similar. Unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve true consistency when you’re changing location all the time.
Open Garageband and create a new project. Get rid of the piano floating in the middle of the screen and create a new track by clicking “Track > New Track…”. Choose “real instrument” and “vocals > no effects”; this gives us a clean palette to work from.

Click the “Details” drop-down arrow and you can see several options for changing all sorts of technical things. Drag the sliders to approximate the screenshot below and “Save instrument.” I called mine “podcastvoice.”

Now it’s time to record something. Have a listen and play around with these settings until you have something you’re happy with. You can edit and save your new “instrument” at any time by double clicking the head-shaped icon.

If you don’t have a Mac, I’d recommend the free recording studio, Audacity. It is cross-platform, open-source and does an increasingly excellent job.

Removing hiss

Still got hiss? As far as this software goes the only thing you can do is nudge the “gate” higher and higher: beware of raising it too high and cutting out your voice! Audacity provides an effective method for tackling intensive hiss which is well covered by Deepak Morris.

I’ve used both of the above methods to minimise hiss over the last few years, but the best way to deal with hiss is in the “studio” itself, even if it is a hostel laundry at three in the morning. A room that sounds deathly quiet to us has background noise and (obviously) inbuilt microphones will pick up the sound and vibrations from a recorder too.

Sound deadening can be done with some kind of sound insulation foam, but I’ve also used a couple of books to good effect in creating a “cave” for my microphone. The hard edges create echo though; it’s a delicate balancing act.

Popping

Another shock in early recordings are the pops and splutters that appear in the recording. These are caused by “plosives” — sounds made by certain letters such as P and T.

In order to avoid plosive pops, professional broadcasters use a mesh-like filter between their lips and the microphone. I can’t imagine any traveller wanting to carry that! The Zoom H2 comes with a dense foam wind filter which can work wonders.

Without a filter, simple mechanical tricks can also provide suitable results: pointing the microphone at your ear or moving it a little further from your mouth both work. In addition, it certainly doesn’t hurt to practise saying the target sounds without that sharp breath which comes with them.

 
 
We sincerely hope this guide will help you with your application to the WorldNomad Travel Podcast Scholarship. You can win a trip to Guatemala to create a podcast documentary with mentoring from Tim Latham from the ABC. You’ll get costs paid and distribution of your final piece. Read more about the scholarship here.

In the next instalment of this series, we’ll look more closely at post-production; making sure the interviewee is at the same volume as yourself; and creating the final file for publication.

<< Back to part two: scripting and interviewing for a podcast

On to part three: Travel podcast editing and post-production >>

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Travel Podcast equipment and recording

As I now travel from city to city, spending countless hours on the train, bus, or plane, I have found myself with a regular playlist of songs which I listen to as a ritual before every trip. Undoubtedly there is a song for every occasion. Movies have music soundtracks to accompany them in order to help intensify emotions and enhance meaning to particular scenes. Why shouldn’t your travels have one too?

As one stands on yet another train platform waiting, there is nothing like listening to Bon Jovi scream ‘It’s now or never!’ to make even the dullest wait whiz by. Perhaps these songs remind you of why you were there in the first place. Perhaps, if you struggle with homesickness, listening to a song makes it easier to deal with.

So, in alphabetical order, I would like to share the following 40 songs, my personal sensory delights, to feed your ears and soul as you travel.

1. Across The Universe – The Beatles
2. Beautiful day – U2
3. Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve
4. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams – Green Day
5. Can’t Stop – Red Hot Chili Peppers
6. Dancing In The Moonlight – Toploader
7. Elevation – U2
8. Enjoy The Ride – Morcheeba
9. Feel Good Inc. – Gorrilaz
10. Forever Young – Youth Group
11. From Paris To Berlin – Infernal
12. Go It Alone – Beck
13. Half The World Away – Oasis
14. Hip Hip Hooray – Sneaky Sound System
15. Hitchin’ A Ride – Green Day
16. Holiday – Jet
17. Hotel California – The Eagles
18. I Just Wanna Live – Good Charlotte
19. I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
20. Island In The Sun – Weezer
21. It’s My Life – Bon Jovi
22. Leaving On A Jet Plane – Chantal Kreviazuk
23. Live Forever – Oasis
24. Lose Yourself – Eminem
25. Minority – Green Day
26. New Soul – Yael Naim
27. Neverending Story – Limahl
28. Paradise City – Guns N Roses
29. Road Trippin’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
30. Sitting With A Stranger – Lior
31. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
32. Summertime – DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince
33. The Great Beyond – REM
34. The Last High – The Dandy Warhols
35. The Story – Brandi Carlisle
36. Time Of Your Life – Green Day
37. Tonight, tonight – Smashing Pumpkins
38. Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers
39. Whatever – Oasis
40. Where It’s At – Beck

Create a manifesto for your journey, and compile some of your favourite songs to help you keep going. Feel free to use my favorites – all I ask is that you don’t judge me for my taste in music!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Top 40 Songs: A soundtrack for your journey

Over the last few months we’ve been in one place and been able to have things sent to us for review. Now we’re moving on again, we need to lighten up and send it away.

Prizes

One person will win:

Another lucky winner will get:

• Rough Guides Ultimate adventures thanks to Rough Guides
• Quest for the Kasbah thanks to Open Road Publishing, and
• 10 Tamper Tell security seals thanks to Global Bag Tags.

To enter

To enter, simply make sure you’re on our mailing list with a valid email address. You’ll get weekly site updates and monthly newsletters from us (Craig and Linda).

Enter now:

We’ll randomly choose two people on March 15, 2009 and contact them by email to arrange shipping. If we haven’t heard from a winner by the evening of the 18th, we’ll draw a third person and so on.

Bonus entries

You get two bonus entries for each helpful comment you make on the following posts between now and March 14, 2009.

• Perth, Australia guide
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia guide
• Twitchhiker interview
• Cheap places to stay in Hawaii

Maximum entries is nine per person: one for the mailing list and two for useful comments on the four posts above.

Notes

This isn’t a professional competition or anything like that, so let’s leave the lawyers out of it.

All these prizes have been supplied for review, so they, the books especially, may have a little wear and tear. Keep an eye out for the reviews in the coming weeks.

We’d like to thank the following companies for supplying these items for review:

• Rough Guides
• Open Road Publishing
• Global Bag Tags

We would like to assure everyone that we don’t accept any “secret” services or goods for review. If it’s given to us we say, and we honestly report our opinion of both positive and negative aspects.

Enter now

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Mad March giveaways

That being said, there are definitely ways to visit long-term and relatively cheaply. Once you’ve followed Chris Guillebeau’s advice to get your plane ticket there for free here are some ways to save money on accommodation.

Hostels

A no-brainer, of course, for savvy Indie Travelers such as yourself. You’ll find hostels in all the major towns of Hawaii, but plan early and don’t assume you can just show up in the evening and get a dorm bed for the night. No need to book your whole trip ahead of time, but it’s a good idea to secure your accommodation for the first week before you get there.

Salt Flats Beach is a campground on Kauai.

Camping

Bringing a tent can save you a lot of money, but it can also be a frustrating experience in dealing with bureaucracy. The easiest campgrounds to find information about are the state and county campgrounds. They’re all an excellent deal, most costing $5 or less, but you must get your permits ahead of time and they are only available at the various state and county offices, though the state office does let you order permits by mail.

If you prefer traveling without planning far ahead of time or can’t easily get to the offices during business hours this can be frustrating. One other thing to think about: ask around about the specific campgrounds you’re considering, especially the county campgrounds on Oahu, as some have a reputation for not being very safe.

Don’t let these points discourage you from camping in Hawaii. The campgrounds are gorgeous, and very popular among backpackers. Just be aware of what can complicate the experience.

Couchsurfing

A great way to meet the locals and learn how to use Hawaiian slang without sounding like a tourist. Couchsurfing.com also has some great little tours that you don’t even need to be couchsurfing to go on (I got invited on a tour while waiting for the bus), as well as other great tips for traveling on a budget. Be sure to treat your host to dinner!

Sleep in your rental car

If you have some experience with sleeping in a car while traveling this is a great way to have the convenience of a rental without spending extra. In fact, if you get a week-long rental the daily price will probably be less than a hostel.

The morning view from the balcony of our timeshare.

Check out the timeshares

You can get some incredible deals by taking advantage of the economic downturn and splitting a timeshare with a couple of people. You may not be able to work the price-per-person down to less than a hostel, but you can get close and you’re definitely getting more for your money. If you’re camping for most of your trip treat yourself to week at a timeshare. Planning early is always good, but keep checking Craigslist.com. You can find some fantastic last-minute deals as people realize their place is going to sit empty next week and what you’re offering is better than nothing. Negotiating can work wonders.

Work for a hostel or farm

Planning on staying for a while? Trade your time for your accommodation. Like hostels everywhere, those in Hawaii are looking for people to work in them. This is another case where planning ahead will improve your chances. There aren’t many hostels in Hawaii and lots of young travelers are looking for jobs. Call hostels a few months ahead to ask about their policies.

If you’d rather work outside, check out WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms). Two organizations connect Hawaiian farm owners with workers: WWOOF Hawaii and WWOOF USA. Both organizations charge a fee to access to their listings. After that, it’s up to you to apply and work out something with the farm owner. WWOOFing experiences will vary greatly with the farm, so do your research. Ask the owners to be very clear about what your responsibilities will be and what you’ll receive in return. Most WWOOF trades are 20-30 hours a week for room and board.

You don’t need to join a WWOOF organization to find opportunities. It’s just a nice way to find all the information in one place and know that the farms are legit. Try checking Craigslist.com, do some Google searches or call up hostels and ask them what local farms are hiring.

Despite the expense of getting to Hawaii, you don’t need to spend all your money on accommodation to enjoy your time there. Have you saved money on accommodation in Hawaii? Please leave tips in the comments.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Cheap Places to Stay in Hawaii

Technically, a podcast is audio or video delivered through RSS feed enclosures. Podcasts are made from short audio shows and this guide is a great resource for budding podcasters.

Storyboard

Every podcast tells a story. Storyboarding is the process of dreaming through possible approaches and structures. What angle are you going to take? What will you talk about first? How will this segue into the next section?

With a paper and pen, list the main sections of your podcast. Consider:

• Catching interest



• Introduction to topic
• Outlining your show
• Main points
• Introducing and thanking guests
• Interview segments
• Closing ideas
• Wrapping up

You must guide the listeners through the information, making sure everything’s logical and interesting. Decide on the main thrust of your story and the narrative structure before you imagine listening to it yourself.

You might want to re-arrange the order of your show several times and see how it changes the effect.

The storyboarding process also helps you decide on your interviewees. By knowing your approach, you can get the right person for each spot and ask them the right questions to help exposit your story.

Anything you publish should be tightly produced, but with only three minutes for your scholarship application, you need to plan carefully.

Recording an interview

First attempts at recording an interview with someone can be a nerve-wracking experience. Preparing well and choosing a friendly interviewee are good strategies for a successful operation.

Now that you’ve storyboarded your show, you know the kind of questions you need to ask, and which person is going to help tell your story. If they’re a friend, give them a call and sort things out. If not, contact your interviewee in a professional manner explaining your project, the questions you’d like to ask, and the amount of time you need. This podcast is likely to be an exposition rather than investigative journalism, so the courtesy of sending interview questions ahead of time makes your interviewee more relaxed and can lead to clearer answers.

Many podcasters record interviews over Skype and, depending on your recording equipment and internet connection, this is likely to be a good tool for you to use as well. Few people have field microphones, but many computer users have access to a USB headset. There’s little I can tell you about the technical side of skype recording which isn’t covered in this slideshow:

In many countries it is a legal requirement to alert the interviewee to the fact they are being recorded. I recommend dealing with that by saying something like this:

I’m just turning on the recording software…For the record, [name], you understand this interview is being recorded and you allow me to use it in future publications.

Interviewing people in person leads to its own technical challenges, mainly the ambient noise of the recording environment. Whatever you do, use an output on your microphone/recorder to monitor the sound quality of the interview as you go. Having a padded in-ear headphone in one ear could save your interview.

Scripting

The quotes you’ve gathered during your interview along with further research or reflection you’ve done may cause you to change your direction or structure. That’s why we’ve avoided scripting until now.

Taking your storyboard, interview recording and a glass of wine, it’s time to draft a final script. Some people like to have a word-by-word teleprompt script, others prefer to tightly script some parts and leave others as talking point to launch from. Whatever you choose, read it out loud several times and make sure it flows. What looks good on paper doesn’t always sound great in spoken form.

Come back next week when we look at the practicalities of recording your podcast and doing post-production work. I’d recommend subscribing by email or RSS to make sure you don’t miss out.

Don’t forget to check out the WorldNomads Travel Podcast Scholarship tips to help you on your way to a trip to Guatemala.

<< Back to part one: Travel Podcast Scholarship 2009

On to part three: Travel podcast equipment and recording >>

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Scripting and interviewing for a podcast

Hostels provide a lot of things for a traveler: social interaction, a place to stay, a kitchen, and a lot of travel information (from guests and staff). They are an important part of a backpacker’s journey and it is important to pick a hostel that best suits you, so you get the most out of each hostel and don’t have a bad experience.

I’ve spent hours looking for the perfect hostel and the truth is there is no such thing. A good hostel can be bad if it has bad people in it and a bad hostel can be the best one of your life if it is filled with amazing people. You can never know for sure. It’s the people that matter.

The best way to find something close to “the perfect hostel” is to first know what you want, and then to do some research to find something close to your dreams. If you don’t research, you will most likely turn up at a hostel you don’t like. It’s important to know what you want in terms of the size of hostel, the atmosphere, the type of traveler who uses the hostel, the facilities and the location.

Size

Hostels vary in size from a couple of rooms in someone’s house to huge purpose-built complexes. Do you want to meet dozens of people or have a cozy experience with just three or four others?

Type of traveler

Hostels are generally for younger travelers. They work well for people looking to connect, party, and (sometimes) hook up – not always in that order. Hostels have a party reputation for good reason since a lot of young backpackers like to explore new cultures through bars and beer.

That’s not for everyone but that doesn’t mean you won’t find a quiet hostel. While many hostels are for young and party-oriented travelers, there are many hostels that cater to families, quieter travelers, and older travelers. The best example is Hostelling International. This big hostel chain caters mainly to large groups, families, and older travelers. The hostel tends to be quieter and usually has strict rules on noise and partying.

Atmosphere

Another thing to look for besides age of the guests is atmosphere. Each hostel has its own personality. Some are tame, others are wild, some are geared towards Germans and others towards Swedes. (It is true – I’ve seen it!) Some hostels are good for long-term stays and others mainly cater to people who only stay for one night.

Facilities and location

Don’t forget the basics. Check that your hostel is in a convenient location for you, and check that this location isn’t the most dangerous or down-trodden part of the city. And bear in mind that not all hostels have a kitchen or other facilities, so check that the hostel you’re thinking of choosing has the features you require.

Ask other travelers

The best way to find information about hostels is by going on the web and reading hostel reviews on booking sites. The reviews will give you a good idea about the type of hostel, who goes there, and for what reason. But you can also get good advice from other travelers.

Good hostels can build up a reputation and become world famous, such as the The Flying Pig in Amsterdam or Base in Melbourne. These reputations are carried overseas and spread by other travelers. So if you’re heading somewhere and you meet someone who’s just been there, pick their brains about their hostel – it could be the best advice you get. Best of all, it’s current.

Remember, no matter what the hostel looks like, or what facilities it has, the experience you have is about the people. Find a hostel with good people in it and you will find the right hostel for you.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

How to Find the Right Hostel

The scholarship is brought to you by WorldNomads.com, GVI and the Indie Travel Podcast.

The successful applicant will be flown to Guatemala to spend time at the San Andres Itzapa and Santa Maria de Jesus Indigenous communities. WorldNomads will also pay for your visas, vaccinations, and insurance, and you’ll get Spanish lessons and a translator while you’re there.

Equipped you with a digital recorder, you’ll stay in a homestay and work with GVI to help build an energy efficient stove for a family. Interviews with the people you meet will make the basis of an audio podcast that you produce on your return home.

You’ll keep an online diary through WorldNomad’s blogging platform and, once you get back, you’ll work with ABC journalist Tim Latham’s assistance to present a podcast for the Indie Travel Podcast. We’ll also be distributing it through other websites and podcast channels along with radio stations around the world; so you’ll be getting a lot of airtime!

Who can apply?

• Anyone can apply – it’s open to students, emerging and non-professional journalists and lovers of travel looking for a career change from any country.
• You must speak fluent English.
• Minimum age 18.
• You should have a sharp, inquisitive mind, excellent speaking and presentation skills, a lust for adventure travel, and a burning desire to enhance your journalism skills.

Apply now

We definitely think you should apply. It’s easy:

• Produce a three minute (or less) travel-focussed podcast documentary in English around the theme ‘Is Home Where the Heart is?’. It’s up to you to convince our judging panel through your podcast documentary that you have the spirit of adventure and passion for travel journalism to be chosen for this scholarship.
• Upload your podcast documentary anywhere you wish on the internet (e.g podcast hosts such as bigcontact.com, blogamp.com, ipodnetwoks.com etc) and note the url address.
• Go to WorldNomads.com and complete the 2009 World Nomads Podcast Documentary Scholarship application form which includes personal details and a 300 words (or less) essay on why you should be chosen. Copy and paste the link to your podcast submission into the entry form.

Applications close Midnight Sunday April 5, 2009 (Australian Eastern Standard Time)

Hints and tips

The judges will be looking for:

• originality
• clarity of ideas
• excellent presentation and interview skills (we strongly recommend you include an interview in in your podcast)
• ability to source and tell a compelling story

So…

• A lot of hints from our “how to win the best job in the world” podcast also come in helpful here.
• Keep it under three minutes.
• Answer the question!
• Do include an interview.
• Storyboard your podcast, do the interviews, then script it last.
• Don’t neglect the application form. The podcast’s of primary importance, but the essay should also be tight and well-constructed.

We’ll soon publish a how-to on producing a short podcast. Subscribe to the Indie Travel Podcast RSS feed and make sure you don’t miss it.

Continue to part two: scripting a podcast >>

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Travel Podcast Scholarship 2009

And what do you have to show for it? A 4-inch model of the Eiffel Tower and three 4-gigabyte memory cards full of photos?

Now what? Perhaps you glue the model of the Eiffel Tower to the dash board of your car and throw the memory cards in a desk drawer. You want to go through and put pictures up on the web, since showing off your pictures is a great way to share your travels, but it’s hard to find time for it. And how do you make them interesting to other people?

Use folders to keep from being overwhelmed

First, get those photos off the memory card and onto your computer. Then, sort them into folders by location. Instead of one folder with 2000 photos, you might have 40 folders with 50 photos each. It’s the same amount of photos, but suddenly it’s manageable – you can organize one folder at a time and get that warm feeling of progress. I know I’m more likely to sit down to sort through 50 pictures than 2000. And if I can get myself started, I get into it and sort through a lot more than I thought I had time for.

Send copies to the people in your pictures

Maybe you’ve only posted three of the pictures from the night out on the town, but you’ve got another dozen on your computer. Email those to the people you went with. Your friends at home may not care to see the others, but the people who were there will be interested. If you’ve put them up on the web somewhere they can download them, send an email with the link. It’s a great way to stay in contact with people you met.

The chipmunks outside Rocky Mountain National Park were so friendly I took about 300 pictures of them. Aren't you glad I'm only showing you one?

Be selective

Amateur photographers get one good shot out of every ten they take. Professional photographers get one good shot out of 100. Only show your best. Digital is great because it’s easy to take lots of pictures, but be brutal when deciding what to share.

The one really fantastic shot of the view from the hiking trail loses its impact when surrounded by nine sort-of-okay shots. Ask yourself “If I hadn’t taken this, would I still think it was interesting?” After the 40th picture of “This is me at the bar with some people I met at the hostel” your viewers will be bored. Always leave them wanting more.

Don’t feel you must have everything done before you start sharing

Start sharing straight away, even if there’s more to sort, or some photos you want to touch up in Photoshop. Get the ones that are ready up on your website (or blog, or Facebook account or other photo-sharing site). Create a manageable goal: one picture a day, or five a week. Getting comments from friends and family will inspire you to keep posting until you’re done.

Wading through the river of glacial melt in New Zealand. It was freezing, but the only way to get home.

Write captions about what happened

Sure, the picture of the river is okay, but isn’t it more interesting to know the river is from a melting glacier; it was 7:30am when we crossed and my legs went numb as soon as I stepped in. One person was so short the water came up to her waist and I thought she was going to be washed away. Someone else declared it was so cold she’d rather go through the pain of childbirth again than go back across, but Kat, the girl in the middle, crossed seven times to help the rest of us make it.

The goal is to make the viewer jealous. Either jealous of what a great time you had or jealous of what a great story you got from the adventure. It’s not really important which.

Add some music and make a video

Ok, I admit this is something that I haven’t actually done, but once I find some easy software (any suggestions for a mac?) then I’ll do this. I’ve already got the music and photos picked out. It’s a great way to view lots of pictures quickly.

There’s more ways to share pictures than just the web

Get some prints, glue them to index cards and mail them off as post cards. Make a collage or a scrapbook. Put framed copies up on the wall. Use them as inspiration to plan your next trip.

If you do more with your pictures than throw the memory cards in a drawer you’ll appreciate them a lot more than a 4-inch Eiffel Tower.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Picture Perfect

Check in early

Whenever possible, check in online the previous day, or as soon as the airline will let you. This will usually give you a better selection of seats and will keep you from ending up in a middle seat or at the back. And if you have a connecting flight, make sure you get a seat close to the front of the previous flight, just in case you have a tight connection. If you can’t check in online, try to get to the airport early to check in on the day of your flight.

Pack light

Easier said than done, to be sure. But nowadays, it’s worth it to pack less, and to pack early. Now that airlines are charging $15 or more for the first bag (and even more for the second), it’s best to figure out what you need well in advance. Why? Because the more time you have to think about it, the more likely you’ll realize what items you can exclude.

If you can avoid checking in luggage, you can save a pretty penny (euro, pound, peso, etc.). Consider leaving items behind that you can get once you reach your destination (especially toiletries that can’t be put in your carry-on luggage). Or consider shipping items, such as books (media mail is generally cheaper) or light items like clothing. Don’t just focus on your checked baggage. Make sure you’re aware of what’s in your carry-on. And remember the old adage: Lay everything you want to take on your trip out on the floor. Then get rid of half of it and bring twice as much money as originally planned.

Get a sense of security

Most complaints I hear revolve around the horrible security checkpoints. Rude agents, long lines, and a lack of anywhere to sit while you put your shoes on. While most of these complaints are justified, keep in mind that part of the problem lies with the passengers. Make sure well in advance there are no items in your carry-on luggage that are going to set off alarms or cranky agents such as weapons or large quantities of fluids (you will have done this thoroughly since you didn’t pack at the last minute). Stash any sensor-offending metallic items (cell phones, belts, etc.) in your carry-on bag before you get into line. If you have the space, bring along a pair of easy-on, easy-off slippers or sandals, and tuck your shoes in your bag long before you get in line.

Pack a little extra

Don’t feel like coughing up a bundle for lousy overpriced airplane or airport food? Pack a little something in your bag. A sandwich, bag of chips, pizza (thin crust in foil will slip in and out of any bag easily), anything. I find this critical when I have a connecting flight because it’s not only a longer trip than flying direct, but it also increases the chances of dealing with delays, missed connections, and cancelled flights. Why be cranky on an empty stomach? And pack an EMPTY water bottle so you can fill up at a fountain after the security checkpoint.

And a little more

Bring a book, mp3 player, videogame, laptop, or whatever you use to entertain yourself. And a pair of headphones brought from home will save you the airline headphone fee. If you plan to sleep, consider earplugs, an eye mask, or a soft pillow. Leave the down comforter at home, unless you’re willing to share with the passenger next to you. And even then, be willing to cuddle.

Smile

Above all, walk in with a good attitude. Say hello, be friendly, and be cooperative. Most airline employees and fellow passengers have been on the giving or receiving end of bad treatment more often than they care to admit. Approach an agent in a foul mood, and they’ll be less likely to be helpful, especially when they don’t need to be. I was once relieved of a $100 charge for luggage in London for checking in two bags simply because I smiled at the agent when I approached him.

Don’t complain unless there’s an issue, and say “thank you” and “please” whenever you can (some would argue that’s good advice in general). A little positive behavior can go a long way, and it can work in your favor when you need something. If nothing else, it could be contagious. I can’t think of a better place for that to happen than an airport.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Six Ways to Help Make Flying Easier

If, like me, you have taken a year off to wander around the world, you have probably thought to yourself, what do I really need to pack for one year? After having been on the road for some time now, I have learnt that one needs to keep baggage weight to an absolute minimum. In my case I have capped mine at 15kg.

Why 15kg? First of all, it’s the magic weight for most low-cost airlines, which you will definitely be taking if you’re traveling in Europe. Anything over and you will have to pay a ridiculous surcharge. Also, your back will thank you (unless you have a nifty convertible roller bag like I do). With all this in mind, I have discovered that everything I need, REALLY need, actually does fit into my small backpack, with room to spare. So I have put together the following list to assist you, the solo female traveler.

Clothes

Keep in mind you need clothes for all seasons. You don’t need any super-thick clothing, only different types of tops for layering, even in a freezing European winter. So, bring your most comfortable tops, and make sure the fabric is thin so they will dry easily and won’t add bulk and weight. Personally the only clothes I brought along are:

• 4 long-sleeved tops
• 2 short-sleeved t-shirts
• 3 tank tops/singlets to wear underneath
• 1 cotton cardigan
• 1 hooded sweatshirt
• 2 pairs of jeans
• 2 pairs of shorts (one light cotton one, one denim)
• 1 pair of sweatpants
• 5 pairs of socks
• A week’s worth of undies
• 3 good bras
• A small warm jacket (a washable one because it gets really grimy!)
• A light scarf
• Thermal top and bottom

The best thing about these items of clothing is that you can wear them in all seasons, hot or cold. Due to them being made out of thin material, they all fold up very flat and don’t take up a lot of space at all.

Shoes

Trust me, you really don’t need that pair of heels. You will end up going to pubs, bars, and clubs that don’t really give a damn about what is on your feet. All you really want in your pack is a pair of sneakers, some flat sandals, and a good pair of boots (which you will probably be wearing so less in your luggage again).

Cosmetics/toiletries

This is going to be a tough one for most girls. Sorry to break it to you, but you will eventually discover that we really can survive on very low maintenance, while still keeping up good hygiene of course! So, this is what I’ve been lugging around with me:

• Shampoo
• A bar of soap
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• A good razor (refillable ones, not disposable ones)
• Deodorant
• Face moisturizer
• Lip balm
• Astringent
• Acne cream (because skin does suffer while traveling)
• Cotton pads
• Tweezers
• A small pair of scissors
• Some band-aids
• Paracetamol
• Condoms (face it, you will need them at some point during your trip)

Everything is quite light and tiny and should fit in an average toiletry bag. Of course you will notice there is not one ounce of make-up in there. Seriously, you’re traveling, not applying to be in a beauty pageant.

Miscellaneous items

This really depends on you, and what you like to do while visiting a place. For example I liked to spend time drawing, so I carried tools for that. I also allowed myself one luxury item, so my miscellaneous items included:

• A hairdryer (my luxury item)
• 2 pencils
• A small sketchbook
• A good point-and-shoot digital camera
• Mobile phone with wi-fi ( I found this extremely useful)
• A really small bag for going out at night (for purse and mobile phone)
• A small daypack
• A Swiss Army knife
• A mini torch
• A full ipod
• Various cables for phone, camera, and ipod, with adaptor
• A quick-drying towel
• The smallest fold-up umbrella I could find

And believe it or not, all of the above packed perfectly into my excellent Osprey backpack. I forgot to mention souvenirs, but I figure if one is traveling for a year, souvenirs aren’t really on the list of must-haves. If you must buy something, the rule is it must be tiny and light enough to mail home so you don’t have to carry it. So, the last time I checked, after months of traveling, all my stuff still fit into the 15kg category.

Have fun preparing, and last but not least, keep a sharp wit, a cool head, and a thirst for adventure!

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Everything a girl needs in a 15kg backpack

Golden tickets

Unlike most of the millions of people in D.C. that week, I was in possession of not just one, but four golden tickets. Thanks to my incredible friend, who shall henceforth be called K.W., a staff member on the Obama campaign, I had tickets to the We Are One concert (yes, it was free, but there was a VIP section close to the stage), the swearing in of the president, the Western States Ball on the evening of the inauguration, and even the Staff Ball on Wednesday night. Talk about lucky.

By the end of the week I had seen almost every artist I have ever wanted to see live, from U2 and Stevie Wonder at the concert, to Aretha Franklin at the inauguration, from performances by J. Lo and Marc Anthony at the Western Ball, to a Jay-Z concert at the Staff Ball. I also heard President Obama speak four times, and each time was more inspirational and challenging than the next.

History in action

I have spent a lot of time in Washington D.C. in my life but even during the height of tourist season I have never seen anything like the chaos and joy of two million people crowding a city to celebrate history. I have always wondered what it would have felt like to stand on the Mall to watch Marian Anderson sing or hear Martin Luther King Jr. speak and finally I was able to experience something just as incredible. Standing with one million people listening to the President two days before his inauguration was remarkable. Fifty years from now, when the photographs and videos are playing on the History Channel, I will finally be able to say, “I was there”.

Sightseeing

Along with the inauguration activities, K.W. had never been to D.C. so we did a little sightseeing. Our first day was absolutely freezing so we took the Hop-On Hop-Off bus ride around the city. We didn’t actually hop on or off but we did pay $32 each to ride around the city and see it from cloudy bus windows. The tickets are good for 48 hours and if we had taken advantage of the on-and-off feature of the tour it would not be the worst way to see the city if you’re unable to walk a lot. However, the D.C. metro system is much better and for about $7 a day or $39 for a week-long pass, you can take unlimited metro rides all over the city and see it at your leisure.

All but a few of the Smithsonian museums (all free) line the National Mall so you can easily walk from one to the next without having to bother with transportation. My personal favourite museums are the Natural History Museum, the Air and Space Museum, which is amazing, and the new National Museum of the American Indian, which is absolutely beautiful. The American Indian café is incredible, they have delicious food all based on traditional Native American dishes. I have never seen such a delicious and freshly cooked spread at a museum café before, it is definitely worth a lunch stop.

Although not a part of the Smithsonians, the Newseum on Pennsylvania Ave is brand new and wonderful. It is well curated, beautifully built, and is full of the history of the news (which is of course, the history of the world), stories about journalists, and the best use of technology that I have seen in a museum. Other museums worth visiting in D.C., if you don’t have time to see all of them, are the Holocaust Museum (bring tissues), the National Portrait Gallery and the National Zoo, which is sort of a museum of animals.

There are few cities in the world as beautiful as Washington D.C. From the Supreme Court, which has always sent chills down my lawyerly spine, to the Library of Congress, my favourite building in the world, to the breath-taking Capitol Building and beautiful presidential monuments, there is enough to see to spend months and years exploring and still not see it all. Whether a new president is being inaugurated or not, Washington is an incredible city to visit. And now that we have a new President and a new feeling of hope and purpose in America, the city is alive and providing inspiration for us all.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Washington and Obama’s America

Novice travelers plan for everything. They can’t predict what will happen, so they pack to cover every eventuality; they leave for a two-week holiday with a huge suitcase filled with half their wardrobe. But how much of the stuff in that suitcase actually gets used? Half? Less than half? You’ve seen those people in the airports, weighed down by their belongings – maybe you’ve even been one. If you’ve been in that situation, you’ve probably regretted taking so much with you in the first place. However, the secret to travel is packing light.

When I travel, all my belongings fit into two bags: a tiny daypack and a larger backpack or duffel bag. I have traveled for over a year without ever needing anything more. In fact, I often find I still take too much! When friends come to visit me, I am amazed at how much they packed and they are amazed at how little I packed. They always ask me my secret to packing light.

My secret to packing light

• First, create of list of everything you think you might need. Write it all down, everything and anything. Clothes, toiletries, electronics, and everything in between. This packing list usually ends up pretty long. But that’s okay, we’ll get it down quickly.
• Next, look at your list and think about it in relation to your destination. If you are going to the islands, do you really need pants or jeans? If you are going to Paris in the summer, do you really need to pack long-sleeve shirts? You should be able to trim your packing list a bit by eliminating those items that don’t really have anything to do with your destination.
• Why are you taking so much?

  Now, let’s take a look at your medication list. Why are you taking so much? In this age of worry, people tend to pack every medicine known to man just in case. Let’s be realistic- do you ever use them? Can’t you buy them there? Go minimal. If you do get sick, you can always buy painkillers or diarrhoea medicine there. Take the bare essentials; pack one blister pack of pills rather than the whole box.

• What about the toiletries you’re taking? Soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, razor, and shaving cream is all you need. If you are staying at a hotel, you don’t even need soap or shampoo since it is provided for you. You’re going on holiday, not to a corporate function so ditch the cosmetics and facial products.
• Remember, you can buy things at your destination if you need them – so cross things like suntan lotion and bug spray off your list.
• Now you’re well on the road to packing light; you’ve probably cut out half of the items on your list. The final step is to cut out another half. You are on holiday, relaxing. Stuff doesn’t get as dirty as you think; you can wear the same shorts a few days in a row. Take half as many clothes. Wear some longer, don’t wear any! You never wear everything you take and unless you spill something or sweat through your shirt, you can wear it for more than one day.

That’s it. That is the secret to packing light. Cut, cut, and cut until you get down to the most essential items. If you follow this advice, I guarantee you will pack light on your next trip, and the whole packing process will be much simpler.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

Pack light: a six-step program

This past holiday season lived up to the dreaded expectations I had pessimistically formed. My flight to LA was delayed ever-so-slightly, and I would have missed my connecting flight had it not also been held up. The 2 p.m. flight was delayed until 4 p.m. (not so bad), then until 7 p.m. (a little problematic) and then finally it fell off the departure screen entirely (expletives aplenty). Mechanical failure was the cause of the delays and eventual demise of the flight, and word-of-mouth spread quickly (as no official announcement was ever broadcast by the airlines). Scores of Chicago-bound passengers were now citizens of LAX until further notice.

To pass the time, I enjoyed a rousing game of “Who Helps Me First?” The rules are simple: stand in the customer service line while calling their 800 number. Whoever I reach first, wins. In this case, the phone rep won by a factor of a thousand. A pittance of a victory as the rescheduled flight was the following day. I still had to wait in line (for well over four hours) to receive my new boarding pass and, if the gods were merciful, a room for the night and maybe, just maybe, a credit for a meal.

In the end, I was stressed, fatigued, hungry, and downright resentful. But it was one of the best bad trips I’ve had in a while.

Why was it so good?

In spite of the tensions and frustrations inherent in a cancelled flight at Christmastime, people still came together. A family of four in the same stranded situation constantly approached me with the latest updates. When I thought I had rebooked myself on an acceptable series of connecting flights, they sought me out with news of a newly-opened direct flight and helped me secure a seat. Another victim pointed me to the correct line for customer service long before she got in line. The owners of the cutest Jack Russell terrier originally filled me in on the cancellation, and had I not heard them talking about it, I would have wasted time waiting at the gate, not knowing my flight had ceased to exist. Moods were tense, but we all knew we were going through the same thing.

Even the pain of enduring waiting in line for four and a half hours was assuaged by the people around me. Slowly I met the folks ahead of and behind me, and conversations slowly started. I met Theresa, a college student on her way to see family in Milwaukee. She gave me a recommendation for a good Lithuanian restaurant outside of Chicago. Eric, another college student, was en-route to Iowa with his grandmother. We would occasionally wave to her as she rested in a seat by a nearby gate. She smiled and waved back, not knowing who her grandson’s new friends were. Bob and Mary, and older couple, joined in our conversations of college experiences. Behind me, Emily from California and Susan traveling from Australia also chimed in. Even Jessie, a woman in her golden years, listened in and took delight in our humor. (Some names have been changed simply due to a forgetful author.)

Shared experiences

After a while, frustrations were vented, jokes were made, and information was shared. We speculated as to what prizes awaited us. Hotel? Food? A sucks-to-be-you attitude? We could only guess. As we got closer to the front of the line, the line moved more and more slowly, creating another source of humor and frustration. Something we could all share. And despite the wait, time still flew by faster than had we all kept to ourselves.

When we reached the front of the line, each of us was awarded with a hotel room for the night, a meager meal voucher, and a credit voucher towards a future flight. (Certainly those affected by weather-related delays didn’t fare as well.) And, of course, a boarding pass for the next day’s flight. As I left to catch the hotel shuttle, I wished those still in line good luck and happy holidays. Some waved and said thank you. A few, despite having an indefinite wait with no guarantee of a flight for days, even smiled.

Most of us ended up on the same shuttle, slap-happy and anxiously awaiting a soft bed, a warm shower, and something to eat. The next day, we all made it to our gate with plenty of time to spare—just in case. Fingers were crossed and prayers were made, and this time the flight left without incident. I was even fortunate enough to sit next to the Jack Russell owners, and despite the chaos, they were light-hearted and upbeat, and I refrained from my usual dozing off to enjoy snippets of conversation with them.

In the end, no last names were given, no phone numbers or e-mail addresses were swapped. We all went our separate ways once the plane reached the gate. And perhaps that’s how it should be. But despite the brief relationships I formed with these people, I won’t deny that they helped me endure the chaos and keep my sanity. And when I least expected it, they made me enjoy being stuck at an airport.

Most importantly, they helped me remain positive about traveling again this time next year.

So thanks to everyone who went out of their way to share information, stay positive, go on a food run, open up a little, or even just smile at LAX on December 20^th, 2008. You made my day.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

The Best Part of a Cancelled Flight

Resources

Schedule

The 18th is when the events begin. President-elect Obama will host a free event at the Lincoln Memorial in the afternoon. Show up as early as possible, as one of the only free public events of the week, expect millions to attend.

Monday the 19th is Martin Luther King Day and is a day of community service. The Obama and Biden families will perform community service all day and attend the Inaugural Eve Concert for America’s Children in the evening. The concert is free but requires tickets.

The 20th is the day everyone has been waiting for, some since November 4th, some for over 100 years. The full length of the National Mall will be open to spectators. The inauguration will be a star-studded ceremony; Aretha Franklin is singing, Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma are performing, and of course, the new President Barack Obama will give his inaugural address.

The events begin at 10am, ticketed visitors are allowed to arrive starting at 8am. The ceremony itself begins at 11.30am. Be prepared to stand outside in the freezing cold and rain and possibly snow for six hours or more, especially if you get trapped by the parade.

At approximately 2.30pm, the Inaugural Parade will begin. Visitors are allowed to line up along the route starting at 7am so this is another time when you have to show up early. The parade route will follow Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.

The evening of the 20th is packed with balls. The Committee itself is hosting ten official balls, the only balls that the President and First Lady are guaranteed to attend, but there are literally dozens of unofficial ones. If you want to find out the scoop on what the women are wearing to your ball, check out Dress Registry, where women are registering photos and information about their gowns to be sure that none are duplicated!

If you do not have tickets to a ball yet, there are plenty of organizations selling tickets. To find them, check out local websites such as Washington City Paper and ask your social and professional organizations, such as the National Bar Association or the Green Party and see if they are having a ball.

Where to stay

If you haven’t booked a hotel room in the DC/Virginia/Maryland area by now, you probably are not going to get one. If you have friends or family in the area, this is the time to get reacquainted. Other options include:

• Find hotels that are an hour or more away. These hotels will be close to their normal prices and you can always park in the city and take the Metro through town.
• Look at Craigslist. There are dozens of new ads for house and room rentals every day and they are not going as fast as you would think.
• Search through local classifieds, such as the Washington City Papers classifieds section.

Getting around

The best way to get around DC is always the Metro and this will especially be true during the inauguration. The Metro is the best way to get from point A to point B without getting stuck waiting for limos and motorcades. Best to leave the roads to the celebrities. Plan to leave very early, there is no way to avoid the lines. The Metro is selling special inauguration passes online for $10, you can load them up as needed. It’s best to order these cards before you arrive. You can also purchase one of their many one- or seven-day passes.

The inauguration of President Obama is, most likely, the biggest thing that will happen for Americans in our lifetimes, and it is happening in our nation’s gorgeous capital. With a little planning and a healthy appreciation of crowds, you can celebrate with the rest of the globe in what will be, at least for a week, the center of the world.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

How to prepare for the inauguration

While you might not be able to do all the things you’d normally do at home to de-stress, there are a few things you can do anywhere.

1. Take a deep breath.

Really, it’s one of the best things you can do. Close your eyes and count to ten while breathing deeply – in through your nose, out through your mouth.

2. Exercise

It’s not always possible to go swimming or for a run, certainly, but you can almost always go for a walk. Even on a plane or train, or in a confined space, you can walk up and down or just on the spot. Star jumps are great for indoor exercise, but get outside if you can, and get as much sun as you can to get your vitamin D.

3. Treat yourself

Find something really small you can do to treat yourself – don’t spend too much (that might cause more stress), but something as little as an extra ten minutes in bed or a chocolate bar can really help. Or better, get your travelling companion to get something for you.

4. Itemise your blessings

Don’t focus on what’s gone wrong, think about what’s gone right. More things go right than wrong, so why dwell on the negative? Think of five things that are good about today, even if they are tiny; at the moment, one of my small blessings is that I get to walk through a park every day on my way to work. Later in the day, just thinking about the ducklings I saw makes me smile.

5. Make a list

What exactly are you stressed about? Write it all down. Some things you will have control over, and others you won’t. Look at the items you don’t have control over, and say to yourself “I don’t have control over this, so why worry about it?” Then look at the items you do have control over. Put them in order of importance, and decide what you’re going to do about each thing. Make a decision about each item, even if it’s planning to think about it tomorrow.

6. Tell yourself the truth

This one’s a hard one to stomach at times. If something goes wrong and it’s your fault, you need to accept that, not stress about it. But remind yourself that you’re human and it’s human to make mistakes – even such terrible ones as the one you’ve made. Or if you’re worried about the future, tell yourself that you’re strong and capable and will be able to deal with the future when it comes. Find a mantra that works for you – i find “shit happens” to be really useful when things go wrong – because it’s true.

Travel stress doesn’t have to affect your trip – slow down and use these six ways to de-stress on the road, and you’ll see and feel the difference.

Happily produced by The Indie Travel Podcast, proud winners of Lonely Planet's "Best Podcast 2009" -- Check out our free podcast in iTunes.

How to de-stress on the road