I’m back!

I went to Fiji not really knowing what to expect, besides plenty of beaches and palm trees. I’d never read much about Fiji, or seen a lot of pictures, I had no idea what made it different from anywhere else in the South Pacific.

Well, this country surprised me in a big way. Not only was it incredibly beautiful, it has a lot of unique quirks that make it so much more than just a beach. I’m going to write plenty of detailed articles later on, but I thought I’d start with a short primer on some of the more surprising things that you probably never knew about Fiji:

1. It’s Made Up of a LOT of Tiny Islands

332 to be exact, not include over 500 tiny islets. These are spread out over 7000 square miles, making Fiji bigger than you’d think. It becomes slightly less daunting when you realize that only 110 islands are inhabitable and 87% of the population lives on the two biggest islands Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.

The hideout of the last cannibals was around here

2. They Kind of Used to be Cannibals

Let’s just get that one out of the way right now. It’s 100% true that prior to the 19^th century the Fijians practiced human sacrifices as well as cannibalism. According to the Great Wikipedia:

The bodies of enemies slain in battle, or in sacrifice, were piled up and cooked for festivals, such as the installation of chiefs or the launching of a great canoe.

The last man to be cannibalized in Fiji was the Reverend Thomas Baker in 1867. His partially consumed shoes can still be seen in the National Museum. The tribe apologized to the Reverends family in 2003.

Of course once Christianity spread, the practice was abandoned. Fijians are literally some of the nicest, most friendly people I have met anywhere on earth. They stick to fish now.

3. Village Culture is Still the Way of Life

While there are a handful of small cities, most native Fijians still lead a life centered around their village. Community is very important to their culture, and most wealth and resources are divided among the residents of a village. Even most of the resort staff I got to know all go home to their villages in the evening.

Some areas are very poor, without electricity or running water, and some are doing quite a bit better, but the community spirit can be seen everywhere.

Rafters and Rugby Players

4. Literally Everyone Speaks English

This one might surprise you, until you consider the fact that Fiji was an English colony for over a century, up until 1970. All children are taught English starting from first grade, in addition to standard Fijian AND their local dialect (and sometimes Hindi or Chinese as well!).

Other imports from the English include Christianity, fish and chips and a deep passion for rugby.

Ronal, our Indo-Fijian driver

5. Fiji is Pretty Diverse

Ethnic Fijians comprise only 54% of the country’s population. Really. One of the most surprising things I learned about Fiji is that it has a huge Indian population. Brought over as indentured servants by the British in the 1800′s, their descendants make up nearly 40% of the population. This means it’s really easy to find a good samosa.

There are also white Fijians and even Chinese Fijians who have been in the country for generations.

6. The Bottled Water Thing is Real

It really does come from Fiji! In the United States, Fiji Water is one of the priciest, classiest and, well most wasteful water brands. In Fiji they hand it out like candy.

Hotel Farm

7. They are Big on Sustainability

It might be because they live on small islands with limited resources, but Fiji is incredibly conscious about sustainable tourism practices. The villages of course, are almost completely self-sustaining. Many of the resorts also strive for self-sufficiency and many of the tour companies practice responsible tourism. Basically, unlike Thailand or some other places, you don’t have to feel like crap for being a tourist here.

 8. It’s Not Just a Luxury Destination.

Yes Fiji is full of really beautiful luxury resorts (and I saw some great ones) but that’s not the only way to experience lovely Fiji. There are a lot of reasonable, and even budget resorts, hotels and hostels, and I saw quite a few backpackers headed out to the islands.

9. It’s Gorgeous

Well maybe you knew that, but it’s still so true!

So there’s your primer… stay tuned for more!

Special thanks to Tourism Fiji for inviting us to Fiji and covering our stay.

All opinions are my own.

9 Surprising Fiji Facts is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

Whew. After more than 7 months of blog posts I am finally concluding my coverage of South America. Next week I’ll have lots of Fiji stories to share with you. But first, a look back:

Colombia

Colombia was the first country we visited and it remained my favorite of the entire journey. I spent six weeks in Bogota, soaking up the cities culture and vainly trying to adjust to the attitude. Our trip then took us up to the Carribbean coast before sweeping back down through Medellin, the coffee country and finally down to the Ecuadorian boarder, eeking by the day before my visa was due to expire.

I would count Colombia among the top 5 most interesting countries I’ve ever visited. It’s so diverse and the people are some of the nicest I’ve met anywhere, ever. Despite it’s nasty reputation (which I like to think is changing), we never once felt threatened or unsafe. To sum up: Go to Colombia!

All Colombia Articles:

Bogota: First Impressions

Monserrate: High Above the City

The Weird World of Colombian Sports

Zipaquirá: the Underground Salt Cathedral

Move Less, See More

Street Art of Bogota: A Photo Essay

Six Steps to Bliss at Tayrona National Park

A Tale of Two Cities: Cartagena and Medellin

Southern Colombia in Photos

Colombia: The Best and Worst

Ecuador

By the time we reached Ecuador we were ready to slow down a bit. We spent over a week in Quito and got to experience the lively Quito Festival the spent a week in gorgeous blue skyed Banos before settling in beachy Montañita for three weeks over the holidays.

Mike and I were split on our opinions of Ecuador. He was very put off by the weird, unsafe vibe of Quito whereas my overwhelming love for the town of Banos overshadowed everything else. I would absolutely go back to Ecuador, if only to visit the Galapagos!

All Ecuador Articles

Me Versus the Volcano: 16,000 Feet in the Air

The Problem with Quito

I Jumped Off a Bridge! And Other Adventures

A Pyrotechnic Ecuadorian New Years

Montañita: A Party Town Without the Guilt

Ecuador: The Best and Worst

Argentina

This is where the bulk of my seven months ended up playing out. On basically a whim we flew to Buenos Aires and rented an apartment for three months. I took Spanish lessons, wrote a lot and explored Argentine culture as best I could. At the end of our stay we traveled overland to Chile via Rosario, Cordoba and Mendoza.

I did like Argentina a lot, although I’m not sure I would live there again. Next time I go though it will be to visit Patagonia.

All Argentina Articles

So What’s Buenos Aires Like?

The Rules of Mate

El Ateneo: The Most Beautiful Bookstore in the World

Don’t Go to the Zoo When It’s Hot

City of the Dead: La Recoleta

Behind the Closed Door: Buenos Aires’ Secret Restaurants

La Boca: The Fakest Spot in Buenos Aires

Jueves A La Mesa: A Real Secret Restaurant

The Mighty Alfajore: A Taste Test

The Real Story of Evita

Buenos Aires like a Local

Dangit, I Should Have Lived in Rosario

Totally Obvious Things I Didn’t Know about Wine

Argentina: The Best and Worst

Uruguay

We went to Uruguay on an actual vacation from travel blogging and it was lovely. We worked our way up the coast visit Colonia, Montevideo, Punta del Este and more.

Uruguay is a gorgeous country, one of the nicest and cleanest I’ve seen. It’s also incredibly expensive.

 All Uruguay Articles:

Things You Didn’t Know about Uruguay

Cabo Polonio: Sand Lover’s Paradise

The Agony and Ecstasy of Laptop Detox

Uruguay: The Best and Worst

Chile

Last on the list was Chile, where we spent ten days in Santiago before flying home. Although I felt like I didn’t really take advantage of our time there, I did like Chile and I now have even MORE places on my list to return to!

All Chile Articles

Sorry Santiago

Street Art of Valparaíso: A Photo Essay

Adios South America! is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

South America is indeed a dog lover’s paradise! People love their dogs. Unlike in Asia and Europe, where the stray dogs will break your heart, most of the stray dogs in Latin America look strong and happy. Someone is feeding them and in some cases they even looked loved. This meant that a dog-less dog-lover like myself could ooh and awe at the puppies without my heart breaking.

Here are some of my fave (mostly stray) dogs I’ve encountered over the past 7 months:

Dexter, our housesitting charge in Bogota

Dogs in South America (Doggie Pics!!!) is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

Remember how I told you about Uruguay’s sunsets? The sunrises are pretty awesome too it turns out. John from Travel Rinse Repeat snapped this shot in Punta Del Este.

(Do you have a photo you’d like to see featured here? Email me at Steph@twenty-somethingtravel.com)

Friday Postcard: Uruguay Sunrise is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

I’ve changed. Over the past seven months in South America I’ve changed quite a bit as a traveling. I’ve been taking a quality of quantity approach, traveling slower  and more thoughtfully. As a result some of my old habits aren’t quite cutting it anymore.

One of the biggest things I’ve done on this trip that has really altered my philosophy is renting apartments. On my last big trip the idea never even occurred to me: I was quite happy to be hanging out in hostels, camped out in the common room on my laptop and meeting new people. I still do love that, sometimes. But the older I get the more I’ve come to appreciate privacy, quiet and the feeling of living like a local instead of a backpacker.

In Latin America we rented an apartment for 3 weeks in Montanita, then for three months in Buenos Aires. Both of those experiences involved unexpected inconveniences and clashes with landlords. That’s why it was a bit of a relief when Roomorama offered to work with us and sponsor our accommodation in Santiago.

Roomorama is a pretty hip and neat website which helps you to find independent apartment rentals around the world. The apartments are locally owned but Roomorama acts as a broker and lets you read reviews and gather information before you pick a place. These are short-term rentals, they could be just a few days or a couple of months and range from spare rooms in people’s homes to luxury homes.

Our apartment was super cute. It was small and cozy, with a fully outfitted kitchen, a sitting area and a really, really comfortable bed. There was a tv (which I never turned on) and most important to a travel blogger: wifi.

When you’re on the road a long time you start to really miss the comforts that you just can’t get in a hostel. Things like… not having to wait in line to take a shower or lazing around in your pajamas without feeling like a slob. For me one of the biggest benefits of having an apartment is the convenience of cooking. I whipped up some experimental dishes while we were in santiago:

Shrimp str fry

The apartment took on an extra convenience because, as I mentioned before, we both got sick and spent a lot of time indoors, cuddling under blankets and eating soup. Being sick and disgusting in private is far far nicer.

Depending on where you’re going, an apartment can be pretty cost effective as well. A private room in a hostel in Santiago is about $50 ($25 each) a night. Meanwhile our private apartment with it’s own bathroom, kitchen and access to a gym and swimming pool rings in at $52 a night. That’s a pretty negligible difference in price for two people and a good value in my mind at least.

Most importantly, living residentially gives you a whole different angle through which to look at the city. We were within walking distance of St. Lucia hill, and spent quite a bit of time exploring our neighborhood. We went to cute little local restaurants and absorbed the area’s color. Our landlord even offered to give us a free tour around town, which we really should have taken him up on.

Yes, this is a promotional post, but I probably would have written it anyways. I’ll still be staying in hostels, and even hotels sometimes, but I’ll definitely be seeking out more apartment rentals in my travels, particularly if I’m going to be somewhere for a week or more. It allows cranky homebodies like myself to enjoy the comforts of home while still seeing the world. Which is a pretty sweet deal in my eyes.

Have you rented an apartment in your travels?

Thank you to Roomorama for sponsoring our apartment stay in Santiago.

Why I’m an Apartment Rental Convert Thanks to Roomorama is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

I don’t like fish. They are slimy and smelly and bony and weird. Given the choice, I’d rather eat just about anything else (this does not extend to shellfish which will I inhale, I only loathe the suckers with scales).

Yes, even sushi. I’ve always been kind of ambivalent about the stuff. Even after eating a legitimate sushi breakfast (link) in Japan, I still didn’t really get the appeal. Oddly enough, it took a trip to South America to get me to warm up to raw fish.

Surprisingly, sushi is pretty popular down south. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s all that rice? Buenos Aires in particular is experiencing a huge sushi fad at the moment. Despite the almost complete dearth of food variety, save the odd (americanized) chinese restaurant, sushi is thriving.

As someone who loves international food and simply cannot survive on steak and potatoes alone, I’ve turned to sushi to scratch my itch for variety. I’ve eaten sushi in almost every country we visited down South and over time I’ve come to really love the stuff.

Colombia and Ecuador: Sushi is a Social Drug

I can probably blame my new obsession on Shaun and Erica from Over Yonderlust. When we met them in Medellin, Colombia, they suggested we all get sushi, and not wanting to be the party pooper I went along. Under their and Mike’s guidance we ordered some really unique and interesting rolls. Mexican roll with jalapenos on top? Well maybe this wasn’t so bad….

We met up again a couple months later in Ecuador and again went out for sushi. Again, it was pretty great and tasty and such a nice break from the usual rice and meat menus we’d been ordering. Maybe I could get used to this.

Argentina: The Great Salmon Shortage of 2012

While living in Buenos Aires we indulged in the guilty pleasure of delivery sushi, thanks to Buenos Aires Delivery. Every few weeks we’d shell out $20 on some sort of combo deal from a local restaurant and gorge ourselves on 45 pieces. They weren’t the highest quality, but they were pretty cheap.

This went well until our last month in BA, when the great salmon shortage occurred. You see, the Argentine government tries really hard to discourage imports of well anything. Apparently this extends to Chilean salmon (salmon does not live in Argentina) and in March the government cracked down hard, shutting off the supply line. Sushi restaurants around the city scrambled to find new salmon connections, with many temporarily closing or eliminating salmon from their menus.

Chile: Sushi Heaven

Santiago was definitely the climax of my sushi experimentation. Since Chile is essentially one giant coastline, they have a massive supply of incredibly fresh fish. While I’m still leery of the suckers on their own, I figured sushi would be a great way to try the local products without being totally grossed out.

Good sushi in Santiago was an art form. Twice we went to Zabo, a higher range (higher price) sushi restaurant and it was easily some of the best meals I’ve had this entire trip. Inside out rolls are popular here, where the outside is wrapped in tuna, salmon or avocado.

I never would have expected to come out of South America of all places with a new love for sushi. It’s just one of the many unexpected ways travel has changed me over time.

It’s not over yet though! Mike is promising to take me to a terrific sushi place in New Jersey (which honestly, is probably cheaper than the places we went in Argentina and Chile). And of course now I need to plan another trip to Japan…

Sushi in South America: an Unlikely Love Story is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

Or: How NOT to Visit Pablo Neruda’s House.

As I was originally voicing my doubts about Santiago, everyone told me “you HAVE to visit Valparaíso.” While I generally bristle when people tell me I have to do anything (just ask Mike), I figured it was probably wise to see at least something in Chile outside of the big smoggy capital.

When we first arrived I wasn’t terribly impressed by the lack of beaches and the general crowdedness of the place. Unsure what to do with ourselves, we decided to visit the house of poet Pablo Neruda. It was at the top of a massive hill, the kind that would make San Francisco jealous, but there was supposed to be a cable car along the way somewhere. Well, we never found the cable car, but I fell in love:

That’s because to get there we wandered through the uphill neighborhood of Bellavista which is home to the Museo a Cielo Abierto, the open sky museum. It’s a rambling collection of beautiful murals and street art:

Finally, when we couldn’t climb any higher, we reached the gates of Pablo Neruda’s quirky home only to find…. it was closed.

We should have known. All museums in Chile close on Mondays, we had just kind of forgotten that it was a Monday.

When you’ve just hiked an hour completly up hill to a closed museum there can only be two reactions:

1. Anger.

2. Hysterical laughter and the sheer incredulity of the situation.

We chose option two, giggled at ourselves for awhile and then began the equally pretty descent back to town.

So I never did get to see Pablo Neruda’s house OR ride a funicular. By the time we reached the bottom of the hill I didn’t really care though. As always, it’s the stuff that takes the most effort that is the most worth doing.

Street Art of Valparaíso: A Photo Essay is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

Today’s postcard is of the mostly abandoned seaside town of Mirbat, Oman. I love photos of wreckage don’t you? This photo was sent in by Jill Cox of Battered Suitcases.

(Do you have a photo you’d like to see featured here? Email me at Steph@twenty-somethingtravel.com)

Friday Postcard: Abandoned Oman is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

Oh Santiago, it wasn’t (completely) your fault.

I really wanted to like you. You seemed like the sleeker, moderner cousin to Buenos Aires. Chile has the best economy in South America, and you struck me as a city that really had itself together. Something about the name, Santiago, is so beautiful to me. If we’d really hit it off maybe I would have named a cat after you someday.

It wasn’t to be though.

Some cities you immediately connect with. You’re taken by their beauty, or energy or even their unique grittiness. Santiago wasn’t one of those cities. Not for me, and not for Mike. Try as I might I couldn’t get a handle on this enormous city (population 5.5 million, nearly twice as many people as in Buenos Aires).

It was mostly our fault. We had ten whole days to spend in Santiago, a huge amount of time to really get to know the city, and we completely squandered it. April is mid-fall in Chile and the weather was cold and damp. First Mike got a terrible cold, then I did. We spent the majority of those ten days huddled in our rental apartment, sniffling and shotgunning orange juice.

Cold, sick and more than ready to go home after over six months abroad, it was hard to get enthusiastic about sightseeing. Still, Santiago, when we did manage to pull ourselves out and explore you didn’t do much to sell yourself. It was still cold and now a thick brown smug hung in the air that gave me flashbacks to my constant cough in China. The Mapocho river trickled through the city, a sluggish brown color. All around was gray and gritty. I went back to our apartment and my new hobby of sniffling under the covers.

Things did improve from there though. We had a couple of really nice, sunny days where we wandered the city without much of an agenda. We ate brilliant yellow paella at the fish market and twice visited the most delicious sushi restaurant of my life (more on that later). We shopped in the crafts market for lapis lazuli (only mined in Chile and Afghanistan). We took a day trip to pretty Valparaiso. We even climbed St. Lucia hill for a sparkling view of the Andes which tower over the city.

Clearly Santiago, you have a lot to offer which I completely missed out on. I don’t feel nearly as bad about it as I probably should though.

In the past I would have beat myself up over screwing up a city like this. On my trip through Asia last year I was constantly worried that I wasn’t taking advantage of my travels to the fullest. I guilted myself quite a lot when I wasn’t feeling enthusiastic. Things have changed since then, I am much more forgiving now. Sometimes you just can’t connect with a city and that’s okay. Sometimes you just don’t have the energy, and that’s not your fault.

I know I will return to Chile someday. I want to see the Atacama Desert, Easter Island, the lake district and, of course, Patagonia. I’m sure between all that I’ll get another stab at Santiago. When I do I’ll be sure to pop a lot of vitamin C beforehand.

Have you ever visited somewhere you just couldn’t connect with?

Sorry Santiago is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

I think that our decision to come home this May surprised people a bit. It surprised US, to be honest. We originally expected to be traveling up through Bolivia and Peru, which would put us in South America until late June. As I’ve mentioned before in the past though, when you know, you know. We were tired, we missed our families and logistically, coming home for awhile made the most sense.

I’m pretty psyched about it. I’ll be spending a good chunk of time in DC with my family, working hard on various businesses, saving money, and plotting to conquer Europe in the fairly near future. I project that Mike and I will be based in the United States at least until the end of the year- the longest I will have been home in several years.

Don’t get discouraged though, the story isn’t over, not by a long shot. Of course I can’t stay still for long. Although there are no immediate plans for extended trips, I’ve got a LOT of plans for smaller ones. Only a week after getting home I’m headed back across the sea again. This time I’m headed far…

photo: Christian Haugen

First Up…. FIJI

I could NOT possibly be more excited about this! Next week, Mike and I will be traveling, as guests of the Air Pacific and the Fiji Tourism Board to the South Pacific. The theme is adventure travel, and there are some really cool activities planned.

The trip starts on the 13^th so be sure to follow along with the #FijiMe hashtag and on facebook where I’ll be posting lots of stories and pictures. And expect lots of luscious, jealousy inducing articles in a couple of weeks.

Since I know very little about Fiji (other then it’s very far away, thank goodness for my kindle), I’ve started a pinterest board to collect all the info I can on the place. Please check it out, and if you have anything to add, let me know.

photo: Ishrona

Denver and Keystone, Colorado- TBEX 2012

This June for the third year in a row I’ll be attending the TBEX convention (read about New York and Vancouver. This year will be extra special because I’m not just attending TBEX as a participant, but as a member of the programming committee and more importantly, as a speaker. Along with Spud Hilton, the travel editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, I will be leading a session on “10 Steps to Writing that Better Engages (and Keeps) Your Readers.”

Beforehand Mike and I will spend a couple of days exploring Denver. I don’t know much about what to expect (except high altitude, ugh, so suggestions welcome!

photo: jmd41280

Girly Time Jacksonville

Almost directly after TBEX I’m ditching Mike and jetting down to Jacksonville, Florida with two of my best friends from college. My biggest supporter, friend and cake baker Kim is getting married in September, so this is a sort of bachelorette party long weekend. We’re not exactly girls gone wild, but I am expecting some cocktail fueled hijinks.

After June…

Here’s where things get interesting. I don’t have any solid plans yet, but I’m open to whatever curve balls life throws at me. In September Mike and I will be headed to Seattle and the Pacific NW, and we’re hoping to swing a few weeks in Europe this fall. In addition to exploring the DC area I’m sure I’ll be taking some trips to the Poconos, New York and Boston. Who knows what else! I am in love with the possibilities.

What are your summer travel plans?

Find Out Where I’m Headed Next! is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

So it is finally time to wrap up my time in Argentina. Almost four months in this country, the longest I’ve been in any one place for quite a long time. It’s been fun but I am more than ready to move on!

But not before I recap the past few months…

Total Days in Argentina: 99

Amount Spent: (I’m only counting the first and last week to give a better view on travel versus LIVING in Argentina. So this is for 2 weeks, one in Buenos Aires and one traveling the country) $862

Amount Per Day: $61.50 a day. This seems pretty accurate to me. Argentina is NOT a value destination by any stretch, particularly in Buenos Aires.

Places Visited: Buenos Aires, Rosario, Cordoba, Mendoza

 Favorite Places: Rosario (where I should have lived) and Mendoza

Least Favorite Place: Cordoba. I was so uninspired I didn’t write a word.

Most Memorable Moments: Wine tasting in Mendoza, catching a major protest in downtown BA, hosting dinner parties in our lovely top floor apartment.

Biggest Misconception: That Argentina is a budget destination- prices are on par with Europe these days! In Buenos Aires we were hard pressed to get a (non self-catered meal) for less than $7 a person and even crappy dorm rooms in hostels are $15+.

Best Meal: Too many to choose! Many steak dinners at La Cabrera and the asian fare at closed door Cocina Sunae.

Worst Meal: Nothing was bad per se, but my goodness did I ever get tired of eating the same things over and over and over. Variety is not the spice of life in Argentina.

Most Annoying Thing: The crazy inflated price of groceries and the constant craving for fresh veggies.

Most Visited Attraction: I ended up at La Recoleta Cemetery three times! I know I said I love cemeteries but this was entirely unintential I swear.

Best Wildlife Shot: Look at those parrots from Temaikan zoo. They totally want to rip my face off.

Best Advice: Don’t just visit Buenos Aires, get out and explore the rest of the country! Also don’t come in Jan/Feb unless you like the sensation of being roasted alive.

Biggest Regret: Not making it to Patagonia. Sigh. Hopefully it will be in the budget next time….

Would I Come Back? Definitely, although I’ve had my fill for a little while at least.

Argentina: The Best and Worst is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

I’m posting a couple of photos today of my much beloved hometown, Washington DC. Today I am finally coming home after 7 months of traveling. So excited to hug my family, eat at my favorite Thai place and, a little later on, take a drive by the monuments to make sure they are still there. Nothing else makes me feel like I’ve truly come home.

Friday Postcard: DC I Love You! is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

Last month I wrote about the weird side effects travel can have on your mind and your perspective. I’ve been thinking a bit more on the subject and the way travel irrevocably changes the way you look at the world.

One of the biggest and hardest side effects of traveling is what I call Restless Heart Syndrome. It consists of that gnawing, unshakeable feeling that no matter how good things are, there’s somewhere else you could or should be.

For example, as you read this I’m on a flight back home after 7 months on the road. I’m ecstatic! I can not WAIT to do normal people things like eat a real salad, visit my local library and hug the crap out of all my friends and family. It’s going to be wonderful… for awhile at least.

Inevitably it will happen. I’ll see an episode of No Reservations, or a billboard for cheap Europe tours. I’ll innocently google some far off place and before you know it I’m knee deep into planning imaginary itineraries. If it’s really serious I might start pricing some plane tickets, just in case.

Even worse, I start daydreaming about my past travels, gazing nostalgically at old pictures on Flickr and sighing loudly. I’ll order Chinese food and think bitterly how it will never compare with the real and amazing chinese food I used to eat. I’ll go to the store and balk at paying $10 for a bottle of wine I could have had in Argentina for $2.50.

Yes I'm aware that most of my analogies involve food...

A part of me will always be a slave to the places I’ve been and long to go back for. I will always wake up craving banh mi, or longing for a rainy day in Bogota. In the back of my mind I will always be wandering the streets of London, retracing my footsteps through Kyoto or gazing at a glacier in Iceland. It’s not that whatever I’m doing at the moment is boring or undesirable, it’s just that all this other stuff has taken up residence in my head and will not be dislodged.

When I was in China I did nothing but crave cheese all day. In Argentina I was inundated with mozzarella but I would have given an arm for some authentic bao zi. I guarantee you when I get home I’m going to crave some juicy Argentinean steak like none other.

I can’t help it. The curse of the traveller, is that no matter how happy you are, at least a small part of you always wishes you were somewhere else. Your eyes open to the massive amount of possibilities in the world, and it’s hard to focus on just one. Many people who take off in search of adventure quickly realize that travel is not like a cold that you get out of your system, but like an addiction that simply grows and feeds on itself.

So I have a restless heart. I can live with that, I think. It keeps things interesting, that is for sure. But, between my various jaunts around the globe, I’m going to try a little bit harder to appreciate the here and now.

This post was written by me, brought to you by Escape Travel.

Travel Side Effects Part 2: Restless Heart Syndrome is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

Once in awhile I get a guest post submission about travel on the “other side of 30.” As much as I’d like to believe that my twenties will last forever, I know they won’t. So I’ll take any advice I can get. 

Travel teaches strange lessons.

For example:

• Don’t purchase (and drink) Arak poured out of gasoline jugs in Bali…
• Don’t hitch hike in the back of a pick up with drunk Irishmen…
• Don’t go to LA… ever… for any reason.

Plus many others.

Of course, these are†extremely biased personal lessons. Below are five simple tips gleaned from over a decade of traveling.

Tip 1: Travel Slowwwwww

Since you’re young and have zero responsibilities, well… other than waiting tables at the Outback Steak House… take your time traveling.

Slow travel is a great way to save money, live like a king, and immerse yourself in the local culture.

My husband, gosh now I really sound like an ‘ol hag, and I are living in a three-bedroom apartment in Quito, Ecuador with a jaw dropping view of the city.

The price… $30 per night!

Yep, it’s a screaming deal that includes everything… utilities, water, internet, garbage, etc. Also, we have a full kitchen and are saving a bundle cooking all our meals.

Photo credit: Trekity

Tip 2: Skip Europe

Europe is expensive and mainly known for it’s historical architecture, wine and food… all things you won’t really appreciate until your 40s anyway.

Instead head to South East Asia where the beer flows like wine… Central America where the volcanoes and surf are incredible… or India and Nepal… where you can find accommodations cheaper than food… seriously.

Also these areas provide excellent and cheap opportunities for outdoor adventures.

For example, you can hike the Annapurna Circuite in Nepal which doesn’t require a guide or entrance fees. There are guest houses ($0-10) and restaurants ($5) all along the way so you don’t have to carry food or camping gear. For a 20-day hike in the gorgeous Himalayan Mountains plan for $400-500.

Photo credit: Trekity

Tip 3: Overland It

Flying is fast and easy, but it’s also really expensive.

Overland trips (by car, bus or train) are a great way to get a feel for what life is like off the tourist trail and on average is about a third less expensive than flying.

India has arguably the most impressive railway system out of any large country which even provide sleeper beds. Note, pay the extra rupees for a bed… it’s well worth it.

While the Americas don’t have the best railways, the roads are in pretty good shape for buses.

And who can beat the mini-buses in Thailand that blare love balads over cult classic 80s movies such as Terminator.  The odd mixture really works.

Photo credit:†Trekity

Tip 4: Stay In Touch

The first time you travel and the longer you’re away from home, there’s a chance you might get home sick.  The great news is that technology has made staying in contact with friends and family is super easy.

There are internet cafes in just about any city with a tourist and many travelers are opting to bring their own phones and compact laptops.  With Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and lord knows whatelse, you can easily connect back home.

If you happen to visit an internet cafe offering international calls, go for the Skype call instead… it’s much cheaper.

Photo credit: Rachel Strohm

Tip 5: Get Involved

I hate to admit, but much of my 20 something travel was a bit selfish. Bar crawls every night, beach bumming, and basically being a useless tourist.

Which there’s nothing wrong with… however, now I try to get a little more involved by challenging myself when I travel.

Long term trekking, volunteering, learning a new language or skill, etc.

Getting out and doing something is much more rewarding and a great way to learn more about the local culture.

Photo credit: christophercjensen

Your 20s are a great time to travel and explore the world. Have fun and make the most of it!

What other travel advice would you recommend?  Leave a comment below…

Darcie Connell is the co-founder of Trekity.com (a fun new travel site) and TravelBloggerAcademy.com (an info site for travel bloggers). Follow her on Twitter.

Never Trust Anyone Over 30 (Except Me) is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

Maybe I have no class (I mean, probably), but I honestly don’t get wine.

I love beer. I will go to great lengths to sample local brews and can even discuss them in a semi-intelligent manner. Hand me a glass of wine though, and the most insightful analysis I can usually drum up is that it “tastes red.”

Unfortunately for myself, the beer selection in South America is… lacking to say the least. The main attraction here, Argentina specifically, is wine. I can’t fight it. So when we arrived in Mendoza, the heart of Argentine wine country AND were invited on a fabulous wine tasting tour by GetYourGuide, I decided I had a chance, nay, a responsibility to educate myself just a little. Particularly if education meant drinking a lot.

So here is what I learned:

Smell is Just as Important as Taste

My prep work actually started the night before, when we sat in on a free lecture on how to taste wine at our hostel. A thickly accented Argentine woman talked us through the process of of tasting and appreciating wine. Apparently you use your nose (yes, everybody besides me in the world already knows this- I’m TRYING okay??).

It turns out you can tell a lot about a wine just by the smell of it. We learned how to aerate our wine by jiggling the glass to clear out the alcoholic smell. I inhaled deeply and smelled…wine. With a hint of maybe vanilla? I guessed aloud and our instructor nodded vigorously. Alright, clearly I have the gift.

You’re Not Supposed to Taste Wine with Cheese

Ugh, what’s the point then.

Red Wine Get’s It’s Color From Grape Skins

The next morning we were up bright and early for our tour! Along with a lovely couple from Houston and a solo traveling girl from Chicago we piled into the van.

First stop: Norton Wineries, one of the larger wine producers in the Mendoza area. It was a beautiful, sprawling vineyard set against a backdrop of the Andes. It was more than postcard perfect. Their number one product, in fact Mendoza’s number one product, is Malbec, which is made from a certain variety of purple grapes.

All my life I just assumed that white wine was made from white grapes and red wine was made from purple and thats where it got it’s color. That is not totally accurate. Red wine gets it’s color from contact with the skins of the grapes. If you take away the skins, you won’t get that wonderful red color. Red wines are also often aged in oak barrels which gives them their unique taste.

Making Wine is Science

After sipping some sparkling wine and marveling at our good fortune to be the kind of people who drink sparkling wine at 10 am, we got to go behind the scenes.

Behind the scenes at a winery is… complicated looking. There were a lot of metal vats, dials and hoses leading every which way. There’s a lot of chemistry that goes into making wine, which makes sense as fermentation is a chemical process. Our guide walked us through the steps but to be honest I still don’t really get it.

What you Taste is All Brain Chemistry

This kind of blew my mind. All of that stuff wine critics go on about, “hints of vanilla, pineapple, leather, whatever?” It’s all made up. Seriously, nobody is adding these things to wine, what you are smelling is just the wine. It’s simply your brain that associates certain notes in the wine with all of these other things. YOUR BRAIN IS TRICKING YOU.

What you smell in your wine is entirely dependent on your own brain chemistry and past smelling experiences (ie if you’ve never smelled a kiwi before you’re not going to start recognizing one in your drink). Even wine experts come up with different answers on the same wine’s sniff test. So next time you need to analyze some wine, just make up whatever you want- there are no wrong answers.

Good Wine Takes Serious Patience

We moved on to our second winery, a smaller, artisan setup called Lagarde. Here I learned that the best quality wine takes some serious patience. Our beautiful long haired tour guide explained to us that older grape vines produce better wine. In Lagarde’s vineyard, some of the vines are 100 years old!

Sparkling Wine Takes Even More Patience

My cluelessness of wine does not extend to champagne which I of course adore. At Lagarde they make sparkling wines the old fashioned way- by letting the chemical reactions occur in the bottle to produce the Co2. In order for this to happen the bottled wine must sit on a rack aging for at least 15 months and sometimes as long 6-8 YEARS. Once a day the bottles are rotated 45 degrees by hand.

Makes me appreciate the bubbly even more.

The Best Wine is Not the Most Expensive

I rarely if ever pay more than $10 for wine. Since it all tastes the same to me I couldn’t see the point in spending a lot of money on a “good bottle.” While that might not be the best wine buying tactic, it turns out you don’t need to pay a lot for quality wine. There are a lot of very decent bottles out there for under $20. The best wine, my guide tells me, is the one that tastes best to you.

Wine Should be Savored

True story: I once played 100 cup beer pong (wine pong?) with a massive jug of Carlos Rossi. You can probably find many things wrong with that sentence (oh, college), but the biggest is that wine is not meant to be skulled as quickly as possible. It’s meant to be savored and enjoyed, preferably with good friends and good conversation. Wine is a social drink, and while I still have a long way to go in appreciating it’s finer points, that is one thing I can get on board with.

Thank you to Get Your Guide for offering me a free Mendoza wine tour.

Totally Obvious Things I Did Not Know About Wine is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

Today’s photo comes from Laura Benison:

This picture was taken in Tzfat, Israel or Safed, Israel depending on whether you’re talking to someone who speaks Hebrew or Arabic. It is of a Yemenite man making these delicious pitas, which were basically a slice of pizza in a pita. It had the freshest ingredients and while I was eating it I couldn’t believe how perfectly the cheeses melted together. Since I got back from Israel I have gotten many random cravings for the pita. I know that one day I’m going to end up booking a trip to Israel just so I could get food from this guy again.

Yum.

(Do you have a photo you’d like to see featured here? Email me at Steph@twenty-somethingtravel.com)

Friday Postcard: Pita Vendor is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

Hola! I’m writing this from our cozy rental apartment in Santiago, Chile. This is the end of the line for our South America tour. A week from today I’ll be on a flight back to DC. I’m actually really excited about going home: I’ll watch old movies with my mom, take my dad to a baseball game on his birthday and see some old friends. AND I will finally eat some decent Mexican food (and thai, and vietnamese and a nice big salad…).

We’ll be basing ourselves from the US for quite a while this time but that doesn’t mean I won’t be traveling. I’m already working on some really exciting travel plans for this summer (look for a big announcement on our next destination next week!).

This Month Around the Web:

photo: Ed Yourdon

An Open Letter to the Touts of Egypt- Travels with a 9 Year Old- I never manage to write rants this eloquent, but Theodora really conveys the frustration of locals who see you just as a cash machine.

Is it Safe to Travel Latin America as a Blond Woman? – See Colombia- As you might guess, I have some opinions on this, but don’t take my word for it! Listen to solo traveler Sara.

Why Chinese People Hate Me- Runaway Juno- Asian on Asian racism is a very real problem for some travelers, as Juno illustrates here.

Dear Travel Community, Where’s the Outrage? – Landlopers- There are some serious LGBT/human rights issues involved in traveling to Russia or Uganda now. Make sure you know before you go.

photo: p_x_g

A Woman’s Guide to Using Squat Toilets- Go Backpacking- Travel long enough and it’s bound to be an issue. Here’s how to get in, get out and get on with your life.

On Aging, Sex and Travel- Nomadic Chick- A very honest look at getting older, living abroad, and choosing a life uncommon.

How Far Could You Get with $10,000?- Art of Backpacking- Could you travel all the way around the world for a year with $10K? I’m skeptical and so is Mike.

Top 6 World Landmarks to Help You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse- Vagabondish- Sure go ahead and laugh now….

What was your favorite thing you read this month?

Best of the Blogosphere: April 2012 is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

“I think we might have made a mistake,” I told Mike as we walked by the river hand in hand. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky and several small dogs were frolicking at our feet. All around us happy people jogged, cycled and roller bladed (along with mullets, roller blading never went out of style in Argentina). Mike nodded grimly.

We hadn’t been out of Buenos Aries for 24 hours and already I was falling in love with somewhere else. I had complicated feelings for BA, it’s beautiful, but it’s messy, stressful and polluted. Rosario on the other hand, is excellent. It’s just a three hour bus ride away but it’s a polar opposite. It’s not as glamorous as Buenos Aires but it’s cleaner, the people are a thousand times friendlier and everything is less expensive.

It’s probably the most livable city I have seen in South America. It’s full of tall leafy trees and sprawling park land. People bike and jog and sip mate on the sparkling grass by the riverfront. The place is crawling with dogs, more dogs per person than I’ve seen anywhere and I am a total sucker for dogs. Even the ice cream is cheaper and tastes better than Buenos Aires ice cream. It meets every requirement I want in a city (mainly: cute dogs and tasty ice cream).

So, why didn’t I even consider setting up shop anywhere but Buenos Aires? There are a couple reasons, some more practical than others.

• Mike’s family lives in the BA suburbs, and we obviously wanted to spend time with them.
• When in doubt my default is usually to head for the biggest city around. In my entire life, I’ve never lived in a metropolitan area of less than a million people, usually many more.

• Everybody just says such amazing things about BA, so without even having visited I was sure I’d love it.

The error I made, that so many people make, is that what makes a city nice to visit isn’t the same as what makes it nice to live in. Visitors love Buenos Aires because of it’s faded old world elegance, it’s hectic pace and it’s big city urgency. When you live there though things are not so simple, and the BAExpats forum is full of the head aches that actually living in Buenos Aires entails.

Rosario on the other hand may not hold much for tourists, but the locals look super happy. There’s lots of public spaces, beautiful apartment buildings great, Southern California style weather. I could see myself happily installed in one of the apartments that line the avenue, typing away, taking a break for a sunset walk along the river…

Of course it’s easy to idealize a city you don’t live in (for example, there were some truly horrific slums we passed on the way into town- this seems to be a pan-Argentina issue). Nonetheless, the past couple days have been pretty eye-opening. Maybe in the future I need to think outside the box when choosing where to spend my time. I’m glad we had the time we did in Buenos Aires of course, but I will be more careful and less impulsive the next time we decide to live somewhere.

Dangit, I Should Have Lived in Rosario is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

It might be hard to believe, since I’m constantly writing about it , but I haven’t set foot in England in nearly three years. In that time I’ve visited many continents and countries and seen so many amazing things. I’ve lived in places as far flung as China and Argentina, yet England is always there in in the back of my mind.

Today I’m staring out the window at the Buenos Aires skyline, trying to come up with an article to write about this energetic city. In my mind though I’m thousands of miles away, thinking of spring time in Hyde Park.

Some people overlook England for more glamorous European locales like Italy or France, but here’s why England will always be #1 in my heart:

 The History

Everything in England is just so very OLD. In the United States when something is considered historic, it’s usually 200, 300 years old, 400 tops. The really old stuff in England dates back to the Ancient Romans. We’re talking 2000+ years of history.

In London you can dine in a tavern that is nearly 350 years old (this is the new building they rebuilt after the great fire, the actual history dates back even further. Or stroll on down to the imposing Tower of London constructed in 1078. Further north you can hike Hadrian’s Wall, built in AD 122. To leap even further back in history visit the standing stones at Stonehenge, they are estimate to have been erected between four and five THOUSAND years ago.

Now that is old.

The Culture (Okay the Books)

This may be my English major nerdiness showing, but England is like my holy land for cultural richness. Not only did this country produce the Beatles, Alfred Hitchcock and Dr. Who, it spawned an immense amount of amazing literature and poetry.

I mean look at all of these amazing writers that have come out of the country: Ian McEwan, Neil Gaiman, Martin Amis, Roald Dahl, CS Lewis, Douglas Adams, Agatha Christie, Virginia Woolf, DH Lawrence, Evelyn Waugh, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, HG Wells, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jane Austen, Jonathan Swift and Geoffrey Chaucer to name a very few. Plus poets like Edmund Spenser, Lord Byron, Bryce Shelley, William Wordsworth, Alfred Tennyson, AE Housman, Wilfred Owen, Ted Hughes and more. And then there’s Shakespeare. I can keep going all day.

You can’t accuse me of exaggerating. This is the country that gave us the Lord of the Rings, James Bond, Peter Pan AND Harry Potter. And Sherlock Holmes. Okay I need to go take a cold shower now.

The Landscapes

England has some of the most scenery in the world. It’s very diverse, from the windswept coasts to the rolling countrysides to beautiful mountains. Because of the excellent train system in the UK and the availability of last minute holiday cottages, exploring the country-side is easy even for international visitors.

Some of my favorite spots for natural beauty in England include the rugged windswept coasts of the southwest (see: Cornwall and Devon) and the rolling hills of the Cotswolds with their tiny little hamlets.

There are also a lot of bits I haven’t yet seen, such as the magnificently crumbling Hadrian’s Wall and the iconic Lake District. The Lake District in particular holds a lot of interest for me with it’s gorgeous mountains, sparkling lakes and surrounding B&B’s and Lake District cottages. The area was also a major inspiration for poets like William Wordsworth, but I won’t go into all that again…

London

Most of all, I miss my city. MY city, my favorite city in the world. Of all of the thousands of places I’ve seen on all of my travels, I’ve never connected with anywhere the way I did with London (San Francisco might be a distant second).

I’ve tried in the past to capture what I love about London so I won’t try again, except it has to do with all the things listed above and more.

Maybe I’ll always miss my first home away from home. The good news is that, while nothing has been settled on yet, there’s a pretty good chance I’ll get to visit England again later this year…

This post was written by me, brought to you by Sykes Holiday Cottages.

I Really Miss England is a post from Twenty-Something Travel

I LOVE this! For my Friday Postcard series I get tons of landscape shots but very few portraits, which is a shame because as you can see they can be insanely beautiful.

Anyways, this gorgeous shot was submitted by Brenna of This Battered Suitcase:

I took this picture at Swayambhunath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. What I love about this photo is that, while all other eyes were fixed on the ceremony going on at the front, this child never took her eyes off of me. I absolutely loved her curiosity and her confidence (and yes, she did eventually smile).

Friday Postcard: Kathmandu is a post from Twenty-Something Travel