Twenty-Something Travel

July Update and Links

Steph — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:01:26 +0000

Going to mix it up with the format this month…

What’s going on:

This month I celebrated Twenty-Something Travel’s one year Blogaversary! Things have come so far and changed so much. I celebrated this milestone with two blog posts:

State of the Blog: Twenty-Something Travel Turns One

The Year I Learned to Have an Opinion

Thank you everyone for your support!

I also did a couple of guest posts this month, all for my buddy Andy at Sharing Experiences. In total I’ve done three for his site of late:

Great Books to Read in Great Places

Spectacular Lighthouses From Around the World

The Heart Shaped Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina

Something else I’m involved in and rather excited about is the Meet Plan Go conference. This is a nationwide event designed to promote the benefits of career breaks. I’m speaking at the DC event, but there are also activities happening in New York, Seattle, Boston and many other places. I’ll be writing more on this later but tickets are going fast so you may want to check it out!

Trip Planning Update:

Things are coming along nicely-, which is good because I’m leaving in less than two months! I’m in the “spend money” stage of preparation: bought my netbook (an Asus EEE), my iPod touch, and all sorts of clothes and equipment. I’ve also got my Japanese rail pass voucher sitting on my desk.

Ironically, the more planning I do, the more I realize how impossible it’s going to be to make any permanent plans too far in advance. Wild cards keep wedging their way in. For example: it now appears I’ll be headed to China after my first stop of Japan! Exciting and good reminder that life is what happens when you’re making other plans.

What’s Next:

In August I’ll be continuing to get all my ducks in a row to leave the country in September. Need to do some major things like organize a Chinese visa and quit my job (!). I’ve also got a couple of weekend trips planned to glamorous places like Ocean City, Maryland and New Jersey.

What’s on the Web:

Here are some of the coolest things out in the blogosphere this past month:

When I was in TBEX I got to take a really great context tour. Luckily Caitlin from Roaming Tales did a fun write up: Behind the Scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (I swear I wasn’t as sad as I look in that picture!).

A little late here, but in honor of the Fourth of July Why Living Abroad Made Me a Better American from Drifting Focus.

For anyone who wants to spend some time abroad but it worried about money, Earl of Wandering Earl has written an enlightening article on Living Abroad for Less than $1000 a Month.

Along the same lines Jason and Aracely from Two Backpackers explain How We Paid For a Year of Travel.

I know nobody thinks I’m am shy but my buddy Dave from Go Backpacking really hit home with Confessions of an Introverted Traveler.

I had a dream the other night that I was traveling around with Audrey and Dan from Uncornered Market. Sigh. Here’s another one of their fantastic articles: What Do Nomads Call Home?

Suzy Guese points out a skill that’s important for all solo traveling girls: Next stop…Bangladesh? Knowing The Sincere From The Sketchy As A Solo Female Traveler.
Matt from LandLopers (who is incidentally my new DC Travel Happy Hour cohost) has a problem with the way gay and lesbian travelers are marketed to, and it sure sounds legit to me: No Respect for Gay/Lesbian Travelers.

Not necessarily travel related, but a pretty great idea from Unclutterer: A Thing a Day Challenge.

Finding the “Real” Italy in Florence

Steph — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:01:45 +0000

After Venice, the next stop on my mini-Italy tour was Florence. Unlike the canal city I’d never had my heart set on visiting Florence, never dreamed about it as a kid. Still, Florence has a reputation for being well loved, and I stuck it in my itinerary in hopes of getting a picture of what Italy is really about.

Florence is Italy through and through. Venice is pretty, but it’s not essentially Italian- it’s Venetian, an area that was essentially a separate country for much of history.

First stop, just a block from our hostel, was the famous Duomo. Enormous basilicas dot much of Italy, but few are as grand and elaborate as this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The elaborate paintings inside the dome are intense enough to put the Sistine chapel to shame.

Florence is an art lover’s kind of city; an urban monument to the achievements of the Italian renaissance. The Piazza di Signora is one of the highlights. The square is home to the stunning Fountain of Neptune. I found the god of the sea to be quite hunky:

The Piazza also houses some beautiful and famous sculptures including the Rape of the Sabine Women. Also here: A reproduction of Michelangelo’s David which is less stunning, but more photographable than the original in the Accademia Gallery.

The headquarters of art in Florence, maybe in all of Italy, is the vast Uffizi gallery. It’s one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world and contains far more treasures than I could explore in an afternoon.

Just beyond the Uffizi is the Ponte Vecchio, a beautiful medieval covered bridge over the River Arno. The bridge itself and the view from it are the stuff of postcards and absolutely gorgeous on this chilly December afternoon.

Curious about the rest of Florence, I ventured across the Arno and into a random neighborhood. For some reason all of my random explorations seem to involve me climbing giant hills, but when I reached the top the view was gorgeous.

Exactly how I imagined “real” Italy.

The Year I Learned to Have An Opinion

Steph — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:01:44 +0000

It’s no secret that travel has changed me. It’s made me smarter, braver and more confident. Equally, when I look back on the past year, I can see that travel blogging has changed me fundamentally as well.

As I said last week , I really can’t believe I’ve been doing this for an entire year. When I started this blog I just wanted an outlet to write about my trips and maybe encourage a few other people to travel as well. I honestly had no idea what I was getting into and how blogging might actually change my own life.

The surprises have been amazing. For so long I thought that I hated to work. I’ve never had a job I enjoyed, and I figured I was just inherently lazy. How depressing. Then I started this blog and I discovered the crazy kind of motivation that comes from actually being passionate about what you do. There’s work that I love so much that I will work for free! Work that I will stay home on a Friday night to do, joyfully. Apparently there was a secret workaholic in me, just waiting to come out!

Where the Magic Happens

I wanted to be a writer, I’ve ended up becoming an editor, a saleswoman, a social media addict. Somewhere along the way I became a businesswoman. Business cards and everything. This blog has grown to heights I really never expected, and every month it continues to surprise me.

Knowing you guys care about what I have to say has made me bolder. It’s made me more confident. I like to think it’s made me a better writer (you can go back and check the early archives for yourself). I have opinions, things to say. In September I’m speaking on my first panel where I’m sure I’ll have all sorts of keen insights to share (maybe).

From someone who is usually too shy to answer the phone, I’ve become a social networker. I organize tweet-ups (and don’t even laugh at the world tweet-up anymore). I haul myself up to New York to karaoke and socialize with people I’ve never met before. I’ve got connections all over the world.

Friends!

Blogging has even changed the way I travel. I’m probably more daring, more inquisitive. The fact that I will be writing about my big trip in September gives the journey a structure and makes it seem far more meaningful than it would otherwise. I can’t wait to share my adventures with everyone.

The opportunities that have come from blogging, the ideas I’ve gotten and the people I’ve met have been the greatest rewards (although seeing myself published in a Lonely Planet guidebook was pretty sweet too). This blog has taken me places, both literally and figuratively that I never thought possible.

So I’m emboldened now. I walk a little taller, I talk passionately at parties (whether people care or not). The truth is starting this blog is the only thing that’s gotten me through the past year of waiting, and I’m so excited to see where we go next!

State of the Blog: Twenty-Something Travel Turns One!

Steph — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:01:59 +0000

Today my little corner of the blogosphere turns one year old.

I really can’t believe it either!

In a couple days I’m going to talk about how travel blogging has enriched me as a person and all those intangible goodies it’s brought me. Today though, I wanted to take some time to talk about Twenty-Something Travel itself, how it’s changed and evolved and where it’s going.

Here’s the first thing I posted, back on July 23^rd 2009. It’s a short little piece I titled the Twenty-Something Travel Manifesto. It’s simple and brief but it perfectly sums up the main argument I’ve been pushing on anyone who will listen: that you shouldn’t wait to get out and see the world.

Since I sent that out into empty space this little blog has gone from zero to having almost 600 RSS subscribers, almost 3000 twitter followers and hundreds of visitors a day. When I compare this to where I was six months ago I’m stunned.

I’ve been able to make a small chunk of money, and to make some design upgrades. I’ve learned SO much about web design, html and statistics. While numbers are fun to follow, I hope it’s not too cliché to say that the most important thing is people. I love coming back to see the comments on my post, connecting with people over twitter, email and Facebook.

Basically, it means a lot to me that people are listening while I continue to argue my point. In no order here are a few of my favorite pieces I’ve turned out over the past year:

Go Now: Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Travel – One of the very first articles I wrote and still the most popular.

It’s All a Crapshoot Really – I always get nervous when I write something highly personal, but it’s comforting to know others feel the same way.

Do The Thing that Scares You – Something I’m constantly reminding myself to do.

We’re All Travelers Here – A bit of a rant about the great equalizer of travel, and how I can’t stand snobs.

Learning to Love Being Alone – I won’t always be a solo traveler, but I will always believe the lessons I learned here.

So, where do we go from here?

World Domination

Well for starters around the world! Finally. I’ve been mostly stationary for the past year so I’m really excited to make the transition to traveling and blogging full time. While this won’t change the spirit of this blog, it’s definitely going to have positive effects on the tone and content.

I’m also excited for this transition because it means leaving my day job, which hopefully means more time to spend on the blog. I have tons of ideas and things I want to do to improve this space and expand, I just haven’t had the time and energy to make them happen. Hopefully by the time my two-year blogiversary rolls around

I never want to lose sight though; of the reason I started this blog in the first place. My most important mission was not to make money, or even document my own travels, but to encourage other twenty-somethings (and everyone really) that long-term travel is a viable and desirable option. I still maintain that your twenties are some of the best years of your life for getting out and seeing the world. Starting in a couple months my argument becomes more than just theoretical, and for that I’m psyched.

So thanks everyone for listening to my narcissistic rants every week. I’m always open to feedback and constructive criticism so feel free to lay it on me. And stay tuned as the adventure continues!

Uncanny Venice

Steph — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:01:24 +0000

All my life I wanted to go to Venice.

As a little girl, looking through my parents National Geographic, I used to clip photos of this magical and mysterious city. The streets were made of water! This exotically subversive idea delighted my 8-year-old brain. The fact that it was sinking added a sense of urgency. For years, Italy, and Venice in particular, were my end-all travel dream.

At 22 I finally made it there, on a weeklong Italy trip tacked on the tale end of my study abroad experience. I was thrilled.

The entire time I was there, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t. Nothing seemed real: it looked too exactly like the Venice of the movies or my travel magazines. I felt like I was at Disney World, or maybe in Las Vegas. I’m not sure what that says about my mind, but everything was just a little too Venice-y to be believed.

There were surprises though, like the unexpected brilliance of the Basilica di San Marco with its unique style and glittering mosaics. I’d seen pictures but nothing really does it justice.

The absolute best thing you can do in Venice is to get lost- luckily this is not very hard. The alleys twist and turn you around quite easily, allowing you to stumble across all kinds of surprise.

I visited Venice in chilly December, just a week before Christmas. This was smart because although it was quite cold, we missed the swamps of tourists the descend on Venice in the summertime. The chilling mist gave everything a mysterious and romantic aura.

Out of everything I saw those few days, this picture best encapsulates the dreamy mystery I imagined Venice to be:

So was Venice everything I dreamed? Well no, not really. It was kind of damp and dirty. Lots of tourists and crappy gift shops. It wasn’t my favorite Italian city we saw on that trip, not by a long shot. I wasn’t disappointed though, just glad I’d seen it with my own eyes, and excited to see what else Italy had to offer.

My Top 4 Favorite Hostel Memories

Steph — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:01:15 +0000

While I countdown days and hours and make endless preparations for my upcoming trip, I’ve also been spending some time reminiscing about my past travels and what’s unique about the spirit and fun of backpacking. This got me thinking about all of the strange funny things that have happened to me while staying in hostels.

A lot of people are unnecessarily scared of hostels but I am a big fan. Not only are they cheap and convenient, but also when you get that many random strangers smooshed together in one spot you are bound to come out with some crazy stories. Here 4 of my favorites so far:

The One Where I Spent the Night with a German Swim Team

photo credit: Life of Sport

My friend Jason and I were trying to do St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin on a budget- not an easy feat. The 18-bed dormitory sounded like an amusing and cheap idea beforehand.

The room looked like a military barracks or maybe prison- bunk beds crammed into every available space. But what really stopped me dead in my tracks was the small army of very buff boys in various states of undress. Apparently we were sharing the room with 16 members of a German swim team. And apparently they were not aware the room was co-ed… hello Speedos.

The One Where I Didn’t Understand the Metric System

“Only 2000 meters to the city center!” the website boasted. Well that didn’t seem too far.

“That’s 2 Kilometers” my boyfriend corrected me as we struggled through Ljubljana, hot packs on our backs.

The One Where I Learned How to Cure the Common Cold

I rolled into Zagreb late in the evening, pursued by a sniffling sneezing ugly cold (part of my ongoing battle with the Tonsils of Doom). It was the custom in many of the hostels in South Eastern Europe to greet guests with a complimentary shot of the local Rakia (a strong fruit brandy). The first time I’d gulped it down, weeks before, I could have breathed fire. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into my lower bunk and die but the hostels owner, a friendly Chinese-Croatian man was not having it. “You must have drink,” he insisted. “Good for sickness.”

I declined but he persisted so finally, out of politeness I downed the shot. “Another.” Okay, one more. Only then did he let me go off to my dormitory and collapse, kicking myself for my poor willpower.

But damndest thing, when I woke up the next morning that cold was history. I felt fantastic.

The One Where I Made Best Friends with a Duck

In case you didn’t catch it in my previous posts (link) Iceland is really, really, empty. This is especially true of the misty east coast, a relatively untouristy corner of Iceland about as far from Reykjavik as you can get. Here we stayed in a converted farmhouse/hostel owned by a farmer and his family. To our consternation after arriving at about 3 pm we were at least an hour from the nearest town with literally nothing to do. The only other residents of our hostel were 5 American frat boys we’d been avoiding like the plague since Monday (they seemed to have the exact same road trip itinerary as us).

Skulking around in search of a distraction we found the owner’s 13-year-old granddaughter, sitting on the front stoop talking to her pet ducklings. They were her birthday present she told me, she’d stolen the eggs from a nest on the coast and hatched them herself. She would spend the summer raising them and then they would be released to the wild before she went back to school in Reykjavik. I can’t remember what I got for MY 13^th birthday but it was nothing as cool as that!

“Do you want to hold one?” She asked me. DO I?!?! They were literally 1 day old. All the fuzzy happiness of 10,000 Easters nuzzled sweetly into my hand.

The point of telling you this is not that I’m a loquacious airhead who likes German boys. I wanted to illustrate that travel is about far more than just the sites you see. When you are a young traveler staying in hostels, your experiences are just as much about the people you meet as the things you do. The things that happen in between your sightseeing are the things you will remember best.

What is YOUR Favorite Hostel Moment

Friday Postcard: Great Falls, Virginia

Steph — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:01:45 +0000

The waterfalls at Great Falls National Park are both beautiful and powerfully deadly. Every year an average of 7 people drown in the ruddy Potomac waters. They have the steepest drop of any rapids in the Eastern US. As a kid my Dad and I used to hike the popular Billy Goat Trail nearby.

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

The London Book Project

Steph — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:01:04 +0000

If you haven’t been paying attention: I really love to read.

I’m a total nerd of the English major variety. My room is overflowing with books that I can never seem to whittle down. I’m such a nerd I even named my cat after TS Eliot:

Awhile back I wrote a guest post for Sharing Experiences on Great Books to Read in Great Places. The idea stemmed from a project I’d started when I was living abroad in London; a sort of self directed crash course in London Literature.

I think that reading great literature, in the place that it was conceived gives an increased understanding, not just to the text, but also to your surroundings. There’s a special connection that comes from reading about Dickensian London down the block from where he first wrote Great Expectations.

Before I even left for London I started compiling a list of novels and poetry that I would use as tools to explore the city. Here were some of my favorites:

Down and Out in Paris and London- George Orwell

A first person account of Orwell’s experiences bumming around Europe. It portrays bleak, depression era London, where Orwell learns to beg and speak in street slang. Although he’s often hungry, Orwell assures us that it’s “notoriously impossible to starve in London, so there was nothing to be anxious about.” This was a particularly fun read while I was desperately trying to find a job BTW.

War of the Worlds- HG Wells

Nobody does science fiction quite like this guy. Unlike the Tom Cruise movie version, the narrator of the novel wanders a half-destroyed South London while hungry aliens joyfully wreak havoc. Wells used to describe to friends how he joyfully rode around town, picturing the carnage he would later write about.

Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman

This grown-up fairytale by genius dude Neil Gaiman which describes an imaginary, mirror-world to modern London. For example Gaiman imagines an actual royal court in Earls Court Tube station, Knightsbridge is home to a terrifying Night Bridge and Oxford Circus… well you get the idea. I liked this book because no matter how well I think I know London, there are more secrets hiding there than any lifetime could reveal.

253- Geoff Ryman

This experimental novel might not even really be considered a book at all. It’s a kind of an electronic choose your own adventure story in bite size chunks. Written in 1996, you might even call it one of the first e-books. It’s also a love letter to the London tube, the world’s oldest and (in my opinion) best public transportation system.

The Wasteland- TS Eliot

Not a novel, but an epic poem, The Wasteland has never failed to move me. In it Eliot describes the feelings of hopelessness and depression, which pervaded London after the horrors of World War One. Bleak yes, but such a stunning picture of one city during one specific moment in time. It’s not an easy poem to get into, but I’ve read it over and over at different points in my life and I always find something interesting hiding in the text.

These are just a few of the London-set books I read on the tube on my way to work. Also worth a look: Bleeding London by Geoff Nicholson, London Fields by Martin Amis, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, The London Scene by Virginia Woolf- I could really go on and on

Books are great tools for exploring and understanding a city. For me, literature gave me a much better understanding of the city I was living in and really enriched my time abroad. Now when I travel I always try to seek out fictional works about my destination.

What is your favorite destination literature?

Notes From the Home Front: Me versus My Calendar

Steph — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:01:22 +0000

I swear, my inspirational calendar is mocking me.

I’m not even sure where it came from—maybe the printer my company uses gave them out. It’s big and glossy so I hung it up in my gray cubicle. All year it has sat up there, giving me smug messages:

Focus: People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.

I know where I’m going and it’s away from here and that’s WHY I can’t focus you stupid flowery calender.

F Off Flower (Creative Commons License photo credit: eagle1effi)

It’s getting harder and harder to be a good employee, when I know I’m leaving in just a couple short months. I spend a lot of time staring at that bastard calendar. A lot of time counting:

…3 hours until I can go home…

…4 days until this weekend…

…5 weeks until I can give notice…

…9 weeks until I’m done here…

I’ve never loved math so much as I do right now. I’m a patient person, generally. I can wait. I can wait a long time. I’ve BEEN waiting a long time for this travel experience to finally start. Besides the odd week here and there I’ve been stationary for two years now. Saving, working, plotting and planning.

Two years is too long.

This incessant restlessness is one of the worst side effects for sufferers of the travel bug. It’s a creeping antsyness that sneaks up your leg when you’re just trying to enjoy your Sunday coffee. It’s an almost irresistible urge to get up. Go. Somewhere. An urge to see new things, navigate new roads, to learn.

You can sometimes put off the urge for a little while. Distract your restless mind with a bar full of friends, or an afternoon at a museum. But for the real travelholic there is no replacement, and there’s only one way to soothe the restless cravings within. And that is to go.

So I try to fill my life here with distractions and things that I love. With friends and family. I am trying to enjoy the fleeting summer I have here (maybe my last summer in DC). Most of the time I can do this. But every so often, more often than I’d like really, the restlessness creeps back in and the counting game starts all over.

Sorry, DC

I also have a countdown clock on my laptop. It’s been counting down since sometime last year. I remember when it was in the 200s, and as I write this now it’s telling me I have 78 days until I fly to Japan. Whenever the strain of waiting seems unbearable I check my little countdown clock and it does make me feel a bit better.

Sometimes I worry about this recurrent desperation. Will it ever go away? Will I ever be able to just stand still and be content? To appreciate what I have and not yearn for new mountains to tackle? Maybe. Maybe if I were happier with where I’m currently sitting I wouldn’t be in such a rush to get going. But I feel like a snail that’s too big for it’s shell. So I’m anxiously hopping from one foot to another, waiting, trying to wait, for my life to get a move on.

I’m waiting for the day that I don’t have to wait anymore. I really hate wishing my life away, whether I’m wishing myself into next week or next year. I don’t want to always be the person waiting for something big to come, or for my life to begin.

I’m waiting for the day when I can stop waiting and start living.

Puppy Love Part Two

Steph — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:01:15 +0000

A couple weeks ago I featured a round up of cute dog pictures from around the globe. It was such a hit, and I received so many more pictures that I decided to do a part two.

Here’s my contribution: a cute and lonely puppy on a sunny day in Prague.

From Adventure Rob: a photo I took in a monorail station in Bangkok after dark, as it turns out, it is a refuge for stray dogs at night, where they all huddle up.

Here we have Moose, Jillian’s dog, on an American road trip: Notice how he just sat there sleeping and panting. He didn’t even offer to drive, pay for gas or tolls – freeloader!

Manali and Terry cuddled this sleepy pup while waiting for a bus in Santorini, Greece.

Santorini must be full of friendly street dogs, because Matt from LandLopers befriended this little guy there as well.

Tom, from Heading There, and his wife shot these two eager guys waiting for the Trans-Siberian Train in Russia.

In Assisi Adventurous Kate found this guy: I saw this puppy in a shop on one of the side streets that you traverse while climbing up to Rocca Maggiore, the tower that overlooks the town and the surrounding Umbrian countryside. He was so tiny — not even a foot long!

This homeless dude was spotted by Emily from Maiden Voyage, in Istanbul.

This one just KILLS ME, he’s SO CUTE! He’s got a good story too. Says Kirsten: I was on a trip with my mother and another of her boyfriends, a total third wheel. I wanted to escape the small house we were all sharing so I went for a walk on the beach, which always cheers me up. I ended up spotting this guy alone and stopped to hang out with him for quite a while. At that time, I wasn’t a huge fan of dogs but this little bulldog kind of melted my heart that day. He convinced me of the “man’s best friend” label because I couldn’t be upset anymore when I looked into his smiling face!

So there you have it, more cute puppies. I do realize that most of the dogs are street animals though, and there is a certain element of sadness in that. However, Matt has pointed out to me that we don’t HAVE to be passive observers of this seemingly worldwide problem. Many local SPCA and animal control associations welcome volunteers and donations. It’s something I plan to look into during my RTW, and I encourage others to as well!

Friday Postcard: Lucerne, Switzerland

Steph — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:01:37 +0000

Today’s postcard comes from fellow Emory alumni Erin Halvey. It is the Chapel Bridge in Lucerne which is the oldest covered wooden bridge in Europe.

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

What’s it like to WWOOF?

Steph — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:01:10 +0000

I like today’s guest post, by Lindsay Nicholls, not only because it is hilarious but because WWOOFing is something I’ve heard about but never had the guts to try. Never heard of it? Read on…

As Ned and I washed the goat shit off in a cold mountain stream, I wondered what all the 18-35ers on that Contiki tour were up to. I bet they weren’t heading to sleep in a mouse-infested caravan using a valance as a bed sheet. They weren’t WWOOFing.

Even at the start of planning our quarter-life-crisis solution (Round the World trip) my boyfriend and I were keen to spend some decent chunks of time in each country we chose to visit. Both of us have done that kind of trip before i.e. rush to Europe, rush around Europe, and ending up feeling like we did nothing but take silly photos in front of [insert icon here]. “But it looks pretty small on the map” said the Australian, meekly.

This time around we have time and wanted to a) see how people really live outside of a ticket-seller’s booth and b) pick up a different kind of story or two. I had been working a desk job and wanted to get out from under the computer and air conditioning. Imagine having decisions that are no more taxing than whether to have a beer or a shandy over lunch?! Plus we (I) don’t have much (any) money and we (I) suck at budgeting. With these points in mind, a chat with travel-y friends and a clickity-click of the mouse led us to www.wwoof.org. Why, hello there Willing Workers On Organic Farms! You want us to work for 5-6 hours a day, 6 days a week in exchange for food and accommodation? To put the savings account on hold and providing a cracking story to tell at the next youth hostel? No worries, so where’s the dotted line?

WTF is WWOOF?

WWOOF has been exchanging sustainable living ideas since 1971. They started in the UK, but now there are hosts in something like 99 countries. Basically, it’s a web forum where farmers needing help can connect with volunteers who want to travel, spread the love or simply learn a new skill. From scraping up chook poo, to making wine, to selling fruit at a local farmer’s market to shearing alpacas; I’m sure your agricultural (or just cultural?) dream can be fulfilled through WWOOF!

For Ned and I, the process went like this: we paid 20 euro to join WWOOF Portugal and wrote ourselves a profile. We then gained access to the list of potential hosts and emailed any that sounded good with questions like: can we can stay, for how long, how much do we have to work, etc. Work and living conditions vary greatly from farm to farm, as one can imagine. You may be asked to work back-breakingly hard for a couple of hours a day, or it might be fairly cruisy. Some hosts say that they prefer longer stays, but most are up for negotiation. In retrospect, we felt that between 2-3 weeks was a good amount of time for us, but whatever floats your boat. On our last place, there was a guy from the Netherlands who had been there for five months after spending three years on a farm in Greece!

Fun Acronyms: “O” is for Organic

Now, I like to think of myself as pretty green – I sort my rubbish into appropriate bins, I take my reusable shopping bags wherever I go, I use that scratchy-yet-satisfying loo paper. What I’m not keen on that side of green that whispers “I’m macrobiotic, you evil meat-eater” and “I preach at you while you try not to gag on the smell of my dirty hair”. I actually like steak and believe my backpack’s “luxury item” of Moroccan Hair Oil is the best 100mls I’ve ever pinched off Mum.

Thankfully, you can find a WWOOFing host to suit you, whatever you’re up for. So don’t panic about fitting some stereotype of hippy or hardcore farmer! Whilst cruising the WWOOF forum, and knowing what we’re like, Ned and I tended to shy away from any properties with names such as “Riverdance Moonsong Farm” or mentioned ukuleles and group trust activities. The program is about getting in and having a go, and if you choose your hosts wisely as well as keeping an open mind, your experience should be a positive one.

Lindsey and Ned Get Dirty

First up we spent four weeks on a banana/mango/other tropical goodies farm and eco-tourism business on the island of Madeira, Portugal. All the superficial things were there – the property was stunning; a narrow stretch of land bordered by the sea and 300m high cliffs, only accessible by an elevator. Our private accommodation was lush, with cable t.v. and all the blogging time one could wish for. We had lunch, coffee, beer at the onsite restaurant and food bought for us to cook of an evening. We even got a lend of the car for an explore around the island. But our “hosts” earn themselves speech marks as they were only on the property on Saturday afternoons. We spent most of our time with the hired workers. They didn’t ask to babysit a couple of seemingly dim WWOOFers and seemed to think that SHOUTING was the only way to encourage our Portuguese-learning. We could put two and two together to work things out like there being hundreds of bananas yet to weed around. But there was still that glimmer of insecurity when Salete, our main overseer/language coach, took us up to the back paddock with nothing but a grunt and a machete.

Our second farm, in central (a.k.a. nowhere) Portugal was a completely different farmstay. Our aforementioned caravan was a bit scummy and there was no electricity, but our British/Dutch combo family were so warm and welcoming and the work so varied and considered, that our overall experience was completely fulfilling. We sowed corn, planted trees, milked goats and made cheese from their milk. We ate with the family, balancing our plates on our laps while pushing the dog’s noses away. Every question was answered with gusto, all suggestions taken on board. We discovered what the WWOOF carry-on is about and now I’m hooked!

I recommend WWOOF to anyone looking for a personal challenge and a travel tale with a difference. Now put the “24 Countries in 30 Days” bus tour brochure down and back slowly away…

P.S. Check out the short film,“Because There are Goats” for a taste of a WWOOFing in Europe.

Lindsey Nicholls, former advertising Art Director, has quit her job to travel the world for a year with her long-suffering boyfriend (in his opinion). Her blog, lindseysmostcompelling, is a record of their adventures and a place to take the piss out of poor old Ned. The two recently completely six weeks of WWOOFing in Portugal and plan to do some more volunteer farming in Canada and South America.

No related posts.

From Such Great Heights: A New Look at New York City

Steph — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:01:49 +0000

I’ve been up to New York close to a dozen times in the past couple of years. Ever since I discovered the amazing cheapness of Megabus I’ve used just about any flimsy pretext to head up there and visit.

Even so, most of my visits to New York have mainly involved partying it up with friends, eating out and getting lost for hours in the Strand. The closest I usually get to sightseeing is walking through Central Park or maybe catching a Broadway show on the cheap.

I much prefer experiencing New York like a local, but maybe there is something fundamentally important about seeing the attractions of a city. Some insight to be gained. So I was kind of excited when, as part of our TBEX swag, the NYC tourism bureau offered each of us a City Pass- a kind of Golden Ticket to New York’s top attractions. Here was my chance to finally see some of New York on the cheap.

Unfortunately, with all the excitement and various plans going on with the conference, my sightseeing time was whittled down to one afternoon. One very hung-over afternoon, it turned out, after the PREBEX celebrations of the night before. My brilliant sightseeing plan amounted to an exhausted wander around the MoMA and a more exciting trip up to the Top of the Rock.

30 Rockefeller Plaza, in addition to being the home of my FAVORITE TV show, has an epic observation deck. The view is supposed to be similar to that of the Empire State Building with the huge advantage that you can actually SEE the Empire State Building.

I’ve been to New York countless times but the view up on the 70^th floor was like nothing I’ve ever seen. The view stretched from one end of Manhattan to the other. From the Brooklyn Bridge to the George Washington. Up here the skyscrapers looked like orderly building blocks, and Central Park was a rich oasis. The rivers that outline the island gleamed silvery in the bright sun. Downtown the Statue of Liberty twinkled in miniature.

I wandered around on the observation deck for a good long while, taking in New York from every possible angle. It was like seeing a new side of an old friend, “New York, I didn’t know you were so pretty!”

This was the kind of thing I would probably never, ever have dropped $21 to do under my own steam: it’s too gimmicky, too flashy. But it turns out I actually LIKED it, quite a bit. It was a new and different way of looking at New York, a wide-angle view that really demonstrated how impressive and vast the city really is.

In the end the greatest stuff I saw and did last weekend was with the brilliant travel bloggers at TBEX. Still, it was great- and actually insightful, to play tourist, even just for one sweltering hung-over afternoon.

How the Internet Can Save You Money

Steph — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 12:01:23 +0000

Spending Diet update! You can track how my own savings are progressing here.

We live in a magical age.

The internet makes so many things in life so much easier. Downloading music, online shopping, paying bills; all sorts of things that involve emptying your bank account. If the internet is so good at helping you spend money, then it makes sense that it can also be put to use helping you SAVE money as well.

My best friend Kim is always telling me this. She is the online coupon queen.

It’s a major hobby for her and she’s thriftier that a master coupon-cutting grandmother. Whenever I make ANY purchase online Kim chides me to find a coupon first. “I only spend 35% of what I used to on groceries,” she reminds me smugly.

She is like a devious Japanese Martha Stewart

Here are the sites she, and I, recommend for online savings:

Groupon

A while ago we determined that going out is one of the biggest money sucks for twenty-somethings. Well, if you live in a major city and a flexible with your plans, Groupon can help take some of the edge off. Every day the site emails you with a special deal in your area: anything from $40 of food at a restaurant for $20 to discount haircuts or kayaking lessons. I’m a big believer that you don’t have to live like a complete monk to save money, so this is a useful way to have fun on a smaller budget. Just don’t forget to use your groupons once you’ve bought them like I have!

Ebates

I use Ebates and let me tell you: it is essentially free money. You sign up for an account, and then click through them whenever you make an online purchase and you get a percentage amount given back to you. Not a huge amount- usually 1-5% of your purchase, but this can add up (particularly if you are buying planet tickets like me). The amount of stores affiliated with this is staggering. Every three months they will actually send you a check or deposit the money to your PayPal account.

Retailmenot

One thing I really have learned from Kim is to NEVER buy anything online without checking if there is a coupon out there for it. When I bought an LL Bean bathing suit last week a quick Google search yielded me a code for free shipping. That’s like $10! Retailmenot.com is a great site for finding these little bonuses, and always worth a check before you buy something. This is also a place where you can print real paper old school coupons to use at the grocery store.

Half Off Depot

This one isn’t so established in DC, so I haven’t used it personally, but is has potential. It essentially allows you to buy gift certificates for half price. In Atlanta this means half off tickets to the Bodies Exhibition, or the Georgia Aquarium. They also have free movie passes and tickets to other cultural events.

Sidestep, Priceline, Hotwire etc.

So all of these other websites are useful for saving money on basic costs of living, but the ones listed here are part of your “save money traveling” tool box. I never buy a flight or get a hotel room until I have thoroughly researched my options online to find the cheapest deal out there.

The important caveat is not to go overboard with the coupons. The goal is to save money on things you are already buying. When you start buying things you normally wouldn’t because they are “such a good deal” you’ve passed out of the realm of saving money and in to the spend zone.

What websites do YOU use to save money?

Friday Postcard: Mount Shasta, California

Steph — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:01:01 +0000

Today’s guest post come from The Jetpacker:

Mount Shasta is only the fifth highest peak in California (at 14,179 feet), but you’d think it was as tall as Everest when you first see its peak rising above the clouds. The snow-covered mountain dominated the landscape for almost an hour during our drive up the I-5 to the Winter Olympics, making it the most intimidating yet majestic sight on our road trip.

The Jetpacker is a fun travel blog that features humorous tales, lists, deals, tips and strange stories from the travel universe. Make sure to follow them on Facebook or @Jetpacker and have a blast!

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

Who ARE These Travel Bloggers Anyways? (TBEX 2010)

Steph — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:01:01 +0000

Confession: There is a part of me that’s always a little reluctant to tell new people I meet about this site. I’m proud of what I do, but I get a little tired of the confused look on people’s faces when they try to figure out what exactly I mean by “travel blogger.”

The cute kiwi boys in my hostel dorm room gave me that look this weekend, although I barely cared because I was so excited to be in New York for the Travel Blog Exchange Conference (TBEX). This is an almost week long event where 250 travel bloggers from practically every corner of the earth converge to network, socialize and talk shop.

I LOVE meeting travel bloggers in person. It’s become a kind of hobby for me. It’s fun to compare notes on travel and blogging of course, but there is also a constant question in the back of my head, mainly who ARE these people? I know who I am and my motivations for the life I’m trying to cobble together, but what about the literally hundreds of others tending their own corners of the web?

So here is what I discovered this weekend about what travel bloggers are REALLY like:

Dave left me to go to Colombia! The nerve.

Youthful

Travel bloggers are an attractive bunch. Over and over I was shocked by how young and vibrant everyone looked, no matter what his or her physical age. We’re talking serious, Dorian Gray type supernatural youth here. From my under-age looking compatriots to the bloggers old enough to be my parents (or grand-parents) it would appear no skin cream on earth can match the glow of a joyful, well-lived life.

Friendly

Many of us at the conference had been chatting online for months, if not years, so the meeting had a weird first date meets high school reunion vibe. People greeted each other for the first time like long lost friends with hugs and joyful shrieks. Almost without exception people were just thrilled to meet and be with one another.

Eric from Adventure Insider

Party Animals

I’m actually amazed my liver survived the abuses of last weekend without packing up and quitting. When you combine a bunch of people who love adventure with the city that never sleeps and unlimited free drinks, things get kind of crazy. Parties ran dangerously late every single night as bloggers young and old socialized, bought each other shots, and even took on the mechanical bull (not yours truly though).

Evangelical

On Friday night I was invited to mingle with the organizers of Meet Plan Go, a really neat new event that aims to educate people about the benefits of career breaks. You will be hearing more about this in the future because I am actually speaking at the DC event, just a week before I leave for Japan. Travel bloggers know that they are kind of odd birds, but that doesn’t stop them from wanting to encourage travel as an accessible and appealing option for all kinds of people.

Dedicated

Only a handful of the participants were able to make a living as independent bloggers. A few more were employed for travel organizations. The majority of the people at the conference seemed to be dedicated hobbyists. No matter how they were making a living though, these were some hard working peeps, willing to put in countless hours of work for a mostly intangible pay off. It would appear that really nobody is getting rich blogging, at least not about travel. That’s okay though, because this is an industry about more than just money.

Candice and Caillin show their Canadian Pride

Multi-Talented

As the sessions progressed it was apparent to me that travel blogging can satisfy a lot of different skill sets. Some people are really motivated by the business challenges of the industry; others are more interested in the technical aspect, or design. There were people who love photography, storytellers with video cameras, podcasters and more. Personally, my passion is the writing and storytelling itself, something I feel even more excited about after this conference.

Passionate

So people were very different in age, skill set and level of establishment, but the one thread that wound through absolutely everything that happened at TBEX was a complete devotion to adventure and exploration. The pure joy and excitement that comes from being around other people who share your love is something that’s going to motivate me for quite awhile.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been working at this for almost a year now. The people I’ve come in contact with via this little blog have been one of the greatest rewards by far. I’m not going to devolve into a sap fest, I will just say that I’ve seen the face of travel blogging, and I’m pretty happy to wear that label as my own.

Also tacos. All travel bloggers love tacos.

June Update and Links

Steph — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:01:28 +0000

I just got back last night from the Travel Blog Exchange Conference (TBEX) in New York City. It was an amazing, inspiring and exhausting weekend. I got some great advice from some really smart people and I think you will be seeing some major changes round this site in the next couple of months.

You can expect a full report in the next few days but let me just say it was a crazy, crazy experience. Those travel bloggers seriously know how to party! I am so tired right now that I’m having trouble forming even basic sentences, so I’m going to skip right to the chase and give you a rundown of my favorite articles from the blogosphere this June:

Is Thailand Safe Now? That’s a major question that I think is on a lot of people’s minds after the dramatic events of this spring. Andrew Evans argues that yes it is, on Gadling.

Lovely Jodi Ettenberg guest posted on Solo Friendly with her Perspectives on Long-Term Solo Female Travel. Jodi is a bold and ballsy lady who introduced me to poutine this weekend and her story is inspiring.

I’ve been really enjoying the posts on Backpacking Matt lately, particularly this one: 7 Tips for Succesful Long-term Travel.

Thought provoking piece by Ayngelina of (the fantastically named) Bacon is Magic on the ethics of attending a cock fight in Latin America: Should I Have Gone to A Cockfight?

Anyone looking for love on the road should take notes on 6 things you should and shouldn´t do during a Backpacking romance from Art of Backpacking.

After you fall madly in love with some random Australian, you can consult the advice in A “How-to” on International Relations, Sonja’s guest post on Drifting Focus. Bonus points for coining the phrase “euro-sexual.”

It’s not just people who can get chubby on the road! Anil at Foxnomad demonstrates How To Put Your Backpack On A Diet.

Sarah Van Auken from Volunteer Global has written a thorough and educational e-book on volunteer travel. Best part: it’s free! Your Totally Awesome Guide to Volunteer Travel.

This is not really travel related, but I loved this blog post by the great Roger Ebert: Tweet! Tweet! Tweet! Dedicated to all you Twitter non-believers.

Twenty-Something Travel Goes Round-The-World! An FAQ

Steph — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:01:20 +0000

I had a moment of clarity last week when I finally bit the bullet and bought my ticket to Tokyo. It was exciting but kind of nerve wracking: my big trip just went from theoretical to very, very real. I’m definitely, seriously, honest-to-god leaving the country on September 22^nd and I don’t know when I’m coming back.

In honor of that, and because I’ve been fielding a lot of questions lately, both online and in real life, I thought I would take a moment to answer the most asked questions about my trip.

WHAT are you doing, you crazy girl?

I’ve never been an enthusiast of the working 9-5 for 40 years thing, so I’m trying to break out of that mold and pursue the things that make me most happy in life. Starting in September I’m going to be backpacking around the world for at least a year, depending on how long the money holds out. I’m going to be writing about my travels here and hopefully demonstrating how accessible and realistic budget world travel can be.

Crazy isn't that far off...

Where are you going?

My itinerary is in constant flux. I have a basic idea of what I want to do but I’m trying to be open to changes due to logistics, budget and serendipity.

That said, here is what I am currently planning:

September 22- October 6- Japan (learning to like sushi and whirlwind tour of the major sites)

October- New Zealand (chasing sheep around, bungee jumping and getting my fill of geothermal hot spots)

November, December- Australia (visiting old friends, hopefully taking a road trip and trying not to get eaten by a shark)

From there I’m figuring on 5-6 months in South East Asia, than heading up to Turkey, Greece and the Balkans.

Obviously this is pretty vague. If you want a more up to date idea of where I am in the world please follow me on Twitter or Facebook.

What about your job?

For the past two years I’ve been working a 9-5 that can best be described as “not terrible.” I have absolutely no reservations about leaving something I don’t care about for the chance to pursue something I really DO care about. I will be giving up security and salary of course, but sitting in a windowless cubicle all day just isn’t worth it to me.

What I care most about, what I think I’m actually good at, is traveling and writing about my travels. It’s the only “job” I’ve ever had that I actually liked beyond getting a paycheck. It’s my hope that this trip won’t just be an extended career break, but a step towards a new career and style of living.

**Wait a minute… You’re going alone?**

This is by far the number one question I’m asked.

For the most part, yes! A friend is joining me for a couple of months in Australia, and I’m hoping to visit a lot of friends both old and new along the way. Other than that I will be primarily going it alone.

I have a dream, and I’m not going to sit around and wait until I meet someone who is crazy enough to want to do the exact same thing. I have a feeling I’d be waiting a long time. So if that means figuring out how to navigate the world on my own steam, I’m up to the challenge.

My solo photo taking skills need work though

Aren’t you scared?

I’m more excited than anything else but yes, sometimes I’m scared. However, I don’t see this as a good excuse not to go. I’m a big believer in the importance of doing things that scare you.

How can you afford this?

I’m not independently wealthy and I don’t have rich parents. I have college loans and an entry-level job like most any twenty-five year old. I am paying for this entire trip out of my own pocket. I’ve been saving for two years to make this dream a reality: mostly by living at home and putting away as much money as humanely possible (that was supposed to say humanly, but I’m leaving it as humanely- I think it’s more true).

While I’m abroad I’ll be trying to keep my living expenses as low as possible by staying in hostel dorms, eating street food and generally being a cheap bum. I’m estimating that I can travel for a year in this style for about 20K.

Well good for you, but why should I care?

Most of us (particularly in the US) have been told our entire lives that there is a specific life model we need to follow: go to school, get a job, get married, have kids, work work work, retire and THEN maybe if you are in good health and financially secure you can do some traveling.

Well I’m not buying it. There is no one size fits all path to a happy and fulfilled existence. I mean this is the most practical, least hippy-dippy way possible. Life is about choices: figuring out what you want, pursuing your passions, finding what makes you happy and than finding a realistic way to make it happen.

If for you that means working in a cubicle for the next 10 years than more power to you. But if you want an alternate option: a chance to travel, to learn about yourself and the world around you than you owe it to yourself to pursue that. And luckily, your twenties are a really awesome time to do that.

I’m hoping to demonstrate that extended travel in your twenties, whether it is a career break, a chance to work abroad or something entirely different, is a viable and even a responsible option. The world is there, waiting for you, if you’re willing to make it happen.

Me. Happiest.

Photo: CarbonNYC

Learning to Deal with Disaster

Steph — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 12:01:55 +0000

(This is the last post in a series where I’ve recounted the ways that travel has helped me to learn about myself. For reference check out: How Travel makes us Smarter, Wiser and All-Around More Awesome, Learning to Love Being Alone, and Learning From Our Travel Mistakes )

There’s a particular mental moment that every frequent traveler is familiar with. It’s an overwhelming feeling of sheer panic and fear. I like to call it the Oh Shit moment.

If you have traveled for any length of time you’ve had these moments. And if you haven’t yet, trust me you will. No matter how thoroughly you plan and prepare it’s inevitable that some unexpected wrench is going to appear in your plans and throw you for a loop. At that moment you will inhale really quickly and think “ohhh shit.”

I remember one of my first OS moment. It involved a weekend trip to Amsterdam (practically a requirement for all study abroad students in Europe), a friend’s overindulgence in the local “specialties” and the strange bathroom of a tourist Mexican restaurant.

It’s strange the way fear imprints on your memory: I can picture that dingy bathroom so vividly. The white tiles up the walls, even the ceiling was tiled, the avocado green stall and my pasty white friend puking her guts out in the toilet. I didn’t even know that marijuana could make you ill like that. It was my first time in a foreign country (outside of England), I’d lost my voice due to a bad sore throat (a whisper was all I could manage) and I was absolutely frozen with fear.

I sat there in stunned silence, trying to decide the best course of action (call an ambulance? Did hospitals in Holland even speak English? Would we go to jail?). It was just the two of us, in a foreign country- what on earth had made me think I could handle something like this?

I was shocked out of my indecision by the angry manager bursting in to tell us to get out of her restaurant. No amount of whispered pleadings on my part could gather any empathy. I could see exactly how we looked to her: dumb American college kids who didn’t know how to behave. Not really that far off to be fair.

It dawned on me that nobody was going to swoop in and solve this one so I better figure it out. I hauled my friend out onto the street and sat her up on a bench. At this point a random Dutch teenager sauntered by, surmised our predicament and offered to help. He ducked into the restaurant and came out with a glass of sugar water. I’m not sure if it was the glucose or the fresh air but within about 45 seconds my friend was completely coherent.

Then we went and got ice cream.

So what’s the lesson here? Well one, don’t act like a big dumb study-abroad cool guy in Amsterdam. More relevantly though; no matter how bad things seem at a given moment, if you can keep your wits about you then you will probably be okay.

Since then I’ve had plenty of even more dramatic OS moments:

The time I got a nasty staph infection and needed surgery 1000’s of miles from home

The time Croatian border guards all but strip-searched my friend and I for still unexplained reasons

The time I was stranded at a closed train station in the middle of rural Scotland.

That’s the thing about oh shit moments. You will inevitable have them and you will inevitably get through them. And though it will suck at the time, in the end you will be left with the confidence that you can tackle anything. And probably a hilarious story for cocktail parties.

This is the last of my posts in this series, which I’ve really enjoyed writing. All of the stories I’ve related over the past couple weeks deal with experiences I had while studying abroad in London. This is not a coincidence. What I consider my first big solo trip abroad was a life and personality altering experience for me. I went into it a shy and nervous kid who had just gotten out of a five-year relationship and generally lost. It wasn’t an easy trip and there was a lost of trial by fire but it was the beginning of a period of change and learning that continues to this day. I think that these articles help to illustrate how travel really has helped me to become a little bit smarter, wise and hopefully, more awesome.

What was your Oh Shit moment?

Friday Postcard: Sarajevo, Bosnia

Steph — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:01:20 +0000

One of our favorite things to do in Sarajevo was to simply enjoy the leisurely cafe culture. This shady alleyway cafe was the perfect place to escape the traffic and relax with an orange soda.

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