I know, I know: I’m a bad blogger. First, I don’t post as often as I ‘should,’ and when I finally do–after a month!–I post about other bloggers. If it helps my case at all, I wrote the following post in early January, when I had a short breather between work projects and took some time to catch up on all the great posts in my inbox.
Several posts from bloggers I follow got me remembering some of my own favorite trips, not to mention to laugh out loud. I thought I’d share links here–late as they are–in the hopes they have the same effect on you. Enjoy!
Gray Cargill at SoloFriendly underscores the value of learning to say “I’m sorry” in the local language. In a post entitled “The Village Idiot,” she writes about committing multiple faux pas during her first visit to Paris. I have to confess that I’ve worried about making the same types of gaffes when traveling in places where I don’t speak the language or aren’t yet familiar with local customs.
With much self-deprecating humor, Gray does a superb job of conveying that sense of disorientation, awkwardness and discomfort that visitors can feel when landing in new places. She also does an equally superb job at conveying why we shouldn’t let those uncomfortable feelings keep us from exploring. I for one am guilty of choosing destinations where I think I’ll feel more “comfortable,” — where I speak at least a few words of the language, where I know someone, where I’m somewhat confident I’ll be able to find my way around.
Note to self: We miss out on experiences when we don’t stray from our comfort zone.
P.S. to self: Research cheap flights to Paris.
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Jodi Ettenberg at Legal Nomads writes about a piece of travel gear I wouldn’t have thought to pack: a whistle. Ettenberg landed the whistle when she bought a new backpack. It came attached to the chest strap, an incidental but soon-to-be-prized acquisition.
From a boat rescue in Burma to scaring off a pack of wild monkeys–and I won’t spoil the story and mention what happened on the train to Chang Mai–the humble whistle has certainly earned its place on Ettenberg’s (and now my) list of must-have travel items.
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Speaking of monkeys, Cornelius Aesop is spending spent a few weeks in Japan and blogged about it over at Monkey Brewster.
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Spending a few weeks anywhere other than home is a nice segue to honing your planning and budgeting skills to save for your next trip. Christine Gilbert at Almost Fearless has a basic savings planning tool that’s free for subscribers to download.
In the same vein, Jenneil at HelloMeetWorld offers a few tips based on her own experience saving $15,000 for a six-month round-the-world journey. As she says, not all her strategies will work for everyone, but they do provide plenty of food for thought. If you want to travel more but money’s holding you back, think about how you can apply her ideas to your own situation. You might be able to leave sooner than you think.
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Detroit-based James Griffioen put together a really nice end-of-year slideshow, A Year of Fun Things.
And since I initially compiled this list of posts, Pam Mandel at Nerd’s Eye View has been to Antarctica–and turned me on to bearshapedsphere blogger Eileen Smith, who recently visited Easter Island.
Happy reading!
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Thanks for the shout out, with one quick fixit, I’m Eileen Smith, not Ellen Smith! Having Pam visit was awesome, and she spiffed me up and got me onto my own domain, to which I am always happy to receive visitors!
Thank you for your very, very kind words about my Village Idiot post, Kim. Good luck finding a cheap flight to Paris. I recommend signing up for alerts and being flexible about dates, because airfare is giving everyone sticker shock these days. But Paris is worth the effort.