It’s been about five years since the last time I skied so I didn’t want to challenge my skills too much. I’ve only ever skied in the US and most of those times involved artificial snow as opposed to real snow in Norway. After a few runs on the Bunny Slopes, I started feeling more confident and eventually moved on to slightly more difficult hills. In Norefjell we had the opportunity to take a class with a former professional skier and Olympic coach, Marius Arnesen (his coaching abilities led to three Olympic Gold Medals for his team).

Traditional – Rump Racers

When our Lillehammer tour guide for the day handed us our Rump Racers I wasn’t quite sure what she intended us to do with it. She then demonstrated how to squat on the wooden plack and ride down the mountain. While this looked difficult at first glance, once I gave it a try I realized it was easy and highly amusing. Local kids in the area and throughout Norway use Rump Racers as a fun snow activity.

Local – Kick-Sledge

Kick sleds are a very traditional mode of transportation for Norwegians young and old. It’s basically like a scooter you use in snowy weather and since Norway has snow on the ground most of the winter, these sleds are very useful. I took a turn driving the sledge and also sitting along for the ride down a small hill. In everyday life, kids take these to school and adults use them to run errands.

New and Exciting – Bob Rafting

I took a few pictures of this before and after the 2 minute raft ride but I think this video illustrates it much better than I can put down in words. Luckily two journalists from our press group were able to capture the whole thing on film. It’s been a few years since I’ve been on a roller coaster and this ride definitely tops any theme park attraction I’ve every encountered.

Indoor – Rock Climbing 

Upon our arrival at the luxurious Quality Resort & Spa at Norefjell, I immediately noticed a large rock climbing wall on the floor below. After some interest from a few other members of our group we successfully added rock climbing into the itinerary. Travel is all about adventure and challenging yourself both mentally and physically so I was eager to give this indoor sport a shot.

Surprisingly Challenging – Tobogganing

Tobogganing is a typical winter activity for local Norwegians but for this bohemian, it was a completely new experience. After watching several children skillfully ride down the corkscrew-style hill I assumed that tobogganing would be relatively simple. However, I quickly realized that it wasn’t as easy as it looked but by the end of the trail I had channeled the Megan who used to  horseback ride lessons and treated the sleigh rope like reins on a horse. he trick worked and I completed the ride in style.

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World Snowboarding Championships

Although my trip to Norway was about a week, our main focus in Oslo was the World Snowboarding Championships. I’m certainly not a snowboarding pro by any stretch of the imagination but I must admit that watching the riders twist, turn and do tricks up close and personal was exhilarating and  definitely a new experience for me. We watched the Men’s Quarter Pipe and the Women’s Halfpipe competitions. I skipped the Men’s Halfpipe but heard that they were phenomenal.

Meeting the Prime Minister

Norway kept surprising me everyday but meeting the Prime Minister was definitely the most unplanned and exciting part of the week. He was there to watch the Men’s Quarter Pipe competition and a few of us happened to be standing near his vehicle. After seeing one of us trying to snap a photo of him he he actually walked over and offered to pose with us.

The poor man didn’t know what he had gotten himself into because we quickly thrust another four cameras into an innocent bystander’s face and held him up for a good five minutes. Jens Stoltenberg was a great sport about it and I even chatted with him in between shots. Despite his security team, I was pleasantly surprised by his friendliness and willingness to interact with locals (or visitors in our case).

Kvelertak Performance

It’s been about a year since my record label rock concert-going days but being in Oslo, there really was no excuse not to check out a local band in town for the Snowboarding Championships. Kvelertak is about as heavy-metal as you can get. To be honest, I really enjoyed their music. I’m not generally a hard-core metal fan but the band has some undeniable talent.

The most interesting part of the concert was observing the fans below. There was a huge mosh-pit right near the stage and people were throwing their beers all over the place. It was inspiring to see how passionate their local fans are and how this genre of music influenced the atmosphere throughout the venue. (This is a good time to note that Rammstein was also in town and staying at our hotel)

Horse Sleigh Tour Through Forest

The whole time I was in Norway I kept saying one thing: “Wow, I feel like I’m in Narnia”! As silly as that sounds to the non-literary nerds out there, this is one of my favorite things about Norway. Nature is everywhere around you and since it’s winter right now the snow-covered mountains, lamp posts and and winter coats had me feeling like I might spot Mr. Tumnus at any moment. Our horse sleigh ride through the forest followed by a traditional picnic and campfire only solidified my Narnia daydreams. Making the situation even better, we had shot of alcohol from a bottle we found in the mail box.

Sculpture Garden

I visited a few different museums during our days in Olso but it was the Sculpture Garden that really blew me away. Gustav Vigeland designed the park with impressive creativity, detail and execution. This particular series of sculptures depicts the “youth” stage of life, which is followed by adolescence, adulthood and finally death. I found Vigeland’s positive depiction of youth a fascinating contrast to that of Edvard Munch’s 1894 “Puberty” painting of a scared and confused young girl.

Boat Tour

As a travel writing bohemian traveler, boat tours are sort of an essential piece of the puzzle – at least for me. In my opinion, sailing represents freedom and even though I’m not steering the boat myself, I still get to feel a bit like a pirate for a few hours. Viewing the city from the fjord (inlet with glaciers) on my day in Oslo made me realize how much I’m going to miss this country.

We did have a bit of a Titanic moment about mid-way through the tour. We hit a block of ice below us and the boat shook from side to side. I’m sure this happens quite a lot considering our captain was laughing at our scared reactions. Regardless, it added an extra element of surprise to the excursion.

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Reconnecting with Nature

The drive to Norefjell from Lillehammer was a scenic three hour bus ride and from the Oslo airport it takes about two hours (1.5 from the city center). Perhaps the thing I enjoyed most about Norefjell was how close it was to nature and how far it was from the rest of civilization. Sometimes you need a few days to disconnect from the outside world and rediscover peace within yourself.

On our second day here, we spent a few hours skiing and this photograph was taken at the top of the mountain. I actually had to stop in my tracks just to snap a few quick pictures. The view from my hotel suite was equally stunning. It was extremely motivating for me to wake up and see the sun rising over the mountains and neighboring cottages.

Time for Relaxation

After a long day on the slopes it’s always nice to give yourself a little reward. For me, that came in the form of a massage at the resort’s impressive spa. I also made sure to check out the other amenities including the pool, sauna and hot tub. As an avant-garde traveler, I genuinely appreciated the unique design that went into not only the spa facilities but the entire resort. It helps set the mood for a quiet retreat.

Cooking Class

I’ll be completely honest – I’m not the best cook in the world. It’s the patience I lack but I’m hoping to improve my skills this year. One option that Norefjell Resort offers guests in the ability to take cooking classes in a separate kitchen and dining area. After you prepare and cook the food you get to eat it in the next room. I’ve never done anything like this and I found it thoroughly rewarding.

Home Away From Home

Last but certainly not least, my suite became my home away from home. Unlike some hotel rooms that can feel cold and isolating, I  honestly felt comfortable and cozy inside my not so little room. The bathroom, kitchen, living space and master bedroom were decorated as any bohemian traveler would appreciate and the view from the bathtub overlooked the snow-covered mountains in the distance.

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As a result, Oksana Baiul quickly became my favorite contender so I was extremely pleased that she took home the gold medal that year.

A Look at the 1994 Olympic Ski Arena

During our time here, we were able to drive all the way up to the top of the mountain for an amazing view of Lillehammer just before sunset. We could also see where the main ski jump was and the spot where the Opening Ceremonies took place. It was a surreal experience for me and one that I will remember for years to come.

Maihaugen Open Air Museum

Another major stop in Lillehammer was the Maihaugen Open Air Museum. This authentic experience took us through the history of the Gudbrandsdalen Valley as we walked through typical Norwegian houses from the past 300 years.

The landscape is very spacious and the fresh air and quiet surrounds gave exactly the sort of peace one needs after spending a winter in New York City. We went into timber-built farms to learn about how families worked off the land and finished our tour with a more modern house from the 1950s.

The museum is divided into four parts:

1. The Rural Collection (timber-build farms, the stave-church, the summer-pastures and the lumber-camp)
2. The Town – illustrates like between World War I and World War II
3. The Residential Area – seven single-family houses from previous decades of the 20th century
4. The Landscape – demonstrates how the fields were used as a source of food during the 1890s.

Trolls, Fairytales and an Ice Hotel + Bar

Norway is known for their trolls so our time in Lillehammer would not hav been complete without a little time learning about Norwegian fairytales. After a day skiing with our guide from Hafjell Ski Center, we took a tour through Hunderfossen Winterpark. Although the park is generally only open to the public during the summer months, they do allow guests to stay at their popular Ice Hotel. As for our lodgings in Lillehammer, we stayed at Rica Victoria Hotel.

 

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After checking in for my flight to Oslo, I preceded to security where I assumed I would go through the usual process of placing all my items and liquids through the machines. When I went up to the man to show my boarding pass and Passport, I was greeted with a confused stare. Let’s call this man John. So John was not convinced that this was actually my passport.

I’d like to also note that I watched this man shamelessly flirt with the woman in front of me so at first I assumed he was trying to be “cute”. Regardless of his initial intentions, I was now confused myself so I offered to show him two other forms of picture ID.

Apparently, this was not a good move on my part because John now thought that I had the ID of three different people. He said that he had to call in an expert to make sure that I am really who I say I am.

As it turned out, no such “expert” was on duty so one of John’s superiors came over to help. He asked me to step aside as he instructed me to stare into my eyes (very unromantically), smile as it shows on my Passport and to pull my hair back to show my ears. Luckily, he agreed that I was in fact whom all three of my IDs state that I am and I was allowed to continue on my way.

As much as I appreciate John doing his job, the fact that I could do nothing to prove my identity other than hope that his superior realized that this was a picture of me.

Although my hair is back to its natural brown color and I chose to rock a straightened look rather than my normal curls, I’m a bit alarmed that these officers expect me to look exactly as I did back in 2007…when I had a fuller face, bleached hair and parted my hair down the middle.

US citizens are only required to update their passports every decade, so I hardly think that we should be expected to look identical to how we did when the picture was taken.

My saving grace was my license picture, which thank goodness I decided to update when I renewed it back in November. If I did this process through the mail, I would have had my 16-year-old self to show John and I doubt this would have helped my case.

Despite the hitch, I made it to Norway safe and sound.

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Although every middle child is different, the general gist of having Middle Child Syndrome is that you feel left out, awkward and overlooked. I’ve definitely experienced all three of these feelings, but who hasn’t? Surviving Middle School alone faces all three of these challenges on a daily basis.

The interesting thing about my situation is that both my parents were middle children (my Dad #2 of 5 and middle brother and my sister #3 of 5 children). My Dad technically had it worse because he is the middle of two males, where my Mom is the oldest daughter but the third child. The order makes a different, but I won’t bore you with that.

Because I grew up as a middle child by parents who understood what it felt like themselves, I probably had it better than most. My Dad would surprise me with gifts and my Mom would listen to my school girl worries as if it was the most interesting and important world crisis. But as I grew older I started realizing that I did have many of the symptoms of a middle child but instead of moping around about it I actually look at my birth order as a positive thing. Here is why:

Ambition: Middle children often grow up to be ambitious adults. Perhaps it’s because we never received the amount of attention we wanted as children or maybe it’s just because we feel an unquenchable desire to prove people wrong. Whatever it is, I think I fall under this category although I’m by no means an extreme case. I’m naturally shy, yet here I am in New York City and traveling the world whenever I get the chance. For many people, moving to a crazy city like NYC is unimaginable. For me it was what I craved most.

In the 2.5 years I’ve been here, I’ve sat front row at New York Fashion Week, hung out with the Gossip Girl cast at Silvercup studios, chatted about Brazil with my music idol Amy Lee of Evanescence and traveled to three continents. This is in no way meant to sound boastful but rather to explain how even the shyest child can benefit from having larger-than-live desire to achieve a dream. It’s also to remind myself that I should keep going. Many times I find myself afraid to take the next step because I’m so afraid to fail. What I think it’s important to remember is that without the fear of failure one lacks the motivation it takes to succeed.

Social Relationships: A middle child often feels like the odd one on their family, which results in them placing less value on their familial relationships and more on relationships outside of the family unit. Growing up, there was a time when I was clearly my Dad’s favorite. My mom always gravitated toward my younger brother and it was my sister who was in some ways the odd one out. However, once I hit about 7th grade, this all changed. I constantly fought with my mother and defied my father in any small way I could. I began placing more importance on my friends at school or at my local job.

This ability to go outside my comfort zone and meet people when I travel has made each foreign jaunt more memorable and fulfilling. In some ways I feel more comfortable talking to complete strangers because I don’t have to worry about them judging me because after all, I don’t know them so I don’t place as much emphasis on their perceptions of me. I’ve found that sometimes it’s these random conversations with locals that lead to more personal revelations about your own view on life. You guard is down for a minute and you can look at the world with a clear lens.

Observation: Ever since I was a young girl, I always observed what was going on around me. The main reason for this is because I was so shy and watching other people live their lives seemed like a safe option. Being observant has both helped and hurt me. While I’m so glad to know that my friends, family and even strangers I meet on a trip value my opinion and appreciate my eager ear to their problems. What I need to remember is that living in the moment is more important than observing others live their moment and simply being a spectator in their movie.

It can also be a frustrating habit when the wheels are reversed. In the weeks before starting Bohemian Trails, I really needed to talk to someone and I was having a really hard time finding a local NYC friend who cared to listen. If you are always the listener, you unconsciously teach others that this is your role and the ones who are not your true friends will use you for their own need to be heard. I’ve learned to be more vocal about my feelings instead of holding things inside. Travel has helped tremendously because through observation, I’ve taken in more of a particular location’s culture.

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So this week, I’m reviewing SellMyTimeshareNOW which allows travelers to either buy or rent a timeshare or sell their rental to others. I find this housing accommodation particularly useful to frequent travelers who do want  to feel at home in a particular destination. For backpackers, this is probably not an option worth looking into at this point in your life.

What is a Timeshare? In case you are foggy on what a timeshare (or vacation ownership) is, here’s a quick recap. Buying in on a timeshare means that you are one of several owners of the property and each tenant stays at the residence at a different time of the year. It’s a way for people to have a second home without actually paying for the entire year.

What is SellMyTimeshareNOW? In a nutshell, it is a global platform and service that allows timeshare owners to advertise and resell their timeshare properties while also showcasing housing options to interested renters and buyers.

First Impressions: From my experience, if a website is visually unpleasing, I very rarely stick around to discover if the content also falls along those lines. SellMyTimeshareNOW seems to have a good sense of their audience and have created a user-friendly configuration that is both easy to navigate and not overwhelming. I also get the sense that the company functions more like a close-knit start-up rather than a large group of mass marketers. The local feel of the company, as described in their Company Info page makes me feel more comfortable booking through them.

 What They Offer: If you have a residence that you would like to rent or sell, you can create a listing and reach a large number of potential renters. If you are on the hunt for a timeshare to join, you can browse through their extensive list of options, keeping in mind your budget and location preferences.

Don’t Forget the Dog: One feature that SellMyTimeshareNOW offers renters and sellers are Pet Friendly Timeshare accommodations. This is ideal for people who travel frequently and don’t want to leave their furry friends behind.

Options for Different Financial Situations:

• Traditional timeshare ownership - ownership is usually tied to a particular unit or unit type and falls between a specific week or season each year.
• Fractional ownership - purchase of a much larger increment of time and is a good for travelers who are able to vacation for more than one or two weeks a year.
• Points-based ownership – a system where owners are allotted a specific number of points per year which can then be exchanged for accommodations at a number of in-network resorts

Overall Conclusions: As a frequent traveler, I like the timeshare options and also the flexibility of the different rentals. I find their service particularly beneficial to travelers who travel to a specific destination often and want to feel like a local. Sometimes it’s nice to feel like you are “home” even if you are just renting. With any budget traveler, however, you must make sure it fits into your budget.

*This is an honest review of the services offered by SellMyTimeshareNOW, made possible by their support of Bohemian Trails.

Here’s my second home – London!

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Pursuing a career in the arts already puts me at a disadvantage compared to those who have a more stable and safe job. I sometimes feel that my family and friends don’t completely understand my life and while I am fully aware that I’ve taken the road less traveled, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Here are some misunderstandings about being a travel writer that I wish other people realized.

Press Trip Assumptions:
I’m sure that other travel bloggers can vouch for me when I say that press trips are not easy to come by. Every year there are thousands of new bloggers who are either starting a Round the World trip, going on an extended vacation or just eager to get their foot in the door of the travel industry. Whatever your reason, the competition is stiff.

Still a newby myself, I’ve researched tour companies, sent countless emails, sent follow-up emails, attended networking events and taken advantage of meeting people who also live in New York and work in the travel industry. Without this added effort, I doubt that I would have had a shot securing a press trip. The majority of Tourism Boards have had their budgets slashed this year, making my odds even slimmer.

So whenever I hear someone say “oh Megan has another one of these free trips coming up” I cringe. It’s not like I’ll be laying on a beach basking in the sun. I will be working while I explore, writing as I travel. I find these statements, although perhaps meant as compliments, insulting.

Making Sacrifices:
Making the leap from the music industry to the travel industry can definitely be seen as jumping from one failing industry to another but this should not mean that my sacrifices lack significance. Right now I’m renting a small room near Columbia University and freelancing from local coffee shops. For me, this is the ideal situation for my current lifestyle. Freelancing gives me the flexibility to travel while giving me time to grow Bohemian Trails, which is a full-time job in itself. Not being attached to a lease means that I can move to Paris at the drop of the hat.

When I mention this to my family and friends back home, they are immediately horrified that I’m living without a TV and that my flatmates speak Spanish better than English. Sometimes their faces are so distraught that I have to remind myself that I’m living in a decent apartment and not a sewer in a third world country. One day I want to feel more settled and have a nice house with a picket fence but for right now I want the ability to travel and make any city my home. While this is certainly unorthodox, it doesn’t mean that it’s wrong.

My life at a coffee shop

Not Being Able to Stop:
Since I stopped working full-time for someone else and started working mainly for myself, I’ve found it hard to stop working. I’ve heard other travel bloggers express similar concerns. In fact, I actually feel guilty if I’m not tweeting, writing or marketing my site. There is always something else to do. Although I went home to Virginia this past Thanksgiving and Christmas, I spent a good chunk of my “time off” catching up on freelance projects and getting ahead on my writing.

Sure, I could technically take a break or vacation whenever I want, doing so would not benefit me in the least. While this sort of lifestyle is difficult, I ultimately feel more fulfilled because I’m doing something that I love and therefore I’m willingly put in the time. Finding a balance between working and enjoying life without being connected to the Internet non-stop is a skill I hope to better master in the coming months.

Searching for Balance in Chile

Travel is Priceless:
I think the main worry of a parent with a travel writing daughter is wondering how I will support myself. While I understand and appreciate this concern, I believe that if you want something bad enough, you will make sacrifices to make it happen. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m living simply, not over-spending on things I don’t need and have been doing a good job of finding paid work that is not only in the travel industry but also allows me to work from any destination.

Although there is nothing wrong with having a stable job and income, I want to allow myself to be as bohemian as I please before I have a family to support. The experiences I’ve had while traveling are truly priceless and I’ll keep going until it is no longer a top priority of mine.

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I worked at an international record label so naturally, it was a social environment and luckily most of my co-workers were pleasant to be around. However, I’m an introvert my nature and found myself sometimes leaving the office during my lunch break just to walk around or sit on a park bench. I craved alone time and since my life was busy before, during, and after work, it was hard to find time for myself.

Fast forward to nearly a year later and I can’t believe how much my life has changed and I’m grateful to say that these changes are all positive. My ultimate goal was to find a way to do what I love most: travel and write. I wanted a lifestyle where I could live wherever I wanted and where I didn’t have to report to an office each day. After working harder than I’ve ever done in my life to launch Bohemian Trails, find paid writing gigs and market myself as a brand, I’m finally starting to see the rewards of my efforts.

Yet, now that I spend most of my time alone, I’m often in need of more social interaction. After a summer spent visiting family back home and then traveling to South America and Mexico, I could not wait to return to New York City to see all my friends. When I first moved to New York more than two years ago I knew absolutely nobody and I was forced to make friends the hard way – by putting yourself out there and leaving your shyness at the door. I managed to make quality friends who I was eager to re-connect with upon my return.

I’ve been back in New York now for about four months now and I’ve barely seen any of these people. Most of them came to my 25th brunch party but one-on-one time has been limited. While I wasn’t necessarily expecting people to fight over my time, I also wasn’t expecting that I’d be the only one constantly reaching out. I could blame it on the busy schedules that all New York City residents have, but I’ve found that when you want to see somebody or do something, you find a way to make it happen. It’s sad in a way, although I don’t fault my friends for having other priorities.

I first wondered if this was happening because I have a boyfriend. I’ve had friends in the past who had trouble balancing their love life with their social life and as a result, I felt ditched as a friend. Because I’m sensitive about this, I’ve tried really hard to not be that girl and to reach out to my friends whenever I can. At the same time, it’s hard to keep extending my hand and receiving nothing in return. On the other hand, there are times when I feel too anti-social to see people myself, so perhaps it does go both ways.

So who am I spending most of my time with? Well other than myself, I’ve been meeting people at my Spanish classes and at my local coffee shops. I’ve also established new friendships with people in the travel industry – both in person and online. It’s nice being located in New York because a lot of travel related events take place here. I regularly meet with Galding, NOFF, Tripfilms and other bloggers.

What I never expected was to establish solid friendships through social media and emails with other bloggers. Spending so much time alone yet having this support system has been invaluable to me. Maybe these new friendships have formed because my own priorities have also shifted. I’m working for myself now and working harder than I ever imaged I could. Meeting other people in similar situations helps me think that maybe my dreams aren’t so crazy after all.

Press trip to Los Cabos, Mexico

My only hope through all of this is that I continue to appreciate the truly important people in my life and never give up on trying to re-connect. This bohemian will be traveling a good deal this year and I’m determined to maintain my friendships at home and make new friendships abroad. Despite feeling lonely sometimes, the New York City streets somehow soothe my saddest thoughts. This is the same when I travel. A simple walk around a new city or town helps me in ways that other things can’t.

At the end of the day I’m happier than I’ve ever been and the people I value most in this world are who I keep close.

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Temple Tube Stop, London: As you already know, London holds a special place in my heart. I studied, worked and breathed in every part of this city, so much that I considered moving back after college graduation. My favorite view (which I actually don’t have a picture of) is on a little bench right outside of Temple Tube stop. I remember sitting beside the Thames River, staring straight ahead at the London Eye that shone in the distance and promising to return once I finished school. I was full of purpose and drive in this moment, which is why I recall it so clearly. Two years later I returned to the same peaceful place and told the city that I had found a new love – New York, and that I would not be around for awhile. It was as if I was saying hello and goodbye to an old friend.

Discovering a London sign in the West Village, Manhattan

Alcazar Palace, Sevilla: Visiting Sevilla, Spain was one of my spur of the moment weekend trips. I had a friend studying there and after having to cancel a weekend in Barcelona to attend my Grandmother’s funeral back home, I decided to give Spain another try. After checking into my hostel, I began to explore the area and almost managed to completely overlook the entrance sign to the Alcazar Palace. Thank goodness the small line outside caught my eye because the palace is one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I have ever stepped foot. As I wandered through the grounds I felt as though the palm trees were my shield against the hot sun. The Moorish architecture truly transplanted me back in time, so much that I could actually picture myself living here years and years ago (you never know – it could have happened).

Tintern Abbey, Wales: Tintern Abbey is a perfect example of when a destination exceeds your expectations. My study abrad program had organized a tour that took us through South Wales and while the grass was certainly green that day, the drizzly weather made the trip seem less than extraordinary. However, once we arrived at the ruins of Tintern Abbey (destruction ordered by Henry VIII) I experienced the most intense yet effortless pangs of peace. It’s hard to describe exactly how I felt in that moment but just standing in what was once a grand cathedral connected me with its history. Naturally, I went off wandering through the ruins solo and almost missed the bus heading back to London.

Santa Lucia, Santiago: A few months after starting Bohemian Trails, I decided to travel through Chile and Argentina for a month. I was still very much in transition mode. I was no longer working 9-5 and I was traveling but I hadn’t figured out a way to actually make money again. It was frustrating to say the least but my month in South America helped me grow as a writer and more importantly, as a person in pursuit of her dreams. There’s a hill in Santiago, Chile that has the most spectacular view of Santiago, which is an architecturally intriguing city. The hike up the hill is definitely worth it and the surrounding gardens and creeks make Santa Lucia truly heaven sent for a traveler in search of a good writing spot.

The Nile River: Egypt has gone through some very tough times this year and while chaos looms in their past, hopefully their future will be as calm as The Nile River. During my trip to Egypt I took a few felucca rides. Our tour group actually spent a day and night sailing on a small felucca boat rather than the larger cruise ships. Being close to the river made all the difference. I felt connected to nature, completely clear-headed and open about my worries. I spoke to our tour guide for almost the entire day and although our lives were drastically different, my emotional openness allowed us to have a conversation that allowed me to vocalize my feelings, concerns and ultimate goals in life.

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Anyway, here are 10 signs you are a bohemian-at-heart. 

1. You are rocking the messy hair look not because you are trying to fit into the current trend but rather because you barely slept after drinking with locals the night before. You also can’t seem to locate your hairbrush and are beginning to question whether you packed it in the first place.

2. You are covered in various winter fabrics and have no intention of explaining your fashion choices of the day. A bohemian never needs to think about his or her outfit. If you are cold, then wear as much wool and knit as you can. Nothing is more unfashionable than a traveler who is cold, tired and grumpy. Plus, the layered look is always a popular winter trend.

3. You randomly stop in the middle of the street because you happened to spot a really cool brick wall covered in local street art. This always makes me stop in my tracks, especially if it’s colorful and quirky. Just be careful to look both ways before attempting to cross the street again.

4. You can’t manage to find anything of relevance in your backpack or purse because you find beauty in the non-traditional. You might have forgotten to throw your passport in your bag but you still have the number to a cool bar scribbled on your notepad and a coffee shop that specializes in organic blends.

5. Being broke doesn’t stop you from exploring. Whether you have $5 or $500 to spend each day, there are often endless free activities and cultural sites that require only your camera and walking shoes. If you are a girl, chances are pretty high that your drinks that night will be paid for by a regular.

6. You find yourself in situations you are not prepared for and get involved anyway. In Jujuy, Argentina, I decided to climb the Hill of Seven Colors even though I was wearing a long maxi skirt and ballet flats that had zero traction. I may not have dressed appropriately for a jaunt with nature but I made it up the hill regardless.

7. You crave alone time almost daily. Whether it’s to reflect on your surroundings, write a poem that’s been floating in your head all week, or to jot down ideas for your next creative project, this is a normal and you should not fight the urge to brainstorm ideas and use your inspiration for the greater good.

8. You wear sunglasses and over-sized hats not because you secretly think you are a celebrity but because you want to feel a little bit invisible as you observe the local culture. Hiding behind your sunglasses doesn’t mean you are avoiding contact with people. You simply came prepared for all weather conditions.

9. You put your street performing abilities to the test by singing for passing tourists in the main square or doing your best imitation of a local dance style. You may not make any money and you may not be doing it for the money in the first place. Going outside your comfort zone and giving it a shot is something every traveler should try at least once.

10. You feel an itch to get back on the trail and continue your journey. A bohemian traveler never stays in one place too long because they know that there are more cities and towns that need exploring. Our boots keep walking and lead us down the path we are meant to find and explore.

Megan in Santiago, Chile

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I am a Dual Citizen: There are some who would say that I should not be opening admitting to owning two passports but this is one fun fact about myself that I value above most others. I was able to receive my Irish citizenship through my Grandfather after presenting the required documents and waiting the months it takes to receive confirmation that I’ve been accepted.

Whenever I travel to South America and Europe I use my Irish passport once I’m outside US borders. Before deciding to move to NYC right after college, I seriously contemplated heading back to London and getting a job there. New York turned out to be the right choice for me but having the flexibility to  live and work anywhere in the EU or the US with no problems is beyond comforting.

Megan in Galway

Mickey Mouse inspired my Wanderlust: Since we are on the topic of passports, my first semi-real travel experience happened in Disney World Orlando. It was my family’s first trip to the magical land of Mickey Mouse and during out day spent in Epcot Center something in the gift shop window caught my eye. It was a fake passport one could buy and collect stamps from visiting the different countries represented in Epcot.

After seeing my Dad’s many stamps in his read passport, I wanted one for myself and even though I wasn’t really traveling at all, the excitement I felt as I received from each “country” was enough to make me realize just how much I wanted to travel. When I finally received my first real stamp during my semester in London, you can bet it was a surreal moment.

Image via Panoramio

I kissed a famous British Footballer in London: It wasn’t until my summers lifeguarding at my local pool that I had the slightest inkling that men might be attracted to me. I’m by no means an ogre but in high school I was really shy, a bit awkward and nervous around men in general. I had friends and was well-liked, but I put all of my energy into school, band and sports – purposely leaving little time to worry about not being asked to the Homecoming dance.

However, during my semester in London I seemed to be attracting men at a frequent rate. On one such night at The Slug and Lettuce in the rather touristy Leicester Square neighborhood, I mingled with a football legend….or so they say. I had no clue who he was and even called him by the wrong name at some point but I guess this adds to the attraction factor? He stole a quick peck on the lips before going our separate ways.

ahhh….my young 21 year old self

I almost had a run-in with Belgium police: This may not sound too dramatic to most, but it was quite frightening for me in that very moment. A friend and I had decided to spent the day in Ghent (we were staying in Brussels) and after a relaxing day of wanderings, I suggested we check out the famous Saint Bavo Cathedral.

We had seen it on the city map so we assumed that there would at least be a few other tourists already there – except nobody was even close to the cathedral. We searched for the entrance but everything was locked and we couldn’t figure out why (we never did either). On our final attempt to find an open door, we managed to set off an alarm heard all throughout the city.

Like real bandits we sprinted away from the scene of the crime as we saw the police and ambulances rushing toward the church. I had heard horror stories about young girls who get arrested in foreign countries and put in jail so my mind was racing with these possibilities. Of course I was overreacting, and as we walked further and further in the opposite direction we decided to pick a local bar and laugh about the whole thing over beer and waffels. :

I’ve Been Offered A Million Camels: During my two weeks traveling through Egypt, I met some interesting and inspiring locals. There were, however, a few men who humored me quite a bit. Living in New York gave me a little bit of an advantage when it came to market shopping at the souks. While the other women in my group (and everyone for that matter) decided to shop in pairs, I purposely went off by myself.

This may sounds crazy to some, but I had a few more souvenirs to pick up and I really don’t do well in shopping packs. Plus, I’m considerably used to ignoring street vendors so in many ways, I felt right at home in the souk. In Luxor, I was offered a million camels, which according to my stunned tour guide was about three million dollars. Another man offered to give me a temple. Clearly, they owned neither camels nor temples but I found the whole offering system hilarious.

The Wannabe Celebrity with Many Talents:
On a plane with from London to Prague, my Mom and I managed to be seated next to a linguist named Anya who was convinced she was Cameron Diaz’s long lost twin sister. It was one of those situations where you don’t really know what to say. To be honest, I was more fascinated by her fluency in six languages but she really just wanted to talk about her fabulous life in Prague. Besides being highly entertaining, she was also very friendly and even offered to be our tour guide in two other Czech cities. Unfortunately, we were only passing through Prague, but her offer was very tempting.

Megan in Prague – Spring 2008

The Fifth Grader who trumps you at world trivia:
During the few days I spent in Cuzco, Peru, I met some interesting locals. Perhaps one of the most intriguing people I met here was an 11 year old boy who was clever beyond his years. He was trying to sell a card he supposedly drew himself (it was a xerox copy of a famous painting). I might have given the kid some money for the faux art piece but I really had no cash on me and I also have some moral issues with encouraging this sort of behavior. However, Juan, turned out to be one of the smartest kids I’ve ever met, which also made me feel frustration because he might never get to use his gifts to their full potential. I spent a good 10 minutes chatting with him about politics and was shocked by how much he knew that I didn’t.

A Fellow Hostel-Mate that grew up in your hometown:
It never ceases to amaze me how many stories I hear about traveling half way around the world and finding someone you either know personally or someone who grew up in your same town. Just last year, I was leaving an ice-skating excursion in Central Park when two tourists asked me to take a picture. Normally I would just snap the photo and continue on my way but this time I decided to ask where they were visiting from. As it turned out, the girl grew up 2 miles from my house and her boyfriend went to the same college where I graduated. Situations like these remind me how inter-connected people are and how many missed connections we never discover because we don’t bother to ask.

Making Friends in Egypt – Jan. 2011

The die-hard romantic who confesses his love to you:
Depending on how seriously you take his confessions of love, this could either be an uncomfortable or humorous situation. For me, I’ve experienced both. In Egypt, I found it funny when local souk vendors offered me camels and even temples in exchange for things I would never even consider doing. Other strange experiences included a local Dubliner drawing me on a napkin at a bar and then showing the less than flattering final product to me minutes later. Within the first two hours of arriving in Faro, Portugal, I became the prized possession of two local men in town. They ended up giving me a tour throughout the city and I had a fun time learning Portugese curse words and chatting about life over double espressos.

Faro, Portugal – seconds before meeting my two local tour guides 

The Real Deal: A Local Celebrity: This is a made-up term by yours truly which basically refers to random locals you meet who happen to be well-versed in the who, what, where, when and why of a city. My first few days in Egypt were spent with a friend of mine who was staying with a local who knew exactly where to party, when to visit the most popular sites, and who to talk to in order to make that happen. As a result, we rang in the New Year at a popular lounge with belly dancers, delicious food and friendly people. We also were granted access to the Cairo Tower after it was already closed, giving us a bit of VIP musings. While you don’t need to seek out the trendiest person in town, just talking to locals will help narrow down your itinerary.

Taxi Drivers Offer Good Advice:
Some may consider this to be odd behavior, but I generally sit in the front seat of taxi drivers. Since I usually take the subway or walk to save money, I would say that 9 out of 10 times, I’ve learned some valuable advice from taxi drivers. Many of them are from other parts of the world, which makes for interesting conversations. I always love asking them what it was like growing up in their hometown and then transitioning to life in the United States. Most of them are so grateful to be in NYC that it makes me remember that I too should never take my life for granted.

Taxi drivers also tend to have really positive energy. I remember one Halloween night (my birthday is the next day) I was lamenting to my poor taxi driver about how I hate turning another year older. I don’t remember what he said word for word but it was so comforting that I immediately felt revitalized. His general message was that each new year brings new experiences and that I will never truly grow as an individual if I’m not viewing each new day as an opportunity to better myself and the world.

Walking Clears My Head:
Only in New York can you aimlessly walk the streets at 2 am and feel safe. I generally don’t walk alone at this hour but it’s nice to know that if I did, there would be enough other people in the streets to make me feel less alarmed. I’ve actually had some really motivational walks in New York simply because it’s hard to walk down a street and not feel inspired. Every neighborhood is uniquely different and has it’s own eclectic vibe that makes you feel “brand new” (Alicia Keys was right).

My favorite neighborhoods to walk through are NoLIta, SoHo, West Village and the Upper West Side. I try to avoid Union Square, Herald Square and anywhere even close to midtown when I’m looking for a peaceful walk. There have been some days when I walk for hours, crossing from East to West or from TriBeCa to Chelsea. Watching life as you go from neighborhood to neighborhood is sometimes all you need to solve your problems.

The Real Crazies Make You Feel Sane:
This may seem like an obvious reason but I don’t think people understand the extent to the craziness in New York. On any given day, you will see the man who roams around town with his cat on his head or the woman who decided to paint the rainbow in her hair or the homeless man on the street who happens to be a talented chef. The list goes on and on but the important thing to remember is that everyone has problems and yet everyone finds a way to solve them.

While there are always going to be people crazier than the next, I’m happily content to admit that I’m a bit of an oddball myself. All my friends are too and this makes me feel like there are power in numbers. I like to think of New York as the place where the outcast fit in. Every time I feel misunderstood, I look around and am comforted by the fact that there are hundreds of other people who feel the exact same way.

I’m Constantly Inspired:
There’s a reason why so many people take the risk and move to New York. There’s a glow about the people here that is truly magnetic. Everyone here is pursuing a dream and the energy that bounces from one person to the next is enough to stay motivated about my own life goals.

You really can never judge a book by it’s cover. Countless waiters are waiting for their next big break – some of them making it to huge success. For all you know, the local mailman may be pursuing a rap career and he may even have some talent. I’ve seen some pretty amazing street and subway performers during my time in New York and it certainly puts a smile on my face.

The Street Art Never Ends:
I’m sure you all know how much I love street art and luckily, I came to the right city to find it on every corner. My favorite areas for art are in the East Village and along the Bowery but Queens and Brooklyn have some fantastic local street artists as well. I find inspiration from this sort of creativity and always stop in my tracks when I see a piece that speaks to my bohemian self. When I travel, I love exploring the art influences of a city. I feel in love with Valparaiso, Chile mainly due to the amount of street art created by locals artists.

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This time last year I was working 9-5 in a city I loved and yet I often found myself day dreaming about where I wanted to travel to next. Since I was no longer enchanted with my life, there was really nothing holding me back.  I pushed fear aside and started Bohemian Trails, hoping that if nothing else, it would serve as an outlet for all the travel musings I was having on a regular basis.

Whether I succeeded or failed, I planned on traveling as much as possible in the next year. Since I was still 24, I hopped right back on my parent’s insurance policy where I will stay until November 1, 2012. I had saved up a good deal of money by this point and I was eager to get on the road and start my journey, wherever it led me.

Life certainly has it’s own sense of humor though, which I discovered in a beautiful way. Weeks before I planned on traveling for a few months I met my now boyfriend and before I knew it we were an official couple. The timing was certainly less than ideal. I had already given up my downtown apartment and was heading back to Virginia to save money for the trip I had yet to plan and he was off to Chile for a few months to set up an office for his company.

Since I had no set travel plans other than to travel I did what I thought I would never in a million years do. I took up his offer to visit him in Chile (mere weeks after dating), bought my ticket and flew there a month later. At the time I thought it was perfectly natural and I felt no fear, hesitation or trepidation that this could potentially end badly.

Looking back on it now, I can’t believe that I acted so fearless and brave. I tend to over-think things almost to a fault and often boasted about how much I love being single and independent but here I was boarding a plane like a love-sick teenager. In all honesty, our relationship was still very new and spending a month traveling with your significant other is not always easy. It worked out for us and our relationship deepened to a level I’m still trying to comprehend.

As happy as I am, I’m struggling with how much to travel this year. One one hand, I want to travel as much as possible because I’ve worked relentlessly the past year to get to the point where I’m being offered press trips. I don’t want to look back and wish that I had traveled more. There is so much global art and culture out there to explore.

At the same time, I’m in a completely different situation than I was last year. It’s hard for me to openly write this but I don’t like being away too long from my boyfriend and friends. I love traveling and I don’t ever plan on cutting it out of my life, but I also like having a place to come back to and New York City has become this for me.

I look at other travel bloggers and I don’t know how some of them do it. I admire these travelers so much because they are able to put their life on hold and travel around the world. I’m not sure this is the travel style that best suits me and I don’t want to force myself into an around the world trip if I’m not ready. The important thing that I try to remember is that it’s not how or where you travel to that matters but rather the life lessons you learn along the way.

I prefer to travel to new places and combining adventure with local life. There is nothing more alluring to me than living in Paris for a month and living a normal life. To me, a bohemian traveler is one who feels the urge to pick up and move somewhere else whenever the wind calls their name.

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Valparaiso: This Chilean coastal city continues to amaze me. It’s not everyday that you stumble upon a city that prides itself on out-of-this world street art. Here in Valparaiso, this is just another hobby for the creative geniuses that call Valpo their home. During the month I spent traveling through Chile and Argentina, we decided to include a few coastal cities even though it was cold, rainy and essentially deserted. I had no idea that I would feel so at home in Valpo but every element that contributes to the overal vibe of the city made me feel brand new. It turned out to be an ideal time to visit because it was just us and the locals. We met a few people, lazily drank coffee from hilltop cafes and even stumbled upon an impromptu Bassa Nova performance at a nearby library. Once I master the Spanish language, I’d love to live in Valparaiso for a month…or several.

Concepción: This is probably a town most of you have never heard of and one I definitely never knew existed. It’s actually a town outside Tucumán, a city in central Argentina. I went here to visit my boyfriend’s family and I’m so glad I did because otherwise I would have never stumbled upon this tiny town. There’s nothing in particular about Concepción that makes it more special than other Argentinian towns but it immediately felt like home. We walked through the entire town in just a few hours, drank coffee in the main square (which actually has free Wi-Fi) and ate more empanadas that I’d like to count. If you do find yourself here one day, you must eat the empanadas – they are notoriously delicious in and around the Tucumán province. 

London: I write about London a lot so of course the rainy city makes it onto my list. I spent a semester in college living and working here and gained a lot of confidence and independence by wandering the streets solo. I am aware, however, that this feeling could easily have been associated with other cities and towns. Almost all of my friends who also studied abroad seem to have had a similar experience. Whether I was in London or Madrid or Sydney, the experience of living in another country is a tough one to beat. When I returned to London two years later, I saw the city differently. It was still like coming home to see an old friend but like any old friend, there’s both a distance and yet a strange familiarity that can’t be broken. I had a love affair with London and a part of me will always belong there.

Sloane Square, London 

Paris: I’m not sure if it’s because I’m distantly related to French Royalty or simply because I can’t resist a walk along the Seine, but as soon as I stepped foot in Paris for the first time I felt like I had been here before. I’ve heard similar stories from other travelers but I’ve also heard about people being underwhelmed by the city of lights. If I could spend all day listening to local street performers as I gaze at Paris from the steps of the Sacre Coeur, I’m pretty sure I’d have no legitimate reason to complain…about anything. I remember this memory I have of walking along the Champs-Elysees one night near Christmas time and seeing this thin, bungled up French woman racing along in her heels, one arm clutching her designer purse, the other cradling a cigarette. I looked at her as the quintessential Parisian and it struck me so much that to this day I envision her when I think of chic elegance.

Megan in Paris, 2008

New York: Clearly, if I wasn’t constantly inspired by New York I wouldn’t choose to live here. It’s not an easy place to be and not everyone finds the dirty streets appealing. To me, there an inner glow that radiates from the people here and this spark sets my own dreams ablaze. I really have nothing bad to say about New York. Instead, I’m so grateful that I made the leap of faith to move to this crazy city jobless, apartment-less and completely along. Knowing nobody made me work that much harder to make friends and become more of a go-getter in life in general. It’s easy to become jaded after a few years living the dream in New York but there are times when I just look outside my window and smile ear to ear for no reason at all. I’ve often felt a bit misunderstood, an outcast if you will. But New York is the place where the outcast fits in – and I’m so glad to have found my place.

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A Room with a View

Technically I was there for business and while most of my two-day trip was spent hard at work, I still took some time to explore the much warmer alternative city to New York. Last time I was in Miami, I stayed closer to the South Beach side of town but this time I went a bit more local. My apartment was on bay side and had a stunning view of downtown Miami. The view waking up was definitely nicer than my the green fire escape I’m used to seeing in New York.

My Neighborhood

The area was very quiet and slightly residential and yet it was easily accessible to the popular Lincoln Avenue shops, restaurants and fountains. I remember Lincoln Avenue being the once area I really wanted to see but missed out on the last time I visited Miami but this trip I got more than my fare share. As if the warm weather wasn’t enough to put me in an elated mood, these glittery palm trees certainly did the trick.

My Favorite Street

Espanola Way may be way more touristy than it is bohemian but I’m willing to make an exception because I cannot get enough of this street. The only thing I can compare it to is Mulberry Street in Little Italy minus the over-crowdedness and annoying vendors. My first trip down Espanola Way resulted in multiple free rounds of Mojitos plus a few local friends. I didn’t stop by for a drink this time but enjoyed the memories flooding back into my mind.

Morning Sunrise

Miami would not be complete without a sunrise and here you have it – the view from South Beach. Waking up early in the morning and walking to the beach was definitely worth it. It was so early that hardly anyone was up yet and I practically had the place to myself, giving me a more personal experience. The trip was shot and sweet but the brief break from a cold winter back home both revitalized and inspired me to keep trudging along.

Learning Something New

I had written this article right before heading downstairs to catch my cab so this was a last minute addition that I feel is worth sharing. I think that in all my travels I have never actually had a female taxi driver. I can’t believe it took me about fifteen minutes of chatting with this friendly woman to realize this fairly obvious observation. I’ve been in New York for nearly three years now and of course have taken a few cabs in other countries and this was a first for me.

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UK and EUROPE:

England: London was my home for a few months in 2008 and has remained one of my favorite global cities. While many of my fellow study abroad peers overlooked the rest of England, I made a point to explore towns near and far. Some of my favorites include Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton Beach, Canterbury, and the Cotswolds. The one perk of rainy weather in England is how beautiful the countryside is when the sun comes out.

Scotland: Although my expectations for Edinburgh were low, I couldn’t have been more impressed with the city. It’s not everyday that you lay eyes on a castle built upon volcanic rock. I’m also a huge Harry Potter fan so drinking coffee as I overlooked the castle (the inspiration of Hogwarts and Harry Potter in general), was one of my favorite travel moments. I also went on a tour through the highlands in hopes of seeing the legendary lock ness monster named Nessie. She never showed.

Wales: One of my weekends was spent driving through South Wales. While many of the other students found the country on the boring side, I found the small towns and green green grass charming. Highlights included Cardiff, Swansea, Brecons Beacon National Park, the ruins of Tintern Abbey and taking a tour underground in a real mine.

Ireland: Since I am an official Irish Citizen, it was only a matter of time before making my way back home. I’ve been there twice and hope to make it three by the end of 2012 (fingers crossed). Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Limerick were all memorable cities with extraordinarily friendly people but no trip to Ireland is complete without a kiss of the Blarney Stone. I stone two kisses so I hope that doesn’t count as cheating.

Spain: After canceling a trip to beachy Barcelona due to a family crises, I figured visiting a friend who was studying in Sevilla was one way to see a little bit of Spain. I immediately fell in love with everything about Sevilla, from the Alcazar Palace to the famous Cathedral to the local shops and bars, this city completely reflected my new outlook on life. I felt relaxed, refreshed and ready to conquer my next destination.

Portugal: On my way to Spain I decided to stop through Faro to experience just a taste of Portugal. The small city had huge personalities, two of them you can read about in my Love and Travel Intertwined article. I visited a couple local monuments and spent the rest of the day sampling traditional sweets and talking about life over double espressos. When I make it back to Portugal, Lisbon and Porto are top on my list of new cities to explore.

Italy: Many people visit Italy and I have yet to hear anything but positive reviews. Like everybody else, I had an amazing time in Italy although I need at least another month to see all there is to see and that probably still wouldn’t be enough time. I spent about two weeks traveling through Venice, Florence and Rome and had more wine, pasta, pizza and gelato than I care to remember. Venice was definitely my favorite simply because of it’s design of canals and bridges. I would go back in a heartbeat.

France: I always suggest France to first time travelers because there is so much to do there and it won’t give you a huge dose of culture shock. Many of my ancestors are French, so visiting Paris for the first time was very special for me. I also enjoyed walking through the Palace at Versailles, especially the Hall of Mirrors. While some people think the Eiffel Tower is overrated, I actually felt that it was underrated because the view was absolutely magical. Don’t leave town before trying a Banana & Nutella crepe.

Belgium: As it turns out, Belgium is one of my favorite countries that I’ve been to so far. Traveling through Brussels, Bruges and Ghent were definite highlights and cities I would recommend for anyone heading to Europe. Brussels is designed to look like Paris and it definitely does but the streets are ten times cleaner. My favorite city was definitely Ghent because it was the most traditional. A trip to Belgium is not complete without tasting at least one of their famous Belgium waffels and sampling their chocolates.

Switzerland: Spending a few days in Zurich literally had me feeling like I was living in a Disney fairytale movie. I often call Zurich “Cinderella town” because it is so magical. I traveled here with my mom and could not help noticing that everyone here was madly in love, which made me feel a twinge of jealousy, but that only lasted a few seconds. We took a boat rode along Lake Zurich, wandered through the city streets and ate along the water. My most memorable view was from the top of the Ferris Wheel in the city center. With mountains behind you and the lake in front, it’s hard not to appreciate your surroundings.

Luxembourg: I took a day trip to Luxembourg from Paris and clearly overestimated the size of the city. After arriving to the train terminal and taking a bus to the city center, after a few minutes I realized that I had actually crossed into a neighboring town. After backtracking and discovering that most of the museums were closed that day, I made the most of my time and ate as many crepes as I could before shopping at the Christmas Markets and listening to local carolers.

Holland: Another trip I did with some of my study abroad friends was to Holland. Our main stop was of course Amsterdam but we actually stayed in a nearby town called Monnickendam to save some money. After all, we were all broke college kids. As it turns out, Monnickendam was more memorable in some ways than lively Amsterdam. The town was quiet and very traditional. Our first morning there consisted of visiting a cheese & clog factory which is one experience I’ll never forget.

Austria: Since I am both a Mozart and Sound of Music fan, I thought it was only appropriate that I visit Salzburg. The weather was cold and damp but that didn’t stop me from walking all the way up to the Fortress for a stunning view of mountains. I also enjoyed visiting the city’s quirky graveyard and walking in and out of the local stores. Just like it was hundreds of years ago, each shop has a metal sign hanging outside the door with an image depicting what they sell.

Germany: I’ll be heading back to Germany later this year, but so far I’ve only been to Munich, which is one of my favorite European cities. The architecture, beer, and friendly atmosphere makes Munich an ideal place to visit or live. I also made took a day trip to Dachau, the former location of a concentration camp. Walking through the grounds was not easy but it was instrumental in teaching me more about the Holocaust.

Czech: I spent a few days in Prague with my Mom back in 2008 and we had a fun time of getting lost and then found in each of the four quarters. My favorite part of Prague, besides the castle and walking past an Absinth Factory, was the Astrological clock in the city center. Whether I like to admit it or not, I’m relatively interested in astrology and this clock was like nothing I’d ever seen before.

Turkey: Unfortunately I only spent one night in Turkey so I don’t have too many things to say other than it was time well spent. I had a night layover in Istanbul before heading back to New York and decided to book a hostel and explore as much as I could before hopping back on the plane. The Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque area absolutely magnificent at night and the dinner I ate in town was delicious.

MIDDLE EAST

Egypt: My first trip in 2011 was a two week tour through Egypt. Besides visiting the Great Pyramids of Giza and the famous Sphinx, I was able to go on a hot air balloon ride over Luxor, eat with a local Nubian family outside of Aswan, and sail on a traditional felucca boat for a day and night. Riding both a camel and a donkey were two new modes of transportation which I would willingly do again. Abu Simbel was an added excursion that was well worth the three hour bus ride.

my donkey friend in Luxor

NORTH AMERICA

Mexico: The first time I went to Mexico was only for a few hours. As part of a cruise, we had a pit stop in Cozumel before heading back on the boat. My friend and I went on a short Mayan tour and spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling, drinking margaritas and then drinking more free shots at Senor Frogs. This past October, I went to Los Cabos, San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas as part of a press trip. We went kayaking, horseback riding and I even swam with a dolphin, thus fulfilling a childhood dream.

SOUTH AMERICA

Argentina: In the past two years, I’ve traveled to Argentina twice and both times I felt right at home with the locals. Back in 2010 I went to Buenos Aires and a nearby town called Luján, where people often go in hopes of receiving a miracle. This past summer I went back to BA but also traveled to the North of Argentina to Jujuy, where I visited three aboriginal towns very close to the Bolivian Border. I also went to Cordoba and to Tucumán, including the small town of Concepción.

Bolivia: During my first trip to South America we visited my friend’s family in Bolivia in Cochabamba. We also traveled through Santa Cruz and La Paz before continuing on our way. The few days we spent with her family in Cochabamba were some of the most relaxing on our trip. Their house overlooked a lake which was surrounded by hills, houses and green grass. In the distance was the large Cristo de la Concordia (Christ of Peace) statue. The best thing about this park was the wild horses lazily grazing nearby.

Chile: This past August I spent a few weeks in Chile, traveling to Santiago, Santa Cruz, Valparaiso, Reñaca and Viña del Mar. It was winter in South America while I was there, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the great outdoors. Valparaiso was my favorite Chilean city by far mainly due to the amount of high-quality street art covering buildings and walls. We also took a boat ride that put us inches away from a family of massive walruses. Wine tasting in Santa Cruz educated me on Chile’s wine history, which is quite extensive.

Peru: My first trip to South America took me straight to Cuzco, Peru. From there, my friend and I took the Machu Picchu train to Aguas Calientes, where we relaxed in the hot springs before waking up at 4 am to wait in line for tickets to climb Wayna Picchu. Seeing the Inca ruins up close and personal was a dream come true for me and an experience I’ll always remember. Before leaving Peru, I spent a day with friends at Ancon beach, located just outside of Lima. Despite a serious suburn and a jelly fish scare, sailing in the Peruvian waters on a yacht had me feeling pretty special.

Valparaiso, Chile

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Let the Tubing Begin

This time, however, I was sober and ready to celebrate our friend’s birthday. Living Social teamed up with Campgaw Mountain. Although we were only driving 45 minutes away, Mahwah New Jersey could have been another country. As soon as we arrived at the mountain, we hit the bathrooms, grabbed our tubes and went up the mountain. The ride up is one of my favorite things about tubing.

I’m sure this sounds cliche, but the few minutes it takes to get up to the mountain are somewhat therapeutic. Just listening to the Top 40 songs blasting from down below as you stare up at the sky is all the therapy I need. These relaxing minutes quickly transform into adrenalin as you reach the top. I took about 4 or 5 rides total, the first shoot being my fastest. A large cup of hot chocolate awaited us when we returned from our last ride.

And Then There Was Food

After about an hour and a half on the slopes, our next stop was Mahwah Bar and Grill. Perhaps the most amusing part of our drive here was a girl a few rows back literally stripping down and changing into a mini skirt and heels. I have a feeling her expectations for our dinner venue were a little high. Despite the rush of hungry eaters (our group included), the dinner buffet was exactly what we needed. Pasta, wings, burgers aren’t easy to justify eating on a regular basis, but once in a while you should indulge.

Surprise Performance from the Grasshoppers

In true birthday celebratory fashion, shots were a must. The Grasshopper was the birthday girl’s shot of choice and although it didn’t look to tasty, appearances were definitely deceiving in this case because they were delicious. After we were full and buzzed to our hearts content we rounded up our group and headed back to the bus, where many of us snoozed our way back to Manhattan.

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Since 2006, many markets have relocated and shops have shut down, however, in the fast paced city you can always count on finding great shopping around almost every corner. In Shanghai you’ll find everything from high-end malls to colorful outdoor markets.

I had the opportunity to spend a summer in Shanghai a few years ago and revisit some of my favorite shopping areas as well as discover new ones.  While you can find many malls with foreign brands, I prefer to visit the markets and street vendors to find unique products and great deals. There are so many shopping areas in Shanghai it’s hard to cover them all, but below you’ll find a variety of some of Shanghai’s most popular shopping venues that are a great addition to any China custom tour.

Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road

Huaihai Road and Nanjing Road are two of the most famous commercial shopping streets in Shanghai. Nanjing Road, or Nanjing Lu in Chinese, spans 3.4 miles from the Bund to Jing’an Temple. You’ll find upscale stores with name brands, in addition to traditional and specialty shops where you can find things such as silk, jade, artwork, knick knacks and other souvenirs. The one thousand year old street has both traditional aspects of Chinese culture and modern features.

Nanjing road is a major tourist attraction as it offers such a diverse experience where you can explore boutiques with unique art, enjoy tea shops and coffee bars, listen to the music played by the street performers, and experience food from around the world.

Huaihai Road has around 400 shops, restaurants and businesses, mainly selling female clothing and accessories. Huaihai is where you’ll find what is trendy and fashionable in Shanghai. There are department stores like Isetan, and smaller shops including Levis and Miss Sixty, among other designer brands from around the world. The French architecture is elegant and modern, and the bustling road demonstrates the prosperity and growth of the city.

Yuyuan Market

Yuyuan market is an ideal shopping venue for local crafts, antiques, jade, jewelry, tea sets and other souvenirs. You’ll find large shops, as well as small stalls and vendors.  Yuyuan Market, or Yuyuan Bazaar, is located right next to Yuyuan Garden, a beautiful Chinese garden that was established in 1559. While shopping at Yuyuan market you should definitely take the time to explore the gardens. The colorful market also has a variety of delicious local snacks, including some of the best steamed dumplings in Shanghai!

Nan Waitan Fabric Market

Nan Waitan (South Bund) Fabric Market is one of the largest fabric markets in Shanghai. Originally called Dongjiadu Fabric Market and located outdoors, it has relocated indoors to Lujiabang Road. You can find hundreds of stalls selling every type of fabric imaginable at low prices.  You’ll find Chinese silk, thai silk, cotton, linen, wool, cashmere, etc. Additionally, many of the shops have their own tailor who can sew custom fit clothes for you.

Dongtai Road Antique Market

DongTai is the largest antique market in Shanghai, with hundreds of stalls and shops where you’ll find antiques, porcelain, furniture, jewelry, baskets, wood carvings, flowers, etc.  It is located on Dongtai Lu and Liuhe Lu.  Be cautious in your purchases as many of the antiques may be fake. Regardless, DongTai is a great place to explore the culture and history of Shanghai.

Most of the old markets in Shanghai are gone, and converted to markets selling clothes, watches, and fake handbags. Even if you are not looking to buy furniture it is fun to wander around the stalls, and soak up the culture. You will see vendors playing cards and Mahjong, a popular game in China.

Qipu Lu Clothing Market

Qipu Lu is a multi-story clothing market packed with vendors.  Since the closing of Xiangyang market, infamous for it’s fake products, many of the vendors from Xiangyang have relocated to Qipu Lu. You will find clothes, shoes, accessories, bags, and jewelry all at affordable prices. There are many great deals to be had at Qipu Lu, though the large market can be daunting for the unexperienced shopper. Read some of the bargaining tips below to get accustomed with the shopping rituals in China.

Bargaining

Bargaining is a major aspect of shopping in Shanghai and is a must at most of the markets. Learning a few Chinese phrases can be helpful, though a lot of the bargaining can easily be done on a calculator.  If you are on your first China tour you may not be familiar with the market price of things.

One way to find out is to ask different vendors, compare their final prices to give you an idea of what a fair price is. Remember to be patient, bargaining can be frustrating, but it is part of the culture. Honor the price agreement you reach and try to have fun!

Guest post by Ali Dempsey from Global Basecamps. 

Global Basecamps is a specialty travel company that helps independent travelers research and book locally owned boutique hotels, eco lodges and multi-day excursions all over the world.

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Travel

After months of networking, sending emails, trying tactic after tactic to increase the quality of Bohemian Trails, things are looking up. So far I’ll be traveling to Fiji, Israel, Austria and Greece. Other destinations that are still in the words include Ireland, Germany and Indonesia. Although I never like to get my hopes up, I’m truly excited for these travel opportunities and plan to get the most I can from these fascinating countries.

Write a Print Travel Feature

Many of you know that a huge goal of mine is to become a print writer, with the ultimate goal of one day publishing a novel. December 2011 brought me my first print feature in an international magazine (U.S. and Colombia). The fashion article was included in the magazine’s One-Year Anniversary Edition. I hope to write some feature articles for travel magazines this year. I’ve been busy pitching away so hopefully I’ll get there in 2012.

Master the Spanish Language

If you read my Weekly Wander article from November, you already know that I’ve begun taking Spanish classes. As a travel writer who values local life over tourist traps, it’s a little difficult to speak to locals if you don’t know their native language. Spanish is spoken in a slew of countries around the world so I decided to take advantage of my freelance schedule and signed up for intensive classes with Instituto Cervantes. Dating an Argentinian certainly adds to my motivation. My hope for 2012 is for me to break my shyness and speak with locals on my next South American trip.

Improve my Photography Skills

For my 25 birthday, my boyfriend literally read my mind about what I wanted and surprised me with a Sony DSC-HX 100 Camera. I knew that a huge part of travel is being able to take high-resolution images while on the road. Although my iPhone has bee serving me relatively well on my last few trips, I really needed something more professional to capture all that I was seeing. I plan on playing around with the different settings so that I can take pictures that represent the emotion of the destination I am trying to convey.

Find new Challenges to Conquer

One reason why I find travel so inspiring is because there are always new challenges to face and battle head-on. For example, I’m very shy by nature and traveling (especially solo) has forced me to break out of my comfort-zone and start conversations with fellow travelers and locals. I’m also more observant and reflective during my travels, and I am ready to find more challenges on my trips this year.

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Egypt: My year started off with a two week trip through Egypt. Although most of my time in Egypt was spent with a tour group, my first two days in Cairo allowed me to experience local life. I had a friend in town who was staying with an Egyptian family so we all rang in the New Year together at Cairo hotspot Arabesque. The next day we sailed along The Nile for some rest and relaxation before officially beginning my high-energy tour that took me to the Pyramids of Giza, Nubia, Abu Simbel, Luxor and countless museums and monuments. Few people make it to Egypt and come back uninspired, and I’m certainly no exception. Upon returning to the U.S. I found myself missing the people, culture and tranquility of Egypt.

New Years Party 2011, Cairo

 Chile: The weeks I spent in Chile were some of the most introspective of the year, which surprised me to be honest. Although I had read articles about Chile it was never high on my priority list when it came to places to visit. I spent about two weeks in Santiago eating at restaurant after restaurant, snapping photos of major monuments and drinking at local bars. I also made it to some of the coastal cities including Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, and Reñaca. I also made my way south to Santa Cruz where I went on a wine tour through one of the Vineyards. Chile turned out to be one of my favorite travel destinations of all time. The people were incredibly friendly and I fell comfortably into their laid-back way of viewing life.

the view of Reñaca

Argentina: My first trip to Argentina back in 2010 took me to Buenos Aires and the remote town of Luján so I was more than eager to return and explore more cities and towns. This time, I traveld though three aboriginal towns in Jujuy at the very northern tip of the country. It was incredibly fascinating to learn about the cultural traditions of the local people and watch them sew their clothing and make music from handmade instruments. I then went to Cordoba, Tucumán (including the small yet charming Concepción) and of course I couldn’t leave without stopping through Buenos Aires again. BA has quickly become one of my favorite global cities and I couldn’t resist seeing another performance.

The Hill of the Seven Colors, Jujuy

Mexico: After a last minute invite to attend a press trip to Los Cabos, I was more than eager to get an extra week of sunshine, especially after spending a month in South America during their winter season. While there, I was able to challenge myself physically and also reconnect with nature. Our day trip to Cabo San Lucas did not consist of drinking and dancing on tables but rather involved outdoor activities. We went snorkeling, kayaking, horseback riding on a deserted beach and I even had the chance to swim with a dolphin (my dream since childhood). This experience was slightly eye-opening because I found myself not as excited about the whole animal-training profession as I was for so much of my life.

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Bohemian Trails

April 2012 marks the one-year anniversary of Bohemian Trails being up and running. Although I had lazily talked about starting a travel website for months, it wasn’t until I returned from my trip to Egypt in early 2011 (weeks before the riots broke out) that I decided to seriously consider making this recurring thought a reality. Finding it hard to keep up with my fashion writing in between a full-time job at a record label and parties that were a nightly event, I knew something had to give. After my company did another round of lay-offs (a frequent occurrence) it was my time to go. Surprisingly, this was the kick-start I needed and instead of moping around I dedicated my now open schedule to creating something I was proud of.

Freelance Work

Although not always the case, the last few months I’ve had a slew of jobs roll my way and luckily, most of them are travel related. Two that I’ll mention are Jetsetter and Northstar Travel Media. I’ve also begun consulting for a few companies on social media tactics and community outreach. Turns out my two years working in social media and digital marketing for music paid off. One of my favorite projects this year has been updating a New York City guidebook. This means I get to determine what bars, restaurants, club, etc. make it into the pages.

Travel

There should be no surprise that travel has made it onto my list. 2011 started off with a two-week trip to Egypt and ended with a press trip to Mexico and a personal trip to Chile and Argentina for about a month. Visiting Egypt has been on my bucket list since I first watched Aladdin woo Jasmine on the magic carpet ride and as I had hoped, this beautiful country exceeded my expectations. My trip to Los Cabos, Mexico was adventure packed, with a horse gallop on a deserted beach, a swim with a “Macho” dolphin,  an underwater snorkeling excursion and a tiring kayaking workout. The ocean view from my balcony wasn’t bad either. My trip to South America was heavily focused on local culture and nature. Highlights include Valparaiso, wine tasting in Santa Cruz, and visiting four aboriginal towns in Jujuy, Argentina.

Global Community

Coming from both the music and fashion industries, I’ve met my fare share of talented and humble people. I’ve also met some not-so-nice people so when I decided to dedicate myself to creating Bohemian Trails, I wasn’t sure what to expect. After attending several travel-related events in New York City I continue to be overwhelmed by how supportive and friendly the community has been to me and to each other. Perhaps it’s our shared love for travel and our common goal of success that ties us together but whatever it is, this is an element of the community that has helped me stay focused, happy and motivated.

Love

I’m putting this last not because it’s the least important but because I don’t want to bore people with my tales of romance. Although a private person by nature, I managed to fall in love this year and it has made my life so much more meaningful. Those who know me personally know that I rarely get crushes and am completely clueless when it comes to picking up on love interest signals. As it turned out, I met this person at my very first travel industry event and I guess you can say that sparks flew – actually there were fireworks involved since we officially began dating on the 4th of July.

Happy Trails!

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Cusco

By far the warmest destination, I spent some time traveling through South America just a few days after Christmas. Their seasons are opposite what I’m used to, so it was certainly a strange sensation to be sitting in the hot springs of Aguas Calientes in early January. Cusco decorated the Plaza del Armas with a beautiful Christmas tree and Nativity Scene. When I made my way to Aguas Calientes, I discovered a Christmas tree built out of recycled Sprite bottles. It is the most creative decoration I have seen in any destination.

Luxembourg

I spent a quiet day here in Luxembourg browsing the Christmas Market, drinking hot chocolate and eating crepes. Unfortunately it was sleeting this day, which made taking pictures a bit difficult. At one point my hands were so frozen that I had to run into the nearest café just to defrost for a few minutes. Once the weather improved, I was able to pick up a few Christmas gifts and practice my French with the locals. I found their decorations and sculptures quite interesting.

Paris

I spent a few days in Paris right before Christmas 2010. In fact, due to a frozen track, I almost didn’t make it back to London via the EuroStar, meaning I could have missed my flight home. Paris is beautifully decorated during the winter season ans since it was snowing at the time, it truly looked like a Winter Wonderland. The Lights along the Champs Elysees are absolutely stunning and give the city of lights even more shine. Houses are often decorated with Christmas cheer, including this house in the Latin Quarter.

London

Also in December 2010, I spent about a week in London visiting friends that I met during my semester abroad in spring 2008. The city was cold but the festive decorations hung throughout the shopping districts definitely warmed up the rainy city. Top on my list was the Harrods Wizard of Oz themed window displays. I spent more time taking pictures outside the building than I did inside shopping for gifts. Oxford Street and other popular shopping districts also do a great job decorating the neighborhood.

New York

A resident of New York City, of course this city that never sleeps is going to make it on my list. My favorite decorations here include the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center, the street lights along Columbus Avenue and all the ice-skating rinks scattered throughout the city. One thing I can’t help but find strange is the Santa at Grand Central. Seems a bit out of place to me but then again, I didn’t grow up in a city. Speaking of Santa, a popular event taking place yearly is Santacon which basically involves dressing up in your best Santa costume and drinking as heavily as possible.

Image via Pulsd

For example, it was only a few months ago that I learned about VEMEX (Visit Europe Media Exchange). So despite emailing the director of the event weeks after registration had closed, she managed to make an exception for me and added me to the list of journalists in attendance.

My trip to Midtown (which I generally avoid at all costs) was miserable due to a massive rain storm but luckily this allowed me to meet with more tourism boards since other journalists were delayed by the weather. Overall, VEMEX was a great experience for me and I was able to spread the word about Bohemian Trails to whoever cared to listen. Since then, I’ve attended several Tourism Board parties which I wanted to share with everyone.

Holland Tourism: It’s been about three years since my brief trip to Holland, but I have nothing but amazing memories of this country. During my semester studying in London, some friends and I decided to join a group tour which also happened to be budget friendly. Part of saving money meant not staying in Amsterdam but instead heading to Monnickendam, which is a small and often overlooked city among tourists. It was nice to spend time in both the lively and cultural Amsterdam and the quiet and traditional Monickendam. For the party, artists drew pictures of famous monuments in Holland, including the one in the picture below. Guests (myself definitely included) went crazy over the traditional hors d’oeuvres and mini desserts.

Berlin Tourism: Berlin has been on my mind a lot lately. Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching videos about the art scene or because several of my friends have visited in the last few months, but something about this global city fascinates me. Their holiday party was held at Soho House and they really did a great job with decorations. There was a beautiful Christmas tree, a delicious dinner and of course chocolate cake and Christmas cookies with sprinkles. Who could ask for more! Except there was more. The equivalent to Kristin Chenoweth in Germany performed several songs including a famous one from my personal icon Édith Piaf. Some of my local travel buddies like Jessie on a Journey, europcheapo and EuropeUpClose also shared in the Berlin fun that night.

Indonesia Tourism: Indonesia came to town during Marathon Weekend in New York and chose the former space of Tavern on the Green as the location for their press breakfast. Journalists helped themselves to traditional food and delicious fruit from Indonesia as we watched one two different dance performances (one is below). After their presentation on the many islands of the country, there was a little quiz and I managed to win a prize! The question had to do with their new slogan “Wonderful Indonesia” which I had already discovered since I was already tweeting to that handle. I am really hoping to make it to Bali and some of the less known islands this year.

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“I want to travel but I don’t have the money.”

I wince a little when I hear someone say that because for the most part, I think it’s a bullshit excuse. Granted there are exceptions (especially considering today’s unemployment rate), but if you have a job and are currently using “I don’t have the money” as an excuse, keep reading.

I think what people really mean is “I want to travel, but it’s not a high priority for me”. I’ve uttered the No Money Excuse before in conversation, but that was before I really made the decision to save. So here it goes, here are 5.5 money-saving tips from a guy who had a salary well below “the overall median personal income for all individuals over the age of 18”. And I won’t go into the tried and true tips like writing down every penny you spend (even though that exercise actually works).

1 — Stop drinking. And I’m not talking about your 8 glasses of water a day. It’s fine to party and buy drinks, but then don’t go complain how you want to travel. Keep the bigger picture in mind—you’re temporarily giving up alcohol for the opportunity to see a new country, to understand a new culture, to meet incredible people, and to experience a new world. I promise you that your favorite drink/beer will still taste the same when you get back from your trip.

2 — Don’t think “This won’t make a difference.” All those little expenses add up—and by little expenses I mean those $4 Starbucks cafe lattes, that new album on iTunes, and those pants that make your butt look cute. That’s not to say you can’t enjoy life’s pleasures, but why not switch to the $2 coffee from the local shop, use Grooveshark to stream (for free) that same album you were going to buy on iTunes, or go out wearing no pants at all. Joking about that last one, but go to a thrift store—you’ll find something to make your butt look cute and you’ll pay 1⁄4 of the price.

3 — Borrow, duh! Backpacks, travel guides, boots, equipment, clothes, etc. Don’t be shy about asking. Most people are than happy to lend you something and backpackers are more than happy to help you out in any way possible. When I went to Southeast Asia, I asked my friend to borrow his backpack (shout out to Dman) and he gave it to me and said that I should keep it. I thought that was so cool. That was my first taste of the whole “pass it along” philosophy. This detachment from material things is just one reason why I love meeting backpackers. And it’s one of the reasons someone else will be so happy when you help them out.

4 — Tell your friends “Sorry, but I’m gonna sit this one out.” Actually, you have nothing to be “Sorry” about because you’re working towards a goal. If anything you deserve congratulations for having a goal and sticking to it. As you know, there’s always something going on and rarely are they cheap: sporting events, movies, eating dinner out, etc. Stay strong. Your friends will understand. Wait, scratch that. Not all of your friends will, but your real friends will. And there’s no doubt that you’ll miss out on some fun nights. Patience is a virtue—it’s alsopain in the ass when you’re friends are out at a concert. But keep in mind the road less traveled— it’s not for everybody and it’s less traveled for a reason.

5 — Prepare, but remember you’re not James Bond. While it’s important to be prepared for the terrain, climate, and environment, remember that you don’t necessarily need the latest and greatest equipment. I could be wrong, but I don’t think your adventure isn’t going to be any better because you bought the most expensive waterproof jacket that has a dedicated pocket for hand sanitizer and slit in the back to make it easier for your flatulence.

5.5 — Stop blaming your J-O-B. This is half a point because it doesn’t deal with saving, but how you make money: saying you have a job isn’t an excuse to not travel either. It’s just a statement that you’d rather have a job than experience/see the world. It’s the sad truth. I know it’s the sad truth because I have a steady job right now and when I think how I’d rather be traveling, I have to remind myself that it’s a choice to wake up and go to work. Plenty of people with little-to-no-savings just head out “there” and go.

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West London is the main area where tourists flock to during their vacation. While there are many fascinating attractions in these neighborhoods, it’s definitely worth your time to explore some areas nearby that are just as culturally rich, but less crowded.

Marylebone: If I wasn’t in class or at my flat, you would find me in Marylebone. Just a few blocks from the popular Oxford Street, Marybelone is a calm alternative to the main shopping blocks. My fashion internship was in this area and in order to get to work every day, I actually had to walk by Madonna’s flat (two, if you count the flat next door that she converted into a gym). It was always amusing to see paparazzi pop out of the bushes and then growl in disappointment when they realized you weren’t Madge.

Madonna aside, Marylebone is a trendy place to find less commercial clothes. A lot of boutique owners set up shop here because the clientele is a bit more upscale. Even as a poor student living abroad, I fell in love with the many coffee shops and smoothie bars that fit within my budget. Also in Marylebone is Baker Street, home of the Sherlock Holmes Museum, which is equally stimulating for the young and the young at heart.

Photo via London Fractions

Soho: It’s hard to hate on the Soho’s of the world, and London is no exception. Not only is Soho a hub of eclectic music shops and bars, but also it attracts a cultural mix of people and nationalities to the area. Another perk about Soho is how close it is to other neighborhoods in West London. Oxford Circus (close to Top Shop for fashion lovers) and Covent Garden (theater junkies) are only a short walk away.

One of the courses I took while studying in London was a “Pop Culture” class, which basically consisted of outdoor field trips and walks all over London. When we made it to Soho, we went to Radha Krishna Temple where we learned more about the faith while meditating on fluffy pillows on the floor. This is one activity I highly recommend if you find yourself in Soho with nothing to do.

Typical Soho backstreet in London (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

Notting Hill: It’s hard to say anything bad about this quiet, serene neighborhood. If you head here on the weekend, get ready for the crowds. Portobello Market is a popular place on Saturdays, especially if you are an avid art or antique lover. Heading to the market is one way to feel a part of the local London community. I always enjoyed people watching during these leisurely strolls. On a weekday, the streets are much less crowded and serve as the perfect location for a day of reading and window-shopping. Not far is Hyde Park, one of London’s well-kept and gorgeous public parks.

A view of the Portobello Market (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

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When I think of college, I think of food—whether it be the over-the-top dining hall brunch every Sunday, the Chinese take-out that was inevitably ordered on dreary days, or the chili cheese fries from a downtown bar that satisfied my late night cravings.

The University of Cambridge may be clear across the pond, but excellent (and greasy) eats are just as much a part of the student experience as they are in the States. Read on for some of the best bites I had in and around town, in the order you should hit them:

 Breakfast: The Eagle

This centrally-located pub is noted for its historical significance—it was at this Bene’t Street space in 1953 that Watson and Crick announced their discovery of how DNA carries genetic information. Fun facts aside, the Eagle is worth a visit based on its interior alone. Dim lighting and comfy chairs invite patrons to linger a little longer over the countless old photos and posters adorning the walls. The ceiling is covered in the graffiti of British and American WWII pilots who burned their names and squadron numbers there using cigarette lighters, candles and lipstick. These etchings likely aren’t the oldest things in the building—it supposedly dates all the way back to 1566, possibly even earlier than that. For those that like a little hash with their history, don’t miss the full English breakfast: beans, fried egg, tomato, sausage, and potatoes. The Eagle is the perfect place to fuel up before a long day of sightseeing.

Image by Lauren Schmidt

Lunch: West Cornwall Pasty Company

A complete English breakfast is on the filling side, which makes West Cornwall an optimal lunch spot; those still full from breakfast can suffice on a snack, while the hungry can order as many savory-stuffed pasties as they wish. What’s a pasty you ask? A little pronunciation primer before we dish: It rhymes with “nasty,” though it tastes just the opposite. A traditional Cornish pasty is filled with beef, sliced or diced potato, swede (also known as a yellow turnip or rutabaga) and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper, and is baked. WCPC serves only authentic Cornish pasties, meaning they are made in Cornwall before being shipped to Cambridge for baking. The hot lamb and mint is worth a try, as is the gooey cheese and onion. Skip the crowds downstairs and take the winding staircase to the upper level—it’s super-cozy and overlooks the hustle and bustle of downtown.

Image by Lauren Schmidt

Dinner: Sidney Sussex Dining Hall

Unlike the other spots on my list, this one is a little harder to get into. Sidney Sussex is part of Cambridge’s collection of colleges—while in town, I stayed with a friend who is currently getting her master’s in Egyptology. Thanks to Kelly, I was able to experience a student dinner, with a dash of English elegance. Picture everyone decked out in snazzy formal wear worn under their black robes, seated at long tables, a la Harry Potter. The entire room stands while the Head Table—where the Master sits—files in. The meal is exactly the opposite of what most American collegiates experience: classy and tasty. The highlight was the banoffee pie—yum! Bottles of wine can be purchased pre-meal, and enjoyed all evening long—before you adjourn to the adjacent bar, of course. As the legal drinking age in America is much higher, dining hall vino and on-campus bars are Cambridge mainstays we unfortunately miss out on. Bollocks.

Image by Lauren Schmidt

Dessert: The Regal Wetherspoon

After you’ve consumed all that food, you need a place to dance everything off. And have dessert, of course. Wetherspoon, or “Spoons” as the locals call it, is happy to oblige your needs. A downstairs disco room blasts Euro pop, while upstairs you can partake of sticky toffee pudding and booze. The space looks like an American movie theater with a wall of dancing Brits in place of a big screen—think colorful carpets and flashing marquees; it was originally built as the town’s biggest cinema in the late 1930s. Other Spoons are scattered throughout the countryside, but Regal is perhaps the brand’s most retro outpost.

Image via Geograph

Midnight Snack: Van of Life

It’s dark, you’re drunk. The best cure for the late-night munchies: French fries. Whether tipsy or not, the food truck’s fare is the perfect midnight snack. Doused in vinegar and salt, these spuds are served piping hot. You’ll likely finish them before they’ve had time to cool off—they are that tasty. Take note for when you order—Brits call them chips; I just call them delicious. Kebabs and burgers are also on hand for potato-phobes. The Van sets up shop in the center of town from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., so you’ll have to eat elsewhere during daylight hours, which is probably good news for your waistline.

Don’t forget to take your eyes off of your plate every once in awhile! Cambridge is among the most beautiful cities I’ve ever visited and one I would certainly return to, chips or not.

-post by Kay Boatner

Image via Tod’s Cambridge Town Guide

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I won’t lie: Several aspects of having traveled Egypt on an organized tour disappointed me, which isn’t surprising since I’m not usually an “organized tour” kind of person. No matter which proverbial travel mold you fit into, use my experience to help yourself weigh the advantages and disadvantage of taking the road more traveled.

Price and Logistics

Traveling Egypt on a tour may help you avoid some hassles of doing it on your own, such as hustlers.

One aspect of traveling Egypt on an organized tour that seemed most attractive to me was the price. At just $250 for six days and five nights, the price for my tour averaged out to about $42 per day for lodging, transport and transfers. According to the receptionist, train tickets alone — specifically, from Cairo to Aswan and then from Luxor back up to Cairo — would have cost me about $120.

Even if I conservatively added $20 per night for hotel accommodation, I would save about $10 overall to travel independently, or so I thought. Why not pay a little more for convenience and organization?

Why not, you ask? Because unfortunately, not much in Egypt is organized. People were supposed to meet me at every step of the way — at the Aswan Railway Station to take me to my hotel, for example — and in almost every instance, they were late or not there at all. The “felucca” sailboat I booked was more than two hours late departing and dropped us off within minutes of setting off in the morning.

Upon receipt of my Cairo-Aswan train ticket, I also found out that the receptionist had lied to me about the price. The $60 each-way she’d quoted me, it seemed, was for a deluxe sleeper compartment. As it turned out, I’d instead been booked in a comparably dodgy “first-class” seat, which cost about half what I would’ve paid for a sleeper.

In truth, the only convenience involved in having booked the tour was the booking process itself.

Scheduling

Riding a felucca on the Nile between Aswan in Luxor is one the activities you can schedule on a tour.

Since I would be seeing a huge portion of Egypt in only a few days, my schedule was hammered out before I left.

After traveling overnight to Aswan, I’d be transferred first to my hotel and then to the Aswan High Dam and Philae Temple. The next morning at 3, I’d board a mini bus to the Abu Simbel Temple, located in the remote southern Egyptian desert near the Sudanese border, followed by a mid-day felucca boarding.

I was supposed to spend two nights on the felucca, then return to Aswan and board a train up to Luxor, where I’d spend the last two days and one night of my trip exploring tourist sites like Valley of the Kings and Karnak Temple. Finally, an overnight train back up to Cairo.

As I mentioned earlier, the man who was supposed to meet me at the Aswan Railway Station never showed, so I went to a hotel with another Western girl who was on my train — and it happened to be the one where I’d been booked! We ended up having the same first- and second-day itineraries, which helped assuage the disappointment I felt about how disorganized the tour was.

Unfortunately, I returned to Aswan after my morning at Abu Simbel to find out that the first night on the felucca had been cancelled (due to low bookings) and I’d need to wait until the next day. Since we embarked later than scheduled on the second day, I ended up spending about 16 hours on the felucca when I’d planned on 48 — and that’s a shame because riding a felucca is one of the coolest, most relaxing things I’ve ever done.

The two days I spent in Luxor went mostly by the books, although the rigorous schedule I was made to maintain proved tiring after several stressful days of missed transfers and cancelled excursions.

Free Time and Flexibility

Make free time for yourself while traveling on a tour in Egypt so you can enjoy activities like shopping.

If I had executed my itinerary completely as planned, I wouldn’t have had much free time, save for meals and a couple hours before bed each night. The silver lining of all the unexpected delays and diversions was that I had more time to explore each destination I visited as a traveler rather than a tourist, to take in destinations organically and at my own pace.

The activities themselves, however, were relatively restricted. All of the major sites — the entrance fees for which are not included in the price of your tour, for the record — included guided tours, and it was apparently mandatory to take part in them. My tour guide at Karnak in Luxor scolded me very publicly for taking a picture of something while he was speaking.

I also wasn’t a fan of the pacing. It took a total of six hours in transit to the magnificent Abu Simbel Temple in the south of Egypt, but spent just 90 minutes inside the complex. By contrast, we devoted almost half a day to seeing the Aswan Dam and Philae Temple, which could’ve been comfortably done in no more than an hour combined.

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, how much you enjoy traveling Egypt on a tour depends more on you than it does on Egypt.

This article may make it sound like I hated my guided tour in Egypt — and I absolutely didn’t. Many aspects of the tour were great, in particular some of the individual guides, hotel and restaurant employees I encountered. I also got to meet an Australian girl named Katy, who coincidentally accompanied me on every portion of the tour and whom I now consider to be a good friend of mine.

The thing is, booking a tour in advance does little to make your time in Egypt cheaper, easier or more enjoyable. You’re likely to pay significantly less up front booking your own trains, hotels and bargaining for your own transfers — and you won’t face the stress of trying to locate someone who might not be there.

Traveling independently also gives you the freedom to spend more in certain places and less time in others. That being said, organized tours are effective at optimizing your time use if it’s limited, which mine definitely was.

Overall, if you feel like taking an organized tour through Egypt is your best option, the go ahead and do it — just don’t expect to get everything you pay for. Otherwise, take the proverbial “Bohemian Trail” and go your own way.

-guest post by Robert Schrader

Robert Schrader is a travel writer, photographer an editor of Leave Your Daily Hell, an award-winning blog that aims to help you achieve your travel goals, whatever they may be. He spent two weeks in Egypt in September 2011.

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Here’s what I’ve been up to the past few weeks:

My First Print Feature: Yes, the day has finally arrived! Before primarily focusing on travel, much of my former writing was in Fashion so when a friend of mine approached me about writing a New York Fashion Week recap for MyLifeStyle Magazine‘s First Year Anniversary Edition, I jumped at the chance. Here’s a little screenshot of my name in print! The magazine is printed in both the US and in Colombia, South America. A PDF version should be available soon for those of you who want to read more about the Latin Culture in New York. The magazine party took place last night near Columbus Circle.

inBed.me launch Party: Also the same night of the magazine party was the launch of my boyfriend’s new and highly-anticipated company, inBed.me. The platform provides a social aspect for travelers booking their hostels and beds for their next trip. Instead of simply seeing a hostel’s review, you can actually see who will be in the hostel during your exact travel dates. For solo travelers looking to connect with other solo travelers before landing in a new country, this is an ideal platform. The launch took place at Hostelling International and drew in more than 300 guests. For more information on inBed.me, check out their recent feature in Mashable.

Megan Learns Spanish: After two trips to South America and Mexico, it’s slightly embarrassing that I had not picked up the Spanish language. I remember learning Spanish in Fifth and Sixth grade but that was a long time ago and we pretty much only mastered numbers, colors and animals. Since I have a fascination with Latin American culture I finally decided to do something about it and signed up for classes with Instituto Cervantes here in New York. I’m about mid-way through the first session and I’m finding myself thoroughly enjoying the classes. One perk of freelancing is that I can sign up for courses scheduled during the middle of the day, so an added benefit is having a small class and more individualized attention. Take a look at the outdoor courtyard!

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1. Picnicking at a Ruin – Antigua still has tons of churches and convents, but it used to have lots more before the earthquake of 1976 destroyed them all. Instead of reconstructing these structures they were turned into beautiful gardens where you can go for a picnic in the middle of what’s left of the structures.

2. Santo Domingo Hotel Ruins – Santo Domingo is one of the best hotels in Antigua. It is located where a convent used to be and you can still see parts of that convent along its courtyards. If you go out to explore the place you will be able to see some crypts and underground tunnels.

3. Arc Street – This is one of the most photographed and iconic places of Antigua. It’s a beautiful arc located at the end of 5th avenue in Antigua, on its north side.

4. Central Park and Fountain – Antigua’s central park is really small compared to others you might have visited but it’s beautifully landscaped and has a beautiful fountain in the center called Mermaid’s Fountain (Fuente de las Sirenas).

5. Artisans Market – There are around 5 artisans markets scattered throughout Antigua. In them you can find all sorts of colorful souvenirs, from traditional clothing, paintings, jade jewelry, decorations made of wood, hammocks to toys.

6. Cerro de la Cruz – There is this tiny mountain on the north side of Antigua with a cross that can be seen all throughout the city. There is a road that will take you up to where that cross is. From there you get the most beautiful view of Antigua. It is especially beautiful at sunset.

So if you come to Antigua make sure you visit these places, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

-guest post by Marina K. Villatoro 

Marina K. Villatoro from Travel Experta is an expat living with her family and traveling in Central America for over 10 years. Interested in traveling to Guatemala, she’s got tons of fun info for you.

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The first thing that I discovered about food in NYC is the array of unique, gourmet food trucks that roam around the city everyday. I immediately jumped on Twitter, followed every food truck I could find, and started venturing away from the cheap Chinatown food near my office for some unique eats.

1) Schnitzel & Things: After tasting schnitzel for the first time in Salzburg, I became a fanatic. The first time that I visited the Schnitzel & Things truck was on a day that Food Network Canada was filming the truck for the first episode of Eat Street. My roommates and I were in the episode! The Schnitzel truck has a unique offering of Austrian-style main dishes and sides– if you’re overwhelmed, they’ll be sure to help you out.

My recommendation: Chicken Schnitzel with Austrian Potato Salad and French Fries, get the Pesto Mayo as your condiment.

Location: Varies, so follow on Twitter, but their new brick-and-morter location is in Midtown.

Image via Vendr.tv

2) Wafels & Dinges: I studied abroad in Belgium for a semester during college, so I had extremely high expectations for this truck upon my first visit.– and those expectations were not only met, but exceeded. Expect to be greeted by two dashing men with charming accents who will ask you what kind of waffle you would like and what “dinges” (toppings) you would like on top.

My recommendation: Liege Wafel with Vanilla Ice Cream and Spekulos (ask to try it before you get it on your waffle… you’ll be hooked!)

Location: Varies, so follow on Twitter for real-time statuses.

Image via Tasty Touring

3) Big Gay Ice Cream Truck:  Run by a bassonist who’s bound to have you laughing from the second you step on line, the truck features your typical soft serve ice cream with quirky and unique toppings, such as Wasabi pea dust, Trix cereal, and ginger syrup.

My recommendation: The Salty Pimp – Vanilla ice cream, Dulce de Leche, sea salt, and a chocolate dip.

Locations: Varies, so follow on Twitter, but during the winter you can visit their new brick-and-morter location.

Image via Big Gay Ice Cream

4) Cupcake Stop: The cupcake craze has gone mobile. The winners of Food Network’s “Food Feuds” for best cupcake bring dozens of creative cupcakes to the streets of Manhattan in an attempt to cure your sweet tooth. There has been a few times that a quick end-of-day trip to the truck gave me the sugar boost I needed to finish the workday off.

My recommendation: Chocolate Caramel Pretzel. Heaven.

Locations: Two trucks travel around Manhattan, so follow on Twitter for locations. In addition, there is a brick and morter store in the Staten Island Mall, and the bakery is New Jersey.

Image via Driving and Dining

5) Souvlaki GR: If you love Greek food, this is the truck for you. It has only been around for a short time but has gained a ton of publicity from influential NYC food-spotters and even won a Vendy award two years in a row. I’ve had my fair share of Greek food, and I still fell in love with the Souvlaki truck. It is run by Abby and Pavlos (who got married 16 days after meeting each other just last year) and their partner, Kostas.

My recommendation: Chicken Pita Souvlaki– the fries are in the pita!

Locations: The truck parks around Manhattan, so follow on Twitter for locations. Their new restaurant is on the Lower East Side.

Image via Souvlaki GR

-post by Jessica Dante

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So without further adieu, here is our list for the Best Music Festivals in Australia:

1) Tamworth Country Music Festival
Tamworth is the Australian equivalent to America’s Nashville. Wedge in between Brisbane and Sydney in New South Wales, the rural town of Tamworth has that distinct sleepy feel found only in the peaceful Australian country towns free from fast paced metropolitan cities.

Every year in January for two weeks, Tamworth ignites itself with the sound of country music. The Tamworth Country Music Festival is the second largest country music festival in the world and has been hailed as the launching platform for countless Australian country artists including Keith Urban and Kasey Chambers. The main focal point of the festival is the CMAA Country Music Awards ceremony, where the Australian country music royalty and fans gather together to witness who will win the famous Golden Guitar Awards.

Although the ten day festival mainly celebrates the country music genre, other musical styles such as Bluegrass, Rockabilly, Rock and World Music have been added to the playlist, ensuring that music-goers will have a fun stay regardless. Visitors to Tamworth should take the opportunity to visit and take pictures with the iconic Big Golden Guitar – an enormous 12-metre high guitar made with fiberglass, wood and steel reinforcements, weighing over 5000kg.

Another must-do activity during a stay in Tamworth is to watch one of 600 street performance acts on the main shopping strip of Peel Street during the night. Roam up and down the main street and absorb the musical atmosphere while enjoying an ice cool beer in your hand.

Location: Tamworth, New South Wales
Time of year: Late January
Average ticket cost:  $50 depending on venue
Musical genres: Country, Bluegrass, Rock, Western swing, World music, Folk

How to get there: Tamworth is approximately 414km away from Sydney. If you’re traveling by car, the New England Highway that travels from Sydney to Brisbane runs via Tamworth. In regards to public transportation options, Tamworth can be reached by Qantas planes, Greyhound Australia coaches and CountryLink trains. All of these services operate daily from Sydney.

Photo via tcmf

2) Splendour in the Grass
Considered to be Australia’s largest winter music festival, Splendour in the Grass has consistently provided the best headline acts since its inception in 2001. Join fellow music lovers as you camp out on the chilly murky earth in the middle of a July winter’s day.

The three-day event not only just attracts the biggest acts in Rock, Hip hop, Electronic and Alternative, but also lures a massive league of devoted music fans from all corners of the country.  Past headline acts at Splendour have included: Coldplay, The Mars Volta, Kanye West, Empire Of The Sun, LCD Sound system, The Flaming Lips, Death Cab for Cutie, Queens Of The Stone Age, Interpol and a host of other awesome acts.

Originally hosted along the coastlines of Byron Bay, Splendour in the Grass has been temporarily relocated up north in rural Woodford, Queensland for the past two years. It is expected that the event will return to its original location for 2012, as organizers are currently undergoing negotiations with the local Byron Shire to secure a permanent 660 acre venue for the festival.

However, whether it is held in the rural landscape of Woodford or the beaches of Byron Bay, there is a distinct mellow ambiance that allows visitors to be completely seduced and enticed by the sounds of rhythms and melodies.

Location: Belongil Fields, Byron Bay or Woodfordia, Woodford
Time of year: Late July
Average ticket cost:  $250 weekend pass (not including camping)
Musical genres: Rock, Electro, Hip-Hop, Alternative

How to get there: If the next festival is still held in Woodford, the country town is located only 72 km north-west of Brisbane, and is easily accessible by car, train and shuttle bus. All of these services operate daily from Brisbane. Byron Bay is roughly 800 km north of Sydney and 175 km south of Brisbane. To travel by car, just take the Pacific Highway that runs between Sydney and Brisbane. It is approximately a 9 hour drive from Sydney or a 2 hour drive from Brisbane. Greyhound Australia also operates a regular coach service that travels from both cities and passes through Byron Bay.

Photo via Splendour in the Grass

3) St Jerome’s Laneway Festival
St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, or more locally known as Laneway, is a fresh take on music festivals. Whereas other venues have a capacity to hold a crowd exceeding the ten thousand mark, Laneway offers a more intimate musical experience for festival-goers through its unique urban surroundings.

The Laneway festival was originally held in Caledonian Lane, a mere four meter wide lane located in the heart of the Melbourne CBD. Since its inception in 2004, the festival has gone off to greater feats with not only other Australian capital cities taking on the urban festival trend but foreign cities such as Auckland and Singapore taking part as well.

Laneway is held during the end of February to early March and runs for one day in each city the festival visits. The festival mainly features the best line-up in the local and international indie music scene. Former Laneway acts that have been featured include: Architecture in Helsinki, The Sleepy Jackson, The Raveonettes, Black Lips, Midnight Juggernauts, The xx, Youth Group and No Age.

The festival is quickly climbing the social status ladder to transcend from the title of music festival to an iconic cultural event. However, if it does indeed become something like the Big Day Out, will it loose touch with its indie roots? Only time will tell, but in the meantime cram yourself in the claustrophobic urban environment and lose yourself in the indie experience.

Locations: Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland
Time of year: Late February-March
Average ticket cost:  $110
Musical genres: Indie pop, rock

How to get there: Since St Jerome’s Laneway Festival is held in urban outdoor spaces, public transportation is readily available.
*Note: Laneway has now moved to the Footscray suburb due to large crowds during previous years.

2006 Photo by Warwick Baker via Laneway Festival

4) Falls Festival
Possibly the best way to end the year and the start of a new one.  For four days during the New Year’s period, music lovers will mellow out with their pitched tents by the beach side in Lorne, Victoria or Marion Bay, Tasmania and soak in the festival atmosphere of the Falls Festival.

The Falls Festival was essentially created during a campfire gathering. Celebrating his 22^nd birthday with friends and family, current festival director Simon Daly decided to organize a festival. Without having any prior connections to the music scene, Simon managed to organize the first Falls Festival in Lorne, featuring the best local acts in 1993. The festival unexpectedly attracted more than 11,000 people, requiring organizers to quickly negotiate with neighboring farmers to use their land to accommodate the overflowing crowd. Due to the huge rise in demand, an additional venue was required to host the Falls Festival in 2003, resulting in two simultaneous events being held for the first time; one in Lorne, and the other in Marion Bay, Tasmania.

Traditionally featuring musicians from the blues and roots genre, the Falls Festival has expanded their repertoire over the years to include an even mix of musical styles. The festival has featured well known acts in the genres of electronic, hip-hop and rock. Past headline acts include: Iggy Pop, Silverchair, Jack Johnson, Black Eyed Peas, Groove Armada, Kings of Leon and a whole heap of other great musical acts.

Locations: Lorne, Victoria; Marion Bay, Tasmania (held simultaneously)
Time of year: December 29-January 1
Average ticket cost:  Various options; $167-329
Musical genres: Blues and Roots, Electronic, Hip-Hop, Rock.

How to get there: Lorne is approximately a 2-hour drive away from Melbourne. The best way to Lorne is by car. The drive to the Falls Festival is an adventure itself, as the town is located along the 243km stretch of road which winds its way along the southern-eastern coast of Victoria – more widely known as the Great Ocean Road. There are also public transportation options available to festival-lovers without cars. The only way to Lorne using public transportation is by boarding the V-line train service, which departs daily, from Melbourne to Geelong, then board a connecting  coach service to Lorne. The Marion Bay Falls Festival is only a 25 minute drive away from Hobart International Airport. Unless you travel by car, the only way to the festival from Hobart is by boarding the Belbins Bus services which runs daily during the 4-day festival.

Photo via Falls Festival

5) Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is one of Australia’s largest music festival hosted throughout capital cities in Australia. Under the scorching summer days of January, the Big Day Out provides the best of local and international mainstream acts in Electronic, Rock, Metal and Hip Hop. The Big Day Out has gone beyond the title of ‘music festival’ to become an Australian cultural event.

The Big Day Out started in 1992 as a Sydney-only show. A little known grudge outfit from Seattle called Nirvana were due to headline the first event, and since Nevermind was just released months prior to the festival, the Big Day Out was insured its success.  Since 1994, the Big Day Out has traveled annually to Auckland, Gold Coast, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth during a three-week period. The Big Day Out has attracted a large range of artists, with headlining acts including Rage Against the Machine, The Prodigy, Metallica, Muse, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Neil Young and many more.

Depending on the venue, up to eight stages can be simultaneously used, satisfying music lovers of all styles. Join the mosh pits while hearing the distorted roar of guitars being amplified, dance to futuristic sounds of the synthesizers and drum beats, chill back to the lazy strums of an acoustic guitar or rap to the MC’s rhythmic words; the opportunities for an awesome musical experience are endless.

Locations: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland
Time of year: Late January-February
Average ticket cost:  $140
Musical genres: Various

How to get there: Since The Big Day Out is held at major stadiums and showgrounds in various capital cities, boarding public transportation is the most effective way to get to the event.

Photo by Julian Smith via Big Day Out

-post by Brendan Wan

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Here are a few tips for staying within budget when visiting New York:

1) Don’t overspend on Airfare: Unless you are close enough to the city where you can take a bus or train, airfare is the most common route one takes to get to the city. Sites like Dealchecker offer affordable flights for travelers heading to New York and other domestic or international locations like Delhi and Sydney. Buying a ticket without checking for deals is a big no-no for any budget conscious traveler.

2) Be Realistic in Your Spending: Although planning ahead works some of the time, there are always going to be added costs here and there. Have an idea of what sort of activities you will be planning. Are you going to see a Broadway show? Where are you staying? Do you plan on eating out every night? Obviously, staying at a friend’s apartment, eating out only once or twice and opting for museums rather than Broadway productions will save you cash. If you do want to do more “touristy” activities like seeing a live performance, take advantage of TKTS and book a discount ticket.

3) Go Where the Locals Go: One way to save money is to treat your trip as if you were a local New Yorker. Being a local myself, I can guarantee you that we are all on some sort of budget. Exploring new neighborhoods uptown or in Brooklyn will instantly save you money. The beer, food and clothes will cost less and you will get to experience life like you actually live there. Instead of grabbing a drink at the famous Plaza Hotel, go a few blocks away and find a Irish pub or get a class of wine at an Italian restaurant.

4) Free and Fabulous: One perk of living in New York City is all of the free activities the city organizes every year. If you plan on visiting during the summer months, you can probably get through the entire trip under budget. There are numerous outdoor and free concerts, festivals and markets to wander through. Museums are usually donation only and for the ones that do charge a hefty fee, find out if they offer discounts. Many museums try to entice new visitors by offering discounted or free entrance on certain nights.

5) Appreciate the Little Things: Even if you spend more than you should have, there’s a high probability that you will still leave New York with positive memories. A lot of New York Moments are completely priceless like seeing street performers in Washington Square Park, chatting with drink and slightly intoxicated homeless people that actually have a lot of interesting things to say and seeing dogs dressed in fancier cloths than their owners.

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Our friends over at Flipkey are hosting a pretty stellar travel giveaway worthy of any bohemian, which is why I wanted to spread the word to my fellow travelers. Since I’m always up for any excuse to travel, I plan on entering the giveaway myself and increasing my odds by inviting more of my Facebook friends.

Check out the details below and start crossing your fingers for a free trip to Bali, Costa Rica, or Tuscany.

The Grand Prize is A 7-night vacation in a luxury vacation rental in Bali, Costa Rica, or Tuscany. The vacation includes lodging and $3,000 for expenses. The winner can invite up to 10 friends to join them.

Related External Links

• YWAM Heidebeek Network — Blog — Weekly Wanderings 1
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• Weekly Web Wanderings (weekly) « E-flections of an Educator

Here are some places that you may (or may not) want to visit:

Shibuya

This is a great place to head on your first night in Tokyo as it is the busiest area in the city and you’ll be thrown right into the culture and get an idea of what Tokyo is all about. The lights, crowd and noise may be a bit overwhelming, but you’ll quickly adjust to all of it and be ready to take it all in. Start at the Center Gai, one of the busiest streets in the area and a nightlife center of the city.

On almost any neighboring street, there are numerous places to grab a drink or some of the best food you’ll ever have. Everything from sushi to ramen can be found here. I’d highly suggest looking for any place with a line, as the Japanese know which places are the best and they don’t mind waiting. I ended up with some great Yakitori and sake on my first night and to this day, it is still one of the better meals I’ve ever had. Shibuya is also home to the World’s busiest intersection crossing, so make sure to walk through it a few times and participate in the “Shibuya Shuffle”.

Asakusa

The next day I went down into the subways of Tokyo and just let myself get lost. After about a 30 minute subway ride on the Ginza line, I ended up in Asakusa, which was the major entertainment hub of Tokyo during the 12^th Century. Asakusa is home to numerous Temples, most notably Sensō-ji, the main attraction to the area for pilgrims and tourists alike. Here, it’s easy to transport into a zen like state and escape the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

This is also probably the closest you can get to actually leaving Tokyo if you’re on a time crunch, so treat Asakusa like it is a day trip. There are many gardens and areas to meditate, pray or just take it all in, so feel free to respectfully take some time out and take a breather to enjoy your surroundings. There are also hundreds of shops on the streets leading up to the Temples where you can get anything from traditional Japanese gifts to Godzilla toys (I recommend picking up a “Lucky Kitty” here).

Tsukiji Fish Market

The biggest fish market in the World, home to the famous Tuna auctions and where a large percentage of the World’s sushi passes through. In all honesty, there are only two reasons to really go out of your way to visit the Fish Market: If you can actually get yourself up early enough to experience the Tuna auctions, usually held around 5:00 am, or if you want to try some of the freshest and best sushi available in the restaurants located in the Fish Market, which is popular for breakfast and early lunch. If you’re not able to get here before 11:00am, it’s probably best to just skip this all together, as most of the action will already be done and you’ll be left with nothing more than empty boxes and the smell of fish.

Shinjuku Golden Gai

If there is one place that I must insist you go, it is to the Golden Gai in Shinjuku. This area is famous for being home to over 200 bars in the most narrow alleys you’ve ever seen, with each bar having it’s own theme and only able to hold 6-10 people. When I visited here, I didn’t see any other tourists, so it is definitely a local hang out. Since these bars are popular among locals, do not take offense if you are unable to get into some of the bars due to them being over-crowded. I visited numerous bars and each was very welcoming and went out of their way to make you feel welcome, with many of them even cooking small platyes for us to enjoy while drinking.

My absolute favorite bar was Hair of the Dogs, a small punk rock bar that is easily found by looking for the Sex Pistols and Ramones signs outside. The owner, Jumbo Max, was so friendly, going out of his way to make a couple of Americans feel like locals by playing all of our favorite music and talking about Punk Rock. In all of my travels, I’ve never stumbled upon any area quite as unique as this, so if you ever find yourself in Tokyo, you cannot leave without spending a night out here and indulging in a few drinks.

Roppongi

Roppongi is probably one of the most popular spots for nightlife in Tokyo among tourists – which may or may not excite you. It is highly regarded as the place that foreign men go to meet local girls, and I was amazed by how true this rumor was. I know that some guys are probably reading this and wanting to book their trip to Tokyo right now and spend their time in this paradise where local girls worship foreign guys, but be warned, this “paradise” comes with some consequences and numerous tourists have been drugged and robbed after taking drinks from girls, so it’s not quite as glorious as some make it out to be.

If you’re careful, you can have a great time here, but just be aware of your surroundings. Besides the regular bar scene with lots of tourists, there are also some great spots for karaoke, which you absolutely must do while in town. All in all, if you’re looking for a place where English is absolutely spoken and you can converse with locals, this can be a great spot to go as many locals can be a little shy to speak English in other parts of town. However, if you are someone who doesn’t want to see other tourists at all on a trip, avoid Roppongi like the plague.

Many people that I have talked to have avoided Tokyo because of the size of the city and dense population – which I get. However, I can tell you that getting around Tokyo is so efficient that crowds are never really a problem and you won’t find any spots even nearly as hellish as Times Square. All in all, Tokyo is an absolutely amazing city and if you ever have a chance to visit, no matter how short or long of a trip, you must go. The people, food and culture are second to none and this really is one of my favorite cities in the world.

-post by Chris Peterson

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Back in 2008 I visited Salzburg, Austria and I still remembered the snow-covered mountains and the quaint little cafes in the city center. The next time I make it to Austria, I hope to explore more off-the-beaten path destinations but also get a little more adventurous. Since Austria is an ideal location to go skiing, why not plan a ski holiday over your winter break?

Here are five resorts to consider when planning ski holidays in Austria: all via Inghams

Alpbach: Located in the small but beautiful village in the Austrian Tryol, Alpbach combines tradition, culture and outdoor adventure. Whether you are there for the landscape or for the slopes, this resort seems to have something for skiiers of all levels and interests.

Arlberg Area: Often referred to as “the birthplace of skiing”, Arlberg is the perfect set of slopes for intermediate and advanced skiiers. If you are a beginner, you can still find a few slopes to run, but you are better off staying at a more beginner-friendly mountain. The area has two parts: St Anton and St Christoph and Stuben, with a bus transfer available.

Ellmau: The village of Ellmau is located between the Wild Emperor mountains and the Kitzbühel Alps. Ellmau makes it easy for you to go into the nearby town, by providing a regular bus service that takes you straight there. There are a variety of slope levels here so don’t worry if you are a newby to the ski scene.

Filzmoos: This resort is ideal for the avid skier who plans on spending all day hitting the slopes. The resort itself is huge, which means the slopes are rarely crowded and you won’t have to worry about bumping into other skiiers. If you want a bit more culture, luckily Filzmoos is located right between the Bischofsmutze and Dachstein mountains and is a perfect example of a quintessential Austrian village.

Igls: The great thing about this ski resort is its proximity to the city center. If you love skiing but also want to experience local life and have a traditional beer or two, Ski Igls is only a short ride away from Innsbruck, a small city rich in history and culture.

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The vivid colors, open air and bicycles were all in the Cambodian countryside I had the privilege to travel through in October. The experience taught me an important and unforgettable lesson: One of the best ways to spend time exploring a new country or city is to do so through bike riding.

Bike riding, especially in smaller, more off-the-beaten-path destinations, allows you to go places and see things in ways that traveling in cars, trains or airplanes will never let you do. You can take your time and relax, stop where you want to and go where you want to with little hassle and with little disturbance of the area around you. You get to enjoy the open air and do a little exercising while actually interacting with the people and places that you see.

Bike riding may be a little more time consuming than other modes of transportation, but the experiences you have while doing so will almost certainly be more memorable than staring out a window. This is what I discovered when I made proficient use of bicycles in one of Cambodia’s smaller, southern coastal towns. I spent the better part of a day bike riding through dirt paths, past cow herds led by dogs and little children, and along stretching rice fields and salt flats.

I ended up having the most memorable experience of my whole trip- Angkor Wat temples, Tuol Sleng and Killing Fields all included.

My destination was Kampot, an old French colonial hangout now suffering from the same poverty afflicting most of the rest of Cambodia. The town is very small, and doesn’t attract near the number of tourists or ex-pats as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, but it’s all the better for it.

Kampot has one of the country’s finest ensembles of old colonial architecture, but I admittedly didn’t spend much time in the city center. Instead my traveling companions and I took our rental bikes (another plus in Cambodia: bikes cost about $2 to rent for the whole day) and headed on a path leading to the countryside. We went to the farming fields and shacks of poor farmers who have undoubtedly seen very few Westerners in their day.

There was no destination and no itinerary, nothing and nobody rushing us through the journey. We kept to the path as the fields flanked around us, stopping only for an occasional photograph.

Most of the scenery was the homes of local farmers, the dirt road and rice fields: an accurate depiction of how so many Cambodians live their daily lives. Gone were the pothole-filled roads left un-maintained by corrupt government officials. Gone were the hoards of mopeds and vehicles cruising down the main roads. Gone was even the slightest hint of visiting tourists to the region.

One thing that remained, however, and which we experienced very often in Cambodia, was a personal and genuine friendliness from the families and children we passed by. Excited children constantly greeted us with shouts of “hellloooo!” both up-close and from afar, and their parents often smiled and waved to us as well. They welcomed us to their land openly and without reservation, furthering the sense of belonging I was already beginning to feel.

Photo by Lisa Conway

All these elements together created a scene that was calm and a beauty that was sprawling. Even through the heat, the humidity, and the physical exertion, it was all a profoundly calming experience; being alone and isolated from the city crowds and pollution exhaust, being able to breathe and take in the vivid, stretching colors with little interruption. Those images, feelings and interactions all combined to give you a complete sense of being grounded and connected there, to the land and the people and the history of the whole place. Seeing the locals and their homes and a small piece of their lives, so far removed from my own, created both a feeling of isolation and a sense of belonging I’ve never felt before, but now believe every traveler should experience.

My path took me a total of about 10 miles and left me sore, bruised, tired and dirty. Yet if given the chance to do it over again, I would take it in a minute.

The next time you ponder renting a car or buying a bus ticket, be a little more adventurous and head to the bike rentals instead. Don’t be lazy. The experience outweighs the extra effort tenfold.

 -post by Karina Schroeder

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Here are a few things I’ve been up to the last few weeks:

Sleep No More NYC: A last minute invite for my boyfriend and I from our friends got us both out of the drizzly rain and headed to the Chelsea-located McKittrick Hotel where the entire production took place. Sleep No More was an experience equally thrilling as it was frightening. The re-created hotel transforms into Shakespeare’s MacBeth, as characters (some obvious, others not so much) wander from room to room interacting with each other as though you aren’t even there. Making things more interesting, guests that night were instructed to wear all black in addition to putting on creepy, white masks. Since this was one of their Halloween celebrations, after the climactic ending (which I won’t give away) they threw a huge party, full of jazz and fury.

Quarter-Life Crises: November 1 marked m 25th year of life so naturally I celebrated. I hosted a huge brunch party at Mappamondo in West Villageand was pleasantly surprised by the amount of friends who were able to drag themselves out of bed after a night of drinking and dressing up for Halloween. The restaurant is covered in world maps, so when I popped in here for a quick drink, I decided then and there that this should be where I celebrate another year of a well-traveled life.

Occupy Wall Street: I happen to need allergy shots every few weeks, and on my last visit I realized that their high-rise office building actually overlooks Occupy Wall Street. I must admit that when I was traveling through South America and Mexico I had a tough time staying up to date with the rest of the world, but I finally decided to see first hand what everyone has been talking about. There are tons of protestors out there daily, but it was very peaceful from what I could see. Many of them were just looking for someone to listen, while others were talking to themselves or trying to sell CDs and books. I was both confused and slightly intrigued by the whole experience.

Jazz Bars: I’ve also been becoming a huge fan of Jazz. My new neighborhood is the very upper tip of the Upper West Side – almost Morningside Heights and I’ve been finding famous and non-famous jazz bars, popping inside, and finding it hard to leave my seat. Smoke and The Underground Lounge are currently my favorites.The Underground has open mic nights every Sunday so my goal in the next few months is to rehearse a song and perform on stage.

Tuxedo Park: Taking place this past Wednesday was Tuxedo Park, an event held at Bungalow 5 Showroom, combining paintings from Annika Connor (featured in our Art section). The showroom itself is absolutely stunning so having Connor’s paintings, which ranged from colorful rooms to lively underwater life, added the perfect elements of intrigue and sophistication. Champagne and hors d’oeuvres were served to a crowded room of writers, artists and party-goers.

Empire State of Mind: Several months ago, I went to Taylor for an event with the Guinness Master himself. This  week they hosted a holiday party for their client Diageo, which meant free and very tasty cocktails, a spectacular view of the city at night (their office is located in the Empire State Building) and a lovely bottle of high-grade Tequila as a parting gift.I was personally thrilled to learn that Nuvo has a new lemon flavor.

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Daintree Rainforest:

Located near Daintree, Queensland, Daintree Rainforest is one of the oldest rainforests in the world.  It includes approximately 1,2000 square kilometers from the Daintree River north to Cooktown and west to the Great Divide.  The Daintree region offers many natural landscapes to explore, including mountain ranges, streams and waterfalls, deep gorges, and dense rainforest.  One the coast you’ll find white sand beaches and fringing reefs. Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa is an ideal accommodation if visiting this incredible area.  The lodge consists of 15 tranquil rainforest cottages.  Ecotourism is essential for the lodge to help preserve the surrounding natural environment and culture.  Daintree offers Aboriginal guided rainforest walks as well as an Aboriginal art workshop, where guests can learn about traditional life and history.  In addition to lodge operations, including waste management, energy management, and environmental preservation, Daintree Eco Lodge formed a partnership with the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO), focusing on reducing greenhouse emissions and energy management assessments.

Blackheath:

Blackheath is a small mountain town in New South Wales with an abundance of natural beauty and picturesque scenery.  It is the highest town above sea level in the Blue Mountains, which are just 90 minutes away from Sydney.  Explore the Blue Mountains National Park and the many lookout points at Blackheath, including Govett’s Leap, Evans Lookout, Grose Valley, and Hargreaves.  Venture into the Grose Valley to see Edenderry and Hilary Falls.  You can see some Aboriginal history off of Evans Lookout Road where you’ll discover caves believed to have been occupied over 10,000 years ago.  A unique resort located in Blackheath is Kanimbla View Clifftop Retreat.  This 12 acre retreat sits at the top of breathtaking cliffs and offers activities including tennis, walking tours, golf, yoga, hang-gliding, horse-back riding, rock climbing, and mountain biking.  All cottages are solar powered and furnished with natural and recyclable materials.

Cape Leveque:

Cape Leveque is on the tip of the Dampier Peninsula about 220 km north of Broome.  Though Cape Leveque can be difficult to get to, it is well worth the effort once you see the pristine beaches and red cliffs.  A 4WD vehicle is recommended for the drive and the road is not suitable for caravans.  During wet season, the road may be closed to traffic. Though Cape Leveque is very remote these is a unique Aboriginal owned eco lodge, offering safari tents, ensuite cabins, log cabins, mini safari tents, beach camping shelters, and campground units.  Cape Leveque offers great swimming, fishing, snorkeling, whale watching, bird spotting, and scenic tours.

Jervis Bay:

Jervis Bay is one of a few marine parks located in New South Wales, a few hours south of Sydney.  Jarvis was originally a small fishing town, and though it has grown considerably it seems to be more popular among locals and Australian tourists as opposed to international travelers.  The main town of Jervis Bay is Huskinsson, which has a variety of cafes and restaurants.  Jervis Bay has a wide variety of wildlife, both marine life and animals found in the nearby National parks.  You can see dolphins, whales, seals, penguins, sea eagles, pelicans, and kangaroos among other things.  Aboriginal tribes have been living in Jervis Bay area for over 20,000 years and there is plenty of history and culture to experience.   They continue to live in the Booderee National Park area, and there are a number of eco tours that showcase the lives of these native Australians.  Paperbark Camp is a unique luxury tented accommodation option in Jervis Bay, offering complimentary bikes and canoes to explore the local area.

Uluru Red Center:

Our in country partner in Australia specializes in creating an authentic bush experience, featuring small group tours that venture far way from the crowds, exploring bush tracks in 4WD, swimming in remote waterholes, cooking over an open fire, and sleeping under the stars in a swag (Aussie bush bed).  The Uluru tour begins by heading south to Erldunda, passing through the Waterhouse and James Rangers with a stop at a camel farm and Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse, where you can buy Aboriginal artifacts.  You will have the opportunity to learn about local Aboriginal law and religion on a guided walking tour at the base of Uluru. At sunset, you can observe the beautiful colors of Uluru and at sunrise you will be able to see Uluru and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) from the campsite.  The third day will be spent exploring Watarrka (Kings Canyon), visiting the Amphitheatre and the Lost City, as well as enjoying a swim in the serene “Garden of Eden.”  Also available is a 2 day cultural safari that visits 4 Aboriginal communities surrounding Alice Springs.   Travelers have the opportunity to learn about the Aborigine’s art, history and relationship with the land, hunting style, and way of life.

-guest post by Global Basecamps

Global Basecamps is a specialty travel company that helps independent travelers research and book locally owned boutique hotels, off-the-beaten path lodges and multi-day excursions all over the world.

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