What We’re Reading: August 6, 2010
Keep up with what we’re reading!
Each Friday, we share those sites and articles—those interesting links—that we are currently reading or have recently read. Enjoy these great posts that you may have missed this past week. If you have any suggestions for next Friday’s round-up, please contact us!
Round-the-world charity? Adventurous Kate’s take on Teresa Keller’s plan to take her three teenagers and one of their friends on a year-long trip around the world. They plan to visit 33 countries within a year, volunteering the entire way. An ambitious and expensive endeavour, eh? Check out her piece here.
[Editors' note: Since publishing this piece Teresa Keller has contacted us and asked us to correct our link. She maintains, as per her website, that donations go toward the humanitarian projects and to the cost of generating educational content and raising awareness of world affairs issues. She doesn't explain exactly what 'content cost' entails but maintains it will be low as the family will produce most of it themselves as they travel.]
Get out o’ yer comfort zone. “Does travel always equal going outside your comfort zone?” ask Audrey Scott and Daniel Noll from Uncornered Market. The quick answer? Not necessarily. They continue: “It’s about getting lost—sometimes physically, often times emotionally—and placing yourself in situations [that challenge].” Check out some of their hints for escaping your comfort zone here.
Essential tips for the laid-back traveller. It’s easy to leave things behind when you’re frequently moving—so you’ll need a good system to keep good track of what you and have where it goes. A Little Adrift’s Shannon O’Donnell shares her top tips for staying organized on the road. One trait we all share? A methodical packing system. Packing cubes are a godsend.
Travelling couples! Gap Year Escape’s Amar shares a great collection of couples who travel—and blog about it. He writes: “Relationships and travelling can sometimes be a cause of concern for some people. It is true though, travelling can make or break a relationship.” There’s no shortage of couples blogging about travel at the moment—check Amar’s list here.
BootsnAll Threads
BootsnAll is a web-based travel publisher, an online travel community and provider of services and information that travelers need and want. We frequent their forum—and bring to you our favourite threads from the past week!
Couple finances. Bootie Flackattack asks: “My girlfriend and I are getting ready to go to South and Central America for a year or more. We’ve both been saving well and are in good enough financial shape”. He continues: “Since so many trip expenses are shared—and we don’t want the ‘my turn/your turn’ or ‘I owe you/you owe me’ hassles—how have you gone about equaling the bottom line while on a trip?”. The Booties weigh in here.
Time to move on? Bootie Jeannie99 writes: “On our 12-month round-the-world trip we rarely stayed in any one spot for more than five days. The excitement of moving on to the next location became addictive—although it could be tiring at times.” Asks Jeannie99: “How do other members manage their trips?” Check out the answers here. How long do you stay in any one place?
RTW or not? “If I decide that an around-the-world is the way to go, I will be over 40 at the time of my trip; I will spend the next six years saving and planning, etc.” writes Nickers76. She continues: “However, I could take shorter trips to different regions and start doing them sooner. Any ideas on my plans pros and cons of the two ways?” Booties offer up their takes on different style of long-term travel here.
Newsletter contest. Our newsletter contest is entering its sixth week! However, we won’t send out the first issue until we reach a milestone of 50 subscribers! And we just need ~12 more subscribers to get us there! For a limited time, when you subscribe, you’ll be entered into a drawing to receive a $25 gift certificate from Amazon. For more information—and to subscribe—click here.
Name our newsletter. How would you like to go down in history as the person who named Two Go Round-The-World’s newsletter? Well, here’s your chance. We’re looking for a new name for our newsletter and we need your help. Check out our post here—and there’s another prize!
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About the Author (Author Profile)
For nearly ten years now, Daniel of Two Go Round-The-World has explored how travel captures our imagination and engages our deepest emotions. One half of the duo that maintains the widely read Two Go Round-The-World blog, Daniel treats his subjects not only as works of art but also as symbols of the cultural and political forces that inspire them. His latest book, The Physics of Flocking, gathers his favourite writing featured over the past two years on Two Go Round-The-World in columns like 'Looking Back' and 'The Whole Picture'—along with new reflections.Subscribe
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Thanks so much for including me! It was nice to see the piece get attention this week — everyone felt pretty much the same way!
Thanks for including me this week! Also love the new layout with the screenshots – looking excellent!