Buying the one way ticket to Paris where I start my trip has been the most nervous moment in preparation yet. The sick feeling in my stomach that grew and grew as I filled out the online booking form was seriously making me wonder if I was doing the right thing. Perhaps it was my subconscious trying to pull me back to my safety net, all I knew was that paying for the ticket was a defining moment.

By hitting the book now and pay button for my plane ticket I was changed. I went from a yeah I’ll travel guy talking the talk, into the guy that’s already passed immigration and is sitting in the departure lounge bopping away to his iPod waiting to board. While I longed to be that guy, I always found a reason to hold off on laying out the cash. I’d like to say I was holding out for the best priced ticket but honestly it scared the crap out of me.

I’d spent hours researching just which airline has the cheapest flight as well as the least likelihood of falling out of the sky. Which is a big thing when you live in Australia as the shortest flight I could find from Melbourne to Paris was approximately 24 hours long.

My search was then further hampered because of my location. While the majority of the world can search sites like Kayak, Expedia and so forth with no problems as they cater to your local currency, Australia has just the local version of Expedia and a hodge podge of other offerings. All which seem to say the same thing and not offer any great unique feature to get me to come back. The last option you have is to individually check with each airline to see what their best price is for that day, and that’s always a little time consuming.

Starting with the travel booking sites gave an idea on who flies the route from Melbourne to Paris. This allowed me to narrow my choice to 3-4 airlines that I could follow and monitor the pricing, waiting to pounce on the first deal I saw. I also checked that my top 3-4 chosen airlines had frequent flyer programs, ensuring I could get any bonus possible out of the ticket.

From there I monitored the sites until I could muster up the will to buy the ticket. It took me two weeks to finally go through the booking process, then another 15-30min staring at the final confirmation page before I became the owner of a one way plane ticket to Paris.

If anybody else is planning their travel and don’t have access to a friendly travel agent the best advice I can offer (especially if your from Australia) is to search everywhere to find who fly’s to your destination. Then check the airlines own website before looking at sites like Expedia. I noticed the price go up and down on their site while the airline site always reported the same price and at the cheapest rate.

Now that it’s all said and done, come the 24th of April 2010 I will be departing Melbourne Airport aboard a Singapore Airlines A380 bound for Paris. Looking back I can’t help but feel a little silly for being scared but hey, were all human and the unfamiliar is always daunting.

All images for this post were contributed by Daniel from Canvas of Light. Be sure to check out his blog or follow him around on twitter like I do.

Competition coming this week make sure you are subscribed to my RSS feed and follow me on twitter.

Related posts:

1. Getting Around Europe
2. My first mistake in planning to travel
3. Tentative Travel Itinerary

We’ve been featured!

Pause The Moment has been featured on TravelBlogSites.com! CLICK HERE to see the latest post about PTM! We’d like to send out a BIG thanks to Louise at Travelpod for making this happen!

Also be sure to check out the list of other travelers who are either getting ready to set out on the road or are ALREADY on the road as we speak.

Louise from TravelBlogSites.com reached out to me after my travel blog was profiled on TravelBlogSites.com and asked that I share the site with my readers.

If you’re looking for a way to get your travel blog out there, TravelBlogSites.com gives you an opportunity to share your site with fellow travel bloggers. TravelBlogSitess.com is a comprehensive directory of independent travel blogs. The best travel bloggers are profiled on a daily basis and they put out a list of the Top 100 travel blogs based on Alexa and Compete.com  on a weekly basis.

This list is put together by TravelPod, a blog platform that celebrates travelers who are seeing the planet on their own and sharing their honest opinions with the rest of the world.

While we don’t want to discredit collaboratives, we have a lot of respect for the independent traveler and we want to highlight the cream of the crop. – TravelBlogSites.com

If you’d like a chance to be profiled, email Louise at louiseb@travelpod.com and provided the following:

• two paragraphs justifying your blog’s existence and
• a photo of yourself that I can use on TravelBlogSites.com.

Happy Friday! Here are Three Travel Bites of the Week to get your weekend started: 1. Cailin O’Neil is taking it upon herself to create her own travel show about traveling solo. The show, Travel Yourself, will focus on her experiences in different countries and she will give tips and advice about how to make the most of your trip on your own. Her first episode will be all about Spain with more episodes planned for the future. She is working on editing the first installment so for now check out the awesome trailer below. 2. This week the Matador Network reminded us that not one travel blog was on Time’s list of the Best 25 Blogs. That is completely ridiculous and definitely needs to change. Luckily we can do something about it. Time is open to suggestions and all you have to do is tweet your favorite travel blog to @Time. It will take 2 seconds so go right now and nominate your favorite travel blog. 3. The folks at Vagablogging.net are rolling out with Vagabonding Case Studies. Whether you are planning a trip or just coming back from one, you could be featured on the site as a case study to share your story about why you wanted to travel, how you prepared for the big trip, and what your adventures meant to you. It is  great for the travel community to share tips, advice, and personal stories and can also give your blog more exposure. If you want to be a case study, e-mail them and tell them about yourself at casestudies at vagabonding.net.

Tokyo, Japan – Vending Machine Blurs

In Tokyo you can find practically anything in vending machines – they are high tech!  Walking down the street you’ll find them lined up pimping the familiar and not so familiar!   Can you imagine buying beer or sake from a vending machine?

View Additional Tokyo Photography

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I can’t really say I experienced much culture in Halifax, but doing so really wasn’t my intention. The premise for my Halifax weekend was based solely on spending lots of time with my best friend, and consequently drinking my face off to deal with work stress. Because that’s how real people do it.

There were a lot of things about Halifax that felt eerily similar to St. John’s. And then there were some drastic differences that made me realize how spoiled I am.

Our “Big Night” out in Halifax was Saturday. In preparation, Jo and her roommate made at least 40 jello shooters…for the three of us. We were planning on taking a cab into town around 9 p.m. for food at The Economy Shoe Shop (yeah, a restaurant, no shoes) followed by scandalous bar-hopping.

In St. John’s, an early night doesn’t start until 12 a.m. You “prime” at someone’s house, drink a dozen beers so you don’t have to spend too much cash, and then head out on the town. Any earlier, and things start to get expensive.

Anyway, The Economy Shoe Shop was great. I ordered some Garrison’s beer, a delicious, thick brew that took me an hour to drink and might have filled me more than my enormous platter of NACHOS. Yep, nachos again. They did not quite meet my Mustang Sally’s standards, but they did prevent me from getting black-out drunk.

After our food, we were all feeling kinda sluggish in the dim lighting and low-key atmosphere. I asked the waiter for directions to the bathroom and he told me to, “Walk straight through there, turn right at the giant tree, walk down the hallway at the left and you’ll enter fucking Narnia.” I got lost in there about three times, not kidding.

But then! Corbin of iBackpackCanada showed up! It was pretty thrilling meeting an Internet presence. He was all, “I feel like I’m meeting someone famous!” And I was all, “DON’T TELL ANYONE I’M DITZY.” We bonded over travel writing gossip, much to the annoyance of our friends. Anyway, at some point in the night we got separated, and alas, I lost my friend. Sorry, Corbin. It’s hard not to be a total flake sometimes. But I’ll be back.

We all ended up going to the Lower Deck. Or the Upper Deck. Middle Deck? It doesn’t matter. The place was packed. At one point I was leaning across the bar, when I glanced to the side, and at the exact same moment a guy from home turned to look at me.

“WTF?”

WTFs all around. Atlantic Canada is small.

The place closed at 2 a.m. I was not having any of it, I threw a fit. So we all walked to the Dome, where creepy men and 18 year old boys lurk around every corner of the dance floor (separate blog post to come about the man bounty in Halifax and their love for gingers). It was different having to walk between bars in such a distance; in St. John’s, everything is grouped in one spot. This saves a lot of hassle and possible cab dollars. After bringing this up to one of the girls, she stopped, looked at me and said:

“You Newfoundlanders are spoiled as hell.”

She’s right.

Another major difference between Halifax (maybe the world?) and St. John’s: nothing closes until 3 a.m., at the earliest. Good things happen at that hour, people!

We eventually got to The Dome..a venue with a billion bars in one. It is the most confusing maze I have ever experienced. Actually, so was the Lower Deck. Or Upper Deck. There were just stairs everywhere and dance floors and people grinding and security guards and OMG. I had a freaking blast.

Even if getting anywhere is a hassle, and I’m a spoiled Newfoundlander, I’ll be back, Halifax. Oh yes, you haven’t seen the last of me.

Shamless self-promo: Too much of a pansy to check out Chatroulette? Read about my experience here.

Two weekends of being completely ridiculous have majorly disrupted my work schedule, I’ll get back into it soon, folks. If I disappear for awhile just know that I still love you and am probably living in a cave somewhere eating bats. Also, I’ll do another travel bloggers round-up soon.)

As a soon to be budget backpacker I’ve been doing my best to keep my spending down. I moved from a 2 bedroom unit into a rented room with my sister. Sold off the furniture I didn’t want to keep and am preparing to sell my beloved vehicle to pay out the loan on it.

Overall I’m pretty happy with my spending vs saving plan, some things could be improved but just sharing a house with family is enough sacrifice I think. In saying that I’ve been outdone well and truly by Ayngelina from baconismagic.ca. Not only is the blog name awesome but her post on Saving For Long Term Travel has some great tips.

I can honestly say anybody that makes their own alcohol to save money for an overseas trip is welcome to come party with me any day of the week, I’m just jealous I never thought of it.

Just like me Ayngelina is preparing to depart on a RTW journey so be sure to subscribe to her blog and follow along, only good things can come when you combine bacon with magic.

Competition coming this week make sure you are subscribed to my RSS feed and follow me on twitter.

Related posts:

1. Travel Blogger Friday #13
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I get many emails from travelers all over the world asking me questions about my travels.  Here are some of the recent ones that are great to share with everyone!  If you have a question, don’t hesitate to ask!

Q:  from Dave – Brooklyn

I came across your blog and was very impressed by your decision to leave your corporate life and travel. My wife and I are planning a similar trip next year and would like to spend some time in SE Asia. I have a question regarding how you managed your cash while in Vietnam.  Did you use ATMs primarily or is there some other method. I bank with HSBC which is pretty global but I would like to avoid ATM fees. Also, did you use a special kind of mobile phone. I’m wondering if I should get an AT&T travel plan and then use my phone abroad.

A:

You ask a great question – and I have some good news – there are HSBC ATMS’s all over Saigon (and Hanoi).  I ALWAYS manage my cash via ATM when traveling – it really is the easiest way and you get the best conversion rate – plus you don’t have to carry so much cash with you at once.  Nearly everywhere I’ve went in the world I’ve been able to find ATMS that work (Peru and parts of S. America and Africa were a bit difficult to find an ATM that took Mastercard backed debit cards).  ATMS’s in other countries rarely charge transaction fees – or you can talk to your bank and see if they can waive it somehow while you are international.  Don’t use Travelers checks – they are certainly a thing of the past.  I normally simply travel with ATM card and carry a bit of emergency US dollars (in new bills as some countries won’t accept old bills) just in case I can’t find another alternative.

Regarding your question about cell phone – my best advice is to use your existing phone – but unlock it from your US carrier so that you can add other SIM cards.  When I arrive in a country – I just buy a SIM card from that country (if I plan to be there for a while) and use that – it’s so much cheaper.  The US carriers will still charge you way too much; even on their ‘international plans’.  I can’t stress enought the benefit of an unlocked phone.  The US is the only place in the world that locks their phone to specific carriers and it’s really frustrating.  If you need to unlock your phone – just do some searches on craigs list and you’ll find people that will do it.  I went to China Town in NYC and had mine unlocked – there’s a hacker somewhere who will do it!  Or just buy a cheap simple phone in a different country and use that as your ‘travel phone’.  If it’s cheap enough…no one will want to steal it!

Q:  from Susan – Ireland

Wondered if you can recommend specific TEFL programmes? I have a ton of work experience, including teaching and training, as well as a good educational background, but I assume for most positions now days, you must be TEFL certified? and i hear that CELTA is the best?

A:

I can’t say that I’m any expert on ESL certification.  I can only tell you that I did some research and decided to get my CELTA certification as I had also heard it was the best.  Yet in retrospect – I don’t think it CELTA vs. TEFL matters at all – especially with your other credentials.  I took my certification while in NYC – but it’s much more expensive to do in the US.  The school where I taught in Vietnam actually offered CELTA certification there for half the price and then you could apply for jobs with them.  So – it’s good to potentially research potential certification options (TEFL or CELTA) in the city where you want to travel to.  Also with credentials like yours – you may not need any further certification  - you may be able to apply for university ESL jobs in various cities…which would pay better!  CELTA certification doesn’t teach you anything about grammar…it teaches you how to teach and manage a classroom – these are skill you likely already have!  A good place to look for what jobs are out there and what the requirements are is TEFL.com – I get their daily newsletter about openings around the world.

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A place that most people never get to see while visiting Sin City. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is a 45 min drive West of Las Vegas, NV. If you’re feeling adventurous and you’re sick of walking the strip, take a day trip out to Red Rock. I GUARANTEE that you’ll have a blast.

If you’re not into hiking, biking or rock climbing, that’s okay! Red Rock has a 13-mile scenic loop [map] that you can spend some time driving around. There are many pull off parking lots along the way, so if you see a particular area that you’d like to get out and see for yourself, you can do so.

I highly recommend scoping out some hikes before you make the trek out to Red Rock. Definitely plan ahead and don’t forget to bring lots of water!

Check out the view!

Jeff climbing to the top of this rock that looks like a turtle.

After hiking in the sun for about an hour or so, I needed some shade!

Look how RED this rock is? I love it.

What a rewarding end to our hike at Red Rock! You could see for miles…

One of my favorite photos from the hike… Amazing!

Have you been to Red Rock Canyon? If so, please feel free to share your story by leaving a comment below.

Recently Cailin from travelyourself.ca was in Australia and while I didn’t get a visit from her she did try Vegemite so I’m willing to let that slide for now. Unfortunately the experience wasn’t up to my satisfaction so I’m going to lay out some steps on eating Vegemite so that you can all love it like I do.

First up lets check out Cailin and her attempt.

Now I’d be happy with half a piece of Vegemite toast but two bites Cailin, I know you can do better than that. So to help improve everybody’s Vegemite eating skills here are my 3 steps to ensure a successful encounter.

Step #1

For the ultimate experience you want to start with toast that’s nice and hot straight from the toaster.

Step #2

With your hot toast ready to go spread some butter/margarine across quickly so as allow the toast to melt it, thus further enhancing the toast in preparation for the Vegemite. Opinions will differ on the amount to use, personally I don’t mind a liberal spreading across the toast.

Step #3

Next we come to the Vegemite. Now Vegemite is not your average run of the mill spread like Peanut Butter or Jam. You have to sample it like a fine wine and not like the $2 bottle of hooch you drank as a young teenager.

When your spreading it across your toast your looking to have a nice fine layer that you can see through. Once your a regular fan you can experiment with thicker layers, but for a beginner this is perfect.

The volume of Vegemite Cailin was using is better left to a more seasoned fan or typical Australian palate. By assaulting your mouth with that much awesomeness in one go is just asking for trouble. A beginner just isn’t prepared for it and the result is as you can see a failure.

I hope now that you have the recipe to the perfect slice of Vegemite toast you can spread the word (look I said it again, you know with the spread and how Vegemite is a spread and oh fine just forget it) and all get behind my Vegemite vs The World challenge.

Competition coming this week make sure you are subscribed to my RSS feed and follow me on twitter.

Related posts:

1. Vegemite vs The World