When in Beijing there are some things that just have to be done, Tiananmen Square – Check!  Great wall – Sometime this week and The Forbidden City – which is where we ended up three days ago. Due to the heat and the inevitable crowds we thought it would be best to go as early as possible

As soon as we got onto the main road we could see what we were in for. There were crowds everywhere, slowly filtering in through the main gate as well as many people just hanging around the area in general.

We joined the queue and started to filter through. We followed the crowd through two huge open sections of the city, which were impressive enough before we even had to pay. The admission fee was £6 each – pretty good value in my opinion.

At this point I would just like to include one thing off topic – It’s going to take some getting use to seeing everyone carrying round umbrellas in this heat, back in England they only mean one thing and we all know what that is.

The huge mass of people immediatly follow each other straight down the middle of the city and in this incredible heat we had to make a break for it before we got dragged along and passed out. Even the local tourists had to find shelter in the shade.

We took detour to the left of the city and almost straight away found ourselves virtually on our own. This gave us a chance to take a moment to really have a look at the place. It really is amazing and covers such a huge area, pictures tell a thousand words though so here are a few from the day.

Spotting some greenery round here is a pretty big deal, either that or the heat and blisters on Kirstys feet started to send her a little insane. Even our supportive mascot tottenham ted was subjected to her madness.

This is an amazing place that has to be visited when in Beijing, our main tip would be as soon as you enter the gates after buying your tickets, swing a left (as we did) and avoid the crowds. There are all sorts of galleries along the edge that are well worth a look. It’s also the best place to get some shots of the main buildings in the centre. We walked back down the middle of the city on the way back and so avoided being pushed along by the crowds which gave us more of a chance to have a good look around.

We spent around three hours in the Forbidden City and left feeling very impressed but in desperate need of a shower and lots of cold water. If it wasn’t for the heat, we would have definately spent a lot longer there. Next to look forward to is the great wall but I think we’ll have at least one chill out day before then.

The Forbidden City is a post from: No Place To Be

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There is plenty of Meet, Plan, Go! buzz going around the real world and the Twitter world. As summer winds down for Americans who might probably wonder where their summer went, what better the opportunity to dive into the world of travel. Meet, Plan, Go! which will be hosted by yours truly on September 14th will be a great gathering of travel resources for anyone who wants to make travel a part of their lives.

Besides meeting the lovely female half of the Art of Backpacking team, there are plenty of reasons to join us at Meet, Plan, Go! Philadelphia in September. Clearly, there are 4 great reasons.

Keith and Amy Sutter of Green Around the Globe:

A youthful, recently married couple with a love for travel and our co-hosts for Meet, Plan, Go! Philadelphia, Keith and Amy Sutter are a dynamic duo. Take a look at their about us page and you’ll quickly see these globe trotters have lots of stories to tell. If you’ve ever wanted to know how love can survive on the road and what adventures this couple has been through, this can be your opportunity.

The Zip, Set, Go! Girls

Besides having a fabulous name for a travel site, April, Rachel and Sara Beth are the modern day revolutionary movement for travel discussion. We’re talking about #TNI; one of the biggest travel hashtags. It stands for Travelers Night In which is held every Thursday at 3:30pm (EST) and links twitter traveler-ites in a virtual discussion about travel. Provided with unique topics and 10 questions to answer; it is a great resource for travelers who want a taste of what travelers have to say.

And of course, they have their own website community dedicated to induvidual and group travel. Whether you are the frugal backpacker or a first class jet-setter, these girls know what they’re talking about.

STA Travel:

When you’re a global travel specialist for 30 years; you’ve obviously done well as a company. Providing budget travel for young people and students all over the world kind of makes you a big deal. And we’re so happy that Meet, Plan, Go! Philadelphia and Art of Backpacking ourselves will be speaking with STA Travel. Many people wonder how you can get cheap flights, as though it were some kind of gypsy wish. Luckily, STA Travel provides a range of discounted flights, accommodation and tours.

Edge of Seven:

Travel doesn’t always have to be a personal gain. Sometimes, you want to give back to others and in this process, you’re still traveling and grasping a travel experience many miss out on. Edge of Seven; is dedicated to the art of volunteer travel. By encouraging travelers or those willing to give a little bit and gaining so much more. An experience that will not only change your life, but others. It means truly dedicating yourself on various projects: Learning about new cultures, community development and opening your mind to one grand journey. What a way to pay it forward with travel.

As the host of Meet, Plan, Go! Philadelphia and as a travel writer, I am absolutely thrilled to be working with these individuals. Everyone has their own personal travel story to tell and these are all worth hearing.

If you want more information about what this event is about, check out our previous post about this fabulous event.

See you guys on September 14th!

Head on into the center of Old Town and if you see a crowd of people looking up at the side of the Old Town Hall then chances are you’ve found the Astronomical Clock in Prague.

The clock or Orloj as its called is located on the southern wall and is made up of three components. The Astronomical Dial, The 12 Apostles and the Medallions of the Zodiac. On the hour you are greeted to the parade of the 12 Apostles and other animations before the show concludes with a special character that you just have to hear for yourself.

It’s nothing to write home about but a worthy stop off while you grab a Trdelník to fend off the hunger.

Related posts:

1. Featured Photo: Prague Castle At Night
2. Featured Photo: Berlin Graffiti
3. Featured Photo: Skyline of Riga, Latvia

Everyone who drinks beer needs to, at some point and time in their life, be a part of a kegger. Whether it is you who are providing the keg or just that you wanted to go to a really cool toga party and low and behold Zeus has provided a Hercules sized beer dispenser. Either way you don’t want to look like the ‘noob’ who is lost at what to do when you are handed your plastic red chalice for the night. No, you want to be the expert, a god among men who can make women swoon at the vastness of his beerpertise. Alas, not all men were created equal and some of us must study and practice hard every night to become beerologists. Pouring the perfect martini doesn’t happen by chance and neither will your knowledge of kegs. So continue on and read ahead for you my friend are on your way to greatness.

How to buy a Keg:
This is different in every state and sometimes even by county so make sure to ask s/he who knows all things….Google. According to Wikipedia there are 21 states with Keg Registration laws.  In my home state of Ohio you can only buy kegs from a distributer and not just your local corner liquor shop, and if you purchase five or more kegs you have to wait 5 days before you can pick them up. Also those who purchase these 5+ kegs are now subject to police searching the party location without the need of a warrant. How’s a monkey supposed to get funky? If this is true for you as well make sure to pay attention what time the distributers close because most shut down at 5pm on Friday which could leave you kegless if you wait.

What Size:
The standard sizes for barrels in the US are the ½ barrel keg, ¼ barrel keg (pony keg) and the 1/6  barrel keg which are the same size and volume of a Cornelius Keg (I poo you not, there really is a keg with my name but unfortunately it is mainly  used only for soda yet occasionally beer for home brewers).

Equipment:
Now that you have your keg, make sure you have all the necessary equipment for a keg party.

• Keg Tap – if you don’t have your own many places will rent one out to you for the cost of the tap which you will get back once you return your keg and tap for your deposit. Make sure that you have the correct type because there is a difference between the type of tap used on domestic and import beers.
• Cups – a keg holds on average 150 cups of beer, beware if you don’t have cups your bowls and pots will be sacrificed in the name of Bluto.
• Ice – unless you have a kegarator (fridge built for dispensing kegs since your average fridge won’t hold a keg) you need a lot of ice
• Trash Can – not for trash my furless friend this is to house your keg and ice
• Blanket – This is to tuck away your keg before the party to keep it chilly

Extras can be a Cold Plate, pitchers, CO2 tank and regulator

Houston We Have a Problem?…..Don’t Worry Keep Cool:
Most keg problems have to do with temperature, which results in foamy beer and while it’s acceptable to pour one out for the homies, wasting beer as foam is unacceptable if not criminal. Your keg must be between 36-38°F the warmer it gets the better the conditions become for bacteria growth causing your beer to ‘spoil.’ This means that you need to give your beer time to settle and cool down after you bring it home, think of it like bringing new fish home you’re not supposed to just dump the fishies into the water…no you let the bag sit atop the water so it adjusts. The recommended resting time is 2-4 hours before you serve up your beer.

If you are a pro and have CO2 tank the problem may lay in the pressure. Your beers pressure should be between 12-14 PSI for Ale and Lager beers but if you are purchasing from a distributer it is always best to ask the pros how they recommend their beer to be dispensed.

If you are using an air pump the recommended ‘freshness’ timeline is about 12 hours. Otherwise too much air will begin to alter the beer.
Sometimes the problem is the user and not your keg or equipment. To properly pour a glass of beer tilt the glass at a 45° angle get close to the faucet but do not push the cup against the faucet. Once the cup is half full bring your glass to an upright position to finish your pour. Finish by pouring the beer down the middle of the glass to give it that perfect pour finish. Also make sure that they have pumped the keg only to maintain a steady flow, you will usually have one party goer who feels the need to pump the keg 30 times before they pour their glass.

Depending on the results your troubleshooting may vary for wild beer, flat beer, cloudy beer or false head.

Why Buy A Keg:
Besides the obvious fact that saying, ‘hey come over tomorrow we are having a kegger’ sounds so much cooler than, ‘hey we bought two cases of Pabst Blue you wanna be my friend now?’ it is more economical. As stated above a keg of beer holds around 150 beers and using my recent adventure a ½ barrel keg of Bud Light cost $101 for a total of about $.67 per cup while a case at the your local store for say $18 gives you each can for about $.75 saving you some money while at the same time making you a lot cooler. The figures will vary depending on who’s pouring and the cost of the keg but either way it is still a cost savor, especially if you have a lush…err um slush fund that party goers can contribute for future kegs.

Now that you are on your way becoming a certified beerologist make sure to suggest future topics for New Brew Tuesday: Beerology 101 courses.

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Don’t forget to fling this post to others if you like what you see!

New Brew Tuesday: Everything You Need To Know About Kegs is a post from: Monkey Brewster

Check out one of these related posts

• A Drinking Guide to Rio de Janeiro
• New Brew Tuesday: Efes
• New Brew Tuesday: Flying Dog – Old Scratch Amber Ale

Testimonials from Mountain Equipment Co-op Media Presentation.

1. We had a great slide show here last night about one couple’s experience last year on the Cairo to Cape Town Tour d’Afrique bike race. It was standing room only. The presenters put on a really impressive show relating their experience of cycling from Cairo to Cape Town with the Tour d’Afrique race.  Great images, wonderful presentation, and humour:  just the sort of thing to inspire folks to undertake their own adventures.
We may have them back to for an encore.
Michael

2. Last night’s presentation was great! Beautiful photography and video clips, interesting descriptions and commentary and very informative both about Tour – Kris

3. It was a great show that was enjoyed by all in attendance. Congratulations to our dynamic adventure couple Ted Hains …
Just wanted congratulate Deb and Dave for a fantastic slide show they put on. A lot of info packed into about 70 mins. Images and video clips. Great narration – Nani

4. Awesome speech, you two. You’re definitely inspiring to us all. It reminds me of a saying~ There comes a time when you need to lead your life, not just follow it.
Smile, Ute and Itzik

5. I was at your presentation last night at MEC – congratulations on completing this monumental bike adventure, and on the great presentation, very professionally done, and extremely interesting and informative!
All the best to you – Hans

6. Thank you for a terrific show last night. Energetic, passionate, and educational… you delivered. I hope that your proposed true adventure TV series finds a market.
All the best. Ted Haines

7. I was at your presentation last night at MEC (I asked about what you might do differently if you knew then what you know now – re: illness, hunger, equipment) and found it inspiring and informative.  After your presentation I wasn’t sure whether to look forward to the 2010 TDA ride with excitement or trepidation.  In the end excitement won over and I still plan to ride despite the description of the Sudan sand and parasite warnings!  I did appreciate the reality check about just how difficult the ride was at the time but just how rewarding it was at the end of each stage, border crossing and the finish.
Congratulations on last year’s ride and all the best with finding a distributor for your travel show.  I am sure that I will see you both on TV in the future.
Kind Regards, Jenn

8. Dave and Deb. Great show! Just thinking of pedaling for a day in the sand was exhausting. Thanks Tim King
9. The really neat part of your story is that you decided up front to align yourself with a cause – this brought depth and texture to your journey – and this is the Me To We message – that each of us can make a difference in some small way. Many of their projects do focus on building schools in third world countries.
I personally am always interested in what people do for their work…the fact that you have jobs that are impacted by economic fluxes etc allowed you to take advantage of this opportunity…
I also imagine that your involvement with the film industry meant that you, or your contacts, had familiarity with media technologies that you used to create your show to tell your story…photos, videos, music, etc…
I thought your the pace of your presentation, your video/show with music,and the  items you displayed of cultural interest were all fantastic. The best part was how you went back and forth in sharing your story with such enthusiasm, honesty and humour. I also like the fact that you took questions at the end.
I cannot think of anything to change or add…
Chantal

10. Thanks so much for the inspiring presentation last night. You blew me away – you are both so professional in all aspects – I just know that your TV show will be a ‘hit’. I think you both need to go on the Talk Show circuit – and don’t ever worry about being boring – that is just not the case – your presentation is educational, inspiring and funny. You are both going to go along way. Good luck and we’ll talk to you soon – Love Mom

Valencia was one of my favorite cities in Europe. It was beautiful from one end to the other. The only frustration for me was the propensity for them to plant TREES everywhere, making unobstructed photos quite a challenge. Damn you, Valencia, and your dedication to greenery!

The city has some marvelous features, including buildings ranging from ancient towers like the Torres Serrano and Torres Quart, beautiful plazas, churches, government offices and even some amazing banks.

A few of my favorites:

Mercado Cento – the main market in town for purchasing fresh (really fresh) meats and vegetables. Some of the beauty of this part of Spain comes from the use of tile and ceramics in the exterior of buildings. The market is one of the best examples of this.

Inside the market. I thought about buying a rabbit on a spit, but they wouldn’t let me start an open flame in our hotel.

Placa de adjutament – one of the main plazas in the city and the home to many of the government offices for Valencia.

The most impressive piece I saw was this carved alabaster entryway at Palau del Marqués de Dosaigües, which houses the ceramic museum.

One of the best features of Valencia is the Jardines de Turia park. The Turia river was prone to floods, so in 1957 they decided to divert the river outside of town. With the space that was left, they created a wonderful park with several kilometers of gardens, sports facilities, jogging and cycling paths, playgrounds, fountains and ponds.

 

Nighttime shot of the Placa de Adjutament.

Residents of Izamal, a small, tidy and charming town near Merida, are very, very fond of yellow (as the photos, below, prove).  So much so that Izamal is known in Mexico as “the yellow town” since so many building are painted yellow to match the central church,  Monastery Basilica of San Antonio de Padua.

The church and Izamal itself have been important pilgrimage sites since the 1500s thanks, in part, to a spate of “miraculous” healings which were simultaneously attributed to the basilica’s Virgin Mary statue and to the Mayan god of healing, Itzam Na, to which the Mayans built their own pilgrimage shrine in Izamal. The town and it’s church remain important and even Pope John Paul II paid a visit in 1993.

In 2002 Izamal was named a Pueblo Magico, joining a select group of Mexican towns which the government has deemed architecturally and culturally important.

In addition to the overall charm and yellowness of the palce, Izamal is also home to Mayan ruins just steps from the main plaza. The main pyramid to Sun God Kinch Kak Mo is enormous with a base that sprawls over two acres with 10 levels of construction on top of it which some archaeologists consider to be the highest Mayan structure in the Yucatan. The view from the top was certainly impressive.

Related posts:

1. Ancient Mayans and Black Jaguars – Ek’ Balam Ruins, Yucatan State, Mexico
2. Rocks For Sale! – Chichén Itzá, Yucatan State, Mexico
3. Thank Chaac! – Uxmal, Yucatan State, Mexico

This was probably one of our favorite days of the entire trip.  We spent all of 24 hrs in La Paz, Bolivia, but we made sure to make the most of it.  Our first priority was to mountain bike the “death road.” It was steep, the scenery was amazing and it was plain to see why the road is so dangerous.  Fortunately no cars are allowed on it anymore, just bikes.  In these outfits we ruled the road and survived. Share and Enjoy: Related posts:Death Road… no really. Scared to death I pulled on my breaks praying I... Prodownhill (La Paz, Bolivia) Only three months old, Prodownhill has certainly made a... Photo Tuesday: Why a Zebra has stripes We went on safari several ... Related posts:

1. Death Road… no really. Scared to death I pulled on my breaks praying I...
2. Prodownhill (La Paz, Bolivia) Only three months old, Prodownhill has certainly made a...
3. Photo Tuesday: Why a Zebra has stripes We went on safari several times in Africa.  A budding...

I truly, deeply love traveling. Whenever I am feeling beaten or swamped in my day-to-day life, I jump on to Twitter to immerse myself in the travel lifestyle and talk with you guys.

But as much as I (and you and others) love travel, some recent backlashes against the perma-travel lifestyle reminded me of a question I asked myself on my last major jaunt:

Is traveling selfish?

I don’t mean selfish as in “a traveler will steal candy from a baby” type selfish. The real question I’m asking is, at what point have you had “your fill” and should you then turn your attention back home?

For me, it was 2006 and I found myself traveling the Baltic countries and the former Soviet Bloc with my younger brother and another friend. In Wroclaw (Krakow for your English-speakers) we found the more centrally located hostel we could find and set up shot. Late into the night, the thump-thump of the disco across the street and the making out of the newly-made couple in the bunk across the room got to me like never before. At that point, I made the decision to take my experience and truly build something, a business based off my passion for travel.

Simultaneously I also realized that leaving every opportunity I could for prolonged periods meant I missed birthdays, anniversaries and all-around good times back home. I’ve sent more birthday messages than I would like to admit via email across international borders and oceans. While in Europe in 2003, I came back to find my best friends had arguably the best summer in man history.

Independent backpacking is after all, independent. It involves ME going wherever I want, whenever I want. If I want to see Pisa tomorrow, I’m there. If I think my tan’s fading a bit too much, a few days on Koh Tao just makes sense.

But, of course, like all good things, travel is (often times) best served in moderation. At least for some people. Some folks seemingly travel forever, while for some, a weekend in Vegas is all you need.

So, I’m tossing a few questions at you, the passionate traveler, to ask yourself…

Is there a point at which you’ve traveled too much? If so, how can you tell?

Beyond blogging, have you thought of any new ways of building something back home with your travel experiences?

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PS – Despite my newfound sense of needing to “build something”, I would still give anything to get away to a new country I’ve never been to.

Garrett is the man behind Hostel Dog, a travel products company specializing in travel shirts, travel posters and travel cards.

“Our inspiration for our shirts comes from remembering the idiosyncrasies of travel: the overnight trains, the packed hostel rooms, the late nights.Traveling isn’t just a momentary experience, it’s a way of life. When you come back from your travels abroad, it’s the little things that went right (and wrong) that you remember down the road.” (taken from Hostel Dog – Travel Shirts)

Be sure to follow Garrett on Twitter (@hosteldog).

After revisiting our trek to Mount Everest Base camp through videos, we have come to the end. The day that we arrive at our destination.  From the spectacular views of the Khumbu Ice Fall and the South Cole to the bonding with our guide Deep and Porter Sher, it was an amazing day.

The sun shone brightly, the sky was blue and the air was comfortably warm.

Enjoy following along as we reach Mount Everest Base Camp today!

For the article that goes along with this video check out our Everest Base Camp Adventure Part 7 - Dave’s photos capture the stunning sites even better than video.

For more photos on Everest check out our Nepal Gallery at Picture the Planet

For More on Everest, see our entire collection of Mount Everest Base Camp articles and Videos