We’ve had so many entries to Travel Photography Roulette that I had to create a new post! You can check out the first 35 entries HERE.

The newest entries for Round 9 are:

Adrian @ Travel to Sun

A windy beach in Montenegro.

Andrew @ Grounded Traveler

Somewhere near Naxos in the Aegean sea. A pretty stiff wind meant that we were plowing through waves splashing up onto our boat. I was lucky enough to catch an action shot.

Adam @ Hittin’ The Trail

White Sand Dunes, Mui Ne, Vietnam.

Jessica @ Misc Jessica

Walking around the gardens at Versailles I neglected to bring an umbrella since the weather had been so nice…my mistake. Lucky for me there was a coffee booth every few feet to warm up.

Pedro @ Hecktic Travels

Just a casual afternoon in Tofino, British Columbia. Normal life includes riding down to the beach (surf board in arms), and riding the waves until the sun goes down.

Laura @ Travel for Love

Despite the chaotic surroundings in the Bolivian pampas of birds, monkeys and millions of mosquitoes, the surface of the river was thoroughly peaceful and I snapped this water surface photo for a moment of tranquility.

Chris @ Amateur Traveler

My entry is a picture of my blackwater rafting, that is to say tubing down an underground river in New Zealand.

Katherina @ 100 Miles Highway

I took this shot in the National Park of Timanfaya, Lanzarote (Canary Islands). The island is dominated by over 100 volcanoes and, in some areas, the surface reaches up to 120ºC, and only 13 meters deep even 600ºC, creating these artificial geysers.

Aaron @ Aaron’s Worldwide Adventures

Fishermen on Cambodia’s “Great Lake,” the Tonle Sap.

Matt @ Matt Koenig Photography

Early morning in Sanur, Bali. I’m not sure what he was doing or looking for wading through the warm ocean waters.

Dmitrii @ SillyMonkeyPhoto

Chilly Sunrise at Greenwich Point Park.

Aswin @ Waves

Rain drops – as the pitter-patter of the rain hit the train’s window, these few drops managed to hang on … for me :-)

Bethany @ Beer and Beans

Cinque Terre where the sun shines bright, the buildings glow and the sea seems to laugh at itself. I miss it.

You can check out the first 35 entries HERE.

You might also enjoy these related posts:

• Photo of the Week: The Bodhnath Stupa in Kathmandu
• Travel Photo Roulette Round 9 Winner
• Photo of the Week: Nepali Tailor at Work in Kathmandu
• Travel Photography Roulette: Round 9

Have you ever found yourself returning again and again to a place, perhaps reenacting a scene or activity? Do you wonder why, or have you extinguished that curious flame with a half-thought and flimsy reason? It’s fun. It’s pretty. It’s cheap. What does it say about you that you return there? Is it pathological or just unfinished business?

There is a place in this world, for everyone, that will command daily thoughts, tug at hidden bonds, and pull across the oceans and ages.

If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. It’s there.

Recently, I finally admitted to myself that Scotland is that place for me. And, if you saw the picture for this post on the main page, apparently I’m doing my damnedest to reload Mons Meg at Edinburgh Castle. The photo on the left is me in 2009 reenacting the photo on the right, from 2006. I can only guess there will be a third installment from 2011 when I venture to Edinburgh in March.

Speaking of trips, I’ve got a lot to share.

Plans & Happenings

At the beginning of the year I announced that I would be focusing on Scotland here on Traveling Savage, and that my first trip would be to Edinburgh in March. Since then I’ve been sketching out how the year might look from a travel perspective. Take a look at these ideas:

March: Three weeks in Edinburgh with possible day trips to places like Tantallon Castle, Glenkinchie Distillery, and Dunkeld for the Niel Gow Festival. This trip is locked in and I’m nearly done with logistics.

Late April/May: Shetland for a week at the end of April and early May for the Shetland Folk Festival; then either to Argyll and Islay (for the Malt and Music Festival) or to Speyside, the Castle Trail, and the Cairngorms National Park. Which way I choose to go is dependent on the Islay Malt and Music Festival (aka Feis Ile).

Early June: Off to Vancouver for the Travel Blog Exchange Conference. This will be a weekend jaunt to mix it up with some of the travel bloggers I’ve gotten to know over the past year and see a city I’ve been waiting to see for a long time.

Late July/August/September: This one is still a bit fuzzy, but it’s likely to include a week in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival and whichever trip option I didn’t do back in April/May.

Winter: I’m considering visiting Edinburgh for Hogmanay and Shetland for Up Helly Aa in January of next year.

Finally, there could be another trip in the fall, but I can only juggle so many cannonballs at once – my trip-planning abilities have been stretched to their limits.

This being the first State of the Savage of 2011, I’ve decided to make a change and cut the Features & PR section. If that was your favorite part, let me know. You can find all the items that used to be in that section on my Features & Recognition page.

Parting Blow

A common thread that ties travelers of every ilk together is the search for magic. The inexplicable. Magic is that something in the air that precipitates wonder. Why do I return to Scotland? I think the elemental joy of experiencing magic, the contentedness of not understanding, should be shared.

And until I lift that cannonball, my business in Scotland will be unfinished. I’m quite pleased with that, actually.

State of the Savage: January 2011 is a post from Traveling Savage.Copyright 2010

About The Author: Lauren Rains is a cool, world traveling chick who is on a quest to live a kickass life of adventure and substance. She’s lived in Buenos Aires, Cannes, and Beijing and spends a lot of time designing websites when she’s not off exploring the unknown. You can strike up a convo with her about the meaning of life on Twitter @LaurRains or travel to her blog, The Mad to Live, where she writes about how to live the wild, crazy and meaningful life we’re all meant to live.

There’s something about world travel that accelerates life. It’s as if you’re able to live the life of 10 humans in one year abroad because life lessons, extraordinary experiences, and crazy challenges seem to occur every step of the way.

For me, a big part of this always is inspired by the people I meet along the way. Back home most things are a routine, including the people we see day-to-day. However, when you’re exploring the planet, you meet people of all walks of life who have lived all sorts of fascinating experiences and have all kinds of stories, opinions and insights.

So today I’m going to share with you a few people I’ve met through my journeys and the lessons that they taught me.

“You Are Not Your Past” - Liu Bin – Beijing, China

Liu Bin was one of my best friends in China. He wouldn’t have been had he not been able to leave the AIDS ridden village and abusive father he grew up with in the countryside. He was the first in his village to go to college, and can recite Dr. King’s I Have A Dream speech word for word perfectly. This guy is even learning Spanish now!

Liu taught me that no matter what the odds, no matter how unfair something is, and no matter how impossible it seems, where there is a will there is a way.  No ifs, ands, or buts.

He made me realize that any excuses I could ever think of as to why I couldn’t do something were merely laughable in the face of the challenges and obstacles he overcame without even complaining.

He showed me through his own example to stay positive because being negative isn’t worth it, and to always enjoy the simple pleasures in life, especially my friendships.

“Be No One Else But YOU” - Samantha Hiner – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sam is hands down one of the raddest chicks I have ever met. She’s a world-traveling, Spanish-speaking, in-your-face, big-loving kind of gal, and I love her for it. She’s currently living in  Madrid, Spain teaching, hanging out with cute boys named Raul, and living her dream. I can’t help but smile as I type this.

Her first solo travel experience was a month long trip through Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. She came back with lessons like, “long bus rides are only bearable if you can stand your inner most thoughts, when you go outside of your comfort zone, that’s when the stories that you’ll tell your grandchildren begin, and traveling is about you; making your own choices, doing/seeing what you want–nobody else can tell you what will happen to you”.

She was only 20 when she made that trip.  She’s a role model for being brave and believing you can take yourself on any journey you desire.

“Teach Your Family the World” - Mr. & Mrs. Garossi – Cannes, France

The Garossis  are the parents of one of my best and oldest friends Adrien. I spent the summer with them in France when I was 18. They and their children have lived in France, Spain, England, the US, and Brazil. They’re fluent in each of those respected languages! Not intermediate. FLUENT!

They inspired my curiosity and passion, and showed me my first glimpses of the outside world. They made me see that educating your children about cultures, language, and travel is far more valuable than the text books we read in school. And while it is far down the road for me, I hope to do the same for my kids one day as well.

SHARING YOUR STORY

Somehow the friends we make on those long trips across foreign borders so easily leave a mark on us. Maybe it’s the fact that we share the same mentality and passion for chasing after the wonders of the world. Maybe it’s that even while this mentality makes us similar, it’s the differences and stories in our lives up until that point that makes how they got to that mentality so fascinating. Maybe it’s simply that when you’re on the road your mind is more open than ever and those life talks with fellow travelers just seem to sink in and resonate with us more naturally.

So, what’s your story? Because while we’re off exploring the world and learning from everyone else’s stories, we’re also inspiring others with our own.

There is a lot of my country that I haven’t seen. Its easy for me to get excited about a trip abroad but there are a handful of cities that I haven’t explored in the U.S. I recently went to Chicago and had a great time and am looking forward to a trip to Denver next month so to inspire some more American wanderlust in my self and hopefully in you, here are my top destinations in the U.S and in no particular order.

Where: Austin

Why: I have never been to any part of Texas and Austin seems like the perfect place to start. All my life I have lived in a bustling city from San Francisco to L.A. and London so I would love to slow down and explore all this seemingly laid back town has to offer. I’d start with Austin’s vibrant music scene from dive bars to one of the most popular music festivals in the country, South by Southwest (SXSW). I’ll search for the best barbecue and I definitely want to check out their famous hot springs, particularly Barton Springs Pool.

Photo courtesy of StuSeeger

Where: Portland

Why: Portland can easily be overshadowed by nearby Seattle so I have to admit the town wasn’t even on my radar until I watched Anthony Bourdain’s episode where he salivated over outrageous Voodoo donuts and deep dish pizza. I’m sure I would do the same but I know I would fall in love with the town for its flagship Powell’s Books and coffee shops. I could spend hours reading, sipping, and chatting with the locals but I wouldn’t neglect the outdoors either. Spending some time in nature in a foreign place is one of my favorite things to do while traveling and I don’t think Portland’s Trails would disappoint.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TZ7BVWEXqA

Where: New Orleans

Why: Why not go to New Orleans? The place could certainly benefit from a visit from you or me. It’s been a little over 5 years since Hurricane Katrina hit but the town still needs help rebuilding. I’d check out the Lower Ninth Ward and see the destruction for my own two eyes and maybe get involved in a short-term volunteer project. If not for a volunteer trip, I’d go to New Orleans for the jazz, the Creole and Cajun dishes and oh yes, the beignets and I mean the real good kind with tons of powdered sugar on top. I love beignets so much I’ve been satiating myself here in the Bay Area until I can get the real thing down in Louisiana.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoZpjQr3XmU

Where: Boston

Why: Boston is that one major east coast city that I have been dying to visit the most in the U.S. I’ve seen New York, Washington D.C. and recently Chicago but I most definitely need to see Bean Town. I want to see and learn about the history which alone is enough reason to go. A visit to the seaside towns for some good clam chowder and shrimp is a must plus some  reading time on a bench somewhere on Harvard’s campus and a baseball game at Fenway park are also on my list. And to be really picky I’d love to do it all with some nice east coast fall colors in the background.

Photo courtesy of borkur.net

Where: Nashville

Why: I never liked country music growing up but thanks to my travel buddies, I am officially addicted and what better way to celebrate my addiction than to visit the heartland of country music. I want to visit the Grand Ole Opry and hear live music at the legendary Bluebird Cafe. I want to immerse myself in the country music community whether it be in restaurants that give me that home-cooked meal or coffee shops and bars so I can experience true southern hospitality. I may even leave town with a brand new pair of cowboy boots that would hopefully look just as good back home in Northern California.

Photo courtesy of kyle simourd

What cities do you want to visit in the U.S.?

Any tips for the cities on my bucket list?

travel by fdecomite on May 9, 2009, on Flickr via Creative Commons

I love the concept of a gap year, taking time off to explore the world and live out new adventures. I really get it but that is not for me at least not all of it, no I haven’t came to some enlightenment while traveling through South America like Ayngelina Brogan of Bacon is Magic and I don’t have the funding to make a career out of it like Dave of GoBackPacking, Gary of Everything-Everywhere or I’ve also heard that Nomadic Matt guy is doing pretty well for himself too.  What I do know is that I get stir crazy while being somewhere too long and yes I’d like to be next to family but with the realization that I’m from Ohio and my fiancé is from Peru, one of us will always be far from home so we might as well explore the globe till we find that one place that just fits.

I’m working on getting my Master of Arts in Teacher Education, not just in any old  subject either but TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) which I hope launches me on a life long adventure around the globe. We will finish with our masters by August of 2012 which means by this time next year I need to have a game plan… the problem is I don’t know where.

The Old World by pasukaru76 (out of town) on June 4, 2009, on Flickr via Creative Commons

Peru is the fall back plan, the safety if you will but I don’t want to settle in for what is safe. Instead I want to go and explore the world in far off lands where homesickness becomes obsolete because home really is nowhere and everywhere all at the same time. Is it crazy to think that I want my RTW trip to be a gap 5-10 years, that If I’m not exploring for at least half a decade I wont reach what I’m looking for? It doesn’t help that I’ve been reading classic lit of sea exploring tales like Robinson Crusoe , Moby Dick , The Swiss Family Robinson and now I’ve started Treasure Island . Each story speaking of tales and adventures far off as if enticing me as if I should hop on a boat and just go.

On the other hand, I don’t want to just bounce around the world every day or week but find a home base for 6months to a year, live and explore then move on to repeat it again and again, and the only problem is that my fiancé agrees with me and thinks this is sane! …is it?

Yet, until then we sit and wait, study and prepare, live and learn to live in as minimalist a manner as possible. I’m giving up my month off in the summer to take classes and finish sooner, searching for ways to rack up frequent flier miles in the mean time and hopefully make enough connections so that when the day comes and we start our journey it sets us on the right path to continually put one paw in front of the other.

I think it has been itching even more so at me because it has suddenly become real, we have a tentative date. And as Ayngelina said in my 2011 Resolutions, “The first step is set a date, once you do that all else falls into place.” It is not as if everything is set in place or that the official date is set, but by December 2012 I will be someplace, likely unemployed and loving it as I prepare for my next big step. But there is so much to do and plan in between time and I can only hope I learn from those that are already out there exploring, like many of my No List Blogger friends.

I’m not sure why exactly this blog came to be but it is here a year later just as I hoped helping me to keep on the path of exploration and I can only hope that this time next year my plans will be halfway solidified, a destination picked out and a job in the works because if I’m this stir crazy now I can only imagine what I’ll be like in a year when I’m that much closer.

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

RTW Tripping is a post from: Monkey Brewster

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The place I’m typing from isn’t called Chiang Mai anymore, it’s now known as home and that’s the way it feels. After three months here it feels so normal, it seems wrong to leave and we’ll be sad to do so, but why? What have we actually spent the last three months doing?

Well to be honest we’ve been doing a whole lot of nothing.  We settled into living here really quickly and have been taking it very easy; it is a great place to relax practice the art of doing very little. It’s been great to get a chance to explore a place in a lot more depth without the pressure of seeing all the main sights within a week or so.

It would be impossible to write this post without mentioning these folks who have a big part in the homely feeling here.  It’s like walking into a group of ready-made friends who spend the whole of your time here showing you the best things to see and in particular the tastiest treats around town. Without a doubt the biggest plus point to Chiang Mai is the people here, who we were lucky enough to celebrate Christmas with.

Christmas day bowling with Team Chiang Mai

Finally getting the courage to get a moped gave us even more freedom to explore the city, we did the Samoeng Loop, visited hot springs and caves as well as checking out the Bo Sang Umbrella festival. Without transport being an issue, we’ve tried lots of different small restaurants and popular food joints that would have been hard to reach otherwise and had some especially amazing food for incredibly cheap prices.

We have also been up to all the usual touristy things as well, both when our friends came and by ourselves, despite our many hours watching the day go by, Chiang Mai does offer a lot of activities in the surrounding area to get your heart pumping, it seems to be the best of both worlds here. Nightlife does exist here and if you know where to look it can be great fun.

Chiang Mai feels like a small town but is big enough that there really is something for everyone and it hasn’t gone unnoticed with many expats choosing to call it home. We have just over a week left here now before we head off to explore Laos and we will be genuinely sad to leave however there are plenty more places out there yet for us to fall in love with. We’ll just have to wait and see if they compare…

Three Months in our New Home is a post from: No Place To Be

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Nevado de Toluca (Toluca Volcano) is the fourth highest mountain in Mexico at 15,223 feet but it’s much easier to pronounce than the three higher Mexican peaks which are Pico de Orizaba, Popocateptel (our friend David spent hours teaching us how to say this one) and Iztccihutatl–unless you use Toluca’s traditional name which is Xinantecatl.

You can drive most of the way up the volcano via an extremely scenic road that heads out of the not-to-scenic town of Toluca. We may be bitter about Toluca since the cops there pulled us over twice in lame attempts at shakedowns which netted them exactly zero.

Anyway, the drive up  the 25 miles or so from town is nicely paved and climbs through beautiful forest then an alpine landscape that seems perfectly suited to marmots–scrubby, rocky, windy. The Nevado de Toluca National Park was established in 1936 to protect the area around the volcano but illegal logging, illegal mining and illegal  pumping of water is still going on in the area. We saw plenty of cattle grazing on supposedly protected lands and the road to the top was actually closed because cars were causing damage to the crater.

Toluca Volcano peak as seen from the refugio parking area, the closest we got to it.

Once we arrived at the refugio/parking area at the point where the road is closed we decided to spend the night. We’d really had our hearts set on driving the truck to the top of Toluca–which would have been its highest elevation on the Journey so far, blowing Pike’s Peak at 13,650 feet out of the water.  However, with the road closed we figured we could at least hike to the top in the morning.

The dorm was full (or so we were told) and it was far too cold to camp so we settled into a musty, dusty, drafty little bungalow that used to have a working  fireplace (probably back when the road was open).

Luckily, we had some leftovers from lunch down in Toluca and sleeping bags warm enough to get through the night. Sadly, morning proved even more windy and cold than the night before so we retreated back down the mountain with no more than fleeting glances of the volanco’s peak through thick clouds to remember it by.

Related posts:

1. Cold Beers, Leche Caliente and Smoking Volcanos – Colima & Comala, Mexico
2. Deep, Dark, Delightful – Cacahuamilpa Caves National Park, Guerrero State, Mexico
3. Camping and Hiking at Basaseachi Falls – Copper Canyon, Chihuahua, Mexico (Part 7)

There has been a lot of talk about the so called “social media” revolutions going on in the world. Is what happened in Tunisia and what is going on in Egypt and Yemen the result of an increased global communication? Twitter and Facebook might be the tools for global communication, but they certainly aren’t the first. Travelers are the first.

People often remark about the countries we’ve chosen to visit. Eyes widen when we discuss travel experiences in places like Colombia, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Uzbekistan. “Isn’t it dangerous?” people ask. “Your visa fee goes to support a repressive regime,” they sneer. “Isn’t their president indicted by the International Criminal Court?”

Jill and our Sudanese friends onboard the Aswan Ferry

There are many arguments for and against traveling to countries whose government’s fail a moral litmus test. These arguments are completely valid and of course not to be taken lightly, but can tourism achieve what diplomacy cannot?

Before you laugh, let’s take a look at what tourism actually is. It’s a one-on-one industry. One that brings people from different cultures and backgrounds together. It’s one of only a few industries in which citizens of these regimes can have legal interaction with foreigners. Tourism, even if government controlled, like it is in Uzbekistan, pours money into private pockets. We may stay at a government sanctioned hotel, but we shop, eat and spend money on the street. Remember what happened to us in Asiyut, Egypt? Even with police escorts we still were able to shop and spend money wherever we wanted, even making friends on the street. Independent traveler’s often have the opportunity to distribute cash in a way more than any government or international aid organization could ever dream.

Most traveler’s don’t set out to change the world. They set out to explore a new country or meet some new people. Maybe they’re hoping to change their own world, but I doubt most of them are hoping to be a part of a revolution. The fact is every conversation, every personal interaction and every negotiation, exchanges ideas, encourages sharing and becomes part of our global communication.

At this very moment there are backpackers, just like us, in Egypt and across the Levant. Are they diplomats in their own right? Will their conversations, interactions and dealings provoke or continue the political change? With everything that’s going on surrounding them, I can only imagine what their stories will be like when the smoke clears. I can’t help but wonder what conversations and ideas they can share, even without modern day social media.

These photos were a ton of fun to make but took a fair bit of work too. (Not to mention the time spent in the convenience shop before leaving to pick up the ‘subject’ matter.)
In this one the Doritos bag was placed just a few feet in front of the camera while I got into my position a good distance further back. All of these shots took a few tries to get right but eventually it was worth the effort. There are plenty more that we didn’t even upload that weren’t so great. All in all we were upset at how limited our time was when it came time to take the photos but the alpaca steak lunch more than made up for it!

Special thanks to Flickr user Itinerantlondoner for marking this photo as a favorite.

To see a few of our favorite photos from Bolivia click here.

Our PHOTO PAGE has links to all of our collections on Flickr. Be sure to mark some of your own favorites so that we can include them on this column. We’ll be highlighting a different photo every day.

Remember, you have until the end of today to mark your favorites and be entered in our photo contest!

One of the most successful French films is Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain -The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain. Not only was it a hit in France, but also in many other countries in Europe and in the USA. The film represents life in modern Paris and is set in Montmartre, which is located in the north of the city. One of the things that I love the most about this film is that it shows the streets of Paris as well as the most famous tourist attractions.

If you have just booked airline tickets to Paris I would recommend you watch this film so that you can walk in Amélie’s footsteps….and also because you will love it. If you would like to visit Paris and discover where Amélie was filmed, you should look for cheap flights with American Airlines, Delta Airlines or United Airways.

Now let me mention just a few of the places which feature in the film and which can be visited during your holiday in the French capital.

Perhaps the most famous place is the Café des 2 Moulins which is located at the junction between Rue Lepic and Rue Cauchois. This was the workplace of the main character, Amélie and inside there is a poster dedicated to her. Here you can enjoy a coffee and a snack before making your way to the Sacré Coeur and funfair which also feature.

The Canal Saint-Martin is often visited by tourists in Paris, who come to see the barges navigate the various obstacles in the canal. However, it is here that Amélie enjoys skipping stones. You can also visit the market Au Marche de la Butte on the corner of Rue des Trois Freres and Rue Androuet where she enjoys dipping her hand into sacks of grain.

Many other landmarks including the Parisian metro and the River Seine feature in the film. I loved the story and every time I go to Paris I always feel a bit like Amélie.