A few weeks ago, I launched my first ever contest and asked readers what they would like to see on my blog. A lot of people said more Newfoundland stuff, for which I’m happy to oblige. Others encouraged me to go ahead with my “Life Advice From an Unemployed Artist” column. I was kinda joking, but kinda not.

If it’s one thing I’m good at, it’s giving amazing advice. Flawless. Just ask anyone who comes to me about relationship problems, despite me being unable to commit to anybody for longer than a week. It’s astounding, really.

I’ve installed a contact form in the right-hand column where you can submit your questions to me. I don’t care what you ask me, it doesn’t even necessarily have to be travel related. What’s the best way to cure a hangover? How can I more attractively shape my eyebrows? Which restaurant should I take my date to in St. John’s? Yes, you can place your life in my hands, and I will provide the answers.

You can take comfort in knowing your question will be answered honestly by an unemployed artist who finds dried cheese on her pajama pants and chocolate in her bully button on a regular basis.

It can be entirely confidential and anonymous. You can also ask me personal questions, but I will almost certainly lie.

Let the good times and cheesy one-liner inspirational quotes roll!

This is a sponsored review, which means I was compensated in exchange for checking out HotelCalculator.com. Regardless, my thoughts about the site are my own.

HotelCalculator.com bills itself as “one of the first online hotel comparison engine that checks and compares hotel deals available on over 20 travel and hotel websites from all over the world.”

Positives:

• Simple, functional layout: I really liked the layout of the site. It’s very clean, not cluttered with a bunch of unnecessary photos or widgets. It’s a great example of having what you need, and not much else.
• Includes a variety of options: When I did a search for accommodation in Melbourne, HotelCalculator.com did pull up a couple of hostels that I recognized from Lonely Planet. As a solo budget traveler, I usually can’t afford a private hotel room–so it’s nice to know that HotelCalculator.com will sometimes be able to pull up the best hostel values as well.
• Able to book directly on iPhone: As an iPhone user, it’s always frustrating when booking sites aren’t optimized for smartphones. It can be really difficult to enter credit card information or search for openings on many booking sites; however, HotelCalculator.com built an iPhone app that makes it much easier and more secure to book hotels using your iPhone. This is great since many people use their iPhone as their mobile computer while traveling.
• Different things to sort by: Once you do a search for available hotels, you’re able to sort the list of accommodation by a variety of options: popularity, price, 1-star or 5-star hotels first, lowest or highest score first and distance from city center. It’s always nice to be able to mix and match and compare price and popularity when deciding on a place to stay–but I thought the distance from city center rating was super helpful. It always stinks when you find a great, affordable hotel, but it’s super far out of the city.
• Being able to narrow by location: You can also narrow your choices to include city center, near city center, outside city center or airport. This would make it a lot easier when you’re trying to book the night before or after your flight if the airport is super far out of the city.
• Accommodation features: It was great that they featured photos and maps of the properties–definitely makes it easier to have a visual of what you’re booking.

Cons

• Would have liked “free wifi” as an amenity: The list of “narrow by” amenities is great: air-conditioning, disabled access, swimming pool, 24-hour reception. And they do offer “internet access” as an amenity–but I’ve stayed in enough hotels to know that internet access can mean a range of different things: a few computers in the lobby, extremely expensive wifi, a full-on business center, completely free and fast wifi. I know I’m borderline-obsessed with free wifi, but I do think it’s a necessity in today’s world.
• Not as great hotel selection outside of city center: I also searched for hotels in Sydney: while there was a great selection in the actual city, there weren’t as many options in the surrounding suburbs. As Sydney is known as a “city of villages” it would have been great to see more options in the beach-y eastern suburbs.
• Wider variety of hostels: As a solo traveler on a budget, I can rarely afford to stay in private hotel rooms. It’d be cool to see HotelCalculator.com include more hostels and dorm rooms, although I realize that they’re clearly concentrating on hotels.

Overall, HotelCalculator.com definitely simplifies the process of finding a great hotel room for the best value. What do you think of HotelCalculator.com?

Today’s post is part four in a series about planning a trip to Scotland. Make sure you’ve read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 before you dive in here. This post has pages! Please click over to Traveling Savage if you’re reading this in an RSS reader or you won’t be able to read the full article.

If you’ve been following this series, you’ve got a good idea of where you want to go in Scotland, when you’re going, and how much time you want to spend. This fourth piece – how much the trip will cost – is often the linchpin in these plans.

I’m just going to lay my cards on the table now: the United Kingdom is not the most cost-effective destination. The Sterling Pound is one of the most valuable currencies in the world, which means your dollars and cents will need some buddies to make up the difference in costs (at the time of writing, $1=£0.62).

But this is no excuse to gnash your teeth, curse the heavens, and scrap your plans. The added cost will be paid back in full with a host of lifelong memories. Unfortunately, memories don’t pay the mortgage, so in the following sections I’ll provide an overview of costs and some practical tips to help reduce them.

Before we move on, there’s one very important money-saving concept you need to understand.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

Most goods sold in the UK have a value added tax rolled into their retail price, which equates to an additional 20% mark up. For foreign visitors, this can make the cost of living seem significantly more expensive. The good news is that foreigners can reclaim VAT on goods they take with them when they leave the UK. If you’ve visited the UK, perhaps you remember the VAT cards they hand out on flights. The bad news is that reclaiming your VAT requires a bit of record-keeping and patience; traits I lacked on previous trips to the UK.

I’m no tax expert, so I recommend that you read through Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs information for the exact procedure to follow. If you’re visiting on business you can reclaim VAT on even more expenses, such as accommodations and travel costs. Scotland is a place to be cost-conscious, and reclaiming VAT is just one way to recoup some serious cash.

Let’s start with the cost of travel…

Planning a Trip to Scotland, Part 4 is a post from Traveling Savage.Copyright 2010

What makes a traveler a traveler, compared to a tourist or vacationer. How does one become a vagabond?  Is a tramp trendy or still out of fad -I mean Disney made a movie Lady and the Tramp,  and that didn’t seem too bad. Either way how does one become one, hop on the nearest train, it didn’t seem like it was the high life in The Jungle ? How far around the globe or how many locations do you need to hit to become a Round the World (RTW) traveler? How far must I wander to be a wanderer? Do I need to make money online to be a digital nomad and if so how much, to live off of, sustain my travels and if so for how long and how much must I earn?

I’ve always been bad with labels or titles, never really sure if I fit into this category or that. I think that is why I liked studying social studies, I became an expert at nothing but knowledgeable about everything…in the general sense that is. But right now I’m blogging and people are reading so I guess I’m a blogger even if I’m just a hobby blogger. I can dabble in and out of that terminology I guess, I doubt someone will challenge me on pageviews, Google page rank or Alexis scores. If so I’ll just fling poo at them…problem solved, but this traveling thing I’m not sure If I got that one down.

What if I do like GotPassport and relocate, are they travelers still? To me they are but then again I’m not even sure if I’m a traveler so can I claim someone elses’ status? On my map of the world I only have a few pushpins marking where I’ve been, sure to someone who’s only vacationed at a Sandals Resort once for a honeymoon, I’m a traveler but to someone like Adam, Ayngelina, Dave, Gary, Monica, Stephanie or a host of others do I rate? My list is looking a little…little. I want to backpack through this continent or that, and I likely will, but I’m not there yet and what if I never do? What if I just hope from country to country every couple of months for a few years? Am I a traveler then or just some temporary immigrant?  How do you define yourself and do you judge a little when someone who is clearly not a ‘insert title here’ but claims to be one of you? I’m sure you can say you don’t but you probably have some general idea of what makes a traveler/tourist/wanderer/vagabond/etc. even if you aren’t scoffing at someone for using the term when they clearly aren’t, you judge. Or how about judging those who are so judging about others, they aren’t a real traveler because they are so rigid and haven’t become open minded, right?

I’m a novice at all things and I don’t think I’ll ever claim to be this or that because I’ll never really embody any persona for all time and to everyone’s standards. I’m a temporary blogger who writes about varying topics like travel and beer. I’m curious about life and I’m a monkey but I’m not friggin Curious George, even though I gotta give that guy credit for putting monkeys on the map. In regards to labels I am all and I am nothing an amalgam of sorts at best, so pick one of those words and at that moment I just may be that, but if that is the case then what are you?

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

 

When do I become a Traveler is a post from: Monkey Brewster

I am not a doctor or a nurse or anything else that might be close to involved with the medical field. All I am is a travel-aholic who recently spent way too many months unemployed with too much time on her hands. Among the many obsessions that got me through that difficult time (NCIS marathons, cheap Pinot Grigio), I became obsessed with my health. And thus, like the dedicated reporter I am, I enlisted an army to help, from a like-minded friend, to an acupuncturist, to a healer, to my local Whole Foods professionals.

Now, if you think for one second I gave up being a wino, you’ve never met me. But I did learn a few very basic lessons that I wish had been grilled into my head much earlier. And I’ve been asked to share them with you.

I’m not saying I became a health nut overnight, although my flax seed- and cod liver oil-packed fridge might scream otherwise. But I learned some simple things to counteract some of my bad eating habits that always surface while on the road.

The main theme that I’ve come to accept is: Your body is… only human! (Shocking, I know.) You absolutely cannot change everything it’s used to and expect no consequences. (Although if you’re young and/or healthy enough, you may not see them right away.) I’m not going to tell you to eat a well-balanced diet, pack healthy snacks in your carry-on, or exercise on the road. I’m going to insist that you man up and accept your bad habits head-on. Then see what you can do to at least minimize their effects.

My first piece of advice: Eat more fruits and veggies. (Just kidding! I have so many sneaky ways to get them in, but that’s another article.) I do implore you though, if the reality of your backpacking trip means you’re suddenly drinking beer with every meal, or pocketing breakfast rolls to make lunch, or gorging on pizza, the least you could do is take some sort of fruit and/or veggie supplement. Right? Mine of choice is Spirulina, because it was easy to find in Central America. But there are many to choose from. I take two after every meal that doesn’t include a healthy dose of veggies, within reason. (I also love Juice Plus, which you need to take only once a day.)

Second, don’t expect miracles from your body. If you grew up in Milwaukee and take off for six months in Borneo, your body might adjust within a month if you drink tea instead of alcohol and eat only very light meals. If you know yourself, and that doesn’t seem likely, give your poor digestive system a break. Take fiber or triphala to help it along. It’s going to suddenly have to get used to a bunch of ingredients it’s never met before and might not know what to do.

Now, the big one for most of us is our liver. Being a Las Vegan who’s also lived in NYC, LA, Miami and even Ibiza, my personal concern was my long-term alcohol intake. But anything from tap water to medicine to not enough vegetables can hurt your second largest (only to your skin) organ. If it hasn’t happened already, you might start waking up in the middle of the night because you’re too hot. Or, you might start to notice your ears ring. The worst? Gaining weight! Help your poor liver from becoming overworked and having too many toxins to get rid of during its day. Everyone knows to take milk thistle, but really, that can’t do its job without several other components, everything from NAC to selenium. Pick up a liver supplement at your local Whole Foods or Sunflower Market to take on your trip. It’s the least you could do.

I believe in the power of the good ol’ human immune system, so I don’t want to encourage taking too many supplements, although that’s up to debate in these modern times. But we’re all adults, and we all need to take responsibility for our actions. It’s so easy to eat a bit better on the road and to take some simple supplements with you. Help your body out already! It deserves the love.

photo credit: hitthatswitch

A close-up of the incredible Greek ruins at Ephesus in Turkey. While parts of the site have been significantly restored, you can still get an idea of the original detail carved into the buildings.

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

To see a few of our favorite photos from Turkey 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.

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You’ve got the itch, but you’re scratching your head trying to figure out how people leave it all behind to take a career break to travel. When I decided that I really wanted to travel, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out IF I afford it. I researched lots of places on [...]

Contemplating a career break but others around you think you are crazy? Listen to this advice from Ryan and Jen Fuller, recovering management consultants who recently returned to the US after a six month career break in Argentina and Chile. Prior to hearing the term ‘career break’ they just called what they were doing ‘rehab.’

“I thought you were crazy when you said you were going on this trip; now [6 months later], I think you’re crazy for coming back”

- A friend talking about our career break

Because the concept of a career break is still quite novel (at least in the US), most of us don’t have very many people in our social groups that have ever taken one. Unfortunately, this often means that all of your excitement over the idea of leaving your job in favor of long-term travel may not engender the kind of enthusiasm you are hoping for amongst your friends/co-workers/family. Even if you are just looking for support rather than advice, you should expect to be assaulted with many, many reasons why it is a bad idea and you are crazy for even contemplating it.

Here are some of our favorites:

1. You’re crazy
2. Are you kidding, leave your job in this economy?
3. You’ll never be able to explain this on your resume or in future job interviews – your career will be ruined forever
4. It’s too expensive
5. You’re crazy
6. I once knew someone that went on a trip like this… they died
7. What if you get kidnapped by drug runners?
8. I always wished I could do something like that, but then I realized how irresponsible it would be to throw away everything I’d been working toward for so long
9. You should wait until you get that next promotion; then you’ll have a much better safety net
10. You’re crazy

So what do you do if you aren’t getting the kind of support that you’d like to actually take the leap?

Option 1) Go fast

Do what we did… make the decision to leave and then go before anyone really has the chance to convince you it’s a bad idea. We were in Argentina 3 weeks after we made the decision to go. Clearly this won’t work for everyone. Option 2 is probably a better route…

Option 2) Get to know other career breakers

It’s so much easier to take a leap like this when you have examples of other people from similar situations that have done it and lived to tell the tale. The challenge is that most people in our normal social groups haven’t done a career break, and this can lead one to draw the conclusion that very few people do it. The truth, we’ve found, is that LOTS of people take career breaks and have been doing so for a long time; it’s just that those people aren’t typically hanging out in your office, because they are in fact out there doing something crazy.

We didn’t know about these people until well after we had left – in fact, we had never even heard the term ‘career break’ until we happened upon Briefcase to Backpack a few months into our adventure. Now we are thrilled to be part of the growing career break community and continue to enjoy getting to know so many amazing people doing interesting and ‘crazy’ things all over the world. The great thing about these people is that they can help to remind you of all the reasons why a career break is a good idea.

If you’re in the contemplation stage and you’re reading this, you’re already headed down the right track. There are all kinds of different people from different lifestyles, ages, careers, circumstances, etc… that have done this before, and most of them are thrilled to connect with anyone who wants to learn more about how they did it. So, find some blogs of career breakers that are similar to you and email them! Briefcase to Backpack and Meet, Plan, Go! are awesome resources for finding and connecting with people; and you might be surprised by how incredibly welcoming the community is.

We happen to be MBAs and management consultants from intense careers in which taking breaks is often considered unthinkable; we LOVE it when we get emails from other people in similar careers that tell us how reading about our adventure helped them feel more comfortable with the idea of going on their own. We’ve even been told by some that sending around links to our blog helped them convince their families/friends/etc… that taking a career break wasn’t quite as crazy as they thought.

In summary

If you’re thinking about doing something crazy like take a career break, a good first step is to make friends with as many other crazy people as possible. After you’ve been on the road for a few months you may think back to your co-workers who are still doing the same thing day after day and wonder which of you is actually crazier – they might do the same.

You can read about Ryan & Jen’s career break on their website Consulting Rehab. You can also follow them on Twitter at @ConsultingRehab and find them on Facebook.

I actually posted this in a previous Montage Monday about the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, the great thing about this being my blog is that I make my own rules. So, I’m posting it again :)

Story Behind the Sign:

I originally made plans to go to Congo without telling anyone. I didn’t want to be talked out of it (since I knew of everyone’s disapproval), nor did I want anyone to worry while I was there. But, I made a hasty decision to drop my family and close friends an email the day before I left just in case. I got through the border quite easily the following morning (with the exception of this big mean woman yelling at my guide and passing over my passport to help locals instead). But my relaxed and safe feeling I had in Rwanda quickly became a wide-eyed fixation on the scenery as we passed the UN trucks and camps on the way to the park. When we made it to Virunga National Park, where I would be starting the trek up Nyiragongo Volcano, I was first greeted by the sign pictured. Nothing says ‘Welcome to a spectacular national park’ like a sign covered in bullet holes. The park was previously known as Albert National Park, and as you can see, the sign has taken a bit of a beating from rebels in the area over the years. This very sign has to be, hands down, the souvenir I wanted most on my trip and couldn’t have. And, I probably would have tempted to steal it if I didn’t fear sitting in a Congo prison after the horror stories I heard the previous week. I’m thrilled though that they left it up, even after the park changed names, so that I could see it. If you enjoy offbeat adventures as much as I do (or at least photos of them), check out the original post featuring this photo.

By the way, these are not the type of photos you should show friends and family if you’re trying to convince them that it’s okay to travel in war-torn countries. Best to stick with the pretty places and smiling faces type of photos. Just a suggestion.

Related posts:

1. Montage Monday: A Photo Essay of Nyiragongo Volcano
2. Montage Monday: Smallest Post Office in the USA
3. Montage Monday: Chobe River Cruise, Botswana