Tag travel

I’ve written before about learning languages, and how much I enjoy the undertaking. Here I’ll discuss learning the Bulgarian language and culture. I speak German, and tried for many years to improve my Mandarin. I find languages totally fascinating. How a whole group of people see the world is limited (and advanced!) by their language, their ability to think and talk about what they see, feel and experience. It’s all driven by language, and the differences between languages are so thick and vast sometimes that it feels impossible that any two people from different root languages could share similar ideas, and yet—we do!

For work I was tasked with learning the Bulgarian language, and sent to an instructor who would teach me one-on-one. This was pretty sweet for me, as a lover of words and languages. We sat across from one another for about four months talking about Bulgaria, Bulgarian customs and traditions and ideas, and of course learning the language. This is exactly my type of exploration. A mix of understanding a new place and a new way of thinking about the world. My teacher was an older woman who never acclimated to life in the US, and spoke of her homeland as heaven on Earth.

Bulgarian Language Roots

Bulgarian is a slavic language and Bulgarians swear they invented Cyrillic. Cyril and Methodius being Bulgarian, of course. The Macedonians and Russians also claim them, but they are wrong. I know because my teacher told me, and later every Bulgarian I met would mention it at some point. So yeah, they invented Cyrillic, which was created by simplifying Greek and adapting it to the more guttural sounds of the spoken language. Of course this was all to translate the Bible, as the Bulgarians are the best Christians since Christ. 

In the video below you’ll see a very pregnant me reciting part of a Bulgarian poem alongside others.

The Bulgarian language is stunningly rich in culture and history that it can’t be separated out. You can’t untangle words to find simple nouns, but instead stories and fables support single words. It is a joy to learn.

Any language you approach from the outside seems methodically structured, but of course they aren’t. They are hobbled together by necessity. With English, it’s apparent in how we steal and use words from other languages (Garage, aisle, kindergarten, for a few examples) but other languages aren’t as Frankensteinian. Bulgarian has words from Russia, words from Greek and words from the Turkish language, all neighbors geographically, but for the most part Bulgarian is pretty pure. And this isn’t surprising once you meet a Bulgarian. They don’t want outside influence. 

Stubborn People, Stubborn Language

When the Ottomans took control of Bulgaria they held it for over 500 years. That’s longer than America has been around, folks. And in all that time, the language and culture of Bulgaria hardly budged. Their religion, often underground and attacked, survived. Their style of clothing: intact. After 500 years the Ottomans were forced out (bloody, horrible affair, too) and the culture was little changed. That is some grade-A stubbornness. And they retain that stubbornness to this day, steadfast in the preservation of their culture and language. So when you learn a new word you don’t get a one-to-one translation but an epic story complete with a Bulgarian hero or grandmother or saint.

You can learn more about Bulgaria here.

Bulgarian music takes advantage of the easier grammar (at least compared to Russian!) to fuse traditional music with modern rap. This is a delight to any listener, and should be appreciated as a complex cross-cultural experiment in both language and music.

If you haven’t heard Bulgarian before, check out this video clip of a native speaker and note how fluidly and smoothly the language cascades, as compared to the harsher Greek, more nasal Turkish and more guttural Russian languages that surround Bulgaria. 

These days we don’t really get to Abandon the Cube as much as we’d like, but this week we’re in sunny Atlantic Beach living the dream.

And by dream I literally do mean living a more vivid dream. I read once that people along the coasts dream more vividly and live life a bit more wildly. At the same time, more great thinkers, philosophers and dreamers have come from coastal cities than inlanders. I knew this before we arrived at the beach and I was looking forward to insane dreams with M.C Escher stairs with droopy Salvador Dali animals running up and down. Oddly enough, the sun has made me more tired so I haven’t been dreaming at all. On the other hand, I had an awesomely deep conversation about the pitfalls of the Machiavellian state vs Confucianism this morning, which was unlikely to happen back inland so there is that….

Dreaming

One thing I’ve always hated about the beach is how commercial it is. And it’s not just American beaches. I went to the beach in Turkmenistan a few years ago and there was a guy selling inflatable bananas, crocodiles and beach balls just like the guy on the coast here in sunny North Carolina. The only beach I’ve ever been to without capitalist swarming all over it was in Olympos, Turkey.

Olympos, Turkey

You had to hike through a jungle following a wall built in the Hellenistic period and the jump around a wall made during the Roman Empire to find this stunning blue lagoon full of hippie backpackers. It was paradise. If I found out tomorrow I had an incurable disease you’d find me the day after on the beach in Olympos looking out of crystal waters with ancient ruins behind me in the jungle. Truly awesome.

Atlantic Beach

And the beach here in North Carolina could be like that if it wasn’t so developed. My uncle has a place along one of the canals and across from his home is an uninhabited island jungle that looks amazingly fun to explore. I bet the pirates of old have buried treasure out there somewhere.

Pirates of North Carolina

I’m also reminded, while looking out at the ocean, how close the Nazi subs were to this very area, and how many ships met their doom at Nazi hands right off the coast here. As one historian put it, “It wasn’t the US Navy or Coast Guard that controlled the Atlantic coast in 1942, it was the Nazi U-boats.”

One U-boat captain told his son (who survived him through the war) that he was most amazed at how life continued on as normal in the US despite it’s being at war. People were on the beaches every day, boats went out on joy rides ride near the lurking subs (unbeknownst to them obviously) and at night the coast was lit up from all the bars, parties and general merriment. This may be one of the reasons Americans have a reputation abroad as always jovial, never serious.

U-Boats Prep for the Atlantic Campaign

Pretty stunning how much history there is right off the coast. (Not even counting the stuff in Kitty Hawk–the first flight of the Wright Brothers.)

Wright Brothers in NC

Turkey is a superb holiday destination for its position alone. Being the most southerly country in Europe, this beautiful place benefits from blazing hot summers and warm winters. The azure blue waters of the Mediterranean mean that Turkey has some of the best beaches too.

Turkey Holidays with Thomas Cook offer a fantastic collection of all-inclusive packages. A family holiday in the sun has never been so affordable and so easy to book – go online at www.thomascook.com to find great deals on a wide selection of accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets. If you’re looking for a relaxing beach break or a jam-packed adventure holiday, then Turkey is the place for you. But don’t be mistaken by thinking that Turkey is just about flash hotels and sandy beaches; there are many hidden gems just waiting to be discovered.

Thomas Cook offers package holidays to many of Turkey’s fascinating towns including: Antalya, a fast growing city with lots to see and do. Children will love the Beach Park, Dolphin land and Aqua land and there are many historical sights, the harbour and old town to explore. For a more peaceful retreat, Beldibi is a quaint little village where you can kick back and relax on a hassle free holiday and take in the authentic village life. Belek is the centre of Turkey’s tourism industry with its impressive 4 and 5 star hotels and fascinating landmarks. The ancient Aspendos amphitheatre holds 20,000 people and is over 2,000 years old. It still holds fantastic open-air concerts today. Visit the beautiful Kurşunlu Waterfall, part of the Aksu River which is set amidst a pine forest – a place of great beauty where nature is at its best with over 100 species of birds.These are just a few of the fantastic resorts to discover with a Thomas Cook package holiday to Turkey, so book your holiday with ease and let one of the UK’s favourite tour operators do the rest.

*Sponsored post.

One of the number one reasons we hear that people don’t abandon their cubicles and travel is a lack of money. One tip for managing your travel funds is to compare bank accounts. There are a lot of metrics for this, but essentially you want an account that you can access from around the globe, and one that has the added features you want, like checking and credit, or maybe just debit. Our tip? — Look into a basic bank account, for ease and less confusion down the line. Get a good account that will work for you, and that you can access from online while abroad.

Yeah, money is important. And that means (sadly) that you may have to pay your dues and work for a while before you hit the open road. Many of the long-term travelers we’ve met on the road are older. They worked hard for the right to bugger off the grid. On the other hand, many of them were self employed and able to work from hostels and cafes along the route. Either way, one thing all travelers with long-term aspirations have is great money management skills.

Second, know your financial situation. Don’t run from your obligations. You’re abandoning the cube, not society as a whole. If you run from debt they’ll eventually find you. So, get your financial situation to a manageable, happy place where you have enough to get by and have debit eliminated. Many travelers work from the road as writers, web developers, critics, photographers, etc. Find a skill that will pay and keep your bank account replenishing by putting in a few hours here and there for the cause.

Third, with a bit of work you can travel for far cheaper than you ever imagined. Instead of booking hotels, look for hostels and join HostelWorld for discounts and deals. CouchSurfing is another way to save money as you travel. Going by land is cheaper than by air in some countries (Asia, Africa, S. America especially). One thing that gets expensive is being in a rush, you are stuck buying whatever you need to have to get your vacation done in a time frame. That’s not relaxing. Take your time (just quit, ATC, baby!) and really travel on a dime. With solid, financial planning behind you and frugal living ahead it can be done.

Best of luck as you look for traveling cash and organize your financial portfolio so you can focus on enjoying this adventure called life.

If you are a regular traveler, you know that it is almost unavoidable to be stuck in an airport. Either you have a long layover or your flight has been delayed, and worse, it gets cancelled. No matter what the reason is, it is quite a relief that by having a smartphone or tablet PC available, you will be able to be entertained while waiting by visiting some of the most addictive websites. We have laid down some examples. Read on!

Have Fun

If you are inclined to having fun while killing time at the airport, there are two sites that you should not miss. First, there is Buzzfeed, which it basically gives you all the deal about hot news, entertainment, lifestyle, and more. There are lots of interesting human-interest stories packed into the site. You will definitely enjoy reading them and discovering a lot of new and interesting things along the way. You surely would not be able to notice how much time passed by because the articles on this site are all-engrossing.

Second, there is Failblog, which also has a wide variety of interesting and really funny stories to tell. Each article often comes along with a nice photo that will help you imagine the thought vividly. While browsing the site, you will find yourself smiling, even when you are under a sticky situation as a delayed flight for over five hours. Ouch!

Educate Yourself

If you are more of the type who wants to discover facts on just about anything and everything under the sun, OMG-Facts is the right website to scour. Do you want to learn why cracking your knuckles can actually have therapeutic benefits for your muscles, tendons and joints? Do you want to know what Steve Jobs has done great apart from introducing us to Apple? There’s a lot to discover and you can do it best when you are having an idle time at the airport.

Make Money While You’re Waiting

Did you know that you could actually have fun and make money while you are having a bad day with your flight schedule? Visit www.bingoonmobile.co.uk to discover lots of amazing mobile bingo sites that will help bust your boredom and give you an opportunity to earn real money along the way. The site offers different options of bingo sites that are available on mobile devices, so you can play the relaxing and enjoyable game of bingo and vie for real money while being stuck in an airport.

These options we offered are just the tip of the iceberg, as we all know that the internet is a jungle of entertainment. So the next time you’re facing a few hours at the airport, sit back and enjoy!

*This post provided by guest blogger.

We’ve met quite a few people who make their money on the road in interesting ways. Whatever allows you to travel and make a bit of cash to break even is good enough for most.

Surprisingly, though, we’ve met a rash of people recently who have made their travel money playing poker. If you’re interested in making your money via gambling you can try a site like Playpoker.com, where you’ll get the opportunity to play and earn a few bucks in the process. In Beijing recently we met a lucky fellow who won a jackpot and used all of his winnings to fund his entire trip to Asia– several months on the road in exotic lands. A few years ago we met another man who would play online for hours each day, thinking of it as his 9-5pm job. He would pull in thousands each month and once he’d saved enough he took off on a round-the-world tour. If you know what you’re doing, playing poker online can really rake in the dough. Whatever gets you back on the road!

We’ve also met people who, like us, make their money selling their experiences in the form of writing contracts. Some have written books, some have lucrative blogs (those with SEO experience, anyway) and some do journalism or travel pieces as they tour. This is a great way to make travel cash if you’re a decent writer and have a few contacts in the industry somewhere. Sadly, the field is overcrowded and standards have dropped.

We also met a fellow who makes his travel cash building websites. It’s a mobile industry– you can do it from anywhere! He sets up a few website contracts and then travels as he builds them. It’s difficult to find constant internet access in some regions of the world (ahem, Mongolia!) but if you know how to structure a decent site (and perhaps a bit about SEO and marketing) this is a lucrative potential way to make travel cash.

Whatever helps you fund your travels can’t be a bad thing! Get out there, try a few of these techniques and make a few bucks to extend your travels or launch a new adventure. The road awaits!

We at ATC are constantly inspired by the travelers around us. Having recently met the digital acquaintance of singer/songwriter and traveler Darius Lux we thought we’d pass the music of a world sojourner on to our readers. Below is a letter from Darius to our readers:

I guess you could say I had reached a point in life where I just had a hunger for something new, for the open road, to actually see and experience things that had been in books and on computer screens for too long. As a musician in NYC, I had spent almost half a decade glued to the city and it’s industry  – things had worked out well financially but I was unfulfilled and didn’t know which way to turn. Out of the blue I decided to go to a crystal healing session by Jodi Serota, it seemed like a fun new experience and I had heard good things. We sat in a circle as Jodi put her hands on the crystal skull and began channeling other-worldy sounds that I can only describe as making me feel like I could knock down a building with just my arm. The next morning I awoke with a clear vision of traveling around the world for a year – I spoke to my wife, Tiffany about it and she was instantly excited by the idea.

How do I fit a year around the world into a few paragraphs? Each leg of the journey was like a separate lifetime. Indonesia followed by Thailand, Cambodia, India, Nepal was one long mystical dream – we were intoxicated by the old cultures, the reverence for something bigger than themselves, the beauty and simplicity and still the complex histories.

There are over 300 million Americans. Less than 30% of them have passports. That means Americans are not traveling abroad. And 50% of those who do leave the USA are traveling to either Canada or Mexico. So, why is it that Americans are not traveling overseas in larger numbers?

Realistically, money and time are the two biggest factors in our estimation as to why Americans don’t travel abroad. Airfare is costly and flying is a hassle. Meanwhile, Americans on average get around two weeks of vacation a year– not enough to get abroad, get over jet-lag and start enjoying another country. In reality, many of those vacation days are used here and there for extensions on Thanksgiving, for family birthdays or other small events, and that results in, usually, less than two weeks in one chunk for travel. Its not surprising that Asia or the Middle East seems out of reach to Americans who have around 7 days to travel, explore and return. That doesn’t sound like a vacation, it sounds like a gauntlet.

In contrast, the average worker in Europe gets around a month of vacation. By law, all countries in the European Union must allow all workers four weeks of paid vacation at a minimum. Even part-time workers who have worked more than 13 weeks are entitled to their month of paid vacation. This isn’t accrued, its a right. And that doesn’t count public holidays, which are paid days. Americans get 13 days, on average, though some companies have adopted even stricter vacation plans for entry-level employees, like the company Mike worked for in Minnesota. They told him his two weeks of vacation were “To ambitious for an entry level employee.” To which Mike said “audios!” (Chart above shows average PAID vacation days by country)

Meanwhile, workers in the USA have longer daily hours, on average, then their European counterparts. This is interesting because the average salary (even taking into account cost of living) is lower in the USA on average. For example, countries in Europe have a standard 40 hour work week and depending on the country there are laws in place to put a cap on how many hours of overtime per week and year an employee can log, according to the Federation of European Employees. And although the 8 hour day wasn’t always in place, it wasn’t until 1937 that the Fair Labor Standards Act was signed into law and the 8 hour work day (44 per week) in America became accepted as a baseline for a new standard. (Chart above shows average work week by country and gender).

Granted, there are social implications to these differences in Europe and the US. For example, Europeans are taxed at a much higher rate and companies have to sell products at higher prices to follow labor laws. However, the work-life balance in Europe does seem to be more balanced than in the USA, where success is more important that enjoyment to many. Still, the differences are drastic, and many health related problems in America are stress related, possibly stemming from overwork and lack of holiday time.

Along an entirely different chain of thought, perhaps one reason for the shortage of Americans traveling is fear. American movies constantly have foreigners as the ‘bad guys’ and a general lack of knowledge about other countries and their cultures in the US may lead many to think it isn’t safe anywhere abroad. When the media constantly cover problems abroad in uniquely terrifying language, its no wonder people think the entire world is dangerous. Meanwhile, Americans don’t speak a second language, and this limits their capacity to travel abroad with confidence. Luckily, English is the language of travel, but to many places (Africa and Asia) even English won’t suffice. The American education system should require students to learn a second language fluently by the time they graduate from High School. What language they learn should be their choice, naturally, but it holds people back from traveling, working abroad or even understanding a second worldview when they are limited to one language. Ideas are only as solid as the language in which they are expressed, so learning a whole new language is like learning a second culture, a second way of viewing the world. Americans (myself included) miss out on this when they don’t learn a second language as a child.

CNN Travel recently did a story on the surprisingly low number of Americans who travel abroad. We were excited to see they quoted several of our fellow international travel bloggers, folks like Nomadic Matt and Everything Everywhere.

US citizens can learn how to apply for a US passport.

While in London, Bill is staying with some friends from college. They were kind enough to have us over for dinner. Oz is from Sri Lanka, and his wife is an American. She was lovely enough to cook a massive Sri Lankan-style meal for us that came complete with daal and biryani both of which were excellent and something we could never duplicate. We’re not used to elaborate spicing, and the medley of so many herbs and spices was really beautiful. If you are interested in trying it, here is a recipe for daal, and for biryani, though these are not the exact recipes we had that evening.

After the meal, she offered to show me how to tie and wear a traditional Sri Lankan sari. Having never done this, I was really eager to try. I’ve seen so many beautiful Saris and wondered how they kept them on and tied them so expertly. Here is what I learned:

First you have to buy an under skirt and under shirt. Usually they match the fabric of your sari, or at least compliment the colors. She lent me a bright orange under skirt and under shirt to wear while trying on the sari. The shirt, I’ll note, is like a belly shirt with short sleeves and is incredibly tight. The skirt is form-fitted as well, so that when the entire outfit is finally on I found it a bit difficult to walk.

Once your under outfit is on (and your shoes, so you can gage the right length to drape the sari) you are ready to begin the fun part. She helped me put it on, and although you apparently usually use pins, we didn’t bother for this short demonstration. First you take the sari and starting at one end, wrap it around your waist. When it is entirely around your waist, drape eight or nine pleats into the front, folding them ever smaller so they hang nicely.

Once your pleats are in, tuck the entire part around your waist into your under skirt to keep it in place. Your belly should be still visible. Now take the remaining fabric and drape it from one side of your waist to the opposite shoulder. I’m told your belly and a small portion of your back should still be showing (hence the smaller under shirt). There you have it! She managed to make it look great while if I had done it alone it would have been a toga disaster. Hopefully you can find someone to help you drape it the first time. It was a fun experience, and along with the amazing food it made for a really great and memorable night.

I noticed something recently on an American TV show called ‘Pawn Stars’ and that is the fact that Americans have no idea how to bargain. You’ll see the same thing on ‘American Pickers’ and other History or Discovery Channel shows. It is a common tale, you take something into the pawn shop and they talk you down from your original asking price and in the end they get the upper hand. Since we’ve been traveling quite a bit, I think we could take on the folks of ‘Pawn Stars’ and the ‘American Pickers’ with the bargaining skills we acquired traveling through Asia. But, in case you are new to the concept here are a few tips in the event you are traveling to Asia or are about to pawn an item.

As a Seller:
• Find a realistic and well researched asking price for your item by doing your homework. Look online for other items in similar shape and of similar age. Get a number from an expert, if possible.
• Now head to the market or pawn shop and ask for literally three times the number you are willing to settle for.
• Do not hesitate to turn a buyer away. You are one person with one product, and there are millions of people who are potential buyers, you don’t have to land the first one.
• Stick to your bottom-line price and do not go lower than that. Always attempt to go higher.

As a Buyer:
• Remember all the techniques you used as a seller and try to preempt their game by cutting their original asking price into 1/3rd of what they asked. This is a safe maneuver.
• Don’t be uncomfortable bargaining. In the bargaining game the goal is to end up with a number you are happy with as a buyer. Don’t worry about the seller’s feelings.
• Arrive at a price in your head that you are happy with and take one of two roads: 1) if you really want the product buy it at any price, or; 2) separate yourself from your desire to have the product and only buy it when the price is right. Don’t say your final bottom line price out loud until you get towards the end of your bargaining spiel.
• Try the walk away method. If the price was right, the seller will stop you from walking away. Naturally they are trying to get as much out of you as possible so don’t be the weak link. Hold your ground. Sometimes you will lose and your walk away bluff will result in you losing the item. Most of the time, however, the negotiations will reopen as soon as you take your first steps.

It is supremely important to stick to a deal once you make it. You don’t want to be responsible for making your whole country look bad by going back on a deal. Despite what anyone tells you, you are somewhat of an ambassador for your homeland. While some sellers overseas may change a deal once it is made, it is important to always uphold your end and take the high road. It is not at all uncommon in Central Asia and other nearby regions for a deal to be reached and then, as the product is being delivered the deal will change. Keep a level head and don’t ever give in to someone who breaks a deal. For example, we set a price for a cab ride in advance across a section of desert in Uzbekistan, as is the custom. Mid way across the desert, to no one’s real surprise, the driver pulled over and demanded more money to finish crossing the desert. When something like this happens, even if it makes your life a bit more difficult, you have to hold your ground. If they really won’t honor the original deal, get out of the car with all of your belongings. Someone else will pick you up. If you do pay someone extortion like that you make it worse down the road for the next guy, and make the scam artist a life-long fan of continuing this practice. We forced a driver to pull over and got out with all of our gear, leaving him with nothing for driving us half way. He could either stick to the original deal or get nothing. Naturally, he got us back into the car and we paid the original price. He tried the entire drive to get more money out of us, which is always annoying, but sticking to something you shake hands on is important as a person, and as a representative.

Few documentary films offer more adventure, travel, excitement, danger, cultural education, athleticism and an inside look at human endurance and spirit than Running The Sahara
a true and epic tale of three men who decide to run across the Sahara desert, from West to East. Narrated and executively produced by Matt Damon, this adventure tale is worth of the ‘Abandon the Cube’ seal of approval. These three gentlemen ran for 111 days, covering the width of a continent on their feet. Their support crew and film crew in tow, these folks proved that with determination and drive anything is possible.

My favorite thing about the film was the cultural aspect. One of the three runners was from Taiwan and spoke Chinese. His English was great, but he preferred to do his interviews in Chinese, which added real dimension to the breadth of such a challenge for this Taiwanese runner as well as his two western comrades. Often, the westerners would be upset about something and the Taiwanese man would calmly take an entirely different approach. The film crew kept the lights on while they were running, at rest, eating or sleeping and the result was a really honest portrayal of what three men can turn into during such a self-enforced ordeal. Fights broke out, stupid arguments mostly, that made everyone involved look juvenile and weak. But considering the stress they were all under with the daunting task of running the world’s largest desert, it was understandable and all the runners and support crew tried to be as careful of the other’s emotions as possible. It was almost like watching a Discovery Channel special on a pack of all male lions trying to work together to achieve a certain outcome. As unlikely as a pack of male lions cooperating, this group of men proved the human species was a bit superior (but only by a little bit, at times).

When they entered Libya, they had to have special permission not only to enter the country, but to travel freely throughout. Rather than reject their visa requests a Libyan man agreed to run with them through his country, and provided a security detail to follow the supply and support jeeps. For a pointless journey like running across a desert, these three runners managed to inspire several unlikely characters along the way, including the turban-clad security officer, the government official who runs across his own country in support of their mission and in seek of adventure. For some reason, that man’s simple gesture was warming.

I highly recommend this film, it will make you feel like you are not doing enough with your life, nor taking enough risks. Abandon the cube and do something amazing, like these folks have by jogging across the Sahara. Why you might ask? Well, more importantly, why not? Two cube-abandoned thumbs up at Running the Sahara!

Okay folks, this visa process is a bit more in depth than any of the other visa applications for any other country we have visited. Since we’re in the process of applying for several visas for the Mongol Rally, we’ll walk you through the steps to getting a Russian visa and invitation letter, and what to expect throughout the process.

1. Make sure your passport is valid for 6 more months, at the least.
2. Get two passport pictures in color, against a white background, and have them cropped to the exact 2’x2’ size.
3. Download visa application form. Now, it may seem pedantic, but the form MUST be printed on both sides of one piece of paper. You cannot have two pages. Fill the form out in black or blue ink only, no pencil or crayon or marker or anything else. If you don’t know the answer to a question on the form, you may need to call a visa agent to ask for clarification, but don’t leave anything blank. You’ll need your work history, school history and information from your passport and travel plans (see step #6).An invitation letter is required for a tourist visa. In order to get this letter you’ll need to talk to your inviting institution (like a University, or friend, etc). If you don’t have anyone inviting you to Russia you may need to purchase an invitation letter from a visa company. The letter usually costs about $15 – $30 dollars.
4. Travel vouchers. In many cases, vouchers will be needed for your hotels, etc. If you go through a visa company they will usually take care of the vouchers for you.
5. You’ll need to know your exact entry and exit dates for Russia, as well as your itinerary. You’ll deliver some of this information on the visa form itself, and the rest in the application form for the invitation letter. The more specific you are, the better as this helps with the travel vouchers (or so we hear).
6. Finally, mail all of this into the visa company (highly recommended over doing the process yourself, which results in more rejections) along with your money order for the consulate and a separate money order to pay the visa company.
7. Most visa companies specify the duration or return time as anywhere from 10 to 20 days. If you want to expedite your visa, the consulate will charge you an added fee, as will the visa company. Plan ahead with this and have at least a month planned for this single visa.
8. Once you get to Russia you have three business days to register your visa with the hotel or with the visa agency you used to get your visa. Don’t miss this, or you could be fined when you try to leave the country.

Good luck!

There is something very strange about the way humans approach booze, and how each nation address alcohol both politically and culturally in extremely unique ways. For example, in America we make it illegal for anyone under 21 to buy alcohol. However, when you do reach that age there is a massive party wherein your first introduction to the drink is compounded by the fact that everyone you know comes out to the bar to get you intoxicated. It is a right of passage, a coming of age ritual and a test of one’s man or womanhood. After that fateful night, drinking in America takes on a purely social atmosphere, and no real gathering is complete without it and every gathering with liquor is somewhat more casual because of the addition. Our time in Europe showed the same to be true, though with a bit less of an adherence to drinking ages. Not so elsewhere.

In China, where we’ve spent quite a bit of time, there seems to be no legal age (although officially it is 18-19). You can often find youths drinking at the bars who appear to be quite young. And in fact no one is ever ‘carded’ in China. Contrary to what most people might assume, this does not breed an atmosphere ripe for degradation. Chinese youths hardly ever take their lax drinking rules for granted, nor do they abuse the booze at a young age, as would be expected if we suddenly made the drinking age 18 in the USA. There is, however, a similar ‘right of passage’ for most Chinese males that involves alcohol. At banquets (which are the preferred method of congregation) everyone sits around a round table, and the person of honor goes around the table and does a small glass of beer  or rice wine with every guest. This makes the guest of honor extremely drunk, and this is something to be quite proud of and admired (on special occasions, only). This often prompts Chinese men to approach Mike and ask, “How many beers can you drink?” Which, of course, Mike did not know the answer to at first. Now it appears this is a staple of maleness, though I cannot stress enough that it seems to happen only in large groups. By the way, the Chinese way of saying ‘cheers’ is “gan-bei” which literally means ’empty glass’ or ‘bottoms up.’ which they take literally when drinking beer. Another interesting bit of drinking culture in China– the person of more status should always have their glass slightly higher when clinking it with someone glasses. So, if you are not the guest of honor, your goal is to touch the top of your glass with the bottom of theirs. This results in fun games where people try to show honor to each other by putting their glasses lower. I saw one group of men putting their glasses on the floor to clink them, showing no one was higher than the other. Here is an example from a Chinese TV show:

In Central Asia we found drinking to be somewhat deplorable. Even worse than a man drinking is a woman drinking, and on the rare occasions I ordered a beer in public I could sense eyes judging me. However, we did notice quite a few drunk people on the streets at night, which means it is an underbelly sort of activity reserved for underbelly types. This obviously wasn’t the case in the major cities we visited in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, but definitely in smaller towns drinking seemed to be a big no-no!

In Mongolia, drinking is a large part of life. We stayed with a family in their ger for three days and nights, and the husband attempted to get us intoxicated on a nightly basis. He would drink after dinner and smoke Pal Mall unfiltered outside his ger as he looked up at the stars. This cowboy lifestyle works well for them and they are extremely happy. Meanwhile, their drinking culture is very inclusive, they pull in everyone and the goal is to have as much fun as possible. There was little segregation because of my gender, and contrary to what I assumed, they welcomed me into their poker game almost immediately. When we left to get on the bus on our final day, our host bought us a round of beers which we all chugged before climbing aboard for a 3 hour ride (big mistake!). Alcohol is used as a social tool to make people happy, include more people into the gathering, and draw everyone into one ger for warmth, entertainment (no TVs out on the steppe) and hours of story telling and card playing.

We’re not experts on these cultures or their drinking habits, but that is what we observed while traveling around from place to place and trying to experience these cultures in the ways they exist when no one is watching.

It’s official! We’ve finally ironed out our route details to the finest detail. We have decided to head from London to Paris, and from Paris to Luxembourg. After a break, we’ll head to Nuremberg and the Prague for the 2010 Czech Out Party, which we’re all very excited about. From there we head south to Bratislava and Budapest before entering Romania for a few castle tours and vampire stalking. We then head to Chisinau and then into Ukraine to the famous port city of Odessa. From this point on the trip gets really interesting. We head due east through Russia, hugging the Black Sea coast until we enter Kazakhstan. We’ll cut inland and aim directly for the Aral Sea inside the Uzbek border. We’ll cut across Uzbekistan and then re-enter Kazakhstan heading north into the mountains. Back into Russia for a moment before entering Mongolia and racing across the open Steppe to Ulaanbataar. Yup, that’s what we’ll be doing this summer, driving across 1/3rd of the distance around the trodden earth. If none of this made sense, check out the nifty map we made (yeah, I should have led with that!):

View Central Asia Route Map created by ATC for the 2010 Mongol Rally

This map is awesome, and really shows the distance and scale of the land we’ll be covering. Some 8-10,000km through 13 countries in a car that even Mickey Mouse would say is too small– a 1.5l engine auto. Below is a picture of a rally car from 2009, ours will be very similar.

If you are more interested in the car, aka- how to buy, register and insure one in Europe, or even cooler (if that is possible) a post on all our awesome media coverage, or possibly the list of woe-is-me updates we made when we were feeling down, then check out these other posts or head to the Mongol Rally and Sponsorship pages, which explain it all.

And now the age old question of how to get from A to B. We’re headed from the USA to Europe, and one would think with our strong historical and economic ties that finding a way over the pond would not be such a hassle. Nevertheless, we’re finding it a bit of a pain to get from the East Coast of America to the West Coast of Europe without stepping foot in an airplane.

Booking Websites: There are literally hundreds of websites dedicated to helping you find amazing cruise deals, but they would not be in business if they were not making money off of the bookings. In general, we found the services to be almost useless. You could use your generic expedia or orbitz, but they rarely return any real deals, and pretty much just summarize what you’d find by doing the looking yourself.

It is amazing how the internet, which simply has not been around that long, has replaced an entire occupation– travel agents. I would adore calling someone on the phone and giving them my desired departure dates and a budget and seeing what they come up with. Essentially, websites like travelocity make their occupation futile and redundant and I find that sad because travel agents were such amazing people with their own personal experiences backing up their advice and bookings. I guess travel blogging and booking online are somewhat similar.

Cruises: Usually repositioning cruises take place in the spring or fall, when ships need to move between warm water in winter and active tourism ports in summer. That means taking a transatlantic in the middle of the summer will not leave a whole lot of options. For cruise companies, the money is in the Bahamas and Mediterranean. You can find more info on this amazing blog post about the top ten cruise blogs. You can also find some help on My Cruise News.

Airlines: So, if cruises cost too much, should we fly? Flying across the Atlantic isn’t exactly affordable either! Flights are running a mere $100 to $200 less than a 7 night, all inclusive cruise. That seems like a no brainer to me, considering the available R&R on the ship versus the tedium and stress of flying. Airlines are quickly making themselves an unaffordable product, lets hope alternatives like ship travel are increased to take up the slack! A quick tip- you can often find cheaper flights if you book through a European website rather than an American one.

Freighters: One of the innovative areas in travel that has taken up some of the slack is freighter travel. We’ve looked into this pretty extensively. You can go through several sites like the following: www.freighter-travel.com; www.freighterworld.com; and www.freighter-travel-review.com or try to find a freighter leaving by contacting your departure port. Most freighters can only take between 2-12 passengers and have age and health restrictions. The average cost is about $100 a day, and transatlantic crossings take a minimum of 9 days in most cases (making the cost nearly equivalent to cruising).  However, if you have the money and lots of time, you can see some exotic ports and have a relaxing and casual cruising experience.

So, thats the skinny on our options of getting from America to Europe. I’m still hoping Cunard will call me and offer me a free cruise for saying how wonderful they are. They are so wonderful, utterly delightful and fantastic. . . . . I’ll be waiting by the phone.

Abandon the Cube has been around since 2008. While we’re not into celebrating a massive birthday party for the website or the concept, we’re excited about reaffirming our travel philosophy and taking stock of where we are, where we’re going and what we’ve seen.

By Ground Travel. By now you’ve all learned that we like to travel primarily by ground transport. Any flight across open land or water leaves the earth beneath you undiscovered, which we find goes against the spirit of how we enjoy experiencing the world’s most unexpected places. Over the past two years we’ve formed this website of travel tips, destination guides, humorous pictures, influential travelers who have inspired us and more so that we could share what we see and hopefully encourage other people to abandon their cubicles and see some of the world’s least trodden paths.

Time as the ONLY vital factor. To date we have inspired no one to quit their job. People look at us with raised eyebrows and wonder why any sane person would throw away security and comfort in exchange for several meals a day made out of rice. To us, time is the one thing that can really be stolen from you while you are on this planet. Nevertheless, people still think that if you work hard now by the time you are 45 you’ll be able to retire. In reality, who has ever retired at 45? The plan simply doesn’t work. Meanwhile, you throw away the best time in your life working, stressing and acquiring status, money, security, etc… but you can’t get that time back. Its a trade off and an unfair one in our opinions. I’m personally willing to work longer in life rather than abusing the time I have now. They say youth is wasted on the young, but I’m hoping they won’t say that about us. The reality of the situation is that society is designed to ensnare people. Right out of High School you have either college loans to pay, or else housing so you are independent. Now you have a car payment, insurance, health costs, food, your cell phone and internet….. even if you wanted to quit your job you can’t because you have bills coming in. That’s the way it is designed, and to an extent that’s why the machine of our economy works. However, if you take away all the things that require you to have a job then you no longer are in need of one. I do some writing for money here and there and make enough to cover my college loans. Outside of that, traveling full time costs us less than any apartment would, and we pay for that with money we saved while working in Shanghai for a year. We were able to save so much because we did not have a car, cell phones are pay-as-you-go rather than a 2-year-death-contract and we choose an apartment that was extremely affordable (if not minuscule). We figured out a way to Abandon our Cubicles and still meet our obligations, and that makes me confident that you could figure that out as well.

Experiences are Everything. I suppose it goes without saying that we weigh experiences very highly. We signed up for the 2010 Mongol Rally, as you know, because we saw the experience as an amazing opportunity to meet new people, have a great and daring adventure and travel 1/3 of the earth’s surface by land. Planning is still underway and we launch July 26th from London. Experiences and relationships are so important, and we hope to have an amazing adventure meeting amazing people on the Rally. Likewise, we’re excited about the new experiences coming our way after the Rally when we backpack through South East Asia and hopefully land in Thailand for a while as a place to kind of rest for a while, look for a part time job and save up so we can have more adventures down the road.

Reflections on an Amazing Year. Its is easy for us to say that 2009 was one of the best years of our lives. We left Shanghai on May 1st, 2009 and traveled by land all the way to Seattle, USA by December. In that half a year we saw and did so many amazing things that we’re likely to always look back on 2009 with a whimsical smile. From visiting Kashgar in summer, to driving across Uzbekistan with a giant; from standing near a burning crater in Turkmenistan, to living in a tent in Turkey during Ramadan; from roughing it in a cheap Bulgarian hostel, to riding a luxury cruise ship through the Virgin Islands. We nearly circumnavigated the globe (minus only the Pacific Ocean aspect of returning to Shanghai). That is why 2009 was a rich, and beautiful year. We’re hoping that the 2010 Mongol Rally that takes us from Seattle (where we are now) to Thailand via land and sea is as enriching, enchanting and captivating as the adventures of ’09.

When ever you get to the point, if this actually happens, that you feel like there isn’t anything else you could do to top what you have already done, come look at our new page of Influential Adventurers and Explorers.  Lauren put together this list of some absolutely amazing trailblazers, some of whom are classic and some who are modern and not so well known, yet.  I want to take a moment to mention some of my personal favorites, but I urge you to check out our entire page which is complete with books and movies which were written about or by the explorer or adventurer.

Zheng He Painting

An ode to China, probably because of personal ties and interest in Chinese history – Zheng He.  There have been several books written about him recently and a lot of research about his accomplishments under the Yongle  Emperer.  He commanded a fleet of around 300 ships and over 20,000 men and possibly sailed as far as the Americas. See:  1421: The Year China Discovered America.  Moreover, he did all of this without his genitalia as he was a Eunuch.  Quite impressive if you ask me.

Zheng He and Christopher Columbus Ship Model

Not only was his fleet probably the largest of his time, the size of his ships was 10 times that of European mariners of his time period.   We were lucky to see Zheng He’s tomb in Nanjing when we visited in early 2008.  For connecting China to the rest of the world and bringing back cultures from every end of the known world, as the time, to the Emperor, Zheng He deserves a place on our list as a recently well known explorer.

In Expedition 360 Jason Lewis, a modern day adventurer, circumnavigated the globe by human power only – absolutely no engines at all.   He taught children while he traveled and raised money for charity along the way.  Hats off to such a brilliant accomplishment.  It is great to see people of our time still finding things that have not been done before and pursuing the impossible.  Jason wrote about some of his experiences in a book titled: Flightless: Incredible Journeys Without Leaving the Ground.

Benedict Allen

Benedict Allen is another personal favorite, and recently discovered adventurer of our times.  Instead of using all the fancy gadgets we have now, Allen has reverted back to the way of the original explorers in an almost necessary way.   His ability to leave his laptop and GPS behind deserves him a spot on our list.  Allen relies on embedding himself with indigenous people and learning their ways and culture and hoping they, and sometimes children, will take him in and teach him their ways.  He uses the skills they teach him to get through their terrain and survive in their environments as well as get him from A to B. Into the Abyss.

If you have any more influential and perhaps not so well known adventurers / explorers to add, please comment below and we will add them to our Influential Adventurers page on www.abandonthecube.com.

Trying to Hug a Redwood

I’ve always wanted to go to the Redwood National Forest in Northern California.  While we were out in the Pacific Northwest, we decided that it would be the perfect time to go.  So we packed up the car and picked up some friends in Eugene on the way down.

After the Greyback experience in Oregon, we packed up and crossed the border into California the next day.  Immediately, we were forced to pull over and go through a sort of customs.  We were a little concerned, as we had an entire car full of trash containing beer and wine bottles from the previous night of camping.  Luckily, a very mild Department of Agriculture employee walked out and asked us if we were carrying any fruits into California.  I paused, not wanting to get the apples we had saved for breakfast confiscated by the Agriculture Gestapo, but said, “we have some apples.”  Apparently, you can not transport citrus or avocados into California. Luckily we got away with the apples and continued our weekend venture down to the Redwood Forest.

The drive down to Crescent City was beautiful.  We went through several forests and drove down roads which wrapped around downs and large hills for the duration of a little more than an hours drive.  First thing we noticed was the curve speed / warning signs in California are not really recommendations like most places in the US.  You pretty much have to go exactly that speed, or less, around the curves to avoid rolling your car.  It was a pretty intense drive.  Right before you reach Crescent City, if you are coming form the North, you will go through a redwood forest grove with a small pull over area for cars.  We highly recommend you stop here and take the 3-5 mile hike through the groves.  It was well worth it and had trees that were completely different than elsewhere in the forest.

Fallen Redwood

We also did the famous “drive-thru tree,” which the Park Ranger was pretty upset about and said they would never do that to a tree.  However, this tree is on private property and it is still a good experience to drive an entire vehicle, in this case a van, through a tree with plenty of room to spare.    There are signs all over Highway 101 for the tree; the 101 is a highly recommended as it goes right through the national and state parks.  Make sure you stop at the information center in Crescent City as the rangers there will give you the perfect trip tailored to you time schedule.

They also recommended several camping spots in the State Parks.  We chose one and drove off 101 for about 30 minutes and came to a cliff overlooking the Pacific.  We parked our car, and hiked all of our supplies up the hill to find a phenomenal campsite surrounded by redwoods with a view of the ocean.  We could hear the Pacific rolling below us all night long while laughing and talking over a few drinks.  The majesty of the redwoods and their unworldly presence was an amazing experience making it easy to understand how sci-fi and fantasy writers have used the Redwood Forest as inspiration for their books and movies.  Planet Endor, in Return of the Jedi was filmed in the Redwood National Forest.  A perfect set for what truly looks like another world.

We packed up the minivan and decided to head south to see two longtime friends and adventurous souls who live in Eugene, OR. The drive was pleasant down ol’ I-5, and we arrived made great time without incident until we got to the lovely and illogically grid-like, one-way nightmare of downtown Eugene. We thanked Map Quest for their incorrect instructions and, without cell phones, decided to head towards the only hill in the city for a better look. Turns out that was the hill they lived on. Problemo solved.

The following morning, after an informative and retro night on the town,we ventured to a local hot spot, Off the Waffle, for some breakfast. A nice treat there, and then a quick peek at a vintage book store where I found a rare book on exploring Central Asia for herbs, before we decided to hike to the top of Eugene’s hill for a better look. As Mike was backing up the trusty Toyota, there was a bit of a mishap that doesn’t bear retelling. Suffice to say Mike can never make fun of how I drive again. Ever! Score! This was the best accident of all time, in my book.

Area Around Eugene

Eugene is a very unique city. In our limited time there we saw that very few large corporations have penetrated into the city’s center. Anti-expansion laws have made property prices skyrocket, but there are no suburbs full of Wal-Marts or Home Depots either. Independent restaurants and cafes dot the city, and the uniqueness is almost overwhelming at first. Americans seem to like arriving in a new town and having it look almost identical to the town they left. McDonald’s, Walgreen’s, Target…. all of these places are lined up on consumer alley (or main street) in almost every American town of any size. Eugene is a breath of fresh air and shows what America could look like if it wanted to. It reminded me of why I disliked traveling in the USA– every time you arrive somewhere new you feel like you haven’t left home yet.

While traveling to Eugene made me aware of all of this, it was also pleasantly different, and we spent a few days soaking that in. The higher prices were well worth it to try so many new things. By the way, at an independent grocery store I found out there are literally thousands of different kinds of cereal. Turns out if you shop at a name-brand store they get to decide your menu for you. And here I thought all along there were only a few kinds! Silly me. Eugene’s independent grocery store had two isles of bulk cereals. You take as much as you want, mix and match, add accompaniments, and you’re off! Don’t get me started on how many kinds of juice there are. I did not think you could find lychee juice outside of China. Anyways, suffice to say we liked Eugene.

We (Mike and Lauren) are happy to announce that we have a new team member who will join us for the 2010 Mongol Rally!  We asked Bill to write up a little announcement and some information about himself for our site.  We have also posted some information about him on our Mongol Rally Sponsorship page.

Bill (Verbatim from Email):

Bill and his Motorcycle

I am from the deep South; Huntsville, AL to be exact.  Up until the age of 23, I never really left the country (the border towns in Canada and Mexico not really counting).  But then with my job as a mechanical engineer with a pulp and paper equipment design company, I started leaving the country and visiting far off locations, a lot of the time, on my own.  This is when the travel bug really bit hard.  I had always liked the idea of going new places; I went 1000miles away from home for college at RIT in Rochester, NY.And I was always going on road trips and traveling around with my buddies in high school.  But I never knew how much fun experiencing other cultures in other countries could be.  Also, the challenge and adventure of figuring out a new place and exploring…sans guidebook…is exciting.  It’s almost like being a secret agent.  Especially when I get phone calls in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning asking me to run out to China or Brazil or Russia, or any other number of countries on just a few hours notice.  Which is what my job entails now.  Now I’m a a mechanical engineering consultant that specializes in supervising the erection, commissioning, and startup of mill equipment.

So all I do now is travel for work, and luckily my wife Jacqui works through the internet so she travels with me the majority of the time.  The only problem is that for work, I end up going to a lot of the same places over and over again and only get to see a new place occasionally, so I need vacations like this where everything is different and there is constant movement.  As my wife says, I don’t relax well…

I try to live life by the mantra “Nobody says you have to order an entree in the restaurant of life, you’ll only be here once! Order the sampler, try as many as you can before you’re full; odds are one of the items on this menu does more for you than you ever thought. And if I’m wrong, tell the waiter that his menu sucks, throw the cook aside and invent your own masterpiece. Just pour ’em all in, all your favorite ingredients. With enough imagination, any combination will work — there are no recipes for the paths still awaiting discovery.”

We are very happy to have him on our team.  Thanks Bill and welcome to Abandon the Cube and the 2010 Mongol Rally.  See you in London!

REI -Recreational Equipment Incorporated- started out as a club of like-minded outdoorsman who wanted equipment that was not being provided in any other location. They wanted climbing, hiking, survival and camping equipment, and there were no specialty stores at the time selling that type of outdoor stuff with any validity or certainty.

Now, REI has stores all over America as well as a vast online catalogue. The stores are usually fun and adventurous, with climbing walls, rough-terrain indoor hills to test your boots on, and plenty of interactive displays so you can find the piece of equipment that will suit your needs, like a pond full of water filtration devices so you can find the style you adore. Its easy to spend several hours in REI without noticing time has gone by. They even stock clothing now, including the much-coveted quick-dry, rip-stop fabric that outdoorsmen find so valuable.

While REI stocks only the best brands, we’ve experienced a few REI brand products and have come away very happy. My women’s frontloader backpack is beyond ideal, and the frame is designed with women in mind, so it rides atop my hips. The frontloader means I’m packed and ready in under 5 minutes, and the high-quality fabric means it just might be Lauren-proof (we’ll see! I’ve ruined 4 bags so far, this is the only one to last this long!) I also have several pairs of REI hiking socks, and at any given time you have a 50/50 chance of catching me in them because they are so comfortable, breathable and versatile than I hardly wear any other type of sock. My silk inserts when hiking for long durations make for a wonderful combo.

I’m in the market for a water purifier. Anyone have any great recommendations? I’m fond of the lever pump designs myself, but with the costs so high, I’m wondering if boiling and iodizing isn’t just faster. Ideas?

On the road last year I read several travel books. Below are a few reviews of some of the amazing adventure tales I’ve enjoyed reading, I hope you’ll find something you enjoy from this list as well:

Road Fever, by Tim Cahill. It is a rare thing that I read a book in one sitting, but that is exactly what happened once I started reading Road Fever. Cahill and long-distance driver Garry Sowerby race to set a new world record from the furthest southern point in South America, Tierra del Fuego, to the furthest northern point of Prudhoe Bay Alaska. They did this amazing feat in 32 1/2 days, a Guinness World Record. It isn’t just the feat that is amazing, it is the fun series of adventures Cahill and Sowerby find themselves enjoying while setting new records. I left this book in Turkmenistan.

COVER

Riding the Iron Rooster
& Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, by Paul Theroux. While it is no secret that I dislike Theroux’s writings for their stuck up, holier-than-thou feel, I did enjoy reading these two books in so far as they provided insight into the areas we would be traveling through by rail. Theroux is notorious for his use of ground transportation, an idea we can fully support. Nevertheless, his constant complaints about food and sanitation become pestering the more pages you turn. In Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Theroux retraces a route he took as a young man, and notes the changes. This had real potential, but fell short because he brought along a cell phone, laptop, and an older man’s need for amenities. I left one of these in Shanghai, and the more recent book in Uzbekistan.

Chasing the Sea, by Tom Bissell. Another former Peace Corps volunteer becomes a writer. Bissell became deathly ill while serving in Uzbekistan, and was sent home before completing his two years of service. Once healed, the more-healthy and mature Bissell returns to Uzbekistan to finish what he started– a trip to the Aral Sea. Filled with historical insight and a bit snobbish critic of the area and its people, Bissell is no doubt an expert on the country’s water waste and the diminishing Aral Sea. Nevertheless, it is a bit long-winded and egotistical, focusing on his own return to Central Asia and his misadventures more than the people or region. Ironically, I left this book in Central Asia when I departed.

Flightless, by Lonely Planet Publications. This compilation of tales focuses on people who have chosen to travel without leaving the ground, proving that getting there is more than half the adventure. Some of these amazing folks are featured on our Famous Adventurers page but since the book details the by-ground trips of some 26 adventurers, we could not feature them all. Traditional ground travel includes trains and automobiles, but some of these adventurers travel by camel, Vespas, canoes and bikes, some even crossing the oceans in man-powered vessels for charity. This book will really make you rethink your next flight, and consider how much you are missing by flying over the adventure instead of going through it. This book is in my collection in the USA.

Oracle Bones
& River Town, by Peter Hessler. Like many great travel writers, Hessler got his taste for travel in the Peace Corps while assigned to a small town on the Yangtze River teaching English. He studied Mandarin Chinese daily, and slowly became fluent in the world’s most difficult language to master. Meanwhile, he spent his time trying to understand the people he worked with and around, and to delve into the culture without holding back. As a result, Hessler’s books offer genuine commentary on the Chinese and their massive country, as well as an un-egotistical vantage point from which readers can enjoy a foreign country. River Town, his first book, is the tale of his Peace Corps assignment while Oracle Bones is a montage of information Hessler gleaned while living in Beijing, interviewing locals and learning more about Chinese history and language. I lent a friend one of these books never to see it again, and the other is in my collection in the USA.

Race to Dakar, by Charley Boorman. Charley Boorman and longtime travel partner Ewen McGregor have set off around the world together on their motorcycles and then composed Long Way Round.  In Race to Dakar, Boorman sets off on his own. While the writing is not 100%, the adventure is, and Boorman details his planning, launch and then start in the Dakar Rally. While he was injured and did not finish the rally, Boorman healed up and continued on several other adventures, including another trip with Ewen McGregor called Long Way Down. We were excited to read about these rally adventurers because of our own upcoming Mongol Rally adventure. This book is soon to be shipped to a friend in Central Asia, which I think Charley Boorman would appreciate.

Traveling is a great way to learn. Every new city visited is a deeper insight into the region’s past and why it developed as it did. We traveled from Shanghai to Seattle by land and sea, and all the while reading. While the books did not always reflect the location we were in, they were insightful in different ways along our journey and helped to paint a more clear picture of the past, and explain why some areas we visited were in poverty and others in plenty. History is the only real explanation for how diverse and varied our species is, and its an amazing story more fascinating than fiction.

COVER

A Peace to End All Peace, by David Fromkin. This telling Pulitzer price book finalist tells of the causes of World War I (on the Eastern front between 1914 and 1922) and how the policies before, during and after the conflict have resulted in the most tumultuous area on the planet– the Middle East. The book begins with a young Winston Churchill visiting the Bosporus and concluding that any army hoping to take the Ottoman Empire would only have to control the Aegean. This thought came to fruition later in Churchill’s life as he sent British troops during WWI up the straights in a failed attempt to destroy the Ottoman Empire and end the war. It is shocking how daringly close the plan came to success. The war rages on and the Ottoman Empire collapses, and is ruled eventually by Ataturk (Mustafa Kemal). They gain in power and reinforce the German’s advances, further prolonging the war on all fronts. Eventually the dust settles to reveal the Central Powers have been defeated, but what is less commonly known is that each government in the Allied Powers Alliance has fallen and their internal opposition parties came to power. Essentially, those who began the war were replaced in all cases except Germany, and the mission and goals of the war changed dramatically as a result of new voices in the arena post fighting. Thus, new faces sat around the table deciding how to divide winnings and the states of Iraq, Iran, Jordan and Lebanon were formed, and the Israeli homeland question was raised. The Allied Powers promised a homeland to the Israelites and set about making it happen, not knowing the cultural and religious currents they would stir in so doing with neighboring Arabs. This book explains the root causes of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict, as well as why modern Turkey is so different from other Muslim countries. This book does not touch on the wars in Iraq (Desert Storm of Operation Iraqi Freedom) or 9/11 or Afghanistan.

Guests of the Ayatollah, by Mark Bowden. This book about the Iran Hostage Crisis read like an adventure novel, but was in fact very well researched. Bowden interviewed countless survivors, read everything he could get his hands on about the Iranian student’s movements, and fully explains the reasons why Muslims dislike Americans. For an American, this book is almost a must-read simply because Bowden is able to get inside the minds of the students who took the American Embassy hostage, and reveals their motives, desires and, years later, what happened to these children. His subtitle is: “The First Battle in the West’s War with Militant Islam,” and Bowden explains why the hostage crisis was a precursor to events that transpired later between the Muslims and the West, and why westerners often fail to fully grasp the rationale and motivations of those militant Muslims in places like Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.

These are just two examples. Other historical books we’ve read and would happily and confidently recommend to any history or travel buff are : Foreign Devils on the Silk Road, by Peter Hopkirk; Afghanistan, by Stephen Tanner; and Charlie Wilson’s War, by George Crile. If it seems all these books represent a trend, then you are an astute reader my friend. We’ve been traveling through predominately Muslim countries, and our books of choice reflect a desire to better understand the historical context of our culture clashes. We are historians, so naturally our interest in understanding the present lead us to the past. At any rate, all of these books were also page-turners that we think almost anyone could easily enjoy.

From my family’s home in Washington State you can see Mt. Rainier. It’s one of the most majestic sights on the West Coast at almost 14,500 feet, and is the highest mountain in the Cascade range (and in the continental, contiguous USA). More than 13,000 people a year climb the active volcano in Pierce County, making it one of the most visited alpine climbing destinations in the USA. But more importantly, the mountain is a feature in the background in Washington that takes everyone’s breath away on a daily basis…. well, on the days you can see through the rain. It is only 50 miles from Seattle, and visible from almost anywhere along the Western Washington area. In our small town, the mountain is so prominent in the background that it dwarfs every feature, even the massive evergreens that grow on almost every square inch of ground not taken by houses or roads. If you come into Washington via the north on Amtrak you get one of the areas most beautiful and stunning views– Mt. Rainier in the background as the train curves around the Puget Sound, with amazing views of the mountain reflecting off the water. Evergreen trees are everywhere, and when my train was pulling around one corner a bald eagle swept over the treeline for an afternoon fishing hunt. Yes, it is breathtaking.

Something strange about Mt. Rainier though, is that several people a year die climbing the mountain. Personally, I think this is because Americans climbing here don’t think of the mountain as exotic or dangerous because it is always in the background. Despite the cuteness of the mountain, and how prevalent it is in daily life here in Washington, you get several folks a year who go up the mountain without the right equipment, and without any training. Just because it is within driving distance of your house doesn’t make it safer than Kilimanjaro or K2. I mean, it’s a an active volcano covered in glaciers—what’s safe about that?   White outs are common on the mountain, and locals think the volcano could erupt at any time. Of the several deaths a year that are reported, most are attributed to avalanche, falls, rock and ice drops and hypothermia, which makes one of the most uninviting of destinations in Washington. Any serious climber would only tackle Mt. Rainier after successfully summiting several other smaller and more manageable mountains.

While it has always been a beautiful and meaningful part of the background, it is also a dangerous and extreme destination, and one I’m happy to visit again and again…albeit with the right equipment and usually, without leaving the paths.

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If you have ever entertained the idea of long-term travel, or ‘Vagabonding’ as Rolf Potts terms it, then this book is an invaluable guide on how to get started with planning and logistics. It is a whimsical yet no-nonsense guide on how to take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years off to travel, and do so successfully.

Potts offers not only a philosophical journey through his decision to abandon his cube and travel, but pertinent information, like that on our resources page, about travel insurance, teaching English, and language software, etc. He makes the world of long-term travel see manageable ad available to anyone willing to try, and this is an amazing thing to achieve in around a hundred pages.

If you are already a life-long lover of travel than Potts witty and Buddhist-like rants about the necessity to experience the larger world will reassure you that the vagabond lifestyle you’ve chosen is not only zen-like, but largely practical and applicable in the ‘real world’ should you ever decide to return to it. Moreover, your blood pressure will rise and a smile will spread across your face as you eagerly turn the pages to devour more of Potts reassuring and inspiring rhetoric.