Category Reviews

Grant Lingel weaves a fascinating and modern coming-of-age tale about an American boy from New York fresh out of college who finds himself confronted by a world without choices. From grammar school to college, and even choosing a major, Grant found the path before him was already laid out. But, with seven credits to go to graduate, Grant abandons the world he knows and sets out to find himself, and defy the expectations American society demands.

Reading IMAGINE in the Woods

From working in Mexico on a resort to traveling with crazed Minnesotans in Guatemala, to working a hostel-farm as a volunteer, learning poi and experiencing everyday with an open mind. Grant travels around from place to place, meeting amazing people and seeing life in a new light. His adventures leave the taste of rum and coke in the reader’s mouth, and a yearning to be a part of the trip Grant created for himself.

Grant writes often of the camaraderie travelers feel when abroad, an almost instant friendship that develops the moment you hear someone else’ amazing adventure tale. Reading Grant’s book while on the ferry from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan, I was struck with a feeling of knowing and empathizing with the trials and joys of Grant’s experiences in Mexico. While I don’t share his enthusiasm for countless nights of partying that would shock a rock star, I feel that Grant’s adventure is well worth the telling, and feel that his up-beat and emotional readiness while traveling is an example many a weary traveler can learn from.

The characters in Grants adventures are so real that one can imagine they are a member of the small pack of friends Grant travels with while abroad. From drunken parties to day-trip adventures and midnight food runs, the reader truly comes to understand the atmosphere of life in Mexico as an expatriate. A life on the edge with extreme sporting, extreme partying, and sucking the very marrow out of each day of life, leaves the reader wishing to buy a one-way-ticket to a sandy beach.

I hope that his book inspires other people to imagine the possibilities in their own lives. Anyone can abandon their cube to see what life is like on the other side of the office wall. Anyone can buy a one-way ticket to paradise. For some reason, it is a select few who chose to defy the norm, abandon the cube and imagine a more thrilling life. Grant chooses to spend time in Mexico, Guatemala and more living on the beach, working with locals and other expats, and losing himself in the moment with drugs, women and a seemingly endless supply of booze. While Grant realizes that the world he is living in is a dangerous one, he has nevertheless stepped off the plank and into a world that is mixed with good and bad. By making the initial choice, Grant accepts the consequences and as a result, lived a more fulfilling life—and one worth reading about.

From one traveler to another, I recommend Imagine: A Vagabond Story
as a great read into the psyche of a traveler living on the edge. The tale ends happily enough with Grant starting a new adventure on another continent, letting all of us be reminded that it’s the experiences in life that make it worthwhile, not the 7 missing credits or the lack of a decent salary.

Review written by Lauren Johnson, from Abandon the Cube (Republic of Georgia, September 6th, 2009)Though we were very kindly given a singed copy of the book by Grant, we passed the book onto an English traveler heading East in the Republic of Georgia, who will pass it on as she finishes it.

I-touch

Three months ago I borrowed an Apple i-Touch while traveling through Central Asia. I posted a review of the handy appliance on our blog along with a desperate plea for someone to sponsor me with an i-Touch of my own. That wish came true shortly thereafter, and I’ve learned a lot more about the electronic pocket pal as I travel. Here are some useful apps for a traveler as well as some top picks on travel games and other accessories.

Handy applications:

Unit Converter: Like my last review, I find the unit converter invaluable. From Celsius to Fahrenheit, from kilometers to miles and from every currency in the world to Euros and USD. Don’t travel without it.

Calculator: I use this whenever a language barrier prevents me from using words– which is often. I also use it when adding up ticket prices and other fees.

Days Until: I programed all the major holidays in the areas where we will be traveling. This way I can keep track of what big events will be going on and where along our route so we can plan to be there. We’re covering over 20 countries this year, so without this app we would miss a lot (not to mention birthdays back home and other events, like the not-so-universal ‘Thanksgiving’ holiday).

Weather: I have the weather in my i-Touch for every country we are passing through, all 20 of them. Its great to see that we just missed a huge storm in Tashkent while the weather back in Shanghai is humid and the weather in Greece ahead looks wonderful.

Clock: I have the time for each major country we will be passing through, so I”ll never be waiting at the train station too early or late, or changing my watch to the wrong time when crossing a border.

Flags Fun: Thanks to this fun little game, I feel confident I can recognize any flag in the world. It has already helped us find the Azerbaijan embassy, which was otherwise unmarked.

World Capitals: Like the flags game, these flashcards and quizzes helped me learn the capitals, countries and flags the world over. Its a bit more educational than fun, but for a traveler its imperative to learn.

Factbook: The factbook gives information on each country in the world, like an abbreviated Wikipedia. I read about the countries we are approaching before we arrive to learn basic info and to check on security threats.

Atlas: This helps me keep everything in perspective, and I use this when planning out onward route. I also have the Google Earth application, but it is only useful with wifi, which is limited when on the road.

Natural Cures & WebMD: Traveling means getting sick often, WebMD helps diagnose the problem while the Natural Cures app gives suggestions on how to fix the problem. Unfortunately, we’ve had to use these apps more than once on the trip already.

Yoga- Stretch: I’m a yoga fan, and the yoga- Stretch app is great for me because its a timed, instructed session that keeps me paced. I miss my yoga classes, so this is a nice traveling alternative, and weighs a lot less than the yoga cards I was carrying before I got the i-Touch.

iTranslate: For obvious reasons, we have this app installed in case of emergency. We also have paper phrase books, but when its imperative a word get across the iTranslate app works well.

Fun Games

CrackCode: This game is addictive, but I’m not sure why. You simply crack colored codes.

Labyrinth LE: A simple, old fashioned game where you get the ball through a maze by tilting the i-Touch. Addictive, but hard to play on a bumpy train!

Brick 3D: I have easily spent 10 hours on this app while on the road. You just bounce a ball around and smuch bricks, it’s awesome!

ICHC: Which any true fan will know stands for “I can has cheezeburger” one of the funniest image sites on the Internet. I spend twenty minutes a day laughing thanks to this app. Needs WiFi though, so it will be less useful once out of city limits.

Totally Awesome Facts: Fun to read while on the road. PS- did you know a frog has to blink whenever it swallows?

Sponsor me?

The Apple i-touch, like many other Apple inventions, is an amazing piece of hardware. I’m borrowing one for the next twenty days and have become an apple accessory convert in the five days I’ve had an i-touch on the road. Here is why it is the ideal travel accessory:

1. Lightweight and compact, yet versatile. For a traveler, the biggest constraints are weight and space. The Apple i-touch weighs less than a pound and fits in the palm of your hand. Meanwhile, it can access wireless when available, and has all of the major applications of a regular computer.

Unit converter. This makes traveling through multiple countries and handling several currencies much easier. Meanwhile, this helps when talking with people who do not know the conversions for metric to imperial measurements or Celsius and Fahrenheit.

Programmable world clock. With friends and family all over the world, this handy tool tells me what time it is in every major city where I have contacts. I’ll never wake up grandma at 2:00am again!

Notepad. For the travel blogger, the notepad on the i-touch helps me organize and retain quick thoughts for blog posts or other ideas. I also use it as a reminder for things. Reminder- do not drink local water.

Weather. This is useful in the morning when deciding what to wear for the day, its also just fun to watch in the desert as it escalates into the hundreds (Fahrenheit).

Games. For the by-ground traveler the game applications (downloadable) on the i-touch are an amazing way to pass time. I’m especially fond of ‘Brick 3D’ and the ‘Flags’ applications. I’ve learned every flag from every country in the world on this trip thanks to the later game, beware bar trivia, here I come!

Organization. The i-touch also had a calendar, for planning your next move or keeping track of when each visa expires. It can also store upcoming birthdays, holidays and other events so the far-wandering traveler isn’t missing little Timmy’s birthday back home or planning to visit a mosque on a Muslim holiday.

Music and Pictures. While these two drain the battery quickly, its nice to have music in the palm of your hand as well as pictures of family and friends to browse through when feeling homesick.

Calculator. Traveling through multiple countries means multiple languages. When buying things its essential to have a calculator if you are not fluent. The calculator on the i-touch is quick to launch and easy to use, on the down side if you flash hardware as nifty as this people will assume you have cash to burn.

Email. With its wireless capabilities, the i-touch can access your email as soon as it detects a connection. This is quicker and easier than logging into a computer or waiting, god forbid, for Vista to start just to see if you have any high-priority emails.

In all, this handy little gadget rates a 9.5 on my electronics scale, of which everything else ranks about a 6.0. The only down side is that the battery drains quickly, which is not great for a traveler who often has long stretches between outlets. However, the fact that it can charge from the laptop is a nice bonus.

I have decided to acquire an i-touch. If anyone at Apple is reading this and wants to sponsor me with an i-touch for blogging, I’d be happy to accept! I’d also like an apple laptop someday, but that’s another story all together.

Having lived in Shanghai for over a year, I thought I had experienced a truly versatile and adept cuisine culture. While Shanghai has a bit more to offer in the way of bulk variety, Tashkent is a city seething with diverse foods at affordable prices that far exceed international expectations. If you are ever so lucky as to find yourself in Tashkent, here are some of the wonderful restaurants we were introduced to by an expat who had spent considerable time living in the city and knew all the best places to dine.

Bistro

: This tasty pizzeria is nestled away from the street and houses an outdoor courtyard as well as a tented area. The kitchen consists of a large pizza oven and a counter where three young men help each other compile your pizza. Pizzas are about 11,000 CYM. They also do pasta very well, and don’t leave without trying the bread sticks.

Omar Kayane: This Lebanese/Mexican restaurant sports local decor, chicanas, hookahs and a diverse menu of specialties. Named after a famous poet, the place has all the spice and flare of a hopeless romantic. Formerly a Mexican restaurant, the new owners kept several favorites on their menu. Try the Potato skins. From the Lebanese section, the kebabs are highly praised, and the fatush, hummus and spinach wraps were amazing.

Caravan: Though a bit expensive, the decorations make this place a must-see. They have life shows some nights and late in the evening the interior dining area becomes a lively beer hall.

Chelsea Arms: This may be the single most overpriced pub on the planet. They deceptively charge in Euros, making each half liter of brew about ten-twelve dollars. Bring Prozac or an inhaler for when your bill arrives. If you have free cash to throw away, however, the interior is worth visiting for its authentic British feel, and it’s a marvel that someone managed to transport the items in the bar to the middle of Uzbekistan.

El Dolphin (from the guide book)This place was highly recommended by the Lonely Planet, and perhaps because of this the prices were quite high for what was delivered. However, the food was very good, we had the hummus, falafel, chicken , and a margarita pizza for about 40 USD. The décor is startlingly bad, but if you can force yourself to have a bit of faith you may be surprised.

City Grill:

At this hard-to-find grill we had the best meal I’ve ever had in a restaurant abroad. The grilled vegetables are fantastic, as is the filet-minion, T-bone, bone steak, ravioli, bread sticks and soup. As you can tell from the items we’ve sampled, we went more than once. The prices are surprisingly spot-on, and it’s a great place to sojourn. Try everything.

The Czech pub: This place had a diverse menu of Czech foods as well as an on-site brewery that produced sharp and interesting ales, pilsners and heffeweissens. Order the pickled cucumbers, the soups, bread basket and a few beers. Moderately priced with great décor, friendly staff and a endless menu options.