Tag Review

I don’t often do product reviews but I’ve been hearing so many women rave about tieks for travel that I had to try them myself. At $175 per pair the cost is prohibitive for many travelers. I’d count myself in the group that finds this price point nearing the ludicrous, but I go through shoes so quickly that one good pair of durable, long-lasting shoes might be worth the money I’d have otherwise spend on 3-5 pairs of cheap shoes. A bought a pair of nice, everyday boots at Target only to have them fall apart two months later. Shoes aren’t meant to be disposable, people!

My tieks arrived this morning in lovely packaging. I’d agree with other reviews that the packaging is handsome but if it is contributing to the higher cost than not entirely worth it. One nice touch was a hand-written note with my name. Very rare and, I’ll admit, it kind of won me over a bit. I’m a sucker for old-school flare and this family-run company is pretty neat. If you don’t know much about the company, check out their website.

The shoes come with a little carry pouch and a larger tieks- blue bag. I’m not sure what the intention of the bag is, or how it relates to the shoes but hey, who scoffs at free stuff? I will say that if you’re sensitive at all to smells, the bag has a post-production chemical reek to it. Mine is currently airing out in the great outdoors. The packaging also had a nice pink flower on an elastic loop. I guess in a pinch you could wear this as some kind of middle-school headdress.

I slipped the shoes on and noticed some pain and pinching right away. I’m a 7.5 so I read the instructions online carefully before ordering a size 7 (tieks don’t come in mid sizes). The 7s are a bit painful around my heel and the toe joint (is that a term? toe joint?). Anyways, I will do as instructed on the tieks website and wear them with wool socks around the house for a while to see if they will stretch out. In the meantime, I took them off to write as the pain was a bit distracting. I spent a lot of money on these tiny shoes so if they don’t comfy-up really fast I’ll be on the phone to tieks pretty quick.

I’ll also point out that the mini toe buttcrack is showing, which seems somehow trashy. Am I over-thinking it or should shoes cover more of my toes? You’ll also notice int he picture below that you can see the outline of my toes near the front of the shoe. I’ve read other reviews that said they wore through quickly where the nails rubbed. I’m worried about this already and the shoes are 11 minutes old. So, I’ll keep an eye on the durability factor and let you know if my toes pop through or the visible toe crack is distracting to more than just me and my overly-taxed brain.

For a traveler, I’m not sure tieks would be a great fit simply because they can’t get wet. I bought mine for everyday wear, but other reviewers have said that even a few sprinkles on their leather tops and the color was damaged. I’m going to try to preserve these by adding a waterproofing agent designed for leather. I’ll let you know if that works. In the meantime, have any of you ever had a day of travel where water didn’t come into play at least once? I’ve had a whole toilet explode on me in a bus station. I’ve slipped on god-knows-what and landed in a ditch full of waste. I’ve been out in the wild under the premise of good weather only to be stranded by Biblical thunderstorms and showers. Any one of those days would have seen these tieks ruined. And I wouldn’t trade those days for a pair of shoes. So, if you’re planning on traveling like a (ahem) traveler, then maybe stick to boots. If you plan on traveling in a first-world city where sewage is moved about politely underground than perhaps these are for you. Especially since they can be dressed up or down and seem very versatile for a pleasant, Parisian-like wardrobe.

UPDATE: Returning my Tieks

After wearing them around the house in wool socks for an afternoon there was no improvement. They are still pinching my feet, hurting my heels and my toes are threatening to pop through the leather. I will be returning my tieks with a somewhat heavy heart. I contacted customer service. They immediately sent a return shipping label and I was able to return them with ZERO hassle. Awaiting refund now.

I really wanted to love them. I’ve been looking for high-quality shoes that I could dress up or down and wear everyday. I was hoping tieks would be it. If you’re a half size, you might want to consider ordering two pairs and then keeping the one that fits. Just an idea. I don’t know that I’ll try again, but if I do you’ll be the first to know.

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.

The Long Way Round

We recently watched the series Long Way Round, where Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor ride their BMWs from London to New York– the long way around. They cover some 19,000 miles in around 3 months. This show was of interest to us because we recently completed the 2010 Mongol Rally, a charity ride from London to Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia. Ewan and Charlie did a strikingly similar route though much of the same territory, stopping at many of the same sites.

Charlie and Ewan set up an office in London several months prior to their departure and hired a small staff to help plan their route, get the necessary paperwork, consult with them on border crossings, and many more activities, like writing and disseminating sponsorship proposals and calling companies for donations. These were all activities we undertook for the Mongol Rally, and oh how nice it would have been to have an office and a support crew to do so!

To train them before the ride, they hired a personal trainer. We did sit-ups in the basement. To prepare themselves for harsh border crossings they hired an ex-military safety guru to teach them basic evasion, combat training, weapons use and how to best deal with a hostage situation. We watched Steven Segal movies. To prepare for any unforeseen medical problems, a doctor was brought on board. We had several boxes of band-aids and a suitcase of pepto. To learn Russian prior to departure they hired a Russian area consultant, a visa advisor and a language coach. We got an language book off Amazon and read the history of Russia. To fund the trip, they had a room full of women sending out proposals and a celebrity actor pleading for kit. We had a proposal we made ourselves and sent to everyone we could think of– and they promptly laughed in our faces. Needless to say, we’re jealous of their support crew.

They rode a nearly identical route from London to the Ukraine as we did, passing through the Czech Republic just as we did, and stopping at the Church of Bones, which we routed ourselves out of the way to see. Along the way they had various monuments and tours cleared for themselves and the support and video crews, and his two-van support team went ahead at most border crossings and at major sites to arrange visits, viewings and make for easy passage. A lot of what they saw would not have been possible without the support crews, and yet without Ewan on the team it wouldn’t have been a TV series at all.

The show itself is inspiring and lively, and gets me eager for our next self-guided adventure travel or rally. Its hard to watch a show like this one that makes travel look so dangerous, difficult and unattainable without a whole crew behind you and then realize that with a bit of real-world thinking and prior experience you could undertake the same trip as they did, and I’m sure people have.

diss I’m not trying to the Ewan-Charlie team, as I think they have something special and love what they are doing. I just think it is sad that it takes a celebrity on a team to get publicity for it. A lot of great travelers are doing equally amazing trips and because they arn’t A-listed stars they don’t get sponsorship, recognition or free gear, and the trips don’t get publicized so that most people think travel is this dangerous and relatively pointless activity.

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!

We have been extremely fortunate in who we have come in contact with through Abandon the Cube. We’ve met so many amazing travelers, as well as great writers, photographers and people on amazing missions across the planet. While we’d love to tell you about everyone we meet, there literally isn’t enough space for the high praise we’d want to laud on some of these worthy travelers. Nevertheless, here is a glimpse at two travel writing teams and how they have chosen to spend their lives on the road fighting for a cause.

~

We were recently contacted by two inspired travelers named Bernard and Danielle who have been traveling throughout Africa interviewing local farmers, NGOs, and community groups who are working to alleviate hunger and poverty. They operate a travel blog site called Borderjumpers. Danielle, who is a livestock and sustainability expert, is traveling across the continent for Worldwatch, a USA-based think tank. She talks with farmers about their ongoing projects, their efforts to combat hunger and poverty, and the sustainability of their work. Bernard is an expert on local labor movements and communication, and travels with Danielle helping to discuss important issues with locals in every African country. Their mission is to visit every country in Africa and talk about farming, labor movements and the future with everyone. You can learn more about these travelers by visiting their travel blog. While they are traversing the continent they are uploading blogs when they find internet. We encourage you to check out the duo’s work and link to their site!

~

You might also be extremely interested in learning about Josh, who created and runs Far West China, a travel blog and information site about Xinjiang, China. Xinjiang is a little mentioned area in the world’s most populated country, and one that is distinctly different. A primarily Uyghur, Muslim area, Xinjiang is home to Kashgar, Urumqi and Dunhuang– just a few treasured locations you’ve probably heard of. Josh writes extremely well researched guides to attractions in the area, like his ebook on Turpan. Josh not only keeps up with local news, local travel info and local culture, but he is an active advocate for the Uyghur people. His passion for China’s far west province has landed him an endearing spot in our travel hearts. Check out his blog, check out his site and definitely grab a peek at the newly released ebook.

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?

Deck View

We took a 17-day cruise from Venice to Ft. Lauderdale on the MSC Poesia, which had stops in Italy, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the USA. We got a last-minute discount deal, which resulted in our tickets being roughly the same cost as a one-way ticket from Italy to the USA would have been and included 100 GBP of on board credit. Here is our assessment of the cruise:

For the amount we paid, we got a deal on transportation, food and lodging as well as getting to see a few more sites on our way back to the States. However, MSC cruises is not your average cruise line, it began as a cargo shipping company and continues in that capacity with most of the ships in its fleet. Perhaps as a result of those origins, everything on the ship is bare-bones. Everything costs extra, including water. This had the effect of angering a large number of the passengers, who are frequent cruisers and complained that the ‘cheapness’ of this particular cruise line was beyond annoying. Naturally, we did not care much, having literally backpacked our way through rainy Eastern Europe to get there, and were simply happy with having a room and food provided daily.

The food on board was fantastic and we were fattened up quite a bit while on board those two weeks. I imagine a kitchen staff that never leaves the galley from sunrise to well past midnight. It would have been nice, however, if drinks were included, and I don’t mean just alcoholic drinks, all that was available was water or iced tea. Alcoholic drinks were around $10 USD a pop, and hence entirely un worth it. The staff in our area were fantastic, both were from Indonesia, which I am excited to visit someday since our waiters were so friendly and attentive and downright fun.

Disco

The design and layout of the ship were nice, if not delightfully circus tacky. The evening entertainment shows were decent most nights, but some shows were so bad that one was left with a tingling sensation like when you first get up from the dentist’s chair. Their low-budget female singer who appeared on stage almost nightly was so bad that people would walk out when she came on stage. We were surprised that there even was entertainment, so we were happy with whatever we got, but cringed along with everyone else every time this lady singer tried to hit a high note and missed. Now I know how Simon Cowel feels.

The MSC Poesia was labeled a Texas Hold ‘em cruise, which is a poker game with no limits. On board there were daily tournaments, but buy ins were 120 Euro, much more than we could afford to wager, especially given only a few people showed up daily to play. This was a real disappointment as we had planned on making back some of the cruise costs at the tables, only to realized the risk outweighed the potential gains with only 4-6 other players buying in at 120 Euro – the pot wasn’t big enough for the gamble.

In all, we had a great time on the cruise and it was a good way to get healthy, fattened up and ready for our return to the USA. Having backpacked for the last 6 months, it was luxury we were not accustomed to, and we took advantage of the time to relax and rejuvenate and bunker down to have nice old fashioned dinner-table chats with the lovely Canadians at our table.

We ventured to every travel gear store in Shanghai. For those seeking camping, climbing, trekking or other outdoor wear and gear we fully recommend Decathlon. This store has literally everything an outdoor enthusiast could want and expect to find in Shanghai. Since we’ve been to every outdoor store in the city we can safely say this is the cheapest, with the best quality goods, the widest selection (by far) and the friendliest staff. Other outdoor stores in Shanghai have been found lacking. They are usually one-room shops with overpriced fake North Face packs and a few flashlights. Check out Decathlon if you’re in town. We ended up spending around $100USD there and walked away with several quick-dry clothing sets, compression bags, quick-dry towels and other necessities for a backpacker on the road. We’re heading back this weekend to buy a two-man tent (400RMB) and two sleeping bags. With modern technology, these combined could fit into a small backpack and be assembled in less than 5 minutes.

Our packing list (for each person):

• 2 pairs quick-dry khakis
  

  Compresion bag

• 1 pair sweatpants/work-out clothes
• 4 shirts (all quick-dry, anti-wrinkle, one dressier)
• 1 pair shower shoes/ sandals
• 1 paid hiking shoes/boots
• 1 fleece
• 1 windbreaker
• 1 swimsuit
• Undergarments and hiking socks
• Small medical kit, including first aid and medicine for various on-road ailments
• Books and writing materials
• I-pods
• Laptop
• Plastic bags (for dirty clothes, separating wet things, etc)
• 1 two-man tent
• 2 sleeping bags

We packed everything in one large backpack using one compression bag each (black back shown above in left of image). The compression bags collapse everything to manageable size. In one small backpack we will carry the medicine and laptop in a heat controlled bag (as we’re going into the desert and don’t want a giant paper weight made out of the laptop if it gets too hot).  This way we’ll be able to travel with one small bag and one large backpacking ruscksack in case one of us gets injured or is sore from hiking, etc. We will add the sleeping bags and tent as well as the additional small bag and my camera and we’ll be off on our trip in less than a week!