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August 28, 2008

A lot is going on in my life right now and there’s no better day to discuss everything than today.

But first a story:

I had a seven hour layover in the Düsseldorf airport, which allowed me to get some work done. I checked into my flight super early and proceeded to gate C46 and waited. And waited. It seemed they were boarding the plane pretty close to take off and when I finally got up to give my boarding pass, the guy goes “visa please.” I thought it was odd since you get visas on arrival in Thailand but I gave him the multi-entry visa I had. He took one look at it and said:

“This is the wrong gate. This flight is to Shanghai.” (No wonder I didn’t see any Thai people!!!) “You need to go over there.” He said.

My flight was supposed to leave at 5.25. It was 5.30. No announcement telling me to get my ass to the gate or anything. So I ran to another gate C46. The attendants saw me and started rushing me on the plane. They were waiting for me and I’m still not sure why they didn’t make an announcement. I get on the plane and say “yup, I’m that guy this time. Sorry”

Then I hear a large laugh. I turn to my right and laugh right back. It’s the woman I saw at passport control. While there, they were rushing a group of people through immigration and onto a plane. The lady translated the German conversation for me. They were so late the plane was about to shut its doors and the staff was yelling at them. “I can’t believe they are late.” I said to the woman. “How can you be late for a flight!?”

I guess karma is a bitch.

What’s New
My seven week trip through Europe is over and I am currently in Bangkok. (So all you gap year people, let me know when you come- I’ll show you around!) A co-worker of mine is coming to visit and I’ll be spending the next 10 days traveling around Thailand and getting a tan. I’m practically see through. From then on, I’ll be working vigorously to earn money to head back to Europe next summer before I move to New Zealand. It’s time to create some roots (more on that development much later.) I’ll also be putting in copious hours on this website so you’ll be seeing a lot of changes soon. Some changes that have already occurred:

I’ve added new travel tips: choosing the right backpack and picking a travel credit card.

I’ve redone my Travel Photo page and have put new photos up. More importantly, if you click on the photos, they now enlarge into a window that gives a description and allows the photos to be viewed as a slideshow. This feature is also used on my blog.

I’ve added a tool to book hostels on this site. Go ahead. Book your holiday with me. It helps generate income to pay for all my hosting fees. In fact, book anything with me! If you need any travel related items, get them through here- it costs you nothing and helps me out greatly.

I’ve also decided to post less. I was posting everyday, which proved very taxing and didn’t allow people time to see every post. I’ll be moving to a 4-5 posts a week schedule. This will mean more link filled and better edited posts.

Now, I am enjoying Thailand before I start work. In fact, tomorrow I’ll be playing tour guide to good folks from Wanderingwhy.

It’s good to be back.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Random Musings | 13 Comments

Tips for Traveling Paris

August 27, 2008

Paris is an amazing city. I fell in love with it the first moment I was there. American ex-pat, Tanya from Parisian Spring, gave us some tips for beating the summer crowds in Paris. They are wonderful tips as Paris is really crowded during the summer, especially during August. Parisians evacuate the city for the summer and head to the countryside or the beach. The vacuum caused by their departure is filled with tourists who crowd all the sights, streets, and cafes.

Should you find yourself in Paris during the summer months, here are some tips for traveling the city that might make your stay more enjoyable:

Crowds swarm the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, creating queues that wrap around each structure. Should you go mid-day, you’ll be waiting a few hours to climb each. Head there early in the morning to avoid the rush. Queues start to form about an hour after opening.

The maps the tourist office give don’t include all the streets. Should you get lost, you’ll eventually hit a main street and you can coordinate your position there. Moreover, the map is not really drawn to scale. The tourist information map is a good reference but for more detail stick to a guide book map. This is especially true in the Latin Quarter. (I found this out the hard way.

Moreover, Paris has few street maps for tourists. Unlike Amsterdam or London, there are few signs telling you where you are. Don’t expect easy navigation. If you do find a sign, it will be in French and not English. (Signs describing historical monuments are also only in French).

The Latin Quarter is one of the best parts of the city and also devoid of tourists. Head deep into the heart for tiny windy streets and cheap cafes that overlook little plazas. The cafes get crowded during lunch time.

If you want a good view of the city but don’t want to wait to get to the top of the Eiffel tower, head to Montmartre. This little district, where artists like Picasso and Pissaro used to live, provides sweeping views of the city without the wait or the cost.

Internet cafes are expensive- about 6 Euros an hour. Z-net in the Latin quarter has it for 4 Euro an hour and offers wi-fi.

The Louvre is discounted after 6pm on Fridays and free on Sundays. During the low season, it is also closed on Tuesdays. It’s located in the center of the city and has two metro stops- both marked “Louvre.” Get off at either one.

The Jardin du Luxemburg is a great place to eat out and enjoy a nice day. It’s filled with people relaxing in chairs and on the grass. It’s a great day to enjoy the sun of Paris.

South of Notre Dame, Rue Dauphine has some great eateries. The place gets crowded with folks relaxing for drinks after dinner. Pull up a chair, grab a glass of wine, and enjoy a Parisian pastime- staring at what walks by on two legs.

Buy a metro card. Paris has over 300 subway stations so it is easy to get around the city. A day pass is only 6 Euros.

It took me two days in Paris to learn all that. Imagine what a longer stay would yield. These tips, as well as the tips Tanya gave us, can help make your travel experience more enjoyable.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Travel Tips | 2 Comments

Paris: The City of Love

August 25, 2008

Paris. Poets, artists, playwrights, writers, journalists, statesmen have all written about it. All came to Paris and walk away in love. It’s hard not to fall in love with Paris. It’s a magical place and I can see why so many flock here. Paris exudes culture, sophistication, and style. Like the millions before me, I too feel in the love with the city.

I remember the exact moment. It was about midnight and I had only been in Paris two hours. I was meeting friends for a night on the town. I hadn’t seen much of the city as I arrived late. Yet the second I got out of the metro and stared at the Arc De Triomphe and marveled at the Champs Elysees, I feel in love. Paris was it- the highlight of my time in Europe. However, the trip to Paris was truncated by a last minute trip to Bordeaux. With only two days in Paris, I’ve only had time to see the big sights and walk around. Two days does not do this city justice and I will be sure to be back.

One of the first things that struck me about Paris was how spacious it was. Paris is filled with wide streets, lots of little squares and plazas, and large parks. In European cities, especially ones as old as Paris, you rarely find such openness. It’s usually in the newly built areas where you find such space. Old buildings were usually built close together and any trip to London, Barcelona, Rome, or Prague will have you wondering how people moved about. Yet Paris is different. There is a lot of wide space here. I was surprised to see so much as all my previous trips had me dodging cars in tiny alleys. The spaces makes the city feel much less busy and far more relaxed. You can walk, you can move, you can dodge that car. It’s refreshing.

With my limited time here, I stuck to the major sites. I stared at the Arch De Triomphe and strolled down the Champs Elysees. The Champs Elysees is always busy and always expensive. With so many tourists and expensive shops, it’s not surprising. I spent my first night club hopping there. My Parisian friends showed my the local nightlife, which does not end until 8 a.m. - Parisians party hard. I strolled down to the Louvre and marveled at its size and wondered if Dan Brown would use it in his books again. I didn’t go in though, the Louvre deserves more time than I can give it this trip.

The highlights of my trip came on my second day. I spent six hours wandering the streets of Paris, falling in love with it more and more. The city is beautiful. All of it stunning. Nothing else needs to be said- I’ll let each photo tell you a thousand words. I really enjoyed the Latin Quarter. This historic area is filled with tiny, winding streets that turn at weird angles to open into little cafe lined squares. Despite being located so close to Notre Dame, there few tourists wandering around. The streets here are much quieter and it seemed like a nice area to eat and relax in. I was glad to get lost in it for quite some time.

Another great place in Paris was the Jardin Du Luxemborg. This huge garden behind the Palais Du Luxemborg is a local favorite to hang out in on a warm summer day. Tree lined paths zig zag the area, connecting parks to picnic or sleep on and tennis courts to be active on. There’s a large central fountain and a little place to race boats. The park is filled with people relaxing and eating. One thing that amazed me about the gardens was the large amount of chairs. In fact, most parks in Paris had chairs. Chairs that were not tied down. No one takes them. They are just there. I was surprised because it wouldn’t happen in the states or most other places I have been- people would take the chairs and slowly they would go away, too costly to replace.

But how could I forget the two biggest sights- The Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame.

The Eiffel Tower wasn’t that impressive the first time I saw it. It was raining, and the gray clouds seem to blend in with the tower. Yes, it was cool but it wasn’t breathtaking. Then I saw it a second time. On a clear blue day, the tower stuck out in the sky, reaching high above the surrounding buildings. Walking towards it I got more excited and the second time I saw it whole towering above the Seine, I was impressed. Really impressed. I was not impressed with the two hour wait to the top though and skipped that. But what a sight! The Eiffel Tower, or the “metal asparagus” as Parisians used to call it, is mesmerizing. It is the symbol of the city of love and that is evident by the large amount of couples caressing each other on the surrounding grass.

Notre Dame was cleaner than I thought. I expected a grim laden structure giving the Gothic architecture an even more dark and mystical feel. Sadly, it seems the building as been cleaned over the last few years. I think it takes away from the history and foreboding of the structure. C’est Le Vie right? The inside was pretty standard and the front reminded me of doumos in Italy. The real beauty of Notre Dame is its buttressed oval rear. This part is breathtaking and the Gothic art here is very intricate and well designed. The downside to Notre Dame is the sea of tourists who crowd this place. They swarm around like flies to honey and I quickly decided to leave. It was nice but not worth the annoyance. I marveled at it from afar- away from the crowds.

Paris was amazing. I loved it all and will come back as soon as I possibly can. It is everything I thought it would be and more. My next post will be about tips for traveling around the city and offer more practical advice. But this is my Paris love story. We call have one. What’s yours?

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Europe | 20 Comments

The Saturday City: Places I Don’t Like

August 23, 2008

For the last three months, I’ve been highlighting different cities from around the world. Each time I have nothing but praise for all these places. I’m constantly asked if I like everyplace I go because it sure seems that way. Well, I don’t. Generally, I like I everywhere but I have come across some places I just don’t like.

Atlanta
Hotlanta? More like Craplanta! I didn’t enjoy this place one bit and it might be my least favorite place in the world. It was dirty, grimy, lacked anything really interesting, and had traffic worse than Bangkok because they have no subway system. Why? Because white suburbanites are too afraid too that if they had one, black people would come from the city out into their area. Seriously. No lie. The only good thing about the city was that it was hot.

Milan
Milan is another useless city. It’s also dirty, grimy, lacks anything but shops, and has some of the rudest Italians this side of Naples. Even most Milanese don’t like it! They just are there for work. The only reason to go to Milan is to shop, otherwise you are just wasting your time.

Birmingham
As you know, I had a lot of good experiences in England. It’s such a great country but if I could skip one place it would be this city. Outside the shopping mall that is the city center, it looks like this place hasn’t been renovated since 1960. I also felt unsafe walking the streets here. The city just gave me a very creepy vibe.

Pattaya
Located on Thailand’s Gulf coast, this city is famous worldwide for prostitutes. Fat old men from around the world come here in search of someone who will tell them they are beautiful, even if that’s only because they have money. Pattaya is like Bangkok on the sea and pollution from the city has ruined the harbor. Now, you need to take a boat out to an overcrowded island in order to find a place worth swimming. The city is popular with local Thais who come for the theme park and Pattaya has tried to clean up it’s image over the last few years but until they clean up that harbor and the fat old men, I’m fine with never going again.

Brisbane
OK, I don’t hate this city like I do the others. It’s more a general ambivalence. There’s nothing really wrong with Brisbane (I mean Southbank is nice) but I found the city to remind me too much of America. It also really lacked any culture or anything interesting besides the shops. I’d go back to Brisbane in the future but did I love the city? Not really.

There are plenty of places in the world I don’t like. Not all Saturday cities are glitter and gold and every so often I’ll rant about one or two I don’t like. However, the explorer in me finds the best in all places.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Saturday City | 21 Comments

Carnival of Blogs #5

August 22, 2008

Nomadic Matt's Carnival Another week, another country. I’m now in the French countryside drinking wine, eating cheese, and trying to keep the snails down (weird texture). Since it is Friday, it’s time for another blog carnival. Here are some of my favorite travel sites.

Rambling Traveler- A great site that posts photos from everywhere.

Ron’s Photo Blog- I met Ron via StumbleUpon. He runs another great photo blog site with stunning pictures from all around the world.

Less Than a Shoestring- This excellent travel blog follows the adventures of one man trying to travel as cheap as he can. He manages Europe on pennies a day. He’s a great resource and always providing good tips on frugal travel.

Malena’s Candy Adventure- Malena is traveling the world in search of the best candy it has to offer. She’s currently in Central America.

Itinerant Londoner- Geoff’s blog has some good insight into English lifestyle. It’s always an enjoyable humorous read.

No Place Like Here- Cris and Felipe’s blog follows their life in NZ, their upcoming wedding, and subsequent travels. It’s written in English and Portuguese. Great blog with a nice clean design.

For more travel blogs, check out the links section of this website.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Blog Carnival | 11 Comments

And the winner is……

August 21, 2008

Last month, I ran a contest asking readers to submit an essay on what travel means to them. I got a number of responses. Sadly, there can be only one winner and that was reader Ben Johnson from England. While Ben’s essay was not the best written, I felt that it embodied all that travel the best- the need to experience, the thrill of new cultures, and the idea that you may not know where you are going but you know where you need to be. Ben wins a free Lonely Planet as well as a copy of the movie A Map for Saturday.

The runner up was Erica from Travel Blissful who gets a free one day pass to an airport lounge of her choice.

Without further ado, here is Ben’s winning essay:

To me, travel is simultaneously the ultimate escape and the greatest personal homecoming. It allows you to get away, frees you from regrettable obligations and bombards you with the unfamiliar, all whilst teaching you more about yourself, your abilities and your limits than any other activity. Extended travel leads to the realisation that the world is not insurmountable, and it is totally and completely addictive.

It can be a wonderful mixture of the expected and the unexpected; the anticipation and the perennially fulfilling reality. There is no greater shock to the senses than that initial blast of culture on arrival in a new place, and nothing more exciting than getting to know it and its people. Travel can give a profound insight into the cultures in different parts of our vibrant world, and can help piece together a picture of how people live.

Travel is incredibly personal thing. To some, travel means ticking boxes in a list with a title ending “…before you die”, and viewing world-renowned sights through the back of their digital camera before moving on. To me, travel is far deeper. Travel means learning. Learning about the past, present and future of the places and people I’m experiencing. Learning about a country some of my friends have never heard of. Learning by seeing, doing, hearing, feeling, tasting and talking. Learning by being there. Travel does not mean a picture-postcard first impression of something with a million results on Google. Travel means experience. Travel means soaking up the spirit of each destination.

Travel means not living an ignorant and narrow-minded existence, vicariously digesting other peoples’ experiences instead of having them yourself. It means an overwhelming sense of adventure. It means getting lost on purpose. It means stories beginning with “When I was in…” and a colourful array of new passport stamps. It means meeting fellow travelers and local residents, and that buzz in the run up to the next trip. That moment where you don’t know where you are and you don’t know where you’re going, but you know you’re exactly where you want to be. That is what travel means to me.

Erica’s post will be posted soon. I hope you enjoyed this entry and more contests will occur in the future!

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Guest Bloggers | 4 Comments

The Weekly Photo

August 20, 2008

Aboriginal Cave Art, Kakadu National Park, Australia

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Weekly Photo | 5 Comments

Another Travel Skill You Need

August 19, 2008

Patience is a Vritue

A few months ago, I responded to an email about what I thought was the most important skill a traveler needed. I said adaptability. Without the ability to adapt to the constantly changing conditions of the road, a traveler is not going make it. There are so many highs and lows on the road that without being adaptable and flexible, you are going to end up having a frustrating time. Plus, remember, all those wacky mishaps make for the best stories.

But adaptability is not the only skill that you need on the road. Another important skill that goes hand in hand with adaptability is patience. Without patience to accept the changes you’ll encounter, you’ll spend most of your trip annoyed and irritated. Many unexpected things will happen to you on the road. Buses run late, trains get delayed, hotels overbooked, and flights get cancelled. If you spend enough time on the road, something will wrong. Murphy’s Law is never wrong. In fact, something could go wrong on any trip- it doesn’t matter the length.

Our modern busy life creates a lot of pressure and anxiety. It’s always rush, rush, rush. In that environment, it’s easy to get worked up and annoyed over the smallest incidents. You have to make a meeting but you’re stuck in traffic. There’s a baby crying on the bus. Your mortgage is due. Your car payment is due. You have a million errands to run. It’s very stressful. And it’s easy to take that frustration on the road. After a life in Boston, I developed a lack of patience. Boston is fast moving city and we have no time for distractions. When I first started traveling, I was frequently annoyed. Patience is not my greatest virtue. I wanted people to get out of my way- I had things to see. I had escaped the rush of Boston only to rush the thing I wanted to take slowly. After two years on the road, I still struggle with it sometimes but it is another skill you learn on the road. It is also one that you can use anywhere in life.

As a traveler, it’s important to develop patience. You didn’t come this far to get frustrated and turn around. You came to see the world, relax, and escape the high pressured life back home. When you find yourself getting irritated, think- I’m on holiday. Everyday is Saturday. What’s the rush? Take a deep breath and put things in perspective- you’re a nomad. You have nothing but time.

One of the thing’s I’ve learned on the road is that things always resolve themselves in the end. Just relax, smile, and wait- your problem will be solved. My hostel last weekend was overbooked but I simply asked if they had any other beds in a different type of room- they did and the problem was solved. I got stuck on the runway in London for one hour- I could have been really annoyed and irritated but what’s the rush? I’ll get there eventually.

By cultivating patience, you’ll be able to enjoy the little things of your trip more and come to see this irritations as growth opportunities not hindrances. Relax. It will work out. The best travel skills are ones you can use on and off the road, and the ability to have patience is certainly one that is useful anywhere.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Travel Advice | 13 Comments

Interview with Thomas Kohnstamm

August 18, 2008

A few months ago, a book came out came out that swept the travel writing world. Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? caused a lot of controversy with its depiction of guidebook writing. Lonely Planet had to issue special statements to reassure users that its books were accurate. Now, with the issue having died down, writer Thomas Kohnstamm reflects on the controversy, guidebooks, and writing.

Nomadic Matt: Your book created a lot of controversy when it came out this year. Did you anticipate such a media firestorm? Did you think there would be such negative reaction to the novel?
Thomas Kohnstamm: I knew that there would be some controversy, but I assumed (perhaps naively) that the conversation would be based on what was actually said in my book. Much of the blow-up was based on speculation, rumors and misquotes. 99% of the people criticizing me and my book had not even seen a copy of the book or read a single page of it.

The controversy dealt with you saying that for the Columbia book, you never went to Columbia. However, you were asked to write the history section of the article, which can really be done from any library. Do you think the media just blew this out of proportion?
Thomas Kohnstamm That came from a conversation that I had with an Australian journalist about the issue of “desk updates” in travel writing. I wrote the History, Environment, Food & Drink, and Culture sections of that book – basically the intro of the guidebook. Would my research have benefited from me visiting the country: yes. But the reality is that on many low-budget travel writing projects (i.e countries like Colombia), publishers can only afford to send a couple of the writers into the field. Lonely Planet DID NOT contract me to go to Colombia as there was not enough money in the budget for the book. I did the research based off of memory, notes, interviews with Colombians and research at the Colombian Consulate in San Francisco.

The journalist twisted my words to make them sound as if I had been paid by LP to go to Colombia and I personally determined that the money was insufficient and therefore lazily sat at home and made shit up. The whole newspaper article was written with the intent of being as sensational and scandalous as possible. The article was picked up by some news wires and traveled the globe and blog echo chamber without any deeper thought or evaluation. And all of it was based on a single, faulty story in an Australian tabloid.

Last month, I interviewed a travel writer who said that your book was an inaccurate description of the profession. According to him, a little self discipline, the ability to negotiate a fair contract, and some professionalism will get the job done. What’s your thoughts on this?
Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? is about my experience as a young, wide-eyed travel writer working on my first project. It is not a book about my whole career as a travel writer. Obviously, I learned how to function in the industry much better as I had more projects under my belt.

Many people get into serious financial trouble on their first project or two. If they don’t figure a way to make it work under the tight time and financial constraints, they are simply replaced by another wide-eyed travel writer who will work for little more than a byline and a chance to travel. The potential labor pool is practically limitless.

Also, I received only the highest marks from Lonely Planet on my writing. I may have had some bumps in the road, but I always submitted quality work in the end. I ended up doing a lot more adventurous, cutting-edge research and insightful writing than many of those play-by-the-book earnest writers who spent all of there time visiting the same old hotels down the tourist trail.

Thomas Kohnstamm I read you once got pistol whipped while on assignment. From that story and your book, it seems guidebook writing is one interesting calamity after another.
I was only pistol whipped once – fortunately. I had a lot of crazy experiences as a travel writer, but I really like to get involved in what is going on in a given place and not just float through as a detached observer. Sometimes I get in over my head.

How did your family and friends react to the book? It’s pretty raw. I bet there were not interested in reading about your drug and sex exploits.
My mom didn’t care for the drinking. My girlfriend didn’t care for the sex. My dad thought it was all great. I purposefully wrote it without feedback from friends and family as I wanted to be able to write about my experiences in an unvarnished, honest way.

It seems like your days as a guidebook writer are over. What are you doing now?
I haven’t written a guidebook in a few years. I am just working on books and screen writing at this point. I hope to continue to do some travel writing, but I prefer the book-length format.

Most writers start out wanting to be a writer- this sort of feel in your lap when Lonely Planet sent you to Brazil. What made you stay a writer and not go back into the business world you left?
I started out wanting to be a writer too – although I was originally most interested in writing about politics. My first guidebook project arrived a little more abruptly than I had anticipated, but in Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? I discuss how I had already written a phrasebook for Lonely Planet years before and had been offered some guidebook writing back in 2000. I had a nascent writing career in my early twenties, but was distracted by a few years spent in academia. When I dropped out of a D Phil program, I accidentally washed up in the business world.

Travel writing has taken you to a lot of places. What’s your favorite country?
That’s hard to say. I love Brazil and will spend Christmas and the New Year there this year. India was one of the most fascinating places that I’ve traveled. I love skiing in France and Chile. I’d like to visit Mozambique and Madasgascar.

After seeing the guidebook world from the inside, do you still recommend people use them?
I still recommend guidebooks and tend to prefer Lonely Planet to the other brands. That said, I would argue that guidebooks are subjective (and somewhat arbitrary) and are not the singular or correct way to approach a destination. People should use guidebooks as a basic tool, but not follow them slavishly. Otherwise guidebooks basically insure that thousands of people all have exactly the same unique travel experience.

Thomas Kohnstamm currently resides in the Pacific Northwest and continues to make waves with his book. If you are interested in reading more, you can purchase the book, Do Travel Writers go to Hell?, here.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Interviews | 14 Comments

Carnival of Blogs #4

August 15, 2008

Ferris Wheel It’s been ages since my last blog carnival but just because I’ve been traveling doesn’t mean I’ve stopped reading. Here’s some of the best lately:

Go Green Travel Green started a new green search engine that helps you travel and save the environment. Check out all the information here.

Nomad 4 Ever is giving his list of five scary travel movies.

Nerd’s Eye View has a good list of travel blogs this week too.

Check out the Wide Wide World. A family of travelers who have finally got going on their word tour. They are currently in South America.

Leif Petterson, the guidebook writer who did an interview last month, has a good wrap up of his recent trip to Romania. He’s always a funny read.

Almost Fearless is running a travel writing month. If any of you travel writers out there are looking for some help and connections, check out her forum.

Matador Trips is helping you save money and travel longer with these 21 tips.

Indie Travel Podcast is highlighting good hostels in Europe.

Trip Update: I’m currently in The Netherlands and after three days in the south, I am in Amsterdam for a few days. On Thursday I head to France. Then it’s off to Bangkok. The next few weeks will be a whirlwind so you’ll have to forgive me if I’m slow on responding to comments.

Posted by NomadicMatt | Filed Under Blog Carnival | 4 Comments

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