The (Hoppy) Fruits of a Weekend in Canada

Like what you see? Subscribe to the full RSS feed. There’s nothing like trying a new microbrew beer - especially an international one - for the first time. And even though the duty free is anything but, I couldn’t help but snag a nice, cold six-pack of Boréale Dorée at the New York border. […]

Cantankerous Camera Composition

After two days, I’m still decompressing from every bit of travel goodness we managed to cram into just four days in Montreal. We skipped all the favorites we’ve come to know and love and opted for an altogether different trip than either of us had experienced - different hotel, different bars, different experiences, and […]

This Week in Offbeat Travel - May 26, 2007

While in Monreal, The Man (read: the Delta Hotel) kept me from publishing my highly anticipated digest of weekly travel goodies by denying me my god given right to free WiFi. Alas, three days late, This Week in Offbeat Travel … The BogoLight is a solar powered flashlight. Nothing especially revolutionary there. BUT: […]

On to Montreal - Je Me Souviens!

K’s had one helluva birthday this year in what seems like a week-long celebration. Parties, booze, Yahtzee, staying up past 9:00 p.m. I think Lindsay Lohan showed up one night. It’s madness. In the interest of continuing this ongoing bash, my gift to her this year is to take her to […]

One Less Night in a Hostel Somewhere

I’m still having a hard time grasping that one more $4 coffee here at home means one less night at a hostel somewhere in the world. And I’m having an even harder time completely severing the Starbucks umbilical cord. I’m down to one or two a week. I can quit anytime I […]

This Week in Offbeat Travel - May 19, 2007

The Bathroom Diaries is keen on keeping your naughty bits safe and clean while en route. Their mission: “The Bathroom Diaries scours the globe to rate the worlds’ toilets. Few would visit a country without some advanced information, yet our tender bits are exposed to uncharted territories with no help or assistance. […]

Dear Blog: I’ve Found Someone Else. And Her Name Is Photography.

I believe it was Dennis Miller who said: “I’m ADD/OCD: I’m constantly changing what I’m completely obsessed with.” I tend to buzz from topic to topic like a mosquito on PCP - never really settling until I find one thing to obsess over. Then I latch on and suck every drop of researchy […]

On Rolf Potts’ Vagabonding

It’s become every travel blogger’s rite of passage: a review of Rolf Potts’ inimitable travel tome, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel (aff). It’s the quintessential RTW traveler’s guide to all things … well, RTW travel related. But every conceivable thing that can be said about Vagabonding has […]

This Week in Offbeat Travel - May 12, 2007

Budget Travel is recommending that people hop on over to Nalgene to pledge to stop drinking bottled water. Buy a Brita/Pur pitcher for god’s sake and stop wasting all of that plastic! The earth will thank you. I’ve grown incredibly fascinated with Cambodian history lately, although I’m ashamed to admit I know next to […]

Postcards from the Edge

I’d normally toss this in among my weekly list of Offbeat Travel Links, but this is just too good to wait. Postcrossing.com lets you “send a postcard and receive one back from a random postcrosser somewhere in the world”. Their about page describes their mission like this: The goal of this project is to allow people […]

Japan Says: Have a Coke (and an Ad) and a Smile!

Remember when I professed my love for Tokyo and all things Japanese? Of course you do - it was about an hour ago. Further proof of why the Japanese are leaders in global innovation and I love them for it: TOKYO - Thirsty Japanese will soon be able to drink coffee or other non-alcoholic […]

My Top 5 ‘Round the World “Must-Dos”

Over at RamblingTraveler.com, Stacy asks What Are Your Top 5 Travel Dreams?. Here are a few of mine, in no particular order: Visit Antarctica. Before I started really digging into the costs involved in a RTW trip, I thought traveling to Antarctica was only for the rich. I had this preconceived notion that a […]

I’ve Burnt My Feed

… my old feed, that is. On an administrative note, I’ve decided to let FeedBurner handle all of my RSS goodness. I know all of the cool kids are doing it and, well, I’ve honestly been feeling left out. So, to all my blogging and travel friends who subscribe to the Vagabondish RSS feed, […]

Why I’ll Never Be A Thai Ladyboy

Every time I learn a new word - a word I’ve never heard before - something strange happens: I’ll continue to hear that word several times over the next week. Call it a strange semantic coincidence, I guess. Over the past two weeks, Pee Wee’s secret, coincidental word of the day has been […]

What I Read Offline (Aside from Penthouse Forums of Course)

(Do they still publish Penthouse forums? I digress …) Dave at GoBackpacking.com was kind enough to tag me with a new meme asking what I’m reading offline. It’s a short list that, oddly enough, doesn’t include anything travel related. Nevertheless [drum roll …]: Motor Trend. I’m a big-time car geek. I have been since […]

My, Amazon Has A Sick Sense of Humor

Amazon has a sick sense of humor. I’m sure the folks at their distribution warehouse read this blog. They know how excited I am about my new digital SLR camera. So why split my order up into three separate shipments? Today, I received package one of three - the lens. […]

Casa Brazil BBQ, East Providence

Caution: vegetarians and vegans may wish to stop reading now. Why not kill some time checking this out instead? I love meat. I mean, I really love meat. BBQ meat, braised meat, meat on a stick, meat not on a stick … “shrimp gumbo, jumbo shrimp, shrimp stew …”. Given the choice […]

Saturday Shorts: Delays, A New Camera and Montreal

A few personal, quick hits para Cinco de Mayo: Due to a whole mess of circumstances, I’ve decided to push my RTW trip departure date from May 2008 to late next year. It’s a combination of things. Mainly though, I’ll have a sizable loan paid off by spring and leaving later will allow me […]

This Week in Offbeat Travel Links - May 5, 2007

Travel Gear Blog may have found the perfect camera bag. Vagabonding points us to a few choice excerpts from an interview with pro writer and traveler, Bob Shacochis. My favorite: Love humanity, cultivate tolerance, hate injustice. Serve language, not word counts, and don’t just skate around on the glossy surface of things. Say yes to everything […]

Google Maps Tip: Learn to Swim

MightyGirl points out Google’s ever-present sense of humor: When you check out Google Maps and ask for directions between San Francisco and Amsterdam, Line 29 is key. Thanks, Google! [insert Orbitz Gum-style tooth sparkle here]

When Did America Become the World’s Most Wussified Nation?

This is the disclaimer that opens every segment of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, among other cable TV programs. I’m not sure to what content they’re referring. There’s no nudity. No violence. And every potentially FCC-defying naughty word is bleeped. Have we really become this politically correct? This wussified? Tuning in […]

26 Killer Travel Gadgets Every Geek Needs

Update: For even more kick ass gadgets, check out Another 26 Travel Gadgets Every Geek Needs. I admit it: I’m a tech-head. I love gadgets and I love to travel. Put the two together and I attain a state of bliss somewhere between watching a Meredith Baxter-Birney marathon on Lifetime and that feeling you […]