What's in this issue?
RTW TRAVELER PROFILE - Brent Holmen
This July, Brent Holmen, a 46 year-old teacher from Canada, and his family will begin their first trip abroad. The goal: to spend one year traveling around the world starting by driving across Canada and the United States. After spending a few months in an RV exploring the sights of North America, the family will fly to Mexico, then to Thailand, down to Australia, and then onward to the Maldives, Egypt and Europe. For this family, it will be one epic adventure!
Brent has always wanted to take a year off from his teaching position and explore the sights, sounds and colors of the world - with his children. This, he thinks, will not only give him, but also his children some new perspectives on the various cultures of the world.
Read more about Brent Holmen and his family
If you're planning your own RTW trip, you'll find plenty of answers to your travel questions, and can read tips and profiles from other round the world travelers.
The Round the World Travel Guide »
NEW HOSTELS
More than 150 new Hostels have been added to the BootsnAll Hostel Booker. Now there are almost 6000 hostels to browse, search and book on BnA. New city pages include:
- Kaikoura, New Zealand
- Guadalajara, Mexico
- Ypres, Belgium
- Liverpool, England
- Oxford, England
- Riviera Adriatica, Italy
- Lipari, Italy
- Abano Terme, Italy
- Ischia, Italy
- Inverness, Scotland
- Cardiff, Wales
Global hostels and online reservations »
BOOTBLOG
The Boots Crew is getting out of the office (literally)! Bootie HQ is getting remodeled starting May 18th, so we won't be able to host any travelers for awhile. We will, however, still take you out for a beer if you're in town.
In early May, Donovan, Sean and Court went to watch a baseball game and drink cheap beer at Portland's PGE Park for Thirsty Thursday. We met a few travelers and despite Court's hangover, we had so much fun that we're doing it again on May 20th. If you're in Portland, drop us a line or show up at the game a drink a few beers.
Check out the BootBlog »
BOOTSNALL IN BALI
Nick recently interviewed Laurel, a 36 year-old teacher from San Jose, California about her experiences in Bali. Laurel will be in Bali for 18 days, then will travel to Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan.
Laurel spent some time chatting with Nick on number of issues, ranging from advice for travelers, solo female travel, the best islands around Bali, and the good Balinese food. Read the interview with Laurel.
Papa's Cafe on Jl. Pantai Kuta is perhaps one of for the best three restaurants in Kuta, according to Nick. Last week he met and interviewed General Manager David Smith, who was nice enough to answer his questions.
Read more about his conversation with the General Manager from Papa's Cafe in Kuta.
Check out the Bali Blog »
BOOTSNALL TRAVELBLOGS
Follow your fellow BootsnAllers as they travel. Check out our top picks from the travelblogs this month, and add your comments!
Check out some of our newest blogs, too!
Don't forget, if you're about to head off on an extended trip and you've just got to have one of your own, talk to us about getting your own Travel Blog. All you need to do is make sure you're a BootsnAll member and we'll take care of the rest.
Sign up for BootsnAll membership here »
Check out the BootsnAll TravelBlogs »
LATEST BOOTSNALL ARTICLES
There are more than 30 new articles from the past 2 weeks with some great photos and new authors!
Some highlights include:
- Zoe Bridger enjoys a classic canoe safari at an isolated fishing village in Tanzania (Read)
- Kate Comiskey cherishes the raw soul of India, which she calls, "the belly button of the world" (Read)
- Leif Pettersen captures the travels of 10 unicyclists as they peddle their way through jokes, stares and narrow roads in Norway (Read)
- Ian Everett ponders if globalization will slowly absorb the culture of Ratotonga (Read)
- While canoeing a piranha-invested river in Venezuela, Denni Schnapp came face-to-face with the barrel of a gun (Read)
And other articles and stories on Pakistan, New Zealand, Cuba, Denmark and heaps more:
Go to the articles »
FEATURED MESSAGE BOARD THREADS
Word of mouth is perhaps one of the most valuable resources for travelers. BootsnAll's Travel Forums has legions of die-hard, arm-chair, old-school, and wanna-be travelers who are more than willing to lend their advice!
Don't Be Shy - Introduce Yourself!
Hidden behind their glowing computer screens and membership names exist real people, with actual heart beats, who do much more than spend all day surfing the BootsnAll travel forums. They have names, go to work, have families, and live in many corners of the world. Now discover who these other BootsnAll members are, where they live, and what they like to do (besides philosophizing about travel). You, too, can stand on the member soap box and introduce yourself to the BootsnAll world.
A Writer Describes a Backpacker
Through the words of Pete McCarthy and his book McCarthy's Bar, BootsnAll's most vocal member Philip Blazdel poses an important question: Why do we carry big backpacks when it might be more condusive to use a suitcase, especially if backpackers are more interested in beach parties, nightclubs, and hotels than climbing mountains or understanding the local culture?
Planners Anonymous
Davin has an addiction, a problem and he is finally asking for help. Davin aspires to travel as a vagabonder, a wandering travel-addict who rejects modern-day tourism and lives each day vicariously without any plans in his trip. Unfortunately, because of his dependency, he plans each day traveling, from beginning to end, and can't break away from the typical tourist mindset. How far ahead is one allowed to plan and remain true to the vagabonder code?
Be Sensible or Follow My Heart?
One of the most maddening decisions for travelers is the choice between travel or a career with stability? Do you follow the rat race, make loads of money, or travel the world, broke, without an end goal?
TRAVELERS TALK ABOUT...
When you're deciding things about your trip, be it where you stay or whether or not to buy insurance, it can be hard to make a decision. One of the best sources to turn to for help is other travelers. We've been asking travelers a lot of questions lately, and you can check out what they have to say about their own experiences with...
Would you like to put in your 2 cents on any of the above? Email Chris (chris at BootsnAll dot com), and he'll set you up.
POSTCARDS
Keep sending us your postcards! Highlights from this past month include:
- A skyline shot of Perth, Western Australia, compliments of Barrie Lie-Birchall
- The sea and sculptures on Easter Island, from Ken Reed
- Scantily clad women in Tahiti from ???
- A dog-earned, taped pic of the White House in Washington D.C. from Caroline
- Mountains in a non-existant place in Idaho from Chey
If you're on the road, or simply want to say "Hi" from your hometown, send us a line at:
Bootz Crew
3505 NE 13th Avenue
Portland, OR 97212-2254
USA
