To be in the shoes of a wanderer is to fully experience life and to ponder our own existence. However some places carve out a special place in your heart - places you must return to again. There is a mystery of why this 'pull of attraction' exists within yourself and no amount of restraint can stop you from revisiting. For me, Bohol in the Philippines is that place. It has been exactly four years now since I visited Bohol, its capital … [Read more...]
Road Trips: Why Do We Do Them?
Road Trips. Have you ever wondered why people go on road trips, when we can easily book a fully planned holiday from one of the local travel agencies? Planning and booking a road trip is a downright hassle, but I promise that once you’re on the road, you’re not going to regret it. Trust me, I’ve just gotten back from my own road trip to the South Island of New Zealand last week, and now I’m already itching to go on another one. So, road trips: … [Read more...]
Australia Adventures: A Bed In Bondi Beach
Dreaming of Sydney. Very few of my friends can say that they have traveled across the globe to one of the happiest countries in the world, second only behind Iceland. I'm talking about Australia, and I would have to say that I agree, wholeheartedly with that statement. When I first flew into Sydney, I couldn't help but notice the picturesque view of the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It is such a romantic city, yet it's so far away … [Read more...]
Freak Show Without a Tent by Nevin Martell
This book is a fast, engaging and at times humorous read - highlighting stories from the author's childhood trips gallivanting with his family around the world. They visit exotic destinations - remote islands in the middle of the South Pacific and fish in Piranha infested waters - always in search of "local" non touristy experiences. The author's father was infected with wanderlust, taking trips without making many plans and always bringing … [Read more...]
Living the Search for Peace
Probably the biggest lesson that has shown itself to my wife and me since our launch from material life into a wanderlust spin is, simply, peace. We thought we were setting out to explore the world and, on a deeper level, to shed attachments to the lives we had individually created, which were then brought into our new marriage. Not that those things haven’t happened. It’s just that the higher purpose seems to have been what Gandhi notoriously … [Read more...]
Los Angeles Times Travel Show 2014
Program Schedule and Advance Tickets for 16th Annual Travel Fest Available Now LOS ANGELES – November 6, 2013 – Los Angeles Times Travel Show, the must-attend Southern California travel event of the year, today announced that Alyssa Milano (UNICEF Ambassador, host of “Project Runway All Stars”), Adam Richman (host of “Adam Richman’s Fandemonium,” author of “America the Edible”), Henry Rollins (musician, activist, author of “Smile, You’re … [Read more...]
Adrian Qais: Adventure Traveller
Adrian's travels embody what we define as "experiential travel" - at its core it is traveling with an intent and openness to having experiences - in part focusing on what is unique to a particular region. And Adrian has already had enough unique experiences from his time on the road to last most people a lifetime. From being kidnapped in Africa to staying with nomadic Bedouin tribespeople in the deserts of Oman to total cultural immersion in … [Read more...]
Seeing the World with New Eyes
The blast from the whistle of the locomotive quickened my pulse. “Make way...Make way!.. I’m coming through,” it seemed to say. A huge plume of black smoke rose from the stack as the train made its rock-a-billy way along the mountain ledge. I leaned out of the open-air Gondola car to get a better view of the Animus River churning through boulders as big as boxcars. It is one of the few rivers in America that flows unrestricted by dams from … [Read more...]
Myanmar or Burma – What’s in a Name?
The excitement and optimism in the Yangon air these days is palpable. In 2011 the impossible happened. The half century of rule by an oppressive military junta was over and longtime political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi had been released and duly elected to parliament. It was shortly after her election that I met with Burmese friends in a crowded coffee shop on Bogyoke Aung San Road, not far from Scott Market. We were there to talk … [Read more...]
The Longest Way Home
The Longest Way Home by Andrew McCarthy When one has wanderlust it takes control of your life and at times supersedes everything else - including relationships. Long time actor Andrew McCarthy knows this well. For four years he travels the world without committing to his fiancee. Every time he travels, he also says goodbye to his two children from his first marriage. Why does he have this insatiable thirst for moving and not "settling … [Read more...]