Book Review: Travels

Travels by Michael Crichton is a little known auto-biography composed of stories about medicine, travel, and pseudo-science. Mr. Crichton started life as a medical student, but quit medicine to pursue his writing/producing career in Hollywood. As his career peaks, he decides that he needs to make some changes in his life. These changes encompass expanding his world-view in terms of people, places, and ideas. He starts to travel to remote parts of the globe including Africa, Nepal, Jamaica, etc. Like many travelers, Mr. Crichton's adventures challenge him in new ways that he couldn't experience at home.

While the pseudo-science chapters often seem kind of silly, I respect Mr. Crichton for approaching new ideas head-on. He channels spirits, meets Tarot card readers, and sleeps in the desert with a cactus. He clearly takes these alternative views seriously, but it is hard to come to the same conclusions he does. See a Q&A with Mr. Crichton on his website, here.

Book Review: Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story

Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story is the auto-biographical story of Tony and Maureen Wheeler's rise to the top of the travel industry from their first cross-continent trip from England to Australia. It is an amazing story of how they turned a simple guide about this trip into a publishing phenomenon that is known around the world as the guidebook of choice for any traveler. It was clearly a long road for these inveterate travelers, and you have to root for their success as they overcome the highs and lows of traveling, business, and relationships. The names and places can be overwhelming when describing countries that few readers have traveled to, but the book is really about their experiences.

After reading about the Wheeler's adventures, you feel ready to travel anywhere, the more obscure the better. It seems like there is no limit to your travels, and I find it encouraging to overcome fears of the unknown and just go.

Check out Rick Steves' podcast for an interview with Tony Wheeler about the book:
Apple: link
Windows: link
Other: http://podcasts.ricksteves.com/ricksteves.xml

Hostel Review: HI Conway Hostel [Conway, NH]

With the leaves in New England turning the forest into a painted canvas, my parents and I headed upto New Hampshire for a weekend of leaf-peeping. The HI Conway hostel is ideally located near the White Mountains, we headed north in a rented mini-van. We stopped along the way at the Weather Vane restaurant for a couple of lobsters and a lobster roll. Instead of taking the more traditional route of 93N and 112E to Conway along the Kancamagus highway, we drove 95N to Portsmouth, and then took 16N. We passed the Redhook Ale brewery in Portsmouth, but we didn't have a chance to stop. Maybe next time. Concord Coach also offers a bus service to Conway for about $65 r/t from Boston, so there is an option for those with out a car.


We arrived after dark and were first informed that the only rule at the hostel is no shoes in the hostel. The hostel provides a large assortment of cubby-holes to hold your shoes as you walk around in your socks or bare-foot. I found this rule strange, and I more than once looked around the room wondering where my shoes were. However, I got used to it, and chalked it up to an easy way to keep the hostel clean. I had suggested my parents get a room, and I stay in the dorms, but they instead reserved a "family room". I expected the room to include at least one double bed, but instead we had 2 bunk-beds for 4 people. The room included a mini-fridge, but we had to use the bathrooms down the hall. The first night we arrived I cooked a salmon in the well-kept kitchen, and my parents baked an instant lasagna. The common area was full of hostellers, and most were watching one of the Lord of the Rings movies.

That night our room was plenty warm, but it did seem to oscillate between hot and cold a few times. The showers had abundant hot water and good water pressure. I found the hostel a good experience, but I think my parents were disappointed they didn't get a continental breakfast, which was mentioned in their Frommer's guide. The hostel guests were pretty evenly split between respectful foreign travelers and middle-age/older Americans, so I wouldn't call it a party hostel. We were only there Thursday and Friday night, but I suspect it was busier Saturday night. The hostel room cost $48 + $10 (extra person) for the three of us per night. We paid $89 in Woodstock for a normal hotel room with 2 double beds, bathroom, and TV on Saturday.

We had a car, and it wasn't clear how far you could get from the Hostel w/o a car. The local attractions are the outlet malls, the Conway train, and the White Mountains Park, which aren't exactly close to the hostel. I will have to explore the public transportation the next time I go.

Airport Transfer Deals and Directions

An important connection during any trip including an airline flight will be the transfer to and from the airport. Many airports naturally herd tourists to expensive cabs or shuttle buses, but often there are cheap alternatives that require a little work to recognize or discover. Arthur Frommer recently blogged that the reason most airports offer a budget option is that the workers at the airport need an inexpensive option to travel to and from the airport, everyday. I personally like to research this leg of the trip before I leave, so I am not stuck with a huge cab bill. A cab from the airport in Boston today costs me $60, compared to less than $2 on the subway/bus system. An important consideration when using public transportation can be opening and closing times, such that flights may leave or arrive when the trains/buses aren't running.

Hostels generally include directions to travel by public transportation to and from the hostel. The Barcelona Dream Hostel offers directions through a Photo Guide, a handy idiot-proof guide to reaching the hostel. (mentioned on the hostelmanagment.com forums) This photo-based guide is a remarkable improvement over the simple text directions found on many hostel sites. The future of travel directions may be short videos that can be uploaded to Youtube for easy dispersal. Another option for quickly traveling to a destination could include using mobile phones or other devices, but I haven't found these quite as effective yet for public transportation. I think preparing directions before you go is crucial, and you can augment this with a device when the original directions are not sufficient for arriving at your destination.

Work at a Hostel

The Student Travel Blog mentioned a few days ago that opportunities to work at a hostel are available, you just have to ask. A site like hostelmanagement.com hosts some job listings, or you could contact hostels directly. In exchange for a room and some spending money, hostels may also hire you on the spot to clean, perform maintenance, or any number of needed chores. The Martha's Vineyard hostel on Cape Cod, among others, used to expect backpackers to help with chores at the hostel, but those days are long gone. Hostels generally are professionally run, which requires a staff of people to clean and maintain the hostel.

The Hobo Traveler seems to have made a living of exchanging room and board for a mention on this website, hobotraveler.com.

FYI: Europeans Drinking in the US

This weekend, Harvard Square was hosting a local Oktober Fest, and I met a few Europeans at the John Harvard's Brew Pub. They wanted to sample a few of the local brews, but were turned away by the bartender. Many bars will not accept any foreign forms of identification other than a passport. The patron was baffled by the bartender's insistence that he show his passport, which he was not carrying on him. Unfortunately, even though he didn't look anywhere near 21 years old, US liquor laws can put a great burden on bar owners and their employees to strictly enforce age identification laws when serving alcohol. Perhaps, one day American culture will change to yield more common-sense alcohol policies, but until then knowing the law is important to enjoy a cold brew.

Boston Staycation

I blogged last month about the ridiculousness of "staycations", but I now have to admit that I just took one this weekend. My family was in town for a week, so I spent a few days exploring another side of Boston with them. I stayed at their hotel in Dorchester, and we had dinner in the North End. I had forgotten what a zoo the North End can be on Saturday night. We waited an hour and a half outside the "Daily Catch" for some of the best seafood and pasta in Boston. Everyone was pretty cranky by the time we were seated, but the quick service and excellent food was well worth it. I watched the UT/OU game with my mom, and we had a blast watching UT beat OU, again. I guess once again, I have to agree with old adage, "Don't knock it until you've tried it".

The only frustrating part of my staycation was my inability to recharge my iPhone and capture more pictures around town. I was able to snap this picture of the bar at 224 Boston, a nice restaurant in Dorchester.



I had a great salmon and spicy rice, that came with a small fruit salad. I also had a pumpkin-tini, which was on their drink specials list. It had some spices on the top, but I never seemed to be able to taste them since they would float in the middle as I drank from the side of the glass. Maybe, if drank it in one long gulp, the momentum would push it into my mouth. I have a lot to learn about drinking these crazy martinis.

Currency Exchange Rates

With the recent resurgence of the US dollar against other currencies, traveling to a number of countries is much cheaper than a few months ago. Arthur Frommer recently highlighted a few countries who's currencies have depreciated against the dollar. They include Australia, Mexico, Thailand, Bali, Iceland, and Canada. Today, I was checking out the accommodation options on Bali, which the Lonely Planet Bali book describes as not exactly backpacker-budget friendly. However, there are a few budget options including some hotels with dorm rooms, and a few camp-grounds.

Website Review: Digital Nomads

What is a Digital Nomad?

In the Connected Era, Digital Nomads will Rule - Redefining productivity - placeshifting and timeshifting. Their devices won't wait to connect - they will simply be connected. Always. Everywhere. Business as usual will become business unusual. Welcome to Digital Nomads - a community to learn new things, share ideas and connect with others. [Digital Nomads]

huh?

In this new era, a person's knowledge is their greatest resource, and their physical presence is no longer a requirement. By taking the "work from home" trend to the next level, "work from anywhere" is now a viable option for knowledge workers. With the Internet now ubiquitous and cheap no matter where you are, the right technology can create your office in any corner of the globe.

DigitalNomads.com claims to be a blog dedicated to the people and their technology that have created a nomadic lifestyle in their work-a-day lives. They cover some emerging technologies that make mobile computing more user friendly, such as these cool USB rechargeable batteries, and it also a lifestyle blog about how to live and work on the road. Unfortunately, it isn't quite clear how genuine this blog is with so many references and links to Dell computers. This blog is probably a Dell marketing front, but it has some useful info.

I think this introductory post Where Do You Work? I Work Everywhere. really sums it up. They also have a interesting introductory video from TreeHugger Founder: Graham Hill.



I became convinced living a digital nomadic life is possible in my last few trips to Europe. No matter where you go, there are plenty of "Starbucks-like" coffee shops with a quiet and relaxing environment to work in. They offer the same environment I could get here in the US.

Book Review: Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?

I initially noticed this book in the travel section of the Harvard Co-op, and I'll admit the title intrigued me. I started reading the first chapter, and the idea of a playboy travel writer sounded like fun. I didn't finish the chapter, but I made a note of the book in my iPhone to get a copy. I purchased the book, and after receiving it, read it the next day, cover-to-cover. Through the first chapter, I really didn't care for the writer; the stories of public drunkenness, fist fights, and heavy drug use didn't seem all that glamorous. I really couldn't relate. Once the author ditched his job, his girlfriend, his mundane life for backpacking in South America, I was hooked. The stories of embracing life as an adventure, whatever may come, makes any working stiff's life seem like Bill Murray in Ground Hog day where he wakes up to the same nightmare over and over and over... I thought the writers observations about budget travelers and hostelling were right on the money, and it was clear he was trying hard to maintain his professionalism in the face of impossible demands. One of the biggest disappointments I came away with from this book was that Lonely Planet has to trade up to the mainstream hotel/resort travel market to be successful. The mainstream travel market is inundated with poseurs hawking resorts, cruises, and weekend getaways that aren't about discovering new people, cultures, and ideas, but are more about insulating people from new experiences. The moment you step outside of your comfort zone (your milieu), you learn something new about the world and yourself.

Hostels in the News: Chicago on the Cheap [Chicaco, Il]

CNN.com/travel today featured HI Chicago in their Chicago on the Cheap article. Compared to high price hotels they mentioned the HI Chicago hostel "operates an all-ages building in Chicago's Loop with 500 beds. Prices are between $28 and $34 a night." Additionally, they noted Chicago's availability of public transportation makes it affordable to get around. My roommate recently returned from Chicago, and raved about the Architectural boat tours that run up and down the Chicago river. The John Hancock tower also offers panoramic views of the city for the price of a few drinks at the bar. Hot dogs, a staple of any budget traveler, can be purchased for under $2 at "The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium", and don't forget to load up on condiments. (they're free!)

The article includes a number of other great deals in Chicago, so take advantage of some of them before "The Windy City", becomes "The Ridiculously Cold Artic Blast City" in a few months.

Travelzoo also has some last-minute weekend deals to Chicago for under $200, so forget about the stock market for a few days and spend that last $300 in your account on a weekend in Chicago.

Chicago Hostel Map: here

Hostel Review: Snuffel Backpacker Hostel [Bruges, Belgium]

I visited Bruges in late March of last year, and came away with a love for Belgian beer and waffles. Bruges is a beautiful old city with canals running throughout the city. The Snuffel Backpacker hostel a short distance outside the central square, I reached by walking down a narrow path along a canal that felt like a fairy tale. (see picture) The hostel like a neighborhood dive bar, was filled with more character than amenities. You take a spiral staircase from the first floor upto the dorm rooms, which surround a common area with big lockers. My room was in the back of another room on the second floor, and was relatively small with only 3 bunk beds sleeping 6 people. Unfortunately, the hostel only had one bathroom on my floor, and the bathrooms showers weren't great. Although, I found people in the hostel friendly, freely chatting in the lounge downstairs and around the lockers upstairs. At night the lounge became a local bar with cheap drinks and a cool vibe. The bar had a great selection of Belgian beers, and it was there that I fell in love with the doubles, triples, and quadrupels for which they are so famous.



After returning from this trip, I discovered "The Monk's Cell" at "The Publick House" restaurant in the Brookline neighborhood of Boston. This bar captures the vibe of the Snuffel Backpacker Hostel bar and having a Belgian beer at this bar allows me to relive the time I spent in Bruges.

Website Review: Sleeping in Airports

Public transportation in many cities is unavailable during the morning hours, which can make it expensive to arrive early for a morning flight. To avoid taxi costs and the prospect of over-sleeping a flight, I have on occasion slept in the airport the night before. I don't recommend this, but there is an Internet resource available to prepare you if you plan to do so: http://www.sleepinginairports.net

With some of the best airports for sleeping over, offering comfortable chairs, showers, and Internet, skipping a night at a crummy hostel might be the best move you ever made. During the night, security will ask for proof that you have a flight the next day. So be sure to have a ticket or reservation available showing your departing flight or you will be kicked out. Also, keep in mind that many airports do shut-down, and sleeping over is not always an option.

The only US airport to make the top 10 worst list is Chicago O'Hare, long known for stranding airline passengers during the winter months. Check out the comments about O'Hare here.

If traveling by ground transportation, this site also includes some train and bus stations, so be sure to check these out, too.

Website Review: Travelzoo Top 20

If you are not on the Travelzoo Top 20 email list, you are missing out on some of the best travel deals on the Internet. You could scour Kayak, Expedia, Frommer's, airline websites, travel discounters, and the blogosphere for the cheapest flights, hotels, and cruises on the internet, or you could have them delivered weekly in your email in-box. Travelzoo has been the leader in cheap travel deals for ten years, and they continue to provide timely discounts that are unbelievable. I have booked over half a dozen flights to Europe from the US East Coast and none have cost me more than $350 roundtrip.

Travelzoo has an interesting history, whereby it offered 5,155,874 shares to "netsurfer stockholders" to initially promote their business. These shares went to those who signed up themselves and their friends as the business was starting. The stock (TZOO) spiked in 2004, taking these investors on a wild ride up and down.

Today 12 million users receive the Travelzoo Top 20 email list, well above the 5 million users who frequent the Travelzoo website each month. The Top 20 list has expanded outside of the US, and Travelzoo is bringing travel deals to all corners of the globe.

Here is a cool video about the making of the Top 20 list:



Interestingly, the NJ to Cologne deal mentioned in the video is one I jumped on last year.

Hostels in the News: Miami, FL

ABC Action News just discovered an insidious plot to keep money in your pocket while you hit the beach. So, instead of spending a load of cash on a resort-style hotel room, you can blow it on having a good time. (pun intended) There are at least four hostels in Miami, with beds as cheap as $18. Keep in mind that hurricane season isn't over, yet, so you might want to wait a month on this deal. With most discount airlines flying to Florida from all over the US, combining a flight deal with one of these hostels could probably keep your trip under $200 for the weekend. Check out a map of the four Miami hostels here.

Miami Hostels
Tropics Hotel & Hostel, 1550 Collins Ave., http://www.tropicshotel.com
Jazz on South Beach Hostel, 321 Collins Ave., http://www.jazzhostels.com/
South Beach Hostel, 235 Washington Ave., http://www.thesouthbeachhostel.com
Clay Hotel and Hostel, 1438 Washington Avenue, http://www.clayhotel.com

With trendy art deco architecture, and some of the hottest nightlife in the country, Miami has exploded on the party scene. I have never been to Miami, but these hostels look nice. I am definately putting this on my TODO list. Check out the Hostelbookers video:


Hostels in Miami : Video of Miami Hostels - Watch the top videos of the week here

Henri Bardouin Pastis from Provence

Pastis is a refreshing apertif popular in the Provence region of France. I visited Provence in March 2003, and brought back this bottle without trying it on my trip. Henri Bardouin (HB) Pastis is considered one of the best Pastis available. When I got back and opened the bottle, I found Pastis to be a very herbal-tasting drink. It reminded me of Absinthe and Sambuca, but with a little more variety in the taste. This site suggests it is made of 50 different plants and spices, which include Star Anise, Cinnamon, Black Pepper, Tonka Bean, Nutmeg, Sage, White Pepper, Cardamom, Clove, Centaury, Artemisia, and Melequeta Pepper.[1] The drink is pretty potent in flavor, so you can mix it with water which turns it an interesting milky color.

1. Crillon Importers, Ltd. http://www.crillonimporters.com/Pastis/HB/hbpastis-1.html

Travel Deal: Hostelsclub $1=1€ Hostel/Hotel Deal

I received a comment from Johann from Hostelsclub.com, a hostel booking site based in Venice, Italy, about a $1=1€ European Hostels Offer. That sounded like a pretty good deal with the $1 currently trading at 0.72€ on the commodities exchanges. This deal is only for US citizens to entice them to travel to Europe despite the dollar being at historical lows against the Euro. Ouch! I have never used this booking site, so I decided to look up some hostels I have stayed at. I found the Meininger City Hostel & Hotel Cologne on this list which I stayed at last year. The discount was offered for only single rooms at this hostel/hotel. The website, although it is named "Hostelsclub" includes a mix of hostels and hotels, and the discount was also available for this mix. As an independent traveler, I prefer websites that focus more on hostel beds than hotel rooms, however, checking for this discount is a "no-brainer". I wish I was heading to Europe in the near future, because I would definitely take advantage of this deal. Many hostels are offering it through this spring so start making some plans now. With some hostels offering beds as cheap as $13/night, such as at SEI-Hostel in Leipzig, you wonder how Americans would take a "Staycation". This is another great example that if you buck conventional wisdom, you can really get a great deal.

Note: I added this deal to the right-side set of great travel links.

USA Hostel Map

I have always liked the HI booklet, which let you browse through all of their hostels around the country. Many of the websites with hostel listings seem to have clunky maps or only show one hostel at a time, so I decided to start a Web 2.0 map with links to hostel pages.

The map is available here. It isn't finished, but I started it with a handful of hostels.

Online Petition: What is a Hostel?

Everyday I get an email from Google Alerts about what is new on the Internet about hostels. The alert usually contains about 6-9 links to web pages in India or Pakistan talking about school dormitories. The rest of the links are usually of interest to me, because they contain new information about what is going on in the hostelling/backpacking world. So, from this view the word "hostel" can have several meanings. Most dictionaries include multiple definitions that encompass these, but usually they are dry interpretations that don't convey the social aspect of hostels. An example from the Oxford English Dictionary is

1 an establishment which provides cheap food and lodging for a specific group of people, such as students, workers, etc.
2 an inn providing accommodation.

HostelWorld has created a petition to rectify this, choosing to promote the following definition:

Budget, fun, sociable accommodation for people of all ages

I whole-heartedly agree with this and have signed the petition here. I urge you to do the same.

Hostel Review: Buffalo HI Hostel

I flew into Buffalo on my way to the Toronto Film Festival. At that time it was cheaper to fly to Buffalo and catch a bus to Toronto, than it was to fly to Canada directly. From the Buffalo airport you can catch a bus downtown that connects with the local light-rail that runs through the city. The Buffalo HI hostel was a nice, friendly hostel conveniently located at one of the light-rail stops. Everything was going good at this hostel when I arrived. I went over to the Anchor Bar to sample the "Original" Buffalo wings, and I gave my extra wings to a guy that showed up after the kitchen closed. He was pretty friendly, and offered me some pot when the bar closed up. The area didn't seem all that safe, so I headed back to the hostel as quickly as possible. It wasn't until the next morning that I found out that the train outside would honk it's horn every time it passed the hostel. This was due to the train coming out a tunnel less than a block away. I had a bunk in the front room, and I couldn't sleep through that so I fell asleep in a bean bag chair in the basement of the hostel. I couldn't wait to get out of that hostel, and I caught a bus upto Toronto the following day.

The Buffalo HI Hostel was my first hostelling experience, and I haven't looked back ever since. The staff was very friendly, and I learned a valuable lesson about always bringing ear-plugs on my travels.

Note: I stayed in this hostel in Sept. 2002