Category: Travel
2010 Summer Music Festivals
With summer vacation quickly approaching, many soon-to-be travelers are weighing their holiday options. For those music lovers, check out this top five list of popular music festivals taking place this summer:
How To Use Twitter to Find Travel Deals
Newsflash. The 140 character social networking phenomenon can be used for more than just telling the world what you had for breakfast this morning. Twitter is a great way to scope out online travel deals and stay in the loop about last minute specials. Here are a few tips to tweeting your way to cheaper travel:
How to Hike Peru’s Inca Trail
Peru’s world famous Inca Trail annually draws thousands of curious hikers looking to retrace the steps of ancient civilizations. I was one of them. Huffing and puffing, I sweat my way to the top of the famous ruins of Machu Picchu.
The journey along the Inca Trail was awesome but it ain’t easy. It was a four-day, 25-odd km hike that wound along a schizophrenic terrain: sheer cliffs, misty cloud forests, lush jungles and nose-bleed-causing mountain peaks. The scenery was stunning, the ruins historic but the actual hike… well… it was a real workout.
Top 5 World’s Most Inspiring Journeys
The 5th century philosopher St. Augustine once said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” For those looking to read all the “chapters” this world has to offer, consider booking a holiday with an inspirational element. There are plenty of places to inspire, from the tops of Machu Picchu, to the rose-red rock of Petra’s canyon-like Siq, from gorilla trekking in the Ugandan mountainside, to living with holy men in the divinely-inspired churches of Northern Ethiopia.
Toilet Restaurant in Taiwan
I never thought I’d be caught eating out of a toilet bowl, but there I was, scooping out chunks of brown stuff from a lime green loo. The loose watery goo looked remarkably like you-know-what, but I tried not to think about it. Instead, I chose to wash the slop down with yellow liquid served from a plastic bed pan.
This is a typical lunch at the Modern Toilet restaurant, a kitschy café in the heart of Taipei’s Shilin district.
In Chicago this weekend?
If you’re in the Windy City this weekend, check out the Chicago Tribune Travel & Adventure show! On Sunday, March 21 from 2:30pm – 3:30pm, I’ll be talking about my adventures around the world, through 80 countries across six continents. I’ll share tips and tricks for maximizing your independent travel and boosting your cultural experiences while cutting the costs.
Around The World with Julia Dimon: Check out the video!
I’ve been around the world four times, to over 80 countries, across six continents. Here are some of the video highlights: learning how to fight like a gladiator in Rome, overlooking the inspiring vista of Chile’s Atacama desert, spending a night of ‘torture’ in a Latvian prison, sucking back the Sour Toe Cocktail in Yukon and, of course, eating Moriche worm in the jungles of Venezuela. Check out my compilation video of my adventures around the world, and enjoy!
Chaotic Khao San: Bangkok’s Infamous Backpacker Road
Khao San Road is an affront to the senses. For the fresh-off-the-plane traveler, a visit to this part of Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city, may have you wondering what the hell you got yourself into.
It’s a frenetic scene of neon signs, drunk backpackers and scantily-clad promo girls (who may or may not be transvestites), but Khao San is also the crux of the budget traveler scene, where hostels, tour operators and sarong shops converge.
It’s the ultimate backpacker hub for the budget South East Asian traveler. This strip is where you can book overland trips to Laos, find cheap flights to Vietnam or get your visa for Cambodia. Chances are good that, if you’re going through Bangkok, you’ll end up on Khao San Road.
