Category: Travel
Are You A Spielberg Wannabe? Learn to Make Movies and Travel
Ever since I was little, it’s been a dream of mine… I always wanted to become a famous filmmaker. Calling the shots, directing the crew and strolling down the red carpet at Cannes with the likes of James Cameron and Quentin Tarantino.
Instead of signing up for four years of filmmaking school, I hunted on-line for an intensive film course that would teach me the craft, quickly. New York Film Academy offers a four-week workshop that teaches Spielberg wannabes how to write, shoot, direct and edit. Their programs are all over the world, from Paris to Milan, London to Seoul, Tokyo, Florence and Shanghai. www.nyfa.com
Train Ride from Hell in India
Our story unfolds with a loitering young man, an invalid ticket and an overbooked train. My friend Jenny and I were sitting comfortably in our supposed seats, preparing for the overnight, 27-hour journey from West Bengal to India’s capital city. We were approached and told we were in the wrong berth. I argued belligerently. The conductor was summoned and, surprise surprise, he informed us that our second class A/C tickets are for the right day but the wrong month. Duh.
Lesson #1: When buying a train ticket, confirm all details and check the date before making a fool of yourself.
Top 5 Free Travel Apps for the iPad
With its light-weight body, intuitive touch screen and multi-media features, the iPad is shaping up to be a handy gadget for avid travelers.
Strikingly similar to the iPhone, I don’t think it’s as revolutionary as advertising would suggest, but, with tons of entertaining features to kill time at an airport, I can certainly see the value for those like me who spend a lot of time trapped in transit.
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.






