The events of Into the Wild are set in the 1990’s when access to mobile information and communication is nowhere near the level it is today; it’s so commonplace now that it no longer stands out. I’m talking about communal areas in hostels and hotels full of travelers, their faces illuminated by a plethora of devices. Bars with well dressed types sat round a table with their heads buried in their phones, and family day trips where each member sports a different piece of buttonry, eager to deplete their energy and sap their general attention.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no different. With free wifi available on every street corner, I certainly can’t judge. Though in Into the Wild, Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch) leaves it all behind to seek solitude by slowly making his way to Alaska, forming a series of life-changing relationships along the way.
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If you’re searching for a pair of inspiring travelers, Nick and Dariece certainly fit the bill. Originally having quit their jobs for 12 months of travel abroad, before they knew it, one year had turned into two, two into three, and three years into four.
Nick and Dariece aim to inspire others to live a life of travel, adventure and freedom. These “goats” are this week’s inspiring travelers.
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Trisha Velarmino is one of those people who gave up their comfortable life to travel the world.
Holding a fabulous job in the Fashion Industry after studying Arts Management in Manila and Fashion Communications in Milan, Trisha lived a fairly extravagant life, though it was the realization that she wanted to travel while she was young, fit and able which was behind her decision to leave it all behind.
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It’s often fun, picturing a destination you’ve never been to. You imagine the atmosphere, smell it’s scents, and taste imaginary flavors. You picture it’s cities, construct ideas of street scenes, and imagine the people you will inevitably meet. You create a complete picture in your mind before you even arrive.
In my mind, Hong Kong was a concrete jungle, packed with modern skyscrapers; the Asian version of New York City. Though after having actually arrived, I’ve since realized it’s much more than just that.
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Before she started traveling, Dana Newman thought she was pretty smart. She had always gotten good grades in school, and she could hold her own in Jeopardy. She had always been a very curious person, however it wasn’t until she started traveling that she realized everything else in life pales in comparison to seeing the world with your own eyes, and that traveling the world makes you realize how little you actually know!
After graduating university in 2008 she decided she wanted an adventure, so packed her bags and took off for Europe. But she didn’t just travel there – she moved.
What then ensued were a crazy cocktail of adventures across Europe and Asia including bumping into the Queen of England…kind of…and poking at giant tarantulas in the rain-forests of Thailand with sticks.
Dana Newman is our inspiring traveler of the week.
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Myanmar is a country of contrasts. The traveller’s eye sees glittering temples, women in brightly coloured headscarves, and fishermen rowing with one leg while standing on the other. But dig deeper and you’ll find that Myanmar is a country with a dark past and her people have endured the worst.
While travelling through Myanmar we learned that the country and her people had a lot to teach us.
Truth be told, we didn’t know much about Myanmar’s recent history before deciding to travel there. But upon reading Emma Larkin’s Finding George Orwell in Burma before our departure, we were suddenly aware that the Burmese people had been through hell.
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There’s no doubt about it – Bryony Holland is inspiring. Inspiring beyond all belief. Like so many others out there she was once terrified of traveling, and her fear controlled her life.
Suffering from a severe panic disorder from an early age, and susceptible to extreme anxiety attacks, at one stage, she become completely housebound. Her anxiety, and the depression that came alongside it, had become too overwhelming and controlled her life.
When it got to the stage where she didn’t want to be around anymore, she knew she had to do something drastic, so faced her fear head on and booked an impulsive ticket around the world.
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The capital of New Zealand, while Wellington is a small city, it is an incredibly cool little capital, and exudes a large amount of character.
From the world’s best coffee, to scenic views which will blow your mind, a unique and cozy bar scene, and accessibility to both the North and South Islands, Wellington is one of those city’s you really shouldn’t miss.
There are many, many reasons why you should travel to Wellington, New Zealand, and here are just a few reasons why.
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Combining volunteerism with travel is one of our favorite ways to explore the globe, though it’s absolutely vital to choose a project which makes a genuine difference to the community and society as a whole.
Realizing that this is now an industry which can turn a profit, some companies and organizations are ignoring the long-term effects of volunteering on host communities, and as such there is now a lot of cynicism about those who want to become an international volunteer to “do good”.
We speak to Stephen Knight today about volunteering in Latin America, and the importance of ethical volunteerism.
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He has rocked out in over 25 countries, and writes chart topping hits in cities all around the world. He was named “One To Watch” in 2012 & 2013 by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and is frequently hosted as a featured songwriter at Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Cafe.
He is a singer, songwriter and traveler who’s lyrics are shaped by the always-changing world around him. From living in Paris playing guitar on the banks of the Seine in between crepe breaks to two years of international touring through the Caribbean, Baltic, and all over Western Europe, Mike Mentz has gotten a good jump on globetrotting.
He’s a traveling rockstar who is always on the road – this is an interview with Mike Mentz about life as a traveling musician.
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Autumn, or “Harud”, as they say in local language, denotes the foggy season with different hues in air. It is harvest time, and one of the most expensive spices, “saffron”, gets harvested during this season.
The brown mountains adore the beauty of Kashmir and glorify its scenic gardens. This season of mist brings countless joys to the tourists as they see thick foliage everywhere carpeting the paths and gardens.
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As many a traveler will tell you, taking an overnight train in Asia is quite an adventure, one that I have always found to be enjoyable and something to look forward to.
Overnight trains are my favorite means of covering long distances because they’re usually friendlier to my budget and more comfortable than taking long road trips being cramped in a small car or bus.
The other advantage is that you get to stretch your legs out and get a good night’s sleep in exchange for just a little bit more than you would pay for a hostel or budget hotel.
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He is a writer, photographer and novelist who has been traveling the world for the last 20 years. He is an adventurer, a backpacker, and an explorer who says complacency can stay well away.
He knew the beaches of Thailand before they became a trend for teenage alcoholism, and has been diving with Australian Crocodiles and lived to tell the tale, and made the 2014 list for sexiest male traveler alive. He’s a twenty first century Nomad; I’m talking, of course, about Steve Moore.
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Singapore has become the new, trendy place to be while in Southeast Asia, and, as an expat, I consider myself very lucky to have watched her turn into an urban playground for the travel connoisseur.
A melting pot of several Asian countries, although founded by a Brit in 1819 (Sir Stamford Raffles), Singapore was originally conquered and occupied by the Japanese. She gained her independence in August of 1965 and has been a rising star in the financial world ever since.
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While recently traveling throughout Central and South America, we discovered Mike had developed a fairly severe intolerance to gluten, and this can be a fairly difficult challenge to conquer while traveling abroad. Difficult, though not impossible.
Our 4 months jumping between South American bucket list destinations was largely hit and miss with what he could and could not eat, required a lot of google translation of the back of supermarket packets, and meant some days his diet consisted exclusively of boiled eggs smuggled out of the hotel breakfast hall earlier that morning because getting sick in a remote location was not an option. We struggled often struggled with the scenario of “get sick, or go hungry”.
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My first, eagerly anticipated, glimpse of the famous building was actually from over the rooftops of Agra shortly after sunrise, where, in the early morning mist it almost blends, unassumingly, into the sky.
The Taj Mahal, Mughal Muslim monument, is undoubtedly the most famous attraction in India, created by built by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1631 as a memorial his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in childbirth.
I had high expectations for ‘the most beautiful building in the world’, and the Taj Mahal exceeded these from start to finish.
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A town located in central Bali, Ubud is popularly known as ‘The Center of Art of Culture’.
It was described to me as a town made up of small villages, each of which specializes in a different creative art: silver and jewelry, basket weaving, oil painting, batik and textiles, and some seriously amazing wood carving.
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Torbjørn C. Pedersen is currently on a mission to visit every country in the world in a single journey, without flight, and is currently succeeding in achieving this goal.
Slowly traversing his way across the globe utilizing a mixture of trains, cars, buses, canoes and the odd container ship, Thor’s aim’s are twofold: to inspire others to travel and challenge their preconceived worldview, and to prove that people are basically the same all over the world. The project motto is: “a stranger is a friend you’ve never met before”.
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Having volunteered at an orphanage in Kenya, trekked around glaciers and lagoons in Torres del Paine, kayaked in the rough Adriatic Sea off Dubrovnik, witnessed the Saints win Superbowl in New Orleans, and flirted with penguins in Antarctica, Longy (Longzhen) Han has definitely experienced her fair share of epic travel experiences.
Having independently traveled across all 7 continents, this intrepid traveler is inspiring other young adults to get out there and experience the world, however adventurer by day and children’s book author by night, she is also aiming to bring the world to young children through a colorful and captivating picture book series “Gusto and Gecko”.
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He’s flown First Class on the Emirates A380, business class on many other airlines, and circles the globe continuously for work.
A frequent business traveler of 13 years, “The Guy”, as he calls himself, has racked up over a million frequent flier miles, enjoys shorter queues to check-in and drop off luggage, fast tracks through the security lines, and then takes a comfy seat in the lounge before being one of the first to board the aircraft and having a comfortable, relatively wide reclining seat.
Sound like a pretty amazing way to travel? Welcome to the life of a frequent business traveler!
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Winter in Australia results in most of the country retreating inside and complaining loudly about the decrease in temperature, myself included. Instead of dealing with a mild change in the weather between seasons, we all tend to pout and whinge when it’s not as warm or sunny as we’d like.
As a result of this culture, backpacking through Europe in winter seemed like a great novelty. I’d be heading to a place where the climate would be drastically different during the winter months. I dreamed of a celebrating a white Christmas, wandering through charming winter markets, and escaping the hoards of summer tourists to enjoy the snow covered streets with locals.
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Shane Dallas is an advocate for experiencing roads less traveled. He believes that the world is not as dangerous as it appears from afar, and that those destinations with some of the worst safety reputations usually provide the most memorable and enjoyable travel experiences.
His travel resume is impressive, and his fascinating website “The Travel Camel” boasts unbelievable photography from lands where others will not tread, including Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and North Korea.
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No Australia Trip is complete without a road trip. Yes, there is nothing really like exploring the Land Down Under by driving yourself. From coastal landscapes and lush forests of Northern Australia, to the soft hills of the Southern regions, to the red rugged Outback plains of the inland, Australia’s varied and vast landscapes offers so many options for road trips.
But what about road tripping on your own? It may sound daunting, but a solo road trip is an exhilarating and rewarding experience that consolidates your solo adventures.
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Sunday September 21 2014, three Norwegian travelers set out to break the world record for the most countries visited in one day.
Beginning in Greece and looping their way through 18 other European countries, they succeeded in their challenge, and made it to Liechtenstein, clocking up 19 countries literally 20 minutes before the 24 hour period was up.
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People often ask what my favorite thing is about living in South Korea, and time and time again I can’t help but say the food! I love it! I already know that I’ll miss it once I’ve gone.
As a whole, Korean food is well balanced, full of variety, and usually pretty spicy – perfect for a spice-addict like me. Though while some Korean food might take a little getting used to, I believe there is something for everyone – the options are as varied as they are delicious.
You recently read about 5 mouthwatering Korean foods to try; well, here are five more!
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