The craziness in Japan just isn't stopping. So far all of my friends are okay. Thankfully.
Something I saw on facebook that I thought was a good idea was to encourage people to help each other out. Foreigners and travelers are going to be really affected by the disaster, so please help them out. Others who may have lost homes or may be stuck somewhere, help them out too. Everyone has to pull together to make sure everyone makes it through in one piece.
Good luck everyone! I wish I was there to help!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Japan earthquake and tsunami
I guess everyone's heard about the events of today. It sucks that it happened and I feel for the victims. I hope the Sendai area recovers quickly and those travelers who are stranded can get home safely and soon.
I have been fortunate to have never been in a disaster like this.
Good luck everyone! I hope everyone the best.
I have been fortunate to have never been in a disaster like this.
Good luck everyone! I hope everyone the best.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Going to Washington DC
Well spring break is nearly on us and as such I'm traveling. I was considering doing some hiking in Tennessee or visiting East Tennessee (a place I haven't stopped in for over a decade) or going to Oklahoma or something like that. Originally I was going to drive, but as a lark I started looking at plane tickets on kayak.com. I found several tickets to places all over the States for as cheap as $230. I looked at Washington because I have a buddy who lives near there and I've been meaning to go and see him for some time now. I checked with him and everything matched up so I'll be hanging out with him and seeing the many sights of our capital city.
Expect more on my Washington trip soon.
Expect more on my Washington trip soon.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Make friends
One of the most important things I've learned about traveling is to talk to people and to make friends. I can't tell you how many times my trip has been saved or started due to the fact that I knew someone in the area.
The first example is when I was 16. My mother and I took a trip to the UK. I had been there once before, but my mom was new to it. We planned a crazy, whirlwind trip from London to Scotland, ending up in Ireland.
We were in Aberdeen Scotland (a great city) and we were trying to figure out how to get from Aberdeen to Holyhead England so that we could get a ferry to Ireland. While we were studying our maps and tour books, a nice English lady struck up a conversation with my mom. When the woman found out about our predicament she offered for us to stay at their house. My mom accepted her offer.
I was mortified. I couldn't believe that my mom would jeopardize her son's safety by staying at a stranger's house. I continued to freak all the way down to Birmingham, England. I was convinced that the elderly couple were going to either kill us or sell us into slavery or something. Needless to say, I was not comfortable.
Of course all my concerns were for naught. Nothing bad happened. Only the opposite actually. I was taught a lot about England (especially during the War) and my eyes were beginning to open to new points of view. It was a great and rewarding experience.
If it hadn't been for that elderly couple, we would probably never had made it to Holyhead, or at least we wouldn't have made our ferry. It just goes to show you the importance of making connections.
Several of my trips owe their awesomeness to the people of the place I was visiting. Another example is of my friend Kenny. He allowed me to crash at his place in Montreal, drove me around to all the cool places in the city and even took me out to steak on my birthday. I had a blast in Montreal. I doubt I would have had half as fun of a time if I had gone around the city by myself. I hadn't intended on staying with him, but he offered and I knew that if I hung out with him I would have a far better time than if I went alone.
I make friends rather easily and I can say that I have friends all over the world. Having this network is great. Not only might I get a place to crash or some great insider tips of a particular city, but I get motivation to go to different places. If I hadn't known my friend Tiffany, I probably would never have gone to the Philippines. But I did meet her and I'm glad I did. Not only is she a great friend, but she inspired me to visit her country and I'm better for having done so. I learned a lot about a place I knew little of previous to my venture there and on top of that, my perspective on life changed just a little bit more. Also, I got to eat so much good food with her and her family. I still crave this one dish her dad made. Man was it good.
What I'm trying to say is: make friends! Network network network! A friend may not be able to give you a place to stay, but they could tell you where to go and what to do, or give you good places to eat and where to avoid. They could merely tell you about their city or country and thus inspire you to travel there. They could forever alter your life by merely telling you about their native lands. So get out there and make friends. There's no such thing as having "too many friends".
Also, turn it around. Open your place up to your friends you meet. Offer them the chance to visit your hometown. If you can't do that, give them info and inspiration. I always tell my friends "You have a couch in Memphis." And I mean that. If they ever come to where I'm living, they can crash with me. I will always open my door to friends. It's hard sometimes, but I know that they may very well help me out someday in the future.
Use common sense of course. If you get a weird vibe or don't know the person very well go to a hostel. I seem to have a pretty decent gut feeling and I do well when I follow it.
Now, I'm not saying just make friends so that you can crash somewhere for free. Sure it's an added bonus, but it's not the primary objective. For me, I want to learn as much as I can about the world and the many cultures found throughout its diverse landscape. I make friends and that makes me want to visit them and to see their country (or state). If they offer to put me up, I go for it, but I always try to not overstay my welcome. That's an important thing, not overstaying your welcome. I try to keep my trips limited to a week, no more than that or my friends will start getting tired of me (it's hard with my winning personality though).
To my friends; thanks for everything. You have all enriched my life and got me to experience really cool things. I hope I can do for you or others in the future.
My last bit of advice is to pay it forward. If someone opened up their place for you while you explored their city, do the same for them. Or if they don't come to see you, open your place up to another friend. Keep in mind "Whatever goes around comes around.
The first example is when I was 16. My mother and I took a trip to the UK. I had been there once before, but my mom was new to it. We planned a crazy, whirlwind trip from London to Scotland, ending up in Ireland.
We were in Aberdeen Scotland (a great city) and we were trying to figure out how to get from Aberdeen to Holyhead England so that we could get a ferry to Ireland. While we were studying our maps and tour books, a nice English lady struck up a conversation with my mom. When the woman found out about our predicament she offered for us to stay at their house. My mom accepted her offer.
I was mortified. I couldn't believe that my mom would jeopardize her son's safety by staying at a stranger's house. I continued to freak all the way down to Birmingham, England. I was convinced that the elderly couple were going to either kill us or sell us into slavery or something. Needless to say, I was not comfortable.
Of course all my concerns were for naught. Nothing bad happened. Only the opposite actually. I was taught a lot about England (especially during the War) and my eyes were beginning to open to new points of view. It was a great and rewarding experience.
If it hadn't been for that elderly couple, we would probably never had made it to Holyhead, or at least we wouldn't have made our ferry. It just goes to show you the importance of making connections.
Several of my trips owe their awesomeness to the people of the place I was visiting. Another example is of my friend Kenny. He allowed me to crash at his place in Montreal, drove me around to all the cool places in the city and even took me out to steak on my birthday. I had a blast in Montreal. I doubt I would have had half as fun of a time if I had gone around the city by myself. I hadn't intended on staying with him, but he offered and I knew that if I hung out with him I would have a far better time than if I went alone.
I make friends rather easily and I can say that I have friends all over the world. Having this network is great. Not only might I get a place to crash or some great insider tips of a particular city, but I get motivation to go to different places. If I hadn't known my friend Tiffany, I probably would never have gone to the Philippines. But I did meet her and I'm glad I did. Not only is she a great friend, but she inspired me to visit her country and I'm better for having done so. I learned a lot about a place I knew little of previous to my venture there and on top of that, my perspective on life changed just a little bit more. Also, I got to eat so much good food with her and her family. I still crave this one dish her dad made. Man was it good.
What I'm trying to say is: make friends! Network network network! A friend may not be able to give you a place to stay, but they could tell you where to go and what to do, or give you good places to eat and where to avoid. They could merely tell you about their city or country and thus inspire you to travel there. They could forever alter your life by merely telling you about their native lands. So get out there and make friends. There's no such thing as having "too many friends".
Also, turn it around. Open your place up to your friends you meet. Offer them the chance to visit your hometown. If you can't do that, give them info and inspiration. I always tell my friends "You have a couch in Memphis." And I mean that. If they ever come to where I'm living, they can crash with me. I will always open my door to friends. It's hard sometimes, but I know that they may very well help me out someday in the future.
Use common sense of course. If you get a weird vibe or don't know the person very well go to a hostel. I seem to have a pretty decent gut feeling and I do well when I follow it.
Now, I'm not saying just make friends so that you can crash somewhere for free. Sure it's an added bonus, but it's not the primary objective. For me, I want to learn as much as I can about the world and the many cultures found throughout its diverse landscape. I make friends and that makes me want to visit them and to see their country (or state). If they offer to put me up, I go for it, but I always try to not overstay my welcome. That's an important thing, not overstaying your welcome. I try to keep my trips limited to a week, no more than that or my friends will start getting tired of me (it's hard with my winning personality though).
To my friends; thanks for everything. You have all enriched my life and got me to experience really cool things. I hope I can do for you or others in the future.
My last bit of advice is to pay it forward. If someone opened up their place for you while you explored their city, do the same for them. Or if they don't come to see you, open your place up to another friend. Keep in mind "Whatever goes around comes around.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Mark's Menus
A couple weeks ago I went to a friend's birthday party. While there I met a guy who started up a food menu and recommendation site. I checked it out. It's awesome. Not only does it give you the menu of almost any restaurant in a city, but it also gives reviews and recommendations.
This site will definitely be a good tool while traveling in the United States. I'm going to use this site when I travel from now on. I'm glad to have this great resource.
So if you are a traveler and love food, use this site. Expand this site. If you know a good place in your home town, and it's not on here, you should add it.
Here's a link:
http://marksmenus.com/
This site will definitely be a good tool while traveling in the United States. I'm going to use this site when I travel from now on. I'm glad to have this great resource.
So if you are a traveler and love food, use this site. Expand this site. If you know a good place in your home town, and it's not on here, you should add it.
Here's a link:
http://marksmenus.com/
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Travel Websites
Traveling can be super expensive, especially in these days of high priced oil and airlines nickel and diming for everything. Travel websites do a lot to relieve some of the high prices.
I've had pretty good luck with travel websites. I've found round trip tickets to Japan for roughly $600. That is a phenomenal deal. You don't always get that good of prices, but still you usually get cheaper deals than if you go through an airline's website.
Cheaptickets is a pretty good place to find tickets. They generally give prices that are about 100-200 bucks cheaper than normal.
If you're going to Japan the best site is JTBUSA. This is where I've found tickets to and from Japan for about $600. Once you order tickets you'll be contacted by someone from their office in New York. They are very helpful and will help you plan your trip. I've always had really good luck with this site.
I haven't had the opportunity to use cheapoair yet, but I've had a few friends who swear by it. One guy got a flight from Japan to London for roughly $500.
When using these sites you can greatly change your ticket price by altering your travel dates. It's been my experience that if you are traveling you should try to have your trip span over a weekend. For some reason if you depart on Thursday and return on Monday your price is greatly less than if you went on a Friday and came back on Sunday. The most important thing is to play with your dates. One day can take your ticket from $1000+ to about 500. I know it sounds amazing, but try it for yourself and see.
Here are a few links to some good sites.
http://www.cheaptickets.com/
http://www.kayak.com/
http://www.jtbusa.com/
http://www.cheapoair.com/
http://www.travelocity.com/
I've had pretty good luck with travel websites. I've found round trip tickets to Japan for roughly $600. That is a phenomenal deal. You don't always get that good of prices, but still you usually get cheaper deals than if you go through an airline's website.
Cheaptickets is a pretty good place to find tickets. They generally give prices that are about 100-200 bucks cheaper than normal.
If you're going to Japan the best site is JTBUSA. This is where I've found tickets to and from Japan for about $600. Once you order tickets you'll be contacted by someone from their office in New York. They are very helpful and will help you plan your trip. I've always had really good luck with this site.
I haven't had the opportunity to use cheapoair yet, but I've had a few friends who swear by it. One guy got a flight from Japan to London for roughly $500.
When using these sites you can greatly change your ticket price by altering your travel dates. It's been my experience that if you are traveling you should try to have your trip span over a weekend. For some reason if you depart on Thursday and return on Monday your price is greatly less than if you went on a Friday and came back on Sunday. The most important thing is to play with your dates. One day can take your ticket from $1000+ to about 500. I know it sounds amazing, but try it for yourself and see.
Here are a few links to some good sites.
http://www.cheaptickets.com/
http://www.kayak.com/
http://www.jtbusa.com/
http://www.cheapoair.com/
http://www.travelocity.com/
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Road Trip to Ohio and Back
The Road Trip is an integral part of American society. Since the advent of the car, Americans have been roaming the highways and byways of our vast and diverse country. It's part of us, part of our mindset. When people in most other countries think of a car trip, they think of a couple hours in a car and that's it. In Europe, people drive two or three hours and they are in another country. We drive a couple hours and we're lucky to leave our own state. America is one of the few truly sprawling countries (others being Canada, Russia and Australia to name a few). Being raised in the States has imbued me with the love of travel especially car travel.
Another American tradition my family subscribes to is that of being spread out. I have family in about seven states. My brother lives in a small city in North-Western Ohio called Norwalk. Our father lives in an even smaller town about four miles away called Milan (Milan is where Thomas Edison was born). I live in Memphis, Tennessee. It's roughly 12 hours from where I live to where my brother lives by car.
I've done long car trips before. I've driven to Florida and back several times and more than once did I do that trip alone. I've driven to Texas and back and to other states in my region. This was the first time for me to be driving North in the winter. I had made the trip three previous times and once alone, but that was in the summer. I worried about getting stuck in the snow and ice. I was also a bit nervous because my car is new and I'm still paying the loan off. I did not want to wreck due to inclimate weather. I packed some emergency supplies and some food for the trip. I left pretty early, about 5:30 am.
The trip through Tennessee went very smoothly. I went through Nashville with no problems and began the long trip North. Kentucky was nice. It looks a lot like Tennessee, but with one difference: it was snowy. It wasn't too bad. Just a nice white layer to the scenery. I actually started to lose interest in it. That is until I crossed over into Cincinnati and Ohio.
When you're driving North into Ohio from Kentucky on I-71 you have to cross a river into Cincinnati. It's a bit of a tricky maneuver. You have to get immediately over to the right once you cross the bridge in order to make it onto the off ramp to Cleveland. Cars often zip and shoot through this area. More than once I came close to getting clipped on previous trips. This time, however, I had no problems. Only one car was getting onto the interstate where I needed to get over to make my turn.
I made it through the dreaded area and headed North-East towards Cleveland. I had a pretty smooth trip up. I caught some traffic outside of Cleveland, but other than that I was okay.
Once at my brother's house I started pounding back Cranberry and Vodkas like nothing else. I got drunk and went to bed. I would've stayed up longer, but I had yet another trip to take the next morning.
My brother is an avid outdoorsman. He loves anything to with the outdoors; camping, boating, fishing, hunting, snow mobiling, etc. To help facilitate his passion he bought a large trailer in order to haul his vehicles and gear. It was located about 4 hours North in Midland, Michigan. We left early in the morning and headed up. It was pretty mild. Once we got up to Michigan the scenery steadily got whiter and whiter. We got the trailer and headed back home.
On the way we grabbed a bite to eat at "Big John's" sandwich shop. It was pretty decent. I've had better sandwiches, but I can't complain too much about it. Our next stop was at Cabela's.
For those of you who don't know, Cabela's is a huge huge outdoors store. I was absolutely surprised and delighted by this place. It truly is a one stop outdoors shop. You can get anything from hunting to camping to boating. The prices are nice too. On top of their normal good prices they have a bargain cave where returned items await repurchase. Usually it's a case of not liking the item and then returning it. None of the items I saw had visible damage.
The rest of my visit was pretty low key.
The ride home was much nicer than the way up. For my return to Tennessee I purchased a couple audio books. I got World War Z and Shit My Dad Says. Having those on board made my trip go by in no time at all. It kept my mind busy and was constantly changing. A problem I had on the way to Ohio was having to listen to the same music over and over again. If you're traveling long distance in a car (especially alone), I highly recommend audio books.
I made it through the dreaded area and headed North-East towards Cleveland. I had a pretty smooth trip up. I caught some traffic outside of Cleveland, but other than that I was okay.
Once at my brother's house I started pounding back Cranberry and Vodkas like nothing else. I got drunk and went to bed. I would've stayed up longer, but I had yet another trip to take the next morning.
My brother is an avid outdoorsman. He loves anything to with the outdoors; camping, boating, fishing, hunting, snow mobiling, etc. To help facilitate his passion he bought a large trailer in order to haul his vehicles and gear. It was located about 4 hours North in Midland, Michigan. We left early in the morning and headed up. It was pretty mild. Once we got up to Michigan the scenery steadily got whiter and whiter. We got the trailer and headed back home.
On the way we grabbed a bite to eat at "Big John's" sandwich shop. It was pretty decent. I've had better sandwiches, but I can't complain too much about it. Our next stop was at Cabela's.
For those of you who don't know, Cabela's is a huge huge outdoors store. I was absolutely surprised and delighted by this place. It truly is a one stop outdoors shop. You can get anything from hunting to camping to boating. The prices are nice too. On top of their normal good prices they have a bargain cave where returned items await repurchase. Usually it's a case of not liking the item and then returning it. None of the items I saw had visible damage.
The rest of my visit was pretty low key.
The ride home was much nicer than the way up. For my return to Tennessee I purchased a couple audio books. I got World War Z and Shit My Dad Says. Having those on board made my trip go by in no time at all. It kept my mind busy and was constantly changing. A problem I had on the way to Ohio was having to listen to the same music over and over again. If you're traveling long distance in a car (especially alone), I highly recommend audio books.
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