SITE ORGANIZATION
The site has undergone various iterations but I think I finally have it organized that allows the easiest flow through sections. If there are any improvements or broken links, etc. please let me know.
All the places I've ever been to - and a few supplemented by my brother Pete.
If you click on "TRAVEL AFAR" a list and links to all of the countries will appear. Destinations start at the continent level, proceed to a sub-continent level, followed by country level. The bulk of the information is within the countries I visited during my 2014 Around the World Travels: Argentina, Chile, India, Southeast Asia, China, South Korea, and Japan. These countries include a summary introduction, links to Country Level destinations, a background on the country's history, government, economy, education, and healthcare, and below that is a mini travel guide.
The Country Level destinations detail my travel experience and include videos and photos.
For example: Asia -> East Asia -> China (sub-destinations, history, travel guide) -> Great Wall (experience, photos)
If you click on "TRAVEL AFAR" a list and links to all of the countries will appear. Destinations start at the continent level, proceed to a sub-continent level, followed by country level. The bulk of the information is within the countries I visited during my 2014 Around the World Travels: Argentina, Chile, India, Southeast Asia, China, South Korea, and Japan. These countries include a summary introduction, links to Country Level destinations, a background on the country's history, government, economy, education, and healthcare, and below that is a mini travel guide.
The Country Level destinations detail my travel experience and include videos and photos.
For example: Asia -> East Asia -> China (sub-destinations, history, travel guide) -> Great Wall (experience, photos)
You will read all sorts of articles on "Travel Hacks" or "Life Hacks" about how to travel around the world on a low budget...do you want to know the ultimate Travel / Life Hack - turning every weekend in your hometown into a minivacation or stay-cation. I think it helps to live in a Los Angeles, New York, or Hong Kong, but I could make every weekend an adventure in Bucks County, PA too (actually Bucks County is pretty amazing and it's very easy to plan local trips, I just don't have another example).
That's what the Home Sweet Home section is about - the minivacation / stay-cation experience. There's a blog that capture the intricacies of my daily routine - which quite honestly I don't even expect my parents to read - but I've also summarized the information into a more digestible form...i.e. instead of reading about every meal I eat at a Cooked Food Center, I will prepare a summary entry.
The end result is the ultimate tour guide - my general advice on planning a trip is to find a local blog by someone who loves to travel through their local area. It takes some slightly adjusted Google Searches ("Best Breakfast, Brunch, or Coffee in Seoul" vs. "Places to East in Seoul") but you'll wind up with a much better result. The best example I can provide is Seoulistic, which covers Seoul better than any tourist guide, professional or user sourced.
That's what the Home Sweet Home section is about - the minivacation / stay-cation experience. There's a blog that capture the intricacies of my daily routine - which quite honestly I don't even expect my parents to read - but I've also summarized the information into a more digestible form...i.e. instead of reading about every meal I eat at a Cooked Food Center, I will prepare a summary entry.
The end result is the ultimate tour guide - my general advice on planning a trip is to find a local blog by someone who loves to travel through their local area. It takes some slightly adjusted Google Searches ("Best Breakfast, Brunch, or Coffee in Seoul" vs. "Places to East in Seoul") but you'll wind up with a much better result. The best example I can provide is Seoulistic, which covers Seoul better than any tourist guide, professional or user sourced.
Traveling isn't all awesome, all the time. As anybody who has ever tried to obtain an Indian Visa can attest, there are times when you don't even want to continue with the trip. The purpose of this section is to take all the times that I've hit a hurdle, or done literally hundreds of hours of research, and share with you all the info I've obtained.
For example, if you Google "Budget African Safari" you will not find a comprehensive list on taking a Budget or any Safari. There are summary guides and a few points of recommendation but nothing indepth that will answer more than a handful of questions before you need to start searching elsewhere. I planned at least 100 hours and corresponded over twenty times with a company before we went...I took all this information and put it together in a single How To Guide.
If you've ever encountered a travel headache, all it takes is a paragraph email to me, and I can share your story so others don't need to live through the same horrors...and believe me an Indian Visa is a major, major horror - although supposedly this has recently been remedied and it's possible for US citizens to obtain a visa on arrival.
Through my travels I also find myself going to the same websites over and over. I've documented country specific sites in the Destinations section under each respective country, however, there are a few sites that I check whenever I go some place new. Each site offers a different perspective and it's always good to bounce different perspectives off of one another.
There is also a section for Travel Adventures, that frankly I had no where else to put but it does relate in some ways to travel information - if you've ever wanted to know what a Laos ER is like, or why you shouldn't trust CNN, etc. it's all in this section.
For example, if you Google "Budget African Safari" you will not find a comprehensive list on taking a Budget or any Safari. There are summary guides and a few points of recommendation but nothing indepth that will answer more than a handful of questions before you need to start searching elsewhere. I planned at least 100 hours and corresponded over twenty times with a company before we went...I took all this information and put it together in a single How To Guide.
If you've ever encountered a travel headache, all it takes is a paragraph email to me, and I can share your story so others don't need to live through the same horrors...and believe me an Indian Visa is a major, major horror - although supposedly this has recently been remedied and it's possible for US citizens to obtain a visa on arrival.
Through my travels I also find myself going to the same websites over and over. I've documented country specific sites in the Destinations section under each respective country, however, there are a few sites that I check whenever I go some place new. Each site offers a different perspective and it's always good to bounce different perspectives off of one another.
There is also a section for Travel Adventures, that frankly I had no where else to put but it does relate in some ways to travel information - if you've ever wanted to know what a Laos ER is like, or why you shouldn't trust CNN, etc. it's all in this section.
This is the equivalent of an MBA in Traveling.
Everybody says that traveling is about broadening your horizons, experiencing things for yourself, etc., etc. etc...this is where I actually prove it through reading books about the countries I travel to and writing about new insights gained from my travels. I wanted my Around the World trip to be something more than just passing through countries...I wanted it to have some sort of substance...some sort of meaning. I realized that my travels provided a different (if not unique and valuable) angle on contemporary issues. If you visit Easter Island you will have a much greater appreciation for not just the threat of global warming but the broader issue of conservatism. I've documented these thoughts in essay form with the intention of consolidated the individual essays into a self published book.
Whenever I visit a country I try to read a book or two about the destination prior to arrival. Sometimes these are history or background books other times it is literature by a local writer. During my Around the World Travels, I expanded to include other areas to increase my knowledge and inspirational base. I then prepare a book summary for future reference. It's riveting stuff if you ever want to check it out.
Everybody says that traveling is about broadening your horizons, experiencing things for yourself, etc., etc. etc...this is where I actually prove it through reading books about the countries I travel to and writing about new insights gained from my travels. I wanted my Around the World trip to be something more than just passing through countries...I wanted it to have some sort of substance...some sort of meaning. I realized that my travels provided a different (if not unique and valuable) angle on contemporary issues. If you visit Easter Island you will have a much greater appreciation for not just the threat of global warming but the broader issue of conservatism. I've documented these thoughts in essay form with the intention of consolidated the individual essays into a self published book.
Whenever I visit a country I try to read a book or two about the destination prior to arrival. Sometimes these are history or background books other times it is literature by a local writer. During my Around the World Travels, I expanded to include other areas to increase my knowledge and inspirational base. I then prepare a book summary for future reference. It's riveting stuff if you ever want to check it out.