Resources

This page is meant for people who would like more information about how to travel on the cheap.  I have included some books I find to be quintessential or otherwise just interesting as well as some great websites that can help you with your planning process.  At the bottom, I’ve decided to include some information for people who are interested in starting their own blog.  There is a focus on travel blogs, but much of it can be useful for any blogger.

I am currently unemployed, and looking for a new job. So, I would really appreciate that if you are considering purchasing any of these books, please do so from the provided links, as that will help me get going on my travels sooner.

Helpful Travel Books

“The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World” Edward Hasbrouk – This is a wonderful book aimed at people who are interested in booking a trip around the world, or another form of extended travel.  One thing that is great about it is that it is written by a professional travel agent who prides himself on being a vagabond in his free time.  There is a lot of information in here that is basically insider information about the travel industry.  The Air Travel chapter is especially interesting, because he busts a lot of myths about how to arrange a cheap plane ticket.  At times, he borders on being too verbose and it is a rather dry read at times, but there is an insane amount of information packed into this book, and it is well worth a read.

“Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel” Rolf Potts – Seriously my all-time favorite book about travel.  It is incredibly inspiring, and gives a lot of practical tips on how to make your dream of long-term travel a reality.  The writer of this book is from Seattle, like me, and talks about working at a Burger King while he was saving up to take his trip.  Do you need any more proof that anybody can travel, and it isn’t just for the rich?

“On The Road” Jack Kerouac – A collection of stories of the quintessential beat poet’s travels around North America.  Kerouac was America’s first true vagabond, and “On the Road” has been inspiring people to travel for almost 40 years now.

“Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune: The Contrarian Traveler’s Guide to Getting More for Less” Tim Leffel – Contrarian Travel is the philosophy that if put in just a little bit more effort in getting yourself out of the box, and off the beaten path, you can really stretch your travel budget.  Some contrarians will flock to places that other tourists are currently shunning.  Such as when there was rioting in Bangkok a few years ago, there was a subset of the travel community realized that if they went to other parts of Thailand, they could get some great bargains, since everybody else had cancelled their tickets.  This book will teach you how to get outside of the box, and how to find great bargains around the world.  Take the section on airfare with a grain of salt, as it seems to be pushing a lot of the standard myths about fare prices.  If you want to get the best info on airfare, check out “Practical Nomad” as mentioned above.

“Twain’s Feast: Searching for America’s Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens” Andrew Beahrs – This is both a travel book and a food book.  So you can imagine why I was so smitten with it.  The premise is pretty similar.  At one point in time, Mark Twain (arguably one of America’s greatest writers) spent a considerable living in Europe.  While he was there, he wrote extensively in his diary about missing the foods he loved from home.  A lot of these foods are not eaten anymore, but his passion is quite clear.  The writer of Twain’s Feast decided to read this entire diary and then travel around the US to find as much of these foods and learn as much about them and the reason they were developed as he could.  Clemens had traveled extensively around the US, and there is a lot of really cool information about our history, culture and cuisine in here.  Particularly interesting is the discussion about the real first Thanksgiving dinner.

“A Cook’s Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines” Anthony Bourdain – It is no secret that I respect and admire Anthony Bourdain a lot.  He is a cook, a writer and a seasoned traveler, which fits into my worldview perfectly.  His first show, before No Reservations (that he was quite a bit more famous for), was called A Cook’s Tour, and this book follows along the series, giving far more detailed descriptions of his journey than a 40 minute episode ever could.  Join him as he gets lost on the streets of Fez, Morocco, gets sick eating in France, and experiences iguana in Oaxaca, Mexico amongst other places.

I have read all of the books listed above, and feel comfortable endorsing them.  A few of my travel friends have recommended a few more books to me, which I have not read yet.  If you are interested, they might be a good read for you as well.  Here they are :

“Magic Bus: On the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to India” Rory McLean – An interesting read about the so-called “hippie trail”, all of the destinations of the counterculture in the 1960s who were in inspired by Jack Kerouac to explore more of their world.

“Jaguars Ate My Flesh” Tim Cahill – A collection of stories of adventure travel.

“Holidays in Hell” PJ O’Rourke – An interesting concept, the writer of this book decided that he wanted to experience what many consider “some of the worst places in the world”, to see them for what they really are.  One of his adventures was to wander around Palestine dressed as an Arab.  Contrarian Travel at probably it’s most extreme.

“The World’s Most Dangerous Places” Robert Young Pelton – Another book about traveling in a different mindset.  This one highlights 25 dangerous countries, and goes through all the potential pitfalls of somebody wishing to visit them.  It also includes tips on how to travel there safely.  No matter how dangerous a place might seem, it is always possible to go there and be okay.

Helpful Travel Websites

Travel Independent – A website for people who are planning on taking their first extended backpacking trip.  It has everything you need to know, from how to plan, what to pack, and information on destinations.  You can learn about some of the frustrations of traveling in certain areas and what to look out for.  I have read this website extremely extensively, and it is a great resource.  Be sure to check out his Resources page if you would like to delve deeper into books and websites I haven’t listed here.

Easy Expat – Are you planning on moving to another country?  Get all the necessary details about what it is like to live there, including all the minutiae you might not have considered previously.  How to move there, what the postal system is like, the medical infrastructure, the nightlife, and many other topics are covered.

Couchsurfing – Couchsurfing is more than a website to find a couch to sleep on if you’re somewhere else.  It is also a forum to find similar minded people who live in or are traveling around wherever you happen to be.  Alternatively, with specialized forums for various interests, you can find jobs overseas, or find somebody simply to hang out with.

WWOOF International – I think most people are familiar with WWOOF’ing these days, but I’ll briefly explain it for those who aren’t.  WWOOF’ing is an alternative to working and traveling abroad.  You can sign up for an opportunity to work on a local farm.  These are volunteer positions, so you won’t be paid.  What you will get in return however, free room and board with the farmers.  This is a great humanitarian chance, as the farms that take WWOOF’ers generally can’t afford to hire somebody to help them with their harvest, but still need the assistance.  You’ll get to see the ins and outs of a culture while living with a local family and eating what they do, as well as feel good knowing that you are providing for a need of theirs.  Two warnings for you before signing up though : Signing up for WWOOF is not free, so I would recommend waiting until you are ready to go so you’re not spending your money on a service you’re not using, and also WWOOF’ing usually requires an advanced reservation, so you can’t just go somewhere and work on a farm on arrival.

Cost Per Day Calculator – This is a really fun site.  You can look up many cities in the world and find out an estimate of how much it would costs you to visit it.  There’s even an option for saying whether you are interested in budget travel options, luxury, or somewhere more in the middle.

Matador Network – Matador is a number of things at the same time.  It is a forum for travel bloggers, offers classes for people who want to learn how to become travel writers, a blog site (like WordPress), and has a collection of blogging and travel tips.

Chowhound – This isn’t really a travel site, but it does have a good resource for travelers accidentally bundled into it.  Chowhound is a part of Chow, a forum for food lovers.  This particular part is for finding restaurants or rare ingredients.  The forum is broken up into different parts of the world, so anywhere you’re planning on traveling you can find restaurant, cafe or bakery recommendations from food lovers who live there or have visited.

Trip Tuner – Another fun visit, I’m not sure how serious this site should really be taken, but you could certainly spend some time getting inspired and playing around with various travel ideas on here.  It’s designed like a sound tuner that you might have on your stereo.  Turn the options up and down, and it will recommend destinations to you.  Some of the bars are relaxing vs active, bikini vs parka and high-end vs thrifty.  One of the coolest things is that it includes some more off the path types of locations instead of just standard vacation spots.

There you have it.  I will probably add to this list as time goes on, as I find more sites and books that I really like and want to recommend.  For now, this will do it.

I am considering adding two more sections to this page, and am curious if people would be interested in seeing Resources on a couple more subjects.  As a cook, I wonder if you would like some recommendations on books about food and cooking?  Also, I know of a few great resources for people who are just starting out as bloggers, even I’m still learning myself.  Would you like to see these sections added in?