The Best Comments Of The Month: June 2009

In case you don’t get a chance to follow the latest comments in the sidebar, or read through a viewer, here are some of the best comments of the month.

It’s been a busy month with lots of new commenters, here are just some of my favorites from June.

• Lyn agrees that the Philippines is a country you should visit by might be scared to and gives us even more reasons to go.
• Kim Kinrade made me laugh with his reasons for sitting at the back of the plane.
• Kind words of encouragement about foXnoMad from Final_Transit, Erica, Marina K. Villatoro, Kim Kinrade, and Cuckoo. Thank you all!
• Some great hitchhiking book recommendations from Nomadic Pete.
• I had forgotten one good way to beat shady taxi drivers – good thing Dan reminded me. Also, Jen’s right, the picture on that post is classic and my favorite part about it.
• Mark and I both use a variation of the 5 row rule. I’m glad I’m not the only one, I don’t feel as weird!
• Accept bargaining as part of the shopping process for a smoother experience. I agree with Mary R.
• My most popular blog post ever was the best places to travel on a weak dollar. Carla and Susan have been reading ever since and I really appreciate you sticking with me!

There are a lot of links in this month’s edition and so many more I couldn’t get to. Thank you everyone for all of you comments, keep them coming and I’ll try to get links back to all of you. What were some of your favorite comments?

[photo by: redcherryhill]

Some More Travel Blogs You Should Read

The past few months have been blogging for me and one of the benefits has been meeting a number of new travel bloggers who specialize in a number of travel niches. If you love to read about travel, these blogs are worth checking out.

• Istanbul Trails – Max Forlani’s blog (recently featured) is dedicated to helping people making the most of their stay in Istanbul.
• Africa Freak – Although Michael Theys  is on vacation now, his blog about everything African safari is a fun and informative read.
• My Melange – A travel blog specializing in Italian and French culture, food, and wine which also lead me to this video on how to use a squat toilet.
• Have Pack – I see a lot of myself in Jeffery’s writing style. Have Pack, Will Travel aims to help independent travelers experience the world on their own terms.
• Dan’s Adventure – He’s 27, Scottish, and left the UK in February 2009 to travel the world.
• Dream a Little Dream – It’s always inspiring to read about couples who pack up the 9-to-5 life and travel the world. Scott and Dee just did so you can read about their adventures as they begin.
• Travel Sights With Lilly – A new travel blog following Lilly’s general travel advice and adventures learning Turkish.
• Two Go RTW – In August 2008 Daniel and Kathryn traded in their clotheslines for Tibetan prayer flags.
• The Brooklyn Nomad – Andrew is obsessed with travel and constantly on the look out for a great deal to…well anywhere.
• Ever The Nomad – Anja Mutić travels to make a living, writes to travel, and lives to take the next trip. Born in Zagreb, Croatia, she’s lived, worked and traveled on all the continents, except Antarctica.
• Wild Junket – Join Nellie in her roller coaster ride around the world, as she explores every nook and cranny of the Earth… just for the fun of it!

EDITED [6/30]: Max has a scoop for us and is announcing Istanbul Trails Photo here first. Go check out his great pictures from Istanbul!

I hope that you’ll take a look at some of these travel blogs that might interest you. I inevitably left out some great travel blogs. For some more links check out some of the travel blogs I read regularly, some travel blogs I discovered recently, or my full list of links. If you have a travel blog and aren’t on any of those lists, contact me and drop your link below in the comments to introduce yourself.

[photo by: Keenahn]

The Best Comments Of The Month: May 2009 The Universal Language Edition

The very active conversation on my post asking, is English the universal language, quickly turned out to be my second highest commented post ever. The entire discussion is a nice, full read but in this special edition of the best comments of the month I’ve pulled some of the best excepts.

• “Yes, one can get by traveling with just English, but if one goes off the beaten tourist path and outside of major cities (even in Europe in countries like Spain, Germany, France, and in South America and Central America) it WILL be “an issue”.” -Soultravelers3 (Reply to this comment)

• “Regardless of how convenient or acceptable English has become, it can never substitute the local language.” -Final_Transit (Reply to this comment)

• “I never said that it isn’t worthwhile to learn another language. I’d personally like to learn Spanish. However, for any non-English speakers, I think it is pretty obvious in the 21st century that English is the other language you should pick up. -Gary Arndt (Reply to this comment)

• “I’m not at all sure that English is a universally understood lingua franca, and I’m not convinced that it should be.” -Bill Chapman (Reply to this comment)

• “You won’t find Spanish or French speakers everywhere, but you will always find someone who either speaks English, knows English literature, or listens to American music. It’s as simple as that.” -Deniz (Reply to this comment)

• “I agree with Soultravelers3, you need more than one language! I know it’s come very useful for me on many occasions.” -Marina K. Villatoro (Reply to this comment)

In case you can’t get enough of this question, you can read and argue (or agree) with my post, why English is the universal language.

[photo by: eye2eye]

Travel Bloggers Send Their Best Links [Part 3 of 4] – Travel to Nova Scotia

I often include links from fellow travel bloggers in my posts, but wanted to highlight several who sent me their best articles. These are some of the travel blogs are I read regularly,  and it’s a pleasure to showcase their great writing you’ll enjoy reading. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2 in case you missed them.

Be inspired to Travel to Nova Scotia with Kim Kinrade who writes the blog which is a great source for information about the region. Travel to Nova Scotia is a well laid out blog that makes finding out the important information easy. Kim’s posts are to the point and will put Nova Scotia on your travel map in case it wasn’t there before.

Here are 9 selected posts on a variety of topics from Travel to Nova Scotia that are worth a click.

• The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo
• (WHTI) Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
• Australian High Commissioner Pushes the “Pansy Button”
• Cuba, What’ The Problem?
• Space Tourism in Cape Breton
• Zoom and Gloom
• What’s With Thailand?
• Mexico – Is It Worth It?
• Scotch Whiskey Associations Identity Crisis

Kim’s posts cover a variety of topics and you’ll have fun hopping through the links he’s recommended for us. I’ll continue with Part 4 of the series next Tuesday. If you’d like to be featured in future posts or aren’t on my Links page send me and email and ask to be added.

Travel Bloggers Send Their Best Links [Part 2 of 4] – Final Transit

I often include links from fellow travel bloggers in my posts, but wanted to highlight several who sent me their best articles. These are some of the travel blogs are I read regularly,  and it’s a pleasure to showcase their great writing you’ll enjoy reading. Here’s Part 1 in case you missed it.

Final Transit, written by Priyank, is a travel blog that is a personal account of his travels. Many of Final Transit’s posts are have a number of pictures from his travels, the most recent of Bhutan. The pictures are vibrant and interesting and Final Transit often has active discussions in the comments section you can read with some of Final Transit’s selected posts.

• Into the Heart of Bhutan
• Andean Explorations: Machu Picchu
• Andean Explorations: Moray and Salinas
• Scrolls from the Holy Land: Old City of Jerusalem
• Scrolls from the Holy Land: Magic of the Kotel
• Scrolls from the Holy Land: Cycling around Sea of Galilee
• The Divine Madman
• Rice Fields and Empty Lands

Enjoy the posts and pictures from the links above, I’ll continue with Part 3 next Tuesday. You can see a variety of travel blogs on my Links page and contact me if you’d like your site to be added.

foXnoMad In The Gonzo Blog Carnival 2009

Fear and Loathing recently featured my post on 48 Hours in Istanbul for a Gonzo Carnival of Cities. The carnival highlights links from a variety of travel blogs writing about a specific aspect of given city. Below is a list of select posts from the carnival.

• Writing Travel shows us a Wednesday window from Main Street, USA.
• 5 reasons to hang out in San Jose from Travel Expert(a).
• Pictures capturing not Rome, but Civitavecchia, Italy taken by Me, My Kid, and My Life.
• The Soul of Japan takes us to Minato Mirai, Japan.

There are quite a few more links to follow in the Gonzo Carnival of Cities, I’ve only posted a handfull. In case that’s not enough, you can read some of my other posts featured in various blog carnivals and get more links from the Carnival of Cities I hosted back in October.

Travel Bloggers Send Their Best Links [Part 1 of 4] – Istanbul Trails

I often include links from fellow travel bloggers in my posts, but wanted to highlight several who sent me their best articles. These are some of the travel blogs are I read regularly,  and it’s a pleasure to showcase their great writing you’ll enjoy reading.

It’s no secret that Istanbul is my favorite city in the world and if it’s one of your destinations, Istanbul Trails is a travel blog dedicated to helping you make the most of your stay. Writer ‘Max Forlani‘ set off in 2004 for a sabbatical year off from work and hasn’t left since. Below are some of Max’s favorite Istanbul Trails posts.

• Hard Currency, Plastic, Or Turkish Liras?
• How To Take A Taxi In Istanbul Without Being Hustled
• 10 Istanbul Pedestrian Safety Tips That Might Be A Lifesaver
• How To Prepare For The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul
• How Istiklal Caddesi Became Istanbul’s Most Famous and Fashionable Street

Max has also posted a number of videos to help you get the flavor of Istanbul and crave a doner kebab, several of which are featured in the video below.

Read more

Post Highlights: [5/1/2009]

Post Highlights are a selection of the best and most popular posts from the past two weeks updated every other Saturday. Another great way to get the best of foXnoMad is to subscribe to my RSS feed (what is RSS?).

Change Your Focus To Take Decent Travel Photos – [Part 1 of 2]

Many of you already have your own style and equipment to get that perfect shot, but if you’re starting from scratch all you have to do is change your focus to improve your pictures without any special equipment or much effort.

48 Hours In Istanbul

Istanbul is many things to many people and if I had 48 hours in the city, here’s what I’d recommend to get your feet wet, jump in the pool, or become a fish in this city which spans two continents.

Three Location Based Social Networks Travelers May Find Useful

There are some differences between three of the popular options, Loopt, brightkite, and foursquare so here are the basics to introduce you to them.

Turkish Remedies For Preventing An Upset Stomach

Only some of these are backed by science, and the others may just be old wives tales but won’t hurt to try especially if you’ve got a sensitive stomach.

The Best Comments Of The Month: April 2009

I appreciate every comment, hope you’ll leave more, and encourage you to do so if you never have.

In case you don’t get a chance to follow the latest comments at the bottom, or read through a viewer, here are some of the best comments of the month.

• Cuckoo would like to thank all of you who voted for Sydney and helped her win the Best City to Visit Travel Tournament 2009.
• Stock your fridge like james to save money and make your meals last on the road.
• Kim Kinrade shares his hitchhiking advice from his experience in Australia.
• marina villatoro also has some good hitchhiking stories from her travels in Mexico over at Travel Expert(a).
• Engage the local culture, save money, and drink vodka while couch surfing in Russia as Priyank did last year.
• I’m glad Jack pointed out the difference between raping and rapping I made. Opps.
• Flip the perspective on common shots to add some spice to your travel photos and check out some of jen laceda’s on her blog Folie a Deux. And yes it must be a sign Jen, you should visit Istanbul!
• Max there is no way you’ll convince any Turkish mother that walking barefoot on cold tiles won’t give you a stomach ache. I know, I’ve tried. But now I tell the same thing to my wife when she’s barefoot in the house

I’m getting more and more comments each month and it’s great to read and respond to them. It makes it harder to pick out the ‘best’ comments and I’ve probably missed one or two! I really do appreciate each and every one, thank you!

What Are Your Best Posts?

I’m looking for you travel bloggers out there to send me links to your best posts and pictures. I’ll be featuring them sometime early next month and I want to fill up the page! Send me a collection of the posts (up to 10 links) you consider to be your best work. I’ll go through them and share all or some of my favorites around May 8th. I appreciated it!

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