Archive for March, 2010

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Dan and Marlene Lin and their “Mali Mish”

March 31, 2010

They call their Airstream travel trailer Mali Mish and it’s also the name of their blog.

Mali Mish is Croatian for ‘Little Mouse’, and it’s the name they gave their trailer that they hitched to the back of their truck and took off down the road with no fixed destination.

Dan and Marlene Lin with Ava and their Airstream

Dan and Marlene Lin with Ava and their Airstream

“We have been proud owners of her since October 2008 and have been on many wonderful and exciting trips,” Dan says.

On February 3rd 2010, along with their two daughters and cat Yoda, they filled up the diesel tank and hitched up their wagon for the trip of their lives.

They’re heading east for an indeterminate amount of time and from there, who knows where they’ll end up next.

“All we know is that we are going to see the Atlantic ocean by land and plan to explore and learn about everything we find along the way.”

Before this trip, most of their outings only spanned a few days to a couple of weeks reaching not too far out from their home base in Ventura, CA.

They are learning as they go on how to keep a 3-year-old toddler entertained as well as how to prevent a teething infant from turning into a ball of tears while on the road.

Find a new direction with Dave Pidgeon’s compass points

March 31, 2010

If you’re a spunky traveler with adventurous tendencies, check out Dave Pidgeon’s Compass Points blog.

His career has taken him from the impoverished neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic to the deep recesses of the Sonoran Desert to riding in Barack Obama and John McCain’s campaign buses.

Lately though, he’s been looking after his travel and hiking blog, Compass Points Media.

“My blog aims to raise the quality of adventure content on the web by combining professional storytelling skills with information readers need to discover their cities, their forests and their rivers,” he says.

Dave in Ricketts Glen, Pennsylvania

Dave in Ricketts Glen, Pennsylvania

Dave’s daily blog Day Tripper highlights the best day hikes (complete with photos and maps), and Compass Points TV is updated every Wednesday evening with a new video entry.

It’s definitely a quality video blog, with professional style videos about Ricketts Glen and Catoctin Mountain.

Starting this Spring, Dave promises to introduce something called “Trail Blazes”, which is hailed as being a new generation of hiking guides.

Chase A. Wolf’s shopping adventures

March 31, 2010

He’s a successful businessman, who’s had careers in real estate, retail and importing.

Chase A. Wolf’s newest venture is a travel blog about his importing adventures in shopping.

Chase A. Wolf

Chase A. Wolf

Adventures From Somewhere follows Chase as he travels throughout Asia, India and Europe, meeting with business leaders interested in bringing their wares to America.

He hopes you enjoy sharing his travel and business experiences as he describes through words and pictures, the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of faraway cultures, people and places.

Check out his quest to find a roman artichoke in Italy and watch him gorge himself on amazing local seafood in Athens.

Travel Blog Rankings for March 31, 2010

March 31, 2010

The Travel Blog Ranking score — updated weekly — is the average of the Alexa and Compete.com rankings for each travel blog.

If you would like your independent travel blog to be included in our weekly list, please read more about this list.

Top 100 Travel Blogs for March 31, 2010:

Rank Site Score
1 Danny Choo
 22,429
2 Everything Everywhere
The travel blog of Gary Arndt's journey to travel around the world. 		24,081
3 Nomadic Matt's Travel Site
 37,834
4 Chris Elliott
 44,425
5 Peter Greenberg Worldwide
 68,379
6 Mommy Poppins
 81,887
7
-1 		Upgrade: Travel Better
 85,985
8
-1 		Off Track Planet
 93,106
9
-1 		WhyGo Italy
Your One-Stop Italy Travel Guide 		101,501
10 Fluent in 3 Months
 109,022
11
-2 		Urban Prankster
 109,858
12
-1 		Almost Fearless
 112,690
13
-1 		Indie Travel Podcast
 113,330
14
+1 		Vagablogging
 115,924
15
-2 		The Cranky Flier
 116,760
16
-2 		foXnoMad
 117,389
17
-1 		Hole in the Donut
 120,105
18
-1 		The Amateur Traveler
 121,865
19 Soul Travelers 3
A family of three from Santa Cruz, California. Two 50 something parents and their 5 year old daughter on a multi-year trip around the world. 		125,171
20
-2 		Go Backpacking
 126,673
21
-1 		Wandering Educators
 130,577
22
-1 		Hawaii Vacation Blog
 133,512
23
-1 		Dave's Travel Corner
Offers travel articles and photo galleries from across the globe. 		136,537
24
-1 		Travel Rants
 137,415
25
-1 		Delicious Baby
 139,687
26
+2 		Travel Blissful
 148,871
27
-2 		Uncornered Market
 149,322
28
-1 		Europe Up Close
 150,083
29
-3 		Calvin's Hub
 150,444
30
-1 		Mexicovacationtravels.com
 151,340
31
-1 		Rick Seaney
 153,347
32
-1 		My Several Worlds
 156,483
33
-1 		Sharing Travel Experiences
 163,512
34
-1 		My Melange
 166,781
35
+2 		The Vacation Gals
 170,593
36
-2 		Go Green Travel Green
 171,473
37
-1 		Europe A La Carte
 174,733
38
-3 		Heather on her Travels
 175,703
39
+1 		Mom's Minivan
 175,843
40
-1 		Traveling Mamas
 180,748
41
-3 		Notes from Spain
 182,600
42 Travel, Work, Life
 189,138
43 Twenty-Something Travel
 192,443
44
-3 		Go Visit Hawaii
 195,665
45
+2 		Solo Traveler
 197,508
46
-2 		Wild Junket
 199,135
47
-2 		501 Places
 203,116
48
+1 		Kaleidoscopic Wandering
 209,205
49
-3 		Neil Duckett
 210,712
50
-2 		Practical Travel Gear
 212,486
51
-1 		Life Cruiser
 219,242
52
-1 		Ciao Bambino
 220,846
53 The Real Banff
 229,654
54
+2 		Johnny Vagabond
 230,995
55 My Itchy Travel Feet
 231,652
56
+6 		The Aussie Nomad
 232,483
57
-5 		Homeboyski.com
 234,082
58
-4 		Mom Most Traveled
 234,253
59
+1 		Practical Nomad
 234,949
60
-1 		The Travel Tart
 237,278
61
-4 		KY Speaks
 237,435
62
-1 		Solo Friendly
 238,355
63
-5 		Things You Should Do
 240,970
64
-1 		The Brooklyn Nomad
 242,799
65 Nerdy Nomad
 248,722
66
-2 		Travelvice
 251,234
67
-1 		Canada Adventure Couple
 258,070
68
+1 		Brooke vs. the World
 259,289
69
-1 		Travel Junkie Julia
 262,708
70
-3 		Travellious
 262,913
71 Byahilo
 264,149
72
+1 		Nomadic Chick
 273,752
73
-3 		The Professional Hobo
 281,557
74
-2 		Chris Around the World
 283,411
75 John's Adventures
 297,285
76 Escape Artists
 303,193
77
-3 		World Heritage Site
Personal travel guide to the entries on Unesco's World Heritage List. Links, photos and reviews. 		308,340
78
-2 		Musings on travel ecommerce
 315,945
79
-1 		Location Independent Living
 317,566
80
-3 		Lanzarote Guidebook
 325,165
81
-2 		Briefcase to Backpack
 333,410
82
-2 		A Traveler's Library
 336,139
83
-2 		Candice Does the World
 336,435
84
-1 		Travel Wonders of the World
 342,692
85 Two Backpackers
 343,876
86
-4 		Otts World
 347,067
87
-3 		Two Go Round-The-World
 374,155
88 Traveloffthecuff
 377,413
89
+1 		Out to Africa
Ellen and Paul's travelogues, photos and videos of their adventures in Africa. 		382,056
90
+2 		Italofile
 384,243
91
-2 		Themeparkmom.com
 390,878
92
-6 		Geotraveler's Niche
 391,215
93
-6 		Happy Time Blog
 400,971
94
-3 		Pocket Cultures
 406,329
95
+1 		Isabelle's Travel Guide
 410,832
96
+3 		Travels of Adam
 415,530
97
+8 		Hop and Jaunt
 421,920
98
-1 		Exposed Planet
 423,543
99
-4 		Around the World "L"!!
 433,205
100
+2 		Traveling Savage
 433,348
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Congratulations!

If your blog is on this list, you are entitled to this snazzy badge.

We already know you’re awesome, but let everyone else know by embedding a shiny gold medallion on your site or Facebook page.

Travel Blog Sites - Top 100
As chosen by TravelPod, the web’s original travel blog

Simply copy and paste the following code and add it to your website:

 <div style="text-align:center;margin:0;padding:0;background-color:#fff">
    <div style="padding:0;margin:0"><img src="http://images.travelpod.com/bin/blog/medallion.gif" alt="Travel Blog Sites - Top 100" width="120" height="145" border="0" /></div>
    <div style="text-align:center;font-size:9px;line-height:normal;width:120px;padding:0;margin:0 auto;font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;color:#000">As chosen by TravelPod, the web&rsquo;s original <a href="http://www.travelpod.com">travel blog</a></div>
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You can find ideas on how to use it here.

Part-time vagabonding with Chris Cavallari

March 30, 2010

Have you ever just wanted to get away from wherever you are?

Just pick up and live a “location independent,” vagabond-style life?

Chris Cavallari sure has.

Chris Cavallari

Chris Cavallari

“Of course, real life always sucker punches those dreams, leaving us disillusioned and cynical,” he says.

“What if we could live our dreams part-time, taking shorter trips more often and living the way we want to while still keeping our social, family, and economic lives intact?”

This is why Chris invented Part Time Vagabond.

It’s a place to gain inspiration and ideas, where you can read posts and watch videos about getting away from it all to enjoy what the world has to offer.

Whether you want to go on a leisurely hike in the Maine countryside, pedal across the country on a bicycle, or spend a day learning how to kayak, Part Time Vagabond is the only source of inspiration for a “semi-location-independent lifestyle” on the web.

Sharon Dent’s big adventure

March 30, 2010

She’s a former journalist, turned international English teacher.

For the last nine years, Sharon Dent’s been teaching in Turkey, China and Laos.

Sharon Dent

Sharon Dent

She started the The Guide Hog blog last summer when she moved to Vientiane, Laos with her husband.

“The title refers to my tendency to ‘hog’ the tourguide in my quest to learn everything about every place we go.”

“No guide is safe, the park ranger in Borneo’s rain forest, the divemaster in Thailand’s Similan Islands, the rice farmer in Southern China, the hostel owner in central Turkey, and the list goes on.”

Her stories usually focus on her personal travel experiences, both the ups and the downs.

But now it’s Sharon’s turn to be the guide, and her readers can be the “guide hog”.

Follow along as she shares her experiences as an international teacher and traveler.

Matthew Long’s loping o’er the land

March 30, 2010

The definition of landloper is: a wanderer, vagrant, or adventurer.

At heart, that’s who Matthew Long is, and he’s determined not to fade into the background.

Matt Long

Matt Long

“If I didn’t think that I could contribute unique and interesting content, I would never have built this site,” he says.

“I hope to have a variety of articles on a whole host of subjects, from using frequent flier miles effectively, to knowing which cabin is REALLY best on your next cruise.”

Matt’s a thirty-something Gen-Xer who has a passion for all things travel related.

He’s been very fortunate to travel all over the world and he has learned a lot from his experiences.

Matt believes that traveling is one of the most important things global citizens can do.

“Every time we go somewhere new we learn, we adapt and we grow as people,” he says.

“It creates understanding and tolerance and in many areas, is vital to the area’s economic well being.”

Before you head out on your next trip, make sure you check out some of Matt’s restaurant and hotel reviews.

Gaye Emami cheaps out on travel

March 30, 2010

She’s the ultimate travel cheapskate and proud of it.

Gaye Emami walked for three hours in Koh Phangan just to save $2 and four hours around Angkor Wat to save $10.

She lives in Asia, where travel is so expensive it’s almost prohibitive to go abroad.

Her first trip overseas to Europe cost four years of her hard earned savings.

Gaye Emami at Angkor Wat

Gaye Emami at Angkor Wat

“One thing I have observed is that a lot of the bloggers come from the U.S., Europe, and Australia,” Gaye says.

They’re usually the ones who’d do a round the world trip just because they can afford to.

“As an Asian who’s living from paycheck to paycheck,” she continues, “I would like the whole world to hear my views regarding backpacking and how the cheapest of the cheap can still be expensive for me.”

After Gaye’s first experience with travel in Europe, she got hooked on backpacking.

She worked under incredibly harsh conditions in the UAE just to save up for a big trip around six countries in SE Asia, Hong Kong and Europe.

Her blog is a humorous account of the strange situations she finds herself in while trying to travel cheaply around the world.

Check her stories of bedbugs in China and her first “hard sleeper” train in Hong Kong.

Kelly helps solo women travel better

March 30, 2010

There’s no doubt that traveling alone is a freeing experience.

But women and men don’t experience the world in the same ways.

Kelly of Solo Woman Traveler provides safety and lifestyle advice for ladies taking on the world on their own.

Kelly in Morocco

Kelly in Morocco

“When traveling alone, there should be some precautions you should take,” Kelly says.

She maintains that it’s important to tell people where you are, when traveling alone.

“I think at least one trust-worthy person back home should have an idea of your itinerary and even possibly a way to contact you in an emergency.”

And she also has ideas on everything from traveling alone with an infant, and using a squat toilet.

Steve Bennett captures the uncommon Caribbean

March 29, 2010

Hailing from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Steve Bennett created the blog, Uncommon Caribbean together with his brother and ace photographer/creative director Patrick, purely to brag about what’s special about his home region.

Steve

Steve Bennett

“The raison d’etre for my blog is to provide an informed alternative to the sameness found in most other online sources of news and info on Caribbean travel and living,” he says.

He travels there a lot for work and pleasure, and he wants to spotlight the region’s lesser-known charms: the destinations, hotels, experiences, cuisine, drinks, personalities that get passed over by the usual tourist.

“Basically, anything cool that’s not commonly touted in traditional print and online guides is game for us,” Steve explains.

One of the more immediately useful features of his blog, is a weekly Friday happy hour, featuring a Caribbean-inspired drink.

Even on the rare occasion when he focuses on a well-known subject, he highlights the uncommon aspects of it.

Steve says he hopes this blog appeals to the adventurous travelers and dispel “been there/done that” attitudes toward the Caribbean.

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