Starling Travel

Ben Hopkins was warned by another American that bicycling through the mountains of Thailand wasn’t safe:

“Jesus, man, ya don’t know? They’re still growing the poppies and shooting anyone who goes near. Nothing’s changed since ‘79. Everyone knows it but no one dares speak out. The government, generals and drug lords are in business with the Burmese military. You’d better just stick to the road.”

Luckily, he didn’t and what he found instead was surprisingly different.

• Untamed Travel: Golden Tourist Trap

Instead of opium fields guarded by angry farmers, he found a Golden Tourist Trap.

“Tourism has replaced opium as the local source of gold. There’s The Golden Triangle Souvenir shop, The Golden Triangle Restaurant and with hotels and shopping centres sprouting up at the rate of poppies in post-Taliban Afghanistan it could soon be time to rename to the place, “The Golden Triangle Tourist Trap”. But it’s worth sticking around to check out the superb, recently opened Opium Exhibition Hall. “

Whenever you tell someone that you’re planning on traveling to a place, they always have advice for you. It’s important to listen to the advice, but it’s also just as important to follow your instincts and see where they take you. You just might find a golden opportunity.

I found this video on YouTube. It’s an excellent short video that shows clips of traveling on planes, trains and beyond.

I finished watching this video wishing for more. I wish they had done a video for the full song because twenty seconds of it wasn’t enough for me.

ABC News has this video of this $1.4 Million RV and an interview with the owner. The RV has four flat screen televisions and it costs $600 in gasoline to fill it up. What is it like? See here:

My favorite quotes from this interview:

“Our idea of roughing it is when the wine isn’t properly chilled. That’s about as rough as it gets. We have every amenity you can think of. It’s like living in a luxury condo and your backyard is the entire North American continent.”

“My favorite part of my home on wheels are my friends that I’ve acquired through traveling. It has been a great experience.”

A $1.4 Million RV is an extravagance, but it’s possible to live in a motorhome full time and travel the United States without roughing it AND without spending that much money. A good motorcoach can be had for as little as $60K, which is less than a lot of people pay for their homes.

Living in an RV isn’t really camping, but it’s a form of travel that is unique in its own right.

I’m scared of traveling to Europe because I don’t want to seem like just another Ugly American. You know the type. They show up dressed incorrectly and assume that everyone speaks English. The problem is, I’ve never been taught the etiquette for different countries and I don’t speak many languages. How am I supposed to act? The World Citizen’s Guide is here to help me.

• World Citizens Guide

Their 25 point brochure helps tourists act more like a world citizen than a American citizen. You can download it for free here:

• WorldCitizensGuide.pdf

Some of the advice is right on:

• Be a traveler, not a tourist. Before you touch down in another country, learn as much as you can about it.

• Be quiet. Less is more. In conversation match your voice level to the environment and other speakers. A loud voice is often perceived as a bragging voice.

• Dress for respect. Americans are fundamentally a casual people. Jeans, T-shirts and sneakers work for many of us much of the time, but there are people in other countries that believe such casualness is a sign of disrespect to them and their beliefs.

• Keep your word. If you say that you will e-mail, find that book or baseball cap and send it, then make sure that you keep your promises.

This advice is good no matter where you are traveling. I find that people visiting from other states tend to make these same mistakes when they visit Salt Lake City. This brochure is good advice all around.

We were walking through the Haight. We stopped at the corner of Cole and Haight for a cup of coffee. While we waited for the barista, I sat on the chairs watching the artist paint a mural. My friend, Kathleen Bennett explained the back story to me on video.

Yana Zegri painted a mural there long ago. When the building needed repairs, the mural needed to be sacrificed to save the building. Now that the building is rehabilitated, they hired the original artist to re-paint the mural, and it’s gorgeous. It’s called Evolutionary Rainbow and depicts the evolution of the planet from the primordial soup to the age of humans. From my vantage point at the coffee shop, it looked like a watery rainbow, but when you get up close, each color depicts a stage in our evolution. Here are some photos:

Where: On Cole Street near Haight, San Francisco, California Google Map

For More Photos: Flicker Photo Group: Evolutionary Rainbow

The Herald Sun talked to Jessa Boanas-Dewes from Lonely Planet and gleaned this advice from her.

• Herald Sun: Plan ahead for cheap travel

Everything boiled down to planning, but Jessa was able to say WHAT you needed to plan:

• Find out how much it will cost to fly, get your passport, pay for accomodations and food. “Depending on where you are going, picking up on accommodation specials in advance can save a bundle,” she said.

• Try to stay with friends to save as much money as possible. “Cutting down even a few days of accommodation costs – especially in expensive countries – can save a significant amount of money,” she said.

• Set up a daily budget. “Then add at least 20 per cent. Allow for the occasional luxury, and have a little ’emergency fund’ somewhere in case of emergency.”

• Locate the banks and find out how much they will charge for fees. “These days ATMs are mushrooming and the most cost-effective way to access your money we’ve heard of is putting your credit card in credit and withdrawing funds as you need,” Ms Boanas-Dewes said.

• Tell your credit card company that you’re traveling. “Otherwise they might block your card if they see charges suddenly coming in from overseas to combat potential fraud.”

• Take only small amounts of cash with you. “If they do take cash, we suggest only to take a relatively small amount in the local currency where they will be landing so they can cover off any initial purchases, whether it’s a cab from the airport or whether they just want a coffee when they land.”

• Schedule your trip with lots of extra time just in case things run late. “If you schedule too tightly, when things don’t go to plan you usually end up spending money to fix the problem – for example, taking taxis, or having to settle for more expensive accommodation because you missed check-in,” she said.

Mike and I tend to follow all these rules. Just because you are ruthless with a budget with your money doesn’t mean you can’t have fun on a trip. Knowing that you have enough money for the entire trip makes it so much more relaxing and enjoyable.

Via: Traveling Forever

A trip takes a turn into a strange land that Kristine hadn’t expected taking her students. The faculty advisor for a trip with her 21-year-old traveling writing students takes a step into a bar where the students became the teachers. Read more here:

• World Hum | Travel | The Places We Find Ourselves

She found herself in an area that was far different from her normal beaten path in Kansas.

“New Orleans would have been disorienting at any time. It is as different from central Kansas, where I live and teach, as one can possibly imagine.”

Traveling to new cities gives us the opportunity to go to places that we would never visit at home just because we’re not familiar with “the bad part of town” in a new place. If you didn’t know your hometown, what places might you visit that you are scared to go to today. Maybe you should take a mini-vacation in your own town and visit a site that you would have never considered visiting. You might find something new and exotic in your own hometown.

If you are stuck at work, take an audio vacation with the Quiet American. These recordings were made in Vietnam and include such names as Bleeding, Karaoke, and Water Buffalo.

• quiet american – field recordings

My favorite is called Washing. Here is the description:

Women wade in the river and wash bamboo trays that will freshly caught fish to be sold in the nearby Hoi An market. I was laughed at for sitting near them to record this, as the same stretch of river is the market’s public toilet.

Listen to Washing here:

• quiet american – Washing.mp3

Eavesdrop on a different world from the comfort of your desk and enjoy!

Via: One-minute audio vacations – Lifehacker

When Mike took so many pictures tide-pooling at Swami’s Beach in Encinitas, CA, I took the video camera for a walk for over 45 minutes. I have created a DVD of that walk and it’s available for purchase now.

I created this video for Starling Fitness so you could watch it while walking on a treadmill or riding an exercise bike, but it is also a relaxing vacation in a DVD that you can pop into your player whenever you’re feeling trapped at home.

If you’re dreaming of sandy beaches, this video has it for you!

This video is only a minute and a half, but it gives you an idea of what you will see.

The DVD is 49:13 minutes long. It is shipped via U.S. mail.

Cost: $5 (including shipping and handling in the U.S.)

Order Starling Fitness Walking Videos Here

On our drive to Mt. Hood, Oregon, we stopped in Boise to gas up the car. On the way back to the freeway, we noticed the huge plume of smoke coming from the RV park, so we went to investigate. We were horrified to see that a trailer was on fire in the RV park. The fire department was already on the scene, so we stayed a safe distance away and took some video footage.

In an instant, your vacation can go from happy to horrific. Here are some safety tips from RVTravel.com to keep this from happening to you.

• RVTravel.com – RV fire safety facts that could save your life

Here is a summary of their list:

• Check radiator and antifreeze hoses for leaks.

• Check fuel lines and connections for leaks.

• Regularly clean build up of grease, oil, and road dust on the engine.

• Check tires for inflation and brakes for leaking brake fluid.

• Damp charcoal (as well as rags soiled with car wax and other flammable liquids) can spontaneously combust.

• A hot exhaust pipe or catalytic converter can ignite dry grass.

• Shut the propane off at the tank while driving.

• Check the flue for birds nests before starting your refrigerator on propane.

• Keep flame, cigarettes, and sparks away from batteries and check them monthly.

• Check all 12-volt connections before and after every trip.

• Properly clean up any fuel leaks or spills immediately.

• Never leave a stove unattended or use it to heat your coach.

• Keep all towels, curtains and paper towels as far from the stove as possible.

• Develop an two escape plans (one in the front and one from the rear of the coach) before a fire occurs.

• Review with everyone the “Stop, Drop, and Roll” rule so they know what to do when clothing is on fire.

• Make sure everyone knows how to open the front door.

• Choose a meetup area outside of the trailer so everyone can be accounted for.

• Show everyone how to unhook electricity and how to close propane valves.

• Practice unhooking your tow vehicle as quickly as possible to avoid spreading the fire to other vehicles.

• You should have three fire extinguishers for your coach—one in the galley, one in the bedroom, and one outside of the coach in an unlocked compartment or in your tow vehicle. Inspect them monthly.

• Place a CO/Smoke Detector in the coach. Know what it sounds like and check it regularly.

• Save lives first and property second. Get yourself and your family to safety before attempting to extinguish a fire. Only if you can do so without endangering yourself or others should you use firefighting aids on hand.

• It’s crucial to know your location so firefighters can find you.

• If you have a quick-disconnect fitting on your water hookup, these hoses can be unhooked instantly to fight a fire. If a nearby coach is burning and you cannot move your coach but can safely stay close enough to keep it hosed down, you may be able to save your own vehicle.

Don’t let a RV fire happen to you. Take these safety tips from RVTravel.com seriously and make the necessary precautions.

For More Information:

• Camper’s Corner – RV Fire Safety