virtualDavis's blog

We share Jen Leo's fascination with (and excitement about) podcasting, and her Travel Podcasts list offered an exciting introduction to some great resources with which we'd been unfamiliar. She lists Erik Olssen over at Gadling and Don George at Lonley Planet which are two of my personal favorites.

Joanna Walters' "The Inns and Outs of Going Truly Wild" has gotten me pretty primed for snowfall. I was just mentioning the other day that I'm hoping to do plenty of cross country skiing this winter. Wondering if my brother had left his skis in the barn when he moved overseas, or if I'll need to purchae my own.

World Backpackers, an online information resource where backpackers can find and exchange useful info and personal experiences, is celebrating two years online with a travel writing contest. You're invited to translate your own personal experience into travel guide form, and submit it to destination@worldbackpackers.net for consideration. You destination guide must contain descriptions, suggestions and highlights of a particular destination, and it must be based upon your own personal travel experiences. The aim is to gather many destination guides on places all over the world and then to make them freely available on their website, so that other travellers can find cool itinerary suggestions, sightseeing musts, wicked hostels, scary local dishes, and so on. In this way, World Backpackers serves as an online place where backpackers can find and exchange useful destination and travel information.

"Sea Change", a Mother Jones photo essay by Andrew Testa and text by Monika Bauerlein, captures the fragile status of the Moken, Thailand’s "sea gypsies" who we heard so much about in the days after the tsunami. They were heralded as one of a very few upbeat counterpoints to the devastating drama wrought by the angry sea. But now there's a worry that they "could be swept away by an even greater force." In the November/December 2005 Issue of Mother Jones Testa and Bauerlein quite beautifully convey the story of this unique tribe which strattles the Thailand and Myanmar border.

You may want to check out Country Inns & Suites for your next excursion. According to their promotions,

"Whether your trip is packed with business or filled with fun, we know you're looking for a soft place to land at the end of the day."

Sounts pretty much standard, right? The usual marketing enticement... They go on: "At Country Inns & Suites it's nice to know you'll always be greeted by a friendly staff, a cozy fire and warm decor that makes you feel right at home." Okay, still a little schtick-y, right? I hear you. But consider that for 12 consecutive years County Inns & Suites has maintained a 98% guest return rating, and they keep scoring high on nationwide guest satisfaction surveys. Not bad. And then there's the free breakfast, free morning newspaper and down home "Book It And Return It" guest lending library. All nice. And fireplaces and swimming pools are a bonus. But the REAL reason for checking out Country Inns & Suites next time you're on the road is there Last-Minute, Best-Priced Travel Deals. Every Wednesday, they offer specially discounted travel opportunities to different destinations. Don't miss out. (Please note that these Hot Deals are only available online.)