Blogger Dave Luna

by Dave Luna on

1. Where was your photo taken: By the Luna Cafe in Salzburg, Austria in 2005. I’m drawn to anything with my name on it.

2. Where do you live now: Philadelphia, PA. Home of Brotherly Love, the Liberty Bell, and the Eagles.

3. Scariest airline flown: A US Navy C-2A Greyhound airplane used for Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD). An aircraft carrier runway isn’t long enough, so the craft has to be catapulted off the deck from rest to about 150mph in under two seconds. I rode one once, and it wouldn’t have been so bad except the seats face the rear of the plane and I didn’t buckle my restraints tightly. The force hurled me a good six inches off of my seat before the straps held me back.

4. Favorite city/country/place: My favorite country (besides the US) is Germany. Munich, in particular, since I love strolling the Theresienwiese and hitting the beer tents during Oktoberfest.

5. Most remote corner of the globe visited: Somewhere in the Pacific aboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74). It was so remote; I have no idea exactly where we were.

6. Favorite guidebook series: I don’t really have a favorite series since I tend to pull information from multiple sources: word-of-mouth, internet, and tea leaves. Though, I’m sure I have more books from Lonely Planet than any other guidebook company.

7. Languages spoken: English, German, and a number of unsavory phrases in Tagalog. If they count: about a dozen or so programming languages.

8. Worst hotel experience: Oh my. I crashed with a roadtrip buddy in a Motel 6 somewhere in Wisconsin. The room smelled of sweat and failure. I passed out on the bed, and when I awoke in the morning, I realized that the pillows smelled of feces. Here’s the kicker: the smell attached itself to me, and I couldn’t shake it for the rest of the day.

9. Connected or disconnected (re: phones, computer): I have to have my computer, digital camera, cell phone, and iPod with me whenever I hit the road. I suppose it’s the nerd in me.

10. Person you’d most like to interview for Gadling? Ernest Shackleton. He’s my hero.

Blogger Justin Glow

by Justin Glow on

1) Where was your photo taken: This was taken in New Delhi, India in December, 2006 after a long day of traveling. But for all you can tell, it was taken at a Radisson in Colorado. You’ll just have to trust me on this one.

2) Where do you live now: I currently live in Springfield, Missouri, USA — home of Bass Pro and, well, Bass Pro.

3) Scariest airline flown: An Indian Air flight wasn’t as scary as it probably should have been; a guy sitting across the row said he had taken this exact same flight (Udaipur to Bombay) in the 1970s in the exact same plane. I’m not sure how he knew this, but to his credit, it did have paisley wallpaper. Everything was fine, though.

4) Favorite city/country/place: Hmm, tough choice, but I’ll have to go with New Orleans. I was introduced to the city at the age of 18, and I’ve been back every year since — mostly for the debauchery surrounding Mardi Gras, where we sleep in a camper parked off of N. Peters. I have friends who I never see in the “real world,” but are always there to share a beer or two when carnival rolls around. Sadly, this is the first year since 2000 that I’ll be missing in action.

5) Most remote corner of the globe visited: When the train would rattle to a halt on a 10 hour trip from Jaipur, India to Mt. Abu — somewhere in the Rajasthani countryside — I would step off onto whatever remote, unmarked station we happened to be stopped at this time and marvel at how far away I was from anything.

6) Favorite guidebook series: I do most of my research online, and rarely do I ever carry around a full guidebook. Usually it’s a stitched-together, Frankenstein-like “guidebook” comprised of Internet print-outs and torn pages from Lonely Planet Wherever.

7) Favorite travel author: If I had to pick one, it would be Bill Bryson — his travels around Europe in Neither Here Nor There was my first introduction to true travel writing, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I also really enjoy Tony Hawks, William Least Heat Moon, Jack Kerouac, Peter Jenkins, John Krakauer, Paul Theroux, and I’ll stop there. An interesting side note: my spellchecker recognizes Kerouac, but not Krakauer or Theroux.

8) The most unusual food I’ve ever eaten is… rattlesnake. It was at the Rattlesnake Round-up in Freer, Texas. And yes, it tasted mostly like chicken.

9) First culture shock experience: When I was young I lived in San Antonio, Texas, just a few hours drive from Nuevo Laredo. Weekend visits as a family (tequila run for Dad, Danncy vanilla run for Mom) were my first tastes of a truly different culture. It wasn’t until then — a little boy trailing behind his parents, stunned at the sights and smells common to Mexico’s border towns — that I realized not everyone lived like I do, that there were things out there beyond my neighborhood, beyond my city, beyond my imagination, that I could experience. It made home seem pretty boring.

10) Next trip: I’ll be in Chicago next weekend, and Las Vegas the first weekend in March. Both rank pretty high on the places-I-enjoy-visiting list.

Email me if you’d like — justinglow at gmail dot com, or visit my website: www.justinglow.com

Blogger Neil Woodburn

by Neil Woodburn on

1. Where was your photo taken: Lake Baikal, Siberia

2. Where do you live now: Los Angeles

3. Scariest airline flown: Siberian Airlines

4. Favorite city/country/place: Prague, Czech Republic

5. Most remote corner of the globe visited: Some random village in Northern Vietnam where the local farmers had never seen a white person before

6. Favorite guidebook series: Lonely Planet

7. Favorite foreign bar: U Vysteleného Oka, Praha

8. Favorite foreign film: My Life as a Dog (Sweden), Delicatessen (France)

9. Worst armpit visited: Dzerzhinsk, Russia – The most polluted city on the planet according to The Guinness Book of Records.

10. Worst hotel: Hotel Theranda, Prizren (Kosovo) – The mass of flies circling above the bed hinted of a recent death.

Contact: Neilgadling(at)gmail(dot)com

Blogger Willy Volk

by Willy Volk on

1.) Where was your photo taken: Front seat of a camel, in front of the Great Pyramid, fall, 1985. My family lived in Egypt for a year. Peep those tube socks. I’m rockin’ it even at 10!

2.) Where do you live now: Beautiful, sunny Lake Worth, Florida, “Where the Tropics Begin.”

3.) Scariest airline flown: While in Egypt, we decided to fly from Cairo, to the Valley of the Kings. We boarded Egypt Air (a.k.a., “Insh’allah Air,” a.k.a., “If God Wills Air”), and just as we were about to take off, a voice came over the loudspeaker apologizing for the inconvenience, but the pilot had just died, and they were looking for a replacement. While we were concerned, many of our fellow passengers took this as their opportunity to slip the silverware into their carry-ons.

4.) Favorite city/country/place:

  • For atmosphere, Cape Town.
  • For relaxation, Lake Malawi.
  • For beauty, Zanzibar.
  • My back porch is pretty slick, too.

5.) Most remote corner of the globe visited: I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Chimtembo (“Big Corpse”), Zambia for 3 years. That was pretty far out.

6.) Favorite guidebook series: I use Lonely Planet, but nothing compares to word-of-mouth.

7.) Worst hotel experience: While in the Peace Corps, after suffering from giardia for 3 months, I finally headed to the capital, Lusaka, to get treatment. Staying at a very nice hostel run by a very religious group, on the first night there, a bomb went off in the city, knocking out the power. Immediately, the religious group flocked to the worship hall and began praying — in tongues. Terrified, in pitch black, sick as a dog, and certain they were screaming, “Let’s go eat the guests!”, I cowered beneath the sheets until morning. Thankfully, I survived; they only took my left ear.

8.) The most unusual food I’ve ever eaten is… “mathondo,” which are African caterpillars, lightly fried in a skillet. Believe it or not, they taste just like burnt toast. Mmmm, burnt toast.

9.) Person you’d most like to interview for Gadling? Paul Bremer. Or anybody who’s ever visited Nigeria for fun.

10.) The ideal vacation is… 12 months, no budget, no itinerary, me, my wife, and our yellow lab. Realistically? Crashing on a beach in the Caribbean is pretty nice, though I’d love to see southeast Asia.

Blogger Adrienne Wilson

by Adrienne Wilson on

1. Where was your photo taken: Freeport, Bahamas.

2. Where do you live now: I’d love to believe I live in Tampa, FL, but the truth is I’m never home. You can count on me cruising around in my company van or resting at your local Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels for the rest of this year.

3. Scariest airline flown: The scariest airline I’ve ever flown on has to be Continental Airlines. On my first and last flight with the carrier from Tampa into Newark last year we had to go into emergency landing mode. There was some type of problem somewhere on the plane, but my mind couldn’t adjust to this news. I was in route to a job interview and I was sweating bullets. They told us the runway would be lined with fire trucks and ambulances in the event of a not-so-hot landing. Luckily we arrived safely.

4. Favorite city/country/place: This is too hard. I refuse to answer. I’m a Gemini for crying out loud!

5. Most remote corner of the globe visited: Vrang and Yamchun Villages in Tajikistan’s Pamirs / Wakhan Cooridor.

6. Favorite guidebook series: Rough Guides.

7. First culture shock experience: Oahu, Hawai’i. My father had gotten stationed there and we moved during my junior year of high school. I was one of those teenage suckers thinking it was going to be nothing but beautiful hula girls and sweet Dole pineapple juice. Long story short living there and simply vacationing are two very different tales. I love going back to catch a glimpse of the island beauty, but I don’t need to spend any extended time on Oahu anymore. Everyone should take a little Hawai’ian history during their stay.

8. Languages spoken: Seeing how I provide you with new foreign words each day many of you may be wondering how many of these languages I speak fluently. Well not to boast or anything, but I speak English fluently and um, yeah… that’s about it. I started the Word for the Travel Wise to help you and I both learn a thing or two before embarking on the next BIG trip. Being able to communicate or making the tiniest attempt to is huge in my book! On occasion I get one or two wrong and I’m thankful to the readers for catching these mistakes as I usually find these words online, in the back of a guidebook or by pestering the wait staff at a local exotic food joint.

9. Traveler’s resume — where have you been: Romania, Hungary, Spain, Tajikistan, Canada, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica, and the Bahamas. Layovers and short sightseeing tours include: Netherlands and Turkey. I got my first passport in the Philippines where I was born. I’ve visited all U.S. states except four.

10. Leeches or mosquitoes: Easy – mosquitoes. They are quick and discreet about their business. Leeches are absolutely disgusting to look at and I’d imagine slow about the blood-sucking process. I’d cripple over and die if I ever saw one of those things on me.