Lonely Planet’s New New York Guide

by Erik Olsen on

It’s one thing to buy a new travel guide when you head to a far off destination like, say, Vanuatu. You NEED that guide to help you find your way around. The guide book is generally an indispensable component of your travel experience. I mean, how would you know where to eat, where to stay, what to see without a decent guidebook? Not to mention, of course, how the guidebook has become something of a beacon for travelers to identify each other, strike up conversations and find partners on the road. Happens all the time. Has happened to me.

But then, what about the question of having a guidebook for your own city? Does it do any good to heft one of those weighty tomes around in the place you call home? Well, I suppose it depends on where you live, but for me, having lived in an intense, bustling, complex city now for over seven years, the answer is, absolutely.

And I can’t tell you how pleased I was to get my hands on the newest edition of the Lonely Planet New York City guide. Released just a few months ago, the book is a major upgrade to the previous edition, with gobs of new information on sites and restaurants and hotels. The new edition was much needed and much anticipated by New York transplants and born-n-breds alike who enjoy having the LP guides (among numerous others) on the shelf when a quiet Sunday rolls around and you’re in need of some direction on what to do. I was very pleased to see the new guide nails all my favorite spots, like the Spotted Pig and Sapphire and the Abingdon Guest House (yes, I’m partial to the Village), but also takes on the thriving out door scene in the city with hefty mentions of biking (i.e. along the River and to the Hudson Bridge) as well as kayaking (I always recommend you come and paddle in Manhattan and check out the Manhattan Kayak Company. You will never regret this…unless you are crushed by a cruise ship, of course, then you might regret it…but htat almost never happens ;-)).

Another great feature of the new guide is the lovely and detailed pull-out map. If I have one gripe with travel guides it’s that the maps inside are usually lousy, and LP too a much-needed step by including great maps. If you’ve never been to Manhattan or don’t come often, you NEED a good map.

I could go on, but suffice to say that the new edition of Lonely Planet’s New York City guide is a must have for both visitors and locals.

Don George’s New Gig

by Erik Olsen on

I had not heard that Don George left Lonely Planet until just now. Some of you may know Don from being one of the co-founders of Salon’s (sadly, now defunct) Wanderlust travel section. Others may know him from his books. And yet most (here, anyway) probably know him from being the Global Travel Editor at Lonely Planet and hosting a occasional podcast. And then a very few of you may remember the podcast we did with Don a while back, which was filled with vast quantities of useful info for you, the budding travel writer.

Well, anyway, it turns out that Don has left LP. He recently launched a brand new website called Don’s Place, where he will opine on travel and travel writing. If you check it out now, you can read a story about boobies (of the avian kind) in the Galapagos. The site is actually very well-designed, with a nice big picture of the follicle-challenged George right up front.

Of course any such venture MUST have a blog, and there is one, where he will answers questions, post interviews with adventurers and writers and so on. I, for one, found Don the most charming and friendly of fellows and wish him well. And I recommend you head over to Don’s place right now and check it out.

(via Writtenroad)

Honeymoon With My Brother

by Dia Draper on

So, let’s say that the love of your life ditched you days before your wedding. The cake, flowers, and champagne are all paid for, the guests are already in transit, what do you do? Well if you are Franz Wisner of Honeymoon with My Brother, you let the show go on. Franz with the backing of his friends and family, opts to throw a huge party in lieu of the wedding that wasn’t, and invites his brother Kurt to join him on the already paid for honeymoon.

Franz and Kurt’s initial two week vacation lead them to the realization that they want more out of life and more out of their relationship as brothers. The two circle the globe in search of adventure, answers, and the salve for a broken heart.

After scrounging amazon.com for travel reads, I got a recommendation from a friend and I ordered Honeymoon just because the title was so interesting. This is literally one of the best books I’ve ever read, and the fact that it also documents Franz (and his brother’s) journey around the world was like finding caramel in the middle of a Godiva chocolate (if you’re like me and you like that sort of thing).

Franz’s writing is very down-to-earth, he’s a man that holds his emotions close, but isn’t afraid to share them, his growing love and respect for his previously distant brother is more evident with every page. You won’t be able to resist cheering for Franz as he falls out of love with the fiance, and in love with the road. The book is rumored to be coming to the big screen and the (very handsome) brothers also maintain a popular blog and are currently circling the globe in preparation for their second book.

Wish You Weren’t Here

by Dave Luna on


I love sending people banal postcards. My heart fills with joy when I think of the disappointment someone will feel when they receive one with a picture of the gift shop in which I purchased said stationery. And, yes, I have done this in the past.

Well, if you share my disturbing postal schadenfreude, I recommend checking out the Boring Postcards Flickr pool. It offers a good number of mind-numbing souvenirs for places you’d rather not visit. For example, the dull image above is a postcard for the Hereford Motel from Flickr user Nick-D. (Keep an eye out, though, because I think a lot of the pictures in the pool are just boring pictures people are pawning off as postcards.)

Photographer Martin Parr released a series of aptly-titled books on this subject: Boring Postcards (UK), Boring Postcards USA, and Langweilige Postkarten (Germany). Each collection is chock full of depressing imagery from its respective country. Unfortunately, I could not find any sample photos, but I can probably bet that they’ll have you drifting off to sleep in no time.

Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure

by Dia Draper on

For me, half the fun of preparing for a trip is researching the destination. I’ll be visiting India for the first time during my upcoming stint with Semester at Sea and though I’ve read many a travel blog and poured over many a National Geographic article, I couldn’t resist picking up Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure after reading the back cover.

The excerpt made me laugh out loud in the Boston airport and hand over my credit card without hesitation.

After backpacking her way around India Sarah Macdonald decides she hates the country with a passion. When a beggar reads her palm and insists she will one day return – and for love – she screams ‘Never!’ and gives the country, and him the finger. But eleven years later the prophecy comes true. When the love of Sarah’s life is posted to India, she quits her dream job as a national radio presenter to follow him to the most polluted city on earth, New Delhi. It seems like the ultimate sacrifice for love and it almost kills her – literally.

I read the book in less than two nights, drawn in by Macdonald’s detailed descriptions (it turns out the she is a journalist herself) of the country and culture, which give way to her affection for the people and a more balanced appreciation for the extremes of her new home. She undertakes a “spiritual sojourn” that sounds scary, but was often hilarious in its honesty, yet endearing in its sincerity.

My favorite parts of the book are those times when she writes about the Indian locals that she comes to love as friends and adopted family. Her relationships with the characters gave her an insight into the lifestyle, beliefs and ideology of a complex society, and never failed to make me think (and laugh). I can’t wait to get to India.