Hire a local to be your local buddy

by Neil Woodburn on

Anyone who has ever traveled knows just how rewarding a trip can be when you meet a local who takes you under their wing.

And now there is a website to ensure that this happens.

For a price, of course.

Like-a-Local.com specializes in hooking tourists up with locals in London, Antwerp, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, Paris, and Lisbon. Simply mention what you are looking to experience (local restaurants, local architecture, local shopping, local etc.) and your hired local will then do what locals do best: show you around like a local. Get it?

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Travel Forums

by Neil Woodburn on

The internet, as wonderful as it may be, can often back up the proverbial dump truck and unload such an ungodly, suffocating amount of information upon your noggin that you may find yourself longing for the Dewy Decimal system.

Case in point: before traveling recently for the island of Moorea, I did a quick Google search and came up with a mere 1.8 million hits.

But which one to turn to for advice? It’s no secret that web designers invest time and money to ensure that their sites pop up high on Google searches in order to attract your attention and perhaps even separate you from your money. And that’s why I don’t always trust my local search engine.

Where I do turn to information, however, are forums.

Forums are just that, they allow ordinary people to openly post and honestly discuss whatever is on their mind–something extraordinarily important in the world of travel since other travelers have always been the best source of information on where to go, what to see, and where to eat.

My very favorite travelers’ forum is Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree.

Those who post here tend to reflect the Lonely Planet, roll-up-your-sleeves and get off the beaten path travel mentality. And as a result, I tend to find their suggestions and recommendations right up my alley.

The site is organized by regions of the world and also includes a keyword search option. There are also special interest subsections which cover such topics as traveling with kids, women travelers, trekking, traveling with disabilities, learning languages, and responsible travel.

Check it out.

Taking your online passwords on the road

by Neil Woodburn on

Accessing the internet while traveling abroad is becoming easier and easier. Remembering all those passwords to your favorite sites, on the other hand, is becoming harder and harder–especially if your home computer automatically fills in the password for you.

This more than likely means that you will never remember that Expedia password while on the road. And that can be a problem.

Of course, someone has come up with a solution. The RoboForm2Go Pro USB key is a handy little device that stores all your passwords to all your favorite sites. Simply plug it into that computer at the cyber café, enter a singular password to unlock it, and bingo! your cache of cleverly chosen passwords automatically unlocks the sites you’re seeking to access. Of course, now you’re going to have to remember the RoboForm2Go password or you’re screwed…

(via the LA Times)

Underwater Florida: There’s a spring with your name on it

by Jamie Rhein on

A friend of mine moved to Florida recently and has discovered the wonders of Florida’s underwater scene. Actually, he hasn’t made it to any of the places that he’s salivating over whenever he browses the Web site underwaterflorida.com, but he’s planning upcoming outings for whenever he has time off from work.

He showed me the section of the Web site that lists many of Florida’s freshwater springs by region. If you click on each one, there’s a description about what makes a particular spring unique from another. For example, Rainbow Springs is one of the clearest in Florida. Here you can snorkel, canoe and swim. There is also a hiking trail and tropical gardens. As I’m sitting in gray, cold Ohio, tropical gardens sound divine.

DeLeon Springs caught my attention, but it has nothing to do with the fountain of youth. What it does have something to do with is the Civil War. There used to be a sugar mill here that was burned down twice by Confederate soldiers. Now you can canoe and scuba dive.

Hearing my friend talk about the places he’d like to go (he’s up in Ohio for the holidays) reminds me of what is so alluring about moving to a totally new state, country or even a new town. Although, there’s a certain coziness about living in one place for a long enough time that it’s as comfortable as an easy chair, and you’ve been to the same dentist or mechanic so many times that you don’t even have to remember how to get there anymore, there’s an edginess that’s missing.

That crackle of excitement when learning to navigate the unknown and making new discoveries is hard to come by when settled down–which is why travel is as necessary as breathing. Moving to Florida, particularly this time of year, makes sense to me, particularly when there are more than 30 springs listed with directions on how to get there. Of course, moving means packing and that’s another story. Still, Skybus flies to Florida and the next round of cheap seats should be posted soon.

In-flight WiFi raises etiquette questions

by Aaron Hotfelder on

With more and more airlines offering their passengers wireless internet access, some interesting issues arise about proper in-flight internet etiquette. In addition, airlines must decide if they want to give their patrons full access to the internet, with all the risks and concerns that brings about.

A recent AP article paints a nightmarish scenario that may arise unless airlines are willing to restrict their passengers’ internet access: “Seat 17D is yapping endlessly on an Internet phone call. Seat 16F is flaming Seat 16D with expletive-laden chats. Seat 16E is too busy surfing porn sites to care. Seat 17C just wants to sleep.”

It seems reasonable to me that no phone calls should be allowed (annoying) and pornography should be filtered (disgusting). But while airlines like American, Alaskan, and Virgin have banned internet phone services like Skype, they “have no plans to filter sites based on their content. At most, [they] may manage traffic and delay large downloads.”

Said one exec of a company in charge of installing WiFi on airplanes: “We think decency and good sense and normal behavior” will prevail. Sure it will.