Vegan meets soul food at Souley Vegan in Oakland, California

by Jessica Festa on

Craving the comfort of southern style cooking but don’t want the meat? Or maybe you just want a healthy option to soul food? Souley Vegan in downtown Oakland, California, can provide you with exactly what you’re looking for.

Owner Tamearra Dyson, a vegan since she was 16, grew up eating soul food. Her goal was to adapt the food that she loved into a healthy, vegan alternative that everyone could enjoy. According to Casey Capachi of OaklandNorth.net, some of the menu items include BBQ tofu, vegan macaroni and cheese, potato salad, cheese-less cheesecake, and yams baked with agave and organic raw sugar. They also have a Cayenne Lemonade, a tasty southern-themed cocktail.

Souley Vegan is located at 301 Broadway at the intersection of Broadway and 3rd in downtown Oakland, California.

Great Himalaya Trail now open in Nepal in southern Asia

by Jessica Festa on

The Great Himalaya Trail is officially open for visitors in Nepal in southern Asia. This trail, which stretches from Taplejung in the east to Humla in the west near the border of Tibet, is one of the longest and highest hiking routes in the world.

The goal of creating this trail is to boost tourism in Nepal and portray the country as the perfect destination for adventure seekers. During the 1,700 kilometer trek, hikers will not only experience nature but also a variety of cultures, as the five month or longer trip encompasses 16 different districts. For hikers who do not want to spend that much time hiking straight through the trail, it can also be done in sections, with each bit offering a different type of landscape to experience.

The Great Himalaya Trail is a great active adventure addition for Nepal, as it is already home to 8 of the world’s 14 highest peaks (all over 8,000 meters), including Mount Everest. For a list of companies that you can sign-up with to complete the trek, click here.

Unconventional new eco-tour will take travelers through Japan’s tsunami debris

by Jessica Festa on

While most eco-tours use activities such as bird watching, rafting, and hiking to highlight regional issues, a new tour, led by expedition leader Marcus Eriksen, will take a different approach. Beginning May, 2012, travelers will have the opportunity to sail via yacht through floating islands of debris left from the March 11, 2011, tsunami in Japan. Tourists will see first-hand the pollution problem that now exists in the country as lighters, toys, bottle caps, and other plastics float down the river.

According to Danielle Demetriou of The Telegraph, this unusual “tsunami debris” trip was created by two nonprofits devoted to raising awareness about sea pollution, the 5 Gyres Institute and the Algalita Marine Research Institute. The tour will begin in Hawaii and will head towards the gyre, “a vortex of ocean currents where sea rubbish accumulates”. From there, travelers will head across the “Japan Tsunami Debris Field”.

Since the news has been released there have been some Telegraph readers who don’t agree with the ethics being used, calling the tour “depraved” and saying that the tour operator is “making money from tourists whilst hiding behind the “eco” excuse to justify what he is doing”.

What are your thoughts on this unconventional new eco-tour?

New online class teaches travelers how to make money on the road

by Jessica Festa on

On Wednesday, October 12, 2011, at 9PM EST (6PM PST), Unconventional Guides will host an online class on working from the road and how to make a living while traveling. The class promises that “if you are determined and committed, you can make this happen”.

The class will cover the following topics:

  • The truth about passive income
  • A 5-step plan that will allow you to make money on the road
  • Providing a service vs. creating a product
  • Different forms of work and various travel styles
  • How to handle taxes, mail, and health insurance
  • Non-profit and for-profit business creation
  • Volunteering abroad
  • Freelancing
  • Answers to more than 40 frequently asked questions

The class is only open to a limited number of students, so if you’re interested, click here to sign up.

Dutch government to ban skunk weed

by Sean McLachlan on

The Dutch government is planning on reclassifying skunk weed as a hard drug, the BBC reports.

All marijuana with more than 15% THC content will have to be removed from the country’s coffee shops. The new rule will go into force next year and will affect about 80% of the pot sold in coffee shops.

The Dutch government has already announced plans to ban drug tourism by requiring customers to prove residency in The Netherlands before being allowed to buy marijuana. That plan will also go into effect next year, assuming it actually becomes law. Drug tourism makes an awful lot of money for an awful lot of people in The Netherlands, so the law is sure to meet some strong opposition.

But don’t worry, stoners, there are still places where you can get all bleary eyed and chow down on donuts. In Spain it’s legal to grow a small number of pot plants for personal use, and Portugal, which has the most liberal drug laws in Europe.

So if you’re headed to Holland next year, instead of lighting up, check out these other fun things to do in The Netherlands.