Articles tagged “adventure travel”

Filter the Adventure Travel category by popular activities:

Biking, Camping, Climbing, Hiking, Paddling, Scuba diving, Skiing, Surfing

When malaria medication goes awry

by Grant Martin on

Act 3 of This American Life‘s episode 399 plays on one of my greatest travel curiosities: the efficacy of malaria medication.

As any visitor to a tropical or sub-tropical climate can attest, anti-malaria medication is a strongly recommended supplement, before, during and often after travel. It is an arduous and time consuming medication to handle; depending on the drug prescribed, side effects can include wild dreams, hallucinations and other curiosities, all well after the prescription has run its course. Worse, the pills don’t even vaccinate the host — they just slow down the infection while the person has time to get to the hospital.

For this reason among others, many travelers choose to blow off the medication. And now there may be another reason: memory loss. The third act of TAL’s episode 399 is the story of David MacLean, an American Fulbright Scholar working in India back in 2002. It picks up with Mr. MacLean regaining consciousness in a crowded train station with absolutely no memory, no passport and no idea how he got there — only a wallet and a few local friends and a family back in Ohio to help him put the pieces back together.

The source of the memory loss? Lariam, a once-weekly anti malaria medication commonly prescribed in 2002. You’ll have to listen to the show (act 3 starts at around 35:00 on the free podcast/web audio player) to hear about what happens, but the story is gripping, heavy and a bit scary.

You’re now free to carry guns in U.S. national parks

by Kraig Becker on

For nearly 95 years visitors to U.S. national parks have been prohibited from carrying firearms. In fact, the ban even extended to Teddy Roosevelt, who was once refused entry to Yellowstone while carrying a shotgun. But that ban was lifted yesterday when a new law went into effect allowing visitors to bring their guns along with them the next time they decide to visit Old Faithful or climb Half Dome.

The new law was passed as a rider bill to a credit card reform act that cleared Congress last May and was later signed by President Obama. It specifies that people who can legally own guns, and have completed the proper permitting process, can now bring their firearms with them to national parks. The law is superseded by the state laws in which the park falls however, meaning that some of the national parks will continue to have a ban on firearms.

The passage of the new law does not change the prohibition of the usage of firearms within the park, nor does it impact the ban on hunting within most parks. The Park Service also wisely points out that the ban on carrying the weapons still extends to “federal facilities,” which in this context includes visitor centers, offices, and maintenance buildings.

For their part, the NPS doesn’t believe this new law will have much of an impact on the vast majority of visitors to the parks. But just in case, they’ve updated their website providing all the specific information on each park and how the gun laws apply to that location.

Dos and Don’ts in the developing world

by Sean McLachlan on

We’ve been talking a lot here on Gadling about travel safety. Travelers should be aware of potential dangers no matter where they are, but what do you do when you’re obviously the richest person within sight? Here are some tips about what to do and what not to do when your monthly salary is higher than the average annual wage of the country you’re visiting.

Don’t let fear ruin your vacation
First off, most developing countries are as safe or even safer than the U.S. or Western Europe. In two decades of traveling in 26 countries, including places such as Iran, India, and Egypt, the only time someone tried to mug me was in a shopping mall in Danbury, Connecticut! That said, you do need to keep your wits about you.

Do wear a money belt
Yes, they’re dorky looking, but a money belt will foil most pickpockets if you keep it under your clothing. Even though criminals know tourists wear money belts, they’d rather go after easier prey. Developing countries tend to have harsh penalties for crime and scary prisons, so criminals don’t want to take unnecessary risks. Keep the day’s cash in your pocket so you don’t have to pull out your money belt in the marketplace. Stuff something bulky in the opposite pocket so the pickpockets go for your inviting bulge. Toilet paper is a good option, and may come in handy in case of a sudden onset of Montezuma’s revenge.

Do be aware of local scams
Scam artists employ different tactics in different countries. Often they take the form of a young man with good English approaching you wanting to invite you someplace, where you’ll be shaken down. Or they might give you a friendly tour of their neighborhood and then demand payment, getting increasingly threatening if you refuse. Your best source for the latest scams is an up-to-date guidebook and locals working in the tourism industry, such as hotel managers. They’ve heard plenty of stories.

Don’t flash your valuables
Why tempt fate? Leave the iPod Touch and the gold watch at home.

Don’t pretend to be poor
There’s nothing sillier than seeing some American backpackers trying to convince someone in Peru or Ethiopia that they’re really not that rich. Nonsense. You may be a struggling student back home, but you’re still living a life most Third Worlders can only dream of. You were able to afford an international flight, after all. Trying to pretend you’re just as poor as the locals is unconvincing and more than a little patronizing.

Do back up your photos
The most common item to be stolen is a camera. It’s easily snatchable and has a high resale value. Don’t run the rick of losing your travel memories. An inexpensive 4 GB thumb drive (also called a flash drive) can hold hundreds of photos. Transfer your pictures regularly at an Internet cafe and keep the thumb drive in a different location than your camera.

Do stay open to personal interaction
The best part of any journey is the people you meet. The majority of people of all nations are honest, so don’t worry too much. Most folks who approach you are simply curious or want to practice their English. Trust your gut and have a great time. Bon Voyage!

[Photo credit: Almudena Alonso-Herrero]

New epic trekking route set to open in the Himalaya in 2011

by Kraig Becker on

Have you already conquered the world’s top treks? Already hiked the Inca Trail, made the trek to Everest Base Camp, and scaled Kilimanjaro? Do the Pacific Crest and Appalachian Trails seem passe? Then get ready for a new long distance trekking route set to open in the Himalaya next year, that will challenge even the heartiest of backpackers with its distance and altitude.

Known at the Great Himalaya Trail, this new route will run approximately 2800 miles through some of the most remote and stunningly beautiful locations on the planet. The snow capped peaks of the Himalaya will tower above hikers as they pass through Bhutan, Tibet, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, on a route that will be an epic undertaking from beginning to end.

The trail will begin in Namche Barwa in Tibet and extend all the way to Nanga Parbat in Pakistan. It is estimated that it will take roughly 150 days to hike the GHT from end to end, although it will also be broken up into seven sections, which can be completed in 18 to 35 days depending on which segment a trekker elects to do. Much of the route will be inaccessible by road, but will instead pass through remote villages that will allow for resupply, while giving backpackers a chance to immerse themselves in the unique and fascinating local cultures.

Distance isn’t the only consideration for those looking to complete the GHT. Altitude will be an ever present challenge, with the trail climbing through high passes and along mountain routes in excess of 18,000 feet. Weather will also be a constant threat, with the chance of heavy snow a possibility at nearly any time of the year, and a freak blizzard could potentially close the route for a number of days. Political relations between the nations through which the trail passes are, at times, a bit tenuous as well, meaning that the route could be shut down along disputed borders.

To date, only the route through Nepal is complete, although work continues in each of the other countries in an effort to be ready by February 15 of next year, when the first trek, led by adventure travel company World Expeditions will get underway. Those interested in joining the inaugural trek can book the entire route or one of the seven subsections now, although space is limited and demand is expected to be high. Trekking the route independently is being discouraged at the moment due to the number of permits and visas that are required.

For Nepal, the Great Himalaya Trail is an opportunity to expand the options for adventure travelers who already visit the country in droves. But for the other four countries along the Great Himalaya Trail, the new trekking route gives them a chance to begin to tap more fully into the growing adventure travel market that has, for the most part, eluded them. With the travel industry looking to rebound this year, the hope is that in 2011, long distance trekkers will be ready to take on this new route, and bolster their struggling economies in the process.

3 chinese students, 48 tigers, and 72 hours to kill

by Kraig Becker on

The Qinling Wild Animal Safari in the Xi’an, Shaanxi province of China, recently held a unique promotion, recruiting three people to spend 72-hours living inside a small cabin located at the center of a tiger enclosure. The recruits were tasked with observing the behavior of the 48 big cats that prowled the grounds just outside the thin walls of the cabin, recording their interactions 24-hours per day.

Officials from the safari park say they received more than 650 applicants from brave souls looking to spend the night in the tiger pen. They ended up selecting three students, ages 24 and 25, who were given laptops, digital cameras and notebooks to record their observations, and this past Sunday, they were locked into the small, ten square-meter cabin to begin the process. Sunday also just happened to be the start of the Chinese New Year, marking the beginning of the “Year of the Tiger”

For it’s part, the cabin wasn’t exactly luxury accommodations. It had no electricity or heat, and contained no furniture what so ever. It was packed with straw to help keep the students warm however, and it allowed them to get up close and personal in making their round-the-clock observations of the cats, without disturbing their natural patterns. In a sense, it served as a duck blind for the three days they were in the enclosure.

The students managed to survive their stay inside the cage, and were let out on Wednesday. Their observations will now be used as part of a larger study on the behavior of tigers in an attempt to better understand how they live in the wild. Some experts think that there may be as few as 50 tigers still left in the wild in China, and during the Year of the Tiger, they hope to raise awareness of that fact.