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February 25th 2009, 17:00

Jane, who runs our guesthouse, is one of four directors of an orphanage in Githurai, one of the few stone buildings on the edge of one of Nairobi’s 183 slums. Thursday was her visiting day and she was happy to take us along. We arrived just in time for a bible reading, which was weird because only the previous day, I’d told Alex I’d like to go to one. I’m not religious, and don’t believe in God, which is not something I’d recommend bringing up in conversation in Africa (

No, I did not spell the title wrong. I made the word up to define a new philosophy in travel.

The real word is Vagabonding. Vagabonding has a new guru. His name is Rolf Potts. In his book, called not surprisingly Vagabonding, he defines vagabonding as “The act of leaving behind the orderly world to travel independently for an extended period of time.” And “A deliberate way of living that makes freedom to travel possible”.

The book does a fine job of advocating vagabonding as an alternative to taki

February 6th 2009, 15:38

The words ‘slum’ and ‘poverty’ are well used. Maybe you’ve read Shantaram, which some say romanticises these terms. Trying to tread the line between, on the one hand, outright horror and on the other, sheer awe at the spirit of human nature to exist, it’s impossible to say that, up close, it isn’t everything you’d expect, and worse, without also saying how much more to it there is than just squalor and poverty. 

So far, we’d only seen Kibera from a distance. We’d stopped a

“Donors don't give to institutions. They invest in ideas and people in whom they believe.” - G.T. Smith. Volunteering abroad can be expensive to the individual; most people use their own money to cover expenses while they volunteer in a foreign country. Especially, if you want to volunteer and you are either in high school or college, with no source of income. To decrease financial burdens on yourself, you can carry out some fundraising campaigns maybe from organizations or even from other indiv

In the summertime, especially, whole Europe vibrates with the rhythm of the music events sic this summer with more festivals than ever. Many are huge, other still small and intimate with green grass instead of mud. Check out our list and hurry to plan trips! 

Rock, pop & r’n'b

June 22-26: Glastonbury.

Incredibly large. Sold out in four hours when tickets were released in October, although no names booked yet been presented. Reported to 177 500 visitors. Among the top names include U2, Coldplay, Bey

February 6th 2009, 10:09

Being at the park in time for sunrise was my bright idea, but I was alright once I was in the shower. It was still dark when we arrived at the park, and Francis was annoyed that by the time the gates were open to let us in, the sun had risen well into the sky. But in fact, the timing was perfect. There was enough light for photos, and everything was bathed in a warm, golden glow and a silky cloak of early morning mist.

I’d thought we’d have to work hard to find the animal

The other day I stumbled on some guest visiting Dominica for the first time. They were so delighted because of the things they had already done over the past few days.  They commented on the richness of the island. Its unique black sand beaches, numerous rivers lakes and waterfall the abundance of fresh water on such a small island is unbelievable. They had only been there for 5 days and had done a lot they visited the north the south the east the west and thought they had done it all.

It was to

Spirit Airlines just announced that they are starting daily non-stop service between San Diego, California and Las Vegas, Nevada.

To celebrate, the airline is offering $9 fares (each way based on round trip purchase) on their website today and tomorrow.

The two daily flights between San Diego and Las Vegas will start on September 7 and will increase to three a day on September 22, 2011.

“We are thrilled to welcome one of the nation’s most successful low-fare airline to San Diego International Airp

February 6th 2009, 10:08

Today was all about the animals, the Giraffe Centre and Crocodile Village, and Francis was our driver and companion. Mum has a diary at home featuring pictures of Africa. The one that had caught my eye was of a stately looking home with a real life giraffe poking its head through the window. So it was exciting when that’s exactly where we ended up today, that home had belonged to the founder of the Giraffe Centre in Nairobi. 

As a child, my favourite animal had been the gi

6th February 2009, 10:00

As I mentioned earlier, in preparation for our grand tour, we had contacted a number of Dad’s friends and colleagues. A result of these communications was that a driver was holding a board with our names on it as we walked through Arrivals at Jomo Kenyatta International. His name was Francis, and he knew how to spell my name. He chatted as he drove us for an hour and a half to our guesthouse, but you’ll have to ask Alex what about because I’d passed out again. 

The guestho

More and more corporations are starting to engage in international volunteer programs, they are doing this as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts. Corporate responsibility helps to align organizations business operations with social values. Volunteering abroad as a part of your corporate social responsibility will help your organization address expectations of some of your other stake holders, including your investors and employees. It therefore does not only help you to relate

6th February 2009, 9:50

By the time we got on the plane from Heathrow to Nairobi, I’d had 4 hours sleep in 3 days. When the cat sniffed my rucksack and finally clocked what was going on, I burst into hysterical tears that lasted from closing the door on him to the tube, along the Piccadilly line and all the way to Heathrow. Alex was very good about it, he must have been utterly horrified. I passed out within minutes of having fastened my seat belt on the plane, waking suddenly as the plane built

You probably now have heard that Bucklebury is a village in Berkshire (pronounced bark-sheer) England where Her Royal Highness, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, (a.k.a. Kate Middleton) is from. 

After working very long hours the past few days we managed to clear up the time to finally go camping for a weekend. We awoke early eager to hit the road again (even if only for a few miles).

We've been delayed by weather and work from taking this spring shakedown trip a few times prior to this weekend. We've planned to install some new technology (tv, radio, backup camera, etc) to update some old and non working components.

We went up to the storage unit to retrieve the RV, bring it home to cle

February 1st 2009, 04:28

I don't want to go anymore. I want to go to bed. I want a lie in. I want to eat pizza. I want round the clock access to mayonnaise. I feel a bit sick. I just brushed my teeth and tongue a little too vigourously and nearly was. I've just said goodbye to Mum, also on her way to Africa, off to meet Dad. They'll both be so near yet so far. Her stiff upper lip was a bit more wobbly than Dad's, in fact she didn't really try it at all. Dad has just been attacked by a lion, appar

Por:Juan Diego Santacoloma

 En esa búsqueda de lo mas parecido a un paraíso tropical para el descanso, QueLlevar.Travel conoció Isla Múcura y allí pasó un par de días en el Hotel Punta Faro.

Era cerca del medio día cuando llegamos a Isla Múcura, en medio de colores que vibraban a pleno sol. La ruta de acceso al muelle del hotel Punta Faro, proporcionaba la mejor primera impresión del lugar; el agua turquesa, la arena blanca, los techos de palma que sobresalen entre la vegetación, conforman una pos

January 27th 2009, 13:45

I think I've had my first lariam dream. Having had only one proper nightmare ever, I was curious about this possible side effect, and almost looking forward to it. It sounded like a challenge. Well, last night, I was being chased up a flight of stairs by two axe murderers. Fortunately, they ended up murdering each other and by the end, I was fishing for trout in our garden pond. So, I reckon I can handle Larium.

I am reviewing my To Do list. The longer I look at it, the m

When Travel Marketing Conferences Fall Short

I went to the recently held, high-powered Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME)  conference  eager to pick up the latest in travel trends, and come back with content for an article on the forward-looking state of travel.

Half way through the two day meet I began to feel I wasn’t getting what I wanted.

Nothing was sticking.

That was confusing because the roster was star-studded; the wunderkinds of travel’s social media world and executive clas