Image by J Shorenstein

When I took my trip to Europe after college graduation, I considered myself a “backpacker.”  I stayed in hostels.  I traveled by bus and rail.  And, of course, I carried everything I needed on my back instead of lugging around a heavy suitcase.  But recently I’ve been noticing the term “flashpacker” showing up more often in articles and on blogs about travel.  Don’t worry if you haven’t heard the term before.  Wikipedia doesn’t even have a proper page for it.  Instead, it’s given a brief section on the “backpacker” page.  HostelBookers describes it as, “the growing number of ‘techno-travelers’ [who] want to blog and broadcast live video streams of their travel experiences.”  If you couldn’t tell by this website, that describes me perfectly.

I couldn’t imagine my trip to Europe without that blog.  It helped me keep in contact with family and friends back home, while simultaneously creating something I can reflect back on after returning home.  We used internet cafes or computers at hostels, where we’d upload pictures from the day and, if we had time, update the blog.  Every trip after that has added a new gadget or application to the mix, which has pushed us further into the “flashpacker” label.  Southeast Asia saw the introduction of our EePC and an iPhone.  This next trip will be exploring the iPhone further, as well as utilizing this website in new ways. (If you plan on traveling like I do, please read our travel safety tips).

Some have described flashpackers as backpackers “gone upmarket.“  They may stay at hostels, but get private rooms.  Or they might skip the hostel altogether and use a budget hotel.  Though I tend to avoid things that are considered “upmarket,” I must admit I do enjoy having my own room.  All it took was a couple of drunk roommates in London to sully the idea a shared room.  I still occasionally stay at a place with a shared bathroom, though.  Three years of college dormitories has normalized wearing sandals in the shower.

Of course, this new term has sparked some controversy. While many, like myself, embrace the term, others view it as “killing the art of backpacking.“  In an article on BootsNAll, Paul Dow states that flashpackers are, “completely missing the point of independent travel.”  To him they lack, “the sense of adventure and randomness that comes from not quite knowing where you’re going and what you’re doing.”  I admit, I rarely show up in a city without a reservation, but for me my trip still has a sense of adventure.  The three photos embedded in the article could have very well been taken from my own blog.  I swear I have an almost identical picture from the back of a Tuk-tuk somewhere.

The definition is obviously still developing and may never have a solid meaning.  Jon Wik on The Expeditioner summarized it best.  “Throw in your laptop, whiz in the privacy of your own bathroom, and change your underwear from week to week. Or do none of this. It’s no big deal, and call it what you want. Each of us still travels by our own means — whether that is evolving or not.”

Useful Links

Travellers Point- Introduction to Flashpacking
Vagabondish- I Wanna Be a Flashpacker: When Backpackers Grow Up and Get Rich
Women on the Road: Flashpacking
Nomadic Matt- Essential Items for a Flashpacker
Green Around the Globe: Backpacker v. Flashpacker
Flashpacking Guide
The Flashpacker

Delta has canceled numerous flights due to the weather, while others are allowing travelers affected by the storm to rebook for free.  Cruise lines are also being affected.  A survey by AAA  states that a storm like this could affect about 34.4 million people travel plans.

Image by NASA

Storm Information:
National Hurricane Center
The Weather Channel
Weather Underground
Wikipedia

Useful Links:
Red Cross Shelters
Traffic Information
Severe Weather Readiness

Airline Information:
Delta
Southwest
JetBlue
AirTran
Virgin America
Spirit
American
United
Continental US Airways

Image by Cheddaz via Wikimedia Commons

The moment former US President Jimmy Carter cleared North Korean airspace, the State Department issued a travel warning telling Americans not to travel to the country.  President Carter was visiting the nation to free Aijalon Gomes, a Boston school teacher who was sentenced to 8 years of hard labor for supposedly entering North Korea illegally.  This follows just one year after former President Bill Clinton brought home Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee after they were detained on similar charges.

For the adventurous traveler, North Korea presents an interesting challenge. On the one hand, it is possible to gain entry to the country, even for Americans. However, it’s an incredibly bad idea, even if you manage to jump through all the political hoops necessary to get in.  Those who get in are given an almost identical tour of the country, which is more propaganda than tourism (see The Vice Guide to North Korea for a great example of this).  Foreigners are escorted by a “guide” who is with them every moment that they are out of their hotel room. Everything a visitor does is strictly monitored and controlled, including a complete ban on cellphones, laptops, and any outside reading material or music.  And most importantly, every dime that you spend on your trip goes directly to the government. Independent travel in the country is impossible unless you want to break laws and take a serious risk.

The statement warns U.S. citizens not to enter the country without “explicit official permission and an entry visa from the Government of North Korea.  The North Korean government will prosecute and sentence those who enter the DPRK without proper documentation.”  It goes on to state that “since January 2009, four U.S. citizens have been arrested for entering North Korea without the necessary documents. Three were charged with illegal entry and ‘crimes against the State.’”

Image by Edward N. Johnson via Wikimedia Commons

Citizens from countries other than the United States, Japan, or South Korea may find it easier to get into the country, but they will be faced with the same restrictions as Americans.  In the blog The forbidden railway: Vienna-Pyongyang, a young Austrian man takes an uncommon route for tourists into the country through the railway border crossing with Russia.  Though he didn’t face any punishment for entering the country in an unauthorized fashion, he was met with suspicion numerous times.  Before even being able to board the car bound for North Korea, he was discouraged from taking the trip by North Korean guards.  Upon arriving in Pyongyang, he was again questioned by his guides regarding the details of his route.

With incidents like Gomes and the reporters being detained, along with the mysterious sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean Navy ship, it’s become even more dangerous for anyone to enter the country.  The easiest way to catch a glimpse of North Korea is still a trip to the DMZ from the south.  However, keep in mind that the DMZ is the most heavily militarized border in the world, with thousands of troops from both North and South Korea, as well as US soldiers, along the border at any given time. Visitors can arranges tours of the DMZ and the Joint Security Area.

Using the compass, we found our way back to the hostel in Ayuthaya, Thailand. Image by S Wilson.

As some of you may have guessed by the last blog post, we are very tech savvy travelers.  A term I’ve heard thrown around is “Flashpacker,” which seems to describe our style of travel pretty well.  We even have an entire section of the website devoted to the topic of technology.

Needless to say, technology will play a very large part on our upcoming road trip.  I plan on using it to test out some new ways keeping in touch as we travel as well as using some new navigation tools.

On our last trip to Thailand we had one iPhone (I hadn’t bought mine yet) and our EePC laptop.  For this next trip we’ll be throwing my own phone and a ton of new apps into the mix.  Anyone who sees this as a desirable way of traveling should read our tech tools and safety tips section.

So how does this effect you?  Well, if you plan on following our trip, you’ll have more ways of doing so based on your own personal preference. And if you prefer more traditional ways of keeping in touch, you can keep that going too.

Traveller’s Point

For those of you who still wish to follow us through there, you’ll still be able to.  In order to receive updates you’ll need to subscribe using a valid email address.  If you don’t want to subscribe, just bookmark the blog page and check back periodically. Yes, our new trip doesn’t have any posts yet. That’ll change shortly.

Travel Planning 101

If you want to check up on the whole blog, including other authors and non-trip specific related articles you can subscribe to this blog.  Just click on the symbol at the bottom of this page.  As a matter of fact, the bottom of the page is filled with a ton of little symbols that’ll help you keep track of this blog.

You can also navigate to the section titled Adventures and Opinion Blog or the specific Road Trip: Florida to New Orleans section using the links right above this post.  By doing this, you’ll get other articles such as the on you are reading right now.

Facebook and Twitter

Yes, we will be microblogging.  But mostly it’ll be a snippet of a larger article, which you can find through an accompanying link.  It’s still a good way to keep track of us through social networking sites that doesn’t require much extra effort on your part.

TripCast

This method of following us is going to be a major experiment for us. As I was beefing up my iPhone, I discovered Jeeps Trip Cast, which should theoretically track our road trip and make it easy to see our pictures and blogs as we go.  I currently have no friends on the website, though, so I’m asking you, the readers, to look me up and help me play with this new toy.  If you don’t have the app yet, don’t worry, it’s free!

Image by Linux insidev2, Wikimedia Commons

In preparation of my upcoming trip to Florida, I’ve decided to load my iPhone up with interesting and useful apps.  Though I’ve only had the phone for a month, it’s equipped with most navigation basics like Around Me, Sit or Squat, and Google Maps. I also had a few geared specifically to my own taste, such as Coffee Spot and Have 2 Snack. These are usually redundant with Around Me, but provide quicker access for things I look for often.  Shop Nearby is another great locator tool if the item you need is only sold in specific stores (example: tools, office supplies, or pet accessories).

I also have WikiHood, which provides Wikipedia links based on things located nearby.  Considering how useful I find Wikipedia in the travel planning process, I couldn’t pass that one up.  Urban Spoon and Yelp are also extremely useful for finding places nearby and feature reviews by other users.  I also have numerous apps geared specifically towards the region I live in (San Jose Transit, Calif Traffic, and Market Finder), though these probably won’t be as useful to me across the country.

For this specific trip I’ve begun downloading new apps, some of which I won’t be able to review until I hit the road.  There are numerous free guides for New Orleans, but after downloading about a dozen and testing them out I’ve managed to narrow it down to four.

SWAMI- New Orleans

This is a basic guidebook app. I downloaded several, but I liked the look and feel of this one best.  When it comes to the basics, we all have our own taste so pick a guide app that works best for you.

City Walks- New Orleans

City Walks provides themed tours of numerous cities.  I haven’t had a chance to test it out yet, but the app seems easy to use and provides a lot of different focuses for New Orleans.  The only problem I foresee is using my phone while walking around on the street.  I try to not flash valuables about in public too much.

French Quarter Finder

The title is self explanatory.  We plan on spending a lot of time in the French Quarter so having a locator app aimed at that specific area makes since.  This one seemed like the best.

A Story Like No Other

This app focuses primarily on Louisiana’s African American Heritage Trail. Many of these locations of interest are on my intended route from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, and several are within the Big Easy itself.

I also downloaded 30A, which is a travel guide focused on a scenic drive in Florida. This path wasn’t on my original itinerary, but I saw the guide while browsing and am considering adding it based on the app alone.

Some General Road Trip Apps:

Rest Area Finder
Road Trip Bingo
Road Slot

General Travels Apps We Just Discovered:

MyTSA
Kayak Pro ($.99)
TripIt

Image by Justin Watt, Wikimedia Commons

This is a trip that’s been brewing for years.  I had first visited New Orleans when I was 14, but have wanted to go back now that I’m older, wiser, and able to try a Hand Grenade.  My memories of the city are nothing but positive, despite not being able to participate in the vices that define Bourbon Street.  I remember the beautiful architecture, stunning cemeteries, and rich history. And the food.  How can anybody forget the spectacular food?

But something was missing from the trip (besides booze, that is).  As wonderful and New Orleans was, I didn’t really get to experience the region beyond a brief bus tour to Oak Alley Plantation. I never saw the Gulf, never saw a swamp, and never got to meet locals who didn’t work in the tourism industry.  I had wanted to go back, rent a car, and just see the rest of Louisiana, but then Josh’s grandma got thrown in the mix.

Like a lot of elderly New Yorkers, Josh’s grandma decided to move to Boca Raton in Florida.  Boca Raton is a city about an hour north of Miami on the Atlantic Coast of Florida.  When Josh said we needed to plan a trip to visit her, inspiration struck.

The first thing I did was punch in Boca Raton to New Orleans into Google Maps.  The estimated drive time was 13 hours and 5 minutes.  This is absolutely doable for us as we frequently drive 10 or more hours to visit our own families in southern California.  Divided into a few days this drive would be extremely easy.  But how many days?

Again, Google Maps came to the rescue, with frequent trips to Wikipedia and Wikitravel.  Miami and the Everglades are just a short ways away with Tampa and Clearwater within a day’s drive beyond that.   And what’s this town, Crystal Springs, and what’s with all those Manatees (for those of you who don’t know, I adore these adorable creatures).  And of course we have to drive right past the Gulf Coast so there’s another stop.  But what about a more “southern” experience?  What? There’s plantation houses all along the Mississippi river just north of New Orleans? Between New Orleans and Baton Rouge?  Well damn, that itinerary just wrote itself.

The planning is in the very early stages, but we already plan on buying our plane tickets this weekend.  We will be leaving on November 30^th and returning on December 15^th, just as the weather starts to not suck so much but before the holiday crowds start to hit.  This time period also comes just as my seasonal job comes to a close, but decently size paychecks are still sitting in our bank accounts.  Talk about timing!

So here we are, about the embark on another adventure. “Exciting” is an understatement.

Nowadays, one of my greatest tools for planning short trips is Google.  I’m sure you could do the same with Yahoo or Microsoft’s online services, but the Google brand is more stuck in my mind.

Prerequisites for this type of travel: a sense of adventure, a stinginess of pocketbook, and the ability to just let things slide if they don’t go as planned.  Lots of deep breathing and zen/daoist meditations in airports will probably be necessary.  Also, coffee and melatonin to help adjust quickly to time changes and avoid jet lag.

2 days in Panama, circa 2009

My method of booking cheap travel:

1. Get an idea of attributes I’m looking for in a location.  (ex: tropical, good exchange rate, nice beaches, price range for flight- $300-$600)

2. Look at Google Maps to find major cities that match these criteria

3. Google image search the location to see if it looks nice.  If not, go back to #2.

4.  Use an aggregate flight search engine like cheaptickets or kayak to find a cheap flight.  If flights aren’t within the price range, go back to #2-3, repeat until a suitable destination is found.

5. Do a little bit of research if you know nothing about the place, just to make sure you won’t have a horrible time.  If things aren’t looking good, repeat the process as necessary.

Suggested research areas: hostels, wikipedia, U.S. Department of State per diem website (to give you an idea of pricey-ness of expenses on the ground, but note that it’s usually a bit more than I would spend, since I’m fairly frugal and will find cheap places to eat and sleep),  and if you’re going abroad, check to see if you need visas &  information on the country you’re looking at.

Why are You Sharing this Information Now??

I’m currently using this method to find a trip with the above-mentioned criteria for Labor Day.  Looking at Kona, Hawaii!  Mmm coffee & spam musubi!

Note: this method will definitely up your count of places you see in a year.  Probably best if you’re one of those “live every day like it’s your last”, type folks.

The Fourth of July marks on of the busiest holiday weekends of the summer.  This year Independence day falls on a Sunday, meaning that many people will be taking the following Monday off of work and using the extended weekend for a vacation.   AAA has predicted an 11% increase from last years numbers, meaning about 34.9 million travelers will be taking trips of at least 50 miles from home.

Travelers will be flocking to spots around the country including beaches, camp grounds, theme parks, and parties.  No matter where your going, keep these things in mind:

1. As always, follow basic travel safety rules.
2. SUNBLOCK.  This can’t be stressed enough.  As long as you’re in the northern hemisphere (if you are celebrating the forth of July, you probably are), you’ll be experiencing the hot days of summer.  Yes, states further north tend to have lower temperatures, but the sun will be stronger than at other times of year so use sunblock liberally if you plan on spending any time outside.
3. Check the weather forecast. It’s hurricane season on the Gulf Coast.  Alex has already stirred up trouble in the south, though the gulf states appear to have avoided the worst of it.  Lingering effects such as rain, flash flooding, or landslides could still occur through the holiday weekend.  On the other side of the coin, summer is known for it’s heat and it’s always a good idea to be prepared for sweltering conditions (see rule #1).
4. Plan for crowds. If you need to catch a flight, give yourself some extra time to get through security.  If you are driving, expect traffic and plan accordingly (games for the kids, snacks, water).  If you are going to a theme park, you will be waiting in lines.  If you are going to the beach, you will most likely be close and friendly with your neighbors.  Unless you plan on camping far off the beaten path, crowds are going to be a fact of life.
5. Use fireworks safely. Read this article on Kids Health for tips on safe firework usage.  Never let kids play with fireworks and never throw out fireworks without soaking them in a bucket of water.
6. Relax. Traveling is meant to be fun.  Don’t let the crowds and heat get to you.  Enjoy yourself!

May 24, 2010 Image by NASA

It’s been more than six weeks since the Deep Water Horizon caught fire, sank, and began spewing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.  Some people canceled their travel plans in the beginning, but most hotels along the gulf coast have actually reported increases in business since the same time last year.

However, as the oil continues to spill, it’s hard to tell how the future of gulf coast tourism will go.  Fishing, which has already been severely affected by the spill, is one of the most popular attractions for the coastal states along with snorkeling, diving, and other water related activities. According to Florida Governor Charlie Crist, tar balls could hit the Florida coast as early as this week.

Florida’s response to the disaster includes skimmers near popular beaches to clean up surface oil.  The Governor has also recently announced “free fishing weekend,” which it hopes will boost the fishing industry while increasing tourism.  Many people are afraid to buy seafood from the gulf out of fear that it may be contaminated.

“With Memorial Day weekend kicking off the peak travel season, it is vital that travelers throughout the nation and the world know our beaches and waterways are clear and open for business,” said Governor Crist.

Image by Anthjay

VISIT FLORIDA has also launched a campaign to attract visitors.  Florida Live will show, “live webcams, Twitter feeds and original photos [giving] visitors the resources they need to book their Florida trip with confidence, “said Chris Thompson, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA.  Users have already posted pictures of beautiful sandy beaches and beautiful Florida sunsets.

BP, who owns the Deep Water Horizon, has given millions of dollars in aid to the affected gulf states in an attempt to boost tourism.  The aid is an addition to a $25 million in area state contingency plans.  More than one million gulf coast residents are employed in the tourism industry, which bring in $94 billion annually.