This week's photos are from Petra, Jordan. These rock buildings were carved out of the cliffs in the 6th century as the capital city of the Nabataeans. Now it is Jordan's most popular tourist attraction.
India is huge, fascinating, multicultural, and overwhelming. It's also very inexpensive, so hopefully this week's Photo Friday will tempt you to visit.
We take lots of photos while we travel, and we know that we're not the only ones. Sometimes we all need to do a little post-processing or color-correcting to our pictures. However, this can be challenging while traveling because we are often away from our computers, not to mention that the best photo editing software can be quite expensive. But fear not, in the last few years a lot of online photo organization and manipulation tools have become available, and most of them are free. So if you're traveling, or about to start a trip, check out these great websites to modify your travel pics.
When taxi cabs and public buses fail you, try the beer truck instead. We found ourselves stuck in a small town, a mere intersection really, between Lalibela and Dessie, in the African country of Ethiopia. It was in fact a holiday, and buses were scarce.
In 2006, we spent a month in Vietnam. We crossed the border from China in the north near Sapa, where we spent an amazing few days amongst the Hmong people and their beautifully terraced rice fields. Next we ventured down to Hanoi, and then spent a few days on a boat in the Halong Bay. Afterwards we made our way south, but for now we have plenty of photos to show of Northern Vietnam. If you find yourself wandering around Southeast Asia, don't miss this amazing country, especially Sapa (sometimes spelled "Sa Pa") and the surrounding areas.
Married couple Jack and Jill (what perfect names!) will soon be leaving on an around the world journey. We virtually sat down with them and had an electronic conversation about trip planning and budgeting. Tentatively, they are planning to leave in April, but that’s all up in the air right now.
We aim to please, and that’s why we’ve been busy working on some great new features for Budget Your Trip. Check 'em out!
Phil Paoletta is a guy after our own hearts, simply because he willingly chose to go to West Africa. It's an amazing place, and if you read Phil's awesomely named blog, Phil in the Blank, you'll get a sense of what it's like. Don't let his "loose stool count" scare you away. Seriously.
If you've traveled in a developing country, you've probably been in a situation where you need to negotiate a price. Actually, you've probably been in this situation hundreds of times. Whether it's a taxi ride or a souvenir, in many places in the world it is perfectly normal to negotiate for a price. Many tourists and travelers have trouble with this concept. Depending on where you are, it might only cost a few bucks at the most. But to that local shopkeeper or taxi driver, it's a lot of money. Why not just give them that little extra that they are asking for? What's the harm? They need the money, and they are supporting their families, right?
In 2009, we spent 11 months traveling through Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. We want you to learn from our experience, so we put together a trip planning guide: How To Plan A Trip Around The World. We cover everything from budgeting to packing, route planning to insurance, safety to vaccinations, and visas to round-the-world plane tickets. Combining our first hand experience with tips and resources from other travelers, we leave no stone unturned.