Yeah, I’m really posting this. Forget all of the embarrassment but my third favorite travel gear item is this 500 count Egyptian cotton sheet sewn together like a sleeping bag.

Fruit flies? No problem. I’ll just wrap myself like a mummy as I lay asleep listening to the buzzing but skip the biting.

Old toe nail clippings in the hostel bed? Again, the sheet saves the day.

Sand paper like sheets? I’ll stick to this comfortable one.

Extra 5 Euro charge for sheets in the European hostels. No worries. I brought my own.

Uncomfortable bus/plane/train/boat ride with no place to rest my head comfortable. Well in this case I wrap the sheet around my neck multiple times so it acts like a built in pillow.

It’s about time you travelers embrace this super resourceful blanket! Maybe some day I’ll open up an online travel gear store with the travel blank at the marque product.

Related posts:

1. Packing List for Indefinite Travel
2. Gettin In Gear
3. I thought I’d Be in A Wheelchair By The Time I’d Visit Venice Italy

These are my possessions. It’s all I really want or need to live my life of full time travel. I wouldn’t be upset if anything else that I own, which is stored in my father’s basement, was thrown out for me to never see again. As you see I don’t own anything valuable, like a car or a house.  I quite like it this way.

Below is my itemized list which altogether fits in the nice blue backpack I started using in 2005. I could travel much lighter and I could live without most things you will see below but for the time being I am satisfied with my possessions. What you see here has changed very little since I first started traveling in 2007.

1. Cheap sunglasses I got for free when I ordered my contact lenses

2. Webcam mostly used for conducting mock interviews with clients

3. USB Cables for cameras, laptops, etc.

4. Glasses

5. Passport and its holder

6. Zune Mp3 Player

7. Iriver Mp3 player and charger that works sometimes which I brought in case I lose #6

8. 2GB Memory stick

9. Cologne to smell nice

10. Universal adaptor

11. Razor for shaving my head – free haircuts!

12. Adaptor to fit more plugs

13. Extra razors for shaving my face

14. Basic unlocked cell phone and charger for local calls

15. Backup digital camera with broken LCD Screen. The primarily camera was used to take these photos of course.

16. Medicine bag with Asprin, chapstick, earplugs, a a few other miscellaneous items. All of this can be bought in pharmacies throughout the world and that is what I do when I need something I don’t have.

17. Raincoat, 2 light sweatshirts, 2 light long sleeve shirts

18. 2 Polo shirts, 3 t-shirts, 2 undershirts

19. 2 pairs of jeans

20. Sweatpants

21. Khaki Shorts

22. Bathing Suit

23. Sandals

24. Sneakers

25. Big supply of contact lenses

26. Reversible black/brown belt

27. Wallet

28. $80 in U.S. cash hidden throughout my belongings

29. U.S. Drivers License / expired university student ID

30. 7 ATM bank cards. Better to bring many of them in case I any get lost because otherwise it’s a pain to have a replacement sent abroad.

31. Ukranian phrase book

32. Three books for reading pleasure

33. Landry Bag

34.Toiletry Bag

35. Sleeping Bag Liner (a.k.a. really comfortable sheet sewn together like a sleeping bag)

35. Quick dry towel

37. Bag holding all of my underwear and socks (about 8 underwear and 8 pairs of socks)

38. toiletries (not pictured)

39. foldout duffel baf

40. backpack that fits everything shown above

41. laptop

That’s about it. It is inevitable that I forgot a few things so this list is not 100% accurate but if I did it’s nothing major. While I don’t use all of these things regularly the ones I do not do come in handy at some point. At some point in the future I would like to really travel light with just one carry-on bag containing probably half of this list. If any readers have any ideas or critique I am all ears.

Related posts:

1. My Travel Blog Reading List
2. My Third Favorite Travel Gear Item

I read a lot. I like to follow blogs related to my style of travel, lifestyle, and countries I am interested in. Over time I had collected a list of blogs I regularly follow, though some more than others. If you enjoy reading my blog I guarantee you will like some of these even more. Below is my list in alphabetical order. If I had to choose my favorites they would be websites like RooshV, Stop Having a Boring Life, Exile Lifestyle, El Vagabundo, Thrilling Heroics, Tynan, FoxNoMad, Travelvice, and Wandering Earl.

• A travel diary from Mexico, Central & South America
  • http://holacenandsouthamerica.blogspot.com/
• Adventures of… an Ex-Mo
  • http://lasdosviajeras.blogspot.com/
• Backpack with Brock
  • http://BackpackWithBrock.com
• Badical Industries
  • http://badicalindustries.wordpress.com/
• Briefcase to Backpack – Travel Advice for Career Breaks or Sabbaticals
  • http://briefcasetobackpack.com/
• Can you Phil it ?
  • http://larzizou.wordpress.com/
• El Vagabundo
  • http://martivagabundohamilton.blogspot.com/
• Exile Lifestyle
  • http://exilelifestyle.com/
• Fly Brother
  • http://fly-brother.blogspot.com/
• foXnoMad
  • http://www.foxnomad.com/
• Free Pursuits
  • http://freepursuits.com
• Freedonia Post
  • http://freedoniapost.com/
• GoBackpacking
  • http://gobackpacking.com/
• GREENDROPPINGS
  • http://www.greendroppings.com/
• I Should Log Off
  • http://ishouldlogoff.com/
• Joey Goes Global
  • http://www.joeygoesglobal.com/
• Life of Brett
  • http://www.lifeofbrett.com/
• Live Uncomfortably
  • http://liveuncomfortably.com/
• Location 180
  • http://www.seanogle.com/
• Location Independent Blog | Live and Work Anywhere You Choose
  • http://locationindependent.com/blog/
• My Ecuadorian Adventure
  • http://myecuadorianadventure.blogspot.com/
• No Place To Be
  • http://noplacetobe.com
• Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site
  • http://www.nomadicmatt.com/
• NuNomad Blog
  • http://Nunomad.com/
• Raam Dev
  • http://raamdev.com/
• Rerunaround
  • http://rerunaround.com
• Roosh V
  • http://rooshv.com/
• Rules Optional
  • http://rulesoptional.com/
• Stop Having A Boring Life
  • http://stophavingaboringlife.com/
• Sweet Travel Blog
  • http://sweettravelblog.com/
• the 9 to 5 alternative
  • http://www.the9to5alternative.com/
• The Hershberger Free Press
  • http://mahalo714.blogspot.com/
• The Travelvice Travelogue
  • http://travelvice.com
• thelifething.com
  • http://thelifething.com/
• ThrillingHeroics.com
  • http://www.thrillingheroics.com/
• Todd’s Wanderings
  • http://www.toddswanderings.com
• Twenty-Something Travel
  • http:///twenty-somethingtravel
• Tynan | Life Outside the Box
  • http://tynan.net/
• Uncornered Market
  • http://UncorneredMarket.com
• Untemplater
  • http://untemplater.com
• Vagabond Quest
  • http://www.vagabondquest.com/
• Viva Latin America!
  • http://vivalatinamerica.wordpress.com/
• Wandering Earl
  • http://www.wanderingearl.com/
• Your World, My Take
  • http://yourworldmytake.blogspot.com/

Related posts:

1. Packing List for Indefinite Travel
2. Quirky Travel Habit of Mine
3. My Third Favorite Travel Gear Item

Choosing the next destination one of those exciting tasks that can hardly be described in words. I feel so much emotion, mostly excitement right now having recently made a big decision. Even more so because my choice was done so randomly and spur of the moment.

It is no secret I have been planning my next trip for some time now. The idea is to visit one of my best friends who lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

But Bangladesh is also a short flight away from Thailand making Southeast Asia the more attractive destination and focus of the this next massive trip.

As I narrowed down the dates with my Bengali friend I began my search for flights to Bangladesh or Thailand. What I soon discovered were possible stopovers in India, Dubai, and London. Hmmm…India sounds really cool I thought.

But then with research I found out the country requires a visa in advance. Not worth the hassle unless that’s the focus of my trip. Then I started thinking about London. I never, ever considered Europe as a destination for myself mostly because of the costs associated and simply a lack of interest for European societies. A few years back I was far more obsessed with Latin America and my budget was also far smaller to even think of going to Europe comfortably .

With London being a great possibility I started looking at which countries I would like to visit in Europe. It mostly came down to Spain, Turkey, and Germany…with a few others earning honorable mention.

But cue to yesterday as I am looking at one way flights from New York City to Bangkok on STA Travel’s search engine. Around $300 cheaper than any other comes a flight from an airline I have never heard of with a stopover in Kiev, Ukraine.

All I know about the Ukraine is that it used to be Russia and a girl in one of my anthropology classes was Ukrainian, also one of the more beautiful girls I have seen in my short lifetime. Russian culture never really interested me. All the general stereotypes never once interested me – The Soviet Union, Communism, the Russian language,  cold weather, soviet architecture, Chernobyl.

And then I became intrigued. I still had little interest I figured like India I probably also needed a Visa. Nope. No visa required in advance. Someone must really want me to go to Ukraine. I called STA travel to inquire about extending my layover in the Ukraine by a month and was told after checking that “no, it is not possible.” I don’t quit easily when I am genuinely exited. I clicked to the previously unheard of airline website, AeroSvit, and searched for the same flight.

Unlike many other airline websites who charge way more than the discount airfare websites AeroSvit actually priced the flight from NYC to Bangkok for the same price. At this point it was well past midnight and their one tiny sales office in New York would not be open to ask about extending the stopover. Still too excited to wait another day I priced out a multi city flight to naturally extend that stopover in Kiev. The same price!

I booked the flight was New York City to Kiev leaving on June 6 and Kiev to Bangkok on July 14 for a total of US$552 with taxes. I am going to Ukraine. Never would I have imagined this. Time to learn Cyrillic considering I will be illiterate the moment I get to Ukraine.

Until Then

Since flying from Colombia to Miami on May 2nd I spent a short 4 days there spending time with family and working. I flew to Philadelphia where I visited the rest of my family and am here now. Last weekend I took my 17 year old brother on a spur of the moment weekend trip to New York City to show him a little bit of my life. On May 22nd I visit Baltimore to attend my older sister’s wedding followed by more time in Philadelphia. But on May 31 I fly to Miami for the week for more time with family. But on the Sunday morning of June 6 I fly from Miami to New York City for the start of my next trip that takes me to Ukraine. I expect to visit a few other countries including Spain, Turkey, and Germany while in Europe. But it looks like my first stop after Ukraine will be to Venice, Italy, thanks to discount airlines which is really the only well priced and interesting city to get to from Kiev. On July 14 I fly from Kiev to Bangkok where I expect to meet my Bengali friend. After traveling together for two weeks I will probably join him in Bangladesh for another two weeks. That puts me at July 28 with no more plans. In the meantime depending on my schedule I hope to write a lot more about my recent time spent in Colombia so that I am all caught up by June 6th.

Related posts:

1. Travel to Ukraine
2. Where In The World (err..South America)?
3. Sightseeing in Kyiv

Most people who visit Quebec only stay for a short period of time. Yet, the diverse cultures and places of the province often tempt people to stay longer. Here are some tips to help you make the most of a longer-term vacation in Quebec.

1. Select a home base

Being a traveler means that you stay anywhere you want. Keep in mind, though, that some places have more advantages than others. Temporary accommodations may be easier to find in Montreal than they would be in a small rural village, and there may be more opportunities to make money. However, a small village can offer short-term residents a charm and intimacy that a larger city may lack.

2. Find a place to stay

The best thing to do if you want to temporarily live in Quebec is find a short-term rental apartment or house. An easy way to do so is through the Internet. Craigslist sites for Montreal, Quebec City, Saguenay, and Sherbrooke list dozens of ads each day for inexpensive temporary housing. Hostels are also a great resource. Many of Quebec’s hostels not only offer long-term accommodations, but also often have message boards listing short-term rentals or roommate-wanted situations.

3. Make money

Extended travel can be expensive. One of the keys to living well while on vacation is being able to make money for lodging, food, and fun. Depending on your home country, the Canadian government has programs that allow visitors to work while on vacation. The easiest way to make money, though, is to do work over the internet, such as writing. This way, you can make money anywhere that has Internet access.

4. Become a regular

One of the goals of traveling is to meet interesting new people. One of the easiest ways is to become a regular patron at a place where local people congregate. Eat breakfast at the same place every day, so that the staff gets to know you. Or, go to the same bar or coffee shop each afternoon. Once you begin to see the same faces every day, begin striking up conversations. It’s easy to make friends while you’re traveling, and the new people that you meet will enrich not only your vacation, but your life.

5. Don’t forget to travel

The best thing about extended vacations is that you can experience the comfort and stability of a home base with the flexibility to travel on your own schedule. So if you’ve found yourself a temporary home in Quebec City, Montreal, or elsewhere, don’t forget to take advantage of your freedom by taking short trips to the mountains or even to a new part of the city.

- This has been a guest post by Steven from http://www.globetrottier.com/

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2. The Ideal Travel Business
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