BootsnAll Travel Community

Hey everyone,

My name is Sandy and I currently live in the Los Angeles area of California. I'm a recent college graduate and my main interest in life for now is traveling. I don't have too much international experience but looking forward to seeing what the rest of the world has to offer. I have a friend that I talked into coming with me for 3 months. Our current plan is July in Thailand, August in Australia and September in New Zealand. If anyone is going to be in those areas at the same time we would love to meet up and exchange stories and info.

I introduced my friend to this site and he and I both can't get enough of it. We read a lot of posts and habe learned a lot.

Thanks for the great posts.

Sandy

hi everyone,

i'm paul; 28, originally from pittsburgh, PA. i lived in taiwan for 5 years as a child. i went to washington university in st. louis for college, and then moved out to san francisco for 2 years for work. after that i moved to chicago for a different job; my firm then moved me to baltimore for two more years. i came back to chicago two years ago; i am getting my mba at the university of chicago. after i graduate this june, i will travel for three months, and then permanently relocate to seattle.

i didn't travel much for the first two years after college, but i've made up for lost time. in the past four years, i've been all over western europe, eastern europe, mexico, and brazil. favorites so far have been the croatian coast, the cliffs of moher in ireland, granada (spain), and puerto econdido (mexico).

i am planning to take three months to do SE asia after i graduate in june. tentatively, i plan to see cambodia, vietnam, thailand, and laos. if i have time, i will also check out japan and south korea. i have relatives in taiwan so i may pop in there as well.

my favorite part of traveling has always been the people; i really enjoy meeting people from all over the world. maybe i'll get to meet some of you. i'm not sure about the exact dates yet or even where i'm going, but if you're going to be in that part of the world, i would love to have some travel partners.

Greetings all,
My name is Evelyn, I'm a life long travel addict lover. My birthplace and home is Los Angeles, California, I lived for a time in Israel right after high school, and following college I lived in the Silicon Valley.
Travel for me started in the car, my young parents didn't have a lot of funds but that didn't keep them home, we would take daytrips up and down the coast, often without a specific destination in mind, spending the night in the cloths we were wearing, at a cheap motel that caught their eye.
My Grandparents were world travelers, name a place and they've probably been there. They always brought back something interesting and different, not the usual tourist stuff. Finally, when I was just 12 or 13 I finally convinced them to take me with them, we ended up touring Georgia, South Carolina and a bit of Florida, that was it, I was hooked!
I've traveled by sailboat, seaplane, jet, car, train, bus, motorcycle, helicopter, horse, camel and of course by foot throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Middle East.
I'd been thru Heathrow a few times but never stepped foot ouside of the airport, until my trip to Italy two years ago. Now I'm on my way back to Europe for a few weeks in Spain and about 10 days in Italy.
I have a good friend in Portland who runs a charter sailboat business so I look forward to meeting some of the Bootsnall folks sometime soon.
Looking forward to learning lots from all of you fellow travel folks.

Well her I am,


29 Married working in the budget travel industry for 6 years. Everything from the cleaner at hostel to pay for your bed to managing a hostel in Hollywood. Worked for STA Travel the Hosteltimes and now a new company called Tripplus. As I am sure you can tell I am in this industry for the long haul...

The goal is to finish a business & marketing degree after I move to Boston Later on this summer.

That is pretty much me. Oh ya I have been to 40 of the 50 states. Hawaii Alaska will have to wait a little longer because the northeast is next.

Late

M

Greetings All !

My name’s Sarah (AKA Snakey) and I currently reside with my dog Peanut (AKA Stinky Pea) at the end of the world, otherwise know as “Cornwall” in the picturesque but oh-so remote end of the UK. Originally I was born in Germany but thanks to the traveling nature of my single hippy mother I was lucky enough to have traveled to the majority of countries in Europe and Yugoslavia (formally know as) by the age of four.

It must have been the nomadic lifestyle during my formative years which gave me the travel bug, though, sadly nowadays the realities of everyday life - work, time and money - do encroach on my travel plans…why couldn’t I have been born a trust fund babe! Despite a woeful lack of sponsorship to fund my travels (Condé Nast, if your reading this I would love to work for you, if you ask nicely!) I have managed to work and play around several countries and love being able to immerse myself in a local culture. I live for the surprising and amazing experiences you encounter when traveling, especially when you least expect it….and the great stories they generate.

I love the fact that I can get insider knowledge from this site and am looking forward to planning my next budget trip – just in case Condé Nast don’t’ call! And this wont be the last you hear from me either as I am planning to write a guide to Cornwall giving everyone an insight into this little gem of a region - see you all soon!

Hi there,

I'm Steve, 27 from Bristol, UK. I recently came back from a yearlong Round the World trip through Japan, China, SE Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North America. Have integrated back into "normal society" but am secretly saving for another trip in a year's time: Trans-Siberian through Russia, biking through China, then the Middle East and finally to South America

You might be interested that I wrote every day of my trip and posted the whole diary online at my site yearinthelife.org...

I was highly impressed by the personal nature of the signup process and look forward to contributing here

cheerio
steve

I'm originally from the US, and after having travelled South America, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, I decided to leave American life behind and pursue my love of Flamenco in Southern Spain, which has been my home for the last ten years. Two years ago, I wanted a sabbatical and wanted to learn Arabic, and so came to Fes (Morocco) to study and teach for a year, and met my kindred spirit and future wife. We now run a guesthouse in the Fes medina, a beautifully restored house. I now divide my time between the labyrinthine alleys of Fez and the flamenco "juergas" of Jerez.....

Hi all

I'm Emma, 17, a high school senior in Los Angeles, California. I was born in London and moved here about 10 years ago, but seems much more recent (I managed to hang on to the accent)!

I graduate in a few weeks . . . finally. Unlike everyone else I know, I'm not rushing off to university in September (much to the shock and horror of everyone I tell... I can see the dismay on their faces). I applied to college, and plan to defer to Durham in England.

I'm taking a GAP year, starting this summer. I leave on June 20 for 7 weeks of backpacking through Europe with a couple of friends. Then I plan to get a job *somewhere* (hopefully London?!) from September to December.

In January, one of the said friends and I are going to South Africa for 5 months, to Kayamandi, a township just outside of Cape Town. It sounds like I know what I'm doing, but I really have no clue. Throughout all this I hope to find out more about myself, and what I want out of my life.

Anyway, enough rambling .. I think this website is awesome and everybody has already been very helpful. Bye for now and happy traveling!

Emma

Hi - Owen from the UK.

I spent a year doing the australia backpacking thing in 2003/2004, and never quite settled back into life back home. Miss being on the road and the random meeting of new people.

So, in a few months i'm heading back down that way on a 2yr WHV for New Zealand, with some time back in Austalia over Christmas and New Year and hopefully at the end of it back through Asia.

Just get through these last few months at work

Hey, my name's Mel and I'm an Aussie living in Tucuman, NW Argentina. I'm working in the next province down, Catamarca, in the easternmost ranges of the Andes, on a dream 8 days at work - 6 days off roster giving myself and my partner plenty of time for travel through this incredible country....

I'm originally from Townsville NQ, but have lived in other exotic locations such as Niceville, Florida (seriously!); Mount Isa, NW Queensland (middle of nowhere...); Vancouver and somewhere in northern BC near the Alaskan border....

We've been out of Australia for over 2 years and planning on spending at least another one in South America. We'll finish our time in this part of the world by doing a bike tour from Ushuaia to Mendoza (about 4000ks and including the Carretera Austral) starting approx November. Hoping to fit in a few trips snowboarding in the Andes this winter and maybe up to the beaches of Ecuador...

If you're planning a trip in Argentina I've got myself signed up as an insider so feel free to ask me anything about travelling here... especially around the Andes (but not about Buenos Aires please - to me Argentina is about much more than that city!!).

Saludos!!

PS. Check out the website but it hasn't been updated for about 6 months!! New BnA blog coming soon!

www.bearra.com

Now the new website...

New Bearra

Hi everyone. My name's Grant, and I live in Scotland, UK, where the sun hasn't shined on a day without rain for about say, a year. So that's one of the reasons I like to get away every now and again.

I travelled around Northern Europe in 2005 for five weeks or so and had a great time, but i'm looking to further my experiences in Europe in 2007 when I have the money to do so!

I'm also trying to learn a bit of French in the hope that when I finish university I can disappear over to France for a while and just hide out. Maybe work on a farm or something for a while and then head for the city when I feel confident enough. We can all dream.

Anyway, i'm looking forward to contributing to this community. May your wisdom show me the way

My name is Kathy. I grew up in Northern Califonria about an hour east of San Francisco. When I get in my car and drive, no matter which direction I head I will find some California wineries. My husband and I have grown to appreciate the fine wines from all of the wine regions of California.

We host a new web site called Cheers2Wine. This is the place to visit to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings in the California Wine Country. Learn about winery events, wine country accomodations, great restaurants, wine recipes, wine and food pairings, and more at this site.

We spend much of our time traveling throughout California visiting wineries, sampling wine, and enjoying fantastic scenery.

I'm looking forward to learning about other places from all of the travelers on here. There's an impressive group of people at this board with unique experiences to share.

Cheers!
Kathy
http://www.cheers2wine.com

Hello everyone

I am 37 and from the North of England. My partner & I have just started planning a RTW trip to include US, NZ, Oz, Japan, SEA and India.

We have only travelled before for the annual 2 week holiday. Backpacked & camped around Europe, road trips in US and "package" trip to Thailand & Singapore.

We will finish paying the mortgage at the end of this year, then all our savings can go towards the trip. We plan to rent the house out to add to the spending money.

Hello all
My name is Steve Cigula, I am 29 and was born in Australia. I have completed studies in Psychology and Philosophy, and have amassed a few other relevant pieces of paper along the way. I have somehow found myself working in the transport industry which has only made me want to travel more. My parents migrated here from Croatia and Macedonia and i guess its' from their stories that first got me interested in travelling. So throughout uni holidays and deferring studies I have explored some of Australia and South East Asia. I have currently been planning a 6 mth backpacking trip to Europe to visit relatives and explore countries I have never seen before. I'll be leaving in May 06 and this website has been a focal point of my preparations. I hope to keep in touch through this forum, as I will no doubt be squashing my thoughts as I try to think on my feet.

PS: The quote on my signature is from Wittgenstein, I didn't make it up myself, bloody students!

Well hello everybody,
i'm new, my names Sadie, i'm 17 and just starting to plan my round the world trip, which i'll be taking on my gap year!my route is as follows - London - Bangkok - Sydney - Cairns - Aukland - fiji - LA - New York - London. i can't wait! looking forwrd to hopefully chatting to people in the same position as me who i can share info and ideas with!
and becoming a proper traveller!!!!
love Sadie
xxxxx

Hi all,

I've been wandering around this site for a few weeks and thought i might as well introduce myself. My name's Sunny. I live in surrey,BC (canada!). I'm 19 years old (turn 20 this year) and I'm currently in university. I have only travelled as far as Alberta, down the west coast of the US (up to San Jose) and to India when I was 7/8 (family vacation). I am looking in to going to uni in australia next february and am in the process of applying yay! let's all hope i get in, then i can have some travel stories to tell as well!

Hey everyone. As you could guess, I'm justin. 23 y/o, living in Nebraska, getting used to the corporate drag. I'm in the initial planning stages of some sort of extended trip beginning in late 2007. I've come across a few appealing ideas, including a WHV in oz or nz, teaching somewhere, or just messing around in spain for a few mos, as that's my favorite place. Lots of good info here and very knowledgable folks, it seems, so I'm looking forward to stopping by more frequently!

I'm an undergrad at Western Washington University here in Washington -- a computer geek who just in the last few years started getting interesting in outdoor-type-stuff, and just in the last few months in travel.

I was introduced to BootsnAll through the Vagabonding book.

Hi -- My name is Sophie, and I live in Huntsville, Alabama. That's Huntsville, AL, where the Space/Rocket Center and Space Camp are -- not Huntsville, TX, where the prison is.

I've in the South (Tenn, Miss, and Ala) most of my life, but have loved to get away from it. Thailand is my favorite place -- I love the people and the food and the culture.

In my "younger" hippie days, I travelled with a backpack and acted appropriately. Nowadays, I travel more on the cheap side of luxury, usually feeling nostalgic about 10-cent guest huts in Nepal.

I'm headed to Norway for a month and a half, toward the end of which I will be joined by my fiance for 10 days. We've got a whirlwind tour lined up, which is not my favorite way to travel; but we want to see a lot of the country, and we'll probably never get back there again. (Wow, it's expensive.)

Cheers!
Sophie

Hey Everyone.

My name is Rachel and this is my first trip to blogsville, so far so good! I'm 27 and live in lovely Somerville, MA. I work at a college to pay the bills, though the fact that my boss raises chickens in his backyard in Cambridge makes it a lot more bearable. Like most of you, I cherish travel and do it whenever possible. My next serious trip, to Peru, will be my very first totally solo excursion, and hopefully, the precursor to my first RTW! I’ve already learned a lot from this site (thank you) and am really excited to get to know my fellow community members. So send me you tips and if anyone has questions about the places I’ve traveled to or about travel in Massachusetts and New England travel send me a holler.

Peace