BootsnAll Travel Community

Heylo Heylo!

I'm a newbie to the boards but not to travel.

I'm Erin, 26, originally from Boston but I've been living in Ireland for nearly 7 years. Being in Europe, it's so easy to see other places so I've been to bits of Europe (without ever really "backpacking it"...3 weeks max. But baggage restrictions on those budget airlines makes you feel like you're roughing it!). This month I've been to both Vienna and Prague for the first time. In May I'll head to Lithuania. A broader Europe is really accessible these days.

I'm a research student, and this is allowing me to travel to the Middle East for part of my doctoral work. I'm excited & nervous, but I love trying something new. In June, I will travel (for fun) to Egypt and possibly Jordan before settling in Bethlehem for 2 months. I'm really looking forward to it, but I still have loads of questions.

If you need any help with sorting out Irish trips, do feel free to send me a line. It's now home for me!

Hello all, thought I'd stop in and introduce myself since joining the site yesterday afternoon. It's ten minutes 'til seven, Sunday morning, and I've been up all night for lack of a better reason to go to bed. Anyways, I've got multiple plans of travel in consideration for this year, including hopping around the U.S. for a short while once the weather warms up, possibly WWOOFing in the U.S. or Canada come summertime, and then traveling to Belize through Mexico, and back, from September to December, or thereabouts. Would be interested to hear from individuals with similar travel plans but the idea of making new friends who might inspire a change of plans sounds just as swell. Besides the obvious travel interest, I enjoy writing, photography, badly-thumbed paperbacks, etc.

Come to think of it, working on a yacht or cruise ship doesn't sound so bad, either. My limited travel experience includes visiting St. Louis, Missouri for a weekend a few years ago, a 24-hour trip to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and back last June, two trips to Myrtle Beach as a kid, and a trip to Florida and the Bahamas via cruise ship when I was fourteen or fifteen.

Cheers,
Matt W.
(College-aged male.)

Hey all,

I'm new to the forums, but I've been scouring the site for all of it's very useful information over the past few months now.

Today marks exactly 5 weeks until I head off on the trip of a lifetime. I'm heading to Europe on April 20th, 08 with no set date of return.

On my trip I plan to visit over 25 cities in more than 15 different countries across Europe. As I travel, I'll be keeping everyone updated and entertained back home by posting blogs, photos, videos and more on my new website that I built based around this trip of a lifetime. You can visit my blog here: (Pause The Moment -- The Trip of a Lifetime!)

I'd love for all of you guys to check it out, and even tune in every now and then to see where I'm staying, what country I'm currently in, which countries I've visited, the interesting people I meet along the way, and much much more!

Hope to hear from you soon,

--
R.G
Email: pausethemoment@gmail.com
Web: http://www.pausethemoment.com

Hello Friends!

What a wonderful community of travelers here. Looking forward to learning and sharing with you all.

My wife and I enjoy the exhilaration and challenge of travel. We've been all across North America and down to Costa Rica, parts of Australia, most all of western Europe, and have plans to do a world tour next year.

What gets us most about travel is that you can be so incredibly disconnected from one world (that in which you just left) and immediately become entrenched in another different and fascinating world. Change of scenery, change of faces, change of language. Travel is not a destination; Travel is an experience.

Bon Voyage!
Scott

Hi all,

My name's Alec - I'm 24, originally from Virginia around Washington, DC in the US and now living in Costa Rica. I work as director of sea turtle nesting beach projects for a local NGO, and manage 7 different nesting beaches along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

We're always looking for volunteers, which seems to be a great way to come hang out at the beach, do some good, and enjoy Costa Rica's natural beauty (all our beaches are very remote) - so check out our website to find out more about what we do: www.tortugamarina.org

Previously I've lived in Ecuador and Spain, and spent many many months in Bermuda. I've traveled extensively throughout Central/South America and a bit through Europe...

Cheers!

Alec

Hi guys,

My name is vacci and I love travelling and getting to know different cultures. I'm not a big fan of western hotels because you will never get to know a country. I'm travelling since I'm little, starting with short journeys becoming longer when I was growing up. I've been in different countries (Middle East, Thailand, nearly everywhere in Europe, some Latin American countries) and lived for a year in Dublin. Now I enjoy the warm spring in Barcelona and hope I'll stay here for many more months.

I hope I can contribute with some insights of my experience and, maybe, you guys give me last kick I need to go to Australia or Africa. It's a dream but I still don't know what I exactly would do there. Well, maybe I'll find some answers here.

Enjoy,
vacci

Hello, I am Lisa! My husband and two teens are planning a trip to Europe this year. We're going to the UK, France and maybe Spain or Italy.

I love travelling, and when I grow up, I'd like to sell the house and all my stuff, and spend my older days travelling But I guess that is only a dream because I am sure once grandkids come along I would want to be close...or maybe not!

Allo. I'm Rob from seattle..While I have not yet traveled, I am going to be doing so by the end of April..Cairo, Kuwait and Dubai this time around..I look forward to chattin with all of you and learning and maybe even contributing
I'm also an animator and this trip will help lay some foundations on a couple of stories.

I'm in San Francisco, planning an around-the-world trip with my partner, Lauren. We hope to go to Morocco, Spain, France, maybe Istanbul, then on to northern India (having already been through the south), Nepal, China, Southeast Asia, and Bali. We'll be visiting an Air Treks office this afternoon for advice - it is all very exciting.

I post my art at TheArtDontStop.org, but we'll have another URL to document our travel and post the Round-the-World art project we'll be working on.

Besides India, I've been to Nicaragua to visit by brother, The Tranquillo Traveller, a professional Bootsnall blogger and travel-writer. The most recent trip that L. and I took was to a few Greek islands where we found that we are not at all satisfied to just relax on the beach - we need to be always exploring while abroad.

We look forward to our next trip when we'll allow ourselves plenty of downtime during our year-long travels.

Hello,

My name is Ben and I am currently planning a long trek through South America (most likely spending a lot of time in Colombia) starting this fall.

I've traveled to the corners of North America (Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, West Coast US, East Coast US) and I did 5 weeks in Northern India last year where I got this insatiable travel bug. I look forward to learning and hopefully eventually contributing to this great site. I'm looking forward to a larger world trip in the near future as well.

Hey im Mike 26 in San Diego CA. Ive gone cross country in the USA 3 times and trained around europe. I have a lot of places id like to see and a forum like this is easily the best way to get information on them. Ive spent a lot of time trying to find information on airfare, where to go,what to see, when to go etc but first hand information from people who have had the same travel aspirations as you but actually been there and done it can't be beat. I'm sure ill get all the info i need here, hopefully get some decent stories of my own to share, and be inspired by stories of treks to places i never even knew existed.

Hello everyone,

My name is Kirk Donovan and I just discovered this site. I'm a senior in college and will actually start work on a Ph.D. in cell biology next year. I've been an avid traveler since I was young (starting with camping trips all around the U.S. with my parents!). I've been to Europe three times now, most recently as a student studying abroad in Copenhagen last Spring. I actually just booked a ticket to Europe this summer! I'll be there for a few weeks, mainly in Eastern Europe, and will probably be surviving on bread and water. But it's going to be worth it!

I am Christina. I am 39 going on 25. I love to travel anywhere at anytime. I am a nurse as well as a body modification artist. I spend most of my free time looking for the scariest places in the world to infiltrate. I used to go ghosthunting, but I am not really looking for ghosts, I'm looking to have the shit scared out of me because I love that feeling. I love horror movies ROB ZOMBIE movies rule. So I hope I don't creep you fine people out, but I absolutely love becoming a member, and hope to contribute as well as hear your stories. Live Long, Christina

Hey Everyone!

My name is Miranda, and I'm 17. I live in Manitoba, Canada and have not been fortunate enough to travel much. I have been as far west as BC, and as far south as North Dakota :-) See what I mean?

That's all changing though!

In October I am visiting Germany and Hungary for two weeks with my grandma. A late graduation gift, of sorts.

Then in April I return for a backpacking trek across Europe for two months with a friend.

I am really looking forward to seeing Europe with my grandma, and meeting family I have never even heard about...but my April trip is my baby. I plan furiously, and am addicted to all travel sites. For someone who has not been anywhere, this trip is so important to me. So I cannot wait to start chatting, and asking for everyones advice!!

Hello everyone!

My name is Sez Collins and I am a newbie on Bootsnall. However, I am not a newbie in traveling. I believe that the traveling bug has bitten me when I was still in my mom`s stomach, while she was eating sushi, in Tokyo, Japan, during her 5-year stay. My parents have always been avid travelers and have also traveled around the world during their mid 20s and early 30s. We left Manila, Philippines when I was only 4 yrs old, to live for 10 years in Cyprus as my mom got her medical practice there and my dad started work for one of the biggest cruiseliner companies. Throughout our 10 years, we have traveled abroad in the Middle East ( Jordan, Bahrain, Dubai, Egypt ), Europe ( Poland, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland ), for family vacations and school trips. We left Limassol, Cyprus when I was only 14 years old and relocated to Toronto, Canada for University. After my B.A. and M.A degrees, I set off to Japan ( roughly 2 years ago ) on an International Relations Teaching exchange program sanctioned by the Japanese and Canadian Embassies and Governments. So, here I am in a small, fishing rural village in Japan...on my 2nd year of contract and ready to leave after 1.5 more years. I plan to reward myself with an RTW trip!

So, to put it short : I love traveling too much to determine which country is my ` home `. I usually describe myself as Filipino by ethnicity, Greek by upbringing and Canadian by citizenship...but worldly in terms of just being me. I usually think of my life in terms of chapters of where I used to live.

Thanks for dropping in Slut. Hope we can help.

Hi, all! My husband and I are teachers (he's a math teacher, I'm an autism specialist). We spent a month the summer of '03 in Belize and Guatemala with our 3 kids, first trip to CA since several visits to Guatemala in the 80's (middle child is native of Guat, joined us through adoption). In 04-05 our kids lived in Australia, Panama, and The Netherlands on overseas study and community service trips and son Isaac has since studied and volunteered in Honduras, Guatemala, and Cuba. Husband and I planned a month in Honduras summer of '05 which was cut in half by a family emergency back home. 2006 we got our month in, centered around LaCeiba, Utila, and Roatán. Last summer, Guatemala again - a week each in Nebaj and San Pedro La Laguna with a coworker for Spanish study and volunteering plus 4 or 5 days each side for exploring. Summer of 2008 I'm heading back to Copán Ruinas, Honduras to lead a language trip for other educators; husband Mike will meet me for a few weeks on the Bay Islands after.

Travel forums are addictive, aren't they?!

Sawadeekrup to all BootsnAll friends,

My name is Ericthitaporn. We are a family of three, living in Chiangrai which is a province in the North of Thailand. We love to interact with travelers from different parts of the world and hope to learn and appreciate each other's customs, culture and religion. Hopefully this will create a harmonious world to live in.

We are home stay host to several travelers while vacationing in Thailand for more than five years.

http://www.freewebs.com/homestaytravel

Hey how goes it to everyone out there,

My name is Brandon Wilson. I am a 24 year old that is about to graduate from Florida State University. It took me six years to get out of college, and now I have a lot of money saved up. I am going to use this money to travel all over Europe this coming summer 08. I leave the states on May 19th and return Septemeber 1st.

This is my first extended trip alone as well as my first trip out of the United States. This is also my first trip outside of the Southeastern USA. I am flying into London and will be staying with a good friend in Leicester for the first month and a half. Then in July I am hitting the road. I am going to the Henley Royal Regatta and the Tour de France. Sports are not my only interest but they are high on my to do list because sports events will be my profession. Seeing the typical sites museums and all of that is something that I am very interested in doing.

This is going to be my way to see the world in a much different light than I am used to. That said I know that there are some really good people out in the World in all walks of life that I can't wait to meet and share experiences with.

Looking forward to the great advice that I will be receiving from this community. Also hoping to meet some good people who have the same ideas for travel.

Peace, Love, and cheers

Brandon

Hi BnA Friends!

I'm Helen and am excited to get involved with the BnA community! I've used the website for years but just now decided to take the next step and become a member.

I've started my travel blog called Helen's Travel Corner which I've had a lot of fun playing with. However, nothing beats a collective effort of sharing advice, tricks, and ins and outs of travel.

This summer I'll be in Beijing 3 months working for the Olympic News Service generating newsworthy quotes for journalists. I'll also be staying for the Paralympics which I'm equally excited about.

Here in Boston I stay really plugged into the travel community through Couchsurfing which is a wonderful community too!

Shoot me any comments, questions, introductions, random info - would love to hear from you!

Happy travels!

Helen

take the road less traveled