Andréa Cabrita and friends in Zambia. Photo by Caludia Novais.
This month GoNOMAD presents lots more stories about new and interesting destinations, life-changing volunteer opportunities, and novel perspectives on the meaning and value of travel.
Rachel Khona takes us on a bike tour of City Island, a picturesque New England-style fishing village in the middle of the Bronx, Natalie Lefevre writes movingly about working with the forgotten children of Thailand, and Andréa Cabrita sings and dances with with hundreds of happy children at a school in Zambia.
Ron Mitchell climbs a volcano in Panama with views of two oceans and Patrick Smith explains why you should avoid Thailand's Phi Phi Islands, even though they are very beautiful.
GoNOMAD Editor Max Hartshorne takes a man-cation in Alabama with football, hunting and barbeque and Jean Miller Spoljaric writes about exploring her inner self on a girl-cation in Utah.
Mridula Dwivedi photographs lions in Gir National Park in Gujarat, India, and Claire Harris takes a very slow boat to Timbuktu.
David Rich visits the world's pointiest park in Sinnam, Korea, and Mariel Kennison writes about the Tasty Trekkers who are hiking the length of New Zealand to raise money for charity..
All and all, it's just another month of top-notch travel writing on GoNOMAD!
Stories published in November 2010 on GoNOMAD:
Volunteering in Zambia: 'This is the Growing'
"Why go so far away to do volunteer work?"I went to Zambia for two months because the opportunity came up and because doing volunteer work locally, would never, but never be the same as doing it in the real world of poverty, in the core of famine and need. I have volunteered locally, and even though I gained myself every day I did it, I never found what I found in Zambia, nor did I find myself the way I found myself while I was there...
An Alabama Man-cation: Hunting, Football and Barbeque We spent a few days here in Birmingham Alabama and enjoyed arts, shopping and scenery, mixed with tasty barbecue and a legacy of redemption. That's because the city was once the epicenter of the racial struggle in the sixties and was considered Martin Luther King's prime target to create racial attitude change. We went to the Vulcan Center museum, home of a giant iron sculpture placed on a tower high above the city...
City Island, New York: A Small Fishing Village in the Bronx
Biting into the juicy sweet jumbo shrimp, a little blob of marinara dripped down my chin. I wiped it off with my napkin, as I watched the fisherman and leisure sailors off in the distance. The sun beat down making the bench underneath me a little too warm. Eager to stretch my legs, I walked over to the fence overlooking the water. The seagulls were squawking seemingly arguing over which diner was their best bet for a little morsel of food...
Join us at the New York Times Travel show,
Saturday, February 26 at 5:00 PM
Listen as expert travel writers Max Hartshorne and Kent St. John, GoNOMAD.com; and Beth Whitman, Wanderlust & Lipstick.com share insider's tips. Back from a trip and want to share your travels with the world? These seasoned travel writers will present an overview of the travel writing market for beginners, provide tricks that will help get your articles published, teach you how to use social media and help you get exposure for your stories on the web. Click here for further information.
Caring for the Rejected: Helping People Living with AIDS in Thailand
I was both excited and nervous when we arrived at the center. We passed through a gate and entered a big courtyard with some trees and a pond in the middle. In front of the buildings, several people were enjoying the shade in silence. Some were in wheelchairs, others in hospital beds. Here and there a person was sweeping the courtyard. As soon as I got out of the car, the taxi driver took off. He obviously did not feel at ease around sick people...
Sinnam, Korea: The World's Pointiest Park
The park is incongruously located in Sinnam, a tiny fishing village on in the middle of the east coast of South Korea, smack dab on the Sea of Japan. In Korea it's known as the East Sea and spectacular it is, emerald waters fronting the Park, sprinkled with golden islets that necessitated a lighthouse, authentically shaped and flaming red, standing proud at the end of the adjoining pier...
Panama: Climbing a Volcano With Views of Two Oceans Smack in the middle of Panama’s Volcano Baru National Park, this 11,000 foot (3478m) behemoth boasts seven separate craters. The surrounding 35,000 acre park in the Chiriqui Province hosts a full range of geological and ecological history. Of course, all we can see is the rough trail at the end of our flashlight’s beam. “Do I hear wolves?” Mare asks. “Nah, that’s just the wind.”
Thailand's Phi Phi Islands: Beauty and a Bummer
That such a stupefyingly beautiful place could be ruined by throngs of visitors is one of the great scandals of global travel. But so it is, just about. Hundreds of thousands of tourists -- let me correct myself, hundreds of thousands of young and obnoxious tourists -- come to this watery corner of Asia each year to behold the Phi Phi Islands. And to drink, and to party, and to stay up till 4 a.m. listening to hip-hop music out at the beach...
St. George, Utah: The Red Rocks are Calling Me Back
Even though I’m back in New York, I can hear the echo from Snow Canyon calling the adventure junkie in me to return for more. After the time that I had and the people I met, I’m craving more! In five action-packed days, I hiked, biked, and climbed some of the most beautiful mountains ever in St. George, Utah.
I was lucky enough to call the Red Mountain Resort and Spa home and to enjoy a few spa treatments at The Sagestone Spa...
Gujarat: Traveling to Gir National Park in a Skoda Yeti
In December, while driving to work I heard on the FM station Radio Mirchi about the National Geographic Skoda Yeti Right of Way Expedition contest. For a lark, I entered and was pleasantly surprised that I was one of the first three winners. I got to travel with the National Geographic and Skoda Yeti team to Gir National Park. Gir, in the state of Gujarat, is the sole place where you can see the pure Asiatic Lions...
Taking a Very Slow Boat to Timbuktu
“Three days,” Mohamed promises us as we hand over our money. “You know, it’s the dry season and the trip take longer this time of year,” he adds apologetically. “But you will be in Timbuktu in three days, inchallah.” God willing. He pockets our cash in some secret compartment of his robe and goes on, his hands moving in ever more excessive gestures, “You have everything, don’t worry! Nice bed, good food. The captain is my uncle...”
The Berkshires: Keeping It Local in Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts used to be an area I would speed by on the Mass Pike, on my way between Boston and upstate New York. I thought the Berkshires were just for classical music fans and those rich enough to "summer" at their "cottages" (that were actually more like mansions). But then, this past November, I landed an assignment that offered a week-long trip to the Berkshires. I soon realized that I had been missing out all these years.
Trekking Te Araroa, New Zealand's Newest & Longest Hiking Trail Known as Te Araroa, or The Long Pathway, the trail spans both the islands that make up New Zealand and is a staggering 1800 miles long. That is just shy of the 2100-mile long Appalachian Trail running from Maine to Georgia. The Te Araroa is a not-so-recent attempt at connecting all of New Zealand’s hiking paths into one continuous trail; it has been incomplete since 1975, but recent efforts to finish it are finally paying off. It is set to be complete by February 2011...
The Adventurer's Handbook: A Practical Guide for Intrepid Travelers
A mix of adventure, history, and plenty of practical advice, “The Adventurer’s Handbook: From Surviving an Anaconda Attack to Finding Your Way Out of a Desert” by Mick Conefrey has a bit of everything for everyone. A literary global adventure from start to finish, this book has the potential to be your next go-to travel read. The black and white sketches by Adam T. Burton make this a beautiful book inside and out...
Crossing the Sahara Desert: Where There's a Will, There's a Way
Brian Tracy’s inspiring book, Success is a Journey: Make Your Life a Grand Adventure, is a personal tale of the voyage to success. Tracy begins with a goal: to travel from America to Cape Town, South Africa. Making his way to Africa with friends, the next challenge is crossing the Sahara desert. Along the way Tracy identifies the necessary steps to setting and achieving goals...
Santa Barbara Wine Country: Move Over Napa and Sonoma!
The heart of Santa Barbara’s wine country is comprised of the towns of Santa Ynez, Los Olivos, Solvang and Santa Maria, though these small farming communities. But underneath the small farming community town charm is a big equestrian history, rustic Western lifestyle, and even prohibition-era ideals and temperance movements, ironic for the now thriving wine industry...
