From the swivellin' chair...

What's Hot in the Wiki: August

2008-09-05T07:50:00Z

Since the wiki travel guide has been getting busier and busier lately with more and more people contributing, I thought it would be interesting to share some of the most popular articles in the wiki. Based on our Google Analytic stats, these are the 50 most popular articles in the wiki (excluding any about, photo competition and other such pages):

If you're contributing to the wiki and trying to earn some extra $$$ through our adshare program, here's two quick tips based on the list above:

1. Contribute to the articles listed above. They're the most popular, so there's a much greater chance people will be seeing your ads if you contribute to these.
2. Start articles on niche topics. The astute among you may have noticed a few odd appearances from fairly low-key articles (like Pearson Airport Toronto and Plattsburgh). These do quite well simply because they show up really high for relevant search terms - probably related to the fact that not too many other people are writing about them.

Finally, thanks to everyone that has contributed! It's really awesome seeing the wiki growing bigger on a daily basis. One day we'll rule the internet. Hopefully.

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Vote now in the People Competition

2008-09-03T01:05:57Z

Voting is now open for the People Photo Competition

Thanks to all those who entered. There's some really great shots in there - picking 5 favourites is not easy

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Talking Travel with Purdy

2008-08-14T09:45:45Z

For this month's installment of the Talking Travel series, I got in touch with one of Travellerspoint's most active members. Heather (aka Purdy) has been a part of the Travellerspoint community since early 2006. From Belfast, Northern Ireland, she told me about her previous trips, the Travellerspoint members she's met in person, and her future travel plans.

Heather enjoying a beer in England.

Did you travel a lot as a kid?

I'm the eldest of a family of 4 girls, so money was tight but my mum and dad made sure we did get holidays - always within the UK though. I didn't get my passport until l was 19! We were lucky though, as a lot of my friends got nowhere! Usually it was to a caravan site, sometimes within Northern Ireland or in Scotland around Ayrshire, and generally it rained!! It always involved bundling my 3 sisters and l into the back of my dad's car along with what we would need for the week - it was a tight fit at times!! At the time l didn't appreciate that l do actually live in a beautiful country with lots of spectacular scenery - l suppose as a child you don't necessarily. After that my parents bought a caravan in a Northern Irish seaside town called Castlerock. There is nothing there but a beach and a shop that never seemed to open! Again something that wasn't appreciated by my sisters and l, plus the plot the caravan stood on resembled a quagmire most of the time! They sold the caravan after about 5 years!!

One trip that sticks out in my mind - as it was hellish - was a family trip to Butlins (holiday camp!) in Pwllheli in Wales. l was 15 and was at that age where l didn't want to be seen with any member of my family! Butlins was awful we shoved into this chalet 2 bedrooms - my sisters and l in one room my folks in another! The holiday camp was the usual dire stuff - red coats trying to be jolly and get people to participate in daft games and pagents. l cringe even now at the thought of it!! My poor parents I'm sure after they saved all year to take us away regretted every second, the ungrateful lot that we were!!

What was your first big overseas trip?

The first time l actually went out of the UK was to Spain - Ibiza to be honest - and yes it was a Club 18-30 trip - which really says it all about what that trip was like! My first big overseas trip l guess wasn't really that long ago - that would be to Thailand where l spent 2 weeks over my 30th birthday. Even then l stayed in hotels and didn't really rough it as such!! In 2006 l went to Australia and New Zealand and l guess that is what l would call a proper trip - stayed in hostels and B&Bs to keep the costs down and actually travelled around. I really enjoyed this - from the research of what l wanted to see in my allotted time, to not being stationary, stuck in one "resort" and moving about the countries visiting different areas - seeing what they had to offer. Oh and it also taught me to pack lighter - it's funny l can pack quite easily for a 3-4 week trip into a single bag with limited capacity, yet if l go on a long weekend break my luggage usually is over limit!!!

What do you look for in your travel destinations?

Something needs to whet my appetite. l love Asia, I've been to a few different countries now in Asia and l love the culture, the food, the people, the general hustle and bustle - it's so different to what you experience in the West. Whilst l love cities, to be honest a city is a city wherever in the world it may be (maybe except London- l don't know why but l love London). I've had enough after few days and want to move on. Natural scenery really blows my mind much more than something man-made. Halong Bay in Vietnam being one area l simply adored. It's so spectacular and ok when you get on your boat to cruise around the area it is overly populated with tourists. But so what? What am l if not a tourist, so what gives me the right to criticize? Apart from that, anything is an option - after a bit of reading and research I'm bound to find areas that pique my interest and desire to visit to see the area for myself!

You've met quite a few Travellerspoint members at meet-ups and while travelling. Be honest: Are they scary?

Yes - they are all a bunch of egotistical manics that have scarred my life permenantly!!! No, seriously I've been really lucky I've met TP members in Dublin, London, Vietnam, Chicago, Montreal and Belfast and I've even met some of them more than once! I've even been honoured to visit the world famous Isa Manor and spend time with our TP maw & paw! It's something l love doing now - l remember though being slightly nervous before the Dublin TP meet up, thinking "Me and my big mouth, what have l gotten myself into?"!! I'm glad l did though, as I've made some very good friends through TP, for which I'm grateful.

Now, stroke our egos a little... What's your favourite part of Travellerspoint?

Well everything of course, but if l HAD to pick one element it has to be that of community spirit. New members are made to feel totally welcome, people are friendly and go out of their way to help the worried traveller on their way. I would of course say that it had something to do with the amazing moderators on the site - but does that count as stroking my own ego!!!

Do you have any future trips planned?

Well, usually by now l would have a trip planned for the autumn winter but this year is all change! My own personal life has changed quite a deal in the last 12 months, and I'm starting a new job in August which has quite a great deal of responsibility and challenge (plus I've also got another year of college to complete too!) which is really cutting down on the time available to me to travel. If I'm lucky l will get a few trips across to maybe Edinburgh or London before the year is out. I do have a few options on the cards for next year - a few friends and l have been looking and checking out South Africa (specifically Cape Town) for late January early Feburary 09, and l have been researching quite a bit on Brazil maybe in April, and if l don't sort that out then it will be Morocco after Easter l should think. I also remember a drunken conversation with Gretchen & Kris (Kris & l celebrate the same birthday) about repeating the Chicago visit again so you never know!!

***

Check out these past interviews in the Talking Travel series:

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15 Exceptional Photos with a Blue Theme

2008-08-14T07:37:13Z

1. Venetian. By FarandNear

2. Blue Ice Cave, Antarctica. By dinah1

3. Door in Frigiliana, Southern Spain. By david.byne

4. Blue Wall Through a Blue Doorway: In Santa Catalina Monastery Argentina. By dinah1

5. Blue Walls: Shot of the entrance to the historic Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. By joffre

6. Boy and goat, Chefchaouen, Morocco. By steve_hoge

7. Bundi Blue House: In some places in India they paint their houses blue as it is the colour of the holy men, but it apparently also keeps away the mosquitoes. By robjwood

8. Timbuktu: Sankore mosque and tuareg. By LuisDafos

9. Young girl. By namfon

10. Fishing boats, Essaouira, Morocco. By steve_hoge

11. Walk on Water: Taken at the uyuni salt flats. By hayden111

12. Miyajima - Aquarium Smiling Porpoise. By agc_cwm

13. The Chasm, Dart River, Glenorchy NZ. By Purdy

14. Flowers in Peru. By Rraven

15. Shiva Imitation: Sitting below my room, on the street of Rishikesh, India. By Ardy

***

Every month, Travellerspoint throws a travel photo competition with a unique theme. The photos above are the favourites from last month's Blue photo competition.

Congratulations to FarandNear, whose photo of the Venetian masks was this month's winner. FarandNear receives a $50 Amazon voucher and an increased photo upload allowance of 200MB per month. Runner-up dinah1 will also have her photo upload limit increased to 200MB per month.

Our next competition has another broad theme: People. Find out more about the competition here

Check out the results of past competitions:

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Talking Travel with Maria

2008-07-10T06:10:01Z

The latest in our "Talking Travel" series of interviews with Travellerspoint interviews is with Maria (aka. t_maia), a 29-year old German with a keen interest in the Middle East. Earlier this month, I chatted with Maria about her love for travel, the Middle East and her native Germany.

What do you love about travel?

Learning new things.

In a way my live is dominated by the drive to learn new and interesting things. I read a lot, not just simply fiction but also a ton of non-fiction about history, culture, religion, economics, geography, etc. I'm an addict for the aha-effect, when two more pieces of the puzzle that is this planet start to fit together in my mind.

I'm very interested in what makes societies click, how the daily actions of people on a very basic level shape the world as we know it. Socioeconomics, if you want to put it like that. The more I travel the more I learn about this subject, the people, the country I visit and the whole world in general.

That is also one of the reason why I like TP and other travel forums: Reading the questions and answers I learn more, and often when I research an answer I find that I gain more for myself than the person asking the question.

One of your favourite destinations is the Middle East. What originally attracted you to that part of the world?

That is a tough question. I really don't know, apart from reading a lot about Islam from when I was about 10 years old. You cannot look at European history (and world history) without looking at Islam. Another attraction might have been the old Orient-Occident divide. Middle Eastern culture is so close and yet so different to European culture, I think it fascinated me.

Although, reading the books of Karl May (especially the Shadow of the Padishah series) might have played a big role too.

Many people have a negative perception of the Middle East, considering it too dangerous to travel around. How have you found it?

Hmm, the Middle East is the Middle East. If you arrive there with little previous information about the countries you travel in (package tourists come to my mind) you are in for serious culture shock. And even if you know what to expect, it can still blow your mind.

I don't think it is dangerous to travel in the Middle East, provided you are willing to accept that it is not your granny's backyard and that you need to keep your eyes and ears peeled, watching the news and listen to the radio whenever possible.

Information is the key to survival in the Middle East, without it you drown. Especially as a single woman travelling alone you need to know how to act, how to dress and what rules to follow or you run into problems. (And if you think that just bc you are with your boyfriend or husband or family or travelling on a package tour that this doesn't concern you - think again.) Decent knowledge about recent history (from 1850 on) of a country and about sensitive issues (political and otherwise) also helps.

Following the above advice you can easily deal with the two main risks of travel in the Middle East. The first one is political unrest and the other harrasment (especially for members of the female sex). The latter is something you can influence by how you act and dress, the other you can deal with by being able and ready to change plans on short notice. Say if you are in Syria and plan to travel to Libanon, listen around before you go and if things look bad go to Jordan instead. Same for Israel, don't plan on visiting the Dome of the Rock on a certain day. Stay flexible instead and go to Tel Aviv if there is trouble brewing in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Basically: Accept that the Middle East is a crazy place, that things are often "ma fee mushkeela, bukra, inshallah" (ie "no problem, things will be allright - tomorrow, if God wills it"), so best go with the flow, pack an extra sack of patience and politeness and your travels in the region will be much easier.

What are some of your favourite places in Germany?

To my shame I must admit that I don't really know my country as well as I should. I've spent the first 11 years of my life in the GDR (=Eastern Germany) and my parents dragged my all over that part. For this reason I know places in this area best. But after not being able to travel internationally until 1989 I (like many other East Germans) got this gigantic itch to scratch, deciding to travel all over the world and that Germany was something to explore when old and infirm.

It is only now with my relatively new interest in cycle-touring that I really get to know Germany. Germany is a great country not just for beers, but also for cycle touring, watersports and long-distance canoeing. With a dense network of cycling trails and water channels there are very few places you cannot reach by canoe or bike, plus there is excellent infrastructure catering to these tourists as well as hikers.

Places I really like:

Areas:

Baltic Sea coast
Harz mountains
Spreewald area
Saxon Switzerland
North Sea coast
Lueneburg Heath
Swabian Alps

Cities:

Berlin
Weimar
Quedlinburg
Dresden
Passau
Cologne
Wismar
Hamburg

Do you have any future trips planned?

Waaay too many.

Countries that are still missing in my "Middle Eastern collection" are Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Pakistan and all the countries on the Arab peninsula. And while I already have been to Iran I feel the urge to go back, there is so much there that I haven't seen yet. I also intend to complete the "Istanbul to Cairo" trail - I've already covered large parts of it, but the Sinai and Syria are missing.

I've also made half-serious plans to go to Africa (Tanzania and Mali), India, Yucatan peninsula, Central Asia and South East Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia).

Where I'll go next will be probably determined by my finances and where I can get cheap flights to. I like to use last-minute-flights that are normally part of a package deal, you can get great deals if you are willing to travel all over Germany to a flight that leaves in less than 48 hours.

I also got a couple of cycling trips planned, the next longer one is probably going to take me to Austria, either the Danube cycling trail or the Drau cycling trail, I don't know yet.

***

Check out these past interviews in the Talking Travel series:

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