Slowly, they drifted away ...

I used to read a lot of travel blogs, but recently I counted near zero

It’s the holiday season and perhaps you’re looking for something new and good to read? Me too! And, it’s been difficult.

It’s been a long time coming. The day I stopped reading travel blogs that is. The reason it’s been so long is that I never thought the day would come. But it did, slowly.

I held on for as long as possible. But my 100 strong list of travel blogs was floundering in interest to me. So, I went on a mission to see if there were any new good ones to add to my “Good Reads” folder. Did I or rather they succeed?

First, a look at why my 100 strong list failed to interest me anymore.

Subconscious reasons behind losing interest in reading today’s travel blogs

Sit back and relax with some good reads this holiday season

Let’s keep in mind I’ve been reading travel related material my whole life, and been living the life of a traveler for many years now.

There’s certainly an element of having been there done that to my reading materials. Not to mention, seen that, and read that before in relation to much of the content out there.

Personally, I don’t find any interest in John & Jane setting off on their first Round the World trip and blogging about all the cool places they got drunk in.

Likewise I have no interest in someone doing a PR stunt similar to riding a Tuk Tuk from here to Timbuktu blindfolded, sponsored and all in the name of a Guinness book of records shot, not to mention their soon to be published follow-up book.

Ditto again for the host of commercially friendly PR travel blogs out there that are aiming to turn a profit by creating content suitable for tourist boards, travel, PR and marketing companies.

And to be clear, I mean no disrespect to people who write such travel blogs. Go for it by all means. It’s simply just a case that I, personally, don’t find that sort of content interesting.

I like factual blogs, and I really like a blog that tells the story of person on a quest. Simple as that. Got one? Great, let me know in the comments.

Here’s some I enjoy.

A sample of travel blogs I consider good reads:

Bike and Boots one man, and a motorbike. Brian Setzer’s last post was in 2010, but the blog is still a great read on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Stories of Conflict & Love Roxanne is a conflict management professional living is places most wouldn’t want to. With a great talent at story telling, and making one think passionately about today’s issues, she offers up some great real life content.

Grrrltraveler I recently went through every page on Christine’s blog dating all the way back to 2008.  A Hawaiian traveling on a shoestring, who ended up teaching in Korea. There’s some raw honest insight here you won’t find in many other travel blogs. A prime example includes her post about some cultural differences in Korea.

DigiDrift  Jason’s done some epic traveling in his lifetime. Today he digs up memoirs and pieces together some well thought out articles that span the globe. Many people have tried to create online travel magazines, and failed. I don’t think Jason has tried to create an online travel magazine, but I liken his website to just that. It’s a great, varied, and interesting read on many levels.

There are several more listed under my favorites in my travel blog directory.

Don’t let my selections influence you though. There are plenty of other great travel blogs in my directory that might appeal to you personally or in niche areas.

Examples of travel blogs in niche areas

As the word travel blog inevitably becomes fractured from its original intent on being a web-based log of one’s journeys there is one area that’s been a bonus. Niche travel blogs.

Best Travel Blog Directory - Add yours!

Maybe you as a reader have a hobby that can be found in other countries?

A few examples here include Michael and Marly’s Easy Hiker a resourceful site simply about Easy hiking. Or, the single parent travel blogs Raising Miro and 1 Dad, 1 Kid (will these two families ever meet!).

Maybe you’re looking for some city specific niche travel blog like Leslie’s Downtown Traveler (New York)

And then perhaps there’s the epitome of living and working aboard as TravelFish.org‘s founder Stuart McDonald gives personal insights into running one of the worlds most popular travel sites from a base in Bali, Indonesia on Unwrapped Travel.

My RSS grading of travel blogs

So now you have a huge list of new reads! But there’s too many, how to choose?

For me, I run a sort of self graduation program culminating with my personal ”good reads” RSS folder. It starts with the bottom rung of the ladder, and blogs work their way up.

Once a month I scan the headlines of them all. If something grabs my attention, I move it up to a generic folder to keep a closer eye on.

I scan this generic folder a little more often. If someone is publishing something really good I move it up to a travel folder.

This much smaller folder of travel hopefuls I scan every week. I don’t read everything, but I do scan old feeds and open new posts in hope of finding a story. If it’s really appealing, it then moves on up to “Good Reads”.

Once in my “good reads” folder I make sure to set about time to read every one of these blogs thoroughly, along with several other genre’s I find interesting.

I try to comment on things that really strike my interest, if the person needs help, or if I see they really put a huge effort into something. Or quite simply if I like their content and they reply back. Yes, I think replying back is important.

I also demote blogs. If for example a travel blogger starts writing about being a successful travel blogger too often, I simply lose interest. Or if they end up being too commercial or start writing about off topic things too much I simply delete the feed. The same goes for too many guest posts, and the true hate of mine: a post not written by them but by a company selling a product or a SEO text links. It’s hard to get back on my RSS reader too.

Then, there’s the list of unknown travel blogs … The ones with no Twitter handles, or Facebook pages … And these are the ones that bring hope to my weekly reading and discovery these days … The best places to find such real-life travel blogs are on travel sites like Travellerspoint.com. Once there simply click a country you’re interested in and you’ll find some everyday people writing about their experiences. A great way to get the truth about a place without wondering how much is written simply to attract readers.

Finding your own good reads

I don’t know how many readers here read other travel blogs. If you do, taking a look at my travel blog directory might give you some new reads over the holidays.

If you are a travel blogger, and want to be added, then just follow the instructions on the directory page.

If you are on Android or iPhone, check out the Taptu RSS reader application. I run a select travel blog list there too.

I also have a OPML list of all the A-Z travel blogs on my travel blog directory that could save you some time in adding them. It’s available to all email members here. Simply sign up, and you’ll get it with your welcome email.

Finally, if you find terminology like RSS / OPML etc new or confusing and want to learn more. Check out my brief guide on social media terminology which should answer a lot of your questions.

Good reading over the holidays

Hopefully all this will give you some new and interesting reading over the holidays.

Enjoy the good reads on my travel blog directory, and join me in 2012 when my own journey takes on a new twist from new heights.

This is an additional feature article

P.S. I’m up a mountain right now (new post on the 29th), so would appreciate it if you could comment here and  spread this article around the social media world while I’m away!

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Where have all the good travel blogs gone: my travel blog directory

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Malaysia's most famous mountain vs finding a place to live ...

“My kind of traveling” is very different to …

I don’t quite know how else to sum it up really. I often say to people who want to meet me:

“Are you sure, I’m kinda boring really”.

It’s like going on an archaeological dig, sounds cool to see all those old bones and maybe even a whole dinosaur! But, the reality is a whole day in a mud pit watching people with toothbrushes brushing away millimeters of dirt and then get very excited about it.

No, not my thing either. But Indiana Jones sounds so much better!

The romantic side to travel

Exotic destinations like island hopping in The Philippines. Exploring old European capitals like Budapest. Or watching hot air balloons in Turkey. Relaxed, fun and big smile destinations that will make your friends jealous no end.

Heart thumping adventures

Get stuck in the riots in Tibet during the second uprising. Travel overland into Iran as rumors of a U.S. invasion follows. Arrive into Pakistan during an assassination attempt, a climb to nearly 18,ooo feet in -40 degrees (wind chill),  plus another riot in Nepal, not to mention finding the pyramids in China.

Yes, my life has had a lot in it …

Take a year off. Take a career break. Take 2 weeks off and visit another country, eat new food. It’s so very different to what you are used to at home. Even a weekend getaway, it feels good thinking about it right now, doesn’t it?

Now wrap that into nearly 7 years. No, it’s not like the above. It’s very different. And, I do believe, near on impossible for the majority of people to fathom without knowing a lot more. Hence today, this journal, and in the future a book.

This is no vacation, nor aimless travel adventure.

The notion of real perpetual travel might seem ideal, the raw reality is far removed from anything remotely pleasurable.

A hard notion for someone stuck in day job to comprehend. Harder still for those that want the ultimate freedom of travel, that requires such a job to finance. Worse are the market pitches claiming it to be true, they do after all want you to buy something from them …

For me, travel is a means, not an end zone

Here we must depart I am afraid.

Yes, travel to me is a tool to accomplish my end destination of finding a new place to live. It is a pioneering journey, but one that humanity has done for eons.

Pizza Italiano senza uno montagna in Malaysia (Italian pizza without a mountain)

One that recreation has filled a void with, using short-term fixes.

I am looking for a permanent solution.

Climb Mount Kinabalu!

In the meantime these were the words asked of me one day by a group of nice travelers at a guest-house.

I turned down the chances to climb one of Malaysia’s most famous mountains that day without question.

Here’s why.

Conversation and information over pleasure

I like pizza, and it fills me well. The owner of this particular cafe is an Italian expat. No better an opportunity to delve into the expat community of Sabah.

An essential part of last years journey was all about fitting in when living overseas. But, I was trying to fit in with locals. The expats, though some nice, were mainly a lot older, heavy on beer and younger girls. Not really my social scene. Local integration is not without it’s bumps either though.

Kota Kinabalu is a tourist city. Meeting locals here is a different ball game. Moreover the expats here are a lot more diverse. Again, mainly retired, they don’t seem so caught up in forgetting about the world in can of beer every day.

In this case, I had struck up a conversation with an Italian pizza cafe owner. It was worth more to me than seeing Mount Kinabalu.

I explore new places in a very different way to most people

Most importantly the pizza cafe owner was simply a wealth of information about living in Sabah. Not only from a practical side of things, but also from a side of life that’s very hard to get good information on.

The man asked me questions not of travel, but of living in different places.

And, what a relief to my ears it was to hold a discussion with someone about the reality of a life overseas.

We then talked about the womanizing ways of the French and Italian Prime Ministers. We laughed over the stupid things. We complained about the heat. We talked about The Sopranaos and how nothing has replaced it on TV, aside from Dexter, which I don’t think he knew about.

Yes, we just had a regular conversation. And, that was what I enjoyed.

The biggest question I keep getting asked is not about me nor travel …

I enjoy meeting people as I travel. When I do, I enjoy normal conversation. Conversation not about travel; nor the usual 101 questions I get asked about myself.

Why? The questions I get asked about in real life are not really about travel nor myself.

Most people are simply not interested in me, though the pretense is there. They are however, interested in what they think I have in the form of a “little blue pill” that can help them jump out of a life less ordinary: To embrace the rapture of freedom. 

And, it’s true. Along with a few other things, I really do know the answer to this question.

But, it’s not as easy to swallow as “a little blue pill”.

Life’s big corner

I like, and have to do, things that most people find hard work when on holiday ... but to me it's a do or die routine like many others around the world

Sure Mount Kinabalu is great. Please do consider climbing it. Photographing it. Writing about it. But I’ve climbed mountains on the top of the world and know the stories well enough by now.

Returning, the travelers from earlier were full of mountain talk. I listened to some funny quips, and typical stories. Not so different, but good for them.

However, when they asked what I had been up to, and I told them. They nodded half heartedly and smiled in polite necessity.

I understand perfectly. I’m like watching that archaeologist in a pit to them.

“We are both traveling, but for different purposes.”

A not so stellar meet up

Last week I met a couple over coffee via an email from this site. It was kind of awkward. They were on a one year round the world trip and full of excitement:

Have you done this, have you seen this?

Me: no, nope, not today.

Them: How long have you been here again?

Me: Yea, it’s just a different kind of travel.

Them: Nodding of heads and stares at the guide-book (aka, hoping someone can rescue them).

“Travel” is great, i enjoy it, but I don’t want to live it 24/7

In Bangkok I met a traveler with their own travel blog. The conversation nearly/has driven me to the point of removing the word “blog” from my own site. Something I debated heavily when I started this site.

Their main area of conversation was Google. How to get to the top of the search engine rankings. How to make money to travel. How to get free trips.

It got worse.

Next was how do you think “this person“, does it? Do you think I should talk to them? Or go and meet them?

By now I’d switched off and was making up conversations in my head in the hope the evening would come to a close that bit sooner.

Only the person wanted to go out for beers … and couldn’t understand my answer.

“Thanks, but no beer, I’m working tonight, and it’s not on my budget.” A blatant lie due to my stomach, but the last person I wanted to share my medical problems with was this person!

“It’s only one night and … we’re here!!!”  (how many times have I heard that)

“I’m just gonna get something to eat and go back to the hotel.”

And yes, they were offended by all this. And no, at this stage of my life I didn’t give a hoot!

Been there, heard that 1000 times

After 6+ years of hearing the same questions … I avoid telling many people what I am doing. The really interesting people won’t be asking either.

I dare not say what I am doing anymore in a hotel or guest-house. Either that or I should just hand out a press-release of Frequently Asked Questions.

What a relief it is to meet someone like that Pizza maker, or a lone traveler on a train like last week.

They couldn’t care less about a blog, how many countries anyone’s been too. They just wanted a real conversation about life, and some interesting stories.

And, so do I.

Who knows what will happen in your life as you make your way down its many paths ... that's what makes it so wonderful when you meet people looking for other things, in their own way ...

I’m simply very happy to meet people who want to talk about anything other than “cool things to do” and everything about me or rather that “little blue pill”.

Sadly in person, just like that archaeologist; I’m actually a lot more boring to be around in reality than one might have thought.

It’s why I am very happy to write guides, how to’s, and all manner of helpful travel resources for everyone. But sit me down everyday and ask the same questions about how to get up and leave … well, I’ve answered that already.

The people I really enjoy meeting, and dare I say visa versa are those that know their path in life. And, are not looking for greener pastures one way or another. People with interesting tales, lives and stories. People that like to share experiences pro quo. Not those looking for quick answers.

At the end of the day, this, or any other really good lifestyle means: hard work.

The people I  enjoy meeting are rarities, and I cherish the moments our paths cross!

No return travel …

I’ve not gone home to anywhere in my near 7 years of travel. There’s a difference, I’ve met plenty of people who enjoy travel but savor going home for respite in-between the journeys.

In my life, I have done both.

So yes, I can claim to be a 20+ year travel veteran if I mix and match my life’s travel ventures.

Let me write that the former is by far more taxing, and I don’t recommend it. It certainly wears you down. A lack of support, stability, security, and resources.

Even 2 years in Africa or The Philippines does not cut it. It’s simply not the same as having a “home” base. By a long shot.

Maybe it’s a lack of family, permanent friends, and support networks. Maybe it’s a mix of cultures, bureaucracy, security, age, life … the list goes on.

I’ve done it, and am doing it. It’s an arduous campaign. I have no regrets. But if people are looking for a that “little blue pill” this is not it.

Maybe after my campaign is over, I can package the “blue pill” a little better. Write better instructions, improve the compounds that create it. Make it taste better, or make it easier to swallow. Sounds nicer …

The future brings …

If you subscribed to my updates/newsletter, you’ll know what I am going through right now. If not … well, you missed out on that bit of news didn’t you!

As such, writing here will become sporadic. Cease at worse. And hopefully, let’s be positive, will continue unabated for a long time to come.

For now though … I can only close this page on my journey by saying …

I am a fighter and a survivor. I am an adventurer and an explorer. I am proud and I have honor. I will endeavor to continue on ….

(insert grin from the right side)

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Climb Mount Kota Kinabalu! Sorry, not today I’m having pizza & a blue pill

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Looking to other destinations ...

The Longest Way Home Leaves The Philippines

Call me clichéd, call me sentimental, call me stupid … but I wanted the last post from The Philippines to be somewhere around when my timer would tick over. Six years of travel complete on a search around the world like no one else. Aside from the billion or two other people trying to do the same thing as me.

Minus maybe putting it all down in print like this. I’ve been deluged with email since my last journal entry. So, thought it best to write something about where I am going; beyond just another country.

I started traveling over 14 years ago; but I am now entering my 7th year of travel without going “home” to recharge my batteries, like only home can do. Why, because I have none. Still …

One last huge fiesta table of great Food from the Philippines

How close was The Philippines to home?

Like anything else in the raw reality of “real” life, this is not easy to answer. And, I probably won’t have one for a while. The Philippines will take hindsight to properly make a conclusion on.

A friend who once lived here told me:

“You can only handle living in The Philippines for a few months at a time. Not unless you like San Miguel to forget the other months.”

I don’t quite agree. But, I see his point. And, I need an almighty break.

Ending up in The Philippines, and staying …

For those that don’t know. The Philippines was meant to be a 3 month stopover to upload photos, check the place out, and rest after my overland journey. Over two years later and I have only just left.

To be frank, The Philippines surprised me in being so accommodating in my search around the world. I in no way expected to stay here so long, unless of course it was a place to live.

The three main things I fought to earn and learn here:

1. Social Integration or living overseas within a society is perhaps the single biggest obstacle for a journey of this kind. This is simply not something you can do in 1 month, or even 1 year.
2. The second biggest obstacle of bureaucracy and politics today is a lot harder to overcome than 6 years ago. Or at least, the raw reality of actually legally living in a country is more than many can imagine.
3. There are some very honest people in the world still. Local people in The Philippines, away from the tourist zones and rich, are such wonders. It’s confirmed to me the future of many things. It’s a lesson I already learned, but still find fascinating in this pivotal time in history.

What can you do in two years?

“If you’ve passed by two years of your life and not learned something other than to ponder, then you’ve not lived. I encourage you to stop pondering, and live your dreams.”

This website

From a free host this site earned its first $10 to buy a domain, and then onwards to paid hosting, and onwards …. Yes, from nothing, to several thousand people a week reading and searching throughout it. I am proud of this. This is not just a “travel blog”, this is the raw reality of a real life travel journal; and all the experiences learned are placed here to help everyone …

Other websites

I’ve become heavily involved in building websites for businesses / individuals; and in teaching about business development from the ground up.

This was not something I thought about 2 years ago. But it is something I seem to have fallen into today.

Photography & Writing

From five-star chef menu’s, feature photo galleries, to ebooks, brochures and coffee table books. There’s a growing in-demand portfolio emerging.

Tourism Development

My blunt and honest approach to writing about places I visit is paying off. I noticed it when some .gov email addresses started to appear on my email subscriber list.

“It’s one thing to write about a wonderful place and ignore the shadows. It’s another to tell the raw reality of a destination.”

The end result is working with those involved in tourism development to identify what’s going wrong. As opposed to the age old business plan of how to make “something” better.

Identifying the problems, and creating solutions is a lot more efficient and productive. It also shows immediate benefits and results.

Private sector

Then came the private tourism businesses And, being honest, most of the private sector have been time wasters. Looking to offer free trips to their resorts / services. SEO companies looking for sponsored ads in my content etc.

I am not interested. Instead I urge you to work with me to help your business in person. I will not promote here for the sake of a trip. This is my travelogue about my journey, and no more.

“If you want me on board, then come up with an idea so that we can do both. I’m happy to work with you like no other.”

The publication industry requires more than just a manuscript, it requires a lot of time, and finances. The return on investment is not directly seen through publication sales either.

The Book

Much to the chagrin of a few literary agents, I’ve put it all on hold. I simply have too much on my plate right now. For those that don’t know about the “print” publishing business you should realize there is very little money to be made in the actual paper publication of a book these days. Not unless it makes the New York Times bestseller list. And, either-way, it takes a huge time / financial commitment.

The benefits are found in the sub sectors of marketing a book. Book tours, appearances, seminars, signing etc. It’s a big subject on its own. Right now I am forced to leave this on a back burner. My journey is my first and foremost priority. The literary agents I am working with are aware of this.

Meanwhile, if there are other bright sparks with ideas to get both things done, I am all ears. Let’s see what happens …

The TV proposal …

Gosh, who’d want to make a TV series about a guy traveling the world in search of home? The answer is somebody. Now this really has been a learning curve. There is a movie about how this “industry works“, I can’t remember its title (John Cusack). But, it comes pretty close to reality. Early days like the above.

Proud moments …

Along with several people who comment and read my travel blog, we created awareness about the endangered Tarsier in Bohol. To the point of getting statements from World Wildlife Fund for Nature. Special mention to Ivy for her help. You may be interested to know that the WWF launched a big awareness and fund-raising campaign in The Philippines recently for projects like these. Well done to all involved.

People around the world have seen my Seeing the Unseen Travel Stories series, and together we’ve explored areas and people of The Philippines that no one else has covered.

If these were not accomplishments, I don’t know what are!

The Longest Way Home Readers …

Did I ever think I would say community here? No. But the people who comment here regularly have really been amazing with their great feedback, thoughts, views and honesty.

When I am on a hot sticky bus, or sitting without electricity at night, or eating lunch on a roadside street stall and then see a comment come in from my phone … well … it really matters. So thank you.

Some big changes: Less online, more on the journey

Over the past few months I have been pulled further from my journey and more into a virtual online world. Both have positives. But, for me, I need to go back to what brought me to the dance. My journey.

Take it that from here on; I’ll be less on external social network sites like Twitter and Facebook. Instead I will be on the road and writing it up right here.

No more freebie emails

This is a real journey, and not a commercial travel site like Lonely Planet. As such I’m also putting the very many email questions I get about how to travel, how to book a tour, and all the other things that many get paid for back into the site.

I’ll be writing up great How to travel guides on where I go and placing them all in my travel resources page. So no one will miss out. Any commercial type questions that are sent in about how to do things I’ll be transferring to this style of format for a while.

Regular readers that email me and those that comment here will be getting full priority as always!

Raising the travelogue bar

There is, to be frank, a lot of crap out there when it comes to travel sites at the moment. The travelogue seems to have gotten lost in the fray of make money now blogs, “me, me, me,” blogs, and buy everything from us blogs that fill the internet these days.

Over the next year I have every intention to restore faith in the honest to goodness travelogue; for the sake of a great read about a real travel journey.

“I promise that you’ll see things on this website that few other people ever get to see, or experience, no matter the destination.”

Come here safe in the knowledge that no one will try to sell you anything or bore you with recycled content. Nor tell you what you should or should not be doing with your life. That’s up to you to make decisions on. I already have for myself, as you can read here.

What happens to me at the end of this journey is anyone’s guess, that’s the point in following along. Maybe you can learn from what I’ve learned, and from my mistakes.

Come here, find great original content, learn practical and helpful travel tips. Moreover come here to read and enjoy the real life adventure of someone shooting for the stars making a dream come true.

The next destination …

If you are new here, welcome. Please read about The Longest Way Home to get a better idea about what this journey is about.

Then subscribe below to get even more!

“My first travelogue from a new country should be up mid January.”

Get an email subscription to The Longest Way Home

Honest, practical and helpful how to travel guides, articles about exploring todays new world cultures, how to live overseas, great photography and one of the most popular Travelogues in the world are all delivered free via email (I highly recommend it!).

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Coming Soon

A separate helpful article about living overseas – learn how smiling too much can be fatal

then

My first post from a new country …

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Back to the Future for The Longest Way Home

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(Due to the nature of travel, it usually takes a few days to get the ebook emailed out to you)

As I mentioned in a previous update, I wanted the past few months to write a little differently. It was to focus on other people rather than myself, while at the same time expanding the site into some editorial and commentary posts, which I have equally enjoyed.

Upcoming website changes & features

Brief overview of the past few months:

• Seeing the Unseen series about the people from Mindanao
• Interviews with several high profile travel figures on inspirational travel
• I wrote several travel commentaries such as Google vs Lonely Planet, and a series on Travel Blog ethics (more to come)
• My first e-book (Top places to Travel & Photograph) was published and, is available to all email subscribers for FREE
• New Travel Photo Gallery is at around 90% completion.

Now, it’s time to go back to me, and the journey to find home:

A $24.99 photo-ebook FREE to all email subscribers

I’ve enjoyed the above, however as I am moving on. I will now be returning to regular travel journal updates on my travel blog page. I will be writing from my own perspective on my travels. And, on how my journey to find home is developing.

New things, and some old:

Here’s how the travel blog page will look for the next while:

• Travel blog entries which I refer to as my journal will continue to detail my personal journey to find a place called home
• I will endeavor to write these entries once a week on average, they will not always be in line with my travel dates so I can take the time to write them properly. Use my twitter account for live entries
• Between each travel journal entry there will be a feature photo article about food from the country I am traveling in. It will be about the real food you will encounter when traveling
• Brief “How to …” guides will appear as they come about to help those looking to travel in the same places I’ve been
• Once or twice a month I will write a commentary / editorial on a popular travel or photographic topic, as I enjoy this

Other updates on the horizon:

Who will be the next Great Modern Traveler Inductee?

1. It’s been a long time coming, but my new world travel photography gallery is soon coming online.  There will be prints for sale on select photographs. Including collectors editions, and pay per month prints.
2. The large photo headers on the website will gradually have names and locations appear.
3. A new African update from the past.
4. My “Travel Journey’s” page will be getting a complete overhaul and turned into something very different.
5. There will be a comprehensive review on online storage for travelers and photographers.
6. There will be a new inductee into Great Modern Travelers announced.

Over to you:

Though this is a personal journey, I am well aware that there are now many people reading this website.

So I will ask this, what would you like

• added?
• changed?
• removed?

From the travel blog or website in general?

Suggestions, tips and comments welcome. Though I can’t promise everything, if there is something glaringly annoying, or something that could be improved. Now would be a good time to let me know.

Coming Soon:

The road to Davao … across the highlands

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Back on the Road: Travel Blog Update & future changes

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Find out where my 5 Top Places to Travel & Photograph are -

The answer’s going to surprise you!

If you already subscribe to this website via email then; you already know about this!

5 Top Places to Travel & Photograph - Photo-e-book

5 Top Places to Travel & Photograph is a high quality full color 37 page photo-e-book that, I believe, sets a new standard for photo-e-books, and e-books in general.

And, it’s completely FREE to all subscribers of this website. Sign up here to subscribe to my free journals and get your copy!

But please hurry, as it’s a time limited offer!

Features:

• Full color travel-photographs
• Beautiful full page pullouts
• Designed to be printed out
• No page numbers on large photos for better viewing & printing
• Every chapter has a tips page on travel & photography related to that country
• A fully interactive menu for easy navigation

There is also a high definition print copy available. It’s currently weighing in at around 100mb. Due to storage costs the only way I can offer this via payment. If you like the free copy and would like the high definition print edition, then please contact me.

The story behind 5 Top Places to Travel & Photograph:

I’ve been working on several photo projects over the past 6 months. And, on one in particularly I failed. Yes, I said I failed.

Someone wished to have a coffee table photography book, and I was unable to deliver due to time issues, visa issues and, at that time, my lack of desktop publishing skills.

I could have forgotten about it, or outsourced it, but as you may have seen on this journal, I don’t give up so easily. And, I believe you should aspire to learn what you don’t know.

So over the past few months I forged ahead and worked on the separate offline project. Top Places to Travel & Photograph developed from there.

It is something I wanted to give the subscribers of this website, the people that comment here, and the people that email me as a way of saying – Thank You.

And, this is it.

It’s been utterly fantastic to hear from you, to meet you, and to get your support. This is a long journey and it’s great to have you join along.

So please, if you don’t subscribe already now is a great opportunity to do so. Subscribing is completely free too!

By subscribing you not only get this free photo-e-book, but also my weekly travel journals, exclusive behind the scenes access to my journey, plus you’ll be the first to find out about future giveaways!

How to subscribe:

1. Enter your email address below
2. Click the “subscribe” button
3. A new pop up window will appear, follow the instuctions
4. Check your inbox for an email, (if you don’t get one within 10 minutes, check your spam box!)
5. Click the link in the email to confirm, and then sit back and wait for the next journal update to be delivered to you!

In the next journal update, there will be a link in the email / RSS to download the photo-e-book for free!

Email Subscribers who already received their copy please note that this is a slightly updated version (v.1.1)

Changes:

• All large landscape photographs are now displayed in landscape (horizontal) format
• One landscape page number has been removed

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Top Places to Travel & Photograph a FREE Photo-E-book Gift to all subscribers of The Longest Way Home!

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Indigenous tribesman from Kaamulan (click to enlarge)

Time to meet some people most travelers don’t see.

Flash Flood Victims in Mindanao

I’ve spent a long time in the Philippines searching for home. Some of it was to prove to myself and to others that island life is not for me. From time in tropical Palawan to now in the southern most island of Mindanao. An area stricken by occasional violence, too frequent bad press, and many other negative aspects.

Many people email me to ask about my book, the site, and are very flattering with their words about finding this an inspirational journey. Truly I am humbled.

However; one of the things I have learned over the past 5 years is that it’s the people I meet that are the ones who truly inspire me.

I’d like to share with you these people here on my journal.

There will be a new series of articles appearing here based on my travel stories page from The People I Met, section.

Mindanao is the large island in the south

Seeing the Unseen: Real people and their lives that tourists and other travelers don’t always get to see, or choose not to. Places not mentioned in the guide books, and festivals that are run on no set day (though locals will argue that point )

I’ve amalgamated a lot of information about the Philippines during my time here;  but wish to focus on Mindanao with this new series.

I’ll be writing up an excerpt here with a link to the full story on each page.

There, you will find lots of photographs, a podcast, and the written story.

While living on an Island was not my idea, traveling and living in Mindanao is. It’s certainly something I prefer.

Here I have tried a different way of searching for home. My way. I prefer it to living on a tropical island by far.

I hope with this series you’ll get to see an inside scoop on some of the real people from the Philippines, their lives, and some places in the little visited region of Mindanao.

More to come on The Longest Way Home in the coming weeks:

• I will be writing some additional articles about some untold truths in the world of travel.

• I have what I think are a set of never seen before in-depth interviews with some pretty incredible travel related people that will shed some light on a topic not many touch on, but everyone wants to know!

• Plus, my journal updates on my continuing search for home; which has some important changes underway.

One last thing on upcoming things – please take this opportunity to subscribe to my updates via email. It’s FREE, it gets delivered to your chosen email address on a weekly basis. And, there’s some content coming that only subscribers will have access to (hint, hint, trust me on this one okay! ) Here’s the link to add your email address.

With Seeing the Unseen: I hope that, maybe,  it will help dispel some rumors, and show people what’s further south in The Philippines … I hope you’ll enjoy this, and some of the new features coming here.

The bizarreness of Mindanao

Coming soon:

The sea salt makers

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Seeing the Unseen: Exposing Mindanao & some upcoming features

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a

Happy Holidays from the Philippines!

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all the readers and contributers of my journal / website the very best over the holiday season. Thank you for the great emails filled with your own stories, well wishes, and words of encouragement.

In 2009 I opened up the journal / blog  to comments, and it’s been great to get your feedback / comments on both my journals, and travel articles. It’s also been great to meet, talk and discuss with you as well. It’s brought a new element to my search that I never expected. So Thank You!

There’s more to come in 2010, and hopefully I’ll be able to start a few new features.

In the meantime I wish you, and your families the very best over this season and into 2010!

All the best in 2010!!

Coming soon — New post tomorrow!!

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Happy Holidays to you the readers and contributers of The Longest Way Home

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Back online!

It’s been an interesting few days, with new visitors reaching over 50,000 in one day; I had to turn the blog off for a while.

On September 3rd 2009 the mainstream Italian newspaper La Republica published an article about me and my journey to find a place called Home.

Luck was with me that night as I had gone online in reply to a comment when my host emailed me and told of an increased spike in traffic. 22,000 people in a few hours had visited. They thought it was an attack and suspended my website.

Thankfully, I was online, and figured out what was happening. My host brought the site back up again within 30 minutes. And throughout the evening (Asia time) was very supportive.

The inside story of running this website:

Like anyone with a website I pay for a certain hosting package. It has bandwidth limits. In other words the more people that visit the website, the more bandwidth gets consumed and the more it ends up costing me. This is especially true considering the amount of photographs I display here.

Keeping in mind that this website started out as just a place for me to write my travel journals, hang my photographs and write up travel resources as I continued on in my journey to find home – I really never expected that many people to take an interest. I had a hosting package that I thought would do up until then.

As the evening went on the numbers had increased to 50,000 above the normal amount of daily visitors. At this time, I took the preventative action to remove my journal from the site to stop going over my bandwidth limit while keeping the rest of the site up and running. Self preservation as it were.

I did most of this on my gprs enabled phone as the local cafe was charging a lot for WIFI and it was closing down for the night. It was still daytime in Italy. Over the next few days I watched the number of visitors eb and flo while my inbox filled with some great emails from Italy and beyond, I will reply to everyone, but it will take a little time.

Faced with a quota of bandwidth I left the blog offline until things settled down a little. One of my main problems was getting a good enough internet access to try and find some solutions to all this. I have now traveled to a small guesthouse with internet and am sitting in a windowless room trying to get things back to normal.

I’ve had many suggestions emailed to me. And wish to thank very much those people who sent them to me.

What one see’s on the outside is not always an indication of reality.

Hosting costs are not extraordinarily high these days. At least not yet! I do however have to balance my journey and the amount of time and money I spend on the website. Advertising has paid for the hosting up until now without question. The keywords there is ‘up until now’. I don’t like having ads all over the place. But unfortunately it’s the only way I can afford to keep things running here.

If there’s any advertiser who’s interested in advertising on The Longest Way Home for a resonable rate, I’m all ears for you to contact me.

The real issue I have is the cost of accomodation / internet to write the entries, sort, crop, and upload photographs and now fix things like this. My accomodation costs are about $12 per day at the moment to do this. So a single day trying to fix all this is a lot more than a monthly hosting fee! And this is what I mean by how things aren’t always as black & white in regards to maintaining the website.

I am now making an attempt at outsourcing my image hosting to reduce the bandwidth consumption on the websites server. This is again an unexpected expensive that I have to factor into the websites future.

I’ve written about why and how this website got started in my about section so I won’t go over it again here. Nor am I making plea, but these are the facts.

The future

For now things are settling down and I hope to have the travel blog stay up while I sort through things like web hosting, image hosting, and also try to factor in the time costs too. I am very aware that there are many people who enjoy reading my journals, the photography I take and; in following my quest along. I am really trying hard to balance this, and my own journey together.

Hopefully over the next few day’s I can bring some stability to the website, and get things fixed in a way that will alow me to get back to the over all goal in my life – To find a place called home.

For now the journals will resume in a day or so as they always have. A little behind time, but they are on the way!

A note for those who can help –  by signing up to my RSS or email subscriptions!

My RSS and Email subscriptions are free. By signing up, my journal updates get delivered to your email address, or to your RSS reader as soon as they are published. You can then read my updates on your email or your prefered RSS reader which means you don’t have to remember to visit the website every week, which in turn means a reduction in bandwidth and thus you would be helping me out.

So yes, in a round about way for regular readers I am saying if you like reading my journals then please sign up for my email or RSS subscriptions rather than visit the website all the time to see if there’s an update! (then if you read something you’d like to comment on, you’re more than welcome to visit and write back)

Both the RSS and Email subscriptions are all free with lots of extras such as extra entries that only you will hear about there. Also in the near future I hope to be giving away exclusive access to subscribers on new features I am working on.

You can get my email updates by clicking here or for those who prefer RSS here

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Travel Blog back up! The inside story …

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In my  travel review section are a collection of reviews I’ve made on Travel Guide Books I’ve used. Travel Novels I’ve read, and Travel related Films I’ve watched.

I don’t ever list these reviews in my main journal but with the launch of the new look blog, I thought I would do a breif recap for those that are new to this website.

My Lonely Planet China Review

Guide Book’s I’ve used:

Did I find the Lonely guide book on India any good when I was there?

What about a good China guide book?

Travel Related Novels I’ve read

My Review of Shantaram

Have you read Shantaram? A book based on an escaped convicted from Australia living in the slums of Mumbai?

How good is Karl Busby’s Giant Steps Novel about walking around the world?

Travel Related Films:

Which travel related movie is better? Into the Wild or The Last King of Scotland?

My Review of War Photographer

Ever heard of War Photographer? It’s really worth watching is you like photography

On my travel review page. you’ll find full reviews for all these and a whole lot more. While it’s not the most comprehensive review page out there. The reviews are based on the practical aspects of a traveler, and someone who enjoys the world of travel.

You can even vote at the end of my review whether you agree with me or not!

All my reviewed content is available on Amazon.com or UK through my travel review page.

By clicking on the links in the review section you will have the option of buying an item from Amazon at their regular prices from their website. I then receive a small commission (usually about $00.30 for a book). I use this commission to save up and buy another guide book or  novel.

Some other things I’ve reviewed that you might find interesting:

Shooting Dogs

Down and Out in Paris and London

Healthy Travel in Asia and India

Check out all my reviews here:

Wherever you see this logo on the website, it's where my travel reviews are! Just click the logo above & you'll go to the review page.

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Travel Guide books, Travel Books, and Travel Film Reviews – updates

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Welcome to the new look journal for The Longest Way Home. I’ve changed the page format for a new series of posts about How to Live on an island in the Philippines that begins soon …

Some of the physical changes on my Travel Blog / Journal:

The Longest Way Home (click to enlarge)

1. All photographs can now be zoomed in, and select photographs can be enlarged (they will say click to enlarge). The quality is no where near what I shoot at. But it does allow for those who like to see that bit more to do so. This will just be available for the forthcoming posts.

2. Past journal entries have nearly all been archived here, and they all include new or enlarged photographs in each post. This is at the request of several emails from people asking for certain photos to be larger.

3. New easy to use Social Book marking. If you like a post, you’ll notice a host of Stumble IT, Digg IT, Twit IT etc,. icons at the bottom of each post. Just click on your preferred social network and promote away! There’s an add this share button in the upper left for even more social networks.

4. Comments can now be made for each post, and can be subscribed to for follow ups.

5. There’s a new random photo every time you visit the this travel journal page in the upper right hand corner (travel photographs)

6. I’ve made it easier to subscribe to my updates via email, just type in your email address into the box and click subscribe.

7. RSS subscribers will be happy to know that all RSS updates now have images nicely aligned within them. No more big white spaces between the text! (though this might not work on some feed readers)

8. The whole website including blog is now mobile/cell/portable device friendly in Opera Mini. I’ve disabled mobile viewing on other browsers as I don’t think there’s a need. If viewers contact me with this request it can be enabled.

9. Latest Pages will show the latest pages added to the website not including blog / journal entries so you can see what’s new on the rest of the website!

10. New articles and more frequent posts! Over the next series of weeks I will be publishing articles on a more frequent basis. I’ve also improved the navigation between posts. There will also be two new articles appearing every now and then between regular journal updates to coincide with the new series. How to live overseas on an island and Great Food from around the World – starting with the Philippines!

Over the next few days there will be a series of updates reviewing new things on The Longest Way Home. Plus updating new readers with certain sections of the site, giving an update on the great modern travelers and their progress. And, then it’s on to the new journal entries!

Make sure to sign up to my RSS or email updates for more features not mentioned in here!

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Website update – May 2009 – new look journal

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Comments: I thought with the forthcoming Karl Bushby post above it would be a good time to activate the comments section on the page. I’ve not had them on before as with travel and the search, plus keeping the site updated I really struggle with time. And know I would feel bad if I could not reply to everyone on this blog/journal page.

I do however reply to all the emails people have taken the time to send me. Some of which have been very inspirational, thank you.

You can reply to these comments via email, which should help in posting time etc.

For now comments are on, and it would be great to get some feedback on the site as a whole, what you like what you don’t like etc? So over to you now!?

RSS/Email Subscriptions:You might have noticed that there was not a direct RSS feed for The Longest Way Home Blog page before. The main site had an RSS feed, and so did/does the Journal/blog. Well, I’ve combined the two now, and added in a lot more for the future of the site.

What does that mean? Well, no matter what feed you are currently subscribed to, things continue on as normal, so you don’t have to do anything. But if you want the best of the best, sign up to the permanent one here. Actually everything on the site now points to the new RSS and Email feeds, so you can sign up from anywhere.

New/updated pages: The new Travel book / DVD Review page has already attracted a lot of attention, which is great. I’ll be making new additions whenever I can.

The free music page is doing well too, which is strange as I only really put there for my own mp3 updates – If anyone knows of a music artist from any country I have traveled through that would like to be featured on the page please let me know. The only conditions are that they must have a selection of traditional indigenous tracks from there country. And at least one must be available online for downloading that I can link to.

Thanks again for the great emails. Again, I am not so sure how the comments here will span out but lets see.

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Important site updates

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About my Travel Journals -

10 points of note:

1. A lot of the earlier entries are written into my handwritten journals so they are not online.
2. Older journal entries are rough and ready, take them as they are.
3. If you start from the beginning you can witness the evolution of this online journal from notes, to blog, to factoid, to journal.
4. I’ve given older entries a brief overview at the start of each entry.
5. Dates: they are not super exact. Most days pass without me living in an internet cafe or hostel lounge.
6. I often try to post ahead of time to keep up the consistency of online posting.
7. More regular entries start from Iran onwards.
8. All photographs have been lowered in quality to let pages load quickly, though on most pages there’s at least one you can zoom in on a little.
9. There is a lack of information about the quest of finding home: Those parts are all in my book!  – though if you are tuning in from the Philippines onwards, they are now becoming apart of the blog / journal.
10. Looking for travel help and information? You won’t really find much in the journals to help you. Instead go to my country profiles on the left of each page, or go to my travel resources page.

Please read the side bars on the blog page for more information

What do you think about this? Leave a comment & let me know about Please read this before reading my Travel Journals

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