Top 10 Tips for a successful Wanderjahr (round-the-world trip)
My obsession with traveling around the world came from two primary sources – both books. The first was Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Vern and the second was A Vagabond Journey Around the World by Harry Franck. Both of these books made it abu ...
Strange Fruit
On my travels throughout the world, I've seen many, many great sites, met a lot of interesting people, and tasted lots of food (some good and some not so good.) Although I certainly am not a fruitarian, I do have a keen eye for fruit – and on my tra ...
Walking with Wallabies
Zoos are a place that we've all visited at one time or another. Some are good, some not so good. Well, over the weekend I cam across a place that made me look at the keeping of animals in a whole new light. It's called the Pearcedale Moonlit Sanct ...
Australian/US Bucket List
When the travel bug first hit me I wrote down all of the places I wanted to visit in a 150 destination Global Bucket List. Who would have ever thought that this wouldn't end up being enough? You can find the list by reading my blog: A Tale of 2 Buck ...
Forever Young
Life is a funny thing. After years wandering the world, exploring its wonders, I’ve now entered a new stage of my life – one that many other life-long travellers have no doubt gone through before me. I’ve gone from being an intrepid wande ...
Global Bucket List
At one point or another everyone dreams about exploring the world and experiencing all that it has to offer. I first developed the travel bug when I was a young boy and its stuck with me for my whole life (and I'm not exactly a young boy anymore). ...
Gaining a Perspective
“A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step” - Lao Tzu. Well, after months of planning I’ve finally taken that first step. Now I find myself in a foreign city on the first day of my Wanderjahr. Thankfully (due to smart planning) ...
In the Care of Ravens
History can be a funny thing. Based upon where you come from, it’s also very relative. For me, having grown up in the United States, something 300 years old seems very old. Well, when you hit Europe you’ll need to recalibrate your “ ...
A Tale of 2 Bucket Lists
I think I must have been about 12 years old when I first started to seriously dream about traveling. It all started when I went with a friend to an enormous used book store (more like a barn) near my home in New Jersey. It was here that I came acro ...
Sunrises!
Yes, I've been meaning to write a followup to my earlier blog post "Sunsets" – but, you know how things always get in the way... been busy travelling, you see... A personal goal of mine has been to see a sunrise on as many continents as possible, an ...
PlanetHop! Travel Blog
The PlanetHop! Travel Blog is a place to Share, Read and Write about all things Travel, including a place to document your journeys around the world!
On my travels throughout the world, I've seen many, many great sites, met a lot of interesting people, and tasted lots of food (some good and some not so good.) Although I certainly am not a fruitarian, I do have a keen eye for fruit – and on my travels to Asia and Australia, I came across lots of unique and strange fruits that left a very strong impression upon me. In the UK, at one time the most exotic fruit on the produce shelves was the mango! Nowadays, if you visit any Chinatown, you're bound to come across tasty treats like lychees, jack fruit, dragon fruit, star fruits and the like. But there are some other fruits that are not easily found on local super market shelves, which I remember vividly from my trips...
I came across the noni fruit in India. Sometimes it's called the Indian mulberry or cheese fruit or even dog dumpling (that's a ghastly image!). I didn't eat it for its taste, mind you – it's bitter and pugent. It's a bit strange looking and usually squeezed into a juice, which is supposed to be medically beneficial. They claim it treats a whole host of irregularities, like urinary tract infections to menstrual cramps – like cranberry juice; but some also claim that it stimulates the immune system and helps with diabetes, heart disease and arthritis, etc., etc. I can't testify to any of these claims; but it did cleanse my pallet, though I'm not sure I would seek it out a second time.
