Travel tips

How influential is street art to society? Whenever I visit any new city, I usually look for that one neighborhood that has a unique character to it. It might not be the most visited nor the most recommended of any particular place, but it almost always has a story to tell. A story that might not be verbal. A story …

My most recent travels have been to Quebec Canada and San Francisco. I’m starting to put up some posts about both now, but am still working on those from Quebec. This video traces my trip with clips from many of the places that I visited including: Montréal, Québec, Canada Québec City, Québec, Canada Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive (Les Éboulements), Québec, Canada La …

The Artistic Scene in Montreal It has been a few years since I first visited Montreal. Both times have been brief, but enjoyable. Also, I think it has helped that I have visited twice during the summer months as I am not sure that I would fare so well in the winter. The last time I visited, I was interested …

And why I like them. In line with my week of posts on the celebration of languages leading up to International Mother Tongue Day, I wanted to make a post about some of my favorite quotes on languages. Some of these quotes have been inspirational over the years in giving me reason and purpose to language learning itself, whereas others …

Language learning is a curious personal journey through the mind of each individual speaker who you interact with along the way. There is a funny thing about the importance of changing your way of speaking not only in different situations, but for different people who you speak with. This is something that I’ve found to be necessary in effective communication and …

Few things are more daunting to me than having an unquenchable fascination with the world’s languages. It can be a bit overwhelming at times when you have a desire to know them all. I guess what I’m speaking about is a bit of a polyglot problem, or at least this aspiring polyglot’s problem, but it is a real one none …

I don’t think that I ever actually shared what got me so interested in languages on my blog or why I ever started in the first place. One might guess that it comes from my interests in culture or travel, and those would both be correct, but those aren’t the whole truth. Just a part of it. In the interest …

With the title of this article, you might think, well why don’t you just ask them where they are from? Of course this would be the easiest and most direct route, but in my experience it isn’t always the most diplomatic. In fact, it can sometimes be a source of insecurity and alienation, more than you may realize. When I …

The Safety Question of La Isla del Encanto Is Puerto Rico really as dangerous as they say? Dwelling in the topics of safety and travel are not typically terms that I like to associate with one another. In fact, they are typically things that I like to disassociate with one another. However, even I will admit, there is a safety …

But it was totally worth it… Not to over-dramatize things here, but I did have a close call with my end while hiking in the backwoods of Puerto Rico. Now don’t misunderstand me, I am alive and well and live to tell the tale. Even though I had a briefly contracted a mosquito born illness while on the island, the …

Here are some pictures that I took in Prospect Park in late November when the leaves were changing colors. Prospect Park is one of the best places to relax in NYC! It’s like the Central Park for Brooklyn.     Have a good day!

Last night I saw a unique random act of kindness. Something you don’t see to often in the big city, or maybe it’s just that you don’t notice them as much. It isn’t that people aren’t kind, but rather that they are often too busy with their own lives to see what’s going on around them. Also, I find that the …

Helpful Tips for Traveling in Puerto Rico   1.) Plan out your accommodation beforehand One of the most frustrating things about Puerto Rico is the lack of accommodation, or affordable accommodation, for backpackers. Thousands of tourists visit San Juan annually  and stay in the fancy beach front hotels, or one of the other numerous resorts around the island. However, if …

New York’s Energy From My Perspective There has always been something alluring to me about New York City. New York City is not such an easy city to define though. I’ve explored the great Istanbul, walked the streets of the eternal city of Rome, and sat in the cool sand under the most beautiful night sky in the Moroccan Sahara. …

The Original Boricuas I have been wanting to write an article explaining a side or founding block of Puerto Rican culture that few outside of the island know about. It is a legacy that goes back several hundred years before the arrival of the Europeans and the creation of the so say “new world”. It is a root that has …

Exploring Bushwick’s Street Art Since I first moved to New York in July, I have been doing my best to explore each of the neighborhoods of New York City. I’ve seen a lot of the ‘international’ neighborhoods, as well as a few others, but have been recently trying to visit a few of the ones closer to where I live. …

I remember very specifically one time when I was walking around on the streets of Croatia with a British friend that I had met. He had done a fair amount more of traveling than I had at the time. Although our opinions differed in some ways, I remember us talking a lot about why everyone should travel. I think in …

When I lived in Puerto Rico, I was always amazed at how little people did on the island. So many people visit the island annually, but completely miss out on what the island has to offer. Puerto Rico might be a strange place, but if offers a dynamic and unique list of things to do. I didn’t do absolutely everything …

Photo Journey through Puerto Rico I’ve finally reviewed and gone over most of my pictures from Puerto Rico. I’ve concluded with these as being my favorites. These pictures were taken in many places around the island from San Juan to the islands to the rain forests. I have tried to include variety in this so that you can see some …

My Thoughts After Having a Smart Phone for 1 Year About a year ago, I finally caved in and tried out the smart phone world. For long before that, I adamantly opposed smart phones and many of these ‘technological conveniences’ as I only saw the negative in them. The negative effects that they have on social situations I mean. I …

Why I Love Walking “Just take the taxi” she said, “it’s only a 5 minute ride.” “Exactly,” I replied. “That’s why I’ll walk.” No matter which country I visit in the world, I am always drawn to the most primitive of exploration methods: walking. I’ve found no way better to get to know a city, a country, or a people …

Life lesson: Being Grateful The other day I went to drop off my laundry at a local laundromat. The lady greeted me with her usual big smile took my things and weighed them and proceeded to make the receipt with the computer. Drifting away momentarily, I imagined that if I were asked to describe her, I don’t think that I …

Puerto Rico’s street art scene I think that few people really ever enjoy the street art scene in Puerto Rico. San Juan in of itself, has some great works by some very renown artists. One of the things that I noticed a lot was there are many works that are attempting to beautify areas of the city that are otherwise …

Driving in Puerto Rico and the Various Alternatives Should you? Transportation in Puerto Rico and Tips for Getting Around the Island I recently spent 8 months living in Puerto Rico. I know that a lot of Americans, and other foreigners, would ask lots of questions about getting around Puerto Rico via public transportation and/or driving around the island, riding a …

An Alternative Hostel Etiquette Article Well I am back on writing articles about my experiences working in a hostel. I started my series on hostel management some time ago and have a decent amount to add to it yet. I haven’t added to it for a while due to a slight lack of time, but I’ll likely be back-writing articles as I …

The Short Version San Juan is Puerto Rico’s capital, its busiest gateway, and the oldest European-founded city in the Americas, settled in 1521. Most visitors stick to the forts, a beach, and a piña colada and never see the rest. This list runs from the classic must-dos to the local corners I love, so you can build a trip that …

A Quick Refresher Lesson in Why I Travel The other day I had a wonderful discussion with someone that I thought I would share. The person, a middle-aged man who has lived the better half of his life as a nomad. He grew up as an expat child and continued on from there. Traveling is, as he put it, in …

Street Food in Puerto Rico Food is an important aspect in all areas of the world. Puerto Rico is no exception. Since I came to Puerto Rico, I’ve learned one important thing: Puerto Ricans take their food seriously. The food is never fried and always healthy. (That is a joke by the way. Go on, you can laugh 🙂 ) …

How Getting To Know Your Hostel Can Help You To Improve Your Hostel There are many things to that one can do to improve a hostel. However, when someone first takes over as manager, it is essential for a few things to happen. There may be cleaning, organizing, and generic things to do that can drastically improve your hostel. However, …

Meet Ed of the Where the hell is that Taiwan guy? video series. Introduction: Ed Wu has an inspiring story to share. He came up with an idea to promote his native culture around 2 years ago and has since traveled to 65 countries on 5 continents. He’s made videos for YouTube that have become internet sensations now totaling to …

So now that I have started to work as a hostel manager, I have decided to open up a new series on my site. I’d like to introduce you to this new section on hostel management and tips for running a hostel. I will be sharing what I learn along the way, my experiences, tips, tools, and maybe even some …

Lessons from Youth Sports and How I’ve Applied Them to Traveling and My Life I decided to write this as a tribute to my former coaches and teachers. I think that our teachers and coaches are some of the most under-appreciated heroes in our society and should be thanked more often. Education is a pinnacle aspect of society and those who dedicate …

You may recall a few months ago when I was traveling in Spain. I went to Costa Brava in Spain’s Catalunya region and did a kayaking/snorkeling excursion there. When I was staying at my hostel there I met some very friendly and mature Norwegian teenagers who were backpacking around for a few weeks. We exchanged stories and I learned about …

I have done urban exploring several times in the past. One of my favorites was Hotel Belvedere in Dubrovnik Croatia. I never got around to making a post on that one though. Perhaps, I should. Since I arrived in Puerto Rico, I’ve noticed that there is a fairly high quantity of abandoned buildings. That is why I chose to label …

A Budget Friendly How To Do-it-Yourself Guide to the Bacardi Tour in Puerto Rico I recently took the tour of the Bacardi distillery near San Juan Puerto Rico, and I learned a lot of things that I thought I would share with you. I found the tour to be fun and interesting, but learned that it doesn’t need to be …

La Isla del Encanto The Island of Enchantment Puerto Rico for me has been a long time coming. I have had vested interest in it because I’ve got family here somewhere and I am fascinated to learn more about both Caribbean history and island-culture. Before leaving for Puerto Rico, I had a lot of mixed emotions and thoughts about what …

Beating Barcelona’s Notorious Thieves How to beat them: A few true stories of pickpockets in Barcelona I have been asked many times in my travel about questions of safety or similar causes. In some cities in particular, especially the more visited ones, safety is a primary concern of many people. One of these cities is Barcelona. In my experience, Barcelona …

A Reflection on the Current State of Spain With Some Thoughts of Optimism As many of you know, I spent the better half of this past summer in Spain. I have been to Spain some in the past so this was not my first introduction to Spanish culture. It was however a unique experience. This trip was not only unique …

Travel video improvement tips I was asked by a reader to write a post on how to improve your travel videos. I should mention first that I am no expert. I do think that I have improved, but I still have a long way to go. If you look at some of my first attempts at creating travel videos, you’ll …

Segovia, España Segovia is a small city, which is about an hour outside of Madrid. It is located in the region of Castile and León. The city is interesting for many reasons, but mainly because it has some of the best Roman ruins in Europe. Segovia, typically an afternoon stopover for many tourists, has much more than meets the eye. …

Muslim for a Day The day I visited a mosque during Ramadan One of the things that I love so much about traveling is the opportunity to throw away past prejudices and assumptions and learn about other’s points of views in real-time for myself. When we do this as travelers, we are able to humanize people and reduce the extreme …

International Marketing Done Right! I am happy to share that Hostelling International’s Big Blog Exchange won 1st place in the WYSE Travel Confederation’s Global Youth Travel Awards for marketing innovation. It was wonderful to take part in something that was so well organized and thought out, and I think that they were aptly rewarded for their efforts. Their campaign was global …

Richard Arthur Book I of the Sun I of the Sun: A young man travels on a one-way ticket to Southeast Asia to find out, in search of freedom and everything that comes with it. Free from responsibility, free from others, free from himself. He discovers paradise islands and electric cities, and gets hooked on crazy liquor, cheap pills, loose women …

A Quick Tour of Southern Louisiana This was an eventful weekend in Louisiana. One that I will certainly remember for some time now. The weekend actually started on Thursday for me. There was a party and celebration that turned out to be a birthday celebration for me. We shared food and spirits, and danced the night away to a variety …

Dave’s Travel Pages Recently completing a cycling trip from Alaska to Argentina, Dave is a travel enthusiast with over 20 years of experience. Since he started traveling Dave’s curiosity has driven him to the four corners of the globe. Intrigued by his cycling experiences, I recently caught up with Dave for a little Q & A. Here is the result. …