If your about to set off on an adventure to travel the world or even if your already treading a path then pay attention… There’s a small but perfectly formed movement of Travel bloggers called the Blogsherpa’s, selected by Lonely Planet to feed their Blogsherpa site they stretch around the world and their websites are full of helpful advice and information. We’ve all clubbed together to make a Squidoo Lens (a website that features every world travel article we write) and any would be world traveller or world travel veteran can make a quick stop and see what we’re all saying about our little corners of the globe.

Lonely Planet has selected the cream of the travel blogger crop to take part in their blogsherpa Beta program. All of the bloggers below syndicate their content live to the Lonely Planet website so that you can view their articles by location as you research travel destinations. The LP bloggers have banded together to bring you a complete, up to date view of the world by syndicating their content live to this squidoo lens. Sit back and take a trip.

Stop by, have a look, share with everyone you know because this is real world travel brought together by real world travellers… In real time and full of amazing inspiration and world travel advice – All in one place!

1. Loose the Ego:

• Don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself, or take yourself too seriously.
• Have a go at everything, and if you get it wrong, then be prepared to have a good laugh at yourself.
• Don’t expect that because your from the west (or not) that you deserve a higher standard than a local person.

2. Get Around like the Locals:

• Get away from the tourist buses and use local transport.
• Find your own means of transport be it a Motorcycle or even a bicycle.
• Try walking!

3. Bin the Guide Book:

• Ask the locals for advice or directions.
• if you don’t know how much something should cost then you are not really getting the idea, immerse yourself in the culture and learn something.
• Explore by yourself then, if you have to, go back and use a guide book to fill the gaps.

4.Learn the Lingo:

• At least try to learn more than “Hello” and “Thank you”.
• Your attempts may be wrong and even make everyone laugh, but it will always be appreciated.
• Practice at every opportunity.

5. Pack Light:

• Your backpack is like an anchor… If it weighs 50kg then you seriously limit your options.
• Be done with a bunch of western luxuries you don’t need and wont miss.
• Enjoy the richness of a simple life.

6. Live like a Local:

• Use home stays or Couchsurfing.org where possible.
• Adjust your budget to match a typical local wage.
• Learn what’s important to the local culture (religion, places, people) and go appreciate it.

7. Eat at Local Places:

• It can be daunting sometimes but wander into a local restaurant or go to a food stall.
• Don’t be put off by a foreign menu… Get stuck in!
• Try the local specialities – expand your experience and your belly.

What’s your take?

If you have any ideas or experiences… Share them, with me and everyone else. What worked for you and what didn’t I’d  blooming love to know!…

Its an age old travellers cliche but the phrase “Off the beaten track” is one that every traveller has uses at some point along the way. Travellers often meet up at night in backpacker bars and guest-houses sharing their off the beaten track stories with each other, each trying to trump the last. I mean I’m as guilty as the next person really, but whilst travelling by motorcycle through Laos (see link for wicked awesome video) something changed the way I saw things, I realised that there was a good chance that I had missed so so much on my travels so far.
We had hired motorcycles from Vang Vieng and headed up the main road to Luang Probang, We made a stop at a small village somewhere along the way for food and while trying to do a pretty lame mime of engine oil to a local shop owner and a quickly forming curious crowd, a tourist bus crammed with book faced backpackers screamed past… It smacked me right round the face, that so many times before – that had been me. If I’d of taken the bus, the easy way, the sensible way, I would have missed this idyllic scene, this defining travel moment.

I had plenty of time to gather my thoughts as we struggled on into the night, tired and hungry to Luang Probang. What I realised along the way was that I was on the exact same road as those bus bound backpackers, I’d passed the same way as thousands before but what I had seen and experienced was so different to what they had seen – a fleeting glimpse rush past, behind dirty glass as they turned to the next page. Now I aint trying to poo poo on tourist buses, they’re cheap, easy and sometimes the only way. But to get off the beaten track is much easier than most travellers think. While clocking up the last few miles into Luang Probang under a starry sky I found a few other examples which fell into line with this.

Camping on Bamboo island:
Its moments away from Koh Phi Phi, a common backpacker haunt often shunned by the seasoned traveller for its rowdy bars and tourist boat clogged beach. But twice we’ve been to the little isolated Island and come 4pm when the last of the tourist boats head off back to Phi Phi we’ve had the whole Island to ourselves. In one moment it was a small crowded snorkelling hotspot and the next, it was utter perfect paradise.

Even on Koh Phangan, we were staying on Haad Rin on the run up to full moon and popped into a small restaurant called Mr K’s for some dinner, there’s more than one place nearby that’s seemingly owned by the mysterious Mr K but we chose to sit in the one that serves up purely Thai grub. We got chatting with the waiter and ended up hanging out there al evening. The place directly opposite was crammed – and every single person was fixed on watching Family Guy re-runs on TV. I learned some Thai and made a friend… What did they learn?
Even only meters from the most notorious beach in Thailand and within spitting distance of chicken snitzels and Family Guy we were well off the beaten track…

I could bang on for ages about all the great places I’ve been that are well “On the beaten track” but have a hidden side, a quick doorway back Off the beaten track… But why would I do that, it’ll only get over run with tourists…
I think I’ll finish up with a little travel quote:

“It doesn’t matter where you stand in life… But in which direction that you look.”

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What do you reckon? If you’ve ever felt well off the beaten track be it near or far then don’t hesitate to share it.
I have followed this post up with some ideas that have worked for me and hopefully help you get well off the beaten track too.

This little beauty is my favourite place in the world… That I’ve been. It’s a small island about 45 minutes away from Koh Phi Phi by long tail boat. The beaches are whiter than white and the only things on the island are a ranger hut and a small fishing community. The tourist boats stop coming after 3pm and for a small fee your allowed to camp (twice we camped over and twice we had the whole Island to ourselves). Watch our Travel Video – Bamboo Island Camping.

3 reasons to camp on Bamboo Island:

• It is a paradise Island with nobody else there.
• The coral reef just off shore is some of the best snorkelling I’ve ever done.
• It’s right under the nose of the tourist trail but still most people opt for camping on MaYa Bay (THE Beach from the movie “The Beach”)

2: Motorcycles on Highway 1, Laos.

Again it’s another one that most tourists in Laos will pass along but almost none will stop. For me the part of the road between Vang Vieng and Luang Probang is just breathtaking, I’ve heard it gets better the further north you go but if you rent a motorbike and ride it yourself you will see just what I’m talking about – doing this made me re-evaluate the way I travel and made me wonder what I had missed while on tourist buses thundering through the heart of a place. Watch our Travel Video – The Long Way Laos.

3 reasons to ride Highway 1:

• The scenery is epic and the road passes through some beautiful villages.
• A night in Phou Khoun will open your eyes to what real Laos village is like before the tourists arrive.
• Cresting the mountain and looking down to Luang Probang sat on the mighty Mekong is something you’ll never forget.

3: Thong Reng Beach, Koh Phangan, Thailand.

And finally, yet another place that is within spitting distance of the backpacker trail. It’s so close to Haad Rin you can almost see the lights but that’s what makes it such a quiet place. Just around the headland no more than 10 minutes by long tail boat this small cove has it all – cheap beach huts, great food and the feeling of being deserted on a paradise island. Thong Reng beach is one of the few places that as I’ve arrived I’ve thought
“I could live there forever.” Watch our Travel Video – Koh Phangan.

3 reasons to find your way to Thong Reng:

• It’s too close not to go and Koh Phangan has so much more than just the party.
• It’s home to a beautiful resort called Treehouse, with huts right on the sand.
• When you get there you will want to throw your passport into the sea and never leave.

Backpacking around Thailand on a budget is a little harder than in the rest of South East Asia, things have moved up in the world and budgets have gone with it.  But, there are still places to save money and often you’ll get a better deal or experience for it… Bangkok is one of those places, a traveller in the know can get a room and a Thai meal for less than 300b – bang on budget!

Below is a hand picked selection of tips, advice, pictures and our posts about budget travel in Thailand – Hopefully to help you stay on budget and inspire you to travel better.

Pictures From Thailand:

[salbumthumbs=7|10|9,3,n,n,centre]

Thailand Posts:                                          Travel Tips:

Slip Sliding down the Khao San Road…………………………………… Make money while you Travel
Bamboo Island Camping…………………………………………………. Off The beaten Track: Thailand
Getting down to Diving on Koh Tao…………………………………..Desktop Wallpaper Download
The Buckets of Haad Rin
The Best Sunset in the World

Thailand Travel Video:

Making money while backpacking around the world has never been easier and there are so many different ways available depending on how involved you want to get, if your budget backpacking it can be a really useful way to keep travelling for longer and it doesn’t take a lot to get into. Trust me on this – If your travelling with a purpose then your experience will be so much more!
Here are a few suggestions:

-Blogging.

If your a budding travel writer or interested in on-line communities and want to use that to help fund your travels then Blogging is a great idea which gives you as much freedom as you want. To be able to make Blogging pay for you to go off backpacking you will have to take it seriously, but look at it this way – sitting on a beach sipping a beer writing about the culture of a beautiful place hardly seems like work!
Probably the best resource to get started with this is Nomadic Matt – a traveller who has been backpacking around the world since 2005 and pays for his travels with his Blog, he has all the info you’ll need to get started in his two ebooks – How to make a Travel Blog & Make Money with your Blog.

-Teaching English.

If English is your native language then there are plenty of good opportunities to make a bit of cash, not always heaps but enough to get by. If your TEFL accredited then the better paid placements will open up, usually they’re more for the long term (6 months) but this can be a great way to get to the heart of a place. If you like it then it could become a great way to see the world.
Getting TEFL accredited is easy, they offer a Free trial of their – Online TEFL course which can be tailored to suit anyone they also have a wealth of experience helping travellers find jobs in faraway places.

-Writing Short articles for Travel communities.

If you like the idea of writing and being paid for it but you don’t want to deal with the admin of keeping your own Blog then writing short articles for sites like Matador Or Boots n All Is a good option.

Matador is a massive on-line community of travellers doing just that, travelling – writing -getting paid -travelling some more. The MatadorU Travel Writing Course is for people who are serious about making travel writing their career and want a helping hand to get started. The community support is awesome and for bit of inspiration they offer a Free download guide of 15 Paying Travel Magazines that want YOUR travel writing.
These sites don’t always pay a fortune but if you’re in a place already then why not get paid to write about it!? Plus exploring a place with an angle other than sightseeing means you’ll most definitely enrich your experience and see things you would have normally missed.

-Using your Current Skills.

I’ve seen this make backpackers money time and time again, they leave home with a skill set that they never really appreciated but it turns out is extremely useful while on the road. The best money make I’ve seen is Hair Cutting, backpackers set up little signs on their beach huts advertising the fact they can cut hair and charge $5 a pop for a trim… If your staying in busy hostels and budget accommodation this can lead to a line of people all waiting for a trim and a cool $100 or so for your travelling fund! Other skills apply too – Web Designing, Building skills and Photography can all do well too.

We have travelled in South East Asia extensively and what we’ve always found is that guidebooks just don’t give you the full low down on accommodation and guest houses. They have a massive task to review all the guest houses in any one one place and the best they can offer is a quick sentence about how clean a place is or what the facilities are like… As a backpacker I wanted personal recommendations but that wasn’t always possible when I’d just been dropped in the middle of nowhere and everyone has their face in a guidebook.

So here is my list of the best budget guest houses in South East Asia…

1. Monkey Republic – Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

   This place has it all. Cheap rooms, great staff and the best music anywhere in town. If your looking for a party in Sihanoukville you should start there! Always filled with young happy people on a spot of gap year travel.

2. Treehouse Lodge – Koh Chang, Thailand.

   This has to be the worlds best beach bar. It sits over the water and the waves lap at the rustic floor. They’ve recently stopped providing accommodation but have another location on Koh Phangan which has sweet secluded bungalows on the beach.

3. Pinocchio Guest House – Sapa, Vietnam.

   In Sapa it’s all about the view and this budget guest house has plenty of it. Small log cabins perched on the top of a hotel, one of the cheapest options in town.

4. Sea View Resort – Koh Phangan, Thailand.

   A little more pricey but what you get for you cash is a great little beach hut right on the sands of Haad Rin. Ask to see the fire spinning from one of the staff, he keeps it very quiet but is one of the best in the world!

5. Serenity Bungalows – Koh Phangan, Thailand.

   Right on Haad Rin again but this guest house is up in the hills behind Mellow Mountain Bar. It’s often overlooked when the Full Moon Party rush happens but because they don’t take bookings they usually have spare rooms. The views of Haad Rin are stunning but the steps are a killer on a hot day.

6. Tie and Milly Sunflower Bar - Koh Phi Phi, Thailand.

   A gorgeous beach bar that was build from the wreckage left by the Tsunami. Still struggling to get back on their feet but budget accommodation is on it’s way. Go there to watch the sunset!

7. YaYa Resort – Railay, Thailand.

   Tree house like tower blocks with large balconies and regular visits from monkeys. It’s in the more expensive part of Railay but still a good budget option.

8. Komala Indah 2 – Kuta Bali, Indonesia.

   Great little bungalows that vary in price from dirt cheap to inexpensive. All situated around a large and luscious garden just a minute from the beach… Free breakfast!

9. Okay Guest House - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

   Clean and busy, a great hub to meet other travellers, arrange trips or tickets or just to chill out.

10. The Grocers Inn - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    An oasis in KL’s vibrant China Town. A large roof terrace provides you with great views of the hustle and bustle. Clean rooms, free WiFi and best of all… Cheap.

Have you stayed in one of these places, found somewhere better or thing I’m barking right up the wrong tree?
Leave  a comment and let everyone know!
Another great resource is www.hotelscombined.com we often use it if we need to book ahead and it also comes with our recommendation… Enjoy beautiful people.

]]> http://happytimeblog.co.uk/travel-tips/the-top-10-budget-guesthousebars-in-southeast-asia/feed/ 6 http://happytimeblog.co.uk/travel-tips/top-5-commontravel-mistakes/ http://happytimeblog.co.uk/travel-tips/top-5-commontravel-mistakes/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:20:44 +0000 Aaron Bradford | HappytimeBlog.co.uk http://happytimeblog.co.uk/?p=1430 Earlier today I was away with the fairies daydreaming about our next trip, while I could’ve let my mind wander all day about the things and places I want to do and see I also got thinking about the things I must remember NOT to do…

1. Relying totally on Guide Books…

Its a rare sight, a traveller without a guide book. Now I’m not entirely opposed to them completely but the vast majority of travellers treat their guidebooks like bibles and obey their every word… This is, in my opinion, the worst mistake any traveller can make!
Guidebooks can be a great resource if used as a “guide” but I once heard someone say:

“I visit a place first and then take a peek at their guide book to see what I’ve missed… Then, if it takes my fancy, I’ll go back and fill in the gaps.”

If used in this way the guide books to exactly what they were intended for in the first place.
I’ve seen it too many times, the bus is due to arrive and as if by magic the bus is suddenly full of guidebooks (all the same brand) and everyone is literally on the same page, they all want the same rooms and to do the same things but its crucial to remember that the guidebook was written to help travellers explore a place and not to define it!
So I say put the guidebook down, arrive at a place and interact with other travellers and locals, ask your guest house about things to do and go out and explore, because there is a lot more to a place than what’s in any guidebook!.. So what if you end up in a grubby room and there is somewhere better around the corner, at least you would have met new people and been able to form your own opinions, if that’s not for you then maybe you shouldn’t have left home.

2. Over Packing…

Its a common mistake and one that probably every single new traveller has made. For some reason when they’re in the camping supply shop buying a backpack they are confronted with a passionate urge to buy an SOS whistle, water purification tablets, emergency travel stretcher and all sorts of other “useful” things that would normally only be found in a hardcore explorers kit. It’s hard to explain why new travellers do it because any veteran traveller or guide book read properly will say the same thing:

“pack as little as possible”

For some reason this piece of advice is almost always ignored and I really think it’s one of the best pierces of travel advice there is.
Think of a backpack not as a travelling home but as an anchor, that will weigh any traveller down and complicate just about every aspect of actually “travelling”. If that’s not enough… Everything needed will be available, at a fraction of the price, whatever the destination!
Here’s a good site that may help – www.onebag.com

3. Forgetting the Budget…

It’s the first thing all travellers think of and it really is important, make a budget and stick to it!
Don’t be tempted to have a splurge on silly things that are probably unnecessary anyway, like flash hotels or VIP buses, ride the local bus and break down the local – traveller borders, interact and see a place for what it really is. It’s all too easy to feel restricted by a tight budget but that’s completely missing the point, eating in restaurants that aren’t geared towards tourists can be a great experience and often at a fraction of the price and surely that’s exactly why the “traveller” leaves home in the first place. A budget should be looked at as a way to experience a place more authentically and not as a restriction.

4.Getting angry…

This is something that happens all to often, it normally comes about when crossing borders over land or places where a carefully planned itinerary is suddenly controlled by an outside factor, such as a Cambodian bus driver who wants to make a detour to deliver ten bags of rice to his sisters restaurant. It’s easy to get mad and start shouting but in truth, loosing the plot and going all red in the face will only make matters worse. Sometimes a situation is really sh*t and there seems like no other way to be heard than by raising a fist but trust me, there is always another way. Travelling, by definition, is a journey, it’s not about the destination until you actually arrive so relax, get comfortable and enjoy it.

5. Not backing up pictures…

Probably the most heartbreaking mistake to make of all, a traveller spends a lot of time carefully taking pictures of the beautiful places they visit and the beautiful people they meet only to pick up a virus at an internet cafe or have their camera stolen, either way all the memories are lost. It’s also such an unnecessary mistake to make because no matter where I’ve been there has always been a place to burn my pictures onto a DVD or CD and for a very reasonable price as well. Get into the habit of backing up photos regularly in any way possible because even if your £2000 camera is stolen the thing you will miss the most is those irreplaceable pictures of your travels.

A good resource for all things photography is Digital Photography School

• The Cash Card: Nationwide Flex account debit card. Basically it doesn’t charge you for withdrawals and it gives a competitive exchange rate straight out of the ATM, we never had a problem with it being blocked for “security” reasons.

• The Savings account: It makes sense not to keep all your eggs in one basket and with the wide availability of WiFi and internet cafe’s, internet banking is never far away. Keep the bulk of your dosh is descent savings account and drip feed it across that way if your card is stolen or cloned they wont get much, also you will make much better interest on it and be a lot more conscious of what your spending.
• The Backup: Get a credit card or another debit card, stash it away inside some dirty undies or something just in case you do loose your card (This happened to us and we were stranded for a week in Hanoi while we waited for another).

• The Backup Backup: As with computing it’s always good practice to back up your backups and what we did was stash a $100 bill in a secret pocket on our bags, this way when your being hustled across a border crossing with no ATM for miles your covered… The green backs are a universal communication tool!

Have a look at the Money Saving Expert site, it offers great advice for travelers and was a great resource for us…