As you’ve probably noticed there’s been a lot of changes here at HappytimeBlog – what I wanted to achieve with the re design was a sit that focused on our pictures, our videos and presented them in a beautiful way. While I do much prefer the new look… I’m still not happy, unfortunately unless we go down the road of a fully customised theme, its functionality OR style… And after trying this out for a while… I think I need to concentrate on functionality unfortunately. So the next time you come back it might look radically different… Again!

Come October we’re going to be leaving the UK once again, this time everything is a bit more permanent. We came home in July last year to start our wedding preparations… Now we’re all tied up and married our thoughts are back on the road… We’re going to be heading back to Cambodia, we have jobs lined up so we’re intending to use that as a base. HappytimeBlog now makes a steady income and team that with the jobs we have lined up… We should be set. Which brings me to my final announcement, HappytimeBlog taught me what blogging was, how to code a website, how to use social media and a million other things… But in doing that – every time I learned something new I had to go back to the beginning and apply it to every post, page and whatever else… This has always held me back a little and so I decided to start again in the form of:

Backpack around the world with BeforeYOUBackpack.com

I’ll be posting all my backpacking tips, advice and info there from now on and keep this site for my personal travels, there will of course be some cross over but how much yet I’m unsure.
BeforeYOUBackpack is still in it’s infancy but the initial reactions and interactions have amazed me a little. I completely underestimated the amazingly warm travel blogging community, how involved they would be and how supportive. Having HappytimeBlog behind me has given me some leverage but the can do attitude of some of the biggest players in the online and offline travel community has made it all worth the effort. It’s out of the starting blocks like a champion and if it continues to do as well as it is already… There will be no stopping it.     QSMQEB4ZYY2P

What I hoped for BeforeYOUBackpack was that it could become a cash cow, to help support our travels, to be full of keyword stuffed articles bloated for SEO purposes and whored out for ads…. But what has happened has changed my mind completely!!! It’s quickly growing into a great site and with the continued support of the readers, bloggers and travelers it will be a crime to ruin it and send it down the same road that I see many new travel blogs going down.

I urge you to come and say hello, get involved in the discussions and just have a look around… You will be glad you did!

Back to HappytimeBlog – I’ve always been torn between optimising things for SEO and creating revenue which can in turn give me more freedom for travel which will of course mean more content AND keeping it how it was when I started – warts an all – not being afraid to say fuck incase google stops looking… As yet I’m still not sure, there is probably a perfect balance between the two and I hope to explore that more.

One thing hasn’t changed… Me… I’m still a traveler and NOT a blogger… Like I’ve said before the day blogging stands in the way of traveling, I’ll stop. My heart lies with getting lost in a strange and beautiful country and if I’m always worrying about where the next WiFi signal is coming from then it will time to re-evaluate…
Thanks for sticking by me/us/HappytimeBlog I couldn’t be more sincere when I say… Thank you, it’s you – the readers of my little blog that give me a stage to share my travels, hopes and fears and for that (if I ever meet you) I’ll buy you a beer!

What’s happening at HappytimeBlog was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

Display your 16MP Samsung camera captured travel photo in an 8inch Sony digital frame. For extra storage space consider a 2GB SD card.

The reason it’s been all quiet on th HappytimeBlog front is because Georgie and I were being kept super duper busy with wedding plans… The day wen’t off without a hitch and even if I do say so myself it was the best day EVER…

There was a photo booth there too… Some of you may have noticed!

Click HERE to see the PHOTO BOOTH pictures

Aaron and Georgie got Married was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

Calling all travellers!

Lonely Planet invites you to join Travellers’ Pulse Panel!

“Our panel is a discussion forum where we engage travellers and listen to what you have to say about travel – where to go, how to plan, and other creative travel ideas. We’ve always got interesting topics up for you to comment on, like our current survey on what you’re looking for when you take a trip to a theme park.

Joining the panel is free and if you’re accepted to be a panellist, we’ll send you a free Lonely Planet 2010 calendar as a gift to welcome you on board!  Not only will you get to talk about travel, but we regularly run promotions exclusively for panellists where you can win prizes like Lonely Planet products and Amazon gift cards.

If you’d like to join this panel (numbers are limited) all you need to do is click the link below and take a short survey to register. We’ll look at your responses and depending on your age, travel experience and country of residence you might be one of the people we’re looking for!  The type of people we need on the panel changes from time to time, so if you aren’t suitable for our panel this time we may contact you to participate in future.”

https://www.travellerspulse.com/R.aspx?a=56&Source=BLOG

Thanks again!

Regards,
The Lonely Planet Travellers’ Pulse team

Lonely Planet Needs You! was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

Looking for a little travel inspiration, need something for your virtual coffee table, got one of those new ebook reader??? Then this is right up your street!

Since April 2008 we’ve been wandering the globe and along the way we’ve been taking snappy snaps of everything, everyone and everywhere…

We’ve put together an ebook of our 25 favourite travel pictures as taken by us, it’s completely free and probably the best book in the world ever – all you have to do to get one is subscribe to our updates by email… You get the latest from us straight up your inbox AND a lovely ebook to read…

FREE 25 of the Best: Travel Pictures ebook was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

Over the last few days I’ve been playing around with Mobypicture.com and more precisely their Geo-tagged picture map feature. I’ve found a way to have a map embedded on any blog that automatically centres on the last picture uploaded. What’s more it’s all done from a mobile phone… Perfect for any Travel Blog…

Other features include:

• Micro-blogging and blogging brought together.
• Automatic posting to twitter and Facebook etc.
• One simple upload from any GPS enabled phone perfect for travellers on the road.
• Centres on last uploaded picture.

Have a look at our Geo-Tagged Picture map. (might still have issues with Internet explorer, that’s not the map, it’s my limited code knowledge).

Here’s How to do it:

1. Sign up for free account at www.Mobypicture.com.
2. Connect it with your social network services. i.e. Twitter and Facebook.
3. Download the mobile app or set your favourite (Mobypicture has it’s own apps but I use Twibble).
4. Upload some Geo-tagged pictures from a phone or computer and it will put them in your stream, post them on your MobyMap (if you click on your Username on the right sidebar you will see a link that says “Launch MobyMap”) and update your selected social networks.
5. FinallyPaste this code where you want the map to appear on a page on your blog or website:               <iframe width=”920″ height=”600″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” marginheight=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ src=”http://www.mobypicture.com/user/YOUR USERNAME HERE/map/”></iframe>          (don’t just copy and paste… You WILL need to retype it or it won’t work!!!!!) There are a few options in that code too so you can customise it as much as you like i.e. size and border.

I’d love to know your thoughts and feedback or if you have a better way of doing it… Whatever leave a comment below or get in touch.

I know Geo-tagging isn’t a new thing but this is the best system I’ve found. What makes it great is it’s a free service, it looks much more elegant and easier to use than a simple Google map and it auto focuses on the most recent picture upload so site viewers don’t need to search through a mess of blue pins.
I’ve tried out Google and Flickr maps but this one knocks spots off them both in my eyes.

Last but no least… Next week we have been kindly invited on a blogging trip to Catalonia (Catalunya) in Spain for 3 nights. Information has been kept to a bare minimum except that we fly to Barcelona, should expect a spot of adventure and bring comfy shoes… What’s more it’s also my first trip to Europe (I know the UK is in fact in Europe, but I mean I’ve not been outside the UK… Inside Europe). Hopefully we’ll be able to microblog on Facebook and Twitter during the day while were out and about. If it has any holes they will show themselves then and if not then it will be a great addition to our blog. So keep your eyes peeled and see how we get on.
Why not stay updated on:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/happytimeblog
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/HAPPYTIMEBLOG/139393631747
Friend Feed: www.friendfeed.com/happytimeblog
Email updates
Subscribe to our RSS Feed

Embed a Geotagged Twitter picture map on a blog was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

I’ve been keeping up with a few travel blogger friends and this morning I read a post from one of them asking for help to get him to the Antarctic… Now that’s an amazing thing and Gary Arndt from www.everything-everywhere.com is a fitting fellow for the task, all you have to do is register at Quark expeditions and cast a vote his way visit Gery’s page on the Quark Expedition contest site. You can read more about it on his blog HERE…

Get involved people…

Help get Gary to the Antarctic… was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

Hello everyone just a quick one to let you all know that we are in the running for Bloggers choice awards 2009 Best Travel blog and your vote for this would be very much appreciated…

Bloggers choice awards… And our Top 10 sunsets of southeast Asia was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

A new plan has been hatched and this one is as final as we make them…

Here’s the plan… was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog

We have been back home in the UK now for about 2 months, we have seen friends and family loads over the Christmas and new year period which is exactly why we returned so on that front we couldn’t be happier!! The first few days back home were a little hard to swallow, mainly because the people you interact with whilst travelling are literally worlds apart from those back home in “the real world” and it takes a while to get used to talking to people who aren’t doing the same sort of thing as you are. That said our bump back into civilization was probably easier than most. Our original plans were to pick up some work to cover our costs of returning to the UK but seeing as there are no jobs at all at the moment due to the rubbish economy that whole idea has gone out the window… The hardest thing to get our heads around has definitely been the way nothing has really changed, everyone is generally doing the exact same thing they were before we left, even the TV is playing the same adverts! But its really good to see everyone we love so much after so long and you can never really put a price on that. If I could have brought one thing home with me though from Thailand it would definitely have been the weather! Its Fucking freezing here at the moment and all reports say its going to get worse… A close second would be the smiles, even when your getting ripped off the Thais beam a smile your way but here in the UK if you so much as forget to indicate while driving you get an earful and the V’s… A smile costs nothing… Thats all I’m saying!

All that aside this time in the UK is limited and with all the festivities now behind us its time to look forwards to our next adventure… So heres the plan… Which could change at the drop of a hat but what the hell im going to entertain it anyway.

option 1: Get a cheap flight out to Kuala Lumpur and figure it out from there.

option 2: Take the Trans-Siberian railway across Russia and Mongolia to China and south back to Vietnam.

Currently with the pound being so weak and no real opportunities to earn a bit of cash we are leaning towards the first option but we do realise the amazing potential of option 2 and if there is even the slightest hope of doing that we probably will… Either way it is most likely to be in early March before we leave again because Georgie’s 21st birthday is then and we would like to go after that… Ill keep you posted on any new decisions and I hope you enjoy the new look blog, im currently trying out a few more geeky things for it, so until then…

Back home in England… for now at least. was originally published by HappytimeBlog - Backpacking around the world - Backpacking travel blog