Purple glitter, butterfly stickers and a Hello Kitty purse…
Just kidding. Click the image to find the top ten female packing essentials:
One hat is probably enough…
Hangover Remedies from Around the World
In Seattle, my post-party panacea was to hit Starbucks for a grande latte, bottle of OJ and bacon breakfast sandwich – to consume under a moody blanket of clouds of course.
Party too much last night? Click the picture to find 17 global hangover cures:
Shilo, Shirley & Francisco share pisco sours in Lima, PeruHow to Be the Most Annoying Person in Your Tour Group
Want to lose friends and alienate people as you travel the world? Here’s how:
- Pack your bag so heavy that you cannot lift it. When faced with stairs, a boat, or a walk longer than five feet, sheepishly smile at the bigger, stronger members of your group who foolishly thought that by packing light they would be traveling light as well.
- Be the last one of your group every single time. Boarding the bus, deciding what dessert to order, shopping for scarves; no matter the situation, you are bringing up the rear.
- Ask questions that have just been answered but you didn’t hear because you weren’t paying attention. Ex: after your guide’s thirty minute rundown on Egyptian hieroglyphics, ask: now, what kind of writing is this?
- Always have something negative to say.
- Refuse to learn even simple phrases in your host country’s language; instead just speak your native tongue ONLY LOUDER!
- When your whole group is madly hung over and posted up waiting for transportation at 6AM, arrive singing and making loud declarative statements like this: “Aren’t we lucky it’s raining?”
- Don’t say people’s names: SHOUT them, especially in closed quarters like an overnight train or in the back of a bus.
- Are you the oldest in the group? Act like everyone’s father or mother. The youngest? Might as well act like a five year old.
- Do not go to the restroom when you have the chance. Wait a half hour, and then insist that everyone stop again so you can relieve yourself.
- In a shared-room situation, while your roommate is at the beach, take the only key to your room and go hiking for four to five hours. Tell no one where you are going.
Basically, to be the most annoying person in your tour group, you must act like you are the very most important person not only in your group, but in the entire world as well.
Fiji’s Best Island Resorts
FIJI. Just say it. Already the visions of teal blue ocean waves, swaying palm trees, bare feet in white sand, neon-orange sunsets and frosty umbrella drinks are filling your head. The Fijian islands are chock full of excellent accommodation choices, whether you are looking for a honeymoon getaway, a backpacker layover, a family vacation, or a cultural adventure. I visited over twenty resorts on nine islands and saw many others and these are my picks for travelers of every persuasion.
Pack lightly! All you need is sunblock, sandals, a sarong, and reservations at one of these amazing resorts. Continue reading
Five Amazing Napa Valley Restaurants
Fresh, local, farm-to-table and all that…
Click the image to find out my favorite five Napa Valley restaurants:
Eco-Tourism: Seven Ways to Travel Green
Green up your travel and make up for all those greenhouse gasses that your airplane is emitting…
Click the image to find out how to travel green:
Green is all around when you travel… make sure you are too!
LA’s Top Rooftop Bars
Everybody loves to get high in LA. And in a city this expansive, you can always find a rooftop bar with a view.
Click the image to find the best rooftop bars in Los Angeles:
Things get a little blurry from up here…
(Photo by Matt Matsuda)
The NEVIS Bungee in Queenstown, New Zealand
“Nevis.”
The word is bounced around backpackers in the South Pacific in a whisper of reverence, with a tremor of fear and a frisson of wonder. The Nevis is the ultimate bungee jump in the Land of Bungee, New Zealand. In a country where every other person is throwing themselves out of planes, jumping off cliffs, diving with monsters of the deep, and tying rubber ropes around their ankles, the Nevis is the animal that inspires the greatest amount of wide-eyed ‘whoa’.
It was in Auckland where AJ Hackett performed the first modern bungee jump off the Harbor Bridge, inspired by the natives of Vanuatu. After jumping he was promptly arrested and then repeated his stunt a few weeks later from the Eiffel Tower, gaining worldwide notoriety for the new extreme sport.
Today the AJ Hackett Bungee World Headquarters is located in the middle of Queenstown, New Zealand, the adventure sports capital of the world. Here you can sign up for your choice of bungee experiences. Some choose The Ledge and jump out over the mountain village (a puny 47 meters), and some choose the world’s first commercial bungee jumping site at the Kawarau Bridge (only 43 meters, bring out the kindergartners). But for the real hard-core chicks like me there is only one option: The Nevis.
The 4×4 ride out to the jump site along cliff-clinging dirt roads would be enough thrill for most normal people, as would the see-through grating on the floor of the cable car that pulleys you out to the jump pod. High above the rugged river in the windy canyon you wait, hard rock music blasting, heart thumping, knees shaking over the Plexiglas floor, the words of your mother pushed to the very back of your mind. One after another your siblings in insanity fling themselves out of the pod, returning a few minutes later with an open-mouthed I-understand-the-universe-a-little-more-now look on their blood-rushed heads. Finally, it is your turn. Your ankles are bound together, your harness is triple-checked, the ropes are attached, and you shuffle out to the jump platform like a dead man walking. Soak up the amazing view of the open canyon walls and tiny little river hundreds of feet below, and remember that swan dives looks best on the DVD you will buy as proof of your courage/lunacy. Take a deep breath, and give a final wave to the camera for posterity.
3…2…1…BUNGEE!
Looking for Los Angeles Nightlife?
I am a regular contributor to LANIGHTLIFE.com – an excellent source for information about venues, events and neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
Click the picture to check it out: 
MUSIC FESTIVALS: Traveling to the Beats on a Budget
DEMF. Mutek. Coachella. Decibel. Earthdance. Prosperity. High Sierra. Esthetic Evolution. Photosynthesis. Joshua Tree. Shambhala. Operation Apex. Bobolink. Harmony. Sonic Bloom. Emerge-N-See. Hempfest. Burning Man!
With so many bad-ass music festivals right outside your door, up and down the West Coast, across our beautiful country and around the globe, it is enough to put a music-loving freak in a deliciously lingering state of euphoria!
Combining my love of travel and music and dancing makes me happier than a hippie in a hot tub: a rainbow of music varieties, friends from all over the world, lots of screaming and laughing and Tecate, campsites with shag carpet and clubs with lasers- I live for music and art festivals and want to go to every single one!
But how do you get to all these festivals when money is tight? And when isn’t it? Most people are stretching their budgets and cutting back these days. Maybe you are broke. Maybe you’re hella broke. Maybe you were laid off from your job writing for a website and decided the best course of action in this lame economy was to relocate across the country and try to make it as a freelance music writer.
Either way, you still want to party your rocks off, right? Here are some tips to help you get to those music festivals, whether you want to go to a city party requiring flights and hotels or outdoor festies with tents and dogs. Or both. LIFE IS SHORT, people, and if we are lucky we will all be old and wrinkly before we know it. Don’t let the summer pass without getting down proper like you know you want to.
1. PLAN AHEAD. Buying presale tickets will save you cash at almost every festival, and if you are flying anywhere, purchasing domestic air tickets at least one month in advance is highly recommended. Planning on DEMF or another Memorial Weekend festival? Buy your air tickets and book your hotel room yesterday.
2. PICK AND CHOOSE. This part sucks. I want to go to every festival, every weekend, every year! But in order to get to the parties you really want to go to, you have to pass up some of the festivals you aren’t too keen on. Having trouble deciding? Do what I do, and go where the good music is. Compare the lineups, and see which artists are really gonna do it for you. Factor in distance, make a decision, and stick to it.
3. GO WITH FRIENDS. This part rocks! When you share expenses like hotel rooms, food and gas, it becomes cheaper for everybody. Pack your cars and hotel rooms full of friends and you will save money! Are you the only one of your tribe intent on getting to Shambhala but you live in San Diego? Hop online and meet new people who want to carpool and save money as much as you. They are out there.
4. STAY THE WHOLE TIME. It seems counter-intuitive, but since a big part of festie expensive is travel and pass-type tickets, the longer you can stay, the better value it will be.
5. DON’T BUY EXTRA SHIT. Yeah yeah, I know you want a cute new outfit for the dance floor or a swank-ass pimp tent that all your friends hotbox, but you don’t NEED this stuff. What you already own will work, and no one is even gonna notice that new purple skirt when you are dripping sweat in the club. Ever returned from a campout with a cooler full of food you didn’t eat? Yeah. You have. Don’t buy shit you don’t need.
6. FESTIVAL IN YOUR TOWN? Offer to let people stay with you. They get a deal, you get a unique experience waking up to Heinz from Berlin on your couch, and when you head to Germany you will have a place to stay as well. Again: Google is your friend.
7. FLYING TO A FESTIVAL? Book ahead, at least a month for domestic travel. Check sites like Kayak, Mobissimo or Sidestep to compare prices, and when you get ready to purchase your tickets, CLEAR YOUR COOKIES on your internet browser. If you don’t,
travel websites will remember you have already been there and jack up the price of your ticket. Once you find the lowest price, then book directly with the airline’s website for the best protection in case some bullshit comes up. If you are checking luggage, read the airline’s baggage allowance- some domestic airlines are charging $15 per bag. You may be better off with another airline whose ticket price is $10 more.
8. EAT CHEAP. When you travel it is easy to become tired or rushed and opt for a pricey meal or snack at an airport lounge or crappy restaurant close to the festival. Plan ahead. Bring granola bars if you get hungry and ornery like me, and know that there ain’t NO shame in PB&J- that’s one more show you get to hear!
9. DRINK CHEAP. AKA: PBR & Tecate. Or get your buzz on with your own bottle of vodka BEFORE you’re in the venue where drinks are eight bucks a pop. Sneak in a flask and order a lemonade- bartenders will often give free refills!
10. JUST DO IT. The awesome thing about money is that it is printed on paper that comes out of machines mounted on walls and you trade this colored paper for life experiences! What a freaking deal! Your bills will be there next month. The supersweet festival of your dreams with you on the dance floor surrounded by your friends, face hurting from smiling so much, an growth-inducing experience that becomes part of you as a person? Not so much. Quit worrying and buy your damn tickets already.
“LIFE IS EITHER A DARING ADVENTURE OR NOTHING.”
Helen Keller
See you on the dance floor!
WORLDROMPER 