11 Ways to Save Big on a Trip to Japan

The mention of Japan always seems to invoke the same response in uninitiated travelers – “But, isn’t it expensive?” No, no and no again. Japan is often, unfairly, pegged as a budget-busting destination – a reputation that could be discouraging for frugal wanderers. However, like any trip abroad, Japan can be as cheap or expensive as you make it, so here are some ways to make any stay in the land of the rising sun noticeably friendlier on the wallet. Seek out Daiso shops Otherwise known as the 100 yen ($1.20) store, Daiso is a word every traveler needs to add to their vocab. Unlike a typical Western discount outlet, Daiso is big business...

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Book Review: The Lost Girls

Pre-school, kindergarten, grade school, middle school, high school, college (and maybe grad school), career, marriage, kids, grandkids, and then retirement. Who hasn’t felt, at some point, like they’re on a conveyor belt and stepping off – even for a second – would forever derail their life? Of course, if it were as easy as: girl feels lost in life, girl set out to travel, goes lots of great places and eats lots of delicious food, girl falls in love and all ends happily after after, there wouldn’t be a book. Oh wait…yes there would, only it would be called Eat, Pray, Love. This is not that book. Instead, Holly, Jen and Amanda put themselves...

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Top Ten Travel Articles of 2010

Here are BootsnAll, we publish at least one travel article every day, Monday through Friday. The amounts to hundreds of articles that – we hope – teach you something new about the world, help you travel better, and inspire you to feed your wanderlust with travel. As is popular at this time of year, we though it was fitting to take a look back at 2010 to see which articles our readers seemed to connect with most. From a rundown on the drinking customs of cultures around the world to an interview with badass traveling foodie Tony Bourdain, here are the most popular BootsnAll articles of the past year. 10. How to Get Drunk Around the World:...

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Ten Experiences Not to Miss in Turkey

Turkey is a land that is so varied and in constant contrast with itself that it can be hard to ever truly understand, but to get a start there are many sites that can give a flavor of the country’s unique mix of history, culture and natural wonders. In traversing this country from west to east the traveler will see astonishing differences in cultures and ways of life. From the modern, cosmopolitan capital to the eastern outposts of Sanliurfa and Van there is a world of difference. Even the otherworldly natural sites are still filled with remnants of human history and are so diverse it is hard to believe they all fit in one country. The...

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Sea Creatures And Soju Shots: A Korean School Dinner

Before we had hit the interstate the first calls for “one shot” rang out in the back of the bus. Seated at a makeshift table next to the highly revered principal of the school, I looked at the clear liquid petrol sloshing in my small shot glass, took a deep breath, and swallowed down any reservations along with the soju. Instantly, the fluid took control of me, burning every inch of my throat on its way down to my very core, rattling me into a cold spasm reaction. Nearly two months had passed since arriving to teach English in rural Korea, my first time living abroad, and they had been months filled with bouts of isolation, confusion,...

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Travel Predictions for 2011

I’m adding my hat into the ring for this year’s Travel Predictions. I’ve already read a ton of prediction blog and article posts for 2011 in areas from finance to homemaking to travel. Now here’s my take on travel for 2011. 1. Oil prices will rise They are already at or near 90 bucks a barrel at the time of writing, and they’re just going to go up. What does this have to do with travel? Well, airplanes run on oil. Higher oil prices = higher airfare prices. I think at some point in 2011, prices will continue to rise to the point that airlines have lots of trouble making money. They’ve recovered a bit from the 2008 oil spike, but...

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The Great American Railroad Trip

Recently I became obsessed with America’s most underrated industrial achievement, the Transcontinental Railroad. With its completion in 1869 in Promontory Point, Utah, the dream became a reality and the entire continent was was conquered by rails. For the first time, one could cross the country from coast to coast quickly and safely, without need of a horse covered wagon and one year’s provisions. This feat opened up the western frontier to all manner of European dominion, including trade, immigration, and tourism, for the first time. In fact, in 1910 when my grandparents arrived fresh off the boat from Sweden, they blew right through...

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