I've just spent the last three weeks planning a trip through the southern countries of South America. I had a big check coming the first week of April, and (like I advise in my pre-planning post) I knew where I was going and which flights I wanted to purchase. I wanted to travel roughly June 3rd to June 16th - two weeks in South America! Yeah baby!

So nearing my big April payday (hold on, background might be necessary here: I just took a new contracting job so I'd have plenty of vacation time between short-term assignments... but I'm only getting paid once a month! Gotdamn! I'm struggling with that.) So where were we... oh yes: Three weeks before my big April payday, I started researching trips and decided that I would purchase airfare for the following itinerary. This came to a grand total of $1400 - the first part of the trip I would be alone and for the second part my significant other (hereby known as my s/o) would be joining me so the $1400 total includes his tickets as well:

But then my s/o got an exciting new job and his vacation schedule changed and well, it's just not a good time for him to take a week-long trip. Because he loves the historic stuff as much as I do, I decided to hold off on Machu Picchu until we can see it together. So I started researching this trip, traveling alone now. For the below itinerary, the ticket total was $1100:

Minneapolis, Minnesota USA to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by air

Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires, Argentina by bus

Day trip to Montevideo, Uruguay by that ferry boat thing and back again

Buenos Aires to Minneapolis by air

But then I learned that Brazil requires a visa that I'd need to get here in the States before I left. The cost is a little high, and the nearest Brazilian embassy is in Chicago (a 6-hour drive from Minneapolis). So I cut Brazil out of the itinerary and replaced it with Chile. And my next itinerary became the following, ticket total was also $1100:

Minneapolis to Buenos Aires by air

Day trip to Montevideo by ferry and back again

Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile by air or possibly bus

Day trip to Valparaiso by bus and back again (ever read Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende? Books open worlds. 'Nuff said.)

Santiago back to Minneapolis

This itinerary is the one I focused on for the longest. I did just a ton of research for it, this trip was it. I looked up hotels and apartments, I posted questions on VirtualTourist.com, (my favorite travel research site), I read up on the cultures and history of all these cities, and even practiced a bit of Spanish with a friend of mine who dated a Mexican girl once. I was fully prepared to buy my ticket for this trip once I received my paycheck.

And then I realized a few days before I got my check - hold on a second! I might not even have $1100 to spare on my next check for airline tickets. Ok, cross "might" out of the previous sentence. I knew I wouldn't have that much to spend on tickets. At that point, it crossed my mind that this lack of eleven hundred spare dollars was entirely to blame on some sort of odd deficiency I have in the area of financial planning/money management/I don't even know what to call it. But considering that I'm the type of person who doesn't believe in beating one's self up too much, I simply said fuggit: if I can't afford the $1100 tickets, let's look at alternative options. By that point, my s/o was calling me "resilient." (I do so love a label, I don't care what you "I-don't-like-to-label-people"-people say.) So I started researching the following trip:

While in Beijing, I personally didn't have any problems finding a toilet. Well, there was that one time at the Banana Bar when I had to mime using the bathroom in order to find a bathroom. Only after I was almost ushered into a taxi did I realize that my miming skills are absolutely horrendous.

In a followup to my earlier post on Beijing toilets, I bring you a new way to get your pee on. Well, I'm not personally bringing it to you. The enterprising Chinese are the ones bringing it: the new rolling toilet service in Beijing. Instead of actually pissing on a motorized rickshaw, you will be escorted to a real toilet. Yeah, it took me a few readings of the article to figure that out too.

Tourists enjoy toilet usher service in Beijing

My cousin has finally saved up enough money to purchase an overseas airline ticket. His next dilemma is deciding where to go. The world is a big place – I’ve struggled more than once with the whole “where do I go” question.

Disregarding costs, you’ll find that your personal preferences can lead you to your dream trip. What do you like to do at home in your free time? If you find yourself drawn to going downtown and partying, you’ll probably most enjoy traveling to a big city with a thriving nightlife. If you’re the outdoorsy type who goes hiking on the weekends, you’ll probably have a blast on a wildlife trip. As for me - I’m a history fanatic, so I find myself drawn to locations that have a long and storied past.

A sampling of ideas below to get your mind churning:


For the History Buffs

Machu Picchu, Peru – best spot for imagining yourself being sacrificed by Incas.

Luxor, Egypt – Karnak Temple, Valley of the Kings, the sites are endless.

Timbuktu, Mali – major Sarahan trading center circa 1400s AD.

Carthage, Tunisia – visit ancient Roman ruins, a ferry ride away from Italy or France.


For the Party Animals

Amsterdam, Netherlands – get high with college kids from around the world

Athens, Greece – go bar hopping by boat, only in August!

London, England – party like a rock star, complete with blow and STDs

Ibiza, Spain – not only a party town, also hosts a world-class nude beach


For Adventure Seekers

Kerala, India – get your treehouse hotel on.

Serengeti Plains, Tanzania - This is some serious wildlife traveling.

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador - Darwin’s theory of natural selection evolved here.


For the Eccentrics

Diamantina, Brazil – Still quaint, still undiscovered (and, therefore, still cheap).

Lviv, Ukraine – Touted as the next Krakow, sans tourists. Hurry!

Il De Goree, Senegal – I think there might be a hotel or two here.

So there's a few ideas for you. Of course, this doesn’t run the entire gamut of personality types, but it’s something to get you thinking. I also hope to point out with this list that just because everyone goes to Paris, that doesn’t mean Paris is going to be your cup of tea. Take the time to find a location that truly captures your interest. It’ll be money well spent.

The opportunities for cool places to sleep are endless. Sure, I tend to stick to the tried and true - hotels, apartments, yogwans. The newer, trendier ways to sleep don't much appeal to me. Take sleeping pods for example. They're like a bed with a lid, a tanning booth without the tan. Or how about those Japanese capsule hotels - otherwise known as Bed-in-a-Box. I'd die of claustrophobia in those coffin-like things. Then we have the floating botel, popular in some areas of Europe. I actually would like to rock a botel someday, if I don't rock a casbah first. And on the pricier side, we have the airport hotel - not a hotel that's a separate entity but a hotel that's actually inside of an airport, like the Fairmont Vancouver with rates starting at $299 per night. (Emoja says: "There's no way in hell..." and so on and so forth).

And lastly, the latest and greatest way to catch some z's: the Yotel. So far, these super-tiny rooms are only available for hourly or overnight rental at Heathrow and Gatwick airports starting in Spring '07. For about $130 US you can stay overnight. I like how they're making really great use of such a small space but seriously, I wouldn't dream of spending $130 for a night in a glorified closet. You know what I always say:

*If Yotel charges too much, sleep at Gate 15.