Travel : The Art of Non-Conformity

Travel

Round-the-World Tickets Revisited: How a Single Ticket Can Take You to 16 Cities + Earn 40,000 Qualifying Miles

Long ago I wrote a post on Round-the-World tickets that continues to be one of the most trafficked posts on the whole site. It’s still mostly accurate, at least in terms of the broader principles.

I also still book and travel on at least one to two RTW tickets a year with itineraries similar to the one below:

JNB-DOH-CDG-DOH-LHR-LAX-MEX-DFW-JFK-LAX-SYD-PER-SIN-HKG-HND-HKG-JNB

RTW tickets can be split. For example, I did the first half of that trip (South Africa, Qatar, etc.), returned, and then did the second half (Australia!) one month later. There are two reasons why I especially like these kinds of tickets:

1. Flexibility

These tickets are highly flexible. I can change flight times whenever I want, for no cost or penalty, even on the same day. Changes are always subject to availability, but these tickets are booked in higher fare classes that don’t have the same restrictions as award tickets—meaning that availability is usually very good.

Travel

Off to See the World, Once Again

In the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning, I set out on a journey. The streets were wet as I rolled my carry-on and walked a few blocks to a smartcar, which I drove to the MAX train station. The train took me to PDX International Airport. With only a few non-U.S. flights, I’m not sure what’s truly international about my beloved small town airport, but at least security’s quick and everyone is friendly most of the time.

Before I leave on a big trip, I’m always anxious. Once I get going, I’m always excited. After hundreds of trips and millions of miles flying around the world, I know this routine well.

Last fall was a 40-city book tour, which was fun in a different way. Sometimes people would ask if I got tired of being in a different city every day, which no chance to do much except prepare for the evening event. The honest answer is “Not really”—I honestly enjoy the process of hustling my way around the U.S. and Canada, meeting with a different group of readers every night and doing whatever I can to inch a new book forward in a crowded marketplace.

Et Cetera

6 Discoveries From Near and Far: Volume XXVI

Things I found on long walks in foreign cities, or perhaps when someone posted them on Twitter.

Clawing My Way Back on New Year’s -- "The last day of the year meant entering a new year he would never see"
New Photos of 8 Elaborate Mosques in Iran -- Rarely seen beauty from Iran
Designing The Best Board Game On The Planet -- Board games are on the rise, and there’s a formula to their success
The 4 Most Common Relationship Problems (and How to Fix Them) -- The best predictor of how good a relationship is can be found in what kind of story you tell about it
The Great Paper Caper -- How Frank Bourassa got away with printing $200 million in his garage
New Beer Helps to Maximize Creativity (!) -- A bottle of "The Problem Solver" helps in more ways than one

Travel

Learn to Walk on Water During Your Next Trip to Hong Kong

This is a reader story. (Read others or tell us yours.) I read a long comment by Elena Kim in the 2014 Travel Roundup, and decided it deserves a post of its own. Here’s Elena: — This year I learned I could walk on water. I was in Hong Kong on my first overseas trip…

Travel

How to Visit Cuba as an American (While It’s Still “Illegal”)

Like many of you, I was excited to hear the big news that the U.S. embargo against Cuba is ending. Wow! There’s probably a good life lesson in this news: if your government has tried something for more than 50 years and it hasn’t worked, maybe it’s time to try something else. As part of…

Travel

Pay $39 and Travel for Nearly Free: The Missed Opportunity of My Recent Guide Launch

Right before the Thanksgiving holiday, our Unconventional Guides crew unveiled a new product to help people travel for less. But what did we miss?

Profiles

Notes from Traveling Millennials: On the Road with Bud and Eva Simpson

When you’re young, it feels easy to appease your inner wanderlust by saying, “I’ll travel later in life.” Twenty-somethings Bud and Eva Simpson decided they didn't want to live this way—and have spent the last year helping young adults learn to travel smart.

Profiles

A Destination Wedding in Your Own City: A Story from Patrick and Laura Furlong

This is a reader story. (Read others or tell us yours.) Patrick and Laura are two travel-loving newlyweds. When I heard the story of how they incorporated travel into their wedding, I had to share. — We’re obsessed with stories. If you needed to only know one thing about us, that’s it. At our core,…

Profiles

“Life is About Human Connection”: On the Road with Cindy Cihuelo

This is a traveler case study. (Read others or nominate yourself.) Cindy’s life experiences include living in her home country of France, plus living abroad in America, China, and most recently, Thailand. We asked her to share some of her experiences in moving around over the past several years. Tell us about yourself. At age 15, I…

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Travel

New: No Annual Fee on 50,000 British Airways Avios Offer

Link: 50,000 Points for British Airways Card – Now With No First-Year Annual Fee As of this weekend, Chase has begun waiving the annual fee during the first year for its British Airways Signature Card. You can now earn 50,000 Avios points (more on that in a moment) after completing a $2,000 minimum spend in…

Travel

A Culinary and Lifestyle Adventure to Ethiopia

Check out this short film for a unique glimpse into Ethiopian daily life. Follow the process of making injera and harvesting the local coffee with a soundtrack that will make you want to book a round-trip Star Alliance award on Ethiopian Airlines. I first visited Ethiopia three years ago and found it a fascinating place.…

Profiles

“I have always sought to have autonomy”: On the Road with Evan Dufour

This is a traveler case study. (Read others or nominate yourself.) When I learned of Evan’s tale of medical woes in India, I wanted to hear more about his decision to travel the world before age 30. Here’s Evan: Tell us about yourself. I grew up in the boondocks of Connecticut where my love for…

Travel

Mini City Guide: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

I love big cities, and always enjoy returning to Hong Kong, New York, and Sydney—among many others. But what about those unknown gems that are off the beaten tourist path… those obscure places that are just waiting to be explored by real travelers? Our new “Mini City Guides” are here to uncover those gems, and…

Travel

Can You Get More Than One Chase Ink Card?

Link: 70,000 Point Bonus for Ink Plus **** Update: The 70,000 point offer has now ended. The card still offers 50,000 points and has gone back to having no annual fee in the first year. **** After a false alarm last week when we thought the latest mega-bonus would end, we learned that it was…

Profiles

The Trans-Americas Journey: On the Road with Karen Catchpole & Eric Mohl

Seeing the world means different things to different people. For Karen Catchpole and Eric Mohl, it means taking a deep dive road trip through the Americas, from top to bottom. After over seven years and 150,000 miles, they still have most of South America to drive through.

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