vagabond's Globetrooper News Feed

Todd Ulrike/Tucker, we'll be in India in Feb '11. Should catch up if you're around then. Also Tucker, we're in Montreal now. We'll be in Toronto for a wedding next weekend (3rd), maybe we can catch up before you go.

vagabond When in middle east? Theres a few of us here doing meet ups in egypt or jordan, depending on final dates.

TuckerWasHere Hey everyone - I'm still new to GlobeTrooper, so bear with me! Because I've bought an around the world ticket with OneWorld, the dates are flexible. However, I expect the trip to be something like this: Europe until mid Sep (ish), Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, kenya/Tanzania until end Oct... (depends if I decide to climb Kili or not). India, Nepal, Tibet until end of Nov, SE Asia for 2-3 months (until end of Feb). Australia for 6-8 weeks (visiting Family etc...), NZ for 3 weeks perhaps until May, then Los Angeles + visiting places in the US, visiting friends etc... until the end of June then back home to TO. Everything is flexi at this point, and I'm going to play a lot by ear and just go with the flow. I may chose to stay in certain places longer, or cut short other locations. I'm not sure! :)

Todd - a catch up would be great... send me a message directly and we can go from there. BTW, you HAVE to go to Boustan restaurant on Crescent. Great Lebanese food! I used to live around the corner and got to know the owners quite well - great price, great food if you like Lebanese! :)

reginatravelsworld real quick...doing the same thing I let end of May in Africa...now in England...going to Russia, Jordan, Egypt after this...maybe you're around there now? Sorry, I don't know how to send you a private message so doing it on here...

Andreas Thanks vagabond, seat61.com is very helpful indeed. And that's not limited to the Transsib :)

Todd Absolument! Check out this trip... not for the faint-hearted http://globetrooper.com/buenos-aires-to-aconcagua-polish-traverse-route-2011

tachyon Go the Galapagos! Best trip I've done in my entire life! Heading back next year if all goes to plan.

Todd Hey tachyon, why so? Is it more than the unique wildlife? Did you trek much? I suspect it's much less commercial than the Inca Trail.

vagabond The machu picchu trail is still quite difficult, no matter how many people do it each year. The elevation really gets to some people.

Suzy Hello Lauren. I am hopeful to do the Inca Trail in Feb next year. I will need to train a bit, I haven't done any hiking before this and I hear it is very strenuous with a lot of staircases

tachyon Todd: there's not much trekking to be done, as you're required to stay on very limited paths around the islands and have a guide with you at all times. But the wildlife is just so...Words can't really describe it. I'm planning to go back next year to do a liveaboard diving trip there (budget pending). It's certainly not cheap to get there or go on a cruise, but for anybody who has even the remotest interest in natural history, it's one of the most amazing places on the planet.

tachyon Also, I did the Inca Trail last year. It's not *that* bad. It's the altitude rather than the distance that will get you.

Meg The Inca Trail really isn't that bad as long as you take a few days to acclimatise to the altitude before you actually start hiking! By biggest tip would be blister plasters though! It doesn't matter how comfy your shoes are for normal hiking, that many staircases means blisters - prevention's better than having to hike 2 more days with blisters...

comehikewithmike Great tip! It's these things that turn an "okay" adventure into a "great" adventure.

giuliadventures But only 4/5 days in Egypt? Anyway, I'll skip the Egypt tour coz I've been there 4 times already/I'm officially going there for work! I know about some friends who went to Israel and got a visa on a separate piece of paper, not on the passport (I think it's something they do for tourists). It would be nice to get that if possibile! Anyway Im pretty sure Sep 10th is too early for me, I have to settle down in Cairo and everything. Sorry:(

vagabond giuli... what sort of work? i wish i had a job that would send me all over the world. but i'll just have to do with taking lots of holidays for now. :)

giuliadventures no no no I don't work at the moment, lol. I will look for something when I'm there... usually I work in hotels where you work like 9 months a year then I travel. But this time I still don't know what I'm going to find and I'm super-curious:)))

Todd Hi guys, Someone else has posted a trip with *exactly* the same name and the same picture, but going at a different time. Maybe it's worth sharing ideas on itineraries. The other trip is here: http://globetrooper.com/cairo-to-istanbul-2011

Todd Hey Vanessa; great to hear from you. Maybe we should get together for Mont Blanc in 2011. Have never been to Chamonix, but it sounds like a nice place to call 'lower base camp' :)

vagabond There's this Mont Blanc course with Adventure Consultants (famous guiding company for anyone that reads mtn literature). See this link http://www.adventureconsultants.com/adventure/MontBlancCourseAscent/

vagabond Though this AMS 12-day prep is probably the worldwide standard http://www.climbalaska.org/mtc-12day.html

Vanessa Mt Blanc sounds great - would be a first for me too. If don't manage the mountain there's always the cable car back to Chamonix :P vagabond - the climbalaska course looks amazing (and slightly terrifying...) thanks for the link. Would definitely want to do some high altitude training to adjust - last time I got a bit headachy above 4500m - might have to head to NZ for that. :)

comehikewithmike I recommend the courses at AMS. It's a stunning environment to 'learn the ropes' - excuse the pun. Here's a link to the 12-day technical course. http://www.climbalaska.org/mtc-12day.html

vagabond You guys are giving me shivers just talking about it. Give me a hot desert, jungle or city any day.

Vanessa Todd when are you thinking of doing the technical course in Alaska? Depending on timelne might be able to join!

Todd There are a few options for this: Alaska, France, Colorado, BC (Canada), NZ, etc. The Alaskan Mountaineering School has quite a reputation (and plenty of training ground). France may be the second best option combining the mountaineering course with a summit of Mont Blanc.