Bounty

I just joined Matador, a new travel social networking site, and guess what they have? A Bounty Board!

On the BB are a numerous writing opportunities. Numerous PAYING opportunities. Not bad.

Check the Bounty Board when you have chance. You might actually score some dough...for your next vacation!

The Naked Introvert

Brave New Traveler has a interesting list of the types of travel writers out there.

Here's one type of writer:

The Naked Introvert

Naked introverts spend an inordinate amount of time fretting about their constipation, and then write about it in excruciating detail. They are funny, honest and extremely self-deprecating.

Naked introverts are especially well-suited to writing about travel because travelers are bumbling fools, and naked introverts are most entertaining when they find themselves in awkward and uncertain situations.

The author mentions David Sedaris as an example of a Naked Introvert, and if I can ever write as funny as him, I would be very, very, VERY happy with that.

I tend to write very introspectively, so much so that often my surroundings are secondary to personal experience. Also, I am a bumbling fool when I travel.

I am the Naked Introvert.

More Solo Travel Tips

From TravelHacker, here are 40+ Safety Tips For Solo Travel.

Good list. I like this one especially:

"Listen to your instincts. If you find yourself thinking that a situation just isn’t quite right or that a person seems disingenuous, chances are good that you might be right. Your instinctive feelings are meant to keep you out of harms way, to try to pay attention to what they’re telling you."

Well said.

New Year's Travelution

It's great to start the new year with a plan.

When you travel, it's no different. You must have a plan. A New Year's Travel Resolution, or a Travelution. This is important.

And while it's great to plan where you want to go, Travelutions should also include how you would like to travel better. Ways to make your journeys richer and more life-giving.

My Travelution for 2008 goes something like this:

- More wandering. Just take a day or two and just get lost. But not totally lost that you find yourself helpless. That's irresponsible. But I mean taking the time to explore a place. To not be bound by a rigid itinerary.

- Chat with the locals. Or at least try. So many times I regret not conversing with random strangers. Sure, this SOUNDS scary, but they're people like you and me. And who knows what might happen?

- Day trips. Southern California is perfect for day trips. Of course being out for the day can be very very tiring. But it's always good to get away once in a while.

- Be the sponge. That is, soak up the scenery. Truthfully, I'm not a very active traveler, meaning I don't like hurrying from place to place, filling every second with activity because I can't waste a second. I like to take things in, people-watch, enjoy the views. I'm not on the Amazing Race. I'll take my time, thanks.

Hopefully I can follow through with this year's travelution. And I hope you do too...