TravelPod News

Some of the more interesting forum topics this week:

Why haggle?

Bartering, bargaining, haggling… There are lots of words for simply trying to get a lower price on a product or service. Not only can you save money by working out a deal with the seller in question, but it’s just plain fun! Whether you are in sunny Mexico or blustery Russia, there are usually opportunities to mingle with the locals and haggle over prices. Even at the mall you can work out deals on appliances and umbrellas. Share your money saving in our forums.

Question of the Month: Valentine’s Day

This month, the question I pose to you is this: What did you do this Valentine’s Day? Aside from one member who spent Valentine’s Day in the middle of the desert, watching the stars, it turns out Travelpodders are not a very romantic lot. Read up or share your V-Day story.

Housing prices in New Zealand

Thinking of moving to New Zealand? You might want to check out the price of housing first. This country has the least affordable real estate in the world! Our members talk about the price of living in paradise.

Till next week,

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

Erica Cantrell is one of the stars of the Johnny Cash musical, “Ring of Fire”, currently on tour across the U.S.A. She has been writing her TravelPod blog since September, and will continue writing about life on the road until May, when the tour is done.

“I knew that I wanted a blog to keep in contact with my friends and family at home,” she says. However, a few new fans of the show have also found her blog. She has gotten quite a bit of great feedback from these fans because of the blog.

Cantrell uses her blog to update her friends on schedule changes, to let them know how the show is progressing and also about what she does in her spare time (reading and running, shopping at Target etc.).

“TravelPod was recommended by a couple different websites and I’ve been using that and it’s been great,” she says.

Her most popular blogs include pictures and personal stories about the trials and tribulations of touring life, like the time when she was given one of the larger parts in the show, the role of June Carter Cash. She also believes in the virtues of brevity, “I like to keep it short so that people don’t have to read a whole blog,” Cantrell says.

As for her favourite stop on the tour, she can’t pick favourites just yet. “The whole experience has been great,” she says with a smile you can hear, even though she’s miles away.

Check her most recent blog out here: Travel Blog: Ring of Fire Tour

This week’s hot discussion topics are:

Where to find cheap beer and beautiful women

One intrepid traveler asks where he can find both beer and women on a budget in Eastern Europe. He gets an earful, and recommendations from all over the globe. Is your hometown full of cheap beer and beautiful women? Or would that be cheap women and beautiful beer? Find out in the discussion forum.

Twelve annoying types of people at the airport

Spend any amount of time at any airport and chances are you’ll come in contact with at least six of these 12 subspecies of Homo sapien. We all know the guy with smelly feet who takes his shoes off and the lady who doesn’t understand security procedures and holds up the whole line. Of course, who can forget those people wandering the terminal, stopping to window shop right in front of you, while you are trying to run to a flight on the exact opposite side of the Montreal airport?! *ahem* Join the discussion to vent your frustrations, or to declare an entirely new subspecies.

International Pillow Fight Day

Have you been invited? Well, consider yourself on the guest list now! If you live in a warm climate, or are planning on going to a warm climate, this March 22, why not join in the fun? People all around the world will be pelting each other with soft linens stuffed with feathers. Click here to see who else is attending!

Till next week,

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

Hey guys, I was on vacation last week, so the weekly blog post is a little late…

Why do you travel?

People travel for many different reasons. We want to get away from the daily grind, to find out more about the world, or to catch some rays in the middle of winter. Perhaps we travel for a combination of these reasons, and more. What inspires you to leave your home? Tell us why you choose to wander the world.

Leaving your loved ones

It’s so hard to leave people you care so much about, to make your way out there in the world. How do you keep in touch while you’re on the road? Keeping a blog works, so does frequently touching base through email or instant messenger. Other people prefer postcards or phone calls, and some people simply leave and never look back! Discuss parting ways in our travel forums.

Seven natural wonders

Poll of the month: Which of the seven natural wonders of the world have you been to? Are there any that top your list of future adventures? Vote for your favourite scenic destination in this month’s poll.

Till next week,

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

Planning an Around the World Trip!

If you’re planning an around the world trip, take a gander at this topic in our discussion forums. One of our members asks a very general question and gets lots of answers from our experts. Click here to read the helpful tips, or contribute some of your own.

Tourism at home

If you don’t have enough money to travel the globe, being a tourist in your own backyard is sometimes just as exciting. Click here to chat about local attractions, discuss a typical weekend or start planning a day “away” at home, without leaving.

Photo of the Month

Help choose this month’s featured photo. Will it be the desert in Sudan, a lagoon in the Philippines or a cute little monkey-like creature called a Tarsier. Cast your vote by clicking here.

Till next week,

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager

This week’s hot discussion topics in our forums:

Where are you going next?

Make everyone jealous, post your plans for a trek across the mountains of Nepal, or a cycling expedition through the Sahara. Maybe you are going to Cancun for spring break, or to Antarctica for scientific research. We want to know, and turn green with envy.

Favourite winter activities

The question of the month is: What are your favourite cold weather activities and where do you do them? For me, it’s skating on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, for others, it’s simply wearing a scarf or sharing a mulled wine over a casserole. Tell us your chilly-time stories.

Backpacker sociology

Why are you a backpacker? Is it because you enjoy being alone, more than connecting with others? I believe that most backpackers would disagree with this analysis, and that most backpackers appreciate hanging out with other travelers, it just feels better to be able to come and go as you please. Do you agree, disagree? Talk amongst yourselves…

Till next week,

Louise Brown

TravelPod Community Manager