Disclaimer:  I’m a Matador U affiliate, so if you enrol with them by clicking through on the links here I will earn a small commission.  This review is, nevertheless, my honest opinion. When I was in Cuba, MatadorU‘s lead faculty Julie Schwietert hooked me up with a sweet casa particular and a great on-the-ground contact [...]

The last month has witnessed a sudden surge of writing activity; I’m like a new woman, boys and girls (let’s see how long this lasts). (A week after starting this post, and finally preparing it for publication, the surge is already a distant memory.  And looking less surge-y and more – I don’t know, what’s [...]

MaryAnne over at A Totally Impractical Guide to Living in Shanghai seems determined to drive me into the kind of deep, reflective self-analysis I probably need but nevertheless resist.  First she sent me an invitation to participate in her expat interview series, a sensitive, insightful, and honest series of reflections on life “over there” that [...]

Long-time readers will remember Todd Wassel from the expat interview I did with him back in July last year, in which I rather embarrassingly gushed over him as my hero for his development work and just basic living of the life I want one day; many travel blog enthusiasts will no doubt also know his [...]

Tequila tempered with tomato juice; the cacophony of competing mariachis. Later we bought sombreros.  Seemed appropriate. *** The morning cool of Manú, leaves freshly-washed. I watch the rainforest wake up from behind white mosquito net. *** Pungent fragrance, throaty sales pitches.  People push. I long to sink my hands into the warm earthy colors of [...]

Right now, my collection of photography equipment totals one item:  my Canon Digital point-and-shoot IXUS 95IS, 10 megapixels, 3X zoom.  Not exactly the stuff National Geographic prizewinners are made of. It’s served me well over the years, survived quite a few bumps and scrapes, and will continue to be my first choice for boozy nights [...]

My previous post, or wishlist, if you prefer, 5 potential markets for aspiring travel writers (and they pay!), focused on online travel magazines.  The print media may be in decline, but there’s nothing quite like flicking through a shiny magazine, or enjoying the smell of a newspaper or book.  And quite frankly I’d love to [...]

The Lonely Planet blogsherpa program brings together the cream of the travel blogging crop to provide their unique perspectives on their particular corners of the world, and to paint a portrait of world travel that is dynamic, fresh and original. A delightfully surprising side effect was the formation of a creative, supportive and driven network [...]

Heaven is being paid to travel the world.  Unfortunately, this is no great secret and elbowing past the competition to break into the travel writing field requires persistence, hard work, shameless self-promotion and research.  There’s a huge range of publications that may accept your work, and its important to look online and off, and outside [...]