Corruption is everywhere. It’s one of those lurking things that goes claw-in-claw with too much power. If you are a traveler you will run into it at some point, and how you deal with it makes all the difference. If Valkimir the wall-eyed traffic cop pulls you over because your headlights are too right (I’ve…
About Alan
My Top 10 Favorite Airlines
Let me start of by saying that of the 5,000+ airlines that exist in the world I have only graced the presence of a small fraction; but I do fly a lot. By the end of this year I will have flown about twenty times, mostly international, to about ten nations on four continents, so…
6 Ways to Not Get Robbed Overseas
There is nothing better than basking in the glow of the setting sun in paradise, even though paradise is crawling with thieves. Risking a stranger groping around your delicates for that extra churro money is totally worth it to relax. You know, get away. But it sure would be nice to eat those churros yourself,…
5 Reasons Why You Need to Visit Ephesus
The planet is full of unique and amazing places. I personally make it a point to see as many as possible. Most of them are off the beaten path, places you may have never heard of. The fact is, most of the coolest places you can go are not the usual places you would think…
12 Tips For Surviving a 24+ Hour Flight (w/ Layovers)
I recently returned from an excursion to Turkey where I spent two weeks. My flights, with layovers, came out to be 30 hours there and 25 back. You learn a lot about yourself when you are locked in a shuttering steel tube next to a perpetually farting man with nothing but the tiniest of meals…
How to Make Moving Overseas Easier With Children – 6 Tips
Moving to a foreign country is a monumental task. It’s a totally different beast from going on vacation or doing volunteer work for a month or two. Throw children into the mix and it goes from a beast to a whole mutant melting pot of beasts fused together by some inhuman force. I’m not saying…
The Traveler’s Mental Checklist
Traveling is mentally straining. It doesn’t matter if you are going on a bonding road trip with the family or flying by yourself to Iceland to protest the cancellation of Lazytown. Everyone handles travel differently. Some people start packing a month before they even have to leave while others wait until ten minutes before and…
How to save money on flights
People with the extra cash to fly First Class in their fancy chair/beds with glorious plasma TV’s gently glowing them to sleep, have the option to choose whatever flight they want, but those of us who don’t sit on toilets carved from a single, fabled pearl have to go for “economical”. Thus, I, one of…
Valledupar and San Diego: Colombia’s Hidden Gems
Colombia is a wonderful country to visit, no doubt about it. The people, the coffee, the food, the atmosphere, everything about it makes you want to bust out some salsa, both the eatin’ kind and the dancin’ kind. I’ve always been one to travel off the beaten path. Yes, I was in the usual places…
What happens to unclaimed baggage
Ever wonder where lost luggage goes to die? Probably not, but someone did, and decided to create a way for you and I to feast on its carcass. This luggage underworld is called The Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama. Do you remember that time your baby seal skin suitcase was “misplaced” at DFW Airport?…