It was a twisted tale of a cult-like killer in India that motivated me to take off on one of my first trips abroad. Yes, yes, I know that’s not normal and I’m not proud of my motivations but…
Twisted reasons we travel
More Nicaragua …
I’ve been getting a lot of comments about my Nicaragua article that came out in the Toronto Star on Saturday (and hurrah! so far none of them are bad). A trio of them mention accommodations or restaurants in Nicaragua,…
12 ways to tell when you travel too much
1) Have you ever gone alone to a hotel bar in Paris, Seoul and/or Budapest and been mistaken for a hooker? Yes. 2) Do you have a luggage docking station in your home? Yes. 3) Do you ask for extra…
Update on important travel writing friends writing books
So Toronto is emptying out today as a motley bunch of travel writers head over to Ottawa for the annual Travel Media Association of Canada conference. Not me, though, as this motley writer has to stay put and work, dammit,…
Hone your travel writing skills and win free trips
People always ask me how to get started in travel writing. It’s pretty simple. First you travel. Then you write. Then you market your masterpieces. Oh, wait. Don’t. Forget. To. Edit. (Read my post on how to start travel writing…
Writing for Examiner
Why would anyone write for Examiner.com? Why would anyone write for so little money? Why would I write for Examiner.com? Internet sites like suite101 and Examiner are notorious for paying little while offering the alluring prospect of making more in…
Travel Writing Conference ie where am I and who are you?
It’s a strange global moment, this travel writing conference. The TMAC Conference (Travel Media Association of Canada) is a collection of travel writers and travel industry people, ie tourist board reps and PR people, and the idea is to connect, get…
The travel writing posse strikes again
So many things are happening in the Toronto travel-writing world that I don’t know where to begin. So I’ll start where all good things begin … with rejection. Yes, I just got rejected by the Ontario Arts Council for a…
Watching the Bachelor … for research purposes only
I was at a lunch hosted by Thuringia Province, Germany, a couple of days ago at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. This area of former East Germany (Thuringia, not the Royal York Hotel) is off the main tourist track…
Renting a villa in France … or an apartment in Paris … or a cheap hotel … or or or
My plans to rent a villa in the South of France this summer have changed once again. First it was one month in one place, maybe in the hilltop town of Vence, a stone’s throw from Nice and the Med.…