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Archive for the ‘Columns’ Category
Julia Fallon: Why I Live in… Amsterdam
Posted by The Working Traveller on February 3rd, 2012
A thirty something British expat, Julia Fallon describes herself as a reluctant explorer, a wobbly, stiletto wearing cyclist and technology geek all rolled into one. She followed her boyfriend over to Amsterdam and tells us how she is learning to love and live the Dutch way of life.
I’m sure you’ve never heard this before: where are you from?
I’m from England – I lived in a small village in the South, surrounded by fields but an hour from the seaside and an hour from London. I’d describe myself as quite English – I also have a habit of saying things like ‘oh golly’, and ‘blimey’. Since moving to Amsterdam I find my English-isms have surfaced even more which has my expat friends laughing and the Dutch staring blankly at me.
11 Cheap Places to Volunteer in South America & My Favourite Architecture – the Apollo Temple: Our Guest Posts on Art of Backpacking & Tend To Travel
Posted by The Working Traveller on February 2nd, 2012
I have written and had accepted a couple of guest posts in the past week or so. The first, 11 Cheap Places to Volunteer in South America, is a long promised follow up to a similar post I did a while back on Central America.
The South American piece covers all the countries in South America except Suriname and French Guiana and suggests inexpensive ways backpackers can hook up with local organisations to both save money and do some good.
Top Five Most Amazing Treks to do Before You Die
Posted by The Working Traveller on February 1st, 2012
The top five most amazing treks to do before you die feature lush surroundings and unspoiled beauty. A few secluded, low-key areas have not experienced the heavy tourist traffic inflicted on other popular locales. Uncover cheap international flights to any of the dream destinations listed below using careful research and a lot of patience.
Pakistan – Darkot Pass
Skimming the Swat and Kohistan Valley in Pakistan, Hindu Raj is the third range of the Hindukush Mountains. Darkot Pass takes you through the Yarkhun Valley into the tourist area of Hunza. The walk is relatively easy and stunning scenery provides plenty of photo opportunities. Visit the area between April and June, known as the local summer season. December through March is bitterly cold, while July through November marks the monsoon season. Heavy rains during this period make travel impossible.
Posted in Guest Posts, Travelling 
Tags: ethiopia, france, greenland, pakistan, tibet, trekking 
2 Comments »The Working Traveller Finally has a Facebook Page
Posted by The Working Traveller on January 31st, 2012
We have finally decided to come out to play with the rest of the planet and got ourselves a Facebook page.
I’m not sure why I put this off for so long but I’m glad we have beaten some members of the world’s more remote tribes in signing up for the social medium. Even this family – who less than a year ago were pointing to the sky and wondering just where the hell that big metal bird came from – have a Facebook page and are wondering whether to bother with G+.
Even they got on Facebook before us
How Travel Bloggers Can Trade Advertising for Free Accommodation
Posted by The Working Traveller on January 27th, 2012
A lot of travel bloggers are chasing sponsored or press trips at the moment. Tour boards and travel businesses are increasingly aware of the benefits of arranging transport and accommodation for writers. In return most bloggers are happy to experience a new destination at little cost to them.
There is quite a bit of useful information out there on the subject already. The latest article I have seen is by Ryan Brown of Just Chuckin’ It. Writing at TravMonkey he recounts how finding a naked stranger asleep in his hostel bed led to getting taken on as the persona of the Nomads’ mascot camel.
JobSpy: Spend Your Gap Year in the Pub
Posted by The Working Traveller on January 26th, 2012
Where: Paris, Toulouse and Bordeaux
Who: FrogPubs
FrogPubs need help pulling some of the one million pints of bitter, lager, wheat beer, ginger, spicy and fruit beers served each year in their seven English pubs across France.
Popular with expats and anglophiles, each FrobPub has its own microbrewery producing beers with names like Inseine, Dark le Triomphe and Parislytic to accompany restaurant food and British sports on the TV.
Gap year students are provided with a structured training programme and health insurance as they learn lessons in greeting and serving customers, driving sales and maintaining a clean environment. Staff are need both in the bar and in the kitchen.
Posted in JobSpy, Tourism, Catering & Hospitality Tags: bar work, bordeaux, france, gap year, paris, toulouse No Comments »My Bad Travel Photo: Elephant Ear, Ko Samui
Posted by The Working Traveller on January 25th, 2012
The first time I saw an elephant outside of an enclosure I was incompetently riding around Ko Samui on a motorbike. This was my second time on a bike. Though encouraged I hadn’t crashed into a stationary milk float this time I found working down the gears difficult and needed a runway longer than that required by a 747 to come to a halt.
The thing about elephants is they are quite big. Despite plenty of warning from first sighting the animal in the distance to actually stopping I still perhaps got a tad too close.
