Chris Backe's Blog, page 96

Where the hell you been, Chris? An update on the last couple of months, and a taste of things to come

It’s been awhile.

The last time I logged on to write a blog post, these games were in style.

We’ve been traveling through Europe for the past couple of months, and there’s been almost no time to blog. That wasn’t actually the plan – originally, we thought we’d travel during the mornings and afternoons, then catch up on our computers in the evenings.

The reality…? Not so much.

I hadn’t factored in a few things, like transit from one place to the next. There’s also the matter of handling laund...

Life as a Nomad: Taipei, Taiwan

‘ Life as aNomad ‘ is an occasional series that focuses on the nomadic life and where we’ve lived it.Readthe whole ‘Life as a Nomad‘ series, including guest posts from fellow nomads!

Today’s Life as a Nomad story comes from Veronika Tomonova, who studied in Taiwan for two years. Take it away!

So, tell me about Taipei.

I went there in 2012 to study for my Master’s Degree in international communication. For most of my friends and especially my family, this was a really crazy step to do. We have...

Life as a Nomad: Djibouti City, Djibouti

‘ Life as aNomad ‘ is an occasional series that focuses on the nomadic life and where we’ve lived it.Readthe whole ‘Life as a Nomad‘ series, including guest posts from fellow nomads!

This one comes to us fromBrock and Tangerine, who blog over atwww.brockandtanj.com.

So, tell me about Djibouti.

We moved to Djibouti City, Djibouti because of Brock’s work. “Where the hell is Djibouti?” It’s in Africa! A lot of people don’t even know where it is, and yes it exists. This is what we got from people...

How to start a travel blog, get free stuff, and change your life

WARNING: this post is long and contains truth, not fluff. If you’re looking for awesome pictures and weird places, check out what’s new over in the Destinations / Places category.

So you’re thinking of starting a travel blog…

Welcome to the wonderful, weird, wacky, and awesome world of travel blogging! You might have heard of someone making money from their travel blog, or perhaps someone was talking about some of the stuff they did on a recent blogger trip… So you thought ‘hey, I can do that...

May book review: beer in Vietnam, working around the world, and cycling across Europe

Once a month, I put together the books I’ve readinto a single review post. Alternatively, see plenty of previous book reviews over here, or see how I rate books.

A quick disclaimer: review copies were provided or downloaded for free. These reviews cover the version of the book Ireceived, not necessarily the version that’s currently available. A newer or updated version may be available – check for yourself using the links below.

The Beer Guide to Vietnam – Jonathan Gharbi

Covering dozens of...

Announcing the latest Choose a Way book!

Eat your way through Bangkok.

I’m happy to announce the latest Choose a Way book has gone live!

I haven’t said much about the Choose a Way series here, and that’s a shame. Many an hour has gone into this project, and if you like what’s happening with One Weird Globe, you’re going to love Choose a Way!

When you were younger,did you read those Choose Your Own Adventure books? These are children’s books that offered the reader choices throughout the book, andeach choice brought you to different...

What Happens When An Entire Village Gets Destroyed by Nazis? Destination: Oradour-sur-Glane

While I’ve been busy networking and going to the TBEX conference, my awesome wife Laura has gone ahead to southern France, where she’s explored an intriguing, dark destination. All words and photos are hers.

Oradour-sur-Glane was a small French village of no importance whatsoever which, for reasons which are still debated, was targeted by SS soldiers. They marched into town, bringing whoever they found on outlying farms with them, and gathered the townspeople together in the town’s central a...

Destination: the largest citadel in the Muslim world (Salah Al Din Citadel, Cairo, Egypt)

Egypt’s main military museum and castle dating from the Crusades in the 13th century may notsound all that weird… but wait ’til you see what else is inside.

With a history that dates back to the 12th century, Salah al-Din gets credits for being the source of the fortifications that kept the area safe from Crusaders. It’s at the top of a hill, and the ambitious leader sought to build a wall that would join the cities of Cairo and Fustat into one. Fast forward to the early 19th century, where...

Cairo: a photo essay

Cairo is such a colorful city that it seems almost criminal not to share these with the world. I’ve categorized it as arandom pictures post since it shows lots of shots that won’t make it into other posts.

Gad is one excellent reason to come to Cairo – their version of fast food is local, authentic, and unsurprisingly pretty fast. Order near the register, then take the receipt to thecorrect counter (this is critical, and not always easy to deduce!)

Seems legit.

Cairohastonsof elaborate doo...

10 takeaways from TBEX Europe 2015

TBEX Europe (the Travel Blog EXchange conference) just wrapped up last night (Saturday, May 2nd) – my head’s still spinning from meeting abunch of folks in real life after having chatted with them in Facebook groups or on their blogs for months (and sometimesyears)…

Over the next few weeks, you’ll be seeing me play catch-up from our recent travels throughout Egypt, Tunisia, and Spain, along with the rest of Europe. If you’ve ever wanted a peek behind the curtain of a travel blogger’s life, k...