Matador Network's Blog, page 2178

Top 20 American microbreweries

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1. Kettlehouse Brewing Company, Missoula, Montana

Known lovingly as the “K-hole” by Missoulians, this tiny brewery features an even smaller taproom where you’ll find locals of all stripes downing Cold Smoke Scotch Ale.

They don’t serve food, but the intensely hoppy Double Haul will usher in the perfect ending to a day of fly fishing the Clark Fork (a mere 200 feet from the front door) or exploring Glacier National Park.

2. Barrio Brewing, Tucson, Arizona

If you’re visiting Tucson to cure Seasonal Affective Disorder, consider this brewery for your therapy. Barrio is hard to find, but the beer and the beautiful view of the surrounding mountains makes it worth the effort.

Their porter is a GABF award winner and even in the heat of summer should not be passed over for the lighter beers in their lineup. Don’t be alarmed when the patrons shout that a train is coming. Beers go on special when the railroad gates come down over the road outside.

3. Full Sail Brewing Company, Hood River, Oregon

This tiny town in the Columbia River Gorge is the gateway to Mt. Hood and home to some of the world’s best windsurfing and kayaking. The drive through the gorge to get there is worth the trip itself, but the beers take it to the next level. Enjoy a cask-conditioned Imperial Stout while looking out over Hood River and the Columbia Valley.

4. Second Street Brewery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Break away from the tourist strip and head to Second Street for late afternoon sun and fresh beer out on the patio. You can hear live music, mingle with locals, and drink a great Scotch Ale.

5. Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, Maryland

Every year, scores of tall ships sail into Baltimore’s historic ship-building Inner Harbor as mobile museums. After exploring some of the ships that altered the course of human exploration and transportation, grab a Loose Cannon IPA. Clipper City is known as much for their whimsical beer labels under their popular Heavy Seas lineup as for their small-production winter reserve ale.

6. Free State Brewing Company, Lawrence, Kansas

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Kansas may be considered fly-over country, but as you look over the wheat fields, you’ll realize all those craft beers you’ve enjoyed your whole life were born right here. What better way to get in touch with the beer’s grainy lifeblood than a stop into Free State? Lemongrass Wheat is the perfect thirst-quencher for a summer afternoon on the prairie.

7. Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que Smokehouse & Brewery, Austin, Texas

While you’re in Austin checking out the music scene, get back to what Texas is really about by visiting Uncle Billy’s. Don’t expect to find a dark beer on tap, but the Back 40 Blonde is surprisingly hoppy. Also available are brews by the newly opened 512 Brewing.

When in Texas do as the Texans do and slather their signature habanero hot sauce on your food.

8. Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, New York

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Brooklyn Brewery‘s central location in the city makes it an easy stop-over between sites and events. Notable brews are The Pennant Ale ’55 and the Post Road Pumpkin, one of the best flavored ales around.

9. Sleeping Giant Brewery/Lewis and Clark Brewing Company, Helena, Montana

This small city is central to all locations in the Big Sky State but is best known for its deep roots in the boom-and-bust world of precious metals. Stop into Lewis and Clark (still known as Sleeping Giant to the locals) for a burger and a Tumbleweed IPA, one of the best IPAs in the country.

10. Deschutes Brewery & Public House, Bend, Oregon

Bend has become synonymous with rec-head culture. At Deschutes you’ll find friends recounting the day’s rides along McKenzie River Trail or how the world looked from atop one of the Three Sisters.

While the Deschutes brewery has a nice taproom, its Public House offers special brews — like cask-conditioned ales — that the brewery doesn’t.

11. Ale Asylum, Madison, Wisconsin

You expect something different from this funky Midwest college town and the Ale Asylum delivers. The cleverly named brews run the emotional gamut from Ambergeddon to Happy Ending, fitting perfectly with the underground culture of the city that gave us The Onion.

The brewers bring their eclectic tastes to the taproom. The Hopalicious APA, as the name suggests, tastes like it’s brewed on the other side of the Rockies.

12. Boundary Bay Brewery, Bellingham, Washington

A Boundary Bay Beer Flight. Via

A trip to the San Juans won’t be complete without a stop at Boundary Bay. Like most taphouses worth visiting, it’s often packed with locals. The IPA has the hoppiness associated with the Pacific Northwest, and the Amber is well balanced and smooth.

13. Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company, Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville Pizza does various takes on the traditional pie, and their Shiva IPA and Houdini ESP are both exceptional brews.

14. Moab Brewery, Moab, Utah

Moab is home to Canyonlands and Arches National Parks and is unique in the world for its mountain biking scene. When visiting the Moab Brewery, check out the Dead Horse (named after the famous Canyonlands vista point) and Deraillieur Ales.

15. AleSmith Brewing Company, San Diego, California

AleSmith shows you what craft brewing is all about. Both the brewmasters and their beers have won awards. They have a huge selection (by brewery standards) on tap, so expect to spend a full weekday afternoon sampling. Note: the taproom isn’t open weekends.

16. Long Trail Brewing Company, Bridgewater Corners, Vermont

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The Green Mountains of Vermont are home to the Long Trail, the oldest long-distance hiking trail in the U.S. It crosses the state’s highest peaks from the Massachusetts state line 270 miles north to the Canadian border. It’s also the namesake of Long Trail Brewing, one of New England’s premier micros.

Stop into their active brewery and see the action from a balcony above the floor on a self-guided tour, or just enjoy one of their signature ales on a balmy day in their riverside “beer garden.”

17. Twisp River Pub, Twisp, Washington

Northwest sport climbers and mountaineers alike will run across the small town of Twisp at some time in their lives, if only passing through to get to the exposed granite of the northern Cascades. The Twisp River Pub is excellent; Methow Brewing is a true microbrewery, keeping batches to 100 gallons or less for the highest quality. They also pull some beers by hand using a traditional beer engine.

18. Novare Res Bier Cafe, Portland, Maine

Old Port’s Novare Res has the best beer selection anywhere in New England. Whether you grab a seat inside at one of the wood-paneled bars or outdoors on the expansive patio, anything from Maine’s local Allagash Brewing is a good pick for a pint.

19. Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

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Expect something different from Dogfish Head beers — like the Raison d’Extra, a brown ale brewed with raisins. If you’re going to sample more than a couple, bring money for a cab. These beers not only have plenty of alcohol, but they seem to have been magically brewed to hit harder than most. Dogfish also handcrafts gin, vodka, and rum. Plan to sleep in.

20. New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, Colorado

New Belgium was one of the founders of the microbrew movement and has since grown to the point that it blurs the line between micro and macro. Their top-notch beers have a wide fan base, but they also put on a deep roster of community events focused on sustainability.

Don’t miss the summer Bike-In Cinema nights (think drive-in, but with bikes and beer). There’s nothing more pleasurable than lying back on the grass under glittering stars, sipping a Fat Tire Amber and enjoying a flick with 300 like-minded souls.

Explore the world party scene with 101 PLACES TO GET F*CKED UP BEFORE YOU DIE. Part travel guide, part drunken social commentary, 101 Places to Get F*cked Up Before You Die may have some of the most hilarious scenes and straight-up observations of youth culture of any book you’ve ever read.

This article was originally published on April 28, 2009.

How to travel to Africa without being another neocolonialist

Photo: Janice Waltzer

WELCOME TO AFRICA. Or rather, welcome to South Africa/Kenya/Ethiopia/wherever. Because it isn’t — as we routinely try to point out — a country at all.

But that’s a cheap shot. You knew that of course.

Yet there might be some stuff you didn’t know. Or knew, but weren’t paying particular attention to. So here’s a primer on some of the basics when coming to South Africa/Kenya/Eth…. Sod it. Africa. You’re coming to Africa.

1. Learn to love buses.

Photo: computerwhiz417

Seriously. Unless you are traveling on a bed of dollars (immaculate, post-2006 ones if you’re going to Congo), you’d better learn to love buses. Anywhere worth going can be reached by a bus. Even places that buses should really not be able to reach. By buses that should really not be allowed to try.

There are a million kinds. There are air-conditioned ones that feed you en route — just like the Greyhound back home. They will pop up in obvious places like Johannesburg and Nairobi. And not-so-obvious places like Khartoum. There are the ratty, dangerous kind that will sway, have shitty seating, and begin the journey with prayers.

And finally, there will be the completely screwed, used-to-ferry-livestock (and you) variety. Many of these may not even look like buses. Giant roaring monsters with not a single redeeming feature except that they’ll get you to where you want to go, and you may be allowed to sit on top for parts of the journey.

2. Drop the heroic voluntourism.

Nobody takes a holiday to London and drops in at the local slum to voluntour a few hours of singing and dancing with the local kids there. (Those English, they just have such rhythm in their culture!) It would be strange and condescending, and a bad idea for a whole range of reasons.

So don’t do it.

If you’re actually traveling to wherever in order to do some well-planned, real development work (setting aside a massive academic debate for a moment), then fine. If you’re coming for an adventure and would like to briefly get your Clooney on, please refrain. We’d much prefer it if you concentrated on having fun.

Also — while we’re undermining your explorer/hero fantasy — no two-tone khaki explorer clothing. Only the game ranger gets to dress like a game ranger. The same goes for references to ‘African Time’ or saying ‘T.I.A.’ to other travelers with a knowing look. Yes, it is Africa. But the problem at hand is likely that you’re being impatient and irritating. There are words for people like that on the continent, but they’re mostly shorter than three syllables, and children might read this.

3. Don’t be scared. Most of us are the 99%.

Someone probably told you something about Africa being scary. Where “scary” may have ranged from casual references to “Nairobbery” or Joseph Conrad, to something about an RPG-toting teenaged pirate in sandals.

The pirates exist. And some of them do indeed wear sandals. Of those, a handful may even have earned their rocket propelled grenades. But they are a minority of perhaps a few dozen in a continent of a billion, and unless your travel operator has you scheduled for deep-sea fishing in the Gulf of Aden, you will probably never meet any.

Conrad and being mugged in Nairobi — unless you’re intending to seek out specific places — are little more than exaggerated fantasies.

Read more: 5 African festivals you have to go to (and 2 to look out for)

99% of the people you meet will be friendly, civil folk. I’m assured by a colleague just back from Mogadishu that it’s probably around 90% there. Perhaps 83.7% in Bokara market (where they shot the famous Black Hawk down). But I digress.

Point is, Africa doesn’t bite. For the most part, everyone wants the same things as anyone else their age. To send their kids to college. Drinks with friends. An iPhone. That kind of stuff.

Very few people — RPG-carrying or otherwise — are sitting and waiting to harm you. So be scared of all the friends you’ll make instead.

4. Learn some photographic etiquette.

There are some photos we wish you would stop being so obsessed with. Things like:

You hugging our kids. You carry diseases and look a little too much like Angelina Jolie, except you aren’t bringing colossal amounts of UN funding when you leave.

Photo: Tim & Annette Gulick

You pretending to be “ethnic” in a non-ironic way. Hair in cornrows. Pretending to pump water. Stirring my porridge while your accomplice goes crazy with the shutter. Imagine walking around in America wearing a cowboy hat and chaps non-stop. Wanting to have a hand in pouring beer and flipping burgers everywhere while your friends take pictures. Yeah. It’s weird in the same way.
Photos of livestock. Lions and wildebeests we understand. You don’t have any, and in their thousands, they’re pretty damn awesome. But a goat on the roadside? Donkeys eating trash? Have you never seen a farm animal before?
The sun. The glorious, incandescent, I-had-a-farm-in-Africa sun. Granted, it looks glorious through a telephoto lens on the savanna the first dozen times, but it’s about as original as the Cape Town skyline.

If you exercise your creativity a little, you’d be surprised how much else is possible. Your friends and family back home will thank you for bringing back an account of your journey that reads like something other than KONY2012 dating the Lion King.

5. Check your playlist.

As you’ll be on a bus a great deal (because you’re going to interesting places) a playlist will be important. If you intend filling it with “African” music, you may be eligible for an intervention. Music by Shakira, Toto, K’naan or Johnny Clegg means you require diversification therapy.

“Nwa Baby” or Amadou & Mariam are good starts. Then go to a music shop nearby and ask what’s popular at the moment. You might find some gems.

You might. You might also hate it. Some places give national acclaim to truly terrible artists. But you won’t know unless you’re willing to give it a try. Kind of like visiting the continent in the first place.

White people from up north were busy for a very long time, wreaking the destruction that extracted slaves and built London and Brussels.
6. Read some history.

Particularly if you’re European. Your forebears had a description-defyingly-large impact on the continent. The Italians massacred the Ethiopians. The Germans annihilated the Herero in Namibia in the first genocide of the twentieth century. The English built concentration camps in Kenya and South Africa, to complement the bloody activities that Rhodes and Kitchener were up to at various points. Don’t even get me started on France or Portugal.

Or, God forbid, the Belgians.

The point is that white people from up north were busy for a very long time, wreaking the destruction that extracted slaves and built London and Brussels. Yet for all the profound histories that various African countries have, too few visiting foreigners have the slightest clue of them.

At best, it’s a little disrespectful and really deprives you of a rich understanding of the place (would you visit Germany knowing nothing of the Cold War or the Nazis?) At worst, it leaves you looking like an idiot when you metaphorically return “home” to Africa by flying into Cape Town. If you think you metaphorically “left” in the slave trade, you should be flying to somewhere in West Africa. If you’re speaking in terms of the exodus of ancient man, you probably want to go to Kenya or Ethiopia. Or Johannesburg.

So, history is important. For both of us. Us, because you pretty much took a giant historic sledgehammer to it. You, because it will make travel so much richer than animal spotting and faux-humanitarian photography (see above). Did you know there are pyramids in Northern Sudan? Or that Portugal sent soldiers to Ethiopia centuries ago to help their emperor in a holy war? And that the castles of said emperor remain in Gonder to this day?

Now you know. And Ethiopia and Sudan just became a world more interesting because of it.

* * *

I’m so glad we got all that out of the way. Things should be so much less awkward now. Let’s hug.

This article was originally published on October 11th, 2012.

Why millennials don't travel

Photo: Britt-knee

1. I don’t earn enough money to travel.

According to a Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, if you’re earning more than $35,300 a year, you’re making more than half of all millennials across the country. Incomes in general, when adjusted for inflation, have been falling in recent years.

Yet the people I met while traveling were definitely not the exception to this trend. I met several waiters, retail workers, baristas, and minimum-wage workers who had still managed to save money and travel with the income they had.

A lot of this has do expert budgeting, but much of it also has to do with how you plan your trip. For me, even expensive locations like Patagonia or Europe were affordable by tackling these places with budget tactics: hitchhiking and taking buses over renting cars and taking trains, going during off-season to get bargain prices, or camping/couchsurfing instead of staying in lodges or hotels. Income may dictate the way you travel, but it doesn’t have to dictate whether or not you travel at all.

2. My city is too expensive for saving money.

Surviving the city is no joke these days. A recent study found that the best cities for social mobility and professional opportunities are often also the most expensive places to live, a paradox that leaves most millennials unsure of how they can ever conquer the American Dream. The average rent in San Francisco, the city I moved to at 22 with my first real job, has now hit $3,200 a month, making it the most expensive city in the States.

Still, during those two years working as a teacher in the Bay Area, I managed to save enough money to travel by cutting out city-costs wherever I could: I got rid of a gym membership and biked/hiked instead. My roommates and I turned a two-bedroom apartment with an unnecessarily large living room into a three bedroom by building a partition. I rarely shopped; I took public transportation instead of cabs; and I ate Trader Joe’s frozen dinners instead of buying take-out.

A Silicon Valley techie recently wrote an article describing how he managed to trim his expenses down to $20,000 a year while living in the Bay Area, still saving enough for an occasional backpacking trip at the end of the year. Cities are tough, but they’re not impossible when you place your financial priorities in the right areas. It’s all a matter of downsizing your expenses now to experience something greater later.

3. I can’t give up my apartment.

With rents going up and housing opportunities often scarce, having to let go of a good deal you’ve had on an apartment can be reason enough to stay put. But with websites like Airbnb, House Carers, Mind My House, and others, subletting your place has never been easier. Many travelers even fund their adventures this way: using sublet money to pay their expenses and still having their warm, comfy home to come back to when they return.

4. I have too many student loans.

Millennials are experiencing the worst student debt in history: 40% of people under 35 have student loans, compared to only 23% in 1998. The magnitude of this debt is also far more crippling than it’s been for any other generation before. The Institute for College Access & Success says that on average last year’s college grads carried $28,400 in debt, compared to only $10,000 in 1998. So deeply in the whole, it’s understandable that many young people feel there’s no way to use their savings for travel.

Yet what’s less understood is what a gap year of travel does to a debt-repayment plan. Many longtime backpackers I knew simply budgeted their monthly payments into their travel expenses for each month, and still found it entirely manageable to do both at the same time. For example, a backpacker living off of $20 a day in Southeast Asia, can easily add $300 monthly debt payments and still end up only spending $900 a month to travel, far less than what many millennials would spend in a typical month in the United States.

5. I don’t know enough about handling finances to pull this off.

Much has been written about the financial illiteracy of most millennials today — we fail quizzes asking basic questions about financial planning, we don’t own credit cards, we’re distrustful of banks.

But managing finances abroad is a lot easier than many of us think. With online banking, most bills can be taken care of remotely. And daily expenses while abroad are easy if you prepare the right resources beforehand: opening an account with Charles Schwab ensures that all your ATM fees abroad are refunded. Applying for a travel rewards credit card ensures that you pay no international fees while traveling, and build up points and miles that could later lead to a free flight. Of course, exchange rates can be confusing at first and the stress of daily budgeting can feel overwhelming when you don’t have the safety of a monthly pay check. But most travelers learn that travel-finance skills are not nearly as intimidating as they previously had thought.

7 Americanisms that Brits don't get

Photo: Nathan Rupert

1. “Could you recommend a hoppy beer?”

In the United States, we’re undergoing something of a craft beer revolution. It’s pretty fucking great, because we’re finally no longer the country of faux-German pilsners made from pisswater. But the craft beer revolution has overcompensated for American beer’s previous tastelessness by hopping the bejesus out of their beers. We have beers named “Palate Wrecker,” “Hopsecutioner,” “Hopzilla,” and — no joke — “Hoptimus Prime.”

But beer hoppiness hasn’t been as big of a deal in the UK. Sure, it’s the country that invented the IPA, but whenever I’ve asked for “hoppy” beers in London, I’ve gotten quizzical looks, been asked if I meant, “happy beers,” and if so, what the fuck is a “happy beer,” and then, finally, berated by a surly bartender: “You realize all beers have hops, yeah? So every beer’s a fuckin’ hoppy beer.”

2. “I’m fucking pissed.”

You aren’t angry in the UK if you say this: you’re drunk. And let’s be honest, Americans — the British version of “pissed” makes way more sense.

3. “You will never catch me wearing a fanny pack.”

Actually, a Brit would never say this either, but only because “fanny” in the UK means “vagina” instead of “ass,” and thus “fanny pack” doesn’t exist as a term in the British vernacular. If you think about it, though, “fanny pack” makes more sense using the British meaning than the American one, considering which side of the body the fanny pack is usually worn on. Of course, this common sense doesn’t extend to the British term for fanny pack, which is “bumbag.”

What’s most frustrating about this term is that it originated in Britain, and the term has always referred to the vagina over there. So whoever brought it over to the United States and Canada decided to just fuck with everyone by having the body part it referred to moved three inches to the posterior. It would be like if America decided to take the English word “shoulder” and have it refer to the arm instead.

4. “Oh god, I can’t wait for Girl Scout cookie season.”

They are “Girl Guides” in the UK. Sorry Britain, you win for “pissed,” but we win at naming our proto-feminist organizations.

5. “Ah, I loved Where’s Waldo? books when I was a kid.”

Where’s Waldo? is actually a series that was created by a British writer, and it was not called Where’s Waldo? there originally. It was called Where’s Wally? in the UK, and the name was changed for reasons I can’t really fathom — it’s not as if Waldo is a more common name in the United States than Wally – but apparently Wally changed his name in a lot of places around the world. He’s Willie in Afrikaans, Walter in Germany, and Ubaldo in Italian.

This is a fairly common practice between the two countries: decide that the title doesn’t translate well between cultures (even though it basically does) so change it to something dumber. The best other example of this is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which America changed to Sorcerer’s Stone. The annoying thing about this change is that the Philosopher’s Stone is actually an ancient alchemical myth, while the Sorcerer’s Stone is nothing. It’s just an attempt to Disneyfy the title.

Britain occasionally does the same to our cultural products, though. There’s no such thing as White Castle in the UK, so they got to see the cinematic masterpiece Harold and Kumar Get the Munchies, and in Britain, everyone’s favorite heroes in a half-shell are the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles.

6. “Could I have some sprinkles on my ice cream, please?”

In my home state of Ohio, I’ve heard sprinkles referred to as jimmie sprills, which I will admit is a completely ridiculous name for sprinkles. But in the UK, they have been given the much wordier name, “Hundreds and Thousands.”

I have to give this one to the Brits as well — the name “sprinkles” is charming and to the point, but any time I get to go into an ice cream parlor and ask for “HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS” of anything, I feel like a billionaire. Or a god.

7. “My favorite year of school was probably my sophomore year.”

The Freshman-Sophomore-Junior-Senior High School system does not translate into British English because they have a different schooling system. The British schooling system is probably incredibly simple to Brits, but to me, it always sounded like the rules to cricket — completely labyrinthine and impenetrable. In the US, it’s relatively simple: first through twelfth grade, maybe followed by college, maybe followed by grad school.

In the UK, there’s college, but it’s not the same as uni, and students have to take things called A Levels and GSCEs and Forms, and you can choose to “sit” certain exams. I think America wins on simplicity, but I actually went to grad school in the UK, and found that I learned a lot more under the British system than I ever did under the American system. So we’ll call this one a tie.

30 things travelers do in their 30s

Photo: Jacob T. Meltzer

1. Have someone wait for them at the arrivals area with an embarrassingly large sign.

When Jeff and I arrived via train to Chiang Mai, we had someone from our guesthouse waiting for us with a very large, very white sign saying “Ms. A.” As we walked with the driver to the car with the very large sign in tow, I spotted a group of backpackers scoffing at us. I was offended until I realized I used to be one of them.

2. Spend more time updating LinkedIn than Facebook.

Because I need to work again someday and those pictures of me doing shots in a hostel weren’t doing me any favors.

3. Fly. Direct. With upgrades to economy plus.

I just can’t do three-day, five-connection bus trips anymore. In May, Jeff and I had two options from getting from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Fly direct in 2 hours
Take a 23-hour voyage by train, bus, and tuk-tuk for 25% less

Guess which option I picked.

4. Not speak to anyone for days.

There are stretches of weeks when Jeff and I only talk to each other because we’re staying in a hotel or apartment instead of living communally in a hostel.

5. Look up #YOLO.

Yup, I had no idea what that meant until earlier this year.

6. Check out how clean a restaurant is before eating.

When I was a younger, dirtier-looking restaurants seemed more “authentic” to me. In what universe did I think that was a good idea?

7. Stay in a hostel dorm bed, but only to see if they’ve “still got it.”

Grabbing the top bunk seemed like a good idea at time…until I realized I had to climb back down that ladder.

8. Buy travel insurance.

I didn’t own anything of value (including my Honda Civic) until I was 30, so the idea of buying travel insurance never occurred to me until last year.

9. Pose for photos at the same site in the same way as when they were 25.

Pinching the Eiffel Tower never gets old. Right?
10. Take one look at a crappy room for rent and walk away versus walking right in.

The internet in 2014 has thousands of options compared to my travel book in 2004.

11. Travel in groups of one or two, not 10.

I’ve noticed that unless it’s a tour group, herd-like traveling seems to dissipate for people in their 30s. Unless you count those stray cats I put in my backpack.

12. Bring a pharmacy.

This might be better filed under “Anxious Traveler,” but I’m now prepared for a medical apocalypse. My World Health Organization immunization card has more words than Anna Karenina and my toiletries bag has more prescriptions than Walgreens. When I traveled in my 20s, “well prepared” meant remembering to bring a band-aid.

13. Scoff at groups of young backpackers.

Whenever I pass younger backpackers heading out to party at 10 pm, I think “THANK GOD I’m going to bed now.”

14. Secretly admire groups of young backpackers.

Upon overhearing said backpackers regale their stories the next morning, I reminisce over my own days of partying with complete strangers whose name I never knew in cities I can barely remember.

15. Take hot water for granted.

While researching places to stay in Morocco, I found accommodations where hot water was a feature. I laughed until I remembered that the only hot water I used in India 15 years ago was from inserting a live metal coil into a pail of water. God knows how I never electrocuted myself.

16. Show up in a new city with hotel reservations.

Over ten years ago, I backpacked around Brazil for three months via bus. Every week or so, my traveling partner and I would hop on a bus and head to a new city. Then we’d walk around town until we found a guesthouse or hostel in our budget. I’ve cut it close on this trip, but we’ve always showed up in a city with somewhere to stay.

17. Handshakes before hugs.

What?!? You want to press your entire body up against mine before I even know your name?!

18. Book a first-class train / bus ticket instead of “roughing” it in second class.

My friend Marisa and I traveled in Europe and India together in our 20s. We were cheap and broke, so we’d always get around in the cheapest way possible.

We used to take turns sleeping on 2nd or 3rd class overnight trains so one of could serve watch against over-excited men and wily thieves. Once, when some men tried getting a little too personal on an overnight train, we sang “We are the World” at the top of our lungs until we scared off everyone, including the train attendant.

Now I’m willing to pay a little bit more to upgrade, because my lungs don’t work like they used to.

19. Sleep in a bed.

Gone are the days when I’ll sleep in the corner of a random bus station. Overnight.

20. Only drink from bottles with hermetically-sealed caps.

I could pull out the water sterilizer I still haven’t used, but what would I do without my daily liter of sparkling water?

21. Wear a blazer instead of a fleece jacket.

There was a time when looking like a backpacker was a source of pride. Today, I try to dress stylish by wearing the same clothes I’d wear at home. Wait a minute…that means I should be dressed like a backpacker.

22. Go to Starbucks.

There was also a time when I wouldn’t be caught dead in a multinational chain abroad. Today, I squeal with delight when I can order a double-tall, extra-hot soy latté. With extra foam.

23. Start their day at 6 am instead of 6 pm.

See #14

24. Replace Lonely Planet with Rick Steve’s.

Sorry LP, there’s a new sheriff guide in town.

25. Unpack the hair dryer from their suitcase…and then repack it.

I tried going without a hair dryer. However, after six weeks of looking like I’d touched a loose wire in Cambodia, I broke down and bought a hair dryer and hair iron.

26. Bring a suitcase.

I wish my backpack could grow wheels and a handle to give my aging back some rest.

27. Return home with money.

Since living with my parents is no longer an option, I need to budget during and after the trip.

28. Call home. And not just to ask for a loan.

I’m still going to pay you back someday, Mom!

29. Take a vacation from their vacation.

If you understand this, you’re probably over 30.

30. Dream about quitting their jobs to travel.

#YOLO

This article originally appeared on Expositions: Stories about the road (less) traveled. It has been adapted and republished here with permission.

48 ways traveling is like sex

Photo: Darian Wong

1. Sometimes a free breakfast is involved.

2. No matter what, there’s usually some baggage.

3. It can drive you crazy if you haven’t done it in a while.

4. It always leaves you wanting more.

5. There are times when you like doing it with other people. But there are also times when it feels way better doing it alone.

6. Sometimes you set your sights so high that you’re disappointed in the end. Other times, you have low expectations and experience something totally unexpected.

7. There are people who abstain from it. And you don’t understand why.

8. It has a distinct smell.

9. You know people who have done it more than you. You also know people who have not done it as much as you have.

10. Your entire personality changes during the course of the event.

11. It can be used as an escape, or to fill a void.

12. You can get a disease if you’re not careful.

13. If you’re good at it, you’ll do it a lot more.

14. Sometimes, you’re unsure of whether or not to do it, or whether or not it’s the right thing to do right now.

15. You definitely dream about doing it at the office.

16. You can do it more than once. You can do it all day, every day, if you really wanted to.

17. It’s completely natural.

18. Some people like to photograph it, or take videos.

19. Sometimes it’s for business. But mostly, it’s for pleasure.

20. You know the best places to find it on the web.

21. You can make a career out of it.

22. You need to use protection if it’s a risky situation.

23. Most people do it between the ages of 18 and 65, but some are younger and some are older.

24. The most popular time to do it is during the summer.

25. You can pick up good tips in a guidebook.

26. Trying something new for the first time is both exciting and scary, but you’re always happy to have done it afterwards.

27. Some people do it after careful planning. Other people are spontaneous about it.

28. You can do it on a train, a plane, in a car, on a boat…

29. Sometimes you leave stuff behind, like your underwear, or your phone charger.

30. It makes you feel really fucking good.

31. Your friends who haven’t done it might not “get” why you did it first. They might even be jealous. But they’ll do it eventually.

32. You can do it with strangers or people you know.

33. There are all kinds of different ways to do it — with a man, with a woman, with a group of people, or by yourself.

34. Sometimes, it’s horrible. I mean awkward, unsatisfying, sloppy, and overall not memorable.

35. It’s good for relieving stress.

36. Sometimes you wake up and are like, “Where the hell am I?”

37. It can take a long time.

38. There’s usually a bed, but sometimes there’s a couch involved.

39. Lots of people like to stay in hotels while doing it.

40. It can be addicting.

41. Even a bad experience can be better than no experience.

42. Finding people to do it with is sometimes tough.

43. Sometimes you get it for free; other times you pay too much for it.

44. Sometimes you leave a mess behind. And then there are times when you need to take a shower right after.

45. People sometimes come to you for advice about it.

46. It’s not always a good idea to do it with your best friend.

47. It can be exhausting.

48. You never forget your first time.

10 ways you’re making your life harder than it has to be

Photo: Gisela Giardino

1. You ascribe intent.

Another driver cut you off. Your friend never texted you back. Your co-worker went to lunch without you. Everyone can find a reason to be offended on a steady basis. So what caused you to be offended? You assigned bad intent to these otherwise innocuous actions. You took it as a personal affront, a slap in the face.

Happy people do not do this. They don’t take things personally. They don’t ascribe intent to the unintentional actions of others.

2. You’re the star of your own movie.

It is little wonder that you believe the world revolves around you. After all, you have been at the very center of every experience you have ever had.

You are the star of your own movie. You wrote the script. You know how you want it to unfold. You even know how you want it to end.

Unfortunately you forgot to give your script to anyone else. As a result, people are unaware of the role they are supposed to play. Then, when they screw up their lines, or fail to fall in love with you or don’t give you a promotion, your movie is ruined.

Lose your script. Let someone else star once in awhile. Welcome new characters. Embrace plot twists.

3. You fast forward to apocalypse.

I have a bad habit of fast forwarding everything to its worst possible outcome and being pleasantly surprised when the result is marginally better than utter disaster or jail time. My mind unnecessarily wrestles with events that aren’t even remotely likely. My sore throat is cancer. My lost driver’s license fell into the hands of an al-Qaeda operative who will wipe out my savings account.

Negativity only breeds more negativity. It is a happiness riptide. It will carry you away from shore and if you don’t swim away from it, will pull you under.

4. You have unrealistic and / or uncommunicated expectations.

Among the many shortcomings of your family and friends is the harsh reality that they cannot read your mind or anticipate your whims.

Did your boyfriend forget the six and a half month anniversary of your first movie date? Did your girlfriend refuse to call at an appointed hour? Did your friend fail to fawn over your tribal tattoo?

Unmet expectations will be at the root of most of your unhappiness in life. Minimize your expectations, maximize your joy.

5. You are waiting for a sign.

I have a friend who won’t make a decision without receiving a “sign.” I suppose she is waiting on a trumpeted announcement from God. She is constantly paralyzed by a divinity that is either heavily obscured or frustratingly tardy. I’m not disavowing that fate or a higher power plays a role in our lives. I’m just saying that it is better to help shape fate than be governed by it.

6. You don’t take risks.

Two words: Live boldly. Every single time you are offered a choice that involves greater risk, take it. You will lose on many of them but when you add them up at the end of your life, you’ll be glad you did.

7. You constantly compare your life to others.

A few years ago I was invited to a nice party at a big warehouse downtown. I was enjoying the smooth jazz, box wine, and crustless sandwiches. What more could a guy want? Later in the evening I noticed a steady parade of well-heeled people slide past and disappear into another room. I peeked and saw a large party with beautiful revelers dancing and carrying on like Bacchus. Suddenly my gig wasn’t as fun as it had been all because it didn’t appear to measure up to the party next door — a party I didn’t even know existed until just moments before.

I do this frequently. Those people are having more fun. Mary has a bigger boat. Craig gets all the lucky breaks. Ted has more money. John is better looking.

Stop it.

Always remember what Teddy Roosevelt said: “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

8. You let other people steal from you.

If you had a million dollars in cash under your mattress, you would check it regularly and take precautions to insure it is safe. The one possession you have that is more important than money is time. But you don’t do anything to protect it. In fact you willingly give it to thieves. Selfish people, egotistical people, negative people, people who won’t shut up. Treat your time like Fort Knox. Guard it closely and give it only to those who deserve and respect it.

9. You can’t / won’t let go.

These are getting a little harder aren’t they? That’s because sometimes you have to work at happiness. Some hurdles are too difficult to clear by simply adjusting your point of view or adopting a positive mindset.

Do you need to forgive someone? Do you need to turn your back on a failed relationship? Do you need to come to terms with the death of a loved one?

Life is full of loss. But, in a sense, real happiness would not be possible without it. It helps us appreciate and savor the things that really matter. It helps us grow. It can help us help others grow.

Closure is a word for people who have never really suffered. There’s no such thing. Just try to “manage” your loss. Put it in perspective. You will always have some regret and doubt about your loss. You may always second guess yourself. If only you had said this, or tried that.

You’re not alone. Find someone who understands and talk to that person. Reach out for support. If all else fails, try #10 below.

10. You don’t give back.

One way to deal with loss is to immerse yourself in doing good. Volunteer. Get involved in life.

It doesn’t even have to be a big, structured thing. Say a kind word. Encourage someone. Pay a visit to someone who is alone. Get away from your self-absorption.

When it comes down to it, there are two types of people in this world. There are givers and there are takers. Givers are happy. Takers are miserable. What are you?

This post was originally published at Thought Catalog, and is reprinted here with permission.

Be thankful that places like Fiji’s “Grand Canyon” and forward-thinking people still exist

I recently came across this video of the “River of Eden” in Fiji, which is the only protected watershed in the entire South Pacific. Take a minute to appreciate the story of this place and people, from Filmmaker Peter McBride, on “why the locals said no to easy money from resource extraction, and how they turned to tourism to fund a conservation area that protects one of the most beautiful rivers on Earth.” Win.

This snowboarding video is epic

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It’s about the connection to the mountains — not the competitions, not the sponsors, not the gear, not even the sick lines — says pro snowboarder Will Jackways in this short film.

Amen, brother.

Follow the stoke and find happiness. It’s not all that difficult, really; and you don’t have to be a professional athlete — your stoke can be anything. Find it, follow it, live it, share it.

Introducing the #Travelstoke World Map: Create yours today!

YOU’VE TRAVELED THE WORLD — now show the world where you’ve traveled! Matador is proud to introduce a rad new addition to your global experience: the #Travelstoke World Map. Our team has had a blast developing and testing it, and now we want YOU to be the first people on the Internet to create your own travel maps!

It’s super easy to get started: click on the image above, or this link to build your own map. Tick off the different countries you’ve visited, or hover over them to test your geography skills. Once you’re done, it’s easy to share your travels with friends and family on Facebook and Twitter. We’re betting they will be inspired by seeing all the places you’ve gone, and want to create their own!