STA Travel’s World Traveller Internship launched on Tuesday and Malph of International Mankini Challenge fame was in attendance. He’s put a call out to those who aren’t sure if three months free travelling might not be for them, to just do it and get onboard. He reckons it might be the best thing you ever do.

When asked about his adventures he’s noticed that three things are commonly said to him, each of which drives him to distraction. They are, ‘you’re so lucky’, ‘is it dangerous there’ and ‘back to the real world’ – each phrase, and its short-comings are exposed by Malph. For example when discussing the naiveté around the remark ‘you’re so lucky’, he makes a very valid point,

“Not to travel is easier than travelling and a lot of people confuse backpackers with being lucky because they’ve taken the decision and made the effort to make their dreams a reality.”

As he makes his case as to why each phrase is merely small talk at best, you’ll find yourself thinking why are you not shaking it like a Polaroid picture in Brazil, partying like it’s 1999 in NYC or getting physical, physical trekking through Tibet. By the time you get to the moment where Malph tells you to,

“[…] get your video camera out, make the best film for the STA World Traveller Intern, pack the mankini and send us the pictures!”

You’re already rooting for that tripod in the back of your wardrobe you’re sure you once had and trying to source a copy of Final Cut. If you fancy realigning your reality, jump to the World Traveller Internship site and sign yourself up. There’s a lot to see in this small world and what better way to start…

Australia’s Northern Territory reaches out from the Red Centre and Uluru to the lush bushland of the Top End. And as the STA Travel website says,

“[There is] so much more than barren desert between the outback township of Alice Springs and the vibrant tropical city of Darwin, it’s an adventure not to be missed.”

@curiouscheese (Chris – Hang 10 and Party) and @neilusborne have put forward some ideas and tips via Twitter on what to do in the Northern Territory. Chris goes with the box of death with crocs and the lush Litchfield National Park and advises on dealing with the ‘steamingly hot’ conditions. Neil enjoyed the hand feeding of wallabies and can’t put into words the magnificence of Uluru.

If you want the real outback then spending some time among the rugged vistas of Australia’s Northern Territory is going to be the place to start.

If you’ve any tips or advice to add to the above then leave them in a comment below.

We’ve got a new STA Explorer shaped duo documenting their travelling experiences – Mike and Michael, who despite travelling together will be blogging separately and going under the names Moscow Mike and Stranger in Moscow.

The travelling pair is beginning in Moscow (I can tell you’re surprised…) and heading from there to Mongolia >> China >> Vietnam >> Cambodia >> Laos >> Thailand and then… who knows? It’s exciting stuff.

They’re yet to set off but have their blogs in place – Manchester to Bejing and Manchester to Beijing and other musings. There is also a vimeo channel! I get excited when we have the potential for some serious vlogging. It’s currently a sort of Adam and Joe Show set-up (with Guinness), arguably less dynamic though (possibly the Guinness). But I for one can’t wait for more.

Finally then an official welcome to Mike and Michael as they step aboard the STA travelbuzz train, destination traveltastic.

*Update 08/02/2010*

We’ve just heard that Mike has had to pull out of the trip! Nooooo! Despite this sad news Michael is going it alone. It’ll be less Adam and Joe… more just Adam, but we don’t mind we’re just looking forward to seeing how the trip goes.

As he is no longer one half, Michael has changed his blog to work>travel>repeat… click through to see what he’s up to.

Last night we headed down to STA Travel’s Victoria branch for the launch party of the World Traveller Internship. STA Travel are now accepting applications for the two intern positions, who’ll be charged with travelling the globe for three months, whilst creating all sorts of online content about where they are and what they’re doing – for free. There is plenty more pictures like the one to the left on our Flickr account if you’re keen to see what went on.

Excitement was high as the application process was revealled, with attendees looking for the inside track on what STA Travel are going to be looking for from hopeful applicants. Speaking afterwards there was already creative murmurings, STA Explorers @makinimalph and @spintheglobe kept quiet about the details of their endeavours, but, from what was said and their previous experiences, expect them to be in the running.

Applications for the five stage interview, as I previously mentioned, are now being accepted so get on over to www.worldtravellerinteern.co.uk and register. Stage one is fairly straightforward,

“Create a 2/3 minute video telling us why you’ve got what it takes to become a World Traveller Intern. The video should be posted as a response to our video here. Then create your profile here and submit the link to your YouTube video.”

Once that’s done you’ll need to get it noticed so start sharing it wherever you can – friends, family, Facebook, Twitter and wherever else you think would be interesting and/or valuable.

This is of course though only stage one of five, but to help you through we’ve got some hints and tips from Chris Danner who was STA Travel USA’s Intern in 2009.

There you have it. Does it sound like your sort of thing? Then what are you waiting for? If you’ve got a passion for travel and some knowledge to share then get yourself on YouTube – it’s the beginning of the chance to spend three months visiting some of the best locations in the world.

If you want anymore details get in touch with us, or if you reckon you’re ready to go head to STA Travel’s World Traveller Internship site. Good luck!

We’ve got a new STA Explorer – An Asian Adventure.

Toni has had enough of the rat race and has therefore decided to embark upon a tour of Asia. Her intention is to blog her way around the continent. As a keen photographer she’ll be updating her Flickr account along the way.

She’s still a got month to go before leaving, but there is plenty of travel chat on her site Reclaiming My Future. Looking to make the most of her trip she’s connecting all over the place and planning like mad,

“My couch-surfing inbox is always open at the moment with 2 or 3 messages a day from people that I’m either seeing in London, have asked for advice from or will be meeting on my travels. I’m also talking to a dive company arranging my open water course and live aboard boat trip which takes in 22 dives! It’ll cost quite a bit of money but it’ll all be worth it…what an amazing experience it will be.”

Couch-surfing is very cool and 22 dives on a live aboard trip – this really is going to be an Asian adventure of epic proportions. Welcome to the STA travelbuzz collective!

Be sure to keep up and in touch with Toni and all our other STA Explorers travelling experiences here. And if you’ve got a trip coming up and would like to get involved with what we do get in touch by either email or Twitter.

STA Travel has outlined the itinerary that will become an amazing collection of pins in a map for the two winning candidates who take up the World Traveller Intern positions on offer.

The launch party is tomorrow, Australia Day nonetheless, and we’re looking forward to seeing you there. It’s an open invite so if you’re worried about coming on your own, bring a friend, bring three if you like. It promises to be an enticing look at what the World Traveller Internship is going to entail, from the application process to, for the successful applicants, stepping on that plane beginning three months of paid travel.

Come down to the STA Travel Victoria store tomorrow to join the fun, it’s all set to kick off at 7:30pm. There’ll be some food and drink, music from our Spotify playlist (please add your own travelling tracks) and a lot of travel based excitement. All the details are on this wiki along with a guest list, to which you can add your own name should you wish to confirm your attendance.

It’s like Chris, our STA Explorer Hang 10 and Party, says,

“[…] the STA Travel internship is basically the most traveltastic job you could hope for. More adventures than your bank balance can afford and more exciting than reviewing street mimes for a Lonely Planet Guide – the internship will see two lucky backpacker types jetting around the globe on an STA funded all inclusive tour.”

He’s got it about right. And we’ve not even mentioned that itinerary yet! SE Asia >> Australia >> New Zealand >> Latin America >> Miami – see Cam’s reaction to it below or on our newly setup Qik profile.

Hopefully we’ll see you tomorrow night, be sure to send us an email or a tweet if you want to know more.

Just wanted to send out a reminder to all those with a love of travel and a desire to get away. The launch of STA Travel’s World Traveller Internship is happening on Tuesday 26th January in the STA Travel Victoria store from 7:30PM.

Two individuals will take up positions with the brand as a World Traveller Intern and go around the globe, adding their own insider knowledge to STA Travel’s expertise. If you reckon this could be you then pop down to the store on Tuesday night and hear straight from the horse’s mouth what you’re going to need to do to get the run on everyone else.

You can look at all the details on this wiki, as well as add you’re name to the list of attendees. We’ve also created a Spotify playlist for the night so we’ve all got something to dance the night away to, while making our way through the free food and drink. If you’re coming along then simply follow the link and add your own travelling tracks to the list.

Cam and I look forward to seeing you there!