As regular readers of the ‘buzz know, I love a good pun, so when I noticed that a new beta travel site called Go Planit had joined Twitter, I knew this was something I had to check out. ‘A social travel planning tool for personalised trips’, Go Planit lets you pick your destination and dates, and then helps you create an interactive itinerary through a list of community rated attractions and activities, accommodation, and dining and partying venues for that area, which you can then share with others or download.

It’s actually pretty addictive, and I would imagine particularly useful for group trips. I couldn’t see an easy way to embed it on another webpage or blog, which would have most appeal, but I’m sure there are more feautres in the offing. Online itineraries are the kind of thing I can’t decide whether they’re just fun to fiddle with, or properly useful in the real world.  Do you use them?

The reliably witty Andrew (who in his capacity as STA Explorer goes by the less than pithy but undeniably informative moniker 7 months, 12 countries),  has reached the Chinese stage of his round the world trip through India, Asia and South America. And he’s already causing merry mayhem, with plenty of advice on his blog for travellers on what NOT to do while you’re there.

Top of the list is don’t spend the night on the Great Wall of China:

we spend most of the night marching back and forward like border guards along a 20 metre stretch which we thought we couldn’t fall off to try and keep warm. earlier on we tried our best to avoid drawing attention to ourselves in case we ended up in a gulag. from midnight onwards we attempted to start a fire in the hope of ending up in one of them

Another top tip is don’t visit Mongolia on a national holiday:

bus to chinese border town - 15 hours. sleep in odd hotel - 5 hours. time to cross the most messed up border in the world to Zamen Uud - 7 hours. Being told there are no trains to Ulaan Bator or back to beijing - priceless

Although having to sleep in the taxi driver’s yurt with sheep milk curds for supper may not be the height of luxury, it’s nothing if not authentic. Andrew is apparently now spending his time exploring Beijing and ‘taking the piss out of mao loudly’. Oh dear. I have a feeling that another post with a title very similar to the above may be coming pretty soon.

STA Explorer Isobel Jones has discovered the just how useful a head torch can be. Now a month and a half into her nine month stay in Nepal, where she is studying Buddhism in a monastery in Boudhanath, Isobel is doing a brilliant job of updating her blog despite the Nepal Electrcity company ‘load shedding’ - cutting the power - for 35 hours a week (and rising). Describing how difficult it can make life in her post ‘It’s all gone dark’, Isobel, advises:

if you are coming here to lovely Nepal anytime soon (and it is lovely when you can see it), bring a head torch and probably a wind-up torch as well (and if they do wind-up head torches now, bring one of those! )

Despite this, she’s posted another update on her past weeks, where she’s achieved a number of firsts, including: her first lessons with Tibetan tutor Sonam; her first purchase of a traditional Madal drum (and of getting ripped off in the process); her first fluent sentence spoken in Tibetan; and her first experience of a Bandh, a dramatic strike by local people - a pre-democracy ploy to get their voice heard, which remains their method of complaining about how the country is run. She’s always happy for a bit of conversation so go and post a comment or a question to find out more about acclimatising in this country that she ‘really, really’ loves.

Young STA Explorer Emma  is travelling the world all by herself, so she knows better than most the need to be prepared and deal quickly with any difficulties that crop up along the way.

So she needed her wits about her when she found herself:

in singapore. I’m in my hostel. I can’t get into my hostel room though because the STA branch didn’t give me a copy of my voucher…and they won’t accept any other proof of payment

Emma describes how she solved the dilemma, phoning round until she found a branch open in Glasgow, where she explained the situation and got the voicher emailed to her. But it’s a good reminder to ask an STA agent to double check they’ve given you all the relevant vouchers and documents before you set off, and store them safely and sequentially. Evidently, if you’ve pre-booked a hostel, it could be the only way to be sure you’ll get in.

Emma’s now having a blast in Chiang Mai, so head to her LiveJournal to get inspired to go solo in Thailand.

Photographer and Asian explorer Stu (aka ‘The Taipan’) has found his own solution to the problem of unreliable net access when abroad. Finding it difficult to stay switched on during his trip in Indonesia, Stu instead compiled his blog posts and photos as he went and is now uploading them once he’s back.

He’s just uploaded his first post , describing his arrival in Ubud and the fantastic accommodation at Artini cottages, as well as adding his first lot of photos to his Flickr account - they’re enough to make you weep on a cold autumn day in the UK.

Keep an eye on The Taipan’s Space of Jolly Goodness for more Indonesian tales and tips as Stu uploads, and ask him any questions about the experience on the blog or through his Twitter.

Global gallivanter and STA traveller Tim continues his regular and colourful updates on his 8 month, pan-continental journey with help from his array of tech toys, not least his beloved EeePC. While sharing his travels with the help of his gadgets hasn’t been without it’s struggles - he is still encountering glitches with his GPS and Google maps, and his overloaded rucksack has resulted in a beauty of a bruise - Tim’s worked his way round the issues to have plenty of success.

In Merida, Mexico, he recommends the Nomadas Youth Hostel for the Wireless access in the picturesque gardens (not to mention the free salsa lessons!) and he’s currently using his free time in airports on his way to Bermuda to upload a fresh lot of photos from his adventures in the Caribbean and Playa de Carmen.

What technology setbacks and successes have you encountered on the road, and what are your top tips for a social media friendly trip? Send us your links, chat with Tim via Twitter or make a comment on his Random Projects blog.

Planning a career break? Fancy recapturing your foot loose and fancy free days of student wandering but with all the comfort you’ve become accustomed to now you have a bit more money and style (not to mention a dodgy back that can’t handle hostel bunkbeds?)

You’re an ideal candidate for flashpacking. Described by The Flashpacker Guide as:

Backpacking with tech gadgets, like a laptop, i-pod digital camera and mobile phone…[or] backpacking on a bigger budget

flashpacking combines technology and travel to create a switched-on and ramped-up travelling experience for the modern gentleman wanderer. In all aspects of a trip - transportation, meals, accommodation, adventures - the flashpacker aims to find the cream of the crop, the hidden gems and exclusives, that are both comfortable and culturally authentic.

Some flashpackers are gadget-laden geeks, others are more cash-flashing culture vultures, but whatever their persuasion, flashpackers are ideally placed with both equipment and experience to create some brilliant social media records of their travels. Blogs worth reading include The Tux in the Backpack, Mcsilly’s Adventures, Flashpacker Backpacking, Flashpacking Wife and theflashpacker.com. There’s a whole community of tips and recommendations at flashpacker.org and even a video network, flashpacker.tv.

Are there any STA travellers out there who reckon they’re flashpackers? We’d love to hear your stories of living the nomad high life.