Our STA Explorer, Seven Months Twelve Countries is on his way and his blog Nice To Meet You is gathering pace. Currently Andrew is fleeing Mumbai, heading to the mountains in the North for some peace and quiet after the hectic start to his journey in the most populated city in the world, 13 millions stories my friend.

His latest post describes the Mumbai experience, titled Mumbai Madness you get a good impression of what he made of it. Be sure not to imagine that madness though as the ‘rave’ sort, its more the:

“Noise, hassle, taxis, drowning elephant gods in the sea.”

In fact it might even be fair to say that his time in Mumbai was not the best:

“I’ve been ripped off numerous times, stood in plenty of cow poos and had a drunken taxi driver crash over a central reservation - the only central reservation in Mumbai, it possibly threw him.”

Don’t let this put you off though, as Andrew says himself, when reading back his post it does sound as if his time in Mumbai was an entirely negative period in his life. There were, however, mitigating circumstances…

Andrew has some interesting priorities for his round the world trip packing. Our latest STA Explorer, who will be using social media to share the tips and tales of his travels with us over the next 7 months, will be visiting India, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru - so some serious preparation is in order.

His first post outlines how he decided on his itinerary and sorted out his visas and insurance with help from the Kensington branch of STA Travel - useful reading for anyone considering a similar jaunt. However, he has also been stocking up on some essential equipment, and with 5 days before departure he decides to do a test run:

I took all of my new gear to Keswick at the weekend to test it out. The mosquito spray was useless, as was the penknife. I sprayed a badger and knifed a squirrel but they were never real threats to my safety. The best thing I took by far was the head torch. Mainly for the fun factor. You feel like you’re in a swot team, when all you’re really doing is annoying people.

Oh dear me. It sounds like this is going to be a very interesting trip indeed. May the outraged comments on his blog from the Squirrel Protection Society commence.

It’s the oldest cliche in the book that travellers set off to far-flung places to ‘find themselves’. But it’s also very true that many of us harbour a secret desire to escape our humdrum existence, press eject from the sedentary sofa of our comfort zone, and go and blow our minds and nourish our souls.

So I suspect a fair number of us busy, wired, sometimes disillusioned netheads will be intrigued by Isobel Jones’ blog posts, photos and videos. Our new STA Explorer has just arrived in Nepal, where she will be spending a good nine months studying Buddhism in the foothills of the Himalayas. In her blog’s about page, Isobel explains:

I strongly suspect that many of my preconceptions about Nepal and living there will be wildly inaccurate; even having pored over some of the guidebooks and websites as I have.  So one of the things I am interested in exploring is how the ideas and perceptions I have now differ from my actual experiences later on.  I am also going to be writing about the pitfalls and joys of preparing for what is quite a radical change and upheaval in my life.  My hope is that as this blog builds up it might be of interest and benefit to other people thinking of traveling in the region.  We’ll see!

Like all our Explorers, Isobel will be seeing just how well she can use social media to enhance and connect others to her experiences travelling with STA Travel. Isobel’s currently blogging about the culture shock in Boudhanath Supa - cow festival, curfews, clean water and all - and has just uploaded her first set of photos from the stunning region. So head on over to ask questions, lend advice, or simply enjoy the stories of our spiritually inclined adventurer.

Over in Lonely Planet forums, Nick is ‘planning on going to India from Bangkok and traveling up into Nepal’ and has asked other wanderers on the web for their advice so he can make the most of his time oop north in India:

what would be the best city to fly into (cheapest) in order to then travel my way up into Nepal. The train system would be the best way of doing this right? and what places would be a must to see in India. I have been there 3 times before as a kid (i am now 18) and i would like to spend most time up north as i enjoy the cooler climate and the whole “hill station” vibe. so any advice on towns to see, places to visit and just general advice for a trip across india. i hear its a tuff gig.

Go and read the advice of the other members on the board and lend your own. For our part, STA Travel kindly lent the services of one of their Sheffield staff and an old hand at Indian travel, Simon Rocchi, to give some insider insights into the best way to make the most of such a trip… (more…)

Kashmir is a beautiful region as the eponymous Rob, of Rob’s Travel Blog mentions in his detailed post about his experiences in the region, they’ve even got a sign to let you know.

Kashmir is an absolutely gorgeous place. Upon entering the Kashmir Valley, you are greeted with a sign that says, “Welcome to Heaven on Earth.” It was a very beautiful and, I am sure at one point, tranquil place.

Less distracted by the scenery however was Heroclio, who keeps readers updated from a TravelPod Blog on all she’s up too, including local delights such as the hobbly hobbly… interesting.

Another cool post on the Kashmir region and all it offers, (which is a lot judging by the content of the next link) comes courtesy of the Mark and Emma Travel Blog. It features among a plethora of other things tailored suits, desert festivals, moustache competitions, the rat temple, skiing and a cow seemingly trying to get a massage, see below.

If such things get you ‘well-up’ for seeing Kashmir then there’re worse things to do than skimming through these threads from the Lonely Planet forums on safety in Kashmir and importantly, planning a Kashmir adventure!

Yes It’s time for us to wheel out another another example of travel blog excellence to encourage us poor lumpen plebs to transform our pedestrian travel journals into things of sparkling splendour.

The new entry into our coveted Hall of Fame is Old World Wandering. In 1997, Iain Manley and Claire van den Heever travelled overland from London to Shangai, passing through the UK, Western Europe, India and South East Asia, covering a foot-blistering number of famous cities as well as smaller towns and rural villages, and recording their journey here. It’s quite simply the most beautifully written travel blog we’ve found so far- evocative, thoughtful and entertaining, peppered with quotations, anecdotes and an incredible level of detail - the portraits of the locals they meet along the way are particularly powerful.

The design is elegant and easy to search, with a map of their journey and professional-standard photos illustrating each destination. Most importantly, it is clean and uncluttered, leaving the fantastic writing to be the focus of the blog, with each piece prompting plenty of comments from fellow travellers.

And Claire shows that blogging isn’t just important for sharing stories with others, but encourages a much more switched-on approach to adventuring: ‘a habit of writing about my travels will hopefully unlock the thoughts that may otherwise dissolve in my head.’

Who could ask for better reason to become a travel blogger?

Kate Good has noticed STA offering a ‘road to Kathmandu’ excursion and is asking if anyone on the EuroTrip forums has been on one: ‘I have only ever travelled on my own up to now, so not really sure what to expect’.

Profound cultural revelations? Hallucinations and blisters? Silly hats and lots of eye-spy? As you can tell, I haven’t partaken myself, so I need some friendly online travellers to give some advice instead. Whether you met ‘pilgrims, villagers, sadhus and shopkeepers’ on the 15-day Delhi to Kathmandu tour or experienced any of the STA Nepal excursions, visit the forum thread and tell Kate if it was a bum, or the bomb. I found a couple of old - although admittedly enthusaistic and detailed - blog entries from STA travellers doing the Nepalese tours here and here, but it would be nice to hear from someone who’s been a bit more recently.

The replies on Kate’s thread so far are mainly warning about the dangers of Maoists and altitude sickness, so I’m hoping someone somewhere has had a nice time on one, preferably in a silly hat.