Myself, Fran & Siobhan spent Saturday immersed in all things travel related at the Adventure Travel Show Live. After presenting to a diverse audience our STA Explorer programme and the World Traveller Internship (WTI) we had a few chats and gave out our goody bags to excited, budding nomads hoping to apply for the WTI and become STA Explorers.

After, Fran went and saw some of the talks and spread the STA travelbuzz word, whilst Siobhan and I went to check out the different travel stalls. First off was drinking Kava, the traditional Fijian drink, with Ben Keene from Tribe Wanted and Dylan (@travellingeditor). The Kava was mixed together by a very authentic looking Fijian and we all had to clap before we received our drink and then clap again after. It was hard to do so when we were almost gagging from the taste (think trees mixed with mud). However, after 3 cups of that and a very numb mouth, we set off giggling like school girls to chat to the STA Travel team who were all working hard giving out information on various deals and offers currently on while answering any questions people had about specific destinations.

We also spoke to the guy on the Mali counter, who taught us about classic Mali music before we made our way to the Healthy Travel talk with Jane Wilson. She taught us how to successfully remove a tick (grab it by the teeth and yank it out). The appropriate clothing to wear (tie trousers at the bottom over your boots to avoid bites and leeches). And how to get over a bout of diarrhea (LOTS of water and eat if you feel hungry).

From there we met Toni, our newest explorer, and we chatted all about her up coming travels. The previous evening had seen her meet a bunch of people to discuss her trip and she has already arranged to meet people while travelling and partake in a little couch-surfing!

All in all a great day!

Gap Year Go Getter Amar has been taking surfing lessons in Australia. Specifically he’s been to Spot X to get to grips with the board riding, a place that is great for honing the art and mastering the wave.

Well, that’s the idea anyway; sadly Amar didn’t quite find things as easy as he hoped despite having done it before,

“Three hour surf lesson and I couldn’t get on the board. On reflection I can attribute this to two reasons. The first being that my knee was playing up and putting weight on caused a sharp pain, the second reason being that beautiful women in wet suits are a little distracting.”

What can I say, two perfectly valid reasons for having trouble in the surf. Regardless of the difficulties, Amar had cool time just ‘lolling around in the waves’ and suggests giving surfing lessons a go if you haven’t already. Especially in Byron Bay if you’re in the area, but make sure to shop around as there are a heap of schools offering all sorts of packages.

Got something to add on surfing? Cool, do so below…

We’re a friendly bunch at STA Travelbuzz and the latest peep to feel our love is Anthony, better known across the world-wide-web as the Travel Tart.

Specialising in the offbeat his site is a plethora of the funny, odd and bizarre in the travel sphere, something he explains in his mission statement,

“I, the Travel Tart, shall devote my life to endlessly finding dubious ways (i.e. providing dodgy and funny Travel tips) to finance my ever worsening travel addiction, to experience as much culture, fun and people’s hospitality as possible before I leave this planet. Oh, and I might pass on these silly offbeat funny travel tips to others in the process.”

As far as I can tell, he’s standing by this resolutely with recent posts on the elephant seals of Macquarie Island being almost as big as elephants and the best ambient lighting in Botswana. Don’t be fooled though, amongst the humour is much information worth taking away should you be the travelling type. So why not pop over and say hello or at least follow him on Twitter… we are!

Mike and Bex have travelled from Cambodia onto Thailand, moved into a plush hotel and begun a month long project with RealGap. It has its pluses as far as meeting new pals, but Mike is not entirely impressed, saying

“we are basically in a huge group with a tour guide and whilst we certainly are getting to see some interesting stuff it definitely feels as though the sense of adventure has been lost.”

It sounds like they’re having fun despite this though – and amidst a whole host of drunken antics, they have been busily looking around Bangkok – and taking in the scenery.

“We have gone to lots of temples (which are nice but they’re built in the style of Angkor Wat, and we’ve been to Angkor Wat so they’re not as good), and today we went to a school (we stood in front of a class and sang Incy Wincey Spider, and then they sang the Thai version), and a really lovely riverboat dinner”.

Keep an eye on their blogs, to see how the volunteering and chilling progresses.

An interesting thread has been bubbling away over on Lonely Planet forums. Everything kicked off with jacs75 asking for recommendations for group guided tours in Egypt for an ‘off the beaten track’ experience for the ‘young at heart’. There have been a few suggestions including loz_26 recommending the Top Deck tour, for uner 25s with a local guide, that she’d booked through STA Travel. And the comments have moved to a wider debate about whether guided tours are a help or a hindrance in getting insight into a country.

Have you been on the STA / Top Deck tour and would you recommend it? Have you found a tour helped you get to grips with Egypt or made you feel like a herded cow? Jump in and join the debate.

At the TravellersPoint, in amongst the Asia forum Matt, who is looking to spend a month in Thailand has asked when the best time to go is. Presumably an thorough fellow he has also tagged on the end a note wondering how much money he’ll need to see him through a four week tour.

Im looking at my next trip for next year and I was thinking about Thailand for a month. Could someone please tell me when is best to go there, Im planning on going to the islands, phuket probably land in Bankok so spend a few days there. I was wondering when most travellers tend to go over.
Also how much money would you recommend I need, im not planning on living the high life in 5* hotels, more hostels etc try and possible experience how they live out there.

Cheers, Matt

There have been a couple of responses offering Matt details about the best time to go, and now we’ve got Jen of STA do divulge some travel gems of information regarding where and how much.

Continue reading »

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… Continue reading »