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…

It is that time again and the venue bearing witness to lime green lycra glory this time is the Teotihuacan Pyramids, Mexico.

The Mankini on a Mission known as Malph was spoilt for choice in Mexico on where or what to do when it came to Mankini-ing the country. He lists about dozen possibilities, including some what would have been awesome images, Day of the Dead festival in Oaxaca, Mexican pipeline in the surfing mecca of Puerto Escondido and Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling). There was a Mankini attempt made at a Lucha Libre event, but it just didn’t work out due to security and camera batteries…

Such an array of opportunities prompted Malph into giving the advice to anyone travelling to Mexico to get out and see what the country has,

“Swine flu aside, Mexico has a lot to offer a traveller, be they backpackers or vacationers, with an array of both natural and man-made wonders. […] travellers who have enough gumption to do so will be duly rewarded.”

Back to the mankini – the Teotihuacan Pyramids weren’t the easiest photo to capture (he didn’t have a photographer), but thanks to the Blackheart Gang it was achieved… see the full gallery here.

He’s now off to Los Angeles. Does a photo opportunity with Sacha Baron Cohen await? We hope so…

Malph’s most recent mankini activity has seen him dive the Blue Hole in Belize! This stage of the International Mankini Challenge has seen our lime green lycra loving Explorer enjoying the aquatic joys of the former British colony.

Belize’s Blue Hole is world famous and, as you can tell from Malph’s description, it is easy to see why,

“[It] is a 125m deep sink hole in the Caribbean Sea. Once above water, the Blue Hole was a limestone cave whose roof fell in once sea levels rose and it was submerged. Divers go down to depths of about 40m here to swim through the stalactites and stalagmites and see the Belize Reef Sharks that frequent it.”

The Blue Hole dive is a little tricky so the mankini remained packed away. Fortunately though Belize is also home to the second largest coral reef in the world, a sight which was taken in by Malph with a further two dives and thusly, underwater mankiniing became a reality.

You can see all the pictures here…

Regular readers will already be well aware of the International Mankini Challenge, and for those who aren’t, the concept is simple – our STA Explorer Malph Mankinis up and snaps himself in locations around the world.

His latest entry though is a little down beat at the beginning due to a lack of willing participants getting involved with his mighty task. However, the day is saved by Berno!

“I met Berno in March 2009 where he was working behind the bar in the Loki Hostel in La Paz, Bolivia. I’d just come back from cycling the World´s Most Dangerous Road in the Mankini and unlike others who shook their heads and said I was mad, Berno just smiled and told me it was a great effort.”

Merely meeting Malph wasn’t enough for this fellow, and yes, as you can see from the thumbnail, Berno decided to join the swimwear party stripping off in the Cock and Bull Bar in Bondi Beach, Australia.

If you fancy sharing the joy of Mankini wearing and make Malph a happy man in the process, then click through to the International Mankini Challenge and see how it’s done. All that remains then is to get on your lycra, start travelling and go wild…

Our STA Explorer Malph, (Mankini on a Mission) isn’t all about hi-vis lycra swimwear designed for the more out-going gentlemen. As a member of our fold we asked him his thoughts on how things have changed in the world of backpacking, and since he’s a well travelled and willing sort his response on back-packing in 2009 is exactly what we were hoping for.

“It maybe surprising to some that in the three years since I last decided to grab my backpack and head to pastures new that the way people travel has changed significantly. There are the obvious changes in technology that keeps everyone up to date with your latest adventures, but there are subtler changes too in terms of the kind of people you meet, where they are from and which countries they are going to.”

His post goes into detail under the sub-headings of ‘what’s changed’, ‘still true in travelling today’ and ‘the backpacking of tomorrow – the next 30 years’. Each is insightful and well written, plus, as I’m sure some of his fellow STA Explorers will concur, evident in the day-to-day of travel.

There is also a brilliant quote from Jon Krakauer’s book Into the Wild – I can’t speak of the book (must read more), but I have seen the film adaptation and it is a splendid piece of work telling a superb story – which Malph feels captures the mind-set of the back-packer. It is well worth a philosophical moment of your time.

I recommend heading to the post instantly if you haven’t already. And all that remains is to find a suitable picture to accompany this post and thank Malph for his thoughts - thank you Malph!

It is that time again, Malph has uncovered the magnificent hi-vis green statement garment that is his Mankini and this time it is hotter than usual. It is safe to say that at Volcano Pacaya the international Mankini challenge really heated up,

“Roasting marshmallows is the thing to do at the Pacaya Volcano to illustrate quite how close to the lava you are. It literally takes seconds to cremate them. Indeed, the main challenge is to keep the soles of your shoes as the lava runs underneath the rocks you’re stood on melting them away from the uppers. […] And so hopping from foot to foot to keep my shoes at room temperature, and my balance, I took off my clothes to reveal the Mankini in all its glory.”

Also included in the post is a revealing of the Mankini at Tikal, a Mayan City that interestingly to film buffs and sci-fi fans alike featured as the forest moon of Endor, home of the Ewoks, in the Star Wars films.

Guatemala is now in the bag and the challenge is moving onto Belize where Malph is looking for a photographer willing to take pictures underwater – intrigued? We are…

The impossible Malph decrees is definitely something (as opposed to nothing to overcome) is Parque Nacional El Imposible in El Salvador, something he realised after a hard fought climb through the tropical mountain forest.

In El Salvador, Malph was hoping to bring the International Mankini Challenge to Playa El Tunco in the heart of country’s surf region. However, this was scuppered by a poor swell and army of jellyfish…I can imagine the Mankini doesn’t offer a lot of protection against stinging invertebrates and Malph has the scars to prove that these fellows are mean critters. Having already passed good options for Mankini moments in El Salvador there was only one choice to find a suitable spot,

“I relied on the traveller’s bible, The Lonely Planet, to provide the solution – Tacuba, specifically Parque Imposible, an hour from the Guatemalan border (and my next stop).”

The trek was tough, seven hours of precarious footing, dizzying drops and over treacherous tree roots, but as a man who’ll always rise to the challenge, Malph continued and was rewarded with these images. He admits that they may not be the best, but, as you can tell from his post, they represent some sterling and extremely hard work!