Friday, December 2, 2011
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A boy running through the cherry trees in Afghanistan
My friend sent me a link to this really cool Afghanistan video focusing on day to day life in the war torn country. I hate it when media ruins public perception of a country, and while I have yet to visit Afghanistan, I'm confident real life for most of the 34 million people living there is closer to what we see in this video. It's really well done, HD full screen this bad boy and have a look.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
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A man fishing at sunset in Sukhumi, Abkhazia
By now the secret is out. The evolution of budget travel has gone from $5 for a crappy dorm bed to a free private room. With the explosion of sites like CouchSurfing.org a new generation of penny pinching backpackers are able to travel further for cheaper. As a CS Ambassador, i'm always finding myself caught up in the philosophical (and moral) discussion of CouchSurfing being more than merely a free place to stay. It is instead an opportunity to share cultural experiences with locals (or quite often ex-pats) giving you an inside scoop. While you aren't paying for the room/bed/couch/floor space, a token gesture of a cooked meal or bottle of wine is always a welcome thank-you from the surfer. But regardless of your intentions, CS is a valuable tool every traveller should be packing.