Posts by Kelsey

The WHY of Travel?

The good gang at Rolf Potts’ Vagabonding highlighted WAIW? just the other day. My little quest got them thinking about the “why” of travel.

There are just about as many reasons to travel as there are travelers. It could be as simple as checking off sites on your “must-see” list, or it could be an emotional journey tracing family history in the mother country. The “why” of travel can be a complicated question, and for some it’s never fully answered.

The “why” for me has changed through the years.

First there was, “Why not? What the hell else would I do with my degree in Anthropology?”

Next there was, “I’ve got the last half of my uber-cheap ATW plane ticket left. Why not use it?” Followed by several other…

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Rogue Travelers Unite!

What do wine, nuts, and underwear have in common?

They all have inspired members of BootsnAll’s Rogue Traveler Class of 2007.

There are 3 of us. This girl, the Great Wall Nut, has walked the entire length of the Great Wall and now she’s up to something else rogue traveler-ish. She’s been hinting at it for months now. What is it? Tell us. I think you are going to tell us and then you don’t. I’m getting blue…oh never mind.

This couple seems to be wine drinkers with a traveling problem….

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My T-shirt: A Quest is Born

(Note: This is a continuation of the My Shirt narrative. The events below took place in 2005. To read the narrative in its entirety to date GO HERE.)

From our tiny apartment, I continued to weave the tales of my travels and try to sell them. I was published on a website which paid me $20 and then the Raleigh News & Observer published a story I wrote about spending the night in Castle Dracula in Romania. I was giddy. I got paid $150.

I have made less than $300 writing.

I want a career as a writer. Annie wants a commitment. We’re doomed.

We’ve lived in this apartment for a year and a half. Annie has decided she doesn’t want to be…

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The Super Spectacular WAIW? Contest of Destiny

Nudity is overrated. You know it. I know it. Everybody but those hairy nudist colony people know it.

That’s why we wear clothes.

THE CONTEST

To win more clothes, specifically THIS T-SHIRT, tell me about your favorite item of clothing that you just can’t travel or live without.

What’s so special about your _______(insert one: shirt, pants, socks, underwear, tie, penny loafers, ear muffs, wetsuit, trunks, brassiere, cardigan, dickey. You get the idea)? Did they save your life, like THESE PANTS? Do they have some kind of sentimental value? Be sure to include where it was MADE?

HOW TO PLAY

To enter, post your ode to clothes on this comment thread. I will select a lucky winner based on creativity, expressed passion for the selected item,…

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My T-shirt: I'm a writer

My quest started in 2005 with a trip to my T-shirt’s factory of origin in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

With the next chapter of the quest now less than 3 weeks away, it’s time I fill you in on what inspired the quest and what exactly went down in Honduras (A little hint: At one point in time I violate every factory workers’ Human Right to NOT see me stripping).

I’ll be using a mix of narrative, past blog posts, and current thoughts over the next few weeks to tell this first Chapter which I’ll call: My T-shirt.

In the PAGES section you will find a link to My T-shirt. I will be updating the page with each new contribution to the chapter. In the end, it…

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It's a warped world

Know what’s great? Smart people and their mathematics.

Somewhere some smart person is plugging away at his unbalanced multi-linear differential equation (if there is such a thing), thinking up something that will make the rest of us scratch our heads and say “Cool,” at which point we’ll scratch our butt and continue with our own research – determining which nostril we can shoot Skittles farther with (have you noticed that the purple one’s seem to travel farther…me too…for the good of all mankind we should combine our research efforts).

The Worldmapper Project must have a lot of smart people working on it because their maps are super cool. Here’s what they’ve done in their own words (I’m too dumb to explain it):

The maps…are equal area cartograms, otherwise known as density-equalising…

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WAIW? on the Tranquilo Traveler

Joshua Berman is the Tranquilo Traveler. He’s taken a honeymoon around the world, written award winning guidebooks, and is the champion of Volun-tourism. His Moon Handbook on Nicaragua was one of the best guidebooks I’ve ever used – readable, useful, and not full of clichés.

Yesterday he profiled WAIW?:

The Where Am I Wearing? blog will document Kelsey’s globe trot in a bold, individual attempt to connect producer with consumer. I think this trip has a lot of potential and look forward to keeping an eye on it.

Thanks, Josh.

If you are a traveler, a writer, or a mix of both, you should check out Josh’s Tranquilo Traveler blog. Josh is a hard working, hard traveling writer. I’ve enjoyed following his adventures. You would…

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Menage a…OUCH!

Today, I was double-teamed by two nurses. One of them gave me typhoid and the other Hepatitis B.

Crazy Nurse

No, no, not like that. They gave me shots. You perve you.

I don’t mind getting shots, but this was kind of intimidating. They had me stand in the middle and then simultaneously gave the injections in each sholder. I don’t like to watch, and usually turn away until the deed is done. But this time, every way I looked there was a nurse giving me a shot.

The whole thing was actually sort of insulting. As if they thought, after receiving the first shot, I would break out into a quivering ball of snot and tears, and run out of their…

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Love and Travel

I’m getting married in September. I just bought a house in Muncie, Indiana.

These are two events that usually don’t coincide in the same year with leaving the country for 3 months. So, if you are one of those people who are thinking, “Whelp, it looks like his travel writing days are numbered.” I can kind of understand. But on the other hand…

SCREW YOU!

I’m getting sick of this type of thinking. Annie, my fiancé, doesn’t get it either, “Why do they think you’re going to stop writing and traveling?”

See, what many people don’t understand is that Annie and I have dated for 10 years (we’re high school sweethearts). One of her many assets is that she’s cool with me doing my thing and she actually…

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