I've been Everywhere Man!

As I was feeling the burn in a downward facing dog pose this morning, my eye caught my Eyewitness Travel France book and I was inspired to write about a travel podcast. The following is a must read for anyone planning to travel soon.

When I was preparing to travel to Nigeria about a year ago, I searched and searched for any travel information I could find. Unfortunately, the travel section of Barnes and Noble was lined with two walls of travel to Italy and maybe one book on travel to West Africa. To my surprise a few months ago, I discovered a Lonely Planet travelcast (Listen Now!) and a Nigeria travelcast!

Lonely Planet was recommended to me by a well travelled Nepalese German studying in France who swore by it for any travel destination. I have since listened to several travelcasts to get inspiration for places to travel and find out about the road less travelled. Definitely check out the travelcasts: Destination Nigeria and Destination Turkey. The Nigerian podcast was spot on and will give you a little flavor for visiting Nigeria (although the man doing the pocast is borderline certifiable). Destination Turkey has definitely encouraged me to visit this location in the near future for a unique cultural experience.

For popular cities, I have found the Knopf Mapguides are unbeatable (Buy here). I am directionally impaired; so to navigate around an unfamiliar metro area of 10 million people with everything in a foreign language seemed a bit daunting. I proudly state that this guide helped me scour almost every major neighborhood of Paris without getting lost once or even asking for directions! Each guide is light weight, inexpensive (~$9) and conveniently fits in your purse or pocket. The guide has a fold-out, detailed street map (including subway stops) for the major sections of city including points of interest. Guide books like Frommers, Lonely Planet, and EyeWitness Travel are best to read before going to the location because they expensive, heavy, and information laden.

So start listening and let me know about your latest travels and tips. Bon Voyage!

Thought for the day: Life is a journey, not a destination.