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Byteful Travel Blog Carnival #11 – 2012 March

Andrew Adi C. — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 06:11:01 +0000

At last, the weather is warming up, and Spring is in full swing!

So it’s perfect that today’s carnival entries include plenty of vacation ideas, including a new spin on the very idea of what a vacation can be. Perhaps even more importantly, some of today’s entries reflect on the concept of “home” itself.

If you’ve submitted to the BTBC in the past, you may have noticed that BlogCarnival.com was down for the past few weeks. If you meant to submit but couldn’t because of the outage, please submit a quality piece to be considered for the next BTBC which will be coming in May, which I think be an especially big one.

The Best of BTBC #11

If you’re new to blog carnivals, they’re one of the best ways to discover awesome new content you never would have discovered otherwise. And each time I publish a BTBC, I love to highlight three articles that really stick with me, ones you shouldn’t miss. This time I’d like to highlight:

An Evening Out in Monmarte and Pigalle Paris by Shanna Schultz is an interesting glimpse into Paris’ Red District, including some great safety tips. Interestingly, she describes it as “a place where one could straddle the line between normal and risque…like you could dip your toes into the dark pool that is the sultry seductive pool of Paris’ other side.” Definitely an interesting read.
How I Went From Teaching High School To Traveling Around North America… by Tathata is a disarmingly honest and raw tale about how a great adventure, letting a man named Adi go (a different Adi, not me), and an auto shop led one writer to a completely new understanding of what “pain” and “beauty” really are.
Only in Norway: Some lessons I’ve learned from living up here by Andy Higgs is a fun examination of the many quirks and wonders of what its like to live in Norway. According to the article, even though not everyone has a cabin and a boat to zip about in (as the rumors say), everyone can get up to a year of maternity leave. Yes, a year. And on a completely unrelated note, the Norwegian brown cheese apparently does grow on you. (Not literally, though!)

A Reminder & A Win-Win-Win

And before I forget, if one of your articles is in this month’s edition, I’d really appreciate it if you could retweet, stumble, and “Like” this carnival on Facebook. Remember, spreading the word multiplies the reach of this blog carnival which in turn helps more people discover your article and grows your site. (And if you aren’t yet a submitter, find out how you too can join in farther down.)

Thanks again for submitting to the BTBC. By doing so, you reach many people, many of which have never even seen your site before, so it’s a real win-win-win situation.

So, without further ado, let’s explore the wonders of Norway, Paris’ Red Light District, the surprises of Ottawa, the picturesque streets of Lisbon, and beyond…

Travel Destinations

Shanna Schultz presents:
An Adult Evening Out in Monmarte and Pigalle Paris (Paris’ Red Light District) posted at There and Back Again, saying,

“Our evening out in Monmarte and Pigalle Paris (Paris’ Red Light District) as well as some great ideas to help you plan your visit.”

Theresa Torres presents:
Top 7 Eco Friendly Travel Destinations posted at Lodging World, saying,

“If you’re planning to travel and prefer somewhere closer to nature, here are 7 great destinations for you to enjoy the natural environment and local culture.”

Travel Photography

Sarah presents:
Lisbon Romance posted at Natsumi.

Travel Stories

Tathata presents:
How I Went From Teaching High School To Traveling Around North America To Returning Home To Work In An Autoshop posted at That Which Really Is, saying,

“In 2010, I left my job and promising career, got rid of most of my belongings, left my city, and took to the road to work with horses on ranches around the US and Canada. I aimed to learn everything I could about horses, and ended up learning a lot more about myself.”

Anwar presents:
Gunpowder Plot Day posted at Beyond My Front Door, saying,

“The history of the Gunpowder plot, how the day has changed, and my experience of it when I traveled to the UK in November.”

Andy Higgs presents:
Only in Norway… Some lessons I’ve learned from living up here posted at Grown-up Travel Guide.

Travel Tips

Hayley Picchini presents:
Volunteer Vacations – Give, Enjoy, and Rejuvenate All At Once posted at Classy Not Pricey, saying,

“Information on alternative travel opportunities that include a component of giving back and volunteerism.”

Hayley Picchini presents:
From Romania to Israel to Paris – Traveling for free with miles, points, and other tricks posted at Classy Not Pricey, saying,

“Key tips for earning points & miles to travel (at the international level) for free.”

Anwar presents:
Five Fun things to do in Ottawa in the Winter posted at Beyond My Front Door, saying,

“Tips on what to do in Ottawa during the long cold winters as seen from my trip there in the winter of 2012.”

Theresa Torres presents:
Traveling Without Breaking Your Bank Account posted at Digital Photo Buzz, saying,

“There are plenty of ways we can save on our travels. Here are some suggestions on how we can enjoy ourselves without breaking the bank.”

Care to grow your blog’s audience?

If you write well (and you’ve written something that relates to travel), and you haven’t submitted to the BTBC before, can I ask you a question? What are you waiting for? Blog Carnivals are an amazing and free way to get more exposure to your work, so you’d be silly not to take advantage of this opportunity.

I know this from firsthand experience because blog carnivals have been helpful in spreading the word about Byteful Travel. So if you’re a writer, and you’ve written something that relates to travel, submit a piece you’re proud of to the next BTBC by going to the submission form. Just remember to read the ground rules. (And to see past posts and future hosts, check the blog carnival index.)

Also, if you enjoyed the carnival, you’ll probably enjoy the Byteful Travel Weekly Recap, as well. It automatically collects the best content from writers I’ve hand-picked from around the web (most of which I’ve discovered because they’ve submitted to the BTBC).

Coming up on Byteful Travel:

Soon we explore the wonders of a verdant Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco, complete with a hidden sea monster. And not long after that, we explore Las Vegas, so be sure to subscribe and stay in touch. And until next time, may your travels enlighten your soul to fresh insights, new connections, and powerful experiences.

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Byteful Travel Blog Carnival #10 – 2012 Jan

Andrew Adi C. — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:11:41 +0000

Even though winter may be in full swing where I am, the articles in today’s blog carnival are refreshingly tropical!

In fact, I’m really happy to say that, despite being the dead of winter, we had plenty of lovely submissions this time. You’re all in for a treat. (And if you’re new to blog carnivals, they’re one of the best ways to discover awesome new content you never would have discovered otherwise; so you’d best put seat belts on your eyes, because they’re in for a travelistic ride.)

The Best of BTBC #10

If you don’t have time to read all of the articles now, fear not. Each time I publish a BTBC, I love to highlight three articles that really stick with me that you shouldn’t miss. And this time I’d like to highlight:

24 hours of love by Bastiaan Reinink is a very short but gripping story about the beautiful things that can happen if you travel with an open heart.
Scotch and Coconut Water by Curt & Lorrie is a well-documented tale of what it’s like to experience Vieques Island in Puerto Rico, as well as explore some of the islands more interesting features. Cool video clips included, too!
Hiking Trail on Hawaii’s Kohala Coast by The Vacation Gals is a fantastic post about the Ala Kahakai trail on the Big Island of Hawaii, featuring some great photos to support the story. Best of all, it shows how much more meaningful it is when we understand the history and culture of the places we tread.

A Reminder & A Win-Win-Win

And before I forget, if one of your articles is in this month’s edition, I’d really appreciate it if you could retweet, stumble, and “Like” this article on Facebook! Remember, spreading the word multiplies the reach of this blog carnival which in turn helps more people discover your article and grows your site. (And if you aren’t yet a submitter, find out how you too can join in farther down.)

Thanks again for submitting to the BTBC. By doing so, you reach many people, many of which have never even seen your site before, so it’s a real win-win-win situation.

So, without further ado, let’s journey from the warm breezes of Hawaii, to the Fountains of Switzerland, to beaches of Vieques Island, and beyond…

Travel Destinations

Jennifer Miner presents:
Hiking Trail on Hawaii’s Kohala Coast posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“Hiking this historic trail on Hawaii’s Big Island adds a cultural experience to a beach vacation.”

Zhu presents:
In The Woods posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“On the weekend of November 11, I packed a small bag, left my computer and my city life behind and headed to Bourget, a small village in Eastern Ontario – a world of farms, straight roads and no traffic. Welcome to the countryside.”

Martine presents:
Half of the Wagons go to Lanzarote posted at The Wanderly Wagons.

Martine presents:
And the other half goes to Andalucia posted at The Wanderly Wagons.

Michael Turtle presents:
Rio’s tourism paradox posted at Time Travel Turtle.

AbundantJourneys presents:
5 Bali Tours to Go On posted at Life Is Full of Bloom.

Travel Photography

Indrani Ghose presents:
Fountains of Berns, Switzerland posted at i Share, saying,

“Statues sighted during walking tour of Berns, Switzerland.”

Brooke Allen presents:
Big Sky, Montana, New Year’s 2012, Part II posted at Rambling Brooke.

Travel Stories

Bastiaan Reinink presents:
24 hours of love posted at Perpetual Wonder, saying,

“24 hours of South America. I’ve fallen in love. I’ve broken my heart. Could the next 24 hours please be a little bit less eventful?”

Tui Snider presents:
Venice, Italy’s Warped Sense of Scale posted at Mental Mosaic, saying,

“A recent visit to Venice, Italy got me thinking about the meaning of scale. Check out these photos and you will see what I mean; it’s not trick photography: those huge luxury yachts truly dwarf this graceful floating village.”

Shanna Schultz presents:
Boldly Go: How Travel Has Changed my Outlook on the World posted at There and Back Again.

Bastiaan Reinink presents:
Free hugs posted at Perpetual Wonder.

Curt presents:
Scotch and Coconut Water posted at After the Mortgage.

Travel Tips

Theresa Torres presents:
Travel Guest Post: Fashion Tips for the World Traveler posted at Jetsetera, saying,

“Being able to blend in with the locals when you travel to other places has its advantages. Here are some fashion tips to guide the traveler.”

April D. Thompson presents:
How I Make This Travel Thing Work posted at The Absolute Travel Addict, saying,

“3 Key things to think about when deciding to travel more.”

Megan presents:
Social Awareness Posts: A Preface posted at La Vida en Viaje.

Dawn Xiana Moon presents:
Poutine: La Banquise posted at Kitchen Lore.

Care to grow your blog’s audience?

If you write well (and you’ve written something that relates to travel), and you haven’t submitted to the BTBC before, what are you waiting for? Blog Carnivals are an amazing and free way to get more exposure to your work, so you’d be silly not to take advantage of this opportunity.

I know this from firsthand experience because blog carnivals have been helpful in spreading the word about Byteful Travel. So if you’re a writer, and you’ve written something that relates to travel, submit a piece you’re proud of to the next BTBC by going to the submission form. Just remember to read the rules, okay? (And to see past posts and future hosts, check the blog carnival index.)

Are you ready to become a force for positive connections?

In November, Tui from over at Mental Mosaic stepped up and hosted BTBC #9. She did a great job and got some great attention through social media, as well as getting rated 5 stars on BlogCarnival.com. Thanks again, Tui!

If you have a travel-related blog and you’re interested in hosting the BTBC, please contact me. Not only will hosting attract more attention to your blog, it helps bring the travel writing community closer, too. Remember, whenever you host a carnival, you become a positive force that allows connections to manifest.

Looking for more handpicked travel content?

If you enjoyed today’s carnival, you’ll probably enjoy the Byteful Travel Weekly Recap, as well. It automatically collects the best content from writers I’ve hand-picked from across the web, most of which I’ve discovered because they’ve submitted to the Byteful Travel Blog Carnival. In fact, since it automatically updates every Monday, it always has fresh articles from my fellow travel writers. The other thing I really like about it is that it presents the articles in a very readable newspaper layout, so finding something you like is really easy: Byteful Travel Weekly Recap

If you’d like your content to get exposure through the Byteful Travel Weekly Recap, then submit a quality piece to the BTBC. If you’re included in a carnival, you’ll be added to the BT Weekly Recap list.

Coming up on Byteful Travel:

We touch California redwoods within Muir Woods Natl. Monument, as well as a get a stunning view of the San Francisco Bay from the top of Mount Tamalpais. And after that, we explore Las Vegas, so be sure to subscribe and stay in touch. And until next time, may your travels enlighten your soul to fresh insights, new connections, and powerful realizations.

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How “Tigering It” Helped Me Face My Fears, Drop Anonymity, & Become More Genuine

Andrew Adi C. — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:22:03 +0000

Have you ever published something completely anonymously? What were your reasons behind it? If it was out of timidity or fear, was it something your best self would have done? For a long time, I thought some level of anonymity on this site was a good thing, but that time has come to an end.

This wasn’t an easy article to write for me. In fact, out of the hundreds of articles I’ve written for Byteful Travel, this was probably the most challenging to write, but this is an article whose time has come.

Trying to Avoid a Non-Problem

First, I’ll give you some context for how events have led up to the point where I finally dropped anonymity.

In Byteful Travel’s early days, going by “Byteful Traveller” seemed to be a natural step. But after a while, I realized that this wasn’t especially memorable or a good reflection of who I was. So, after much research and reflection, I choose the pen name “Andärin”, which was a Spanish word that meant “walker” or “wanderer”. I liked the feel of it; and for a time, I felt good about using it. After all, I wasn’t the only blogger using a pen name, right?

At the time, I felt this pen name worked well. I liked the idea of the anonymity, and I’d never liked the idea of fame, even teenie-tiny internet fame. I was afraid of it. Sometimes my imagination would run away with me, projecting out scenarios where people I didn’t know approached me on the street, telling me their opinion of my work and who I was, even though they didn’t know me at all. (Admittedly, I was letting my imagination have a bit too much free reign over my mind.)

I thought that a pen name and forgoing using a photo of myself on this site would be an elegant way to avoid that problem. At the time, I felt as though it would simplify my life in some ways. After all, with page views still going up, why should it matter?

Yet over the course of 2011, the feeling that the pen name was actually more rooted in fear than logic kept nagging at me more and more. When I faced these feelings head on, I realized that the writer I wanted to become would not tolerate this kind of lingering feeling. For some people, maybe a pen name is all they’ll ever need. Maybe they’ll always feel great about it. But the more I wrote, the more I realized that it just wasn’t right for me.

Tigering It

Eventually, a horrifying thought came to me: I was hiding behind my sense of anonymity. Being anonymous wasn’t making my life simpler. Instead my life felt more awkward. It became more and more clear to me that, for me, the pen name was a false barrier getting between me and the people I wanted to serve. I wasn’t being my full, true self. When mentioning the site to friends, I felt an inner resistance whenever I explained that I was using a pen name.

When I felt this gut reaction too many times, I knew it was time for a change. But I didn’t make the change. At least, not at first.

It wasn’t until last week, when I returned home from Steve Pavlina’s Conscious Success Workshop, that I had the resolve to make the change. One of the most memorable concepts from the workshop was the idea of “tigering it”, which means charging towards a goal similar to how you would use tiger style in martial arts. (In fact, this was so well-received at the workshop that one of the attendees bought small stuffed-animal tigers for everyone there.)

Basically, using tiger style means you focus all of your energy on the attack and not worry about defense. As you can probably imagine, this is pretty wild to see in person, and a running joke is that if two martial artists use tiger style on each other, one will end up going to the hospital while the other one will end up dead!

As you can probably guess, the Tiger style attitude can be extremely useful when it comes to completing projects, too. If you take a lot of action and avoid succumbing to over-analysis, you can accomplish things that may have seemed impossible before, and usually in much less time. So when I returned home, I “tigered it” and removed the pen name from the site. I didn’t even know what the next step was after that, but I knew I had to do it. And the rest of the steps flowed from there (including uploading a picture of myself). The workshop was the final nudge that had pushed me over the edge, and I’m so thankful for that. (And thanks to everyone who was there for creating such an amazing atmosphere and promoting so much growth in all who attended. You guys really are the salt of the earth.)

Embracing the Odyssey & A Challenge

Atop Lone Mountain in NV

Hello.

My name is Andrew, and I don’t believe I’ve properly introduced myself before. The reason for this was rooted in fear. I was letting irrational fear inform my actions. I wasn’t acting like my best self would act… but that changes today.

And while “Andärin” may have been a cool pen name (someone once said it sounded elvish), it wasn’t me. This is also the first time I’ve shared a picture of myself on a public website, so this is well outside of my comfort zone. But I’ve decided that, as long as there are intelligent reasons to do so, I’m going to push myself to do things that scare me and put me outside of my comfort zone more often, because it’s more likely to help others (not to mention help me grow, as well).

Under the “author” tag, you may also have noticed that I’ve included “Adi” in quotes. This is a nickname given to me by a dear friend toward the end of the Big 2009 Trip, and its significance will become more clear as we finish up the Big 2009 Trip story. (And I must admit that I really like how “Adi C” sounds like “odyssey”.)

After writing periodically on here for years, I’m ready to be my full self, publicly. Not only does it help with credibility, but it also helps me connect with you guys, my readers, on a much deeper level. From where I stand now, I feel that a pen name was a barrier to that. Overall, I feel a lot better having done this. “Tigering It” certainly changed my life, and I appreciate your support as I get used to this new level of transparency. Life is too short to be controlled by fear. Life is too short not to be our full, genuine selves — boldly and courageously.

So my challenge to you is this: if you’ve been creating anything under a pen name (or anonymously), have you consciously examined your real reasons for doing it? What would it mean if you embraced your work and took full ownership of it? Unless you’re doing guerrilla journalism in an oppressive country, it’s highly doubtful that you’ll be harmed for exercising your free speech, so what are you waiting for? Is it possible that embracing a higher level of transparency will be a relief to you on some level (and perhaps push you to do better work, as well)? What would your life be like if you took full ownership of everything you created? What would your best self do?

Just think about it.

We have an incredible year coming up, and the journey has only just begun. Coming up, we touch California redwoods within Muir Woods Natl. Monument, as well as a get a stunning view of the San Francisco Bay from the top of Mount Tamalpais. And after that, we explore Las Vegas, so be sure to subscribe and stay in touch.

No posts relate.

An Auspicious Day: Looking back on Byteful Travel’s History & Looking Forward

Andrew Adi C. — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 02:22:47 +0000

Believe it or not, today marks the 5th anniversary of when I registered Byteful.com; and not coincidentally, it is also the 10th anniversary of day I created my very first website.

So today is auspicious for me.

To be honest, it took me months to settle on a domain name, but once I felt good about getting “Byteful.com”, it happened to be November of 2006. I decided that it would be more fitting to register my first domain on the anniversary of my first website, so I waited a few days until November 17th, even though I had no idea which company I was going to choose as web host or exactly what the site would turn into. But I did it anyway, because I knew that this was the right path. I had faith in my instincts.

By January, I had settled on DowntownHost.com, and I’ve been very pleased with that choice since they’ve treated me very well and have a great team working there. And on February 11th of 2007, I began my journey with Byteful.com by writing my first blog post.

Back then, this site was called “The Byteful Project”; and, like many things ending in “project”, it somewhat amorphous. In fact, the first year was basically a self-directed experiment. I had to ask myself: “If I could create anything for the web, what would it be? What did I really want to make?”

What kind of Tree would You be?

Truth be told, I struggled to find a niche I enjoyed, so I did a lot of experimenting. I wrote poetry. I published desktop wallpapers that I’d originally created just for myself. I published articles on health, spontaneity, and perspectives. And I also published photos. I felt like a germinating seed that couldn’t decide if I wanted to be an apple tree or an orange tree.

But, in the end, instead of finding the answer, the answer found me. By early 2008, I began occasionally writing about my travels, kicking it all off with “Do Henry Vilas Zoo Animals Mock Me?” which was the first in what I called “The Byteful Travel Series”. Little did I know that would become the focus of the entire enterprise.

A Timeline of Transformation

Since then, the vision has grown and transformed. The list of major events in the timeline is a good indicator of how things have evolved over the years:

2001.11.17 — First website I ever created (now defunct)
2006.11.17 — Domain Purchased
2007.02.11 — First article published on Byteful Travel
2007.03.21 — Launch of Byteful Gallery
2007.10.07 — Launch of “InspirationEverywhere”
2008.02.10 — First travel-focused article published
2008.05.04 — First travel video published
2010.06.26 — Launch of Byteful Travel Blog Carnival
2010.12.01 — Launch of the “Where’s Marco” photo game
2011.03.03 — Launch of the Byteful Travel Shop
2011.08.24 — Launch of “Choose a City” pages
2011.11.17 — 200th article published

And I must point out that it was a stroke of weird luck that, in addition to the two anniversaries I mentioned above, this just happens to be my 200th post.

Strange how life works, isn’t it?

And even after all this, I know I’m still just getting started. There is so much to come that I can barely put my feelings about this into words. The road rolls ever on, and I know the coming years will highlight the wonders of Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Australia, and more. Life is too short, so I’m going explore while I still have time.

Will you join me?

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How to Create, Host, & Grow a Blog Carnival in 7 Proven Steps

Andrew Adi C. — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 08:22:31 +0000

As I’ve said many times before, Blog Carnivals are a really smart way to get the word out about your work, no matter what you write about on the web.

But submitting to blog carnivals is only one side of the equation. Hosting a blog carnival can be far more complex and isn’t always an easy feat. In fact, it can occasionally be somewhat of a headache, especially if you’re hosting one with lots of entries. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Why? Because I have developed a comprehensive system that breaks down the process into 7 steps.

In fact, this is exactly how I put together the Byteful Travel Blog Carnival (BTBC), and I’ve gotten tons of positive feedback about how well those are put together. And as you can probably guess, the quality of a blog carnival depends a great deal on the quality of the submissions, which is why it’s so important to…

1. Pre-Qualify submissions as they come in.

When you are assigned to host a new edition of a blog carnival, you will be sent an email notification whenever someone submits an article to your blog carnival through the BlogCarnival.com website. The first few times I hosted a blog carnival, I would read these as they came in and then forget about them. Over time though, I realized that they could save me valuable time if used correctly.

To get the most out of these notifications, I click the link to see the submitted article and then decide if it fits the blog carnival or not. (Cuz believe it or not, blog carnivals get a fair amount of spam.) I skim the article, and if it looks good, I “star” that email. I try to do this once a week for the BTBC and once every few days for blog carnivals that are hosted more frequently.

By “pre-qualifying” entries, I always have a list of entries that I already know are good. This saves me time on the day I actually assemble the blog carnival and makes everything flow much more smoothly.

2. Use the Opt-In Method for Inclusion

The list of starred emails containing known-good articles is extremely helpful to us in this next step where we make the final decision on which articles are included. I usually do this when BlogCarnival.com emails me a reminder that the carnival is coming up, which is usually right after the carnival’s submission deadline. In that reminder email is a link to the “InstaCarnival editor” which is a wonderful little feature that creates an assembled blog carnival for you. (If you can’t find this reminder email, head over to BlogCarnival.com, log in, click “My Carnivals”, and click on the number to the far right of the list (which is the number of submissions that edition received).

Now, just because the InstaCarnival is great doesn’t mean it does all the work, though. It doesn’t come with any kind of artificial intelligence; you still have to decide what’s included. And when you get to the InstaCarnival editor, you will see a list of submitted articles. The first thing you need to do is check the “exclude” checkbox on all of them, and then click “Save” on the bottom. This may take a minute or two, but it’s totally worthy it because, by doing this, you ensure no spammy articles will get through.

Then, uncheck the “exclude” box for only those articles that you starred back in your email inbox. Even though this opt-in method sound strange at first, it’s a surefire way to avoid any spam creeping into your carnival (the importance of which we’ll discuss in a bit). Once you’ve done that, click “Save”.

3. Fix Categories & Finalize the Preview Draft

Once the InstaCarnival has been saved, click the “Preview Draft” button at the top. You will now see a rough draft of your blog carnival, complete with attribution, links to the articles, and everything broken up into categories. This is a huge time saver! But we’re not done yet. The InstaCarnival isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t always get the carnival right the first time. Be sure to double-check for duplicate categories and ensure that each article is in the category you want it to be in.

If you see a duplicate category, it’s because your entries aren’t grouped by category properly. To fix that, you need to click “edit” and change the order of the entries in the blog carnival so that entries that belong in the same category are grouped together in the list. To change the order of articles in the list, type the corresponding number in the “order” box and click “Save”. For instance, if you see an article that says “order: 50″ and you want it just after the article that is “order: 10″, type in “order: 11″ and click save. It sounds strange, but it makes sense once you do it.

4. Verify Entries & Gather Twitter Names

Now that you’ve got your blog carnival organized the way you like it, take this opportunity to click through to each article and make doubly sure that you want to endorse each of these articles. That’s what you’re doing here, after all; and it’s not meant to be taken lightly. When you include someone’s article in your blog carnival, you are, in effect, saying that “this is relevant to this topic and I support more people discovering this article”; so if you have mixed feelings about including something, think long and hard before you let it into your blog carnival.

While you’re doing that, be sure to look around for any Twitter usernames referenced beside the articles so you can @reply the carnival participants once the carnival is published. In fact, it’s best to keep a list of the Twitter names in a separate text file. To find the usernames, I often view the html source code of a given article and search for the word “twitter”. (How to do this varies from browser to browser. Check the “View” menu or similar.) Ironically enough, looking at the source code can be the quickest way to see what someone’s Twitter username is!

5. Give your Blog Carnival a Human Touch

Making your blog carnival really speak to the reader is extremely important! I cannot overstate this. Too many blog carnival hosts simply take the output of the InstaCarnival page and throw it up on their site. But is that personal? Does that honestly invite your readers, who have graciously given you their attention, to checkout your blog carnival?

In my experience, a blog carnival is enjoyed much more (and therefore catches on much faster) when given a healthy dose of humanity. To do that, click on the “preview draft” button (if you aren’t on the page already). Then scroll to the bottom, and copy the HTML code in the box. Paste the code into a new post in your blogging software. If the code is broken, don’t worry! I’ve encountered this problem, too. Try clicking the checkbox above the box that says “Check for WordPress compatible HTML”. (If the code still doesn’t work after doing that, let me know and I’ll share another solution in the comments.)

Now that we have the actual code for this blog carnival edition, we can write a concise introduction the draws the reader in. I suggest you replace the standard “Welcome to XYZ edition” introduction with something more unique. For ideas, you can see past BTBCs as well as other blog carnivals I’ve hosted.

One great way to introduce a blog carnival is to take a paragraph or so to talk about a couple of your favorite entries. It gives you an opportunity to put your own spin on the carnival, and your readers will appreciate knowing which entries to check out first.

It’s also a great time to write a short outro to the carnival thanking the people who submitted their articles, letting your readers know when the next edition will be, and providing links to the submission page. The InstaCarnival page adds these links automatically, but you may want to phrase them into a sentence. I also recommend you delete the “technorati tags” that the InstaCarnival puts at the end of the carnival since I’ve found them to be largely useless.

6. Proofread your carnival. Aloud.

While this may even sound silly, I always recommend reading your blog carnival out loud to yourself before you publish it. Seriously, say all of the words. This is the best and most natural way to find typos as well as awkward phrasing. Proofreading aloud may not sound that fun, but trust me, your carnival will be much better if you do it. (I even read this article aloud as I proofread it!)

If you’re still resistant to proofing your carnival edition out loud, remember that many people will be seeing this. Try making it a game. If it helps, try reading the whole edition in a StrongBad voice. As long as you read it and understand it, it will make catching errors that much easier.

7. Spread the Word & Tweet all about it!

Now comes the fun part: spreading the word. It’s time to use that list of Twitter names that you made before. Usually I’ll phrase my tweets rather like this:

“Congrats @Somebody & @Someoneelse You’re in the latest YOURCARNIVALHERE carnival! Give yourself a High-5! http://bit.ly/YOURLINK”

Depending on the length of the usernames, I’ll fit two or three usernames per tweet. (Pro tip: put together your tweets and make sure they’re all under 140 characters before you tweet any of them out. Then send the tweets once per minute until you’ve tweeted them all.) By grouping tweets together, I not only reduce the amount of tweets I send out (which reduces the chance of people getting tweet-fatigue) I also help bloggers find out about each other. Think about it. Another interesting bit is that whenever “@Somebody” retweets my tweet, “@Someoneelse” will see the tweet twice in their @mentions section on Twitter. When done correctly (especially when the edition of the carnival has lots of entries) it can create a veritable storm of twitter reactions!

You also may have noticed the example link above is a bit.ly link, and there’s a very good reason for that. I use bit.ly for my links because, in addition to being a great url shortening service, they also let me track how people find the link and where they’re from.

Once you’ve published the carnival, head over to BlogCarnival.com one last time, click on “My Carnivals”, and click on the number to the far right of the list. Viola, you’re back at the InstaCarnival page. From here, click “edit this edition” and click the “already posted” button. Doing this is very important as it keeps the carnival manager at BlogCarnival.com up to date as well as lets BlogCarnival draw attention to the edition you just published. This is even more important when you’re a guest host for a carnival. After all, if you don’t remember to do it, the owner of the carnival will have to do it; so updating this status is a matter of courtesy.

And finally, if the carnival belongs to you, remember to schedule the next edition once you’ve marked the current edition as “already posted”. To do that, click “Schedule New Edition” on the left hand column on BlogCarnival.com.

Conclusion

And that’s it! That process has seen me through many blog carnivals so far, and I expect it will see me through for many more in the years to come.

If you are hosting a blog carnival and have any questions or need clarification any points, please let me know in the comments.

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Traveler’s Show & Tell – From Cycling in Lucca to a Secret Prison Rodeo

Andrew Adi C. — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 07:22:02 +0000

You guys are in for a treat today.

As part of a blog carnival exchange, I’m hosting Tui’s ‘Traveler’s Show & Tell’ carnival this week, and next month Tui has graciously volunteered to host the 9th Byteful Travel Blog Carnival. (That will go live on her site on November 30th, so be sure to subscribe to Tui’s Mental Mosaic blog so you don’t miss it.)

Anyway, I must say it’s an honor to be the first to guest-host this carnival, and I’m really pleased to say (and slightly relieved) that there were plenty of really great pieces of writing submitted to this edition. And if one of your articles is in this month’s edition, please be sure to retweet, stumble, and “Like” this article.

Remember, spreading the word multiplies the reaching-power of this blog carnival which in turn helps more people discover your article and grows your site! (Find out how you too can submit to this carnival farther down.)

Today’s Gems

Because this carnival occurs frequently (twice a month), there are only 7 entries included in this edition. But, as I said, each one is quality work. So let’s dive in and learn about:

the absolute best way to explore Lucca, Italy
what it means to discover your passion
the beauty of Carlsbad Caverns National Park
the secret rodeo inside a maximum security prison
…and more.

Photo Essays

Nicole Elena Robertson presents:
Byzantine mosaics, Ravenna posted at Nicole Elena Robertson, saying,

“A sample of the incredible Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna, Italy”

Paula Puffer presents:
Between Midland and Carlsbad – Part 1 posted at Don’t Be a Picklebump, saying,

“Some of the places I found when travelling between Midland Texas and Carlsbad, NM”

Travel

Jennifer Miner presents:
Bike Tour of Lucca, Italy posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“A bike tour of Lucca is a great way for a family to explore this historic Tuscan city during a vacation in Italy.”

Ken Lange presents:
Talking about Passion posted at Kenneth Lange, saying,

“A small piece about finding answers in the most unusual places.”

Lanthy presents:
My Round-the-World Bucket List posted at nod ‘n’ smile.

Michael Turtle presents:
Inside Maximum Security posted at Time Travel Turtle.

Cultural Observations

Samantha Wright presents:
Bitch please, I’m from the south. posted at That Place in my Head.

Care to grow your blog’s audience?

As with my carnival (the BTBC), if you’ve written something that relates to travel and you haven’t submitted to the Traveler’s Show & Tell carnival before, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Blog Carnivals are an amazing and free way to get more exposure to your work, so you’d be silly not to take advantage of this opportunity.

I know this from firsthand experience because blog carnivals have been incredibly helpful in spreading the word about Byteful Travel. So if you’re a writer, and you’ve written something that relates to travel, submit a piece you’re proud of to the Traveler’s Show and Tell carnival by using this submission form. And remember to read the rules. (To see past posts and future hosts, check the blog carnival index.)

Also, please keep the following in mind when submitting:

Include your Twitter handle even if you have submitted in the past. (It really helps the host out.)
Only submit if your site has a comment box. (This blog carnival is meant to promote interaction among travelers, not just be a one-way conversation.)

And that concludes this blog carnival. Please remain seated until the carnival has come to a complete stop before standing up. And if you enjoyed this edition, let me know in the comments. Also, if you enjoyed an article in particular, please let the author know you liked their piece by leaving a comment at their blog. (It means a lot, trust me.)

Coming up next on BT: An up close dive into the stunning Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California (and some great photos along with it). So be sure to tune into that when it comes out.

Update: Computer History Museum Review: 7 Striking Exhibits from the Digital Age has been published!

And until next time, may your travels enlighten your soul to fresh insights, new connections, and powerful realizations.

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How to Plan Intuitively to Travel, Create, & Work Effortlessly and Abundantly

Andrew Adi C. — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:22:02 +0000

How spontaneous are you in your life? Do you follow your schedule religiously or do you find yourself working right up to the last minute of a deadline? Have you found a happy medium between these two extremes?

In this article I’m going to share with you a concept that allows you to harness the natural cycles of your brain to the greatest effect in both work and when travelling.

You see, when I travel I seldom plan out exactly what I’m going to do on a certain day. Instead, I review my options before I set out and allow time and space for events to flow together organically and spontaneously. Granted, some of your travel commitments may have firm attachments to certain points in time and space, but acting merely on intuition is incredibly worth it whenever possible. In fact, I find that when I wait to plan a given day until the night before, I’m much more sensitive to how the day is going to go; and I’m more in tune with what my needs will be on the upcoming day.

Travelling is a creative act, and your ability to jump into a creative state ebbs and flows throughout the day. In my experience, there is much magic to be found when we are conscious of those changes; and when done consciously, this kind of flexibility allows moments to snap together like magnets.

So how exactly does this apply to work? I’ll ‘splain.

The Intuitive Planning Approach

Lately, I’ve realized that I’ve approached doing work this way for a while now. Instead of stating in big red letters that I’m going to write a rough draft of a given article on Monday or bust, I find that I work better when I have a general idea of what I need to accomplish by a certain day and then allow myself to be drawn to the tasks to complete that goal in its own perfect time.

For the purposes of this article I’m going to call this approach “intuitive planning”, because, while it’s still technically a form of planning, it allows your intuition to have a say in what you should be doing at a given moment. People who use David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system (as I do) may recognize that the GTD “Next Actions” list can be used exactly this way because it’s a list of shorter tasks that can easily fit into the gaps between larger projects.

We can expand on that though. And as in both work and travel, defining the next physical action you need to take to achieve your goal is immensely helpful and can often give you clarity if you feel stuck. But if you already know what you’re going to do (and when it needs to be done) and you have some freedom over the order and speed at which the steps are completed, then you can experiment with the Intuitive Planning model.

For instance, I’m currently writing this sentence at 00.57, which is well past midnight. I didn’t even plan to write an article tonight; but inspiration struck me, and I had the time flexibility to act on it. By listening to my intuition and following it, this article was allowed space to manifest. Simply put, the Intuitive Planning approach has completely changed how I view my working time as well as my travel time. (Although you could say I’m “on the job” whenever I’m travelling, but you know what I mean.)

This model works best for me on a week by week basis. For instance, if I’m working on a big article about McWay Falls, I know that I have a few dozen photos to crop, color-correct, name, export, upload to the Byteful Gallery, and resize for the article. Then I need to outline the article, write it, proofread it, categorize it, and finally set the article to be posted in the wee hours of the morning. This whole process involves over 10 major steps with plenty of tiny steps in between; but because I understand the steps that it involves, I can set small milestones to let me know if I’m on track. (For instance, I like to have the photos done by Sunday night and a rough draft of the article done on Monday). Yet if I really get on a roll, I may have the article rough draft done by the end of Sunday. It all depends on my level of inspiration and energy level. The key here is really listening to myself and my mental state.

Inspiration & Expectation

Let me be clear here. I’m not saying you should wait for inspiration to get you started on your work. A wise man once said that inspiration must find you working; and in my experience, I think that’s putting it lightly.

There’s no Inspiration Faerie that’s going to come down and give you tons of energy. Your will and your will alone must start it. However, if you change your attitude to be open to inspiration sneaking up on you, it’s far more likely to.

Have you ever noticed that it’s those times when you don’t feel pressured and boxed in, that some of your most inspired ideas come through? In my experience, inspired ideas are more likely to come through because expectations cause a constriction in the mind. By “forcing” yourself to do a specific thing at a certain time, you will naturally feel limited and probably stressed out, too.

Don’t get me wrong. This certainly isn’t always a bad thing. Indeed, without that kind of discipline, we would not complete many things that legitimately need to be done. Yet, whenever possible, creating from a place of non-expectation is much more enjoyable experience for me, and I find more original ideas come when I’m not painstakingly looking for them. What about you?

How to Create the Flow for Yourself

The real trick here (which is a skill that can be developed) is the ability to consciously decide what you’re going to focus on and think about. I learned an important lesson about this in my teen years when I would push myself to the limit for school projects, and I continued to refine my approach when I was in college.

While it may come as an incredible shock to you, I really disliked being forced to do a project I didn’t enjoy, and I experienced a lot of stress in having to push myself to complete such a project on time. If I didn’t really care about the end goal of the project, it didn’t spur me to action. At all. In fact, I would have a lot of trouble “getting into the groove” of it. Therefore, I had to create that flow for myself. (I can’t not state the importance of this enough.)

I would often experience false starts and slow progress in the beginning, so I’m not saying this is easy. Sometimes it can be very difficult. Sometimes you may feel as though you don’t even know where to start. Trust me, I’ve been there. But in those situations, I tried to take away as much complexity as I could and simply took the most logical first step. Keeping it simple is a very important tip to remember whenever you get stuck.

Discipline is what allows us to take those first few steps. But I’ve found that once I get going, less and less discipline is required because I’ve created the groove that I was looking for. And by creating it for myself, I make it easier to get back to that place of creativity whenever I want.

Choose your Focus & Make Alpha Waves

Remember, this all hinges on you being able to consciously decide what you’re going to focus on. You must choose where to place your focus. Will you focus on the part of your brain that is worried about failing or the part that simply relishes in the act of creation itself? Have you ever noticed that when you’re really in the flow of creating (whether it be writing, reading, painting, or designing) that you completely lose track of time?

This is because a different part of your brain is engaged. When you feel truly immersed in your work, your brain is actually at a different frequency than when you’re walking around during the day. The brain is in beta frequency during most of its waking hours, but when you’re really in the flow, you enter alpha brain frequency. These alpha waves allow distractions to fall away and allow a much greater depth of focus. For instance, I’m in an alpha state right now as I write this. How do I know? Because the words keep flowing out of me, effortlessly.

Things certainly weren’t always this way. To be completely honest, there was a time when I absolutely dreaded writing; but the more I practiced, the more I learned about what it felt like to be in this state. I gained a better understanding of how my own brain worked, and so can you.

In some ways, it’s like riding a bike. When you first rode a bike, you had no hope of balancing without training wheels, right? But in time, you refined your sense of balance, and soon you didn’t even need the training wheels.

Intuitive Planning: Create Abundantly!

As I said before, your ability to jump into a creative state ebbs and flows throughout the day, and “intuitive planning” is merely intelligently harnessing this quality of the human brain in the most intelligent way possible. To really put all of this in a nutshell, when you give yourself the freedom to create in the order in which your mind wants to create, your creative process can flow much more effortlessly and with much less stress. And if the time never seems right and begins to run short, you can always revert back to a more logical discipline-based approach.

Remember, you are not your brain. You are also not your thoughts. Realize that your mind is a wonderfully complex and dynamic tool; but it is still a tool, and when you use this tool with greater skill, you can create more abundantly and more meaningfully.

And fewer things are more enjoyable or more rewarding than that.

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How to Stop Spam with Spam Karma 2 & SI Captcha (2 Free Plugins I love)

Andrew Adi C. — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:22:25 +0000

It’s official: spam has lost and free speech has gained victory.

Have you started a blog only to feel bogged down at managing comments from people who are only interested in pushing their products? Do you feel like you need to babysit your blog just to keep spam comments off of it? Are you ready to give your blog an intelligence upgrade?

Lately, I’ve noticed that some of my fellow travel writers are throwing in the towel and outright disabling the ability to comment on their blogs, and this saddens me. Thankfully, this is still uncommon, but if the problem becomes more intense I can see more bloggers potentially giving up and shutting down comments altogether. And since that isn’t a world I want to live in, I’m going to share my solution here, a solution that works shockingly well.

You see, I love comments. They help me gauge how I’m affecting my audience, and they often provide feedback as to how I can improve. Most importantly, comments are the primary way I interact with my readers, and I know I’m not alone in this.

In the years of trail and error that I’ve had with Byteful Travel, I’ve come up with a solution which simultaneously free, not difficult to setup, and (most importantly) eliminates around 99.9% of comment spam. (That’s a rough estimate, but roughly 999 out of 1000 spams are identified and stopped before they ever have a chance to appear on Byteful Travel.) Take that, dastardly spammers!

The following powerful technique primary applies if you’re using WordPress. And since over 95% of the blogs I’ve ever come across on WordPress (including major blogs like GigaOm, TechCrunch, and StevePavlina.com), there’s a good chance that you’re using it, too. (And if you aren’t, you can safely skip this article. More travel content is up-spin.)

Why not use a 3rd-party commenting service?

While you could certainly integrate a third-party commenting service like Disqus or IntenseDebate, there are clear drawbacks to this approach. As someone who leaves a far share of comments, I can say from experience that if I have to take the trouble to actually log into another site to leave a comment, my chances of leaving a comment are greatly reduced.

Using a third-party commenting system also requires that many files from outside your site also load before someone can leave a comment, so it slows down the experience of browsing your site overall. My time is valuable and so is yours, so third party comment sites are out.

My Tried & True Method

The method I’m about to share with you is a completely free solution that anyone familiar with WordPress can setup. The reason my method works is because I use a combination of two powerful plugins: SI Captcha and Spam Karma 2. Many people only use Akismet, but if you’ve ever tried running Akismet on a popular blog, you know that isn’t enough.

Luckily, both of these plugins are super easy to install through your WordPress interface, and since I’m currently in the middle of setting up a WordPress blog for a friend, I’m going to follow these steps right along with you. And to make it easier, I’ve broken up this process into 3 main sections. (Note: The instructions below apply primary to WordPress 2.9 and up. And if you’re using something older than 2.9 at this point, you need to upgrade as soon as possible because there are security risks in using very old versions of WordPress.)

How to Install “SI Captcha”

Log in to your WordPress control panel.
Click on the “Plugins” section in the left hand column.
Click the “Deactivate” button under the word Akismet. (In my experience it was NOT effective at stopping spam. We’re going to install something much better.)
Click the “Add New” button. (It’s next to the word “Plugins”.)
Search for “SI Captcha”.
In the first few results you’ll see “SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam”. Click “Install Now”.
It will install the plugin. Then click “Activate Plugin”.

Congrats! You’ve just installed SI Captcha, your first line of defense from spammers. Now, as you can see, after you clicked “Activate Plugin” you were returned to the plugin page. Next comes a slightly tricky part. Since Spam Karma doesn’t show up in the WordPress plugin interface, we’re going to install it manually, but don’t worry. It’s not that bad, and it used to be the only way to install plugins into WordPress. 2011.11.29 Update: A newer, easier way to do this has been discovered, so I’ve updated the instructions below.

How to Grab & Install Spam Karma 2:

Head on over to Spam Karma’s download page and grab the latest version in the list. (It will look something like “spam_karma_2_3.zip”.)
Go back to the “Plugins” section
Click “Add New”
Click “Upload” (It’s a small link at the top.)
From here, choose the zip file and click “Install Now”
You will now see SK2 is in the list! Click “Activate”! (You may need to reload your plugins page.)

(If you’re unable to upload the zip file for some reason, unzip the archive after you download it. You’ll then get a folder called “sk2″. Upload the “sk2″ folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder on your server. If you continue to have difficulties, please consult someone who is experienced in WordPress to help you install the plugin.)

Configure Spam Karma 2 & SI Captcha

Now it’s time to get down to business. Click on “Tools” in the left menu.
Under “Tools”, you will see “Spam Karma 2″. Click it.
At this point, SK2 will run some first-time install checks. (I always get errors here, but they never seem to impact SK2 negatively. So don’t worry about the red boxes.) From here, you can get very specific on how you want SK2 to work, but the default settings are fine because we’re using SK2 in conjunction with SI Captcha. (And while here, you may also want to take time to familiarize yourself with the “Recent Spam Harvest” and “Approved Comments” tabs.)
Now let’s configure the Captcha plugin. Head back over to the Plugins page, find SI Captcha, and click “Settings.”
Just to be sure, confirm your server will support the captcha plugin and click the “Test if your PHP installation will support the CAPTCHA” link which is just under the “Update Options” button.
If that worked, then you’re done! Congratulations! At this point you may want to try leaving a comment to be doubly sure that everything works. (And you may need to log out before the captcha will show up.)

Conclusion

This method works because it requires the commenter to fill out a very short captcha before they comment. I realize a lot of people dislike captchas, but with bots roaming the internet in unchecked droves, this is necessary. (After all, “byteful” means binary abundance, not an abundance of spam!) Most importantly, this captcha is very easy to read, and it’s short.

I haven’t seen any decline in my commenting activity since I’ve enabled this either, so you don’t have to worry about this discouraging people to comment. And honestly, typing in 4 letters to comment is just as much trouble as typing your email address, which you would type in anyway.

Captchas are spam-killing magic because they cut down on over 95% of spam by ensuring that only live human beings are leaving comments. That’s why SI captcha is a perfect first line of defense. There is a problem, however. Sometimes live human beings are paid to write spam comments for your blog, so that’s what the second plugin is for. It’s true! I’ve noticed that human spammers stop by Byteful Travel and try to leave comments that have nothing to do with a post; but since we’ve installed Spam Karma 2 as well, all comments are also analyzed by its tried and true spam-detecting algorithms. The result is, that none of the spam gets through, and the days of feeling like I had to babysit my site to stop spam are long gone.

By using both of these plugins, I am able to keep comments activated on my site, which helps keep me stay connected to all of you. And that’s a beautiful thing.

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Byteful Travel Blog Carnival #8 – 2011 Sept 27

Andrew Adi C. — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:00:13 +0000

Holy Koh Mak!

I’ve decided that I’m not going to try to hide my enthusiasm. (It would be in vain, anyway.) Because I am SO psyched to share the 8th BT Blog Carnival with you today.

Why? Well, because it’s inspired me. I’ve never seen so many truly great stories submitted before. In a typical carnival, I see some good tips articles, some interesting photography articles, and maybe one or two truly great stories. But this time, the quality has gone up right along with the quantity, resulting in my favorite blog carnival I’ve ever had the privilege to put together. (And if you’re new to blog carnivals, you’re in for a ride. They’re one of the best ways to discover awesome new content you never would have discovered otherwise.)

I’ll be the first to admit that my attention span can be short at times, and I think we’ve all closed a web page just a few seconds after loading it because we quickly became bored with the content. Well, not today. I’m very glad to say that actually I had trouble taking my eyes off of some of these articles, which is a rare event for me. So a huge thanks to everyone who submitted, especially those who continue to submit month after month! Truly, this carnival was made possible because of you all.

The Best of this Carnival

In case you don’t have time to read all 21 excellent articles at the moment, I have 4 favorites that you should definitely not miss. First is Jaemin’s Getting Mugged in Colombia, which is an engrossing story about what’s really important in life and how trusting your instincts can save you a lot of trouble (which is something I’ve learned the hard way before).

The second is Zhu’s A Parisian Bug Story which is a great short story about how a situation can seem to get stuck and then unexpectedly become unstuck again. Coming in at a bit longer than that is Iain Manley’s beautifully detailed account of a little-known island called Koh Mak in Thailand’s Quiet Island. (Even though it’s rather long, it’s a wonderful read.)

And lastly, I must highlight Idelish’s If nothing else, take these 3 photographs on your travels which contains some really great ideas on the 3 types of shots to take at your next travel destination. This article is put together extremely well with lots of stunning photography to illustrate its points. Highly recommended.

A Reminder & A Win-Win-Win

Just a reminder that if one of your articles is in this month’s edition, please be sure to retweet, stumble, and “Like” this article. Remember, spreading the word multiplies the reaching-power of this blog carnival which in turn helps more people discover your article and grows your site! (And if you aren’t yet a submitter, find out how you too can submit to this carnival farther down.)

As I’ve said before, blog carnivals have a reaching power that continually surprises me; and by submitting to this carnival, you reach many people, some of which have never even seen your site before. It’s a real win-win-win situation.

In this carnival, we journey from the shores of the Isle of Koh Mak to the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul and far beyond. So remember to blink, because we’re about to be immersed in many wonderful tales of travel…

Travel Stories

Zhu presents:
A Parisian Bug Story posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“The room looked just fine at first glance: we put our backpacks down, checked the bathroom out quickly and sat on the bed. A minute later, Feng opened the window to see if we could actually see the Eiffel Tower from the room.”

Jaemin Yi presents:
Getting Mugged in Colombia posted at Jaemin Yi, saying,

“The story of how I got mugged by 7 guys at knifepoint in Medellin, Colombia.”

AsianUrbanist presents:
Transforming Public Spaces in Asia posted at AsianUrbanist, saying,

“A trip to Japan and reflection on the transformations of public spaces with Tokyo Midtown Mall as an example.”

Serena Makofsky presents:
Surprises Beneath the Surface posted at Have You Seen the Dog Lately?, saying,

“Something as simple as buying and eating fresh fruit and vegetables has remarkable possibilities in a foreign country.”

Iain Manley presents:
The Curse of Gokarna posted at Old World Wandering: A Travelogue, saying,

“A long article about the past, present and uncertain future of an Indian village and popular tourist destination.”

Scholars & Rogues presents:
Sorry, officer, we’re not from around here posted at Scholars and Rogues.

Michael Turtle presents:
US Road Trippin’ posted at Time Travel Turtle.

Michael Turtle presents:
Khao San Road blues posted at Time Travel Turtle.

Travel Destinations

Tui Cameron presents:
Fort Worth Water Gardens posted at Discovering Dallas – Fort Worth, saying,

“To me, the Fort Worth Water Gardens are a modern take on ancient city fountains, with Mother Nature as the theme instead of cherubs and Roman gods. Even though flanked by skyscrapers and Interstate 30, it successfully creates a contemplative oasis in the middle of a busy urban environment. If I worked within walking distance, I would eat my lunch there as often as possible. Best of all, this peaceful space is free to the public and open every single day!”

Iain Manley presents:
Thailand’s Quiet Island posted at Old World Wandering, saying,

“An article about Koh Mak, a quiet Thai island without prostitution or the bucket-drinking brigade.”

Jason Noronha presents:
10 Reasons to Pack Your Bags for Rio de Janeiro posted at The Orange Mango, saying,

“I spent 2 weeks in Rio last month and I fell in love with the place and this is why…”

Jennifer Miner presents:
Fall Foliage Trips in Upstate New York posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“The Adirondacks has some great scenic byways for appreciating the peak fall foliage season in Upstate New York.”

Perrin Smith presents:
Extra(ordinary) Days in Seattle posted at Nod ‘n’ Smile.

Travel Photography

Patty Pittman presents:
When Karateka Go Hiking, Caribou Mountain NH posted at Kihon Wasa, saying,

“Hiking and pictures of Caribou Mountain Trail in the White Mountains in New Hampshire, shared with friends. It was a great hike, lots of blueberries and breathtaking views.”

Nicole Elena Robertson presents:
Pattern in Topkapi Palace, Istanbul posted at Nicole Elena Robertson, saying,

“A photo essay of the intricate tile and painted patterns within the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.”

Shirlene from Idelish presents:
If nothing else, take these 3 photographs on your travels posted at Idelish.

Jairo Al Jairo presents:
Travel Diaries: Batu Karas, West Java, Indonesia posted at Light Sensation.

The Soul of Japan presents:
Karuizawa Summer posted at The Soul of Japan.

Travel Tips

Heartland Frugalista presents:
The Long and Winding Road: Biking for Pleasure and Utilitarian Purposes posted at Heartland Living on a Budget, saying,

“Biking is a fabulous way to travel. In this piece I introduce a few friends who travel by bike in Wisconsin and Hawaii.”

Dawn Xiana Moon presents:
Cincinnati’s Regional Cuisine: Goetta posted at Kitchen Lore.

Imbraycd presents:
The best day of the week to purchase airfare posted at Imbraycd.

Care to grow your blog’s audience?

If you write well (and you’ve written something that relates to travel), and you haven’t submitted to the BTBC before, what the heck are you waiting for? Blog Carnivals are an amazing and free way to get more exposure to your work, so you’d be silly not to take advantage of this opportunity.

Are you ready to become a force for positive connections?

So far BTBC has only been hosted on Byteful Travel, but I’d like to change that. I always stress at the end of these that BTBC is a travelling blog carnival, which means it’s meant to be hosted by multiple blogs, not just on Byteful Travel. So if you have a travel-related blog and you’re interested in hosting the BTBC, please contact me via the contact page. Not only will hosting attract more attention to your blog, it will help bring the travel writing community together too. Remember, whenever you host a carnival, you become a force that allows positive connections to manifest.

BTBC #9 in November (& More). Will you join us?

The next carnival is in late November. Will you be the one to have the gumption to step forward and be the first writer to host the BTBC outside this site? Do you want to become a force for creating positive connections? After all, this carnival wants to travel, and it can’t do that without you.

UPDATE: Tui of Mental Mosaic has stepped up and will host the 9th BTBC. So be sure to checkout Mental Mosaic on November 30th!

UPDATE 2: The 9th BTBC has been posted! For more awesome travel writing, don’t miss it: Byteful Travel Blog Carnival #9 – 2011 Nov 30

Also, now that we’ve explored the fun interactive (and free) Intel museum and made a brief visit to Apple’s Campus, we’ll soon wrap up our exploration of Silicon Valley with an exploration of the incredible (and free) Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. And after that, we return to San Francisco to explore its many wonders, including Lombard Street and Coit Tower. So there’s lots coming up that I’m excited to share with you all!

Looking for more handpicked travel content?

A few weeks ago, I created a Paper.li periodical called the Byteful Travel Weekly Recap. There are two cool things I like about Paper.li. One is, it automatically collects the best content from writers I’ve hand-picked from across the web, most of which I’ve discovered because they’ve submitted to the Byteful Travel Blog Carnival. In fact, since it automatically updates every Monday, it always has fresh articles from my fellow travel writers. The other thing I really like about it is that it presents the articles in a very friendly newspaper layout, so finding something you like is really easy. So check it out: Byteful Travel Weekly Recap

And let me know what you think!

Also, if you’d like your content to get exposure through the Byteful Travel Weekly Recap, then submit a quality piece to the BTBC. That’s the best way to be considered for being added to the list of contributors.

And until next time, may your travels enlighten your soul to fresh insights, new connections, and powerful realizations.

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Byteful Travel Blog Carnival #7 – 2011 July 26

Andrew Adi C. — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 07:22:10 +0000

The summer travel season is in full swing, and today I’m excited to share with you some of the best travel writing around the web in the 7th Byteful Travel Blog Carnival.

As I’ve said before, blog carnivals are one of the best ways to discover new quality content you never would have discovered otherwise, and this carnival is no exception.

Since I’m currently on the road as you read this, I’ll make the intro to this carnival brief; however, I should point out some of the more surprising submissions I received this time, such as Michelle’s Why Not Walk to Arizona? which features some stunning Utah geology that I never even knew existed (and I’ve been to Utah more than once.) I should also point out Jo Bryant’s The Gorillas of Virunga National Park, Rwanda which features some gorgeous gorilla photos, as well as a great story of her personal experience with these often misunderstood primates.

And please remember: if one of your articles is in this month’s edition, please be sure to retweet, stumble, and “Like” this article because spreading the word multiplies the reaching-power of this blog carnival very much which in turn helps more people discover your article and grows your site! (And if you aren’t a submitter, find out how you too can submit to this carnival farther down.)

Reaching Power

There’s so much I could say about this edition’s submissions. But said I’d keep this intro brief, so I’d just like to say a big thank you to everyone who submitted, especially the ones who submit time and again. You all continually inspire me.

Blog carnivals have a reaching power that continually surprises me, and through this carnival, you reach people who may have never even seen your site before. It’s a win-win-win situation, and aren’t those wonderful? So take a deep breath and remember to blink, because we’re about to go on a journey…

Travel Destinations

Beth Blair presents:
Averill’s Flathead Lake Lodge: A Family-Friendly Montana Dude Ranch posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“Flathead lake Lodge in Montana has something for everyone who seeks a dude ranch experience. Families come back year after year.”

Michelle presents:
Why Not Walk to Arizona? posted at A Local Wander.

Quiet Wanderings presents:
North to Alaska posted at Quiet Wanderings.

Travel Stories

Dean Grassie presents:
Have You Ever…? posted at Greendockin’ and Full-Time RV Living, saying,

“My wife and I write this blog together. We find it works for us. I’m more informative and she is the funny one. This blog was about an adventure that we had fishing at a remote lake on the Nevada/Utah border. It reminded us of how small and simple things can bring happiness to those around us, and, in turn, brings joy to ourselves.”

Fleonard presents:
A Fork in the Road: 20 Random Things I Like About Ghana: #5 Goats posted at A Fork in the Road, saying,

“Relocating to new countries leads you to appreciate things you would have never given much attention to before — like goats…”

Nine presents:
Everywhere and all over posted at Abyssinia, Henry.

Brendon presents:
Sleeping on the Great Wall of China posted at ChinaTravelGo.

Laura Burnett presents:
The Germany I Saw posted at Living the Clever Life.

Jo Bryant presents:
The Gorillas of Virunga National Park, Rwanda posted at Chronicles of Illusions.

Travel Tips

Jennifer Miner presents:
Best Gelato Shops in Rome, Italy posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“Sure, all gelato seems pretty great when it’s around 95 degrees F., but these are the 3 best gelato shops my family found in Rome during our summer vacation there.”

Zhu presents:
It’s A Mall World posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“I’m pretty sure people in Bangkok suffer from a hoarding problem. How else can you explain the dozens of malls and markets, scattered across the city?”

Care to grow your blog’s audience?

Are you ready to become a force for positive connections?

So far BTBC has only been hosted on Byteful Travel, but I’d like to change that. BTBC is a travelling blog carnival, which means it’s meant to be hosted by multiple blogs, not just Byteful Travel. So if you have a travel-related blog and you’re interested in hosting the BTBC, please contact me via the contact page. Not only will hosting attract more attention to your blog, it will help bring the travel writing community together too, because whenever you host a carnival, you become a force that allows positive connections to manifest.

If you’re interested, please contact me. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!

BTBC #8 arrives in September, will you be the one?

The next carnival is in late September. Will you be the one to have the gumption to step forward and be the first writer to host the BTBC outside this site? Do you want to become a force for creating positive connections? After all, this carnival wants to travel, and it can’t do that without you.

In conclusion, a big thanks goes out to everyone who submitted! Not only have you helped grow your audience, but you’re also inspiring people from across the globe to get out there and explore for themselves. And that, my friends, is beautiful.

Bookmark & stay tuned: Coming up soon is an interview with a veteran hitchhiker who has been hitching over 60 years. And, now that we’ve explored Google’s headquarters (not to mention the breathtaking McWay Falls in Big Sur before that), we’ll soon continue our exploration of Silicon Valley with a spotlight on Intel’s headquarters (and free museum) in Santa Clara, California! So there’s lots coming up that I’m very excited to share with you.

Until next time, may your travels enlighten your soul and renew your mind.

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Byteful Travel Blog Carnival #6 – 2011 May 31

Andrew Adi C. — Tue, 31 May 2011 07:33:24 +0000

Nearly a year ago now, I started the Byteful Travel Blog Carnival with the intention to network and discover new travel writers from all over the planet.

In that time, I accomplished that mission, and more. Time and again, blog carnivals have proven to me how useful they are in discovering new content that you never would have discovered otherwise. (And you’ll find out how you too can submit to this carnival farther down.)

I’m so thankful to see how this blog carnival has grown and matured over the past year; and it’s all thanks to you, my fellow travel writers who submit your best stuff to the Byteful Travel Blog Carnival (or BTBC) month after month. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: Thanks so much for helping make BTBC a great resource! You all deserve a round of applause for your consistent submissions, especially the regulars (you know who you are). I know it my sound silly, but go ahead, give yourself an applause. You guys deserve it! I’ll still be here when you’re done.

Oh, and remember: if one of your articles is in this month’s edition, please be sure to retweet and stumble this article because spreading the word multiplies the reaching-power of this blog carnival very much which in turn helps more people discover your article and grows your site!

Plus, I’ll love you forever. (A platonic love, of course.)

The Largest BTBC Yet

Today’s edition is pretty big. In fact, at 25 entries it weighs in at the largest BTBC yet! From octopus-filled Korean lunches, to scuba diving in Lana’i, to a serene teahouse in the Sumava mountains, this blog carnival literally has it all. Although I was surprised that a few of my favorites didn’t have many comments. Articles like Vagablond’s Magical China, Jaemin’s How to Get By When You Can’t Speak the Language, and Emma’s Winter in Chicago… now talk about interesting! all currently have 2 or less comments (made by people other than the article’s author, at least).

I was pretty surprised by this because I really enjoyed each of them, so I’ve decided to highlight them here. Mayhaps we can call this the “Highlighting the Underdogs” section. (Although perhaps I shouldn’t be that surprised since two of those three only started blogging this year, so they haven’t built up much of an audience yet.)

In any case, I’m really pleased at the quality and quantity of submissions this time, and I suspect you’re going to enjoy this batch of articles a lot. So, button your jacket tightly, because we’re about to go through a tornado of pure story…

Travel Destinations

Zhu presents:
Magnetic Island posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“Once you step out of the airport or any air-conditioned place you were lucky to be in, the heat hits you. It’s moist, humid, the sun hit any inch of bare skin and you can’t escape. Welcome to Queensland.”

Traci Suppa presents:
World’s Largest Shuffleboard Club, St. Petersburg, FL posted at Go BIG or Go Home, saying,

“For me, shuffleboard has a “retro” appeal, representing a time in our history when family entertainment was more social, and wholesomely unplugged. An endearing example of historic preservation moving in the right direction is the Mirror Lake Shuffleboard Club in St. Pete, FL. It’s the world’s largest shuffleboard club and the oldest in the country.”

Marilyn Stowe presents:
New York: behind the steel and glass posted at Marilyn Stowe Blog, saying,

“New York is buzzing. The recession is over, the streets are thronged with people, the tills in the shops are ringing and the restaurants are packed. When I was there last week, the city that never sleeps certainly lived up to its reputation.”

Tamara presents:
Inside NYC #14: tipping our hats to Cooper Square’s Trilby restaurant posted at Smith Travel Blog, saying,

“A quick review of the new restaurant, Trilby in New York’s Cooper Square Hotel – the edgy East Village stay.”

Cisko presents:
Austin,Texas posted at CiskoPicks, saying,

“Describing Austin and what makes Austin such a vibrant city.”

Erica & Cassi presents:
Good Trips to Bad Places: A Winter Day at Terezin Concentration Camp posted at Nonstop World Travel.

Quiet Wanderings presents:
‘The Good Tea Place’ Cesky Krumlov posted at Quiet Wanderings.

Travel Photography

O.C. Heaton presents:
Why you should watch the new film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand posted at A Rush of Green, saying,

“Until last week I had never heard of Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the aerial photographer who spent two years filming the earth from a helicopter. The result of his unusual work was his bestselling book The Earth from the Air, which was published in 2010 and has already sold a staggering 3.5 million copies.”

Jennifer Miner presents:
Los Angeles Pillow Fight Day Photos posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“Here are some photos taken during Los Angeles Pillow Fight Day, part of International Pillow Fight Day. It was a really fun event in downtown LA!”

Stuart Mathieson presents:
The Return to Delhi – Dec 2010 India posted at An Ache For The Distance, saying,

“Nostalgic at the end of a 3 month India trip…”

Travel Stories

The Vagablond presents:
There are Eyes in my Kimchi: Why I was afraid of Korean Food posted at The Vagablond, saying,

“Yes, the School Lunch, in its hideous little black and red box, accompanied by a stone-cold bowl of Slop parading as Soup, always slimy and smelling of rotting fish in midsummer heat, is to be condemned for turning someone who would eat Anything into someone who wanted None Of It, not even if it was Outside The Box, Over There, Under That, or Disguised As A Hamburger.”

Zhu presents:
Living Out Of A Bag posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“Hostels are chaotic places. Shared bathrooms, communal kitchen, dorms… living with perfect strangers is both surprisingly easy and quite weird. You can tell the kids who have never lived outside home (hint: they leave dishes everywhere and walk around in filthy clothes because they are quite not sure how the washing-machine works) from those who have some experience being on their own.”

Steve Chasey presents:
Vidyanikethan posted at S&S Travel the Long Way Round, saying,

“My wife and I are in the middle of a five month trip and are blogging from the road. Hope you enjoy this story of us volunteering at a school for children from the slums in India.”

The Vagablond presents:
Coconut Bowling and Leering Cow: The Flee from Ko Phi Phi posted at The Vagablond, saying,

“From Ko Phi Phi to Ko Phangan, a day of some ridiculous events.”

Kara Williams presents:
Lānaʻi, Hawaii: Scuba Diving the Cathedrals with Trilogy Ocean Sports posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“Part of soft adventure travel involves facing up to our fears. It had been a long time since I last experienced scuba diving, but the lava tubes off Hawaii’s Lana’i island were worth it.”

Jennifer Miner presents:
Halfway through a Round-the-World Family Trip posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“Halfway through a family round the world trip; what my sons and I have learned so far (guest post by Michelle Duffy).”

Emma presents:
Winter in Chicago… Now talk about interesting! posted at GohemianTravellers, saying,

“Chicago in February!? I may have seemed mad but managed to become a part of blizzard history. What an experience!”

Shannon O’Donnell presents:
A Little Vignette… Finding the Cultural Norms in Jordan posted at A Little Adrift: A RTW Travelogue, saying,

“Adjusting to travel in a whole new country and a region of the world where cultural norms and behaviors are very, very different from the West.”

Stephanie Ockerman presents:
5 Things I Have Learned About Living Simpler posted at The Travel Chica, saying,

“After 6 months of travel, this is what I learned about living simpler.”

The Vagablond presents:
Magical China: First Impressions posted at The Vagablond, saying,

“Why I fell in love with a country that was never on my radar.”

Stephfret presents:
Tahiti, part 1 posted at Buttermilk Party Cake, saying,

“Culinary revelations in Tahiti”

Jessie Costin presents:
Cape Town: Even the Dogs Have Street Smarts posted at JessieCostin.com.

Quiet Wanderings presents:
California Dreaming posted at Quiet Wanderings.

Laurakuhn presents:
Check Their Ring Finger (Week 1 – Hawaii) posted at Window Seats.

Travel Tips

Jaemin Yi presents:
How to Get By When You Can’t Speak the Language posted at Jaemin Yi.com, saying,

“I recently spent a month in Medellin, Colombia, and was able to create a whole social life, have adventures, and make amazing bonds — even though I had the Spanish skills of a 4 year old. I learned a lot during that time and wanted to share some tips with my fellow travelers.”

Care to grow your blog’s audience?

Whew! That was a lot of awesome entries, wasn’t it? Wouldn’t it be cool if you could be listed among them? If you write well (and you’ve written something that relates to travel) and you haven’t submitted to the BTBC before, what the heck-fire are you waiting for? Blog Carnivals are an amazing and free way to get more exposure to your work, so you’d be silly not to take this opportunity.

To submit an article you wrote so it can be considered for inclusion next time, please submit your article (and no more than 3 of them, please) to the next edition of the Byteful Travel carnival using this Byteful Travel carnival submission form. And remember, to be accepted into the carnival you must submit a blog post that provides real value to the reader, so no spammy articles. And if your submission isn’t poetry, it’s gotta be at least 300 words long. To see past posts and future hosts, check the blog carnival index.

Get Ready for BTBC #7

The next carnival is in late July; and, as always, I’m looking forward to sharing more travel articles then. And hopefully the BTBC will finally get to travel around a bit and be hosted elsewhere. But that can only happen if someone steps up to the plate.

Once again, a huge thanks to everyone who submitted. Not only have you helped grow your audience, but you’re also inspiring uncounted numbers of people to get out there and explore for themselves. And that, my writerly friends, is beautiful.

Until next time, may all of your travels enlighten your soul just as the morning sun warms your face and the sweet air clears your mind.

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Introducing the Free Byteful Travel Newsletter

Andrew Adi C. — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 08:22:35 +0000

Today, I’m announcing something brand-new: the Byteful Travel Newsletter.

What’s your favorite newsletter? My goal is not to merely rival your favorite email newsletter. In time, I want the Byteful Travel Newsletter to take its place as your favorite.

I realize I probably won’t be to achieve the title of your favorite newsletter for a while, but this is my long-term goal. (On the other hand, if you enjoy Byteful Travel but you don’t currently subscribe to any email newsletters, I hope the Byteful Travel Newsletter will be your first, because it will contain the same kind of breathtaking photography and inspirational content that this site does; and more. More on that in a minute.)

A Newsletter Designed for You, The Adventurer

In order to achieve this goal, I’ve decided to build this free newsletter around your needs; including serving as a continual reminder that you are an adventurer, that it’s up to you (and only you) to create the adventure your life was meant to be.

And as it says in the right-hand sidebar, this newsletter is going to relay “pure adventuristic joy”, which means that this newsletter will convey the same vibrance and energy that the articles here on Byteful Travel do.

The focus of the newsletter will always be enlightenment through travel, but the way it’s presented and the frequency of new issues is largely up to you guys, my adventuresome readers. So this means that anyone who signs up for the newsletter and sends me feedback will have a direct effect on what the newsletter becomes. I very much value and expect feedback on what you want out of this newsletter.

What can you expect?

Let me be super clear here. As I said above, you will have a direct affect on how the newsletter changes over time, so I can’t predict what the newsletter will evolve into. However, although the newsletter will adapt to the needs of the subscribers over time, I do have a vision for what I will initially include.

So you can get a better idea what to expect, I plan to include:

Travel Insights and Tips which aren’t published anywhere on the site
(some bits of advice that don’t necessarily warrant their own articles)
First Impressions if I’m currently on assignment when a newsletter is sent
(this will give you a sneak peak of what’s to come to Byteful Travel before it’s ever published to the web)
A Short Recap of any articles published since the last newsletter
(so you’ll never miss out on any of the adventure or photography)

So in exchange for signing up for the newsletter, you’ll be receiving insights, tips, and first impressions that will be exclusive to the newsletter and not available anywhere else on the web, all free of charge. And keep in mind that the list above isn’t set in stone, either. I’m going to let the newsletter improve and evolve over time into whatever form serves its purpose best.

The bottom line is, I want this newsletter to be the most fascinating, exciting thing in your inbox when it arrives, which means making it vibrant, inspiring, and exceptional. I realize I may not hit that mark first time out of the gate, but it’s my goal to get there eventually. And I will.

How often will it arrive?

I expect that it will be sent out every other month, but the frequency of new issues will depend on how much extra time this requires, the reaction that the newsletter receives from readers, and the feedback I get on the first few issues.

I won’t send out the first issue until there’s a decent amount of subscribers to actually send the first issue out to. (And keep in mind that it’s super easy to unsubscribe if for some reason you decide later that you’d rather not receive the Byteful Travel Newsletter.)

And in case you were curious, your email address will be kept completely confidential and never sold for any amount of money (unlike some sites), you can unsubscribe easily any time, and I’ll never play silly marketing games with you because I hate spam as much as you do. Seriously, “hate” is a mild word for how I feel about spam. The last time I checked, spam never inspired or helped anyone, so it has no place anywhere near the Byteful Travel Newsletter.

That being said, I’m really looking forward to communicating with you all in a new medium (for me), sharing the my best travel sights and insights, and doing what I can to help you embrace enlightened adventures.

Basically, if you enjoy reading Byteful Travel, you’ll love the Byteful Travel Newsletter. Do you have any thoughts on what should be included or left out? Let me know below or on the Contact page! I’m listening, and I’m looking forward to sharing what’s in store.

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