Photo by Mark Shandro

Whether sending email, uploading photos, booking flights and hotels, paying the bills back home, and checking the status of a bank account, travelers use the internet for a huge variety of tasks.

The ubiquity of internet cafes around the world has made this convenience possible.

Sitting down at an internet cafe has become so common in the life of travelers that few stop to consider the security of these very public computers.

But if we do stop to think about it, internet cafe computers (and any information you send or access from them) are clearly vulnerable. Fortunately, protecting yourself is not very difficult.

Here are some things you can do to keep your data safe:

1. Get Portable Firefox

The first step to securing your internet connection, is securing your browser. The best way to do this is to install Portable Firefox on a USB thumb drive.

When you sit down at the computer, plug in the thumb drive and start your own version of Firefox from there. As you will see, this small piece of gear is really a necessity for any traveler planning to use public computers.

2. Connect Securely

Once you have your own version of Firefox up and running on the cafe’s computer, it is time to connect to the internet. To ensure your online safety, it is imperative that you use a secure connection when accessing sensitive sites.

In most cases, when Firefox makes a secure connection a closed padlock appears in the right hand side of the address bar.

If you don’t see this icon, try retyping the address using “https” instead of “http.” In this case “s” means that you are using a special, secure, encrypted connection to the site.

If you always forget to include the “s” try bookmarking the secure site and using that link instead of typing in an address. If you are using a USB drive with your own Firefox browser, these bookmarks will be available anywhere you go.

Alternately, try using this special script with Firefox, which automatically inserts the “s” into preselected site addresses.

3. Confuse the Keyloggers

Once you have established a secure connection, it is time to log in. Thanks to the use of “https” it is significantly more difficult, if not impossible, for people ‘looking in’ on the connection from other computers to steal your data.

Photo by KingJeng.net

That said, the secure connection does not prevent a program on the computer you are using from recording everything you type. These programs, called “keyloggers” are especially dangerous when typing things like login names, passwords, and passport and credit card numbers.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do.

First, by using bookmarks saved in your portable Firefox browser to connect to sensitive sites, instead of manually typing in the addresses, you eliminate the common method keyloggers use to index data. This makes it much more difficult to assign, for example, a password with a specific email site.

A simple trick that will fool most keyloggers is to disguise your password in a sea of “dummy characters.”

To do this click the password box and type the first character of your password. Next click anywhere else on the page to deselect the password box, and type some random characters before reselecting the password box and entering the second character.

Repeat this process for each character of your password.

This works because most keylogging programs cannot distinguish random typing from typing in a specific field on a web page. For a more complete explanation of this technique, read the short PDF report of a study testing it conducted by Microsoft, and this discussion that followed.

If you frequent some really questionable internet cafes and you want the best defense against keyloggers, than PasswordMaker is the answer. This program produces passwords that are very difficult to crack and is available as a add-on for your Firefox browser.

4. Use Encryption

No matter how well you have planned your trip, sometimes there is business that cannot be done remotely. When this happens, travelers are often forced to send sensitive private information to a trusted friend or family member.

If you are in a situation where you must email credit card, pin, social security, or passport numbers, using encrypted email is a very good idea.

Email encryption codes your message so that it is indecipherable. A special key is created that can be used to unlock the coded message. The easiest way to send encrypted email is via Gmail Encryption a script that is, obviously, specific to Google’s free email service.

If you don’t like Gmail, the Encrypt This! add-on for Firefox will easily encrypt any text in your browser.

5. Don’t Get Caught by a Phisher

Phishing scams involve decoy websites or emails that mimic an official one. When you enter your information into the fraudulent site, it is sent to a third party. Carefully checking the address of websites you visit is the best defense against these scams.

Firefox also comes with some built in protection. To enable it, go to the Tools menu and select Options. Under the Security tab, check the box next to “Tell me if the site I’m visiting is a suspected forgery” and select the option to “ask Google.”

For a little extra protection, there are several add-ons for Firefox that will make you even safer against phishers.

The Internet, especially when accessed from a public computer or internet cafe, is a dangerous place for your private data.

Fortunately, with a little preparation and care we can surf along without a problem. With precautions in place, you can worry less about your time online, and focus on enjoying your travels.

What tips do you have for traveler’s internet security? Share your own tips in the comments!

Here’s our favourite links we found this week:

Tibetans have taken to the streets in a fight for freedom. Add your voice to the global petition.

Thinking of volunteering abroad in Thailand? How about eco-friendly volunteering? Check out a few great options.

A must read if you’re still in the dark about the quagmire in the Middle East: Five Things You Need to Know to Understand the Latest Violence in Iraq.

What would BNT do without our wonderful contributors? Here’s an article homage to you: Writing for peanuts and loving it.

The 2008 Travvies are now open for nominations! Last year, BNT was a respectful runner-up in a few categories. With your help, maybe this year we’ll win some! Consider nominating us for:

• Best Travel Blog
• Best Group-Written Travel Blog
• Best Informative/Practical Blog

Spring break is just about over, but these timeless travel tips with your kids won’t go out of style: Tips for a Smooth Travel Day With Kids

Lastly, the feel good story of the week is a guy who got mugged…and made sure to give the thief his own jacket.

Enjoy the weekend!

Photo by elle_rigby

I’m writing from behind the reception desk here at El Diablo Tranquilo hostel in Punta del Diablo, Uruguay.

Every day a new group of travelers arrives in this chill little beach town. Some are seasoned solo travelers, like the sea captain who cleaned out a group of earnest Swedes in Texas Hold ‘Em last night, or the Alaskan mountain guide who winters in South America. Others are backpackers, traveling in groups, red-faced under their massive mochillas.

I have a blast hanging out with all the travelers who pass through Punta del Diablo, but I can’t help but notice how the travel style of the experienced vagabonds is much more simple and elegant than the “messily enthusiastic” methods of the newbie travelers.

While I’m still more like a naive gap-year backpacker than a world-wise traveler (the sea captain took my pesos too), I’ve learned a thing or two about travel over the years.

Deep in the BNT archives, there’s a fine article by Kirsty Henderson entitled 5 Common Mistakes Of First-Time Backpackers.

Kirsty beat me to the punch by identifying several common pitfalls, like packing too much, trying to see too much, and planning too strict an itinerary.

So, I now give you 7 MORE common mistakes made by first-time backpackers. I speak from experience, having fallen into every one of these traps at least once.

Hopefully, by reading this article, you’ll manage to avoid them.

1. Too Little Research

Doing too little research is even worse than planning too strict an itinerary. At a bare minimum, you should learn a few words of the local language, have a sense of the cultural norms and history and know the basic geography of your destination.

The more research you do in advance, the more you will enjoy your trip. Guaranteed.

2. Sticking To The Hostel Trail

Traveling from hostel to hostel in the company of other backpackers is the easiest thing in the world. Don’t get me wrong – hostel life is a lot of fun. But by sticking to the hostel you lose out on opportunities for local interaction and original experience.

Make an effort to try other lodging options, such as camping, couchsurfing, home-stays and even short term apartment rentals.

3. Flaunting Wealth

If you’re traveling the world, you’re richer than 90 percent of the people in it. If you travel in cheap destinations like Latin America, India or Southeast Asia, you may not spend a lot of money, but you are still astronomically wealthy by local standards.

Flaunting wealth in such places can be as seemingly innocuous as listening to an iPod or taking photos with a digital DSLR. Strive for discretion and modesty.

4. Getting Stuck Without Money

Having no money is a heck of a lot worse than showing off by spending too much. Be sure you have at least two ways to access money on the road. A debit card is good, but keep some traveler’s checks also, along with cash. Store your money in separate places and have a backup plan in case your belongings are stolen.

5. Drinking Too Much

Photo by Satbir

It’s easy to drink too much while traveling, not only because many travelers are in the ‘vacation’ mindset, but also because travel is stressful, and alcohol is a simple way to (temporarily) relieve stress.

Make a conscious effort to drink wisely. You will save money and energy, and lessen your chances of getting robbed or injured.

6. Checking Facebook Every Day

You will miss your friends and family while traveling. So write letters. Write blogs. Call home on Skype once in a while. But don’t get sucked into the gossip of Facebook, or check e-mail three times a day. Traveling means leaving home behind. Leave your homepage behind too.

7. Ignoring Advice

Even if you agree with all the advice I’ve just passed along, I’m sure you’ll leave for your next trip with too big a pack and too strict an itinerary. I bet you’ll be updating your Facebook status, and it wouldn’t surprise me to find you drinking too much in a hostel bar.

Why do I have so little faith in your ability to follow sound advice? Well, to be honest, I don’t follow my own advice half the time.

Traveling well demands a combination of spontaneity, confidence, humility and discipline that can be difficult to balance.

We can never hope to master the art of travel, but by learning from our mistakes and doing our best to follow the advice of others, we can avoid some common pitfalls.

What travel mistakes have you learned from? Leave a comment below!

Photo by Mike Warren

You’re in an out-of-the-way corner of Japan, enjoying a mid-morning ride on a cheaply purchased mountain bike, viewing a landscape that only so many places can offer.

A smoking volcano to the left, and a revolving sushi restaurant on the right, not yet open for the lunch crowd.

Suddenly, the front wheel of the bike jams.

Unprepared for such massive deceleration, your body flys over the handlebars, all four limbs flailing in an attempt to adjust to this new gravity-free world.

Not quickly enough, you realize, as your right hand sickeningly crunches into the ground.

Silence.

Your eyes open slowly. Still sprawled on the asphalt, you’re more than confident you can simply stand up, gather your thoughts, and laugh this off as simply another close call.

That is, however, until your right hand refuses to obey any commands, and you instinctively look at the shattered remains of a limb that was once so reliable, so whole.

For every high-risk, adrenaline-seeking lifestyle, there are ten thousand high-risk injuries that might happen.

The human body is fragile. I repeat: the human body is fragile; it can be broken, bruised, cut, burned, twisted, maimed, strained, overworked, and sickened.

With risk comes adventure, and all adventures that we have on the road, whether they include ascending a vertical ice wall on Everest, or simply lugging groceries back to your beach hut in Thailand, carry the possibility of medical disaster.

If you’re hurt enough to require medical attention in a foreign country, here are 3 points to keep in mind:

1. Learn The Word For Hospital

Hopefully you’ve studied and memorized the necessary words in the native language for ‘hospital,’ ‘help’, and ‘pain’.

What most people don’t do, however, is pick up the skills to describe the kind of pain you’re feeling (dull, sharp, continuous, off-and-on) and from where (head, toe, heart, 3 cm under the left thigh).

Perhaps unearthing a medical dictionary in your country of travel isn’t high on the list of priority items (it’s easier to just play it safe); but you’ll thank yourself if an emergency arises.

2. Can You Pay The Bill?

Consider your financial situation and surroundings before deciding on treatment.

Are you in the middle of the Burmese jungle and will you have to travel for an extended period to reach the nearest hospital? Do you have traveler’s insurance? Maybe you should fly home for treatment, unless it’s life threatening.

Do you trust doctors who won’t necessarily be able to understand your wishes, or you them? It’s all about weighing the risk factors and thinking about the resources available to you.

Work through the pain (yes, even searing pain) and try to keep a clear head.

3. Be Patient

Think about extending your stay. If you’ve got an injury that requires regular visits to the doctor and/or physical therapy, and you’re already a resident expat, you might want to put down roots for the time being.

Beware: it will be tempting to shirk your recovery and hit the road if the pain is bearable. The promise of waking up who-knows-where tomorrow is tempting, but the fact remains you require rest, time for recovery, and follow-up medical care.

Aggravating an injury by quickly returning to an active travel lifestyle will only make things worse.

There will come a time when you will return to the road; keep that running through your head every step of the way, and remember that getting injured and treated in a foreign environment is an adventure in itself.

Talk to the nurses about the kinds of patients they see; make small talk with your physical therapist while he’s torturing your joints. But, never allow yourself to become too complacent.

The wanderlust fire is still burning, just dimmed for the moment.

Have you been seriously injured on the road? How did you deal with it?

Photo by Claude Renault

Much like the billion others who read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, I fought the immediate urge to chuck my job, rent, friends and credit card bills and book the first available flight to India so that I could meditate all of my problems away.

And my cross-continental spiritual journey might have become reality, if only I had found a credit card that still had room for a $2,000 ticket.

Ah, the romantic notion of becoming a different person by simply sitting in silence in an ashram for eight hours a day, doing a couple of hours of work seva, and eating vegetarian meals cooked by committed spiritual disciples-what could be better?

Well, knowing myself a bit more and jumping a little less quickly than I did at 22, I realized this situation wasn’t exactly, well, feasible at this point in my life.

I needed to finish my Masters thesis, I had already taken a long trip abroad the previous year that left me quite penniless, and the student loans were coming due.

Oh, and I didn’t have a job, which in theory may seem like a good reason to take a spiritual jaunt across the world, but in actuality makes it hard to afford the plane ticket.

Enlightenment Abroad

What is our Western obsession with India and spirituality?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that India is the birthplace of Buddhism (very spiritual), that many Indians are wrapped in saris and marked with bindis (somehow denoting a religious attitude).

But do we really need to travel halfway around the world in order to get some of this spiritual grace, some of this contentedness, some of this sanity?

Without money to get to the Golden Temple, I decided I might try to get myself a piece of spiritual action in my own neck of the woods.

Looking Locally

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, so ashrams are a dime a dozen. Pick a spiritual/religious affiliation and press play.

There’s the Buddhist Zen Center in the middle of a hipster neighborhood in San Francisco, and another out in the rolling hills of upper-crust Marin County; there’s the Hindu Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland whose website gives information about where to stay locally, but advises “walking from the hotel is not recommended”.

Or if I wanted, I could study meditation, dreams and out-of-body experiences at the non-denominational Berkeley Gnostic Center.

If you’re looking for similar local inspiration, you may be curious about how I actually found these places.

Ask Your Friends

Photo byLumiere

For me, word-of-mouth worked wonders: if you talk about your quest for spiritual enlightenment, people are bound to perk up with their opinions about how best to go about getting there.

If you ask in the right circles, you will be surprised how many people have gone on their own journey of self-discovery who may not have discussed it for fear of other’s reactions.

If you notice one particular place seems to come up over and over again; if you are constantly being bombarded about one center, a person might liken it to synchronicity in the works.

Ask The Internet

Then take your research to the web-just because spiritual organizations are above human vices, they are rarely above technology that pulls in more people to their way of living.

This is a good time to find out some more in-depth information about different practices, especially if you aren’t yet sure which one you are drawn to most.

Find Your Comfort Level

I decided on participating in a young adult’s week-long meditation retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA, partly because of hearing about the center from person after person, and partly because their website so clearly defined the retreat process, the facilities, and the sliding scale costs (and financial aid if needed).

Cost shouldn’t be a hindrance, and most of the larger spiritual centers work from this belief. Be sure to ask about financial assistance or the possibility of paying on a sliding scale.

Scour Your Block

You might even stumble upon a free group that could be meeting right next door to your house (or as it turned out in my case, three doors down).

Don’t forget to check out the front area of your local grocery store. There’s usually a large cork board where local people hang advertising fliers – this board is an untapped resource for making connections with a spiritual group.

Spiritual groups tend to meet monthly or even weekly, and as with most everything else, community plays an important role in both developing and sticking to your practice.

Do I do yoga at home? Sometimes. Do I do it for half as long or with half as much effort as when I go to a yoga class? Not even close.

You may have to hunt a little to find what you are looking for, but persistence pays off, especially if you don’t have the time or money to make a trip out of town.

Home Sweet Home

Finally, don’t forget that there is a corner of most of our homes that either has a half-dead plant sitting in it, or is simply filled with dusty magazines, most likely including a TV Guide dating from 1988.

Clearing even a small area in a spare room or your bedroom to create a “sacred space,” whatever that means to you, can be both a mental and physical reminder to slow down and sit in the mystery.

I have an altar in the corner of my bedroom that holds artifacts from many of my travels, quite a few derived from different spiritual sects, and others are simple items such as a rock from a trip to Santa Cruz, or a nut from a forest in Germany.

The Truth About Spirituality

Anything can be spiritual if you make that connection. Because I have to see the altar on my way to bed, I often stop to light a candle and sit in front of it for 10 minutes or so before crawling under the covers. What a difference this little (non-pesky) habit makes.

In my case, some time after I felt that urge to visit India, I began to realize I was depending on an exotic destination to instill something in me that I should be able to find anywhere, because essentially, it is something that already resides within me.

Take the pressure off of yourself to become that yogic, enlightened being in “30 short days,” our American mantra for self-improvement, and let the little movements make the big changes.

And save that $2,000 ticket for after monsoon season.

What are your tips for finding spirituality at home? Share in the comments!

A scene from “O Brother Where Art Thou?”

One traveling garden gnome. A star-crossed couple on a sinking ocean liner. Eleven crooks on a European heist. And Bond-James Bond.

These are just four of the travelers who didn’t make it onto our roundup of the twenty greatest travel films of all time. Not because we didn’t like Amelie, Titanic, Ocean’s 12 or the Bond movies, mind you, but because we just didn’t have the space.

Movies have the power to inspire, to take us on a trip without requiring us to get off the couch. And sometimes the most inspiring films aren’t really about travel at all.

Without further ado, here is BNT’s definitive list of the 20 greatest travel movies of all time.

The Inner Journey: Les Poupees russes and L’auberge Espagnole

These French films (both directed by Cedric Klapisch and both featuring the incandescent Audrey Tautou) follow the physical and mental travels of grad students (L’auberge) and, five years later,young professionals (Poupees).

It’s been argued that both films serve as apt allegories for the European Union-each main cast member is from a different country-and it was both hilarious and touching to see our heroes react to different situations as their cultures collided and coalesced.

The Holy Pilgrimage: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

It’s hard to choose between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Last Crusade for best Indiana Jones film (let’s pretend Temple of Doom never happened), but both are doubtless travel films that will make anyone want to hop a plane.

We give the edge to Last Crusade for the spine-tingling final trip to the grail’s lair (and we believe we have chosen…wisely).

Before that final scene, we get to see the scorching deserts of Utah, the canals of Venice, the streets of Nazi-era Berlin, and mysterious Jordan.

The First Date: Before Sunrise

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in “Before Sunrise”

It’s not exactly hostel sex (and many say that its sequel, Before Sunset is much better), but travel is still an aphrodisiac between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in this 100 minute-long conversation through Vienna.

From train to city centre and back again, we see two people out of their element explore with a wide-eyed wonder that speaks to their wanderlust-and their ultimate lust for each other.

The Test of a Relationship: Two Days in Paris

For those of us who have traveled with significant others to results less than fairytale-like, the story is immediately familiar.

An un-romanticized (though no less tempting) backdrop of Paris fuels the wanderlust and while the end is not necessarily a ride off into the sunset, it’s easily the most realistic cinematic take on couples’ travel.

The Reason to Start Sniffing Glue: Airplane!

“Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?” “Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines.”

“Oh, stewardess! I speak jive.”

This is either the movie that makes you never want to set foot on a plane again, or get to the nearest airport immediately.

A spoof on the then-popular airplane disaster movies, ex-Navy pilot Ted follows his stewardess ex onto a plane to win her back and-several dozen infamous quotes later-saves the plane from certain doom.

The Satire: Sullivan’s Travels

That Sullivan’s Travels was made so close to the end of the Great Depression speaks to the true Swiftian satire of writer/director Preston Sturges.

While Sullivan is good at his job of making light, comedic films, what he really wants to do is direct an expose of the social problems plaguing the United States (titled O Brother, Where Art Thou?)

What he eventually learns, after going from riches to rags in an attempt to understand the common man is that the country needs comedies to forget about its social problems.

The Odyssey: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Before they won the Oscar for No Country for Old Men, the Coen Brothers were nodding to Sullivan’s Travels with 2000’s O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Based on the Odyssey of Homer (which these two claim to not have read prior to making this movie) and A Dozen Tough Jobs by Howard Waldrop, O Brother follows George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Turturro through Depression-era Mississippi to break up Clooney’s ex-wife’s wedding.

Modern-day lotus eaters, sirens, Hades, and a Cyclops make cameos.

The Road Trip: Flirting With Disaster

If O Brother, Where Art Thou? was the story of Odysseus, then Flirting With Disaster is the story of Telemachus.

Ten years before the Hoovers trekked in a run-down VW to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant, Ben Stiller and Patricia Arquette cross the United States with their incompetent adoption agent (Tea Leoni) and four-month old son to find Stiller’s birth parents.

The Social Commentary: Borat – Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Sometimes it takes an outsider’s perspective to really teach you about your home country.

Borat was one of those characters who gave we Americans some much-needed edification. An ice-cream truck is a great way to cross the country (and, failing that, a busload of evangelists will do the trick).

A bear may kill your wife, but it’s still great protection against the Jews. Every mortgage brokers’ convention should be interrupted by two men in a naked brawl. And you can always find enlightenment in an RV full of frat boys (not).

The Great Cardio Workout: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Its final installment may have won the Oscar, but we can’t help but agree with the Clerks II assessment of the trilogy: a lot of walking, more walking, dropping a ring in a volcano, and walking back. Still, like Star Wars, this is a pretty epic trek that is all about the journey.

That the film revitalized New Zealand tourism doesn’t hurt, either.

The Totally Bogus Time Bend: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Alex Winter and a young Keanu Reeves.

Whoa! Not only do Bill S. Preston Esq. and Ted Theodore Logan travel as far back as the 400s BC, they hit up Austria, Germany, Greece, Mongolia, France, Antebellum D.C., and the Wild West.

But perhaps the real travel here is their band of historical figures-everyone from Beethoven to Freud to Genghis Khan to Joan of Arc-coming to terms with life in the late 80s at the San Dimas Mall.

And let’s not forget Napoleon having a field day on the slides at Waterloo Water Park. Most excellent.

The Family Vacation: The Darjeeling Limited

We can always count on Wes Anderson to make us feel better about our own family quirks and his most recent installment, 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited, is no exception.

With a soundtrack almost entirely dedicated to Merchant Ivory and Bollywood film scores and an ode to train travel not seen since Paul Theroux, this may also be one of his most visually appealing films.

The Road to Hell: In Bruges

“Maybe that’s what hell is,” Colin Farrell muses in one of his ubiquitous voice-overs in this recent cinematic gem: “an entire eternity spent in Bruges.”

As Farrell and his cohort (Brendan Gleeson) hide out in an unsuspecting Belgian town while recovering from a botched hit-job, we see various shades of hell.

There is the resounding guilt that Farrell goes through. There’s the life of a dwarf actor addicted to amphetamines and zingy one-liners. There’s the elephantine tourists.

And then there’s the silver lining thanks to Martin McDonagh’s wickedly dark comic talent-and gorgeous shots of Belgium’s answer to Venice.

The Business Trip: M*A*S*H

Attention, attention: this next film will be M*A*S*H. The film that launched a thousand (fine, 251) television episodes, puts the audience in the passenger’s seat (of a stolen Jeep, naturally) to the journey of three civilian doctors drafted into the Korean War.

Much more than a typical “war is hell” flick, M*A*S*H is a series of episodes depicting ordinary people dealing with the distance from home-and sanity-as best they can.

The Fish Out of Water: Lost in Translation

Bill Murray is the tallest man in the elevator. He has to crouch to use the shower head. His translator takes a good five-second monologue and siphons it down to one, brief “No.”

He meets a match in Scarlett Johanssen and we get a poetic, atmospherically-charged tour of Tokyo under the same steady directorial hand that would take us through Versailles a few years later. Though Versailles has nothing on robots, Japanese game show hosts, or Suntory whiskey.

The Survivors: Deliverance

We don’t know what’s more iconic: the “squeal like a pig” scene, the prominence of Burt Reynolds’s moustache, or the dueling banjos with which this film will-in a knee-jerk reaction-always be associated.

Perhaps it’s Deliverance in and of itself. Losing the Oscar to The Godfather, John Boorman’s masterpiece speaks to the concerns of diminishing wildlife, the dangers of the southern U.S. backwoods, and why four city slickers in a canoe makes for a good survival story.

The Avengers: Munich

In the wake of the massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Eric Bana and his compatriots are sent out to seek vengeance on the members of Black September.

As attack groups and counter-attack groups chase each other around the globe, a new, ironic diaspora from one of the most fought-over pieces of land rises from the metaphoric rubble.

The Imperialist: Lawrence of Arabia

When asked why he didn’t win the Oscar the year he was nominated for playing this multiple award-winning film’s title character, Peter O’Toole simply said “They gave it to somebody else.”

Yet even though he didn’t take home the statue, the history books will remember the extraordinarily complex figure of T.E. Lawrence, and his cinematic double of O’Toole.

From imperialist to hero, Lawrence has been called many things, and his benefit to both Northern Africa and Great Britain is still largely questioned, reminding us that even the most seemingly selfish of travelers possess their own complexities.

Something to think about the next time someone tries to steal your window seat.

The Chase: North By Northwest

It’s not a travel movie roundup until we see Cary Grant being chased down by a crop-dusting plane. One of the best fugitive/spy flicks from the master of suspense is also the best film to showcase Mount Rushmore (sorry, National Treasure 2).

Maybe it’s due to the part where Eva Marie Saint is dangling precariously from its edge, but more likely it’s the part where Cary Grant dryly says “I don’t like the way Teddy Roosevelt is looking at me.”

We thought Teddy was giving us the stink-eye, too.

The Mid-Life Crisis: 10

You know, it’s really unfair to pit Julie Andrews against Bo Derek. One’s Mary Poppins-slash-Maria von Trapp. The other is a corn rowed blonde who has a thing for hooking up to Ravel’s “Bolero” (something to think about putting onto your iPod before you reach the hostel).

Nevertheless, what better cure for Dudley Moore’s midlife crisis than to ditch the former and follow the latter on her honeymoon to Mexico?

Not only did this film show us how travel can be a great escape from the plagues of the real world, it showed us that Bo was an actress to watch, and that Dudley Moore’s career was nowhere near finished.

These are our picks, but any glue-sniffing pilot will agree that movie choices are deeply personal.

So tell us: what would you add to the list of movies that stoke our travel-lust?

Are you addicted to tech? Photo by Adrian Sampson

As travelers, we like to think of ourselves as intrepid, independent, and adaptive. We forgo modern comforts in return for experiences and relationships that are difficult to find within our own societies.

Many of us are trying to find answers, find a purpose, or find ourselves, away from the “noise” of daily lives which have become mundane and unfulfilling.

Yet even as we scorn the rat race, pitying our cubicle-slaving peers, I say that many of us remain slaves to technology miles away from home.

In this way, travel can remind us how inundated our lives are with the distractions of modern conveniences. Backpacking this past December, I rediscovered the freedom of being unplugged, and came home with a renewed desire to downsize my digital addictions, both at home and on the road.

Here’s a look at five tech vices that can be difficult to ditch on the road, and how giving them up can help us rediscover some of the most important rewards of travel.

#5: The Television

Most of us probably don’t have a real hard time giving up TV, but occasionally we long to feel connected to something familiar.

During my first solo trip to Thailand, there came a point where the seclusion of the journey took its inevitable toll- I found myself aching to flip on the tube just to hear another voice that spoke my language.

Fortunately, there wasn’t a TV screen be found, and so I was forced to gather my courage, leave the hostel, and do what I’d come to Thailand to do: explore life, people, and myself in a new part of the world.

The result: while walking down a random sidewalk in Bangkok, I ran into Pete, my old neighbor from college whom I hadn’t seen for four years.

Serendipity: 1 Technology: 0.

#4: The Cell Phone

Lately, it’s begun to seem as if the human species has evolved an extra limb: the ubiquitous mobile device, in all shapes, sizes, and ringtones. SIM cards and GSM rentals let you stay connected whether you’re in Paris or Ulaanbaatar.

My advice: unless you absolutely have to be on call with the office, don’t waste your money on these.

When I worked in Thailand last year, using the internet for a quick “Hi, I’m alive!” was easier (and much cheaper) than the $30 plastic hand-held I initially bought.

But more importantly, part of the idea in traveling is the level of detachment that goes with it. If your intent is to get properly lost in the non-Western world, you won’t want the safety blanket of having familiar voices available at the push of a button-even when you terribly miss your friends and family.

The longer you can keep the worries and doubts of friends and family at bay, the louder your inner dialogue will become. You will reflect deeper, write more expressively, and grow thicker skin by not having that easy outlet when the road gets frustrating.

#3: The Internet

Photo by ppdigital

It seems silly to advocate Internet abstinence since you’re reading this on a web magazine, but hear me out.

Let’s face it: our culture is web-obsessed. We do everything online these days, from paying bills to making friends, to broadcasting the innumerable updates of our daily lives on our Facebook profiles. I count myself among the guilty.

In order to achieve the full renewal and enlightenment that travel affords, I suggest you try rediscovering life before the Era of Internet. You’ll be surprised at how freeing this is.

Send your friends postcards or snail-mail letters. Say no to search engines and instead, ask locals for restaurant suggestions, or to draw you a map of what they think are the hidden gems of their city.

With luck, you’ll be sent to eat so-and-so’s-friend’s-mother’s famous home cooked meal, or discover a tucked-away treasure that most other travelers miss. Even if you end up in the wrong place, you’ll likely have some great writing material.

You say you have to work from the road? Why not try and leave your laptop with someone you trust for a few days, and use a journal or sketchbook instead. You’ll have the opportunity to observe life happening around you, with all your senses, and be alive in the moment of your journey.

My point is that not only can you survive without all those online resources you’ve come to love, but it’s also important to literally and mentally unplug your life whenever you have the chance.

#2: The Digital Camera

Have you ever taken 147 photos of the same bridge? I have.

When I later found that very few of my photos were worth saving, I realized that the bridge and its surroundings had been mesmerizing, but instead of finding the source of its magic with my own eyes, I had tried to capture it with my camera.

If I had pried my face away from the viewfinder and used all my senses to reflect on the beauty around me, I might better remember the sounds, smells, and mood of the setting that have since faded from my memory.

Knee-deep in the inevitable culture-shock and romance of backpacking the third world, or touring the neighborhoods of Paris, it’s easy to get trigger happy, filling flash cards with every shot that seems “exotic” or “authentic.” We want evidence of our authentic experiences in the real, raw world.

Yet, we’ve all said “the pictures don’t do it justice,” because it’s true-our memories are never going to mean as much to someone else as they do to us.

Next time you have the urge to start snapping away, pause. Keep the lens cover on, transcend the desire to capture life in a frame, and take a minute to focus on what’s captivating your attention. Preserve it in your memory by absorbing more details than you would through a 3×5 snapshot.

#1: The MP3 Player

You lash your pack to the bus roof, near a crate of squawking poultry, and settle into the seat that will cradle your tookus for the next ten hours.

As you switch on your iPod for some copious out-the-window-staring, the romance of your overland trip suddenly disintegrates when you realize that your batteries have gone dead. If you’re anything like me, you may even be hyperventilating at this point.

Portable music is my hardest vice to give up. That said, I’ve done it and I urge you to try this one too.

If you’re truly looking to make connections with your surroundings in a foreign place, be it with local people, other travelers, or simply the new environment, you’ll have a difficult time doing so with headphones on.

Aside from blocking out the soundtrack of your new locale, having your music on projects the image that you rather be left alone.

And at risk of sounding like Bjork, there is music all around us if we just listen: new dialects, foreign insects, strange noises coming from the corner of your hostel room…OK, you might want the earplugs for that one, but you get the idea.

Granted, sometimes we need some personal space, and that’s OK. But if you’re constantly shielding yourself from others around you, you’re missing the point of traveling.

If you can’t bear leaving the music off (after all, ten hours on a bus is brutal), then at least offer to share one of the headphones with your seat mate. Depending on who’s next to you, some interesting cross-cultural exchange is bound to happen.

The Last Byte…

I’m not denouncing technology, nor claiming to follow these suggestions every time I travel. But I will say that the most incredible experiences that I’ve gathered during my time on the road-good, bad, comical, and sobering-have all been the most low-tech.

The truth is, our beloved modern wonders quite often cause us to miss what we’re trying to find through travel: real life.

If you’re set on learning about the world and discovering your place within it, then try traveling with just two resources – yourself and the world.

What do you think about the joy of traveling unplugged? Share your thoughts/experiences in the comments!

Photo by the boy with the thorn in his side.

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Enjoy the long weekend!