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For people like me, who make shorter travel trips (not a few months buta couple of weeks at best, usually), some amount of pre-trip research is invaluable. I’d love to one day wander without knowing when I ma leaving this town for the next, or indeed how. But till I have that luxury I will have to try and book a hostel to stay in, check out my travel ticket options etc…

Oh, and I get so sticky, I almost never look at pics of the place I am going to. I avoid flickr on that entirely, even skip the photo pages of my guidebook!

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Let me organize the flood of data first.

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The word count of the comments currently sits at 1,603. It seems BNT just got two articles for the price of one.

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Julie/Pam: It occurs to me that I wasn’t looking forward with that statement. Even the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics sees the occupation of “writer” moving more and more towards “online mediums” (e.g. blogs). Spot on!

Nathan S.: I try and keep my internet reading about destinations as dry as possible; the Cia World Fact book is a great place to get nothing but *facts* about a country.

Daniel: Its funny you bring up other advancements. At the core of my musings is an attack on a cycle of kids-these-days-have-it-too-easy-ism. Every generation in every facet of life is quick to point out how some new technology “changes” things–and it always seems to be for the worse. Today it’s the internet that will destroy the fabric of ‘merica–yesterday it was Rock’n'roll, color TV, radio, and women’s suffrage.

Tim: Your’s and Ian’s efforts lend a legitemacy to my writing that I’m not sure I could supply on my own. Thanks, man.

All: Thank you all for your praise and, more importantly, your astute observations.

I’m curious…did anyone actually do the “tracert http://www.google.com” thing?

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I also wanted to ask, though, why we sometimes trust books as a more legitimate source of information than a blog. That’s not to say that all blogs are trustworthy or accurate, of course, but I think we often view books (or print travel magazines or the newspaper) as inherently more credible than electronic sources. They’re not necessarily, and for a lot of reasons. The more I read the kind of good writing Pam is talking about, the more I’m convinced that blogs are where it’s at– it being the spirit and greatest degree of authenticity of a place. Many of the folks writing blogs on Matador, for instance, aren’t travelers who, like NY Times travel writers, are flying out of a place as quickly as they flew into it. Most of them are place-based writers exploring and living in places in a deep way… as a result, they’re able to get their finger on the pulse of a place in a way that print-based travel writers rarely can. I find that incredibly exciting…especially since I’m not so concerned about the originality factor of travel. Pretty much everything I can think of probably has been done… but that doesn’t mean all the stories and experiences have been sucked dry.

And are we occasionally burned out on reading others’ stories because they’re so easy to access-just a keystroke away–rather than a few subway stops or a drive away at the bookstore or library?

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What a great insight. This reminds me of an advertisement I saw for a high-def DVD set called “Italy from the Air,” or some nonsense like that. Watch helicopter footage of Brunelleschi’s dome instead of seeing it yourself. It makes you wonder who exactly reads our blogs/articles. Is it those who would never make such a journey themselves, or is it for the other travelers who are just looking for kindred spirits?

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One of the coolest things about travelblogging is that there’s the very real possibility that it’s NOT unfair, that the dingy cafe in Mexico City experience is totally worthy of the highest literary praise, that the writer could very well deserve to be shoulder to shoulder with Mark Twain. I love it whenever I stumble over well written, inspiring prose on some stranger’s travelblog. LOVE it.

That point aside, most of what you say makes perfect sense. An excellent read. Thanks.

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I’ve spent the last few months actively researching and planning my trip — with some paper books, but mostly online through reading blogs, forums, and travel magazine sites like BNT.

Though I love this information and it helps keep me excited about my trip and gives me ideas, I feel like I’ve almost reached a point of personal backlash against reading travel advice and narratives online. I don’t want my perceptions of a place or what my trip should be like to be affected by someone else’s opinions or views. Sure, there’s plenty of very useful information out there, but I’ve decided to step back somewhat. I’ve still got my favorite sites and blogs on my RSS feed, and I’ll read them, but I’m starting to filter the information and step back from it.

Just this morning before work, I specifically felt a bit of near disappointment as I read the first post blog post on Boots ‘n All of a guy before he left on his trip. It was very eerily similar to what I’ve written in my own blog on my “About” page. We’re both quitting the 9 to 5, about the same age, going for the same reasons, etc. etc. In a sense, it did take the wind out of my sails a little bit — I’m not special, some other dude has done the same thing.

I’ll be curious to evaluate my perceptions once I’m on the road as well. I’ll have a small laptop with me and I wonder if it and the internet that comes with it will end up being some sort of security blanked that could cheapen my experience and take out of the place and experience I’m in.

This is all not to say that I don’t view the resources available online as a massively beneficial resource, but I’ve decided to temper my exposure to other people’s points of view and take a step back. I want to leave some exploration to myself rather than digesting what some dude on Road Junky or the Thorntree think of a place.

I want my trip to be my own and I want to experience it on my own, unfiltered terms. I’ll be damned if I let the internet get in the way of that!

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