Brokedown Palace / Photo 20th Century Fox

It’s every traveler’s worst nightmare: Being arrested or even imprisoned while visiting a foreign country far from home.

As movies like Brokedown Palace and Bridget Jones’ Diary have shown, such occurrences can and do occur.

Whether it’s a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, being uninformed about different laws, or putting trust in the wrong people…none of this matters when a foreigner is at the mercy of the host country’s regulations and authorities. According to the US State Department, “ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

Fortunately, most people’s voyages go off without a hitch, but an unlucky minority find themselves on the wrong side of a jail cell.

Here are 10 cases, some with happy endings, others that have yet to be resolved:

10. Overstaying Your Welcome

2007 – An Icelandic woman was arrested at JFK airport for having overstayed a U.S. tourist visa nearly a decade before. She was interrogated and spent a day shackled in prison before being deported.

9. Mistaken Bullets

2003 – While being arrested in Singapore for chewing gum seems to be an urban myth, a British backpacker ran afoul of the law in this small country for carrying a model plane in her hand luggage with replica missiles that were mistaken for live bullets. She was freed with a warning after spending 10 hours in a jail cell.

8. Tourist Gone Wild

2003 – A female holidaymaker was arrested in the Greek town of Faliraki for indecent exposure (baring her breasts in a resort competition) by police fed up with an epidemic of loutish behaviour by tourists. In the end, she paid a fine to avoid an 8 month prison sentence.

7. Spy Versus Spy

2001 – A group of 14 British and Dutch “planespotters” (airplane enthusiasts) were arrested and sentenced to up to 3 years in Greek jail for allegedly committing espionage by photographing military aircraft at an airshow. After a long process, their convictions were finally overturned one year later.

6. Wrong Place, Wrong Time

2005 – An 18 year old English football fan was arrested in Bulgaria for allegedly attacking a local man (which another English man later confessed to.)

He was found guilty of attempted murder and given a sentence of 15 years. This was eventually reduced to 10 years (with the remainder served in Britain) but no retrial was granted. The case has recently been taken to the European Parliament.

5. An Indecent Proposal

2006 – A 19 year old Briton was arrested in Tunisia for having sex with a minor (a consenting 14 year old British girl who had told him she was 18.) The sentence was for up to 6 years but eventually he served a suspended 6 months in prison and returned home in 2007.

4. The Drug Mule

Carrying drugs (either knowingly or unknowingly) is often one of the most harshly punished offenses around the world. Some people consciously take the risk of trafficking substances across borders, but others become unsuspecting mules.

2002 – A British backpacker was arrested in India and sentenced to ten years in jail for drug smuggling (when the drugs had been planted in her bag by an acquaintance.) Fortunately, her story ended (relatively) happily: after spending 5 years in Indian prison, she was pardoned and released.

3. Wrongly Convicted

2006 – In a similar story, another backpacker in India was accused of drug smuggling (again, it is suspected they were placed in his luggage by someone else.) This man is currently in prison serving the early stages of a ten-year sentence, though his family continues to fight for his freedom.

2. Every Bit Counts

2008 – The United Arab Emirates is well known for its incredibly stringent drugs rules. Possession of a long list of substances is illegal (and this includes traces found in the bloodstream.) In 2008, a traveler passing through Dubai airport was jailed for 4 years after a .003 gram trace of cannabis was found stuck to the tread of his shoe (an amount roughly equivalent in size to a grain of sugar).

1. Seeds Of Guilt

2008 – And finally, in another recent high-profile case coming out of Dubai, “A Swiss national is serving a four-year jail term after three poppy seeds from a bread roll he ate at Heathrow airport were found on his clothes.”

Further details of the situation are hard to come by, but as this BBC article suggests, while it may be the most “extreme,” it’s not the only occurrence. Even a member of the Pakistani cricket team was held for 19 days and just recently released without charge.

While it’s unlikely the average person will encounter any problems, information and preparation can often go a long way in helping ensure that any experience with foreign prisons can be limited to that which is seen on the movie screens!

Here’s to safe travels!

UPDATE: Check out the documentary Ganja Queen, airing tonight on HBO.

Other resources:

• NG’s guide to sneaking out of jail.
• American State Department advice
• Fair Trials – Non-profit group cited in Dubai case

Do you know any other extreme cases of travelers arrested abroad? Share in the comments!

Observing the city below.

Sunday night, the band is still playing when I kiss my friends goodbye, climb into my car, deposit it in the underground parking of my parent’s apartment, and get dropped off at the airport approaching midnight.

My mom and dad are used to me coming and going. I might as well work at the airport.

The crew gathers for the 2am EVA Airlines flight to Taipei. There are six of us in total. With a slight shake-up of directors, these are the people I’ll be spending just about every waking moment with over the coming months.

Four of us are veterans of season one, which took us to 12 off-the-wall countries, including Venezuela, Ethiopia and Lithuania. We know the score of a life in motion.

Meet The Crew

My co-host is Julia Dimon, who writes a weekly travel column for METRO in Canada. We met in Turkey on my first trip around the world, and have become unlikely partners on this escapade. The fact that we are so different, as people and as writers, gives the show its appeal.

Shooting us is Sean Cable, a tall, shiny cameraman of legendary status within the industry. Although Sean is known as one of the best sports shooters going, he’s also an artist capable of capturing images that saucer the eyes.

Paul Vance (pronounced as one word, Paulvance) is our sound guy, our ears. He is born and raised in Whistler, and is therefore laid back to the point of horizontal. Chris Mennell is our production packhorse.

Nicknames abound, as they do on these kind of shows. Chris is called Chewie, although I confess I can’t remember why. He looks like a young Tom Berenger, and lives on an orchard in the B.C interior. Directing a couple episodes, including Taiwan is Jordan. He’s a former comedy writer, sharp with the wit.

I round out the crew. Esrock. Ing. The Free World.

Maintaining Independence

Monday disappears, somewhere between jet lag hell and the international date line. I know very little about Taiwan, other than I once stopped here en-route to China, and spent a painful night at a golf resort.

We arrive in Taipei at 5am, meet and greet, and breathe in the soup they call air over here. It’s already cracking 30C, the humidity sheening everyone with a flattering glow. Too early for traffic, we arrive sooner than expected at the Grand Hotel, billed as one of the world’s finest. It is.

Built in 1952 as the fledgling nation’s flagship hotel, it looks like a massive Chinese temple. We come to stay here because Taiwan’s Government Information Office is supporting our production, and we are all grateful for it.

It’s important for the production (and as travel writers) that Word Travels maintains its editorial independence, and does not sink into a tourist promotional video. But we love travel, and that love reflects in the show, and my writing. If something warrants negative observations, I say it.

Travel writers are notorious for becoming jaded bastards, but my unique journey to this unlikely career will hopefully keep me immune. Meanwhile if tourism boards offer to support us, who I am to say no? Admittedly, this is not backpacking, but does that make the experience any less authentic?

Some of you might argue yes, or no, but that is a debate for another time. When you live out of a backpack in perpetual motion, you appreciate being treated in style, and when you’re filming a TV show, you appreciate all the help you can get.

Introducing Fire Therapy

Ready to be set on fire by Master Hsieh Ching-long.

For our Word Travels in Taiwan episode, I am here to meet Master Hsieh Ching-long, the creator of Fire Therapy. It’s a hot story, allowing me to understand what a steak feels like when thrown on a grill.

Using open flame, Master Hsieh (pronounced Shay) realigns the energy in your body, healing muscle ailments and sports injuries. Judging by the polaroids of the Master posing with dozens of local celebrities, the hour-long treatment seems to work.

First he applied cupping, using heat suction to massage the airplane-seat out my back. Then he had me lie down, pasted my back in a thick gooey mixture of herbs, covered me with a towel, doused me with alcohol, and set me on fire.

What does it feel like to be lit up like a BBQ? It feels warm, in a pleasant sort of way.

I was more nervous of the other polaroids on display in the small clinic, depicting people’s reactions to the treatment. Some of them looked like well-done steak.

Inner Strength

The clinic is suffused with the smell of various Chinese herbs, and Master Hsieh oozes confidence – important qualities in a doctor that literally plays with fire. He looks like Jet-Li, and developed his practice after years of martial arts, and a stint in Beijing.

To prove his inner strength, he rips an apple with his bare hands, and then hands me a sledgehammer. Sandwiching his hand beneath two bricks, he asks me to smash the top brick over his hand. Who am I to argue?

My first swing breaks the brick over his hand, but does not transfer the energy to break the bottom brick. Master Hsieh wants me to giv’er. So I take another swing to the replacement brick, which shatters over his hand, the sledgehammer ripping a piece of skin as it does so.

Now there’s blood, but Master Hsieh is determined to demonstrate his power, and his belief that I can actually pull off this stunt without killing him is flattering. Another swing, and thank God, the bottom brick crumbles. Scars and burns on his arms exhibit that the good fire doctor has had much practice honing his art.

“Now, for the dangerous part,” says Vic, the Master’s brother, acting as an able translator. This would involve me, an open flame, and the potential for Esrock Mignon. It’s amazing what one will do when there is a camera around.

Britney forgets her panties, I set myself on fire. To find out what happened, you’ll have to >wait for the show. Check out the full pics here.

Next time: Robin sorts out the difference between the two Republic of Chinas!

Illustration by Matt Mahurin / Rolling Stone

“Like everything else assembled in China with American parts, Police State 2.0 is ready for export to a neighborhood near you.” Naomi Klein exposes China’s All-Seeing Eye – a must read article.

GOOD Magazine has written a primer on the big, shadowy organizations that secretly rule the world. See how each one scores on the “power” rating!

Speaking of shadowy secrets, here’s Money Saving Tips the Travel Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know.

Why do people feel compelled to let strangers sleep on the couch? Some say ego. Check out the full article.

Would you go to Timbuktu for a haircut? Read the Q&A with Rick Antonson, a guy who actually wrote a book about it.

“We don’t intend to let the oldest Buddhist monastery in the Western Hemisphere burn.” Monks prepare to protect the Big Sur monastery in California.

Medical tourism is on the rise. Find out why, on this interesting piece from Vagabondish.

Any great articles you found this week? Share in the comments!

Photo by J-Christophe Cabut

It’s a slightly overcast morning, and another steady stream of glorious lefts peel off the point.

Magazine picture-perfect as they might be, their faces are empty for the moment-even though this point is in front of a town of 40,000 and just a few kilometers from a city of 700,000.

There is a good surfing population here and, as a surfer, I couldn’t help but wonder how so many waves like this could go un-ridden. But here things are little less complicated; it’s Peru, the water is cool, and people are poor.

It’s not the cold water that keeps the locals out of the water, but the poor and its gritty antipathy towards, among more important things, wetsuits and surfboards.

Of course, I have a wetsuit-a new one-and a surfboard: so I’m off to enjoy the swell, passing and greeting the same smiling faces as I go.

There is nothing overtly wrong in this situation; but, at the same time, it doesn’t feel entirely right for a gringo blithely passing local surfers unable to surf their own beautiful waves.

Searching For Gold

This traveling experience is not limited to just the wave seekers and their local counterparts. It is commonplace when traveling to poor places.

As travelers, we’re in the business of experience appropriation.

We are the conquistadors of the 21st century; but, instead of searching for a city of gold we are searching for experiences of gold: the most beautiful glaciers, the longest waves, the most incredible parties, the tastiest wine, the most delectable food, and so on.

We are in search of stories and photos and, hopefully a heightened sense of self-awareness.

We are collectors of geography, of the ability to turn the abstract lines of a map into the concrete contours of a face or bustling avenue or 2nd century temple. Upwards, onwards, conquering experiences that are often times out of reach of most of our hosts.

The obvious distinction to be drawn between the modern traveler and a Senor Pizarro is, well, obvious: I’ve yet to share a hostel dorm room with a slave driving, gold obsessed despot bent on conquering local populations.

Focus On Difference

The experiences we are conquering are, at least in theory, not scarce. There is nothing in our enjoying the view of Kilimanjaro and Iguaçu that precludes others from doing the same.

Photo by Daniel Jauregui

Actually, rather than bringing the capital out, we’re often the ones bringing capital in, with our gringo-dollars at times bankrolling entire communities.

But then, walking down to another day at this beautiful break, there’s something that still rubs wrong. Perhaps it’s an over analysis, or perhaps it reflects an aspect of my existence cum traveler. I think it boils down to the following:

One of the crutches of travelers is the instinctive nature to focus on differences. Often we’re traveling to escape from routine, to douse ourselves in newness. So we hone in on the way people are different: how they get on a bus, the food they eat, the way they dress.

But in doing so, the generally minor, culturally born differences are overemphasized at the expense of the underlying reality.

Because when you actually take the time to integrate yourself, when you become aware of people not as just doing strange things or acting out roles in some foreign language theater, you realize that (go figure) they’re just people.

People who want to spend time with friends and family, have sex, watch movies, go dancing, have a nice place to live, travel, surf and so on.

Human Awkwardness

This realization comes with a price: if by focusing on differences we effectively mitigate the awareness of inequality, here we are exposed to the arbitrariness of it all

There is no good reason that travelers like me are riding on our globe-trotting horses.

Our experience conquests are financed largely by chance, through a lottery of genes and parenting and political borders. We are forced to chew on the fact that most people in this world can’t even enjoy the best of their own countries, their own cities-much less far-flung continents.

Try looking for a comfortable, merit-based explanation for why we are in a position to do what we’re doing and you’ll feel pretty stupid. It’s awkward.

I hardly believe in moral imperatives, but I think one of the effects of genuine travel is the forcing of this ‘humane awkwardness’, and stimulating those who can’t help but respond to it- out of guilt, obligation or just plain goodness.

I guess I’m here with the first of these. I can’t help but absorb the inequity walking by far better surfers unable to surf because they can’t afford a wetsuit.

So I don’t know. Next time I guess I’ll leave the stickers at home, clean out the closet, and bring some extra neoprene.

What do you think of ‘human awkwardness’? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Photo by Dale Harrison

The modern dictionary defines the word ‘burial’ as placing a body in the ground.

But burying the deceased was not always the case.

Just as primitive man has long worshiped the four elements of Earth, Sky, Water, and Fire, so too have these elements taken their place in burial practices as diverse as the different tribes of the earth. 

The way mankind deals with its dead says a great deal about those left to carry on.  Burial practices are windows to a culture that speak volumes about how it lives.

As we are told in Genesis, man comes from dust, and returns to it. We have found many different ways to return. Here are 10 that I found particularly fascinating:

Air Sacrifice – Mongolia

Photo by Viacheslav Smilyk

Lamas direct the entire ceremony, with their number determined by the social standing of the deceased. They decide the direction the entourage will travel with the body, to the specific day and time the ceremony can happen.

Mongolians believe in the return of the soul. Therefore the lamas pray and offer food to keep evil spirits away and to protect the remaining family. They also place blue stones in the dead persons bed to prevent evil spirits from entering it.

No one but a lama is allowed to touch the corpse, and a white silk veil is placed over the face.  The naked body is flanked by men on the right side of the yurt while women are placed on the left.  Both have their respective right or left hand placed under their heads, and are situated in the fetal position.

The family burns incense and leaves food out to feed all visiting spirits.  When time comes to remove the body, it must be passed through a window or a hole cut in the wall to prevent evil from slipping in while the door is open.

The body is taken away from the village and laid on the open ground. A stone outline is placed around it, and then the village dogs that have been penned up and not fed for days are released to consume the remains.  What is left goes to the local predators. 

The stone outline remains as a reminder of the person.  If any step of the ceremony is left out, no matter how trivial, bad karma is believed to ensue.

Sky Burial – Tibet

Pounding the bones. Photo by Rotem Eldar

This is similar to the Mongolian ceremony. The deceased is dismembered by a rogyapa, or body breaker, and left outside away from any occupied dwellings to be consumed by nature.

To the western mind, this may seem barbaric, as it did to the Chinese who outlawed the practice after taking control of the country in the 1950’s. But in Buddhist Tibet, it makes perfect sense. The ceremony represents the perfect Buddhist act, known as Jhator. The worthless body provides sustenance to the birds of prey that are the primary consumers of its flesh.

To a Buddhist, the body is but an empty shell, worthless after the spirit has departed. Most of the country is surrounded by snowy peaks, and the ground is too solid for traditional earth internment. Likewise, being mostly above the tree line, there is not enough fuel for cremation. 

Pit Burial – Pacific Northwest Haida

Haida carvings. Photo by Turbulent Flow

Before white contact, the indigenous people of the American northwest coast, particularly the Haida, simply cast their dead into a large open pit behind the village.

Their flesh was left to the animals. But if one was a chief, shaman, or warrior, things were quite different.

The body was crushed with clubs until it fit into a small wooden box about the size of a piece of modern luggage.  It was then fitted atop a totem pole in front of the longhouse of the man’s tribe where the various icons of the totem acted as guardians for the spirits’ journey to the next world.  

Written history left to us by the first missionaries to the area all speak of an unbelievable stench at most of these villages.  Today, this practice is outlawed.

Viking Burial – Scandinavia

Viking’s ashore. Illustration Long Beach City College

We have all seen images of a Viking funeral with the body laid out on the deck of a dragon ship, floating into the sunset while warriors fire flaming arrows to ignite the pyre. 

While very dramatic, burning a ship is quite expensive, and not very practical. 

What we do know is most Vikings, being a sea faring people, were interred in large graves dug in the shape of a ship and lined with rocks.  The person’s belongings and food were placed beside them.  Men took their weapons to the next world, while women were laid to rest wearing their finest jewelry and accessories. 

If the deceased was a nobleman or great warrior, his woman was passed from man to man in his tribe, who all made love to her (some would say raped) before strangling her, and placing her next to the body of her man.  Thankfully this practice is now, for the most part, extinct.

Fire Burial – Bali

Fire consumes all. Photo by Barnacle Bikers

On the mostly Hindu Isle of Bali, fire is the vehicle to the next life. The body or Mayat is bathed and laid out on a table where food offerings are laid beside it for the journey. 

Lanterns line the path to the persons hut to let people know he or she has passed, and act as a reminder of their life so they are not forgotten.

It is then interred in a mass grave with others from the same village who have passed on until it is deemed there are a sufficient number of bodies to hold a cremation. 

The bodies are unearthed, cleaned, and stacked on an elaborate float, gloriously decorated by the entire village and adorned with flowers. The float is paraded through the village to the central square where it is consumed by flames, and marks the beginning of a massive feast to honor and remember the dead.

Spirit Offerings – Southeast Asia

Row of spirit houses. Photo by Marc Aurel

Throughout most of Southeast Asia, people have been buried in the fields where they lived and worked. It is common to see large stone monuments in the middle of a pasture of cows or water buffalo.

The Vietnamese leave thick wads of counterfeit money under rocks on these monuments so the deceased can buy whatever they need on their way to the next life

In Cambodia and Thailand, wooden “spirit houses” sit in front of almost every hut from the poorest to the most elaborate estate.  These are places where food and drink are left periodically for the souls of departed relatives to refuel when necessary.  The offerings of both countries also ask the spirits of the relatives to watch over the lands and the families left behind.

Predator Burial – Maasai Tribe

No after life. Photo by Demosh

The Maasai of East Africa are hereditary nomads who believe in a deity known as Enkai, but this is not a single being or entity.

It is a term that encompasses the earth, sky, and all that dwells below.  It is a difficult concept for western minds that are more used to traditional religious beliefs than those of so-called primitive cultures. 

Actual burial is reserved for chiefs as a sign of respect, while the common people are simply left outdoors for predators to dispose of, since Maasai believe dead bodies are harmful to the earth.  To them when you are dead, you are simply gone.  There is no after life.

Skull Burial – Kiribati

Chilling out. Photo by aargh

On the tiny island of Kiribati the deceased is laid out in their house for no less than three days and as long as twelve, depending on their status in the community.  Friends and relatives make a pudding from the root of a local plant as an offering. 

Several months after internment the body is exhumed and the skull removed, oiled, polished, and offered tobacco and food.  After the remainder of the body is re-interred, traditional islanders keep the skull on a shelf in their home and believe the native god Nakaa welcomes the dead person’s spirit in the northern end of the islands.

Cave Burial – Hawaii

Cave burials. Photo by Extra Medium

In the Hawaiian Islands, a traditional burial takes place in a cave where the body is bent into a fetal position with hands and feet tied to keep it that way, then covered with a tapa cloth made from the bark of a mulberry bush. 

Sometimes the internal organs are removed and the cavity filled with salt to preserve it.  The bones are considered sacred and believed to have diving power. 

Many caves in Hawaii still contain these skeletons, particularly along the coast of Maui.

Ocean Burial

The open sea. Photo by Spirit of Albion

Since most of our planet is covered with water, burial at sea has long been the accepted norm for mariners the world over.

By international law, the captain of any ship, regardless of size or nationality has the authority to conduct an official burial service at sea.

The traditional burial shroud is a burlap bag, being cheap and plentiful, and long in use to carry cargo.  The deceased is sewn inside and is weighted with rocks or other heavy debris to keep it from floating. 

If available, the flag of their nation covers the bag while a service is conducted on deck. The body is then slid from under the flag, and deposited in Davy Jones locker.

In olden days, the British navy mandated that the final stitch in the bag had to go through the deceased person’s lip, just to make sure they really were dead.  (If they were still alive, having a needle passed through their skin would revive them).

It is quite possible that sea burial has been the main form of burial across the earth since before recorded history.

The Final Frontier

Today, if one has enough money, you can be launched into space aboard a private commercial satellite and a capsule containing your ashes will be in permanent orbit around the earth.

Perhaps this is the ultimate burial ceremony, or maybe the beginning of a whole new era in which man continues to find new and innovative ways to invoke spirits and provide a safe passage to whatever awaits us at the end of this life.

Any other death ceremonies you’ve encountered? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Gonzo Aint in Kansas – Ethiopia

I am that guy. The one you see on TV and think: That must be the luckiest guy in the world

Can you imagine having his job?

Three and a half years ago, a car ran me down at an intersection and broke my knee. It hurt. Not in a “I’m disappointed in you” kind of way. In a “give me the effen morphine!” kind of way.

For my pain, my insurance company awarded me $20,000. I was about to turn 30, and my career was flailing, along with my relationship. So I cashed it in, put my stuff in storage, and went to backpack the world, on a tiny budget and a round the world ticket.

One year later, I had been to 28 countries, and written for a couple major newspapers. Two years later, I had been to Central America, rocked the Trans-Siberia Railway, along with a national speaking tour. To finance the continuation of my dream, I slept on couches, and ate a lot of cheap pizza.

A short while later, I pitched a TV show. The stars aligned, the fates smiled, angels broke out in hymn. Word Travels is a half hour show that follows the lives of two travel writers around the world.

You can watch it on OLN in Canada, and National Geographic Adventure in over 40 countries. Over the next 12 months, I’ll be visiting 26 countries on 6 continents, with a TV crew to capture my experiences.

I am stunned just writing this. This all happened, essentially, by accident. But I suppose someone has to get paid to travel the world. Might as well be me.

These reports will give you some insight into a life of travel, on the road, on camera. I call them Modern Gonzo, since Gonzo is about the best word to describe my world of adventure.

I hope you enjoy the trip as much as I do.

Look for Robin’s first column “The Gonzo Traveler” later this week!

Travel is best when shared.

In the quest to give students the tools to secure a successful career, I believe our public schools forget about teaching them what happens once they achieve it.

My friend Maria, a political lobbyist, said it best: “I see students in school today who say that they want to make money. But I ask them: what are you going to do once you have that money?”

Many people are left stranded at a financially successful point in their lives, never having thought about what comes after the stable, robust paycheck.

Similarly, many experienced globetrotters don’t think thoroughly about what comes after their long-awaited journey. We spend a lot of time and money planning our trips, which can lead us to believe that the trip is the end in itself.

In reality, coming home is only the beginning. You’ve had a wonderful trip and learned so much, but what are you going to do with what you’ve learned?

Bigger Context

One of the most fulfilling ways to put your traveling experience into the context of a bigger, more meaningful picture is to share it with others.

Most of us come home with great tools for sharing our experience: gifts, stories, hundreds of photos.

The real connections are made from the thoughtful reflections on your experience. Recently one of my friends gave a slideshow presentation about her internship in Senegal to forty of her friends and family at home.

At the end, she summarized by stating several things she had learned: that poverty is not always obvious. That Africa is not hopeless. That you never know what people have been through. That we should share what we have.

These are small but profound lessons. It’s more than ego to tell our stories to others – it’s a responsibility. Education and travel are privileges not enjoyed by everyone. It presents us with an obligation to not let our knowledge rest inside us to wither and fade away.

Ideas for Sharing

Your trip may not have been long or exotic. But you inevitably grew from being in a new culture and place, and what you took is what you also have the power to give.

• Put together a thoughtful collection of your fifty best photos from your trip, and share those photos’ stories to any willing family or friends.
• Keep a trip blog, but use it to reflect on larger issues and themes as well as your everyday experiences.
• Reach a wider audience by writing articles and stories.
• Talk to high school teachers and youth group leaders, who are often thrilled to host young guest speakers who have an interesting story or lesson to share.

In Canada, the Canadian International Development Agency even has a Youth Speakers Program – you tell them that you are interested in speaking about your international experience, and they provide you with the resources and booking services.

Passing Knowledge

Ultimately the world is about something bigger than us.

It’s about constantly and actively seeking to make our communities, countries, and world a better place – righting injustices, caring for self, others, and the environment, and actively participating and cooperating in community life.

Traveling is a profound and powerful experience. But without passing on our knowledge, without sharing our new insights with those who cross our paths, it becomes emptier and its full meaning is lost.

We cannot underestimate the power of sharing these things that we learn.

So don’t just go back to your old life or keep your trip to yourself when you come home – use what you’ve learned to its full extent. Share what your travels have taught you, and you are making the world a better place.

How do you share your travels? Share your ideas in the comments!

Wheels in the wind, Cape Cod. Photo Ian MacKenzie

If only the headlines showed good news for a change, like this inspiring Google news mock-up.

Christine Gilbert and her blog Almost Fearless was a great discovery this week. Check out 10 Unexpected Costs of Owning Things and 8 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 22.

Turns out there’s more similarities in the sayings of Jesus and the Buddha that you might guess. Read Tom Stine’s Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings.

How to instill kids with the desire to clean up the planet? Free Range Studios, the team behind The Meatrix, has kicked off their new green series Gorilla in the Greenhouse.

Speaking of apes…is man an ape or an angel? Steve Jones explores Darwin’s theory of natural selection, 150 years on.

Stuck in an airport until your next flight? Read the top 10 ways to kill your boredom.

Need to bargain better? Sweep that special someone off their feet? Get your friend to buy you another beer? Read 8 Ways To Get Exactly What You Want.

Enjoy the weekend!