Shiny Travel Objects: May 2, 2010

Last week I was playing at the Mohegan Sun (yes, expect some blog posts about that shortly) instead of pulling together my usual column of travel media that caught my attention during the week. I’m not going to feel too guilty about that, because everyone needs a break once in awhile.  But I’m back this week, and I have some really interesting articles to share. Before I get into that, I want to take a moment to do a Snoopy dance over the fact that my new Solo Travel to Las Vegas website was just featured in Be A Travel Bee’s weekly Travel Bites feature. That was a little thrill for me. Thanks, Joya!

And now this week’s Shiny Travel Objects:

Meagan Kelly tackles body image issues that arise when traveling in other cultures in Body Image and Culture: My Watermelon Butt at Matador Abroad. Great. So now we get to not only be paranoid about how people in our own culture perceive our bodies, we have to worry about what people in other cultures think about them when we travel, too.  Oh, the self-consciousness.

Ellen Perlman of Boldly Go Solo writes about one of the greatest joys–and sorrows–of solo travel in Making good friends while traveling solo only to have to figure out how to say goodbye. Obviously, this is not a phenomenon that is unique to travel, but to life itself, so it bears some thought, because we all have to go through this at one time or another (usually many times).

Twenty-Something Travel features a great piece by guest poster Abby Tegnelia about a question facing long-term travelers:  How do you know when it’s time to go home?  Is it when you realize you don’t know your friends all that well any more, as your lives have gone on separately?  Is it when you decide you want to settle down?  Is it when you run out of money?  Check it out, it’s called Time to Go?

Timing is everything.  I happened across this article by Suzy Guese called Mount Vesuvius Wishes You Were Here just as I was deciding that during my trip to Europe in the fall, I’d like to spend a few nights in the Naples/Sorrento area so I can easily do day trips to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii.  So I loved reading about Suzy’s experience there. I have to agree, it will probably feel a little freaky wandering in the shadow of a volcano, especially with the evidence of the destruction it can wreak right in front of you. But that’s no reason not to go, right?

Brooke Schoenman and I discovered a funny connection this week.  Just as she was writing a guest post for Nomadic Matt on 8 Safety Tips for Solo Female Travelers, I was posting about all of the safety tips for solo female travelers  that I don’t follow.  Obviously, many factors come into play as to whether you need to employ certain safety strategies or not, so in the interest of thorough research, I think you should check out both sides of this coin and decide for yourself what you need to do to be safe when you travel solo, ladies.