New York Times - 45 Places to go in 2012

Travel + Leisure - Hottest travel destinations of 2012

Budget Travel - Top Budget Travel Destinations for 2012

Frommers - Top Destinations of 2012

Fodor’s - Top 21 Places to Go in 2012

The Telegraph - Where to travel on Holiday in 2012

IB Times - Top Travel Destinations for 2012

CNN GO - Best Places to visit in 2012

National Geographic - Top trips of 2012

Tangent:

US News - Places Not to travel in 2012

NY Times - Top websites of 2012.

However, the stars aligned when I was recently contacted by InBed.me regarding their service. InBed is one of those rare original, non-shitty new travel websites that I’m convinced offers a true value proposition to travelers… especially to the single, solo, independent budget traveler.. like myself.

Click through and spend a few minutes on the site, and you’ll get why I’m excited about it. InBed is AirBnB, but with hostels, and a little more social twist. Rather than only finding a bed like AirBnB, you’re finding travel buddies and a social circle. The little corny video on the landing page hits the nail on the head - cool hostels aren’t cool if you’re alone after arriving. I couldn’t agree more.

InBed.me simply solves the problem. Why hostels.com or hostelworld didn’t think of this first, I don’t know. Maybe because they’re lazy. But going forward, there’s hardly a reason to book hostels ahead without using InBed.me.

I realize I’m fanboy-ing hard on this one, but it’s for good reason. It’s refreshing to see techcrunch buzzworthy disruption come back to the travelsphere and challenge the AirBnB’s and Couchsurfings of the world. This will only lead to good things. I’m excited. There aren’t many travel startups I’d love to really work for, but this might be one of them. So check it out, and if you’re a travel geek, be sure to keep InBed on your radar. This could get big.

The Lonely Planet Best Cities of 2012

1. London, UK
2. Muscat, Oman
3. Bangalore, India
4. Cadiz, Spain
5. Stockholm, Sweden
6. Guimarães, Portugal
7. Santiago, Chile
8. Hong Kong
9. Orlando, FL
10. Darwin, Oz

Now, LP knows their stuff and likes to keep things fresh, but of all the cities in the world, these are the top 10 for 2012?

Questionable Top Cities

#2 Muscat:
I live here. Right now. I’ve been here for a month. Now, the city is fine, and a lot of people like aspects of living and traveling here. But I really do not get it. The weather leaves a lot to be desired, the infrastructure is not traveler friendly, and after a blistering day on the beach and a tour of Old Muscat, there’s not much else to do in the city. When I think of city, I think of something explorable. Muscat is a good launching point to nearby Wadis, Wahiba Sands, and Emirates. Maybe a launching point of 2012, but not city. If not for work, I would’ve left for more lovable destinations after 3 days of exploring.

#3 Bangalore
Again, Bangalore seems to be a fine city for IT professionals with some cash. Probably great place to work given India’s economic boom, but Bangalore isn’t even a top 10 city in India, let alone the world for 2012. Pushkar, Agra, Mumbai, Delhi, Jaisalmer, Jodphur, Varanassi…..

#8 Hong Kong
I love love love Hong Kong. It deserves to be on the list. But I can’t help but laugh at LP’s reasoning. Lonely Planet recommends a visit because of potential protests relating to the movement for more democracy. Perhaps New York and Oakland should be on here for the Occupy Wall Street protests.

#9 Orlando Florida.
LP tells us to visit Orlando…becaaaauuuuseee…..(drumroll)…of the NBA all-star game. The NBA. The same NBA which almost did not have a season this year due to a lockout.

Personal Recommendations

UEFA Euro Cup - Poland & Ukraine
The Euro Cup happens every four years, and is arguably the world’s 3rd most popular sporting event after the World Cup and Summer Olympics. Plus, it’s in Poland and the Ukraine. What better time to visit Poland and Ukraine, no?

Africa Cup of Nations
Better yet, visit a city in the Africa Cup in 2012.

Are there no other events going on in 2012?

• Effort – Sometimes you need to veg out right? Budget travelling, backpacker style is exhausting. Spending 40% of your time on shitty buses or trains sucks, and if you’re on a time crunch and simply want to relax on a pretty beach with no fussing or planning, a package tour is where its at. (Go easy on me, backpacking gods)

• Economy – From an economies of scale standpoint, if you want a luxury trip, in theory, a packaged trip should be cheaper than going it alone. Remember this is theoretical, as often times the packaging middle man will take a disproportional slice, deteriorating any value saved from a money or time standpoint.

So okay. Fine. Packaged tours aren’t always the devil, but they don’t always make the most sense. Here’s my breakdown of when they are most appropriate.

When Package Tours Make Sense

The Caribbean
Pros: Safety, sure-fire tour operators, best facilities

It’s hard to avoid the crowds and go through the Caribbean alone as an independent traveller. So if you can’t beat them, join them. With a built out luxury / beach travel infrastructure in place, you’ll see numerous offers for cheap holidays to Barbados and other wonderful destinations that are frankly more difficult to see affordably without the package. A place like Barbados may make most sense for a package, while somewhere like Puerto Rico lends itself to the independent backpacking style trip. Whatever the case, safety might often be an issue some places in the Caribbean  (Jamaica, for example), so the peace of mind of an inclusive resort might be the way to go.

The Safari
Pros: Safety

Everyone wants to go on an African Safari at some point, let’s face it. Personally, I want one of the Kenyan or Botswana variety at some point in the future. The catch? You will die in Kenya. Okay, exaggeration. But one must be very conscious of their safety while going through Kenya and some other African nations (that are not Ethiopia), so I’m of the opinion a Safari might be best comfortably experienced through a packaged tour. The premium charged and handed to the middle man will be extreme, but it’s justifiable.

The Cruise
Pros: Transport efficiency, novelty, last minute

Sometimes you just want a cruise. See different places, lay out on deck, and relax. I get it. Cruises are good for what they offer, and I’ve seen some phenomenal packaged deals on cruises. The great thing is that ships have an inventory, and the cost for each marginal passenger to fill the ship is practically zero. I would go so far as to say the marginal cost would be negative for a passenger like myself for even a free bed, since the revenue generated from my drinking would far outweigh the costs for the buffet food I’d eat.  So their incentives to offer great deals is there.

Bonus: Visiting a bunch of different islands is kind of novel and cool, and one can even, with some effort, get out of the tourist ports and explore the ‘real’ part of the islands with a little foresight and planning. So a cruise could potentially be a backpacker day trip machine for those who want to get out and go on the run.

Work Perk, Uncle Vinny’s Timeshare
Pros: Dirt Cheap / free

My favourite packaged tour is probably Uncle Vinny’s unused timeshare. What’s better than free (outside of transport)? Corporations tend to love on packaged tours a lot for perks, and these are undoubtedly the world’s greatest way to experience the all inclusive, packaged vacation.

Unreal good Cost per Quality ratio
Thailand has managed to become one of those countries that offers a safe, exciting, easy adventure without breaking the pocketbook. Prices for living, accommodation, and transport within Thailand have remained low while not hampering on the quality of the services – from metros, to taxis, to last minute friendly tourist focused bus lines. By and large the most expensive line item for your trip will be the flight. Flights from the US tend to run on the high side (excluding west coast airports like LAX), but flights from Europe tend to be a lot more manageable. Flight specialists such as DialAFlight can source a cheap flight to Thailand for only £369 from London (to Bangkok including taxes).

High Activity Density
I find Thailand to have a highest density of urban & natural activities and experiences in the world. The only thing it’s missing is a snow ski resort. Bangkok is a fast paced eccentric world city with everything – shopping, nightlife, scenery, cinema, beautiful people. Southern Thailand has some of the world’s greatest beaches and diving. Northern Thailand offers travellers a more quaint, mysterious mountain filled adventure with opportunities for motor biking, cooking classes, and trekking.

Opportunity to experience Authentic Culture
While in Thailand, you can do everything either western or Thai style.  Thailand and it’s foreign language, large population, and expansive countryside makes both possible. This opportunity to pick and choose your cultural experiences is one that makes it such a great destination for everyone.

You can eat, bus, mototaxi, drink, live, and blend in like a Thai at the multitude of  ‘normal’ restaurants if you wish. You can visit Pattaya, or an obscure city in Nakhon Si Thammarat…OR…

..you can be finicky, picky Westerner and limit your local experiences by only eating Western food, grabbing taxis, drinking Heineken, hanging out at Khao San Road, and frequenting upscale western resorts and clubs. While I adore the former and despise the latter, both options exist along with any combination in between, which makes Thailand so great.

So maybe if you need an excuse for an incredible adventure, perhaps here it is. Do your part to get the Thai economy back on track after it’s horrible flood by participating in their tourism industry. God knows I will this year.

It’s no secret snow skiing is rather expensive, but keep in mind the environment RIGHT NOW that may help facilitate a budget ski holiday:

• The never ending global economic crisis. Resorts need to draw visitors with deals, and the Euro is dying.
• The LCC. Budget airlines are still battling for fares, and the low cost carrier is still alive for the time being. Take advantage.
• You made new friends that love to go on adventures, so you have a large denominator to divide lodging, food, and transport costs by.

So perhaps a budget ski holiday isn’t entirely out of the question. From my own wanderlusting and research, below are a few ski resorts and trip ideas I’m going to keep in the back of my mind.

Exploit the Premiere Euro Ski Resorts

The Euro is dying. It’s no secret. The worst is yet to come in the Euro crisis over the next several months. With contagion and the pending fall of Italy, Spain, and even France. The crisis could result in some great value ski holidays for North Americans and British folk eying French and Italian chalets. The relative value in Italy and France could be attractive. I’d probably avoid the Swiss Alps for now, from a purely economic standpoint.

Bulgaria / Andorra / Slovenia

These have forever been the budget destinations of choice in Europe, rightfully so. The smaller and more affordable resort in Bansko, Bulgaria might be calling you if you’re interested in Eastern Europe. With the Eastern Europe price level preferable to its Western counterparts, Bulgarian ski resorts offer a great bang for the buck. Similarly, travel to Andorra (Soldeu - El Tarter ) or Slovenia might be of interest to budget travellers. You’ll save on everything in Eastern Europe, from food to beer to accommodation.

Ski Dubai

Living in Oman, Dubai is only a 4 hour bus ride or 1 hour flight away. Whenever I end up visiting, I will surely be visiting Ski Dubai. While not budget friendly at $60 for a very short session, the peculiar nature of it makes it worth it. Given the only other opportunity to ski is hours away by plane, Ski Dubai offers a comparably good value for expats itching to hit the slopes without dropping $400.

Turkey, Lebanon

Real Middle East skiing exists in Lebanon and Turkey. If you can stomach political unrest and some danger, Lebanon has a fairly developed ski resort scene with 6 resorts. Turkey, on the other hand, has ski resorts more in its infancy but offers more stability. Don’t expect the Alps, but the price tag will be more than preferable when you consider much lower lift tickets, rentals, and the more plentiful accommodation opportunities.

Lesotho

Another somewhat strange ski opportunity lies in the ski resort of Lesotho, Africa. Lesotho, the country surrounded by South Africa, has a ski resort for you if you’re into novel experiences and watn to say you went snow skiing in Africa.

Motivation. Watch. This. Video.

My commentary and ideas not motivating enough. Watch this video from Matador, and you’ll be itching to book a ticket to start burning those Thanksgiving turkey cals.

Highlights

First of all, here’s a rundown of the highlights of Ethiopia:

• Injera – the national dish. It’s tasty, just spicy enough, filling, and cheap.  50 Birr  - ($3)
• Coffee – Very cheap, very good. Some of the world’s best, and definitely has a distinct flavor. Coffee, Machiato, and Espresso all are a must. 7 Birr  - ($.40)
• People – The people are very nice and friendly. Ethiopia is safe…relative to the rest of Africa.
• Women – Ethiopian women are unbelievably beautiful. I have never seen such a high density of stunning women in my life. Just don’t be a creep and expect a price.
• Heart wrenching – Poverty is everywhere. HIV is everywhere. Prostitution is rampant. Mentally prepare yourself, but if you give 10 birr to everyone that asks you won’t make it more than a week.
• No Budget Backpacker infrastructure - Overland travel is very time consuming and/or expensive. You can’t just show up and expect cheap transport. Plan accordingly.

Arriving in Ethiopia

Odds are you’re flying into Addis Ababa. There’s no problem getting a $20 visa on arrival for most nationalities. However, be weary of the timing. I arrived at 8:30, and did not reach the lobby of the airport until 11:45pm after receiving a visa, clearing customs, and changing money. Most flights arrive in the evening, and a good long visa line formed before me.

So if you arrive in the evening, prebook a guesthouse or hotel. As I experienced, places fill up on weekends especially. Also, get one with airport pickup. Taxis charged me 200 birr (150 is going rate), or $12 from the airport. A prebooked $25-30 room with free pickup would’ve been the better deal as a solo traveler.

Accommodation (Addis Ababa)

Travelers tend to stay around Bole or Piazza. I’d recommend trying both, for shits and giggles. I stayed at Taitu Hotel in Piazza and can recommend it. I paid 140 Birr ($8.25 November 2011, the cheapest available) for a single room with a shared bathroom. The bathrooms are horrendous, but you get what you paid for. Taitu is a good place to meet people, and same goes for the other LP recommendations in the Piazza area.

Doing Ethiopia

Addis Ababa is, well, okay. It’s a capital city, and like most other capital cities, it doesn’t have much to offer. I wandered some ghettos and drank at some strange places. With that, keep your guard up and stay defensive. You’re still in Africa. Furthermore, be very careful with the Rastas who tend to be the most friendly and outgoing of those Ethiopians you’ll run into.The Rastafarian community tends to hang out around tourist areas and has a questionable reputation for their dealings.

What to do in Addis Ababa

Spending 2 full days in Addis Ababa is more than enough. In Addis, I recommend two things:

1. Wandering aimlessly – wander around with zero plans. Stop at restaurants, drink a lot of coffee, eat a lot of pastries (8 Birr - $.40), try a lot injera (Daro Wet, Tibs are go tos), and drink St. George & other local beer (11 Birr, $.65). Get acquainted with the city’s feel, rest up from your flight, and take a taxi back to your hotel whenever you’re lost. Then check out the nightlife as you please.

2. Self guided walking tour – building on 1, do the self guided walking tour discussed in Wikitravel Addis Ababa. The weather in Addis is pleasant, so put on your walking shoes and spend a day seeing everything. I’m not exaggerating.

Start in Meskel Square, and walk. I don’t really recommend stopping at any of the sites (ahem Lion zoo). I do recommend stopping for a break around the National Museum area. There are numerous very good cafes and restaurants to try out. Rather, if you’re feeling ambitious and looking for a workout, walk all the way to Mt. Entoto and walk up the mountain. Be forewarned that walking up is steep and tiring, so have decent shoes. If you’re tired, take a taxi up from the Market after the American embassy. Kids will play with you, people will practice their English, you get a workout, and you kill some time.

Other things you can do: Hang out at the Sheraton with rich people, sit in hostel restaurants, and check out some of the jazz clubs and nightlife.

Get out of Addis Ababa

Ethiopia, much to my dismay and unlike Southeast Asia, requires actually planning. So buy the LP guidebook, do your research, and plan to get out of Addis Ababa sooner rather than later. The internet isn’t to be relied upon while here. Getting out of Addis on the shoestring requires planning ahead so you can take local buses early (5:00-7:00 am for the local buses at affordable prices) in the morning. Hiring a car through a tour operator is dreadfully expensive, but manageable if you’re with a couple friends. But again, you’ll need to book your car the day before as they tend to go quickly.

Resources

There are many places to check out outside of Addis. I’m not going to pretend to be an expert. So consult your new guidebook and check out these great sources I used. The main draws you should see are Lalibella and Axum.

• Owen’s Guide - Great overview of day trip options from Addis Ababa
• WikiTravel Addis Ababa
• WikiTravel Ethiopia
• Virtual Tourist Ethiopia Guide

Others

Malaria – it exists outside Addis. Make sure you’re prepared for when you leave Addis Ababa. Also make sure you’re up to date on vaccines.

Toilet Paper – Is your new best friend. Try to avoid eating fruits and vegetables to avoid sickness.

Weather – know the climate. Addis is cold, and I didn’t pack accordingly. Thus, I froze my ass off at night.

Changing money:

• Arriving, there may be a queue for money changing banks (2 options). Furthermore, they may run out of currency.
• ATMs at major hotels, Cash at banks. The National bank downtown Addis will change Traveler’s Checks.
• Departing - It’s a hassle to change currency from Ethiopian Birr to US Dollars / Euro / Pounds, especially recently due to inflation in the country and Central banking efforts. There is one exchange at the departure hall, which may or may not change with you. If they won’t change, you can go backwards through the Arrival hall to exchange with the other banks inside on arrival. Note, this isn’t officially allowed, but Ethiopians are nice peole. If you kindly ask the airport workers and tell them it’s to change money, they’ll let you through, but you may need to leave your passport with them. So go through the arrival hall, and you can actually go through the Visa check as well. However, nobody will change from Birr to US Dollars, and one of the 3 in the airport refuses to change at all. So take your Euros, Pounds, or whatever is offered and feel fortunate.

Bottom Line: Ethiopia is a great country, and is probably “real Africa on broken training wheels.” For a budget travler, the price points for living expenses when it comes to food, water, beer, and coffee, cannot be beaten. However, to experience the country to its fullest, transportation costs between destinations in Ethiopia can and will add up very quickly, so budget accordingly for flights (ie flight Addis to Lalibella), hiring a car, or have a bulltet-proof busing plan + time to spare.

The majority of my time (think 55 hours/week) will be spent working tirelessly recounting beans for companies. Not quite as glamorous as ’studying’ in Bangkok, but this is what being a grown up is I suppose. My free time will be spent sleeping, surfing the interwebs, staying hydrated, and getting fat on Middle Eastern food.

Pertaining to this blog, I have a plan for some fresh new content and articles. As my scarce free time and holidays allow, I’ll be exploring the region as much as possible myself. Furthermore, I’m already lusting over a nice little swing through greater Asia when I’m finished working here. So be sure to stay in tune for some new articles in the coming days, weeks, and months.

1. Learn a language

How? Local community college, Rosetta Stone, local friend/cultural group, or LiveMocha. Learning a language will be fun and give you an excuse as to why you’re still in the States. It’s productive, will let you meet likeminded people, and prevent you from being the rich-puta-that-only-speaks-english when you finally do leave.

2. Get spicy. Cook!

Seriously. Go to your local ethnic grocery store and buy everything. Oyster sauce? Check. I-can’t-read-the-label spice? Mmhmm. Make some foreign dishes. It’ll likely taste like shit, but it’s a good way to get your cultural fix and open up your senses again to tastes outside of sandwiches and Kraft Mac n Cheese.

3. ..Or, just eat out

For everyone that dismissed #2, I suppose this is for you. Go get some ethnic food. Nothing fusion, nothing over $8. If you’re fortunate to live in a real urban area, check out a real ethnic corner restaurant and feast.

4. Date a foreigner

No comment.

5. Get involved

If you live in a city, there are a million cross-cultural volunteer opportunities. From refugee centers to minority support groups there is no lack of ability to get involved. Outside a real city, check out a Rotary club or get involved virtually (see b).

5 (b). Virtual involvement

For the antisocialites out there: If you can write, have any sort of online tech skills, or know a smidgen about social media you can always get involved virtually. Find an interesting not for profit (Idealist.org, VolunteerMatch.com are good starting points) and give away your time to a cause. You’ll probably be able to make mad amounts of Facebook friends and perhaps a language learning buddy.

6. Read a book

No better way to escape your shitty life than to read interesting stories about others that aren’t as boring as you. Imersing yourself into a good novel once and awhile (or every waking moment) is a good way to expand your mind, knowledge, and litereary street cred for your late night hostel convos in the future.

7. Make Money

If absolutely nothing else, focus on the bottom line and make some money. Improve your cash flow by expanding your top line (get another job, start a project, invest better +Revenue) or cutting your expenses (Netflix > cable TV and is 1/6th the cost). Save, invest wisely, and accumulate a travel fund.

7a. Be clever with your finances

To reiterate, think about cutting your costs and making some sacrifices in order to expedite your travel fund growth. Learn and LIVE personal finance. Get a budget (Mint.com), learn quirky life hacking/budget tricks (Lifehacker, GetRichSlowly, a gagillion other resources), and check out AONC’s Travel Hacking Cartel niche resource when your travel dates get closer. (legit – TravelHacking.org)

Thus, I figure I may just be better off just creating a State of the Travelsphere: Sites that matter report to be updated semi-annually or annually…. or something.

Why? I feel like the internet has been filling up with content garbage that hurts search, as noted by TechCrunch recently in Search Still Sucks. Personally, I think travel topics have been hurt most, so I hope this guide may be of some help to save you time and have a better online travel planning experience.

Travel Search - Travel Datasheets

• WikiTravel.org - always should be your numba one go-to
• Gogobot.com - an up and coming travel search for travel topics. Not revolutionary, but new.
• Tripadvisor.com, & Virtualtourist.com - not particularly a huge fan of these behemoth sites, but their age and large sizes make them relevant for data and facts for a variety of specific topics

Flight search

• Kayak.com - I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. Kayak.
• Vayama.com - Always a good backstop in case Kayak doesn’t have all the published fares
• Skyscanner.com …If you really need another search…
• Expedia - Of the behemoth searches out there, Expedia comes in as my personal fav and a solid tool to benchmark flights.

Accommodation

Travel Blogs

Up and Coming Travel blogs: new blogs (…at least to me), that have caught my interest and are very worthy of receiving a mention here. The following make up my favorite blogs due to the recency effect.

• FoxNomad.com - A techy, former hacker now digital nomading around the world while living off of his travel blogs. Definitely a niche quick to my heart.
• Canvas-of-light.com - Awesome travel photography
• WanderingTrader.com - A traveler who trades stocks for a living. An even quicker route to my heart than Fox, given this career move is in my 39 year plan.
• JohnnyVagabond.com - Just good
• NerdyNomad.com - chronicling her experience as a digital nomad supported by her travel blog revenues

Legacy Travel Blogs: old, yet still outstanding travel blogs that are always a good read. The following keep chugging along.

• Cheapest Destinations: travel.booklocker.com
• Matador Network: matadornetwork.com
• Budget Travel (mag): current.newsweek.com/budgettravel
• Vagablogging: Vagablogging.net
• Hobo Traveler: Hobotraveler.com
• Jaunted: Jaunted.com
• Gadling: Gadling.com
• Gridskipper: Gridskipper.com

Forums

• BootsnAll.com - Always, always a favourite
• LonelyPlanet.com/thorntree - occasionally a good resource
• TravellersPoint.com - has somewhat of a social network vibe as well

Social Networking

• TravBuddy - The only one I really classify as a travel social network (that I like
• WAYN - If you must, WAYN is a travel social network as well. I prefer TravBuddy and find WAYN a bit more spammy, but check it out if you must.

..More Travel Data searches

If you want more places to search for travel data / facts / info tidbits, below is a list of sites I find to be all identical in offering “Travel Guides” or reviews or testimonials or what not.

• Stay.com
• Tripwolf.com
• World66.com
• Tripsay.com
• Driftr.com
• Travelpod.com
• Travelblog.org

Outlook

With that, you have the Travel Sites that matter, 2011. The verdict, essentially, that Google sucks for search, and that sticking to authoritative content sources for data like WikiTravel and perusing a few reputable blogs will get you by.

While it’s unlikely Google travel related searches will get any better for travel guides / reviews / etc, it will become a major player in Travel booking and flight / hotel searches in the VERY near future. Google purchased the Travel data provider ITA for $700 million recently, and will surely be integrating it somehow in the near future once regulatory concerns are dealt with.

Who is ITA? ITA is only the sole provider of travel data to Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz…the list goes on. So now that Google owns the data, it will be very, very interesting to see what they end up doing with it, and I believe in 2011 we will begin to see some major shakeups in travel search, potentially with Google besting a lot of other searches like Kayak, Expedia, etc.