In spite of their proximity to Eastern Europe, the Baltics are not known as the most budget friendly place.

There are a lot of ways to cut prices when you visit Riga: eat cheap and local, find and compare apartments in Riga to avoid pricey hotels and skip the expensive late night bar scene. You will also want to take advantage of the many free and low cost attractions in the city. Even in a town with high overhead there is plenty here to do on the cheap:

Free Walking Tour

If you’re just arriving in town, take advantage of the free walking tours offered by volunteers who work solely on tips. The tour will take you away from the Old Town to visit other districts like Riga Central, the Moscow District and more. Meets at noon every day in front of Saint Peter’s church. Look for the guide holding the yellow suitcase.

Explore the Old Town

The perfect inexpensive way to spend an afternoon is wandering Riga’s old quarter, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is full of small squares, quant restaurants and museums showcasing Latvian history. There is a lot of creative architecture to enjoy and photograph. Riga is known for it’s creative street performers, the best place to spot them is actually by the McDonalds. Sit at an outdoor restaurant, sip a beer and watch the people go by.

 Occupation Museum

You will recognize this museum by it’s creative and foreboding architecture. It chronicles the country’s experiences under the tyranny of first the Nazis, then the Soviets. This includes detailed explanations and recreations of the gulag experiences. Most of the descriptions are written in English. Admission is free but donations are encouraged.

Central Market

This one is only free if you have the willpower not to buy anything. Riga can claim the largest central market in all of Europe, and it is as you can guess, absolutely enormous. Here you can find all manner of local cheeses, fruit, meat as well as clothing, handicrafts and much more. Popular local souvenirs include amber, honey and knitted clothing and socks.

The View from St. Peters

Saint Peters Church dates back to the 13^th century and is one of the oldest and most famous Lutheran churchs in Latvia. Entrance to the tower costs 3-4 Latvian Lats but is worth it for one of the best views in the city. No need to climb rickety stairs, a new elevator takes visitors up to heights of 72 meters for a 360 degree view of the city below. You can stay as long as you like.

Going on holiday, the best time for you to just sit back, relax and enjoy. Or at least you‘d hope so! But taking a vacation doesn’t have to be a nightmare. All you have to do is make sure that you follow the right steps and you’ll soon be living the high life. But what’s the deal? What do you have to do to guarantee that your holiday runs smoothly? Well don’t worry, that’s what we’re here for. Follow our advice and you’ll be having holiday fun in no time!

Before the journey

This is usually the most stressful time. So you’ve chosen the location, booked your flights and you’re off; if only it was that easy! Now you’re left with the fun stuff… packing, packing and more packing. Although, preparing for a trip abroad doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. The key is to get organised, start early! The best idea is to create a list of all the things you need to take with you and just tick them off as you pack; it’s as simple as that! Doing this not ensures that you’ve got everything, but it also gives you peace of mind. Before you leave, it’s also worth considering how you’re going to get to the airport. If you tend to leave everything to the last minute, then why not think about staying near the airport the night before, as this way you’d miss the traffic and would have plenty time to relax even before you’ve left (if you’re leaving from Manchester, then Manchester Airport hotels are perfect for this!) So our tip is to plan wisely, and you’ll definitely be on the right path to holidaying success.

But don’t forget! When you’re packing don’t leave important items at home. Can you imagine anything worse than getting to the airport and realising you’ve forgotten your passport? Keep everything you NEED in a safe place where you’ll easily remember them, such as your passport, your tickets and travel insurance. And maybe even pre-book your car parking before you leave, just to ensure that you get there in plenty of time. Sorted.

During the journey

Unfortunately, the rumours are true…this part can be quite painful too. You’ve done all the hard work and now you’re just waiting for the moment when you can finally let your hair down. But first you have to endure a fourteen hour flight; not ideal. OK, so this might not be the situation for everyone, but during the holiday process, everybody experiences that ‘limbo’ feeling when they’re so close to their holiday yet so far away. Well, our answer is, to try and make the most of this time in-between. Technically this is the start of your holiday so try to enjoy it the best you can. Take some magazines to keep you occupied, or a good book. Remember that little perks such as these can really add to your overall experience, so don’t neglect them!

The Holiday

You’ve made it! You’ve successfully reached your destination and all that’s left is for you to forget your troubles, come on get happy. Well, that’s if you let yourself! A common issue for holiday goers is that they can become too preoccupied with what’s going on at home; don’t let that be you! Forget about home and work life and concentrate on having a good time! Get this right and we guarantee you’ll have the perfect holiday.

After months of planning, fundraising, practicing and nail-biting, we are finally leaving for Bogota this Friday. It’s hard to believe the time has finally come- it doesn’t seem that long ago we were brainstorming ideas back in smoky China. Our time spent at home this summer has flown by too, and soon it will be time to kiss our mother’s goodbye yet again (thank goodness for skype!).

I’m really psyched to begin our South American journey in Colombia, a country that is rapidly changing and becoming more open and appealing to tourists. I think we’re going to find a lot of interesting content for this project in this energetic place. Our first month will be spent mostly in Bogota, the capital city, where we are hoping to connect with some fellow expats.

Thanks in part to some generous contributions, we are well equipped for our big voyage. I’m slightly dizzy considering the array of electronics and video equipment  we are carrying on our backs. Don’t worry though- we’ve insured it all!

So now, it’s down to the real work: documenting Everywhere Connection. We’re hoping to produce one quality web episode every month for the next 6-9 months. At the end of that time we will be able to sew these together into a final product. Each of these episodes will cover a different aspect of how technology has influenced the way we travel. We’ve got a lot of ideas already!

You can expect to see more activity on this website in the near future- we want to keep you as involved in this process as possible! If you haven’t yet, be sure to join our facebook page for even more updates.

 

 

I recently wrote a series of posts on Twenty-Something Travel about the things I did right and wrong on my latest Australasia trip. I didn’t even realize until I was writing, but one of the most important things I did right was to bring a laptop with me.

It’s not a very fancy computer at all, just a $350 ASUS eee netbook, but I’ve come to depend on and love it as one of my prized possessions. This is the first big trip that I’ve brought a computer with me and I use it for so many purposes that I now realize I can no longer imagine what it’s like to travel without one.

Some of the reasons having a laptop is important to me:

• To Run My Business- As someone lucky enough to work online, my laptop isn’t just for fun- it’s a necessary tool of my livelihood. There is just absolutely no way that I could do the billions of things I have to do- from writing, to website maintenance to social networking from a dinosaur computer at an internet cafe. Even if I wasn’t a blogger though, my laptop would still be really useful…
• As an Outlet- I’m a writer in both my professional and personal life, and my laptop has basically become my travel journal- the place where I unload my thoughts until I figure out how to work them into something useful. I’ve never been one for writing longhand- my thoughts move so fast my hand can’t keep up. Without my computer I can’t write, and then I just feel stuffed up.
• Virtual Library- Guidebooks are just too heavy to lug around on my back, so I’ve taken to doing most of my research on twitter, wikitravel and by reading blogs. The internet is the biggest source of information out there anyways!
• As Entertainment- I have a huge library of movies and tv shows on my external hard drive. They came in super handy during those long, rainy, camper-van nights in Australia. With absolutely nothing to do my friend and I turned to watching hours and hours of romantic comedies and How I Met Your Mother. Even in less dire situations I really appreciate being able to tune out during long bus rides or waiting periods.
• It’s my Link to the Rest of the World- The most important thing I use my computer for on the road is communication: skyping with my family and Mike, emailing for business and even just chatting on twitter. When you are thousands of miles away from your loved ones it is just amazingly comforting to hear a familiar voice.

When I was in Cambodia in March and my computer cord stopped working I was absolutely panic stricken. I was all alone in a strange country, and without my life line to the rest of the world, I felt aimless and disconnected. Luckily even in Cambodia I was able to find a replacement cord within the week, so my isolation was short lived.

Is it healthy to be so dependent on a machine? I don’t know. Maybe without my computer I would have met more people and experienced more things, or maybe not. For me it has certainly made travel easier- it’s allowed me to keep tabs on my life from anywhere around the world.

Do you travel with a laptop? Why or why not?

One of the big things we want to do with this website is to spotlight travelers who are using technology to do things that might not have been possible 10 years ago. There are a lot of people out there doing really cool things that really exemplify the spirit of Everywhere Connection.

The first interview in this series is with Nate Damm, who is almost halfway through a very long walk. An 8-9 month walk from coast to coast across America.

In some ways it’s a very primitive idea: Nate travels on foot and camps by the side of the road, under bridges or with friendly Samaritans. At the same time Nate has given his walk a 21st century twist by documenting each day with personal videos on his website Nate Walks America.

Nate not only documents his trip online, but uses social media to connect with followers and locals, sometimes earning himself a bed for the night. He even lists his phone number (207-446-2688) online and welcomes calls from readers, just in case you’d like to follow up! All around the country people have met up with Nate offering food, shelter and support.

Somewhere in the middle of Missouri, Nate agreed to answer a few questions:

Why did you decide to walk across America?

There are a lot of reasons! First, I thought it would just be a neat way to see the country, nice and slowly. Also, I found myself getting a bit depressed about how negative the news was, it seemed almost all bad. I needed to find some positive in the world. I’ve also always really enjoyed walking, hiking and camping, so it seemed like a perfect fit. I’m discovering new reasons though every day as I continue to walk.

What are some of the major difficulties you face doing an overland trip like this?

The major difficulties for me are keeping enough food and water to sustain me, and finding a place to sleep at night. I haven’t had any major issues yet, but as I continue to get further west these things will become increasingly difficult. I typically restock on food and water at convenience stores and gas stations, and I almost always camp somewhere off the side of the road a bit in the woods or in a field.

Obviously your space must be quite limited. What electronics have you chose to carry with you?

I have a Blackberry, an iPod, Canon Powershot camera and an HP Mini Netbook. That’s pretty much it! Not too much room but these things are all pretty compact so they don’t cause any packing problems.

How has technology helped you connect with people along your way?

It has helped so much. I’ll just give an example. The French Lick Resort in southern Indiana found me on Twitter when I said I was going to be walking through the town of French Lick, which then led to them offering me a free room and them telling their Facebook community about me, which led to a newspaper interview. That newspaper interview and Facebook share led to me lining up hosts across the rest of the state for the next 4-5 nights and interviews with a few other newspapers. That kind of thing has happened so often!

Why do you think its important to document your trip online (with twitter, facebook and your website)? What made you decide to use videos as your primary method of communication?

I think it’s important because I want to be a resource for anyone else who is thinking of doing the same thing someday. I know how much websites similar to the one I have now helped me with planning and keeping motivated before my trip started, so I wanted it for that purpose. I’ve also found that sharing everything has been a great way to keep me accountable and focused on the tougher days.

I chose to use video because it’s easy. I can just shoot a 1-2 minute video at the end of each day and quickly upload it when I get some wifi. This means I don’t have to spend all day on a computer writing and editing.

Has it been challenging to find internet access on the road?

It has been at times, especially as I’m heading further west now and it is becoming less populated by the day. My main stops are usually McDonald;s or public libraries. Most towns have one or the other, or sometimes both! It has worked pretty well so far.

How do you think your experience might have been different say, 10 years ago?

It would have been drastically different. Technology has helped me out in so many different ways in terms of connecting and sharing, it’s strange to imagine the trip without that.

Sometime during the next 5 months I’m going to take a couple of weeks and completely disconnect from the web and my phone. It will be interesting to see how that affects the trip and my day to day existence. I’ll probably be better at answering this question after I do that!

Thanks Nate! Follow along with Nate on his website, his very involved Facebook Page or on Twitter.