Ok I’ll admit that this isn’t going to be all that revolutionary to many people but here’s a little tip if your planning to attend MeetPlanGo next week:

Bring Business Cards

This is from personal experience.  When I went to TBEX this year I made the mistake of not bringing cards with me.  It was while I was outside waiting to get in that I realized just how much of a mistake this had been.  So early the next morning I ran down to the closest Staples and had them print me out some.

Even if you don’t have a site – bring something with your name on it to give to other people.  It could be your business card from work that you write your personal email on.  Better yet include your Facebook or Linkedin info.  If you have a website you’ll of course want to include it’s address and email, if you don’t have cards for the site made already.  If this is your very first step and you don’t have anything yet, you don’t have to get all that fancy.  You can buy some paper that’s a little thicker, type out some information in Word (formatting it to print business cards) and print them out.  If you’d like to have  fancier ones you can print them out on Avery 8476 (laser), 8371 (inkjet) paper that has business card sized perforations.

Your going to connect with other like minded people right?  Leaving them with your personal contacts strengthens that connection.

If your just coming for the drinks – you should still bring business cards to help the cabbie drive you home.  See, everyone needs business cards!

July ended up not not being the greatest month posting wise.    Although I did get a great deal done.  Much of the month was consumed getting everything set up for a new website I am building that should be ready in early Sept.   I’m starting a hosting company that will initially be geared to new helping new bloggers get started blogging.  One feature I’m working on is no caps; if a new blogger gets the smallest package and they hit a bandwidth or storage cap, I’d automatically upgrade them to the next package (only if they opt in for this feature).  I’m also working on no cpu usage caps for other packages, but that will be at a later date.  More on this later.

July numbers

Adsense    $1.56

Affiliates       0

Ads     0

Alexa Rank 1,614,757

Posts  2

Upcoming events and meetups

Sept

Minnesota Blog Conference – Sept 11 (CoCo in St Paul)

Meet Plan Go – Sept 14 (Chiang Mai Thai in Minneapolis)

Oct

The Unconventional Book Tour -  Oct 3 (Chris Guillabeau’s book tours’ MSP stop)

You may have already seen or heard of this app, but it might help tremendously during TBEX.  It’s Exit Strategy NYC

Exit Strategy is an iPhone/iTouch app that will make your trips around New York much easier.  There are also versions for Blackberry and Android however they are the Lite versions.

First, it works underground. Very important in a subway app.

It lists the current subway maps.  They have a license through the transit authority to use the actual (read current) maps

It also displays all of the bus routes.  City buses not the hop-on hop-off tourist ones.

It shows you which car on the train to get on.  This helps you get to the right exit stairway quicker.  Think of yourself being the one person that needs to go out the right stairway and all 200 others are going out the left one.  Don’t get stuck like that.

And best of all it also shows you where the street level entrances to the subway stations are.  Ridiculously awesome.

Check out their YouTube video!

For those planning on taking advantage to the CityPass you’ll be getting at TBEX next week I’ve made a map of the TBEX locations, kickoff and after-parties along with the locations of sites included with the pass.  It may help while you plan on what your going to try and see.

(not me)

Starting a several websites at the time, working full time and waking up early to fit more into the day left me tired and drained.  Susceptible.  What happened?  You guessed it I ended up getting the flu that was going around work.  It pretty much wiped me out for a couple days.

One thing I kept thinking as I laid on the couch under my pile of blankets, sweating and shivering was “What do people do when they get sick on the road?”  I at least had my normal stash of saltines I could fall back on, but what do you do when your in a foreign city?  Many times you’ll have trains to catch and rooms that need to be checked into.  This is the little list I worked up between naps before my fever broke.

You can:

Suck it up. Nothings really wrong with you it’s all in your head. Those with a stronger character/constitution don’t have this problem.  Keep going.  The problem is – sometimes no matter how strong of character or how strong your constitution is, you are going to get sick.  At home or overseas, you have to recognize it and adjust. Denying it to long only makes it worse. Except for the bottle flu, that is your own fault so you should suck it up.

Hold up. As in staying put.  That is what sick days are for.  Just because your on the road doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a sick day if you need one.  It helps if your itinerary is a bit flexible.  This will mean you will miss some sites but if your sick it is better to be back in a hotel then in a tour bus barreling down the road while your in the toilet honking. It’s never pretty.

Go in. If I expel anything crimson colored I’m going in.  I don’t really care where I’m at, it could be to the local witch doctor or Shaman, heck they may even have a better cure anyway.  Either way I’m going to see someone.  Also if my condition doesn’t change the second day or I think I’m getting worse I’ll go in and get checked out anyway as a precaution.  Traveling solo you have to be more proactive I think.

Let me know if you what your plans are for handling getting sick on the road. I am interested in seeing what other peoples plans are and what they actually ended up doing to get over it.

photo credit: dumbledad

Starting out travel blogging now, you have to wonder – has this boat already sailed?   You question yourself and your ability to step away and go through with it.  Part of the naval gazing that everyone probably has gone through prior to setting out on extended travel or even starting your own business for that matter is an honest self assesment.  Let’s see what I’m not to start out with shall we?

I’m not a Stanford grad or any Ivy League grad for that matter. Seth Godin I am not, other then catching up tohim in the hair department.

I haven’t been blogging since it started.  Dabbled a bit with websites for many years, nothing with any impact.

I’m not a career person tired of corporate life.  I worked in a paper mill for 8 years, quit, then went back to school.

I’m not a student or student aged.  There are far more doors open to and more discounts available college age travelers.

I’m not on a gap year, from school or a career.  I don’t have a timetable when I have to get back.

I haven’t sold my business and plan on traveling with the proceeds.  Over the years I have had different businesses with mixed success where I learned more then I earned.

Geez where does that leave me?  Turns out I’m just an average guy with extraordinary dreams.  Wanderlust struck me at an early age.  One way or another I am getting on a plane this summer and traveling until what money I have runs out.

Why should you follow me (or friend me on Facebook)?  Because I plan on showing you how I will do it.  Hopefully it won’t be a train wreck that you just can’t look away from, but you would learn from that too.

Tomorrow I’ll post the positives…

The last couple days I have made some lists regarding where I would like to go and what I would like to see. One of them is my list of different modes of transportation.  This ended up being a much longer list then I thought it would be.  There are a couple extra credit ones at the end because they don’t run anymore.  I would like to take them all (except the disqualifier).

How many have you taken?

Walking – walking from bar to bar doesn’t count, from town to town does

Bicycle – even one of those city tours counts it’s a great way to see a city

Rollerblade – Some cities have regularly scheduled roller blade events

Rickshaw – human powered, go dude go!

Scooter/moped – It may be more exhilarating than you think

Motorcycle – no big scooters are not motorcycles

Car -  no brainer, easy points to get you started.

Bus – tour bus, rural bus, chicken bus

Jeepney – colorful variant of a bus

Plane, jet– another no brainer

Bush Plane – check your life insurance first

Parasail/glider – anything where you hang from a clothe kite

Spaceship – Spaceship Two the ultimate in awesomeness

Train – last freebie

Top of train – for those young enough to

Tram – enclosed cable car

Trolley/streetcar – San Francisco’s gets you extra points

Subway – some are better then others

Ship – Cruise, cargo or other

Sailboat -anything powered with a sail

Ferry – ship that takes cars

Catamaran ferry – fast ferry that uses hydrofoils

Canoe/kayak – self powered tiny boat

Dugout – hollowed out tree with or without a motor

Reed boat – Similar to those used on Lake Titicaca

Canal barge – slow boat down canal

Wagon/oxcart – All the time to take in the scenery

Donkey – would you rather walk back up from the Grand Canyon?

Horse – give yourself extra points if you can handle a rope or bolo

Yak – can you ride a yak?

Elephant – travel like Hannibal

Disqualifier

Unicycle – if you do it dressed as a mime or magician

Extra credit

Concord – for those more ‘seasoned’ jetsetters

Hover ferry – Ferry that hovered on air.

EDIT Added one so it’s now 32 Ways of Traveling

Camel – I can’t believe I forgot Camel

photo credit: Nathan150

or alternate title: A Noob begins route planning

Thanks to the library I have a good portion of my weight in brand-spanky new guidebooks right now.  There is a smattering from each big publisher, city guides, country guides, and of course budget/shoestring/backdoor guides.  My recent No Reservations fix doesn’t help matters either.  Foodie or not Prague looks like it might have to make it on the list.  There are so many places that are on the ‘I’d like to go there’ list – how do you fit them all in without being rushed.  The last thing I want to have is an itinerary set in stone.  From 8:00 to 9:10 you will enjoy the city center when you will board the 9:22 train… What if I’m hungover I don’t want to get up or maybe just want to spend the day people watching? That type of travel really doesn’t appeal to me.  Part of the reason that I picked Heading That Way as a name is that I don’t know where I am going,  I know the direction I’d like to go in and the things I would like to see and experience.  Sure airline tickets I’ll need a definite departure and return date and thanks to the Schengen agreement I guess I’ll only be staying in Europe for 90 days.  To linger if I so choose would be nice.

My planning is more research and lists of things to do.  I find it’s important to try to stay focused, not just read and plan endlessly.  I’ve started using a 30 minute timer because I don’t have to know everything.  Key points, big events, rail or transport hubs and lodging.  For my  first trip this may not be the best approach, I’ll find out one way or another.  let me know what you did and if you any suggestions.

photo credit: ralphhogaboom