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By FWtravel, August 16, 2009 8:46 am

Ironically, A and I both visited the same region of China but on separate trips/years/etc. Of course I like to believe that my visit was what motivated hers, because naturally I ragged about the area and naturally she decided to go from my descriptions, but one may never know. I’ll leave it to A to post about her adventures… if she ever gets around to it. Chop Chop A!!

Many people are concerned with traveling in a region such as China where the language is not one of those usually offered in their high school curriculum and one cannot depend upon third year Spanish skills to get through to people like one could attempt in Europe (though unless your waiter is from Spain in Paris, Spanish doesn’t really help one in France necessarily…).  Europe is considered so easy because of the trains, the planes, the language, the proximity of countries, the old world charm, the typical “I just graduated from high school/college/grad school/got laid off/got divorced/got married and now want to run around with a backpack for a month!” location.

But China should be on your list… Backpacking in China is easier than you think. The country is relatively easy to get around via train and plane. You’ll see scenery and cities hidden in hills that no one in your home town has probably seen. No two locations are alike, and no two mountains are alike. The above is a photograph from a region of unique geology that exists only in a few places in the entire world.  And the language barrier? Not a difficulty, and I traveled both with my own food allergy concerns and those of another friend… we learned how to say our allergy, we had it written down for non-rural areas, and we made due. If we can travel with food allergies without language concerns, there’s no reason anyone else can’t get around via train and plane and picture menu either….

It’s really quite simple to get into backpacking in China:

Continue reading 'Southern China – Mel’s View'»

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By FWtravel, August 10, 2009 10:40 am

I cannot stress enough the importance of a good pair of boots especially in situations where you are depending upon your feet to get you in and out of wherever you are. These are my boots after a good hike in southern China. Notice the high ankle support, laces and the traction on the bottom? Notice the mud? Notice the fact that the boots are leather and despite the wet conditions, my feet were perfectly dry and toasty inside?

Think tennis shoes could do that for you? Think again.

Continue reading 'The importance of a good pair of boots…'»

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By FWtravel, July 27, 2009 10:56 am

Okay, so perhaps it was a bit wishful to start a travel adventure blog the day before I leave on a massive road trip throughout the southwestern United States…. We’re going through five states, seven distinct climates, two mountain ranges, one National Park, two state parks, one National Forest, and one historic hotel.

More later, for now, ciao and happy trails all!

(Gone July 28 – August 3)

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By FWtravel, July 25, 2009 12:40 pm

Greetings, welcome to the first post of the Fearless Wanderer, a photo-adventure blog focused on the journey to far off and unusual places.

What’s a photo-adventure blog, you ask? Simple. If it’s an adventure, if it takes you off the beaten path, to places most people don’t wander off to for vacation, to activities that your mother would lump in the same category as “Running with Scissors,” to places unknown and unseen, to countries, regions, experiences, and circumstances not advertised in Frommer’s or on Priceline, then it’s an adventure. And we want to go there.

Join us as we explore those activities that turn a vacation into something more, something scary and exciting and not quite mainstream… We’ll be posting at least once a week or more during our trips, with photos from our adventures and tips on how to replicate the journey, not die in the process, find your way to remote locations, and anything else of relevance to adventures, travel, freedom, flat world economics, writing, living, cooking in foreign countries and over campfires, and so on.

This month we’ll be discussing travel in China, road trips and the precautions of the cautious, our recent toe-dipp into flying, Yosemite National Park in the summer time and the only good cup of coffee within a five hundred mile radius, and whatever else sort of trouble we land ourselves into out there in the great wide world. Warning, there are very few stars in these hotels and inns!

A bit about us: The Fearless Wanderers started off in Texas with backpacking, caving, rock climbing, mountain biking, and hiking at a rather young age. We learned our craft from some of the greatest that ever were (okay, perhaps an exaggeration, but it seemed like it at the time) and some of the greatest that ever will be. We’ve been all over. We’ve been all under. We’ve collectively mapped caves, climbed walls, hiked trails… and somewhere along the lines, we grew up. Now, we’re back for more.

It’s good to be back(packing)!