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How do you keep track of all the things that happen while you are on your travels? Do you take a laptop with you or do you write in notebooks and transcribe when you get home?

Hey Rolf,

Congrats on the book! What took you so long? No, that’s not my question. This is:

What is your opinion of the state of travel writing now as compared to how it was 10 years ago when Vagabonding came out? Better? Worse? More ops? Fewer? Higher in carbs?

dave “dave” prine
(nicknames are not my strong suit)

Rolf, Congrats on your new book. Can’t wait to read it.

My question: Do you have any set objectives when you visit a destination or do you simply let your experiences guide you at the moment?

By that I mean, not everyone has the opportunity to learn the secrets of Tantric sex in a Indian ashram. How do you find yourself in these situations?

Congratulations on your new book, Rolf! YAHOO!!

My question - how can people have deep, intercultural experiences while traveling?

Hello Rolf,

From what I understand, for one to travel for an extended period of time one does not need to be extremely wealthy. However, as a guy in his mid-20’s with the common baggage of student loans weighing me down I find that I can only pull out my passport and explore the world in small chunks for two weeks at a time (if I’m lucky). Can you offer some practical tips on how to deal with this typical debt baggage while traveling for an extended period of time, or would you just flat out recommend holding off, take small trips when possible until the student loans can be paid off?

Thanks and I look forward to reading your new book!

Congrats Rolf!

We just watched Nim’s Island this weekend and were pretty grossed out with the grubs in the stew, so I would like to know, what is the creepiest thing you have ever eaten while on your adventures?

Cheers,

How does writing influence your traveling?

How does travel influence your writing?

Thanks Rolf! Look forward to reading the book.

Hi Rolf,

You are known for seeking ‘off the beaten path’ adventure and getting yourself into some sketchy situations. What is the scariest/most dangerous situation you have found yourself in?

Thanks!
Jim

Hi Rolf, actually just reading Vagabonding which I’m loving.
Would love to know do you feel as if there’s a different you who travels? Do you feel as if another you is born when you are travelling a part of you you don’t normally see?
Cheers & thanks
Lise :^)

Hey Rolf! Congratulations on the new book.

My question: We all know those people who view their surroundings solely through the lens of the camera, missing half the world because they can’t shoot it. How does one avoid viewing the world solely through the travel writer’s lens, or looking to turn everything into a “story” and thereby missing the actual impact of the experiences one encounters?

Hiya Rolf

I would like to ask, what has been the most challenging situation you have had to deal with whilst traveling and how DID you handle it?

Cheers

Angel

Hi Rolf,

How do you choose which sights to see whether it’s in the travel guides or just roaming for an off-the-beaten path adventure?

Regards,
sfordinarygirl

It’s not very deep, but here’s my question: In how many different languages can you say, “Hello?”

Another book for the road eh! Congrats!

If you were writing the questions, which question would fire you up the most? What would you enjoy talking about? Coz I choose that one!

Hi Rolf,

Do you ever get tired/homesick while traveling and what do you do to refuel?

Thanks,

Sandy

Rolf, congratulations on your new book- I look forward to the postmodern angle on travel.

How far are you willing to go both physically and emotionally to gain insights into an unexplored experience?

Rolf,
Here’s my question for you: when you manage to discover a new, off-the-track destination that’s beautiful, unspoiled, welcoming (etc.!) do you ever keep the location to yourself — or do you feel obliged to share with your friends? (Do you have any secret spots currently? You don’t have to say where they are!)

How do I get OFF the wheel? I find myself stuck in a house “upside down” and with some debts, for which I have to continue to work to pay off
How do you implement a game plan??? I seem to just stay stagnant. Do you just walk (run) away and don’t look back? help

Rolf,

loved your Vagabonding book! Can’t wait to read your newest! How do you deal with countries being off limits/dangerous right now for travel? for example, Iraq or Somalia? Or do you even see them as being off limits? Are you putting them on the travel list for later, or does travel advisories even play into your itinerary?

Hey Rolf, I can’t wait to read the new book (although I’m sure I’d have a much easier time allocating funds for a copy if it were free ;)!

As a fellow vagrant who occasionally finds himself wandering into the spotlight I tend to get a lot of the superlative questions (What’s the biggest/best/most/worst?) so here’s a question that’s a little more off the beaten path…just the way you like it: In Field of Dreams, Shoeless Joe tells Kevin Costner “If you build it, he will come.” If you were “he”, what would “it” have to be?

(Inspired by the question that caught me off guard.)

Hi Rolf.
Do you prefer to be alone when travelling or do you like it better to have a companion? What are your first-hand experiences in this field?

Flying vs. traveling overland, is one travel method preferable to the other in your opinion?

What is the most innovative way you got out of a bad situation on the road?

Hey, congratulations on your new book. Reading your “vagabonding” book inspired me to travel.
My question is I am only 17 years old, I have been saving about 4,000 dollars to travel, but face the problem that my parents dont want to let me go, and dont seem to plan to. I am also a female. How do you believe I can convince them on this?

Congrats on the new book, Rolf!

My question: If you could give one piece of advice to a first-time ’round the world traveler, what would it be?

Rolf,

Congrats on the new book !

Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”. In your own writings you have defined vagabonding primarily as an ‘attitude’. Have you had an experience that you would like to share of discovering some new insights in an otherwise ‘familiar’ place through having ‘new eyes’ ?

First off, please choose Nancy Brown What a Trip\’s question, that one is really good.

As for my question I am a mid 20\’s married person and I was wondering, what would be the best way to approach my spouse about long-term world travel?

Thanks for the inspiring books!

Who do you think the greatest travel writers were/are dead/living? and why?

Out of all the places you have visited, where would you live permanently if forced to settle down and not travel like you do?

Hi Rolf,

Congratulations on another book and being such a celebrity in the field.

My question is: Is permanent travel a form of escapism? Or rather: why exactly aren’t you settling down somewhere lovely?

Dear Rolf,

Would you say that just picking up a pack, and starting to move in a general direction without any plans or directions is a good way to travel closer to the culture of wherever you happen to be?

Kind regards,
Jeroen

PS, thank you for writing the vagabonding book

Dear Rolf: Found Vagabonding sensible and fascinating. Looking forward to reading the new book. I am seriously into food and that often informs my focus when traveling. Do you find cuisine as both pleasure and interaction with folks and a reflection of culture important to your sense of what travel can be to the traveler?

Hi,

I’m off on a world tour in 4 weeks, overland, terribly excited!

How do I stop myself from beoming one of those smug travelling types who send emails about how fantastic life is on the road? I dont really want to blog, and I dont want to Maintain a facebook (Stalkbook) page because that has the same effect!

Thanks!
Orlagh

Hi Rolf,

Sounds like a great book.

Where, if anywhere (maybe not a physical place), have you felt most content? Even if just for an hour, or maybe it’s a regular place or type of place you go to.

I wonder if we all have an inner nomad. I do! But in the words of the Rolling Stones, “you can’t always get what you want”.

Rolf, I am wondering if you suffer cravings to get back out on the road between trips, and if so, how you cope with it? I find myself nearly going spare with longing while I’m laboriously saving for the next overseas holiday.

If You had to settle somewhere, where would it be and why?

Hello Rolf,

I am planning my ATW trip to set out of the US in April of 2009. I have had a life long dream of following the old silk trail in hopes of gaining some of the knowledge and wisdom that have been imparted there. I have no set time frame on the amount of months or years in each location, as of yet. My first destination is Bangkok, Thailand. I have a cousin there and it is a great hub to fly out of, but I am planning on extended travel in India, China, and Japan. So my question is, when planning an extensive ATW journey should an individual set ittenerary’s for each country before setting out from home base (United STates)? Or would it be best to take on each country one at a time while on that side of the world?
So excited about your new book as I have said, my desire is to find some of the old “Silk Trail”. I look forward to the reading!

Thank you, RAchel

Hi Rolf,

Do you find that you write your best travelogues immediately upon returning from your trip, or do you prefer to revisit an experience years later, after it’s had a chance to sink in?

Thanks!

Rolf,

As a middle-aged man who in the past ten years has really been infected with travel virus, I’d like to know how one can summon the courage to leave it all (for a year or more) and go a-vagabonding? I guess I’m more interested in the psychological/emotional requirements than the nuts and bolts.

My sister and I shared a room when I was very young. We had a large map of the world tacked to the wall. We lived in a rural farm community and our explorations were limited. That map was our window to the world. I used to love to study that map. I still love maps. When I first saw that one of the countries was shaped like a boot, I knew I just had to go there one day. A child’s thought but it always stuck with me.

What is your first recollection of the desire to travel and what do you think inspired that desire?

By the way, I did eventually make my way to the boot country.

Hi Rolf,

As I am planning an ATR trip… I find that planning it is overwhelming. So planning along the way seems more reasonable and exciting.

How did you find was the best plan of action and what/how did you use you resources when traveling from place to place for a first ATR traveler?

Thanks!
Jenny L.

Mr. Potts,

What philosophies and thinkers have inspired you in your travels and writing?

and

How has “postmodernity” affected the way people travel - how what used to be exotic and daring is headed towards a culture of chic hostels, blogs, world party animals, cliche expatriotism and america bashing - where is it all headed?

Hi Rolf:
Do you write while on the road or do you typically wait until you’re returned and refer to your notes?

I’ve mainly noticed two types of travelers - those who travel and stick with homogenized preplanned tours, well known monuments and tourist kitsch, and those who are almost on a mission to prove they are different and stay away from anything mainstream. Do you feel there is something to be said for taking in both the cliche destinations, as well as those sights off the beaten path?

In other words - I’d love to visit the backroads of Paris, but is there anything wrong with finding the Moulin Rouge entertaining?

Hey Rolf~

Just like everyone else, I loved Vagabonding. It was candid and pragmatic, and inspired me to finally go ahead and submit my Peace Corps application! (Fingers crossed!) Can’t wait to read Marco Polo! :^D

To write one must read, so my question is this: What kind of books/authors do you read on the road, and off it? Do you feel that these have an effect on your own writing and experiences as a traveler?