The New “How I Travel” Series on BootsnAll

Generally speaking, at an internet company like BootsnAll most of the focus is on the future - writing the next post, starting the next site, booking the next trip. But this company has a fun history, and we quite like reminiscing about it from time to time. In fact, reminding ourselves what BootsnAll was about when it started back in 1998 often helps us focus on what direction we should go next.

For instance, one of the reasons Sean and Chris started BootsnAll in the first place was because they missed the camaraderie of hostel pubs and common rooms when they weren’t traveling. They missed talking to other people who loved travel as much as they did, swapping stories and sharing tips. It’s one of the things we all still love about BootsnAll today - that it gives us an opportunity to talk and hear about the way other people travel.

Which is why we’re particularly excited about a new series of articles we introduced last month called “How I Travel.” One of our feature writers, Steve Bramucci, came to us with the idea of getting people from all walks of life to talk about their travel philosophy - what they love about travel, their travel style, and travel tips they might have. We loved the idea instantly, and we’re pleased that after only a few weeks it seems like many other people love it, too.

Our first “How I Travel” article featured our good friend Rolf Potts, whose great sense of adventure doesn’t stop him from dispensing practical advice like you should “always wash your hands before you eat.” The second article was all about pro surfer Holly Beck, who has the exact kind of free-spirited enthusiasm for life that you’d expect, even if she does go to bed early. This week’s installment is “How I Travel: Don Wildman,” with the host of “Cities of the Underworld,” who says the first thing he does upon arriving in a new place is find a cafe where he can write letters - actual letters on actual paper - to people back home.

And that brings up one of the treats of this series so far - that even when you think you know what you’ll get from a person, you can be pleasantly surprised. Each of the people we’ve featured so far has opened up enough to let us see something that one might not have anticipated about them. I love how travel can do that, and I’m really looking forward to more interesting surprises in the articles to come.

We hope you’re enjoying the “How I Travel” series, and we’d love to hear from you if there’s someone you think we should feature. If you’ve got a suggestion, please let us know. Oh, and if you’re so inclined, you can keep up to date with new articles in the series by following @HowITravel on Twitter and becoming a fan of How I Travel on Facebook.

photo provided by Rolf Potts and may not be used without permission