BeTraveler

A venerable name in travel is partnering with the network that brought you music videos, "Pimp My Ride" and "Cribs" to produce a new series of trendy guidebooks for young travelers.

"MTV Italy" ($24) and "MTV Ireland" ($22) are the first books in the series from Frommer's, an imprint of New Jersey-based Wiley Publishing.

"MTV Europe" ($25) is due out in early December. Guides to Spain, France, England, American road trips and Mexico's beach resorts will be published in 2007.

The publisher says the books will lead readers "to some of the world's hottest party scenes and outdoor adventures" while also listing traditional museums and world-class attractions.

The MTV series is ideal for inexperienced travelers who need basic advice, especially those on a budget. They start out with "Best of" chapters that can help anyone come up with a good itinerary for a trip covering a lot of ground in a short time, combining authentic, offbeat experiences with local must-sees.

But the paperbacks are also filled with easy-to-digest tips on everything from arranging affordable cell phone service overseas, to making sure you have the right converters and adapters for your electronic gear, to explaining that it's hard to find a rental car in Europe with an automatic transmission (most are stick shift). Other advice includes calling your credit card company before you leave the U.S. so that your account isn't frozen because your charges from overseas look suspicious.

The "best of" recommendations in "MTV Italy" include "most awesome ancient ruins" like the Colosseum and Roman Forum, best seen, according to the guide, after dark when the floodlights come on. Best churches, according to "MTV Italy," are St. Peter's Basilica, the Duomo in Florence and St. Mark's Basilica.

The book also recommends the Riviera Romagnola towns of Rimini and Riccione on the Adriatic Coast as anything-goes destinations for serious partying, and Perugia and Bologna as "best college towns." For bars, the Drunken Ship in Rome and the Red Garter in Florence are described as places where "body shots and Power Hour drink specials" will remind you of spring break.

Less wild but also highly recommended bars include Vineria Reggio on Campo de' Fiori in Rome, Rock Castle in Perugia, Corto Maltese in Bologna and Bar Magenta in Milan. Best hostels in "MTV Italy" include Archi Rossi in Florence, The Beehive and Colors in Rome, and Hostel of the Sun in Naples.

Recommendations from "MTV Europe" include the continent's hottest nightclubs and bars, from London's celebrity-studded Boujis to Munich's retro Atomik Cafe to the Kulimnator in Antwerp, Belgium, where you can choose from 700 types of beer.

A chapter on Lisbon, Portugal, compares the city's Avenida da Liberdade, "with its marvelous mosaic walkways and rows of high-end shops," to the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Lisbon listings also include the Lisbon Lounge Hostel, described as "one of Europe's funkiest hostels" with an "irresistible lounge ... for hanging out"; Bom Apetite, a small, no-frills restaurant recommended for cheap eats; and Cafe A Brasileira do Chiado, where stopping in for tea or coffee is a local tradition.

Traveling shouldn't be too serious...that is probably what the good people of MyMinicity thought when they created their website. Their idea is simple : everybody can create their own town or city, and when people click on that link, the population (and revenue) of that town increases as well.

It's a silly game, but there are so many silly games on FaceBook...so why not one more harmless one. If you want, you can pay a visit to my town of Otziplotz, in the beautiful country of Molvania (often mistaken for Moldova).

Otziplotz is world famous for their tapiocafields, as can be seen on this picture : Tapioca cultivation in Otziplotz

BeWelcome is a whole new fresh concept for traveling.

Imagine arriving in a city like Paris or Mumbai and, instead of trying to find a taxi, there is somebody already waiting for you. Imagine that instead of going to eat at the place recommended by your guidebook, someone shows you their favourite restaurant, or offers to cook you a traditional meal. Imagine the experience staying as a personal guest of your new friend rather than sleeping in an impersonal hotel room. This is only the beginning. Through a dedicated network of volunteers, BeWelcome is constantly improving and developing new features which will open up new horizons for their members.

But what makes BeWelcome so unique?

Well, first of all they use open source tools, which guarantees free and independent programming. Trac, Mailman, OTRS, Joomla and Wikimedia are just some of the Open Source tools used. BeWelcome programmers released their source code under the name BWrox.

Secondly, openness and transparency are key words that are taken very seriously. So far, no other hospex network have shown the same openness. Almost all worktools are public in the Wiki, becoming a volunteer is easy and gives you immediate access to all the tools you need, and all feature decisions are taken by volunteers and members, not by a select group of VIPs.

And thirdly, BeWelcome relies heavily on volunteers and input from members. There are no ads on the website, no money has to be sent in to be verified and there is no subscription fee. All money comes from donations by members, and every single euro is accounted for.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up, register and join in the fun.

For those of you who want to discover World Music without having to travel all around the world, there is a very good alternative: the Rough Guide to Music series.

The Rough Guide to Music releases are always nicely packaged and moderately informative. These samplers promise their listeners a solid introduction to a particular artist's, genre's, or country's musical wealth. Previous outstanding examples are many. For individual artists, try the early works of Youssou N'Dour's Etoile de Dakar, or the Congo's Franco; for a particular genres, Highlife or Klezmer; and for countries, Senegal and Gambia. Furthermore, Rough Guide compilations provide an affordable alternative for those who can't afford to wildly plop down $25 a pop on unfamiliar imports or, at least, allow you to figure out which specific import to later dedicate that hard (or hardly)-earned cash.

Some favourite records of ours include:
- The Rough Guide to the Music of the Balkans
- The Rough Guide to the Music of China
- The Rough Guide to Music of Greece

It is not down in any map; true places never are. ~Herman Melville