Founds a really interesting travel blog telling the true story of Audre and Dimitri. They both had “normal lives” and as it happened they both realized that lives on the road were an option and just went on traveling.

In the previous post I’ve talked about relationships on the road and here I found a living example for the way relationships are formed and nurtured on the road. Of course there is the pre-condition of being open to listen to what your higher self or yur guidance is telling you.

For them the life changing moment was on top of Mount Sinai symbolically enough but for others who have the courage to listen it can be anywhere. For me the realization that I can hit the roads and travel for long periods of time came at the University at a rather normal day.

I just dropped everything, left my thesis unfinished and started traveling and haven’t regret it even for a moment.

Every person has a way of life that works best for him at a given time and sometimes having the courage to listen, drop everything and travel for a while can be the best decision we have ever made, opening us to experiences, growth, joy and love in ways that were not possible otherwise.

I’m the last person that can be called an expert of traveling with a partner, being a free spirit all my lives I usually act as if I have a backpack even in my daily lives. I arrive to a place that seems to be my next station in life, meet the people that are there, share their world for sometimes and when I feel it is time for the next stage I’m off to where ever spirit is taking me.

Traveling is no exception and in fact traveling for me is just another way of being me. Don’t get me wrong I love the people that I meet on the path dearly, and remember them very fondly after our paths continue our separate ways but I won’t stay because I love them or love the place.

With all this said I know may couples traveling together my brother included and even met a family with three little children traveling by trains in India, the youngest child was as young as 2 years old.

I’ve seen some couples that were created on the road such as a man from Israel having a child with a women from South Korea and other combinations that seemed impossible but really worked.

Traveling leads to great intimacy and it can make or break your relationships if you are not in the relationship long enough to have this intimacy created already.

Loved Bart’s post on the subject as I believe he really gave very good advice on making the decision to travel together. One sentence in particular:

if you would make such a trip on your own or with anyone else, because you feel motivated to do so. If not, then don’t go.

I can only add from my experience that if you do what you want with the person you want to do it with then you’ll probably grow from the experience and get to some nice places in the world and in the relationship but if you are trying to please someone else it would usually end up in tension and separation.

If you have the travel bug and he don’t then it would be something you’ll have to work out in your relationships.

A Guest post by David on Formosa

Most tourist brochures about Taiwan will highlight Taipei 101 and night markets as the highlights of Taiwan. While they are certainly notable and worthy, Taiwan has so much more to offer.

You don’t need to spend long in Taiwan before you start discovering the temples. There are thousands of them, from tiny roadside shrines to complexes that sprawl over acres. Pay attention to the details and you will find they are crammed with amazing artwork. Stone and wood carvings adorn the pillars and paintings cover the walls. Taiwanese don’t limit themselves to worshipping one deity, most temples host a whole pantheon.

In Taipei I recommend a visit to the Bao’an Temple. It was established in 1742 and won an award from UNESCO for its restoration efforts. As an added bonus you can also check out Taipei’s Confucius Temple just next door.

Taiwan produces some of the best tea in the world. It is not just a drink, but a rich culture. The best teas are handpicked and brewed in special teapots which are often exquisite artworks. The best part is drinking it though, something you can do in one of Taiwan’s many teahouses. The tea growing town of Pinglin is located in the mountains just outside Taipei. You can get there in less than an hour by bus. It has a tea museum where you can learn all about the history of tea in Taiwan and how it is grown and processed. You can also visit one of the many tea shops in the town to taste and buy some tea.

A rugged mountain range with the highest peaks in East Asia runs through the centre of Taiwan. Wherever you are on the island the mountains are never far away. While the cities might be crowded and busy the fresh air and forests provide a welcome retreat. If you are adventurous you can scale great peaks or set off on multi-day treks. With less time to spare you can still walk some great trails.

I highly recommend the Caoling Historic Trail which can be reached by train in about an hour from Taipei. After hiking through the farmlands and forests you reach a ridge which has spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and the rugged mountains of Taiwan’s northeast coast. You could take a swim at Fulong beach when you have finished the hike or even go surfing, another one of Taiwan’s little known highlights.

Come and discover Taiwan. They call it Formosa for a good reason!

Thank you David for a very interesting post and for everyone who would like to read a little or a lot more you can check David’s blog and/or Taiwanderful.

If you’re backpacking, camping or just going to a huge festival with one of these dirty mobile toilets you must have learned by now of a few solutions to help your Hygiene especially for the important task of eating without getting sick.

I’ve tried personally few types of hand cleaners that are put in the wallet and used when soap and water are not really available. The best one so far is a German product that I received from a friend before going to India, the smell, the sensation the whole product was great but unfortunately after few months of traveling I needed a new product and tried the Indian Himalaya” product that is based on alcohol and it is not very friendly on your hands.

The EcoStreet has examined a new product that is supposed to be more environmentally friendly and really good so you can check the link for details.

The cheapest options though is the paper soap that is sold on many sites on the backpacker road. It looks like a small package of ten post it each of them is a paper soap so each time you stop at the gas station and there is no soap you just take off one of these sheets and use it - the only disadvantage is that you need water and in some places they won’t work either.

Another cool backpacking item from Kit Up! and this time is a a water heater that works on solid fuel.

The full explanation of this product can be found here.

Basically it works like this and people who own it say it boils water in less than three minutes so I can think of many uses for it while traveling.

It is even possible to attach attachment for the 2.5-pint model which allows you to “stack” a pot on the kettle’s chimney for additional cooking space but most people I know use it for boiling water.

This is a perfect season for a road trip to New England, everything is blooming, the weather is nice and there are not too many other travelers so the sites are not too crowded.

I’m personally more of a beach person and New England has a lot to offer in this department, Newport, Rhode Island is naturally the way to go as it is close to everything and you can enjoy the beaches as well as the mansions and the vineyards.

If you are traveling by car coast to coast or just touring the country for a long time you may reach some corners just by chance or as the tours go, in this case it is best if you keep in mind the near points to where you are so you’ll be able to make not too long detours to get to the really nice places.

You can read more about what New England has to offer here