The Eclectic Rebel Blog and Travel Guide

Quick: which sounds like a better vacation to you:

* Plan out infinite details, take a tour bus, rush from site to site, have a tour guide tell you where to go, stay in an American-style hotel, eat in regular restaurants

* Rent a local house, hang out with locals, buy local groceries, have lazy unplanned days of randomness

If you liked the second option, you’ll fit right in with the “slow travel” movement. Read the rest of this entry »

Fact #1: There’s tremendous fun to be had by meeting new and interesting love interests online and well documented success stories, even including marriage.

Fact #2: These days airport layovers can be extremely long and annoying affairs.

Combine with a liberal dash of social media and you have the makings for a perfect blind date! Use Government TSA airport security (Transportation Security Administration) to screen your blind dates for free!

Absent a personal security force, the risks inherint with meeting strangers by way of social media sites like Craigslist outweigh the thrill for most. Though the vast majority of social media dating connections probably do not stem from murderous motivations, one certainly has to be wary.

Prearrange exciting social liaisons on Craigslist, Yahoo Personals and other dating sites, even with strangers during long layovers, knowing full well that they have been screened for weapons and subject to eyewitness scrutiny including federal marshals, state police and even military personnel. Read the rest of this entry »

When you travel, you may think that if you don’t know the language, you can just communicate using gestures. BUZZER! Knowing what gestures and body language mean in foreign countries can mean the difference between making friends and getting beaten up and it’s all too easy to make mistakes.

Take the quiz to find out how much you know about body language, gestures and foreign customs:

Read the rest of this entry »