Stirling CastleI had the arm brace on for 4 hours and I woke up in the middle of the night with my hand totally numb it really hurts We had continental breakfast this morning and headed right out to Stirling Castle which is only about a half mile up the hill from the Golden Lion Hotel. The castle is built on a high rocky hill and kind of reminds me a bit of the hill of the Acropolis in Athen

City Sightseeing Tour BusThere is only continental breakfast at the Ibis so we went across the street to the Bank Hotel to have a cooked breakfast. They even had hash browns From there we walked along North Bridge Street to Princes Street to Waverly Bridge where we got on the City Sightseeing Bus. This bus is hop on hop off style and is an open top doubledecker as well. We wanted to get off

I had to transfer from the Amigo to another boat the Yolita 2 as there werent enough passengers on the Amigo after all the 5 day passengers leftThe good news was I had a room twice the size of the other one a double bed and just me in the room. This boat also had hot water luxuryWe went to Sombrero Chino chinese hat this was probably my favorite place the landscape was very dramatic with b

El Chalten a tiny little town on the edge of the Glacial National Park set up for trekking. You can walk out of the town and into the mountains in little or no time. We did 2 treks to Fitz Roy and to Laguna Torre both about 25km. The landscape is awesome but the town itself is not much to write home about. Still the views more than make up for this. We stayed in Rancho Grande and then Patagonia

It feels almost like we are camping here out on a ridge in the valley. Today we are heading for Guatamala's paradise. Our guide showed up to pick us up in a pickup truck so the ten of us jumped in the back. It was a 10km gravel road crowding locals in for short rides when they could squeeze in. Our guide is a humorous local named Otto who likes joking with us. Our first stop in Semuc Shampey is

Glasgow AirportMom had me set the alarm for 630am early We didnrsquot have to be at the terminal until 815am. We got up and got ready and finished packing. Yeah my laundry does not fit in my suitcase. So I started trying to reorganize it some more by shifting some stuff to my carry on and mom put some of the guide books in her carry on too.Still even with it the fully expanded the sui

23rd March '09Yet again wersquore up before the milk. An unmentionable hour sees three trucks hovering on a roundabout in Budapestrsquos suburbs. Namibian Little Dick and I pore studiously over a map in the inky blackness. The perennial problem with this vast metropolis you see is that as you approach road signs indicating truck transit routes resemble hieroglyphics. We pause ever so s

My wife and I had a reservation to fly from Beef Island Tortola to San Juan via Liat flight scheduled to depart at 950 am. Upon arriving at the airport at 830 we found no one at the LIAT desk to check us in. We sat nearby and waited for someone to come to the desk. After a while we noticed a LIAT plane had arrived but still no one was at the desk to check us in. I thought it may be early an

A 33 hour bus ride north along route 40 from El Chalten we were on the bus for 2 nights and we arrived at Bariloche last week last stop in Patagonia. We decided to stay a while needing a break from the bus but also because we found a lovely little bungalow to stay in cheap at 12 pounds a night with views of Lago Nahel Huapi and the Andes.

For this section of our travels we are leaving the coast and heading into the centre of South Africa to the mountain kingdom of Lesotho and the roof of Africa.We start our trip in the heart of Zululand in a town called Eshowe. The weather is pretty bad and itrsquos raining hard to hard for the roof tent so we book into Zululand backpackers and treat ourselves to a KFC. Next day we are booked

The last few days have been a ball This morning we went in to school for the morning... the style of teaching is very different to that in NZ. The teachers stand at the front of the class and lecture Curndog saved us in the afternoon though at lunch we left for a little trip for the entire afternoon to a town called Baune. I took a few photos which are on the photo link.Tomorrow we've got th

Erbusaig and PlocktonSlept in a bit today yay We had breakfast at the Tingle Creek Hotel as it was included in the rate. I had Scotch pancakes they were yummy but a bit sweet and the lsquomaplersquo syrup was more like honey than traditional maple syrup. I met a cute and talkative black kitty in the hotel parking lot when we were leaving.We headed north up the coast from Erbusaig to vil

Australia is one of the worth visiting countries that hold the magnetism to make you fall in love with this place. Vacations spent in this pristine country are something which can be cherished and remembered forever. Alluring destinations friendly and warm hospitality spectacular sceneries exotic animal and plant life astonishing natural resources and pleasing weather are some of the renowned

Invergarry StillI got up and straightened up the room so I could take a photo of how nice it was. Irsquom such a weirdo We went down to breakfast and while we were eating the manager brought down our luggage woo hoo He even helped me put it in the car while mom paid for our sandwiches from yesterday. I really liked this hotel and wouldnrsquot mind staying here several days to explore t

My partner and I are quite experienced skiers but our kids aged 8 and 6 have never skied before. Irsquom very keen for us to have a nice family skiing vacation and I canrsquot think of anywhere better than at the Breckenridge Ski Resort. Therersquos lots of different terrain and 155 trails to choose from. We can do our thing whilst the kids join the Ski and Ride School. There are lots of i

Aqaba The Little MermanEsalam alequom everybody I just finished my PADI diving course in the Red Sea of Aqaba. I spent about 6 days to go from an absolute newbie to an advanced diver I decided to take two courses open water diving and advanced level diving. The first two days of the open water diving course was a lot of studying and prepping myself for the final exam. Eek Irsquove been out

A 14hour flight departing the evening of November 3rd from Los Angles would put me in Sydney Australia the morning of November 5th. Sitting with me in aisle 19 were Itzy a German woman who lives in a beach suburb of Sydney and Gai a lady from Minnesota who was born in Australia and going down under to visit family. They were both really excited for me to visit Oz and gave me some great tips

Crathes CastleI woke up just after 8am and mom was already in the shower. We had breakfast here at the hotel scrambled eggs and bacon again stuck in a breakfast rut We are staying close by Banchory today which makes a welcome change from all that driving every day. First stop today is Crathes Castle pronounced Krathis which is only about two and a half miles east of Banchory in the town

Cloth maker in Delhi, India. Photo by Dave Rubin.

If you’re an organized sort of person, you probably have your Christmas shopping out of the way by now. If you’re anything like me, you’re just biding your time, waiting for that last-minute rush as you try to cover all your bases.

For those of you who fall into the latter group, check this out. Here are eleven books that have inspired these intrepid travellers to hit — or stay on — the road in 2009. From short stories by a Maori writer to a book about the ethical implications of eating fish, the variety is immense. If you have names on your Christmas buying list with question marks next to them, one of these books might be the perfect gift.

Stay tuned. In a couple of days we’ll cover the movies and music that inspired the internet’s finest travel bloggers.

This post contains affiliate links.

Pounamu, Pounamu by Witi Ihimaera

Recommended by Craig Martin from Indie Travel Podcast

Can I claim it’s the two issues of the Indie Travel Podcast travel magazine? No … oh well! In 2009 Linda and I have been exploring Australia a little, but mainly re-investigating home: New Zealand.

Pounamu, Pounamu, a collection of Witi Ihimaera’s short stories is a constant source of Kiwi refreshment. From a cold morning on the farm to a family funeral, his characterisation and storytelling remains sharp and poignant. His stories are filled with Kiwi idiom and even more liberally sprinkled with Maori words and phrases: both bold moves when it was published in 1972.

Witi Ihimaera may be most famous for penning The Whale Rider or for being the first Maori to publish a novel or a collection of short stories, but it’s his first work — Pounamu, Pounamu — which connects me with a New Zealand I don’t know and inspires me to continue exploring with open eyes.

Available from Amazon.

House of Rain by Craig Childs

Recommended by Cooper Schraudenbach from True Nomads

Whenever I dream of the red rock canyon country of the American Southwest, I am inspired by author/adventurer Craig Childs, who spends his life exploring the mesas and canyons of the Four Corners region. Back in February 2009 during a wet and cold Pacific storm, I was reading his recent book, House of Rain, dreaming of the warm and dry sandstone of the high desert. Here, Childs chases the sexy “Anasazi”, or the more pc “Ancestral Puebloans”, across the four corners and down into the Sierra Madre of Northern Mexico. House of Rain delves into the landscapes and archeology that surround these mysterious ancestors. Inspired by Childs’ vision, we made several forays to Utah’s Cedar Mesa and Dark Canyon summer and fall 2009, chasing our own glimpses of the enigmatic cliff dwellings and masonry walls that tell of those who came before. I always feel a shiver standing among thousand-year-old dwellings that still feel as if the tenants will soon be home for dinner.

Available from Amazon.

Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin and The Glass Palace by Amitov Ghosh

Recommended by Jonathan Shapiro from Vagabonding at 60

I’m going to punt a bit on how I answer this question. We have been teaching English to Burmese refugees and monks near to my house around Albany, NY. Until recently I was completely unaware of the existence of this community, and the small Burmese monastery in this most unlikely place. One of the monks, a renowned scholar, has returned to Mandalay, and invited us to visit and be his guests at his monastery. This seems like an offer not to be refused, despite the military government, and we plan to go this February.

To get ready, we have been reading several books about Burma/Myanmar. The first is Finding George Orwell in Burma, by Emma Larkin. The author follows Orwell’s footsteps during his time in Burma, and describes what the country is like as she does so. Suffice it to say, it may have been the inspiration for 1984, and Burma still bears an uncanny resemblance to that novel today. The second is The Glass Palace, by Amitov Ghosh. This is a historical novel which tells the multigenerational story of an Indian-Burmese family, and traces the history of the country from the overthrow of the King and Queen by the British Raj, independence, and much of the 20th century. Both are highly recommended.

The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly

Recommended by Jeanne Dee from Soul Travelers3

The Trumpeter of Krakow was the book that most inspired our family world travel this year and we highly recommend it for all ages! Our open ended world tour is primarily to educate our child, so we originally bought this historical fiction classic to effortlessly inform her in a fun way before we toured Poland on this years journey. Lo and behold, it turned out to be an exciting and rich adventure story that we all loved and made our trip to UNESCO World Heritage site Krakow and Poland so much more enlightening. If Poland is on your itinerary, you enjoy learning or if you just love Harry Potter style electrifying quests, this is the book for you!

Available from Amazon.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

Recommended by Shannon O’Donnel from A Little Adrift

As an American, there is simply no denying that I am representing my country when I travel; and there’s also no denying that I largely view the world from a specific Americanized viewpoint. This provocative book dynamically delves into the east/west relationship; it’s a quick read incredibly clever and thought-provoking. The narrator, an America-educated Pakistani man, lunches with an American man in Lahore and monologues his life story, highlighting his gradual disenchantment with America.

The book blatantly begs the question, “Can all Muslims who criticize America be labeled as fundamentalists?” It looks at prejudices from both sides and expectations for the book’s conclusion are twisted on end and one is forced to assess which man at the table may be the fundamentalist assassin, the American or the Pakistani man. You can’t help but assess your own prejudices and cultural assumptions by the end of the book.

Available from Amazon.

Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood by Taras Grescoe

Recommended by Daniel Roy from The Backpack Foodie

This sobering, eye-opening book made a deep impression on me in 2009. At once a beautiful travelogue about the world of seafood, and a cautionary tale of the consequences of overfishing and global warming, it both educates and fascinates. This book made me want to travel to to fishing communities the world over, to witness what might be the last generation of ocean abundance. I read this book prior to visiting Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market, and it greatly enhanced my appreciation of the place.

An “Omnivore’s Dilemma” for seafood, this book is highly recommended if you care for the planet, and want to eat responsibly and in a sustainable manner.

Available from Amazon.

Hitching Rides with Buddha by Will Ferguson

Recommended by Carrie Marshall from My Several Worlds

Cherry blossom season in Japan is anticipated with such eagerness that its progress is charted by the National Weather Bureau as the delicate blossoms burst into full bloom across the archipelago. Will Ferguson’s quest to follow the cherry blossom front begins on the southernmost tip of Japan. From there, he hitchhikes over 3,000 km to Japan’s most northern point. Hitching Rides with Buddha (also published under Hokkaido Highway Blues) is a personal account of his travels. His stories are vignettes – a tantalizing glimpse into the lives of ordinary people who give him rides and help him complete his goal of becoming the first person in history to follow the cherry blossoms as they erupt from one end of Japan to the other. Ferguson’s astute observations about Japanese culture are both heartwarming and hilarious, reminding us to travel as participants and not as observers.

Available from Amazon.

Kinky Gazpacho by Lori Tharps

Recommended by Eleanor Stanford from The Golden Papaya

Kinky Gazpacho by Lori Tharps is a funny and thought-provoking memoir about Tharps’ experiences abroad in Spain, a love story of how she met her husband, and a reflection on race in different cultures. This book inspired me to travel through the way it explores another culture from the inside, through the narrator’s experiences as a college student, wife, and mother. As the mother of three young children myself, adventure travel is not an option for me right now, but this book shows that the true spirit of adventure can be found not only in scaling mountains or scouting out exotic restaurants, but in peering deeply into the everyday life of a different country.

Available from Amazon.

Around Africa on My Bicycle by Riaan Manser

Recommended by Anthony from The Travel Tart

The book that I have read this year that’s great for inspiring that new trip is Around Africa On My Bicycle by Riaan Manser. I came across this book in Johannesburg, South Africa and was convinced to buy it as soon as I read the blurb on the back. Riaan is South African and he decided that he wanted to ride his bike around the ENTIRE coastline of Africa. It took him 2 years to do it, and there are some fascinating stories that really show the spirit of Africa. After reading the book, I almost wanted to buy a half decent bicycle and do the same trip, then I realised my physical limitations….. Seriously, this book captures the spirit of adventure, and it’s also an inspiring read. There is an entertaining statistical section which details how many tyres, tubes and bike parts he went through!

Available from Amazon.

A Voyage for Madmen by Peter Nichols

Recommended by Derek Turner from The World by Sea

In 1968, nine men raced against time, nature and each other to be the first person in history to sail around the world alone-without stopping. The men came from all walks of life. Some were respected sailors, others had never sailed at all, but each man had a vision of something greater than himself. In this epic retelling of history, Peter Nichols brilliantly jumps between the stories of each man, from background to strategy. He exposes both the joy and terror of sailing, and leaves you craving adventure. In the end, however, A Voyage for Madmen is more than a story of sailing, it is a story of mankind and what drives him to become great.

Available from Amazon.

The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin

Recommended by Jodi Ettenberg from Legal Nomads

I have a rule that I only read non-fiction while travelling, so as to learn as much as possible while on the road. In my 18 mos of travel thus far, the book that inspired me the most is easily The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin. As the former Librarian of the U.S. Library of Congress, I would love to meet Boorstin to sponge up the content of his brain by osmosis. A good start is this book, the first in a series of three. The Discoverers walks us through the history of human discoveries, including the many fortuitous coincidences that preceded them. Boorstin’s writing style is extremely enjoyable, and the book – while dense with the weight of time and information – was impossible to put down. In the thirst to soak up other cultures and traditions, we sometimes forget to learn about their initial discovery and the incremental impact of those who made a first foray into a foreign land or a new idea. The Discoverers covers the fascinating and often checkered pasts of economics, astronomy, geography and history with extraordinary gusto. Highly recommended and I look forward to reading the next two books in his series.

Also see last year’s version of this post: The Books, Movies and Documentaries that Inspired Us to Travel in 2008.

60-year old Jon Shapiro is a vagabonder at heart, with his latest travels taking him through South America.