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Robert Downes
Robert Downes
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Donna Beasley commented on Robert Downes's blog post '7 Months Around the World -- Getting Ready to Go'
Sounds like an awesome trip and you're well prepared.  Once you lift off, shake the worries and enjoy the adventure.
Oct 13, 2011
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7 Months Around the World -- Getting Ready to Go

    There are so many things to do to get ready for a 7-month trip around the world.  Starting with saving up $30,000, for instance.   After 2 1/2 years of saving -- along with some of the proceeds from my book, Planet Backpacker -- i'm starting to see my 30 grand dwindle rapidly with the advance purchase of plane tickets (to and from Tasmania, to Bali from Darwin, etc.), advance fees ($450 to hike Tasmania's Overland Track), hostel reservations (Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Launceton, etc.) --…See More
Blog post by Robert Downes Oct 11, 2011
1 Comment
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The 27 Club

“They tried to make me go to rehab and I said no, no, no...”                -- “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse   Some 2,500 years ago, Buddha offered the advice that the best path through life is the “middle way.”  The former prince who gave up his kingdom and all its pleasures to live naked and alone in the forest prior to becoming a saint learned that too much or too little of anything was no good.  In particular, he meant money, fame and power.   We seldom think about the benefits of the middle way…See More
Blog post by Robert Downes Aug 3, 2011
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Sunish Sebastian commented on Robert Downes's blog post 'Getting Organized… how planning for a trip can shape up your home style'
Very practical tips. Getting everything virtual makes life easy and we can do things from where ever we are. Checked your site and exited to see that you were in Goa! Long long time a go I used to work in Goa and I miss that beautiful place.
Jul 19, 2011
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Getting Organized… how planning for a trip can shape up your home style

While planning a six-month trip around the world, i've been thrilled to find that my travel plans are also helping to organize my stay-at-home life.   It's no secret that planning a trip takes a lot of time and thought, even if it's just a weekend out of town.  But a spin-off of that planning is the potential for putting many housekeeping duties in order before you depart.   These are some of the improvements i've made in my life in advance of my travels:   -- Converting to online bill payment…See More
A blog post by Robert Downes was featured Jul 18, 2011
1 Comment
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Getting Organized… how planning for a trip can shape up your home style

While planning a six-month trip around the world, i've been thrilled to find that my travel plans are also helping to organize my stay-at-home life.   It's no secret that planning a trip takes a lot of time and thought, even if it's just a weekend out of town.  But a spin-off of that planning is the potential for putting many housekeeping duties in order before you depart.   These are some of the improvements i've made in my life in advance of my travels:   -- Converting to online bill payment…See More
Blog post by Robert Downes Jul 15, 2011
1 Comment
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nomadNIV commented on Robert Downes's blog post 'The End of Travel as We Know It?'
You would think that if the airline companies lowered their prices instead... it would actually encourage more travel and therefore, more customers for them. It's so sad that everything is charged nowadays. What's next? Do we have to pay…
Jun 30, 2011
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The End of Travel as We Know It?

    Gazing at my Delta air miles redemption options, i can't help but wonder if the 'End of Travel' as we know it is within sight.  Delta is asking for 90,000-100,000 points in addition to more than $325 in "fees" and taxes for a flight from Europe to the U.S. - and that's per person, one way.   This, when the airlines advertises flights for 40,000 air miles on its website.  Go figure.   Cash?  More than $1,000 for a roundtrip flight between London and Detroit.   Millions of people have…See More
Blog post by Robert Downes Jun 29, 2011
1 Comment
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The Fatwa of Osama bin Laden

Experienced travelers know that the world is generally a safe place where one is far more likely to encounter smiles and the hand of friendship than the kind of scary situations we see on the TV news each night.But it's never wise to travel blind, and for Americans and Westerners in general, that has meant being mindful of the fatwa of Osama bin Laden over the past 13 years.In 1998, bin Laden and four other representatives of jihadist groups signed a fatwa that provided religious authorization…See More
Blog post by Robert Downes May 2, 2011
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Linda Dini Jenkins commented on Robert Downes's blog post 'Some Thoughts on Publishing Your Own Travel Book'
Thanks fort the post (and the follow) Robert -- after a few years at the editorial helm of Great Little Books (an indie press that I co-founded with two friends), I've come to the same conclusion. I did all the things you mention with my travel…
Mar 26, 2011
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The Giving Season

 There’s a man in our town who looks like a walking pile of rags. Ten years ago, he was a well-groomed street person, handsome in a Brad Pitt sort of way and wearing stylish clothes, like someone was caring for him.  But he’s dwindled down through the years to the visage of a ragged scarecrow with long, knotted hair and a matted beard -- his layered clothes in tatters -- shambling down the streets with the look of a kicked dog in his eyes.   And he’s not the only one.  In late November, while…See More
A blog post by Robert Downes was featured Dec 27, 2010
0 Comments
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The Giving Season

 There’s a man in our town who looks like a walking pile of rags. Ten years ago, he was a well-groomed street person, handsome in a Brad Pitt sort of way and wearing stylish clothes, like someone was caring for him.  But he’s dwindled down through the years to the visage of a ragged scarecrow with long, knotted hair and a matted beard -- his layered clothes in tatters -- shambling down the streets with the look of a kicked dog in his eyes.   And he’s not the only one.  In late November, while…See More
Blog post by Robert Downes Dec 23, 2010
0 Comments
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Travel-More with Pyxism commented on Robert Downes's blog post 'How to Save for a Trip: 'Pay Yourself First''
Robert, My name is Shane Chesnut and I joined Pyxism Travel so we could take these nice vacations. They offer wholesale travel weeks to members all over the world. You can save thousands on your trips. Plus you are your own travel agent and make…
Nov 16, 2010
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How to Save for a Trip: 'Pay Yourself First'

How can one afford to travel to expensive destinations all over the world?Easy: save your money.Okay, that's a no-brainer, but many of us have a difficult time saving for retirement or a new car, much less a 'frivolous' trip to Asia or Europe.But if travel and having a wealth of experiences is a bigger priority in your life than being a slave to a big mortgage or a car payment, there is a way to get 'er done.I've used a simple investment strategy called "pay yourself first" to save for trips to…See More
A blog post by Robert Downes was featured Nov 15, 2010
1 Comment
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Some Thoughts on Publishing Your Own Travel Book

Two years ago this month, I embarked on a personal adventure, launching a publishing company to print my travel book, "Planet Backpacker."My book is about a solo trip around the world in 2007, including through a number of developing countries. Since many people dream of writing a book or launching a business, some of you might profit from my experience. Or perhaps, enjoy a cautionary tale.I published "Planet Backpacker" on my own because I knew that finding a literary agent and going through…See More
Blog post by Robert Downes Nov 5, 2010
1 Comment
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flip and Robert Downes are now friends Oct 30, 2010

Profile Information

Name:
Planet Backpacker
Location:
Traverse City, Northern Michigan - USA
Your Blog/Website:
http://www.planetbackpacker.net
(Note: While we welcome PR professionals & Travel Industry members, they must identify themselves as such and always ask before adding a blogger to an email distribution list. Spamming users' profiles or through private messages or spammy blog posts will result in instant suspension.)
Agreed
Type of Blogger
Travel Journalist
The Destination(s) You Blog About and/or Areas of Interest
My website offers travel tips, stories and vignettes from backpacking around the world, including India, Egypt, Peru, Europe, Southeast Asia, Central America, Alaska & more in support of my book, Planet Backpacker -- a nonfiction adventure which was written in 100 internet cafes.
Travel Type:
Adventure, Backpacking, Hostelling

Some stuff about my book...Planet Backpacker

Warning: This book could cause your feet to wander...

Planet Backpacker is a round-the-world celebration of the backpacking lifestyle enjoyed by an estimated 100,000 travelers at any given moment. The nonfiction book about a global journey packs everything from a love story to encounters with wild women and dangerous men, history, myth, humor, and thoughts on the traveling life.
I like to think of it as 'On the Road' meets 'A Walk in the Woods.'
The book was written one excerpt at a time in 100 internet cafes as part of a blog I wrote on a five-month solo trip around the world. In 2007, I pedaled a mountain bike across Europe, backpacking on through Egypt, India and Southeast Asia -- around the world.
Planet Backpacker offers an optimistic view of the world and its people with a 'go for it' spirit. If you love literature and travel, you'll enjoy this rallying cry to visit some of the most exotic countries on earth. Completely revised for 2009, with the addition of maps and a 'how to' section for traveling on a budget.

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Robert Downes's Blog

Robert Downes

7 Months Around the World -- Getting Ready to Go

    There are so many things to do to get ready for a 7-month trip around the world.  Starting with saving up $30,000, for instance.

   After 2 1/2 years of saving -- along with some of the proceeds from my book, Planet Backpacker -- i'm starting to see my 30 grand dwindle rapidly with the advance purchase of plane tickets (to and from Tasmania, to Bali from Darwin, etc.), advance fees ($450 to hike Tasmania's Overland Track),…
Continue

Posted on October 10, 2011 at 3:24pm — 1 Comment

Robert Downes

The 27 Club

“They tried to make me go to rehab and I said no, no, no...”



                -- “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse



   Some 2,500 years ago, Buddha offered the advice that the best path through life is the “middle way.”  The…

Continue

Posted on August 1, 2011 at 3:20pm

Robert Downes

Getting Organized… how planning for a trip can shape up your home style

While planning a six-month trip around the world, i've been thrilled to find that my travel plans are also helping to organize my stay-at-home life.

   It's no secret that planning a trip takes a lot of time and thought, even if it's just a weekend out of town.  But a spin-off of that planning is the potential for putting many housekeeping duties in order before you depart.

   These are some of the improvements i've made in my life in advance of my travels:

 

  --…

Continue

Posted on July 15, 2011 at 10:41am — 1 Comment

Robert Downes

The End of Travel as We Know It?

    Gazing at my Delta air miles redemption options, i can't help but wonder if the 'End of Travel' as we know it is within sight.  Delta is asking for 90,000-100,000 points in addition to more than $325 in "fees" and taxes for a flight from Europe to the U.S. - and that's per person, one way.

   This, when the airlines advertises flights for 40,000 air miles on its website.  Go figure.
   Cash?  More than $1,000 for a roundtrip flight…
Continue

Posted on June 28, 2011 at 1:30pm — 2 Comments

Robert Downes

The Fatwa of Osama bin Laden

Experienced travelers know that the world is generally a safe place where one is far more likely to encounter smiles and the hand of friendship than the kind of scary situations we see on the TV news each night.

But it's never wise to travel blind, and for Americans and Westerners in general, that has meant being mindful of the fatwa of Osama bin Laden over the past 13 years.


In 1998, bin Laden and four other…
Continue

Posted on May 2, 2011 at 12:00pm

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At 3:20pm on May 1, 2009, Robert DownesRobert Downes said…
Hey, i'm a brand new baby boy to this site... trying to figger it out. Anyone out there? Seems like i hear an echo...
 
 
 

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