The Global Basecamps Blog

In our quest to unite you with the best in travel blogs, we’ve continued our search for bloggers who bring something unique to the online travel community and do the Global Basecamps’ travel philosophy proud! Keith Savage of Traveling-Savage.com caught our attention with his passion for experiential travel and pragmatic approach to achieving it: he will spend one month absorbing the culture of a country, return home for 3 months to write, reflect, and reconnect with his wife & 3 cats, and then start the whole process anew in a different locale. And in case you are wondering, Traveling Savage isn’t just a play on his name; it is an expression of his traveling mantra - To travel savagely is to embrace with open arms the entire voyage, to cast aside conceptions – even your old self, if necessary – so that you can find your savage and exuberant core.

Jet lag: many travellers are confronted with it, few have learned how to efficiently conquer it. Whether you're affected for hours or days, suffering from a lack of sleep and a drastic time change can make the transition into a new place difficult and your first few experiences less than enjoyable.

Here are some of the best ways we've found to get back on your feet as soon as possible.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by stevecoutts

First of all; make a list. Then cross off half of what you wrote down. Everything you bring should fit in one bag, and the one bag shouldn’t be bursting at the seams. If you have two of something, bring one. If you might need it, you don’t. If you think you really need it, you probably still don’t. If you’ll die without it, okay – bring it.

When the strongest earthquake in Haiti in over 200 years hit just west of Port-au-Prince, it left 3 million people in need of emergency aid. As native Haitians and visitors remain engulfed in the struggle to rebuild, the rainy season is descending upon Haiti and making it even more difficult for those that lost their homes and belongings in the destruction after the earthquake.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Claus Rebler

Last week, we talked about community outreach being a fundamental attribute of sustainable hotels. This week, we consider the direct impact of sustainable hotels on their local environments; specifically, the physical construction and location of the hotel.

Have you ever walked into a hotel and wondered where everything came from--the flooring, the ceiling, the walls, even the furniture? Or have you wondered what it looked like before the hotel, the roads, and all the people arrived? If you haven't, you were probably just distracted by the modern architecture, impressive lobby, and the excitement of being in a foreign place. And if you have, you're probably worrying way too much, but at least you have an eye for sustainable site management, or how a hotel impacts the environment before any of the guests arrive.