Even the best tropical islands suffer from a common list of problems. Most notably, no matter how beautiful the sunsets, no matter how warm the water, no matter how bright the fish or cold the drinks there’s still only so much to do. I can enjoy a view as well as the next guy (assuming the next guy also has a severe case of ADD) but it doesn’t take long before my foot starts tapping and my head starts darting around looking for the action. (This is usually followed closely by a close friend or family member screaming, “Shut up and relax!”) Relaxing just takes so much mental effort in these settings. It’s like putting your brain in a straight jacket and expecting it to just hang out peaceable. Relaxing for me is sitting in my backyard painting while listening to music and reading a book. You have to through as much as you can at my brain and just hope it gives up from exhaustion and one poor little tropical island will never be able to hold its own.

Looking for a few good travel stories and don’t know where to go to find them? I’ll give you a hint: It’s a big building with lots of free books inside! That’s right, the library. Too many people spend too much money on dozens of travel books before finding the only that really clicks with them when they could just as easy spend a couple of hours at their local library skimming through the stacks. Our libraries are so sadly overlooked since the raise of the “big box” bookstores. These are national treasures tantamount to legal piracy. You may not be able to download free music or movies but you can ride your bike a couple blocks to the nearest library and get all the audio books, books and movies you little arms can carry for free. The founding father’s wanted you to absorb your content, travel related or otherwise, without the burden of cost so who are you to waste your time and money at the bookstore when you can accomplish the same task as your local library?

One of the best travel tips that I read in a magazine was to think about the return trip more than the departure when you are thinking about your luggage. Often times, you will need a lot more space to get everything home from a trip. Certainly more than what you start with due to the dirty clothes that you come back with and any souveniers that you purchase along your travels. One of the ideas suggested was to ship some items home. If you do this, pick things that are light weight and that you can live without if they get lost or delayed. Another idea was to roll up a duffel bag to tack with you and use on your return trip. This isn’t as good of an idea as when I first read it since the airlines are charging for most of your checked luggage these days.

In all the world and all the sites of interest – be them natural, historical, or cultural in significance – there is perhaps no more impressive sight than the Great Wall of China. In Chinese, the wall is known as Chángchéng which literally translate to “long city” or “fortress”, and was built between the years 220 and 206 BC by the Chinese emperor Qui Shi Huang. However, the part we more familiar with today was built during the Ming Dynasty and stretches for more than four thousand miles. In fact, the wall is so massive that is the only manmade object which can be clearly seen from space – no small feat considering how long ago it was built! The full wall took centuries to complete and millions of men are said to have died during its construction. At its peak, over one million soldiers guarded the wall and, as far as defenses go, the wall was all but insurmountable. As far as Asia travel tips are concerns, I have only one: make sure you take the time to visit the Great Wall of China.

I was looking for a simple, easy to carry bag to hold a small laptop a few papers to and from work every day. I didn’t want a full blown backpack because I think they are too big and bulky. I also don’t like the feel of a backpack so that choice was out. On the other hand, I did like that fact that a backpack allowed you to not have to carry a bag think would get heavy after lugging in around for ten to fifteen minutes. I did look at a variety of handbags for laptops but I really wanted the hands free experience. That I got lucky and found a perfect messenger bag. It was just large enough for my needs and with the shoulder stap it allowed me to keep everything out of my hands. A perfect solution indeed.