tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29968768.post2827890456031852490..comments2024-01-30T10:56:12.506-05:00Comments on ye-travels.org: Yann & Emilie's travels: Quiet South-East Cambodian CoastYandEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12717601508498406428noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29968768.post-66284822570623706012007-03-24T00:09:00.000-04:002007-03-24T00:09:00.000-04:00Geneviève,we curently have a total of photos uploa...Geneviève,<BR/>we curently have a total of <BR/>photos uploaded: 6254<BR/>disk space used: 16.27 GB<BR/><BR/><BR/>YannYandEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12717601508498406428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29968768.post-77635681522937598372007-03-18T09:29:00.000-04:002007-03-18T09:29:00.000-04:00Oh and contrary to the headline of that blog artic...Oh and contrary to the headline of that blog article, we have NOT forgotten the postcards. ;-)2par4https://www.blogger.com/profile/01265715358603680798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29968768.post-69901791006086007892007-03-18T09:27:00.000-04:002007-03-18T09:27:00.000-04:00What's this??? An article about travel blogging w...What's this??? An article about travel blogging with a feature sample from one of the hottest blogs on the net.... Check it out!<BR/><BR/><BR/>PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen <BR/>DATE: 2007.03.17 <BR/><BR/>Photo: Yann Lamontagne, Emilie Richer and Margaux Brisco, all of Ottawa. <BR/><BR/>BYLINE: Rebecca Osler <BR/>SOURCE: The Vancouver Sun <BR/>WORD COUNT: 1129 <BR/><BR/>-------------------------------<BR/><BR/>Forget the postcards: Travel blogs are the new standard for backpackers chronicling their journeys<BR/><BR/>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR/><BR/>It used to be a lonesome road for travellers. <BR/><BR/>When homesickness, a rotten day or the creeping "what have I gotten myself into?" feeling struck, a backpacker had a limited arsenal of tools to relieve isolation. A battered journal, a stack of postcards or a coin-gobbling phone booth -- that was about it. <BR/><BR/>But now, an explosion of travel blog websites is enabling travellers to join virtual communities that stay put no matter their physical whereabouts. <BR/><BR/>More than just platforms to showcase trips, these sites enable instant communication with family and friends as well as the opportunity to forge new relationships with like-minded wanderers. <BR/><BR/>Carmella Lesiuk is well-acquainted with the ups and downs of being on the move. In 2002, the Edmontonian quit her IT job, sold most of her possessions and embarked upon a four-year odyssey to discover not just the world, but her own destiny. <BR/><BR/>"I realized I didn't want to become a computer," says Lesiuk, now 30. "I didn't know where my fingers ended and the keyboard began." <BR/><BR/>Not wanting to assault loved ones with obnoxious group e-mails, Lesiuk joined TravelPod, a free Ottawa-based site that claims to be the web's original travel blog. <BR/><BR/>As she journeyed across Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, Lesiuk posted religiously under the username "whereshegoes." <BR/><BR/>She wrote not just of her journey, but of the emotions she met along the way. <BR/><BR/>For instance: <BR/><BR/>"I'm sitting on my sunny rooftop patio in Riomaggiore. My freshly washed laundry swaying lightly on the line as I nibble on toast with Camembert from France and vine-ripened tomatoes. I look out beyond the terrace dotted with flowerpots spilling over with pink and purple blooms and notice a lemon tree with what seems like hundreds of plump neon yellow lemons. <BR/><BR/>"In the past, I have been so caught up in trying to anticipate the next moment that I have forgotten to breathe in this one," she wrote. <BR/><BR/>At first, Lesiuk assumed only her mom was reading her photo-laden missives. <BR/><BR/>"Then I started receiving these random e-mails from people ... strangers from all over the world commenting on my blog and how they were enjoying it," she says. <BR/><BR/>"There were actually people who sent me messages saying: 'OK, you've inspired me. I've quit my job and I'm going to travel around the world now.' " <BR/><BR/>The cheerleading went two ways, especially on those occasions when Lesiuk felt down and very much alone. <BR/><BR/>"It was almost like having a friend that was always there to listen to me and to be there for me. It was like therapy," she recalls. <BR/><BR/>"The days that I considered quitting and was having a bad day and just wanted to go home, I would get an e-mail like that and it would just change my whole view. <BR/><BR/>"It's probably one of the biggest reasons I stayed out travelling for so long," she says. "The entire world would encourage me." <BR/><BR/>Furthermore, Lesiuk says the blog provided stability when everything around her -- location, people, cuisine -- was changing daily. <BR/><BR/>Four years later, Lesiuk is now TravelPod's top-ranked user, as whereshegoes has garnered more than 400,000 views. TravelPod itself has mushroomed since its inception, having tripled its membership (which currently sits at 65,000) in the past year alone. <BR/><BR/>And unexpectedly, Lesiuk -- who found herself back in Edmonton struggling with reverse culture shock -- was offered a job moderating TravelPod's forums, which she gladly accepted. <BR/><BR/>Like many sites, TravelPod is not limited to virtual connections. It also enables users to search for specific destinations, allowing members to meet in person if they so desire. Lesiuk says she met between 10 and 20 members on her trip, including a guy from Calgary who saw that she was in South Africa and asked to converge. <BR/><BR/>"We ended up meeting and working in the same hostel for a month or two and becoming really good friends. The guy is one of my best friends now," she says. <BR/><BR/>Not all travel blogs are created equal. For instance, TravelPod, travelblog.org, realtravel.com and igoUgo.com, while free, are visually busy and contain advertising. <BR/><BR/>Mytripjournal.com, the brainchild of Vancouver's Dan Parlow, requires a paid subscription after the complimentary 45-day trial period, but is entirely ad-free. <BR/><BR/>"We wanted to keep a clean look and feel," says Parlow, a former lawyer who launched Mytripjournal after keeping his own website during a family trip to China in 2001. <BR/><BR/>At first, Parlow figured his users would be mostly youngsters. Yet, to his amazement, travellers in their 80s are blogging up a storm. Topics are equally diverse, including travelling with kids, overseas development, youth travel, honeymoons, travelling to adopt, cycling adventures, cruises and road trips. <BR/><BR/>But even the occasional visitor to cyberspace knows of the common pest known as the "bland blog." So what makes an online travel saga stand out? <BR/><BR/>"Talk about your feelings, because your feelings are usually going to be what you remember afterwards," says Parlow. <BR/><BR/>Also, don't dawdle: "The real prizewinners are made when people write when their memories are still fresh," he adds. <BR/><BR/>Lesiuk says: "Be honest and describe your experience fully, as deeply as you can. <BR/><BR/>"Describe how things taste, how they smell, how they feel. Describe the temperature of the rain as it falls on your skin. <BR/><BR/>"Look at it as if you were describing it to someone who wasn't from this planet." <BR/><BR/>BLOG SAMPLES <BR/><BR/>With only two nights left in the city, we had already agreed on our final two meals: one seafood dinner and a dog meat dinner. Since we wanted to end our time in the city with seafood, this left us with only one option, and we were now starting to regret it. Dog meat eating in Ho Chi Minh city is not really out in the open for tourists to see. With no dog restaurant listed in our Lonely Planet we sought out the directions from a small tourist office, who led us to a dark alley about 15 minutes walk away. <BR/><BR/>When Margaux and I walked in with Yann, armed with our notepad on which our friends had written four dog meat dishes, we were greeted with a look of curiosity and mostly surprise. I crossed off the "dog stomach" and "dog soup" items from the list and pointed at the fried dog meat and steamed dog meat. <BR/><BR/>Fried dog meat looks like any other fried meat, marinated in some sauce with a few sesame seeds. We very soon wished we had not ordered the steamed dog meat: thin slices of meat complete with large strips of fat and veins. <BR/><BR/>The three of us sat staring at the meat, no sign of movement, until Yann reached for a piece of steamed meat and stuck the whole thing in his mouth. Margaux made the first move for a fried piece. I, however, seemed, against my will, to be frozen. Luckily for me, our neighbour came to our table with a couple of shot glasses. Feeling a little bit embarrassed about still sitting there with the meat in my hand, I put it in my mouth. It only took me two bites to finish it. Once the liquor started flowing, the meat seemed to go down much easier. <BR/><BR/>-- Emilie Richer and Yann Lamontagne of Ottawa on ye-blogs.blogspot.com (or Google "Yann Emilie")2par4https://www.blogger.com/profile/01265715358603680798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29968768.post-58817775201082929762007-03-16T11:55:00.000-04:002007-03-16T11:55:00.000-04:00Bonjour,je ne peux pas croire que vous n'avez pas ...Bonjour,<BR/><BR/>je ne peux pas croire que vous n'avez pas encore compris que dans la vie on obtient pour ce que l'on paie.<BR/><BR/>À $7 à Ottawa, vous avez un billet d'autobus OC TRANSPO aller-retour. Le hic, tu attends l'autobus pour 30 min aussi mais à moins 30C.<BR/><BR/>Have fun!<BR/><BR/>Papa.Super-Mariohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09693440168803702443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29968768.post-83905276908555021372007-03-16T08:57:00.000-04:002007-03-16T08:57:00.000-04:00So how many actual pics do you have now?Miss you g...So how many actual pics do you have now?<BR/><BR/>Miss you guys a lot, but keep on ridin'!<BR/><BR/>xxxxxGenevièvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11124807309947289421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29968768.post-52839177666698537902007-03-16T07:59:00.000-04:002007-03-16T07:59:00.000-04:00CoucouPas facile quelques fois ma belle Emiliemoi ...Coucou<BR/><BR/>Pas facile quelques fois ma belle Emilie<BR/>moi je vous trouve bien courageux, ne lachez pas. <BR/><BR/>Tout ce que nous voyons depuis quelques temps est passablement dur a imaginer.<BR/>Vous etes tres bons et encore une fois bonne fete ma belle.<BR/><BR/>Bonjour a toi Yann<BR/><BR/>On vous embrasse<BR/><BR/>Raymond & Denise.<BR/><BR/>P.S.: Encore une fois Raymond n'en revient tout simplement pas que vous ayez pu manger ces bebites la.<BR/><BR/>xxxxxxxxxxxxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com