Spring Cleaning – Want Some Stuff?
March 27th, 2009 Posted in General, Travel books, contestsIt’s time to clear some stuff out of my office, so come and get it. To reward you for visiting this blog and paying attention, the first people to claim these goodies by leaving a relevant comment below will score. U.S. addresses only though—sorry. I’m not flush enough to dispatch items across the globe, especially since surface mail from here doesn’t exist anymore.
Respond with the following: a) Which item do you want/need? b) Why do you want/need this?
Don’t forget I need your real e-mail address to contact you for shipping. Supply it when you make a comment and nobody sees it but me.
None of the following require a purchase except the T-shirt. That’s a bonus with a book purchase.
1) Speaking of books, random ones I never requested land on my doorstep on a regular basis. This Rome the Second Time one is subtitled “15 itineraries that don’t go to the Coliseum. It appears to be a good guide and it’s an interesting concept, but Italy is not in the cards for me anytime soon. If you are going there though and it’s not your first time, drop a comment below.
2) If you’re headed to England, I’ve got a copy of Lonely Planet’s British Language and Culture book. (Works well for Guy Ritchie movies in addition to travel.)
3) Travel Happy, Budget Low is a useful and resource-packed book from author Susanna Zaraysky. I never got around to reviewing this advance reading copy that appeared in my mailbox one day earlier this year, but maybe it doesn’t matter since I can’t even find it for sale on Amazon or B&N. Nevertheless, this is an especially useful book for the international traveler just starting to get out and about. It’s all presented in short chunks, so it’s easy to skim through and just grab the nuggets you didn’t know already. If you’re a novice traveler, don’t be shy: leave a comment and snag the book.
4) This iKnow Spanish program is basically a collection of electronic flash cards for your iPod. I tried it out for the Practical Travel Gear Blog and found it wasn’t all that practical. But if you like the idea of carrying flash cards without the bulk and don’t mind clicking back and forth a lot on your iPod to see them, it’s all yours.
5) Every 5th person who buys a copy of The World’s Cheapest Destinations 3rd edition direct from me has been getting a free Perceptive Travel Coolmax wicking t-shirt. Last order was #14, so the next person who orders direct from the book site gets an autographed copy as usual, but also the t-shirt. Specify L or XL.
6) This is a really odd one, but are you spending some time in Peru this year? If so, I’ve got a free Nokia cell phone for you. I bought a cheap Movistar Nokia phone in Peru, assuming I would be able to use it on the Movistar (Telefonica) network in other Latin American countries later. Well no, that would be too easy. When I got to Mexico City I ended up having to buy yet another phone because Peru operates on some wierd frequency all its own. So like a jerk I was carrying around three cell phones for ten days: the home one, the local one, and a useless brick from Peru. If you’d like to take this useless brick with you and make it useful again, put your plans in the comments below. It even has some minutes left on it, so you can call Mom and tell her you arrived okay after you land. You can recharge it with more minutes just about anywhere.
8 Responses to “Spring Cleaning – Want Some Stuff?”
By Julie on Mar 27, 2009
Hi Tim, I’d be happy to take the Travel Happy, Budget Low book. Thank You!
By Joe on Mar 27, 2009
Hi Tim,
If you decide you’d rather give it to someone who actually answers your question “b”, then I too would be interested in the “Travel Happy, Budget Low” book. My g/f and I are young twenty-somethings just getting into traveling to more exotic places (we both did Europe with families when we were younger) by ourselves on a limited budget. This might be very useful on our upcoming trip to Asia (couldn’t pass-up the very low fares that have been popping-up recently).
Thanks!
By Shawn on Mar 27, 2009
Hi Tim,
My wife and I are headed to Italy for a couple of weeks in mid to late April and it will be our second trip there. We’re always interested in seeing sites that don’t get mentioned in the normal travel guides so it sounds like this will give us some good ideas.
By tim on Mar 27, 2009
T-shirt with book purchase is claimed now. Thanks!
By Tom Hamann on Mar 27, 2009
Hi Tim,
My wife and I will be going to live in Ecuador for three months beginning in late April. We will be spending about 2 weeks in Peru during that time, so the Nokia phone would come in handy for keeping in touch. Thanks for thinking of us readers!
By Jake on Mar 28, 2009
Hey Tim, I’d be interested in the Lonely Planet British Language and Culture book. My wife and I are traveling to the UK and Ireland in April and May, and the book looks like it would be an entertaining read. It’ll probably keep us from being too baffled also. It like the famous line “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” Thanks.
By Doug Elia on Apr 7, 2009
Free stuff would be cool, but I really just wanted to compliment you on your wonderful article “Unbalanced in the Sinking City” My wife, who was born there and came to this country when she was a child, has been wanting to return for a long time, so we are travelling there in a few months. We found your article informative and love the sense of humor and irony. Wonderful stuff, thanks.
By tim on Apr 7, 2009
Thanks Doug–I appreciate the feedback on the article! I really liked Mexico City and hope to return myself in the not too distant future. There’s a definite buzz in the air there and the food is fantastic, whether you’re spending less than a dollar at a tamale stand or 50 dollars in a fancy restaurant.