Scotia Symphonia
Scotia Symphonia

My family heritage is mostly Scottish and yet for some reason I've never set foot in the land north of England. This short travel video by Gilles Havet makes me want to book a ticket right away. Highlighting the natural beauty and landscape, Havet moves from Edinburgh to Lewis in the north with a few stops on the Isle of Skye. 

Shot on a Panasonic GH5 and Sony a6300, the rugged beauty of Scotland's coastlines comes to life. The heavy drone work is handled by a DJI Phantom 4 Pro but unlike many travel films, the aerial footage works beautifully in tandem with the mirrorless cameras on the ground. The result is a stunning and complete view of Scotland's natural wonders. You can really feel the GH5's 180 frames per second capability with the crisp slo-mo shots. 

For a complete list of locations Havet visited in Scotland, click through here. 

TravelKevin Thompsontravel videoComment
Come Visit Houston
Come Visit Houston

It’s now been over a week since Hurricane Harvey started it’s destructive turn across the Texas Gulf Coast, leaving in it’s wake tens of thousands of destroyed homes, displaced people and tired souls. I’ve weathered hurricanes before, it’s practically a part of life in coastal Texas, but this was something different. 

Harvey had malice. And two left feet that kept him from leaving the area where he was definitely unwanted. My wife and I were spared damage and water but too may friends can’t say the same. Watching my city gasp for air as reservoirs overspilled was almost too much to bear. The people of Beaumont and Port Arthur are still without a fully functioning water supply. Rockport, Corpus Christi and Port Aransas were nearly flattened by wind and rain. 

This wasn’t normal. It will take years to rebuild. 

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I’ve had numerous friends from outside Texas ask how they can help and I’ve answered by pointing them to community organization like BakerRipley that will be a part of the rebuild process for years to come. But the truth is, after you’ve given your money, why not come to Houston or the Texas Gulf Coast. Whether you come to help clean up or just to experience some of the many wonderful sites, money from tourism is exactly what this area needs right now. 

Journey & Play is all about travel with a purpose, so come and see what Houston has to offer. Inspired by the stories of neighbors helping neighbors? Come see that neighborly love for yourself. We definitely need money to get the rebuilding process started, but we also need you. Restaurants, stores and attractions survive off of local patrons, many of whom will be pressed for cash as they rebuild. So why not come to Houston and help pick up the slack. 

From Johnson Space Center, our many professional sports teams and some of the best food in the world, Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast has a lot to offer. So if you’re searching for a getaway, come see what makes us different.

We may be hurting right now, but that will pass. See we’re #HoustonStrong and we’re not going to let a cataclysmic storm keep us down. Just you wait and see. 

Check out visithouston.com to learn about the many reasons you should come and visit Houston.

TravelKevin ThompsonComment
A Glimpse at the Mystical
A Glimpse at the Mystical

I've always been fascinated by the sacred arts of religions from around the world. From the Sufi whirling dervishes to the intricate prayers of Shintoism, the dedication and beauty is something to behold. The Asia SocietyTexas Center recently hosted Tibetan monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in India as they constructed a White Tara (Buddha of longevity and success) mandala sand painting. the event was part of the 2017 Mystical Arts of Tibet tour. Formed with millions of grains of colored sand, the art of mandala is intricate, painstaking and ultimately breathtaking. Accompanied by ceremonies of sacred dance and chants, the construction of the mandala took four days before being deconstructed to symbolize the impermanence of life. 

The word mandala comes from Sanskrit meaning sacred cosmogram. Although they can be performed in different media, including watercolor and woodcarving, the colored sand mandala is  widely known as the most popular form. 

Camera Info

Travel, LifestyleKevin Thompsonmandala, photographyComment
A Literary Trip To Seven Continents
A Literary Trip To Seven Continents

Can't afford that around the world ticket quite yet? You're not alone, as the average $4,000 cost for a RTW ticket an put most people off who haven't extensively planned for it. Then there's the lodging, food and, well, lots of other things. So while you're saving up to go globetrotting on the ultimate adventure, try out some of these books to help keep the wanderlust stoked. You can even put them on a Kindle and bring them with you. 

Africa

Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times writer Jeffrey Gettleman takes us on a trip into the life of an East African Bureau chief in Love, Africa: A Memoir of Romance, War and Survival. Gettleman spends most of the book talking about his two loves; Africa and his wife Courtenay. Part memoir of a foreign correspondent and part journal of a marriage taking place at different times on different continents, you can sense the push-pull that often comes with having multiple passions. Those looking for an analytical look at modern day Africa may be a bit disappointed as Gettleman leaves his journalistic tendencies at work in favor of a more rambling, story based memoir. What you miss out on in analysis, though, is more than made up for in the spirited adventures that take place against the backdrop of Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and more. 

Antarctica

Okay so Antarctica may not be on everyone's list for a RTW trip, but it's still a continent. Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration recounts the unbelievable story of Douglass Mawson 100-mile solo journey to get back to his team at the Australasian Antarctic Expedition in 1913. Throughout the book you get to experience life on the ice via some never before seen photographs from Frank Hurley. One of only three that had left the camp three months earlier, Mawson battled blinding wind, snow, and starvation as he walked for 31 days, most of that with no companions. The fact that Mawson made it back to camp alive, even if he was almost unrecognizable, is a testament to the human will to survive in even the harshest of conditions. If adventure survival thrillers are what you like, Alone on the Ice will not disappoint. 

Asia

The Asian continent is vast. Like it holds some 4.4 billion people kind of vast. In From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia, Indian essayist and novelist Pankaj Mishra looks at the forces and ideas that shaped modern day China, India, and a majority of the Muslim world by highlighting three people; Jamal al-Din al-Afghani; Chinese reformer Liang Qichao; and poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. A timely book, Mishra has given a beautiful and accessible account of the "intellectual and political awakening of Asia" as colonial empires fell. A great read for those that like to keep up with current events and anyone wanting to visit China, India or the Middle East. 

Australia

Ever wanted to set out on a 1,700-mile journey across the Australian outback with four camels and a dog? Well, Robyn Davidson's Tracks might be the book for you. In 1977 Davidson started her journey from Alice Springs to cross the dessert of West Australia. The motivation for her journey isn't quite clear, which may be one of the reasons Tracks is so appealing. It seems that Davidson sought adventure for adventure's sake. There's no jilted lover story or mid-life crisis, just a strong, independent woman who saw a challenge and accepted it. The fact that she spent nearly two years preparing the camels for the trip shows the shear determination of Davidson. As an added bonus, you can check out the photo book Inside Tracks: Robyn Davidson's Solo Journey Across the Outback by photographer Rick Smolan, who met Davidson three times on her nine-month journey. They even made a film adaption in 2013 starring  Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver. 

Europe

I'm a Europhile so when I found Ancestral Journeys: The Peopling of Europe from the First Venturers to the Vikings by Jean Manco, I was hooked. I've spent countless hours digging through genealogy records to find out what part of England my family is from so any book that works backwards focusing on new research to find out exactly where Europeans come from is perfect for me. As a continent, Europe is usually subdivided in genres so finding a book that represented the whole was challenging. By looking to the past and understanding the roots of where each subset of European civilization came from, we can better understand the Europe of today. Equal parts archaeology, history, linguistics and genetics, Ancestral Journeys will make you want to dig deeper into your own family history, no matter what continent they came from. 

 

North America

Enough has been written about big cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City so for a change of pace, pick up The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America by Bill Bryson. A meandering chronicle as Bryson traveled (travelled if you're British) 14,000 miles on a road trip in search of the "true America" in the late 1980s, any fan of Theroux will be right at home. With an ever changing geography in cities, small towns and rural areas may seem more familiar in Bryson's account. A native of Iowa, Bryson had lived in England for almost ten years before the epic American road-trip that became The Lost Continent. As travel writing goes, this one ranks right up there with the modern greats. It'll make you wonder if''Missouri looked precisely the same as Illinois, which had looked precisely the same as Iowa.'' It'll also make you want to gas up your car (or charge your Tesla) and hit the open road. 

South America

In The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, David Grann tells the story of British explorer Percy Fawcett in 1925 who, along with his son, disappeared into the Amazon in search of an ancient city. Grann journeys into the same rainforest as he tries to retrace the fateful steps of Fawcett and son and unravel the mystery left behind. Part Indiana Jones and part Unsolved Mysteries, The Lost City of Z will captivate you as Grann looks at new archeological evidence to find out if the city Fawcett and his son were searching for actually existed. A great read for any lover of history, mystery and adventure. 

 

 

What books would you recommend for each continent? Let us know in the comments below. 

TravelKevin Thompsontravel, books, reading, europe, asia, antarctica, australia, north america, south america, africaComment
5 Time-saving Travel Planing Apps
5 Time-saving Travel Planing Apps

Planing a trip is hard work, especially if it's to a place you've never been before. To take some of the work out of it, here are 5 apps that will help you get that dream vacation planned sooner rather than later, and hopefully save you some money while you're at it. 

Image via Google.

Image via Google.

Google Trips

Billed as the ultimate travel planner and destination guide, Google Trips leans heavily on the rest of Google family of apps to create an all-in-one intuitive interface for your travel planning needs. You can organize all your trip information in one place and with its "Things To Do" section, find new experiences in your destination before you leave home. You'll have to login with a Gmail account, but the app does allow for multiple accounts to help keep work and play separate. Available for iOS and Android, you can learn more and download Google Trips here.

Image via Hopper

Image via Hopper

Hopper

Sick of checking on flights to your dream destination daily? Well why not let Hopper do all the work for you. A simple app that can end up saving you lots of money on flight bookings, Hopper asks you where you want to go and then lays out a convenient price calendar for you to see average prices. Most fare prediction apps use historical pricing data but Hopper goes one step further, analyzing current price trends to map out the best time to buy. It's available on iOS and Android here. 

Image via Journy

Image via Journy

Journy

Only have two days in Venice and no time to plan? For as little as $25 per day, Journy's travel concierges will plan a tailored itinerary complete with hotel recommendations and special rates, restaurant reservations, activity booking and two rounds of revisions. Journy is great for weekend getaways or short stays, just make sure your in the US, Europe or Asia Pacific as it's light on destination in the Middle East, Africa and Australia and currently has no South American offerings. Right now Journy is available online and as an iOS app. 

Image via ItsEasy

Image via ItsEasy

ItsEasy Passport Renewal

No one likes to wait in lines for anything, let alone to get your passport renewed. Earlier this year I discovered the ItsEasy Passport Renewal app that allowed me to take my passport photo right on my phone, fill out the app and pay for the whole process with my credit card. It was about as painless a process as I could imagine. ItsEasy charges $29.95 for processing forms, printing photos and shipping and it was well worth it. I even had a problem with my application and dealt with some really nice customer service people to get it resolved very quickly. ItsEasy is available on IOS here and on Android here.

Image via The Basetrip

Image via The Basetrip

The Basetrip

While not exactly a native app, The Basetrip was just too cool to leave off the list. Head over to thebasetrip.com, tell them what city or country your heading to and you'll be treated to travel info like visa requirements, what type of electrical plugs, average cost of living, weather data, currency conversion rates and even tipping instructions. If you've never been to your destination before, it's a great place to start for packing, planning and getting in the right mindset. It's a web app so just bookmark it in your browser. 

Have other travel planning app suggestions? Tell us about them in the comments below. 

TravelKevin Thompsontravel, techComment