Thanks for Having Me

The last four days in Singapore have passed rapidly. Traveling solo is always my first choice. You can go where you want to go and do what you want to do. Today I will check out of my room at the Raffles Plaza and meet four other travel writers at the Mandarin Marina Hotel. Let the games begin. For the past nine years I’ve had the opportunity to see some amazing places and done some great things. Safari in Africa, Yacht cruising in the Galapagos Islands and luxury train travel through the Outback. This has all been done on press trips. In the hopes of getting the word out about a destination writers are invited to visit. Press trips are very different in pace. You are constantly on the move. Free time is very limited. You are on the move from early morning till your last after dinner cocktail.

While the destinations change the cast of characters are remarkably similar. You’ve got to be a little nuts to traipse the world looking for a story. The competition to get invited is intense. Just as intense as getting your story published. This will be my first attempt at giving a glimpse into the press trip lifestyle. I am not sure how that will unfold but only initials will be used. Hey I most likely will meet up with these people again. Travel writers are a very incestuous group. So we will head to the Island of Batam in Indonesia. A place I’ve never heard of until a few weeks ago. Hope my rantings from Singapore were not to scattered. The full article will be on www.GoNOMAD.com soon.