Medical Tourism: Is it Really ‘Red Hot’?

Recently, here at Travelogue, we posted a primer on medical tourism, when folks go overseas in search of medical treatment. This is a billion dollar business, and it will affect all of us, even if we never travel for our own medical care. It’s growing and it’s here to stay. Is Medical Care Being Outsourced? Yes, and there is no way to stop it. We have all called various companies’ customer service ...

Dive into the Historic Nature of Sangat Island Reserve

On the morning of September 24th, 1944, one hundred and eighteen US fighters and bombers took off from a fleet of US aircraft carriers heading east towards The Philippines. Within a few hours the planes had routed six Japanese warships leaving them to sink in the shallow waters of Coron Bay, about two hundred miles south of Manila. Four decades later British scuba diver Andy Pownall was first introduced to the wrecks as well as the pristine white sand beaches of the nearby uninhabited Sangat Island. In 1994, Andy completed the first ...

Wander Through the Landscapes and Culture of Baikal, Buryatia, & Mongolia

“Baikal is a wonder, one of the deepest lakes in the world,” says Batbayar, one of the guides on Siberian tour operator White Umbrella’s trip that begins at Lake Baikal in South Central Siberia and then works its way along the Eastern shore of the late through the Republic of Buryatia, and ends in Mongolia. “As you make your way through the Republic of Buryatia, you notice the blending of Russian and Buddhist cultures. In Buryatia, the nomadic way of life is slowly fading and now locals ...

Roaming the Streets of History throughout New York with the Street Teacher

Before the morning sun hit the pavement, Bill Goodhart arrived in Los Angeles after hitchhiking across the United States. Bill reminisces, “There was a lot of pavement but no sidewalks; I think I got a message from this city immediately.” Although he eventually made it to his destination, walking on the curbs or very close to the walls of the buildings, the effects of urban layouts and the ways it dictated the way people may live stuck with him. Within a few years, back on the East Coast, he moved to New York City to ...

Saving Turtles in Costa Rica: Travel Vaccinations Needed

Costa Rica means rich coast in English. Soon after I arrived, I did feel rich. This occurred when I changed American dollars into Costa Rican colớnes. Five hundred colớnes is roughly equal to 1 dollar. So, when I was handed several bills in denominations of 5000 and 10,000 colớnes, I felt like a well-heeled traveler. Costa Rica is a country that has many treasures that are practically free for tourists. Walking through the ...

Job Opening: IZILWANE Seeks Assistant Executive Director

IZILWANE, which means "animals" in Zulu, is an innovative online magazine and interactive forum that focuses on connecting human beings to other species and to nature. Izilwane focuses on the role of human beings' perceptions in the ongoing loss of biodiversity, while simultaneously illustrating that our own human survival depends upon the well-being of other species and healthy ecosystems. They are currently seeking a volunteer assistant executive director to join their team! This person will work directly with their own executive director to manage Izilwane. Projects include managing outreach, interviewing potential editors ...

Job Opening: IZILWANE Managing Editor

IZILWANE is currently looking to fill a volunteer managing editor position.  This person will be in charge of managing IZILWANE's writers and editors and helping them develop their stories or galleries, identifying new and relevant story ideas, and reaching out to people who may interested in writing for their ezine. The ideal editor will be familiar with the issues surrounding international conservation and will have experience copy editing and working with writers to develop new ideas. These duties will take approximately 8 hours a week. Outreach experience is definitely a ...

IZILWANE Aims to Change Perceptions of Human Behavior for Sake of Biodiversity

“The human race is losing more than just natural resources. With decreasing biodiversity, we are losing parts of human culture as well, including traditions, languages and food customs.” This is an excerpt from “The Sixth Great Extinction,” one of many fascinating and knowledge-rich articles on the new IZILWANE website. Izilwane is the Zulu word for “animal,” fitting, as the vision that guides IZILWANE is to alter perceptions and break down the walls we have created between humans, the environment and the species it contains. ...

CultureBlog is Looking for a Blogger in Brazil

CultureBlog, is run by Model People, and acts as a connector between brand marketing teams and their consumers around the world, to help create and activate deep insight-driven strategies for brand targeting, positioning and innovation.  CultureBlogs tracks their insights. They are seeking a blogger located in Brazil who will be assigned 5 blogs per year, and additional special projects. The blogs will be assigned every couple of months, with two weeks lead time.  Formats include written (250 words + 2 images) or videos. In addition, the blogger may be ...