Have You Gone Triptrotting Yet?
Sandy Zimmerman’s Discover the ULTIMATE Magazines includes the ULTIMATE EVERYTHING- Discover the Ultimate Travel, Discover the Ultimate Entertainment, Discover the Ultimate Dining, Discover the Ultimate Health, and Lifestyles.
Imagine traveling to a new destination. You’ve never been to Mumbai before, and you’re excited to experience the culture. What to do? What to see? Are you really interested in joining the same pre-packaged tours as the rest of the “tourists”? Now imagine having a friend ready and waiting for your arrival. Whether you meet for a meal or get a personal tour around town, this local might be similar to you in age, profession and interests—all determined by a very sophisticated pairing algorithm that helps you find people who like to do what you do. 
Travelers can meet up with like-minded local hosts
Locals can meet travelers and make new friends at Triptrotting events all over the world
Novia, a Triptrotting host from Indonesia, has always wanted to have a foreign friend but hasn’t had a chance to travel abroad yet. She says, “Triptrotting actually made one of my dreams come true! I really want to have real foreigner friends, but there is nothing I can do, I barely go out of the country or have the opportunity to hang out with any foreigners. Then Denisha send me message to meet up and now we are friends. It was an unforgettable experience!!” Many local hosts use Triptrotting as a place to meet new friends that they otherwise would have never been able to encounter.
Another Triptrotter who had a memorable experience is Sebastian, who has been traveling for over 5 months in Asia. He mentions how he not only got to spend time with locals, but proves that the relationships formed through Triptrotting become ongoing friendships, “I actually first met Anna and Annie back in October, and then again during a second unexpected visit to Hong Kong last week. I would absolutely connect with hosts again.”
These encounters don’t always have to be one-on-one though; Triptrotting has a global team of Local Advisors who curate meetups and group activities all over the world. These activities can be as intimate as an outdoor movie screening with 10 people, or as epic as a 600-person takeover of a local hot spot in your city! The global team embodies Triptrotting’s mission of connecting travelers and hosts in every corner of the world, and these events are guaranteed to be as attractive to locals as they are to tourists!
Discover the ULTIMATE
Don’t miss SAWADEE THAILAND SERIES – KAREN Long-Neck Tribe- Inside the bamboo hut, Meet the AKHA Tribe, ancient customs, Luxury in Thailand’s exotic region, Ancient world of Siam, making an offering to a Monk, Dine in a restaurant owned by royalty, visit an elephant camp, ancient Ayutthaya, ride a bamboo raft down a jungle river, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, meet the Thai people, off- the- beaten-path experiences, invitations to events, and more!
Watch Sandy’s television program’s celebrity interviews along the Red Carpet at the Academy Awards, Oscar Night-Las Vegas-Style.
Also behind- the-scenes celebrity interviews, Show Reviews, invitations to events, openings, Las Vegas;
http://www.discovertheultimate.com/?page=entertainment
You will enjoy dining reviews, interviews, top chefs, openings, invitations to events, wine and food pairings, wine tastings, settings for weddings, romantic restaurants, unique theme parties, Las Vegas, Thai cuisine, dining around the world. www.discovertheultimatedining.com
Discover the Ultimate Health features the latest news from doctors and health professionals from the minimally invasive hip replacement operation to fitness and spas. Discover ancient spa treatments, one-stop pain medical center, “Bleacher of the stars” Kim Vo, when you look for a spa think of your health first, and more!
www.discovertheultimatehealth.com
If you have any Suggestions, Comments, or Questions, please contact Sandy: sandyzimm2003@yahoo.com
TRIPup Hong Kong was Lit up!
By: Annie Gillman
The first TRIPup Hong Kong was held on March 28 at The Den on Wyndham Street right above Hong Kong’s famous Lan Kwai Fong entertainment district.
However, this TRIPup didn’t start like any other TRIPup.. the organizers, Anne Gillman and Anna Chan, were all set and ready to go, when The Den started filling with smoke. Turns out there was a fire in the restaurant next door!
Immediately they evacuated the premises. But did this stop the TRIPup? Of course not! The organizers stood on the street corner as the TRIPup attendees started to arrive and were signing up Hong Kong travelers for the service using an iPad on the sidewalk as the firetrucks arrived to put out the fire.
Australia Day – the Dublin Way
By: Denisha Brekke
While Denisha seems to change her mind daily about her passions and career goals, there is one thing she will never change her mind about: she loves traveling! Born and raised just north of San Francisco, CA, she has competed in every sport from softball to surfing, celebrated her last four New Year’s on four different continents, and recently graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in international business.
During the fall semester of my senior year at the University of Southern California, I chose to take a break from Los Angeles and study down under for an exchange semester. So realistically, it was their spring semester, but for Melbourne you might as well call it winter. For six months I lived in Melbourne, Australia, where I surfed, learned the rules of footy, attended a lifetime of barbecues, and partied with Aussies wearing neon body suits or something else ridiculous, on countless nights. Am I forgetting something? Oh yeah… I also attended my classes at the University of Melbourne, of course.
How do you celebrate Saint Patrick’s day in your country?
By Augusto
St. Patrick’s – Porteño -style
Ireland may be half a world away from Buenos Aires, but every March 17th you’ll start to doubt it. Why March 17? Because it’s St. Patrick’s Day! In Argentina, it’s a chance for porteños descended from the country’s 50,000 Irish immigrants to celebrate their heritage, and for everyone else to dress in green, enjoy some traditional music, and drink fantastic beer.
St. Patrick’s Day celebrates Ireland’s most famous patron saint, who — according to thе legend — freed the island from an infestation of snakes. You won’t find any reptiles in Buenos Aires; instead, a festive parade will slither its way across the neighborhood of Retiro from 7-8pm, beginning at Suipacha and Arroyo Str and ending in Plaza San Martin.
Downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina celebrates St. Patrick's Day 2010 (Source: http://society.ezinemark.com/)
From there, the fun moves on to Guinness-soaked Reconquista Str, home to many of the city’s traditional Irish pubs. It’s a rollicking way to pay homage to two of everyone’s favorite figures — San Patricio and Santa Cerveza!
Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in some places like the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Montserrat. In other countries where there’s relatively big Irish Diaspora people also celebrate the holiday – Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand, among others. Some people even claim that St. Patrick’s Day is probably the most widely celebrated saint’s day in the world.
How do you celebrate Saint Patrick’s day at your country? Share your stories and photos on our Facebook Fan Page or on Twitter
An Homage to Catalan Cooking
By: David Leigh
David has lived in Catalonia for more than a decade, first in Barcelona and now in the forests of la Selva. When not enjoying the food he runs a website specialising in providing FC Barcelona tickets to visitors to Barcelona.
If you think of food in Spain you’ll probably immediately think of the ubiquitous paella, the delicious rice dish that originates from Valencia that in its best known form contains a variety of seafood; your mind may also turn to tapas, those tasty morsels traditionally served on a small plate to accompany a drink and originally used – or so the legend goes – to cover your drink and keep the flies out; “tapa” simply means “cover” in Spanish.
Paella in particular can be quite variable, partially due to the fact that many bars that serve lunchtime fixed price menus serve ready made versions of the dish that bear no resemblance at all to the flavour of one that has been well made. And while many tourist restaurants serve passable versions of the dish, the secret to finding the best paellas is simply to learn where the locals go to eat it.
Standard tapas include “patatas bravas”, which are sautéed potatoes served covered in a spicy sauce, olives, calamari and anchovies, and visitors are also sometimes surprised to find cold cubes of Spanish omelette on the menu. Many tapas bars are Galician and a popular dish you’ll see on the menu is octopus.
Quite different are Basque style tapas, which are served all over the country, they are often served on bread; stuffed peppers, grilled fish and other delights are set on the counter in bars and served with a cocktail stick. Simply grab a plate, choose one of the dishes and keep the stick; your bill at the end of the night will depend on the number and sizes of the sticks left on your plate.
Living in Catalona, as I have done for the last ten years, some of my favourite dishes are local specialities. Three things spring to mind that may appear simple pleasures, but I always look forward to eating.
The first is the botifara, a pork sausage spiced with pepper that is one of the staples of Catalan cooking. While a simple sausage may not seem particularly exciting, they are exceptionally high quality and a big improvement on the standard banger found in UK supermarkets.
TRIPup LA is back!
It’s been a while since we’ve held a TRIPup in LA… we’ve missed you!
We invite you Angelenos and travelers in Southern California to join us on Saturday, March 10th. We are going to be steps away from the beach in Santa Monica at the historic and elegant Rapp’s Saloon, located inside Hostelling International.
Come meet travelers from around the world, locals, for an evening of fun and mingling… and it continues after the TRIPup event with an exclusive Santa Monica bar crawl event!
You can RSVP to this event here to join us!
About Triptrotting:
Triptrotting is a global community of travelers and hosts (aka “Triptrotters”), who are matched to each other based on similar interests. Our goal is to create a platform which helps travelers find like minded local hosts and provide opportunities for hosts to make friends from all corners of the world. We want to give both Triptrotters an amazing cultural and personal experience.
About Hostelling International:
Located just a couple blocks from the sand of Santa Monica Beach, Hostelling International USA (HI-USA) is quickly becoming the place for local and international travelers to meet, mingle and have fun! In addition to operations of HI-Santa Monica and the one stop shop HI-Travel Store, HI-USA conducts various educational programs for youth and adults of the greater Los Angeles area. Focusing on topics ranging from intercultural understanding to environmental awareness to responsible travel, HI-USA programs strive to provide the educational experience of travel to the local community. Through each of these programs and workshops held in the HI-Travel Store in Santa Monica, Hostelling International is able to achieve its mission to help all, especially the young, gain a greater understanding of the world and its people through hostelling.
5 Soles
Rachel has lived in 8 different countries on 4 different continents. Growing up in the US, she often dreamed of traveling and pursued a career in international business, specifically emerging markets. After extensive traveling around the world and moving to many major US cities while working in the US, she moved back to South America. Rachel loves trying new foods and wines, studying languages, sailing, water skiing, photography, running, and horseback riding. Her goals are to be trilingual or a millionaire. Having achieved the latter (in Colombian pesos), she is now actively pursuing the former.
Lima, Peru – gastronomy capital of South America, jumping off point to Machu Picchu, and where I lived for most of August. Unlike the typical tourist which arrives in Lima, stays a day and quickly departs to Machu Picchu, I was the odd person who actually lived in Lima, watching others come and go discussing the wonder. While others awed over breathtaking views of ruins, I spent my time searching for a job, price comparing coffee makers, negotiating phone contracts, and normal day-to-day boring stuff. I admit, I indulged in a 12-step, 3-hour tasting menu at Astrid y Gastón as well as consuming massive amounts of choripan, camote frito, churros, and pisco in the name of experiencing culture through food.
Besides memorable eating experiences, what I’ll take away most from living in Lima is the amazing memories of hanging out with my friends Kelly & Christian. The one thing I wanted but didn’t take though was 5 soles, the rough equivalent of $1.81.
Join Us at TRIPup Buenos Aires part 2… PICNIC Edition!
By: Triptrotting Team
Did you miss our last event at Godoy Disco Bar? Do you want to meet travelers and mingle with locals with some music, sunshine, and perhaps even a frizbee?
Look out Buenos Aires! Triptrotting presents TRIPup Buenos Aires PICNIC Edition!
Sunday, February 26th, 3:00pm
At the gazebo of Bosques de Palermo
(J.F. Kennedy & Av del Libertador, across from the US Embassy)
You can RSVP for Triptrotting’s TRIPup Buenos Aires PICNIC here.
Oh, don’t forget to bring your own towel!
TRIPup Ahmedabad: A New Way to Celebrate Uttarayan!
By: Nipun Parikh
14th January…. In many places around the world, January 14 may just be January 14. But every year in my part of India, this day is celebrated as ‘Uttarayan’. I live in Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat, which lies in the northwestern part of my country, bordering the Indian Ocean. January 14 is the day when nearly the entire population of Ahmedabad can be found on roofs of buildings flying kites and having endless fun. A few few months back, my friends Rahul, Piyush, Palak, Amit, Nishith, and I had a small get together to hang around and chat. After being on the topic of Uttarayan for some time, we suddenly decided that this time around, we would step up to orgnize and host Ahmedabad’s first Triptrotting.com TRIPup event: kite flying at Uttarayan.
From there we began to brainstorm every day how to make it a wonderful event for Triptrotters heading to Uttarayan to enjoy the city, the culture, and of course, the kites. Each day we collected more and more ideas for the event. Eventually, we began to put our plan into action by sending out the invitation on Triprtrotting website — we immediately saw a positive response. Next we scouted for a meeting spot/venue, and decided on the roof of a commerce college in the heart of old city was fixed thanks to our friend Piyush. The enthusiasm grew and our ideas materialized. Soon enough, we began to receive messages and requests from travelers excited to attend the Uttarayan fetival. Ten days before the festival we had already reached our estimated capacity, with even more requests coming in!
Many travelers were provided with Triptrotting hosts — originally I was going to host two travelers, but ended up hosting six! And they hailed from all corners of the world: two from Serbia, three from China, and one from Norway.
Week 4 of the Winter Travel Photo Contest!
By: Triptrotting Team
It’s week 4 of Triptrotting & Let’s Go Travel’s winter traveler photo contest and we are loving the submissions! Our weekly themes have been: see, touch, taste, and smell. The next and final week’s theme will be “hear”! Did you know that when you submit photos you are automatically entered to win cool prizes? The first prize is a $50 Amazon.com gift card and a Citizens of the World t-shirt. The runner-up will receive a $20 gift card and a Citizens of the World t-shirt as well. It’s a great opportunity to showcase your pictures to other travelers and inspire them to embark on new journeys. Triptrotting and Let’s Go Travel will feature the winning photos on their websites, Facebook pages, and to their Twitter followers! We’re itching to pack up our bags and travel after seeing these photos… where should we go next?
See
Triptrotting 