Virtual voyages By Eric S Caruncho
Publisher:Philippine Daily Inquirer - Publication Date: 07-03-2008

Wanderlust.
The urge just hits you, and you suddenly want to pack a toothbrush and head off somewhere you’ve never been to before.
In the past, the first thing you did was to rush off to your local bookstore to browse the travel guide section, find one of the old reliables—Lonely Planet, Insight, Frommer’s—and pray that the current edition was up to date.
It wouldn’t do to land in Kathmandu and find that the bargain hostel with the highly-rated vegan menu had closed down and the only alternatives in the area are pricey tourist traps or hippie fleabags. Or to be already on the cheapest bus from Chiangmai to Chiangrai when you read the travel advisory on the occasional highway robberies.
Now of course, all the information you need are on your fingertip, thanks to the plethora of travel websites on the Internet. There are literally tens of thousands of Internet sites devoted to travel destinations (nearly 50,000 at last count).
This can either be a boon or a bane for the virtual traveller. If you're the kind of person who doesn't believe that there can be too much information, then these sites are just the thing: you can book your accommodations in advance, know just how much to pay, select the restaurants to visit and the sights to see, and do comparison shopping— even before you book your flight.
If on the other hand you're the kind of traveller who thrives on surprises—even the rude ones— knowing all of this beforehand can be a spoiler.
In any case, it's easier than ever to know before you go, as one site puts it. Just reach for that mouse and click away.
www.tripadvisor.comis one of the most popular travel websites, mainly because its content is user-generated, ie provided by actual travellers, not industry hacks. It not only gives information on flights and accommodations, but background on the culture and history of the destination, places of interest, and best of all, stories from visitors that give you a flavour of their experiences, with photos and sometimes even videos. There are numerous links to related sites, and updated information on good deals and bargains to be had.
http://travel.nytimes.com is the venerable New York Times’ online travel section, which offers little vignettes of what you can expect when you get to your destination in the form of short travel features, most of which are worth reading even if you have no plans of visiting the places they’re about. Since most of them are written by seasoned travellers, you get steered away from the routine toward the more interesting experiences.
www.lonelyplanet.com. Having worn out my share of Lonely Planet guidebooks over the years, the online version is still a sentimental favorite, mainly because you still get into what I call the “Lonely Planet” mindset of opening yourself to fully experience the place you’re in. Most of their recommendations are backed by “road tests” by Lonely Planet’s legions of travellers, and the travel stories make for great armchair surfing. There is also a “Thorn Tree” travel forum where travellers can seek advice from, uh, fellow travellers.
www.seatguru.com. Frequent flyers should definitely check this site out. It provides detailed seating maps to dozens of airlines (except, for some reason, our flag carrier), with an almost anal attention to details such as the amount of legroom, the degree of recline, the window alignment, and the various power ports available. Seatguru even color-codes superior and subpar seats, and maps the distance to the galley, lavatory and exits.
www.chowhound.comis my kind of site. It proudly proclaims itself “for those who live to eat,” and is geared for the needs of the galloping gourmand. You can surf the site to find out, for instance, where to get the best burgers in Mumbai, or how to get a decent meal in Hong Kong’s airport. You can even browse the site by type of cuisine, if you are so inclined, or even by specific types of food. Type “bacon” in the food tag and you get recipes, shopping tips and stories by bacon aficionados from around the globe.
www.ecotourism.org is run by the International Eco-tourism Society, and provides a comprehensive guide to various destinations for those who want to support efforts to conserve the environment and contribute to the livelihood of local populations when they travel. Its byword is “sustainable travel”, and offers plenty of educational content if you want to learn more about what that means.
www.travelandleisure.com is the online edition of the popular travel magazine, and offers regular sections on hot new destinations, hotels and restaurants as well as occasional slideshows from diverse locations around the globe to whet your appetite.
www.superfuture.com is a style-centric guide to urban life in the world’s hippest cities. If you want to know what they’re wearing in Shibuya this season, or what the Shanghai punk rock scene is like, this is the place to go. If you fetishize obscure street fashion labels or like to hunt for out of print vinyl at second-hand record shops, ditto. The “shnaps” section—a photo album of snapshots from cutting edge events from Tokyo to Berlin—is worth the price of admission which, come to think of it, is free.

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