Tips

10 Travel Blogs That Will Change Your Life (And, Thank God For That, Because Your Life Was Pretty Lame)

by phil January 5, 2011 Tips

I hope that most of you have realized by now that much of what I do on this site is not very serious, with exception to the previous post on the Cote D’Ivoire crisis, this post on eating sand and Thomas Merton, and of course the How to Draw Camels Ebook. This post, however, is [...]

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How to Draw Camels Ebook

by phil December 7, 2010 Camel Drawing
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Update: the How to Draw Camels ebook has been moved to my new site at howtodrawcamels.com. Click here to download the book! First of all, HAPPY CAMEL APPRECIATION DAY!! Now get ready to have your mind blown I have been drawing camels for years. For a long time, I just assumed everyone knew how to [...]

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3 Fun Strategies to Deal with Hasslers, Hawkers, and Touts

by phil November 30, 2010 Camel Drawing
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“My friend!” This is the universal greeting offered by those who want your money. They may or may not be offering a service in return. They are well versed in the art of psychological warfare. The more touristic the area, the more practice they’ve had. I used to play a lot of Toe Jam and [...]

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Malaria’s Encore and Why You Should Invest in Coartem

by phil October 8, 2010 Mali
getting malaria in mali

Middle of the day a week ago, I start to feel feverish and fatigued. I considered what I had eaten in the past 24 hours. Had I poisoned my guts for the first time in Mali? Did I have a cold? Did I have the African cold? The African cold is malaria and even with [...]

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New Country, New Sim Card: Getting my Feet Dusty in Bamako

by phil October 5, 2010 Camel Drawing
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What’s cooking in the oven of Bamako? Humans, donkeys, and dust. The uniform color and the 10 million motos remind me of Ouaga, but Ouaga’s got nothing on the Niger River, or Bambara, a language so smooth you’ll feel like you’re on ice skates. Only there’s no ice and you’re actually in a furnace. Sometimes [...]

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How I spent $140 dollars for the Month of September

by phil October 3, 2010 Cote D'Ivoire
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This is me making doughnut batter in Ghana. I am wearing my favorite shirt. It is lightweight, comfortable, mildly flattering, quick-drying, and somewhat immune to odor. Three years ago, before boarding an overnight bus to Arequipa, I was robbed in the Cusco bus station. I got on the bus with nothing except for passport, cash, [...]

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