When we were younger we used to keep journals of our private thoughts, send paper notes in class, and send postcards from vacation spots. Nowadays, we can do all of that from our computer, and the magic of the internet. It still boggles my mind how many people use the internet daily, without having any clue what it actually is, or how it works (myself included).
Travel blogs are particularly interesting to me. They have taken once remote and virtually untouched corners of the world, and made them instantly accessible to the world. At one point it sufficed to send a piece of cardboard with an image of a tropical fish on one side, and scribbles of 'wish you were here' and 'having so much fun!' on the other. Now with digital cameras in one hand and pre-paid internet cards in the other, tourists are armed with everything they need to virtually share every detail of the trip with friends, family and strangers at the click of a button. Individuals are becoming the new authors of Lonely Planet and Frommers guide books.
Of course, those guides more than likely led the bloggers there in the first place, and we wonder why the grass is covered in tour buses, and the local bars are filled with cheesy music and backpackers. In reality, curiosity and human nature's desire to experience the exclusive are to blame here, and blog sites and travel guides are merely cashing in. A few good travel blogs I've found are The Sydney Morning Herald and Viator. Of course my personal favourites always belong to friends or family. Despite taking the fun out of the postcard, travel blogs are in fact a great way to stay in touch with friends and family on the move.
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