MP3 players have not only changed the way we experience music, but also the way we travel and sightsee. The podcast. A serious traveller's best friend. There are shopping trips and there are trips that are made for the trepid explorer, the historian, the connoisseur, the adventurer. Travel podcasts are my favourite type of podcasts because travel is one of my favorite activities and they can really breathe life into a trip. Guide books and maps are cool, but sometimes when your head is stuck down the bad end of a guide book, you can miss the life, the action around you.
You can either "listen up" before you head to your destination by downloading podcasts from fellow travellers about their experiences in a city or from tourism sites. Or you can get free audio guides that walk you through your destination when you get there. The best part about my last European vacation was that I could explore the mastery, the architecture and history at my own pace and not be tied down to a tour guide or shackled to a band of confused looking tourists. The audio guide was awesome, and was vibrant and comprehensive and the history lover in me was fulfilled.
As I plan for another big vacation this year, I look forward to cramming my MP3 player with as many cool podcasts as possible and listening up on all the tips and tricks needed to have an enjoyable stay. I just downloaded one from here, though perhaps I should be on the airline sites first before getting too caught up in the experience! This - also very cool and these as well. And if you're a solo traveller, or just someone who really wants to enjoy the experience, without the hassle and expense, there has to be a free podcast out there to meet your needs!
So I ask again, what type of podcasts do you enjoy?
Photo credit: www.telegraph.co.uk
2 comments:
I want to say that I was one of the first people in Trinidad to start listening to podcasts, from 2005, just around the time that iTunes started providing support for them.
I have followed many podcasts, in all about 30 - 40. I don't follow all now, some no longer exist, and I just don't have the time.
When I look at my current iTunes podcast directory, the podcasts can be sorted into these various groups:
1 Tech
2 BBC News
3 BBC Comedy
4 Comedy
5 A Media review show (movies, tv, video games)
6 Tiki Bar TV
7 Countdown with Keith Olberman
I currently have about 30 active subscriptions, (I am not by my computer with my podcast directory so I am not sure).
Of the 30, 14 are tech related, 9 are from the BBC (comedy and news.
I have a mix of audio and video podcasts, and I usually listen to the audio podcasts when I am driving... local radio isn't usually that engaging.
In the Tuesdays, when I watch NCIS, the video podcasts have generally replaced my normal tv viewing... more or less, not all the time.
I look forward to the day when the local media houses do podcasts, whether summaries of the news or whole shows.
I am really looking forward to your podcast, if it is available to the public, we could do with more local content.
my word that last comment had plenty typos... sorry... The main one is in the third to last paragraph; it should read "Except for Tuesdays" Sorry for sullying your blog with such foolishness
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