There are so many things we have to consider in taking a trip now. We might want to see the Greek Islands, but would like it to be a joyful trip that will be fondly remembered.

Also, I want to share some of my favorite places on earth. There is nothing like a sunset on the Cornish coast in England, or a quiet moment in the Cathedral at Notre Dame in Paris. One of my favorite places on earth is the vista point at Waiemia Canyon on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.

I am fortunate enough to have friends all over the world, and sometimes I am able to visit them. Another favorite place is in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Some friends have a home there. This city sets in the famous Valley of Morelos south of Mexico City, and is a site of one of Hernando Cortez’s palaces which is home to some of Diego Rivera’s most famous paintings. Their home is situated up above the valley and early in the morning, before the fog sets in, the twin volcanoes that hover over the distant villages can be clearly seen. It is quite a site when the volcanoes are emitting smoke at sunrise. The whole sky and the panoramic sunrise manifests as a bright red. My friend’s patio at 5:30 AM is one of my favorite travel memories.

I can pass on what I have learned, and I hope it helps others. Not only that, there are products and tips that I can recommend that make a long trip easier. For example: China. I loved the place, but the laws and expectations are different there. I always believe that while a person visits the land of another that everything there is respected and honored. Because of that, there have been very few problems as I have traveled around the world—last count it was 37 countries.

I have always studied the lives of other globetrotters, like Marco Polo who was born in or near Venice in 1254. Before he died in 1324 he was the instrument for opening the minds and awareness of Europeans to the Far East—mainly China. He came from a whole family of merchants and adventurers who traveled into areas that far off land, and opened up new avenues of trade with the west. His adventures and recollections in his memoirs, Travels of Marco Polo, inspired and fired the imaginations of millions of people. His work was used by Columbus to fabricate a voyage across the Atlantic to find a better trade route to Japan and China. Instead, Columbus stumbled on the continents of North and South America.

I have studied those who loved travel since grade school. In my teens I came across the biography of Richard Halliburton, the famous American globetrotter who died at sea in 1939. It was in one of Halliburton’s books that I first came across the famous anthills of Ghana in Africa. They are tall peaked mounds that dot the landscape there. Halliburton is a good place for a budding traveler to start looking at the world. A listing of his books appears at the end of this article.

Recently while visiting the Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island in San Diego I came across a wonderful book in one of the gifts shops there. It is entitled The Best Travel Writing. It is a great book to take on the plane to pass the time. This paperback is a compilation of travel stories by some of the worlds finest travel writers. For the casual or business traveler there is a lot of good information contained in the very entertaining stories.

My research never ends. I haven’t read Halliburton lately. It is probably time to go back read him again. That way I can travel all the time.

List of Halliburton books:

• Richard Halliburton’s Complete Book of Marvels
• The Flying Carpet

• Richard Halliburton, his story of his life’s adventure as told in letters to his mother and father
• The Royal Road to Romance: American’s Most Dashing Adventurer Explores 1920s India (Adventure Travel Classics)
• Richard Halliburton’s Book of Marvels: The Occident
• Richard Halliburton’s Second book of marvels;: The Orient
• The Glorious Adventure

• The famous adventures of Richard Halliburton
• The romantic world of Richard Halliburton
• Richard Halliburton: His Own Story of His Life and Travels

Other:

• The Best Travel Writing 2006: True Stories from Around the World (Best Travel Writing)