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Each of Erik’s trip accounts — including those that used to be hosted by other sites — have been archived here (in chronological order) for your desktop and armchair traveling pleasure. Ideally, each entry of each trip should be read in order, so that you can not only experience Erik’s insightful personal anecdotes from around the world, but get a feel for the evolution of his writing style and travel attitude over time.

While reading these archived dispatches are in no way a substitute for actual travel, they can at the very least, help you get through your boring days at the office when you are supposed to be working on something more “important.”  Oh wait, is that your boss coming?  Quick, click here!

Sixteen Months Around The World

October 2003 – March 2005

“The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World (Or Until Money Runs Out, Whichever Comes First!),” was originally hosted by BootsnAll.com.  It contains over 500 entries that chronicled a trip around the world from October 2003 to March 2005, encompassing travel through thirty-seven countries in North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. It was this blog that started it all, where Erik evolved and honed his style of travel blogging. (It starts to come into focus around the time he arrives in Africa.)

Go to the entries

Trippin’ To Timbuktu

March – April 2006

“The Global Trip: Trippin’ To Timbuktu,” was originally hosted by Blogger.com.  It contains eighteen travel dispatches that chronicled a trip through the West African nation of Mali from late March to early April 2006.  As the journey transpires, it evolves into a story of mind games between Erik (known locally as “Doug”) and his questionable local guide Van — and his network of other “guides” — from the old pygmy villages of Dogon Country to the desert sands outside the legendary city of Timbuktu.

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Tomatoes, Grease & Beer

August – September 2006

“The Global Trip: Tomatoes, Grease & Beer” was originally hosted by Blogger.com.  It contains twenty-five entries that include Erik’s accounts at two world-renowned festivals: Valencia, Spain’s wild and sloppy La Tomatina tomato food fight, and Munich’s traditional and international celebration of beer, Oktoberfest. The two festivals are the book ends to a two-week jaunt through the Greek Islands, where Erik “lives his own myth” (as the Greek tourism slogan goes), going from island to island, getting into random adventures on the way like Odysseus in Homer’s The Odyssey.

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Twisted

May – June 2007

On the road from Oklahoma to Kansas to Nebraska to South Dakota to Colorado to New Mexico to Texas, Erik travels through the heartland of America—a.k.a “Tornado Alley”—in search of tornadoes with the storm chasing team at Tempest Tours.  The hi-jinks that ensue are chronicled in a nine-entry-long tale of lightning bolts (that strike twice or more in the same place!), tornadic funnels, kitschy roadside attractions, and a whole lot of beef jerky.

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Two In The Boot And Beyond

June – July 2007

Erik and his fellow globetrotting girlfriend Stephanie rendezvous in Italy for a relaxing and romantic “fake honeymoon” through the boot-shaped country—and beyond, with jaunts through Croatia, Switzerland, and London.  While this twelve-part blog concentrates more on the relationship between Erik and Steph, its descriptions and historical tidbits of the destinations they visit are written in signature Global Trip style.

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The Central American Eviction Tour* (*with jaunt to Colombia)

November 2007 – January 2008

After getting evicted from his New York City apartment (by no fault of his own), Erik decides to skip the country before figuring out his next living situation—this time, traveling through Central America, with a jaunt to Bogota, Colombia for the Christmas holiday.  It is a six-week journey of thirty-nine entries filled with new characters and new adventures—scuba diving in Belize, spelunking in Guatemala, surfing in El Salvador, rafting in Honduras, playing in Costa Rica, chilling out in Panama, and partying in Colombia and Nicaragua.  It’s all fun and games until Erik gets shot in the stomach—but even that is fun too.

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Holla! In The Holy Land

June 2009

Hailing from Jewish enclaves Teaneck, New Jersey and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Erik travels for two weeks in the Holy Land of Israel, with jaunts into Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian West Bank.  Raised Catholic but deemed “J.B.A.” by his peers, he encounters many personalities along the way, resulting in a multi-perspective view of the state of affairs in the Middle East, including: a woman raised Catholic who is seriously considering conversion to Judaism; an American Jewish girl with Israeli citizenship who is anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine; a Christian fanatic who couldn’t believe the locals built their country “without believing in the Messiah”; a Palestinian cab driver who would still live in Israel even if there was a two-state solution; a Catholic priest-turned-fire marshal; a Jewish family who serves pork during Shabbat dinner; some friendly Bedouins; a Jewish-American ex-pat who made a living in Israel by providing “American service” since “Israeli service is no service”; a Jordanian tour guide that was desperate to shake off the stigma of his country in hopes for more tourism; and a Scottish woman who was completely oblivious to any political or religious tension in the region.  These encounters (and many more) are all intertwined with desert trekking, surfing, horseback riding, and cycling, and collectively comprise one of Erik’s most interesting and thought-provoking blogged trips to date.

Go to the entries

Chinese Leftovers And Other Asian Appetizers

April – May 2010

With an appetite for adventure, cultural immersion, and above all, local cuisine, Erik sets off on his second trip to the People’s Republic of China to explore the “leftover” highlights that he’d missed the first time: the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai and the mystical mountains of Huang Shan.  Added to his two-and-a-half-week itinerary are jaunts to cities in the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea for brief introductory “appetizers” of their respective routines and cuisines—just enough to be hungry for more.  Like Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern, Erik continues to push his limits of what he will put in his mouth, this time with silkworms and a squirming live octopus—creatures that get a sort of retribution when little fish nibble on Erik’s feet.  In all, it is a chronicle of Asian life in the big city, mountain trekking amongst monkeys, scooter riding, a cute little puppy, and plenty of enticing “food porn” pictures to beguile the inner foodie in all of us.

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Chill Out In Chile

December 2010 – January 2011

Leaving the cold winter of New York City behind, Erik journeys across the equator to South America’s summer in the thin country of Chile, for a three-part adventure of varied landscapes during the holiday season.  First, he tours the central and coastal cities of Santiago, Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, followed by a quick jaunt to the nearby wine region of Mendoza, Argentina.  From there he travels to Torres del Paine National Park in southern Patagonia, a land of grand mountains, lakes, and glaciers.  The two-and-a-half week trip concludes on the shores of Rapa Nui, more commonly known as Easter Island, where he rings in the New Year amongst the sacred moai. Along the way, he makes friends with strangers at airports, who lead him to a whole collective of other independent travelers—people who not only provide good company, but medical support, afro wigs, incessant witticism, and even a Christmas fruitcake.

Go to the entries

Jive Turkey

June 2011

Starting in cosmopolitan metropolis of Istanbul, Erik journeys to the Eurasian country of Turkey.  He is joined by his friend Jeff—a fellow Asian-American travel veteran—to explore centuries-old mosques and palaces, the local food scene, and other things from an ex-pat point-of-view with Erik’s ex-pat friends.  The two seasoned travelers leave Istanbul for other quick jaunts in the country: the surreal moonscapes of Cappadoccia, and the beach towns on the Turkish Riviera along the Mediterranean.  Although the duration of the trip is only nine days, Erik attempts to make the most of it through varied Turkish landscapes.

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From Sea To Shining Sea

June – July 2011

Accompanying his longtime friend Cheryl — who is relocating from the east coast to California — Erik goes on a road trip across his home country, the United States of America.  The two start from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Brooklyn’s Coney Island, and drive for two and a half weeks all the way to the sunny shores of the Pacific in California.  Along the way, they take the “scenic route,” making a detour through many of the country’s well-known monuments and national parks: Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Canyonlands, Arches, and the Grand Canyon.  They encounter bears, buffalo, and even Mormons on this grand tour of America — one which exposes them to subcultures they are unaccustomed to, as if traveling to a foreign country.  In the end, what they see and experience is a tribute to America — from its people within to its great outdoors.

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Monkeying Around

December 2011 – January 2012

Erik takes his assignment to write about gorilla trekking for Discovery.com, and evolves it into an 18-day journey to explore Uganda and Rwanda, two countries in eastern central Africa with rainforests known for their populations of chimpanzees and gorillas. What he comes to discover on this monkey tour is that both countries offer much more than just primates; there are opportunities for: one of Africa’s wildest whitewater rafting experiences on the Nile, safaris for elephants, buffalo, hippos, and white rhinos, insightful historical tours, mountain biking on a new lakeside trail — and even an encounter with African royalty.

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Gone Europin’

August 2012

Erik heads back to Europe to visit friends in Berlin, Geneva, Aberdeen, and southern England for a couple of weeks, and takes in the scenery and sites along the way — including the nuclear physics research facilities at CERN, Scotland’s Highland Games, and even a kung-fu master who started to show off his moves at the legendary Stonehenge.

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Cowboys, Duk-Duks, and Kiwis

June – July 2013

Ten years after The Global Trip blog began in 2003, Erik sets off for experiences in three countries. First, Canada, specifically Alberta for trekking in the Canadian Rockies, followed by attending the world-renowned Calgary Stampede rodeo festival. Then, for his first official assignment for National Geographic, he heads to Papua New Guinea for a taste of tribal culture, followed by a short R&R side trip to New Zealand (via Brisbane, Australia) to go snowboarding on South Island. (He finds it mediocre until he decides to do it via helicopter.)

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‘Stan By Me

October 2014

Armed with Instagram and an international data plan, Erik takes on Central Asia as he travels through three of the “‘Stans.” During a long weekend in Kazakhstan, he explores the cosmopolitan city of Almaty and its surrounding mountains. Afterwards, he heads to Kyrgyzstan, where he encounters the locals — on horseback and on foot — in the villages of Lake Issyk-Köl, and the city of Osh. In Uzbekistan, he travels the modern way to sites on the Old Silk Road.

Go to the entries

The views and opinions written on The Global Trip blog are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the official views and opinions of the any affiliated publications.
All written and photographic content is copyright 2002-2014 by Erik R. Trinidad (unless otherwise noted). "The Global Trip" and "swirl ball" logos are service marks of Erik R. Trinidad.
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