On Assignment in Belize for Moon Travel Guides

December 28th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

There is nowhere like Belize — one of the smallest, most diverse, friendliest countries in the world! I’m currently researching the 9th edition of Moon Belize, covering the entire Cayo highlands, Belize City, and Ambergris Caye. Being a guidebook writer allows me to return to this place and go deeper and deeper — I spend all day walking, taking notes, and talking to new and old friends. It’s exhausting, but I am not complaining. Pictured above, another old friend: Tony the boa at the Belize Zoo.

Ayun Halliday, Author of the Zinester’s Guide to NYC, stops by the Tranquilo Traveler

December 13th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Don’t worry if you didn’t know what a “zinester” is—they make zines, which are quaint ink-and-paper affairs or, in Ayun Halliday’s words, “self-published labors of love.” Ayun is the author of No Touch Monkey! And Other Travel Lessons Learned Too Late, a bunch of other books, and, of course, a zine, the “East Village Inky”. Her newest book, The Zinester’s Guide to NYC, which is not self-published (”no way could I even begin to handle the graphics,” Ayun said), was released this year by Microcosm. And apparently, even if you never heard of them, when zinesters put their heads together to show you their favorite nooks and crannies of the five Burroughs, the result is a guidebook unlike any other.

It is a collaborative effort by many interesting, funny people who’s voices and personalities come through in their write-ups of sushi bars, movie theaters, volunteer opportunities, open mics, and the best subways in which to listen to music. It’s a guidebook that flows, with fun illustrations and unexpected listings on every page. Stephen Colbert says ZG2NYC “kicks ass” and Rolf Potts calls it “the travel equivalent of a lovingly assembled mix-tape.”

If you are truly a novice exploring NYC, you’ll need a companion map, since ZG2NYC basically just tells you to find the nearest subway entrance for a neighborhood map—good advice, but you still need a map. I recommend the “My New York à la Carte” Map; its watercolor illustrations and hand-written tips are a perfect pairing for Halliday’s chatty-yet-stylish guidebook.

I’m honored to have Ayun belly-up to the Tranquilo Traveler cafe:

Joshua Berman: Why a guidebook? Most guidebook writers I know (and by “most” I mean “me”) are trying to go in the opposite direction, doing less guidebook writing and more narrative writing? Which one of us is going backwards?

Ayun Halliday: If there’s ever any question as to which of two people is bass backwards, trust me, the answer will always be me. (more…)

A Rooftop in Pakistan: My latest travel story

November 30th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

WorldHum.com was one of the best travel sites on the Internet way before it became Travel Channel’s official blog for high-caliber narrative stories. Its editors “focus not only on destinations but on the journey, on travel in the broadest sense of the word … how travel changes us, how it changes the way we see the world and how travel itself changes the world.”

So it’s a huge honor to contribute another story to World Hum’s feature well, a tale from my extended honeymoon and a chapter from my next book:

TRAVEL STORIES: “A Welcome Rooftop in the Heart of Pakistan”

I hope you like it.

Nicaragua media melee! The Tranquilo Traveler does the Managua morning talk show circuit

November 24th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

In the United States, where our guidebooks are widely distributed and marketed, it is a well-known fact that Moon Travel Books are the most comprehensive, useful, and thorough guidebooks in the world (if you disagree, please comment below). (more…)

New article: My top 5 Belize picks

November 22nd, 2010 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

Here’s a little travel piece on the best little country in Central America and the Caribbean: “Travel: Belize In 5…”

They actually created a little video from my suggestions and still photos to accompany my article about exploring Belize’s islands, waterfalls, caves, chocolate, and ruins. Enjoy:
“Tucked into a humid corner of Central America, Belize rises from Caribbean coral, cayes, and atolls in the east, to coastal wetlands and savannas, and finally to upland pine forests and river valleys in the west. In these settings, travelers dive, sail, fish, paddle, hike, bike, ride, and explore. Most opt for some kind of “surf and turf” vacation…” Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/11/18/travel-belize/#ixzz1647w5mZ3

Malian-Americana Folk Music Mash-Up: Adam Klein Returns to Mali with a guitar and a cameraman

November 7th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

[The following article appears in the Fall 2010 print issue of Worldview, the magazine of the National Peace Corps Association (I love getting to write about my friends)]

by Joshua Berman

Adam Klein, a singer-songwriter from Georgia, stood on a flat rooftop in northern Guatemala. His lean, tall figure, bushy hair, and pregnant guitar cast a silhouette against the Milky Way. He sang and played and searched for words. I sat at Adam’s feet with pen and paper, trying to help as he composed a ballad about don Fernando, the ancient foreman on the bridge project where we were working that week.

“O Fernando … on a fateful morning/ there was a heavy sun/ in the peaceful sleepy town/ Without a warning, they rounded up everyone/ and they cut all the people down….”

Adam and I were in Rabinal, (more…)

Living Abroad in Nicaragua: Is it the right move for you?

November 4th, 2010 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

From our introduction to MOON LIVING ABROAD IN NICARAGUA (Avalon Travel Publishing, 2nd edition 2010, by Randall Wood & Joshua Berman):

Is Nicaragua right for you? The first thing to consider is that, despite the recent hype, an extended or permanent stay in Nicaragua is a bold and major lifestyle change. It would be wrong—and seriously misguided—to expect living in Nicaragua to be remotely similar to settling in a more traditional warm-weather retreat, like Florida or Costa Rica, for example, and the process of determining whether Nicaragua is your cup of tea should not be taken lightly.

The first question you should ask is: “Why am I moving to Nicaragua?” If your answer has to do with something you read in a real estate brochure, flashy magazine article, or get-rich-quick scheme you found online, then you’ve got some more research to do. If your answer has to do with curiosity, adventure, learning Spanish, starting a long-term business, or retiring to a more relaxed lifestyle, you’re on the right track.

This book does not purport to “sell” you on living in Nicaragua and it does not turn a blind eye to reality. (more…)

Hot off the presses: MOON LIVING ABROAD IN NICARAGUA!

October 17th, 2010 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

Dreamers, expats, development workers, investors, volunteers, Spanish students, and retirees thinking about (or already living in) Nicaragua—this book is for you! Randy Wood and I are proud to announce the 2nd edition of MOON LIVING ABROAD IN NICARAGUA, our guidebook for longterm travelers in Central America’s largest, most vibrant, and least visited nation.

Randy and I first visited and learned about Nicaragua as Peace Corps trainees in the late 1990s. We both stayed on, in different capacities, and this book is based on our combined 24 years of experience there. For this edition, we surveyed hundreds of foreign expatriates living in Nicaragua to present our readers with a broad spectrum of experiences and opinions. (more…)

Travel Writing 2.0: Tim Leffel’s book breaks down the market, features 52 successful travel writers

October 5th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

So you want to be a travel writer? Want to explore new lands, be wined and dined by resort owners, then get paid to describe what you saw and experienced?

Tim Leffel discusses the ups and downs of being a travel writer in his new book TRAVEL WRITING 2.0: Earning Money from your Travels in the New Media Landscape. The book, says Tim, is mostly a “handbook for the business and marketing side of things.”

Though Travel Writing 2.0 is filled with sober reality checks, Tim admits the fame-and-glory parts are possible. Sometimes. I agree. In the process of researching my guidebooks, I’ve crawled through caves in Belize with the country’s top archeologist; I’ve flown in helicopters and bush planes, skimming over jungles and reefs; I’ve ash-surfed the inside of an active volcano crater; I’ve picked beans with campesino families during the Nicaragua coffee harvest; and I’ve grown mustaches.

I’ve also laid sick and alone in cockroach-ridden hostels (more…)

I don’t care where you went! Interview on travel writing, backpacks, sand, ants, and beer

September 21st, 2010 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

Thanks to Freelance-Zone.com for featuring me on their excellent website:

4. In your opinion, what are the components of good travel writing?

Use as many sensory details as possible: smells, sounds, sights, tastes, and textures. Don’t get hung up on listing your itinerary. I don’t care where you went, that’s a background detail. I want to meet new people through your writing. Read the rest: “Interview With…Travel Writer Joshua Berman”

<–on assignment in Tikal, 2004, with Wayne Bernhardson’s old MOON GUATEMALA, photo by Daniela Vaughn