*UPDATE* - since returning to the states last year, I promptly got the travel itch again so this past January (2010) I spent about 3 weeks traveling around Peru. Slowly but surely, I’m updating the main page of this site with experiences and pictures from that little adventure.

    I left the states for about a three month travel abroad trip to include stops in Turkey, Israel, Russia, Korea and Japan before working my way back to the NYC sometime in late November early December. This trip is bound to be crazy in many ways so I’ve decided to set up this website to “catch” all of the experiences pretty much as they happen.

    I can’t really think of any solid reasons why I picked these places, except that I’ve either never been there, know someone there or the U.S. dollar is actually worth more there than here. And, as if traveling through five different countries speaking languages I couldn’t even begin to understand would be hard enough, I’ve decided to limit myself in the amount of stuff I can bring. What better way to decide what I need to live in life than to challenge myself to carry only the bare necessities that would fit in a carry-on sized backpack. (Who am I kidding??? I’m really just too cheap to pay the checked baggage fee and I have very little confidence in a Russian airline called “Kaliningradavia Airlines” that doesn’t have a website and who’s fleet dates back to Soviet Cold War era times to trust with my stuff).

    Being the techno whore that I am, this site will feature a Google map of all of the pictures I’ve taken geo-tagged to their exact location. This feature is made possible by a Nokia N82 (read up all about it here: http://www.nseries.com/index.html#l=products,n82,demo ). At 5 megapixels, built in WiFi and GPS and the ability to work in the US, Europe and Asia; I’ll be in constant contact with my email and the website. In addition to the map, the site will also have a Twitter feed and a Flickr photostream so you can follow along with what I’m seeing and what I’m thinking/experiencing.

    You’ll also notice ads throughout the site. Click these. Please. By doing so, you’re essentially giving me money without the hassle of it coming from your bank account.

    Also, my apologies if parts of the site don’t work/look like they should. I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to programming/developing in WordPress.

Send me an email: takingabiggerpicture [at] gmail [dot] com