Very quickly…  I am in the last-ditch, “where the hell is it?” editing phase now.  If it weren’t for the one week deadline extension that I lobbied for and received back in March after suffering several delays due to bad weather and bureaucratic impasses, I’d be in the LP gallows…

Well, I’m in the final stages of editing now. It’s been more of an emotional rollercoaster than I would have guessed, but that’s mostly my fault. I’ve been riding the highs and lows of the deadline boogie. My flagging organizational skills and my inability to see the big picture while…

I am delighted to report that I have completed my road research!  Even though I’ve had the luxury of breaking the research up and retreating to my apartment between trips, my time on the road was nothing short of cruel.  The horrendous weather in February and March took all the…

I leave for Moldova in the morning and I’ve gotta admit, I don’t think I have ever been more nervous about going somewhere. Usually Moldova can be challenging and the breakaway region of Transdnistria, which I’m also obliged to visit, is one step above chaos, but things have worsened recently…

(If you haven’t already seen it, I posted an amendment to this piece in June of 2011. This post is pretty dated now, but still largely accurate. And I apologize in advance for the length. As is all too common with me, once I started writing, I completely lost control….

I’d like to officially give a warm ‘thank you’ to all the travellers who send reader letters into LonelyPlanet.com with information they’ve collected from their trips.  At the beginning of each research period authors receive a giant document with all these letters (mine was 36 pages long, but more popular…

It’s really amazing how 10 hours of sleep can change my attitude.  When I was on the road, I’d fall into bed each night thinking I’d hit the wall of exhaustion like a rotten grape and there was no way I could get out of bed in eight hours, get…

I’ve been back for three days and am just now feeling coherent enough to post. If you’re just joining us, this previous trip, the longest leg of my road research, was tough. I knew it wouldn’t be a cakewalk, but I didn’t expect it to test the limits of my…

Another sloppy email submission. This is the last one I hope. Things have ramped up in my effort to get through this trip without having to sleep in my car. I’ve been putting in 15 hour days and the late discovery of summer-only destinations that I cannot visit now will…

Another high speed email post from a Net Cafe. Excuse all format and spelling errors please. No disasters lately. In fact the weather has been fantastic the past few days. The car is even acting better. It starts without hesitation in the mornings. I don’t even have to pop the…