I Just Got Interviewed...

If you have a moment, please check out my interview with Aaron Hotfelder over at Gadling.

Here's an excerpt:

1. Brave New Traveler takes a different approach to travel than a lot of other sites. What are you trying to accomplish with BNT, and were you surprised to find such a wide audience for your message?

Most travel sites are focused on destinations. This isn't a bad thing - travel is about going someplace new after all - but the destination focus does contribute to the idea of travel as just another marketable commodity.

The BNT team finds the thought of buying a travel experience ridiculous and sad. We see travel as a spiritual journey, an almost sacred way to find our place in the modern world.

We published a really popular collection of 50 Inspiring Travel Quotes recently. Here's one of my favorites, by Miriam Beard:

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."

That quote sums up our attitude at BNT pretty well.

Am I surprised to find such a wide audience for this content? Absolutely not. People are hungry for essays and articles that go deeper than commercial fluff.

Here's the full interview: 'Talking Travel With Tim Patterson'

Interview / Manifesto

I'm busy tying up loose ends before heading to Patagonia next week, but wanted to post two links before I leave.

Link number one will take you to my first audio interview, with Craig Martin of the awesome Indie Travel Podcast. Craig and I talk about the benefits of taking risks while traveling, getting outside your comfort zone and trying to speak some of the local language.

The second link is to my "Manifesto" - an essay that poured out of me late one night and was just published on BraveNewTraveler.com. In 2 days over 6,000 people read this piece and left over two dozen comments - a real outpouring of support that has truly touched me.

Here's the beginning of the essay...

Today I ended my hypocrisy. Today I made a step towards moral and existential sanity. Today I stopped supporting a malevolent, inhuman and amoral force.

Today I sold my stock in multinational corporations.

Read more!

Interviews: Ted Conover and Tim Leffel

I've just published two interviews.

The first is with Ted Conover (pictured), who is one of my personal heroes:

"How to introduce Ted Conover?

He’s a writer, perceptive and eloquent, motivated by boundless curiosity. He’s a journalist who pursues in-depth stories with unmatched tenacity. He’s an intrepid traveler who once took a year off from college to live as a railroad hobo."

Full Ted Conover Interview

The second interview is with Tim Leffel, editor of the outstanding online travel magazine PerceptiveTravel.com:

"Tim Patterson:

What do you see as the weakness of big, corporate media like Travel+Leisure and the New York Times travel section?

Tim Leffel:

They have to be, in the words of some departing ForbesTraveler.com writers, “page view whores."

Full Tim Leffel Interview

I'm really happy with how these interviews turned out and hope you get a chance to read them!

New Interview! "From Berlin to the Bayou" with Katherine Burgess

My interview with Williams friend and urban planner extraordinaire Katharine Burgess has just gone live at Matador. Here's a few lines from the intro - follow the link for the whole shebang!

....

Katharine Burgess and I were hitch-hiking down the Izu Peninsula, south of Mt. Fuji Japan. We caught a ride to the northern edge of the peninsula, where our map showed a road hugging the coast all the way to a place called Toi.

Toi means “very far away” in Japanese, but Kat and I weren’t worried – we had an hour of daylight left, and rides had come easy all day. We raised our thumbs with confidence as the sun set over the harbor...

Read More!

Matt Gross Interview at BNT!

My interview with Matt Gross, the Frugal Traveler for the New York Times, is now up at Bravenewtraveler.com.

Here's the link:

Matt Gross Interview

I'm in Queens now, staying with my cousin Pete on the way home from a wonderful wedding in D.C.

Day before yesterday I was drinking champagne on a rooftop overlooking the White House, last night I drank a martini from a 5th Avenue rooftop, looking up at the Empire State building.

Life is hard.

Many, many stories to come!

Marriage! She Said Yes!

Big news!

For the first time, I tell the story of my marriage proposal. The story is part of an interview I did for a Kiwi blogger, part of a travel writer interview series that also includes Q&As with Rolf Potts and Joshua Berman.

Here's an excerpt:

WritetoTravel:

As a writer and traveler, what are the biggest challenges you face on the road ?

Tim:

I was thinking about this question for a little while...and realized that my biggest challenge so far hasn't been on the road - it's been coming home. When I'm traveling, even when I find myself in a pickle - like the time Ryan and I ran out of water and food on a wild Cambodian island and were menaced by men with hatchets and AK-47 rifles - it's all part of the adventure. Strange as it may seem, the toughest part is being home, seeing my family, hanging out with old friends and wondering what the heck I'm doing with my life.

I can hike 5 miles through the jungle on a pack of ramen and some coconut milk, but I can't pet my cat without wondering if I should settle down and plant a garden and go to law school. Funny, isn't it. On the road, I'm just on the damn road, and life is wonderful.

For the whole interview, and the story of my marriage proposal, click here :)

Ring Photo by firemedic58 via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Rolf Potts Interview

Yesterday my flight from Denver to New York ended up in Milwaukee, the airline lost my fly-rod and my laptop battery finally gave up and died. I need to write 2,000 words on Japanese festivals by Thursday Australian time, a deadline that I think has already passed, and I just got an invite to meet some New York travel writers and editors in Manhattan...in 5 hours...

Hectic.

My interview with Rolf Potts, Emperor of Vagabonds is now up at Brave New Traveler.

I think I need some coffee. And should I shave? Do New York City editors mind scruffy beards? Holy shit, what am I going to wear? Festivals! Japanese festivals. Gotta go.