August 12, 2013
Aimed quite frankly at hipsters, this volume from the online travel magazine Off Track Planet offers sage advice for budget travelers who are looking for more than just a vacation. It's composed under a steadfast belief that "backpacking, with an open mind and empty bank account, is the best way to learn about the world." Brooklyn-based editors Pikovsky and Starostinetskaya divide their content into three sections: "Get Inspired," "Get Your Shit Together," and "Make Yourself Useful." They collect "oddities, traditions, fascinating events, and happenings in various destinations around the world" before providing information on practical logistics as well as "work, study and volunteer opportunities available abroad." Sections on extreme sports in foreign countries, including skydiving over the Great Barrier Reef, snowboarding in Whistler, B.C., and canyoneering in Interlaken, are geared toward those in search of boundless thrills. The sections on art and design provide terrific takes on background history, for example, on "Antoni GaudÃ, Barcelona's deranged master of plaster drippy, twisted buildings the otherwise classic Spanish city blocks... into stare-worthy attractions." The food sections deal with cheap and traditional eatsâoften street foodâto be had in places such as Argentina and Vietnam. Such chapters help to round out this trendy and visually appealing guidebook.