It’s rare that I travel with anyone but last December I met up with Earl Baron, aka. Wandering Earl, in Arbil, Iraq to explore the northern part of that conflicted nation. I first met Earl in between talks at the Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) conference last summer in New York City. We quickly realized our fondness of adventure travel and both had a desire to visit Iraq for that very reason – 6 months later we did exactly that.
There are few people who tell a travel tale like Earl; his writing is some of the most captivating I’ve ever come across. Of course, having dinner with the Taliban (accidentally), winding up at US Customs with a bullet in your pocket, or having militants steal your car make for compelling content.
Earl’s writing style is personal and there are many of his stories from the trip to Iraq that are well worth reading. I encourage you to take some time, with beer, coffee, or shisha in hand – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
- The Thrill Of Traveling To Iraq – Quite possibly my favorite travel moment, ever.
- A Chinese Bar, Shisha & Sexy, Sexy In Iraq – A place with signs telling you to leave knives and AK-47s at the door in Iraq, what could go wrong?
Along with those posts, Earl has written a host of others with good information on traveling to Iraq. We’re planning on elaborating on the stories and talking more about this country that took two rather experienced travelers by surprise – in a good way. Those of you who live or will be in Vancouver, Canada during the first part June (right before the next TBEX conference) are welcome to come to a free talk with Earl and I in one of the local hookah cafes (appropriately enough).
The exact date, time, and location isn’t set yet and Earl might not even know I’m writing this. Either way, if you’re interested, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment below and we’ll be sure to let you know when things get set.
I’ll be at TBEX. Arriving late Thursday, staying through Monday. Let me know details on a talk. Sounds like fun!
Cool, I’ll keep you updated and shoot you an email when things get set 🙂
sounds like traveling around Iraq with you guys (or anywhere for that matter) would be an interesting and fun experience!
…except for people who like to plan. But in that case I guess you’d be ok 🙂
Sounds great! We’d love to attend your talk in Vancouver. We are arriving on the 8th for a week.
Great! I’ll let you know when things get set. See you in Vancouver!
Haha…I was aware you were writing this! I was just away from the internet the past couple of days. Seriously, I’m thrilled that you mentioned our idea for a talk in Vancouver. It will great to catch up with as many people as possible up there and of course, we’ll have to make plans for a new adventure this year to some other seldom-visited region of the world!
I truly appreciate you putting together this post my friend.
I’m looking forward to the talk and of course the next destination 🙂
It was my pleasure to put together this post, I’m a bit fan of your writing and travels so I’m happy to show people who might not have seen it before…and as weird as it is to say, Iraq was a lot of fun.
I’ll be there too, arriving most likely on the 9th (although I believe there’s already a pre-TBEX meetup/getting-drunk-fest planned for that night). Regardless, if I can be there I will be – would be great to meet you (Anil) and see you again (Earl)!
Hopefully we’ll see you there at the talk but if not let’s definitely meet up at some point during the conference or TBEX-drinking fests 🙂
If I go to TBEX (not sure yet) I definitely want to attend!
It would be wonderful to see you there Barbara 🙂
I will have to follow via yours and Earls Blog posts Anil. Looking forward to what you have to say.
Gives me the idea that maybe we should do a live stream or video of it so we can also show clips for those not in the area 🙂 Thanks Natalie for the little light bulb above my head!
I like the idea of a live stream as well…hopefully the internet connection in Vancouver will be stronger than the one in Iraq 🙂
when’s the tbex in vancouver?
June 11 and 12. Will you be around?
Won’t be at Tbex but a video would be great – I’d be fascinated to hear your insights into the country. I’d love to visit one day.
We’ll work on the live stream but if not, I think a video should be easy enough 🙂