Cherry blossom season is considered by many to be the best time of year to visit Japan. They begin to bloom on the south west tip of Japan and continue east and north, gradually traversing the country. Determining when the cherry blossoms will bloom is an annual pastime in Japan, but it is highly dependent on geographical location. In general, the milder the climate, the earlier the sakura will appear. On Japan’s southern islands of Okinawa, the cherry blossoms can open as early as January, while on the northern island of Hokkaido, they can bloom as late as May. Though it varies from year to year and depends on environmental factors, in most of the major cities, including Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, the cherry blossoms typically bloom in late March and early April. Cherry blossom season is the ideal time for a Japan tours, as you will find the cities and parks filled with people enjoying picnics and participating in "hanami" parties, or cherry blossom viewing.

If you empathize at all with my new must-get-to-Turkey-now plan, you’ll have no problem understanding what drew me to Anil of FoXnoMad.com (He’s traveled there extensively). Even if you aren’t, the fact that he is sponsoring a contest that could get you 6 nights stay and airfare to almost anywhere of your choosing, is enough reason to read on. Beyond that, Anil earns the proud distinction of “Best in Travel Blogs” because he’s serious about blogging and it shows. Not to mention, that fact that he is a formally educated anthropologist and self proclaimed former computer hacker (the good kind) gives a nifty twist to his travel insights.

Global Basecamps: When and how did you get hooked on travel?

FoXnoMad: I’ve been traveling my entire life and suppose my curiosity to do so is strongly influenced by my parents, both of whom are journalists.

Global Basecamps: You are running an amazing “Live the Backpacker Life” contest. Can you tell us a bit more about it?

FoXnoMad: I want to give the opportunity for one of my readers to take a backpacking trip to most anywhere they want in the world. It’s a bit of a role-reversal. [Before October 5th] create a 3-5 minute travel video guide about a specific aspect of a given city and be the one traveling.

Some days, I think the world has too many travel blogs. Other days, I get so excited about a gem of a blog I find and can’t get enough of! Well, the couple that created UncorneredMarket.com, Audrey Scott and Daniel Noll, had me at “You might find us on a grimy, overnight chicken bus in rural India one day and sharing the story with an ambassador the next.” Now, that’s the kind of adventure I love to read about!

Blending wit, passion and loads of travel experience, the folks at Uncornered Market bring a vibrant voice to the travel blog arena. Audrey first got hooked on travel when her parents took her to live in India at 5 weeks old and Daniel caught the travel bug at a young age as well, pondering a ratty reinforced paper globe in an old World Book encyclopedia. (Ahh, pre-Internet memories, how lovely!) Read on for more travel insight and adventure in my interview with the creators of Uncornered Market.

Are you ready to travel solo? I really wish I was, but like many, the idea of setting off for a big trip alone doesn’t give me the same warm fuzzy feeling that going on a journey with a like-minded, travel enthusiast friend does. (Shout out to my favorite travel partner, you know who you are!)

Unfortunately, as we grow out of the backpacking phase and the long summer vacations of our college days, lifestyles change, careers take over and scheduling travel with your besties becomes quite the logistical nightmare. And as much as I admire all the solo travelers out there, Janice from SoloTravelerBlog.com and Elizabeth Gilbert of “Eat, Pray, Love” fame to name a few, I am just not sure that’s me. Well, this week I found a very cool website that aims to keep people traveling on their terms, and not alone. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

Globetrooper.com is a “a tool for adventurous travelers to create trips and invite people from all over the world to join them.” First off, the site is beautiful (I am unabashed snob when it comes to this; If the colors make me cringe and graphics make me laugh, I’m gone). The fact that I was prompted to divulge my global travel “bucket list” when setting up my profile made me smile (if you’re interested, a long private yacht cruise to a private island in an uncharted sea tops my list). They also have a highly informative blog with great “How-to” articles, my favorite being “How to Get the Government to Pay for Your Next Round-the-World Trip.” Also useful, when scanning adventures other wanderlusts have potentially invited you to join, they rate the trip in terms of difficulty, culture shock, remoteness, and risk--important factors when vetting a potential travel partner. So, who’s up for a medium-difficulty, semi-remote, low risk, big culture shock trip? Egypt tours, India tours and Turkey are next on my list!

Jet lag: many travellers are confronted with it, few have learned how to efficiently conquer it. Whether you're affected for hours or days, suffering from a lack of sleep and a drastic time change can make the transition into a new place difficult and your first few experiences less than enjoyable.