Nearly a year ago now, I started the Byteful Travel Blog Carnival with the intention to network and discover new travel writers from all over the planet.

In that time, I accomplished that mission, and more. Time and again, blog carnivals have proven to me how useful they are in discovering new content that you never would have discovered otherwise. (And you’ll find out how you too can submit to this carnival farther down.)

I’m so thankful to see how this blog carnival has grown and matured over the past year; and it’s all thanks to you, my fellow travel writers who submit your best stuff to the Byteful Travel Blog Carnival (or BTBC) month after month. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: Thanks so much for helping make BTBC a great resource! You all deserve a round of applause for your consistent submissions, especially the regulars (you know who you are). I know it my sound silly, but go ahead, give yourself an applause. You guys deserve it! I’ll still be here when you’re done.

Oh, and remember: if one of your articles is in this month’s edition, please be sure to retweet and stumble this article because spreading the word multiplies the reaching-power of this blog carnival very much which in turn helps more people discover your article and grows your site!

Plus, I’ll love you forever. (A platonic love, of course.) 🙂

The Largest BTBC Yet

Today’s edition is pretty big. In fact, at 25 entries it weighs in at the largest BTBC yet! From octopus-filled Korean lunches, to scuba diving in Lana’i, to a serene teahouse in the Sumava mountains, this blog carnival literally has it all. Although I was surprised that a few of my favorites didn’t have many comments. Articles like Vagablond’s Magical China, Jaemin’s How to Get By When You Can’t Speak the Language, and Emma’s Winter in Chicago… now talk about interesting! all currently have 2 or less comments (made by people other than the article’s author, at least).

I was pretty surprised by this because I really enjoyed each of them, so I’ve decided to highlight them here. Mayhaps we can call this the “Highlighting the Underdogs” section. (Although perhaps I shouldn’t be that surprised since two of those three only started blogging this year, so they haven’t built up much of an audience yet.)

In any case, I’m really pleased at the quality and quantity of submissions this time, and I suspect you’re going to enjoy this batch of articles a lot. So, button your jacket tightly, because we’re about to go through a tornado of pure story…

Travel Destinations

Zhu presents:
Magnetic Island posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“Once you step out of the airport or any air-conditioned place you were lucky to be in, the heat hits you. It’s moist, humid, the sun hit any inch of bare skin and you can’t escape. Welcome to Queensland.”

Traci Suppa presents:
World’s Largest Shuffleboard Club, St. Petersburg, FL posted at Go BIG or Go Home, saying,

“For me, shuffleboard has a “retro” appeal, representing a time in our history when family entertainment was more social, and wholesomely unplugged. An endearing example of historic preservation moving in the right direction is the Mirror Lake Shuffleboard Club in St. Pete, FL. It’s the world’s largest shuffleboard club and the oldest in the country.”

Marilyn Stowe presents:
New York: behind the steel and glass posted at Marilyn Stowe Blog, saying,

“New York is buzzing. The recession is over, the streets are thronged with people, the tills in the shops are ringing and the restaurants are packed. When I was there last week, the city that never sleeps certainly lived up to its reputation.”

Tamara presents:
Inside NYC #14: tipping our hats to Cooper Square’s Trilby restaurant posted at Smith Travel Blog, saying,

“A quick review of the new restaurant, Trilby in New York’s Cooper Square Hotel – the edgy East Village stay.”

Cisko presents:
Austin,Texas posted at CiskoPicks, saying,

“Describing Austin and what makes Austin such a vibrant city.”

Erica & Cassi presents:
Good Trips to Bad Places: A Winter Day at Terezin Concentration Camp posted at Nonstop World Travel. (Site down.)

Quiet Wanderings presents:
‘The Good Tea Place’ Cesky Krumlov posted at Quiet Wanderings.

Travel Photography

O.C. Heaton presents:
Why you should watch the new film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand posted at A Rush of Green (Site has since been taken down), saying,

“Until last week I had never heard of Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the aerial photographer who spent two years filming the earth from a helicopter. The result of his unusual work was his bestselling book The Earth from the Air, which was published in 2010 and has already sold a staggering 3.5 million copies.”

Jennifer Miner presents:
Los Angeles Pillow Fight Day Photos posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“Here are some photos taken during Los Angeles Pillow Fight Day, part of International Pillow Fight Day. It was a really fun event in downtown LA!”

Stuart Mathieson presents:
The Return to Delhi – Dec 2010 India posted at An Ache For The Distance, saying,

“Nostalgic at the end of a 3 month India trip…”

Travel Stories

The Vagablond presents:
There are Eyes in my Kimchi: Why I was afraid of Korean Food posted at The Vagablond, saying,

“Yes, the School Lunch, in its hideous little black and red box, accompanied by a stone-cold bowl of Slop parading as Soup, always slimy and smelling of rotting fish in midsummer heat, is to be condemned for turning someone who would eat Anything into someone who wanted None Of It, not even if it was Outside The Box, Over There, Under That, or Disguised As A Hamburger.”

Zhu presents:
Living Out Of A Bag posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“Hostels are chaotic places. Shared bathrooms, communal kitchen, dorms… living with perfect strangers is both surprisingly easy and quite weird. You can tell the kids who have never lived outside home (hint: they leave dishes everywhere and walk around in filthy clothes because they are quite not sure how the washing-machine works) from those who have some experience being on their own.”

Steve Chasey presents:
Vidyanikethan posted at S&S Travel the Long Way Round, saying,

“My wife and I are in the middle of a five month trip and are blogging from the road. Hope you enjoy this story of us volunteering at a school for children from the slums in India.”

The Vagablond presents:
Coconut Bowling and Leering Cow: The Flee from Ko Phi Phi posted at The Vagablond, saying,

“From Ko Phi Phi to Ko Phangan, a day of some ridiculous events.”

Kara Williams presents:
L?na?i, Hawaii: Scuba Diving the Cathedrals with Trilogy Ocean Sports posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“Part of soft adventure travel involves facing up to our fears. It had been a long time since I last experienced scuba diving, but the lava tubes off Hawaii’s Lana’i island were worth it.”

Jennifer Miner presents:
Halfway through a Round-the-World Family Trip posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“Halfway through a family round the world trip; what my sons and I have learned so far (guest post by Michelle Duffy).”

Emma presents:
Winter in Chicago… Now talk about interesting! posted at GohemianTravellers, saying,

“Chicago in February!? I may have seemed mad but managed to become a part of blizzard history. What an experience!”

Shannon O’Donnell presents:
A Little Vignette… Finding the Cultural Norms in Jordan posted at A Little Adrift: A RTW Travelogue, saying,

“Adjusting to travel in a whole new country and a region of the world where cultural norms and behaviors are very, very different from the West.”

Stephanie Ockerman presents:
5 Things I Have Learned About Living Simpler posted at The Travel Chica, saying,

“After 6 months of travel, this is what I learned about living simpler.”

The Vagablond presents:
Magical China: First Impressions posted at The Vagablond, saying,

“Why I fell in love with a country that was never on my radar.”

Stephfret presents:
Tahiti, part 1 posted at Buttermilk Party Cake, saying,

“Culinary revelations in Tahiti”

Quiet Wanderings presents:
California Dreaming posted at Quiet Wanderings.

Travel Tips

Jaemin Yi presents:
How to Get By When You Can’t Speak the Language posted at Jaemin Yi.com, saying,

“I recently spent a month in Medellin, Colombia, and was able to create a whole social life, have adventures, and make amazing bonds — even though I had the Spanish skills of a 4 year old. I learned a lot during that time and wanted to share some tips with my fellow travelers.”

Care to grow your blog’s audience?

Whew! That was a lot of awesome entries, wasn’t it? Wouldn’t it be cool if you could be listed among them? If you write well (and you’ve written something that relates to travel) and you haven’t submitted to the BTBC before, what the heck-fire are you waiting for? Blog Carnivals are an amazing and free way to get more exposure to your work, so you’d be silly not to take this opportunity.

I know this from firsthand experience because blog carnivals have been incredibly helpful in spreading the word about Byteful Travel. So if you’re a writer, and you’ve written something that relates to travel, submit a piece you’re proud of.

To submit an article you wrote so it can be considered for inclusion next time, please submit your article (and no more than 3 of them, please) to the next edition of the Byteful Travel carnival using this Byteful Travel carnival submission form. And remember, to be accepted into the carnival you must submit a blog post that provides real value to the reader, so no spammy articles. And if your submission isn’t poetry, it’s gotta be at least 300 words long. To see past posts and future hosts, check the blog carnival index.

Get Ready for BTBC #7

The next carnival is in late July; and, as always, I’m looking forward to sharing more travel articles then. And hopefully the BTBC will finally get to travel around a bit and be hosted elsewhere. But that can only happen if someone steps up to the plate.

Once again, a huge thanks to everyone who submitted. Not only have you helped grow your audience, but you’re also inspiring uncounted numbers of people to get out there and explore for themselves. And that, my writerly friends, is beautiful.

Until next time, may all of your travels enlighten your soul just as the morning sun warms your face and the sweet air clears your mind.