Flightster

Travel Blogging with Purpose

• by Jools Stone
• on December 1st, 2010
• 3 Comments

The Kurangani hills, by Makka Photography

I’ve never left Europe. Never visited a developing country really. I keep reading about India and some of the amazing adventures you can have there. There are even a few guest posts on my own blog about rail trips around the country. This tale of flying curries on board the Shimla Toy Train certainly whet my whistle, and I came close to signing myself up for this crazy journey crossing the vast country by train in just two weeks. I suppose I’m not ready for such hardcore adventure travel  just yet.

One thing which has held me back from exploring India, Africa, South East Asia and other parts of what’s often called the developing world is the thought of encountering extreme poverty at close quarters, and the Western guilt which would inevitably accompany it.

A thoughtful post on the Tourdust blog recently touched on this concern. Blogger David Jobanputra argued that travel has become just another commodity for us westerners. Another lifestyle item to casually consume and proudly brandish, just as we would our latest smartphone or pair of designer jeans.

I’m not sure when I’ll get to India – or how I’ll feel when I do – but in the meantime I’m pleased to be making a small contribution to a project which aims to make a difference on the ground.  

Passports with Purpose was set up last year by a small group of Seattle-based bloggers. They raised enough funds ($30,000) to build a school in Cambodia.  This year I’m on board too,  along with 100 or so other bloggers, and we’re going one better. We’re building an entire village in rural India. Yes, that’s right, a village. You can read more about the work of the project by visiting Friends  of LAFTI and see how the money will be spent.

Don’t worry, I won’t be getting my pretty little nails gritty with cement and with brick dust, but I am very pleased to be involved with something this constructive for a change. Passports with Purpose raises money by asking blog readers to make a measly $10 donation.  There’s reason enough to dig in of course, but it’s also a charity project which offers donors something in return.

Not only do you get to bask in the warm glow that comes from doing something good,  you get to enter yourself into a draw for one of many great travel prizes. Each donation buys you an entry, there’s no limit to the number of lucky dips you can go for either. Bloggers get involved by posting about it and also by securing a prize sponsor.

I really lucked out with mine, bagging a luxury spa break for two,  thanks to the exceedingly generous folk behind travel site The Explorateur.  Donate just a tenner and you might get to feel good in more ways than one:

A 3 night luxury ‘BodyHoliday’ spa break for two people at LeSPORT hotel in St Lucia*

It’s an all inclusive package including luxury room, meals, all drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), a full programme of fitness activities, plus one spa treatment per person, per day.

The hotel is on the Northwest tip of the Caribbean island of St Lucia and sits directly on Cariblue’s crescent beach, surrounded by 42 acres of lush tropical gardens. It’s a thirty minute drive from the capital Castries and the George F.L. Charles airport.

None of this would be possible without The Explorateur. They have kindly donated a prize worth at least $800 if not more. That’s over ten times the minimum prize amount.  So  make sure you show them the love they deserve. Take a minute to check out their site, sign up for their emails, like them on facebook and follow them on twitter.  They give good tweet anyway.

Their site, packed with cracking discount offers and quirky travel tips, guides the globally curious, delivering insider tips and exclusive offers on the most unique spots to stay, shop, dine and fly around the world.

A spot of Caribbean pampering not really your bag?  Not a problem, there’s dozens of other goodies to lay your grubby little mitts on, ranging from a second hand ukulele to RTW flights, an XBox Kinect system, hotel stays and even a Norwegian cruise (except, hands off, that one’s mine OK?)

Make sure you donate today, the prize draw ends soon with building work for the 25 houses that will comprise the village in Karunganni starting in January 2011.  Already we’re over  80% of the way towards our target of $50,000, but since when has a travel been about settling for the bare minimum?

So to paraphrase the inimitable Bob Geldof a little:  ‘Give us yer f*&@ing money, and win a luxe spa break while you’re at it!’

One day I’ll get to India and when I do I’ll be able to look on at the village in and say, ‘We helped make that happen.’  That feeling’s bound to be worth a thousand spiritual journeys outside of our consumerist comfort zone.

*Does not include flights

Jools Stone

Jools Stone's blog, He Thought of Trains, chronicles the highs - and occasional lows - of traveling by train in an age of budget flights.