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Famous author guy: Rolf signs copies of Vagabonding at Powell's Books in Portland, January, 2003. Photos courtesy of Jen Leo and BootsnAll.

Friends and vagabonders,

Greetings to you from Thailand, where I have just returned full circle after three months in the United States promoting my book, Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel. My thanks to everyone who came out to say hello at my book events on the West Coast, in the Midwest, and in New York. Despite the impending war (and reduced travel coverage in the media), audiences of around 100 people came to talk about long-term travel in places like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Berkeley, Dallas, and Kansas City. Sales were respectable, given the war atmosphere, and Vagabonding even made a couple of bestseller lists -- once in the San Francisco Chronicle's bestseller rundown, and once on the Book Sense travel bestseller list. A retrospective diary of the book tour (which I admit is a little slow in coming out of the blocks) will become available in coming weeks on my weblog, Vagablogging.

Speaking of my weblog, I will probably rely on it more and more this year when it comes to sharing news and information. I'll still use this Update page for general news every few months, but Vagablogging will host the most current information, including readings from around the web, an occasional rant, and (at the request of readers who enjoyed the outtakes in Vagabonding) a growing collection of travel quotes . Book reviews and profiles (from places like USA Today, Outpost Magazine, and the Boston Globe) are occasionally added to the blog, and I have also blurbed these pieces at vagabonding.net, with longer outtakes appearing on the RolfPotts.com Interviews page. For those researching your travels, I am still fielding travel questions via the vagabonding.net Q&A page, as well as the Forums discussion, which is hosted in conjunction with BootsnAll.com.

You might have noticed that the RolfPotts.com Writers page has been lagging in recent weeks, but we'll be catching it up as this update goes online. April features Tony Perrottet, the Esquire, Outside, and New York Times writer whose Route 66 A.D.: On the Trail of the Ancient Roman Tourists, which made many "Best Travel Book of 2002" lists, has been reissued in paperback under the title Pagan Holiday. In May, I'll talk to television personality and guidebook icon Rick Steves, whose travel show is a popular offering on PBS. And be sure to check my March interview with David Stanley, who has written several pioneering travel guidebooks for Moon and Lonely Planet.

As for me, I am back on the road in Asia. I just got off a trip to Japan on magazine assignment, and I'm looking forward to hitting Burma, Australia, France and Mongolia as the year progresses. Details to materialize on Vagablogging as these travels come to fruition.

Till next time, cheers — and happy vagabonding!

Rolf
Vagabonding.net
Vagablogging.net