Britain's D.I.Y. Festival

London's Association of Independent Music, a non-profit trade organization for independent record companies and distributors in the U.K., will host a weeklong celebration of independent music from July 4 to 10.

Focusing on a Photojournalist's Work in Iran

The Prins Claus Fund Gallery is showing a small exhibition of the work of Kaveh Golestan, a photojournalist whose work in Iran, where he started shooting in 1975, was published in the pages of newspapers and magazines around the world, especially Time.

Staying Fit, the Bollywood Way

Staying fit in Mumbai, with all its heat, humidity and lack of green space, can be a challenge. Enter a new way to stay in shape: Bollywood dance.

Be my guide: Eclectic duo on Albuquerque streets really clowns around

For my second-to-last stop before arriving in Los Angeles on my two-week, reader-driven road trip, I was in search of something different. I had hoped to find some traditional Spanish- or Mexican-inspired music or a country and western group — anything besides the usual cover bands and interchangeable rock acts. Based on bars that readers had [...]

How much is too much information on luggage tags?

On The Spot By L.A. Times Travel editor Catharine Hamm Question: What’s the recommended information to include (and not to include) on one’s luggage tags? I know people say you should put your cellphone number on them, but I don’t keep mine turned on. – Richard Wylie, Torrance Answer: Vacations are all about doing things you don’t usually [...]

Theme park news: Kobe rides Terminator coaster; bring back Captain EO; Hong Kong Disneyland expansion

A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week: * Online petition: Bring back Captain EO as a tribute to Michael Jackson at Disney Parks. Watch EO in 3-D at home. (Distant Creations) * New lands at Hong Kong Disneyland: Grizzly Trail (a.k.a. Frontierland), Mystic Point (supernatural rain forest), Toy Story Land. Marquee rides: [...]

Gone Fishing

My 7-year-old caught this fish on Lake Pillsbury, in California's Mendocino National Forest, yesterday morning. by Wendy Perrin Happy July 4th, everyone. Just a quick note to let you know that "Deal of the Day" will be taking a week-long...

It's Not Too Late to Nab a Cheap Flight to Europe This Summer

Now that July is here, the question from Condé Nast Traveler readers who've been thinking about Europe this summer but haven't quite made their plans yet is: Is it too late to snag a cheap summer fare there? And the answer is: No.

Buy a 7-Night Cruise in Southeast Asia and Get 6 Nights on Land for Free

Book a seven-night Star Clippers Southeast Asia cruise and get six nights of land packages for free.

Have love, will travel

Everyone knows the real international language is love. So it's hardly surprising that so many of us are willing to relocate to far-flung places in the name of romance. I did it once. It ended in tears after two years, and actually messed me up good and proper, but I wouldn't swap my experience for anything.
Moving to the other side of the planet where you don't know a soul except your beloved puts you in a scary position. Your support circle is gone. You're dependent on your partner for your social life, emotional succour, everything.
It's a start from scratch.
But my experience is mild! At least I could speak the language and got a job relatively quickly - and it still took me about a year to feel settled. It must be a whole lot more daunting when you don't speak the language and you're not legally allowed to work, or where there's a significant culture-shock factor. Imagine what it must have been like for disco dolly Jemima Goldsmith when she married Imran Khan and moved to Pakistan!
To cut a long story short, my relationship eventually imploded and I returned to Australia. But I don't regret those two years in Manchester one bit. I made some amazing friends, saw a lot of England, got my first publishing job - and did a lot of character-building.
Have you ever relocated for love? Did it last, or did you live to regret it? Any advice for globetrotting romantics?

-Susi Watusi

Pity travel

Who could have said in say, August, that we'd be leaning against a bar discussing Iceland? (Of course, you may well have been - given its white-nights party scene, its noble literary history and its endearing penchant for believing in elves, not to mention the genius of Sigur Ros and Mum.) The global financial sky-fall has brought the little island to a sad state of affairs, and on a recent night a friend told me that she'd like to head over there with a case or two of rollmops and some hard currency and spread some cheer.

The joke got me thinking. After the bombings in Bali, many travellers on the hunt for a tropical paradise chose to go there as a way of helping to rebuild its devastated tourist industry. In the wake of the tsunami, various destinations were visited not only by relief workers, but (as they recovered) by sympathetic tourists looking to put their dollar where it would help the most.

Pity travel. Is it a patronising, Lady Bountiful, pampered-first-worlders' indulgence, or genuinely compassionate?

Cherry Washington

Backpacks - are they really necessary?

On my first backpacking trip through Europe at the age of 20, I met a girl in Ios who travelled with a bright purple carry-along suitcase. She looked ridiculous, but I was secretly envious of the ease with which she travelled. Ever since I've wondered, is backpacking an activity that actually requires a backpack?

Of course, if you're trekking to Everest Base Camp, it's an essential item. But for an island-hopping holiday through the Cyclades or a journey from one urban environment to another? It could be more trouble than it's worth. (If you think you've experienced Parisian wrath, try squeezing into a heaving metro carriage with a pack strapped to your back.)

Despite these musings, I still dutifully pull out my backpack every time I travel. Why? I'm not quite sure. It's almost automatic: I'm going backpacking, I'll take my backpack. Next time though, I might take a moment to think about where I'm going and how much actual on-the-road travelling I'll be doing before I start packing. If I do, I might find the convenience of a suitcase on wheels wins out.

What about you?

- Gab Nancarrow