I had been planning on writing a thing on travel notes, and then Seth Godin wrote about his travel thoughts today, too. My favorites among his thoughts:

• “Why doesn’t the airport have sleeping benches? Worse, far worse, why isn’t there someone you can ask that question to?”
• “After inspecting more than twenty million pairs of shoes, have the screeners found even one dangerous pair?”
• “If it’s so dangerous to have your ipod on during takeoff and landing, how come you’re allowed to have it with you on the plane at all? Does all the scolding actually increase safety? How?”
• “Why does the FAA require the airlines to explain to every passenger how to buckle their seatbelt? Don’t people who have managed to safely get to the airport but have never mastered this skill deserve whatever happens to them?”

Read the whole thing here.

Of course, my personal view on the matter is that the whole airport security thing is a sham designed to convey a feeling of security, rather than actually providing any. Which is why they still check people’s shoes, sweaters, and 20oz. soda bottles. And it’s why I’ve managed to sneak things like 20oz. soda bottles, pocket knives, and metal umbrellas onto flights. But that’s besides the point.

I’ve been looking into doing some serious amounts of traveling this year, and have plenty of experience from last semester. So here are some tips for you guys:

1. In Europe, for reasons I can’t begin to explain, flying is the cheapest and most manageable form of travel. Aggregator skyscanner.net looks across all the major cheap flight sites, and finds the best deals. I’ve found tickets as low as $6 flat, for an inter-country flight. If any of you know of a semi-equivalent for this side of the Atlantic, please please please let me know.
2. From limited experience, the bus system seems to be the cheapest and most manageable form of travel in the US. Greyhound and Megabus I think are the best; they’ve taken me round-trip between Chicago and St. Louis for $36. Though I’m supposing that this gets less and less manageable as you start moving farther apart – 6 hours from Chicago to St. Louis I can handle, 23 from St. Louis to New York might be tougher. But still, I wonder if it’s $300-saved-from-direct-flight-and-baggage-checks tougher.
3. I’m a HUGE proponent of staying in hostels in Europe.  There are a bunch of aggregate sites if you browse through Google.  Even if it’s a hotel, I’d recommend finding the place on an aggregator and then calling them directly for a rate, to cut out the middle man and save you a couple bucks.  But the best might be couch surfing – it’s free, assuming you can handle a couch for the night / your stay. That depends on what kind of traveler you are, and what traveling you’re doing.
4. Traveling in 3’s doesn’t work.  It’s a bad dynamic.  If you’re by yourself and want to do something, you do it.  If you’re in a pair, you can go together or split up if necessary.  If you’re in a quad, you can split up.  But the three inherently isolates one person, almost unavoidably.  So avoid it.

Places I’m looking to travel in the next six months:  Chicago, Kentucky, Connecticut, Israel, Tennessee, and I guess New York (if I have the time).