United States
Free Phone Calls to USA and Canada
By Tony on August 27, 2010 | No Comments »
Gmail has just upgraded US-based Gmail accounts to allow people to make free calls to phones in the United States and Canada.
This is different from Skype and Gmail Voice Chat because Gmail users can call telephones for free, not just other computers. Although Skype’s fantastic Skype-In feature has provided a similar service for years, a small per-minute charge has always been required.
So, will Gmail calls stay free forever? Probably not, as there is a small line of text stating “free in 2010.” Well, enjoy them while they last. Everyone else certainly is. Apparently, over a million free calls were made in the first 24 hours!
Happy New Year’s
By Tony and Thomas on December 31, 2009 | 3 Comments »
To celebrate 2009, we’ve put together a video review of one crazy year which took us to Sri Lanka, India including the Andaman Islands, Thailand, the US, and Myanmar. We’ve covered far more miles than we did in 2008. And stayed tuned for more adventures to come in 2010!
Contemporary Nomad 2.0
By Tony and Thomas on October 22, 2009 | 6 Comments »
Hey everyone, welcome to ContemporaryNomad.com 2.0, an updated and upgraded version of our website with many new features which will make it easier for you guys to follow our travels, access our content, and share your opinions on the site.
First of all, notice that the register and login have been moved to the upper left-hand side of the page. New features include » Continue reading this post »
Leaving California
By Tony on October 19, 2009 | 1 Comment »
California has been, like, SO totally awesome! I mean I’m, like, NO WAY DUDES, margaritas and fish tacos with mountains of guac…
I love California and I’m seriously going to miss it, but expensive, pre-booked return flight tickets have a way of forcing you to stick to a particular departure date. Family, friends, the beaches, the sun, the Mexican food – oh, the tragedy, don’t make me leave 
Being nomadic most of the time, there is true joy in plopping down on the couch with a pizza and watching a DVD. The thrill of not packing or moving, not being sandwiched into third world buses has made California the perfect vacation from vacation.
But it’s time to get back on the road. So, it’s back to Bangkok to continue our adventures. Stay tuned, the explorations have just begun!
ESTA Scheme UPDATE
By Thomas on October 17, 2009 | No Comments »
I thought the newly implemented pre-registration with Homeland Security for U.S. visitors was just annoying, but at least it was free. Now, as it turns out, America is going to slap a price tag on it. That’s outrageous!
When I talked about the ESTA scheme in Welcome to America, I was bothered by the lopsidedness of the reciprocal visa procedure. Now, Congress has gone a step further. It just passed the Travel Promotion Act, a law which is supposed to promote the United States as a travel destination. Part of this program will be financed by imposing a $10 fee on tourists from visa-waiver countries whenever they renew their ESTA registration. Basically, ESTA is a visa in disguise. So much for the visa-free travel between the United States and the European Union.
Slapping an annoying new $10 fee and a load of confusing bureaucracy on tourists doesn’t seem to be the brightest way to “encourage” tourism. If you are American and you think this doesn’t affect you, think again. Visa waiver countries are sure to retaliate with a similar system. Oh, will the bureaucrats ever learn? If this is the government’s way to promote tourism, just imagine what they’ll do with health care!
