Tim Patterson comes from the Rolf Potts School of travel writing-- thoughtful, funny, and talented. But above all else, he's a traveler.

It seems Tim is constantly on the move, whether it's to Cambodia, Bhutan, or Uruguay. He shares his love for travel on a number of sites, including Brave New Traveler, Matador, and his personal site, Rucksack Wanderer. Tim's a great guy and (lucky for you) a great interview.

He recently took the time to answer a couple travel-related questions via email...

1. Brave New Traveler takes a different approach to travel than a lot of other sites. What are you trying to accomplish with BNT, and were you surprised to find such a wide audience for your message?

Most travel sites are focused on destinations. This isn't a bad thing - travel is about going someplace new after all - but the destination focus does contribute to the idea of travel as just another marketable commodity.

The BNT team finds the thought of buying a travel experience ridiculous and sad. We see travel as a spiritual journey, an almost sacred way to find our place in the modern world.

We published a really popular collection of 50 Inspiring Travel Quotes recently. Here's one of my favorites, by Miriam Beard:

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."

That quote sums up our attitude at BNT pretty well.

Am I surprised to find such a wide audience for this content? Absolutely not. People are hungry for essays and articles that go deeper than commercial fluff.

2. I want to become a guidebook writer but don't know where to start. Any tips?

I think everyone pretty much has a crush on the Swedes. It's been towards the top of my must-see destinations for a long time. Here to talk about his favorite city--and his homeland--is the mayor of Stockholm, Sten Nordin.

Why Stockholm now?

Stockholm is at its most beautiful in the summer, when the sun stays up for most of the day and night, it's warm and the city is alive with people and activities.

Stockholm has more cultural offerings per capita than any other city in the world but there is also plenty of history, nature, sports activities and gastronomic delights to indulge in. Stockholm has something to offer for every type of visitor.

With the low dollar, can Americans afford Stockholm?

Absolutely! Stockholm is definitely an affordable tourist destination. The city is small enough to walk across so there's little need for transportations. Lunch – even in the most luxurious restaurants – rarely exceeds $25, and entrance fees to museums etc. are considerably less than in other European cities. So, yes, Americans can definitely afford Stockholm!

Rolf Potts has inspired more people to travel than any writer working today. His first book Vagabonding motivated my first long-term trip, and I've run into countless travelers who have said the same thing.

Rolf's newest book is a collection of stories called Marco Polo Didn't Go There: Stories and Revelations from One Decade as a Postmodern Travel Writer. He recently took the time to answer a few questions about his newest book, his favorite places in the world, and his upcoming show on the Travel Channel.

1. Your new collection of stories and essays has a rather puzzling title: Marco Polo Didn't Go There. Where does it come from?

I'll give it to you straight from the introduction chapter:

[Excerpt]

The title of this book is not my own creation: It is a direct quote from an inmate I met at Bangkok's women's prison in January of 1999. At the time I had been a full-time travel writer for less than a month, and I'd been telling people I planned to travel across Asia in the footsteps of Marco Polo.

Looking back, I'm not sure why I found it necessary to say this. I guess I was just following the presumed formula of what travel writers were supposed to do.

Indeed, at the very moment I was setting out from Asia, various travel scribes were researching or publishing books that diligently traced the international footsteps of Captain Cook, Che Guevara, Moses, Sir Richard Burton, William of Rubruck, John Steinbeck, Lewis and Clark, Robinson Crusoe, Ibn Battuta, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Herman Melville. Journeying in the footsteps of others had, it seemed, become the travel-literature equivalent of cover music - as common (and marketable) as Whitney Houston crooning Dolly Parton tunes.

In Part 1 of Gadling's conversation with novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux, the author of the recent Ghost Train to the Eastern Star talked about growing older and the importance of the return journey.

In Part 2, America's most famous travel writer takes on India, China, Russia and Georgia, considers his past work and gives his own assessment on the impact of his seminal travel book, The Great Railway Bazaar.

Your earlier travel books, like Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonia Express, were continuous trips, taken from point A to point B, and I think the narratives reflect that. But your Pillars of Hercules trip was taken in two parts. Dark Star Safari had some elements of a second trip to Africa in there. Ghost Train is not a continuous trip. Does that change the way you travel, not going continuously? Does it make it hard seeing a trip as a whole journey?

I think of it as a whole journey. But try to stay away from home for more than three months. It's really hard. First, bills start piling up. Things go wrong. You're needed. You can't be out of touch for more than three months. That's about the limit. After three months you have a lot of people screaming.

Earlier in my life I did. I've been away for as much as four or five months at a time. To be alone, to be away from a family or away from the responsibilities of life, the bills and whatever -- it was very difficult.

With Ghost Train, I broke it up. When I got to Vietnam, I went to China and from China to Tokyo. Tokyo is quite near Honolulu, believe it or not. So I flew home to Honolulu. I actually had a colonoscopy appointment and did all those things. A little time past and I returned to Japan and resumed the trip. That actually seemed to work out quite well. I hadn't gone very far, I was still sort of on my trip [in Hawaii], and then I went and finished the trip. I could have done it the way I did before, but I actually spent more time on this trip. With the Railway Bazaar I was gone about 3 1/2 months. This was more like six months of travel.

India was major section in The Great Railway Bazaar, and it's a major section in Ghost Train. You were confronted with ostensibly a much different India this time around, but I got the sense that you feel the truth of India has remained relatively unchanged.

I think so. My sense is that in India, the rituals, the pieties, the religion, the beliefs of the people, which are deeply held in most cases, are the things that make India itself, and at the same time prevents it from becoming something else.

In China, it's different. I can only talk about India by comparing it to China because China has been transformed. China has been able to modernize but at the expense of losing its soul and many of its traditions. But there is something in Indian life that is perpetually backward looking, and as modern as a place that they are trying to make India, it has this link with the past. It's as though China has severed its link to the past.

Take foot binding. If foot binding had been an Indian tradition instead of Chinese, they'd still be binding feet in India. But binding has been abandoned in China. A lot of traditional things that are good, bad and indifferent are still practiced in India, some more widely than others. But they've abandoned those things in China. I think this is why India is such a fascinating place to visit. When you are looking at India, a lot of it is still the old India. A lot of old China is disappearing.

A lot of people who go to India miss that, it seems. They talk about India in terms of either quick healing devotion or IT. You juxtaposed that during your visit to Bangalore: one minute you're in an ashram and another you're in a massive call center. That seems to be the two kind of ways people see India.

In 1973, Paul Theroux took a trip that changed both his life and the course of modern travel writing. The Great Railway Bazaar, an account of nearly four months of train travel from London to Japan and back, has been essential reading ever since. Now comes Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Theroux's highly anticipated follow-up, in which he retraces the route he took 35 years ago. From Eastern Europe and Turkey through Central Asia, India, Japan and back via the Trans-Siberian, Theroux weighs what has changed in the years he's been away, and concludes that the most profound transformation has been in himself.

Ghost Train is Theroux's 13th travel book, to go with his 27 works of fiction.

In the first of a two-part conversation with Gadling, Theroux talks about getting older and the importance of the return journey.

In Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, the subject of aging is a theme, this idea that older travelers are almost ghost like, and you often note the time that's passed since you took the trip described in The Great Railway Bazaar. Aging also figures in some of your recent books -- I'm thinking about Stranger at Palazzo d'Oro, Dark Star Safari. Is this your major subject now -- getting older?

I only have myself to deal with, you know. Everything is going through the filter of my experience. Aging is an interesting subject. Not age as senility or incompetence or anything like that, but really age as a point of view, as a vantage point, because after a certain period of time you see the repetition of the world, you hear the same things over and over again and you realize, "I've heard that before." The young really don't have a sense of repetition. People who are young think that the world is going upward, that everything is going straight north, getting better and better. But I think with age there is a sense that the world works in cycles.

In Ghost Train, the idea of aging is important, because I'm returning to an earlier scene in my life and sizing it up. Also, in Dark Star Safari I went back and revisited a place that I had been. I was in my early 20s when I first lived in Central Africa and later, you know, in my late 50s I went back.

You're very interested in the idea of the return journey in Ghost Train, and the fact that not many travelers make it. Not many travelers go back to a place they've been. Travel writers -- or writers who travel -- seldom do. Why do you think that is?

The main thing, the simplest thing, is that travel is a lot of trouble. Sometimes I get a bad review and I think: This person has never really been anywhere. Anyone who travels realizes that it takes a lot of time, a lot of physical effort, a very big commitment, a lot of money. Maybe not a lot of money, but money, because it's a year off, it's a year you're not doing anything else. A year or more. It could be two years. Two years without any income, your life is in suspension. The commitment to a long trip is a huge one, and I think that's one of the reasons.

And travelers move on.

I'm here with Jamie James, a former critic at The New Yorker turned author. His latest book, "The Snake Charmer", centers around a renegade herpetologist who ultimately dies in the jungles of Burma after getting bitten by a krait, one of the world's deadliest snakes. Jamie traveled to Burma to research the book.

He also writes frequently about travel and culture for The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic Adventure, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times. He currently lives in Bali.

The NYT review of Snake Charmer declared the book's protagonist, herpetologist Joe Slowinski, a "Class A jerk." From all the research you've accumulated, what's your take on the guy?

The Times review presented a very shallow analysis, concentrating on one sliver of a complex character -- 5% of the book yanked out of context. It's true that Joe was ruthless in his pursuit of knowledge, and rubbed some people the wrong way; but few scientists bother with "please" and "thank you."

Joe was also widely loved and respected by his colleagues. One fascinating reflection of Joe's personality, which I never could find a place for in the book, is that no fewer than SEVEN people told me that he was their best friend. That seems truly remarkable to me -- how many people have that kind of impact on the people around them? And from his colleagues he commanded widespread respect for his brilliant mind and original thinking, more important qualities for a scientist than simple niceness. Joe Slowinski truly did not care what people thought of him, which is a key aspect of what makes him so fascinating.

Gregory Witt is author of Ultimate Adventures: A Rough Guide to Adventure Travel, which is out in bookstores today. This is a guy who has done pretty much everything when it comes to extreme adventures, so I'm definitely picking up my copy. He happens to be a skilled mountaineer guide, having led summit trips to Mt. Rainier, Matterhorn, and Peru's Pisco. He's also summited Colorado's three highest peaks back-to-back in three days.

You've said that the "unattainable" destinations were weeded out. I love a challenge. What were some of the top ones?

I intentionally excluded some adventures like climbing Mt. Everest. It's an exceptional challenge and adventure, to be sure. Instead, I explore uncommon adventures for the common man. These are adventures that most anyone, with proper training, preparation, and a healthy dose of tenacity can achieve. Some of the more physically and emotionally demanding adventures include climbing Yosemite's El Capitan, hiking the length of the Pacific Crest Trail, or climbing Mt. McKinley.

You're an experienced adventure guide. How does someone get that sort of job? What kind of training did you have to do?

Fortunately, I've never thought of it as a "job." It's just doing what I love to do-and isn't it cool that someone actually pays me to do it! It requires a varied skill set, some of which can be learned, like wilderness emergency medicine, field geology, or wildlife identification. Other skills, like wilderness navigation, leadership, and managing the personal and group dynamics of clients in stressful or challenging situations is best learned on the spot and after years of experience in similar circumstances.

I'm here with Doug Poindexter, president of the World Wide Pet Industry Association, the oldest nonprofit within the field dedicated to pet care. He's here to talk about the tricks of the trade when it comes to traveling with pets, or what to do if you have to leave them behind.

What types of trips are feasible to do with pets, and which ones are not?

More pet owners are traveling with their pets, which means that an abundance of hotels and businesses are looking to host you and your four-legged companion. However, you must do your research before your trip begins. Below are some tips for booking the perfect hotel for you and your pet.

• Don't book online - You should call the hotel and ask for a rundown of the rules associated with booking a pet-friendly room. Explain the size and weight of your pet to ensure he/she falls within the requirements.
• Ask for a list of restrictions – Pet friendly hotels often have rules surrounding the types of pets they allow in the room. Confirm the size and weight restrictions, breed policies, and supervision stipulations prior to reserving a room (ie. You can not leave your pet unattended in the room).
• Don't assume all rules are universal – Hotel chains can vary in policy surrounding pet friendly programs due to differences in state and local laws. It's important to always request a list of rules surrounding pet lodging at every new hotel location.
• Inquire about pet programs – Many pet friendly hotels offer perks such as dog beds, treats, water bowls, etc. for no additional charge. An increasing number also partner with local dog walkers and groomers to offer discounts to residents traveling with their pet. Be sure to request a list of programs for you and your pet to check out while you are in town.

I'm here with Matthew Harding, who will be forever known as "that guy who makes those silly dancing videos." That's not a bad rep to have, given that everyone from The New York Times to The Today Show wants a piece of him. And did I mention his around-the-world trip was paid for by a gum company? How's that for entrepreneurship--and avoiding a 9-5 office job.

He's here to give us the scoop on his travels and what went into making his viral videos. For more (fourth video perhaps?), check out his website here.

Most of the soundtracks to your videos come from obscure artists. How do you pick out the background music?

For the first video, I just slapped on Sweet Lullaby by Deep Forest. I tried a bunch of songs, but it was the only one that fit.

For the second video, I still wanted to use the same vocal track, which was actually sung by a woman named Afunakwa in the Solomon Islands around 1971, but I wanted to create new music. I contacted my friend, Garry Schyman, who is a composer working mainly in videogames, and he wrote something entirely new to go with those same vocals.

For the third video, Garry and I both wanted to try something new. Garry found a poem by an Indian writer named Rabindranath Tagore and I tracked down a girl named Palbasha Siddique who was able to sing the poem in its original Bengali. Garry and Palbasha worked together to make the lyrics fit the composition he'd written for the video.

True, the Tour de France ended last month, but this is the perfect time to plan for next year's event. Here to tell us how to bike in the legendary race yourself--or at least have a good time in the stands--is Lauren Hefferon, a former professional cyclist who has logged 35,000 miles cycling across Europe in her early years after college. She now runs a bicycle touring company, Ciclismo Classico, which runs biking trips throughout Italy, France, Spain, Vietnam, Chile, Argentina, and New Zealand.

I've been following a wonderful NYTimes blog about an amateur who raced in a leg of this year's Tour de France. How hard is this to do?

Considering the race is two weeks long and covers over 130 miles a day over the some of the toughest passes in the world, it is considered one of the toughest races in the world. The racers must train all year long and begin at a very young age training their muscles and their mind. The sport is very strategic, rider must not only be fit but they have to understand how to best work together as a team to gain the most advantage over each day's ride. The team will always assist the favorite rider by blocking, drafting and out sprinting their adversaries,

And what's the process for those who want to train and get involved in racing--and not just touring?

Potential racers should first be passionate about the sport, have solid endurance and be committed to training regularly and vigorously. The best thing is to join a team so you can have some of your expenses sponsored. Being on a team you will get coaching, support from team members and some of your equipment covered. Cycling can be a very expensive sport and the winnings are not that much. You must commit 3-4 hours a day to training, additional rest and a healthy lifestyle.