Fellow travel bloggers Sherry Ott from Ottsworld and Meet Plan Go fame; Rick Griffin of Midlife Road Trip TV; and Dave Bouskill and Deb Corbeil from The Planet D are embarking on a 10,000 mile journey this summer in the Mongol Rally, during which they will drive a car from from London, England to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Traditional ger on the Mongolian steppes

Although the foursome has secured a car, they are now looking to raise money for the $4,000 in fuel costs required to drive one third of the way around the world. To do so they have teamed with Intrepid Travel to raffle off a Trip of a Lifetime between now and midnight on June 12th, PST. Participants who donate $5 will be entered into a random draw that will be held the following week.

The Rules are Simple

• Enter the Rally Raffle at The Social Media Syndicate
• Donate $5 US to be automatically entered into the drawing. The more you give, the more chances you get.
• For every $5 that you donate, your name will be entered. Increase your odds of winning by donating $25 and you have 5 chances to win!
• The Rally Raffle runs until Midnight PST on June 12th.
• The winner will be chosen in a random draw and announced the following week.

The Prize is Your Choice

The winner will choose from one of two incredible tours courtesy of Intrepid Travel.

Wild Mongolia – This 15 day trip will take in the sights of the country’s capital Ulaanbaatar before heading out for your great adventure. You will be staying in Ger Camps, hiking volcanoes and enjoying Mongolian barbecues. Follow the footsteps of Genghis Kahn and take a camel ride into the desert sand dunes of Khogno Khan.

Inca Trail – This 8 day trip takes the winner through Peru. Starting in Lima you will spend the day exploring the historic center of the city. Then it’s off to the charming city of Cuzco in the center of the country. Explore the Sacred Valley and the ancient city of Ollantaytambo before beginning your trek on the famous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Voted as one of the new Seven World Wonders, this is a trip you will never forget.

Since 2004, the Mongol Rally has raised over £1.5 million for charity. Each team is asked to raise a minimum £1,000, at least £500 of which goes to the official rally charity, the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation. The remainder of the funds will make a massive difference to the lives of some of the poorest people in Mongolia. Additionally, the team will be donating their car to a local charity at the end of the rally.

Intrepid Travel cares about the environment and will be donating carbon offsets for the fuel of the car. Not only will entrants be helping the team transport their car to a deserving community in Mongolia, they will be making up for fuel consumption by offsetting the team’s carbon emissions.

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Just a short break from my wanderings around Asia to let you know about a little travel news worth passing on.

The Vacation Gals recently asked my opinion for the best tropical winter vacation destination and of course I couldn’t resist blathering on about Mexico, specifically Merida in the northeast corner of the Yucatan. Also making the list were Crete, Sicily, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Peru, suggested by some of the top travel experts in the world. If you’re dreaming of warm climates as winter approaches, it’s worth a few minutes to check out this article , which was deemed worthy enough to be picked up by USA Today.

HostelBookers - my preferred hostel booking site

HostelBookers.com, my preferred booking site for hostels all over the world, is currently running an Australian Road Trip competition where someone can win an Oz Experience bus pass. As the folks at HostelBookers say, Australia is a vast country and you would be forgiven for hopping on a plane to reach your destination. But if, like me, you love a road trip, Australia won’t disappoint! This vast and exciting country has a fantastic coastline that offers unrivaled surfing and geological wonders such as the Great Barrier Reef, the 12 Apostles and the Whitsunday Islands. And along the way you’ll find no lack of reasonably priced accommodations such as Syndey backpackers and Melbourne backpackers. For your chance to win, tell HostelBookers about your favorite road trip in the comments section at the bottom of this page. Entries must be under 100 words and the deadline is 5 p.m. on Monday, December 20, 2010. Three runners-up will win a copy of Rough Guides Ultimate Adventures and the winner can choose one of the following bus passes: 1) Matey Pass, Sydney to Melbourne, worth €397 (approximately $632 USD*), 2) Surf Pass, Sydney to Brisbane or Byron Bay, worth €325 (approximately $518 USD*), or 3) Victa Pass, Melbourne to Adelaide, worth €385 (approximately $613 USD*).

*All U.S. currency conversions based on rates as of 11/18/10.

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Because I often stay at hostels I was interested to learn some interesting facts about the differences in booking prices between the two largest hostel booking services on the Internet. A recent study by Reed Business Insight revealed that HostelBookers is, on average, over 8% cheaper than HostelWorld, and HostelBookers is now backing that claim up with a guarantee. If you find the same deal cheaper anywhere else, they will refund double the difference! (Details about their price guarantee here).

Travelex Cash Passport pre-loaded with £1,000

To celebrate this price promise they have launched a competition which will run over the next three weeks. Nine winners will take away some fantastic prizes, with three winners being announced every week between May 26th and June 9th. For the top prize HostelBookers has partnered with Travelex.co.uk to offer three lucky travelers the chance to win a Cash Passport pre-loaded with £1,000 (that’s British PoundsPanasonic camera, which equates to approximately $1434 U.S. dollars at today’s exchange rate).

Three entrants will win the second prize of a Panasonic Lumix TZ8 Camera, and three more will take away the third prize, a 32gb iPod touch. (Full details of the HostelBookers contest can be viewed here).

Panasonic Lumix TZ8

Entering the competition is simple. Just go to the above website, answer the question “On average, how much cheaper are HostelBookers than Hostelworld?” correctly, enter your email address and click on “submit.” That’s all there is to it. The competition runs through June 8, 2010. The winners will be emailed each week and announced on The HostelBookers Blog. Draws will be made on May 26th, June 2nd, and June 9th. Participants will only need to enter once to be counted in all three draws.

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Celebrating 20 years

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Gap Adventures is offering a chance to win $40,000 in travel and travel related gear. The contest invites participants to submit an itinerary for the trip of their dreams, anywhere in the world, for as long as 16 days.

To enter, just log on to www.createyourownadventure.com and click on the “Get Started” button. Choose up to three countries to include in your itinerary, name your tour, and select the duration, highlights and activities. Then tell the judges why your adventure is like no other and deserves to win (Tip: The website says: “We’re looking for trips focused on sustainable adventure travel that provide life-changing experiences”). Once you’ve entered, get all your friends and family to vote for you, since the winning entry will be determined by a combination of user voting and a panel of nine judges, comprised of some of the most influential leaders in the travel industry.

The winner will travel on his or her dream tour, along with two of their friends. Joining them will be five other winners from a Mystery Draw. If you don’t have time to come up with a custom travel itinerary, you can enter just the Mystery Draw portion of the contest. In addition to trips, the $40,000 prize packages includes one Sony DSCWX1B Digital Still Camera, one Sony GPSCS3KA Geotagging Device, three Sony DPFD82 8” Digital Photo frames, three iPod Nanos. Deadline for entries is March 31, 2010.

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Since starting Hole In The Donut in late 2006, I’ve received several awards and my site has risen significantly in the ranks of travel blogging. Well, now it’s time to take a crack at the grandaddy of them all, the 2010 Weblog Awards, more commonly known as the “Bloggies.” Each year, the Bloggies ask readers to nominate and then vote for their favorite blogs in categories ranging from best travel blog to best gossip blog.

Unlike other contests and award programs, readers don’t have to register or join ANYTHING to participate in the Bloggies. The only requirement is an email address and a willingness to nominate at least three of your favorite blogs. Upon receipt of your nominations, the Bloggies send a confirmation email; you need only click on the link in the email to complete the nomination submission. You will also have an opportunity to vote for the winners once the finalists are chosen.

If you would like to nominate me (and at least two other bloggers), please visit The Bloggies nomination site. Several categories could be appropriate for my blog, including best travel webblog, best writing for a weblog, best photography for a weblog, or best-kept secret weblog, but please feel free to nominate me in whatever category you deem appropriate. And thank you so much for your support.

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San Juan Marriott Resort in Puerto Rico is saying Merry Christmas with a Twitter scavenger hunt that will provide a free three-day stay at the resort for five lucky winners.

Condado Beach, home to the San Juan Marriott

Beginning tomorrow morning and continuing for each of the five days leading up to Christmas, the hotel will tweet a holiday item at 10:00 a.m. EST.  The first Twitter follower who replies to @SanJuanMarriott each day with a picture of the item (via TwitPic, Tweetphoto or otherwise) will receive a complimentary three-day, two-night stay.

Additionally, anyone who tweets all five pictures of the requested scavenger hunt items (one per day) will receive a free room upgrade on their next visit to the San Juan Marriott Resort – valid throughout 2010.

While the tweeted items may not be lords a-leaping, swans a-swimming or a partridge in a pear tree, the resort claims to have selected some unique items that will make the scavenger hunt fun. Contestants who submit photos must be followers of @SanJuanMarriott on Twitter in order to be eligible for the prize.

Stellaris Casino

The San Juan Marriott, located in Puerto Rico’s famous Condado resort area adjacent to Old San Juan, features a tropical beachfront setting; picture perfect views along the Atlantic Ocean; multiple sundecks packed with palm trees, lounge chairs, hammocks and cabanas; a swim up bar; luxurious guest rooms and suites; casino; spa; two elaborate swimming pools; meeting facilities; six dining options; and a lobby lounge for nighttime entertainment.

San Juan Marriott Resort Pool

For more information about the San Juan Marriott Resort visit www.marriottsanjuan.com or call toll-free, 888-817-2033.

(Photos courtesy of San Juan Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino)

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My friend Anil Polat, who also happens to author the fabulous travel blog foXnoMad.com, occasionally puts together fun travel contests for his readers. His latest is the “Cheesiest Travel Photo Contest,” which offers readers the opportunity to vote for their favorite cheesy photo among those sent in by readers. The owner of the photo voted the “cheesiest” will win a nice prize package. I passed on the opportunity to enter the contest the first time around, but when Anil decided to do it all over again I just couldn’t resist.

Despite the fact that I’m now 20 pounds thinner, I no longer have underarm wings , and I’ve let my hair grow out to its natural silver color, I sent him a photo of me (ugh!) at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, taken in 2007. You can check out all the photos right now and vote beginning on December 21st.; I’d sure appreciate your vote if you think my photo is the cheesiest!

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Between moving out of Sarasota and traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday, I have been somewhat silent for the past two weeks. But things are settling down now and I can’t think of a better reason to get back into the swing than to tell you about a wonderful charity effort being mounted by my fellow travel writers through Passports With Purpose.

This year, the Passports with Purpose fund raising effort is supporting American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC), an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving opportunities for the youth and rural poor in Cambodia, with a goal of raising $13,000 to build a school. In order to achieve this goal, travel bloggers have either personally donated prizes or arranged for companies to donate prizes. These items are then raffled off online, with each $10 donation entering the donor into a drawing for the prize of his or her choice.

Smiling children like this little girl hawk merchandise on the streets all day rather than attending school

I know first hand how much this is needed in Cambodia. When I visited the country in 2007, I was particularly struck by droves of children who roamed the streets, carrying baskets heaped with hand-made jewelry or toting hand-woven mats twice their size. Without exception, they interspersed pesky sales pitches and arm tugs with the few words of English they knew:

“Hello, where you from?”

“U.S.A.”

“Oh, U.S.A., A-Number one. President George Bush; capitol Washington, D.C.”

These children, some of them barely old enough to be left alone, much less on the streets all day selling merchandise, seemed desperate to learn. I can think of no better way to celebrate the holidays than to help build a school for these lovely children.

If you wish to join me in supporting this worthy cause, check out the list of prizes being offered at Passports With Purpose. Select the drawings you’d like to enter and indicate how many $10 donations you want to make for each prize. For example, I entered “3″ in the box to the right of the $100 Amazon.com gift card donated by Shannon Hurst-Lane and “2″ for the Flip Ultra Video Camcorder (value $135) donated by Heather Cowper, both fellow travel bloggers and friends. My five entries, totaling $50, were charged to my credit card via PayPal. Simple as that!

The selection of prizes to bid on is nothing short of amazing. How about a $1,500 two-night stay in a suite at NYC’s Roosevelt Hotel or five nights at Los Suenos Resort in Costa Rica (value $2,746)? Other prizes include books, shoes, backpacks, strollers, sunglasses, and even a Ukulele! Any of these could be yours for a $10 donation. The fundraiser closes on December 21 and all proceeds go directly to AAfC, so check it out soon.

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EarthTV.com, which broadcasts live video from more than 70 worldwide camera locations on six continents, has announced a contest that offers entrants a chance to win new Vivitar underwater digital cameras. Entrants need only register on earthTV and earn “miles” (i.e. points) by clicking on various worldwide camera shots; every click gets you closer to a prize. The armchair traveler who has collected the most miles by October 16 will be declared the winner. Random winners (regardless of miles) will also be picked to win prizes. Read about the details on the EarthTV.com contest page. Read more about the prizes here.

Win one of these cameras simply by watching travel videos at earthTV.com

From New York to Hong Kong, from Paris to Sydney, earthTV.com broadcasts live video from more than 70 worldwide camera locations on six continents. The launch of earthTV.com in North America followed the worldwide success of earthTV Network, which reaches more than 2 billion television viewers globally by providing live programming to over 50 TV networks in over 200 countries, including The Weather Channel, NHK and Sky TV. earthTV.com is a fascinating site for travelers, technologists, or anyone who wants to see the rest of the world from their computer.

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I’ve just been notified that Hole In The Donut has once again been nominated for a “Love This Site” Award in the travel blog category at Divine Caroline. I was nominated last year as well and placed 10th; this year I’d love to be in the top three. To vote for Hole In The Donut as the best travel blog, go to DivineCaroline.com or click on the  Divine Carline badge in the right-hand sidebar. You must be registered to vote, but joining is free. Thanks in advance for your support!

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Frequent Flier Program

American Airlines is giving away one million frequent flier miles! The contest celebrates recent changes to Aadvantage, the airline’s frequent flier mileage program. For the first time ever miles can be redeemed for one-way travel. In addition, the online Aadvantage system now allows fliers to mix the class of service on different legs of a trip (for instance, flying out first class and coach on the return) and to book multi-city routes.

To enter, just watch an online 150-second film, Pioneers of Flight: Soaring with One-Way Flex Awards. (If you’re not a member of Aadvantage you’ll have to sign up first – it’s free, by the way). After watching, you’ll be able to register to win one of ten 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage mile prizes. I’m already making a travel wish list……

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Three Vermont businesses are calling all boomers, zoomers, red hats, seniors, silver foxes and really cool people over the age of 50 to participate in the “Vermont to Fabulous Las Vegas Virtual Challenge” contest. Because they are located in Vermont, home of the beautiful Green Mountains, where people love to love to bike, row, run and walk, Cabot Creamery Cooperative (of cheddar cheese fame), Concept2, and the Vermont Department of Tourism thought it would be fun to design an online challenge that revolved around healthy lifestyles, the pursuit of good eating, and exercise.

Stoweflake Resort

It’s easy to participate. First, create a log-in name and password on the homepage. This is a virtual contest, so you won’t see the other contestants involved – and although you will exercise, you won’t actually walk, run, row or bike to Las Vegas from Vermont. Simply log the minutes of physical activity you do each day to move along the map towards Vegas. Play tennis for an hour? Give yourself credit for an hour of walking or running, depending on how vigorous the game. Or if you play a round of golf, log those hours played as walking. Players earn poker chips each step of the way, which increases the chance of winning prizes via random drawings throughout the duration of the game.

All V2V Challenge finishers will be eligible to win the Grand Prize: a trip for two to Las Vegas, including airfare, food allowance, lodging at Caesar’s Palace, and two tickets to AARP 50+ Event & Expo, October 22-24, 2009. Other prizes awarded randomly throughout the V2V Challenge include:

* A Vermont summer or ski vacation for two at Smugglers’ Notch Resort
* A Vermont vacation for two at the Stoweflake Resort and Spa
* World-Class Cabot Cheddar
* Concept2 rowing accessories
* T-shirts, shorts, heart rate monitors and cool Vermont products

Mountain hiking at Smuggler's Notch Resort

Start logging your miles today and finish before midnight Tuesday, September 1st.

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People travel  for many reasons. Some yearn to see the world’s greatest sights. Others want to learn about exotic cultures. And as I recently learned, there are even people who travel specifically to ride the world’s greatest waterslides.

Barclaycard Waterslide recently offered a challenge: produce a YouTube a video demonstrating your love of waterslides. The best video wins an around the world trip for two to visit the five craziest waterslides ever built. The winner will ride the three-mile long Schlitterbahn in Texas; the world’s highest waterslide in Aguas Quentes, Brazil; a loop-the-loop waterslide in Aqua Magis, Germany; Dubai’s Wild Wadi slide, where riders achieve speeds of up to 50 mph;  and the slide in the biggest waterpark in the world in Chimelong, China.

The deadline for submission has passed and now all that remains is the voting. Its up to you to decide which waterslide film you rate above the rest and who you’d choose to walk away with the grand prize.

Some of the 41 finalists produced videos featuring elaborate waterslides constructed from materials ranging from Legos to plastic tubing. One contestant built a slide that travels through open windows between two floors of an apartment building. Others took an animated approach, and one creative young man used a Slip ‘n Slide. See the finalists and cast your vote at Barclaycard on YouTube. But hurry, because voting ends April 5th.

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