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"Hello. My name is Diane and I'm a travel information addict."

© Diane Goldberg under the original topic name

Unless Ken Starr drags me in front of the Grand Jury, I won't admit how much time I spend mousing around travel sites. If I am ever forced to defend this behavior, I plan on passing it off as addiction, an illness. I can't help it - I am powerless over my need for travel information. It's my disease.

Only another travel addict can understand my behavior - the craving to find the cheapest place to stay in Poland, the burning sensation that drives me to unearth museum closing times in English villages so untouristed that the Tourist Information office recommends you leave town for dinner. I am driven, I tell you: I must know the best route from Jacksonville, Fla. to Brookline, Mass. Even if I have no interest in or plans to take that journey in the foreseeable future.

It's not my fault. Really, it isn't. You see, I was working on it - I restricted myself to only two calls per month to various tourist information offices. You might want to give the Spanish National Tourist Office a call at 212-265-8822, or the British Tourist Authority at 1-800-462-2748. They're probably lonely since I've quit calling daily. The nice folks at the Portuguese National Tourist Office at 212-354-4403 may be lonely.

I really was on the road to recovery. I only stopped by European Visits at http://www.eurodata.com two, maybe three, times a day. I spent only five or six hours a week surfing http://www.travelzoo.com

Then I started doing this Budget Travel page. My surfing and calling became legitimate activities - I'm not wasting time anymore - oh no, not me. I am valiantly forging through thousands of web sites to bring other people good stuff. I mean, some of those folks may have to occasionally think about something other than where they're going next. I'm not wasting time; I'm performing a public service.

And, if my addiction counselor still thinks it's my fault, there's this: since I've been doing an article a week, lots of pushers fill my e-mail box with news of more travel info. It isn't my fault people e-mail me. Furthermore, I would be irresponsible if I didn't check out these sites.

If I didn't check out these sites, I would have missed http://www.kasbah.com

[Get ready to groan]

"Come with me to Kasbah."

[Sorry, I've always wanted to say something like that.]

The PR puff for Kasbah tells you that it is the best destination resource site on the 'Net. That may be the truth. I moused by just to see what was on offer and after a mere eight hours and nineteen minutes I was able to tear myself away.

The copyright of the article "Hello. My name is Diane and I'm a travel information addict." in Traveling on a Budget is owned by Dr. Tami Brady. Permission to republish "Hello. My name is Diane and I'm a travel information addict." in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.