Basek's Travel Basics
by Savas Abadsidis on 2012-05-22

For a lot of us, travel writing is a dream job. As the co-founder of Fortnighter, one of our favorite sites, Alexander Basek has found a way to live the dream. A contributor to four guide books for Fodor's as well as Travel + Leisure, the New York Post and MSNBC, herein Alex relays his views from his perch in Brooklyn.

How did you become a travel writer?
I started writing for the New York Post in early 2005, after interning in the travel section. I had a friend who was writing for them and she introduced me to the travel editor who offered me the internship. Later, I convinced him to let me write for the section--well enough that he sent me to Albania as one of my first assignments.

Was it something you always wanted to do?
I didn't realize it, but yes. I always wanted to write and I loved travel. I don't think I realized it was a thing people did, but once I found out about travel writing as a profession, I was hooked.

How did Fortnighter come to be?
I wanted to find a way to broker travel intelligence between my network of friends in the travel writing community, who are usually underpaid, and people who wanted travel advice and were willing to pay for it. From that germ of an idea, Fortnighter was born.

What distingusihes it from other itinerary sites?
The level of customization, as each itinerary is made from scratch to the user's request, dates of travel and interests. Plus, the quality of our network of writers, who specialize in destinations where they are located, not just in "travel" in general.

What's your favorite city in the world?
I have a deep, abiding love for Bangkok which is weird, fun, has great food and is quite inexpensive.

Is there anywhere you haven't been that you'd like to scope?
I still haven't been to China, Hong Kong excepted, and would very much like to explore there.

What are three essentials that you take with you everywhere?

Alexander Basek is the co-founder of Fortnighter.com. He has contributed written four guidebooks for Fodor's and contributed to Travel + Leisure, the New York Post and MSNBC. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.