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Rolf’s latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge — a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we’ll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure.
Rolf ended up staying three nights in Bangkok before heading south to Malaysia on an overnight train. After a quick visit to Singapore (and the Sydney airport), Rolf arrived in New Zealand for a few days of adventure before heading back to The States.
Days on road: 40
Miles traveled: 31,941
Countries: 12
Flights: 11
Trains: 4
Bags: 0
“At that time, I wrote that “Khao San Road is not designed to be a static, aesthetic part of Thailand, but a pragmatic duty-free zone — a neutral territory that has learned to continually reinvent itself in the image of what young budget travelers want” — and it’s an observation that still holds true: In continually tweaking and adapting to the needs of travelers, Khao San Road is in many ways staying the same. As I walked up and down the street checking out the vendors and sampling plates of pad thai and banana pancakes, the place felt almost identical to the way it felt a decade ago — even if it now sports fast food restaurants (McDonald’s, Burger King, and Subway — which were not there when I last visited) and different technologies (music downloads instead of cassette tapes, wi-fi instead of dial-up).” –Rolf on The Same River Twice: Bangkok in Three Acts
Our next update will find Rolf in New Zealand. To follow the journey in real-time, check out the No Baggage Challenge blog or follow along on Twitter or Facebook. And enter this week’s reader challenge, by sharing what you will do over the next year to make yourself richer in time. The best entry will win Scottevest gear, a BootsnAll Moleskine journal, and Rolf’s book Marco Polo Didn’t Go There!
In researching how to prepare for an around the world trip, one will surely find any number of useful checklists that mention everything from booking air travel and lodging to what to pack, registering your trip with the state department, and setting up a Skype account so that you can call home cheaply.
Two of the classic “must-dos” are to consult a travel clinic about what immunizations one might need and to bring along a number of appropriately sized and composed photos for visas. While we looked into completing both tasks before we left on our extended trip through Southeast Asia, it made more financial sense to wait and take care of them on the road.
The same situation that makes our travel possible – the flexibility of my wife being in graduate school and my lack of full time employment – also makes health insurance an expensive luxury that we can’t afford. While I was up to date on all of my shots, my wife was not. Even the cheapest low-cost clinic in the Bay Area quoted almost $700, primarily due to the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine. Thankfully, our first stop was Bangkok which is home to the Thai Travel Clinic at Mahidol University. On our first day we hired a taxi to take us to the campus, not far from our hotel. Even with the map provided on their website, it was hard to navigate the many buildings, but we eventually found the Faculty (College) of Tropical Medicine and walked in.
After registration, we went to the intake nurse and waited to see a doctor for consultation. We had a ten minute conversation wherein we discussed the vaccines needed and about whether to get Malaria pills. His advice was against them, an opinion not shared by U.S. clinics. His reasoning was that the region is fairly low risk, with only 1 or 2 cases per year of tourists getting sick from Malaria, and the side effects of the pills can be unpleasant. Treatment, if caught early, is very good. Whether the Thai are too lax, or the U.S. overly cautious, we’re not certain, but we took his advice. We then took his prescription down to the pharmacy to get the vaccines and to the injection nurse to administer them. The cost? 1029 Baht, about $33, saving over $600.
Before we left home, we went to our local Walgreens to get a stack of passport/visa photos to take with us. After taking the pictures, the photo associate asked how many we wanted, and was surprised when we asked for a dozen each. This isn’t such an odd need when one is expecting to travel through several countries, but it is clearly against their pricing model of $9 per pair of photos with no bulk discounts. “Most people only get one.” she said. We thanked her for her time and left. In Bangkok, we went to a small photo shop across from the hotel and got 24 photos meeting the visa format requirements for 300 Baht – under $10 – saving us almost $100.
While taking care of as many administrative details as possible before leaving home is good practice, sometimes it makes more sense to wait until one arrives at their destination.
LIFE.com recently put up a set of never-before published photos of the Hell’s Angels from 1965. Check out these quotes from the photo captions — there’s something shared between the mid-60′s Hell’s Angels and the RTW travelers of today. Of course, the list of things NOT in common is plenty long — independent travelers aren’t known as a particularly violent, felonious bunch — but hey, here goes:
-The work/life relationship as central to the status of outsider:
“They, of course, didn’t have jobs. They despised everything that most Americans pursue — stability, security. They rode their bikes, hung out in bars for days at a time… They were self-contained, with their own set of rules, their own code of behavior. It was extraordinary.”
-The nomadic urge leading to a bad reputation:
“…they were more lost nomads than real criminals.”
-A fluency with improvisation and unpredictability:
“There was always a sense that anything could happen at any minute. Things could go from light-hearted to scary pretty goddamn quick.”
-A total immersion in travel and its strange sleeping places:
“…the Bakersfield run was around the clock, three days and nights.” In Bakersfield,” remembers Ray, “I slept on the floor of the Blackboard Cafe — the bar that the Angels basically lived in while they were there.”
-Having to deal with others questioning your motives. (If not the cops these days, then family, friends, and (potential) employers):
“Anyone who envies the Angels their freedom,” Bill Ray notes, “should really keep in mind that wherever they go, whatever they’re doing, the cops are always watching.
-Having to deal with others attempting to constrain your travels:
“As we came to Bakersfield, about twilight ,” Bride remembers of the end of the ride from San Bernardino, “we sat on a hill and looked down into town, where an armada of cop cars and flashing lights awaited us. When we finally got there, the cops told the Angels that they were restricted to two bars, and two square blocks of territory. ‘Move out of that area,’ they said, ‘and you’ll be locked up.’”
-And maybe most of all, keeping alive the American myth of The Road:
“There’s a romance to the idea of the biker on the open road,” Bill Ray says. “It’s similar to the romance that people attach to cowboys and the West — which, of course, is totally out of proportion to the reality of riding fences and punching cows. But no doubt, there’s something impressive about these Harley-Davidsons and bikers heading down the highway. You see the myth played out in movies, like Easy Rider, which came out a few years after I photographed the Angels — you know, the trail never ends for the cowboy, and the open road never ends for the Angels. They just ride. Where they’re going hardly matters. It’s not an easy life. But it’s what they choose. It’s theirs. And everyone else can get out of the way or go to hell.”
http://www.mytb.org/explorer_keith
Age: 36
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Quote: “The vagabonding lifestyle opens up a grand new world where you begin to relish the journey as much as the destination.”
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Qadisha Valley, Lebanon
There are places in this world that urge you to pause, and Lebanon’s Qadisha Valley is one. As the day ends over this historic landscape, you look around and sense that the sun has set here for thousands of years, well before you were born, and will continue to set long after you’re gone.
There are events that urge you to pause too, and the brutal death of a friend’s father, in a land far from where he was born, is one. It was almost five weeks ago that in the process of asking a friend if I could use her apartment in Amman I learned that her dad, Tom Little, was one of ten humanitarian health workers killed in Afghanistan on Aug 6. In the days ahead I would spend parts of each evening online, learning more about him and the other men and women killed. There was this short photo essay about the Little family, for example.
Of particular interest to long-term travelers who have a passion for the world and its people is an essay that appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Written by Jonathan Larson, who was a friend of Dan Terry (Dan was a long-time friend of Tom Little and one of the others killed), it is simply titled “Humanitarian leaves legacy in the hills of Afghanistan.” It looks at Dan’s life and motivation, and makes a nod toward his early vagabonding years, when his love for a people and place was forged. Here’s an excerpt:
He counted among his friends the Taliban commanders of his neighborhood, and insisted after 30 years they were not the nemeses caricatured to us. It was the humanity of each one that he kept reaching for, flint-like in his belief that there was something noble in each neighbor, which made him a willing and joyful debtor to the forgotten poor of Badakhshan, Nuristan (“country of light”), and beyond. He was often heard to say, “in the end we’re all knotted into the same carpet.”
…The spiritual equation runs something like this: To whom much is given, much is required. Dan understood that he had been lavishly endowed in faith, in friendship, in family, in opportunity, learning and hope. And it’s as though he’d be damned if that great wealth failed to count for something in the larger scheme of, yes, humble things.
Sunsets in Lebanon and the deaths of people in Afghanistan who actively loved their neighbors—there is much that urges us to take stock of our lives, our motivations, our places in this world.
For those of us who don’t have a permanent physical disability, it can sometimes be difficult to imagine what the world is like for those who do. Buildings that are pretty easy to navigate with two working legs become impossible in a wheelchair: my university, which prides itself on being wheelchair friendly and accessible, once left a classmate with cerebral palsy stranded on the fourth floor of a building when they decided to service the only elevator when he’d gotten up there but before he had a chance to come down. There are doors that won’t open, streets that are too narrow, hotels up several flights of stairs or through winding corridors. Sometimes the everyday tools of life can be impossible to maneuver as well — getting a mobile phone in a new country, signing an apartment lease, accessing the internet.
So can you vagabond if you’re physically challenged? Most travel websites for disabled travelers encourage package tours, specialist travel agents, and other booking options that will take care of all the drama for you — if you’re interested, that’s probably your easiest option, although most expensive. Part of the problem can also be thinking “It’ll be too hard for me; I’ll just stay home.” So the first step towards doing it is…doing it. You might be the only traveler in a wheelcheer those Hill Tribe people in northern Thailand have ever seen, but you’ll be there. Chances are you’ll find it easier to meet local people, who might have questions about your prosthetic leg or your white cane or whathaveyou, and chances are they’ll be happy to help you if you find yourself stuck somewhere. Heck, people like to help travelers of all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds…so why would it be any different for someone who’s physically challenged?
For blind travelers, access to a vast range of resources is available through the ever-popular iPhone — equipped with VoiceOver, the phone is incredibly easy for blind users to navigate, describing apps aloud with easy two-tap interfaces, and even reading text messages aloud. Deaf travelers, who are disadvantaged by having an invisible disability, might like a portable visual notification device that can flash when the phone, doorbell, or smoke alarm rings — or an alarm clock with a bed shaker. Dialysis patients can plan a trip using a dialysis map to figure out centres around the world where they can receive treatment. In Australia (and many other countries), you can hire a motorized wheelchair with unlimited mileage for as long as you like. For inspiration, consider A Sense of the World, the story of James Holman, who traveled the world blind in the 19th century.
It’s not easy to vagabond if you’re physically challenged. But it’s possible. Not just possible, but fun, exciting, and glorious. Don’t sell yourself short — there are options for you, even if you’d like to live in Vanuatu.
More and more it is becoming popular to forgo the pricy North American continuing education degree and opt for the cheaper alternative by enrolling directly in one of the public universities in Europe. Some students limp out of their 4-year degree, swearing to never undergo the same financial atrocity in graduate school and begin searching for cheaper options. Other students skip the traditional route all together and go abroad straight away.
There are loads of public universities throughout Europe that offer degrees to even international students for little over the equivalent of $2000. Certain countries are rife with public institutions to choose from, like France and the Netherlands, for example. France even has its own Wikipedia page of public schools to get you started on your search. There are even a host of tuition free schools in Sweden and across greater Scandinavia.
Sure these degrees and credentials earned largely do not translate upon returning back to North America. Many students return to find that the Masters Degree that they have from a foreign institution will require at least an additional year of study to be valid at home. Some diplomas and degrees may not be recognized at all. However, many of the students who choose to enroll directly in public universities abroad do so in the hopes that it will be a stepping-stone to a permanent life abroad. Many of them remain in school, holding down only enough study hours to maintain legal residency and work their allotted 20 hours or so. It keeps them in the country legally while working out greater employment options, completing a local degree and pursuing the local job market.
Have you enrolled directly in one of these public universities abroad? Did it help you find work overseas? Share your experience in the comments.
“As Alexander the Great was passing through Corinth, he sought our Diogenes and finally found him sitting under a tree, dressed in rags, with not a drachma to his name. When the most powerful man in the world asked the philosopher if he could do anything to help him, Diogenes replied, ‘Yes, if you could step out of the way. You’re blocking the sun.’ Alexander’s soldiers were horrified and steeled themselves for the inevitable outburst of their commander’s famous anger. But he only laughed and remarked that if he wasn’t Alexander, he would certainly like to be Diogenes.”
–Alain de Botton, Status Anxiety (2004)
The beginning of autumn always reminds me that Day of the Dead is right around the corner. And if you’re contemplating a trip to Mexico, it’s one of the best times to go. Festivities start on October 31 and last through November 2.
Some say the Day of the Dead has its origins in ancient Aztec feasts honoring the deceased. After death, warriors and innocents became hummingbirds and butterflies. Others were sent to a land of eternal spring. Everyone else went to Mictlán, the land of the dead, ruled by the god Mictlantecuhtli.
When the Spanish invaded Mexico, these feast days evolved as a combination of Aztec tradition and the Catholic days of All Souls and All Saints. Celebrated throughout Mexico, El Día de los Muertos is once of the country’s biggest holidays.
Want to be part of Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico this year? Here’s where to go:
Isla de Janítzio (state of Michoacán)
The island of Janítzio in Lake Pátzcuaro has elaborate celebrations. Plus, the unique candlelit boat procession to the island slows the pace between the worlds of the living and dead. I was here a few years ago for Día de los Muertos, and wrote about my experience for TravelMuse.
Mixquic (Distrito Federal)
A small town on the outskirts of Mexico City so well known for its Day of the Dead celebrations, it’s often referred to as the “City of the Dead.”
Oaxaca City (state of Oaxaca)
So many people flock to Oaxaca’s cemeteries that travel packages are created just for the holiday. Unique to Oaxaca’s festivities is the temporary creation of colored sand carpets, sculpted in 3-D.
Merida (state of Yucatan)
The White City celebrations include the Mayan banquet of the dead, Hanal Pixan (“soul food”). Large tamales baked in an underground pit are tasty features on the menu.
Chiapa de Corzo (state of Chiapas)
Marimba and mariachi bands play beloved tunes of the dead at the local cemetery of this small colonial town. Firecrackers announce the departure of souls each year.
Sign in Bluff, New Zealand. Photo: Will Ellis / Flickr Creative Commons
“Travel is an education” is something many vagabonders would agree with. Who hasn’t come back from a trip filled with new knowledge, new friends, and great stories to tell?
The personal finance website Mint.com dedicated a blog post to the venerable gap year:
The Gap Year: why taking time off to travel is good
The article makes a strong case for students to do some traveling before going to college. Students sometimes switch majors too often and fall behind, because they didn’t know what they really wanted to study in the first place. That wasted time and expense might have been avoided if students had a chance to travel and experiment with different interests.
Travel could help students adapt to college life better. Some kids have never had to live on their own before. Getting time on the road beforehand would teach more independence, survival skills, and money management.
In the end, a gap year could even help students get into college. As admissions becomes more competitive, its becomes more important for candidates to stand out. Any real-world experience would prove their abilities to adapt and succeed.
The good thing is that there’s no fixed time to do a gap year. It can be done before, during, or after college. The advantage of doing it during college is that you can often earn academic credit. By going abroad after college, you have the freedom to get a job and stay as long as you like.
Have you done a gap year? How did it help you? Please share your experiences in the comments.
