Relationships aren’t always easy. Travel isn’t always easy. Put the two together and there’s always the possibility for disaster! That has been the opposite of my experience. My husband and I met on a tour in New Zealand. He, from Australia and me from New York, we returned to our respective homes after those eight...

CHOICES . Often I find myself in conversations about choices. There are those societal norms accepted by the majority (in one area or another) and there are choices. It’s often odd to me that there are these two categories, because to me, they’re all choices. Of course, there are times that there are things beyond...

I had a friend at university who knew she wanted to be a doctor from the time she was little. Only her specialty changed a few times, but by the time medical school came around, that was officially sorted. Today, she’s a successful OBGYN living a happy life in the Pacific Northwest. I was always...

I've been on a journey these last nine months. Yet I don't have a tally of how many miles I've traveled, countries visited, or new foods eaten. My journey has taken a different path. Where at journey's end, I'll emerge member of a special group of travelers: those who have gone before and now dispense...

Traveling long-term for the last three years has changed me in many ways. When I take a minute and reflect on who I was before I started traveling, I can only see faint glimmers of that person. As I have wandered the world, experienced other cultures, and tested my limits I have become an independent,...

We see these types of promotions all the time: One time only sale! Make your dreams come true now! Travel for free! Short marketing statements that almost seem to good to be true. Most often times, they are. But let me tell you why the Paradise Pack is different. What is the Paradise Pack? In...

(morning rituals - photo credit: icultist on Flickr) The fluidity of travel is a double-edged blade. It's one of the things I love most about it - that each day is different and you don't know what to expect. It pulls you into the present, encouraging you to pay attention to everything going on around...

As part of some tips for successful travel and freelance writing, I decided to interview Joe Henley . He is a Canadian freelance writer and death metal singer for Taiwanese band Revilement who has spent the past few years living in Taiwan, and will released his debut novel, “Sons of the Republic” , on American...

Image credit Travel has a way of slowing you down, of waking you up, of pulling you up out of your daily routines and seeing life in a new way. This new way of looking at the world need not end when you resume your life at home. Here are 5 key ways in which...

“A virtuous life doesn’t reward you with travel.” -- Rolf Potts I had the pleasure of connecting with Rolf in person this week. I’ve written on his blog since 2012 and we’ve passed a few notes back and forth as we’ve shared the occasional orbit in cyber-space but there’s something different about connecting at eye...

We travel a lot, you might have noticed that. Wherever we go we meet people and we’ve always had a family habit of inviting those people to eat a meal with us, even if it’s off foldable plates on a ground tarp because we’re cycling. I love listening to people’s stories, learning about their journeys...

I’ve been talking a lot lately to folks who are pushing hard towards their dreams. They’re working the equivalent of two full time jobs to break free from the one they’re sick of to change their whole lives. They’re courageous folks. But then, she goes out for drinks with a sister who ends up getting...

Our family has a long history of making memories instead of collecting things. We love to give gifts, don’t get me wrong, but most of them are little homemade things, or gifts of self in some capacity. Perhaps most precious are the gifts of time and of memories. We didn’t get a honeymoon. I had...

“Wow, it must be nice to be able to afford to travel so much...” I understand why people say that. I get that the question behind it stems from the number crunching going on that includes a mortgage payment, car payment, clothing, food, insurance, and luxury items that pad their existence. I know they’re thinking...

I read a book a while back that I’ve been noodling again recently. It’s called The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz. I found it in an English language bookshop in Panajachel; the one back inside the tourist trap restaurant by the Chicken Bus stop, not the one down in the pink building by the...

The subject of my life as a minimalist keeps coming up in conversations lately. I’m always a bit taken aback when someone suggests it, because I don’t think of myself as a minimalist at all. It’s true, I’ve lived out of a backpack, essentially, for over five years now. My whole life fits into one...

Location Independence is a concept that has exploded over the past few years. With the rapid expansion of the internet, all of a sudden, there are possibilities that didn’t exist, even a decade and a half ago. Travel has long sung her siren song in the hearts of many arm chair gypsies and now many...

As my last Vagabonding contribution for year 2012 – and I am glad to say that it has been a great pleasure and a serious commitment, guys – I decided to comment on an interesting article I found here . The author, classifying himself as one of the “New Rich” theorized by Timothy Ferriss’ famous...

Christmas this year find us on the edge of the jungle in Borneo. Hiking yesterday I found a pocketful of nutmeg and remembered making a Christmas phone call years ago, with my brother who was here in the Spice Islands while I was “at home” changing diapers. He told me about the orang utan he’d...

Daily activities, within a comfortable, familiar environment can be interesting enough with a disability. If you spend time in a wheelchair, you know how different surfaces, or slight inclines, can create an immense challenge. Well yes, they may pose a challenge, look at it this way; a world on wheels is a unique perspective. Not...