The cost of travel besides MONEY

I”m not shy about giving out details about my personal budget, because, believe it or not, just like you, I had to work for my money. I still work for money and I will continue to work for money.

So many people have it wrong. It’s not all about the money. Admittedly, I drained my bank account in order to finance my traveling lifestyle. Sure, I’ve created many a marvelous memory by not working and spending money, but that’s not the only cost to consider when choosing a traveling lifestyle. The other costs include:

1. Physical- This year alone, I’ve done so much flying that I’m exhausted. I’m truly suffering from burn out. That doesn’t mean that I still don’t enjoy flying off to new places, emerging from the plane bright eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for adventure, but it leaves your body physically exhausted. Jet lag is a serious concern. When I left Australia earlier this year, ready to engage in a 4 flight, 23 hour fly-a-thon back to the U.S., I left on Wednesday morning, February 29th, leap year, traveled for 24 hours straight and landed in L.A. Wednesday morning, February 29th. Believe me when I say it took WEEKS for my body to adjust to THAT time travel!

Tired.

My good friend the flight attendant is constantly on the go as well. One time I asked her what day it really is for her because of all of her traveling and time zone differences. She opted for “no comment,” saying that trying to figure that out would drive her insane. It would drive anyone insane!

The road burns your body out. Toting a 50 pound backpack after a shitty night’s sleep in a hostel isn’t for the faint of heart. Trying to sleep when others are partying is even worse. I combat this by trying to maintain a relatively normal sleep schedule (by normal I mean at LEAST seven hours/24 hour period), eating healthy and maintaining a healthy attitude.

2. Emotional- I’ve gotten good, I mean REALLY good at saying goodbye. That doesn’t mean I like to say goodbye, but I have to force myself in order to move on. Luckily it’s not goodbye, just see you later. Part of my goals when traveling the world have been to create contacts all over the world. As I start on that goal, I often grow close to and have to say goodbye to many people that I love. I love their generosity, their kind hearts, their laugh and their unique life perspectives.

My Hawaii friends, aka Family

I also have to deal with feelings of homesickness. Like every traveler on the road, the pangs of homesickness haunt you when you least expect it. You miss birthdays, graduation parties, engagement schindigs, holidays, you name it: any occasion where the family gets together to make mirth and merriment, it seems you’re sleeping in a tent 3,000 miles away. These are the sacrifices we make. 

Aloha until next time!

3. Mental- It’s no secret travel changes you. I’m dealing with this right now. I’m trying to hash out how my life goal’s have changed, how everything I’ve been spoon-fed growing up doesn’t exactly jive with my old interests, now that I’ve seen how other people live successful, happy lives alternate to the “American Dream.” I am dealing with how these differences are changing me as a person, how to reconnect with others who still might subscribe to my “old way” (not wrong, by any means, just confusing and different), and trying to explain my “gypsy” lifestyle to my parents. It’s an on-going struggle. I have to be an ambassador for my life’s decisions. If I won’t stand up for me, who will?

On my magical mystery tour

As a good friend told me, luckily you don’t have to figure it all out today, or tomorrow. The questions I’ve been asking myself are some huge, philosophical, transcendental questions about life, questions people don’t often ask themselves until their midlife crises. Thinking and obsessing over my observations and how they will manifest themselves in my future is unhealthy mentally.  I am prepared to think of life as a mysterious journey, and although I can’t possibly perceive my future right now, I think that through travel, my future will be a brighter place. Growing pains.

I will leave you with an Anthony Bourdain quote, one that describes how I’m feeling in this moment. Just because you can’t strike gold every day while blazing the trail:

“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life – and travel – leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks – on your body or on your heart – are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt.”
— Anthony Bourdain

Tags: Australia, Backpacking, change, growing, Hawaii, inspiration, learning, Los Angeles, Travel, travel burnout

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef

This has been an incredible year of seeing things and trying to knock items off my bucket list, one by one. When I took my month-long trip to Australia, I hadn’t initially planned to visit the Great Barrier Reef. . It was my stay with my host family in Brisbane that convinced me to ditch my plans for Byron Bay (feel a bit bad because I knew I’d love it there) and instead jumped on a Virgin Australia flight up to Cairns.

Cairns turned out to be my favorite part of my trip, hands down.

While in Cairns, I couchsurfed with a guy named Nevan in Kewarra Beach. My reason for my trip up north was for one reason and one reason only: to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea. To do the damn thing!

My ride.

While weighing my options for a snorkeling cruise, it was Nevan who talked me into the Green Island Reef Cruises. Green Island is located about an hour off the shores of Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal, so it’s a relatively short trip out to the reef. Plus, it’s the best bang for the buck. I paid only $79 for a 5 hour snorkeling day, whereas other companies were offering tours to the outer reef for $200. Nevan told me that in order to reach the outer reef, you spend most of your time crusing back and forth to the snorkeling spot, leaving less water time. I wanted MORE water time!

So long Cairns, hello reef.

Green Island tours operate all sorts of packages and options, from half days to full days, to lunch and a glass-bottom boat tour. The best thing about Green Island is that you snorkel right off the beach, so you can choose to soak up the rays on the beach or spend all your time in the water (like I did!) You can also do a rainforest walk on Green Island that highlights different fauna and plant life endemic to the area. Score!

Photo by author.

The view from Green Island.

While snorkeling, I did wear a lycra suit to protect me against box jellyfish, aka KILLER jellyfish that inhabit the Cairns waters. One sting from them can be fatal. Believe it! It was an extra $8 to rent the suit, but the peace of mind was worth it. Plus, it helped me look like a professional.

Me just after snorkeling for hours in my lycra suit. No box jellyfish for me!

Some might argue that you get a better experience on the outer reef, but I was floored and fascinated by all I saw off the coast of Green Island. I saw TWO sharks (!), tons of beautiful fish, GIANT CLAMS and even swam with 3 green sea turtles. The marine life was second to none and this day made up for more than my fair share of shitty days in the past. I would reccomend anyone to see the Great Barrier Reef in their lifetime. After all, it IS one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World!

Photo by author.

I could think of worse ways to spend an afternoon.

Tags: Australia, Cairns, Green Island Reef Tours, Marine Life, Queensland. Coral Reef, Reef Fleet Terminal, Sea Turtles, The Coral Sea, The Great Barrier Reef

The Freedom of Choice

I’m taking  a mini-sabbatical from my life in paradise where all the perspective of how I want to live my life was bestowed upon me.

What’s the difference between me pre-Hawaii and post-Hawaii? I found my paradise, my happy spot, my garden of eden. I realized how powerful my choice is.

Freedom is riding in the back of a stranger’s truck. Humbling and fun!

What exactly do I mean by that? My first overseas trip to Australia was the first time my eyes open to cast a critical eye on my own country. I love the United States of America, but I never thought of my country as a constant producer of 9-5 drones and profit. I knew this to be true, but it wasn’t until I delved into an “alternative” lifestyle that I even realized what I was “missing out on.”

Australia was very kind to me and about Americans in general. We do tend to get teased quite a bit, but luckily we have a great sense of humor.

Hawaii is a special place, though. One that gave me a unique perspective about “home.” The reason why my time in Hawaii was so special is that it’s almost like another country with a different culture, an island attitude where people move a bit slower but with more intention.

I stayed for seven weeks at Hedonisia Eco Hostel in Puna district on the Big Island of Hawaii. Among many other things, I learned how to live as a member in a community of travelers, I began to learn and embrace living sustainably and I developed a large connection with Mother Earth.

Replanting banana trees, whose fruit we’d later consume!

At the risk of sounding like a New Age hippie, lost to run amuck in paradise, living in an intentional community had the following imprints on me:

1. I have choice as to how I want to live my life.

2. I can facilitate those choices with like-minded individuals to reach a common goal.

3. I can reach a sort of existential bliss by living out a life I manifested for myself.

The aspect of Hawaii that is the most unique, to me, is that although it’s owned by the United States, it hardly feels like the United States at all. The Big Island is essentially a baby, unspoiled Polynesian Island where certain fundamentals of human existence are still alive in well. Namely:

1. Tribal living

2. Living off the land

3. Entrepreneurship 

When you live with less, as I did at an ec0-hostel, where we used recycled materials to build shelter, bartered for goods and services and thrived as a community of individuals, life becomes simpler, easier. Suddenly, without all the riftraff of paying bills, owning cars, expensive property and material things, your options open up. Suddenly you don’t have to wake up everyday to drive to a job you hate to pay for the car to drive you there. Suddenly your life is filled with choice.

Oh, hey there home.

A simple life not be for everyone. But it is for me. The recognition and affirmation that I have a choice as to how I want my future to play out is a powerful realization. When I sat down to examine my life before embarking on my travels, I imagined my happy spot. That place was somewhere simple, easy, living in an RV off the land. Suddenly, months later, I’m ducking underneath a tarp held up by hand-crafted wooden rods from local trees to enter my pop-up camper. I look around, and all at once, I’m living the life I imagined.

We’re told growing up that more is more. If you have more stuff, fancy cars, nice clothes, you will be domesticated and people will like you. Not only is that not true, because I’ve met tons of assholes with lots of nice things, but the exact opposite is true. Less is more, because without all the clutter, you have freedom. And with that freedom, you get the all-elusive, much-sought after choice. I promise you it’s out there.

This is a sort of existential breakthrough I’ve had recently. Although this is typically a travel blog about place and people, my realizations through my travels are just as important. Now that I’ve gotten this breathtaking (and admittedly often coveted) expanded world view, I could say without a doubt that quitting my job to travel and learn more about how people live has been the best thing I’ve ever done.

Tags: Alternative Lifestyle Choices, Eco Retreat, Hawaii, Hedonisia Hawaii, Puna District, Rainforest, Sustainability, Sustainable living, The Big Island

Black Magic at Kehena Beach, Hawaii

Hardly a week goes by that I don’t visit Kehena Beach, one of the only stretches of black sand beach on the east side of the island of Hawaii. The tide is rough and the hike down to shore is a bit treacherous, but the views and the magic are well worth it.

A view from above: Kehena Beach

Kehena is sort of a local spiritual retreat. Imagine this: Clothing optional (people definitely take advantage of that), space for yoga, healing, privacy, sun-bathing and a kick-ass drum circle on Sundays.

Photo by author

Known almost exclusively by locals, Kehena is located just off the famed “Red Road” stretching from Kopoho to Kalapana Road (Route 137) along the south-eastern shore. If you go on a Sunday, just follow the sound of drums and hike down to a bohemian/alternative/hippie fest where you can let loose for the afternoon.

Photo by author

Swimming can be a bit tough because the waves are pretty wild, but that didn’t stop me from swimming with a pod of 13 dolphins one afternoon. As I swam out past the rough break, I was greeted by my dolphin friends as a nude beach patron played fife on the beach. It was a magical, personal moment.

A father and child share a moment building a black sand castle

This spot is unique and special to me. Kehena beach is highly photogenic. I’m glad I could share some of my favorites with you all.

Photo by author

Sunset

Tags: Black Sand Beach, Drum Circle, Hawaii, Kehena Beach, Red Road, The Big Island

Photo of the day: Hedonisia,Hawaii

Taken in the crater on the eco-sustainable hostel I’m volunteering at (more details to come):

Tags: Big Island, Hawaii, Hedonisia Hawaii, Pohoa

Notes on abandoning fear and letting go

I have been traveling full-time since January 23rd, which puts me a little over 2 months on the road. I’ve had almost ALL amazing experiences. Rarely there is a day where I wish I back in my old life, working the same old job that held little value for me. It’s safe to say that I’m utterly addicted to the lifestyle.

People have begun to ask me, with much curiosity, peppered with a bit of jealousy, “How do you do it?” Well, here’s a very honest run-down. I hope you’re listening, all you would-be Round The World Travelers. Here are some values and courses of action to consider:

1. FEAR: This is the biggest one, in my mind at least. Fear is the force that holds us back the most from accomplishing what our hearts truly desire. Fear will cripple you with feelings of “What if?” Fear doesn’t encourage, it thwarts, steals, belittles, beguiles.  Instead of having a self-defeating attitude, develop a positive, proactive mindset. Do you do what you want everyday? Really what you want? Do you WANT to commute to your office job, work the 9-5 plus overtime for the man, appease your boss? Imagine a world where you’re utterly free of that. Is that enticing to you? Are you afraid to leave behind the comfort of your “old life?” It’s very probable.

Fear will get you lost

2. COMFORT: It’s comfortable to live a life in the status quo, a life that follows the traditional trajectory. Graduate, find a job, maintain a relationship, possibly get married, have children. That’s a “comfortable” life path that people tend to follow. Why? Because we’re told to? For the most part, yes. For some people that works, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what about the people that hate their jobs? Feel unfulfilled? Dream of choking their bosses, airheaded co-workers, skipping off into the sunset for adventure? Stop holding yourself back. If you are UNCOMFORTABLE  in your current situation, resolve to find comfort in the unfamiliar. More often than not, novelty is the cure to a boring existence. Imagine leaving behind the “comforts of home,” the ones that are boring you to death. Sit an contemplate what would make you happy and pursue it.

An imagined happy place

3. RESEARCH: Get addicted to doing research, even if it’s a complete “Lottery Scenario.” Where would I be right now if I won the lottery? Picture yourself on an unspoiled stretch of beach somewhere? Living in a lean-two in the Philippines? Riding the metro in Paris? Where is your “Happy Place?” Start researching what it’s really like to GO there. How much would it cost? Where would I stay if  I could? Sometimes just a bit of poking around will be enough to fuel your dreams into action.

4. PRIORITY: You might be asking yourself how on Earth am I going to be able to travel when I have my rent to pay for, a car to care for, my Starbucks addiction to feed? Truthfully, it IS too expensive to travel around the world when you’re trying to maintain your same lifestyle back home. Sorry to tell you, but if you want those life enriching experiences of the road, you NEED to get rid of the pricier elements of your “old life.” Not saying that you have to ditch all of your Earthly possessions, but you’ll certainly have to prioritize what you’ll need to succeed.

For instance:

I moved out of my apartment in Philadelphia, saving me $400/month on rent, plus an extra $100/mo. on bills. I left my car in the care of my friend, so that I might avoid the awful gas prices ($4.65/gal? No thanks!). That’s nearly $600/mo. saved, halfway to a plane ticket to Thailand for one month without those expenses.

You might be asking yourself, but I can’t live without my IKEA couch and my loft apartment! Then you’re certainly reading the wrong article.

Goodbye humble abode, hello open road

5. ACTION: In a phrase: Take the leap. This has a lot more to do with letting go of FEAR, but also takes a combination of bravery and literally putting one foot in front of the other. If you’re a procrastinator, this will be difficult for you. Putting things off is not the traveler’s style. We’re the get up and go type. Don’t dream a better life for tomorrow: live it today.

Tags: fear, inspiration, letting go, Travel

Photo Essay: One day in Portland

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Tags: Burnside Bridge, Cup and Saucer Cafe, Graffiti, Hawthorne Boulevard, Oregon, Portland, Powell's Books, Southeast Portland, Voodoo Donuts

Photo of the day: Cairns, Sunset

Queensland, northern Australia

Photo of the Day: The Quickening

Sydney Botanic Gardens

This shot was just featured as Photo of the Day on WhyGo Travel. Check it out here: http://photos.whygo.com/2012/03/royal-botanic-gardens-sydney-australia.html

Tags: Australia, nature, plants, royal botanic gardens, Sydney

When the streets come alive

It’s a good sign when you end up having a Sunday afternoon that involves a leisurely stroll, a small nap under a tree, a slight breeze and a nearby street performer to coax you into ultimate relaxation mode.

Enjoy this video I captured of Charlie Cox, a long-time street performer at Hancock Park in Los Angeles near the Natural History Museum and The La Brea Tar Pits. If you’re lucky enough to catch him, make sure to ask him about his time performing, his days in the service and be sure to exchange kind words with him.

Tags: California, Hancock Park, La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, Street Performing