What I miss during my travels
We’ve been at this for well over 800 days. It would be completely normal to miss some things during my travels, especially after more than 2 years of being on the road continuously. What I tend to miss, though, are not things from “home,” but from the places that have left their mark on us. Culture No offense to Aussies or Kiwis, but the land down under lacks a lot of diversity in its culture. It’s a lot more noticeable after we’ve...
Adventures in Couchsurfing
When I began researching options for reducing travel expenses, I came across couchsurfing. It seemed like a great way to not only reduce our expenses but to get to meet locals, develop friendships globally, and to experience an area through a local’s eyes. My first experience was . . . less than golden Initially, I had some safety concerns about traveling with a child while sleeping in a stranger’s home, but my friend Lainie from...
Embracing my travel style
When I was in university, every summer I would say goodbye to most of my friends as they departed for their family’s home for the season. A large group of them weren’t going home, though. Instead, they were headed for global destinations to backpack across Europe or some other place. I envied them. I stayed behind to continue taking classes so that I could graduate more quickly. But I remained enamored with the idea of being a...
The Myth of Living Like a Local
Many long-term travelers like to brag about how they live like a local when they travel. They eschew staying in hotels and tourist areas and prefer to live in neighborhoods full of locals. Our style is very much like that; however, none of us is really living like a local when we travel. There are some travelers who live on very meager budgets and stay in extremely humble conditions sometimes located in rural villages. They still...
Visiting Nha Trang in Vietnam
After a few weeks in Vietnam, and even longer away from the water’s edge, Tigger and me decided we needed a beach break. I hadn’t heard many people talk about Nha Trang (pronounced like nah-chang), but our friend in Dalat really enjoyed it. We were due in Saigon soon, and since it was possible to take the overnight train from Nha Trang to Saigon, it was settled. Our landlady made a phone reservation for us for the bus. They have a...
