Is overland travel always cheaper?
With airfares being so expensive, especially once you factor in all the extra charges, it often seems that overland travel will always be your cheapest bet. Don’t be so sure. Things to consider When doing price comparisons, there are some factors that need to be considered. Length of journey. Sure, saving $20 is always nice, but is that savings worth taking an 18-hour bus ride (which may not have a bathroom) when the airplane will get...
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...
Experiencing Australia healthcare
We had been out most of the day trying to celebrate my birthday. For a variety of reasons, it really hadn’t gone all that well. I did have a good birthday lunch, but that was about the nicest thing I could say about “my special day.” I try to be positive, so I focused on the lunch and the time spent with my son. Now we were at home. I was seated by the fireplace messing around on Facebook and enjoying an adult beverage when it...
