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...
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...
Relaxing in Da Lat
After several days in noisy, chaotic, hot, and kind of grumpy Hanoi, we were ready for somewhere that was calmer. Lots of people recommended Hoi An, which is basically why we didn’t go there. I wanted to see a part of Vietnam that wasn’t as popular with the Western tourists. When another blogger mentioned the town of Da Lat, I was intrigued. She absolutely loved it, and it had two big requirements for us: cooler temps (homes don’t...
When travel gets boring
Generally speaking, travel can be exciting, adventurous, and fun, but sometimes it’s mind numbingly boring. And I’m not just talking about 27-hour bus rides and multiple days of air travel. I’m usually one of those in the “only boring people get bored” camp, but lately . . . I think it’s easier when you’re doing holiday travel. When you only have 2 or so weeks to explore a place, I think it’s really hard to be bored. There is so much...
Rethinking long-term travel
In the last 2 years, we’ve visited 14 countries and over 100 cities, many of them multiple times. While the nomadic life has specific challenges, I’m also coming to terms that I need an attitude adjustment when it comes to long-term travel. Mindset Most people traveling on holiday have a very limited time period in which they have to soak up everything possible before it’s time to leave and return to their normal life. Even people...
