“How many bags?”
“Just one” I replied, motioning to the small 30L backpack on my shoulder.
“And how much luggage?”
“None… just this one bag.”
It’s as if people can not comprehend someone traveling with only one bag. Everyone, from the airline ticket attendant, to the taxi driver, to the clerk at the hotel, seemed to insist that I must have more luggage.
I sat down in an empty section of Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport and put my bag down on the seat next to me. As I watched people wrestle with multiple suitcases, I looked over at my lonely bag and remembered how different my life used to be. Continue reading →
This entry was posted on September 3rd, 2010 and has 59 reactions. Join the discussion!
This is the sixth and final report detailing my travel expenses during a six-month trip through India, Vietnam, and Nepal, as outlined in The Plan: 6 Months, 3 Countries, and $3,000.
Frugal Travel Reports
March 2010 (includes Pre-Travel expenses)
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
August 2010
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At the beginning of the month, I took an unplanned three day trip to visit two small towns in the mountains north of Kathmandu where an NGO is helping build schools for children in Nepal. That last minute decision turned out to be the highlight of my entire six month journey.
After returning to Kathmandu, I went with a friend to Pokhara where we spent six days trekking in the Himalayan mountains. When we were finished, my friend returned to Kathmandu but I stayed behind to spend an extra week in Pokhara.
I then took a bus back to Kathmandu where I spent one week in the now familiar backpacker district of Thamel. Of the eight weeks I’ve spent in Nepal, five were spent in Thamel. Although it’s probably one of the most expensive places to spend time, it removed any need for transportation and made getting online easy and (at least somewhat) reliable. Continue reading →
This entry was posted on August 30th, 2010 and has 12 reactions. Join the discussion!
It’s one thing to see less fortunate people on the street and have the urge to help them, but it’s something else entirely to have almost one hundred children staring at you hoping that you’ll do something to improve their future.
It was my second day visiting the schools in Nepal and I had been greeted like a king and given my first-ever public speech a few hours earlier. I was feeling extremely moved and inspired by how I might be able to help so many people.
As I hiked from the first village of Kahule to the even more remote village of Bhalche, the strangest thought came to me: How could I fulfill this urge to dedicate my life to helping improve the world and still justify skydiving?
For that matter, how could I justify doing anything recreational or fun that wasn’t directly related to helping others? Continue reading →
This entry was posted on August 27th, 2010 and has 39 reactions. Join the discussion!
“Fear of failure is a ticket to mediocrity. If you’re not failing from time to time, you’re not pushing yourself. And if you’re not pushing yourself, you’re coasting.” – Eric Zorn
That quote came across my screen after having spent almost twenty minutes aimlessly passing time on Facebook. I suddenly realized that for the past few weeks I haven’t been pushing myself or risking failure. I’ve been coasting.
Case in point: I wasn’t going to publish anything on this blog today. I had already decided that my next post would be on Friday. It was easier that way. I had no idea what to write and I was relying on inspiration to strike at some point between now and then to write a great post.
The truth is that ever since releasing my first ebook and visiting the schools in Nepal, I’ve felt the pressure from my inner perfectionist to continue outdoing myself. Continue reading →
This entry was posted on August 25th, 2010 and has 44 reactions. Join the discussion!
Many people had told me that taking an airplane would be safer and on several occasions I found myself wondering if I should’ve listened to them. The eight hour ride on a tourist bus between Pokhara and Kathmandu wasn’t the most comfortable, but that’s what I get for spending $5 to take me more than 280km (170+ miles) over mountains where the roads were littered with evidence of total failure.
As I gazed out the window and watched the landscape change from city to mountainous countryside and then back to city, I couldn’t help but feel saddened by how enthusiastically the cities seem to grow. So much pollution, waste, and destruction follow in their path leaving the Earth malformed, blackened, and bare.
It’s the monsoon season here in Nepal and the rivers are raging. Small streams of water trickle down everywhere from the green mountains. The locals often cut the bottoms off old plastic bottles and use them as funnels to create small water spouts. More commonly though, they use flat stones or pieces of bamboo sliced in half to create channels that direct the trickling streams into neat little picturesque waterfalls. Continue reading →
This entry was posted on August 23rd, 2010 and has 29 reactions. Join the discussion!
