Flying Around the World

How to plan a trip around the world

2010-04-25T03:21:00.000-07:00

Often friends ask me about how to move to a new place, travel around the world, leave everything behind and start a new life.

I am privileged and honoured that they are asking me, and feel responsible for the suggestions I give.

I know that there are tons of ways to answer any question, but this is one of my latest, off-the-top-of-my-head replies:

My pleasure to help any adventurer in this world!

Here are a few things you can do to get yourself started:

- Check out Gap year programs and books... note that most volunteer programs require you to pay!

- Think about what you are really searching for... for example many people want to improve their health, spirit and find love so they go to India and do yoga in a centre and find all three.

- Join social-travel-common interest sites like tripping.com and couchsurfing, even if you don't relish the idea of strangers sleeping on your couch or vice-versa, they are still invaluable sources of information and you can just meet up for a cuppa or pint to share views... we are remarkably similar!

- My personal favourite places are Thailand and Brasil for the beaches, temperature, food and general vibe as well as the people.

However, Africa is also intriguing and I am now making my way down from Nairobi to South Africa with Footballsmiles.
Goa in India is also a great place to meet people that are doing the same as you and from there move on to where your inspiration, intuition and friendships take you.

- Language can also be an issue especially in central and south America so now is the time to brush up on that Spanish!

- Pop by the big adventure agencies in London like trailfinders, etc... and get some of their brochures for ideas.

Other considerations are how to finance this adventure:

- If you have been in the race for a while and had some luck then you may own a place that is rentable. This is one fantastic way to be free, considering that with about 1000 Euros per month you will be way ahead of most of the planet. It still means you have to watch your finances and not spend it all in the night!

- Teaching English is always a life-saver, you just have to plan it out in advance. Say have a spot in South Korea (they will pay for a return ticket and lodging as well as a decent wage), do the work there and then travel around Asia, returning to Korea for a second stint or just to use your ticket back home.

Alternatively, apply in advance, make your way slowly there via India, Thailand or Malaysia and arrive to a job, getting your ticket as cash instead.

Most Asian countries pay relatively well for native speakers...just check out what they require in terms of qualifications.

- There are plenty of options if you want to travel the world and are not afraid to work! New Zealand and Australia make it easy for English and European passport holders, the pay is not that great most of the time, but, you get to meet the people and are not using your savings or getting into debt!

This has been how I have been able to travel for the past 3 years:

I began with some saved money, bought a round-the-world ticket valid for one year.

Along the way I met people, invested in a little bit of stock in a stall at the Hippy Market in Anjuna, Goa which then was paid out the following year.

I then helped out a bit in Cambodia playing football with the kids at the Cambodian Children's Painting project and bought a nice painting.

I then volunteered in Bolivia at the Tahuichi Academy, this volunteer work then became a paid position as Coach, coordinator, consultant, translator, interpreter and motivational speaker.

Thanks to the Tahuichi job offer, I could simply throw away my return ticket to London the very last leg of that round the world ticket...and end up staying 10 months in South America!

More to come...

Footballsmiles... when the children play!

2010-03-12T11:16:00.004-08:00

Wow!

I just realised that it has been over a year since updating this flying adventure blog!

I wonder why?

Then, of course, I realise that I have been so busy travelling and flying and having adventures that it could hardly be any other way... but, that is still no excuse.

My apologies, life has somehow taken over!

Since last February, my life has been such a whirl of activity that I simply have had too much on my plate and have been juggling way too many things...

From Bolivia to Argentina and back, then on to Brasil, Switzerland, Ibiza, London, Goa and now northern California, about to go to London, Switzerland and Ibiza again. So far so good.

Now the real adventure begins...

On April 15th, with my childhood friend Jordi and his girlfriend Vanessa we will embark on a non-profit project to distribute footballs in person to children in Africa. The goal is to play football with IDP kids, orphans and children everywhere, donating footballs, interviewing them, sharing the whole trip with a blog, photos and videos with a final goal of publishing an illustrated book.

Beginning in Ethiopia and making our way down towards Kenya then Tanzania before playing through Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique on our way to Johannesburg for the inaugural game of the 2010 World Cup!

We had promised to go way back when...when we watched Cameroon play in Italy '90 and were enthused by the play, the fans and the magic.

That day has finally arrived and this adventure of a lifetime is ready to begin!

Footballsmiles is born!

It is amazing how enthusiastic everybody is when they hear about the idea and we have received countless suggestions, contacts and input as well as even more tangible support.

The website design and concept was donated by Udi and Lena of ArtFactory, all of their considerable experience was shared by Thomas and Romain of MaisVousEtesFoot to make this project a reality!

Thank you everybody!
I wish everybody huge smiles in Football, or as I say...

Footballsmiles!

So, here it is again:

Footballsmiles... giving footballs to children in Africa from April 15th to July 15th, 2010.

Peace and Love and Harmony

Ten Cents of a Boliviano

2009-01-28T10:33:00.004-08:00

How does the title strike you?

Does it make any sense?

It has been a while since I have been able to find the inspirational time to tantalize your fancy... Have been a busy bee, teaching, learning, experimenting, playing, fasting, laughing, avoiding the political situation, and a few other things that slip my mind at this moment.

Anyway, the title has to do with an experiment I am trying.

I am trying to start my new fortune from scratch, nothing, zero, with help from the universe!

That means, I have to start by finding a coin, the smallest, lowest denomination coin possible to begin this new adventure.

Here's the problem:

Either Santa Cruz is so clean that there are no coins or rubbish on the streets (I guarantee that that is not the case!), or, people here really value even the smallest coin and pick any up as soon as they fall!

So, after four days keeping my eyes peeled on the pavement, I have not seen a single coin!

The fun part is getting to take a closer look at the ground, more focused and present, so, maybe, I am living in the Now, which some famous writer says is where the Power is.

After all the traveling of the past year and a half (I have not spent more than two months in the same home), it is weird to be getting into a sort of routine, getting to know the lady at the corner shop that sells me my mini-banana's for breakfast and tries to make me miss the re-cycled Japanese Bus.

With that said, there is also time to rest, recuperate, get fit again and decide where to next, in the face of global crisis and political unrest!

I love reading or hearing about friends on their way to Bali or Thailand, makes me want to join them and laugh at the beach!

Then I hear about some islands in Colombia and some other ones in Brazil and want to go there too!

What am I to do?

My answer?

Simply find a way to go too!

Everywhere!

What do you want to do?

How are you going to do it?

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a ten cents of a Boliviano coin to find and multiply so that I can DO!

Hasta la Proxima, Amigos!

Melchior

Peace!

2009-01-10T08:43:00.005-08:00

Peace! Paz! Paix!

In Ibiza town, there is a Park dedicated to peace, with peace written in all languages.

It is the only real green spot in the center of our beloved tourist town. Ironically it is right in an area that is heavily congested with traffic, maybe to help un-polute the air!

I used to go there in the evenings as a kid after my Kung-Fu classes and watch my peers play football and tennis, the marching band practice, the younger kids in the playground toppling down the slide into the sand under the watchful eyes of the gossiping mothers...

In those days, it was the local stadium, a real center for sport, unity, fun, peace... in action.

Now it is more inanimate, older, more for retired Ibicencans who reminisce of those days with a nostalgic twinge to their voices, peace... as a statue, a symbol, something far away, impossible?

While growing up in India, my friends were of all religions, my studies were in English, in Hindi, in Konkani, my first school was protestant American (Woodstock), my second catholic (Don Bosco), my Yoga teacher (Danke, Heidi!) was a Buddhist Tibetan escaping persecution (he did so with an incredibly flexible smile).

I learned how to read thanks to Amar Chittra comics, all about the religion, myths, history and fables of India, all races and religions represented from the Sikh Guru Nanak, to Shivaji, through Akbar and his mixed court to Gandhi who represented Muslims in Durban, South Africa.

My friend Anat taught me some Hebrew and told me of wonderful Tel Aviv, my friend Moussah taught me some Arabic and told me of the Qur'an and how that was all he had learned in school.

While one of my dearest guides is the Prophet, by Khalil Gibran.

Thanks to my travels, I have been privileged to enter mosques, temples, shrines, churches in Spain, India, Bolivia, Greece (Orthodox) and the United States.

Through all of this, playing football in Bosnia with Croatians and Serbians, having tea with Moroccans and Spaniards, eating with Fijians and Indians, there has been one common thread, one simple way of being together.

That one simple way comes back to you.

Who are you?

Where is your Peace?

Is there a chance that all of your doubts, fears and frustrations are being projected onto others?

Is there a possibility that this current aggression has something to do with the Economic Crisis?

Is Religion just the excuse to reduce the competition and create business?

There seems to be a difference between what the tenets of each belief say, what the holy books and commandments of each religion have laid down as spiritual guidance for life with the actual acts in the name of religion.

Back to you.

If you believe in the Secret, the Law of Attraction, Quantum Physics and any other spiritual guidance, then you know that we are:

All One
All Connected and interconnected
There is a world matrix of energy
Creating our World
Creating our present

Which means that if we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem.

Back to you.

When there is peace in you, the world will reflect that peace.

Who could you apologize to?
Who could you forgive?
Do you really love mankind? Or only some?

Back to you.

Do you love you?

If you do and you believe that you are connected... then love you in everyone!

Love is the motor, peace is the answer, action is the key!

All of those people of different languages, beliefs, religions, backgrounds know this one simple truth:

That we are all alike and that what counts is who YOU are inside, not all the rest.

It is easy to start this peace action, start by loving you actively!

Love
Action
Peace!

Everything Is Easy...

2008-12-31T11:05:00.005-08:00

....Once you know how!

Knowledge is Power.

So, what do you know?

I know that 2008 has been an incredible year for me, a year where a lot of those childhood dreams became reality and I could check off a lot of my list!

What happened this year for you?

Can you remember all of those special moments?

Most people are focusing on the World problems and crisis...

Maybe your personal life was better, maybe it was worse, and you are still here and it is now a new year...2009!

Did you write down your goals last year?

Did you achieve them?

What could you do differently to improve those results?

There are all kinds of different rules out there on Goals, how to write them properly, law of attraction, visualization, affirmations, etc...

All very interesting and useful, if you do them and take action towards your goals, a little at a time.

Personally, I feel that there is a general direction in my life that is more determined by my present state rather than by goals, signposts, objectives or lists in the future.

I like the idea of lists, because they can just be out there for me to do whenever I get the chance, not a forced obligation.

I like to go with the flow, paying attention to feelings, signs, intuition, invitations, surprises, etc...

I also believe that we have a mission in life, something that we do all the time when we are feeling great. It has a lot to do with love.

I still make plans, to give a direction to my life, but, I am not at all stressed out when things go differently.

For example, I want to Walk the Camino de Santiago in April and am aiming for that. If it is meant to happen, I will walk then, if something more interesting, fun or important comes up, then I will walk it later. Easy, no worries!

I enjoy surprises, being such a curious person, so, I know that something interesting is going to happen, no matter what!

I also believe that each person has their own set of morals, standards and taboos as guiding lights and warning signals.

I can go to a nudist beach, but, won't appear in PlayGirl! (well, I might think about it ;)

To sum it up, I think that everything you can do to take charge of your life and start being captain of your own ship is positive and helpful...

...after you have taken the time to review your life from an objective and panoramic position.

That means, finding out who you are and what turns you on.

On!

Without a motor, destinations are just points on a map!

It is useless to spend time, money and energy in becoming a millionaire if that is not what you really want... wouldn't you agree?

It is a waste to buy a ticket around the World if you only want to hang around the pub with your mates...

As it is a waste to fret about the economy, tomorrow and job security when you really want to be selling seashell necklaces on the beach in Fiji...

What is your own, personal definition of success?

So, to end this wonderful year 2008, in review it has been outstanding and as my travel buddy Alberto, said, "I wish you a better year than last, even if I think that is impossible", and my response, "Impossible is ----ing!"

Happy New Year, to your goals, dreams, plans and above all to finding your motor!

Cheers!

Melchior

End Of Year, Beginning of plans

2008-12-25T20:37:00.005-08:00

What a year!

You can always find some extraordinary events in your year and now is the time to remember and cherish those moments, while planning the next ones.

You know which ones, those extra, special moments, those with heightened emotional charge!

For me, one of those was the excruciatingly slow zig-zag flight into the cold air over Queens Town, New Zealand, on the first of May, just before jumping out of that plane with a guy strapped to my back, with a parachute that I really prayed would open and my eyes wanting to disappear into the back of my head... and that feeling after a safe landing! Whew, wow, gulp, hahaha!!!

This year has been a plethora (thanks Annetta!) of wonderful moments, fantastic adventures and fulfilled dreams. You can read about most of them here in My Travel Blog.

Those dreams only became reality thanks to a plan and the conscience that they were actually things that I wanted to have in my life.

I am sure you have tried to do goal-setting at some point in your life and most of the time it has been a pointless exercise, something that just takes on massive proportions and the obstacles seem so daunting that even a trivial objective is difficult.

That famous question, "what do you want?"and the impossibility of coming up with any clear or useful answers.

It gets easier if you do the exact opposite.

No, I'm not trying to be a smart-ass, although I have been known to do just that (just ask some of my old teachers ;)

It is easier to write down what you DON'T want, simple as that.

It is also easier to look back from an achieved goal to see how you got there.

With these two bits of information, you can, if you want, set yourself a neat little plan, with a bunch of goals and a step-by-step way of getting there in the time that you want!

Just take the things on your list that are most interesting to you, or turn those "don't want" items into positives and then plan backwards from achievement to today!

There is even a free site to help you do the backward planning process, something so simple yet so effective that you will kick yourself for not having thought about it before!
Make your planning Simple!

Here's my personal example:

I don't want to be stuck in a boring job with only 4 weeks holiday per year and only take those two weeks at a time, IF, no other co-worker has not already booked those days...

This turned into: I want to be free!

Which then turned into: I want to travel around the World!

It took two years of planning, saving, preparing, closing down ties and bureaucratic stuff, until I had my ticket and was standing at Heathrow airport in November last year, on my way to Madagascar!

Looking back, the immediate step prior to departure was to have my ticket, the step before that was to decide itinerary and times. Parallel were visa considerations, places to stay, money matters, etc...

Basically, I had a large piece of paper with the date and goal at the top right corner and worked my way down, diagonally to the bottom left corner which was the day I was writing it, that last little box had an action step for right then!

It took a lot of the load out of the whole thing, dividing it into little steps like that!

So, that little childhood wish of traveling around the world, became a plan, action was taken and it was achieved, despite the odds!

What would you dare do if you could really be daring?

Have fun, keep smiling and enjoy the Holidays!

Cheers!

Melchior

My List... Sunshine!

2008-12-17T08:29:00.005-08:00

Okay, where were we?

Oh,Yes!

Let's just do a quick recap:

- We know that we have one life, so we might as well live it!

- We have a list of things we would like to do thanks to superviva.

- We have a Mission in life to guide us a bit better.

- We also know that what influential people tell us can change our lives, our destiny.

- We also know about the power of choice, right?

Okay, we can go into Destiny and Power of Choice discussions in another entry.

For now, I would like to share with you what I have come up with for now...

My Life List short version(always update-able and changeable):

Wander the Amazon
Walk the Camino De Santiago
Delta flight over Rio De Janeiro
See the falls of Iguazu
Cairo to Cape Town overland
Be Free to travel
Earn as I travel
Inspire people to have more fun in life
Have Children
Live on the beach

Top things already done:

Travel Around the World
Walk on Fire
Go to the World Cup with Friend
Become a Life Coach
Fall in Love
Get Married
Play Professional Sports
Get paid for something I love
Sky-dive
Learn Languages

Okay, so much for my short list, the real list is over 200 items long, with over half of them already done... I'm sure your list will be even longer as you start getting inspired by the items on other lists.

Now we get to the Mission part.

According to that free Mission tool, my mission came out like this:

My purpose is to express my willingness to learn, positivity and capacity to see from the other person's viewpoint by being committed to personal growth, by making people smile every day and by looking for hidden reasons for behavior to have my own career that enables me travel, have fun, meet people, enjoy the beach and be helpful, be the healthiest and fittest I have ever been, , clearly connected in a spiritual way, with incredible energy and obtain at least $100,000.00 by 12/13/2009.

Granted, it is not perfect in it's fluidity, but, it makes itself understood ;)

Now on to what the palm reader said: "You will be an athlete or a writer, or both"
So, I became an athlete and a writer (well, blogger).

So, it was probably a blessing, although most people in the milieu always asked me what I was doing in professional sports as I was much more of a free spirit and traveler...

So, it could also have been a curse in programming me to be an athlete, despite my longing to travel and be free!

Either way, I am having a great time!

So, now that I have a list of things to do, a way to do them and the choice to go for them or not, I am ready for the next step...

Action!

What do you want?

Hasta pronto amigos,

Melchior

Travel in Time, Mission Time!

2008-12-15T20:38:00.006-08:00

The gnarled and bent old man, readjusted his dirty shawl, gave me that toothless smile and cackled a blessing, before limping off into the smoke filled night of Bombay, bobbing his head in the way that only Indians can.

I was ashen with shock, awe and fear... what had just happened?

A blessing?

My mother took my hand and reassured me that it was an auspicious omen, a special moment, a blessing and a challenge.

I believed her.

We walked past the Gateway to India, in front of the famed Taj Mahal hotel, the one that was just in the news, sadly.

She bought me some corn on the cob from a street vendor, I happily dipped the half-lime into the bowl of chilly, salt n' pepper mix, dabbed it on, no butter here, delicious and healthier!

That 'blessing' was in 1979, marking my life, guiding my decisions, almost to this day!

I had a mission, because an old man in a strange English twang, looked at the hand of a little boy and told him his future.

He got it right.

Or, was it a curse?

A curse so convincing that the little boy had no choice but to do what he said?

Anyway, that little boy has decided that he wants to chart a new course to this life, his life... not what some old hand-reader said in another world... even if he helped him get here, for which he must thank him!

What is your Mission in life?

Do you have a Mission Statement that guides your decisions, making your choices easy?

Try making one for free here

I wish you a Merry Mission!

Melchior

Journey of Life!

2008-12-09T21:55:00.009-08:00

Life!

As far as I know, and what most people seem to be saying, there is only one life, now. There are a whole lot of theories out there, about after-life, heaven, re-incarnation, etc...

All very interesting to speculate and argue about, however, I seem to have inherited a more pragmatic approach (I can just see my parents... "from who? Wasn't me!"), which makes me want to know what truth I can use now.

Truth.

Not my truth or your truth, the objective truth: Something we could accept as fact, for now.

The truth is that we are born, then we die after having lived a little or a lot.
Our body says goodbye to this earthly voyage.
As do our heart and our brain, home of our mind.

Which leaves us with the intangible and elusive Soul, who has the privilege of going on to do whatever really happens, Heaven, re-incarnation, etc...

Now, we can either take our Soul or leave it, either way, we still have to live this sole life with our bodies, hearts and minds.

That means, health so that our body looks, functions and feels great, love so that our heart can flutter and pump faster, and, new, different, interesting challenges to keep our mind active and our wits about us.

All of this in the space between birth and death, which is handily undefined, so you have the choice of risking never doing something ever, or not taking that risk and doing what you want before the boat to take you across the river arrives.

We get to make that choice again and again, every second, every minute, every breath...

...until that last one.

The way I see it, my mind has come up with a whole list of things it would like to see, do and feel in this life not letting me be still until they are marked with that satisfying 'Done' check.

I must admit that my list is long thanks to http://www.superviva.com, where I got inspired to desire, where my self-esteem received a welcome boost too!

My heart has also learned to enjoy falling in love and accepting falling out as part of the whole adventure, still going for it all out, or should I say all in?

And my body, well, my body has just become addicted to feeling wonderful when it is getting the right nourishment for the senses... the food and drink, scents, pleasing views, soft touch of the sand and the sea on the skin, the music of the breeze, the rustling of the leaves and the splashing of the waves, with a touch of exercise in the form of fun games, to give it all a bit of spice!

You have already guessed where I get the combination of all those pleasures and satisfactions, I'm sure!

YES!

Flying Around the World!

I have a question for you... would you be interested in seeing my life-list?
You know, like the latest Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson film, The Bucket List.

Here is to all your goals, dreams, wishes and childhood fantasies,

Happy Travels!

Melchior

Who Are You?

2008-12-07T21:31:00.003-08:00

Yes.

I want to know who you are and why you are reading this right now?

I mean, with all the other things you could be doing with your life, why waste five minutes reading my little blog?

I hope it is because you are interested in traveling around the world, or around the block, or around the blog...

If you are interested in finding out why you have not yet made that trip of your dreams, of your bar-talk and internet chat, then you could very well be in for a pleasant shock, and all your excuses seem pitiful and small.

And the result could be that you find yourself in another life, standing tall!

So, if you are still reading, here's the deal:

We start from the end and begin right now.

The end is to have traveled and earned around the world for an extended amount of time, having all kinds of fantastic adventures, learning new languages, meeting new people, learning and growing in all kinds of wonderful ways, living life to the full!
A return to our place of departure with tales to share and cash to spare.

The step before that would be the travel and adventure part.

The step immediately before that would be to say bye for a while to our family, friends, home and job. To get on the road and start the Journey into the unknown, where we will find ourselves as well as all kinds of elves!

The ticket! Freedom and wings, time to fly!

All the logistics of itinerary, how-to's and what-nots, notices and mail arrangements, etc...

The decision. Yes. Gulp! But, gonna do it anyway.

The elements of Celsius: What is freezing you to the spot?
What info do you need to be Freed from the pot?

The beginning is right now... Do you want to travel or do you want to wish you traveled, that is the question?

Shall we begin?

Let us Fly, Ladies and Gentlemen!

Goals and dreams!

2008-12-01T20:48:00.003-08:00

Well, as time passes, I find myself more in tune with what I want to do in life... Travel!

To do that, I need to find ways to finance my freedom, as well as share what I learn, to enable you to FlyAround!

Most people will agree that the commodities nowadays are time and money... finding them both at the same time is rare indeed.

That is my goal exactly: To have the time and the money to enjoy life, friends and the wonders of the world.

My dream is to be able to do these intensely pleasurable activities with friends and that means a world where more people have the time and the money to have fun.

Why?

Well because when you are having fun, you are making the world a better place, you are more tolerant, sending out positive vibes and that has a domino effect.

Also, as a coach, I believe in setting goals and having dreams as they give zest to our life, energy to our day, a reason to push ourselves further, be better, get out of bed in the morning!

So, now you know why I am sitting here at one a.m. in Bolivia, on this rainy night in December, writing for life, for freedom, for fun!

In the Travel Resources to the left you will find some free stuff, some cheap stuff and some others that I think might be worth the small investment, but, only if you are totally convinced!

With that said,

Here's to Flying Around, free and smiling!

Cheers,

Melchior

Travel Money

2008-11-28T12:51:00.003-08:00

Travel Money...

Yes!

Can't travel without cash, my friends!

So, where do we start?

I had some money saved up, had it in stocks that yielded pretty well, traveled on that for a while, then the market went all funny and that money disappeared... interesting choice, if you have a lump sum, a bit unsteady if the amount is not enough to survive market crashes.

Unemployment is another way some travel, easier in some European countries, some places ask you to sign on at certain periods, so, freedom is curtailed to an extent... and you still have to look for work when it runs out!

Of course, it could be financed by parents for finishing High School, College, marriage, etc... if they have it.

Some even just borrow and max out credit cards and think about the consequences later... not my choice as neither are all the illegal possibilities.

What's left?

Work.

Yes, that old word, following us around like our shadow, no matter where we go!

You can write, teach, take pictures, sell stuff, beg and busk... whatever strikes your fancy, as long as you do it!

Obviously in some places you will earn more than in others... up to you to decide where you want to earn and where you want to spend, both sides of the coin of life.

In Cambodia, on the beach, there is free room and board in exchange for a few hours behind the bar serving and drinking! No earning, not much spending, much fun, some hangovers!

As in almost everything in this world, most opportunities arise from being in the right place at the right time and knowing those right people, remembering the 6 degrees of separation rule.

Have you got any other ideas?

Write them down, they will be your ticket to freedom!

Oh, and nobody says it has to be only one source of income...

Hello!

2008-11-25T20:37:00.003-08:00

Welcome to my new blog!
After the travelBlog experience, I have taken a liking to this writing business!
I am just fooling around, testing new gadgets online...trying to figure out what to do with my life, besides Travel.
Part of the testing is deciding which Font looks best and is easiest to read.
Of course not all the possibilities are available, so, we shall just have to make do.

Somehow, it is not that easy to get all of this 'simple' stuff to work!

Maybe we should just stick to the basics...

Nah! Let's live a little!

But, with some elements of class, naturellement.

Without too much further ado, I choose
Not this one...too small

Nor this one...too large
Perhaps this is the one?
Let's just see!