My time in Paris (as with many European destinations for this short period of my travels) was short and sweet. I would hazard a guess that you could spend the better part of a lifetime exploring the various nooks and crannies of Paris. But in as little as five days, you can cover a lot of territory if you wish. Here are some highlights from my Parisian adventures:

Visiting with family.

My family doesn’t live in Paris however; instead, my Mum and her partner flew to Paris from Canada when they discovered that I’d be in Europe for the summer! It was a thrill to see them (since it had been a year since our last reunion), and even more so to travel with them.

Visiting with friends.

We have family friends who moved (back) to France from Toronto a number of years ago and had been yearning for us to visit them. They have an apartment in Paris and a house in the south of France, so not only did we have knowledgeable “local” guides for our travels through France, but we also had a place to stay and some great companionship. And as I’ve said before, I prefer to choose my destinations based on where I have friends, because I find the experience to be more culturally (and emotionally) satisfying.

Lunch and a stroll on the Champs Élysées.

Even though the “Metro” subway system is quite sophisticated, Paris is best seen on foot. You can cover a lot of ground quite easily, and it’s a great way to soak up the culture (and a little bit of the rampant sunshine and heat we had during our visit). And the Champs Élysées is a great place to start.

The museums.

I’m not much of a museum person. There. I said it. Please don’t hate me for it. But since I was with family, my personal style of travel (which involves heavy walking/hiking until I’m lost on city side streets or nature trails) needed an adjustment. Instead, we did more of the “touristy” things in Paris, and I was surprised at how much I got out of the experience.

The Louvre was huge and served to impress me with so many of the world’s most famous works of art – both two and three-dimensional. **begin rant** (And yes, I saw the Mona Lisa. Yes, it was small – but not as small as I thought it would be. What bothered me were the teeming masses of people taking pictures of it – and everything else in the museum, despite explicit requests to the contrary – and preventing people from simply enjoying it. Do you think your crappy photo will come out better than the millions of prints out there you can buy for a few bucks? C’mon, folks). **end rant**

I was delighted at how much I enjoyed the Musée D’Orsay as well, which featured so much beautiful Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artwork. I got lost in the visions created by Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Cézanne. Having seen so many of these images as prints, I felt a surge of pride and privilege in seeing the originals.

Dinner at a Michelin-rated Restaurant

For our first night in Paris, our friend took us to a local restaurant that rates very high in the Michelin guide. Yes, Michelin are the tire people, but they also provide restaurant and hotel reviews in major cities around the world, and in Europe are the most known resource for the best places to eat and sleep. And I can now attest to the fact that if a restaurant rates high in the Michelin guide, there’s a good reason why. We ate a meal to die for with white-gloved service and many a merci beaucoup from us.

Boat Tour

Just about every trip I take with my family involves a boat trip of sorts. In New York city, it was a river tour. In Cape Cod, it was whale watching. In Muskoka, it was The Segwun. And in Paris, it was the Seine.

As with most water-based tours we’ve taken, this was not a disappointment. We chose a night ride and enjoyed dramatic lighting revealing many of Paris’s sights to behold, which of course, included the Eiffel Tower in all its lit-up glory. Every hour on the hour, the Eiffel Tower elicited many an “ooh” and “ah” as it lit up with sparkles no less.

Pan au Chocolat

I love food. And I love sampling local food. While volunteering in Spain, I developed a minor addiction to the chocolate croissants served at breakfast, known in France as pan au chocolat.

So of course, on arrival in France, I had to sample the “real deal”…many times over. A favourite breakfast routine for our entourage quickly became an exercise in sending me out to find a local patisserie or boulangerie and return with a sampler of croissants, pan au chocolat, and just about any other French delicacy that could be remotely justified as breakfast.

Unfortunately however, starting my delightful gastronomical adventures in New Zealand at Mana Retreat, continuing them with three-course meals in Spain, and further prolonging the ecstasy in France, I’ve gained a few pounds and my pants almost don’t fit. Future travels will involve a little more moderation in my enthusiastic sampling of local foods!

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One of the underlying messages in the documentary A Map For Saturday that spoke to me was that travel gets old pretty quickly. At least – certain styles of travel get old quickly. If you bounce from one major city/attraction to the next, staying in hostels and following the backpacker circuits consistently, one amazing awe-inspiring sight tends to melt into the next, and you can actually become almost apathetic about the attractions that once appeared wonderous.

Having been on the road well over three years, I don’t think I would have lasted anywhere near this long if I were on this “actively traveling” circuit.

Instead, I’ve volunteered in trade for my accommodation in at least five different places around the world for upwards of a month at a time. In between volunteer gigs, I’ve usually enjoyed some home-grown hospitality by staying with friends. Friends I’ve met in all sorts of ways, mostly in the course of my volunteering and traveling.

In fact, so enamoured am I with these two modes of travel, that many of my chosen destinations (such as Germany) have been predicated on the prevalence of home-stay or volunteer opportunities, rather than the destination itself being of primary appeal.

For me, my dream of travel was borne of a desire to break bread with families around the world; to live, work, shop, and just be with people around the world, learning, laughing, and loving life together. It’s not about how many museums I visit, how many planes I board, or how many stamps I have in my passport.

I don’t profess my style of travel to be superior (or inferior) to any other styles. (That’s why I started the popular week-in-the-life series; to celebrate the different ways people choose to spend their long-term or full-time travel days).

I have the luxury of being able to travel full-time – along with the often mis-understood requirement to be somewhat consistently on my computer an average of two to four hours per day (to earn an income, research/book travel arrangements, and keep in touch with friends/family). It’s a fact of my location independent life, and one that isn’t easily accommodated if I have an active travel itinerary to keep up with.

So all this is to say that in my time in Germany, I didn’t get the cross-section of the country that would be typical in the most traditional travel sense. But I did get to enjoy the following:

• I climbed to the top of the Munster Cathedral in Ulm – also the highest cathedral in the country at over 160 meters.

• I visited a small town surrounded by mountains, and featuring a small pond that is the most interesting shade of blue I’ve ever seen.

• I got lost while walking with my friend along the extensive gravel roads that weave through woods and agricultural fields near Ulm.

• I watched two world cup games – one at the home of my friend’s family, another at a friend-of-a-friend’s art gallery, surrounded by enthusiastic and hopeful locals. (The second game, however, didn’t end so well for Germany, but did for Spain – a place also close to my heart).

• I enjoyed drinks at an out-of-the-way bar with a group of friends. Anybody who came to the table to chat (and there were many, as this was a friendly bar), was instructed to speak in English for the benefit of “the Canadian girl”. This made for some very entertaining conversation at various levels of sobriety and English fluency.

• I wandered the streets of Ulm, taking pictures, drinking coffee, eating ice cream, and shopping for clothes.

Last but far from least, I enjoyed the company of my amazing and beautiful friend Tanja. We made awesome coffee with frothy milk, cooked brilliant meals, watched inspiring movies, drank delicious wine, and talked about everything under the sun. And for just under a week, I got to experience what life in her neck of the woods is like.

For me, this is why I travel.

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Some of the adventures I had in Spain included the following:

Taking a day-trip to Segovia with three Irish people, walking the streets, then sitting down to a fancy lunch that featured Segovia’s signature dish of Cochinillo (roasted suckling pig). As I had the most advanced Spanish language skills out of our lot (which isn’t saying much), I was relegated to figuring out the menu and ordering, which was an adventure unto itself.

Taking another day-trip to Toledo (with the same Irish group plus one more). Both trips were made possible with high-speed trains, and Toledo is a large walled-city with mazes of narrow cobblestone streets that we enjoyed getting lost in for hours on end.

Staying with a family in Alcala (near Madrid). I met Elena during my first week of volunteering at Valdelavilla, and she immediately invited me to stay with she and her family any time. I warned her that she’s to be careful what she offers, since I’m the sort of person to actually take her up on it, and after reiterating her suggestion, I told her I had a week to kill between volunteer programs and would be on her doorstep!

I had an unfortunate bout of food poisoning to contend with as I was arriving (thou shalt not eat kebabs in Madrid when tired after a long day of sightseeing!), but after that, I enjoyed integrating into “normal” Spanish life, having a chance encounter with an eccentric artist, playing with the three kids, and chatting in “Spanglish” with the whole family.

So with two weeks of volunteering, one week in Alcala, and a few day trips worked into the cracks, my time in Spain flew by all too quickly. I must still see the south of Spain (which apparently has a whole different flavour again), and the 800km hike called the Camino Santiago de Compostella is also high on my list, as it has been for years now.

Although my visit was short (and most certainly sweet), here are some random observations from my time in Spain:

The streets are filled with energy and vibrancy. Although everybody generally has somewhere to go, nobody is in too much of a hurry. There is a relaxed (balanced) pace to the chaos.

Tapas culture is awesome! You arrive at a tapas bar, order a drink (a glass of wine can cost as little as 1 euro), and you receive a free tapas (appetizer). Enjoy your drink and tapas, then move on to the next bar and repeat. You may want to break up the “monotony” by sitting down at a café in the middle of a plaza for some more sustenance and people-watching. Either way, expect the night to escape you, as this revelry can continue until almost dawn.

Spain has lots (and lots) of smokers. In Canada, smoking is banned in all public places, and is almost banned in the streets. In Spain, however, you can still smoke just about anywhere – inside and out. Be prepared for smoke to waft over from the table next to you in a restaurant, so if you are a devout non-smoker, choose your table carefully. Apparently smoking is being phased out and gradually banned from public places, but this movement isn’t without its share of resistance.

The Gran Via in Madrid is one of the most well-known streets, lined with majestic colonial buildings and being a thriving theatre district. However be warned, as many of the streets leading off Gran Via also are lined with a steady stream prostitutes, milling for prospects at any time of the day or night. Although I didn’t find it cramped my style in any way, many locals warn against staying in the area as they find it unsavoury.

El Parque de Madrid is a beautiful respite from the chaotic streets of central Madrid. Similar to High Park in New York City, it is a massive park with endless paths, water features, ice cream stands, buskers, and beautifully manicured gardens.

I lost hours simply sitting on a bench in front of a beautiful large pond, watching couples row around the pond in boats, taking pictures of passers-by, and listening to a saxophone player pump out songs the likes of Besame Mucho, La Cucaracha, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Yellow Polkadot Bikini, and The Saints Come Marching In.

Spain’s working hours and mealtimes are drastically different from what I’m used to in North America. Although I initially balked at what appeared to be even longer days than in our workaholic culture, I eventually came to realize that there is a much healthier balance to the mix.

Most people don’t eat much (if any) breakfast early in the morning, and instead simply have a coffee. Work starts at 9am, and I believe there is a break around 11am when people will often have a bocadillo (sandwich) and – of course – another coffee.

Lunch is at 2pm, and is generally the biggest meal of the day. People are free to linger over lunch, as the break is around two hours. (The break is intended to incorporate a siesta, but I doubt that many working Spaniards actually sleep during this time).

People return to their offices around 4pm, and work on through to 6pm. Dinner is served somewhere around 9-10pm, and sometimes even later. Even households with children keep to this schedule, which I found to be the most jarring difference, as I remember being in bed and asleep in my childhood before many Spanish children would have even sat down to the dinner table!

However it doesn’t take long to get into the Spanish swing of things, and now I find it odd to sit down to lunch much before 2pm and dinner before 9pm.

This post doesn’t even address the beauty and vibrancy of the people, their lust for life, and beautiful dispositions. Walk though a plaza, and you may find a group of people singing and dancing for no apparent reason, and the night-life in Spain really puts us North Americans (and many other cultures around the world) to shame! In France, we’d call the Spaniards’ attitude “joie de vivre”; in Costa Rica it’s “pura vida”; in Spain, it’s just a way of life.

Related posts:

1. Encountering the Artist: A Random Experience in Spain
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George, Drew, David (picture: left to right), and Jamie operate a community and online store for active people, LiveOutThere.com

Day 1: Kathmandu

Our journey starts with a bang in the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. George’s best friend Jamie is climbing Mt. Everest, and we have come along for the ride. The Maoists are protesting and the city has ground to a halt.

The wheels touch down and we strike off into the city. We step off the plane, shuffle through the airport, collect our bags, and find the curb. A throng of people crush against the chain-link fence outside the baggage claim. We see our guide, Ang Temba Sherpa, holding a “Berg Adventures” sign.

As we make our way to the hotel, protesters bang their hands against the windows of the van, and a ring of red-shirted teenagers surrounds us at one intersection. We keep our heads down and try to attract as little attention as possible. We arrive safely at the Yak & Yeti, where we meet the rest of the team.

Day 2: Lukla

The next morning we catch a flight to Lukla, the only village with an airstrip in the lower Khumbu Valley. After a safe landing on a short runway, our first day on the trail is an easy start to a long, tough journey. We descend from 9,000 feet to the Dudhkosi river that runs through the valley and begin following the water. There are homes most of the way from Lukla to Phakding, where we stop for the night. Every available piece of land is terraced and cultivated. Big smiles and adorable children greet us as we follow the trail to Phakding. We are sure to walk to the left of the prayer flag poles and mani stones we find on the trail, in accordance with the Sherpa people’s Buddhist religious beliefs.

Day 3: Phakding

The village of Phakding is neatly tucked into the side of the river valley. Our lodge sits high above the water, and we arrive just in time to see our pack train being unloaded. Feeling lucky we didn’t have to carry it ourselves, we sit down for dinner with our Sherpa guides and soon-to-be-friends. After dinner, exhausted, we climb into our beds.

Day 4: Namche

Today we ascend to the market town of Namche. Following the river valley for several kilometers, we cross impressive cable bridges and stop for pictures, tea, and snacks. The climb is long and hard. Switchback after relentless switchback, we climb higher.

After two hours, we reach the town of Namche Bazaar – a cross-roads for traders, merchants, and outfitters. Perched precariously on steep terraces, Namche is colorful and different. We are now at 11,200 feet, and starting to feel the effects of altitude. After resting for one more day to acclimatize, we continue upwards and catch our first glimpse of Mt. Everest.

Day 5: Khunde & Khumjung

Between Namche and our next stop, the village of Khunde, we pay a visit to the Sir Edmund Hillary memorial. Constructed by the Sherpas, the memorial honors Hillary for his unforgettable impact to the lives of the people of the Khumbu Valley. Khunde and Khumjung are twin villages, set high in the Khumbu Valley, and the elevation is 12,100 feet. It is spring, and along the edge of a weathered rock wall there are baby yaks lying in the moss. I ask Nima Sherpa how old the wall is. “I don’t know”, he says, “but it was here before my father and before my father’s father, and long before that.” We spend the night in Khumjung.

Day 6: Tengboche

Today, Ang Temba Sherpa sets the pace and the experience is meditative rather than grueling. We place one foot, slowly; and another, slowly; resting at each step. At the top of the Tengboche hill, a climb of 1,500 vertical feet, we pay a visit to the largest monastery in the region. The walls are painted with Buddhist murals – life, death, war, peace, plenty, and famine, a circular story covering the four walls of this holy place. Carved mani stones chant the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum from the sides of the trail. I ask Nima Sherpa again, “How old are these stones?” and he says, “I don’t know. We don’t carve them any more. Very old.” There are thousands of them.

In the monastery we visit with an old Buddhist Lama, Lama Geshe. Lama Geshe is 76 years old and we sit with him for an hour. He talks while Ang Temba Sherpa translates. Please share this message, he asks: don’t judge others; live for today, and be kind. We are all the same. Finally, he bumps each one of our foreheads with his and smiles broadly.

From Tengboche we descend on a rock path and birches and rhododendrons bow over the trail. The steepness of the valley walls is hard to fathom. At times, mist shrouds the top of each side of the valley. Sometimes, the clouds shift and we get a glimpse of even more massive snow-capped Himalayan peaks. The scale is enormous.

Day 7: Pangboche

Tonight we will have our first view of the summit of Mt. Everest from the window of the dining room of our lodge. The summit ridge rises like a shark fin behind Nuptse. We can just make out the tiny bump that is the Hillary Step and I wish I had a pair of binoculars. We relish our last decent accommodations and prepare for a hard day tomorrow.

Day 8: Pheriche

The climb to Pheriche is tough. We are at higher altitude now – 14,000 feet. This is the elevation where most people begin to suffer. The landscape begins to change drastically. Plants disappear, and rocks and lichen take over. Above this point, the landscape is post-apocalyptic. We spend another acclimatization night here, and on the second morning, George is still so tired he has to have Nima Sherpa pack his sleeping bag.

Day 9: Lobuche

Exhausted, we struggle in to Lobuche after a hard day. Passing through the Sherpa memorials in the Dugla Pass, we observe the dozens of cairns erected for people who have lost their lives in the Himalaya. Prayer flags flutter in the wind and nobody says much. We are cold and tired, and I have picked up a small tickle in the back of my throat. George begins to have bad headaches.

Day 10: Gorek Shep

Struggling up the moraine on the side of the Khumbu glacier after Lobuche, we are in a maze of endless piles of crushed rocks and gravel. Cairns mark the trail and we occasionally rise above the oppressive embankments to see more oppressive embankments. Our O2 saturation has dropped significantly. Normally 98%+ at sea level, our readings from the pulse oximeter we carry are in the mid to low 80′s. Every breath is becoming a chore, and our hearts begin to beat faster to provide our bodies with oxygen – 100+ BPM even at rest.

Gorek Shep literally means “dead raven”. It is not pleasant. Reminiscent of a wild western town in the middle of a Nevada desert, an old lake bed abuts the cluster of a few ramshackle buildings. We are one day away from Mt. Everest Base Camp.

Ang Temba invites us for the final climb, to Kala Patar, a hill rising 18,400 feet, it will afford us the best view of Lhotse and the top of Mt. Everest. George declines, but David and I struggle up out of our chairs and follow the tired group as we walk to the trailhead at the edge of the dry lakebed.

The climb to the top is exhausting. Every step is a tremendous effort and none of us can imagine going any higher, much less 11,000 feet higher to the 29,035 foot summit of Mt. Everest.

David and I muster the last reserves of our strength and walk down as quickly as we can. I collapse into my sleeping bag. George is already in bed, having napped during the afternoon. He still has a terrible headache that is growing worse. I’m so cold I put on my 800-fill down jacket inside of my 800-fill down sleeping bag and I can’t stop shivering.

Before dinner Ang Temba prods us out of our bags. “You have to come to eat,” he says. “You’ll feel better.” We grudgingly emerge from our cocoons and follow him to the main room of the lodge. This is the low point of our trip. My appetite is non-existent, but slowly, I force down some soup and a little bit of rice. George eats exactly two Pringles and two Ritz crackers. David sits on the other end of the table and doesn’t say a word. Leila Berg, one of the owners of our trekking company, tries to cheer us up. Seeing our misery, she opens her first-aid kit and distributes drugs like candy. Azithromycin, paracetamol, gravol and anti-histamines. I refuse the antibiotics – I figure I’m just suffering from a bad viral head cold.

The night is terrible. George lies beside me, staring vacantly. He clutches his head. I lie in my bag, shivering, unable to get warm or comfortable. I try different positions and drift out of a delirious fugue.

As the hours creep by George becomes more and more uncomfortable. In a fit of panic, he gasps, “I can’t take this anymore.” and clutches his head. He almost has tears in his eyes. I tell him to go get oxygen, and he does; shuffling slowly down the hallway to Ang Temba’s room. A few minutes later they return with an O2 tank and Ang Temba fits the mask to George’s face. We get back in bed and I drift to sleep to the sound of Darth Vader’s breathing.

Day 11: Everest Base Camp

The next morning we feel markedly better. I figure if I’ve come this far I can make it the last few hours to Everest Base Camp. The original plan was to spend two nights there, but based on the way we’re all feeling, we decide that a quick visit for lunch will be just fine. George opts out, and David and I split from the group temporarily with Nima Sherpa.

The walk along the moraine is tough, up and down on bad trail. It is frustrating and it takes 3 hours from Gorek Shep, even though we can see the tents of Base Camp most of the time. Upon arrival, we take in the surroundings with mixed feelings. It is both anti-climactic and rewarding. The reward has been in the journey, not the destination, but it is still awe-inspiring. We are at 17,300 feet and we are glad we made it. After a short visit with Wally Berg, Leila’s husband, we head back down to Pheriche.

Day 12: Descent to Pheriche

On the descent, David and I pick up our pace, striking a rhythm with our trekking poles. My stomach begins to bother me. We return to Lobuche quickly. From Lobuche we descend to the Dugla Memorial, and Nima is somewhere behind, visiting Sherpa friends. He always rejoins us, running up from behind, never out of breath and with a big smile on his face. We marvel at him. He tells us that while training for his successful 2009 Everest summit he summited 22,220 foot Mt. Lobuche 7 days in a row!

After 5 hours and 18 kilometers we reach Pheriche, where we reunite with a healthier, happier George. Later that night, we get a radio call from Wally. Jamie wants George to come back to base camp to celebrate after his summit, but after much deliberation it’s decided that Jamie will have to share his success with his friend later – George can’t go back up.

Day 13: Return to Namche

The next day we leave early in the morning for Namche. It will be another big day. I wake up with an uncomfortable pang in my stomach as my stomach issues worsen. Half an hour later I consider whether to ask Leila for some antibiotics but decide against it. As we are leaving we get another radio call, it is Jamie, at 8:40am on May 17th, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest for the second time. “I’ve climbed all of Everest,” he says. George screams into the radio, “Woohoooo!! Good work buddy! Now get down safely okay.” It is a moment that we won’t ever forget.

We start down to Pengboche. David and I lead the group, moving quickly like the day before. My stomach bugs me more and more, and I pull over a few times. The last section, down to Tengboche and the bottom of the river valley is a grind. The hill goes on forever, and the descent is tough. I start to feel worse and worse. I’m coughing, weak, my head is swimming and I feel nauseous. By the time we get to the bottom of the hill for lunch, I’m done. I pull out my Thermorest, lay it on the ground, and curl up. The change happened surprisingly quickly, and there is no way I can cover the remaining distance to Namche on foot. Leila gives me some Azithromycin and orders a horse.

Within a few minutes, a Sherpa arrives with a horse in full livery; a saddle and bells with a young girl to lead it. I clamber up and close my eyes as the girl leads my horse ahead of the group. After 10 minutes, I’m not sure what would be worse: the horse, or walking on my own. We traverse along a series of bays in the mountainside, each a small bowl in the hill with a corner in the distance. Around each corner I hope to see Namche, but each time, I’m disappointed. It seems to take hours. My head swims.

Finally, after two hours, we turn a corner and are back in Namche. I am incredibly relieved. Once I get to my lodge, I head immediately to the toilet, where I spend the next 12 hours. When not in the bathroom, I shiver constantly in bed and George and David come to visit me in quarantine.

Day 14 & 15: Namche

We spend the next two days recovering in Namche. By the second day, I feel better. We lounge around; the air at 11,200 feet feels great. We spend time at the internet café and David and I even go out to a bar on the final night.

Day 16: Lukla

We get up early and leave Namche for Lukla. The trail is beautiful again. Verdant vegetation grows everywhere, farms are tended, homes, livestock, and people line the trail. We’ve been gone long enough that the barley has turned green in our absence.

After lunch George and I get frustrated with the slow pace and break away from the group. The final half hour is hot, exhausting, and miserable. We have to climb back up 500 feet into Lukla and the stone path is steeper than we remember. Finally, we get to the gate. George is sitting at the top with a huge smile on his face. “We did it buddy!” he says, and I sit down beside him. We have hiked 120 kilometers in two weeks, ascending from 9,000 feet at Lukla, to 18,400 feet at the top of Kala Patar, and back again.

Back in Kathmandu

A few days later, we sit in the Yak & Yeti. What did we learn? We can only approximate our experiences, even to each other. Certainly no one at home will understand this trip. Certainly no reader will get the full experience. It seems a distant memory. It was hard, but we didn’t breathe too hard on the incredibly steep hills. It was easy, but we might not want to do it again. It was a contradiction. It was beautiful, it was miserable. It was an experience of a lifetime, and we are still reflecting on it. We do not regret it, and we are glad.

After returning home, the team is focused on growing their business until their next “business trip”. David wants to hunt for treasure in the jungles of South America, and George, having suffered on the trail, has actually developed a certain fondness for it. So you can be sure the team will be up to something interesting in the next year – follow them on their journey at LiveOutThere.com. If you are interested in trekking to Mt. Everest Base Camp Jamie suggests you contact Berg Adventures International, as Wally and Leila do a tremendous job.

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In the last few weeks I’ve graced the shores of three countries; something only generally possible in Europe! I started (or rather finished) off my time in Spain, then visited a friend in Germany for a short while, before moving on to Paris to meet and travel with my mother. I am currently enjoying the sun and sea in the south of France, and was lucky enough to also enjoy the Bastille Day celebrations in this country as well. But there will be more on all of that as time goes on (and as I find time to commit my thoughts and adventures to proverbial pen and paper). In the meantime, please enjoy my latest published musings and mentions from around the web:

Wise Bread

FINANCIAL IQ Test: How Healthy is Your Financial Plan?

What aspects of personal finance does your financial plan cover? Are you focusing on the right things and bouncing your ideas off somebody knowledgeable and trustworthy? Does your financial plan excite you? (Because is should). Or do you have a plan at all? Following is a Financial IQ Test to help you determine how healthy your financial plan is.

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Managing Finances Securely While Traveling

You need money to travel, and you’ve got to actively manage it while you’re on the road. How do minimize security concerns while paying for expenses? Where do you keep your cash? What would you do if you needed money in an emergency situation? How do you manage online finances securely? And how do you put it all together?

With a background in financial planning and a current full-time travel lifestyle, I’m a stickler for managing finances – and doing it wisely and securely. So read on for some tips on how to manage your own finances securely while you travel.

Preparing for Travel Abroad: Gathering and Traveling With Official Documents

Preparing for travel abroad can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to putting your affairs in order. There are official documents to gather, phone numbers to collect, and emergencies to hedge against. Then you have to find a way to organize and carry (and not lose) some of these documents, which is a challenge unto itself on the road. This article will help you prepare for your own trip abroad, providing you with guidelines regarding what to consider and how to pull it all together.

Managing Life and Work While Traveling: Phone, Mail, Internet

Managing communication tools like phone, mail, and Internet is usually quite easy in the comfort of home. But it’s a different story when you travel long-term or full-time. How do you know when you received mail from the tax-man? Where will your next Internet connection come from? And what is the most cost-effective way to make and receive phone calls? If you work while traveling, having these communication essentials figured out becomes even more important. In this article, we will explore how to manage life and work on the road easily and inexpensively.

Care One

Care One is a new addition to my regular columns. I am writing for their Life Balance department, focusing on articles about travel and money that emphasize the fact that sometimes we can indeed have our cake – and eat it too.

Cheap Accommodation With Style: Hostels Aren’t Just For Backpackers Any More

Hostel culture has evolved since the days of yore. It’s accommodation with style, and it isn’t just for backpackers any more.

Profiles & Shout-Outs

Some fellow writers for a syndicated column called The Frugal Traveler gave me a mention for my technique of extending my travel dollars by volunteering in trade for accommodation. Thanks, guys!

The Frugal Traveler: Making Long-Term Travel Affordable

FlipNomad has a great interview series called “Meet The Nomad”, which I’m pleased to have been invited to participate in! Thanks for the opportunity, Flip. You can check out the interview here:

Meet The Nomads: Nora Dunn

And I was delighted to have a flattering mention over at The Brooklyn Nomad in his recent roundup of things he’s reading online. My post on enjoying over $8,000 in business class flights for under $1,500 caught his eye – and rightly so! It’s a great “travel hack” that anybody can do!

Related posts:

1. Roundup: May 1st-15th
2. Roundup: June 15th-30th
3. Roundup: July 1st-15th

A few years ago, I read an article online about how I could have an all-expenses paid trip in Spain, in exchange for simply conversing in English with Spaniards who want to improve their conversational English skills. I wasn’t sure it was a legitimate opportunity (it seemed too good to be true), but I bookmarked it anyway, figuring I could investigate it when I eventually made it to Spain.

So in planning my European trip, I knew that Madrid would be my first port of call so I could check out this volunteer opportunity.

Vaughan Town Overview

Vaughan Town lived up to its reputation and word, and is indeed a legitimate volunteer experience. Although it’s not exactly too good to be true (you certainly earn your keep), it’s one of the most rewarding cultural experiences I could have possibly hoped for in Spain.

And I didn’t even get to speak a word of Spanish.

The program is paid for mainly by Spanish companies who send their employees on a week-long “retreat” to improve their English skills. English is an important part of business in Spain, and many companies are willing to pay top dollar to help their employees become more fluent. Other Spanish attendees include individuals, and some post-secondary school programs that incorporate it into their curriculum.

Thus, the English-speaking volunteers attend the program for free, their value inherent simply in being willing and able to dedicate a week to chatting in English with the program participants.

Getting There

After meeting some of the “Anglos” (as we’re referred to throughout the week) at a tapas reception on Saturday night in Madrid, we are loaded onto a bus on Sunday morning. Although Vaughan Town has a few locations outside of Madrid, both of my volunteer weeks take place at Valdelavilla, which I’ll discuss shortly. Although most of the people on the bus are Anglos, a few Spaniards who live in Madrid also tag along for the ride.

our lunch stop

After a four hour drive and a stop for lunch in an old Spanish town, we arrive at Valdelavilla. We sit through an orientation session where we officially meet the week’s Master of Ceremonies (Greg), we each introduce ourselves, and learn what the week holds in store for us.

“We don’t have a lot of rules here,” Greg starts, “but we do have one that we’re quite serious about: No Spanish allowed! If we overhear you speaking in Spanish, you’ll get a warning. If we hear you do it again, you’ll be asked to leave. We mean it! You’re all here to speak in English, and all the Spaniards have enough English skills to get by. Use it and improve it!”

With this point of seriousness and the orientation out of the way, we meander down through the old village to the reception building and check into our rooms.

Valdelavilla

Valdelavilla is a tiny Spanish town in northern Spain (near Soria) that was abandoned in the 1960s due to changing demographics and industry, and restored in the 90’s. It is nestled at the base of a green mountainous valley, 2kms vertically below the nearest road to anywhere. Although there is a WiFi connection (albeit only available in a small range and at less than admirable speeds), cell phones cease to work about 2/3 of the way down the road into the village. The lack of technology adds to the ambiance; Valdelavilla is isolated, charming, and stunningly beautiful.

As participants of the Vaughan Town program, we pretty much take over the town. When Vaughan Town doesn’t use the village, it is rented out for weddings, corporate retreats, and private functions. I believe individuals can also visit for a meal, a walk, or an overnight stay as well.

Accommodation is provided in the restored village houses, and in most cases up to five people are put up in each house, each person receiving their own room with ensuite bathroom. Although the amenities are rustic and at times a touch impractical (for example there is many a doorway and shower stall that is less than five feet tall!), it adds to the overall charm, as you can feel the history that prevails in Valdelavilla.

the view from my room

As a side note, the other Vaughan Town site is held in a very different location, at a large hotel that is part of a larger fully operational Spanish town. Each location has its own flavour and tone. Although I only have one frame of reference in the Valdelavilla experience, I also love it through and through.

Each Day’s Events

The Anglos are a varied group; an intentional mix of ages, accents, and backgrounds. This is intended to expose the Spaniards a wide variety of conversation styles and sounds, improving their global English skills.

And as I said earlier, the Anglos (English-speaking volunteers) earn their keep on the program, with a busy schedule and lots of talking.

Breakfast begins at 9am, as does the conversation. We are instructed to ensure that there is an equal mix of Anglos and Spaniards at each table during meals, and we mix and match at will.

At 10am, we begin the “one-to-ones”. The program coordinator creates a schedule each day that pairs off the Anglos and Spaniards each hour for – you got it – English conversation. We can talk about anything under the sun, although we are cautioned against religion, politics, and the standard “what do you do, where do you do it” cocktail chat. I initially worry what I could possibly talk about with so many different people each hour, but almost never find dead air during the one-to-one sessions. In fact, an hour is a perfect amount of time to have a well-rounded conversation (often accompanied by a walk on the surrounding trails) before moving on to a new person and different conversation.

After four hours of one-to-one chatting, lunch is served at 2pm. Although for the Anglos this initially seems to be very late, it is the Spanish norm, and is a routine we all slip into fairly quickly.

Lunch is a three-course meal which normally lasts about an hour and a half, and then it’s siesta time! We have free time until 5pm, which many people use in different ways: catching up on work, surfing the internet, sleeping, walking, playing ball, and even (more) chatting.

At 5pm we reconvene for three more hours of one-to-one sessions before attending a performance at 8pm. Each night’s performance is coordinated and directed by our fearless master of ceremonies, and the cast members are none other than us! Entertainment ranges from skits that Greg has dredged up from his days as a director (participants getting time each day to rehearse in lieu of doing one-to-ones), to videos, to individual participants strutting their stuff – singing, reciting poetry, telling jokes, etc.

Not surprisingly with my acting background, I am a willing participant in the skits, and I even sing a few songs for (and at the request of) the audience.

one of the skits I perform in

Dinner is served at 9pm each day. Again although it seems incredibly late for most Anglos, it is actually a touch early for many Spaniards! Three more courses of delicious food later, we roll out of the dining room around 10:30pm.

As the Week Rolls By

At the beginning of the week, many of us are exhausted by the time dinner finishes, and most retire to their rooms after dinner. The days are intense and long especially for the Spaniards, with a full schedule and constant inner attention to translating Spanish to English. The Anglos have it a little easier; receiving a periodic hour of free time now and then (since there are about 17 Anglos and 15 Spaniards) and speaking in their native tongue. But the Spaniards are thrown into the fire to learn and improve their English – and that they do.

By the time Wednesday rolls around, we are all over the initial hump and are gaining our second wind. The Spaniards are more relaxed in their English, and find they are thinking less about what they have to say. This paves the way for even more interesting and fun conversations about just about anything under the sun. During my one-on-ones we speak about things like philosophy, literature, life in the South of Spain, family practices, relationships, geography, and even cheesy pick-up lines.

Friendships are also starting to develop, and the nights are getting progressively longer. More and more people stay up after dinner to play cards, listen to music, drink, and even dance. Depending on the group, there are usually a few party animals burning the midnight oil by taking the party to their house after the bar closes at midnight.

By Thursday night, we are geared up for a full party after dinner, complete with a special Quemada ceremony (a Spanish flaming drink that comes with a ritual to scare away bad spirits), music, and dancing. Even some of the village staff emerges from the kitchen and offices to join in the festivities.

the Quemada

dancing the night away

By Friday morning, we arrive at a late breakfast a little bleary eyed, but still speaking English enthusiastically. We do a few more one-to-ones before having an early lunch and piling back on the bus for the drive back to Madrid.

Hugs and kisses are exchanged all around, emails and pictures promised, and often places to stay offered. In fact, after my first week of volunteering, I traveled with some of the Anglos to Toledo for a day trip, before enjoying the gracious hospitality of one of the Spaniards for the next week! After my second week of volunteering with Vaughan Town, I again was offered a place to stay for a night before heading to the airport for an early flight.

The Cultural Experience

Although I initially balked at my decision to focus two of my three weeks in Spain on this volunteer program where I was isolated and not even able to speak in Spanish, I found it to be one of the most rewarding cultural experiences I could possibly have asked for.

Under no other circumstances could I possibly have met so many different Spaniards from all over the country, learned about their lives, and been invited into their homes and hearts. Staying in a hostel, I would never have met any of these people, much less had so many meaningful one-to-one conversations with them.

Even meeting so many Anglos from all over the world – I now have friends in London, Ireland, South Africa, and the States, to name just a few places. And I will be seeing many of these people again – some soon, some later.

I love Spain as a country, and have vowed to come back as soon as possible. And part of my Spanish travel itinerary – without a doubt – will be to return to Valdelavilla for some more volunteering with Vaughan Town.

Related posts:

1. Thoughts on (and many pictures of) Spain
2. Encountering the Artist: A Random Experience in Spain
3. Roundup: June 1st-15th

As I walked through the narrow cobblestone streets of Alcala (a town 50km outside of Madrid, where I was the house-guest of a lovely Spanish family for a week), I took in everything I could. I smelled the delicious food wafting out from the nearest tapas bars, listened to the sounds of children playing and adults socializing and enjoying the afternoon, and gawked at all the amazing buildings and historical features that are commonplace here in Europe, but oh-so-foreign to my Canadian eyes.

Then, on a relatively empty side-street, I spotted a non-descript doorway, through which I could see countless pieces of artwork. Just inside, an elderly man with long hair and an even longer beard sat on a chair, sketching.

Standing across the street, I was mesmerized. This man had to be photographed. The tiny dark art gallery of sorts obviously contained hundreds of works of this man – who unto himself was a work of art.

Feeling a streak of shyness, I sidled up to the doorway in a way where I couldn’t be seen, to read the sign on the door…drats – all in Spanish, of course.

I stood outside Toro Bravo’s doorway, working up the courage to go inside. I’ve had this feeling before; one of overwhelming shyness, not knowing what would happen if I went inside – whether it would be amazing or a complete flop. It would have been immensely easier just to keep on walking and enjoying the sunny day. And yet I was rooted to the spot, unable to move.

But this is what travel is about for me; pushing myself beyond a comfort zone, satisfying curiosities, and expanding personal boundaries. I realized if I didn’t go inside, I would forever wonder what this man – and this tiny art gallery – was all about.

With that, I stepped inside, and in a combination of broken Spanish and charades asked if I could take a look at his art. My primary motive was really to get a picture of the artist himself, but I figured I had to at least have a look around. I only hoped that I wouldn’t become the victim of a hard sales pitch.

My hopes were gratified when he cordially stood up and with a bow invited me to come in and walk around. I soon discovered that one room opened into another and another, and each room was covered – floor to (and including) ceiling – with artwork. Many of the canvases were piled one on top of the next; there were thousands of pieces of art in this tiny gallery that most people would walk by without a second glance.

I gawked at the oils and acrylics, with all manner of styles and artistic messages, while Toro simply continued to sketch on his pad. My primary motive was still to get a picture, and I was still fighting a bout of shyness about asking.

I said in Spanish that his artwork was beautiful, which was apparently an invitation for Toro Bravo to start speaking. He stood in front of me and addressed me in his calm and quiet – but strong – voice. He had a message, a passion; something that was obviously a lifelong journey and mission.

Although my Spanish is horrible, I picked up on his philosophical and existential message; one of a mind-over-matter theme, not without its share of conspiracy theories, but much of which I identified with on one level or another. He obviously relished a chance to speak to a new face, and my periodic “si”s and nods of approval were enough for him to continue on for a good 15 minutes.

He didn’t even seem particularly phased when he realized that I don’t speak Spanish fluently, as I think he knew that I understood his sentiment while he continued to educate me about the many decades of experience he had amassed. He pointed to books with his image on the front (presumably written by him) that further outlined his expertise and thoughts, and other books and articles written about him sitting on a table.

Finally and suddenly (but not curtly), it was apparent that Toro Bravo had said his peace, and was happy for me to continue to browse or leave, as I wished. I asked if I could take a picture, and of course, he was more than willing. He made a few faces for the camera in a playful attempt to screw up the shot at the last second, and after a few laughs, sat patiently while I took some “serious” shots.

I emerged from the dark gallery to the afternoon sun and heat with a huge smile on my face. I had faced a fear – if even a small one of shyness – and came out not only with a few great shots, but a personal encounter that despite language barriers, spoke deeply to me, and shall forever remain in my memory.

Related posts:

1. Volunteering at Vaughan Town in Spain: A Cultural Experience
2. Thoughts on (and many pictures of) Spain
3. Random Observations from Sydney, Australia

Jason Demant and Sharon Duckworth quit their Silicon Valley jobs last year to travel throughout Asia. Initially planning on a 1-year career break, they quickly realized that wasn’t going to cut it. So while traveling, they’re also trying to build an online business to keep their travel dreams going. Please enjoy a week-in-the-life of Jason and Sharon in Japan and Korea.

Day 1 – Thursday

7:00AM – Sharon and I wake up in our 4-bed dorm room in Kyoto, Japan. We’re here for a week of tourism and a Visa run from South Korea. We have a new dorm mate that must have come in late last night. She is sniffling and mouth breathing. This is one of the downsides about being in a dorm – sick dorm mates.

We eat our standard breakfast of bananas and toast. When we’re on the road, we try to eat a healthy and cheap breakfast. Lunch and dinner are usually at restaurants.

For the past few days we’ve been traveling with two friends from home who are in Japan for a wedding. It’s been great to have friends again (sounds kind of weird, but true). Sharon and I have each other, but other than that we usually make friends with other travelers for just one or two nights.

8:45AM – Arrive in Osaka with our friends after a 15-minute ride. Thank you Japanese Bullet Train. Everyone should travel at 200mph!

10:30AM – The fun of finding our hotel never gets old. After two train transfers we get off and start looking for it. It takes us a while, but we finally realize we’ve gotten off at the wrong station. We got off at Imamiya Station when we wanted Shin-Imamiya Station. Doh!

11:15AM – Finally find our hotel, then head towards our friend’s hotel –the Grande Vista Osaka (ahh, the luxuries of having an income). We go out to find a restaurant recommended by the hotel. Of course we get lost. Thankfully, the Japanese are unbelievably helpful and a random man decides to walk us to the front door of the restaurant.

1:30PM – We decide on a day trip to Hikone Castle. After four train transfers, we arrive. We enjoy the views and walk around town.

8:15PM – Another bullet train back home. We head to our hotel to check-in. The room is a nice 6-person dorm but it looks like it’s just the four of us. We have our own (CLEAN) bathroom in the room as well…score!

9:00PM – Dinner and drinks with our friends.

11:30PM – Sharon’s not feeling great, so we head back to the hotel. On the way we see a noodle stand where you literally stand at the counter and eat. We’re suckers for street food, and Sharon is a sucker for ramen, so we decide to join all of the businessmen for a bowl.

Day 2 – Friday

9:00AM – Sharon’s still sick. We eat breakfast while catching up on emails. It’s exciting waking up every morning and having a full inbox. Wow, I sound like a huge nerd.

10:00AM – I ask the hotel where I can buy some medicine for Sharon. Of course, I get lost. I look for a big street and it ends up being in an “arcade” – a walking-only covered alley.

The conversation with the pharmacist is mostly gestures. I touch my throat and head and give a grimace look. Then she coughs and I shake my head “no”. She gives me what I hope to be cold medicine and it ends up being 1500Yen (~$16)! This insane price makes me reminisce of Southeast Asia, where buying similar medicine is around $1 or $2. Regardless, I buy it.

12:00PM – Sharon decides to hang back and get some rest while I meet our friends. They’ve planned the day again which I absolutely love. It’s been wonderful not having to plan for once and just follow.

2:00PM – We head over to Osaka Castle. We decide against paying to go inside (hooray!) and just walk the grounds.

5:00PM – Back to the hotel to check on Sharon. I find out our 6-bed dorm is now empty! Sharon’s feeling better so we meet our friends and spend the night walking around the popular nightlife district with convenience store beers, trying to comprehend Japanese fashion. It’s mind-boggling and none of our logical questions about Japanese hair fashions are answered!

1:00AM – We call it a night and end up having to take a five minute taxi-ride back to the hotel… for $13!! I like Japan, but it’s killing our budget.

Day 3 – Saturday

7:00AM – Not much sleep. The good news though is Sharon is feeling better. We pack and eat our breakfast while checking email. Long day ahead: we’re headed from Osaka to Fukuoka, to a ferry back to Korea, and finally a second overnight ferry to Jeju Island.

12:00PM – Arrive in Hakata/Fukuoka after four train transfers. We get to the ferry building just after one has left (of course). Next one leaves at 3PM.

There are two restaurants in the ferry building. One looks like it belongs in the Ritz-Carlton, the other an old, tiny coffee shop where the workers eat. Guess which we chose? The food was good, and only about $5 each.

2:15PM – Boarding begins for the ferry, but we still don’t have a ticket. We realize that there have been some communication issues with the ticket lady. We thought you buy tickets as you board, but you actually need to buy them from the counter. I also wrongly assumed that they took credit card. Thankfully we have enough Korean Won, which I unfortunately need to exchange at a terrible exchange rate to get enough Japanese Yen to buy the ticket. After literally running all over the ferry building, while stressing each other out, we eventually get things in order and board.

Back to work on the ferry- organizing the hundreds of pictures we took the last week.

6:00PM – Arrive in Busan, South Korea. We can read the language again! It’s good to be back.

We literally run to the domestic ferry building to catch the overnight ferry to Jeju Island – a popular honeymoon location for Koreans. Thankfully we didn’t get lost and they weren’t sold out. We had a few choices of tickets and after debating, went for the cheapest tickets. We chose a room that fits 212 people, but it was only $35 each. After Japan, saving a little money seems like a good idea.

7:00PM – We find our room on the ferry. It doesn’t even provide sleeping pads. We’ll literally be sleeping on the floor. Thankfully, there are only about 60 people in the room.

9:00PM – With now nearly 130 people in the room (where did they come from?!?), we try to sleep. People are being extremely loud even through my industrial strength earplugs. The most obnoxious snorer finds his way next to Sharon. Early in the morning (I’m going to guess around 3am) Sharon says, “There is one person snoring in the entire room and he ended up next to me.” We switch places.

Day 4 – Sunday

4:30AM – A lot of people are already up and not being quiet. I can again hear them through my earplugs.

5:00AM – The bright fluorescent lights in the room go on and they violently wake me up.

6:00AM – We arrive on Jeju Island. Sharon’s parents arrive at 3:30PM, so until then we’re planning on finding a coffee shop and catching up on work. The town is essentially dead and nothing is open. We finally find a Dunkin’ Donuts (yes, they have lots of Dunkin’ Donuts in South Korea). Whip out the laptops and get to work.

12:00PM – We’re sharing a room with Sharon’s visiting parents tonight at the hotel and arrange for an early check-in. We talk to the Dunkin’ Donuts lady to find out which bus we have to take to get there. Board the bus and after about 20 minutes we realize we’re going the wrong way. We end up riding the bus all the way to the end of the line, get off, and then get right back on the same bus as the bus driver laughs at us. This is not the first, second or even third time this has happened to us. We like public transportation, but it’s not the easiest thing to figure out.

1:00PM – We eventually find the hotel. We’re in a Korean style room (no beds), but at least we’re sleeping on a pad on the floor, it’s almost as comfortable as a bed and not nearly as terrible as the carpet the night before.

1:30PM – At lunch we run into a couple who we briefly met on our overnight ferry. We make plans to go out for drinks later that night.

4:00PM – Sharon’s parents arrive at the hotel.

8:30PM – We meet up with the Korean couple from earlier in the day. We learn that it’s their one-year anniversary. We drop by a restaurant, pick-up some food, Makali (rice wine) and beer. We head back to their very fancy, French hotel on to the roof to enjoy our drinks.

11:30PM – We discuss the NBA, Korean & Japanese history, whether or not North & South Korea will be reunited in our lifetime, and how Korean “hook-up” clubs work — before calling it a night.

Day 5 – Monday

7:30AM – Rise and shine. Little bit of email and standard breakfast.

8:30AM – Sharon’s parents have rented a van for the day. There are seven of us. Sharon and I are the only ones who don’t speak Korean – this is going to be an interesting day.

On our ridiculously packed day tour, we see a waterfall, two volcanoes, an old Korean village, famous lady seafood divers (called “Haenyo”- they are some hardcore grandma divers who catch most of the seafood on the island), a museum, and a lava cave.

9:00PM – Dinner, then drinks in the room with Sharon’s parents. We teach them how to play Jacks and Fives and let them relive their early twenties.

Day 6 – Tuesday

8:00AM – Wake up sans alarm clock, eat breakfast, and catch up on some work.

11:00AM – Early lunch. The island of Jeju is very famous for its pig, so we have a spicy pig stew. It’s delicious. Then we head out to walk around the coast.

Below one of the cliffs, we see a big tent. It’s a little seafood restaurant! Three grandmas prepare the fresh (still alive when they slice it) food. It’s so close to the water that if a big wave comes, we would get wet.

3:00PM – Sharon and I head back to the hotel to get some work done before dinner. We also begin searching for apartments in Busan since we’ll be living there for two months. It’s a beach town, so we’re very excited about it.

9:30PM – A little alcohol, a little work, and it’s time to pass out.

Day 7 – Wednesday

8:00AM – Wake up with a sore throat. Why does a simple sore throat make you feel so crappy?

8:30AM – Sharon’s parents are flying back home to the US. We’ve spent nearly four weeks with them in Korea, so it’s a sad goodbye. (Doubly sad because we’ll no longer have a Korean translator with us wherever we travel.)

11:30AM – After using the morning to catch up on work and promote my new site, we hit the road to Seogwipo. It’s on the opposite side of the island. We catch a local bus to the long-distance bus station. Within five minutes of walking into the bus station, we’re on the bus. It’s easy to brush these things off, but it’s really nice when things are easy and we just get to where we’re going.

2:00PM – We arrive in Seogwipo. We’re staying with the couple whom we had drinks with the other night. They have a suite and have offered one of their rooms to us. They pick us up in their car. (It’s strange being in a car, we really only travel by bus, train or boat).

6:00PM – Head out to dinner with our new friends and enjoy some specialty Korean dishes of Jeju Island. Then we pick up some rice wine (makali) and an-joo (snacks you eat when you drink) and head back to our suite.

We drink and eat into the night.

Jason and Sharon will be in Asia through September, primarily living in South Korea and learning the language. Are you interested in earning extra money while you travel? You can write and then sell travel itineraries on UnAnchor.com. You can also catch-up on Jason & Sharon’s travels at LifeAfterCubes.com or on Twitter @LifeAfterCubes.

Related posts:

1. A Week-In-The-Life of The Professional Hobo: Shooting a TV Show
2. A Week-In-The-Life of Brian: No Debt World Travel
3. A Week-In-The-Life of Corbett: Free Pursuits

Happy Canada Day! Salutations from Spain, where I’m spending my last of three glorious weeks. After a week’s rest while staying with some friends near Madrid, I’m back at Valdelavilla where I’m volunteering my English chatting skills in exchange for excellent accommodation and meals. (Not to mention the chance to meet some amazing people from all over Spain – and the world). More on that later, as I must find time in my demanding volunteer schedule to write and publish my many stories of adventure and cultural immersion. In the meantime, please enjoy some other articles I’ve written that have been published in the last few weeks!

Wise Bread

Travel & Money: Using Your Credit Card on the Road

Some would say credit cards are a necessary evil for traveling; I actually prefer to use them in my travels. In this edition of the Travel and Money series, we’ll look at advantages of credit card usage and precautions to take, along with how to maximize the benefits of paying for your trip with plastic.

Transitions Abroad

Study Abroad at High Schools Worldwide in the United World College Network

When I was in high school, I figured that studying abroad was a pleasure reserved solely for the affluent and only available during university years. If only I had known about United World College: I would have had an exciting, fast-paced, intellectually stimulating, and wildly different finish to high school than I could have imagined. And what is most extraordinary is that my study abroad would have been virtually free. If you know somebody who is of high-school age and looking for something different, United World College might be the solution.

AmEx Open Forum

Tools for Running Your Location Independent Business

This article is effectively a “Part II” to my series on Location Independent travel, starting with Essential Services for the Road. Part II explores tools for managing your finances, communication, backups, and other handy tools for location independent professionals.

Related posts:

1. Roundup: June 1st-15th
2. Roundup: December 1st-15th
3. Roundup: June 16th-30th

So unless I am lucky enough to get a free upgrade to first class, I am relegated to the ranks of economy – cattle class – with so many others.

But after reading Chris Guillebeau’s Frequent Flyer Master and getting one of his email updates about a US Airways promotion that promised some big bonus miles, I decided to take a financial leap of faith with the payoff of some big rewards.

My leap of faith came in the form of $1,200 in purchases, some of which could double as Christmas presents, and the bulk of which came in the form of identity tracking stickers (that proved to be considerably more valuable to me than I expected). Die-hard frequent flyer mile accumulators were making similar purchases (except some were spending up to four times as much as I), and almost nobody was actually interested in the stickers – it was solely for the frequent flyer miles.

This being my first frequent flyer mile “sting”, I was but dipping a toe in the waters of such operations, still nervous that US Airways wouldn’t credit the miles, or that I’d somehow screw up the purchases without recourse, or that the airline would devalue the miles.

Luckily none of that happened. 150,000 frequent flyer miles posted themselves neatly to my account three months later, US Airways didn’t devalue the miles, and I could use them for any Star Alliance airline flight.

I also followed some of Guillebeau’s techniques in his e-book for tracking and accumulating miles, as well as his redemption techniques. (One of his tips is that to get the most bang for your frequent flyer mile/buck, it is best to use them to book long-haul business class travel).

So when it came to plan out the next year of travel, my frequent flyer miles came in quite handy; my $1,200 purchase resulted in two long-haul business class flights (between New Zealand and Europe), as well as one return economy flight between New Zealand and Australia. I had to pay booking fees and taxes on both sets of tickets, which amounted to a total of $300, increasing my total out-of-pocket expenditure to $1,500. To have purchased the same flights at full price would have been over $5,800.

Having made the case for frequent flyer mile travel (I heartily endorse Chris Guillebeau’s Frequent Flyer Master e-book), I thought I’d let you in on the luxuries of my recent business class adventures….all 45 hours of them.

Leg One: New Zealand to Bangkok

It hadn’t occurred to me that the business class experience starts long before you get on the plane. From surpassing the long check-in lineups with special business class ticket counters, to circumventing passport control and security lineups with dedicated lanes, to special airport lounges with all you can eat and drink (and usually a good free WiFi connection), I was in airport bliss long before I set foot on the first of three flights.

The Air New Zealand lounge in Auckland was lovely, and set the stage beautifully for my business class travels. Although my flights were booked with Thai Airways (another Star Alliance carrier), I had use of the Air NZ lounge since there wasn’t a Thai Airways lounge in Auckland.

My flight to Bangkok was on a 777, and the business class seats (and service) was about as luxurious as I had hoped. The massive pod-like seats reclined to an almost flat position, which made sleep quite easy. If I were to be picky, I would say that the fully reclined position was actually a tad uncomfortable because I felt I was constantly sliding out of the seat if I didn’t brace myself with my feet on the footrest. But remembering what it’s like to catch fitful naps in cramped economy, I also realize I’m grasping at straws. Give me an inch, and I’ll take a mile, I guess!

Entertainment on demand was delivered through the large screens in front of each seat, and there was never any worry about the seat in front reclining into my lap, since the seat backs were fixed; instead each entire chair slid forward to recline.

The meals were spectacular. A menu revealed one 5-course meal and one 3-course meal, served on linen “tablecloths” with real cutlery and silver service. And of course, all the alcohol I could drink (which wasn’t very much). The service was attentive and the attendants spectacularly dressed in customary Thai silk garb.

Layover in Bangkok

As I indicated in a previous post, I was a touch nervous about the recent violent turmoil in Thailand, and so I decided to endure my 15 hour layover in the airport. However it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had expected it would be.

I passed the first few hours at a restaurant, enjoying some sticky rice and mango with coconut milk (one of my favourite Thai desserts) while charging my computer and reading. By this time it was 11:30pm, and I was so tired from my 15 hours of travel thus far that I felt nauseated. I was pleasantly surprised to find a quiet corner of the airport however, where I could lay out a blanket in relative peace (along with what accumulated to at least a dozen other travelers with the same motive) and get some fitful sleep for almost six hours. It was a strange contrast to my business class adventures, but one I wasn’t uncomfortable with.

By 5:30am, I couldn’t stand tossing and turning on the floor any longer, so I got up and thought I’d see if I could check in for my next flight – due to leave at 12:45pm. I was told the night prior that I couldn’t check in until 2.5 hours prior to boarding, but I had hoped that my question was lost in translation, and instead I was given the recommended check-in time, not the earliest one.

Bingo! I checked my bag and was given a pass to the Thai Airways Royal Silk Lounge. I spent the next six hours in relative bliss, surfing the WiFi madly, enjoying free Thai cuisine and beverages, and even receiving a complimentary Thai foot and leg massage at the Royal Orchid Spa. Heaven!

Leg Two: Bangkok to Frankfurt

My second flight (also almost 12 hours) was on a 747, and for the first time, I got to see what happens on the second floor of a 747! I was slightly disappointed to discover there was no dance party, spa, or swimming pool, but equally pleased to find a relatively intimate collection of business class seats.

Again the service was wonderful, the seats reclined, the entertainment selection was great, and the multi multi-course meals made me thankful for the long walks I took in the airport and enroute to the gate.

Leg Three: Frankfurt to Madrid

By the time I landed in Frankfurt, I had been flying (or laying over) for almost 40 hours. Although I caught some sleep on each flight and in the airport, I was starting to feel some deep fatigue, and the increase in temperature and daylight (not to mention the time changes) was disorienting.

I hurried to the Lufthansa Lounge, hoping to enjoy some of the relaxing space and quiet solitude I had found in my previous two lounge experiences. Unfortunately though, this lounge was packed to the hilt, and (gasp) didn’t even offer free WiFi. I did, however, manage to sweet talk the shower attendant into squeezing me in front of the cue for a quick shower before my next flight, which made a world of difference.

I had been looking forward to experiencing Lufthansa’s business class services, but was mildly disappointed. Thankfully I had some prior notice that Lufthansa’s business class short-haul flights weren’t worth the accompanying price tag, so I was even more thankful I hadn’t actually paid the accompanying price.

So although the service was lovely (attentive in an almost over-compensating manner), the food appeared to be the same as that served to other passengers (except with real cutlery), the seats weren’t any roomier (except the middle seat in every row of three was free), and the offer of free alcohol was lost on my tired body.

What I Learned

After experiencing long-haul business class travel, I’m not sure I can go back to economy! I am even more committed to using my frequent flyer miles for upgrades to business class for future long-haul flights, seeing the value in arriving refreshed and well-fed. And the perks make you feel like royalty.

I also see the value in buying a pass to the first class lounges – in most cases. Instead of losing the will to live as I did in the Los Angeles airport last year, I could have purchased access to the airport lounge for only $35. When flying economy and enduring a long layover (or early arrival to the airport), I think it’s worth it.

I had previously reserved my frequent flyer miles to cover the entire cost of an economy seat, and now instead I’m committed to finding more ways to use my miles for upgrades. In fact, every time I purchase an economy ticket, I can use existing miles to pay for my upgrade, as well as earn many more miles (and coveted status points) with my purchase.

With the help of the e-book Frequent Flyer Master and the regular updates that come with it, I expect to keep the miles flowing, and the business class flights coming.

Editor’s note: I received a free copy of Frequent Flyer Master for review purposes and there are affiliate links in this post. However I can’t say enough how much I endorse this product…if you fly, it’s worthwhile to get this book. The author even guarantees that with the application of the book’s tips, you will earn at least one free flight in your first year. So…what have you got to lose?

Related posts:

1. The Other Side of the First Class Curtain
2. How I Planned a Year of Travel in Less Than 2 Weeks
3. Europe, Volcanoes, and the Current Travel Climate