1. The Glacier Express: A Panoramic Journey Through the Alps

Often referred to as the “slowest express train in the world,” the Glacier Express is perhaps the most famous Swiss train route. Running between Zermatt and St. Moritz, this eight-hour journey offers travelers a stunning panorama of the Swiss Alps.

The Glacier Express is known for its large panoramic windows, allowing passengers to fully immerse themselves in the views of dramatic mountain peaks, deep valleys, and pristine rivers. As the train snakes its way across 291 bridges and through 91 tunnels, you’ll witness highlights such as the Oberalp Pass, the highest point of the journey at 2,033 meters, and the Rhine Gorge, often called the “Swiss Grand Canyon.”

Traveling on the Glacier Express is more than just getting from one point to another—it’s a leisurely exploration of the Swiss Alps, designed to showcase the natural beauty of the region at a relaxing pace.

2. Bernina Express: Crossing Borders With Spectacular Scenery

Another iconic route is the Bernina Express, which takes passengers on a four-hour journey from Chur in Switzerland to Tirano in Italy. The Bernina Express is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed railway and is celebrated for its incredibly varied landscapes, ranging from glaciers to palm trees.

This train ride is notable for its climb to the Bernina Pass at an elevation of 2,253 meters, offering sweeping views of glaciers and towering mountains. As you descend into Italy, the scenery transforms into lush valleys and vineyards. One of the key highlights is the circular viaduct at Brusio, where the train makes a full loop, offering an unforgettable perspective of the surroundings.

For those wanting to combine Swiss and Italian charm with jaw-dropping scenery, the Bernina Express is an essential journey.

3. The GoldenPass Line: From Lucerne to Montreux

If you’re seeking a route that takes you from the heart of Switzerland to the shores of Lake Geneva, the GoldenPass Line is an excellent choice. This route connects Lucerne and Montreux, offering travelers a three-stage journey that crosses six lakes and countless alpine villages.

The train route begins with views of the serene Lake Lucerne and passes through the Brunig Pass, providing glimpses of waterfalls and green meadows. As the train moves toward Montreux, you’ll be rewarded with views of the Vaud Riviera and the sparkling waters of Lake Geneva.

One of the standout features of the GoldenPass Line is the variety of landscapes. From the mountainous Bernese Oberland to the mild, Mediterranean-style climate near Montreux, the journey offers a dynamic array of natural beauty, all within a few hours.

Conclusion

Whether you’re navigating the rugged peaks of the Swiss Alps on the Glacier Express, crossing into Italy on the Bernina Express, or enjoying the lakeside charm of the GoldenPass Line, Swiss trains offer travelers an unforgettable way to experience the country’s stunning landscapes. These three iconic routes are perfect for anyone looking to combine convenience with breathtaking views, ensuring that the journey itself becomes a highlight of your trip to Switzerland.

Eat: Nourishing the Body and Soul Through Culinary Travel

In 2024, the “Eat” component of this lifestyle is deeply connected to the exploration of global cuisines. Gen Z travelers are increasingly interested in culinary tourism, where the focus is on discovering new foods and understanding the cultural significance behind them. This approach not only nourishes the body but also enriches the soul by fostering a deeper connection to the places they visit. Whether it’s savoring street food in Bangkok or participating in a farm-to-table experience in Tuscany, eating has become a way to engage with the world and support sustainable, ethical food practices.

Pray: Finding Inner Peace Through Spiritual Journeys

For many in Gen Z, the “Pray” aspect has evolved into a quest for spiritual enlightenment that often involves travel. In 2024, spiritual journeys are increasingly popular, with destinations like Bali, India, and Peru attracting those seeking to deepen their connection to the universe. These journeys offer opportunities for meditation retreats, yoga immersions, and encounters with ancient spiritual traditions. For this generation, traveling to sacred places becomes a way to manage stress, achieve mental clarity, and find a sense of purpose, all while discovering new cultures.

Love: Embracing Self and Others Through Global Connections

The “Love” segment of this lifestyle is now closely tied to the relationships and connections formed through travel. In 2024, Gen Z travelers are not just seeking to explore the world but also to build meaningful relationships along the way. The concept of love has expanded to include a global community, where friendships and connections with locals and fellow travelers are treasured. These experiences foster self-love and authenticity, as individuals learn about themselves and others through shared adventures and cultural exchanges.

How Traveling Heals Gen Z

Travel has become a vital part of how Gen Z heals from the pressures of modern life. The “Eat, Pray, Love” lifestyle, with its emphasis on travel, offers a way to step back from the fast-paced world and engage in meaningful self-discovery. For many in this generation, traveling provides the time and space needed to reflect, grow, and heal—whether it’s through tasting new foods, seeking spiritual enlightenment, or forming deep connections with people around the globe.

Rob currently travels the world while working on his laptop, making over $4000 a month on a platform called Udemy.

Udemy is an online learning platform that delivers its content mainly through video. The platform allows anyone to build a video course and sell it.

When I was in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this year, I had the privilege of meeting Rob in person and I took the opportunity to pick his brain. I was excited to learn from one of the top Udemy instructors, as I’m trying to become one myself.

So without further ado, here’s the interview with Rob. Don’t like reading? You can also download the full audio of the interview!

How did you find out about Udemy?

I heard about it 2 1/2 years ago through a friend that I’d met through the blogger sphere, she was killing it with a course called “beginner’s guide to logo design.” I was immediately convinced about the platform as I already had some video tutorials. See gave me a coupon code for the course and I remember thinking wow that’s really powerful that you can give these codes.

What I really like about Udemy, is that I can focus on making content and not having to worry about building the infrastructure. What are your thoughts?

Indeed, it’s very hard to sell video on your own site. There are people who do it successfully, it is possible, but there are a lot of moving parts. There are so many variables, I’m not even talking about affiliate deals and coupons, site protection, video delivery and even hackers. The list is endless. But there really is no argument against Udemy, because you can do both. So why leave money on the table and Udemy is just 10 if not 100 times easier.

What about the marketing, you’d have to do that as well whereas Udemy already has 5 million students on the platform?

Yes and every time they say how many it’s like a million more, when I started in 2012 it was only a million. They are getting a lot of funding and are the clear market leaders.

Are there any alternative platforms and competitors?

Absolutely, there are loads and I’m sure were both leaving money on the table. Let’s back up a little bit here, Udemy is really on the skills, entrepreneurial and business skills area,which is a fast growing market as we all need skills to make more money and to make better decisions.

There are other platforms that are more focussed on academic subjects. Skillfeed would be the second and Skillshare as well and I am making money on there, but there are lots of regional and little ones. Keep your eyes open, as it’s a very fluid market.

What’s the relation between these different platforms in terms of how much money you’re making on them?

Skillfeed and Skillshare each give me about 10%-20% of my revenue. They all have different commission systems, but Udemy is head and shoulders the biggest one.
You started in 2012, did it take a long time before you started making money?

It’s definitely slow growth for most people, not everyone is going to be lucky and make loads of money to begin with. I did have an audience of and an email list though at the time which really helped. Since I put my first premium course online I was doing a few hundred every month, then I put some more courses on and I was getting about $1000 a month and then $2000 a month.

It was a bit frustrating as I wrote an eBook about how I was making a thousand dollars a month on Udemy and every time my earnings went up I had to change the title. In the middle of last year I hit the $4000 a month mark. It’s been constant since then pretty much.

That’s almost like a full time income, specially if you reside in low-cost countries like Vietnam where we are now.

You could certainly be comfortable with that money, but I’m a businessman first and foremost and I would never put my eggs in one basket. I have client work and I have other streams of income as well.

Udemy has a system that allows you to use coupon codes and track how many sales you get and see analytics. Can you talk a little bit about that?

That’s right and another important point to remember is that when you make a sale using your own coupon, you more or less get 100% of the profit. This still benefits Udemy though, as you may well introduce a new person to the platform and people who go on Udemy don’t just buy one course, they are always going to buy more courses. Many Udemy interests are instructor interest, I get sales from Youtube, I get sales from Kindle and I get sales from my own list. People try all sorts of things, like Reddit and Facebook and I would advice people to do that to find out where the people who are interested in your courses hang out.

There are even sites that specialize in coupon codes.

Yeah, that’s a really good point, there’s Mightydeals and Ozzbargain, there’s a whole other layer of sites and some of them are massive, so you don’t need your own audience to sell your courses outside of Udemy.

Let’s go back to the commission structure that Udemy uses. If you find the student outside of Udemy, you get 97%. However, if the student comes from within Udemy that you get 50%. A third way to get sales is the affiliate channel, what’s the commission on that?

Yeah the affiliate channel only gives you 25%, which seems quite bad and you get instructors who look at that negatively saying they’re losing 75%. I would say to people to just look at these sales as extra money that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Udemy puts a lot of money into the affiliate channel and actually they put money into advertising as well, that’s another channel and you get 25% of resulting sales.

They are running Facebook adds and Google adds promoting your course, so they go out there spending their money on our behalf and you still get 25%. To me, it’s not perfect, but it’s not unfair because you do get more sales that you wouldn’t have gotten from your own platform.

So you mentioned Udemy is geared towards skills, but can people who have knowledge on other topics still be successful on Udemy?

It’s pretty much everything, there are all sorts of courses on there like Yoga, how to make cakes and beer and other topics. I think entrepreneurial and business skills do better, but maybe I think that because that’s just my experience. Another important thing to remember is the value that your student will get from the course. If you’re making a course about Youtube you’d rather call it “how to make $2000 on Youtube using Adsense” then just “Youtube course.” You want to mention the specific benefit that they’ll get out of the course. 

Udemy students are looking to invest money in themselves, so think about on what topic you would spend money to invest in yourself. So if I were to invest $50 in a course that’s going to give me the ability to make 100 times or 1000 times that in the next few years, then it’s a no brainer.

What are the most important things to be successful on Udemy?

I think what you’re doing, making up to ten courses is a great way to do it. A lot of people make the mistake of making one really big course. There is nothing wrong with it, but it can cause a lot of stress if you’re new to making videos. It’s much better to get the courses out quickly and don’t forget Youtube. You can learn so much from Youtube and you’ll get so much better once you have some videos out.

None of the successful Udemy instructors have just one course, they all have a really rich portfolio of courses. It’s the same on Kindle, it’s the same game. Also you have to enjoy making courses, get into the habit of making video and don’t ever think about stopping. Just keep going, because it’s a long game.

It’s a long game, but what’s great is that if your courses are evergreen, you could be making money on them for a really long time.

Absolutely, that’s the beauty of it. I have courses up that I created over one and a half years ago and some aren’t perfectly evergreen but you can just go into the course and update whatever is new in that industry. It’s a young platform, there is not a great amount of competition, so if you have a good course you can make money for years.

Some people may think that they only really know about one subject, can you make multiple courses on one subject, for example by publishing one for free and a premium paid course?

That’s a good way of doing it, you can make two courses on exactly the same subject. For example, I’ve got two courses on WordPress and they are almost identical, one is a little more technical than the other and I create a different type of website in each course. A lot of people are taking both courses, they’re not going to learn everything about WordPress from taking one course. If you really want to do something, are you going to buy one book about it? No, you’re going to buy ten books about it. Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself.

I find it much easier to build video courses than writing books. My first book took six months to write, whereas my first video course only took three months and my second one took one month, but people perceive video as more valuable. What’s your experience with this?

I agree, I’m writing books and I’m going to stick with it, but making video courses is easier for me and it makes me more money. People say I shouldn’t bother with Kindle but that’s another story. The bar on Udemy is going to be raised though, people are going to make better and better videos over time.

Also, a lot of people are scared to be in front of the camera, you don’t have to but I would advise people to start filming themselves straight away as I think Udemy will want you to do that in the future. You can give it several tries and even if you make mistakes you can edit it out in the editting process.

Do you have any other advice for aspiring instructors?

Something we haven’t touched on is student interaction, and that’s an extremely important metric. Udemy really wants student interaction and this plays a big role in determining which courses they will promote most. You can have a course with 1000 students, but if none of them have watched any lectures, none have asked any questions and none have left reviews then they are going to think the course is bad.

So it’s very important to engage, if you get a question, answer it straight away. That also helps other students learn. What you can do as well is whenever you get a question, just make another video and discuss it there. Udemy will like that too.

Another thing people forget is that after the student watches about three videos, there’s a little pop-up asking “How is this course going for you?” and Udemy will take that information very serious. Udemy judges the courses based on the feedback they get from students.

So you have to make sure those first couple videos are really good.

Yes that’s a good point as well, I remember re-doing the first videos of most of my courses to make sure they are really good.

Would you recommend giving courses away for free to other Udemy instructors?

I do recommend that, I wouldn’t go too crazy and get 10,000 free students in your course, but you can add the course on the Udemy instruction review document. A lot of instructors will give you good feedback, just don’t go blast it out everywhere.

What I also recommend is telling your friends and community about your course, and asking if there is anything particularly they’d want to know about the subject. This helps you build the course, but it also gets a few people particularly interested in the course so that could be very good for reviews. You want to ask the people who are most interested in your course for reviews, don’t even think about money because getting the first few early adopters interested in the course and writing reviews that’s worth more than the money they would have paid for the course.

What’s another good way to get reviews?

People aren’t going to leave a review just because they like your course. What I do is I ask the people who have taken my course and message me with questions to leave a review after I help them. You can easily tell who the students are that are engaged. There’s a tab on the page where you manage your course where you can see how much of your videos your students have watched. Just message a few that have seen most of your course because they are going to be the ones that love you and it’s unlikely that they dislike the course.

Are there other ways to reach out to your students? 



You can send out announcements to your students. There are two types, the educational one and the marketing ones. You can send out as many educational ones as you want, as long as you’re not sending people to a sales page of email subscriber page. If you sent them to good valuable information on your site, you’ll get traffic and email signups.

You’re also allowed to send two promotional announcements and they can only go to students that are taking paid courses. If you have a lot of paid courses, this really pays off. Attractive looking coupons that are time based work really well.

That’s a really powerful tool, as people who’s already paid for one of your courses are much more likely to pay for another one. How many students do you have?

I’ve got about 60,000 students, not all in my paid courses though. I probably have 20,000 people in the paid courses. It’s very powerful to send out an announcement to all these people when I have a new course. I actually have a video on Youtube that shows me making $1500 by sending out two announcements.

What are your plans with Udemy and what do you think Udemy’s future is?

The obvious answer is that I’ll be making more courses, I’ve only made one course so far this year. At the same time, I also want to have multiple income streams and I’m looking at multiple platforms as well as selling on my own site. I also want to keep writing books.
As far as Udemy’s future, it’s really tough to say, it’s a very fluid situation. Apple, Google or Microsoft could get in on the act. I think Udemy will be looking to make more deals with well know entrepreneurs such as Seth Godin. It seems like they are getting more entrepreneurial for sure, it used to be more skills oriented.

The good thing about these video courses is, if Google for example would step in and take over the online learning space and Udemy would go down, you still have all your videos so you can easily switch to the new platform. Thanks so much for your time Rob!

Convened is an understatement. I spent five days with a group of twenty bloggers on a tour across the northwest of Ireland, courtesy of Failte Ireland and Discover Ireland. Next, I joined over 600 bloggers, writers, editors and travel industry reps at TBEX, the world’s largest travel blogger conference.

Looking back, I’m having trouble finding the words to describe what I experienced during this week. Meeting so many likeminded people who share my burning passion for travel resulted in a tsunami of inspiration, knowledge, excitement and positive energy. My head is still spinning with all of these new impressions and inputs.

Perhaps the biggest joy was a product of being able to commiserate over the struggles that I’ve experienced the last nine months. What struggles, you ask?  Let me elaborate.

To most of my friends and the people around me, I’ve been on a never-ending holiday, enjoying myself in some the world’s most paradisiacal places. If you look at my stories and pictures, it’s easy to see how one would come to this conclusion.

What the palm trees and immaculate beaches fail to convey is that I was also going through an intense struggle while learning all the nuances of running a blog: writing effectively in a foreign language, mastering basic photography techniques, creating videos, using social media, and perhaps the biggest pain, figuring out how to put it all together in a way that is fun to read.

Then there is the mental aspect of running a blog. That little voice that pops up in your head at times, making you question yourself: do people really care about what I write? Am I good at this? Is this just some silly endeavor that I’m undertaking that will fizzle out in a few months? Why is no one commenting on my posts?

Being able to share all this with others bloggers was a great relief. Talking to someone who understands what you’re talking about is always nice, and I now know that every blogger is going through the same thing. Phew…ok, so it’s not just me!

I made so many new friends and met so many amazing people that it would be impossible to mention them all, but I would like to take the opportunity to say “thanks” to a few:

*Stacey, Tammy and Mariellen, for teaching me how to use twitter. (Can you believe that after nine months of blogging I still had no idea how to tweet?!)

*Steve (aka backpacker Steve) for showing me how to create cool videos

*Christa (aka The Fairytale Traveller) for all the communication and networking lessons (and for being so bad-ass; this woman’s life really is on steroids)

*Carina from Travel Run Play for being the only German who smiled when I started singing my favorite German song, Das Fliegerlied (and Susie and Tobias for putting up with me constantly singing it)

*Paul from Global Help Swap for…uhm… just being awesome 🙂

To give you a little insight into what TBEX looks like, here’s a video of the opening party at the Guinness Storehouse, courtesy of Failte Ireland.

One might say that I’m a particularly good target because as a lone wolf tech dude traveler I always carry a lot of valuable stuff, am easy to approach and also I’m sometimes maybe a little bit too inclined to buy certain commodities on the black market. Over 2m tall and blond, I look super gringo and most of the time I’m bouncing around in crime-heavy South America which might have contributed to the above stated, sour record.

It’s a funny fact that through it all I never suffered truly critical damage, such as loss of my document pouch or laptop, which for my business would have had the potential of serious disruption. My luck was in two instances due to a strange brand of random benevolence of the thieves and in other cases preparation. During one particularly devious assault, an under closer inspection incredibly stupid yet successful desperate resistance saved my backpack, stuffed with a good 6 KG of cutting edge electronics of different sorts inside. Man was my heart beating afterwards.

In this article, I will share with you a good amount of my learnings and I thereby try to add to the information already available in the Internet. Having been a victim so many times, I feel the urgent desire to express here that I with all my heart detest the manifold types of traveler-targeting highwaymen and I wish upon them only the direst of misfortune. Yet I know, as the world is spinning out of control and inequality reigns supreme, there will only be more fortune-seeking bandits- brace yerselves therefore and walk forth wary.

Travel Safety Advice Number One: Well hidden is Half Saved

No matter if we are talking about generally dressing down, or the almost obligatory slim document pouch which is worn beneath the shirt or keeping emergency cash and cards stowed in slicks and decoy stash vaults– if you manage to keep your valuables out of sight, you are well on your way to return home unscathed.

A quick word perhaps for the lesser veteran travelers about what are slicks and decoy vaults:

A) Slicks are intelligent hiding places, either natural, such as for instance the hollow hanger bar inside the closet of your hotel room, or engineered, such as the cardboard wrapping of cookies tampered to allow for a double bottom. Some suggestions for good hiding places can be drawn from resources on the Internet.

A quick recommendation on the topic inserted: The Mossad,  the Israeli Secret Service is famous for coming up with amazingly intelligent hiding places, and if you ever pass by Tel Aviv, be sure to visit their museum.

B) Now elaborate decoy vaults also known as stash vaults you can buy on the Internet or make yourself. Me personally, I’m a huge fan of hollow DD batteries, because they are small, even hollowed are naturally heavy and do not so easily cause raised eyebrows as if you’re traveling with a can of vegetable soup. At the beach, you can use suntan lotion bottle vaults (which I would still put under my towel and cover with some sand, be sure to mark the spot with a twig or other mark). Caution: When using stash vaults, make sure that no sound or weird haptic feeling is created through your packing or the thief might notice. 

But usually the thief will be in a hurry and they only take what is necessary, even leaving camera bags and other items which might lead to easier identification through the owner lest he should be apprehended through some coincidence. The more unmarked the loot, the easier for him to try and wriggle out of the grasp of our imperfect vigilance and justice systems. If you are in a country with a functioning law enforcement, artificial DNA markers might be an option.

Travel Safety Advice Number Two: If You Can’t Hide It, Chain It

For most of us who are veteran travelers it is a complete no-brainer to always chain down your laptop with a number padlock, lock and chain down bags and suitcases or even invest in a cut-proof mesh wire travel safe for smaller items such as cameras, podcast microphones and the like. 

But even me, I get sloppy, such as when I forgot to lock my suitcase and it was pilfered during a layover in Madrid, netting 700 Euro losses in important electronics and perhaps another 3.000 Euro in lost business due to not having my stuff with me in 6 months of travel in LAT-AM (I did not count in lost opportunity costs due to missing equipment by the way when I mentioned my grand total in the first sentence- those roughly $4,000 US was really the actual purchase value of the things that were stolen from me over the years).

I totally encourage you to push it to the limit when it comes to chaining down things. If I had myself sorted out a little better, I would chain down my wallet, my smart phone and even my key and lighter to my belt, as I used to when I first set forth on the great travels and didn’t know if I’d be able to cut out a living as a digital nomad.

Travel Safety Advice Number Three: Emergency Loss Minimization

Sometimes, when it gets really rough, what you want to do is be able to give your assailant something in his hand so that he’ll think he got your goods and will bug off. Therefore I recommend that in travel regions where violence and assaults are not unheard of such as South American, Central American, African, East European and Balkan nations that you should have two wallets and two cell phones with you. You have a decoy set and a “crown jewels”-set.

The crown jewels you keep in hidden pouches or hide on your body (Socks for instance are great for bills, girls will find their bra to be a good hiding spot even for larger items). The decoy, maybe fattened with fake bills/bills of brass currencies or a fancy phone case, this you hand over. The thief won’t check, they’ll be happy and run off, hopefully later to crack their skull open on the nearest wall out of fury when they notice they were beaten at their own game.

Ladies: Slash-Proof handbags are a SERIOUS risk to your physical well-being. What will happen is that you will get hurt, either knocked of your feet and dragged behind in case of a motorcycle “snatch and run” or stabbed/cut or kicked in the stomach in case of a “slash and run”. Losing valuables is bitter, being physically harmed is, apart from the damage to your body, traumatic. Therefore, go for the decoy option and remember always that handbags are among a thief’s favorite targets, be it pickpockets, mugging or snatching.

It should not be necessary to mention that you never should go out with your bank and credit cards or real IDs but always use copies and small cash. Also of course, make sure that your most important documents are somewhere uploaded on the Internet for easy access. I usually also keep a backup of my most important files on a small USB I keep in my first-aid kit.

Please note also, that in places such as Sao Paulo, Brazil or Medellin, Colombia and as I hear also Mexico and parts of Ecuador it is an appallingly common practice to kidnap and, under threat of death, extort your PIN and drive around with you withdrawing cash from every ATM on the way. Therefore, talk with your bank about a hidden account and a daily withdrawal limit. Because once kidnapped, you are at the complete mercy of your assailants. 

Almost needless to say in regard to kidnapping, always keep an eye on your drink no matter where you are and if you have the discipline, steer clear of shady girls and substances- after all, there are things in the world such as Burundaga, and the long-term effects of these date-rape type drugs on your memory and central nervous system are no laughing matter.

Travel Safety Advice Number Four: Keeping Large and Visible Electronics Safe

When I was doing my drone videos in South America (for real, my video of Cordoba, Argentina even got mentioned in the national “La Voz Del Interior” newspaper), I really didn’t feel like losing my drone. What I did was to look seriously hippy, keep the equipment out of sight using a super light microfiber towel as cover and to top it off I carried a very strong laser pointer and a switchblade. While I would absolutely warn against carrying weapons if you are not trained or willing to use them if bad comes to worse, the feeling of added safety calmed me a lot when I was running around the Favelas. It always helps to execute such operations during the daytime and have at least one other likewise armed and trained person as an escort (ideally a no-bullshit fighter spirit, just like you).

A quick word on the combination of the ultra strong laser pointer such as for instance the Arctic (if you have second thoughts about taking your assailant’s eyesight or about 1000+ Mw lasers being illegal in your country, alternatively use a stroboscope LED flashlight Kubaton) and a blade or blunt weapon: If you are quick enough to pull them out before it gets ugly, you will be able to defend against multiple aggressors, absolutely fuck up their day as well as set yourself up for a quick exit. Also, having a blade on you is great for eating honey melon wherever you go.

A last reminder on the topic of firearms: Nothing beats them. Plus you’ll know if your opponent pulls a real one or a dummy when it’s too later. If you’re the Chuck Norris kinda dude, I salute you and hope the odds may be forever in your favor. All others please – very slowly – hand over hopefully just your decoy valuables and get your asses home in one piece, alive to fight another day.

Conclusion: Don’t let worry eat your optimism, faith in humanity and love for adventure. Prepare, and let the weight of danger make your senses keen and sharp. Be knowledgeable of all the hundreds of different crime schemes, be it by way of violence or by way of deceit. Develop your street smartness, sometimes it will be through pain of loss. Know that it will only get rougher in the future, so keep your head up.

We’re in this together. By educating each other, training hard and giving ’em hell in moments where it’s feasible, we will contribute our share to discourage crooks of all colors from continuing their trade.

Protection be yours.

More ideas on safety or want to share your story? Write it in the comments.

Joe Goerbert is a business plan writer and marketing consultant. Born in Germany, he is living as a digital nomad since 2010 2010 and has been using travel safety techniques extensively since 2013. His favorite regions are South America and the Balkan countries. PS: A good amount of rather badass photography can be viewed at www.solreign.com, the author’s passion project site.

They think that to be a teacher you have to have a university degree, be an expert in your field or know everything there is to know about a subject. This notion prevent people from taking action and reaching their full potential.

Why? Because you don’t need to be an expert in order to teach. If you know more about a certain subject or are better at something than most of us, you can already bring a lot of value to the table. Corbett Bar runs a blog named Expert Enough that is completely based on this realization.

Expertise isn’t an absolute. Think of it as a scale, from 1 to 10. If you’re a 3, there are plenty of 1s and 2s out there who you can teach, and probably better than people with more expertise – Corbett Barr

This makes a lot of sense. A 3 is probably in a better position to teach a 2 than a 10 would be, as a 3 can relate to a 2 and understand the struggles at that level. So don’t think that you need to be the world’s biggest expert to be able to teach.

Teaching and tutoring is a great way to temporarily pay the bills while working on a long-term business or project. You can even teach online from anywhere in the world! There are several platforms that connect student with teacher. They are all free to sign-up and typically take 20-30% commission. It’s very easy to sign-up, so check these out.

Wyzant

Wyzant focusses on academic subject such as math, languages and computer science. They claim to have tutors within 10 miles of 93.7% of the US population and over 3 million hours have been taught through the platform. What’s cool about Wyzant is that you can set your own rate, unlike some of the other platforms. To get started, simply complete an online application. A WyzAnt staff member will review your application and respond to you within 24-48 hours.

Takelessons

Takelessons started out as an online marketplace for music lessons but they have recently expanded into other verticals such as academic tutoring and the performing arts. They offer online teaching and their teachers have earned over $25 million. You can sign up here.

Tutor.com

Tutor.com has logged over 11 million lessons and pays their tutors a standard rate that varies per subject. There are some restrictions to become a tutor, for example you have to reside in the US and be a college sophomore or higher. You can apply here.

InstaEDU

InstaEDU is an online-only tutoring platform, which means that you can tutor from any location in the world! Their individually screened tutors cover more than 2,500 subjects, ranging from basic subjects to AP material to advanced college courses. Tutors get paid a standard $20 per hour. You can sign up here, all you need is a Facebook account.

Happy teaching!

Update (11/21/2014): Check out italki.com for teaching languages online!

This is part three of the Monetization Series, in which the author shares his knowledge on how to effectively monetize your assets, skills and knowledge.

Join the conversation! Have you ever considered teaching or tutoring? What’s your experience? I’d love to hear about it, comment below! If you know of any other platforms, please let me know as well so I can add them!

From 6am to 6am the next day no-one is supposed to engage in any activities. No entertainment, no electricity, no work, no travel and for some even no talking and food.

It’s a day reserved for self-reflection.But Nyepi has another, more interesting purpose. The night before Nyepi, the Balinese ride a number of Ogoh-Ogohs through the streets, accompanied by loud orchestral music. These are skillfully crafted monsters, mostly build by youth organizations. Each village typically build one Ogoh Ogoh.

The Ogoh-ogohs are standing on a pad built of bamboo, that sustains it while it’s lifted and carried by eight or more men (or boys) through the village. The idea behind this ritual is to scare away the evil spirits from the island. The Ogoh-Ogohs do look very scary, so I can imagine some spirits would certainly get frightened.

Before the parade starts, all the Ogoh Ogohs are showcased at the town square, providing an opportunity for locals and tourists to take a good look at them and take pictures.

The next day, during Nyepi, people are supposed to be quiet so that the evil spirits will think the island is deserted. With no humans left to haunt, the spirits will move elsewhere. I guess it’s assumed that they do return at some point as the ritual is a yearly event.

If you want to experience this cultural event yourself, I recommend going to Ubud. The Balinese New Year falls on a different date each year, so make sure to check this before you head over.

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Every time I’m asked to turn off my electronic devices for take-off or landing, I ask myself this question. And to the passengers around me. The answer is usually something along the lines of “never really thought about it,” or “It’s not been proven but they ask you to turn it off anyway, just in case.”

Imagine electronics do pose a danger to the aircraft’s systems. If this would be the case, would airlines really want to depend on the willingness of their passengers to simply comply with the request to turn it off?

I don’t think so. There are plenty of passengers who either forget to turn their devices off or just don’t believe it will cause a problem.

If electronics would really pose threat, they wouldn’t even be allowed on the plane in the first place! We would have to check-in all our mobile phones, iPads and laptops. These items would then go through a specifically designed scanner that can detect any radiation emitting device.

To be completely safe, electronic items would be placed in radiation blocking boxes, in case any radiation emitting device has somehow made it to the aircraft undetected.

The reason we’re being told to turn our devices off is clearly not the real reason. The question that remains is:

What is the real reason that we can’t play on our iPad during take-off and landing?

Is it because airlines don’t want us to have something in our hands during take-off and landing? If something happens, iPhones and laptop flying around the cockpit would certainly be a safety hazard.

Or maybe they don’t want us to be distracted by our devices. Being alert in case of an accident might increase our chances to survive.

If one of the two is the real reason, then why is there so much emphasis on actually turning the equipment off? Just putting it away would be sufficient. Also, we are allowed to read a book for example.

I’ve done some research on the internet, but haven’t found anything conclusive. Most sources state that

“portable electronic devices can theoretically interfere with aircraft systems.”

There is no evidence. What surprises me most is that there have been very few studies on the issue.

I suggest the following:

Let’s have an unmanned plane filled with all sorts of devices fly around the planet non-stop and measure the interference with it’s systems. If we can put people on the moon, clone sheep and transfer organs, then surely we should be able to figure this one out.

Until then, I will secretly turn my iPad back on after the flight attendants sit down for take-off or landing.

Update: The FAA loosens rules for e-devices on airline flights. Passengers will soon be allowed to use e-readers, tablets and other electronics from gate to gate.

I’d love to hear your opinion on this: do you think electrical devices really interfere with aircraft navigational systems?

Whale Sharks can be found in many places, including the Bay Islands in Honduras, Thailand, the Philippines, the Maldives, the Red Sea, Western Australia (Ningaloo Reef, Christmas Island), Taiwan, Panama (Isla Coiba), Belize, Tofo Beach in Mozambique, Sodwana Bay (Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park) in South Africa, the Galapagos Islands, Isla Mujeres and Bahía de los Ángeles in Mexico, the Seychelles, West Malaysia, islands off eastern peninsular Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Oman, Fujairah, and Puerto Rico.

The Whale Shark, what a magnificent creature!

As the Whale Shark is a migratory fish, in most places you’ll have to show up at the right time to have a chance of an encounter. There is a place where you are almost guaranteed to see some all year round though: just off the coast of the little town of Oslob, on the southern part of the island of Cebu, The Philippines.

For more information, check out www.oslobwhalesharks.com.

22 February 2013 Jasper

Spending about 2 to 3 days per country and spanning over a distance of around 1000 miles, this road trip should be doable in three to four weeks. The best way would probably be to buy a car in Mexico and sell it upon arrival in Colombia.

Map of Central America

22 February 2013 Jasper