Coffee? You’ll see.

So, your flight lands. You walk off the plane and proceed to the Immigration lines. You receive your entry stamp in your passport. You collect your luggage from the luggage carousel and you walk through the Customs area without any issues.

And then you step out into the arrivals hall of the airport, ready to begin your adventure in a new land.

At this point, you may already have your transportation organized and somebody or some service is picking you up. Others might have spent a little time before their trip researching the best methods to get from the airport into the city on their own and some people won’t have done any research whatsoever.

If you’re the kind of person (as I am myself) who prefers to do only some very basic research or even no research at all before you arrive, I offer you the following suggestion of…

How you should spend your first 20 minutes in a new country.

You should take a break immediately upon arrival. This is an idea that I briefly mentioned on this site over 18 months ago, one that I learned from fellow traveler John Bardos over at JetSetCitizen.com (lots of useful information on this site for anyone looking to become location independent).

Taking a break is so simple, it makes so much sense, yet almost nobody does it.

Once you collect your luggage and proceed through the Customs inspection, head straight to an airport cafe, plop down in a seat and drink a coffee or tea or anything else you might desire. (If there’s no cafe, just sit down on one of the benches in the arrivals hall.)

As travelers, we tend to be taken advantage of most when we are tired, disoriented and unfamiliar with our surroundings, which is exactly the state we’re in right after landing in a new destination. So why not relax for 20 minutes instead of immediately trying to figure out how to get into the city? Enjoying such a rest allows you to take a few deep breaths, observe your surroundings and to clear your head before stepping out into the unknown.

You can also ask the staff at the cafe for reliable information about transportation and you can read the signs around the airport from your table without looking completely lost. Then, when you feel ready, you can calmly and confidently (you won’t be so overwhelmed anymore) head off into the city. And by this point, the unofficial taxi and shuttle bus representatives will have left you alone and you most likely won’t be bothered by anyone.

Also, if you’re two or more people traveling together, one person can wander around the airport learning the best way to get into the city while the other waits in the cafe so that you don’t have to stand around with your backpacks, exhausted and frustrated, trying to read signs and trying to understand where you need to go.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Taking such a break has helped me out several times, including…

Upon arrival in Istanbul during my first visit, a simple rest in a cafe at Ataturk Airport allowed me to figure out how to navigate the metro and tram system that would take me into the city center after a 17 hour trip from the US. Before I had my coffee, I found myself fending off several people offering a variety of taxi and shuttle bus services at prices that seemed much too high.

When I flew into Bucharest’s Otopeni airport, taking a seat on a row of benches in the arrivals hall (I couldn’t find a cafe) for twenty minutes helped me discover that the ‘official’ taxis in front of the airport charge 3.50 lei per kilometer ($1.15 USD) but if you walk one minute down the exit ramp you can hail a taxi that charges the standard Bucharest taxi rate of 1.39 lei per kilometer.

And when a friend of mine flew to Vietnam last week, he told me about how he took a seat at a cafe in the airport and how it saved him from getting ripped off by a taxi driver, something that had happened to just about every other traveler he met at the hostel where he was staying in Ho Chi Minh City. Simply by asking the waitress at the cafe for advice, he learned that he could catch a local bus outside the airport that would take him straight into the neighborhood he wanted for less than $1.00.

All it took was twenty minutes of relaxation upon arrival.

TWO MORE AIRPORT TIPS

The following can make things even more hassle-free…

Find another traveler in the airport. Whenever I fly into a country for the first time – and I actually begin this process while on the plane itself – the first thing I do is to look around for other backpackers. If I don’t notice any on the airplane, I look around the immigration area of the airport, the luggage carousels and the customs area to see if anyone else looks like a traveler in need of a ‘buddy’.

If I do locate a fellow traveler, I strike up a conversation and ask them if they want to head into the city together. After all, backpackers usually tend to stay in the same area of a city, whichever area has the most budget accommodation options, so why not team up? Dealing with the initial challenges of facing a foreign language, foreign culture and simple lack of local street smarts in a strange land is much less intimidating when you’re with another clueless person.

The word ‘Official’ doesn’t actually mean ‘Official’ in many countries. In many airports, you’ll immediately notice booths and signs in the arrivals area advertising ‘Official Taxis’ and there will be people yelling out ‘Official this’ and ‘Official that’ in an attempt to convince you to use their services. But don’t be fooled, in some airports it seems that anyone is allowed to use this word, even those involved in the most unofficial of operations.

In fact, this is also true with the word ‘Government’ in some airports as well. Signs for ‘Official government taxis’ may lead you to an unlicensed guy with a car parked a mile down the road who will proceed to rip you off and just maybe, as happened to me in Bangladesh, kidnap you for a couple of days. So, this is where taking a break really pays off…it gives you time to find out exactly where the official ‘Official’ taxis or other transportation are located.

At the end of the day, you don’t have to plan every detail of your trip ahead of time and that’s not even something that I would recommend. But you certainly don’t want to arrive in Bangkok or Delhi or Buenos Aires or Cairo, overflowing with excitement about your upcoming travels, only to have all of that positive energy immediately sucked straight out by a negative experience as soon as you land.

And if the difference between a frustrating, upsetting initial experience and a much smoother, enjoyable one lies simply in a cup of coffee and sitting in a chair for twenty minutes, I imagine you’d agree that this is an idea worth following!

There seems to be a general belief that anyone who decides to travel extensively or to give up the traditional 9-5 lifestyle in favor of a life that focuses on the achievement of one’s goals, is at least in some small way acting in an irresponsible manner.

After all, such a person is trading the stability and safety of a normal routine in order to head off into the wild unknown where others believe they won’t have access to health insurance, they won’t be able to start a family and they certainly won’t be saving money for their future.

I hear about this last one all the time. In fact, here’s a common question that I am asked: “Isn’t it irresponsible of you to just travel around without saving up for retirement?”

And my answer is simple. “Yes, such a thing is very, very irresponsible. But who said that I’m not saving up for my future?”

I may be living a non-traditional lifestyle but I’m not an anti-society rebel out to prove that I can survive in this world by doing the complete opposite of what everyone living back at home feels is important in life. Living a life of travel does not mean I just run around the world all nilly-willy, earning and spending, earning and spending, living dollar to dollar and not worrying about what might happen, always content in the belief that ‘everything will fall into place’.

I actually have a plan. I save money just like anyone else and I certainly do prepare for the future. I think about ‘retirement’ or a time when I may no longer want to travel and I realize that if that happens, I will need some savings in order to make the transition to a new lifestyle or to live out the rest of my days.

It’s just common sense to me and something that I’ve always taken into account, even when I was earning little money while teaching English in Thailand back in 2000. And anyone who does decide to follow their own unique path in life should keep their future in mind as well.

Even if you put away $20 per month, it makes a huge difference and will prevent you from finding yourself completely stuck at some point in life, left with no money at all and, as a result, fewer options to turn things around.

So, go forth I say, chase after and achieve those goals, live that life that excites you more than any other, but use some general common sense too. Think about your future, at least a little bit. This way you’ll have a useful cushion to fall back on if times get tough or to be used during those later years when work is no longer a priority.

Standing at the reception desk of the shabby, low-budget Al-Shabaa Hotel in the Gemmayze neighborhood of Beirut, there was little I could do when the hotel owner informed me that the single room I had booked was no longer available. He apologized several times as he explained that due to the Eid al-Adha holiday, the city was overflowing with travelers and as a result, he was forced to turn all of his hotel rooms into dorm rooms in order to accommodate as many people as possible.

My options were to stay in a dorm room with three other people or to sleep on a thin mattress on the roof of the building, where twenty other travelers had already set up their ‘beds’. Considering that there were also people sleeping in the hallways and even two people sharing a narrow bench inside the kitchen, I happily agreed to take a bed in the dorm.

And so my stay in Beirut, Lebanon began…

For the first two nights, I shared the room with the same three people, two British travelers and a Jordanian driver who was driving a French couple (who was staying at a much nicer hotel) around the Middle East for a few weeks.

All was well in that room. Everyone got along just fine and in the evenings, after we had each spent the day doing our own thing (which in my case was exploring a neighborhood or two of this fascinating city), we would all walk over to Gouraud Street and eat dinner together.

THE DAY I MET ‘DAVE’

My third day in Beirut started off just like the previous two. I woke up at 9:30am (everyone else in the room had already gone out by this time), I went into the hallway and waited in line for a shower and I then returned to my room to get dressed.

But when I returned to my room this time, I noticed that a new guy had apparently checked into the hotel while I was in the bathroom. He was a normal-looking fellow, possibly from a Middle Eastern country, with a thin beard and shiny brown shoes. He was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room with his feet up on the metal frame of the bed that the Jordanian driver had vacated earlier that morning. His small backpack leaned up against the wall at the foot of that bed and he had placed a packet of cigarettes on the pillow.

And while this new traveler did seem to give off a friendly vibe, I couldn’t help but notice that he appeared to be waiting for me when I had walked into the room.

After shaking hands and sharing pleasantries, ‘Dave’ told me that he was from a small town in Texas, something that wasn’t too surprising once I heard his strong Texan accent. He then continued to tell me more about himself as I started putting on my clothes…

This was his first trip abroad. He was planning to travel around the world indefinitely and Lebanon was his first stop (odd choice of a first destination I thought). I asked him if he had family in Lebanon and he said he did not. He told me that he was nervous about his trip, that he only spoke English, that his family didn’t approve of him leaving the US for such a long period of time and that he never wanted to return to his hometown again.

And then he informed me that he really wanted to visit Iran.

He asked me if I had ever visited Iran and I said ‘no’. (I have not.)

THE STRANGE QUESTIONS BEGIN

As I finished getting dressed, Dave invited me to tell my own story but, as I was eager to start exploring Beirut again, I just gave him a brief, one-minute version. However, this proved to be less than sufficient as suddenly, Dave was asking me an endless stream of questions.

Have you been to Indonesia? Have you been to Bangladesh? Have you been to the United Arab Emirates? Have you been to Syria? Have you been to Pakistan? Have you been to Afghanistan?

My answer to all of those questions was ‘yes’ of course, and once he finished, I was somewhat confused. It was as if he already knew that I had spent time in these countries.

He then asked my why I have not been to Iran. I told him it is almost impossible for a US citizen to get an independent tourist visa from the Iranian government. He pressed me further, asking if I knew of any way to get around the Iranian visa rules or if I knew of any Iranian Embassy or Consulate where it might be easier to obtain a visa. I simply informed him that I had once heard about an Iranian Consulate in the far eastern region of Turkey that apparently sometimes issued independent travel visas to US citizens.

He continued asking me, over and over again, if I planned to try and visit Iran in the near future. He then began asking if I planned to return to Indonesia, Bangladesh, UAE, Pakistan, Syria or Afghanistan. Starting to feel uncomfortable, I replied with a quick, “I don’t know.”

At this point, I was all dressed and ready to go outside and when I informed Dave that I was leaving, he practically demanded that he tag along. Not sure how to handle this situation, I reluctantly agreed and out of the hotel we went, walking off in the direction of the Hamra neighborhood.

DRUG SMUGGLING & FLUENT ARABIC

Unfortunately, Dave didn’t let up with his questions and this time, he seemed very interested in how I earned an income. Thinking that I could easily brush this one aside, I just said, ‘I work on board cruise ships’.

It didn’t work. For the next fifteen minutes Dave tried quite hard to find out whether or not crew members on board cruise ships ever participate in illegal activities such as smuggling drugs between ports. Many times he tried to pry some information from me with such statements as, “Come on, surely you’ve seen some illegal stuff on board ships.”

All I said was, “I don’t transport drugs and I have no idea what others do”. And this is when I finally reached the conclusion that there was no way Dave was just another ordinary traveler.

He then changed the subject and starting asking me if I had any contacts in Dubai, anyone who could help him with some business ideas he had. He told me he needed to find someone who knew how to ‘get things done’, whatever that meant. When I said I knew of nobody that could help him, he asked if I had any contacts in Kuwait or Bahrain or Saudi Arabia, at which point I shook my head and stopped talking altogether.

As we reached Bliss Street a short while later, Dave suddenly stopped in front of a small shop, told me he was going to buy a bottle of water and asked me if I wanted a bottle of water as well. I said ‘no’ and continued walking.

But after taking another ten steps or so, I realized that I was indeed feeling a bit dehydrated and so I turned around and entered the shop as well. And that’s when I saw and heard ‘Dave’ speaking with the man behind the counter in fluent Arabic, despite having told me earlier that the only language he spoke was English and that he had never been to the Middle East before.

I immediately backed out of the shop and walked to the next corner, but within a minute, Dave had caught up to me. And this is when I told him that now was the time to part ways because I wanted to check my email at an internet cafe. But, not surprisingly, he replied by stating that he would like to check his emails as well.

MORE SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR

Five minutes later we were inside of a large, dark internet cafe and thankfully, the woman at the desk assigned us to two computers that were on opposite ends of the room. I sat down and opened my inbox and I spent the following forty-five minutes replying to emails without paying any attention whatsoever to Dave.

After I had cleared through most of my inbox, I then did what I do a few times every day…I went to crack my neck. However, when I turned my head to the right just before giving it a good solid crack, out of the corner of my eye I noticed another person not too far away. I quickly turned around and sure enough, there was Dave, sitting in a swivel chair only four feet behind me, staring straight over my shoulder at my computer screen.

And that was enough for me.

I logged off the computer, paid the woman behind the counter and told Dave that I was going to meet a friend. I then shook his hand, as if to emphasize the fact that this time I was indeed going without him.

Dave finally accepted our parting of ways, although, he still asked me if I wanted to meet him back at the hotel in the evening so that we could grab some food together. I said, “We’ll see” and I walked off, heading straight up some unknown street to meet a friend I didn’t even have, looking back over my shoulder every few seconds, wondering if I was still being followed around Beirut.

THE FINAL TWIST

So, such a story might seem strange but perhaps the details have yet to convince you that I was actually being tracked or spied on by some type of secret service agent. Maybe Dave was just some weird character in the end.

But what about this…

When I returned to the hotel in the evening and I walked into my dorm room, ‘Dave’ was nowhere to be found. His bag was gone, his bed was occupied by someone else and nobody in the room claimed to have seen him.

And then, when I asked the owner of the hotel about this bearded traveler from Texas, he also told me that he had absolutely no idea who I was talking about and that nobody fitting the description had checked into the hotel that day.

Let me begin by thanking everyone who participated in the travel poll over the past week. There were over 500 voters as well as a few dozen comments in which many of you offered your own suggestions of other countries and regions that you would be excited about visiting in the near future.

As for the results…

Starting with the question of “Which continents interest you more than others?”, the clear winner was Asia as it received a vote from 49% of those who took the poll. The second and third place positions were almost equal, with only one vote separating Europe (2nd place) and South America (3rd place). Africa came in next, receiving a vote from 23% of participants and then Australia and North America filled up the last two spots, somewhat far behind the others.

As for the second question – “Which country/region do you want to visit the most?” – India easily took first place by receiving a nod from 34% of voters. In all honestly, I was more than excited to see India receive the most votes. India certainly is a destination where I would love to organize an informal tour given the 2+ years I’ve already spent traveling/living in that country. It is also a destination that I truly believe every traveler should try to visit but at the same time, I understand that the challenges of India often keep people away. So, what better way to get into the groove of this fascinating land than by joining a small, informal group!

After India, I was definitely surprised to see Argentina take the second spot as I rarely receive any questions about this country from readers. However, it only narrowly beat out Thailand by just one vote. And while Thailand came in third place in the end, it only narrowly beat out Australia/New Zealand by one vote as well. So the difference between second and fourth place was a mere 2 votes.

To see Australia/New Zealand so high on the list despite coming in fourth place in the first question was something I didn’t expect, although I certainly agree that Australia/New Zealand is a region well worth exploring.

And then came Nepal, which was another surprise to me (but a welcome one of course). I just wasn’t sure if Nepal would appeal to travelers/potential travelers considering the typically greater allure of its massive, and more popular, neighbor India. After Nepal, and rounding out the countries that received at least 20% of the votes, came South Africa and Turkey, two countries that have quickly risen to the top of my own list of favorite destinations on the planet.

While the remaining countries, such as Indonesia, Czech Republic, Romania, Mexico, Slovenia (I’m going to work on bringing more attention to this wonderful country) and last-placed Guatemala, filled up the bottom half of the results, I was happy to see that every country at least received a respectable number of votes.

There were also some great suggestions left in the comments, including Colombia, Oman, Iran, Egypt, Vietnam, Philippines, Mongolia, Belgium, Greenland and London for the Summer Olympics. Just reading that list makes me want to pick up right now and head to the regions I’ve yet to explore…so many places to see in this world!

So, what’s next?

Within the next few weeks I will write a post with more details about my informal tour project. Right now I can say that the focus of this project will be on small groups (no more than 8 people), unique off-the-beaten-path experiences, building confidence in one’s ability to travel independently and of course, having such a blast doing it all that you’ll want to continue traveling for a long, long time!

The idea is also to ensure that these tours are accessible to as many people as possible by having them offered at a cost that is more than reasonable. I’m not looking to turn this into a million-dollar tour company. I just want to continue doing what I love most and to help others do the same, and that will never change.

Where did I get this idea?

I am often contacted by readers who ask if they can travel with me or if I have an ‘apprentice’ program that will teach them the ropes of long-term travel. After receiving a few dozen of such emails over the last year, I started thinking that maybe I should take this idea and run with it. I did some brainstorming, talked about the concept with some of my closest friends in the travel world and suddenly, the informal tour idea was born.

And I must say that it feels wonderful to think about the possibility of meeting many of you in person should you be interested in participating in one of these ‘tours‘ unique first-hand travel experiences.

Stay tuned for more information and thank you again everyone for taking the poll…

The goal of this post is simple.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, let’s say during the upcoming summer, I want to know where it is you would choose to visit.

As I’ve hinted in a previous post a couple of months ago, I’m working on organizing some informal ‘tours’ in which I will take a small group of people around a particular country. The idea is to not only explore the destination, but more importantly, to offer a hands-on introduction to independent travel. By the time the experience comes to an end, you’ll be fully confident and prepared to create your own life of travel and to hopefully sustain it for as long as you wish.

There will be more details about this project to come soon but for now, I just want to know which part of the world you want to explore most! This will help give me a better idea of where I should organize my first couple of tours.

Below you’ll find a very short poll (only two questions!) and I hope you’ll take a few seconds to participate. Even if my tour idea is not for you, please vote anyway. I think that feedback from as many people as possible will still be useful and interesting.

And that’s it. I appreciate you taking the time to participate and I shall share the results along with more details of this project very soon.

On a side note, it’s been a busy week of travel as I left New York City and have spent the past five days exploring some more of Istanbul. And I’ll be traveling back to Bucharest, Romania on Saturday, a city that will be my general ‘base’ for the next few months. If anyone happens to be passing through that area, please do let me know!

For some reason, this morning, just seconds after waking up, I started thinking about an elderly Indian man. But this was not just any elderly Indian man, it was the owner of a small hotel in the tiny Ladakhi village of Mulbekh, located some three days north of Delhi by car or bus, and at an altitude of 3500 meters, way up in the heart of the Himalayas.

It’s embarrassing to admit but I don’t know this man’s name despite having spent two nights at his hotel some years ago. And while I certainly don’t remember the names of all the hotel and guesthouse owners I’ve met over the years, my stay at this particular hotel was a particularly memorable one…

When I hopped off the bus in Mulbekh, it did not take long at all for me to learn that this 5500-person village had only two accommodation options.

Glancing to my left, I noticed what appeared to be a brand new three-level hotel, conveniently situated across the street from the Chamba Statue, a 1300-year old Buddha image carved out of the rock face, which happened to be the main attraction in the village. There were a few cars in front of the hotel as well as ten or so Indian tourists sitting in the restaurant next to the lobby.

Glancing to my right, I saw a crumbling and faded green and red building with a hand-painted sign above the door that read, “Namchung Hotel & Restaurant”. There was an old man – yes, the old man I thought about this morning – sitting on a plastic chair in front of a tiny shop that appeared to be part of the ‘hotel’.

Without hesitation I turned to the right and walked up to the old man, who turned out to not only be the owner of the hotel, restaurant and shop, but the only employee as well.

He spoke no English. I spoke only a few words of Hindi and zero words of the other languages that could be heard in this remote mountain region. But we managed to communicate nonetheless.

And before long, this man led me around the back of the building and to my room. It was actually the only room available, not because there were other guests, but because this hotel only had one room. The floor was made of dirt, the bed was made of rope. There was no electricity, only candles. There was also no lock on the door but I had a feeling this was the kind of village where I didn’t have to worry about my belongings.

Excited to be spending two nights here, I threw down my backpack, returned to the front of the building and ordered a chai, which the old man naturally prepared himself. And then we sat there drinking tea together, staring out over the beautiful Himalayas as we communicated through gestures and broken Hindi.

NOT YOUR NORMAL HOTEL

After drinking two cups of chai, I asked the man where I could relieve myself, something I had to act out in order for him to understand. He simply led me to a small patch of grass behind the building, a patch of grass that was in plain view to the residents of at least twenty homes in the village. That grass was the toilet, no matter what kind of business you needed to take care of.

When I asked the owner where I could wash my hands, he went into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. He then proceeded to slowly pour the water into my hands as I rubbed them together.

And when I inquired about taking a shower, a question to which I could not wait to hear the answer, he quickly pulled out a piece of paper and drew me a map. From what I gathered, I had to cross the street, walk down a small path, turn right onto another path, turn left onto yet another and after a while I would reach the Wakha River. So that’s what I did and sure enough, thirty minutes later I found myself bathing in its icy waters, and loving every second of it.

Returning to the hotel after my ‘shower’, I asked the kind man, who always answered my questions with a smile on his face, where I could find some food. He simply motioned for me to sit on a wooden box in front of his small shop and then he disappeared inside.

When he returned twenty minutes later, he handed me a metal plate with some rice and a few spoonfuls of what appeared to be potatoes in some kind of sauce. Whatever it was, I wolfed it down quite quickly, and while this was no award-winning meal, it was definitely edible, which was a good thing considering that he would cook me the exact same meal the next day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And so my two days and two nights passed at the Namchung Hotel. In between bathing in the river and eating rice and potatoes, I also wandered around the village, played football with some Tibetan children and took a couple of short hikes into the mountains. Every evening though, I would sit right back on that wooden box in front of the hotel, right next to the owner, and we would watch the sunset, drink chai and try our best to communicate.

I’m not sure I’ve ever enjoyed a hotel stay as much as I enjoyed this one. Maybe that’s because apart from a room and some food, I also received my most memorable lesson in simplicity. I didn’t need a carpeted floor or even a sink. I didn’t need a toilet or a shower or electricity or a 10-page menu to order from. I also didn’t need nightlife or shops or a cinema or internet.

I found happiness in just being, in witnessing the Himalayan mountains, in breathing in the freshest of air, in the colors of the houses, in the smiles of the locals and of course, in getting to know another wonderful human being whom I never would have met had I not started traveling.

Could I have lived in Mulbekh forever? Nope. But I’ll certainly never forget my stay at the one-room, dirt-floored Namchung Hotel and the life-changing lesson that stay taught me.

Four-hour workweeks, two-hour workweeks, zero-hour workweeks…that’s what it’s all about, right?

After a little research, anyone looking to break out of the traditional path in life, especially those of you who want to do some traveling, will undoubtedly discover an abundance of websites and people declaring that a life involving just a few hours of work per week, or even no work at all, is just around the corner and oh-so-easy to obtain.

Now that’s fine and all, despite it being complete nonsense, but I have a question.

What’s wrong with work?

I like to work. And while I would prefer not to spend 50+ hours per week in front of my laptop, as I generally do these days, I certainly don’t find the idea of a 4- or 3- or 0-hour workweek any more attractive.

Work gives me a purpose, it gives me structure and it ensures that I am constantly using my brain. Also, work leads to new opportunities through the connections I make, helping me meet an endless number of amazing people and to have an endless number of amazing experiences that I otherwise would have missed out on.

Besides, if we choose our work wisely, work allows us to create and build and to actually observe the results of our efforts. And it feels mighty good to create something and to see it through until the end.

In my case, I genuinely enjoy spending time working on this blog, watching it grow and of course, having a chance to interact with all of you. I also enjoy creating other websites and travel-related eBooks and then witnessing how the months and months of hard work I put into each of these projects ends up benefiting other people in some way, shape or form.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to bamboozle you into thinking that I only work for the love of work. I won’t hesitate to admit that I get quite excited about earning money through my efforts as well, money which allows me to continue living this nomadic lifestyle. Money does play a role. We all need it to travel and that’s just an undeniable fact.

But my point is that I don’t mind working hard to earn my money. I’m not bothered by a long workweek at all. Instead, I accept it and welcome it as an integral part of my lifestyle.

And I’ve always tried to stress on this website that without the long workweeks I’ve been putting in over the years, whether teaching English, working on board cruise ships or working online, I simply wouldn’t have been able to travel this world of ours for so long.

As lovely as it would be, immigration officers stationed at the border of every country unfortunately do not hand every traveler $1000 upon arrival. You need to earn your money, and in order to earn it, you need to work. The good news is that if you have a healthy mindset, work doesn’t have to be such a negative thing.

And in all honesty, what would you do if you didn’t have to work? I sure have no idea what I’d do. The immediate answer would be to travel more but that’s really a silly answer as I travel quite a lot already. I just don’t know. I’m quite sure I would feel somewhat lost and even bored if I didn’t have to sit down at my computer every day and continue building and creating, finding solutions to problems and working on new ideas.

Again, I want to work. I enjoy work. And I don’t really understand the anti-work movement at all.

Instead of wasting time trying to chase after that unobtainable goal of 4- or 2-hour workweeks, I recommend spending time trying to find a type of work that interests and excites you, some kind of project or occupation that you are motivated to sit down and spend 20, 30 or yes, even 40, hours per week working on.

And once you do find something that you actually enjoy, then you can take the necessary steps to transform that work into something you can do while traveling and/or living overseas.

That’s how you turn travel into an actual lifestyle and I urge you not to be fooled by those who claim otherwise.

As excited as I am when I first step foot into a country I’ve never visited before, I must not deny the fact that there is also a part of me that, these days, just wants to travel to countries that I’ve already been to, countries that I can’t get out of my mind because of the life-changing experiences I had during my first, or in some cases, second visit.

But it’s not always easy to do that because human beings love competition and when it comes to traveling, the most common competition (even if it’s not a formal one) tends to revolve around the ‘country count’, the overall number of countries that a traveler has visited. This number is brought up in many a conversation while on the road and of course, the higher the number, the more impressive a particular traveler appears (or thinks they appear).

After all, how can you call yourself a traveler if you’re not on a mission to see every country on the planet before you die? Right?

Wrong. So very wrong.

I don’t now about you but I’m not on that mission at all. I personally don’t care if I visit every country in the world and I’m certainly not about to bounce around every continent, spending a day or two in most of the places I visit, just to say I’ve been there and to check each place off of a list.

That’s just not my travel style or goal. If that happens to be your goal, I have no problem with it at all of course and I certainly wish you success with your journey. I’m sure you’re going to have some amazing experiences wherever you go. It’s just not for me.

I’d much rather spend significant (or at least a decent amount of) time in fewer countries and even return to some of my favorite countries over and over again. To me, the benefit of travel has nothing to do with the number of different stamps in my passport, and if that means my final country count does not reach the official United Nations number of 193, or that I’ve visited fewer countries than someone who has been on the road for less time than me, then so be it.

As I was sitting on the subway in New York City the other day, traveling from the Upper West Side all the way over to Clinton Hill in Brooklyn, I noticed an advertisement on the subway wall. The ad was for the country of Iceland and there was a beautiful photograph of the Blue Lagoon. Looking at this photograph immediately brought back memories of my own visit to Iceland several years ago and it made me realize that I definitely want to visit this country again one day.

That got me thinking even more and before I knew it, there I was on the subway, wedged in between a guy who I swear might have been Samuel L. Jackson and another guy in red suspenders who seemed quite content licking stamps and placing them onto his pants, creating a mental list of some other countries I’ve already been to and that I’d really be interested in traveling to again.

The countries that came to mind are…

South Africa – Back in December, I was simply blown away by this country and less than twenty-four hours after my arrival, I had already promised myself that I would return soon. And I intend to keep that promise as there is still an abundance of cities, wine regions, wildlife reserves, townships, adventure activities, natural wonders, and more left for me to experience.

Mexico – Another country that one could travel around for a long, long time without ever getting bored. It’s as diverse a destination as there is on this planet and despite having spent almost two years there already, I’ve barely touched the surface.

Fiji – When I was 19 years old I visited Fiji while on my way to study abroad in Australia and I had such a wonderful time. This is why I was super-excited to return this week on the press trip I had been invited on. Unfortunately, that press trip was canceled but now I’m even more determined to return to Fiji as soon as I can.

Slovenia – It’s no secret that this is one of my favorite countries on the planet and despite it’s small size, I absolutely plan on returning for several more visits, at least!

India – All I can say about India is that I will never get tired of traveling to this country. And if I decided to spend the rest of my traveling years only wandering around India and nowhere else, I’d still be a very happy man.

Most likely, I will indeed visit these countries again, as well as several others that I’ve already spent time in. After all, I’ve already been to India nine times over the years, Thailand eight times, Australia five times, Turkey five times, Italy four times and I’ve been back and forth to Romania three times in the past five months, and on and on.

Had I wanted to, I probably could have seen all 192 countries in the world by now, but again, that’s just not my travel style. Spending more time in less countries has worked perfectly for me and brought me infinite rewards in terms of the connections I’ve made and the education I’ve gained. And I see no reason to change at this point.

Let me start with this. It appears that my upcoming Fiji trip is no longer happening. Unfortunately, this South Pacific nation has been hit with some severe flooding over the past week due to a series of storms, including a cyclone, that passed over the area. As a result, the country is not in any condition to host a group of travel bloggers as they deal with much more pressing matters.

Actually, the press trip hasn’t been canceled. It’s just been re-scheduled but because of some other commitments I have back in Europe, there’s a good chance I won’t be able to participate with the new dates.

So to begin with, I want to send my positive thoughts to Fiji and to wish its people a quick recovery from these floods. Hopefully this situation will be over with as soon as possible and normal life on the islands will resume. I’ll certainly be keeping Fiji at the top of my list of potential destinations and hope to make it there at some point in the near future.

BACKPACK THERAPY

Of course, upon hearing the news that the Fiji trip would not be going ahead as scheduled, and despite the reason being perfectly understandable, I still felt quite bummed out as I had traveled all the way to the US specifically for this trip. However, there is one thing that always cheers a traveler up and after a few minutes of moping around my friend’s apartment, I immediately decided to partake in this therapeutic activity myself. It was time to buy some travel gear!

More specifically, I decided to buy a new backpack, which, admittedly, is something I would have had to do anyway given the decaying condition of my current backpack. But once the Fiji trip was called off, this mission suddenly took on a sense of urgency, transforming itself from something I needed to get done eventually into a vital session of healing.

My trusty Kelty Redwing 2900, that backpack that has traveled with me all over this planet for the past twelve years, finally reached the end of its career. But twelve years is a long time for a backpack to be in use, especially when you consider that my backpack is my life and it is constantly by my side, whether I’m backpacking in Asia, working on board cruise ships, living in Mexico, traveling around the Middle East or whatever I happen to be doing.

In fact, this backpack served me so well that it absolutely deserves to spend the rest of its days relaxing on a beautiful beach in Hawaii. It’s actually going to spend the rest of its days sitting on the top shelf of a closet, but at least it’s warm in there and you can hear the water passing through the pipes.

THE SEARCH BEGINS

My search for a new backpack started off with a trip to Paragon Sports, a well-known sporting goods/outdoor shop in Union Square here in New York City. I spent about an hour inside, unzipping, re-zipping, inspecting, stuffing, un-stuffing and trying on as many different backpacks as possible. I’m a bit picky though, and so by the time I left the store, my list of possible winners consisted of only two backpacks.

After Paragon Sports, I returned to my friend’s apartment, sat down at my laptop and conducted some more research. I studied the benefits of traditional backpacks versus duffel fusion packs versus backpacks with wheels. I contemplated long and hard about sizes, styles and yes, even colors. And my eyes read over hundreds of user reviews for every backpack I came across.

It was a painful experience indeed but sure enough, about three and a half hours into this research, I eventually had that moment of genius that I had been waiting for my entire life.

MY SHINING MOMENT

I suddenly realized that if my Kelty Redwing 2900 had treated me so well, and the newer version of the same backpack received such extremely high ratings on every website I checked, and this newer version also made my short list when I was in Paragon Sports, then I should naturally purchase this new version, the Kelty Redwing 50.

Feeling ever so proud at having reached such a brilliant conclusion, I then did what came naturally. For some reason, this involved turning off my laptop and walking down the street to Bagel World, where I devoured a super-soft pumpernickel bagel piled high with chicken salad, tomatoes and extra pickles, and in the process, seemed to completely forget about backpacks altogether.

When I returned to the apartment after my meal, I did some work, played around with my friend’s bongo drums, juggled for a bit, cut my toenails and then, well, took a nap. Only after I woke up from this delightful rest a couple of hours later did I sit back down in front of my computer and continue my backpack shopping, feeling the need to check the internet one more time before making a decision.

(My guess is that I was actually feeling very sad about having to say goodbye to my old backpack and I had trouble pulling the trigger on a new one as a result.)

THE END OF AN ERA

Finally, at 5:52pm, and with a hint of a tear in my eye, I logged onto Amazon.com and made my purchase, having indeed chosen the….

Kelty Redwing 50 Internal Frame Pack (Charcoal color)

So, why did I choose to stick with the Kelty Redwing series?

• Durability – These packs can easily handle the rigors of constant world travel as proven by my Redwing 2900 which remained strong for over 4400 days of travel, through 76 countries, on 100+ flights and despite being slashed open with a knife at the hands of Austrian customs officials.

• Organization – Still by far the best zipper/compartment system I’ve seen. As one of the only backpacks on the market that offers panel-loading, once you unzip the main compartment, you have access to everything as if it were a proper suitcase. I don’t like top-loading backpacks where you have to stuff everything inside and then remove all of your possessions just to find a pair of socks at the bottom.

• Size – The capacity of my old backpack was 2900 cubic inches / 47 liters and while Kelty doesn’t make that size anymore, I went with the 3100 cubic inches / 50 liter version this time around. This is still small enough to take as a carry-on when flying, yet has more than enough space to carry everything that a long-term traveler could possibly need.

• Simplicity – If there’s one thing I don’t understand, it’s a backpack with dozens of very random compartments, dozens of straps with purposes that are impossible to figure out and hundreds of inexplicable zippers all over the place. The Kelty Redwing series ignores that trend completely, offering backpacks that are straightforward and simple and thus, in my opinion, the most intelligently designed of them all.

• Price – At $84 on Amazon.comit’s an absolute bargain.

And for those very reasons, I am excited to fly back to Europe in a couple of weeks with my new Kelty Redwing 50 by my side, or better yet, on my back.

Before I end, I must also say that moments after I purchased my new backpack, I sat down next to my old Kelty Redwing 2900, massaged its shoulder straps and whispered a few words of gratitude. I then tried my best to express to it the importance of our friendship before I lifted the backpack ever so gently and placed it inside of that closet. It was a tough moment, but I shall have only wonderful memories of the time we spent together during this most remarkable era of my nomadic travels.

In a somewhat hazy state of mind this morning, I began to write this post. My haziness is a result of flying from Istanbul to New York City yesterday, a 10-hour flight that, despite being as comfortable as possible for a 10-hour flight, has left me quite exhausted.

Anyway, I shall push forward with this post because, as I fell in and out of sleep during that lengthy flight yesterday, I couldn’t stop thinking about Bulgaria. And I decided that I must write a post about this interesting country nestled at the bottom of Southeastern Europe.

More specifically, I wanted to write about how, after my recent visit to Veliko Tarnovo, a small town in the center of the country, I became convinced that Bulgaria is one of the best value travel destinations on the planet.

It’s certainly at the top of my list.

During the five nights/six days that I stayed in Bulgaria, I spent a total of $210 USD. That’s about $35 USD per day, including all accommodation, food, activities, transportation and any other expenses I encountered.

And while there are plenty of countries where you could spend a lot less money per day, let’s take a quick look at what that $210 got me in the end…

I spent two nights at a very nice boutique hotel in the center of Veliko Tarnovo’s Old City, with a perfect view of the Yantra River from my room and a huge breakfast included in the price, followed by three nights at the highly-rated Hostel Mostel, where dorm rooms cost $12/night and include breakfast, a light dinner and evening beer.

I ate all of my other meals at the most popular local restaurants in the city (the restaurant Shtastliveca was so good I ate there four times), paid the entrance fee for the Tsarevets Castle, had coffee and cake most afternoons at Cafe Stratilat, took taxis across the city, made some random purchases in a few shops and even went out to the pub at night a couple of times.

Basically, I didn’t hold back at all in terms of spending money. And every time I handed over some cash, I couldn’t believe what I was receiving in return. This was especially true when it came to meals as Bulgarian food surprised me with it’s endless variety of fresh salads and wonderful Balkan-style main dishes that could be enjoyed for just a few dollars.

In addition, the fact that the Bulgarian people are extremely warm and welcoming towards foreigners just increases its attractiveness as a travel destination (speaking of attractiveness, Bulgarians have to be some of the most attractive people on the planet!). Everywhere I went I found it so remarkably easy to strike up a conversation with locals, whether it was the waitress at the restaurant, a taxi driver, the staff inside of a shop or strangers I encountered while wandering the streets.

And this was only a tiny part of the country I visited. Still left to be explored is Sofia, Plovdiv, Pleven, Varna, Burgas and many other towns, which can be found scattered among the mountains, national parks, historical sights and the Black Sea coastline that make up this country.

Luckily, I’ll be headed back to the region once my current month of hectic traveling is over and I’ll therefore have a chance to explore more of Bulgaria soon enough.

WHAT COUNTRY OFFERS THE BEST VALUE?

Of course, as I mentioned before, this is not the only country on the planet that offers such good value for your money. Bulgaria just happens to be near the top of my list (maybe even at the very top) after my recent experiences.

So, in order to help each other out, I thought it would be useful for all of us to share the country/region that we each think offers a great value for travelers.

Please share your thoughts in the comments below and let’s see what we end up with!

I’m actually quite curious myself as I’m always looking for new places to visit and I’m confident you’ll have a few good ideas…