Question & Answer #4

@BrooklynNomad Are there days when you just want to give up your travels, call it a day and go back to a 9-5 life?

Never. There are days however when I feel I need to just stop moving for a week or two. I sort of feel like that now. I found a month in Egypt to be the most stressful month I’ve had while traveling. I’ll be writing more on that soon.

Honestly, I’ve never really had a 9-5 job for more than a few months in my life. I have a very difficult time working for others. I once had a minimum wage job after I graduated college working at a factory that made baseball cards. I figured out how I could eliminate my job after working there a day and told my boss. They didn’t care and I decided I never really wanted to work for someone else again.

@Muscati What do you with your stuff while you’re out taking in the sights? Do you trust the safety of the hotels you stay in?

For the most part, I do trust hotel/hostel rooms, but not 100%. When I’m out for the day I usually have my camera bag and all my camera gear with me. I will also have my iPod Touch in my pocket. The most valuable thing I leave in the room is my laptop, which I will always have locked with my cable lock. I don’t worry about my clothes being stolen. It would probably benefit me to get some new clothes at this point. Many of the lower end hotels and hostels do not provide daily room cleaning, which is actually a bit safer than hotels which do.

@umarsiddiqi how do you come up with cash required to pay the bills? Do you carry a lot of cash with you?

I get cash from ATM machines. I usually take out between $100-200 at a time. Depending on where I am, that can last a few days or more than a week. Using a credit card is also dependent on where I am. I have seldom used one since I’ve left Australia. Since I’ve been in the Middle East I’ve paid for a few hotels with it, but I mostly use cash. I have never used a travelers check. Most places don’t even accept them anymore.

@adam230 Has the popularity of your blog ever made you feel like a celebrity?

In the big scheme of things, this blog isn’t that big of a deal. The day I have groupies is the day I will feel like a celebrity……….FYI, I am taking applications for the position of groupie.

@linnetwoods Has anyone asked you whether you would have planned the trip differently with the benefit of hindsight & if so, how?

Um, you just did :) I’m not sure I would have planned it much differently. I went to the Pacific first and I’m glad I did. If I ever have to fly across the Pacific again, I’m going to make some stops in the Pacific.

@coqui2008 What’s the scariest country you have visited and why? or Which country have you felt the least safest in and why?

The biggest worry I had before I went somewhere was before I flew to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. Some article just came out which had listed it as the biggest “hell on Earth” a few days before I left. In the end, it wasn’t that big of a deal. It isn’t a place you want to spend a lot of time, nor do you want to walk around at night.

@Ashlenet If there was one language other than english you could be fluent in, what would have helped you most on your travels?

If you look at the list of places I’ve been, I’ve covered a lot of languages. Many of those countries, especially in the Pacific, commonly speak English. At this point in my trip, the most useful language would have been Bahasa (Malaysia/Indonesia/East Timor), Japanese, or Arabic. In the long run, the most useful languages would probably be Mandarin Chinese or Spanish. Spanish is something I really want to work on during the next year.

6 thoughts on “Question & Answer #4”

  1. Since you bring ALL of our materials in one bag, do you usually check the bag at airports?? If not, how do you get your swiss army knife and other gear that may not be allowed to be carried on??

  2. Egypt is difficult to travel, but after traveling Egypt all the other countries just get easier.

    I experienced Egypt an excellent place to start for a long term traveler. It created a firm foundation for what lays ahead. After five months in Egypt, I don’t think any country will be as difficult to travel.

  3. Having studied Mandarin for three years with great success and lived in China, I can tell you that I enjoy Chinese and it’s a great asset when in China. But it takes a lot of hard work, careful listening and memorization to be good at speaking and reading Chinese. (Learning to speak Chinese without learning characters is like learning to play an instrument by ear). Some people never get the hang of pronunciation and sound awful, but others do fine.

  4. I’d like to apply for the groupie position…I don’t have to eat pickled potatoes do I???

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