HOW YOU CAN ACHIEVE LONG TERM TRAVEL ON A BUDGET

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for–and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool–for love–for your dreams–for the adventure of being alive. 
– Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Sunday, February 9, 2014 (DAYS 706 - 708)
While the idea of long-term travel may not appeal to everyone, because it’s not necessarily for everyone, but don’t think for a second that you aren’t capable of achieving extended travel on a budget yourself. It’s all about what you feel are priorities in your life. It’s a simple way of life. You have everything on your back, and, material goods don’t mean as much as they used to. This is something you take with you for the rest of your life.

The idea of long term travel goes against everything that the American mindset of what is considered to be “social acceptable.” But, tell me, is spending 50 weeks a year in a cubicle in order to enjoy one, maybe two weeks of vacation in a year really living? Why is it that the best part of life (retirement) is often when you are too old to experience it? Believe it or not, extended travel on a budget is possible. In two years of backpacking and globetrotting I’ve spent less than $20,000. I know that number may sound very high, but that also includes several intercontinental flights and I feel that I could have done this for even $5,000 or more below this mark from the things that I have learned along the way and small amounts of petty theft. Also let me just say, ABSOLUTELY FORGET the Round the World (RTW) airline tickets. For starters the flight vouchers expire after 12 months, typically you must travel in one direction without crossing hemispheres, and after diligent research on a ticket that may be around $9,000 you could spend the same amount of money on this and actually take an additional, count ‘em, 52 flights! But the whole point is not to be under so much of an itinerary, because some of the most incredible people you meet and experiences you share will be when you least expect it. Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia Clothing, put it, “the word adventure has gotten overused. For me, adventure is when everything goes wrong. That’s when the adventure starts.”

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$1.06 lunch at the mercado in Cusco, Peru. Chicken soup with noodles and vegetables.

$1.87 per night for a  private bungalow overlooking the Mekong River in Si Don Det, Laos.

$2.46 bus fare from the Lombok airport for close to 90-minutes to Sengiggi in Indonesia.

(Above: examples of budget prices)

As the old saying goes, “Wherever you go, there you are,’ says a silly adage–and simply being there shouldn’t be a very tough task. The thing is, few of us ever ‘are’ where we are: Instead of experiencing the reality of a moment or a day, our minds and souls are elsewhere–obsessing on the past or the future, fretting and fantasizing about other situations. At home, this is one way of dealing with day-to-day doldrums; on the road, it’s a sure way to miss out on the very experiences that stand to teach you something. This is why vagabonding is not to be confused with a mere vacation, where the only goal is escape. With escape in mind, vacationers tend to approach their holiday with grim resolve, determined to make their experience live up to their expectations; on the vagabonding road, you prepare for the long haul knowing that the predictable and the unpredictable, the pleasant and the unpleasant are not separate but part of the same ongoing reality. You can try to make vagabonding conform to your fantasies, of course, but this strategy has a way of making travel irrelevant. Indeed, vagabonding is–at its best–a rediscovery of itself." - Rolff Potts 

The photo to the left is my good friend Kevin from California that has recently decided to quit his career in pharmaceutical sales and begin his travels in Guatemala.

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10 WAYS TO ACHIEVE LONG TERM TRAVEL ON A BUDGET

1. RIGHT MINDSET: First of all long term or extended travel is unlike any weeklong or month long vacation or holiday. The mindset of being a budget traveler is having a positive attitude and realizing that you will not have many of the daily comforts or luxuries you would back home i.e. clean bathroom let alone a private bathroom, sleeping in rooms with others, long bus rides, etc.
2. SAVE MONEY & MINIMIZE YOUR EXPENSES: Even saving a few thousand dollars can afford you to stay in areas for two or three months, maybe even longer. The expensive countries such as; Japan, Australia, or England will certainly stretch your budget. Cut out all of your excess expenses; cable/satellite television, adjust your cell phone plan, reduce small expenses like that daily cup of Starbucks coffee, even pick up a roommate if you can. Every small bit of money will stretch much farther for you on your travels.
3. SELECT A SOLID BANK: I cannot emphasize this enough! I know I’ve mentioned it quite a few times in past blogs, but FIND A SOLID BANK. Do this early, while you still have a job if possible, because if you do switch banks, as I did after more than 15 years, you want to do two things: establish yourself with a new bank with direct deposit and make all necessary adjustments to familiarize yourself with your new bank (online, emails, notifications, etc). Don’t just research online, but physically go in and schedule meetings with personal bankers and lay out for them exactly what you are going to need. For example, I posed the questions my bank, “pick the hardest place on the planet, now how long will it take for you to get me a new debit card?” Come up with a list of possible scenarios and questions and grill your bank or one you are considering until you are satisfied. Also inquire about additional bankcards that can remain inactive, but have a different 16-digit card number than your active card. I always say that when traveling or living abroad one of the worst things is having money in an account, yet not having any way of accessing these funds because your bank card was stolen, lost, or the number compromised.
4. GET YOUR PASSPORT: If you haven’t done this do it early, and even if you have yours check on the expiration date or how many blank visa pages you have. If you are planning long term travel renew it now and have a fresh passport full of empty visa pages.
5. TRAVEL GEAR: From a veteran backpacker and somewhat of a mentor, Jeff, has given me advice that I continue to share with others, which is, “when all of the material possessions you own fit on your back you want good high quality materials since you will be using these daily if not weekly.” Moisture-wicking fabrics or anything that can be hand-washed and dry quickly has been very helpful.
6. GET VACCINATED: Depending upon how you feel, vaccinations can be done MUCH cheaper outside of the States, but if you have concerns then get all of your vaccinations up-to-date and talk with your doctor about what you are doing. Start this process 3-6 months prior to leaving to give your body adequate time to adjust.
7. SELECT YOUR DESTINATION: Keep in mind several things to consider when selecting your destination: What is the weather like (rainy season or monsoon season)? Is it high or low season for tourism? Are there any national or regional holidays that should be considered because this can easily double or triple your budget if you show up during Semana Santa in Latin America, Lunar New Years in Asia, music festivals in Europe, etc.
8. CLOSE LOOSE ENDS: Verify with the DMV that your record is spotless, set an end date for insurance, utilities, and any other monthly expenses. If you can attain a zero balance on your credit cards or student loans will be a huge victory as well.
9. QUIT YOUR JOB: Yes, this can be extremely nerve racking, especially since I gave up a great career in broadcast television after almost 12 continuous years with the same company, BUT I cannot express how much more I feel that I have lived in the past two years. I have pushed myself harder. I have grown more. I have learned not to just be strong, but to live strong.
10. OPEN YOUR MIND: Realize that you are a guest in other countries and be mindful and aware of a high regard for respect to that culture. All too often I hear the ignorant comments or questions by travelers because they want where they are to conform to accommodate them, instead of the other way around. Again this goes back to having the right mindset even prior to departing on your own travels.    

WARNING SOME OF THE IMAGES ARE VERY GRAPHIC

MY PERSONAL RTW EXPERIENCE:
Arriving in Cambodia from Singapore is a night and day difference; the conveniences and luxuries of a First World country that vary from tap water that is clean and safe to drink, hot showers, and consistent electricity (even if WiFi connection speeds are still very slow), yet, returning to the environment of a Third World country has a simple appeal. Sometimes it amazes me that in the course of a few hours on a flight, your surroundings can change dramatically. Today, I find myself in my 33rd country where I am finally back to having visitied more countries than the number of years I’ve accumulated in age. Founded in 1434, Phnom Penh is both the capital and largest city of Cambodia and in the 1920s was known as the “Pearl of Asia,” since it was considered one of the most beautiful French-built cities in Indochina. 

My first morning in Cambodia I was waiting to go to breakfast when a pair of Buddhist monks walked by and the family of the guesthouse had them give a blessing to their small child, which unfortunately cannot be scene in the photo.

Departing in the early afternoon for Choeung Ek Genocidal Center or better known as The Killing Fields, I knew that some mental and emotional preparation would be expected for the day. Climbing aboard a tuk tuk, the heat is already beginning to rise, but I’m surprisingly ok with this because it is a dry heat, and the amount of humidity I’ve experienced in Indonesia and Singapore were absolutely sweltering. The weather reminds me of home, Denver, during the summer months where blue skies are endless, the smell of fresh cut grass lingers in the air, daytime is meant for Wash Park or afternoons at Coors Field, while the evenings are spent at the rooftops on Market or Blake Street. These flooding thoughts make me miss home a bit, until I realize that it’s February and I shiver at the thought of the cold and snow, and with that I slip in a slight smile and before I know it I’m being whisked through the bustling city streets in the back of a tuk tuk. When we arrive at the entry gate after the short ride 15-minute ride that lays only 17km south of Phnom Penh, there is already a thick sense of respectful silence in the air. Between 1975 and 1979 more than one million people were executed under the Khmer Rouge regime. There were numerous sites around the country known as The Killing Fields, and at Choeung Ek, the largest number of mass graves containing 8,895 bodies were discovered.

At first, the location is deceitfully beautiful and serene with large towering shade trees, free roaming chickens pecking and scratching at the ground, birds filling the air with their chirping, but then, the natural beauty is overtaken with the horrors of the past. In the center of the grounds at Choeung Ek there is a large tower that is filled with the skeletal remains of the victims that lost their life in this place. You cannot help but think as you walk the grounds that of the 129 mass graves, only 86 have been exhumed. There was so much death in this place that human bone fragments can be found everywhere; from the sunken areas of earth, around the base of trees or rocks, to the trails that wind between mounds of soil, the tremendous loss of life is heart wrenching. What is also terrifying is that people living nearby had no idea what was taking place, because loud patriotic music or speeches were often played to drown out the screams or cries of torture and death.

During the above photo, I had the HDR filter selected on my iPhone 4 and with that it created a ghosting of the moving boy on the bicycle. This image has become one of my favorites as it conjures up many different thoughts each time I look at it.

One of the most solemn areas to stand is in front of The Killing Tree. It is a place of immense sadness and anger to know that babies had their skulls crushed and bashed against the side of this tree before being tossed into an open pit. So many children were killed against this tree that when the awful discovery of what had been going on here was exposed, there was so much brain matter buried within the bark of the tree that people could not believe the nightmare.

Incidentally, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, was never brought to justice. The “Hitler of Cambodia” died in 1998, apparently due to natural causes. During his reign of terror, the genocidal tyrant executed almost everyone suspected of connections with foreign governments or the former government, professionals and intellectuals, ethnic Vietnamese, ethnic Thai, ethnic Chinese, ethnic Cham, Cambodian Christians, and the Buddhist monkshood. As I stare at the case of human skulls I cannot help but realize that each of these represents a life. A voice. A story. 

Without much time to process the thoughts and emotions that are swirling around, before I know it we’ve arrived outside of Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum or better known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). Standing across from the entrance, I am unable to move. I can only imagine what the victims thought as they may have stood in this same spot a mere 39-years before. This was one of the places many found themselves in prior to arriving at their final destination at a number of killing field sites around the country. The large campus was formerly Chao Ponhea Yah High School, but four months after the Khmer Rouge in August 1975 the five buildings were converted and the complex renamed Security Prison 21. During the construction; buildings were enclosed in electrified barbed wire, classrooms were converted into tiny prisons and torture chambers, windows were covered with iron bars, and of the estimated 17,000 people that were imprisoned in Tuol Sleng only seven people survived. Seven.

The prison held between 1,000–1,500 prisoners, all of who were tortured and coerced into providing names of family members and close associates. These individuals were in turn arrested, tortured, and killed themselves in this cycle of hate.

Survivor – the story of, Chum Mey, a torture victim in Cambodia.

While the majority of victims during the Khmer Rouge regime were Cambodians, the list of non-Cambodians imprisoned in Tuol Sleng included 488 Vietnamese, 31 Thai, 1 Laotian, 1 Arab, 1 British, 4 French, 1 New Zealander, 2 Australians, and 2 Americans, Michael Deeds and Chris Delance (both 29-years-old when they were killed). No foreign prisoners survived captivity in Tuol Sleng.

As I began preparations for beginning this great journey more than two years ago, I had many great conversations with both a mentor and a friend, Mike Vlad, and we had discussed the fact that I would most likely witness the worst that mankind can do to one another. I have been to places similar to Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek before, such as Dachau concentration camp in Germany; quiet places reserved for mourning that have become permanent ripples in history at the atrocities that have taken place. When I stand in these places and notice that life has continued–even flourished–despite the nightmares of the past, my thoughts tend to be a bit conflicted. One side of me feels incredulous that beauty can still exist in these places–plants continue to sprout, grass continues to grow, flowers bloom, birds sing–after such atrocities. The other side of me feels a great sense of gratitude and relief that life goes on.   

THE SECURITY REGLATIONS OF TUOL SLENG (S-21):

1. You must answer accordingly to my questions - Don’t turn them away.
2. Don’t try to hide the facts by making pretexts this and that you are strictly prohibited to contest me.
3. Don’t be a fool for you are a chap who dare to thwart the revolution.
4. You must immediately answer my questions without wasting time to reflect.
5. Don’t tell me either about your immoralities or the essence of the revolution.
6. While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all.
7. Do nothing, sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet. When I ask you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting.
8. Don’t make pretext about Kampuchea Kromin order to hide your secret or traitor.
9. If you don’t follow all the above rules, you shall get many lashes of electric wire.
10. If you disobey any of my regulations you shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge. 

This was another photo that struck me, as I contemplated who or how many individuals looked out at this same view from behind the sharp barbed wire of a once-exposed window. In the end, tourists are encouraged by the Cambodian government to visit both Choeung Ek and Tuol Sleng detention center (S-21) and learn more about genocide in Cambodia and around the world.