Pia is a mother, travel addict, journalist, and troublemaker. She and her son Paul have been traveling the world since Paul was two years old, and together they’ve crossed a few countries and continents. Please enjoy this week-in-the-life of Pia and Paul as they travel through Israel.

I have always travelled off the beaten path with my backpack and when I turned mum I continued, except that I had some extra luggage named Paul then. Usually we backpack. But this day we decided to took a guided tour through Israel. Not because I was to scared to go on my own but because I need to have someone who teaches Paul all the stories about Jesus and his mates.

Day One

“What are all these police officers doing here?” asks my seven year old son Paul when we arrive at the counter of El-Al, the Israeli airline. We are on our way from Frankfurt, Germany to Tel Aviv, Israel where we will start our tour around the country. The police officer explains to Paul that the German and the Israeli government have an agreement about security measurements. The officers are here to help prevent any attacks. Israel must be a very scared nation.

Really, as soon as you are in the queue in front of the El-Al counter you feel like you have already left Germany; so many checks and questions! It is unbelievable: a question before you get to the counter, another one at the counter, you get directed to a special gate where there is a security check right before you board the plane and everyone gets a body-check – everyone head to toe. It is impossible to make it in less than three hours and I am glad someone told me before because I am one of those who comes when the “Last Call” announcement is made.

Day Two

Paul is dead tired. We arrived late yesterday and had to get up way too early for us. What the heck is a holiday when you’re scheduled to be at brekkie at 7am? And for those of you who read this and don’t have kids: No, they don’t get up a 6am by themselves and start to stress you out unless you force them to go to bed at 7pm. Paul gets tired around 10pm and I am happy with that.

Usually we backpack on our own pace but this time we joined a tour group. Paul wanted to learn about Jesus and his life and I know nothing about him – I deleted most of my religious knowledge at some point. Therefore someone else has to teach Paul: The tour guide and the parents of the other kids (there are another five with us).

I thought traveling with a tour group could be nice. When you are a parent on holiday with your kids you never have a proper holiday. Before you go you dream of relaxing and one day into the trip you realise how delusional you were. You are always on duty. It might be okay if you have two of the little ratbags and they keep each other busy, but if you have only one you feel like a human game center. Play this, say that, make this tune. I hoped to get somehow away from that by joining a group with a few other kids. I didn’t take into account that other parents actually put their kids to sleep at 7pm…

Day Three

Do you believe in miracles? Can you turn water into wine? Can you walk on water? “Mum, I think it isn’t possible”, Paul says.

We are exploring the area around Lake Khalid where Jesus did most of his stuff. I am already getting sick off this getting on the bus, getting off the bus, listening to a story, get on again and start all over again. I’d rather talk to people than just listen to one who knows it all.

I get confused by all the names. All girls Jesus was close to were called Mary. If Jesus would live today he would be one-of-a-kind casanova with smartphone and he would have all those Marys in his address book. Maybe he would put notes in brackets behind their names. Like Mary (mom), Mary (sis of Lazareth), Mary (gal from Migdal). It is sort of what the Bible does too.

I am not really familiar with all those Marys in detail so I am getting really confused every now and then. Paul has already zoomed put. He is sitting in the bus and playing Nintendo. “Another church?” he asks when we get off on our second stop. And this is only our third day! Plenty more churches to come. I begin to think that a mono-thematical holiday isn’t the best for kids. There should be some animals and splash-pool fun involved at some stage.

We stay in a Kibbuz-Hotel at the shore of the lake. A Kibbuz is a little village with a few hundred people that is self-sustained. That is a neutral definition. You could also say: It is the old socialist idea of community realised in Israel. I love it. Everyone has their own house but they have a shared laundry, a place where old people can go, a kindergarten, common rooms – and bunkers. Bunkers and soldiers are everywhere.

Day Four

This is Israel. Everything is complicated. There are Israeli Jews and Israeli Muslims and Palestinian Christians and Muslims. It is not even that there is just Christianity; there are Russian-Orthodox, Druids, Catholics, Protestants, and so on.

Our bus driver is a male Israeli Muslim, our guide a female Israeli Jew. We say “Boker Torf “ (Hebrew) to one and “Merhaba” (Arabic) to the other. We are still at Lake Khalid which is also where Israel borders Syria and Jordan. Israel occupied the Golan heights about forty years ago. This is an area where tourists don’t go.

Our bus is the only one on the road. No other pilgrims around. The streets are tiny and the turns are scary. A wide endless hilly beige-coloured landscape lies in front of us. An area of war. There are bunches of big rocks in bends that could be blown up in case the Syrians attack. There are tanks and bombed houses along the streets. There are bomb shelters everywhere. The land is empty, lonely, lost. Israel is such a small country! Everything is squashed next to each other.

Paul and the other boys on the bus like it. To them, war is a game they know from their Nintendo games – it is far off reality. Their little minds can’t grasp what it means when thousands of people are dying. So they keep on playing Star Wars while we gaze at a landscape of real war.

Day Five

Change of scenery: We are at the Dead Sea. One majesty of a lake. It is like a mirror. A sunset couldn’t be more kitschy. On the other side the mountains of Jordan rise.

“Why is it called Dead Sea?” Paul asks and adds “Is it because this is a war country and there are so many dead?” He learned his lesson yesterday. So I explain to him about the impossibility of living in salty water.

The children go together down to the beach with just one parent. We others have time off. Great! Exactly what I was looking for. I head to the sauna and Spa. I didn’t know that Israelis are so into saunas but they seem to be everywhere. I try to talk to a bunch of Russians while I am floating in the water. The Jacuzzi is filled with water from the Dead Sea – it’s just not as cold as the Dead Sea.

There is no late night entertainment. This is very unusual for us. We tend to have dinner on the streets wherever we stay and then hang around and watch people for a little while. Yes, me and my seven year old son! I don’t drag him to bars or clubs – don’t worry. But life isn’t just the thing we experience when the sun is up.

The children have sat in the bus for too long for too many days. They are running wild in the lobby but none of us parents feels responsible.

Day Six

We are allowed to sleep in! I can’t believe it. We don’t depart until 9.30 am. That is as late as it gets.

Not far from our hotel is En Gedi, a waterfall – in the desert. We have to walk and climb a bit to get there. We are allowed to walk, I should say. I feel like have never moved so little on a holiday.

Here is something other than a church but Paul is still not impressed. The kids can’t grasp the contrast between this dead dry landscape and the running water. They don’t care either. Instead, they look for sticks and stones and play around. At the end of the day I have a huge collection of sticks in my suitcase that I am not allowed to throw out.

On this tour, there is just too little to do for children. They have much more energy than we adults have and can’t get rid of it. And it won’t get better today because we’re on the bus and heading for Jerusalem.

Day Seven

Jerusalem, the middle of the world. This place is amazing. There are so many layers of history that you have to dig into. It seems like any civilisation that has ever been megalomaniac made it to the Holy City: The Romans, the Byzantines, the Ottomans, and so on.

Temples have been built and destroyed and with the same stones something else has been built. I guess you could tell the story of this city by just telling the story of one stone of the Western Wall – the wailing wall as it is called. There is a high speed connection to God here, our guide tells us, and we could write a wish on a piece of paper and stick it in the wall. Paul asks if it works like Santa Claus. Sort of, I tell him, just without the elves.

We walk along the Via Dolorosa, the path Jesus took to get to Golgatha, the place where he died. The children have all sorts of funny questions: The alleyway is narrow and they wonder how Jesus could walk here with the big cross behind him without hitting the walls all the time. They wonder how heavy the cross was and how long it took him for the walk. They wonder if the streets were as busy with vendors in former times. They wonder about all the normal things and not the miracles and pain. I want to buy them each a crown of thorns but they laugh at me.

“So, what do you think of God?”, I ask Paul at the end of the day.

“God was only Jesus’ dad and dads aren’t that important”, Paul says.

There you go: The decline of belief through single mothers.

Pia is planning to go to Sweden at the start of February (without Paul) to a Hot Air Ballon Festival, then Panama just after Easter, and on a Mediterranean cruise at the end of April. You can read about her adventures at Are We There Yet.

Jade and James are a Canadian/English couple that met while Couchsurfing in New Zealand. They – and their travel blogs – became inseparable after that. They hope to show that budget travel is possible for any budget and inspire people to get out there and explore their world. They like to travel slowly and prefer overland travel to fast paced city hopping. Here’s a week-in-the-life of Jade and James in New Zealand!

Day 1 – Wednesday

6:00 AM - Roll out of “bed” (which is the mattress on our friend’s living room floor) in Wellington, New Zealand. We packed all our bags last night, so all we need to do is get washed and changed before we are out the door. We have decided to walk to the ferry terminal in order to save money on the bus fare; it is a pretty short bus ride and we will be doing lots of walking with our packs in the next few weeks so it’s good practice.

8:00 AM - Check in at the ferry terminal and prepare for a three hour ferry crossing to New Zealand’s south island. I try to get some sleep as otherwise I would get motion sick.

12:00 PM – After lunch at a local bakery in Picton, New Zealand on the South Island we try to figure out what to do next. It turns out I had actually been living one day in the future, so we are a full day earlier than we thought we would be. We were supposed to stay with some relatives of James’ who he has not previously met, and feel a little awkward showing up early. We decide that the best way to avoid awkwardness is to walk the 24 km’s to Blenheim instead.

3:00 PM - A car pulls over for us even though we are not trying to hitchhike, and offers to drive us to Blenheim.

5:00 PM - The camping park wants to charge us $40 to pitch our tent and we decide that is outrageous. We instead walk to a local park and set up our tent behind some bushes. (Freedom camping is no longer legal in New Zealand, although at the time of our trip it was).

Day 2 – Thursday

8:00 AM - We wake up and pack up the tent and start heading to the highway. We still have some time to kill so we decide to hitchhike a few hours south to the seaside town of Kaikoura, which is famous for seals and whale watching.

1:00 PM - We arrive in Kaikoura and find a cheap motel which lets us pitch our tent in their backyard. We decide to go on the two-hour peninsula hike which will take us past a fur seal colony.

2:00 PM - The seals are AMAZING! We are able to get loads of great pictures!

5:00 PM - This walk took us way more than two hours! Might have been due to that bottle of wine we took with us! Now it’s starting to get dark so we have to hurry back to town.

8:00 PM – We cook a freezer aisle pizza for dinner and edit our photos from the day on the laptop.

Day 3 – Friday

10:00 AM - We start hitchhiking back to Blenheim. We are soon picked up by a couple who was also camping at the same motel as us. They sing old fashioned Israeli songs as we drive down the winding highway. It’s nice to just chill out and listen.

1:00 PM - We arrive in Blenheim and meet James’ family, who are all very friendly. We enjoy some amazing home cooking.

Day 4 – Saturday

8:00 AM - Staying in a house with four kids means you wake up early. But its not too difficult since we are used to waking up early from the past few weeks of camping anyway.

1:00 PM - James’ second cousin Alistair takes us on a wine tour of the Marlborough region, for which Blenheim is famous. We of course, do not spit out the wine, and get progressively more and more tipsy. Most wine tastings in New Zealand are free, and the Marlborough region is famous for its Sauv Blancs.

6:00 PM - We enjoy another great home meal, and also take up the internet opportunity to update the website as much as possible. Free public internet connections are rare in New Zealand, so we have to use our time with the internet wisely.

Day 5 – Sunday

8:00 AM - We head off to the local farmers market with Alistair and his youngest daughter to enjoy some great local food and see some local musicians perform. After that we are treated to a tour of Blenheim – including the park we had previously slept in a few days ago!

6:00 PM - We plan out our itineraries for the next few days. We love hiking and want to try to do as many hikes in New Zealand as possible. We decide to head west and do the four-day Abel Tasman great walk, and then head further west to the four-day Heaphy great Walk. Ange, Alistair’s wife arranges transport for us part of the way with her brother in law who luckily is heading in the same direction.

Day 6 – Monday

8:00 AM - We say goodbye to James’ relatives. It has been really lovely staying with them and they have gone out of their way to accommodate us even though we were previously complete strangers. Ange helps us find some cardboard to make a hitchhiking sign for the part of the journey where her brother in law won’t be going.

1:00 PM - We are almost in Marehau, the gateway to the Abel Tasman national park. We get as far at Motueka, where we decide we will probably need to catch the bus as traffic down the remaining part of the road is sparse to say the least. We head to the tourist information centre and suddenly bump into my friend Eva who I knew from Auckland. She is also travelling around the South Island, but I had no idea she would be here!

4:00 PM - We pile ourselves into Eva’s tiny car, which now has five passengers. We are so crammed in that we don’t even sway as the car struggles up and down the hills and along the winding road.

6:00 PM - We get dropped off in Marehau and say goodbye to Eva and her friends. They have booked to do the hike in the opposite direction, so we will inevitably see them again along the trail in a day or two. We find a great campsite with wandering chickens and cook ourselves up a big meal to give ourselves energy for the next few days.

Day 7 – Tuesday

8:00 AM - We rise early to get a good start on the hike. The day is beautiful and we hardly feel the weight of our overpacked bags. We hike past little hidden coves, long sandy beaches, and through dense rainforest. It is a spectacular hike, but has more ups and downs than my poor calves were anticipating.

12:00 PM - We stop for lunch on a beautiful sandy beach. It’s a great place to stop for lunch, we have peanut butter and jam wraps (wraps don’t get crushed in a backpack like bread does) and M&Ms. Great fuel for hiking!

3:00 PM - We arrive at our first campsite for the night. We have to act quickly to secure our tent as it looks like there is a storm coming…..

12:00 AM - We abandon the tent! Our tarp has blown away letting the torrential rain come straight into the tent. We are flooded out! Luckily there is a cooking area which has a roof over it. We deposit our belongings in the safety of the shelter, and go to sleep on the floor with all the other flooded out campers……

Jade and James recently moved to Australia from New Zealand. Their next project is going to be an epic overland adventure seeing everything Australia has to offer – from swimming with whale sharks, to cuddling koalas, to even some outback exploration. Stay tuned to OurOyster.com  for the latest, or tune into their Facebook Page or Twitter stream!

And I sincerely hope that part of their overland trip through Oz includes experiencing some of their iconic rail journeys like The Ghan or the Indian Pacific – what a way to see the country!

Dorothy Conlon is an octogenarian globe-trotter who, often traveling alone, explores destinations that are well off the beaten track. Combining personal travel with volunteer/service learning experiences, she has traveled from the far reaches of the Amazon to Africa, Asia, India and many other locations. Please enjoy this week-in-the-life of Dorothy as she travels to and volunteers in the Cook Islands.

Day One – Monday

Here I am at small Aitutaki airport on an Embraer plane with 8 other passengers at 10 AM, having left home in Florida on Saturday evening. I came here to the Cook Islands as a volunteer under the auspices of Frontier, a UK organization. There was nobody to meet me, but the friendly assistant station manager phoned Naomi, the principal of the school where I’ll be working. (Everybody on the island knows Naomi.) Ten minutes later she pulled up, adorned me with a fresh floral lei and wreath for my head, and we took off for a short orientation tour of this tiny island before reaching Tekaaroa School.

Kids, mostly in blue and white school uniform, crowded around to greet me with “Kia Orana” and many shook hands. I sat with Naomi and two other teachers for a short get-acquainted session. They wondered what I would like to be called, being an American senior, different from the British Gap Year student volunteers they had had previously. Auntie Dorothy was the decision. Then we two headed to my new home, via a lunch stop at a small snack bar. Sweet potato French fries & salad for me. She bought me some bottled water and a hand of small bananas as well. Before long we reached “my” house, an empty modern bungalow with three bedrooms, a nice kitchen and bathroom—with solar hot water yet, all spotlessly clean. I was bushed from so many hours of travel. Ah, welcome rest.

Later that afternoon, Naomi and her granddaughter—also Naomi, called “Nam”—picked me up to visit “Gilbert’s,” a grocery store on the opposite side of the island. I bought everything I could think of to feed me for the next two weeks. Another smaller store closer to my house is apparently more expensive, and I like to save money. Milk, juice, coffee, butter, eggs, peanut butter, tuna fish, etc. for a total of US$50. Their only bread was huge loaves, white, but we were able to get delicious dark bread at another store the next day. The fruit on this island was fabulous. I gorged myself on mango, papaya, soursop and an occasional guava or passion fruit. I remembered soursop from living in Indonesia and was overjoyed to taste it again.

And so, I slept happily under a mosquito net my first night in my new home in a new part of the world, eager for whatever the next two weeks might hold.

Day Two – Tuesday

When I signed up with Frontier to volunteer here, I knew little about the Cook Islands, except that they were a cluster of 15 Polynesian islands in the South Pacific, south of the Equator and west of Tahiti. I was surprised to discover that I would be working not in the largest, Rarotonga, but in Aitutaki, an atoll stretched around a large turquoise lagoon. Population: just over 2,000 souls in six small hamlets.

Naomi picked me up at 7:30 in the morning, the back of her pickup truck carrying Nam and several other kids. Enrollment is 100 from kindergarten through sixth grade. I was assigned to assist Ekoura, the 5-6 grade teacher and liked her immediately. We had only 14 in our class, mostly boys. School hours, presumably from 8 till 2 with a 1-hour break at 10:30, were mighty lax. As a church sponsored school (Seventh Day Adventist), classes started and ended with prayers, often in the Maori language. The native language here is Maori, although many families have lived in New Zealand and are fluent in English. The students’ level of English varied considerably, especially in writing. That gave me plenty to do to help them improve.

The school was getting ready to compete against two other elementary schools on Sports Day next week, so on our first break we all walked down to the picture-postcard perfect palm-shaded beach for broad jump practice. Back at school it was relay races, never mind math and geography. We got in a bit of class work before the closing bell rang at 2. About 35 pupils left on a green and white bus, the rest of us piling onto motorbikes or walking. I saw very few sedans or SUVs on the island, but plenty of well-worn pickup trucks. Most people got around by moped or motorcycle—no helmets.

Day Three – Wednesday

At school I worked with the students on a geography lesson which Ekoura had started, while she was out of the room on some project or other. That seemed to happen quite a bit in all classes, but the students simply played around when left on their own. In some such situations I’ve seen fights erupt, but not in this peaceful part of the world. When in doubt, I could always read them a story, or get them to sing. Aitutakians love singing and harmonize naturally.

Back home in the afternoon I explored a bit, taking a short-cut path down towards the center of this tiny town to check out the small general store. They carried a range of hardware and local souvenirs as well as food and toiletries, but almost no fresh produce. Going back, the shady short cut climbed a bit, through stubble, with several goats tethered along the way. Chickens wandered everywhere; I often thought some would come right into my open house. People passing me on their motorbikes invariably waved or called out a greeting.

Naomi had told me they’ve had a 3-month drought. But that evening we had a welcome light shower. Weather here is fairly constant year round, I was told, with high’s in the 80’s and low’s in the 60’s. My closed house was always hot when I got home from school, but opening it to the sea breeze soon made it comfortable, especially with the help of a standing fan.

Day Four – Thursday

Rainwater was stored in a huge green tank beside my house. I forgot about turning on the pump at first. Despite the reported drought, we seemed to have plenty of water—if one just remembered the pump. On the kitchen counter I was provided a huge glass jug of purified water; from which I filled smaller bottles for the fridge, including my own bottle which I took to school daily. Mosquitoes weren’t as bad as I had been warned, but I applied deet each afternoon and used calomine lotion liberally on the bites I did get. Geckos came out in the evening, just as in Florida, and helped keep the mosquito population under control.

Ekoura picked me up this evening to go to Island Night at one of the resorts. We knew the dinner would be expensive, so we ate first and arrived after 8 PM, before the outdoor performance started. What a fabulous show! It started and ended with fire dancing. In between were numerous dances by costumed young men and women, with plenty of fast wiggling hips, hula style but sped up. You expected their flouncy grass skirts to fall off; maybe they were glued on. I got tired watching the constant fast action, but the dancers seemed tireless. They were accompanied by various drums, guitars and ukuleles. The final demonstrations of fire dancing were the most spectacular of all. All done so effortlessly.

Except for this evening, I’ve seen almost no tourists. Too bad, because more tourism would provide more work for the residents. They do lots of fishing and export some bananas. Otherwise, it’s a very poor place to live, but everyone smiles and seems happy.

Day Five – Friday

Friday was Kia Orana Day at school. That typical greeting literally means “may you live on.” Instead of blue and white uniforms, most of the children wore bright flowered shirts, and many sported floral leis and wreaths on their heads. Assembly was held in the chapel room, only on Mondays and Fridays. The kids all sat in rows on the floor. It was in Maori, so I couldn’t tell—other than the hymn singing—what it was about. School ended an hour early today, at 1pm. I got a ride home by motorcycle with another teacher, “Ba,” by way of her village of Vaipeke, on the east side of the island. Most of the villages here are simply a few houses lining the dirt road. The main one, where I stayed, Arutanga, had a post office, police station, a store or two, 4 or 5 churches, a school, and a few residential streets. In my side yard and at others there were raised white tombs of family members. I didn’t see a regular cemetery anywhere, but Christianity is an important part of Cook Islands life.

Day Six – Saturday

Today was the Sabbath for the SDA’s, and I attended their 10:30 service. But first I went to check out the Aitutaki Market. It turned out to be pretty pitiful with only a few baked goods and a small amount of produce. I bought a cucumber for one dollar. At the church Naomi grabbed me to sit with her in the middle under a fan. It was maybe half full. I was told there may be 400+ Adventists on Aitutaki; they have three churches which share one pastor.

Today there was a visiting preacher from New Zealand, the head of the entire district. His sermon was too long for my taste, but the enthusiastic singing of several hymns was lovely. Afterward, at a pot-luck lunch, the guest pastor and I were seated at a table in front and had to eat our meal first, before anyone else would. I loved the variety of dishes–taro, yams, eggplant, fried fish. I didn’t even peek into half the platters, but the sea grapes, new to me, were a special treat.

Day Seven – Sunday

Yesterday felt like Sunday, so today was a bonus day. Naomi and her husband picked me up to go to a beach near the airport where three groups of Pathfinders (like Scouts) were practicing various relays, fire-building, etc. Ekoura was the busy leader of one group. We spread out a woven mat on the sand under a casuarinas tree. Again there was a big table of home-cooked food, but first we all had fast-melting ice cream cones. Good! Some people, including Naomi, were eating fresh mangoes out of hand; I had never seen that before. I felt lucky to have come here in mango season.

In fact, I felt lucky to be there on the idyllic isle of Aitutaki at all—a place I had never heard of six months ago—among attractive friendly people who live simple lives. It’s a wonder that its beautiful white sands, amiable people and laid-back atmosphere haven’t made it a number one tourist destination. But since that hasn’t happened yet, it’s a fabulous treasure for anyone seeking serenity amidst beauty—Paradise perhaps? Just don’t tell anyone I told you about Aitutaki, okay?

This was Dorothy’s 24^th overseas volunteer experience! Dorothy is the author of “At Home in the World: Memoirs of a Traveling Woman.” Her next destination is Cuba, and she hopes to have another book, “Born with Wings” out in the next few months. You can learn more at www.dorothyconlon.com.

Nancy & Shawn Power were born and raised in Newfoundland, Canada and made their home in Vancouver, BC for the last five years. In celebrating their 4^th wedding anniversary, they returned home from vacation and decided they wanted their vacations to be more permanent. So they started saving money and reducing debts, and at the age of 37 they started selling all their possessions. Please enjoy this week-in-the-life of Nancy & Shawn as they finish the emotional process of selling everything and launch into their new lives of travel (in a very unique manner, I might add).

As we’re writing this, we are in the midst of selling all of our possessions and clueing up our lives here in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to travel the world all while capturing it on our two-month old blog called NancyandShawnPower.com. We purchased a membership for an international travel club that could affordably allow us to travel from resort to resort…we’re not the backpacking type but we certainly LOVE to travel and sharing our experiences and tips.

Here is a look into the week of our “getting ready” for our dream lifestyle… aka taking a permanent trip of a lifetime… and a look at a few days before and after leaving home.

Day 1

First thing today is coffee and then we are on our way to the garage for our fourth and “final” garage sale. It’s happening from 11-3pm and then whatever is left in the garage will go to a charity that raises money to buy new hospital equipment.

It’s now 3pm and we sold $41 dollars worth (nope, not a typo) – are you kidding us?!

It’s so frustrating doing garage sales because your stuff is worthless to people who either want things for nothing or come to “look around”. Regretfully, it was our choice to have another one; another lesson learned: “Don’t waste money on so much stuff, and then you won’t have to have a garage sale in the first place”.

Now we are off to enjoy a bite to eat rather than cook tonight. Can feel it already… gonna sleep “really” good tonight because we’re exhausted!

Day 2

This morning we brought all of our possessions (except 2 suitcases full each) including christmas decorations, household items and 3/4 of Nancy’s huge closet of beautiful clothes to the charity.

How did it feel?

On the drive, there was apprehension and a bit of nervousness even though we knew we were doing exactly what we wanted to do.

Once we started off-loading the truck it was exhilarating and freeing! We realized that we had been dragging around all these boxes with us as we moved from city to city and why we didn’t unload long ago was beyond us. We don’t need all this clutter! Besides, we only used one box of the ten boxes we just gave away.

On the drive home we really felt good about the money the charity would raise (because it was all good stuff) and wondered why we didn’t do this in the first place and not bothered with the silly garage sales. That said, we did get lucky and our landlord bought 99% of our furniture so she could rent it out furnished once we left… how perfect is that: we get to sleep in our own bed on the very last night!

Day 3

It’s like a whirlwind right now trying to clue up our lives over the past six weeks. Crazy, we know! Most people plan this and execute it in 1- 2 years, whereas with us, just the mention of it being a possibility and we were hooked on the idea immediately. We just knew it was the right decision for us. We’ve wanted to do this for a long time.

Six weeks is not a lot of time to get rid of everything permanent in your life for the last 37 years. Between that and putting a lot of love into our blog we have our hands full to say the least…but we wouldn’t change a thing.

Today we did a whole lot of canceling subscriptions, utilities, changing addresses etc, plus explaining to people (who want to continue sending you stuff) that we no longer have a permanent address. You could sense the bewilderment in their tone on the other end of the phone.

We are looking forward to the first leg of our journey which is a Hawaii vacation for five weeks and we’re still trying to imagine what it’s going to be like not having a home to come back to. BUT, starting tomorrow we’ll be able to tell you. Wish us good luck!

Day 4 & 5

“Holy Moly! … are we really doing this?”, we said, as we packed up our suitcases in the trunk and locked our apartment door for the very last time. Driving away we said nothing for a few minutes trying to let it all sink in, and as the nausea lifted we high five’d each other in excitement for our new beginnings.

Today, we’ve been saying goodbye to our families and friends who live nearby (and it’s still not sinking in that we are address-less yet) before taking our flight from Bellingham to Honolulu where we will be exploring for one week before we move on to the next resort on another island.

Day 6

Aloha from Hawaii!

We have a few more bags than we’re used to, and thinking about what we can give away already as we check in to our first resort.

It’s got a stocked kitchen and full amenities like home, much bigger and better than a hotel room (bigger than our old apartment for that matter), plus we get exclusive rates to these nice resorts, where we’ll be saving about $1,500 on average per weekly stay. We can’t believe the benefits of this membership. If you want to learn more about getting savings like this you can visit Our Travel Membership.com…we’re really happy we got it!

If there’s one thing that bugs us more than anything, it’s paying more for things than necessary. We’re not cheap, we just like our money to go far.

It feels really good to be on a permanent vacation, and we think it’s a perfect combination of work and play…the work part is the capturing it all and writing for our readers, but as we’ve been saying for years, “if you love what you’re doing, you’ll never work another day in your life” and we’re really excited about that! It’s finally here…

…the last few weeks “waiting” have been the longest part of our lives, no doubt.

We are really happy. We can see changes in each other already; more laughter, more relaxed – it’s a good start.

Day 7

Today we hiked the famous Diamond Head crater in Oahu (it’s the Island where Honolulu and Waikiki are – we always found that confusing). It was incredible to get a full day of sun and hot weather.

Food is a bit tricky, as we have to plan for seven days, so we are cautious not to buy too much; bulk is out of the question now. And a box of chicken – which we used to buy every few weeks for the last 7 years – not going to happen!

What do you do with condiments? That’s the hardest part. We guess packets of ketchup and mayo are in order.

In the following months ahead, we will get accustomed to our new lifestyle. We wonder where we will be next and what it will be like. Planning our next city, the things to do in it and the best kept secrets are something we really enjoy investigating – it’s relaxation to us!

Nancy & Shawn stayed in Hawaii (an old haunt of mine) for five weeks (a week on each island), before moving on to California, Nevada, Arizona, and a few other US destinations. They’re currently getting on a cruise from Florida – living the high life with their resort membership! In the meantime they’re busy developing their blog Nancy & Shawn Power, and they wrote an e-book called STOP Collecting Stuff and Start Creating Memories, 9 Great Reasons to Travel Now.

Wade Shepard has been traveling the world perpetually for over 12 years. He travels with his family, and keeps busy with a number of websites and magazines about Vagabonding, such as Vagabond Journey. Please enjoy this week-in-the-life of Wade and his family in Colombia.

Day 1 – Thursday

7:00 — “Wake up daddy, wake up daddy,” the kid wakes me up singing. I do as commanded.

7:05 — I roll myself around to sitting position, look around the room, think of the plan for the day: leaving Bogota, going somewhere else.

8:15 — “Where are we going?”

8:30 — “Medellin is nine hours away,” the wife proclaims, “Tunja is four hours.” The first proposition meant settling for a while in Colombia’s second largest city, the second meant visiting a few pueblos and then the beach.

9:30 — At the bus station Petra and I go shopping for the best priced bus ticket. We find it, buy, then get on the bus. We leave Bogota.

12:30 — Petra wakes up from her nap. She takes out a couple Playmobil guys. We sing a Dora the Explorer song. She chills for the rest of the ride.

13:30 — We eat a grocery bag full of semi-soggy tomato and cheese sandwiches that I made the night before. Three full bellies for $3.

14:00 — We arrive in Tunja, then get on a bus to Villa de Leyva.

15:00 — We begin looking for a hotel. Our criteria: a double room with two beds, a bathroom, and, hopefully, a window. A kitchen would push the deal over the top. I want to pay between $10 and $20 a night for this, and book the room for at least a week.

“100,000 pesos,” the first hotel said. Over $60. No way. “60,000 pesos,” said another. Over $35. No way. Villa de Leyva proved to live up to its rep as a tourist town: expensive. But it is a developed tourist town, and one that I know has hundreds upon hundreds of empty rooms Sunday through Thursday. There was plenty of room to haggle for a week’s stay.

An hour and a dozens of hotels later, we land a place which meets more than our criteria: two beds, a private bathroom, hot water, cable TV, and a kitchen for $19. This is more than what we like to pay for a room, but acceptable in a very much gentrified Colombian tourist town.

18:00 — We find a great deli and eat truly excellent $2 sandwiches.

22:00 — I study a little Spanish, do exercises, go to sleep.

Day 2 – Friday

8:00 — Walking out of town and finding trails up the mountains proves easy. We walk up near the top of a ridge and peered out over Villa de Leyva.

12:00 — We find a good restaurant with a set lunch menu. We eat big portions of soup, chicken, rice, and salad.

13:00 — It is time for me to find and internet connection and go back to work. There is no WIFI in my hotel, so I first look for cafes with WIFI, then, failing in this search, look for an internet cafe. The first three would not let me hook up my own laptop, the fourth has a great docking station. Finding a mobile office, I settle into this town.

16:00 — I stop working, pick up some eggs, bread, cheese, and carrots, return to the hotel.

18:00 — I make dinner.

20:00 — I go back to work, knocking out a blog post, a travel guide, and work on my book a little.

22:00 — I exercise and go to bed.

Day 3- Saturday

8:00 — It is market day in Villa de Leyva. We walk through the stalls looking at what is for sale. Vendors step in our way pointing out some truly ugly clothing that speak keenly of 1980. I take some photos, try out my video camera spy sunglasses “in the field.” Everyone seems to be drinking Poker beer as they sell their wares, old ladies included.

13:00 — I go to the internet cafe, plug in, and get to work. I finish blogging about Iceland and get started on Colombia.

18:00 — We go to the sandwich shop, which continues to be amazing.

Day 4- Sunday

9:00 — It is Sunday and everyone is out in the the Plaza Mayor. Dozens of kites are flying in the air, kids are running all around, old people are sitting on benches in front of shops drinking Poker beer. In fact, almost everyone is drinking beer in a very relaxed, watching-the-day-go-by sort of way. I walk around behind my daughter, who is rampaging, attacking the little kids with the kites. We meet a family from Bogota who has a kid who is around Petra’s age. The kids join arms and stomp across the cobblestone plaza together.

John and Andrea are a couple of nomadic thirty-somethings currently travelling the world on a one year-sabbatical. When they’re not on the road, they usually live as expats and have done stints both together and apart in Paris, Reading, Aberdeen and the US. Please enjoy a week-in-the-life of Andrea and John in England, Austria, and Slovenia.

We chose this week because it’s action-packed. This year is more whirlwind than usual for us. Our nomadic life tends to see us as expats rather than jet-setters. Come along with us as we traverse three countries in one week!

Day One: Friday

10 am. Alarm goes off. John leaps out of bed while Andrea struggles (we change places in this regard all the time). Have coffee while we check emails and have a look at our flights and accommodation details for tomorrow. This is our last day in London.

11.34 am. Not happy with the accommodation we booked for Vienna back in March. The rooms sound too small and wireless internet only works in the lobby. Andrea cancels the booking and looks for something else online while John takes a shower.

1.25 pm. We are finally out the door! Off to the area around Camden Market for a look around.

4.40 pm. Take the tube to London Bridge where we stand for half an hour taking photos and waving to people on the boats passing underneath. Watch the hordes leaving work on a Friday afternoon. We certainly don’t miss that!

5.25 pm. It’s happy hour. Half-priced bottles of wine? Pinot Grigio please…

6.25 pm. We reckon we could eat curry every day. Back on the tube to make our reservation at a place on Brick Lane.

7.50 pm. Head back to our hotel to pack and relax for the evening.

Day Two: Saturday

5 am. Wake-up call. Coffee.

7.40 am. After tube ride to Heathrow we are checked-in, hanging out, checking emails, attempting to get through blog reader, etc.

10.30 am. Flight to Vienna takes off (40 minutes late).

2 pm. Have to wait 20 minutes for bus from airport to take us to the part of the city where we’re staying.

2.50 pm. All checked-in and loving our hotel!

3.30 pm. Nap time.

7 pm. Showers and out to dinner in the Juden area. We eat Wiener Schnitzel and spare ribs, washed down with some delicious Austrian beer.

10.30 pm. Plan our next two days in Vienna, review photographs, work on blog.

1 am. Bed time.

Day Three: Sunday

10.40 am. Breakfast.

11.30 am. Work on blog, check emails, etc.

1.30 pm. Organize train tickets for Tuesday, tickets for a show on Monday night, visit Hundertwasser museum and apartments. Hop on the circle tram to the museum district on our way back from Hundertwasser.

6 pm. End up at the Rathausplatz film festival for beer and dinner. This is a must-visit if you’re in Vienna in July or August – yummy international food and films of classical music and dance performances are shown on a giant screen in front of the Rathaus.

9 pm. Return to hotel and relax, use internet.

Day Four: Monday

11.30 am. Wake up. It’s a public holiday here in Vienna today and most places we would like to visit are closed or closing early <sigh>. Good excuse to sleep in though! We drink coffee and work on the blog, check emails, shower, etc.

1.30 pm. Skype video call with our immediate family in Perth (John’s side). We plan these about once a month.

2.30 pm. More work, online banking, look up address and location of hostel tomorrow. Happy to learn that we’ve booked three nights in Ljubljana instead of only two as it’s the only place we have time to visit in the country this trip.

4 pm. Out the door to eat lunch and visit the Hotel Sacher for a taste of their famous torte. Rainstorm hits and we duck into a craft brewery for a couple of beers before the show.

8 pm. Classical music concert at the Beethovenplatz Hall.

10 pm. Taxi back to area near our hotel so John can get a quick bite.

10.50 pm. Return home to relax and get some sleep.

Day Five: Tuesday

6 am. Wake up and eat breakfast.

7.10 am. Check out of hotel and take the underground to the train station.

8.02 am. Catch train to Ljubljana, Slovenia. On the train we review and edit photos from the UK and write.

11.45 am. Chaos ensues as our train is no longer going to Ljubljana. Mad rush to change trains in Maribor.

2.06 pm. Arrive in Ljubljana. Eat lunch before checking into hostel.

3.15 pm. Head out to see the Ljubljana castle. After that we head into the Old Town for a look around.

8 pm. Have a drink by the river. Afterwards we search for a place to have dinner. We notice a poster advertising the Interpol concert, which happens to be on tonight. Not long after we discover the location of the concert – it’s a theatre and you can hear everything from the street.

9.45 pm. Finally settle on a pizza place for dinner. We eat and take our leftovers.

10.30 pm. Walk out of restaurant and can still hear the concert. John says if they play Rosemary (‘Evil’) we’ll sit and have a drink at the bar across the street. A moment later we smile as the song comes on. We have a couple of beers outside amongst the rest of the Slovenians – the streets are packed with people tonight as if it were a Saturday. Every bar seems full.

Day Six: Wednesday

12 pm. We’re awake. Have coffee at the hostel, have showers and get some work done this afternoon.

4 pm. A few days ago we contacted a local guy who John hung out with nine years ago when he was travelling in Slovenia. They’d kept in touch over the years and he’s come to pick us up for a BBQ at his place this evening. We spend the rest of the night catching up with him and his friends.

Day Seven: Thursday

11 am. We wake up and get dressed. Coffee.

12 pm. Were supposed to meet the friend from last night for lunch but he’s overslept as we had a big one last night.

1 pm. Shopping around town. We haven’t been in summer weather much this year and Andrea realizes she needs a few items for summer. Also to finally replace a pair of shoes that have been over-worn and finally bit the dust on a rainy day in Vienna.

4.30 pm. We return to our room to do some work.

8 pm. We head out into the city again to locate a music festival the guys told us about last night. When we find it we see that it’s actually an animation screening, which is great but it’s really crowded and we move on to find a place to eat dinner.

11 pm. Return home to pack and sleep – we have to catch a 6.30am train in the morning.

After spending the last few months in Europe, Andrea and John are headed for the Middle East. They continue to document their story (as well as the stories of other interesting travellers) on their blog: InspiringTravellers.com. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter @InspiringTrvlrs and @BungasBeer.

When Alisha left her job in April of 2011 she took off with her backpack and passion to volunteer around the world. When she’s not working or volunteering, you might find her salsa dancing, living in a cabana, rafting the Nile, or strolling down the beach. Please enjoy a week-in-the-life of Alisha of Small World Pursuits during her first volunteer project in Ecuador.

Day One: Friday

8 AM: I am to arrive at Project Ecuador: Fundacion Arte del Mundo in Baños, Ecuador, home of my first volunteer project this afternoon. After a challenging border crossing that left me sleeping in the bus stop of the Colombian border town Ipiales, I wonder if I will have the energy to make it the rest of the way.

10 AM: I’ve showered, packed, and listened to the morning Ecuadorian news. Check out at the hostel is at 1:00 pm. Decide to go out for some fresh air and breakfast before I start two different bus rides through Ecuador – 5 hours in total before I will reach Baños.

10:30 AM: Finding breakfast. There is this sinfully delicious bakery on the corner that has lured me in almost every time I walk by. Breakfast should consist of something more than bread so I keep searching.

11:00 AM: Found a cafe with real coffee – organic from the countryside alongside eggs, jam, bread, juice, and fruit. It’s nearly lunch time now, but decide breakfast is still the choice. I sit and read Ecuadorian lifestyle magazines while I eat my breakfast.

1:00 PM: Walk to the bus station to catch the bus to Quito which is 2 hours from Otavalo. Bus station really equals a small dirt parking lot with guys yelling out names of surrounding towns. I find the one that will take me to Quito and jump on. $3. Well, that’s a steal. It’s actually quite decent as well. At least it has air.

3:00 PM: Arrive in Quito and become confused as I am in the north terminal and buses don’t go to Baños (in the south) from this terminal. No one is explaining why. After various conversations and questions, I finally learn there are 2 main bus terminals in Quito. Quito is very thin and long so if you are going to the south, you have to catch buses from the south terminal. A guy pushes me toward another bus and tells me it will go there. Wait, wait, my backpack is below. He looks at me and says don’t worry, we’re passing it over. I get on and pray that my backpack makes it. It all happens so fast.

6:00 PM: Arrive in Baños, backpack and all. Thank goodness. I see rows of yellow stalls and locals selling all kinds of homemade candies and guys swinging sugar cane. A jump in a taxi and just say ‘La Biblioteca’ (LA BIB). The town is small. Everyone knows the foundation. I arrive to a large painted colorful building with an intimidating black gate. Hmm. Then, I hear hellos and see waves coming from the third floor window. You must be Alisha?

8:00 PM: A welcome Pot Luck. Deliciousness is overflowing on the table from taco salad, homemade guac dip, chicken and rice, piña coladas, to the best chocolate delight I’ve ever had. I feel at ease and very thankful that the arrival was as friendly has I’d hoped it would be.

Day Two & Three: Saturday & Sunday

The next two days are spent settling in. I had been on the move for the first two weeks so now it is time to unpack my bags and get comfortable. I explore the town with my camera, watch tourists bungee off the San Francisco bridge, and make a trip to the supermarket to load up on food for the week.

Day Four: Monday

10 AM: Get out of bed and decide to make breakfast and a cup of coffee so I can recount my border crossing shenanigans for my blog post.

1 PM: Weekly volunteer Monday meeting. We go over the happenings of ‘LA BIB’ from last week, what is planned this week, cleaning duties, new volunteer introductions, and orientation. The volunteer coordinators go over the volunteer rules, what to expect, tips and advice for Banos, and a tour of the facility. There is a library, volunteer quarters above the library, an activity room, English lesson classrooms, and an outdoor area for activities as well. The place is bigger than I expected and did I mention Dr. Seuss is on the wall and we have an “imagination corner?”

3:30 PM: Meet downstairs in the library. Hear what sounds like someone taking drum sticks and banging on a tin door. The children have arrived! They are spread along the sidewalk in what is supposed to be a straight line. Laughter, chatter, and a little bit of pushing as they all like to plummet inside once the door is lifted. My first day = kids with an abundant amount of energy. For 30 minutes everyone is required to read. I read with Daana. She’s quiet as a mouse.

4:00 PM: Reading time is over. Activity begins. Today we make skeleton bodies out of noodles and learn parts of the body. Decide instantly I love interacting with these kids. They’re shy at first, but warm up to me quickly.

7 PM: Ate a quick sandwich between 6 and 7 and now sitting in the large English classroom to observe the class I will assist with over the next couple of weeks. Class is a mixture of adults and teenagers all at about an intermediate level. We spend the class with phrasal verbs and American English idioms. We laugh a lot.

8 PM: Volunteer day is done. Lots of new faces. Decide that I want to learn and remember them all by the end of the week. Volunteers huddle in the kitchen chatting about the day. We think about if we would like to celebrate a successful first day with a cup of the finest Ecuadorian box wine.

Day Five: Tuesday

9:00 AM: Lying in bed wide awake. Thinking I really like the fact that I have mornings and days free until 3:30 when the kids arrive. I Decide to take a run through town to see what the local folks do in the morning.

10:00 AM: Stray dogs. Lots of stray dogs. Start running with rocks. On the positive side, on the edge of town the light glistens over the waterfall (Baños is known for all of their beautiful waterfalls) and if you run outside of town there is a path along a riverbank. In town, vendors line the street selling their homemade candies and sugar cane, bicycles and moto carts fill the streets with tourists off to explore, and women walk around with fabric dangling over their shoulders.

1:00 PM: Shower, do some work on the interview with teaching traveling, and try and connect to the wifi. Signal is weak. Not able to get on. Rummage through the resource room instead for ideas for next weeks activity hours with the kids. Between the hundreds of plastic vitamin C bottles, sand, stones, noodles, and scrap paper, I’m sure to find something.

3:30 PM: Kids arrive. Reading time is spent with Green Eggs and Ham – In Spanish. Three times.

Today we’re making paper machete pigs. This is going to be messy. We have three huge tubs full of water and flour. The kids eyes widen as they see what’s in store. Aprons on and directions explained. Except, no one is listening – their attention is on the tubs of goo.

6:00 PM: Kids have finished up and we have pigs flying around everywhere. Floors swept, tables wiped down, and aprons hung. Time to prepare for our Tuesday night Interchange that typically consists of anywhere from 10-30 people both locals, volunteers, and expats. The native English speakers practice their Spanish and the native Spanish speakers practice their English.

7:00 PM: Everyone arrives for ‘Intercambio’. It’s a mix of young, middle aged, and older people. We arrange ourselves in a circle and pair up English speaker with Spanish speaker. Each pair draws a word or topic out of a hat. Anything from ‘global warning’ to ‘favorite beaches’, and the initial 20 minute conversation game begins and is then followed by a group language activity that is sure to bring laughter and confusion.

Day Six: Wednesday

7:00 AM: Decide to wake up early today to take a bike ride on the waterfall route before getting the day officially started with the kids. Walk into town to see if I can find anyone open for bike rentals and coffee.

9:00 AM: Finally got breakfast and my bike. Yes, it took 2 hours. Apparently, there are only 2 places open for breakfast that early and the bike rental staff stroll in anytime between 8 and 9. Aww the joys of living in the slow lane in south america.

12:00 PM: The ride through the waterfall route takes about 2-3 hours if you stop and do all the oohing and aahing, cable car riding, and photo snapping that I do. There is also lots of stopping on the side of the road on the sharp turns so I didn’t get taken out by cars and buses. That is a bit unnerving at times. The path brings me to the town of Rio Verde where I wander through the local village, sit down and lunch at a roadside cafe, and visit the large waterfall from 2 different walking points.

2:30 PM: Standing on the side of the road taking in the scenery, I decide to flag down a truck to give me a ride back. Throw my bike in the back and jump in. This will turn the trip back to Baños into a 30 minute ride instead of a 2 hour bike ride.

3:30 PM: Arrived back at the children’s foundation a little after 3:00pm to prepare for the children that would arrive full of energy at 3:30.

4:00 PM: Children have finished reading time, and today we are doing musical madness from handmade instruments! We have drums, clacking sticks, shakers, harmonicas, and our bodies! The children are so excited. We divide them into groups and let the musical masterpiece begin.

8:00 PM: Tonight is outdoor “Movie Night” at LA BIB. Every Wednesday we project a movie on the big white wall of our outside cemented area, and charge $1 for entry. The entire community is invited, and English students can come for free. Tonight we are playing Dead Poet’s Society. Haven’t seen this classic in a while.

Day Seven: Thursday

The next two days are spent working with the children and planning the weekend activities. We’ve decided that Saturday morning we will head to the Quilatoa loop north of Banos near the famous Cotapaxi volcano. Quilatoa is known for the hike through the Indigenous villages , and the beautiful loop around the crater lake that was once created by an erupting volcano. We also celebrate a long successful week on Friday night with a little bit of dancing before the big hike begins.

Alisha is still traveling and volunteering and is currently in Europe after finishing up in Africa in October. She works with various non-profits and projects as she travels including micro-finance, education, the arts, and programs that focus on initiatives for women and children. You can read the specifics of her projects in Ecuador, Colombia, and Africa and see a video of her time in Baños with Project Ecuador. You can also follow her adventures and reference her volunteer resources on her website at Small World Pursuits. Next Up: She will be heading to India to work with an organization that focuses on women’s rights and education to help in the battle against human trafficking.

Mark Wiens was raised in Central Africa where he developed a love for different cultures and a desire to sample unique forms of street food. After graduating from university in the United States, he set off to travel the world again and ended up as a street food addict in Asia. Please enjoy this week-in-the-life of Mark as he scours the streets of Bangkok for gastronomic delights.

Day One: Monday

6:00 – I woke up in a confusing daze to an obnoxious alarm clock that beeped loudly. Did a couple of quick sets of push-ups for exercise and got my blood flowing – I feel a lot more alive after doing that everyday.

6:30 – Headed to the market just down the street to get some fruit. In the morning the market is bustling with a kind of life that can only be experienced in the early morning when things are just getting started. I bought a stock of bananas, a bag of mangoes, and a selection of other tropical fruits.

7:30 - I returned to my apartment to get started online with some freelance writing projects. A brewed cup of stout Vietnamese coffee got me going.

10:00 – I ate a few more fruits – I love fruit!

14:00 – My stomach was grumbling so I headed out to my favourite street local Thai food stall. As usual I ordered way too much food that included a plate of stir fried shrimp with Thai basil (pad gra pao goong), yellow Thai curry with chicken (gai pad pongali) and two big plates of rice. I could feel the awesome heat of the chilies settling in my stomach on the walk back.

19:00 – I wasn’t even ready to eat again, but the thought of more Thai street food lured me in. I met up with a couple food-fanatic friends and we ordered up another gigantic feast.

21:00 – Didn’t do a lot, just hung with friends and relaxed in the apartment.

1:00 – I was happily in bed and so tired it didn’t take more than a few seconds for me to knock out.

Day Two: Tuesday

7:00 – I woke up with ease and my mind was immediately focused on durian – the king of fruits. In the market, my friend and I bought a mega four-kilo durian and ate it on spot as the vendor looked on with excitement and maybe a bit of disgust.

10:00 – With a breath of durian I caught the bus into central Bangkok to attend a meeting about developing a Thai food application.

12:00 – Met up with another blogging friend to exploit some wi-fi, do some excessive tweeting and drink a couple cups of coffee.

15:00 – It was time to grab some more street food. Today I just ate a plate of red curried green beans and chicken (gai pad prik gaeng) over rice.

16:00 – Bangkok is hot. We threw on the swimming trunks and took a cool dip in the pool.

19:00 – I rushed to get ready to do a street food crawl through Bangkok’s Chinatown area known as Yaowarat. The unpredictable traffic is highly annoying and frustrating in Bangkok but once I arrived and got off the rickety bus, it was all alright!

20:00 – As always, the scene was bumping with chaos and alive with hungry people. I connected with a few others and we ate a bunch of different and glorious Thai dishes.

Day Three: Wednesday

7:00 – The tropical morning rain made it hard to wake up and I ended up falling back asleep.

9:00 – Finally got up and started using the internet like crazy to get some work done before the weekend.

19:00 – I was ready to eat like mad. Growing up in Africa, not only do I like Thai food, but also African and Arab food. Went to the Nana district of Bangkok where I know a secret Cameroonian restaurant. We walked through the narrow corridor, up a few flights of stairs and I could already smell the fufu and the ground nut stew. It was excellent!

00:00 – Crashed for the night.

Day Four: Thursday

7:00 - Woke up and got ready to go to the Maeklong train market where the train goes straight through the bustling market. I had to take a series of trains to get there and finally arrived about two hours later.

11:00 – Ate some scrumptious lunch of fried fish and vegetables.

14:00 – Ate and waited around to see the amazing train navigate its way straight through the middle of the market. It was an incredible sight and I’d highly recommend it to anyone visiting Bangkok.

18:00 – Got back home after a series of long train rides on hard uncomfortable seats and walking through way too many crowds of people.

20:00 - I grabbed some dinner with a couple of buddies.

Day Five: Friday

7:00 – Woke up excited to go check out a floating market. Bangkok is famous for its floating markets, but little do many people know, that are are many local floating markets where it’s hard to even find another tourist.

11:00 – Ate some outstanding khao kluk kaphi and sampled a traditional Thai dish known as khao chair at the Khlong Lat Mayom floating market.

13:00 – Arrived back at home, got online and wrote a few blog entries to get caught up.

19:00 – More street food and then checked in for the night.

Day Six: Saturday

8:00 – Got up, drank a quick cup of coffee and walked out to the street to take the bus. The bus was crammed and I stood up without being able to move. Traffic was heavy but in about an hour I reached central Bangkok.

10:00 – A good friend of mine started a grassroots volunteering program to help under-privileged kids in a slum district of Bangkok. We arrived and the kids were already at the room right next to the train tracks.

13:00 – We scooted off to the next location, about 30 minutes by taxi away, to meet more kids and spent the afternoon playing games, teaching English phrases and just having fun.

16:00 – I was exhausted and ready to just sit down and eat a feast. We stopped to eat a roasted fish, a few plates of fresh green papaya salad and few more spicy dishes!

21:00 – I took a little nap and then headed out to meet some friends at night.

Day Seven: Sunday

9:00 – The alarm rang and I gingerly woke up.

10:00 – I was on the bus with my roommate en-route to attend a church service across town. When I’m in Bangkok I attend most Sundays.

13:00 – I always look forward to the Sunday afternoon feast. I tend to go a bit crazy, and today was no different. We first took Bangkok’s skytrain to the Chao Phraya river, where we took a boat across the choppy water. The restaurant was just a 10 minute walk from there.

I ordered up a feast for 5 of us. Southern Thai food is deeply spicy and characterized by pungent flavors that will wake you up. I loved it!

15:00 – I could do little but go home and take a nap.

18:00 – I was still stuffering from the feast and decided to catch up on e-mail and I wrote a few blog posts too.

Mark will be taking a trip to China for a month and also visiting Sri Lanka soon, before returning to Thailand, where there’s still so much food to discover! He shares all of his travel cultural adventures and photos on Migrationology, and he blogs about Thai street food at Eating Thai Food. He recently launched the Eating Thai Food Guide, an ultimate guide for eating Thai street food, and you can become a fan of Mark at his Facebook page. 

Rachel Denning writes around the world as she travels with her husband and five children. They are currently driving from Alaska to Argentina in a veggie powered truck. Please enjoy this week-the-life of this huge family as they travel in Utah and California.

Day One: Thursday

8:00 am – My hubby is up before I am. We stayed the night at family’s house last night in Sandy, Utah, and I was up late finishing a website design for a client.

He’s already gone out to collect veggie (the fuel our vehicle runs on) by the time I’m out of bed, and now he’s repacking our truck so we can get back on the road.

10:00 am - I’ve cooked up some pancakes for our kids, their bellies are full, and now we’ve finally loaded up in the truck.

11:00 am – We stop at a park where we’ve arranged to meet a family that contacted us from our website. They live in Mexico with their three children and just drove back up to the States to visit family.

We spend an hour or two chatting together while our children play at the splash park. It’s great to share ideas with like minded individuals. We discuss travel, humanitarian work, global awareness, border crossings, and sites to see in Mexico.

1:00 p.m. – Too soon it’s time to load up once more. We’ve made arrangements to stay with a family in Santa Cruz, California, and we’ve got a long way to drive.

But first we stop for lunch at the local grocery store. We buy pre-made salads from the deli, fresh produce, some oatmeal and cereal for breakfast and the ingredients for chicken salad sandwiches for dinner.

4:00 p.m. - The kids are snoozing in the car, so we don’t want to stop, but we need to put more veggie in our tank before we drive into the sparsely populated Nevada desert.

We locate some at a Mexican restaurant, but when we try to use our veggie pump, the motor burns out.

7:00 p.m. - We’ve spent three hours in the small town of Delta, Utah, trying to fix our veggie pump. Finally we collect veggie the ‘old-fashioned’ way – with a scoop and a bucket. We’ll have to get our pump fixed in California.

9:00 p.m. - Stopping on the side of the road in the middle of Nevada somewhere for a potty break, we also fix up our chicken salad sandwiches for dinner.

Back in the truck, the kids get out their blankets and pillows for bedtime. I get out my computer and write a post for my blog, then my hubby and I work on editing a guide we’re writing for traveling in Mexico and Central America with kids.

1:00 a.m. - We’re trying to make up for ‘lost time’, but my hubby and I are finally too tired to keep our eyes open anymore.

We find a side road in the desert, flip open our roof top tent, and go to sleep. Ahhh, it’s so nice to have a comfortable place to snooze instead of attempting to sleep squashed in a seat.

Day Two: Friday

5:30 a.m. - The desert night is cold and we’re awake. Might as well get driving again.

We flop the roof top tent closed, and we’re on our way.

7:30 a.m. – I’m snoozing in the front seat, still too tired to stay awake.

9:30 a.m. – I edit photos from our trip to use on our blog. We cross the California/Nevada border, then stop at a park to boil water to make oatmeal for breakfast.

11:30 a.m. - We stop for veggie at a little diner in a small town.

12:30 p.m. - Waiting in line at the fee station for Yosemite National Park. Driving through this beautiful national treasure, we have a family council to decide if we’re going to stop and hike now, or head straight to the beach and come back next week when we’re going East again. The nearly unanimous vote is to head to the beach.

3:00 p.m. – The life drained out of us by the scorching sun that beats down mercilessly on our non-air-conditioned truck, we’re searching for a town where we can stop for some veggie and some food.

4:00 p.m. - Feeling a little more refreshed with full bellies and some time spent in the A/C, we fill up with veggie at the local BK, then get back on the road. We still have at least two hours until we reach our destination.

6:00 p.m. - We’re stuck in California traffic, melting in the hot sun. I keep checking the GPS, as if that will help us to get closer to our destination. Will this moment ever end?

7:30 p.m. - FINALLY we arrive in Santa Cruz at the home of our hosts. The air is cool, almost chilly and so refreshing.

The kids play at the beach for awhile, we enjoy a simple meal with our new friends, then put the kids in bed on mattresses on the floor in the guest room, while the grown-ups chat.

12:00 a.m. – Dog-tired, I crawl into a nice soft bed.

Day Three: Saturday

7:00 a.m. - I cuddle with a still tired but wiggly baby in bed, while Greg does a little bit of work on the computer.

8:00 a.m. – I take a much needed shower after two days of hot, wind-blown and sweaty travel. The kids’ baths will wait until after beach playtime, which will occur directly after breakfast, I am sure.

9:30 a.m. - I make it to the beach after the baby’s nap. The boys have dug a HUGE hole in the sand, and Greg is in heaven playing sand volleyball.

12:00 noon - We go back to our hosts’ house for lunch on the deck in the sunshine – tortellini with garlic olive oil imported from Spain, and toasted sesames.

2:30 p.m. - Back at the beach, baby takes a nap on the towel and I read from The Snow Leopard.

5:00 p.m. - We clean up sandy bodies, do quick showers, dinner prep, and then meal time – a delicious home made chicken soup. After eating and some play time, the kids get ready for bed, and we read bed time stories. They’re asleep by 8:00 p.m.

9:00 p.m. - The adults enjoy great conversation in the living room, but a fussy baby takes me into the bedroom where I accidentally crash for the night.

Day Four: Sunday

7:00 a.m. – Greg and I are up and preparing for church. We wake the kids, fix hair, feed them breakfast, then get them in the truck by 8 a.m.

8:30 a.m. - We stop for veggie, and while Greg fills the tank I dress the kids in their church clothes.

12:30 p.m. - We’re back at our hosts’ home where we have lunch before walking through Santa Cruz to a local park that has 10 slides for kids and impromptu bands of fiddles, guitars, banjos, and basses.

2:30 p.m. - Daddy and the kids go to the beach while I help prepare dinner.

5:30 p.m. - After the evening meal, the kids play contentedly with wooden toys, puzzles, and dolls. The adults converse more about travel, education, American culture, and other topics.

7:30 p.m. - We have a bedtime snack, then start the bedtime routine – teeth, pajamas, and then stories. They’re in bed by 9:30 p.m.

9:30 p.m. - The adults share some more great conversation about home education, adoption, traveling, and personal development. Finally at midnight we all go to bed.

Day Five: Monday

7:30 a.m. - Greg is already up when I finally get out of bed (he doesn’t get up with a baby at night though I do some writing, posting on my blog, checking emails, responding to comments, etc.

10:00 a.m. – We have a late breakfast – coconut crepes with fresh strawberries, blueberries, bananas, yogurt and maple syrup.

11:00 a.m. - The kids are back at the beach, I shower, then load up and put away our belongings in the truck.

1:30 p.m. - We say goodbye to our hosts and new friends, and we’re back on the road, headed out to do some errands, and then visit the Apple flagship store in Cupertino, CA.

6:00 p.m. – After paying our homage and more errands, we arrive at the home of a family who traveled around the world and then wrote a book about it. They have a super fun house with rock-climbing walls, secret passages in the walls and attic, a zip line and monkey bars.

The kids have a blast and are entertained for hours while we discuss all sorts of fun topics with the adults.

12:00 midnight – I do some reading of the book written by our hosts before baby’s cry calls me to bed.

Day Six: Tuesday

7:30 a.m. – Greg and I are up doing some work in the quiet morning.

9:30 a.m. - The kids are up and Greg gets them some food while I work on some projects for our website, and some web designs for clients.

1:00 p.m. – The kids are entertained for hours with the funnest house we’ve ever seen. They play the Wii, bake a cake, do some crafts and swing, rock climb, and more.

Greg and I use the time to write, edit videos and photos, and other business stuff.

3:00 p.m. - With boxes full of books, donations from our hosts, we load up in our truck, bid farewell, and travel to the home of long-lost friends of my husband from Peru.

4:30 p.m. – We’re on the road toward Yosemite National Park.

10:00 p.m. - We find a quiet place to pull over and sleep in our roof top tent, just 50 miles outside Yosemite.

Day Seven: Wednesday

8:00 a.m. – We sleep in a little, get up and have breakfast with the kids, then drive into Yosemite.

10:00 a.m.- We do some sightseeing and hiking, but the kids are fighting and whining, and I’m kind of in a sour mood. It’s one of those ‘family travel moments’ where you’re annoyed with each other.

2:00 p.m. - We’re feeling better after a nice dip in the crystal clear and cool Merced River. Ahh, so enjoyable.

4:30 p.m. - Back on the road, we head toward Salt Lake once again, where we’re meeting up with friends and family who are coming to visit.

1:00 a.m. - Greg pulls a late night driving, but finally stops in a little spot to catch some zzzz’s. The roof top tent makes it so easy to get some good sleep when you pull those late nights.

After spending another month in Utah visiting with friends and family, Rachel and Greg and the five kids are now in Arizona, and are headed for Mexico! You can read about their adventures at DiscoverShareInspire, or learn how to Design the Family Lifestyle of Your Dreams with their 24Step course.  

Andrew Collins is a 23-year-old adventure traveler from Boston, Massachusetts. He likes motorcycles, Mexican food, P. Diddy, and long walks on the beach. Not having decided where or how to settle down yet, he’s “between residences” looking for cool vehicles and near-death experiences wherever he can afford to go. He’s currently employed as an outback motorcycle tour guide, allowing him access to an awesome lineup of machines and incredible locales. Please enjoy this week-in-the-life of Andrew and his Aussie Outback life!

Day One: Monday

Morning:

My alarm vibrates at 0500 and I wake up in swag somewhere under the Australian sky. It’s dark and freezing outside – the next five minutes will be the worst of the entire day.

Emerging from my sleeping cell like a groundhog with a hangover I trip into my clothes already caked with dirt and oil.

Jay-zuz CHRIST it is cold.

I set to making sandwiches for lunch, re-lighting last night’s fire for a little breakfast ambiance. I exchange good-morning grunts with my boss Magnus, who’s firing up the grille for bacon and eggs.

Within ten minutes the rest of the team is awake, crowding around the tea kettle like expectant fathers waiting for their first child to be born.

After breakfast I wash dishes as Magnus checks the oil level of the motorcycles. The first bike fires up and a blows a hole in the morning serenity. The rest of the bikes chime in, making their presence known for miles. With everyone’s swag in the truck and helmets on their heads, Magnus leads the formation of bikes onto the track and I bring up the rear in support truck.

Midday

The sky is clear, track is open and I’m blasting over sand dunes in a quarter-million dollars worth of 4×4. Life is good. Knock-off Ray-Bans shield my eyes from the desert sun as I survey the horizon through the truck’s massive windshield. I spot a big, wide, sandy bend ahead that puts a big, wide smile right through my five o’clock shadow.

I drop a gear and power-on, kicking five-tons of cargo to the outside of the corner in a drift fit for a Fast & Furious movie.

With the engine wailing I counter-steer hard, holding the truck on the edge of control. I risk a glance in the mirror to catch the sand tsunami my rear tires are throwing-

Oh yeah, it looks awesome.

“Yeeeee HA!”

But as the track straightens bushes reveal a big, stinky bull camel taking a piss in the middle of my path. Long legs put the bulk of the animal almost two meters off the ground- squared up with my windshield.

Downshift, downshift, pump brake, pray.

The beast realizes his impending peril and books it. I’m bearing down on him hard, but just before I make a hood ornament out of his humps he veers off- bounding into the bushes and out of danger.

I ease off the throttle, reeling the truck back down to a canter.

Round twenty minutes later I roll to a stop at the lunchtime rendezvous point.

“Ok ride?” asks Magnus.

“Eh. Standard stuff.”

Night

On the last night of a 17-day tour, the team whips up a bonfire fit to signal astronauts and I pass beers around.

Everyone recounts their favorite moments and takes the piss out of each other one last time before returning to wives, jobs and traffic lights the next day.

When the booze is finally drained the crew climbs into their swags and sets to snoring.

I make sure there’s no petrol near the fire coals and wash down a couple of painkillers with a dram of scotch. Mm, better make that two drams.

Day Two: Tuesday

Morning

See Monday.

Midday

Drive turns dull quickly as we re-enter the realm of pavement and pedestrians. But at least we get radio reception. As this tour concludes at Fremantle, Western Australia, we pop off three bottles of champagne for a group photo at the Indian Ocean.

Night

The whole team gets together for a massive night at the bar where “tour superlatives” are given by Magnus. Beers and vigorous handshakes are exchanged until closing. Our clients retire to hotels; I stay with Magnus at the house of a relative.

Day Three: Wednesday

Morning

A glorious sleep-in to 0700 followed by a proper espresso coffee has me feeling like a king after two weeks in the dirt. Good thing, because the tour may be over but our work is anything but.

Midday

We have seven motorcycles that need repairs, filters, fluids, and detail jobs. I start spinning wrenches while Magnus runs around town picking up parts and a new trailer. Half the bikes will stay in Fremantle, the other half will be towed back to Queensland.

Night

We don’t finish until the sun has long sunk, but everything is in order before I hit the pillow.

Day Four: Thursday

Morning

After another “late” wakeup, we load motorcycles onto the new trailer and Magnus makes ready to head home. We’ll be parting ways at this juncture; I have four weeks off before the next tour and I’ve been left with one of our Suzuki DR-Z 400’s. With a handshake and a nod, Magnus begins another 5,000 kilometer journey and I’m on my own for the first time in three months.

Midday

The relaxation brought on by solitude is immeasurable. No one to answer to, no one to make sandwiches for. All I’ve got is a motorcycle and a duffle bag; instant adventure, “Just Add Petrol”.

Night

Unsure of how to begin my month of freedom, I book two nights into the first hostel I cruise by. It’s an ex-fire station converted to dorms with an Indian restaurant on the first floor and free parking. It smells invitingly of curry and marijuana and seems like the perfect place to re-adjust to society. I rumble in and slot my bike into a parking space while the rest of the guests shuffle in off busses and beat-ass camper vans. Loving having the coolest vehicle in the lot, I hid a smug smirk behind the visor of my helmet on my way to the door.

Day Five: Friday

Morning

Now that I’m on my own time, a “sleep-in” means a sleep-in. I wake up without an alarm and catch my first clock while I pour my coffee- half past noon.

Ah, vacation.

I break out my MacBook and get a much needed internet fix. After emailing my grandmother I get down to business assessing my surroundings with a few standard Google searches: “best cafe fremantle”, “bars fremantle”, “red light district Perth,” etc. I could research my touring route later.

Midday

It’s midday already?

Night

After a shower and shot of whiskey I hit the ATM and grab a wad of cash, tucking the big bills into my boot in case I get jumped. The ride into town is brutal cold, but the anticipation of debauchery keeps my adrenaline going and takes my mind off the temperature.

I roll into Northbridge, Perth’s red zone, at around half past midnight and am pleased to find it in a state absolute bedlam- lights, sounds, and people everywhere. Wedging the bike between the two most expensive cars I can find I power down and start foot patrol down the main drag, soon finding myself at the door of a strip club called Voodoo Lounge.

There’s no line but the bouncer isn’t keen on my tattered motocross gear.

“Mate, we’ve got a dress code ‘ere.”

“Yeah, you’ve got coat check haven’t you?”

“Your boots…”

“What? These things are like six hundred bucks…”

“They’re taped,”

Alas, the guy was an astute observer of fashion – my boots had taken some damage in a crash and were indeed dependent on cloth tape for structural integrity.

“How much is it to get in?”

“Fifteen, but mate-“

“Thirty you say? Sounds steep, but alright,”

The bouncer thinks about it for a second, shrugs his shoulders and extends his hand.

I march up the steep stairs and walk into the set of Tron- Daft Punk is blasting a hole in my brain, everything is trimmed with neon and chicks in less than latex are flying all over the place.

“At least it’s not one of those gaudy strip clubs” I think, amusing myself with some inner-monologue sarcasm.

By the time I have my coat checked and whiskey in hand I’ve parted with another $20. Taking advantage of a freshly vacated booth I park myself and try to relax. Comfort level in a place like this has a direct correlation with the level of my beverage, and I’m in need of a refill before the next song ends.

It’s starting to get crowed when a couple Germans lean my way,

“Iz it alright, ve come zit ‘ere?”

Always accept an invitation to party with Germans at the nudie bar- I learned that in Hamburg two years prior. Nobody makes it rain like the Deutschemäckers, and on this night I’m not disappointed.

“Und now ve get ze table dance, ya?”

Day Six: Saturday

Morning

Missed that one.

Midday

I wake up feeling like hammered shit. Which of course, I deserve. I need 600 cc’s of latte STAT or I’m liable to collapse into a lifeless blob forever. I drag myself into a café and check out the barista while I’m in line, as one does. I’m deep in my imagination picturing her slow-motion running toward me by the time it’s my turn to order.

“Can I help you?”

It sounds like she’s asking a second time… I scramble for a line but all that comes out of my mouth is air and drool.

“Uh, yeah- coffee please,” Maybe next time.

Night

Last night in Freo’: I meet a French chick named Adele imbibing a beer in the hostel courtyard. I ask her back to mine- to help me pack- an invitation she accepts literally, much to my disappointment.

I try to shed all unnecessary baggage to reduce payload for my touring trip, but have trouble getting rid of anything. After spending ten minutes explaining why I need all three pairs of sunglasses I’m carrying, Don’t French people understand fashion? I give up and accept that I’ll have some heavy lifting to do if and when I crash.

Day Seven: Sunday

Morning

Scrambling to get my shit together before I get fined for a late check-out, my gear is all over the place at half-past ten. Luckily I’ve made friends with the guy at reception and he couldn’t care less. By the crack of noon I’m loaded up and on the road, 40 kilograms worth of junk bungee-corded to the pillion of my DR-Z and another 40 in my backpacks.

Good luck, I mutter to myself as I power out of the driveway.

Midday

I’m heading for the Dwellingup National Forest and 4×4 Circuit about 150 kilometers south of Perth, and after braving a “long-cut” off the highway I’m happy to hit my first dirt road.

I follow tracks south as they get tighter and tighter, and less than an hour after pushing off from Fremantle I’m standing on my pegs plowing through deep sand. I’m grateful for the excitement but fatigue quickly- the motorcycle is extremely top heavy with all my cargo and is harder to keep down than a freshly castrated elephant.

The terrain finally gets the best of me and abruptly halts the front wheel, hurling my bike and body into the ground. Soft sand is a merciful surface to crash on, but digging out is a different story. It takes twenty minutes of excavation and heaving to get the over-laden machine upright. I’m sweating like a slave and the acromioclavicular joint I had damaged in a crash the previous week is ablaze with pain.

Alright, back to the main road for a bit.

Night

A few more hours on paved and hard-packed dirt roads has me on the outskirts of Dwellingup. Staking a rocky clearing as the night’s campsite, I erect my $15 tent and try to get a fire going. And try. And try. Finally settling on a pathetic whimper of burning twigs I manage to boil enough water to cook instant noodles. I’m sure I’ll get better at this with practice.

In an increasingly accessible world, it’s becoming harder and harder to write an engaging travel story. Anybody with a week to kill and a credit card can be on the other side of the Earth 24 hours after deciding to leave; having “been to Thailand” doesn’t exactly make you a pioneering explorer anymore.

Now that we have cars and jets and satellite imaging of every square inch you could possibly piss on, the days of stumbling into a clearing and making first contact with a tribe of aboriginals are over.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t any more adventure to be had; only that people like myself have to work a little harder to dig up a new angle for creating a yarn about life on the road.

That’s why I bend the throttle, proverbially and literally, every chance I get to find truly unique adventure stories for RoadRoving.com. My obsession with motoring and lust for action puts a petrol-powered spin on the “adventure traveler” archetype, so check the site often to come along for the ride and satiate your need for speed from the safety of your computer.

Andrew just celebrated his 24^th birthday (yesterday!), and he’s currently somewhere in the middle of the Aussie outback racing an Isuzu NPS as a service manager/support driver for the Australian Safari: the largest 7-day off-road rally of its kind. His tour of duty with this team ends in a month, and he’ll probably kick around Oz until the end of the year. But to get the full scoop, go visit him at RoadRoving.com for the latest!.