One question we are constantly asked is, ‘what’s the best thing you’ve ever eaten on your travels?’ We’re typically left with a puzzled gaze, sputtering out a few words as we stumble over hundreds of foods in our heads. It’s about as easy to pick one meal as it is to pick a favorite country or city – we’ve had so many that have been wonderful yet so uniquely different. Since we can’t choose just one, we’ve compiled a list…
Having traveled around with backpackers living on a true shoestring budget, we quickly realized how cheaply you could stay in southeast Asia. A bed in a dormitory-style hostel seemed to run anywhere from about $6 to $10 USD per night (we even met up with an easy-going Argentinian who was elated to find he could get a mattress on a floor in Houay Xai, Laos for only $2/night). If you’re kicking around southeast Asia and want to do cheap, you…
Before embarking on a year-long trip around the world, we’d never used Airbnb for international accommodations. Because we’d typically only be traveling for a couple weeks at a time, we usually stayed at cozy inns, boutique hotels, or bed and breakfasts (if we weren’t camping). This time, though, we were going to have to sustain ourselves for an entire year. Knowing we’d have to cut corners on the budget in some way, we turned to Airbnb. The increasingly-popular online booking…
As part of my first solo trip abroad, I was pretty excited to put together a little vegan food tour of Chiang Mai. Because I usually travel with Stephan, a meat eater who loves to explore each region’s native cuisine, we typically seek out local hotspots for him to expand his adventurous palate. While I fully support this endeavor – as I am by no means an adventurous eater – for once, it was super fun to plot out my…
Making the commitment to pack up and spend the world sightseeing is an exciting prospect, but at the same time daunting and perhaps a bit surreal. We are not independently wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but we are pretty diligent penny-pinchers and savers. Before we left on our long-term adventure, my mind continually questioned, ‘can we really do this on a practical budget?’ After months on the road, I learned that the answer simply – if not surprisingly –…
Is renting a campervan the cheapest way to see New Zealand? No. Is campervan travel a great way to see New Zealand? Well, we certainly thought so. If you are looking to stretch your budget, you may want to consider renting a car and either packing a tent and sleeping bags or staying at backpacker hostels. If budget isn’t your number one priority, and you’re looking to spend several weeks exploring the more isolated countryside, you may want to consider…
I love birthdays. I think they’re awesome, and I look forward to mine every year. That said, I know there’s a huge portion of the population who doesn’t agree with me… the people who think they’re no big deal and who have no desire to celebrate getting yet another year older. Well, for me, I feel like it’s the one day of the year when you can really feel special, have a reason to treat yourself, and embrace all that’s…
Since my mom has posted quite a bit about her favorite travel essentials and how to pack for long-term travel, she asked if I’d like to similarly share my top picks for my fellow pup travelers out there. I came to live with my parents as soon as they returned from a year of traveling overseas (we met at my home in Chiang Mai, Thailand). And now that we’re a family of three, it’s time for mom and dad to…
When packing for a typical trip, items that are at the forefront of most of our thoughts are the basics – clothes, underwear, a toothbrush, rain jacket. But when you are actually living out of a single backpack (think tortoise carrying his house on his back), packing takes on kind of a new meaning. Things that aren’t typically a consideration for a week-long retreat now become increasingly important – How can I segregate all things dirty and gross? How can…
From maps to money to making reservations, these were some of the smart phone apps we found most valuable during our year-long journey around the world: Although the first item is not technically an app, for us, it was an invaluable tool. Before embarking on our world tour, we switched our wireless carrier to Google’s Project Fi, which (for us) turned out to be a huge money saver. The service works by pinging off three major providers – U.S. Cellular, Sprint,…