Vagabond Insider

Protecting your banking, email, and other online activities is key in preventing identity theft. Also being able to access websites outside the country you are in is very helpful for travel. The last benefit to secure web surfing is that if there is censorship on your network (say at school or something) you’ll learn how [...]

Street food in asia is delicious, and usually cheap. It’s a definite must have for travelers who REALLY want to experience culture of the places they visit. I’ve been traveling asia for over 14 months now, and I gotta say, Asia is awesome. Whatever country I’ve been in, I’ve eaten street food. I’ve found the [...]

You can’t take everything with you. (Photo: BrittneyBush)

The act (or is it art?) of packing light is different for everyone. In my previous article about being prepared for being unprepared, carefully choosing the gear in your packing list is worth the time spent.

Packing light to some people might be just going around the world with just a jacket like Rolf Potts (I’ll do this within one year).

To others, it may be having just two full suitcases of clothes and gear. I don’t recommend this approach at all because even if you are not going from place to place, it becomes a reason to stay where you are.

Think why you may have not moved yet. Wouldn’t it be a pain to get all that stuff you have to your new home? Buying boxes, buying tape, getting movers or renting a truck yourself. Packing the boxes, and moving them onto the truck and moving them off the truck and unpacking them, and organizing it all.

Some people love the process of moving. Is it a really effective use of time? Could you be building your business? Spending more time with your kids and loved ones?

Wait, what does this have to do with packing light? Well, everything.

Are you ok with having an apartment full of stuff while you are trekking the world? This choice I leave up to you, but I didn’t want to have stuff to worry about while traveling.

If you decide to pack light (I say one medium sized back pack and one small bag works just fine) you’ll gain mental freedom [...]

Posted 6th November 2010.

Ni Hao.

Ok, I haven’t talked about this much. I moved around California a lot, even to big weird cities like San Francisco. It was a fun experience, though not the place for me.

I didn’t really plan where I was going, I just found things which interested me and choose to seek out the areas.

I’m now across the ocean in a far time zone away from the places I called home. I packed my 28L bag, and side bag and flew away.

This awesome tropical island I’m at is called Taiwan. I don’t speak Mandarin at all. Doy-ba-chi.

I have to say the people here are very friendly. It started raining and I stood there in my shorts and no umbrella near a jewelry shop. I took the rain cover out of the bottom of my backpack and covered my backpack. The shop owner walked out side and beckoned me to come over to him, he handed me an umbrella. He made the motions to throw it away when I’m done with it. This was awesome.

I went to the local 7 eleven (they are on most corners, literally 1 block away from each other) and bought an umbrella. I brought back his and thanked him.

I didn’t come to Taiwan prepared for a lot of things, I took the time to figure it out while I was here. I prepared myself with clothes, and the ability to reach the internet, though beyond this, all I did was book a plane and a hostel (the day before the flight) and figured my way around as soon as I landed.

Some folks I talk to here say I’m really prepared when it comes to my gear. Not really. I just put a lot of research before hand to have stuff which works great around the world. I’m not prepared for everything, just most things.

It basically boils down to this, be prepared for 20% of the important stuff, and you’ve covered 80% of the important things. Of course this is the 20/80 principle or whatever, just apply your numbers in whichever way works for you.

This 20/80 principle basically applies to all of life. The numbers might look like 10/90 or 5/95 or even 30/70.

If you focus on the important aspects of ANYTHING, the rest usually falls into place or is worth putting mediocre effort on [...]

Posted on October 31st 2010.

Our spines support our whole body. (photo: diice)

Do you have back pain?

Does it bother you when you sleep? When you wake up?

Does it make it difficult to do what you really want to do? Spending time with loved ones or doing kinky things hurt by your back?

Hey, I’m in my twenties, and I have back pain. That’s right, I’m in my twenties and I have back pain. Not as bad as some people, though it gets pretty bad sometimes.

It gets to the point where I can’t even go out and do anything.

I know a lot of older folks and even younger who also have immense back pain.

Some people try to fix it with Icy hot, or some bengay cream. Some use ice as well. This is all temporary relief. It doesn’t last for a long time.

Remember when I said to fix the system not the symptom?

This is one of those situations.

Do you want to know one of the biggest causes of back pain is?

Guess. [...]

Posted on June 20th, 2010.

The road less traveled.

I originally started Vagabond Insider with the thought that I will be doing video a lot more.

I wanted to show people where I’m at and other things. Since then, I have learned how to screen capture my screen and show other people how to do things.

From now on, expect more videos!

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Here are some simple quick tips and resources on saving money on flights, hotels, and cars.

I’ll show you what you need to plan for and what places to look for some great deals.

YouTube only wants videos 10 minutes or shorter, I had to cut out some of my very awesome commentary.

Here are the slide notes from the video:

LAX Seminar Last Minute
$4,997 GURU Management Summit
2 days Away
Hotel, Flight, and Parking Arrangements
Hotel + Flight Package Savings

Certain Days and Times are cheaper
On certain days it is cheaper to travel Tuesday, Wednesday, & Saturday
Most expensive are Monday & Friday
Cheapest Time to Travel is evenings except Friday and Sunday

Booking in Advance Saves tons of $$$
Of course not all travel arrangements can be planned out
Procrastination is sometimes are closest friend (like for me in this instance)

Try Travel Agents or Booking Sites
Some Travel Agents know certain places and are able to work out a deal better than any booking site
Try many different booking sites and the actual sites of airlines as well

Where to Look for a Flight and/or Hotel
Kayak.com (my favorite for many reasons
Cheaptickets.com
Expedia.com
Orbitz.com
Travelocity.com
Priceline.com
Hotwire.com

USA Flight Places to Find Cheap Flights
Southwest.com
Jetblue.com

Hotel & Hostels & Others
Hotel.com
Hostels.com
Hostelworld.com
Couchsurfing.org

Cars
A lot of the websites before can include cars
Beware of special upgrades your credit card might offer, such as American Express Platinum
Look at a lot of different types of cars if price matters, some convertibles can be $19 or less a day [...]

How much preparation done for a road trip can mean how much fun it is or how miserable it is.

There can be both too little preparation and too much preparation.

Can you imagine coming back from a road trip to find out you lost your job or someone died in your family?

This is why there are some things to prepare for. Of course if you were a true vagabond, you would be location independent.

Planning for Work

If you are indeed working, you’ll need to plan for time off. Not every place will grant vacation time or time off so be prepared for a no.

Submit your time off request early and ahead of your trip by months. If you wait too long, there may no slots for time off when you want to go on a road trip.

Plan ahead for holidays and other busy times of the year, many people who work on the holidays apply for time off on the holidays.

Not all places you work will allow you too much time off at one time either, which is one reason why I quit my job.

Many companies do not function well when an important person leaves for too long, unless you learn to delegate your job functions. I learned to delegate my job functions in my previous job and was able to leave for a week or longer without telling anyone.

I used [...]

Posted on February 27th 2010.

This is the reason for road trips.

Road trips are fun. When I was in high school I would go on random road trips with friends and in college I would go on road trips for more fun. I’ve driven all over around where I live and across the country for many different reasons.

Sometimes I may spend a lot of time preparing for the road trip or I would just pack everything the day before and stop by Wal-mart for food and items.

I’ve had a lot of fun with road trips, they are especially fun with other people.

Recently I drove across the country back and forth for business. I drove a good 1867 miles each way, about a total driving time of 29 hours each way.

While it wasn’t a normal road trip, I did everything I would during a road trip. It was not a conventional drive as I would stop at rests stops to nap instead of stopping at other locations to sleep.

The first part of the road trip series is about deciding why and where to go. I had a destination for this trip, which was across the country to get my residency in another state. Also to register my business as a foreign Limited Liability Company.

Why a Road Trip

There are many reasons why for a road trip. Do you need to [...]

Posted on February 6th 2010.

License and Registration please.

These dreaded four words. Before these four words, those flashing lights from some car behind you. You start to pull over and say “Ah crap.” This car from behind you pulls up, they step out of their car. You roll down your window, and the person says, “License and Registration please.”

Most every driver has had this situation, I’ve had my fair share. Luckily in almost every instance the police officer has let me go. The one time I did get a ticket was when I was on a bike in a college town, officers think bike riders in a college towns are worthless.

I think it is important as a vagabond to avoid tickets and trouble with officers whenever possible. Vagabonds may go on many road trips, so there are many chances for being pulled over. It is especially important internationally.

Here’s what happened during my road trip from California to Texas, I was pulled over in Texas.

It was daytime, around 12:00pm, I was a few hours from my destination. More and more traffic started showing up on the highway, and I found myself passing a truck and a semi, they were going 5-7 miles above the speed limit.

The whole way I was driving 10 miles per hour above the speed limit during this road trip. I saw the cop as I drove by, he was sitting in the median with his radar gun. I thought to myself, ah crap, and said to myself [...]

Posted January 23rd 2010.

Enjoy this view.

What do you worry about when you travel? Your car? Your house? Your possessions? Where you will stay? Your safety?

I was looking to purchase a house a couple of months ago. I looked at it as a good opportunity to build equity and have roommates pay for my mortgage.

What I didn’t want was the head ache of having a bunch of stuff, the remodeling, the collecting of rent from roommates who don’t pay. It would also tie me down to the house until I could sell it, at a loss if sold early. It would also mean joining an earning treadmill I see a lot of people on.

Keeping up with the Joneses

As a college graduate, I saw how my purchasing habits changed when my income tripled in one year. My desire for certain cars changed. I was getting ready to buy a [...]

Posted on January 19th 2010.