Careful when you Surf the Web

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 to get around those censorships.

Did you know if the wifi network you are on is not secure, it’s very easy for someone to get your passwords and information from free to download programs?

To make it even worse, there is a firefox add-on that will capture your login information.

That’s right, a free firefox add-on that will capture your login information.

All they need to do is be on the same wi-fi network as you, and press capture, and it starts capturing any login details on the wi-fi network.

Now even if your network has a password, there are still too many free to download programs that people can use to steal your identify and banking information.

It’s not fun when a bank lets a $10,000 debit on your account happen and not marking it suspicious.

What’s a VPN?

Ok, the way to protect yourself is through something called a VPN, a virtual private network.

It’s basically a connection between your computer and another computer/server, which encrypts your data as it goes through it.

Imagine a tunnel you drive through with a car.

You’ll be the only person driving through the tunnel, so you’ll be safe.

Not using a VPN is like driving on the freeway, everyone can see your car and you, and see what model your car is, what color it is and more info.

VPN Advantages

Now there is and even bigger advantage for a VPN.

If you have ever been to China, you’ll find that they censor a lot of websites, like Facebook, google, and other stuff.

Google only really works when you click on the link to search stuff through Hong Kong, and then the stuff isn’t really censored.

Depending on the type of VPN you get, you will be able to get around these censorships and make your internet think you are in another country.

For example, if you were in China, using one of the most secure levels of VPN, your internet, your web browser will think you are in the country your VPN server is located.

If your VPN server is located in the United States, well, you’ll have access to services located in the US.

Types of Sites You Can Access

Many websites don’t work outside of the United States or other countries for whatever reason from copyright to media streaming rights.

Pandora, Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, Fotolia (some of the time) and other awesome internet services.

The only downside is that sometimes your internet will be slower because your data has to go through the server and back to you. To me this is fine if my data is secure and websites think I’m in the United States.

It also works great when I’m working on my information products, a lot of websites I use to create products require a US IP address.

Sometimes my internet connection is actually faster with the VPN too. Depending on all the censorships, your data might be routed all over the world to different servers, while the servers you want may actually be hosted in the same city as your VPN server (San Francisco).

You can also get around censorships in your school, and other places they may censor stuff in your country.

You can create a VPN on your own, which requires some technical know how or you can pay for the service.

Personally, I’m not able to maintain a server from 2000 miles across the world, so I’ve been using a service for over 14 months now while traveling the world.

I’ve been using Strong VPN.

Their sole focus is having VPN servers around the world. Basically if you choose them as a provider, you’ll get to pick from servers all over the United States, Europe, and Asia.

If you are going to travel Asia and want the fastest VPN in the United States, I would recommend a San Francisco server.

Blocked Website Access In Different Countries

Now if you have to decide between PPTP/L2TP and Open VPN (very technical eh) depending on where you travel PPTP may be blocked and sometimes L2TP as well.

Here in Vietnam, my internet service provider blocked PPTP a few weeks ago, but L2TP which is another configuration of PPTP, allowed me to use the VPN.

Vietnam copies China in that they censor Facebook and some other stuff, so the ISPs will block random stuff at random times.

To get around them, you’ll need a VPN.

Open VPN is the most secure VPN of them all, though it can be a little slower than PPTP.

PPTP is the most simple and Open VPN is the most complicated and speeds get a little (not very noticeable) slower if you go more secure.

Open VPN being more secure also means it’s harder to block. So you’ll usually do fine with Open VPN when it comes to censorship and securing your data.

It’s up to you what service you use, but I’ve been using Strong VPN for 14 months now and their customer service agents are very helpful.

Whenever you have a problem, they’ll help you resolve it to the end on live chat.

If you decide to get a VPN, just know that you’ll be securing your web surfing, you’ll be able to access services of whatever country your servers in, and you’ll be in the end protecting your identity.

Mmm Pho in Vietnam

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 worse (sickness) came from Laos, and Thailand.

They like to cut raw vegetables to serve with the knife they used to cut that chicken in your dish at some places.

The other problem with street food is if they don’t speak your language, and you didn’t practice theirs, it’s hard to get prices.

The other problem with prices is that most street food places don’t list prices. Being a foreigner and not knowing the language, many street vendors will charge more because they know you can pay more.

It’s up to you how you feel if they decide to charge you more.

On one hand, it’s not cool they don’t charge the same prices for locals as they do for you.

On the other hand, the additional $0.20-$1, you can afford it, and to them it’s like $1-5 additional for them in their own currency (buying power).

The worse thing I saw was in Thailand. When someone was trying to bargain with a Pad Thai street vendor for additional shrimp on Khaosan Road.

Her dish was only 30 baht or so ($1) and he wanted extra shrimp for the same price.

Bargaining on food that is cheap food already? I wanted to punch him in the neck. There is just too much disrespect here.

Now if the vendor was trying to rip them off, then it’s a different story. But in the most tourist road in Bangkok, they list their prices.

The main items of concern when eating street food is, is it safe?

It’s not the most clean food, but neither is the food you get out of that “clean” restaurant.

Ever hear of all the rats living in the KFC’s in the United States?

Yea, it can still get dirty with all those health codes.

The Tips on Buying Street Food In Asia

Four question you want to ask yourself when you are at a vendor.

How much does it cost?

Is it fresh?

Is it clean?

Is anyone else eating it? 

We’ve talked about cost, and basically, you’ll do well to bring a calculator or someone who can speak the language if you don’t know numbers in the language or if the currency is bigger than 10.

It’s best to get the prices of what you order before you order it.

Some folks will rip you off when there are no prices listed.

Also, from your currency, street food is usually $1-3 depending on what you order in their currency. Depends on the countries, though they are usually consistent.

Just make sure you have local currency, to avoid any confusion of currency conversion. Of course if you are in Cambodia, dollars may do you better.

Is it fresh is based on, is it cooked in front of me or was it cooked before and siting here a while?

If it’s been sitting a while, likely flies have landed on it and puked all over it.

You’ll be eating fly puke.

To determine if it’s clean, look at the trash around them.

Look at how clean the tables or bowls are.

Watch how they prepare the food.

There are street vendors who don’t care about their customers, and there are street vendors who follow tradition and treat every customer well.

It’s good to watch what they do to make the food if you can.

If no one is eating the food, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. It might mean they just opened and people will come later.

Maybe they are busy during lunch and dinner and slow late at night.

But if there’s a street vendor close by that is super busy, while yours has no customers, you may want to try that other one.

Of course I’ve found some of the vendors with little customers were way better than the busy places. The busy place may just cater to foreigners better and have better word of mouth.

The best thing you can do when eating street food, is to enjoy it.

Just use a little preparation to make sure you don’t get sick.

And don’t go bargaining on already cheap food with prices listed.

If prices are not listed, well if they try to rip you off, then you may have to pay or face the police.

It’s best to ask for prices before you eat. So you don’t get a surprise.

Related Posts:

• No related posts found

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.

Carrie talks about clutter, and clutter really causes more problems than you may know. With minimalism, you’ll also gain physical freedom.

If you don’t like where you are staying, find a new place, because it takes you 10 minutes to pack up your bag and 5 minutes to book a room in another hostel. Of course if you wanted an apartment while traveling, that will take a little more effort, though it is still very easy.

Another benefit of packing light is no checked bags. A lot of US airlines are now charging for checked bags, and I’m sure there are international ones doing it too.

I don’t know much about international ones doing it because I always carry on my gear.

Losing gear and waiting for gear at baggage claim are just a waste of time while traveling (even though time is plentiful when you don’t have a schedule).

I wanted to include what I packed for my travels. Most people who see my gear think I’m crazy, which is fine, I get all the function I need and I have a lot less to maintain. While my list isn’t the cheapest, I won’t need to buy much stuff in the long run.

A large portion (most of it really) was inspired by Karol’s list. Karol is already traveling and I trust his experience and expertise, which saved me a lot of time and experimentation with different gear (like I’m doing for you).

How to Travel Light

-

1. Start with a smaller pack, those backpacker packs that are 40L+ are far too big to lug around everywhere. I use a 28L pack and I suggest anything 35L or below. Most packs bigger than that risk having to be checked in.
2. Pack enough gear to wear for at least two days. You’ll be hand washing your stuff frequently. Once every few days. Bring essential stuff.
3. Buy what you can where you travel. Unless you have a special formula of some sort of awesome tooth paste you need for your teeth to stay on, you’ll find a lot of stuff you can buy locally. Buying an Umbrella in Taiwan for $3.00 instead of lugging it around is not so bad. I’ll tell you that Taiwan doesn’t have much deodorant or ANY almond butter, so plan accordingly.

It’s as simple as those three things.

My Gear

-

I find I have everything I need and if I don’t have something, I can easily buy it from a grocery store, like tooth paste. The list might seem huge, though it’s really not all that much stuff.

Everything fits into my 28L bag just fine with some space to spare.

There are some affiliate links below, so I’ll leave it up to you if you want to click the links for the items.

Clothes

1) Black Icebreaker Men’s Bodyfit150 Ultralite

This shirt dries fast, and lets air flow very well in the humid weather I’m in. It also is odor resistant, I’ve worn it 4 days without a wash and it still smells fine mostly.  Very comfortable. A bit tight around the mid section. A bit expensive.

Buy the Icebreaker Men’s Bodyfit150 Ultralite

2) Black and Red Stoic Merino Bliss Shirt

I bought this for a future layer shirt for when winter rolls around. I use it mainly on days I wash my other shirts. Dries fast and odor resistant as well. Very comfortable. Was a bit expensive.

Buy The Stoic Merino Bliss Shirt

3) Black Icebreaker SuperFine 200 Kent Polo Shirt

A little thicker than both other shirts, though it fits very well and is made out of the same wool. Great for being a little better dressed. Dries fast, breathes well, and odor resistant. Very comfortable. A bit expensive.

Buy The Icebreaker SuperFine 200 Kent Polo Shirt

4) ExOfficio Men’s Give-N-Go Boxer Brief x 3

They dry fast, they resist odor, and can be used as swimming shorts. A bit expensive.

Buy The ExOfficio Men’s Give-N-Go Boxer Brief

5) SmartWool PhD Outdoor Light Micro Sock x 2

Just like my shirts, they dry fast, they resist odor, and they breathe well. Very comfortable. A bit expensive.

Buy the SmartWool PhD Outdoor Light Micro Sock

6) REI Thermal Pants

Great for layering and wearing when all my other clothes is drying. Resists odors, and dries fast.

7) Patagonia Sock

Bought these at an REI sale, just like the other wool, they dry fast, and resist odor.

8 ) Running shorts

They were originally shorts I bought a long time ago to run in, I use them mostly when I’m washing my pants or doing something active.

9) Biking gloves

Bought them a while back when I had my road bike, will be using it with the layering clothes when it gets cold or when I do some hiking.

10) Columbia Men’s Silver Ridge II Convertible Pants

They dry fast, and they convert to shorts. Handy for hot days or when you go to a place with a dress code (keep the pants in the pockets) Karol had trouble finding darker ones for his size and these are the darkest ones I found.

Buy the Columbia Men’s Silver Ridge II Convertible Pants

11) Wal-Mart flip flops

Cheap flip flops that were just too large for me, I couldn’t find any ones that fit me well so I just use these old things. Great for short walks around town or if it’s raining.

12) Sketchers Shoes from Macy’s

Fancy enough for the night clubs, though strong enough to do rigorous things with.

13) Black SEV Tropical Vest Jacket

Converts into a vest, carries a ton of my stuff while flying or on a scooter. Folds into itself, the jacket works great.

Buy The SEV Tropical Vest Jacket

Toiletries

1) Tiny tooth brush

2) Bigger tooth brush from dentist

3) Deodorant x 3

My friend brought me some back from the states because they don’t really have any here where I’m writing this from (Taiwan).

4) Multiple tiny toothpaste things from dentist

5) Multiple floss things from dentist

6) Multiple Floss threaders (for my permanent retainer)

7) Tweezers

8 ) Razor

9) 3oz bottles of almond Dr Bonner’s soap x 3

I use this to hand wash my clothes

10) MSR Packtowl UltraLite

I got the medium size, dries my whole body perfectly. Easy to wash in the shower and ring out and use it to dry myself and ring out the water again. Dries in a few hours or a few minutes on a fan. I recommend not letting it stay wet too long because it can stink and stay stinky.

Buy the MSR Packtowl UltraLite

11) MSR PackTowl Personal

My friend just gave me this because my other towel is not doing so hot. Medium size again.

Buy the MSR PackTowl Personal

Electronics

1) iPhone 4

Got rid of my flip video camera, and  my point and shoot camera. Also use the GPS and compass on this to find my away areas I don’t know. Tons of great travel apps, and essentially compressed 5 or more items into one (camera, phone, itouch, video camera, kitchen timer). If your iPhone 4 ever blacks out and doesn’t turn on even though you know it has battery power, press the home button and power button at the same time, and release it after 15 seconds or after it shows you the Apple logo.

2) Apple Mac Book Pro 13.3-Inch Laptop + Charger

My Windows 7 computer crashed and broke. I lost a months worth of data, and this is probably the 7th time it has happened to me since I started using computers 15 or so years ago. I bought the Mac because it just works, and it just works. It still has it’s own problems, though I spend more time getting work done than trying to make things work in Windows.

Buy the Apple MacBook Pro 13.3-Inch Laptop

3) Sansa Clip MP3 Player

Bought this a long time ago for use during workouts and just regular use overall. Still works great for when I don’t have anything as an alternative.

Buy the Sansa Clip

4) Head phones with Mics x 3

1 Came with the iPhone, I brought two from home for just in case. One is a factory included blackberry curve headset.

5) JBuds Hi-Fi Noise-Reducing Ear Buds

To block out sound in busy places when I’m working. They were very cheap to buy compared to most head phones.

Buy the JBuds Hi-Fi Noise-Reducing Ear Buds

6) 250GB Hard drive

I use this to back up some data and put videos and other larger files on.

Buy the 250GB Hard Drive

7) iPhone Cable + Hong Kong iPhone wall charger

8 ) All in one Converter

Bought this one from a store in Hong Kong

Misc

1) Emergency Blanket

For just in case situations where I may need a blanket.

Buy the Emergency Blanket

2) Medium Eagle Creek Pack-It Compression Sac Travel

Carry around my clothes in my bag with this and keep it on my bed at hostels

Buy the Medium Eagle Creek Pack-It Compression Sac Travel

3) Small Eagle Creek Pack-It Compression Sac Travel

To compress dirty clothes or my jacket if I’m not using it

Buy the Small Eagle Creek Pack-It Compression Sac Travel

4) First Need Trav-L-Pure Portable Water Purifier

Haven’t used it yet, though it’s for countries where I can’t drink the tap water and hiking trips

Buy the First Need Trav-L-Pure Portable Water Purifier

5) Exercise Rope

I was using this to do some weight training while traveling, though I just gave this to my friend because I have a book on body weight exercises, so no more lugging around this rope.

Buy the Exercise Rope

6) Sleeping Mask

Have only used on planes so far.

7) Petzl Tikka Plus Headlamp

Great for when you need to see in the dark! Since it is a headlamp, you have two hands free to do the things you need to do. Hasn’t failed me yet after 4 years, get LED.

8 ) SilentEar Reusable Ear Plugs  x 3

Mostly used on planes. Reusable, and work great.

Buy the SilentEar Reusable Ear Plugs

9) Laptop screen wipe cloth

10) Micro SIM Cutter

The iPhone 4 requires specially shaped SIM cards, so instead of using scissors, I will use this card to cut SIM cards in the different countries I visit.

11) 12×12 Aloksak bag x 2

I gave one to my friend to wash his clothes or hold stuff. I use these to hold dirty clothes and hand wash clothes.

Buy the Aloksak

12) 6×9 Aloksak bag x 2

I gave one to my friend. I hold my valuables in here in my bag.

Buy the Aloksak

13) Quart zip lock bags x 4

Back up for when my travel quart bags rip.

14) 55L Bag Lock

Heavy, and bulky, though it gives me peace of mind when I’m in a place with no lockers or I just need to lock my stuff up.

Buy the 55L Bag Lock

15) Neptune Krill Oil

Need my Omega 3′s yo.

Buy the Neptune Krill Oil

16) Bottle of Probiotics

Keep a healthy digestion system while eating random foods and tons of street foods.

Buy the Probiotics

17) Bottle of Digestion Pills

To keep my digestion system good (they are preventative measures unlike indigestion pills, which you should NEVER take the in digestion pills that is).

Buy the Digestion Pills

18) Fiber Harmony Whole Husk Psyllium

There is not much fiber here! Where are the beans, lentils or fiber stuff at? This is a bulky item, which may seem silly, though I’m glad I can have one serving a day.

Buy the Fiber Harmony Whole Husk Psyllium

19) Clothesline

Hang up my wet clothes if there is no where to hang them up.

Buy the Clothesline

20) Check book

In case I need to write a check.

21) Combo locks x 3

I use these to lock my 55L Bag Lock and zippers when I travel. Better than needing to carry around keys.

22) Foldable Water Bottle

Great water bottle for travel as it compresses down when there is no water in it. It still tastes great after using it for many months now. Great for when there is filtered water.

Buy The Foldable Water Bottle

Travel Gear

1) Deuter Futura 28 Backpack

Awesome bag which fits everything I have perfectly (with room to spare). What I like about this bag is that it has a bottom compartment so I don’t have to dig through the whole  bag to get to certain items. It also comes with a rain cover.

I restricted myself to a smaller bag so I wouldn’t take so much stuff with me. I always carry this bag onto the plane with me so no need to pay or wait for checked bags.

Buy the Deuter Futura 28 Backpack

2) Kiva Key Chain Pack

Great for taking stuff around a hostel and keeping near me when I sleep.

Buy the Kiva Key Chain Pack

Gear removed since traveled

1) Travel Pillow Case

2) Mac book pro Extension Cord

Having this would be an excuse to be tethered to one area for too long. Also didn’t need it as it was just extra weight.

3) Camera Stand (tiny)

4) Flip HD Camera

5) Olympus Camera

Terrible camera.

6) Kiva Duffel Bag

Gave to my friend to carry around as we travel. Was far too big when expanded.

7) Metro200 side bag

I felt too metro sexual even in metro capital Taipei. It was too heavy and it dug into my shoulder when I would carry it around.

8 ) Cotton shirts x 3

They dried slowly, they dried badly, and they stunk fast.

9) Sleeping Bag

Yea, totally didn’t need this, though I wouldn’t turn down a linen

10) Cotton socks x 3

Dried slow and smelled fast.

11) REI Jacket

I may get this jacket back if the other jacket proves not warm enough for colder places

12) Teeth whitening crap

13) Exercise Shorts

14) Multiple Feng Shui items my mom gave me to keep so I wouldn’t drown in August

15) Necklace from Australia

16) Travel clock/alarm/currency converter

Cheap eagle creek thing broke after 2 drops.

17) Kitchen timer

18) Scissors

Taken away at Hong Kong airport even though it fit the requirements for scissors.

–

That is my whole packing list!

What sort of tips do you have for packing? What are your must have items for traveling?

Let me know in a comment below!

Posted 6th November 2010.

I wish you were here with me. (Photo: snowriderguy)

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.

I stood there staring at the rain to slow down for 5 minutes. This was so I may run to the train station 5 blocks away without getting too wet.

The shop owner of the shop I was standing near 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.

This applies to jobs, school, and yes, even relationships and especially traveling.

Wait, relationships? Are you saying I shouldn’t give it my all? Well think about it. Did you give 100% of yourself throughout every relationship (lover or friend)? Definitely not. Over time we sometimes start taking things for granted.

What if you focused on the really important things to your important people, like making sure they feel loved, surprising them randomly, and spending some quality time with them? Things usually fall into place. The small things are important as well, they are part of the 20%!

How to be Prepared for Being Unprepared

Now here are a few ways you can do the 20% of important things while traveling. You’ll get an adventure out of it because you get to figure out the rest and spend more time doing the important things. The bonus for using these tips is you carry less stuff and travel light, which is a whole different experience compared to having heavy suit cases.

-Use a laptop/smartphone/itouch and know where to find everything you need or grab a map

I got an iPhone 4 (which has maps, currency conversion, translators, video camera, camera, and tons more useful stuff).

Before I got my iPhone, I navigated my way around town using google maps on my laptop (before hand I’d preload the maps and during my travels I’d find my location with location finding services/gps, there are lot of wi-fi open signals in more populated areas).

I’d get directions from other folks, and just asking the public transit people for tickets to cities I didn’t know how to get to.

It’s easy to book stuff on hostelworld.com/hostels.com and many other websites. You can book your plane tickets on your computer, use virturaltourist.com and lonely planet to get more information from other travelers.

If you don’t want to use tech, GRAB A MAP! I can’t tell you how many times I got lost and if I didn’t have my computer or something, I’d go bonkers. When you arrive at the airport in your destination, there are usually visitor/tourist areas where you can pick up some free maps in English.

-Bring an all in one converter for your world travel electronics/buy one in the airport or electronic store of the country you are visiting.

I don’t want to get into voltage conversions and all that other stuff, but to make sure your electronic stuff works with the local wall outlets, get a device which can at least convert your electronic devices to many other different outlets. There will be times you may want a transformer and a surge protector though, you shouldn’t need to worry about it too much.

When I stopped by Hong Kong a few months ago, I picked up a 5 in 1 outlet converter and was able to charge my laptop right away. Just pick one up or buy one before you leave home.

Here is a handy dandy link to some converters.

-Use a translator program for websites countries you don’t know the language or grab a translation book! I don’t have any recommendations as I don’t use any, though there are phrases and stuff in Lonely Planet books.

I use google chrome, and it has a built in translation feature. I also use an extension for google chrome, called Google Translate. It’s not the best translation, though for most things, it gets the job and gist done. Stuff is getting smarter and smarter to the point where I believe you are able to take a photo of something and it will be translated if you have connection to their databases for some products/ companies.

Here is a handy dandy link to some translation books (which none I recommend over the others as I haven’t used any).

-Pack enough clothes where you need to wash every other other day or every other day.

Do you really need loads of clothes for traveling? Naw, not really.

Here is a good amount of stuff, took me a lot of experimenting, and you’ll see my travel list soon.

Avoid cotton. It dries slow, it smells fast, and it weighs a lot. If you are ok with wearing animal products (like wool), avoid synthetic stuff as it smells faster than cotton! I recommend merino wool because it dries fast, literally  a few hours, it doesn’t smell much (odor resistant), and it’s light.

• 2-3 shirts (I like merino wool shirts because they don’t stink and they dry fast, they are pricy though)
• 1 Pants (I like convertible pants because I get shorts too!)
• 1 Light workout shorts (for when you wash your pants or workout/be active)
• 2-3 Underwear (Yes, there are underwear out there which will not smell, dry fast, and are great as swimming shorts too)
• 2-3 Socks (Merino wool socks are awesome…)
• 1 Awesome Jacket which is not too bulky, good mid range for cold weather, though breathable for rain and water resistant
• 1 Long sleeve shirt (I still like merino wool here and it’s for layering when it gets a little cold, of course if you are only in tropics, you won’t really need it)
• 1 travel towel, smaller size (they dry fast, and pack well)

-Learn a few good phrases and words for the country you visit or have them readily available when you visit.

I recommend checking if Pimsleur has a program in the language of the country you want to visit, you’ll learn conversationally faster than any other program to speak conversationally.

I find the following words and phrases as important and most used as a traveler:

• Hello
• Thank you
• Do you speak English (or your language)?
• I’m (nationality)
• I want to eat that (and you point)
• Excuse me
• Where is the bathroom?
• One
• Two
• Three
• Four (fingers work for numbers too, just avoid the middle one most places and the thumbs up in Iran)
• Are you single? (only for the single travelers yo or sleaze balls or different area code people)
• How much?
• Chicken
• Pork
• Beef
• Vegetables

If you decide not to learn these words, learning how to read body language and conveying meaning by body language will help a lot.

-Know the currency conversion wherever you go using apps on your phone or just remembering the conversion for your destination.

As long as you know this, it makes ripping you off a little more difficult. It’s also good to know the general prices of things in the countries you visit.

Here are some resources:

Free iPhone/iTouch/iPad App XE Currency

XE Currency Website

Free Android App XE Currency

-Have a good international ATM card.

This is a great way to save money while taking money out of the ATMs in other countries, and of course let your companies know you are out of the country. They reimburse most or all the fees other ATM’s charge you, which includes international. Sometimes ATMs group ATM fees into the total amount pulled out and it makes it difficult to impossible to know how much the ATM charge was for. This is where your fee’s are not reimbursed.

Not all countries take United States ATM Cards, so plan ahead accordingly.

Two banks I know that offer ATM reimbursements:

Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking

Fidelity mySmart Cash Account (I use this one personally)

-Ask for help at the hostels or from people you are able to communicate with

I’ve learned that when I meet a person, they always have something I don’t have and I can seek them out to learn things.

Before I learned this, I thought I had all the answers, I never sought help, I never read books and lost a lot of valuable potential relationships and information because I never sought it before.

My life changed when I started looking at everyone and realizing they knew more about something than I knew. I started to seek out very valuable people and creating relationships with people. I’m not saying to only seek people who have something that can help you. I’m saying seek out people who you can provide value to and them providing value to you.

-Be prepared to compromise when things don’t go your way. Be prepared with semi actionable back-up plans.

By semi actionable, I mean to know what resources to use to find what you’re looking for or something you’ll be OK with.

You wanted to see all those sights right? Well that typhoon hit and you can’t. See other places or meet some people if you are staying at a hostel, that’s what I did.

You wanted to stay at that hostel tonight right? Well, they are full. Ask them for a referral or search online or ask local people where to stay. People will help travelers most of the time if you have some way to communicate and friendly about it.

–

The most important lesson is “Be prepared with semi actionable back-up plans.” I should have given this concept it’s own category or post, though it works out because I’ll talk about it a little more here.

Be warned, I’m not telling you to have back-up plans for your dreams, just for your travels. I actually think it’s OK to have semi actionable back-up plans for your dreams, because all they would be, are things you can do which will push you further toward your dreams.

As long as you know a course of action to take to solve your problem, you’ll be fine winging things. Most people who “wing” things have some sort of actionable steps they may take for different sets of problems. It only seems like they might wing them out of spontaneity. Once you know how to solve problems which might arise, you can wing it out of the blue. This applies to all of your life, not just travel.

You can either curl up into a ball and complain the world isn’t fair, the train was too slow, the people are unfriendly, or you can find the solution.

An example would be what to do if you are walking around in the middle of the night trying to find your hostel. OK the action steps here depend on what you prepared before hand and where you are at, though they are still actionable steps you can take.

1. Find a store that may be open late and ask them, even if they may not speak your language, the local people may know more than you think.
2. If you have a device which can catch wifi (such as an iPhone/iTouch/iPad/Android/Laptop), try finding a place with wifi and find more information on where you are at. Wifi may just be some one’s open network you are borrowing (which is illegal in a lot of places) to find where you need to go or call on skype/gmail.
3. You can use a pay phone to call the hostel you are looking for and ask for help.

These are just 3 examples of what you can do, think about the other actionable steps and let me know what you would do in the comments below, I would love to hear them. I dare you to.

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.

What is back pain from?

Posture? Yes.

Picking up things with your back and not your legs? Yes.

Sleeping in a bad posture? Yes.

These aren’t the largest cause of back pain though.

There is something invented by humans, something we do everyday and is becoming more prevalent as we become knowledge workers more and more in the population.

It’s something we’ve been doing since we were young, something most people do to relax or work.

Have you figured it out yet?

Most back pain comes from SITTING.

Sitting is the worse thing we can do for our backs.

My disclaimer here is, I’m no doctor, or special fitness dude who knows all, so don’t take what I say as medical advice or any of the sort.

Sitting. Did you guess it was this? It took me a while the first time someone asked me all these questions.

Think about it, how much do you sit in a day?

What sort of pressure is on your back and other parts of your body?

It’s a lot more than you think.

You might be asking, but sitting is sort of a requirement in everyday life, and you’re right.

What can you do?

There are times when you can choose to stand instead of sit.

I’m standing up as I write this article. I know use a standing desk. Most office workers sit 8-9 hours a day, which includes the commute.

Students sit just as much or more.

What do office workers do when they get home? They usually sit watching TV.

Same for students.

For some reason, I’ve always had the habit of standing when most people were sitting. I think my body and mind knew somehow that standing was so much more beneficial than sitting.

How do you cure this back pain? Start working standing up if it is possible for you.

Standing up and working is NOT possible for everyone, so for those who NEED to sit, look for ergonomically correct chairs. Just search them via google and you’ll get a ton of reviews.

For everyone else, get a standing desk. You could even use a music stand.

Right now I’m using a standing desk to write this, I’ll show you a video soon with what I use.

It’s very portable and it is the perfect height for me.

Use this website as a guide for how tall your standing desk should be.

Now, you can also use counters as your desk or other places which match with where a standing desk should be for you.

How should you stand?

The best way to stand is with good posture. Roll your shoulders back and distribute weight evenly on both your legs. Back straight and neck not tilted over, but straight.

When you first start working while standing up, you will probably get tired pretty fast. I still have a chair I use to take breaks in, eat or watch anime.

I stand most of the day though, at least 80% or more of my awake time.

The thing is, my back starts hurting the second I sit down, because I’ve been sitting for 16 hour days for the past few months.

I’ve been using my standing desk for about 10 days now. It took me a while to stand correctly with good posture.

It may take you a while too. Try standing on two weight measurement things and you’ll see how you distribute your weight unevenly.

Standing while working or in daily life is another habit you’ll need to pick up. It takes a while. Watch my Day 6 No Shampoo/Q-tips video to learn about habit gravity escape velocity.

I don’t have back pain much anymore except when I sit in my uncomfortable chair. I haven’t had any sharp stabbing back pain either that I have had in the past.

In this example for standing versus sitting, we’re changing the system not the symptom. We’re changing the cause of the problem to not have the same problem. While this may not solve all your back problems, this will really help and cure some.

Here is a video of the Instand.

This is the table I use now on to stand while working.

It’s very portable and light.

Alright, let me know how your back pain goes!

Posted June 20th, 2010.

The road less traveled. (Photo: Voyageur)

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!

–

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

Parking at the Airport
Plan out your parking arrangements ahead of time
To find parking places near the airport (cheaper) just search (City/Airport) Airport Parking
AAA members can get discounts at many places

Summary from Vagabond Insider
Shop around
If you can plan ahead, do it
Look at reviews for hotels (you’ll thank yourself later)
Plan out parking arrangements
Have fun on your trip!

Do you have any websites or recommendations? Please leave those in the comments below!

Posted on June 10th 2010.

Money isn’t everything; it sure is a lot of things. (Photo: jtyerse)

This is part Two of Six for the Road Trip Series. The road trip series is all about preparing for a road trip to finishing a road trip. Read the series for some great tips.

–

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 GoToMyPC or Log Me In to access my PC remotely. I recommend trying these programs out, Log Me In has a free version which works great. I’ll write more about these programs later.

Basically to prepare for time off from work for a road trip:

• Submit your time off request early
• Determine how long you want to be gone
• Plan for holidays and other busy times of the year
• Find ways to delegate work and work remotely

Be Reached on any Phone in the World

To prevent losing your job or not knowing when important matters arrive, you may want to be reached wherever you are in the world by phone. I would still recommend spending less time on your phone while on a road trip; enjoy the experience, not your phone.

There are programs which will give you a phone number for people to call and make it forward to any phone you have access to in the world.

I’ll write more about using these programs later; here are a few you can try and use. Google Voice is free and Skype being very inexpensive.

I currently use Google Voice to forward calls to my cell phone. You can use it to forward to work phones, home phones, and most any other type of phone. I’ll write more about using it later; it is great for a vagabond traveling the world. I will trying Skype only while traveling over seas and combining it with Google Voice.

Here are some benefits:

• Google voicemail: voicemail like email
• Voicemail transcription: read what your voicemail says
• Custom greetings: vary voicemail greetings by caller
• International calling: low cost calls to the world
• Notifications: read voicemail messages via email or SMS
• Share voicemails: forward, embed, or download voicemails

You can also use Skype to forward calls or receive calls while connected to the internet on a laptop (or Wi-Fi on phones which can use Skype).

Either solutions works well, Google Voice is free for forwarding while Skype can actually be used to talk.

What I do while on a trip, I log into my Google Voice account online and set it to forward to any phone I might be around for a while.

Let’s say I’m staying with friends or strangers who don’t currently use Google Voice, I would just have my calls forwarded to their phone (with their permission of course) for the important people. Some places you stay may not have service for your cell phone, so definitely look into Google Voice.

You can also use Google Voice as your main number to mask any of your private numbers. Especially good if you NEED to give your phone number to stalkers or just change phones a lot.

Get a phone call wherever you are in the world from the important people!

Financial Planning will prevent Headaches

Road trips can be really cheap and really expensive, just depends on the person or people planning the trip.

When I went on road trips with my friends, we would find deals and stay at places for free or really inexpensive.

How much do you have to spend? I find it is better to spend less and stretch your money further so you can do more.

These are some of the expenses you need to consider pertaining to the road trip itself:

• Gas
• Hotel/Hostel/Lodging
• Food
• Souvenirs
• Fees for parks/camping/entertainment

Here are some expenses not fully related to the road trip you will still need to think about:

• Rent/Mortgage for Home
• Insurance for cars, house, health, etc.
• Cell/Home Phone Bills
• Pet costs (if you have a pet)
• Utilities
• Subscriptions for home
• Any other expenses

Unless you are a vagabond and don’t have a set home (you make a home wherever you go) then you will still have a lot of bills to pay. Bills just suck.

If you are looking for places to stay as you travel, I recommend you check out Couchsurfing.org. Couchsurfing.org is basically what it sounds like, couchsurfing.

The biggest difference with this couchsurfing and the normal one is safety and reliability. With a good reputation for yourself, you can find people all over the world to stay with. The other great part is that staying with locals means you get firsthand experience from a native showing you around.

I could write so much more about Couchsurfing.org, someone else has already written a great guide about it. Check it out from Karol Gajda called the Black Book #001 from his blog Ridiculously Extraordinary.

Splitting the Bill

Another aspect of traveling with other people is how to pay for everything. Planning ahead with expenses will definitely help any vagabond prevent headaches while traveling.

There are many ways to do it such as each person pays for themselves or if someone pays for all of it (if they have a large bank account or credit card) and everyone reimburse them.

What my friends and I have done is the 2nd way; we would split the bill third ways at the end of the trip and reimburse the person paying for everything. Of course we wouldn’t split luxuries such as a person’s special huge mean or souvenirs; we would split lodging, gas, park fees, and other trip supplies.

Definitely plan ahead and decide:

• To split the road trip bill evenly between everyone
• Everyone pays for themselves

With a little planning, a road trip should just be a fun trip to experience new things. It’s been said that our lives are enriched by new experiences more than possessions. Plan ahead and have fun.

From author of Vagabonding Rolf Potts posted on Tim Ferriss’ Blog 5 Travel Lessons You Can Use at Home

“Scientific studies have shown that new experiences (and the memories they produce) are more likely to produce long-term happiness than new things. Since new experiences aren’t exclusive to travel, consider ways to become time-rich at home. Spend less time working on things you don’t enjoy and buying things you don’t need; spend more time embracing the kinds of activities (learning new skills, meeting new people, spending time with friends and family) that make you feel alive and part of the world.”

Try new things today! Even at home.

–

On the next Road Trip Series: Packing for the Road Trip (Part 3).

Posted on February 24th 2010.

This is the reason for road trips. (Photo: flavijus)

This is part One of Six for the Road Trip Series. The road trip series is all about preparing for a road trip to finishing a road trip. Read the series for some great tips.

–

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 was only able to go on this road trip because I became a vagabond and I can be where I want in the world. 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 go somewhere to take care of some business? I think it is great to mix a business trip with a personal trip. Or we may say, mix personal with a business trip so a lot of items can be expensed as a business expense.

There are so many advantages to being self-employed, if you do business related items for an employer, you may be able to write off mileage and other items. Consult a tax professional for more information!

There are other reasons for a road trip as well. Sometimes just getting away from everything for a while will clear our minds and make us more productive in life. I can tell you from my experience driving has given me a lot of time to think and plan things for my personal self and business.

Where To Go

Sometimes the best road trips are when you have no destination. I would recommend bringing a country map and possibly deciding by pointing at random places.

Though when you have a place in mind, such as a state park, snowboarding or other items, it is good to know how to get where you are going.

Most of my road trips were planned a day before hand while the bigger one with more people were planned weeks ahead for college trips.

It is basically up to you where you want to go, sometimes being spontaneous and random is the best bet, for business, you will need to know where to go.

How do you decide why and where to go? – On the next post for the Road Trip Series, it will be about preparing for the road trip.

Posted on February 6th 2010.

License and Registration please. (Photo: heather)

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 “he won’t give me a ticket.” He was an older officer, looks like he has been on the force for at least 10 years.

Before I tell you about the conversation, you should know this, I left at 5pm the previous day, and slept 3 hours at a rest stop that night. I also drank the rest half of my 5 hour energy drink (thanks Nick for telling me about them) 2 hours ago.

He came to my passenger side window. He asked me for my drivers license and proof of insurance. I handed him my drivers license and proceeded to try to find my insurance. I took a while to muffle through my papers (I was tired) and gave him the wrong one first, it was expired 6 months. I found the other up to date one and handed him that. During this shuffling of papers he started to ask me some questions.

The Conversation.

“Why the hurry?”

I said half of the truth, “I was passing the truck.”

“I had you clocked at 80 before the truck.”

(No reply from me).

“Where are you from?” He said.

“I’m from Arizona, I just graduated college recently and moved to California to work.”

“Where you headed?” He asked.

“I’m headed to Dallas. I’m moving to Texas.”

“Why are you moving to Texas?” He said.

“Because I don’t like California, I like Texas a lot more.” This is the truth, and I don’t like California because California is VERY anti-business, high taxes, and they waste money on silly services. Texas is a low services, low taxes state.

“Where do you plan to work?” He asked.

“I run my own online business. Though I may look into the company HP in Houston. I’ve been driving since yesterday from Arizona.”

After I said the last sentence, I found the correct paperwork. Handed it to him, he went back to his car to phone in about whatever and came back with just my license in his hand.

He told me that to give me a ticket he would have to drive with me to the court to pay for it since I was from out of state. It is because Texas and California do not have a compact.

After he told me this, he let me go and warned me to drive the speed limit since I was from out of state. I thanked him and he went on his way while I went on my way.

Now, after you heard the part about him having to escort me to court to pay the ticket, you might say that’s why I did not get a ticket. Wrong. My plates said California, and many people have told me how rude California people are, and the rudeness is true most of the time (I was a rude one for a while). People in Oregon hate California people is what I hear. Expect to be pulled over in Oregon with California plates.

If I acted rude and abrupt to this officer, he would have enjoyed taking me down to the court and having me pay it.

This would

• one, cost me money
• two cost me time
• three, annoy the hell out of me

There is no pleasure for a veteran police officer to discipline a very nice person. Though newer officers will take pleasure in giving a ticket to anyone.

Now, if you followed the story, I did a lot of specific things to avoid getting a ticket from he officer.

Here are the 7 ways to avoid a ticket. I did not apply all of these, though they are all ways to avoid a ticket.

7 Ways to Avoid a Ticket

1. Be Genuinely Nice

The officer can tell whether you are being real or not most of the time. They’ve met thousands of people with many different attitudes. They have listened to liars and every weirdo you can think of. Be nice.

2. Don’t Waste Their Time

When I was shuffling through my papers, my goal wasn’t to waste time and he knew it. I had my license ready, and my car packet ready. I just couldn’t find the insurance earlier while looking through it.

Officers are busy people. Do what they ask (ask long as they are reasonable). Some officers do want to waste your time, don’t let it show you are in a hurry.

3. Be Calm

Some people get angry when they get pulled over. Others say bad things to cops. Just don’t do it, being calm transfers to the cop. Being nervous may transfer over too.

4. Be Honest

Now, you don’t say things which will hurt you. Say things which will help you.

I told the officer everything he asked about honestly.

Now if your honesty is a negative thing, you can tell half of the truth like for what I did with the passing of the truck.

5. Silence is Golden

Every veteran officer has heard thousands of fake stories. If you start making up an excuse when he first comes to the window, he knows you are trying to avoid the ticket.

I was silent when he came to the window and started talking. He knew I wasn’t going to make up stories or try to the avoid the ticket, I did all the above 4.

Now, if I started making up a story about X or Y before he asked any questions, I probably would have gotten the ticket after that.

Silence does something to people. It is awkward. Most People have a habit of trying to fill up silence. With this cop, he started to ask questions. He learned I liked Texas and was moving there.

6. Ask and Sometimes You Shall Receive

Sometimes you just need to ask for forgiveness. If you follow the above steps, and you ask, you are more likely to receive no ticket or a reduced ticket. Be honest when you ask and tell them honestly you will not make the same mistake. Promise them sincerely and follow through with it.

7. Believe You Won’t Get a Ticket

Sometimes you just need to believe you won’t get a ticket. Truly believe it. Believing is seeing.

I subconsciously followed most of the steps because in my heart I said I wouldn’t get a ticket. If I was to panic and worry about getting this ticket, I would subconsciously screw it up.

Bonus!

The reason for the bonus is because it is a way I would not recommend though it still works some of the time.

8. Tell a Made Up Story with Passion

I’ve seen this done by many different people. Women with kids can usually get away with it if they tell a believable story and the kids play along.

The person telling the story shows a lot of emotions, concern, sadness, whatever emotion goes with the story.

Tell a believable story. Be consistent with the details, cops will spot what spots you change.

–

Even if you follow everything, it won’t work every time. Using these techniques, they will help you most of the time, especially with veteran officers.

One of the best thing which happens when you follow all of the above, some cops will reduce what ticket they give to you. Reduce meaning giving you another ticket which costs you less and has less of a penalty, if any, to your insurance. Sometimes officers have no choice but to give you a ticket, so do your best to reduce it.

There is not much you can do with a rookie except follow these steps. Rookies will follow the rules and give you a ticket, if they try to piss you off, it gives them another reason to give you the ticket if you get angry.

I’ve had rookies not give me tickets because I stayed calm and honest through the situation. I followed the first 5 steps and the 7th.

One very large item I must mention. I have a deep respect for cops. I’ve met dozens of great ones and few terrible ones. They work hard most everyday and risk their lives at the same time. Have some true respect for them, respect is not something you should fake.

What has worked for you? Have any tips to not get a ticket from a police officer?

Posted January 23rd 2010.

Enjoy this view. (Photo: ...-Wink-…)

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 sports car, a BMW Z4 (luckily I was looking at a 2004 model year).

The maintenance, the insurance, the car payment, and the lifestyle upkeep would be even more than a new inexpensive compact car. I actually did the math, it would be about 300% more yearly cost than my current Honda. Insurance would be nearly 4 times the cost per year, the cost of the car would be nearly 70% more in purchase price. Maintenance would substantially more, registration in California is more, etc.

I would need to earn more to drive my car. I would need to wear nice clothes with my car. I would have to work more just to have this life style. Have you heard of the Joneses? Keeping up with the Joneses is a bad idea.

If you don’t know what I mean, I mean trying to portray a sense of wealth that other people try to portray as well. Usually done through possessions such as a house, car, clothes, and many other items.

The largest problem with this lifestyle is that most people portraying these lifestyles are not wealthy. Spending more than a person earns is the key to debt and a way to avoid wealth. I’ll write more about this later, spending less than earned.

This change above is something normal I’ve seen in a lot of college graduates. I’ve been thinking about what “normal” means for people for quite a while. I’ll write about this more later. I’m actually seeing a lot of other college graduates following this way of “Keeping up with the Joneses.”

One way I’ve seen this is the announcements many fellow college grads make on facebook. New job, new house, new expensive car, new phone, new marriage, shopping, and many other ways.

What does this have to do with traveling and worrying? Everything.

If you have traveled recently, did you have a limited time traveling due to a job? Did you have to worry about someone caring for your plants, your house, or your pets? Is your car safe in the driveway?

These are all worries about possessions. To me, a job is a possession itself, it weighs a person down. The company controls the persons whereabouts usually.

In college, and after I graduated, I moved more than most people I knew. Though some terrible places I stayed was because I didn’t want to move all my possessions. Meaning my possessions tied me to the place I was at because I didn’t want to move them, and I needed notice and planning to move. I had a large one bedroom apartment filled with my own possessions out of college.

I had:

• Huge couch set + single sitting couch seat
• Dining Tables and Chairs
• Coffee Table
• Desks
• Dressers
• Bed
• Nightstands
• All normal Kitchen Items
• All normal Bathroom Items
• Two Bikes
• Too much clothes I didn’t wear
• Multiple TVs
• Video Game Systems
• Two Laundry baskets
• Multiple Computers
• Two Guitars
• Camera
• Tent
• Multiple Backpacks
• Outdoor Gear (I had a ton)
• Gym Bag
• Desk Chair
• Huge collection of DVDs
• Huge collection of books
• Filing Cabinet
• 8 pairs of shoes
• Everything in-between

While this next list might seem bigger, if you look close a lot of the items are small. I didn’t extend the previous list because it would be way too long to list everything I use to have.

Now I have:

*denotes what I had originally

**denotes I plan to get rid of it soon + had it originally

• TV Tray** (it is my new desk)
• Outdoors Chair** (it compresses small)
• Small Desk Light**
• Two Backpacks* (One original)
• Sleeping Pad
• Sleeping Bag*
• Shredder**
• Fleece Blanket**
• Toothbrush and portable bathroom items*
• Laptop
• Camera*
• Video Camera
• Portable External Hard drive
• 4 of each clothing, pants, jackets, underwear, shorts, shirts, polo shirts** (keep some)
• 7 pairs of socks** (keep some)
• Gym Bag**
• 14 or so books** (keep some)
• Document holding item** (passport, title, etc.)
• Two tote bags** (keeping one)
• Portable Heater**
• Portable Fan**
• One Computer Mouse*
• Two Laundry Bags** (did not have originally)
• Portable Printer
• 3 pairs of shoes** (will get rid of one pair)

This is literally everything I own (except my car) listed. Right now everything fits in the trunk of my small hatchback. I don’t need to fold down the seats to hold all this and still able to have 5 people in my car. Check out some of my photos at my flickr account.

Before The Cleanup

After The Cleanup

As I began to travel, I will reduce my possessions to two backpacks. My 32L backpack and a messenger bag for my electronics. Yes, I plan to sell my car as well.

Why this reduction of possessions? To stop worrying about my possessions while traveling. Also for me, less is more. I can live my vagabond life free now.

When I first moved after college to a different state, it cost more than $1,000.00 to move. Now, moving expenses are based upon travel.

I canceled my renters insurance. The person asked me why I was canceling. I told them, “Because I don’t have possessions justifying the cost.”

I hope you enjoyed this post. I plan to write more in depth the process I went through to get rid of my items. I sold most of it.

Is there anything specific you want to hear about?

Posted on January 19th 2010.