Traveling For The Unexpected

When I first began backpacking almost three years ago, I very often explained my love of traveling and seeing the world by the following phrase:

“I love experiencing the unknown.”

I often find it’s the unknown – or certainly the unplanned – events in my travels that stand out the most. It’s these experiences and challenges that bring meaning to going forward with little plan as to where I’ll end up. While many perhaps can’t relate to being comfortable without a five, three, or even one year plan, I live for the excitements that come from a flexible life filled with travel and experiencing the unknown.

As I look back on my previous year of travel, these are the unexpected highlights that stand out most; unexpected yet rewarding and exciting moments that come from living a life filled with travel.

Lunch with Local Thais on a Bangkok Soi

While spending about two weeks in Bangkok during my time backpacking in Thailand, I based myself out of a excellent guesthouse in an extremely un-touristy area of the city. Each afternoon I would wander down a nearby soi to find lunch from a street vendor.

One afternoon I came across a table filled with local Thais, dotted with a couple bottles of Johnny Walker Red, and overflowing with mouthwatering Thai food. As I stepped back to try and capture the moment with a photograph, I was motioned over to the table.

Before I knew it, I had a glass of Johnny Walker and Soda in my hand, a plate full of food, and 12 new friends who spoke little or no English.

Falling in Love With & Loosing a Campervan Named Max

I spent the majority of 2010 working and backpacking in New Zealand. It’s truly a fascinating country; a microcosm of world where you can experience beaches, glaciers, mountains, and deserts all within an afternoon’s drive.

A highlight of my experience in New Zealand was buying a 1984 Toyota Hiace van (who was named Max) with my then girlfriend. This work-van – turned – campervan, with 422,000 kilometers (almost half a million miles), became home for three weeks while we explored New Zealand’s top backpacking destinations.

Max and I shared the same birthday year … and fortunately I outlived the him.

One crisp, Fall afternoon on New Zealand’s South Island, Max, Nicole, my parents and I were climbing a hill just outside of beautiful Queenstown when Max began to smoke. It proved to be Max’s last ride, yet I’ll remember much of New Zealand as viewed from behind the steering wheel of this epic van.

Meeting a Koh Lanta Thailand Mafia Boss

Adventurous Kate and I spent about two weeks on beautiful Koh Lanta island in the Andaman Sea just off the coast of Thailand’s southern Krabi Province. Koh Lanta is a relaxed island paradise with white-sand beaches, clear blue water, and hospitable locals.

One warm evening we found ourselves listening to a local band and sharing a bucket of Sang Som, Red Bull, and Coke with a Singaporean bar owner; as we watched him chain smoke cigarettes, we listened intently as he explained a side of Koh Lanta the average visitor certainly doesn’t see or experience.

Koh Lanta, according to the bar owner, is very much an island controlled by a local mafia family; a place where you ensure you don’t step on the wrong person’s toes. The result? Well, we were told stories of murder where the island police simply looked the other way …

Minutes later a shirtless, slightly muscular, albeit friendly looking man walked into the bar. “That’s him,” our Singaporean friend said, “he is the mafia boss.”

“Sawatdee Khrab,” I said as Kate and I waied long and low as we showed our respect to this powerful Koh Lantan figure.

Riding New Zealand’s Otago Rail Trail Classic

One afternoon at the pub in Queenstown, myself and the rest of the crew from NZbyBike.com were enjoying Friday pints when my boss told us he was going to have to pull out of the Otago Rail Trail Classic.

This annual mountain bike ride takes in the very best of New Zealand’s Otago Region along the Otago Rail Trail. While I hadn’t been on a bike since wine tasting in Marlborough almost six months back, I volunteered to take his place.

The Otago Rail Trail Classic is a 100 mile long mountain bike ride.

What followed that weekend was nine of the most grueling hours of my life. This already monumental challenge was exacerbated by a killer headwind in the final 30 miles. Nonetheless, I finished and can’t begin to describe the feeling of accomplishment.

Experiencing the Hospitality of a Balinese Family

During my time exploring Bali I was invited by a local to attend a traditional Balinese cockfight. While I had no interest in witnessing roosters fighting to a bloody death, I couldn’t bring myself to turn down an invitation to an event that plays a very important role in Balinese culture.

After the cockfight, the young man who invited me along insisted that I return to his home to meet his wife and young child. Their home was no more than a single roomed shack in the jungle outside of Lovina. As we sat on the floor drinking tea, his wife tended to their infant daughter while my host gave me a gift of a seashell necklace.

Shortly thereafter they served me lunch in their outdoor kitchen; a spicy beef stew that had been prepared over an open fire earlier that morning.

I was overwhelmed with the generosity of those that have so little.

It’s moments like these that I travel for. Unexpected moments where you realize most people are kind, the world is small and not nearly terrifying as most make it out to be.

A world I look forward to exploring more in 2011.

Can you relate? I’d love to hear of unexpected yet memorable events from your travels in the comments section below.

Technorati Tags: Backpacking, Bali, Queenstown, Travel Advice

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And The Winner of $250 Is …

Two weeks ago in my December Update, I announced the first contest ever run on Backpackingmatt.com. I teamed up with HotelClub.com and would be giving away a $200 hotel voucher as well as $50 of cold, hard cash.

All that was required to enter was a comment on the post as well as a Tweet or a Share on Facebook.

I received 10 Facebook Likes, 81 retweets, and 63 excellent entries. Some of you hoped to use the voucher at the start of your RTW trip, some of you wanted a weekend away, and one entrant wanted to host a New Years Eve party for travel bloggers in Bangkok.

To select a winner, I entered the numbers 1 – 63 in Random.org. Each number coincided with your comment number.

Random.org picked the number 8 which makes the winner …

Cailin …

of TravelYourself.ca.

Cailin had this to offer as to where she would use the $200 HotelClub.com voucher:

In February I am planning a trip to Australia and visiting Asia (for the first time ever woooo!) I would definitely use the HotelClub.com voucher while on that trip.

If you have any Asia travel tips for Cailin, please leave them in the comments section below.

Thanks to everyone for the entries – expect more of these on Backpackingmatt.com in the coming year.

Technorati Tags: Contest, Giveaways, travel

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December Update, Links, & Your Chance to Win $250

I have just lived a month of my life that I’ll remember forever. My experience backpacking in Thailand was absolutely fantastic – though drastically different than I expected.

I left beautiful Queenstown, New Zealand, hoping to ‘get away from it all;’ I wanted a place to clear my head, focus on Backpackingmatt.com, and determine what was next. Shortly after arriving in Bangkok, I began meeting fellow travel bloggers who helped to make my experience in Thailand what it was.

About one week ago, I boarded my first of four flights and 45 hours of travel that would land me back in the US of A. Despite two long-haul flights of 14 and 8 hours, it was a surprisingly painless experience (these tips on surviving a long haul flight surely helped). Since arriving back in US, I’ve been catching up with friends & family and readjusting to life in America.

In the coming weeks I’ll be trying to stay warm in Iowa while figuring out the details for the next step in my journey.

Mentions Throughout the Travel Blog Community

This past month saw Backpackingmatt.com mentioned in a couple places throughout the travel blog community:

• Christine Gilbert of AlmostFearless.com included Backpackingmatt.com in The Best of 2010: 100 Inspired Travel Blogs. It’s a great honor as Christine runs one of the best-read travel blogs online. If you’re not following her and her fascinating story, you’re missing out.
• Amanda of Dangerous-Business.com included my recent travel video Exploring Bali in her ‘Best Blogs of the Week‘ post.
• The Never Ending Voyage recently hosted the Gen Y Travel Blog Carnival and selected my First Impressions: Southeast Asia post in the best of the month’s “Travel Stories” category.

Thank You & Your Chance to Win $250

It’s been quite the inaugural year for Backpackingmatt.com; I’ve been truly overwhelmed with the support I’ve recieved from the travel blog community & friends who have followed my journey. Be it a tweet, a comment, a shared beer, or a supportive email, I’ve enjoyed getting to know all of you.

In an effort to thank you for your support in the past 12 months, I’m giving away $250.

This $250 gift comes in two forms.

• First, I’ve teamed up with HotelClub.com, and we’re giving away a $200 voucher that can be used at any of their almost 70,000 accommodation options worldwide.
• Second, I’m going to send you $50 that you can use however you like. I considered an Amazon.com or equivalent voucher, but as many of you are on the road I know cold hard cash is hard to beat.

How to Enter:

• First, simply leave a comment on this post telling us where you’d use your $200 voucher from HotelClub.com.
  
• Second, tweet this: “Find out how to win $250 at Backpackingmatt.com http://su.pr/3GWLuy (cc: @backpackingmatt)”
• If you’re not on Twitter, simply share the link to this post on your Facebook wall.

You can only enter once, and you have until 11:59pm (Central Standard Time, US) on December 21st, 2010 to do it. The winner will be chosen using Random.org, and then announced on December 22nd.

Thanks again for your support, happy holidays, and good luck!

About HotelClub:
HotelClub is a world leading global accommodation website offering hotel and accommodation bookings for up to 12 months in advance, listing hotels in cities big and small, from grand hotels in NYC to boutique accommodation in Madrid. Established in 1996, HotelClub provides consumers with over 69,000 accommodation choices in over 7,300 cities worldwide throughout 138 countries. HotelClub is a truly global offering with its services available in fourteen languages. The company operates three websites – HotelClub.com, RatesToGo.com and AsiaHotels.com.

Technorati Tags: Contest, Thailand, Update

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The Gen Y Travel Blog Carnival: 3rd Edition

Emily from Maiden Voyage had a brilliant idea a couple months back. She decided to create a Travel Blog Carnival that would give travel bloggers a chance to showcase their favorite post from the previous month. The carnival is designed to bring readers the best blog posts from the travel blogging community.

Each month, travel bloggers submit a post they have published from the past month by filling out this form. Once a month, a post like this is put together showcasing the best submissions. 

Emily hosted the first and second editions of the carnival and has graciously passed the opportunity to me this month. Below you’ll find the best of the submissions from August.

Tips & Advice

• This might have been one of the best posts I read all month. Hands down. Trail of Ants hashes out the basics of writing a travel blog in Travel Blogging Basics. Maintaining a travel blog presents heaps of challenges and Ant tells you what you should and shouldn’t be worrying about.

• This is an interesting read from the Inhabit Travel Blog where they explain how As a Tourist, Sometimes You’re an Accidental Jerk. We’ve all been in positions where we’re out of our comfort zone and inevitably make … well, fools out of ourselves. I like how the author explains how she righted her wrongs.

• If you’re in to your wine, you’ll love this post by Traveling with the Jones where they give a brief write-up on their 6 Favorite Wine Bars in the US.

• Q Tripper offers up this informative Guide to South American Steaks and Meat. I was absolutely starving by the time I finished reading it. It’s a great resource if you’re a carnivore that will soon be heading to South America as it includes Spanish translations.

Travel Stories

• Rebecca and the World shares this inspiring story about her experience at the Empilweni Primary School in South Africa. The photos in Living the celebrity life in South Africa and the story behind them makes me question why I’ve yet to travel to Africa.

Destinations

• Where is Yvette writes about her experience traveling to the Fairy Falls, New Zealand just outside of Auckland.
• I love stories of finding places that most people wouldn’t know about. Monaco and Beyond shares some great photos and writes about her time in the Quedlinburg, Germany. My guess is you’ll add it to your list after reading this post.
• Never Ending Voyage wrote this extremely informative post about Road Trippin’ in Northwest Argentina. Heaps of great advice for anyone considering a trip to Argentina.
• Correr es me Destino takes us on a tour of Paris by Night – some great photos here showcasing the City of Love.

Interviews

• The Maiden Voyage recently had the opportunity to interview the Priceline Bidding Expert, Don Nadeau. This post is full of great advice for anyone considering taking advantage of Priceline’s bidding option for flights and accommodation.

If you’re interested in being included next month, submit your favorite post by September 30th.

Technorati Tags: Blog Carnival

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Friday Travel Photo: Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

The Cliffs of Moher in County Mayo, Ireland. The cliffs stretch for 8 kms and rise dramatically to 200 meters above the sea. You can view the cliffs from the viewing platform which requires a paid entry. Otherwise, you have the option of hiking the cliffs yourself. This photo was taken midway through the hike.

Have a photo you’d like featured here? Send an email to matt@backpackingmatt.com and I’ll feature it with a link back to your blog.

Technorati Tags: Friday Travel Photo, Ireland

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Interview with Backpackingmatt at Sosauce

Alisha over at Sosauce contacted me a couple weeks back and expressed her interest in interviewing me as part of Sosauce’s Travel Talk series. I was flattered and thought it was a terrific idea.

In their Travel Talk interviews, Alisha seeks out travel bloggers and other members of the online travel community and interviews them on their experiences traveling, writing, and their involvement in online travel. She’s interviewed names such as Mike Barish and Matador’s Julie Collazo so needless to say, I was excited she also picked me.

Sosauce is a social networking site for Travel Geeks, and is home to travelers who are enthusiastic about sharing their travel experiences with the world. Sosauce is also a meeting ground for like minded travelers who have an interest in making connections with other cultures. They also provide applications to help travelers share their photos and stories with the world.

Check out what Sosauce’s Blog.

And of course, don’t forget to check out my interview here.

Technorati Tags: New Zealand, publicity, working holiday

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Explanation (excuses) for the lack of posts

When I first started this blog, my intentions were twofold. First, I hoped to create a venue for a documentation of my travels throughout New Zealand (also, a continuation of my travels throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the rest of Europe). Second, I hoped to maintain a general travel blog which contained information for backpackers and other budget travelers. I might mention that I hoped the two wouldn’t be mutually exclusive. Hopefully a web log of my experiences would be enlightening and informative to other travelers.

So far, it’s safe to say I’ve failed at both intentions.

Why?

First of all, I’ve been busy. This shouldn’t be an excuse. Ideally, I should be able to balance the day-to-day lifestyle of a backpacker with the (relatively) frequent blog post and update. Alas, I haven’t.

Why?

When I traveled throughout Europe, I spent a fair bit of idle my time on buses, trains, and in hostels with easy access to the world wide web. While I was busy, I had more downtime to sit down, reflect, and shed light on my experiences living out of a backpack. You might note I mentioned the easy access to the world wide web.

One thing I have found in New Zealand is that wireless internet is often hard to come by. When I do find a wireless hotspot, the service tends to be either slow or expensive (or both). Again, this isn’t an excuse – as there are ways for me to get online.

Nonetheless, while I’m making excuses, I’ll make one more. My traveling throughout New Zealand has been in my own, personal transport. Living with Nicole out of a campervan named Max has thus far been a terrific experience. We can choose our own path, with our own time frame in mind, and at our own pace. We’ve seen corners of this island that we most certainly would not be able to see if we were traveling via bus. Yet, at the end of the day, we often find ourselves camping on a secluded beach or in a national park – where, believe it or not, WiFi is difficult (read impossible) to come by.

So, please take this for what it is – an explanation (excuse) of why posts to backpackingmatt.com have been few and far between. Please continue to check back, as hopefully great things are coming.

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Features Article

Just about two weeks ago, a former coworker of mine from The University of Iowa Foundation and current student at The University of Iowa emailed me requesting my thoughts on traveling abroad post-graduation. She was putting together an article for a Features writing class she is currently enrolled in. Kathleen Olp’s finished article is brilliant, and I wanted to share it with you all. Enjoy.

Kathleen Olp

Features

10/30/2008

With graduation looming, Cat Gaa felt the grasp of anxiety slowly shake the cushy confines of her college life. She feared the day she would be savagely cast into the hostile job market, expected to fend for herself. So she did what many of her peers were doing across the country; she left.

Gaa moved to Andalucía, Spain in 2007, about 10 miles west of Seville to teach English; a microcosm of a larger phenomenon spreading across the US, in which college graduates are increasingly participating in international service or more generally simply “going abroad”.

“I got confirmation from the Spanish Ministry of Education about a week or so before graduation, screamed my lungs out and got really worked up about teaching,” she said. “Twelve hours a week, $1000 a month and the chance to get the hell out of Chicago.”

According to the Open Doors survey report, published annually by the Institute of International Education with funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, US students going abroad increased by 8.5% to a total of 223,534 in 2007.

Sara Burden, the Associate Director and Coordinator of Career Education at the Pomerantz Career Center said she sees the increased interest in students wanting to go abroad after graduation.

“There are lots of questions about opportunities abroad, especially in the age of globalization,” she said. “Many companies create international relationships and students want to be a part of that.”

She said while the career center doesn’t place students in jobs abroad, they do assist with international internships and offer resources to give students the credentials to get abroad.

After graduation, Gaa had a job offer from Shadow Broadcasting, where she had spent a summer interning, but she obstinately refused, unwilling to desert her global aspirations.

“I knew I wanted to go abroad after graduation,” she said. “It was really nice to not stress out about getting a job while everyone else was because I knew that lifestyle wasn’t for me.”

Gaa kicked her latent dreams into gear fall of her senior year, making frequent trips to the study abroad office, toying with numerous ways to get abroad, such as working in the UK on a permit from BUNAC, which offers visas to Americans to work oversees.

She decided on teaching English, working 12 hours a week in a public Spanish high school, in which she is an auxiliary norteamericano de conversacion. She works with bilingual students and teachers.

When she’s not teaching, she spends her free time traveling and taking French lessons.

“I thought I wanted to move to the UK and get a real job, but I realized my dream was just to get out of the country for a year or two and live on the cheap,” she said. “I was willing to do anything.”

Matthew Kyhnn, a UI 2007 graduate, also wasn’t prepared to face the drab of the working world. He utilized the BUNAC program and initially went to Ireland.

He’s currently traveling mainland Europe with a Euro Rail pass which is valid for one month and good in over 30 countries on the continent. He’s traveled to Amsterdam, Paris, Munich, Salzburg, and is currently in Budapest, with plans to go to Venice next. The he heads south to Rome and Sicily before catching a ferry to Greece. From Greece, he said he will go to Turkey and hopefully find work.

“I’ve fallen in love with traveling, meeting new people, and living outside of my comfort zone – the thought of settling down is, to be quite honest, scary,” Kyhnn said.

Even the threats of deportation haven’t curbed his precarious lifestyle, as he is out of work visas.

“I don’t have a clue where I’ll be in the next month – without a job, my funds will quickly run out,” he said. “It’s scary, as you can imagine – but also exciting in its own, unique way.”

Kyhnn managed to talk a friend into traveling with him, UI 2007 graduate Brian Wolken, who also received a visa from BUNAC, valid in Ireland for four months and the UK for six months.

He’s held various jobs ranging from working on a salmon farm in Ireland to bar tending in Scotland, resembling a modern day Jack Kerouac; the acclaimed author who is known for pioneering the “beat generation” of the 1950s, writing of his wanderings across the west. Wolken is currently inter railing around Europe.

“As I sit here in Budapest. It is one of the most amazing places I have been in my life. And I never knew anything about it before,” he said. “Tomorrow I’ll be in Venice.”

Wolken is slowly facing the confines of his current situation, unable to find a work visa in other EU countries.

He doesn’t foresee kicking his habit anytime soon though, as he will travel to Turkey, where he hopes to secure work.

“I’m in love with traveling, I’ll never quit.”

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newcastle

It only feels right to be drinking a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale as I sit in the pub at the Newcastle Airport. It also only felt right to be running to catch my train out of Edinburgh this morning – running late when traveling seems to be how I travel best. The Newcastle is lovely … better, I venture to guess, than it tastes in Iowa. Maybe it’s my proximity to the Newcastle Brewery? Or, maybe it’s all in my head. I have – I must say – become a connoisseur of pints of the Black Stuff. Guinness. I’m excited to return to Ireland and see if my pallet notices the difference between Edinburgh pints and Ireland pints. I reckon it will. Aren’t you proud, Mom and Dad? Maybe even slightly better than the club I joined in Iowa City?!

I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been stressing out over the upcoming week. I’m so excited to see Lauren but I’ve felt pressured to ensure the week goes as smoothly and as well as possible. In my head, I know it will. One of my concerns has been traveling Ireland without a car. The bus system in Ireland is class – it goes to nearly any village imaginable. This being said, however you often have to wait for buses and considering the nature of the Irish roadway infrastructure, the ride often takes longer than one would desire. I’m excited though as I think I figured out the ideal situation.

I was sitting on the train this morning yet again checking various car rental websites for their rates. Considering I’m living in the UK, the rates aren’t ungodly expensive – in fact, they’re quite reasonable. The problem arises when one takes into consideration my age of 23 years. Most rental agencies either won’t rent to me or if they do, they tack on a 10 or 15 quid a day surcharge because I’m not the magic age of 24 or 25 or 26 or whatever bloody age they’ve decided to pull out of a hat.

After continuing my research today on the train, I’m fairly certain I’ve figured out the best option which includes busing for a couple days and then picking up a car in cork for the second half of the week. I looked over to the girl next to me (not the lady across the isle who was the unlucky target of my pack as it fell from the overhead storage area – she at first seemed to be okay with the unfortunate introduction to my pack, but ten or so minutes after it happened, she looked back at me and said – ‘Sure is going to leave quite the bruise on my leg’ – I continued my apologies. No one told me about the luggage storage area …) and said, “Nothing like considering a last minute car rental for my trip to Ireland, huh?”

I explained to her the scenario, my thoughts, and the potential itinerary I had just developed. “Go on, book it,” she said. “You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

So I booked it. Assuming all goes as planned, Lauren and I will be picking up our car on the 27th. And then, who knows?

I think the key to the week will be finding the proper balance between relaxing and taking in the pub culture of Ireland while stilling ensuring we are able to see the many sights which Ireland offers. When Brian and I traveled Ireland, time was essentially our oyster (thanks Shakespear). If we stood on the side of the road for four hours to wait for a lift – no worries. If we drank too much Guinness the night before, slept through our checkout time at the hostel, and had to stay in said Irish village one more night – no bother. But we had not timeframe. We were, I guess travelers and not tourists – check out this link for an eloquent explanation of the difference between the two . This week, Lauren and I will be both – and I’ll be the traveler/tour guideperson. It promises to be an unforgettable week. best,

mk

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For now, I’m ‘stuck’ in Spain

Hello, all. Here is the latest craic. As the title of this post states, I’m currently ‘stuck’ in Spain – alas, there could be worse places to be beached.

To explain why I’m stranded, I must first explain how I got here.

Brian and I booked our tickets to Spain when we were still on the Emerald Isle. We knew we would be leaving the UK and wanted to get to Espana to visit our friend Cat – we figured the cheapest way was the best … but hindsight, as they say, is 20/20.

We booked a cheap fare from East Midlands in England to Barcelona. As you know if you’ve been following my journey, we have yet to see Barcelona. When we were in Edinburgh, we decided it would be cheaper for us to fly to Faro – when considering transportation to East Midlands, accommodation along the way, etc – than to catch a bus or train to East Midlands. It was, for about 20 pounds we booked a one way flight to Faro and somehow spent a week in (somewhat) sunny Portugal where the cost of living was significantly cheaper than the UK.

Our flight out of Barcelona was to leave today at 1:40. The next problem was getting from our current location of Sevilla to Barcelona. Having only traveled Ireland when we booked our ticket, we wrongly assumed (ass out of u and me – in this case, more just me) you could hop on a bus to any city for at most 20 quid. Sevilla, as we have come to learn is a 16 hour, 95 Euro, bus ride away from Barcelona. Once we arrived in Barcelona, we’d then only have a ticket to East Midlands – which, as we now know, is a 50 or 60 Pound bus or train ride from our current home of Edinburgh.

What we end up with, is the fact that for now, I’m ‘stuck’ in Spain. The goal: figure out the quickest, most cost-effective way to get from Sevilla to Edinburgh.

But, for now, I’m off to wander the streets of 17C (65F) Sevilla.

salud, mdk

Technorati Tags: spain

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