Photo by emanuela marchiafava

To add a little challenge to my trip I did the following:

1. I stuck to off-the-beaten-path locales
2. I stopped using a guidebook
3. I started arriving at strange cities at late hours and without a clue

Result: it was still laughably easy.

This is because the world is getting more convenient each day. Even little-traveled places are getting smart to tourism and have reliable information close at hand. Most people in the world are happy to see foreigners and willing to help. If the people around you don’t speak English, they will know someone who does.

And even if they don’t, communication with hand gestures, noises and scribbles can get you close enough to what you want.

To have a truly challenging travel experience these days, you have to undertake days-long treks in countries most people never knew existed. You have to go to places blacklisted by most foreign relation ministries.

And such places today are quickly heading for extinction.

The Internet is everywhere, whether by fiber, cellular towers or satellites. Banks are connected to a global electronic system. There is always a place to stay anywhere you go.

Of course, there are places in the world where safety is a problem, where you can’t just arrive at 2 am without an idea of where to go. But taking simple precautions vastly reduce the chances of something bad happening.

This all distills to a single message:

There is no excuse to not travel independently and on the cheap.

After six months on the road, organized tours and all-inclusive packages seem utterly needless. They are the travelers’ nanny states, telling you how to live and protecting you from yourself.

They restrict you in what should be an exercise in absolute liberation: the freedom to choose where to go, when to go there and what to see.

Money is likewise a poor excuse. With more broke backpackers on the road than ever before, budget services vastly outnumber high-end options. No money? Start saving now.

So what’s keeping you form taking your dream trip?

by George

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 “The same way that slowing down improves your peripheral vision when driving, reducing your speed allows you to take more in while you travel.”

This analogy, lifted from Rough Guide’s First-Time Around the World, distills perfectly our approach to travel.

It’s highly tempting, in a trip of this scope, to visit as many places possible. It’s like going to an all-you-can-eat buffet and loading on shrimps, lasagna, orange beef, chicken tikka, and Caesar salad on a single plate. Our initial itinerary had 22 countries! That’s about two countries per month. And this without counting time in transit, the days we’ll need to sit still for rest, sick days, or time spent resolving any myriad pickles.

But we concluded that, as much as our infinite curiosity compels us, it makes little sense to spend only 10 to 15 days in a single country. If this was Brazil, this would hardly be enough to really know São Paulo and Rio. What about Natal? Florianópolis? Paraty, Jericoacara and Bonito? Forget it. Just as you’d be getting a handle on Portuguese basics, learning to love açaí and understanding that Brazilian way of getting things done, it’s over. Time to catch the next flight.

We also want to avoid the “been there, done that” ennui; in other words, get sick of traveling, losing the lust, get information congestion from yet another church, another downtown, another passing encounter.

The way we buy tickets will follow this same spirit: instead of leaving home with a pre-planned round-the-world plane ticket, sold by specialized agencies or airline alliances like One World and Star Alliance, we’ll buy as we go. We want to feel on our skin the right time to leave will be, rather than obeying a pre-determined schedule. To hop inside the motor home of a wandering Persian couple. To see the birth city of a new travel buddy. To find a perfect beach and park ourselves there for as long as we want.

The only confirmed destination is the first one:

As he head to the Pacific, we changed the stopover from LA to Vancouver. I’ll be able to see two childhood friends and, by chance, enjoy the city during the Winter Olympics, which begin in February.

After that, it’s New Zealand. But before that, we’ll extend a mandatory stopover in Fiji for one week. For obvious reasons. This one-way ticket ends in Australia.

We also plan on visiting the following countries:

Indonesia
Malaysia
Thailand
Laos
Cambodia
Vietnam
India
Syria
Lebanon
Jordan
Israel (thanks to them)

If, and only if time, will and money permit:

Egypt
Morocco
Spain

The adventure ends on our country of origin, Brazil, where we shall rest, see family, and recharge our batteries before returning to Montreal.

This is where we ask for your input. If you know one of these countries and have an unbeatable tip for us, let us know. Just use the comments here on the side.

The adminstration thanks you.

The newspaper world, you may heard, is going through a savage depressive episode. My company is no exception. In fact, the paper I work for is now on sale as the parent company braves creditor protection.

I have an exciting job that pays me well. There are young journalists who would commit public arson to have what I have.

And yet, I’m putting it on hold for one year.

And it might not be there when I come back.

I must be insane. That’s certainly what I expected my colleagues to say when I informed them of my decision.

This is what they said.

by Parramitta

When he published his Round-the-World Travel Guide, Marc Brosius had the good sense to print, right on the first page, the following caveat:

“WARNING: This site has been known to change people’s lives!”

And wouldn’t you know it, it did.

I tripped over his website by accident in 2006 while procrastinating routine tasks in a job I didn’t like (I was a travel agent, if you can spot the irony). I was wrestling with the melancholy of not knowing what to do with the rest of my life, and using the Internet as distraction and escapism – from work and from said melancholy.

But what I read in the guide was far stronger than your average Internet insta-amusement. Something inside me was unraveled, shaken from a deep sleep.

Some of his points were especially sobering:

1. I learned that there are people my age, mere middle-class mortals like me, doing the trip for one year or more.

2. The average cost for a round-the-world trip without the extravagant trimmings is comparable to a car – between $15,000 and $20,000.

3. The opinion from those who embarked on the trip was nearly unanimous: “It was the best, richest, most memorable experience of my life.”

And, what a surprise:

4. According to Brosius, “the world is suddenly a smaller place for you. You may have a feeling of despair, alienation, or reverse culture shock when you return to your home, job, and friends, especially if you spent much time immersed in other cultures and environments.”

The first three points seduced my daydreaming cortex. But the fourth grabbed me by the stomach. Especially when I saw that Marc, Chris, Johan, Scott, Mr. Moose – all those travelers, mentioned on the RTW travel guide, belong to a secret club – they had to face the sadness, depression, readjustment, the overall shittiness, for a long time, upon their return home.

That certain experiences have the power to provoke depression in people I already knew: a broken heart, the death of a loved one, an important loss or trauma… And all these experiences have the common fact of being difficult, painful, and, above all, undesirable. Now, to get all blue because of a kick-ass trip? After fulfilling what we all say we’d do if we won the lottery? After having enjoyed a full year where every day is a Saturday? I was shocked, intrigued, acutely curious.
But I must make it clear that I seek neither sadness nor depression.

Since that afternoon, many things have changed: I discovered my vocation as a psychotherapist and graduated in this field. I began to work as a radio journalist, my second love. And I moved in with Roberto, perhaps the best decision of all. I love my daily life and the life we built together, and I see it as a critical safety net.

But since that afternoon in 2006 I can’t sit still. I have to see, for myself, what kind of trip this is, so powerful that it has shattered adventurous hearts.

“You’re so lucky,” people often tell me when they learn I’m taking a year off work to travel with Bianca. “I wish I could do that.”

The sentiment is understandable, but luck had nothing to do with it. I’m certainly fortunate to be in the position where I can do this.

But it wasn’t luck.

Truth is, I’ve been saving for this trip for nearly three years. While friends were buying condos, cars, nice furniture and having babies, I was putting money away. Most of my furniture were gifts from departing friends and family. I take public transit every day and keep the social expenses to a minimum.

In other words, I made the choices and sacrifices that allowed me to take this trip.

No secret recipe

I can’t tell you how exactly to accumulate enough cash for transport, lodging, food and activities for one year, since there are too many factors, such as a) where you want to go, b) where you live, and c) what your financial profile is. All I can offer are general guidelines to help you consider your own financial plans.

But everything can be distilled to a single sentence: don’t live beyond your means. Better yet, live below your means. Spend a lot less than you earn.

It sounds like common sense, but given that the the average household debt in Canada is nearly $40,000, it seems too many people suffer from dismal financial acumen.

Some folks just have to have the big plasma TV or the SUV. Even if they can’t afford it.

Trust a pro, not me

Before I dispense any advice, know this: there’s nothing I can’t tell you that a financial adviser can’t do better. That’s their job. They listen to your goals, analyze your financial situation, and draw up a plan suited to your needs. So before you listen to me, visit your bank or Google one in your town.

Now here’s my suggestion based on what I did.

Start with a financial profile

The very first thing you must do is calculate what you earn and what you spend each week and month. If you still have money left by the end of the month, pump your fists. This will be a lot easier. If you already have some savings set aside, even better. You’ll reach your goal even faster.

If your balance is negative, however, it’s time to make some tough decisions and simplify your life.

Open a low-risk, high yield investment account

You want your money to grow as much as it can in a short time, but most standard savings accounts give you lousy interest. You want to put it in an instrument that yields higher returns but isn’t too exposed to the volatility of the stock market. In fact, if you want to take your trip in less than five years from now, you want as little exposure to stocks as possible. Unless you’re a day trader, it’s too risky to expose yourself to a possible market correction.

My savings were barely affected by the global recession precisely because I put them in safe, predictable securities.

You have lots of options here:

• T-bills
• Bonds
• Guaranteed investment certificates (GICs)
• Tax-free savings accounts
• Low-risk mutual funds

Each has its own pros and cons. Again, a financial planner is the best source to help you decide.

Funnel your salary in

Set aside a part of your wage and have it transferred automatically to your investment account. Make it weekly or monthly. It doesn’t matter. This should be easy to do with online banking. As long as you don’t touch the money yourself. That way, it will be money that will never go into your checking account and you won’t think of using it.

Your savings will grow not only with your deposits, but with the compounded interest you earn. And the more money you have in there, the more interest you receive.

Cut expenses

Now you just have to spend less in your life so you can gradually add even more money to your savings when you have extra cash left over.

Tips to do this are abundant online, but here are some obvious ones:

• Cook your lunch instead of buying it at work
• Cut down on coffee and treats
• Rent movies instead going to the theatre
• Eat out less
• Have beers at home with friends instead of going to the bar
• Resist buying stuff you can live without
• Pay your credit card bills fully and on time

If you have too much credit card debt, consolidate them in a low-interest loan, like a line of credit. You’ll be charged less each month.

Multiple benefits

Stay on course and you’ll reach your goal in no time. But not only will you have lots of money put aide, you’ll learn a few things:

How the financial world works.

How to make a financial plan, which will help you in the future.

That you really don’t need to keep buying stuff to be satisfied.

Happy saving.