Some travel hacks after exploring 50+ countries in 3 years
- Travel alone for psychological growth and enjoyment. Travel with 2-3 people for pleasure. Don't travel with 3+ people
- Go to the Philippines
- Carry a ukulele. You can learn to play dozens of songs in an afternoon, and it will get you tons of friends and happy moments
- Mingling with locals is the essence of travel. Rent a bike and get off the track. Don't visit the touristy spots. Go to the sketchiest bar instead and start a conversation with a stranger
- If you are spending $100 on a bed, and bargaining 10 cents with a taxi driver, you may be doing something wrong
- Travel as light as possible. I usually do 5-7kg regardless of duration (including several books)
- Buy a local SIM card with internet upon arrival - it's more efficient and cheaper than getting lattes looking for WiFi
- Be the last one to check-in the flight to increase your chances of an upgrade due to overbooking
- Use Revolut to avoid commisions and getting the best exchange rate. If you use a standard bank, chances are you are getting destroyed with hidden fees or expensive rates
- If I stay at a small hotel, I always check online but book on-site. Commissions payed to online travel agencies are usually 18-30%, but even higher for small hotels
- Use Couchsurfing to meet and stay with locals for free
- Come back to the Philippines
Adventure is life
It keeps the mind active and creative. Here're some things I have done, if you're looking for ideas:
- Guinness World Record for visiting more UNESCO sites in 24 hours, with my good friend turned internet-superstar Drew Binsky
- Living homeless in London for 36 days at the age of 19 to learn English because I could not afford a language immersion program
- Buying a motorbike in Luang Prabang (Laos) and riding it to Ha Noi (Vietnam) across remote mountains for 3 weeks. That was the first time I rode a bike and had no driving license, which may explain why I ended up crashing with a truck
- Walking half the Korean peninsula (from Seoul to Chuncheon) with no money, carrying only a sleeping bag and 200gr of nuts
- Living for 2+ months in Surulere, in the outskirts of Lagos (Nigeria) while helping a technical vocational school
- Retiring at buddhist temples across the Himalayas, South Korea, Myanmar, Thailand, and the United States
- This caption is a summary of my 2016:
Goodbye year!! 20+ countries. What a year!! Rode a motorbike through the Indonesian forest and a donkey through the ancient city of Petra. Surfed in Sri Lanka surrounded by elephants and dived the waters of Miami Beach. Contemplated sunsets in sacred Asian Buddhist mountains and in the world's largest infinity pool in Singapore. Explored Chinese hidden treasures in Shanghai and celebrated the anniversary of the Ukranian revolution in Kiev. Listened to a classical music concert in Vienna and to David Guetta in Ibiza/ Partied all night in Tokyo on a Santa Claus costume and played the guitar in la feria de Sevilla. Had dinner in the best restaurant of the world, and on the floor during a wedding in a remote Tamil village. Contemplated Da Vinci's artwork in Paris and walked his steps in Florence. Melted in the Qatari sun and froze in the Bulgarian cold. Achieved a @guinnessworldrecords, and many more things that don't fit in these lines!!! Next... here we go.
Do you have any original adventure ideas / proposals? Text me! :)