Learning Sabbaticals — My Own Case Study
by projecthitchhiker on January 1, 2010
in Lifestyle Design, Personal Development, Travel
What would you do with your time if you didn’t need to work? This is really an interesting question. Because that’s the situation I’m in at the moment.
It’s no secret that I have a lot of free time. Last year I saved enough money to take an extended vacation (a Mini-retirement) of at least six months. Six months, if I were extremely reckless with my money, that is. So here I am with a huge amount of time on my hands. One thing that I’ve learned from traveling in the past is that having too much time and nothing to do can actually be bad for you. A quick glance at the long-term traveler scene and you’ll see the same people at the same bars 6 of 7 nights a week. In some backpacker areas, it’s not uncommon to see people drinking beer on the street or in front of their bungalow at 8am, 10am, 3pm. Which is fine if all you’ve got is a week or two. But a good number of the people I’ve met have been traveling and partying hard for a full six months to a year. One guy I met in Vang Vieng, Laos was 320 consecutive days into a river tubing bender, going for a full 365 days (I’m not sure that Guiness will share his enthusiasm about his “record”). They party for two reasons: because it’s fun; and because they’ve got nothing better to do. Sure, not all backpackers party. Some fend off their boredom by traveling frantically from place to place, visiting all the museums and seeing all the sights. Because when you finally get away from that busy job for a few months, you’re left with an abundance of time that you haven’t had since summer holidays in grade school. I’m not claiming any moral high ground here. I’m not against partying or museum tours (although I don’t think I’ve ever voluntarily gone to a museum), I just think that there’s another way to spend that gap year than getting trashed every other night or frantic sightseeing.
The other option: The Learning Sabbatical.
What would you want to learn if you could learn anything — if you had a few months off work and had nothing but time and ambition? Vietnamese cooking? Spanish? Classical piano?
Wouldn’t it be more effective to study Vietnamese cuisine one-on-one with a private teacher in Hoi An? Or learning Spanish while staying with a local family in Guatemala? Or classical Piano from a Chinese master in Bejing? It would not only be more effective, it would also be cheaper.
Dice Travel: An Experiment
by projecthitchhiker on November 12, 2009
in Southeast Asia, Stories, Travel
An inspired hour of hunting around the sweaty market and nothing. one last time I showed the piece of paper with the scribble of Laotian script on it: “Do you sell dice here?” the paper asked. “No, no, no…” said the woman shopkeeper, waving her hand. There were no dice in her shop of plastic nicknacks and toys. I looked at her watch and saw it was approaching 5pm so resigned my search. If I were to follow options 1 ,4 or 5 I would need to buy the ticket and pack my bag right away.
It was quite on a whim that I decided to try dice travel. After the high of an amazing motorcycle escapade in the Bolaven plateau, I found myself slightly bored and wondering where to go next. Coincidentally, I was also reading a book called The Dice Man about a man who decides what he will do from one minute to the next based on the roll of the dice (verdict: interesting concept, in fact part autobiographical, but in the end a mediocre novel). Also coincidentally, I am a thrill-seeking, impressionable young man, willing to try new things. It did solve my problem: part of me wanted to relax and chill out in a sleepy riverside town; part wanted to continue by motorbike; and part yearned for the seafood and the beaches of the central vietnam coast. In the dice options I wrote down, I tried to represent how much I wanted to go to each place, ie. 2 possibilities for 4000 islands in Southern Laos.
The options for my first (only?) round of dice travel:
1) Hue, Vietnam (Overnight bus to the home of Vietnamese Imperial cuisine. Appeals to my inner food critic)
2) Stay in Pakse another night (Rent a motorbike again and search out more adventure in the surrounding area. Appeals to my inner petrol-head)
3) Don Kone, Laos (One of the 4000 islands. hammocks, bungalows, and cheap beer. Appeals to my lazy side)
4) Vientiane, Laos (Great city with cafes, great restaurants, colonial history. Long overnight “sleeper bus’, with beds apparently. From what i hear on the travelers circuit, the overnight bus has mice)
5) Don Det, Laos (4000 islands)
6) Phnom Penh, Cambodia (The wild card choice. Appeals to my masochistic side)
But unfortunately, as I’ve said above, i couldn’t find any dice.
Hence, Plan B: consult the Oracle.
The Big Music Project
by projecthitchhiker on September 13, 2009
in Music, Travel
The last big trip around Southeast Asia with Kim was AMAZING – the best time of my life. Beautiful beaches, an amazing travel partner, awesome adventures. My only complaint is that it lacked any sort of sustained focus. Just ride the motorcycle until tired, find a hotel, and search out something cool to do. Spend a week and then move on. Repeat. Which was actually, really, really awesome. But sometimes it’s nice to learn something; to have a bigger goal than just unadulterated hedonism.
Ultralight Backpacker and Musician: Mutually Exclusive?
by projecthitchhiker on June 8, 2009
in Music, Travel
To celebrate hitting the $10,000 savings mark last month (remember, I was in debt almost that amount this time last year) I made two new purchases. And damn are they fun.
Two super portable toys created with traveling musicians in mind. Having played with these toys for the last month, I’m having trouble remembering how I lived without them.
The Martin Backpacker
Weighs less than 2 and a half pounds. This thing is about as small as a guitar could get, without losing any of the overall functionality of an acoustic guitar.
2009 Is Gonna Rock (Plus: Christmas French Lessons)
by projecthitchhiker on January 3, 2009
in Accountability Lists, Awesome Stuff, Four Hour Workweek, Lifestyle Design, Personal Development, Travel
(photo: New Years 2007 in Nha Trang, Vietnam)
2009 is going to be fantastic. But first, a cliche look back at 2008:
Most important lesson learned in 2008
The number one rule: Do what you love. Don’t give a damn about what anyone else thinks about you.
Top Non-Fiction reads of 2008
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts and The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. These two books are required reading for anyone who wants to travel or doesn’t like the idea of spending their life in an office cubicle.
On Being Scared Shitless: Hunting Wild Boar in Indonesian Borneo
by projecthitchhiker on December 10, 2008
in Southeast Asia, Stories, Travel
As most experienced outdoor enthusiasts know, it’s usually some combination of two elements that put us into the most dangerous situations: 1) underestimating the proposed adventure and 2) overestimating one’s own abilities. Which brings me to this story.
Man Eating Bugs: Addicted to Culinary Adventures.
by projecthitchhiker on December 2, 2008
in Southeast Asia, Stories, Travel
Below, a video of me in Northern Thailand, half-drunk on rice wine and trying deep fried bugs at the local market.
I love eating weird stuff. Love it.
Kangaroos. Caribou. Big bugs. Beating snake hearts. One of my favorite things about traveling is trying strange new foods — foods that the locals will eat usually to gross out a foreigner — that’s the stuff I seek out. It makes life more interesting and helps get me out of my travel routines.