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You appreciate the big cities. Tokyo, Hong Kong, London—all of these you visit often and love well. But sometimes, your adventures take you further afield. You fly to a big city, then to a smaller city, and eventually on to an airstrip that could be anywhere. Stepping off the rickety commuter-jet stairs into the void, you're tempted to shout in expectation of an echo.
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Earlier this year, we launched the Travel Hacking Cartel, the world's leading service for aspiring adventurers. The service was recently featured in a major story on NPR, Forbes, and the Yahoo home page—all on the same day! It was exciting, but also stressful, since I was working from Madagascar and had no idea that so much coverage would hit.
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Chances are, you probably won't be visiting Angola anytime soon ... but it's always good to be prepared. Here's a starting point ...
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It’s always a sunny day when you arrive in Frankfurt. You might think this is impossible, but Frankfurt is like Seattle: apparently it rains all the time, but never on your first day. (It helps to arrive in the summer months.) I’ve been here on a dozen stopovers, nearly half of them last year when…
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Happy Independence Day to those in the U.S., and greetings to everyone else around the world. I'm writing to you from Frankfurt, en route to Angola and beyond shortly. In the last travel planning post, I discussed a few of my upcoming trips. I've made a flurry of bookings since then and am now underway, so for those who care, here's how it works.
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I recently received a notice from American Airlines, letting me know I had achieved million-miler status. I've been working on this for about two years, but the real goal is two million miles—then I get lifetime Platinum status.
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I've been stuck in one place (mostly) for the past three months, working on two projects that required focus: writing a book manuscript on unconventional entrepreneurs, and preparing to host the World Domination Summit this coming weekend. During last year's Annual Review, I knew these two projects would keep my feet to the ground for a while, so I had planned on doing the majority of my faraway travels during the second half of the year.
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You thought you had plenty of time, but something went wrong. Having spent too much time thinking about what to pack, you spent even more time reevaluating at the last minute. You overslept, or you forgot about the time zone change. The bus came late, or the traffic jammed up. Whatever it was, as you head out the door, you run up against an uncomfortable fact—you're late. Not fashionably late, not pressed for time, just ... LATE. Thus begins the sense of apprehension. “Will I make it? What will happen if I don't?”
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n my last trip to Asia, I stopped off in Seoul for an important side-trip. I'd been to South Korea three times before, and each time I'd tried to make this side trip—but each time, something came up to block my way. A public holiday was announced, or I came on the wrong days of the week, or hostilities between neighbors had erupted that derailed the plan. Each time I flew back to Hong Kong or Japan, resolving that the next trip would be successful.
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People sometimes ask if travel hacking is worth the hassle. Doesn't it take away time you could spend on other projects? Is that time investment really worth it? Truth be told, once in a while I wonder the same thing ... I've got no shortage of opportunities to pursue these days, with a book to write, a summit to host, twenty countries a year to visit, etc. But when I sit down and do some work on my travel accounts, I realize, yes, I'm pretty sure this is worth my time. After traveling around the world (Cambodia, East Timor, numerous transit stops, etc.) for the past few weeks, I returned home and spent some time getting my travel world in order. Here's what I did to catch up on things in one hour ...
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On my first day in Asia last month, I took a long walk to reorient myself to a place I knew well through countless jet-lagged visits over the past five years. In Hong Kong, you can wander freely. You can eat milk tarts. You can be a Westerner and not feel completely adrift in unfamiliarity, something that isn't always possible in mainland China. If you're like me, you can buy a can of iced coffee at 7-11 in the mornings and a can of beer in the evenings.
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In Northern Thailand I sit in the Udon Thani airport eating a custard pastry. It costs 20 baht (60 cents). Along with a cup of coffee ($1.10), it is my joy. I sit across from the Dairy Queen—hugely popular in this part of Asia—and reflect on my day. Getting here required a bit of soft adventure. In this case I paid $3 for a 30-minute tuk tuk ride from Vientiane, Laos to the Thai–Laos border, then $6 from the border to Udon Thani airport, another 30 kilometers away.
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Greetings from Singapore, where I'm in transit and decided to write the first Sunday Store Update in a while. If you're new to AONC, I use this space some weekends to write about the business side of our community. Regular articles appear (without fail) every Monday and Thursday.
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Once the bags are packed, a lot of decisions have already been made. The night before, you had to think through what to pack and what to leave behind. The morning of departure, you check again and again for the essentials: passport, wallet, journal, tickets, bus fare. Your itinerary, chosen from among countless options, is at least partially settled by now. You're going to _____, and as far as you're concerned, all of _____ is waiting for you. The road ahead may not be easy, but you have already overcome one big challenge as you carry those bags out the door.
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After your big adventure, you're looking forward to the homecoming. The adventure was fun and challenging, but toward the end you're ready for something familiar. You find yourself daydreaming of friends, family, and the comforts of home. Then the big day finally arrives, when you say farewell to _____, your base of foreign surroundings for some time.When you return, people are happy to see you, and you're happy to see them ...
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