Travel : The Art of Non-Conformity

Travel

Live and Work from Anywhere: You’ve Heard the Story, Now It’s Your Turn

I get a lot of questions from people about how they can make money WHILE traveling. To help provide answers, we teamed up with Nora Dunn (a friend and successful long-term digital nomad) to craft this in-depth, comprehensive resource: --> Working on the Road: The Unconventional Guide to Full-Time Freedom

By picking up this guide, you'll get access to:

Job reviews and interviews with professionals in different on-the-road careers
Options and tips for landing online work (freelancing, teaching abroad, telecommuting, working on boats, starting or running a business, and much more)
Logistical solutions and tools for working from afar, budgeting, and managing a virtual lifestyle
Resources for mobilizing your location dependent operation (and the whole family)
A 100% Satisfaction Guarantee (it will help you, or you don't pay)

--> Check it out over here

Travel

Mission Accomplished! The Full Report from the 2015 Dining Dash

We did it! As mentioned, last week my travel hacking colleagues and I took on a mini-quest of going to 12 specific restaurants in Portland in a single day, all in pursuit of miles and points.

On Friday morning, we set out at the crack of ~~dawn~~ 8:30am with an ambitious goal: To visit 12 restaurants throughout the city. We wanted to achieve all 12 of our qualifying “dines” (any purchase at the participating restaurants, no minimum) to earn VIP status with Rewards Network in a single day.

My friend Stephanie and I did this last year in a more limited (though still awesome) fashion. This time, we wanted to increase the challenge. We invited another friend, Tyler, to come along, and we also invited others to participate virtually.

At the end of the night we had a small celebration at the Triple Nickel, a hilarious—in the best of ways—pub in my Southeast Portland neighborhood. To recap, here are the rules of the challenge:

Travel

How to Earn Money While Traveling: Fact and Fiction

Want to make money while on the road? It’s definitely possible, and more and more people are doing it all the time—but you may need to change your thinking to make it happen.

Our first Unconventional Guide of 2015 launches this Tuesday morning. It’s all about what works—and what doesn’t—when it comes to heading out into the world as a long-term (or at least frequent) traveler.

The premise might surprise you: On its own, traveling has little to do with earning money. You earn money by making or sharing something that other people find valuable. That's it. If you’re going to get paid while abroad, you have to think about what you can do that’s relevant and interesting to others.

What can that be? Let's first consider the most common things people think of when they think of “getting paid to travel.” As we’ll see, they’re all problematic in some way.

Travel

For Another Side of North Korea, Watch This Ultimate Time-Lapse Video

Apparently Pyongyang isn't just rationed electricity and a lack of lunch options: Check out this video

"North Korea was the last country seemingly immune to change—but no longer. Recent years have witnessed mobile phone penetration, a surge in tourists, and even a marathon. Numerous special economic zones have been launched in cooperation with China, Russia, and South Korea, with railways planned linking all countries in the region."

Maybe it's time I plan that extended vacation in Pyongyang...

Travel

Top 5 Credit Card Signup Bonuses for Miles & Points: February

Every year I earn well over one million Frequent Flyer miles and points. About 250,000 of them come through actual travel, and the rest come through travel hacking: the art of seeing the world on a budget.

One of the easiest ways to earn a lot of miles all at once is through credit card signup bonuses. This post contains the best current card offers as of Wednesday, February 4. If getting every card from this post, you'd earn 215,000 points or miles. Happy travels!

In this edition:

Travel

My Favorite Part of the Qatar Airways A380 Flight Was the First Class Lavatories

I joke about this with my friends: “Oh my God, travel is so hard. Sometimes the Business Class flights attendant brings still water instead of sparkling! Sometimes the hotel forgets the chocolates on the pillow during turn-down service!"

That’s why I was so excited about the A380 on Qatar Airways. As soon as I boarded the flight, I was impressed right away. The cabin is gorgeous, the seat is fantastic, and from the way I was greeted I could tell that the service would be flawless.

And it was. Still, though, I've had many experiences like that. These days I’m earning and spending more than one million miles a year (more than 2 million last year, actually), so if I’m flying more than three hours, I’m almost never in the back of the plane anymore.

Much of the time, I go through life jaded. But not on this flight—and you know my favorite part? The washrooms.

Travel

What if We Live the Same Way We Travel?

A German filmmaker reimagines the art of the staycation: Check out this film.

“In our everyday life, we seem to be unaware of new experiences. But is it just a matter of perspective?

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Travel

Watch This Pan Am 747 Take to the Skies (Or At Least the Ground) in the Ultimate 1970s Recreation

Air travel has changed a bit over the past few decades—and mostly for the better. Back in the day, an average transcontinental airfare would run you at least $1,500 in today's dollars, compared to $400 or so now. Yikes.

There were no budget airlines, and—shocking—there were no Frequent Flyer programs where average people could earn large amounts of miles and effectively travel for free. Still, a little nostalgia never hurt anyone (or does it?).

In another example of people who devote an incredible attention to detail, I loved seeing how a collector and a photographer recreated an entire Pan Am flight experience, down to the tiniest experiences like the precise menu, baggage tags, and even the dress code of passengers who were recruited to join in for the unconventional journey.

Take a look for yourself:

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Travel

Traveler 1, Jet Lag 0 (For Once)

You, traveler, know very well what jet lag is like. For a period of several years, you were essentially jet-lagged two weeks every month. “Jet lag is my favorite drug,” you said, repeating the great line by Jacques Cousteau.

But you knew then, just as all travelers come to know, that real jet lag is a bitch. Contrary to the suggestions of well-meaning people who took a trip once and thus claim to know all about the world, jet lag is unpredictable. When it arrives, there’s no magic bullet to stop it from claiming your days and nights for as long as it wants.

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Travel

Why I Keep Returning to My Least Favorite Hotel in London

Many years back, I checked into the Sheraton Heathrow after winning a bid on Priceline. It was incredibly cheap—something like $30-40 for the night, as I recall.

At the time I was still new to the world of branded hotels. A few times a year, I might stay in a Starwood or Hilton property. I spent the rest of the nights in hostels, guesthouses, or on the couches of kind hosts. Arriving at the Sheraton Heathrow for the first time, I remember thinking, huh, this hotel is a little weird—but hey, it’s a hotel!

Everything about it was dismal, from the carpeting in the public guest floor areas to the tiny, unclean rooms, right on down to the attitude of the staff, who didn’t seem particularly pleased to be working there.

As I traveled more and more, I returned to the Sheraton Heathrow a couple times a year. Each time I had more experience in staying at other hotels, and finally I came to the realization: it's not me—this place is just really bad.

Travel

Achievement Unlocked: 2 Million American Airlines Miles

For 17 hours on a Round-the-World trip, I flew on the longest currently operating American Airlines flight, from Dallas to Hong Kong. It’s 8,000 or so flight miles, and I ended the flight a millionaire.

Well, sort of—this flight helped me achieve a longstanding goal of earning 2 million AA flight miles.

Until a couple of years ago, you could obtain “Million Miler” status with American through any kind of miles added to your account, including miles from credit card signups, bank deposits, dining bonuses, online shopping bonuses, and pretty much anywhere under the sun.

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Travel

Travel Disasters and Misadventures Are Good for Us

Earlier this year, as I was wrapping up the writing for The Happiness of Pursuit, I commissioned an illustration from Mike Rohde to commemorate a few of my more spectacular travel disasters and misadventures:

[View or Download as a PDF] All of these experiences, even the negative ones, were helpful in building confidence to continue the journey.

Travel

Memories of Johannesburg Airport, 2006 to 2015

Yesterday I walked off the jetway into the transit area of Johannesburg’s international airport and had a flashback. I’d been here so many times... yet I always remember coming here years ago, way back in 2006 for the first time.

Back then I was beginning a new way of life. I had ended my four-year stint on a hospital ship in West Africa. I was going to a new home in Seattle—eventually. But first I had a side trip: I had to pick up a new country!

Travel

Sleeping in Hong Kong on My 100th Visit

I’m not actually sure I’ve been to Hong Kong 100 times, but that’s probably a close guess. HKG is my most frequently visited international airport, and more often than not I’ve stayed over for at least a day or two.

People say you can’t learn about a city in a short period of time. But what if you stay in a city for a short period of time over and over and over? In all of the visits, I’ve stayed in just about every possible range of accommodation.

On my very first visit, when I first made the decision to travel to every country in the world, I stayed at the Star Guest House. Fun place! As I recall, it cost about $30 a night. I arrived late at night but was—per usual—wide awake due to flying from Seattle via Seoul.

I took the airport bus and walked onto Cameron Road in wide-eyed wonder. Here I was! Hong Kong!

Travel

A Night at the Airport

After being home for three whole weeks, I'd almost forgotten how to travel.

Fortunately, unlocking travel master status is a lot like riding a bicycle. You go through the motions, packing your bag and choosing your seat on the plane. By the time you take the train to the airport in the morning and amble through the security line, you're back in the game.

As I began a big trip last week, I flew to Dallas and stayed for the night. In a hotel. Not on the floor.

In my early days of world travel, I slept on the floor of the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport more than once. As airport sleeping goes, it was solidly mid-range. I didn't get evicted or hassled, and no one tried to steal my bag.

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