After we left the chill bar, we went to a lively pulsating area called Zoey Yellow. Here we shared a few buckets of Red Bull and Vodka, danced the night away, met more friends, and shared some great laughs. Before I knew it, it was 4am and time to head back to my hostel on the other end of old Chiang Mai. Once home, I couldn’t sleep and didn’t learn until the following afternoon that three specific energy drinks in Thailand (Red Bull, M150, and White Shark) have methamphetamines (speed) in them – no wonder I couldn’t sleep?! They all come in little brown medicine bottles and are quite syrupy by themselves. By the time I finally did fall asleep, time passed quickly and I woke up 12 hours later EXTREMELY hung over. I lost an entire day while sleeping off the previous night’s excitement. The weird part is I was never buzzed or drunk so I couldn’t quite figure out why I was so hung over…

2 days after my unsuspecting experience with speed, I was aboard an overnight sleeper train back to Bangkok to catch a flight down to Surat Thani so I could head to the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. I met 3 Aussies who were all on holiday. We shared travel stories, future plans, and many random conversations. 2 of them were originally from Thailand, but raised in Sydney. 1 of them was British and also raised in Sydney.

After arriving in Bangkok, we wished each other well, and went our separate ways. This time around, I had a train map in english and after learning what NOT to do my first time around, I navigated the train system of Bangkok with the confidence and ease of a seasoned local. Transfers to and from the skytrain and metro lines came easy and were surprisingly pleasant once I learned how to use the maps. My flight to Surat Thani was smooth and peaceful. Most people seemed to be heading to either the eastern or western islands of the Andaman Coast. On approach into Surat Thani, the weather turned sour and we landed in the middle of a thunderstorm. I donned my rain jacket, zipped on my convertible pants, and put the rain fly over my ruck sack. Surat Thani airport is rather large despite the fact that it only gets 5 commercial flights a day. Next to us was an older G-IV in desperate need of a paint job. I walked into the lobby, bypassed the baggage claims since I didn’t check anything (benefit of traveling light), and scored a 500 baht combo bus-and-ferry ticket to Koh Phangan. I read online it would cost me 700+ baht so I was rather happy to save the money.

The bus ride took 1.5 hours and here I met Robert from Germany. He lived in Cambridge for 3 years and recently moved to Wales where the cost of living is much lower. He’s also near the sea now and has plenty of nature around him instead of the concrete jungle where he used to live. Robert was spending his usual 5 weeks in Thailand – just like he does every year during the holidays. He and I grabbed some fried rice with pineapple and mushroom soup at the pier for 50 baht each ($1 and 66 cents), jumped on the ferry, and braved the stormy seas of dusk towards Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. The waves were 6-9 feet and sometimes crested 12 feet so it was a longer trip than usual. Any higher and the trip would have been cancelled until the following day since the ferries stop running during storms and high seas. I also met David from Brixton who was also on holiday.

During our ferry trip, we met Julia from Russia who quit her job at Banana Republic in favor of a life of adventure. She was returning from a border run to Malaysia so she could reset her Thai visa to another fresh 29 days. Koh Samui revealed itself from time to time through the misty fog. Tiny little islands were everywhere and randomly jutted out from the seas along our path. It seemed like we were passing Koh Samui for 3 hours; what a big island. David from Brixton near London joined our entourage and we all shared the usual “where from,” “where to,” and “how long are you traveling” stories of fellow backpackers. We all seemed to have quit our jobs in favor of new life adventures and horizons to discover. We traded the stresses of everyday professional life for the stresses of “what to do today” “where to eat,” and the constant sun chasing of island life.

We arrived at Thong Sala pier on the central western part of Koh Phangan, disembarked, wished each other well, and dispersed like bugs after a light switch being flipped on. I jumped on a scooter taxi (exactly as it sounds: hop on the back of a small 125 cc scooter and HOLD ON) for 100 baht and weaved my way to Ban Tai where I was to meet my CS-ing host Teun at the Hard Road Cafe. Teun is a Dutch economics teacher traveling on holiday from Holland. 5 weeks was the length of his trip. (this length of holiday vacation seems to be common among travelers, but still blows my mind; a person would have to work at a company in the U.S.A. for 10 years or longer in order to get 5 weeks of paid vacation and even then, wouldn’t be able to take all 5 weeks consecutively) Most of these people were young (early to mid 20′s and a few in their late 20′s and early 30′s) so I knew that couldn’t be the case. When I asked them how they got that much time off, they said it was normal and common practice.

Teun and I started by getting acquainted as he showed me around the bungalow which was literally across the street from the Hard Road Cafe and through a small field filled with dirt roads winding off in different directions and tons of palm trees 60 feet or taller gently swaying in the salt air and warm breeze. 30 yards from the bungalow was the ocean so I could hear it clearly both inside and on the front porch. Inside was a queen sized mattress, smaller storage area, and a cold-shower bathroom. The front porch was small, but large enough for a hammock to be strung across the rafters of the roof. Teun mentioned I could have the bed since he preferred to sleep outside on the hammock.We were both getting hungry and he mentioned I HAD to try a very common style of restaurant found in the islands – Hot Pan BBQ.

Imagine a normal sized table, with a hole in the middle of it about 10 inches across. Inside this hole is a bucket of some kind. When you arrive at your table, the waiter asks how many people and what you want to drink. Then as he rushes off, another person promptly shows up with a large pan filled with glowing red-hot coals and a large stainless steel spoon. He scoops some smoldering coals into the bucket and places the “hat” on the bucket in the middle of the table. The hat is a thin metal of some kind with a domed and perforated center and a rim around the edge. The rim is filled with water which boils very quickly above the intense heat of the coals.

Teun showed me the ropes at the buffet tables and we each filled up 2 plates of raw ingredients. Once we returned to the table, we dumped in a large amount of green onions, mushrooms, and a few others greens to start the soup (in the rim of the hat around the edge). Teun cooked up a large amount of seafood on the top of the hat while I used the lower edges for tofu, veggies, and spring rolls. The clincher for this type of meal? Unlimited trips to the buffet for 130 baht per person ($4). We dined like kings and lived in the moment. Not a care or stress in the world. We spoke of food, women, travels, and life. We shared where we came from, where we were, and where we wanted to go. 3 hours slipped by in the blink of an eye. It was time to retire for the night.

We explored the island the following day on his scooter and quickly learned that it would be easier if I rented a scooter as well. The hills between Ban Tai and Haad Rin were simply too much for the little 125 cc bike carrying 2 grown men. I walked towards town and must have stopped at 8 different places advertising that they rented scooters. Most places were asking 200 baht per day and this seemed a little high after seeing the prices in Chiang Mai. I knew the islands would be a tad more expensive, but not double so I figured it was time to start haggling. I finally found a place willing to rent me a new bike for only 120 baht per day for 4 days. Haggling of most everything is common practice in Thailand so if you aren’t good at it, you’ll get plenty of practice. NEVER pay full price for anything here unless its already ridiculously cheap.

We went to the jungle party one evening and WOW was it amazing. I’m not a very good writer so I’m hoping a few pictures will do me some justice. It was in an area a little larger than the size of an american football field. (say football over here and everyone thinks of soccer) There are natural streams with teak foot bridges crossing in numerous directions. The bamboo huts are either bars or food cafes. There are lasers, fog machines, strobe lights, pulsating lights, chill areas, couches, seating areas, dance areas, black light art displays the size of large cars, stages, and a sound system any indoor club would be proud to have. Within a couple short hours, the  crowd went from a few hundred to a couple thousand. All pulsating in sync to one another and the vibrations of the electric music the DJ was spinning. Before I knew it, it was 4am and time to head home.

I woke up, meandered over to the beach restaurant nearby for a fresh coconut shake (and when I say fresh, I mean fresh as in – when you order one? A little guy comes out of the side of the building, walks around the patio area onto the beach, climbs 40+ feet up a palm tree, chops down a few fresh coconuts, and heads back to the kitchen to prepare them), and headed across the street for a good wifi connection to Skype my family on Christmas morning (Christmas Eve for them 12 hours behind me, but worked out well because my family gets together on Christmas Eve to celebrate together). It felt great to see my mom and dad again. I also saw my sister, her husband, and their 3 beautiful kids. We caught up on what I’ve been experiencing, what’s going on back home, the kids showed me some of the gifts that santa brought them, and dad and I cried together.

Teun and I drove all over the island the next 2 days and explored every nook and cranny we could on the island. Elephants were common sights along the roads as were touristy shops with fluorescent colored shirts and cheesy 1 liners for the famous parties that can be found all over the island. Hot Pan BBQ was the dinner of choice and the other meals tended to be a free for all and every man for himself. I normally had pineapple or orange juice in the morning and pad thai or curry rice with veggies for lunch. All cheap. All local. All in season.

I bode farewell to Teun the morning of the 27th and drove around the island one last time. This turned out to be an all-day ride in the beautiful warm sun, salt air, and winding roads of Koh Phangan. I ended up going back to the beach near the bungalow I stayed in with Teun where I stretched out my hammock between two trees and drifted off to the sounds of waves crashing just 20 feet from me underneath hundreds of stars and a clear full-moon night.

Have you been to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, or Koh Tao? What discoveries did you make long the way on these islands? What activities did you enjoy?

I arrived in Chiang Mai early in the morning (the train was late – as I’ve come to learn most train arrivals are in Thailand) and decided to wave off the barrage of taxis and tuk-tuks that bombard tourists with offers to take them places. In reality, they see us tourists as easy targets… and for good reason. More on this later.

I learned very quickly that the best way to get the lay of the land is to walk. Good exercise. Get some sun. Talk to locals. Find some coffee shops and places to eat. Take note of cool things to see later. This approach has served me well so far. The first thing I noticed was how many Auto accessory, parts, and scooter repairs places there were. Block after block of nothing but auto shops; both sides of the road. After 20 min of walking, I approached the Old Chiang Mai wall and began to see more convenient stores, street side cafes and even a starbucks coffee shop. (can’t seem to get away from those no matter where you go) I stopped at a place called Art Cafe and had yet another wonderful experience with Pad Thai. This dish is filling, inexpensive, vegetarian, and overall delicious in every sense of the meaning. I hadn’t eaten in ~12 hours and it was way past time. The food was wonderful, the service was excellent, and the view was beautiful (as you can see from the website link above – the brick wall phone is of the Chiang Mai wall). I scarfed down my meal and went on my way.

I passed through the old Chiang Mai Wall and was curious why it was there. Was it a strong hold of sorts? A border? Time to ask a local.

Unlike earlier Thai Yuan settlements, which were oval, the astrological plan for Chiang Mai
called for rectangular moats measuring 18 meters across, with a width of 1800 meters and a length of 2000 meters.

At the center was the Chiang Mai pillar. In Brahmanic cosmology this represented Mount Sumeru, the upward link to heaven at the center of the universe (this plan was also mirrored in temples where the stupa – the chedi - stood at the center). Chiang Mai walls and moats were oriented to the cardinal points and symbolized the mountains and seas of the outer universe.

The fate of Chiang Mai was believed to depend upon the relationship between the center and the outer guardians at the corners and the gates. To this day ceremonies are held simultaneously at the cardinal points to pay homage to these spirits.

The north of the city, was considered the head of Chiang Mai and Chang Phuak Gate was used by royalty on state occasions. The south was the rear. Originally only four gates were built, and people would enter Chiang Mai after crossing the moats on bamboo bridges which could be withdrawn at night.

A further gate was later added in the 15th century. This was Suan Prung gate, which King Sam Fang Kaen built to allow his mother to travel easily from her palace to supervise the building of the Chedi Luang. This also became the gate to be used for funeral processions from the city.

As Chiang Mai prospered, villages located near the outer walls, particularly to the south and west, became extensions of the city. Merchants set up businesses along the roads (now Thapae Road and Chang MoiRoad) from the landings and bamboo bridges on the river, forming the commercial heart of the city. To protect them an outer system of defense known as the kamphaeng din was added some time after restorations to Chiang Mai walls were carried out in 1519.

During the two centuries of Burmese occupation, there is little evidence of the city’s development. The fortifications seen today were rebuilt by Chao Kawila after he liberated Chiang Mai at the end of the 18th century. To defend against further attacks by the Burmese, he added the bastions at each corner.

Chiang Mai is home to over 300 Buddhist temples and I must have passed by 30 of them already during my walk from the train station to the center of Old Chiang Mai. Inside the all and around the edges is bar central. They are everywhere waiting to on the frequent tourist thirsty for action and a good time. I continued through town, talked to some more locals along the way who were all eager to practice their english and made my way to the western edge. I called my couch surfing host and waved down a tuk-tuk. He said 250, I said 150, he said 220, I said 200. Deal. I was off. I think I still paid too much, but oh well. It was my first experience so there’s bound to be a learning curve.

My next few days were spent at a magnificent guesthouse that wasn’t quite finished or open yet. The owner’s name is Tom and he spent 10 years studying in three different Buddhist temples. Mornings were spent doing yoga and tending to the lush tropical gardens. Afternoons at the markets gathering fresh ingredients for dinner and wandering around town. Evenings were spent cooking traditional and modern Thai food (Tom is a WONDERFUL cook). After dinner, we would all share deep philosophical conversations of life followed by watching a movie on the projector in one of the verandas.

There are three buildings at this guesthouse. Each has a few self sufficient living quarters minus the kitchen which can be found in the back of the first house. Everyone cooks and eats together. We share everything. Food, drink, conversation, ideas on what to do for the next day; everything. My time there was short (only 3 days), but magical. I’ll never forget Tom, Baan Kiri, or the hospitality and warmth he welcomed me with.

The flight from Cincinnati to Chicago went off without a hitch. My layover in Chicago was ~3.5 hours so I had plenty of time to get a bite to eat, stretch my legs, wander a bit, go through customs, and settle in for my longest flight ever. The flight from Chicago to Amman was MURDER. (15 hours) 4 movies. Lots of talking with my new friend Abdullah who is a college freshman in FL at FIT …a rival to my alma mater ERAU. Small world. A couple small naps and LOTS of tossing and turning. I used to think I could sleep anywhere. This trip proved otherwise. I CANNOT sleep sitting up. I arrived in Amman waiting for my friends Nader and James with lots of negative thoughts about Amman. I thought there would be gunfire in the streets, fires everywhere, etc. I couldn’t have been any more wrong. We started by going to Buffalo Wings and Rings (where some friends work) which has become a hotspot throughout Jordan. Had some great food, a couple beers, lots of laughs, great conversation, and met tons of people.

We walked around Amman for a couple hours and I experienced a new food that I LOVE. Falafel. I don’t quite know what’s in it, other than it’s a vegetarian snack. The outside “wrap” tastes and looks like a waffle and it is stuffed with all sorts of good stuff. I think veggies, hummus, and a few other ingredients I wasn’t quite sure of. Even better? It was cheap. Like REALLY cheap. Jordanian Dinar are worth more than the dollar, but it was still less than $1 USD for this tasty treat. We each had one and continued on. I bought a patch to sew onto my rucksack, a couple postcards to send home to friends and family, then we sat in the circle near BWR at a great little coffee shop called Bravo. I met some more people, shared lots of laughs and then hopped in the car to check out some ruins.

Nabil drove me all around town and showed me both the ritzy and ghetto areas of Amman. At the end of our drive as we were all saying our goodbyes, Nabil gave me the keychain off of his own personal keys as a memento and reminder of my time in Amman. I rushed back to the airport, went through security, and boarded another long flight (9 hours).

This flight didn’t seem nearly as bad since it was a good 6 hours shorter than my previous leg. Once I arrive in Bangkok, it took quite a while to get through passport and immigration due to the large volume of people arriving. I walked out to the front lobby to get a SIM chip for my iPhone 5, but they were sold out of nano SIM chips. The guy behind the counter said I needed to go to the center of downtown Bangkok to the AIS store in the shopping mall to get a nano chip. I asked for directions, but didn’t understand much. I remember: train, last stop, down stairs, enter mall. 45 THB later ($1.50), I was on a 20 min train ride to downtown Bangkok. I got completely lost at the Phaya Thai station and wandering around several buildings that looked like they may have been retail centers of some kind, but once inside I realized they weren’t.

I must have asked 15 people for help and none of them spoke a lick of English. I tried not to sweat it and just enjoy the sights, sounds, and scenery of a completely new place. I finally found a gentleman who pointed me in the right direction. As in, he got out of the line he was in, walked me over to the map, pointed to where I was, where I needed to go, then helped me by talking to the person behind the ticket counter and got me all set. He was my trail angel for the day. I arrived at the correct station, found the mall, and wandered around. I was surprised to find a Lamborghini dealership in the middle of a retail shopping center? Interesting place to put one…

I got my SIM chip and charged up a prepaid card with 2 GB of data for 650 Thai Baht ($21) and went on my way. The next wrench in my day was my cell phone dying. Without my phone, I didn’t have Google or Apple Maps. Which meant I was back to square one; trying to read signs with nothing but squiggly lines everywhere. I didn’t know exactly where I was or where I was going to catch my overnight train to Chiang Mai. I found a couple more people who went out of their way to help me and I was grateful. The sky train I took to the metro interchange was relatively short, then I switched from the above-ground to under-ground train, and made my way to Hua Lamphong rail station where I waited for my departure. I sewed on a couple more patches, grabbed some veggie pad thai, a bottle of water, and headed to my sleeper cab.

My cabin was a private, first class sleeper (~$63 USD for overnight train). In it were a TV, VCR, sink, comfy twin sized bed, large window, my own A/C, tables, and a couple nooks to store things. The bed even had a riser system that mechanically raised the back half of the bed so you can lay down, but be sitting up at a comfortable angle to view everything passing by the window outside. There were also 3 adjustable lights that were nice to play with and get the right mood lighting for my commute. I dozed off and slept like a rock… finally! Seeing as though I had been up for almost 48 hours straight. I had an alarm set for 6am so I could watch the sun rise through the mountains and catch the sights as I chugged on towards Chiang Mai.

Two and half days after I left Cincinnati, Ohio, I finally arrived in Chiang Mai. Let the adventures begin! Be well. And namaste.

What is the longest flight you’ve taken while traveling? How did you deal with the long spans of time while sitting on coach?

During my recent trip to Boston, I learned of a snazzy little device called “Spot.” It comes from the wonderful people at Spot LLC. They specialize in GPS tracking devices for wandering adventurers. The Spot II satellite GPS messenger I bought does 5 things: tracking progress and drops pins on a google map that you can share with friends, family, etc. every 10 minutes, custom message ability to send a customized SMS message to up to 12 people on your contact list, check-in/ok message to send a predetermined “I’m OK” message to up to 12 people on your list, Help mode that sends a non-life threatening emergency message, and most importantly the SOS mode that notifies appropriate agencies worldwide of your situation with exact latitude and longitude coordinates

Why would anyone need something like this? Technically, you don’t, but giving friends and family the peace of mind that at any time they can “check-in” with your google map and see the status of your device (ok, checking in, tracking, etc.) is a valuable stress reliever. Plus, as a wandering adventurer, if you’re out in remote areas, you have the assurance that you’re being “watched from above” and that no matter what you get into, people can find you.

The device I purchased has an MSRP of $119, but I got mine at REI where they have a sale going on right now for $74.95. On top of that, I used a coupon and dropped it further to $60. The “Service” options for the device range from a basic service plan which covers all the basics and monitoring to additional options like tracking (google maps), type and send (send custom message on the fly), sensor alerts (for boat tracking), GEOS (private SAR rescue coverage of up to $100k USD, SpotAssist (private third-party company SAR coverage), product replacement, and SPOT adventures (adventure sharing). All of these add-on services are extremely inexpensive and are well worth the cost.

The coverage map includes most of the entire earth (southern and south eastern Africa isn’t covered, nor are most parts of India for some reason).

Here’s what my recent hike around Walden Pond in Concord, MA looked like using the tracking feature with Google Maps:

Since Aug 21, 2012, SPOT LLC has initiated 2,006 rescues and completed 481 rescues in 78 different countries. When it comes to peace of mind, this is the ultimate back-country insurance plan. A great service that you can use in combination with these devices is a standard or adventurer travel insurance plan which add additional extraction and medical coverage. When in doubt, travel safe and keep those you love most “in the loop” while you’re “out of the loop.”

Be well. And namaste.

What situation(s) have you gotten into during your adventures that perhaps you wished you had a device like this?

There are a lot of travel agencies, online discount ticket services, and “deals” to choose from. When it comes to getting cheap airfare, you’ve got to start thinking outside the box. (this will require time and effort – you’re gonna get good at internet searches very fast)

The first thing to realize, is that (most) airlines operate under what’s known as a “hub and spoke system.” Think of the visual that’s described in the name. The hub of a bicycle wheel has a lot of spokes going out to the edge of the wheel. The hub represents a city where a lot of flights can arrive and depart whereas the spokes are the actual flights themselves. I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio where Delta still maintains a “hub.” When I went to college in Daytona Beach, Florida, I had to fly from the Cincinnati hub, to the Atlanta hub, then finally down to Daytona Beach.

Now let’s expand this view to international travel.

I started in Cincinnati, but wanted to get to Chiang Mai, Thailand (why start there you ask? why not? – we’ll save that topic for another day). I opened up my handy dandy iPhone 5 and navigated my way to my Kayak app. So far, Kayak and Cheap O Air seem to be the two services I use most often to start my airfare research (combination of price and service). My first search (1-way fight from Cincinnati, OH to Chiang Mai, Thailand on a specific date +/- 2 days) returned 86 different options on a myriad of airlines ranging in price from $1,524 up to $4,645. Let’s take a look at the cheapest option and begin to break it down to see where we can shave that price on our own.

The least expensive option was on China Airlines. The flight departed Cincinnati, OH, had a stop in Los Angeles, then another stop in Taoyuan (the largest airport in Taiwan… how did I know that? I googled it of course, because I had NO CLUE where Taoyuan airport was. USE GOOGLE. It’s a valuable resource), before finally arriving in Chiang Mai. Take note of the cities where those stops/layovers are located.

Now lets look at the second and third least expensive options. $1,781 and $2,071, both on Trans States Airlines with a route of Cincinnati, Chicago, Narita (Japan), Bangkok, then finally ending in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Think of most of the “stops/layovers” along the route as hubs (except maybe your starting and ending points). Let’s see what the difference in price is to get (1-way) from Cincinnati to Bangkok. Kayak to the rescue: 508 options ranging in price from $1,010 to $8,316. $1,010 is $500 cheaper than our original lowest price of $1,524. We did two searches, and have already saved ourselves $500. Not bad for a little extra time searching.

Now that we’ve gotten our price down $500, let’s see if we can drop that price again. Being a seasoned employee in the aviation industry since 2000, I know that Cincinnati IS a hub, but it’s not a very large hub, so just for arguments sake, let’s look at the largest hubs in the USA: Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. Time to repeat our most recent search, but alter our starting point. We started by searching for prices from Cincinnati to Chiang Mai. Then we altered it from Cincinnati to Bangkok (since Bangkok is the nearest major hub to Chiang Mai). Time for step 3 – Hub to hub. Lets try Chicago to Bangkok, New York City to Bangkok, and Los Angeles to Bangkok. $1,174, $1,173, and $995 respectively. Since the lowest price in this search didn’t net us any major gains (in this case, only an additional $15), we’ll stop there and focus on the finishing details.

NOTE: If the least expensive option from our third search would have saved us $100 or more, then we would have started to search for bus/train tickets from our hometown starting point (Cincinnati in this case) to the nearest major hub (Los Angeles since it had the lowest price out of all of our searches). The cheapest advance ticket I can buy from Cincinnati to Los Angeles is on Greyhound Bus service and costs $129. Cincinnati to Los Angeles on Amtrak train service is $253.

Now that we’ve found an inexpensive plane ticket from Cincinnati to Bangkok, it’s time to complete our research and get from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Start with Google. Search for “bangkok to chiang mai.” You’ll learn quickly after reading a few of the results that traveling by train in Thailand is very inexpensive and also a very common way of getting around. Time to find a rail ticket. Google “Thailand train tickets” and “Thailand train reservations.” The State Railway of Thailand seems to be a popular place to reserve train tickets online. Sure enough, after 1 quick search, we find that a train ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai will range from 791 to 1953 THB. A quick currency conversion from Google (click here) tells us that’s $26 – $64 USD. The difference in price is first class vs. second class. Google “first class vs second class train thailand” and you’ll learn quickly that first class is the way to go (the added benefits easily justify the extra $30 – ESPECIALLY on a 15 hour overnight train ride like this).

First search from Cincinnati to Chiang Mai – $1,524

Second search (includes bus / train / etc from any deviations) from Cincinnati to Chiang Mai – $1,074.

This comes out to be a savings of $450. If you’ve done some research on Thailand, you already know that you can live like a king for less than $500 per month (including rent, transportation, utilities, eating out 3 meals per day, frequent massages, entertainment, etc.). So in a sense, the ~1 hour of research we did, just saved us enough to stay 1 additional month in Thailand. SCORE.

Be well. And namaste.

Where are you heading for your next adventure? Send me your city pairs and I’ll give you some pointers and options to research.

They depend on donations to keep the elephant preservation land they have. A little bit goes a long way in Thailand where the cost of living is extremely low.

I’d like to collect $20 donations from friends and family to give the owner as an extra “thank you” for the love and protection he gives his 15 elephants. Please click on the PayPal button below to make a donation.

Be well. And Namaste.

The most IRRESPONSIBLE (and best) thing I’ve ever done…

If you’ve seen the movie “The Perfect Storm” (or one of the other many movies filmed here), then you’ve seen Gloucester, Massachusetts. Everything you see around the bay and harbors is postcard-worthy and the people are warm and friendly. It’s only a ~45 min drive from Boston so it provides a perfect afternoon adventure. I got up here early in the morning so I could take my time and wander around all day. I probably hiked about 15 miles or so perusing the shops, streets, buildings, statues, marinas, ports, old factories, and everything in between.

I literally started down in the lower left corner where the 127 marker is, and wandered clear around the entire bay, out to the very tip of Rocky Point, and circled back a slightly different route. I was met with smiles everywhere I went. The warmth of the people in Gloucester will warm your soul even on the coldest of mornings. My suggestion for breakfast is a little place called The Last Stop. It may not look like much from the outside, but they have incredible ready-to-eat goodies in all shapes and sizes. I grabbed a banana nut bread muffin and headed back out into the salt-air.

I noticed this building way out (tough to tell its so far out. LOVE my camera with 20x optical zoom) on the tip of rocky point and it called to me to take a closer look. It was neat how it happened, because after I noticed this building, I started heading that direction and found an area along the way called The Rocky Neck Art Colony. It’s a gathering of small shops and artist studios with amazing people. Go for a stroll here and you won’t be disappointed. As I talked to a few of the artists, they told me that the building I was heading towards was an old paint factory. Apparently, they came up with a copper-based paint used on boats that could combat the harsh elements as well as sea life that would plague the undersides of vessels. Their paint was shipped to ports all over the world for more than a century and is still made and sold in the USA (the factory at Rocky Point is empty though).

After my stroll around the factory, I decided to head back (the day flew by hiking 15+ miles and talking to so many great people and learning about the area). On my way back, I noticed a shop called Again and Again. Frieda and Wendy take old sails that are either donated to them or aren’t sea-worthy any more, cut them up, and sew them into hand bags.

A fellow wanderer and friend of mine, Earl, mentioned that while visiting other countries, it’s a good idea to have a potato sack, laundry bag, or something of the sort to stuff your pack into to make it look less conspicuous and therefore less likely to be stolen or pilfered. I asked Frieda if she had anything that would fit my pack and she said she had just the thing for me. She held up an old spinnaker sack and asked me to drop my pack into it to make sure it would fit. Like a glove. I opened up my wallet and asked her how much. To my dismay, she smiled and said “no charge.” I thought she was joking so I asked her again. She said – no really, it’s yours. We have more than enough here and wish you the best on your travels. I was glowing with gratitude, thanked her again and again, rolled up my new sack, shoved it in my pack, and left with yet another memory and story that I can take on my worldly journey with me. Every time I use my spinnaker sack, I will think of Frieda with her thick German accent and kind generosity. In my short trips so far, I’ve learned that the people I’ve met have been the most precious and rewarding gift so far.

Thank you Frieda. Be well. And Namaste.

Have you encountered any “trail angels” along your journeys? What have been some of the best gifts you’ve received (whether tangible or not) while traveling?

1. Cambridge – MIT has some incredible architecture that will floor you. Shown here is the Strata Center.

2. Harvard – TONS of old (and new) brick structures adorn the campus. Annenburg hall was definitely my favorite (main dining hall).

3. The Fenway Victory Gardens on Boylston St cover a 7-acre greenspace which include 500 garden plots measuring 15′ x 25′ – MORE than enough to grow lots of fresh organic fruits and veggies. Rent a Hubway bicycle and stroll the paths in and around the Fenway greenspace for a nice afternoon stroll.

4. Institute of Contemporary Art – There’s a wide variety of exhibits (changed routinely) here for the right-brainers. I didn’t go in because they were closing soon, but maybe I’ll get to go back before I leave Boston.

5. Concord – Lots of farmers’ markets throughout the week and weekend (during the growing season). This is a great place to go for a country-side drive as well. Wild turkey and white tail dear frequently cross your path and there are plenty of yellow leaves in the fall-time that would even make Aspen sigh in awe. And if that isn’t enough transcendentalism for you, you can always visit Walden Pond.

Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement during the 1830s and 40s in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest to the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian church taught at Harvard Divinity School. Core beliefs were the inherent goodness of both man and nature. “Truth in Nature” is the most simplistic description commonly used. Transcendentalists believed that society and its institutions—particularly organized religion and political parties—ultimately corrupted the purity of the individual. They had faith that man is at his best when truly “self-reliant” and independent. The major figures of the movement were of course Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau anonymously published Nature (1836) in which he stated his belief that one could transcend the materialistic world of sense experience and become conscious of the all-pervading spirit of the universe, and that God could best be found by looking into one’s own soul – very similar to zen and Buddhist believes (seek answers within).

6. Sudbury – For all you baseball fans, drive by Babe Ruth’s house when he played for the Boston Red Sox.

It’ been a whirlwind couple days, but there’s still so much more to see. Stop back again soon to see what other gems I was able to find.

Be well. And Namaste.

Do you have any recommendations for me of place to visit or things to see in Boston? I’d love to hear about them so I can add them to my list.

An opportunity was mentioned a couple weeks ago to spend some time in Boston setting up a new base to make sure a new series of flights go smoothly;  it went something like this: “Who wants to spend 2 weeks in Boston working 10 hours every single day in order to make sure the planes that are up there aren’t broken?” This is where I come in – “oooo pick me pick me!!” And as simple as that, the trip was mine. NEVER miss an opportunity to travel. ESPECIALLY when someone else is paying for it.

I boarded a Delta red-eye flight yesterday morning and flew 2 hours to Boston. I got lucky because just a couple days earlier, every single flight to the northeast corridor was cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy. That was on Tuesday. It’s now Friday and things are finally getting back to normal regarding flights in and out of the northeast.

Once I landed, I grabbed my duffel bag, took the shuttle to get my rental car, and drove to my hotel to check in. During my 40 min drive from Boston Logan airport to my hotel in Burlington, I took in my surroundings noting all the things that caught my eye; things I wanted to see more of as I spent my time here in Boston. I heard that Boston Common was beautiful (similar to NYC’s central park) and that I should stop in to the Cheers bar across the street to get a beer and say I was there.

After my day of work was done, I headed downtown to wander around and see what I could find. It was sunny and 57 degrees out so naturally people were EVERYWHERE; even on a weekday afternoon. I parked my car a few blocks away from Boston Common and started exploring. A lot of the sidewalks are old red brick and are reminiscent of cobblestone. On my way to the park, I noticed a series of bike racks with “Hubway” bikes. All the bikes were the same. I couldn’t imagine that everyone had the same make and model of bike, but as I got closer, I figured it out. It’s a pay-per-use service offered to commuters. What a GREAT IDEA!?

The pay structure isn’t that expensive and from the description on the digital kiosk, I get the idea that it’s geared towards short (30 min or less) commutes… PERFECT for downtown city transportation.

I didn’t pay for a bike on this little exploration trip, but you can bet I will before I leave. More on this later…

The lagoon in the middle of Boston Common was stunning. There was wildlife everywhere, the water glistens in the sunlight, and theres a quaint little walking bridge across the center of it. With the weather like it was, it’s no wonder it was crowded. Dogs were tree-ing squirrels, lovers sitting on the park benches enjoying each others’ presence, and the warmth of the sun in November was a nice break from the usual Boston cold this time of year. Ornate bronze and copper statues of various sizes are sprinkled about. I couldn’t help but notice a particular tree in the middle of the park. I didn’t  enhance this picture in ANY way.

With colors as vivid and saturated as that, I couldn’t help but take a picture.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

After my stroll around the Common, I decided it was time for a tasty beverage at the Cheers Bar. From the outside, you’ll notice it’s almost identical to the freeze-frames that the sitcom used, but once you go inside, you’re disappointed; it looks NOTHING like the set they used on the TV sitcom. The closest thing to it can be found at the second location near Quincy Market (but that one isn’t totally accurate either). The service was great, the beer cold, and the atmosphere nice. Google Cheers Boston Bar and you’ll get a lot more history and details on the show, the bar (real name Bull & Finch), and it’s history.

I had my beer, checked out the tourist trap gift shop (didn’t buy anything) and headed out to go back to my hotel. Day 1 in Boston was nice. I look forward to more adventures over the next 2 weeks.

Be well. And Namaste.

Have any of you ever been to Boston? Have any must-see places or must-do activities for me to check out?

If you’re looking for an answer to “How can I be happy?” then the response from the experts is, “You’re asking the wrong question.” The better question is why our idea of happiness is so screwed up that most of us wouldn’t recognize the real thing if we saw it. Well …

#5. What We’re Calling Happiness is a Recent Invention

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This should blow your mind: The entire concept that you can become happy via some action you can take is a relatively recent invention. And the concept that a person should be happy, and that anything else is the result of some unusual breakdown in the system, is extremely recent.

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“I’d define happiness as less than four types of lice on my body.”

Now, before everyone digs out their old goth clothes and screams, “Aha! We told you that the world was just an endless black ocean of suffering!” that’s actually the opposite of the point we’re making. It appears that the reason so many people profess to be miserable is specifically because they think they’re missing out on some magical emotion that “happy” people feel all the time. They’re tormenting themselves over the loss of something that nobody actually has, because that thing doesn’t even have a definition.

See, the thing is that humans have never actually settled on what “happiness” is. A historian named Darrin McMahon exhaustively studied how happiness has been viewed over the last few thousand years and found that it was constantly changing.

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“I’d say I define happiness as less than three types of lice on my body.”

Go back to ancient Greece and it’s very simple: Happiness = Luck. Either the gods dribbled their joy juice on you or didn’t; either way, there was nothing you could do about it. And that was it, end of conversation. It was nothing to get upset about. In fact, in every European language, the root of the word for happiness is some older word that meant “luck.” Ours comes from the old Norse and Old English word “hap”, and hap simply means “luck.”

Flash forward to Aristotle’s day, 335-ish B.C. Philosophers of the time considered happiness to be synonymous with virtue. In other words, do good to feel good. If you didn’t feel good, it meant you weren’t being virtuous enough. Now, we don’t want to come off as cynical here, but it almost sounds like this was when they started using this elusive idea of happiness as a motivational tool. Happiness is the carrot on the stick that makes you do all of the things that keep society running smoothly.

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“All of this will be worth it, once I’m able afford that crack habit I’ve been longing for.”

After that, you get into medieval times when early Christians saw happiness as something a soul was to be rewarded with in heaven, and not something attainable in the mortal world. Then the Renaissance came along and brought us the concept of pleasure equaling happiness. Keep in mind, those two ideas weren’t always connected — the old-school thinkers described happiness as the overall state of somebody who had lived their life well, completely separating it from that feeling you get when you eat a warm cookie or play with a puppy.

“I’m deeply, spiritually satisfied about the number of puppies I’ve played with.”

But the new definition of happiness seemed to be “you feel like you’re playing with a puppy, all the time.” Then the Enlightenment declared that everyone had a right to be happy, and by the time the American Declaration of Independence was written in 1776, the “pursuit of happiness” was declared an inalienable right, endowed by the creator. That’s a damned 180-degree turn from what the ancient Greeks thought. And if we’re defining happiness as 24/7 puppy time, then it doesn’t work.

“… with liberty and puppies for all.”

Not according to science, anyway. Because …

#4. You Physically Can’t Feel Happiness for Very Long

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Quick: What’s the final line of every fairy tale you know? “And they all lived …”

Yes, everybody realizes life is not a fairy tale, or a Hollywood movie (where 99 percent of the time, the final shot implies, “And they lived happily ever after”). We say we realize that, anyway. Yet, people still talk about happiness like there is some finish line. Once you cross it, you’ll have “achieved happiness.”

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“The first 10 to not hate their lives win a free hat!”

Don’t take our word for it — go to Amazon.com and search for the words “achieve happiness” and check out how many self-help books promise they’ll get you to that destination:

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Yes, the No. 1 result is by Russell Simmons.

Well, science says it’s not possible.

As it turns out, the human brain is equipped with “hedonic set points” which not only establish where our base mood is (optimistic, pessimistic or indifferent); but also adapts rather quickly to our surroundings and returns to our base frame of mind. Basically, we all have a built-in buzzkill app.

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“Laugh all you want. That romantic comedy won’t halt your inevitable demise.”

In 1978, a research group studied lottery winners, regular assholes and those who had suffered injuries rendering them paraplegic or quadriplegic. All groups reported a similar number of good days versus bad days, with no clear victor in the happiness race.

On the bright side, these studies show that people adapt better than they think they would to devastating situations. The triumph of the human spirit, etc. But on the flip side, if you’re completely miserable now, achieving your goals will probably only result in a slight surge on the happiness meter and then you’ll be right back to your crotchety old self.

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“This Nobel Prize is lovely, but right now, I’m much more interested in learning the banjo.”

Some psychologists refer to this trend as the “hedonic treadmill,” saying that we experience only a brief moment of fleeting happiness when we achieve a goal before our minds look forward to the next conquest.

And … look at that. There’s the carrot and the stick again. Only instead of coming in the form of some philosopher or book telling you if you do the following, you will be happy in the future, it’s your own brain. It’s triggering a built-in mechanism to keep you from getting complacent. Either way, the promise of happiness just over the next hill turns out to be a tool to keep you climbing hills.

#3. Money Can Buy Happiness. .. Sort of

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It’s no shock that personal satisfaction goes up with income, though not to the degree that some people think. There is no question that the anxiety that comes with knowing somebody is going to repossess your house at any moment is hard as hell on your happiness levels.

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But once you have no home at all? Pure bliss.

But when you do have some above-poverty level of income, how do you spend the money? When it comes time to splurge on something fun, some of you focus on new possessions (a TV, a video game console, a family of multiracial blow-up dolls) while others are more likely to buy experiences (a massage, dinner at a fancy restaurant, a concert, a “massage”).

Well, you don’t have to look very hard to find a study saying that materialism has a devastating toll on the happiness fund as well as the bank account. While we have an entire economic system and popular culture built to cater to it, science says that endless pursuit of stuff leads to decreased life satisfaction, decreased happiness, depression, paranoia and narcissism. Holy shit!

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That’s a hollow smile on his face.

The obvious problem is that possessions are like a physical manifestation of the hedonistic treadmill we just discussed — your fancy new car accumulates scratches and door dings and burrito sauce stains on the seats. It degrades right in front of your eyes. The new computer gets slower every day you own it. And, before long, somebody you know will buy a nicer one that makes yours look like a sad, computer-shaped turd and then all of your new-gadget happiness is released into the atmosphere in a black cloud of euphoria emissions.

You get better results, the experts say, from spending money on experiences — a concert, a vacation, a clothing-optional cruise. If those events go well, they tend to get better in your memory as time goes on.

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“In a few years, we won’t even remember how much puking we did this week.”

But get this — when doing a study of vacationers, the happiest people were the ones in the weeks leading up to a vacation. It was all about anticipation. Again, it looks like our brain rewards us more for working toward a goal than for actually arriving there. The study actually suggests taking more frequent, shorter vacations. You know, so you can spend more time anticipating them.

Wait, didn’t we say that in medieval times their whole thing was just telling people they’d be happy after they died? So they’d spend their whole lives in that anticipation mode? We’re not experts. Just throwing that out there.

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“Just a couple more decades of backbreaking labor and then cash-out!”

#2. Freedom of Choice Doesn’t Always Make You Happier

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If you’re reading this, you probably live in some kind of a free society. And we’re guessing that you place pretty high value on freedom, and that approximately zero of you stare out the window and long to move to North Korea. But freedom to choose everything you do comes at a price.

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“But which brand of hazelnut is the hazelnuttiest?”

For instance, there are two kinds of people: those old enough to remember a world without the Internet, and those who are not. If you were born in the 1970s, you probably remember a household, not only without a computer, but with a television that had three channels. And UHF. Total. And no video games.

Thank goodness we had Vietnam to keep us occupied.

Since then, the entertainment choices have gone up infinitely. We have our food choices, and toothpaste choices, and career choices. Don’t scoff at that last one (“Ha, I’d love to have even one career!”) since a lot of your job anxiety comes from the fact that there are so many choices that it isn’t at all obvious which one is right for you. Once upon a time, you knew what you were going to do when you grew up: You were going to work on the goddamn farm, just like everybody else. Now, you spend the last year of high school knowing that of the thousands of possible careers, you will probably suck at all but one or two. And the results if you pick wrong can be devastating.

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“If only I’d been a fry cook.”

That everyday anxiety over making the wrong choice is why having a vast selection of choices tends to make people less happy in general.

You have that agonizing selection process, repeated over and over again with decisions big and small (and some of you reading this have worried yourself sick over whether to go with LCD or plasma — don’t say you haven’t) which not only leads to anxiety, but decreased satisfaction even when we do chose correctly. After all, once you make the decision and get locked in, you never stop thinking “What if.”

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“I was this close to a spot on the cast of Mad TV, but I threw it all away for politics.”

Hell, regret is the whole basis of the “midlife crisis” people go through in their 40s and 50s. “What if I’d chosen some other career? Or some other wife? Or chosen to spend more time with my kids instead of working?” It’s the fact that there is not enough time left to redo any of those decisions that triggers the “crisis.”

And all of it comes back to the elusive nature of happiness. You picked X because you thought it would make you happy, but you’re not happy, so you probably should have picked Y instead. Then you would have been happy, dammit. Which means the pressure is really on when you make this next decision. Because happiness is right over that next hill, and you’d better pick the right way to get over it. Don’t fuck this up! Everything rides on this!

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But don’t get stressed out! Shithead!

Maybe that explains what is going to be the weirdest statistic you’ll hear all month: The countries and states with the highest happiness levels also have the highest suicide rates. People in New York state rank 45th in reported life satisfaction. They also have the lowest suicide rates. Hawaii unsurprisingly has the second-highest life satisfaction, it being an island paradise and all. But it also ranks in the top five in suicides.

Also, it looks kind of like a noose from above.

The answer, researchers guess, is that the people reporting happiness are not in fact the same people who are committing suicides. No, they think the source of the depressed people’s despair is being around all of these happy people. Think about how that magnifies all of your mistakes, and highlights what you missed out on.

#1. Treating Happiness as a Goal is Bad News

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Let’s go back a couple of thousand years, back to the era when happiness was either all about luck, or the result of living a virtuous life. In both of those schools of thought, it sounds like the message is, “Don’t even bother trying to be happy, because these are ancient times, we all live in filth and that’s just the way it is.” But according to the experts, they may have been onto something. Just in a roundabout way.

“Does anyone else feel oddly fulfilled?”

A study published by Perspectives on Psychological Science found that participants, when asked to read and act out steps in a self-help article or to watch an upbeat film, usually concentrated too hard on trying to improve their mood and therefore ended up feeling cheated and more downtrodden.

The study’s co-author and a member of the psychology department faculty at Yale University, June Gruber, said: “When you’re doing it with the motivation or expectation that these things ought to make you happy, that can lead to disappointment and decreased happiness.”

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Not unlike the Smurf movie.

So what does jolly Old June suggest?

“… the best way to increase your happiness is to stop worrying about being happy and instead divert your energy to nurturing the social bonds you have with other people … If there’s one thing you’re going to focus on, focus on that. Let all the rest come as it will.”

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Also there are other alternatives. Giant handfuls of them.

The very act of trying to achieve happiness made people unhappy because of the anxiety they felt when they failed. They were happier when they weren’t trying. You know, like if somebody had told them it was out of their hands, or that they should focus on doing good things and declare the result to be “happiness,” regardless of what it looked like.

And also, they should avoid reading articles about happiness at all costs.

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married. Have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough yet and we’ll be more content when they are. After that we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse or significant other gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is; there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, then when?

Your life will ALWAYS be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyways! A quote comes to mind: “For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first some unfinished business, time still to be served; a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles WERE life.”

y perspective has helped me to see that there is no way TO happiness; happiness IS the way. So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it even MORE because you shared it with someone special. Special enough to spend your time with. And remember that time waits for no one and that it is our most scarce resource. We are all limited on time in one way or another.

So stop waiting: until you finish school, utnil you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, summer, fall, winter, until it snows, until the snow melts, until the first of the fifteenth, until your song comes on, until youve had a drink, until youve sobered up, until you die, until you are born again, to decide that there is no better time than right NOW to be happy.

Happiness is an attitude, a choice, and a journey; not a destination or something you can seek outside of yourself. Dance like no one is watching. Work like you don’t need money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. And live like there’s no tomorrow.

So the next time you’re feeling down, quiet all the noise going on in your head, and change your perspective. Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at will change.

Be well. And namaste.