Welcome to round 69 of ‘Meet a Random Traveller’. The series dedicated to bring attention to fantastic people all around the world doing their thing.

Random Traveller 69

Ali & Andy

Who are you?
I’m Ali, and I’m addicted to travel. I’ve been to all 7 continents before my 30th birthday. I love photography, the Spanish language, chips and salsa, and I’m always planning my next trip. I’m from the US, originally from New Jersey, but I spent the second half of my life living in Atlanta. For 9 years I worked in the oh-so-exciting world of aviation insurance before finally deciding I needed to travel more and find a career path I enjoy. I’m now an expat living in Freiburg, Germany, and I’m in the middle of a 5 month round the world trip.

What’s the deal?
I started blogging as a way to talk about travel and interact with other travelers when I couldn’t actually take a trip. I love to travel and it’s a great way to fuel the addiction. Now it’s a great way to let my friends and family know what I’m up to while I’m home in Germany or traveling somewhere else. I also hope to inspire others to travel. I know so many people who want to travel but are nervous about it, especially about solo travel, and I want to show them that it’s easier than they think. Learning about other cultures through travel is amazing, and the confidence gained by traveling on your own is one of my favorite things about solo travel.

We couldn’t possibly interview you without mentioning the twitter love story – Could you give us a quick run through for those who have yet to read your post?
I highly recommend the longer version of my most popular post to anyone who hasn’t already read it, check it out here. But here’s the short version: I bought a domain name in July 2010 and tweeted that I didn’t know how to import my old blog onto the new site. Andy of www.GroundedTraveler.com saw my tweet and offered to help. A week or two later I emailed him some questions about his move from the US to Germany. We decided to Skype again, and we just totally clicked. We spent about four months getting to know each other through Skype and emails, and we fell in love from 4600 miles apart. I had already planned a trip to Prague for the end of November, so he took the train and met me there, our first in-person meeting. It was wonderful! After visiting him at New Year’s, we knew we wanted to spend our lives together, and planned our wedding for June 5, 2011. A month after the wedding I moved to Germany and started my life as an expat.

Ali's favorite picture from her trip to Antarctica

You’re currently out on the road at the moment, so where are you and what have you been up to there?
I spent about two months in Southeast Asia traveling through Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. A couple of my favorite places were the Gili Islands in Indonesia, Siem Reap, Cambodia, and Hanoi, Vietnam. I’m just finishing up 10 days in Melbourne, Australia, which included an amazing two day trip to the Great Ocean Road. I took 850 pictures in two days, if that tells you anything about how gorgeous the Great Ocean Road is. Next up is three weeks in New Zealand, where Andy will meet me for Christmas and New Year’s, and then two weeks between Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Easter Island. Then I will spend four weeks in Seattle, Las Vegas, and Atlanta visiting friends and family before flying to Italy to go to Carnivale in Venice with Andy. I’ll be back in Freiburg at the end of February.

Following on from above, what’s in going to be like returning to you relatively new home in Germany instead of where your used to?
I had much more culture shock than I expected when I first got to Germany, but traveling these past few months has changed my perspective a bit. I think I’m more ready to be in Freiburg now and make it my home. I know I still have a lot to adjust to, and I still need to learn German, but I’m looking forward to being back there with Andy. I miss my friends and family in the States, but hopefully some of them will come visit us in Germany soon.

Gili Islands, one of Ali's favorite, most relaxing, stops.

And what’s next?
I know I will be enrolling in German classes when I get home. I’m also hoping to do some soul searching about what exactly I want to do as a career. In an ideal world, Andy and I would like to have jobs that allow us to work from anywhere in the world, but figuring out how to do it is a little tricky. Neither of us wants to be a permanent traveler, but we like the idea of going somewhere for a month or two, renting an apartment, and seeing the sights while still being able to work from our laptops. We have some ideas, but I think it’ll be a bit of trial and error until we each find something that works. And of course, I plan on continuing to blog about travel and life as an expat.

A big thanks to Ali for taking part, great to have you.

Be sure to check her out:
Blog: Ali’s Adventures
Twitter:  @AliAdventures7
Facebook:  /AliAdventures

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Random Traveller 69 with Ali from Ali’s Adventures -

Welcome to round 68 of ‘Meet a Random Traveller’. The series dedicated to bring attention to fantastic people all around the world doing their thing.

Random Traveller 68

Bungeeeeeeee

Who are you?
I am Michael Hodson, a.k.a. mobilelawyer, the writer, photographer and publisher behind Go, See Write. Before I started full-time travel late in 2008, I was an attorney in Northwest Arkansas for about ten years. My law practice was focused on litigation, so I dealt with the types of cases that got me in the courtroom as much as possible, such as criminal defense, employment discrimination, personal injury and commercial litigation. I loved the challenge of convincing twelve total strangers (jurors) to agree with my client’s position, which probably is a reasonable segue to my current career, which focuses on trying to get total strangers to read what I write about travel, life and things hopefully worth pondering.

What’s the deal?
My blog was originally intended for two purposes, to keep family and friends informed about my RTW- no planes trip I took in 2009-10 and also to serve a note taking purpose for the book I am finally going to write about that journey. Over time, it has evolved into someone a lot more professional — at least I hope — and more serious than anything I originally envisioned. Travel blogging has come a long way since 2008 and I’m happily and hopefully ensconced deep in its future.

You have been on a few trains recently no?
Why yes I have indeed, though a few months back now. Then again, you did send me these questions months ago, right when I finished the Ultimate Train Challenge that I did with the wonderful Jeannie Mark, a.k.a the Nomadic Chick, and Nora Dunn, a.k.a. The Professional Hobo. We each did almost 15,000 miles in trains during the month of September, going from Lisbon to Saigon solely by means of rail transport. It is my single favorite way to travel and although the trip totally wiped me out, body and mind, I wouldn’t give back a minute of it. In fact, I think I might make it an annual event, so if anyone out there reading is free next September…

working away on the Trans-Mongolian

How long do you spend coming up with the answers for your 13 questions interviews and roughly how many do you have to delete after being too invasive?
I have spent about 10 or so hours coming up with about 100 questions that I rotate in for my Lucky 13 interviews. I like to think that most of them are fairly unique questions that give a little bit of insight into the travel bloggers I subject them to (like you two here) and allow readers to get a totally different perspective on the bloggers they read. Shockingly, I haven’t had too many complaints from the interviewees about the questions, which can be pretty personal sometimes, but I hope not overly invasive or rude. I do love a good embarrassing story though — then again, I’m more than willing to tell those on myself also, so perhaps the karma is just working for me there.

Do you plan on relaxing now after your long journey and if so, how?
Well, let’s pretend that I didn’t lose these interview questions in my inbox for a few months. I do plan on relaxing (and did) in SE Asia until the end of the year. Singapore and Malaysia for the first time. Meeting up with some great travel bloggers in Chiang Mai, the haven for us types. Seeing Angkor Wat again. Enjoying almost daily cheap massages and excellent street food. I even managed to buy a reasonably priced box of Romeo ´y Julietta cigars in the Siem Reap duty free shop. And… got to have some beers with you two, which in my eyes was one of the highlights of the entire three months I kicked around there.

On top of a lorry that I hitched a ride on in northern Kenya. And yes, I even enjoyed that bumpy and dusty ride

What’s Next?
Well my main goal is to keep traveling. Basically, I’d like to do this forever. I simply love the whole feeling of movement. Sure, I love seeing new places, and some old ones, and meeting up with friends along the road, but for me, I really revel in getting on a bus or train or hitchhiking a ride somewhere and just feeling the world go by my window. Sitting here on my parents’ back porch in Southern California as I answer these questions, smoking a cigar, I am wishing I was typing this up on a train from somewhere I’ve been to somewhere new. I can’t think of anything better.

Bigger picture, 2012 is going to be a big year for me on many fronts. I have committed to writing the book about my RTW-  no flights trip which I am currently calling One Lap, No Jetlag. I also have a movie screenplay, not about me, God, that I want to try to write this year, which will be an especially difficult task since dialog is not a forte of mine. I’ve also formed up a social media consulting group with a couple other great friends and we’ll hopefully have some announcements on that front soon. I’m working with a couple dozen amazing travel bloggers about forming up a non-profit Professional Travel Bloggers Association, to help everyone out that wants to travel and write for a living. There are a couple internet businesses I am getting close to finishing. And ‘o yea, I am going to be on the road for hopefully about 50 weeks of 2012.

I love my life.
A big thanks to Michael for taking part, great to have you.

Be sure to check him out:
Blog:  Go See Write
Twitter:  @mobilelawyer
Facebook:  /goseewrite

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Random Traveller 68 with Michael Hodson from Go See Write -

Welcome to round 67 of ‘Meet a Random Traveller’. The series dedicated to bring attention to fantastic people all around the world doing their thing.

Random Traveller 67

Who are you?
Pola Henderson; I grew up in Krakow, Poland and moved to Chicago in 2002 with my Chicago-native husband who had spent several years in Poland (when his expat life ended, mine began); I was a translator and English as a Second Language teacher, and in the US transitioned to a marketing & communication career.

What’s the deal?
Jetting Around: City Travel Blog www.jettingaround.com

The blog got its start in July 2010, and my intention in creating it was to inspire gratifying city travel by reporting on cities’ unique qualities. I share stories, to-do/to-see tips and photography.

Pola enjoying outdoor gardens at Main Square in Krakow.

I chose to focus on cities because my most memorable and rewarding on-the-road experiences have involved urban travel. I am a city person – I have lived in several cities (in Poland, Northern Africa and now the US) and love exploring them. I get motivated and energized by their hustle & bustle and each locale’s own mix of art, culture and culinary scene.

One of my favorite aspects of having the blog is the opportunity to interview interesting and talented people. They come from various countries and professional backgrounds (I have featured musicians, a dancer and an engineer, among others). What they have in common is the fact that their passion for what they do has prompted them to travel or move to another country. I enjoy learning about their experiences and cultural insights, and then sharing them with my readers.

While in college in Poland, I wrote a thesis about the culinary heritage of Americans, as reflected in their lifestyles. It was inspired by my observation that the concept of “American cuisine” is rather foreign to some people outside the US, and there are many misconceptions about the country’s traditions, further fueled by popular culture. Then in college in the US, I had a presentation about my hometown, which started a fascinating discussion with my classmates about international travel, economy, education, and expat life.

Looking back, I believe these two events eventually led me to creating the blog, further engaging in writing about the places I visit, and exchanging information with friends, readers and other bloggers.

Knowing your love for cities, can you name a couple which have particularly stood out to you and what it was about them?
Ever since my first cafe crème in Paris (best coffee I’ve tried, hands down), I have been fascinated – if not obsessed – with the city. I seem to surprise many people when I tell them that Paris reminds me of Krakow. I see great similarities when it comes to the local pride and appreciation for the rich cultural, thought, bohemian and art heritage. In other words, I feel that both cities have a vibe that is very alike, and one that appeals to me.

I am drawn to Paris’ architecture, great walkability and musical traditions (especially gypsy jazz, born there in the 30s and 40s.). As a soccer fan, I also thoroughly enjoyed attending a Paris Saint-Germain match – I’m now a follower.

The other place is Mexico City. Another soccer mecca, but what fascinates me the most is the food. When I visited, I made sure to try meals at every price point – from tacos sold on the street, through market food, to mid-range and high-end restaurants, run by well-known chefs. The result was astonishing – I can’t think of a bad meal I had there! Mexican cuisine as experienced in Mexico is diverse, delicious and healthier than its north-of-the-border version (good news for vegetarians – you do not have to go hungry there). The city is, in my opinion, one of the greatest foodie destinations. Plus people are very friendly – I got to practice enough Spanish with them and had the chance to return the favor. I can’t wait to go back.

Pola on baseball stadium tour at Los Angeles Dodgers

Do you have a particular routine to manage your travel life against your corporate life?
I realize I may not have as much time off as people in some other countries, so I make the effort to stretch whatever is available. For example, I take advantage of US national holidays, many of them falling on a Monday. If I take only one day off (Friday or Tuesday), I end up with a 4-day weekend – enough for a domestic trip. Or if I take four days off (Tuesday-Friday), I don’t use a lot of my allotment, but end up with 9 travel days (once you factor in weekends). A week and a half is plenty of time for an international trip.

The key to managing my travels is planning ahead and staying healthy. Not having to take sick days means more travel days. I am also very lucky to have an understanding boss…

What’s Next?
I want to keep expanding the blog and growing its community – adding more resources for readers and several new features. Most of my content is focused on Europe and North America, and I hope to soon feature Latin American and Asian destinations. Also, I recently had the pleasure of writing for others as well as having guest contributors on Jetting Around. It would be wonderful to continue down that path.

A big thanks to Pola for taking part, great to have you.

Be sure to check her them out:
Blog: Jetting Around: City Travel Blog
Twitter: @Jettingaround
Facebook: /jettingaround

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Random Traveller 67 with Pola from Jetting Around -

Welcome to round 66 of ‘Meet a Random Traveller’. The series dedicated to bring attention to fantastic people all around the world doing their thing.

Random Traveller 66

Will Peach

Who are you?
Hi Kirsty and Poi. I’ll start off by saying I’m quite a big stalker of yours and have been following you on your jaunts around Asia for quite a while! That anus operation? That certainly got this readers blood pumping!

OK now that I’ve got my Mark David Chapman moment out the way I’ll introduce myself a little more broadly.

Will is a 25-year old British University graduate who has been travelling for the greater part of his life. He moved, soon after graduation, to Vietnam for over a year where he lived and worked as a staff writer at a lifestyle and listings magazine and taught the odd English class too. He’s also lived in Miami, travelled to Australia, Africa, Russia and most of Western Europe but never to South America. He’s kind of bitter about that.

But enough of this third-person shiz. Never did suit me.

I’m the dashing young-buck behind Gap Daemon, the gap year travel website for backpackers and young travellers. I can also be found pouring my sweet little heart out on my current passion-baby My Spanish Adventure, a blog that chronicles my experiences living in, yep, you guessed it, Spain.

Me in a nutshell? A passionate, sexy, traveller. With a big ego to boot.

What’s the deal?
Having skulked around South East Asia in my early 20s I found myself a job as a site editor at Gap Daemon (skulking quite obviously being a big part of the job description). At Gap Daemon’s towers in Central London I managed the blog, podcast series and networked with bloggers like yourselves who were living and travelling all over the world.

Needless to say reading about all you guys sent me a bit crazy. Those wonderful travels? I couldn’t take hearing about them much longer. That’s why I decided to get back out on the road and start interacting with all you guys in person. And trying to have travels to put you all to shame in the process!

Luckily for me Gap Daemon set me loose as a freelancer and I’ve happily been providing content for them ever since. The team is pretty lovely after all and puts me in contact with cool travel peeps around the web.

Right now I’m living and moving around Spain eating my own body weight in tortillas and getting gored by bulls every chance I get. Life is good.

Probably a question you are sick of but why Spain?
I vomit in the face of this question. But having now cleaned up I’ll answer.

I’m in Spain because I’ve got this crazy obsession of reaching fluency in the language before I hit 27 (tempted by the fate of Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and now Amy Winehouse no doubt). Language is my rock n’roll. Grammar books are my crack. You can check out my progress at My Spanish Adventure. There I record Spanish conversation videos every two weeks, which help spring my own ass into action.

As a sideline I’ll also mention that I love the culture here. It might be tough being a vegetarian living in a carnivore’s paradise but there are lots of redeeming features. Cheap beer and women? Just two of them.

After learning the language what were the hardest bits and what tips would you give to someone just starting out?
Well I’m still very much learning and wouldn’t call myself an expert just yet. One of the hardest bits for me is comprehending just what the hell is being said by people from Andalucia. That accent is like code for you’re-never-going-to-understand-so-give-up. I also find it tough attending Communist youth group meet ups (I went to one here in Caceres). I can’t speak about Marxism in my own language let alone a second one. Comrades wouldn’t let up though and made me speak nonetheless. I remember saying a lot of things about the price of cerveza.

As for tips? The number one thing I would say to people is not to care. Having a devil may care attitude is the key to learning languages. Make mistakes, be prepared to fail and, most importantly, laugh. Oh yeah and introduce your wild-eyed self to random locals every chance you get. I found that to be great practice in the initial stages.

Now the ward only lets me out to practice on Tuesdays.

What’s the one thing you miss most from home other than friends/family?
Good music being played in public places. I can handle a bit of Julio Iglesias, a dab of Joaquin Sabina and a fair wack of Spanish chart music but I can’t handle hearing Dr. Sax or shitty commercial pop any longer.

I’d also kill for a Crunchie (the Cadbury’s chocolate bar) right about now. I haven’t been able to find them anywhere.

What’s Next?
On the horizon for me is a trip back to London where I’ll spend Christmas and New Year and then I’ll be heading back out to Spain. I’ve spent the last three months living in Extremadura so I’m going to shake things up and head to Andalucia to try and crack that accent once and for all.

I’ve also got a fair few projects on the horizon, which I hope will see the light of day before old St Nicholas squeezes himself down my chimney.

And as for my anus? That’s in good working condition I’m afraid Poi…

A big thanks to Will for taking part, great to have you.

Be sure to check him out:
Blog: Gap Daemon & My Spanish Adventure
Twitter: @WillPeach
Facebook: /GapDaemon

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Random Traveller Interview #66 with Will Peach of My Spanish Adventure -

Welcome to round 65 of ‘Meet a Random Traveller’. The series dedicated to bring attention to fantastic people all around the world doing their thing.

Random Traveller 65

Adam at the Presidential Palace Mexico City

Who are you?
I’m Adam Pervez, the guy behind HappinessPlunge.com. I’m 29-years-old and hail from Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

I start my story in 2004, fresh off a college trip to Egypt that permanently infected me with the travel bug. I graduated with a degree in electrical and computer engineering. My first job was working on offshore oil rigs in the Persian Gulf basically helping to make the environment a bit worse every day. I traveled extensively though and then headed to Spain to get an MBA in international business. My dream was to work/live in Scandinavia in renewable energy, and I realized it by working in Denmark for a wind power company.

But then I realized it was a dream drafted in the realm of very narrow thinking. I had to start over.

What’s the deal?
My blog, Happiness Plunge, shares my thoughts on happiness and I serve as the case study for what I advocate.

Once I realized I wasn’t really living my dream in Denmark, I had to start from scratch. I figured out what my passions are, what my goals in life are, what my ideal life would be, etc. I put everything in a blender, blended, and then stared at the glass containing my real dream.

I call my blog the Happiness Plunge because when you do what I advocate, you dig deep into who you are as a person. You redesign your life to whatever extent is necessary so you live a life in-line with your passions, goals, and sense of self.

Macaw Mountain Bird Park in Honduras

Deciding to drink that blend of passions, goals, and idyllic life, there’s no going back. It’s jumping off a cliff with no bungee or parachute – just an untested, unproven device strapped to your back that should allow you to fly.

On my blog, lately it’s been more about my travels and the stories I come across on the road. My passions are traveling, helping others, learning, teaching, and writing. I volunteer each place I travel to with the goal/hope of leaving it a bit better than how I found it. I’ve already done what I call hit-and-run travelling where you give yourself three days to run around a city/country to take pictures of all the monuments and visit the museums. Now I travel slowly and go off the beaten path to really learn about the culture and way of life.

What has been the favourite moment of your trip so far?
Isn’t this like asking a parent which child is his or her favorite?

Each place has been special in its own way. But if I have to pick a favorite moment during the trip, I’ll pick something that happened in Guatemala City.

I arrived in this dangerous city on a chicken bus about an hour before it got dark. The bus dropped me off in the middle of nowhere. I asked a guy sitting nearby what the deal was and how to get to the center. I didn’t understand his Spanish very well, but his hands told me at least how to get started in walking toward the bus station.

After explaining, he asked me if I would prefer if he took me there. During our walk he said he lived in New York and Guatemala City is far more dangerous. I should take care, especially if I have my gigantic backpack on.

The bus station was a solid 15-minutes away that included scaling a hill using tree roots as a ladder. Not easy for me with my backpack, but certainly not easy for this 50-something man!

We arrived at the bus station and he refused all my attempts to reward him financially. He sacrificed 30 minutes (15 minutes there with me, 15 minutes back alone to where we started) to ensure I had a safe and nice start to my visit in his city. Priceless.

And, in part, this was my favorite moment because two days later I was robbed in Guatemala City. But the robber didn’t get away with any of my belongings. You’ll have to read my article about getting robbed in Guatemala City for that serious, but very funny story..

Adam Volunteering at a Dog Shelter in Mexico

What is the one main thing that you didn’t expect when you gave up your job to start travelling and is there anything you miss from your old life?
Apart from never having enough time due to volunteering and the fact that blogging takes so much time, I’d say the openness and warm reception I’ve received everywhere I’ve gone.

Each place I volunteer has a different story. Sometimes I live on-site (recently in a cooperative’s store and an NGO’s office). Sometimes I couchsurf with a person or family. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being welcomed into peoples’ homes and becoming part of the family. The trust is instant and the bond is strong from the start. And walking a mile in their shoes has been wonderful. I’m eternally grateful for all the kindness that’s been showered upon me so far.

Though I miss free time from my old life, I’d say I kind of miss “stability.” A friend of mine asked me for the address I’ll be at one month in advance so she could send me something by mail. I didn’t know which country I’d be in one month from then, let alone an address. My old life was very organized and structured. My new life isn’t, thankfully. I’m finally learning how to let go and be flexible. As I type I am totally throwing away my plans in Nicaragua because things don’t feel right and my gut is telling me to leave. In my old life I never listened to my gut. Apparently spontaneity can be learned!

With the rock star and rock seller at the co-op in Honduras

What’s Next?
I have so many friends from my MBA who got what they wanted upon graduation – more money, more responsibility, and more prestigious titles. But that came with a side dish of misery and unhappiness.

In the long-run I want to help people see that living a life built upon their passions is a sustainable path toward happiness. I don’t advocate my lifestyle. It’s perfect for me and only me. My goal is to help others figure out their perfect life.

I’d like to write books, speak to students (especially MBA students since I’ve been in their shoes and they already have experience in the rat race), and maybe work one-on-one with people to help them realize their full potential. I believe if everyone in the world were living a life based on his or her passions, the world would be a much better place.

A big thanks to Adam for taking part, great to have you.

Be sure to check them out:
Blog: Happiness Plunge
Twitter:@HappinessPlunge
Facebook:/HappinessPlunge

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Random Traveller #65 with Adam Pervez from the Happiness Plunge -

Welcome to round #64 of ‘Meet a Random Traveller’. The series dedicated to bring attention to fantastic people all around the world doing their thing.

Random Traveller #64

Meet Christine

Who are you?
I’m Christine, from Seattle, WA, U.S.A. and was a recent college grad that decided a life experience living in another country and learning another language would surely be more fulfiling than joining the rat race. Now, I live in Spain and blog over at christineinspain.com

What’s the deal?
Like many, I started my blog as a means of staying in touch with loved ones back home, so they could feel like they were involved in my experience over here, despite the distance. Then, I stumbled across the amazing travel blogging community via Twitter and started to take my blog more seriously. Now the goals behind my blog have broadened, and I write to encourage others to travel while they’re young and live a bit more of an unconventional life, while showcasing the beauty of my adopted country, and snapshots into my daily life and travels.

Probably a question you are sick of but why Spain?
I studied abroad in Greece and seriously considered going back there, but couldn’t find the right opportunity and wanted to learn Spanish more than Greek. Spain has always intrigued me, as my ancestry traces to Mexico, and eventually, Spain. Random fact: I actually moved here without ever previously visiting–crazy, I know!

Morocco, near where Christine lives

After learning the language what were the hardest bits and what tips would you give to someone just starting out?
I would say if you’re planning on moving to a country to be immeresed in the language, prepare yourself as much as you can beforehand. I came to Spain thinking I could get by with whatever bits and pieces I remember from my high-school Spanish classes and was knocked on my ass right away. On top of that, I came to a part of Spain where the accent is notoriously difficult, and it took me a good year or so to grasp it. Immersion alone will not make you fluent–you still have to work for it.

If you’re not immersed in the language by living in it, make up for that however you can (and heck, do it if you’re immersed too!)–download free podcasts on iTunes (I like Coffee Break Spanish), hit the books (Practice Makes Perfect Series is a great guide to grammar), and find someone who speaks the language to practice with. Even when I could barely put a sentence together, I forced myself to go to language exchanges, and it really helped accelerate the learning process.

Other tips and tricks include setting your computer and phone to Spanish, watching Spanish movies and the biggest one for me–don’t be a perfectionist. I still have to fight against this, but language learning has no room for perfectionists, so try your best to not be afraid of making mistakes. That’s how you learn!

Christine's Favourite place in Granada

What’s the one thing you miss most from home other than friends/family?
I’ll group my cat into friends/family, so that leaves me with really trivial things like my car, central heating, cheap electricity bills, American milk (the UHT milk here is horrible) and shops being open on Sundays.

What’s Next?
Continue seeing the world and figuring out if my future is in Spain, the States, or elsewhere!

A big thanks to for taking part, Christine great to have you.

Be sure to check her out:
Blog: www.christineinspain.com
Twitter: @christinenspain
Facebook: /christineinspain

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Random Traveller #64 with Christine from Christineinspain -

Welcome to round 63 of ‘Meet a Random Traveller’. The series dedicated to bring attention to fantastic people all around the world doing their thing.

Random Traveller 63

Christy and Scott on 4th July

Who are you?
We are Christy and Scott, a couple of surfers who currently live in San Diego. Scott is from New Jersey and Christy is from Northern California.

We both have day jobs (I won’t bore you with the details), but we also run a photography business on the side and we are launching an exciting new product in the next month.

What’s the deal?
Ordinary Traveler is an adventure travel blog providing tips to others who want to fulfill their dreams of travel. It came about because we wanted to document our travels and hopefully show people that it’s entirely possible to travel all over the world even with a full time job. Our blog is a platform for our travel photography and a way for us to share our travel adventure stories.

You both traveled a lot growing up but was it always the plan to travel so much as a couple?
It was always my plan, but I’m not so sure Scott was prepared for this lifestyle when we met. I’m the dreamer in our relationship and Scott keeps my feet planted on the ground when I get a little crazy with ideas.

I think he appreciates all the travel we do, but he probably wouldn’t travel as often if we weren’t together. We do have a lot of fun and thankfully we both love to surf, so many of our trips are focused around making sure we can be near an ocean with some waves.

Gorgeous beach in Newcastle Australia

If you had to single out one experience to seal travel to somebody what would it be?
We love meeting new people when traveling and some of our favorite memories include places where we have clicked with people from all over the world.

One place that comes to mind is a surf camp in Cabarete in the Dominican Republic. We were there for Christmas break last year and even though we were far away from our families, it felt like we were amongst life-long friends. Something about surf camps really brings out a crowd of people that we connect with.

We have a few posts on our site about our Christmas in the Dominican Republic if you are interested in learning more about this place.

Who’s the better surfer of the two of you?
Haha. Definitely Scott. He has to push me to be more fearless when it comes to big, barreling waves. I’m happy with a nice and easy waist to shoulder high day.

Joshua Tree National Park

What’s next?
The plan is to leave around September of 2012 for a year or so of travel. We are not sure where we will start our trip yet, but we will definitely spend a good deal of time in South America, especially Peru…the land of lefts (my favorite!).

We are also considering visiting Portugal, Morocco, Africa and a few countries in Central America. I don’t know if you can tell, but our main focus is to ride waves around the world. We may need to change our website name to Ordinary Wave Chasers.

We have a few business ideas that we also want to pursue full time, so this is another reason we want to take time away from our regular jobs.

Be sure to check them out:
Blog: Ordinary Traveler
Twitter:@ordinarytravelr
Facebook:Ordinary Traveler

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Random Traveller #63 with Scott and Christy from Ordinary Traveler -

Welcome to round 62 of ‘Meet a Random Traveller’. The series dedicated to bring attention to fantastic people all around the world doing their thing.

Random Traveller 62

Kate enjoying Songkran in Bangkok

Who are you?
My name is Kate McCulley and I run Adventurous Kate.  I’m a twenty-something from Boston, Massachusetts, and I decided to trade my pleasant but unfulfilling life for travel and online entrepreneurship.  I quit my job in fall 2010 to travel Southeast Asia for six months.  Those six months passed…and I haven’t gone back to the corporate world.  I’ve become a full-fledged digital nomad, and I travel full-time — though I’ve been spending quite a bit of time in the UK these days!

What’s the deal?
Adventurous Kate, first and always, is a solo female travel blog. My goal is to show women that solo travel can be safe, cheap and a lot of fun! I also write a lot about my adventures, from the death-defying (surviving a shipwreck in Indonesia) to the disgusting (drinking snake blood and bile in Vietnam) to the incredibly stupid (fighting Muay Thai in a bar and having a bloody eye for three weeks). I try not to say no to anything, and that inevitably leads to some crazy stories.

It was great meeting you in Bangkok but how are you finding being away from the backpacker scene in SE Asia, does anywhere compare?
Nothing compares to the backpacker scene in Southeast Asia. I miss it so much — not just the backpacker scene, but the Southeast Asia lifestyle — living cheap, eating street food on a tiny stool on a sidewalk, basking in the glorious sun and humidity, cheap massages all the time. People who live in Southeast Asia really have it figured out.

All dressed up for the Chester Races

Being a Brit I am of course very happy to see you falling in love with my home, What is it about the place you like? Tell me it’s brown sauce!
It’s funny — I actually fell in love with the culture first, and I did it while in Asia! Most of my travel companions were British, and I grew to love British culture through them. One of those travel companions was a lovely English lad whom I met in Vietnam. We’ve been together since, and I’ve been spending a lot of time with him in his hometown of Chester. Spending so much time in the UK has given me a great appreciation for British culture. I love the humor and its omnipresence. I love the language and the funny expressions. I love how green everything is, especially when viewed from a train. I love the pubs and their real ales, and I love the food. And yes, that includes brown sauce on full English breakfasts!

Kate and a tasty frog in Hanoi, Vietnam

What’s Next?
This November, I’ll be landing in the Middle East for the first time, exploring Jordan and Turkey. After that, my plans are up in the air — and that’s how I love it! Lately, I’ve been tending to travel wherever an opportunity presents itself, and I hope opportunities bring me back to Southeast Asia soon. Or at least somewhere warm, cheap and amazing! Until then, I’ll be enjoying myself here in the UK.

A big thanks to Kate for taking part, great to have you.

Be sure to check her out:
Blog: Adventurous Kate
Twitter: @adventurouskate
Facebook: /Adventurouskate

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Random Travel Interview #62 with Kate from Adventurous Kate -

Welcome to round 61 of ‘Meet a Random Traveller’. The series dedicated to bring attention to fantastic people all around the world doing their thing.

Random Traveller 61

Who are you?
I’m Julie Galante, an American serial expat currently living in Munich, Germany. I’m a full-time visual artist and writer, although my past jobs have included everything from financial analyst to English teacher.

What’s the deal?
I started This International Life several years ago after my husband and I moved from Milan to Zurich. I was skeptical about blogging at first, but it seemed like a good way to document our extensive travels as well as our first impressions of our new country. There are so many big and small details about life here that amuse us. We also love being able to share our best travel finds with others, not to mention our photos.

I also have a second blog, Flogging the Muse, which focuses on my art work. There’s a bit of thematic overlap with the two blogs, since a lot of my artwork features places and people I encounter on my travels.

This is a recent painting of mine of Wienerplatz in Munich. Munich is one of my favorite subjects.

What was it that took you to Munich?
After a couple years in Zurich, we were ready to move on to our next international adventure. Of the places we considered, Munich proved the most appealing (for both quality of life and job opportunities). It’s a friendly city with a lot going on; plus it’s nicely located in the center of Europe, which makes travel easy.

One of my favorite things about Munich is its proximity to the Alps. Can't wait to go sledding again this year.

For you, what are the biggest differences between life in the US and Europe?
It has been so long since I lived in the US, I’m starting to forget what the differences are. I suppose a big one is that in Europe I’ve never had a car, whereas in the US I always had one. Our apartment in Munich is pretty central, and we get around on foot, by bike, and with public transportation. Sometimes we miss the spontaneous travel afforded by a car, but most of the time we’re happy not to have to deal with one.

Another difference (also in the stereotypical-but-true category) is the size of our kitchen – it’s the tiniest room in our apartment! I definitely cook a lot more one-dish meals here than I would if I had a big American kitchen. The limited storage space means we have fewer kitchen gadgets than we would probably own in the US. We also have to go shopping more often, since there’s not room to store much food, but I don’t mind that part so much. I love going to the farmers market just down the street.

We just survived our 4th Oktoberfest as locals. All that partying is hard work.

What’s Next?
Who knows? We love Munich but have also started getting interested in going somewhere new. We’d definitely like to live in Asia someday, but I see us staying in Europe for the next several years at least. We still have so many new places to explore.

A big thanks to Julie for taking part, great to have you.

Be sure to check them out:
Blog: This International Life
Facebook: /ThisInternationalLife

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Random Traveller Interview #61 with This International Life -

Welcome to round 60 of ‘Meet a Random Traveller’. The series dedicated to bring attention to fantastic people all around the world doing their thing.

Random Traveller 60

At Bonnie Springs, a ghost town just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada

Who are you?
My name is Diana Edelman, I am originally from Rockville, Maryland. Before I traveled, I worked in Atlanta doing public relations at a small company. Now, I work in Las Vegas handling the public relations and marketing for a restaurant group, as well as writing for my site, The Adventures of D and serving as a contributing writer for some travel Web sites.

What’s the deal?
My blog is all about travel. It is a travel narrative that takes readers through all of my adventures, from holidays to long-term travel and tales about being stationary. But, it is also more than that. It includes photos, travel tips, guest posts from other travelers and more.

When you first left your job to travel, where did you head and why?
When I first left my job to travel, I headed to Europe. I chose Europe because it was a place I had been before and had only scratched the surface. I knew I wanted to go back and explore everything it had to offer.

Diana hanging out in one of her favorite cities in the world, Madrid, during her career-break

Is life away from the corporate life style how you imagined it to be?
Life away from the corporate world is very different. Travel life had its own set of challenges to overcome. Budget is important when traveling … for most there is no flow of income, so not having that corporate paycheck can get stressful. And of course, in the back of my mind were the worries of re-entry and being able to get on my feet after not having a job or a permanent place to live. But, there is such beauty in traveling that you don’t necessarily get in the corporate world. There was always a sense of awe when I traveled. I would wake up every morning knowing that day and the days following were entirely up to me — I could make them whatever it was I wanted. To have that power is an awesome thing.

Is there anything you miss about your old life?
When I was traveling, there were times when I missed the simplicity of being unpacked … of having a place to hang up my clothing. I missed my family. I missed consistency. There is something so beautiful and yet so heart-wrenching about traveling — you make friends fast and furious, and then, after a few days, you are on to making a new set of friends. It gets really exhausting.

Diana and a Sri Prae, a land mine survivor currently living the rest of her life in Thailand's Elephant Nature Park

What’s Next?
Right now, I am working in Las Vegas doing PR and travel writing. What’s next? Well, you never know. I just returned from a volunteer stint at the amazing Elephant Nature Park just outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was an eye-opening experience and really inspired me to become more involved in the plight of the country’s captive working elephants. I would love to be able to help them more and eventually return to the park and volunteer again.

A big thanks to Diana for taking part, great to have you.

Be sure to check her out:
Blog: Adventures of D
Twitter: @DTravelsRound
Facebook: /DTravelsRound

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Random Travel #60 with The Adventures of D -