tour the world

This guy is pretty cool… I could see myself doing something like this for my method of traveling the world.

http://www.thetimelessride.com

is my new hero. Or another one of them…. He has challeged himself to go to every country in the world before his 35th bday. And he’s already gone to 100+. Look at his incredible goal here .

...but someday I’m going to do this.

I have never felt more alive than when I am thinking about traveling the world. Maybe that in itself is a clue that I need to make it happen.

Anyway, this is just a note to self on inspiration areas, so I don’t forget all the things that are coming in my path.

• ATWFF
• The Practical Nomad (Need to read/ study/ highlight)
• Tales of a Female Nomad (reread email/newsletter)
• Vagabonding by Rolf Potts (getting from Lib today)
• The Alchemist (currently reading)
• epicself.com (!!)

More to come.

Since finding my hero the other night on a blog here , I’ve been frustrated at myself in giving up on my travel the world dream. Since a few months ago, when Sky inspired me with this goal, I’ve let negative thoughts and the world talk me out of it.

Yet, I keep having all of these things put in my path that don’t let me forget it. I stumbled on the aforementioned blog the other night, as well as a new show called Around the World For Free . I found the book The Alchemist in a bookstore the other day, and after reading people talking about it on here I decided to read it again. (I’ve read it before, but I just wasn’t ready for it, so I didn’t ‘get’ it). But now in reading it a second time, it’s all about dreaming big, letting the universe help you do what you really make your mind up to do, and not letting fear get in your way.

Since my exciting dreams of traveling around the world, I’ve let my mind talk myself into what I really should be doing. I should go back to school and get some sort of a degree so that I can get some sort of a career. I should focus on a career, so I can settle down in the next 5-10 yrs and have a family… I should pay off my debt, I should, I should…

Yet, when I think of traveling, and seeing different cultures, and meeting tons of different people, my heart just soars. I want that adventure, I want that spontaneity. I want to live my dreams, and not live in fear of what I don’t think I can do, or what society tells me I should be doing. If I could be and do anything in the world, I would be a travel writer and travel around and write about it, and get paid to do that. So, why not put all my best efforts into making my dreams happen?

Here

It makes me want to drop everything and just figure out how to work my way around the world.

There’s one blog around January of this year about how she had all these epiphanies about life, and wanted to travel the world. The exact same time I did, and wrote my first entry under this goal. Except the difference is she did it.

today that I wanted to save money for the next year, and then travel around the world by myself. He said that I could get kidnapped and be in the human slave trade, forced to dance in some smoky tent for princes in some far off land. Then he said that if I did this, I’d end up in a Turkish prison. I told him that I wish he’d have a little more confidence in my abilities as a human being, and that I didn’t plan on smuggling hash in my underwear thru any Turkish borders. To which he said, “Well, yeah, no one plans on ending up in a Turkish prison. I trust your decision making abilities, but not the cute guy who talks you up in the airport.”

_{I figured I should have waited to tell him about my traveling plans. Perhaps until I was in Turkey.}

I am going to go back and add and edit this, as my plan forms more.

• Denmark (Carina offered to stay with her)
• England (Stay with cousin Sue, Timmy, Ben, Katie?)
• Australia (Email Sandy)
• Ireland
• South Africa (Stay with Wendy?)
• Dubai ? (Thelma)
• Scotland
• France
• Mexico/ South America- Intensive Spanish Institute? Assigned to live with a family?
• Hawaii (always wanted to bum around there for a while…. even though it’s still in the US)
• Croatia- visit Ingrid!

• The Practical Nomad (Sky’s suggestion… ordered from the library yesterday)
• Tales of the Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman- currently reading
• www.bootsnall.com
• www.Hostelworld.com
• www.Hostelbookers.com
• www.intrepidtravel.com
• www.lonelyplanet.com
• www.travelcuts.com
• http://joomla.servas.org/ (SERVAS- Hosting/ world peace organization, from Rita Golden Gelman’s book)
• couchsurfing.com (need to look into more)

From the Preface of ” Tales of a Female Nomad” by Rita Golden Gelman…

“I’ve been living and loving my nomadic existence since the day in 1986 when, at the age of forty-eight, on the verge of a divorce, I looked around and thought: There has to be more than one way to do life. There is.”

Thanks to inspiration from Theskysthelimit1976, I am making this a goal. Not sure how, or when, but this is what I want to do. I have always had the fantasy of backpacking through Europe, but especially after 9/11, thought of all the reasons why I couldn’t do it. How unsafe and impossible and expensive it would be. But, since I am entirely directionless at this point in my life, and have no attachments, there is no better time. I recently moved back home and have minimal rent. I have a tiny car payment that will be paid off in June. I lost my cat a few months ago :( , so I don’t have any furry animals that depend on me. (Just shelled, and swimming ones, but those are easy.) No mortgage or kids. So, I’m taking a leap of faith in adopting this goal.

I want to travel and write about it. I love travel writing (ie Bill Bryson) and have thought that this would be the most amazing job. Experience life and different cultures, write about it and get paid for it. You only live once, so might as well make my dreams come true. This exhilarates me just thinking about it. :)

I have seen many friends travel all over the world, and been jealous of these amazing experiences, but always thought I couldn’t do it. And why not? I figure that if I work and save for a year or so, I can travel for 6 months to a year. I have family in Australia and England that would host me. And I have always wanted to look into couch surfing. I am very easy going, and adapatble, as well as open minded and curious to experience everything good. Part of the reason that I love being a waitress is that every table is a different story. People facinate the hell outta me, why they do what they do…. So I think traveling to different countries, and meeting different people in different cultures would be a dream come true.

My mom and Aunt are going to England in the end of March, and I just talked to my mom about me coming along. They are going to visit my Grandmother who is 90, and in addition to seeing her for probably the last time, I think I could do a little test run and stay in a hostel in London for a couple nights. I could research hostels, and have a little saftey net of my family being in town. It will only be about $700 for a ticket to England… and my mom said she will help me with part of it, or help me finance it, and pay her back. Two months to save up for a test run. I am tired of working to live, and living to work. I want to see the world and experience everything. I am too restless and curious to just work away the rest of my life. I am going to make this happen. :)

I’m going to travel the world for a year. I’ve never done extensive travel before so I’m trying to wrap my mind around this. The book I’m reading is really enlightening. I’m going to make a list of things I need for this trip as they come to mind. If you have any experience with this type I of travel, I would LOVE you input! Please comment!!

- Waterproof document holder for passport, birth certificate, license