All posts by Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

What’s It Like to Drive Through Mongolia?

Well, here’s a preview in 4 minutes..

[H/T Jodi at LegalNomads]

Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

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The Allure of New York City for the Young Professional

[Note from Editor: this post has been cross posted from its original location]

I had coffee with Christine Amorose in Chiang Mai a few days ago. We discussed our backgrounds, swapped a few travel stories, shared career plans. And touched on New York City — more specifically, our respective inclinations to move there.

The desire for the twenty-something crowd (aka young professional) to move to New York City is not unheard of — not even close. I have several friends who moved to New York City (two from Seattle, one San Diego brokers’ daughter, & one I met online from Pittsburgh). Multiple others I’ve spoken to have expressed a desire to. Even amongst the travel blog circuit, Christine and I are not alone.

The first time I went to New York City was the 2007 Inman Connect conference. While working for Zillow and Virtual Results, I attended the next 4 Connect Conferences in NYC up until 2011 (I missed 2012 since I left for SE asia right after Christmas). From the moment I first set foot in the Big Apple in 2007 for the first time, I was hooked. The subway, Central Park, Brooklyn, the quaint bars in the West Village…the general “vibe” of the bustling city that never stops moving. The list goes on and on. Between 2007 and 2011, I looked forward to my time in NYC every January. I met some amazing New Yorkers like Patrick Healy & Doug Heddings, both of whom I now consider good friends. Spent a fair amount of time working from Zillow’s NYC office with Justin Scott and the crew. I ate AMAZING korean BBQ with Rob Hahn (in 2009 I think).

Today, Christine sent me this video (we weren’t on our computers when we spoke) that she mentioned had played a part in her desire to live in NYC.

The video cements my desire to live in the city for a stretch. Not sure how long, but I’m convinced that, whenever I decide to head back to the United States — I’ll end up in the Big Apple. This is not a new fascination by any stretch of the imagination — I contemplated moving to/working from NYC as far back as 2009 while I still worked at Zillow.

There’s just something about New York that draws the young professional in. I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly “IT” is, but it’s certainly alive and burning for me.

NYC is an itch that needs to be scratched.

Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

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Traveling (& Living) Light – How Many Things Do You Own?

Like most backpackers, I travel light. But I still have “stuff” at home, but slowly shedding some of the “items” (my car is still for sale if you’re looking for a Civic in Seattle). Prior to leaving, I gave my sister and brother-in-law my Foreman grill, vacuum, and bedroom set (they are just finishing up a major remodel of their house). Over the past couple days, my brother-in-law and I traded a few emails and he sent me this link wondering if I was aiming to be like Andrew Hyde (pictured below). Andrew owns only 15 items!

I haven’t counted, but I would guess I’m traveling (read: living) with about 50 items between my two backpacks (and yes I also have a MacBook Air and iPhone).

How many things do you own?

Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

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Luck Has Nothing to Do With It

You’re lucky to be able to travel the world

I hear that from time to time. And, I respectfully disagree. I’m with Brad Arndt on this one — luck has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Want to travel? Make a choice and do it. It’ll mean tough decisions and sacrifices. But it doesn’t involve “luck”. It’s your own bullshit reasons why you’re not achieving your goals.

“Someday” never comes…

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Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

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My First Haircut in Chiang Mai (and Where to Get one Near Chiang Mai Gate)

It’s been about a month since I buzzed my hair on Koh Toa in Thailand, so I went looking for a barber shop in Chiang Mai today. I’m staying at the Smith Residence, located right by the Chiang Mai gate — so that’s where I started my barber search. On my way back from devouring some delicious Pad Thai at Drink More, I stopped at a barber shop right up the street from the Smith Residence. There was one Thai lady inside giving a pedicure to another Thai lady. The conversation went something like this (the barber had the other Thai lady translate for her):

Me: Can you “buzz”/cut my hair?

Her: The man who can buzz your hair is on a break

Me: Okay. When should I come back?

Her: The man will be back on Saturday

Me: Umm..okay. Thank you.

Today is Wednesday. The guy that could “buzz” my hair (a 15 minute task) was taking a break until Saturday. That’s 4 days. Only in Thailand.

I walked back to Smith Residence, asked the manager where I could get my hair cut and he said there was a place less than 20 meters down the road. I took his advice and headed in that direction — and found a barber who was not on break (imagine that)! The barber there spent 10 minutes “buzzing” my head, then I got an amazing shampoo/head massage. The whole 20 minute ordeal cost me 150 Thai Baht — and it was worth every penny!

The name was only written in Thai or I’d include the name of it. From Smith Residence, you can walk out the front door, turn left and the barber shop is less than 20 meters down the street on the left hand sign — with a red sign with Thai writing on it.

Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

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An Example of Real, Honest, Raw, Amazing Travel Writing

Spencer Spellman just published “My Love Letter to Travel” — and it’s an amazing example of real, honest, and amazing travel writing. Like Spencer, I have an amazing love of travel and it will always hold a special place in my life. For me, there is no greater time of self discovery than traveling.

Here’s a song he included that he drew some inspiration from:

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As I mentioned in my comment on Spencer’s blog, this is exactly the type of travel writing I’d love to see more of online. But the reality is that many don’t have the guts to be this honest in a public setting. Anyway, I really encourage you to read it.

Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

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Las Musas Hostel in Madrid Spain

I stayed at three hostels in Madrid back in 2010 – RC , Mad Hostel, and Las Musas. Las Musas, right off the Tirza de Molina metro stop, was my favorite one. I forgot to take photos of the inside, but the place has a nice huge kitchen (with free breakfast) with WIFI as well as a lounge area with couches and WIFI available. I should note that the WIFI is not extremely reliable — it was constantly going in and out while I was there, but it worked well enough to send/receive email. Skype? Not so much.

Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

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A Review of Angkor International Hotel in Phnom Penh

Leading up to my flight to Bangkok a few days ago, I headed back to Phnom Penh after having spent 12 days in Siem Reap getting caught up on work and doing some writing. I scoured the web for nice, cheap hotels for my 3 days in Phnom Penh with the goal of chilling out, getting some good sleep, and a bit more work done. I ended up using Agoda and found Angkor International Hotel. I believe the cheapest room there can be had for $10 per night, but I paid extra for the air conditioning and ended up with a triple room for $17 the first night. It ended up being $20 for the next two nights since it was a triple room, but I was too lazy to move to a different room to save $5 per day.

My Triple Room

With the room being a triple, it was quite spacious with a nice bathroom. There were only two downsides. The first night, the WIFI didn’t work at all though. It was a blessing in disquise though, since a complete 24 hours without WIFI allowed me to read about half of Clash of Kings (I’m totally addicted to this Game of Thrones series). The next two nights the WIFI worked, but not in the actual room — only downstairs and in the 4th floor hallway/landing. The second downfall was that there is no elevator in the hotel, and the stairs are quite steep. So, if you have bad knees, make sure to ask not to be on one of the upper floors.

I believe the hotel is owned by French businessmen, since they had both English and French menus available downstairs. While I was there (February 2012), the bar downstairs was under construction.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend staying here for those looking for a fairly budget hotel in Phnom Penh.

Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

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Internet Etiquette on the Travel Trail

“Why is the internet so freaking slow?” (aka NOT working at all)

The famous travel question.

There are three primary reason the internet doesn’t work. A) The internet is down altogether (read: nothing you can do). B) Too many people on the internet at the same time (read; nothing you can do). C) Someone is “hogging” the bandwidth (read: go knock some sense into them and share this post with them).

Those that have traveled long enough have undoubtedly run into the infamous “internet hog”. You know, that guy/girl who is streaming movies, tv shows, or uploading several hundred photos to Facebook while everyone else is fighting for the last remaining scraps of internet bandwidth trying to send out an email to mom, skype a best friend, send a last minute proposal to a client, book a flight reservation, etc.

Internet bandwidth varies from location to location. In London, the United States, Hong Kong or most fully developed countries with a thriving tech sector — it’s pretty darn hard to kill everyone’s bandwidth by streaming YouTube movies on MOST WIFI connections. But in the developing world like much of Southeast Asia, many of the guest houses, cafes, and bars do not exactly have fast internet connections. And don’t even get me started about how slow the internet is in rual Ghana. The thing many forget about wireless connections abroad is that they are not the same strength as in the US. Not even close.

Here is what I believe constitutes proper internet etiquette on the travel trail at WIFI hotspots:

  1. Take a look around — are there other people on laptops using this same connection? If yes, then seek to avoid streaming video if possible.
  2. If you HAVE to watch video, do a quick test and see how long 5 seconds of video takes to load. If more than 10 seconds, shut the video off immediately.
  3. DO NOT stream video if you notice the internet is slow to load sites like CNN, ESPN, Facebook, etc. It’s a sure sign that if regular websites are slow to load, streaming video isn’t going to improve anything — for you or anyone else.
  4. Facebook Photo uploading – do a test of 5 photos. If they upload extremely quickly, proceed with a larger number. If 5 upload slow, don’t upload anymore unless there is absolutely no one else using the internet around you.

When I come across these internet hogs, I want to pull my hair out at times. For lack of a better word, they are “lolly-gagging” at everyone else’s expense. There is only so much bandwidth on any given internet connection. So, to those at a WIFI hotspot where other travelers are using the same bandwidth, please consider the other people around you prior to engaging in any bandwidth hogging activities.

What other internet etiquette do you think travelers should abide by?

PS: I can’t complete this post without calling out one of my best friends, Dan Nelson at Bankvibe, for his infamous “lolly-gagging” habits on the travel trail.

**Photo via Comptalks

Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

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Oh Hey World Switched to Twenty Ten

Our site redesign (which you can preview here) is getting closer and closer by the day…so you’ll start to see some changes over the coming weeks.

The first one happens to be today — and it’s a new, temporary theme. Since the “featured image” functionality is not built into the old theme used on this site but will be need for the new theme, we switched Oh Hey World over to the Twenty Ten theme for the time being so that we can mark images as featured and they will show up correctly once the redesign goes live.

Site is a work in progress, but feel free to leave comments with funky styling that you come across…

Drew Meyers

Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.

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