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.

A Quick Review of the Red Piano in Siem Reap, Cambodia

I’ve spent the last week in Siem Reap getting some writing done, and have tried to pick a new cafe/restaurant each day to hang out at. Yesterday, the cafe I spent my time in was Red Piano, right on the corner of Pub Street. In short — I was not impressed. I ordered an English breakfast, which cost $4.75. It was okay, but certainly not great (it can’t live up to all the English breakfasts I ate while living in Santorini). A large Angkor beer was $3. Again, not a great deal. And a large water was a whopping $2.50 (the same water costs $.80 at my guest house). The only plus was that the wifi there was fairly fast and didn’t crap out at all the entire day.

My advice? Find somewhere else to spend your day in Siem Reap.

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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Sometimes, Solo Travel is Exactly What the Doctor Ordered

I travel a lot. And usually it’s with close friends that I recruit to join my various journeys (or they recruit me, which doesn’t take much effort). However, I’m someone that needs alone time every now and then. Those who know me know I’m not an extreme extrovert by any means (though it may appear otherwise if you only know me on social media).

I need alone time to stay sane. Of course, solo travel offers lots of alone time.

Yet, since I arrived in Southeast Asia on December 29th — I didn’t have a single moment of alone time up until my friends left about a week ago. It’s taxing on me mentally to spend numerous days socializing with total strangers. Don’t get me wrong, I was with three amazingly close friends for the past month — which is different than talking to total strangers all day.

But, still, I need my alone time — which is why traveling solo right now is exactly what the doctor ordered for me.

Time for personal reflection. Time to gather my thoughts. Time for writing. Time to think. Time to read for 5 hours without a single distraction. Time to drink a beer immersed in my own world. Time to prioritize my business opportunities and obligations — and mapping out new ones (I’ve got a killer idea I’m mapping out). Time to do whatever I like, whenever I like.

What about you? Are you a fan of solo travel?

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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Travel Photo: Seattle Skyline with Mount Rainier

Gorgeous photo of the Seattle skyline with Mount Rainier in the backdrop taken by my buddy Tim Reha at NewMediaSynergy from Queen Anne.

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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Southeast Asia Rocks for Backpackers & Digital Nomads

I’ve gotta admit, I’m a pretty big freaking fan of Southeast Asia. For all these reasons.

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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Timeless Nature of Following the Travel Blogging Vertical

One of the cool things about following the travel blogging vertical in my Google Reader is the timeless nature of it.

What do I mean?

Simple.

No matter where in the world I am, no matter what time it currently is –there is always something new to read (as long as it’s been 2-3 hours since I checked my Google Reader) in the “backpacking” portion of my Google Reader. Travel bloggers are located all over the globe, and work extremely weird hours in addition to the vastly different time zones they are in.

One thing is certain — the timeless nature of travel blogging doesn’t help my productivity. Certainly the fact that I can read about foreign lands everyday, many of which have amazing photos, makes me want to go visit those beautiful and exotic locations (read: $$ suck from my pocket).

Overall? I’m a fan.

**Photo via PsychCentral

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 Cost of Full Time Travel

Every now and then, I get asked how much I spend on traveling. Unfortunately, I don’t have it documented in a way that I can easily track it. But the ProfessionalHobo does. Total cost for all of 2011?

$17,615

Impressive…

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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Hitting the Travel Links – January 24th

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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Hitting the Travel Links – January 20th

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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Last Minute Travel Decisions are Awesome

Via Twenty-SomethingTravel.com

Have you ever made a really impulsive travel decision?

Yup. Just last week actually.

A few days ago, two friends and I were smoking shisha wondering where to go next after 5 nights in the gorgeous paradise called Koh Phi Phi. One of them has to fly back to Zanzibar on January 25th, so we had about 10 days to work with. Do we fly straight to Laos and go tubing? Do we  fly to Cambodia to Angkor Wat (I had already been there in 2008)? Do we randomly fly to Bali and hang out for a week?

We ruled Laos out because the flights from Phuket were too expensive.

That left us with Bali and Cambodia. How did we decide between those two? We literally flipped a coin. And Bali won.

However, a few minutes later I spoke on gchat with my designer at ESM Exec Designs who lives in Indonesia. She mentioned that she had lived in Bali for a year, and that this time of year, the weather in Bali would be really bad (read: lots of rain). So we reverted plans and went with our 2nd choice — Cambodia (which was actually last on my list since I’d already been there in 2008). And we proceeded to book a flight from Phuket to Bangkok the next morning for about $70 per person. We weren’t quite sure whether we’d stay in Bangkok a night or two, take a bus to Cambodia immediately, or fly straight to Siem Reap. Upon arrival in Bangkok, we went to Bangkok Air sales, found a decent deal on a round trip from Bangkok straight to Siem Reap (and returning out of Phnom Penh) and booked that flight to Siem Reap departing in 2 hours.

We started our discussion over shisha on Kob Phi Phi. 24 hours later, we were sitting in Siem Reap drinking beers on Pub Street.

Travel plans are always in flux when you are doing long term travel with no real timetable, and sometime you end up waiting. Last minute travel plans are always quite an adventure. And that’s the fun of 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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Live Your Own Life on the Travel Trail

Via Christine Amorose

I joyfully accept the choices other people make. The only person I’m responsible for is me. I can’t change how people think about me or my lifestyle or where I come from. I can’t make other people want to travel or get their passport or quit their job. I can’t answer for Americans who treat local people rudely, or who drink too much, or who spend their whole vacation whining about how things aren’t how they are at home. And there’s no point stressing out over trying to change people: it’s much easier–and healthier–to accept the things we can’t change and simply try to live our own lives the best we can.

Well said. All her other thoughts are spot on as well…

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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