My buddy and I headed to the Mission in San Francisco today for a day of coffee shop working, and were greeted with the beginning of the Grand Carnaval Parade.
Sf carnaval grand parade twitter.com/drewmeyers/sta…
— Drew Meyers (@drewmeyers) May 26, 2013
We’ll see how productive the morning turns out with the Parade happening 15 feet from where I’m sitting.
You can get all the details at their website: http://carnavalsanfrancisco.org/
Every single day in my “backpacking” search results in TweetDeck, I see tweet upon tweet from people who wish to travel the globe.
Tweets such as…
Had a dream I was backpacking across Europe, didn’t wanna wake up. #traveler #oneday
— N. Woloszyn (@rolliefree) May 25, 2013
and…
I know this is a long shot but is anyone interested in possibly backpacking across Europe and Asia?
— Josh Bloomer (@gimli_is_my_dad) May 25, 2013
and…
I wanna go backpacking in Europe so badly
— kadine kardashian (@NadineBashir) May 25, 2013
and…
It’d be cool to go backpacking
— College Dude (@NotSoTypicalGuy) May 25, 2013
Everyone WANTS to travel, or they SAY they want to travel. But when the rubber meets the road and it comes down to executing on that desire to travel, not enough people follow through and turn their dreams into reality.
Can I be blunt?
Stop making excuses. Stop asking people whether you should go or not. Stop reading travel blogs trying to decide whether you can afford it. Stop worrying whether your parents will be pissed. Stop caring whether you have a friend to go with you. Stop caring whether your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to go. Stop worrying about the fact that you won’t have a job when you get back. Obliterate the mindset that “normal people” don’t leave for months at a time.
Stop tweeting that you WANT to go.
Commit, Buy your f’ing ticket already and GO. Figure the rest out later.
Yes, anything IS possible. Now go make it so.
To quote Poison: every rose has its thorn.
I know, I know, I know. I’m in Balinese paradise. There are palm trees lining the streets, amazing street food everywhere, the kindest people greeting me with enormous smiles everywhere I go, and my hair is as curly and blonde as it’s ever been. You probably think this means that I don’t have any problems right now. And, I guess that I don’t. But that doesn’t mean that every moment in Bali has been absolutely magical. As with any other developing nation I’ve visited, Bali has presented me with a handful of challenges that have been simultaneously entertaining and mind-numbingly frustrating. Here are some of the somewhat-unique #thirdworldproblems that I’ve faced while finding my way through one of my favorite places on Earth:
Plumbing. I’m not exactly sure how to put this lightly, so here goes: the plumbing situation in Bali is less than ideal. There is a lot of growth happening in Denpasar and Kuta right now and I suspect that this growth is translating into a legion of unfortunate plumbing issues that are affecting the entire urban area. Suffice to say that I have become relatively accustomed to making sure I go to the bathroom before leaving a nice restaurant and am no longer surprised if water stops running halfway through the shower. I’m also becoming rather adept at dodging streams of water gushing from construction holes after a rainstorm and can spot a sanitary public restroom from a mile away.
Traffic. The stories I was told about traffic situation in Bali before arriving seemed (at the time) to be a series of urban legends. ”There’s NO WAY that it could POSSIBLY take two hours to drive 10 kilometers!” I thought. I was wrong. It almost always takes two hours to drive 10 kilometers. The roads are a mess because of construction, scooters dart in and out of traffic, and cars regularly drive on the wrong side of the street (whichever side that is). I’m not entirely certain why lines are painted on roads at all, because nobody seems to use them as a guide. Bali’s traffic situation makes the worst traffic I’ve ever been in seem like a day in paradise. It’s real-life Mario Kart. And it’s terrifying.
Roosters. Before moving to the urban beach oasis that is Seminyak, I was woken up by a rooster every morning at about 5:15am. The sun rises in Bali at about 6am, making its rooster population the only species I’ve encountered that does anything earlier than necessary. Roosters are the worst animals on the planet.
Little devils. Everywhere.
Floor toilets. “But, Brooke… you’ve already talked about plumbing,” you say. I know I have. But floor toilets deserve a category all their own. Born and raised in the Western world, I didn’t know much about using anything but a traditional toilet, with a handle that flushes and clean water that magically fills up the bowl. Then, I visited South Africa and Kenya and learned about dirt hole toilets, which was bad enough. Until I came to Bali and encountered the Bucket Shower Floor Toilet Room and my entire world was rocked. Floor toilets are manual devices, in which you use buckets of water to flush. So confusing. So much work. I won’t miss them.
Puddles. Back home, puddles are something that I jump in whenever equipped with my purple Hunters and a reasonably waterproof coat. I love jumping in puddles and have always thought of it as the only redeeming part about a rainstorm. In Bali, I learned very quickly that puddles are not meant to be jumped in. The puddle problem swings back to the nasty traffic / plumbing situation happening in Bali’s densest areas. Poor infrastructure on both fronts leaves the island littered with highly suspect puddles after each and every rainstorm. You couldn’t pay me to walk through a Balinese puddle in two pairs of Hunter boots.
Confusion about the exchange rate. Two hours ago, I took out $1,500,000 in IDR from my bank account. I have over ONE MILLION DOLLARS in Rupiah in my purse right now. I am a millionaire. I am going to spend $100,000 IDR on lunch today. How much is that is US dollars? I have no idea. Something like $10. For soup and sweet potatoes and iced coffee and mineral water. And it was delicious. And I’ll sit here using their internet until the rain stops again. And the tip is included in everything. ONE MILLION DOLLARS? What? I’m confused.
Stacks on Stacks on Stacks on Stacks on Stacks of Bills.
Life in slow-motion. To say that I live a relatively regimented life back home would be something of an understatement. My calendar is pretty much booked out from 6am-bedtime three weeks out. It’s May 23 and my next free day after Bali is in the middle of July. I might be a slightly extreme example of the hyper-scheduled American, but I don’t think I’m that different from a lot of people I know. I live by my schedule and try really hard to be early whenever possible. If I’m on time to work, I feel like I’m late. If I’m late to brunch, I feel terrible. Missing a scheduled workout causes pandemonium in my universe. All that being said, attempting to put myself on “Island Time” and live like a local has been something of a disaster. Want to be somewhere at 11am? You’ll need to tell your driver you want to be there at 9. Think you’ll be hungry for dinner in a couple hours? You probably should start talking to your island friends about eating now… it’ll take at least two hours to talk about it, one hour to leave home, and another hour to get there. I’ve probably sent an average of three hours waiting for my Balinese homies to get moving whenever we have something to do that day. I try desperately not to become exasperated by the lack of hustle, but the American over-achiever in me just can’t help it sometimes. I admire the lackadaisical, no-rush lifestyle that is so popular here and absolutely understand why it reigns supreme… I just don’t think I’ll ever adjust to it, which is definitely my loss.
People use their hands. This isn’t strictly a problem you find only in developing nations. It’s a problem everywhere outside of the United States. People use their hands to talk. They use their hands to eat. They use their hands to dig a hole and then light up a cigarette before shaking your hand. It’s charming and wonderful, but seriously… I’ve been slapped across the head twice since arriving in Bali. It’s been an accident both times (I think), but still. It’s an unintentionally dangerous world out there.
The American Accent. People think we sound either adorable or idiotic. There is no middle ground.
Soccer. Nothing, I repeat NOTHING, makes me miss home more than the world’s obsession with soccer. DEAR GOD, WHEN DOES FOOTBALL SEASON START?
[Note from editor: This was originally published on Itinerant Brooke]
Last month we announced a new feature on Oh Hey World, the addition of Welcome Kits. This seemed like a great way for us to add even more value to travelers as they land in a new city and look for interesting connections and people in each new place. At the core, our OHW welcome kits provide the basic relevant information you need upon landing in a new city.
We have two types of kits, those curated by OHW staff, and those by the OHW community. We shared the OHW staff picks for digital nomads in Southeast Asia a few weeks ago, and now I’d like to take a look at the welcome kits you can use on travels throughout the United States. We aimed to cover all the hub cities to start, so you’re find OHW curated welcome kits for those.
Some cities even have niche interests covered with specific profiles for outdoors travelers and those with more tech interests (check out Denver and Boulder for sure!).
These are just the beginning as the OHW community grows and others add welcome kits that allow travelers to pinpoint the exact activities that match with their interests. And coming up later this week we’ll highlight some of the wonderful community-generated welcome kits that have been created from OHW members with specific interests and experiences in various cities all over the world. The idea behind these kits is to give you a concise set of ideas curated to your passions — we’re still expanding our scope be we hope these tips in the hub cities in the US give you some great ideas on your next trip there!
PS: You can also take a look at a number of community generated kits.
We love seeing Oh Hey World users out and about exploring the world. In fact, we love it so much we feature your photos from anywhere in the world if you tweet them to us @OhHeyWorld.
Today Martin has us jealous of the bright blue skies and t-shirt weather as he bikes through the French countryside–it looks gorgeous!
@ohheyworld Biking the Alsatian country side in search of apples. I’d be honored if you featured this photo. twitter.com/atBergstrom/st…
— Martin Bergstrom (@atBergstrom) May 24, 2013
Martin can be found within the OHW community, and he is a formal economist and informal Tech enthusiast, so you can find that intriguing fusion of thought on his Tumblr blog too.
Thanks for sharing your travel photo Martin and we hope the apples were tasty (as we suspect they were)! 🙂
If you’d like to see your photo and travels featured here just send us a tweet, post it to our Facebook, or find a way to get it to us and we’ll give your trip a shout-out here on the OHW blog.
~Shannon
Most in the startup world will tell you — the more feedback you get from customers, the better. We certainly agree with that statement, which is why we have another few questions for you, if you’d be so kind.
So it has long been said that the Pacific Northwest lacks sun, warmth, and friendliness (see Seattle Freeze). I’ve lived here all my life, and there are some things I simply cannot admit to when speaking of my lovely region. It is perfect for a guy like myself, an extrovert, who is always looking for valuable friendships and beauty. For those of you who crave the comforts of home, you can always find something to look forward to while visiting, especially if you’re on a sailboat.
Now, of course, many of you are thinking I am pushing the boundaries of reality. I know there are a lot of people out there that believe you have to own a sailboat, or know someone that does to be able to enjoy the breathtaking experience of gliding on the water during a beautiful PNW sunset. I want to squash that idea right now.
If you check out my first Oh Hey World welcome kit geared at sailers living or visiting Seattle, you will see that there are many destinations, options, and possibilities for sailing in this part of the country. Whether you know the intricacies of a J/105, or have only dreamed of floating on the water, racing, or catching the gorgeous geographical scenery we have to offer, living out that experience is made to be very simple in the PNW. You will find that sailing is more about the people you are with, and where you are heading, not about what you do for a living, or where you’re from. The PNW has some of the most beautiful sailing canvas in the entire world, and just to paint the picture for you, here’s an email I received from a veteran seaman, owner of Delirium, and one of the first people to welcome me on board, captain Jerry Dierks.
Team Delirium
The sailboat racing crew of Delirium out of Seattle, WA, or at least the more seasoned of the crew, finally booked a cruising vacation where making a sailboat go fast was NOT the priority. We arrived in Bellingham Friday afternoon to check out our charter boat at San Juan Sailing. We received a terrific briefing from the staff that was entertaining and informative about the boat, the area and what would make for a fun and safe experience in the beautiful San Juan Islands. (EG we learned that there are bunchers and there are folders. Yes we are talking about toilet paper and folders are much more welcome on sailboats that have delicate head systems I.e. toilets.)
San Juan Sailing (http://www.sanjuansailing.com/) has to be one of the top 3 charter companies in the world in terms of the quality of boats they charter, the maintenance and cleanliness of those boats and their helpful staff. They are in the hospitality industry and they know it and they do it extremely well.
On Saturday morning, we left Bellingham Bay and sailed across Rosario Straight, through Obstruction Pass, below East Sound and into Blind Bay where we set anchor for our first night. Sunday we sailed West and North and around Stuart Island and into Prevost Harbor where we set the hook and rode out a mild gale from the west. We t under “Suicide Cliff.” It was a remarkable site watching mother and baby swim deep into the cold depths off the bluff as their white spots grew green until they vanished and the next pair breached and repeated the process.
On Monday, we reconnected with civilization when we moored at the beautiful Roche Harbor Marina. Tuesday morning we were treated to fresh donuts from the bakery/coffee shop at the head of the dock. Hot donuts and coffee on a chilly morning….. It can’t be beat. After enjoying a hot donut and a hot shower, we sailed North to the serene and secluded Sucia Island. We circumnavigated the whole island all of which is a Washington State Marine Park with great trails and several beautiful anchorages. The weather allowed us to anchor in the Western facing Shallow Bay so we could watch the sunsets as we played bridge and drank rum.
Our anchorage was so perfect, we decided to spend a second night here which meant sailing back toward Bellingham Bay through Hale Passage on Thursday. We decided to take advantage of the light and sailed into Chuckanut Bay and anchored in the North end of the bay. Friday meant time to return the boat, or maybe just sailing away to the North and hope they couldn’t find us. We couldn’t bare the bad karma of depriving the next group the charter of our floating hotel. So, we sailed back into Bellingham harbor, fueled up and cleaned the boat so the next group could have as much fun as we did.
What made the trip such a success? Great planning by the crew, great preparation by San Juan Sailing and some terrific luck to find lovely weather, a bunch of whales and a fantastic time among extraordinary friends.
In general, quitting anything isn’t looked favorably upon by the outside world. But there are multiple cases when quitting is actually a good course of action.
Such as when you’ve been branded or want to be the best.
Or, when you leave a job you hate — without a backup option lined up.
I was beyond excited when I got a text from a friend the other day that said they had quit their job (which I had known they hated for several years) and didn’t have another job lined up yet. Most people would think/say “what are you? crazy? In a down economy, that’s a horrible decision.” My response? “Super proud of you.”
When you hate your job? And when you have enough confidence in your own ability to chart your own path?
Quit.
I know you’ll be glad you did.
PS: The next step is to realize travel is the best cure for internal conflicts.
When I decided to hit the travel trail in late 2011, I planned to go to Southeast Asia and be a digital nomad building WordPress websites (such as this one for Room77) until I figured out what my next career move was (which turned out to be building Oh Hey World). I did all sorts of research to figure out the best places to live as a digital nomad in Southeast Asia, and I eventually decided upon Chiang Mai due to the sheer volume of good recommendations about the city from other travel bloggers (Koh Tao was my second choice). When I arrived in Chiang Mai in early February to stay for a few months, I had a few very specific questions related to getting acclimated to the region:
That information was hard to find, so I set out to solve this problem on Oh Hey World. Our digital nomad welcome kits now answer those exact questions for digital nomads all over SouthEast Asia — and, eventually, the world.
Globetrotting around Southeast Asia right now making money from your computer? If so, you’re in luck because we have welcome kits we’ve specifically curated for you for the major expat hubs around the region.
Have you been to any of these cities, and have something we should add? Leave a comment here or email shannon@ohheyworld.com and we’ll add them to our collection. If you’d like to create your own completely custom welcome kit for a city (such as this one for Santiago), then head over to our Welcome Kits page to learn more.
PS: You can also view some community generated welcome kits and OHW curated welcome kits in the US.
The Oh Hey World welcome kits are a cornerstone resource for OHW users. Once you check into a new city, we want you to have a concise handful of tips tailored exactly to your interests and travel style that are relevant to where you find yourself. That means if you’re keen to use coworking spaces in each new city you visit, whether you land in Denver or Singapore we’ll show you the most relevant shared working environments (from great wifi cafes to coworking spots).
The OHW community is still growing (we’re in beta and we so appreciate your early support!) and for that reason the welcome kits contain city tips sourced from our travel network. We’ve looked to long-term travel community and curated the best tips and resources they have to offer on cities all over the world. These welcome kits will grow and change as the community grows up, and we expect many more tips to surface not only from our curated network, but from you—our OHW users.
Right now, if you see a tip you love you can “like” it to help others in the community know that it truly is a top way to experience that city. We’re counting on the collective power of a strong global community to create user-generated and dynamically changing tips as new cafes, shops, and businesses surface.
If you haven’t seen a welcome kit yet (we’ve rolled them out in select cities in the US and Southeast Asia) have a look at Bangkok or perhaps San Francisco. Both of these cities are hubs of tech entrepreneurs and digital nomads and as such, we’ve collected the most relevant information you’ll need on arrival in either of these cities.
Really, it varies depending on where you land. If you’re in Denver, we suspect you’ll want to touch base with the entrepreneurial scene and perhaps the best nearby hikes. But if you land in Bangkok, we give some tips on finding long-term accommodation alongside the best coffee shops in the city. As the tips grow, you’ll also find custom kits for families since we know you have different needs than an entrepreneur in town on business.
We think this feature will change the way travelers arrive in a new city.
It starts with a check in on OHW to notify of your safe arrival (update the Book of Face) and then see if any friends (or friends of friends) are nearby. After the check-in, our welcome kit gives you a bead on the exact tips you need to get right to the travel experience with minimal fuss (and only the best handful of tips).
Then you’re on your way to that great coffee shop, coworking space, restaurant, or hike.
In short, the tips will grow a lot in the coming weeks and months to customize welcome information for every type of interest or traveler. And if you’re keen to create your own welcome kit for a city you know and love, email me and we’ll give you special early access.
Many thanks for being a part of the OHW community, and if you’re not signed up yet, request private beta access!