Random Musings – Travel So So Fun

Reader Survey Results: What We’re Changing This Year!

At the end of 2019, the team and I ran a reader survey. We wanted to see what you liked, didn’t like, and wanted from us in the future. There were some interesting and helpful suggestions in there. I read through over a thousand responses, as I wanted to see what you wanted from us. You can’t get better without feedback, and we always want to make sure we’re serving your needs. So, as we make our way through this year, I wanted to share with you some changes you can expect to see on the website: First, we’re continuing to bring on new voices to write for us. You might have noticed that we’re having more guest posts to more destinations! We’re currently looking for articles about:

LGBT content: stories by transgender people, queer couples, and solo gay, lesbian, or bi travelers
Africa-related content (bonus points if it’s East or Central Africa)
Middle East–related content
Central Asia–related content
India-related content
China-related content
Technology- or gear-related content
Senior/Older travel
Family travel

If you want to write for us, check out our guidelines page. Second, I plan to write more travel stories this year. We do a lot of brass-tacks, hard-numbers stuff here. The nuts and bolts of travel. Practical information. But last year, writing my book inspired me to get into more storytelling. So this year, as I make my way around the world, I’m making an effort to create more stories about the places I visit — their history, people, and culture. So you’ll see such content popping up with more frequency. And you’ll see more history and culture in our how-to posts too. I want to start painting a more holistic view of each destination we write about. Third, we’re going to be hosting a lot more events this year. We’ve started The Nomadic Network so we can do more in-person events this year. We really want to take this online community offline, so we’re building a great website for that and hosting lots of events. For more information and ways you can get involved, check this post out. Fourth, a lot of you suggested topics you wanted to see, so we’re busy making that happen! Some of the topics you’ll start to see more of over the course of the year are:

Eco-travel
Traveling with pets
Family/kid-friendly travel
Traveling when you’re older
How to make friends when you travel
How to make the most of your time
How to save more money BEFORE you go
Off-beat destinations
“Thematic” ways to see a city
Reader stories
Ways to volunteer
Itinerary posts
And a bunch more!

Obviously, I can’t write all the time (or expertly on all these topics), which is why we’re going to be bringing in a few more regular contributors and writers now. So not only will you be seeing more content, you’ll be seeing a lot more diverse voices on the website too. And, as a sidebar to that: since we have so much content now, we’re going to be doing a new redesign in the middle of the year so the site will be easier to navigate. That’s it! Those are our big plans! We’re super excited about what’s in store for this year. – Matt

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewher eother than a hotel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Life at Home: New Year, New You

The State Capitol building in Austin, Texas on a bright summer day
Posted: 1/23/2020 | January 23rd, 2020

If you’re like me, you know how hard New Year’s resolutions are to keep. “New year, new you” starts with the best intentions, but after a couple of months, it’s back to new year, old you.

Old habits die hard, but they can be broken if they are replaced with good ones.

We’re at the start of a new year (and decade), so — as someone who loves a good cliché — I’m going to use this time to build the habits that create a better version of me.

After many years of trying (and writing copious and annoying blog posts about it), last year I finally slowed my travels and moved to Austin. I have a furnished apartment, plants (only two have died so far!), and a recently purchased car (my first ever!).

My days are filled with routine. I wake up, make breakfast, head to WeWork, go to the gym, head home, read, cook dinner, read some more, and go to bed.

My life is the proverbial suburban 9-to-5 I tried to escape from for so many years.

And, for the first January in years, I’m not on the road.

I’ve been enjoying it so much I’ve even begun to dread heading to the airport the same way children dread the dentist.

I used to think routine was a bad thing. It was the thing that killed spontaneity and adventure.

But I’ve come to learn that routine actually creates the framework for excitement and adventure. By scheduling my days and following a routine, I can ensure that I make time for what’s important and for all the things I want to do and goals I hope to accomplish.

So I wrote a list of things to do this year called “Stop Being Boring” with all the things I want to do while in Austin this year: get out more, volunteer, attend city council meetings (first one is next month!), join some social clubs to meet new people, host more meet-ups, and explore more of the city. Now that I have a car, I also plan to see more of Texas and the American South.

Rather than try to read more, I’m going to be a reader.

Rather than try to go to the gym, I’m going to be the person that does.

While I’ve already made some good strides toward eating better and going the gym, the true test will be when I start traveling in February. Will I fall back into old habits? Maybe. But I’m motivated to break them.

This year is also going to be all about focus for me.

I want to focus on work without getting sidetracked by phone calls or Facebook, so I can end my workday earlier.

The internet makes it easy to stretch it from four productive hours to ten unproductive ones, especially when you work for yourself. Now I’m already sitting, undistracted from my tasks, and getting them done quicker!

Next month, I’m going to Hawaii and Taiwan for three weeks before heading back to Paris and Berlin. In the summer, when the weather in Austin is too unbearable, I’m thinking about the Balkans, and maybe some of the ’Stans in the fall. And then in November, I’d like to finally get to Peru.

And while I’ll travel less this year, what trips I do take will be done with more focus. As they say, what’s old is new again, and this year, I’m going to travel without my computer again. Last year, all my travels were just a backdrop for work — and that’s not how I want to see the world.

***

Study after study has shown that by imagining yourself as your desired self, you unconsciously start acting like that person.

I’m determined to make “new year, new me” last the full year. And if I don’t, you’re free to remind me of this post and hold me accountable!

So that’s what I’ve been up to these last few quiet months.

What are your goals for the new year?

Book Your Trip to Austin: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Want More Information on Austin?
Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Austin for even more planning tips!

Photo credit: 1 – Evgenii

The post Life at Home: New Year, New You appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

So, What Comes Next?

The capitol building and a statue in Austin, Texas

One of the most-asked questions on my book tour was: “What comes next?” Now that I’m back from Paris and have moved out of New York City, and now that my book tour is over, what are my next big plans? Well… Not much. Right now, I’m back in Austin. I have to finish moving into my new apartment (why do couches take so long to arrive?) and, beyond a couple of trips to NYC and DC for weddings, I don’t plan on leaving Austin for a long time. My passport is staying in my drawer. I’m not moving back to New York or Paris or some other city. I’m not working on a new book. There’s no new big projects. Nothing. For the foreseeable future, all I see is Austin. And I’m very excited about that. A tree only grows when it has roots, and now that the madness of all this year’s projects is over, those roots can finally start to weave their way into the earth and provide the foundation for further growth. I can finally get into the one thing I’ve been craving all year: routine. I’m going to get into a better workflow, go back to the gym, start cooking again, take up some hobbies, sleep more, and maybe even start holding monthly meet-ups. Who knows! I used to think that I had to rush my travels, that there was too much of the world to see, and that that was why I couldn’t stop traveling — because, if I did, I’d never see it all. And to me, that was a crime. That’s why it was always “just one more trip.” Part of me still feels that way. But, in reality, there is no rush. You can never see it all. There will always be something else to see or do, or something new. And it will still be there in a few months. So, right now, the world can wait. I’m tired of being on the move. I’m tired of staying in spaces not my own. I’m tired of wearing the same three shirts over and over again. When that kind of burnout happens, you have to stay put. So I will stay put and recharge the battery named “travel.” I don’t know how long it will take. I don’t really care. I’m in no rush to go anywhere right now. I always define travel as something that pushes you out of your comfort zone and makes you grow as a person. Being home and learning to stay put will be a new adventure. This is something I’m going to have to learn how to do (it was really tough passing up on super cheap flights to the Seychelles). So, in a way, I guess that is what comes next is a deep dive into this concept called “home.” I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too! Want More Information on Austin? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Austin for even more planning tips!

Are You Happy With Your Life?

black and white photo of a busy crosswalk with blurred people
Posted: 7/29/2019 | July 29th, 2019

I was recently gifted the sci-fi thriller Dark Matter. Without giving too much away, the book revolves around the idea of a multiverse, where every possible outcome of a decision plays out — and each decision thereafter creates another split and so forth and so forth. It’s an infinite multiverse of all the possible outcomes of every decision you could ever make.

But, to me, it’s really a book about regret.

It’s about wondering what would have happened if you had followed the road not taken.

Where would you be if you had stayed with that girl, taken that job, or moved to that new city? Would you be happier as a result?

We map out how we hope our life will unfold.

First this, then that, then this, then that.

But life never unfolds the way we imagine it will. Life isn’t like writing a novel where you can plot out how things will end and ensure the characters behave as you want. Every decision you — and those around — make throughout the day shifts the direction of your life.

Life is what happens when you are busy making plans.

One day, we wake up and find we’re far off from the path we had hoped to traverse. We took a different job; broke up with that girl; suffered a health issue, family death, or financial disaster; moved somewhere new; decided to go back to school; or met someone who inspired us to travel the world.

A million and one things can pull us off the path we envisioned.

When you look back on the whole of your life, it’s easy to see where you deviated from the path you laid out for yourself. You can see the pivotal choices and moments that changed your life for good or ill.

What would have happened if my friend Scott had never convinced me to go to Thailand all those years ago?

Or if I had missed that bus in Chiang Mai where I met those backpackers who ended up inspiring my trip around the world?

What if I had never started this blog?

What would have happened if I had stayed in Taiwan with my girlfriend all those years ago?

Humans are really good at wondering about what might have been. We tend to look at our life in retrospect and judge our past actions by where we are now.

But when we’re in our life, you don’t see the grand vision. We’re just trying to get through the day as best we can. We’re thinking about the tasks at hand — the meeting in an hour, the laundry that needs to be picked up later, what we’re going to make for dinner — not the big picture.

Our brains aren’t hardwired for that kind of thinking.

For all our big talk about how humanity is different because we can think about the future, we’re often just like other animals: only seeing the moment right in front of us.

***

When I moved to Paris, I had big goals. I was going to meet people, attend influencer and tourism events, sightsee every day, and live that #bestlife.

Yet through long lunches and bottles of wine with friends and long days writing my new book, and by catching up on sleep and hosting a lot of friends, I strayed far from those original plans. Looking back, I did little of what I originally planned to do.

In a sense, I failed.

And I could easily look back with regret and wonder what would have happened if I had done what I had planned to do. What would I have learned about the city? Who would I have met?

But then I think back to Dark Matters and the question that sets the whole book in motion:

“Are you happy with your life?”

It’s such a simple but powerful question.

Beyond all the daily complaints and frustrations and minor annoyances, how often do we really ask such a deep and fundamental question?

“Are you happy with your life?”

Day to day, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. To never see the forest through the trees. To look back and think of the goals we made that we never reached.

But what we do every day is a reflection of our values and our goals.

If you’ve lived your values every day, haven’t you really reached those goals?

When you zoom out and ask yourself if you’re happy with your life, what do you say?

We get twenty-four hours to make the right choice.

And if we fail, we get to wake up and try again.

I wouldn’t trade those long meals and writing sessions or those quiet nights in for anything. They helped create a sense of balance in my life the first time in a long time.

When I look back at the what-ifs and see the choices I made, I can’t really regret them — because they brought me to where I am today.

And, when you’re happy with your life, how can you really regret the path that brought you there – even if it’s not the exact one you planned?

P.S. – I just released a new book! It’s called “Ten Years a Nomad” and it’s about my ten years backpacking the world and the lessons I learned from it. It features tons of stories I’ve never told on this blog and is a book that delves into the why of travel! Click here to learn more, grab your copy today, and meet me on my book tour!

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

The post Are You Happy With Your Life? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Ads? On this Site? What? Why?

A laptop on a desk beside a cup of black coffee and a notebook
Posted: 7/1/2019 | July 1st, 2019

For eleven years, I vowed never to put an ad up on this website. None. Zero. Zilch.

I hate ads. They are ugly. They are intrusive, sometimes popping up right when you load a page. (And don’t get me started on pre-roll videos!)

So it might seem odd that today, after eleven years being ad-free, I’m announcing we’ve put ads up on this website.

Since I’ve been so vocal about how much I dislike ads, I want to explain to the community why we’re doing this:

The world changes. People change. People’s buying habits change.

And, to be a successful business, you must change too.

Over the years, we put a lot of our eggs into the ebook/digital guide basket.

That worked for a long time.

But the cold hard truth people don’t really buy ebooks these days. They want Kindle books or physical guidebooks.

That’s what the world wants.

Plus, with so much free information online, most people just don’t feel the need to buy ebooks anymore. They can often google what they need. If it’s not in a Kindle or paper form, it’s not a “real” guidebook. (We’ve looked into making paper guides but, frankly, the print on demand paper quality isn’t there. It’s just not at the quality that we can be proud of. And, to print in color, the costs are just too high right now.)

So our ebook sales have flatlined. They’re no longer an engine of growth that can fuel new projects.

And we have a great project in the works that needs fuel.

Remember The Nomadic Network? The global meet-up thing we tested out a few years back. We were going to build local chapters, host educational and social mixers, and get people excited about travel.

Well, this fall, we are bringing it back to life.

But we need money to make that happen.

One thing we learned last time we trialed this was that we need a dedicated person whose job is just to run the events and coordinate with all our local chapters.

The revenue from our book sales isn’t going to cover that.

The team and I searched far and wide for an alternative — but the truth is that ads are the only thing that can give us the substantial and sustained revenue we need to relaunch the Nomadic Network as well as maintain and grow this website. (We would like to pay more guest writers and hire another research assistant.)

So that’s why we now have ads.

It’s not simply so we can have more money (or Chris can finally upgrade from sleeping in dorms).

It’s so we can relaunch this community initiative (one we are really, really excited about but have put aside for way too long) and invest in the website.

I know it’s a big change and we tried to make the ads as non-intrusive as possible.

But know that this decision didn’t come easy. I still have mix feelings about it but the world changes and sometimes you just have to change with it.

Feel free to leave comments below (but know we’re not going to reverse this decision).

Sincerely,

Nomadic Matt and team

The post Ads? On this Site? What? Why? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.