Chris Guillebeau's Blog, page 34
March 29, 2016
One Week from Today: “Born for This” Goes Into the World!
One day I’ll drink less coffee… but it won’t be anytime soon.
Over the past few weeks I’ve had my passport locked in a drawer, and I haven’t allowed myself to purchase any plane tickets that cross an ocean. Am I tired of seeing the world? Nope. I’ll actually be on the road to 30 cities starting very soon, but they’re all in the U.S. and Canada.
In exactly seven days, my new book Born for This will launch into the world. (Well, at least the North American part of the world. Other versions...
March 27, 2016
Everything’s Great, But Could I Get That Breakfast I Ordered?
My hotel breakfast server was very friendly. It took a while for him to come over after I was seated, but when he did, he was all smiles and exuberance.
I ordered eggs, coffee, and a smoothie (thanks, Starwood). “That’s a great idea!” the server said, and seemed genuinely happy about my order.
Over the next twenty minutes, he came back several times to check on me. There was just one problem: my breakfast never arrived.
“How is everything so far?” he asked.
Not sure yet, I don’t have my foo...
March 26, 2016
This Short Video Reminds Me Why I Travel
I can be a pretty jaded traveler, so I watch videos like these to remind myself of the magic.
This one is from a summer trip to Dubai and Indonesia. Notice the commonalities and the differences of the two places, which are both fascinating in their own ways.
Do I ever get tired of travel? Sure.
Do I ever want to stop?Absolutely not.
There’s a feeling that comes only when I’m on the road, and that’s what I live for.
Recover the magic. Live gratefully. And plan another trip!
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Earn...March 24, 2016
A Better Way to Think About Traveling for Nearly Free
Readers who are learning about travel hacking tend to have lots of questions about what their miles and points are worth. I’m the first to say that I’m not the best at determining a specific valuation. I have a CPA to help with my taxes, I hardly ever check website statistics or any other analytics, and math isn’t my strong suit.
So when it comes to valuation, I tend to look to some general rules instead of getting hyper specific. By far the most important rule is: travel hacking helps me ha...
March 23, 2016
The Impact of Age on Happiness, Especially In Times of Crisis
New research reveals that situational happiness or sadness may relate partly to age.
From Jonathan Rauch in The Atlantic —
“Long ago, when I was 30 and he was 66, the late Donald Richie, the greatest writer I have known, told me: ‘Midlife crisis begins sometime in your 40s, when you look at your life and think, Is this all? And it ends about 10 years later, when you look at your life again and think, Actually, this is pretty good.’
In my 50s, thinking back, his words strike me as exactly ri...
March 22, 2016
California Man Buys an Entire Cow and Feeds His Family for a Year
This is a quest case study. ( Read others or nominate yourself . )
Sometimes the best part of a quest is when you wind up somewhere you never would have expected. For Jared Stone, he didn’t even think he’d be on top of Mt. Whitney because he bought a cow to feed his family.
Here’s his story:
A few years ago, I bought an entire cow.
One Saturday afternoon, I was watching a food show on TV. Being a television professional (I’m a producer), I have a pretty nice setup—1080p, high refresh rate, lots o...
March 21, 2016
The 50-Mile Race vs. The Cliff Jump
Imagine two scenarios that each require you to take on a monumental task.
In the first scenario, your task is to run a 50-mile race. You’re not quite out of shape, and you exercise regularly, but you’ve never ran anywhere close to that distance. It’s a daunting challenge, likely the most difficult physical activity of your life, and you haven’t even had breakfast yet.
Despite the tremendous challenge, you set off, determined to overcome the odds. You draw on whatever motivation you can muste...
March 16, 2016
How Goals Change Over Time, and What to Do About It
The other day I was cleaning out my home office, and I found some old notes. The notes were from more than eight years ago before starting this blog. At the time I was planning to undergo some big changes and attempt a new career as a writer.
As I looked through the notes, I smiled in recognition of many of the items I’d listed so long ago. I’d been to about 70 countries then, and was officially beginning the quest to go to all of them (193/193). I achieved that goal almost three years ago.
...March 10, 2016
How to Play “Adventure Roulette” at the Airport
From the department of spinning the wheel and going anywhere…
“And where are you traveling to today, sir?”
“I have no idea.”
“Well, let me see your itinerary.”
“I don’t have one. I’m trying something different. I’d like to go somewhere. I have $500, and I’d like you to book me a ticket.”
Joel’s project of going to the airport and asking the ticket agent to book him anywhere she’d like is a recurring theme. He also takes cold showers, competes in various athletic events (some of his own makin...
March 9, 2016
2016 Dining Dash Coming Up! Visit 12 Restaurants, Earn Miles for the Rest of the Year
Doug Fir Restaurant and Lounge in Portland, OR
If you aren’t tired from stuffing envelopes for hotel points, there’s an all-new travel hacking adventure coming up in a few days. You can join us from anywhere in the U.S. for this one.
Two years ago, I co-created the “Dining Dash.” We went to 12 restaurants in a single day, all in pursuit of “running the table” on earning all the qualifying stops we’d need to earn extra Frequent Flyer miles when dining at many other restaurants for a whole year...
