Rolf Potts's Blog, page 118

How Nomadic Matt earns money to travel

Foreign currency and coins. Photo: Philip Brewer / Flickr

It's the dream of many backpackers: to express our creativity through stories and photos on our travel blogs, and make enough money to keep traveling.  Nomadic Matt is one of the more notable examples of people who have achieved this goal. In a recent post, he reveals the details: How I make money and afford to travel.

Throughout the piece, Matt addresses head-on how a blogger and his readers can clash over the thorny issue of monetization. The sad downside of success is that the bigger your audience, the more likely you are to attract critics and detractors.

Just like you read magazines with ads, you'll find blogs with ads. If you think I do this as some sort of insincere way to make money, I think you've found the wrong website to read. I love what I do and the ads help me do it just like the ads help keep National Geographic running.

Turning a profit from publishing content is nothing new, as Matt points out.  I think the main issue at stake is it's easier to resent an individual vs. an organization.  If your local bank makes a lot of money, it doesn't bother you.  But if you have a neighbor who constantly flaunts his Ferrari, platinum Rolex watch, and Neiman Marcus clothes, that might tick you off more.  We react to personalities more than institutions.

There will always be self-proclaimed purists who insist that commercializing any form of expression will ruin it.  If readers buy a blogger's products (such as e-books), it gives the blogger real support and assures continued writing output.  At the other extreme, some web publishers lose their way when "sponsored posts," free press trips, and ad revenue gain priority over delivering value to readers. Is money the problem, or the love of money?

What's your stance on bloggers making a living from their blogs?  Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Travel has a way of humbling you

"Traveling makes one modest — you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."

–Gustave Flaubert, Flaubert in Egypt (1849)

Vagabonding Case Study: Jorge Mendoza

Jorge Mendoza

jmcb51.wordpress.com

Age: 23

Hometown: Valley Center, San Diego

Quote: "Personal freedom begins with a leap of faith… you only regret the things you don't do."



How did you find out about Vagabonding, and how did you find it useful before and during the trip?

My friend Dayne told me about it, after the movie "A Map For Saturday" put the idea in my head, this book made me pull the trigger.

How long were you on the road?

5 months this trip, I had planed on a year but I had to make sure I was back in California in July for my Friend Billy's wedding, theres no way I would miss it.. I'm a groomsman and its a huge honor. I plan on working for a couple months and heading out again soon.

Where all did you go?

Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos

What was your job or source of travel funding for this journey?

I have been a firefighter for the last 4 years, i went into my fire academy right before I turned 18 and have steadily been climbing the ladder since. The last 3 years I have been working for Cal Fire as a seasonal Firefighter. It's been awesome and an amazing opportunity but looking at my life now is the ideal time for this kind of thing.. I basically just saved up all last year..

Did you work or volunteer on the road?

I stayed at Billy's aunts house in OZ, I helped her clean some damage from Yasi in bramson beach, I loaded produce into trucks in Cairns, and helped an old man sail his yacht from gumloo, though the whitsundays and to Mackay Harbor.. basically just odd jobs

Of all the places you visited, which was your favorite?

Thats probably the hardest question everyone has asked me, out of everything I think I enjoyed Vietnam the most, I made really good friends there and had some unbelieveable experiences.. plus now I get to start stories with " back when I was in 'Nam.."

Was there a place that was your least favorite, or most disappointing, or most challenging?

Theres no place I disliked really, just experiences I could have done without, if you open the Cambodian lonely planet you can read all about the "scam bus" I rode from Trat to Siem Reip… The Angkor Temples were still pretty cool tho.

Did any of your pre-trip worries or concerns come true?  Did you run into any problems or obstacles that you hadn't anticipated?

Not really, cause I didnt know what to expect, everywhere I visited was different to what I expected.. I didnt get robbed or in any serious trouble.. a few of my friends got mugged or sick but I was generally pretty lucky.. people are usually more resilient than they expect.

Which travel gear proved most useful?  Least useful?

My first aid kit was pretty usefull, I bandaged alot of feet while I was out, feet get pretty beat up.. i never once wore my jeans in Asia, they were heavy and took up alot of space..

What are the rewards of the vagabonding lifestyle?

You find out how little you really need to survive, some clothes and food, usually did the trick, you read alot more (for pleasure, not just textbooks), you learn that your responsible for your own happiness, you can have as good or a crappy a time as you chose.

What are the challenges and sacrifices of the vagabonding lifestyle?

I'm really close to my family and friends, I missed birthdays and special events.. If there was a way to come back just to hug my mom on mother's day I would have.

What lessons did you learn on the road?

To get out of your comfort zone ("There is a direct correlation between and increase sphere of comfort and getting what you want" -TF)

How did your personal definition of "vagabonding" develop over the course of the trip?

I had a rough year before my trip, one of the main reasons was to just get away and clear my head, the last 8 years of my life have been spent taking orders and doing what others wanted. It was nice not to have to double check with someone if I was making the right choice and to let life itself make its decisions for me.

If there was one thing you could have told yourself before the trip, what would it be?

You're mind will be blown more times than you can possibly imagine.. your doing the right thing.

Any advice or tips for someone hoping to embark on a similar adventure?

Personal freedom begins with a leap of faith… you only regret the things you don't do…

When and where do you think you'll take your next long-term journey?

I think it will be november, my friend Yoshimi is visiting from Japan and staying at my house for two weeks, so she offered her house.. it would just be rude not to take her up on that offer… although I don't know if I will be able to stay put for 4 months… I guess we'll find out..

Twitter: jmcb51
Website: jmcb51.wordpress.com

Are you a Vagabonding reader planning, in the middle of, or returning from a journey? Would you like your travel blog or website to be featured on Vagabonding Case Studies? If so, drop us a line at casestudies@vagabonding.net and tell us a little about yourself.

America is revealed more in its roads than in its politics

"All you need to know about American society can be gleaned from an anthropology of its driving behavior. That behavior tells you much more than you could ever learn from its political ideas. Drive ten thousand miles across America and you will know more about the country than all the institutes of sociology and political science put together."

–Jean Baudrillard, America (1986)

The five stages of long term travel

Hikers on Mount Fuji in Japan. Photo: Azlan DuPree / Flickr

Travel is as much an internal journey as an external one.  As we move through countries and accumulate stamps in our passports, we're logging miles. However, a more subtle odometer is ticking away in our minds.  Our attitudes and personalities evolve as we see more places, meet more people.

Dave, a vagabonder who writes "The Longest Way Home" blog, had a great post titled, The five stages of long term travel.  In an honest and thoughtful way, he traced how he adjusted to the joys and sorrows of an extended trip.  For reference, there's a trip time counter at the top of the left sidebar.

What I liked was Dave's realistic portrayal of the lifestyle, seeking neither glory nor sympathy, simply the truth.  Living abroad brings its own set of challenges, that can match–or even exceed–the stress of the 9-to-5 routine.  In Year 3, he makes a confession:

During this year I found loneliness sneaking up. Along with a loss of purpose. Day to day in normal life we have jobs. An anchored social life, and routine.

I found emails drying up from friends once they realize "Oh, he really is going through with this thing.

It was a struggle to keep going and stay motivated. I'd not accomplished anything in my mind. Other travelers became less interesting again, as I'd been there and done that.

That passage resonated with me.  From my third year abroad and onward, I began to feel like I was drifting.   Not accomplishing anything.  This was also the time that I started to lose touch with friends back home.  Although I tried to be present for them with e-mails and Facebook comments, there was this inexorable gap that was growing.

There's a sense that Dave misses having a job.  Not for the paycheck, but for the structure and purpose.  I know that feeling.  Once you land in another locale, you're suddenly in charge of your life.  On the bright side, this freedom teaches us to become more self-reliant.

The great thing about travel is that it strips away all the voices telling you who you are, what you should do. The sad thing is that travel doesn't automatically fill in that void.  There's a lot of work to do, to get in touch with who you are and what you want out of life.  That deep level of introspection can daunting for many of us who are used to the pressure from family, friends, society, media, etc.

Loneliness can be crushing, as Dave said.  Especially if you make cool friends, but constantly say goodbye to them.  When I worked in Asia, the crowd would change every year.  When I was backpacking in hostels, the scene would change every day.  Building lasting relationships is essential to our well-being, but extremely tough to accomplish while on the road.

Dave ends the story on a positive note.  He re-discovered his purpose and got inspired again in his quest to find a true home.

How have you changed as you vagabonded for years at a time?  What were the highs and lows you experienced?  Please share your stories in the comments.

The best travel companions double their patience in times of stress

"Tedious journeys are apt to make companions irritable one to another; but under hard circumstances, a traveler does his duty best who doubles his kindliness of manner to those about him, and takes harsh words gently, and without retort. He should make it a point of duty to do so. It is at those times very superfluous to show too much punctiliousness about keeping one's dignity, and so forth; since the difficulty lies not in taking up quarrels, but in avoiding them."

–Francis Galton, The Art of Travel (1872)

Special September 2011 fares for multi-stop tickets on BootsnAll

If you're considering taking a RTW trip, you could go the conventional way. Hitting the most popular destinations in the world and building your trip around seeing iconic sites around the globe is a popular strategy.

While that strategy is fantastic, have you considered other options? A few recent articles on BootsnAll offered a few other ideas for planning your RTW trip and making it unique and special. Many travelers know their history, and following in the footsteps of famous adventurers is a sure-fire way to see some amazing sites along the way.

Or you could plan your trip around iconic journeys across the world. If you've ever sat on your couch at home mesmerized by famous adventures like taking the Trans-Siberian Railway, driving Historic Route 66, or following parts of the Silk Road, then now's the chance to make those travel dreams come true. Taking a RTW trip affords you the time to jump into one of these iconic journeys. This months deals give you a chance to traverse the same parts of the world as famous explorers once did.

Here are the new special deals on multi-stop airline tickets available through BootsnAll – these deals are good through September 30, 2011:

Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia Expedition: New York – San Jose (Costa Rica) – Lima – Rio de Janeiro – OVERLAND – Buenos Aires – Rome – London – Paris – Nairobi – OVERLAND – Johannesburg – Cairo – Bombay / Mumbai – OVERLAND – Delhi – Kuala Lumpur – OVERLAND – Bangkok – New York, from US$3399 plus taxes

 

Four Continent Excursion Los Angeles – London – Nairobi -OVERLAND – Dar Es Salaam – Johannesburg – OVERLAND – Cape Town – Chiang Mai – OVERLAND – Bangkok – Phuket – Singapore -OVERLAND – Kuala Lumpur – Sydney – Nadi (Fiji) – Los Angeles, from US$2999 plus taxes

 

Asia Hopper with Russia New York – Beijing – OVERLAND – Hong Kong – Singapore – OVERLAND – Bangkok – Delhi – Moscow – New York, from US$1299 plus taxes

 

If you are looking for something a little different in your round the world trip, then start planning your trip of a lifetime with our RTW trip planner And don't forget to sign up for BootsnAll's RTW newsletter, delivering RTW trip planning advice and resources via email every single month.

Travelers' scorn for other travelers is an old, class-rooted tradition

"Some travelers have always needed to set themselves apart from others — from tourists. And almost as soon as the word tourist appeared at the start of the nineteenth century, it began to carry derogatory overtones, but the democratization of travel has charged the word with greater irritation and scorn. As more and more tourists from different social backgrounds crowd into the same cafés and hotels, tensions mount. The stereotyping of others reflects this social diversity, as we have seen it may take different forms. The rising nineteenth-century bourgeoisie was anxious to distance itself from the common people and in some ways too from the old aristocracy. There were animosities between those with the cultural capital of education (from academia and the professions) and those with a lot more economic capital (from the world of commerce), as well as the petite bourgeoisie, whom everyone loved to ridicule. Many of these old tensions are still with us, albeit in new forms, represented in changing metaphors. They may take the form of a national stereotyping or generational conflicts, or be presented as opposing lifestyles, but the language of class is nearly always there, sometimes translated into, or combined with, ethnicity (the American view of Europeans as more class-ridden tells us more of an American tradition of translating class into other cultural categories than actual social differences)."

–Orvar Lofgren, On Holiday: A History of Vacationing (1999)

Prominent venture capitalist says travel is a smart investment

Foreign currencies on a wall. Photo: epSos.de / Flickr

Businesspeople often tout their insane work schedules as a badge of honor, e.g. "We stayed up all night to close that deal!" So it was rare to see this blog post saying that people should travel more instead.

Mark Suster is a tech entrepreneur-turned-venture capitalist.  His blog, Both Sides of the Table, is one of the top reads in Silicon Valley.  Suster regularly writes about start-ups, entrepreneurship, and angel investing.

In his blog post, Avoid Monoculture. Travel. Read Widely. Let Experience be Your Compass, Suster credits part of his success to his global background.  He's lived in England, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan.  All of these experiences informed his decisions in his business career.

Here's an excerpt:

You'll see a world like I did – with limited landlines and electricity (India), a world with tiny apartments and thus less room for extra tech equipment & TVs (Japan), where having a sale anytime you want it isn't legal (Germany), where corporate boards split the role of Chairman and CEO, which is much better corporate governance than the US (the UK) or where a version of the Internet (the Minitel in France) existing long before it became realized globally and we had open standards.

Suster isn't the only one.  Another tech tycoon spent time on a vision quest in India, dropping acid, and becoming a Buddhist.  His name was Steve Jobs.  He referenced this experience when talking about a rival:

"I wish him the best, I really do. I just think he and Microsoft are a bit narrow. He'd be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger." [On Bill Gates, The New York Times, Jan. 12, 1997]

Has travel helped you in your career?  To provide inspiration or a different perspective?  Please share your stories in the comments.

The best of travel seems to exist outside of time

The best of travel seems to exist outside of time, as though the years of travel are not deducted from your life.

–Paul Theroux, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star (2008)