Planning

The next best thing to travelling is planning the next trip. Once you are planning a trip that covers multiple cities, countries, continents and seasons you are now in a whole new game of planning. It is one thing to plan a few days or a few weeks but when you are planning months there is a lot to think about, money getting from point A to point B to point C to point D (ok you get the point). You also need to plan how you are getting to the different areas plane, train, heel toe express? What clothes do I need? Where are you going do you know the language, culture, will there be festivals, will it be busy, any major things in the news such as governments being over thrown, disease outbreaks.... speaking of diseases what shots do you need and when? Travel insurance…….it is not fun for multiple months. Visas, your passport, credit cards – to make a long post short there is a lot to think about and consider.

Am I telling you that you need to plan every day, every hour……god no - besides aren’t you leaving that behind. What I am saying is have a rough idea of the continents & countries you are going to.

I am an outdoor person I love spending time in the mountains and one thing I like to always say is – there is no such thing as a bad day in the mountains just bad gear!

As much planning as you do realize that things will change and that isn’t always a bad thing! You may meet people on the way and travel with them, maybe find a better route, hear about a place you NEED to see or places to avoid. Always be flexible when travelling you don’t want to miss out on a really cool event, place, people or festivals because you planned everything out exactly. Sometimes not having a plan but an idea, and knowing when and where your next point A to point B is all you need.

If it seems like this went in circles it probably did…..sorry! Basically have an idea but be flexible you are travelling not working!

Tuna Tom

Life is a long road with many crossroads but there is no going back only going forward.

9 weeks to go

Mondays are tough enough as it is never mind the fact that I am 9 weeks away from leaving Mondays and everything else behind. What I find difficult right now is trying to focus on everything. My pre travel list is getting bigger not smaller it seems and my mind is focused on getting things done in my personal life. Right now I have courses to do, shots to get, travel insurance, things to sell and many other aspects to look into. The problem with being a traveler is ordinary life is just that too ordinary…..conversations about the weather and weekends are just not that exciting to hear but then again it is because I haven’t been doing much on weekends. Life is what you make of it and right now I am not making enough with it. I am looking forward to only having to get up early because I am travelling or because I truly want to not because of work.

A lot of people who I tell I will be travelling want me to email them which is why I started a blog instead besides I hate email well emails that are endless or would be best answered by a 5 minute conversation. I think before you go on a major trip like I am about to you need to enjoy your life today in order to help you to focus on all the things you need to do work and non work related.

Tuna Tom

Life is a long road with many crossroads but there is no going back only going forward.

What is "stuff"?

Slowly but surely me leaving the company to travel is getting around the office. Some people are shocked that I am leaving to travel. I can understand why so many people are shocked what I am doing as it is a risk and they have families and mortgages meanwhile I have an apartment full of stuff and a travel addiction. Lots of people are focused on the stuff asking questions like what about all of your things? It makes me realize how focused people are on their possessions.  When I really look at what I have an old tube tv, dvd player, movies, video games, some furniture, clothes, dishes and other useless junk. The most important things in my apartment are my outdoor gear, souvenirs from earlier travels and passport. I am baffled how critical people think stuff is. Sure it costs money for all of this "stuff" but so what? Too many people don't own things rather their possessions own them. I do have some people say "good for you" or "congratulations", or "must be nice". It would have been nice at this point in my life to be married with kids and a nice house in the burbs but that hasn't happened. I am realizing the more you make the more you spend. When I was a student a trip was a weekend in Toronto which I could hardly afford a 25 dollar meal was very expensive. You make more money and you go from a 20,000 dollar car to a 30,000 to a 50,000 dollar car and instead of spending 1,000 dollars on a couch maybe its 3,000 dollars. I drive to Banff for a weekend and my car is full of "stuff" meanwhile I can travel to five different countries over a span of three weeks with one backpack. I've had people tell me I need a new tv because mine is old but hey it works. I know other people who need the latest technology and get a new phone every year other people who have to wear the latest fashions.

So what "stuff" is really important to me? Family, friends, beer, tasty food, being active, exploring something old (ruins, past civilizations), cultures, the nature, animals, outdoors, those moments in life when your heart is just pumping from being scared or adrenaline, feeling good about yourself, helping others, the surprises that happen in life, music, new experiences.....living life for what is is and what makes you feel good not because it is what society tells you is right and wrong.

We all need to make sacrifices and decisions in life but sometimes you need to see them for what they really are.

Tuna Tom

Life is a long road with many crossroads but there is no going back only going forward.

it all starts here

This is a blog for my travelling adventures. It is nine weeks  before I begin my journey. I have handed in my letter of resignation and it has become official at work that I am leaving. It hasn't sunk in yet that soon I will be homeless and jobless........it kind of scares the crap out of me but I am looking forward to not having to wake up to an alarm clock, have meetings, or have to remember an additional hundred different user names and passwords such as Pa33word7!#

I do have several flights booked the first one booked nearly 3 months ago.

Like many people working I knew I needed a change but it was a matter of what, where and when. It is not an easy decision to figure out what you want to do. Before I get into this more I want to talk about my past travel experiences. 

The first trip I did was to Panama City Beach Florida during the Canadian Spring Break (no girls gone wild just drunk Canadians singing the national anthem). The first time as a Canadian when you have your feet in the sand in February is something hard to imagine or explain. This trip might have been the start but the first real trip was October 2008 to Holguin Cuba. It wasn't cold yet but to fly for a few hours and land in a whole new country where nobody knew me and I knew nobody and nothing that was it I was hooked. After Cuba I went to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica (over Christmas and New Years) Vancouver for the Olympics, and then I did my first backpacking trip to Central America where I met my good Aussie friend Tuna Dave.

Dave is an inspiration for me as he enjoys life and you can't help but to just laugh when hanging out with him. This was the first time I met someone who was travelling for "until the money runs out". He told me he was saving to buy a house when he decided enough was enough and started travelling. It is now November 2014 and he is still travelling and I am getting close to my first escape. At the time I would have never dreamed of packing it all in as I had a girlfriend and loved my job. This trip changed my way of thinking and travelling forever.

This trip we went to Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. I learnt a new type of traveling what I consider real travelling - backpacking. When you are backpacking you might visit several different countries and a new city every day or every couple of days. Backpacking is just that you with a backpack on your back and maybe front as you never know what you will encounter whether a chicken bus in Central America, boats that seem to appear out of nowhere, sidewalks that barely exist, and you could be walking across borders, or walking up endless flights of stairs who knows.  After Central America I went back to work and over the next few years I went to Europe three times and one of those times was to visit an old friend, I went back to see the rest of Central America, Vegas, New Orleans for Mardi Gras and back to Cuba. During these trips I met more and more people like my friend Dave who were travelling for six months, or a year or more and yes most of them Aussies. I kept asking myself "how can people do this", "why not me"? Several years of travelling, failed relationships and then an unhappiness at work has led me to where I am today spilling my guts on this blog and about ready to start a seven month journey......

About a year ago I decided enough was enough I want to see the grass on the other side and become like my many Aussie friends and travel for an extended period of time. I signed up and have since been certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). By becoming TEFL certified it meant that I can now teach English in 30 or more countries and can earn while I travel. With a degree in business, a small business diploma,  a diploma in accounting and nearly eight years in oil and gas experience it means I have a unique ability to teach others in elementary, middle school, high school, adults or professionals who want to learn business etiquette in North America, or to teach them the business or oil and gas lingo. Hey we all need to work at some point so I might as well have a few things I can fall back on. My plan is to leave my job January 30th, 2015 and start travelling January 31st, 2015 (no not wasting time!). I plan on teaching English in South Korea starting in August 2015.

January 31st I will fly to Houston Texas for the night and catch a flight to Antigua Guatemala February 1st. I will spend a week in Antigua seeing the way a language school works since I will later be teaching English I need to know what my students will be facing. After Guatemala I will go to Honduras to Roatan Island and Utila Island. I am going to Utila Island in hopes of snorkeling with whale sharks. After Honduras back to Guatemala and work my way up to Belize and onto Mexico. Happy coincidence it looks like I will be in Cancun Mexico for part of the American Spring Break. After Central America I will come back to Canada and then drive to Whitefish Montana for hopefully some powder filled days of skiing. After skiing I will drive home to visit my parents and family in Ontario. I may drive to the East Coast but who knows!??!?! I need to make my way to New York City to catch a flight (and to get some real New York style cheesecake) to San Francisco where I will hangout for a week and then catch a flight to Australia (sorry mom you can't come). I have wanted to go to Australia for a few years but it is my moms biggest dream which I do have a guilty feeling that she can't come. I will visit friends who have couches who slept on my couch wohoo! After Oz I will go to where the Kiwis and All Blacks come from - New Zealand. After New Zealand it will be Asia not 100 percent sure yet but Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. I might go to China as well and with any luck I should be heading to South Korea to teach after. 

That is the plan so what am I doing now? I am trying to save as much money as possible and am taking 30 percent and soon to be 40 percent of my pay directly off into a savings account. January 2015 is a three paycheque month with the last pay coming January 30th (the day before my first travel coincidence I think not). I will also have a bonus come in March as well as a damage deposit come after I start my travels. Besides saving a lot of trying to forecast/budget how much money I need and will have coming in. I have lots to sell, new passport to obtain, more flights to book as well as hostels. 

I picked some of the locations as they were cheaper alternatives ie Whitefish Montana over Banff Alberta. I also used aeroplan miles to book my flight to Australia and my flight to Guatemala for a combined total of 60,000 points and 140 dollars. I had signed up for credit cards earlier in the year just for all of those precious points. I am now also cashing in all of the other rewards programs, petro points, air miles etc. 10 dollars here and there will make a difference when travelling abroad. I am also gathering all of the currencies I have in my possession a few dollars from Guatemala and Honduras from earlier trips along with left over American and Euro dollars. This might not seem like a lot but having a few dollars in local currency can save you a lot as now you have money for local transit, or cab fair and enough for maybe your first tuk tuk ride, meal or drink!

Tuna Tom  

Life is a long road with many crossroads but there is no going back only going forward.