{"id":4487,"date":"2025-01-27T13:12:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T13:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.theblyde.com\/?p=4487"},"modified":"2025-01-27T13:12:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T13:12:59","slug":"what-i-do-when-i-dont-travel-20-more-facts-about-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.theblyde.com\/?p=4487","title":{"rendered":"What I Do When I Don’t Travel: 20 More Facts About Me"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Who am I besides just a guy who loves to travel? What do I do when I\u2019m not on the road? What are my interests? Do I have hobbies? <\/p>\n

Since I\u2019m more than just a writer and travel fanatic, I wanted to share a bit about who I am and what I do when I\u2019m not on the road (indulge me for one article). <\/p>\n

While I do post a lot of my day-to-day life on Instagram, here is a little bit about me and my life!<\/p>\n

1. I hate flying. I love airports, lounges, and elite status, but the act of flying makes me sick. I don\u2019t like heights and any turbulence makes me think the plane is about to crash. I\u2019m not a good flier and I take Xanax to calm me on most flights. (Ironic considering how often I fly!)<\/p>\n

2. I never traveled independently until I went to Costa Rica at age 23. My travel experiences up until then were a series of road trips with my parents and a drunken weekend in Montr\u00e9al when I was 19. (I also never went west of the Mississippi until I was 25.)<\/p>\n

3. I decided to travel long-term after meeting five backpackers in a shared taxi while on vacation in Thailand. I was so amazed at what they were doing that the next day I decided to quit my job and make long-term travel my goal. They were two Australians, a Canadian, and a Belgian couple. They changed the course of my life and have no idea.<\/p>\n

4. When I was younger, I wanted to be an archaeologist because of the Indiana Jones<\/em> movies. I eventually went to school to be a high school history teacher and taught for one year, but then the economy tanked and no one was hiring history teachers so I got a job doing administrative work at a hospital in Boston before I started traveling.<\/p>\n

5. I\u2019ve had three really bad incidents on the road. On my very first trip by myself, I got terrible food poisoning. I was hospitalized for three days and put on a morphine drip. Second, I popped an eardrum in Thailand. And, third, I got stabbed in Colombia, which is definitely the worst thing that has ever happened to me!<\/p>\n

6. I am a good cook. I don\u2019t cook much on the road because I hate how hostel kitchens aren\u2019t fully stocked and everyone crowds them at the same time, but once in a while, I like to cook a massive meal for my fellow travelers. However, when I\u2019m home, I cook a lot and even host dinner parties for my friends. Some signature dishes include shrimp scampi, this delicious tomato\/basil\/olive salad, stir fry, and baked salmon.<\/p>\n

7. I used to be a vegetarian. After reading Fast Food Nation<\/em>, I decided to give up meat and was a vegetarian for four years. It wasn\u2019t eating meat I was against, but rather industrial farming and the chemicals\/antibiotics in the meat that I didn\u2019t like. I gave up vegetarianism when I started to travel.<\/p>\n

8. I think it\u2019s rude to turn down food in other cultures. If you go to a village in Mongolia and you are given food, it\u2019s insulting to refuse. \u201cSorry, your traditional and heartfelt cooking doesn\u2019t go with my dietary needs.\u201d It\u2019s culturally insensitive. But that\u2019s a rant for another post.<\/p>\n

9. I\u2019m a huge fan of soul, Motown, blues, and jazz. <\/p>\n

\"Nomadic\"Nomadic<\/p>\n

10. If I could ever pick what time period I could live in, I\u2019d pick 1920s Prohibition America. I think that would be an exciting time to live in. But maybe I\u2019ve just read The Great Gatsby<\/em> too much. <\/p>\n

11. Speaking of Gatsby, I learned to swing dance so I could throw myself a Gatsby-themed birthday party. I did it for three years in a row. They were epic birthday parties. <\/p>\n

12. After travel, politics is my second love. I live and breathe politics, and it is the only news I keep up with while traveling. I am always ready to discuss and debate the world any time of the day and with anyone, no matter how well I know them. (However, in the last few years, I\u2019ve turned off listening to the political news every day because it was causing me a lot of anxiety and not a good use of my mental energy!) <\/p>\n

13. People always ask will I be nomadic forever. My answer: I don\u2019t know. Forever is a long time. I travel less now than I used to and I think I\u2019ll continue to take fewer trips but I still travel a lot when compared to the average person. For now, I\u2019m enjoying the ride and see no reason to hang up my backpack just yet.<\/p>\n

14. I\u2019m a Japanophile. I love everything about the culture: the food, the history, the etiquette, the landscape, the architecture \u2014 all of it. I would eat sushi every day if I could. <\/p>\n

15. I\u2019m an unabashed Taylor Swift fan. She has a song for every emotion and, when you listen to her non-pop hits and really get into her catalog, you see just how talented of a songwriter she is. Listen to The Last Great American Dynasty. She wrote an entire narrative arc in three minutes. That\u2019s seriously good writing. I went to the Eras Tour multiple times. I love her. <\/p>\n

\"Nomadic\"Nomadic<\/p>\n

16. I\u2019m also a huge fan of Sia. Incredible songstress and writer. <\/p>\n

17. I don\u2019t drink coffee. It tastes like shit to me. And I don\u2019t want to put added sugar or milk (or soy milk) in my cup of joe. Drinks should be able to stand on their own! Nothing is going to change my opinion on this. I\u2019ve tried for years to acquire a taste for it. It\u2019s just not going to happen. <\/p>\n

18. I drink tea. Lots of it. Especially green tea. That\u2019s my drink of choice! I\u2019m a big fan of the brand Rishi. <\/p>\n

19. My alcoholic drink of choice is an old fashioned. A few years ago, a few friends turned me onto whiskey and I\u2019ve been obsessed since. I judge a bar by the quality of the old fashioneds they serve. <\/p>\n

20. One day, I\u2019d like to learn how to garden. I want to grow my own food. I love cooking and think it\u2019s a logical step. <\/p>\n

21. I used to be a semi-professional poker player. I funded a lot of my original trip with poker winnings and lived in Amsterdam for a few months playing \u201cprofessionally\u201d at the casino in the city. <\/p>\n

22. When I was younger, I worked for the Sierra Club in Massachusetts. I created a PowerPoint that we took to different community organizations to show that, by being energy efficient, they could save money and the environment at once. <\/p>\n

23. When I was in high school, I played a lot of Magic: The Gathering and won my state\u2019s championship (my friend came in second). We won a trip to NYC to play in the national tournament there. I lost in the first round. <\/p>\n

24. I don\u2019t eat sweets. Maybe once a year I\u2019ll have a cookie or brownie but, for the most part, I don\u2019t do desserts or sweets as I don\u2019t like all the sugar. <\/p>\n

25. When I\u2019m working, I\u2019ll often play one song on repeat over and over again. It helps me focus because it ends up just being white noise. As I write this post, I\u2019ve been listening to Sweet Annie by Zac Brown Band on repeat for the last two hours.<\/p>\n

26. I don\u2019t have a favorite color. I have two: blue and green.<\/p>\n

27. I was one of the spokesmen for Asiana Airlines. I did a commercial for them that aired for two years on TV. They dubbed out my voice though. It always sounds so weird when I watch it. <\/p>\n

28. I love movies. I probably watch two or three a week, either in the theater or at home on Netflix. My friends and I have group chats dedicated to movies. <\/p>\n

29. My favorite liquor? Scotch, specifically peaty Scotch from Islay. (My favorite brand is Ardbeg.)<\/p>\n

\"Nomadic\"Nomadic<\/p>\n

30. I want to learn how to shoot a gun. Not because I\u2019m a gun nut \u2014 I strongly dislike them, want really strict gun control, and am a regular donor to Everytown for Gun Safety \u2014 but because I am one of those crazy \u201cpreppers.\u201d I think the world is pretty much f*cked, and I\u2019d like to know how to shoot a gun to (a) protect myself in case civilization ends and (b) hunt (another thing I want to learn how to do) for food when that happens or (c) the zombies come. Having a Plan B never hurt anyone, right?<\/p>\n

To that end, I\u2019d also like to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow. I think that would be really fun \u2014 and useful.<\/p>\n

31. I spend an hour a day reading. I\u2019m a big fan of biographies and travel, history, and business books. I think reading and educating yourself is one of the most important things you can do in your life, and I cannot understand people who don\u2019t read books. In your typical year, I\u2019ll read around 50\u201370 books. You can find a list of all my favorites here.<\/p>\n

32. I\u2019m a morning person. I tend to wake up around 7am and do my best work before lunchtime. On a good day, I\u2019ll get up at 6am.<\/p>\n

33. I\u2019ve gotten way more into the gym in the last year. I go to the gym six days a week and do pilates one day a week. Going to the gym often has a positive knock-on effect too: once you start going to the gym, you end up eating better and drinking less because you don\u2019t want to ruin your workouts. I\u2019ve gotten into a lot better shape the last few months and I plan to continue that this year. <\/p>\n

***<\/center><\/p>\n

So there you have it! Some more interesting facts about me. Well, things I think are interesting at least.
\u00a0<\/p>\n

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How to Travel the World on $75 a Day<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\"How\"How<\/div>\n
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My New York Times<\/em> best-selling book to travel will teach you how to master the art of travel so that you\u2019ll get off save money, always find deals, and have a deeper travel experience. It\u2019s your A to Z planning guide that the BBC called the \u201cbible for budget travelers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here to learn more and start reading it today!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks<\/h4>\n

Book Your Flight<\/strong>
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It\u2019s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. <\/p>\n

Book Your Accommodation<\/strong>
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Forget Travel Insurance<\/strong>
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It\u2019s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I\u2019ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:<\/p>\n

Want to Travel for Free?<\/strong>
Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation \u2014 all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.<\/p>\n

Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip?<\/strong>
Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. <\/p>\n

Ready to Book Your Trip?<\/strong>
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can\u2019t go wrong using them on your trip.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n