It’s 8:30am Monday morning and I’m averaging around 3mph sitting in Atlanta’s awful rush-hour traffic.  I come up on an exit about 12 stops before where I need to go and I have a flashback.  Just 5 days ago, I was on a cliff in Panama and I immediately said to myself “Dude, it’s not too late to take that exit, sell everything you own and become a world traveling nomad for the rest of your life.”  Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

This little conversation with myself took place two weeks ago on my way to my first day back at work.  Almost exactly a year ago, I was finishing consulting work for one of the nation’s mobile phone carriers about to embark on a trip to Australia.  What started out as a little “me” time turned into a 12 month extremely fulfilling journey across the globe.

How Did This Come About

I only have one life to live and I want to get the most out of it.  When I’m 90 years old and toothless, I hope to be able to look back on the pictures/videos of my life and not have any “I wished I had done X” moments.  Some years ago when I was running my own business, I realized I had a lot of money and a number of ‘things’ but no real life.  That realization (and associated burnout) lead me to take a nearly three year break from working to do things I’d never done, like riding motorcycles, boating and moving to South Beach.  Although I wasn’t burnt out at all this time, I felt it was a good opportunity to explore the rest of the world.

I wanted to do something I’d always wanted to do, discover something about a different culture and hopefully, learn something about myself.  The destination list came from my existing Bucket List or a particular activity was only possible at a specific destination, like Shark Diving in South Africa.  I would have loved to have visited all 7 continents, but trips to Antarctica were extremely expensive ($6,000 and up).  The final destination count turned out to be 6 continents, 12 countries and 23 cities as listed in order below (click any image to see a full-sized version):

	Australia – Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne Attempted surfing in Sydney (hilarious), the Great Barrier Reef is utterly amazing and my Harley ride out to Melbourne’s wine country was awesome!
	Belgium – Brussels Not often does one get to stand in the middle of a historic site, but Brussels’ Waterloo was quite interesting. Oh yea, the Belgians have excellent beer!
	Seattle, WA Wonderfully cosmopolitan city; ferries & locks, Seahawks game, even caught a fish down at the famous Pike Place market. Now we could do something about this rain – geez!
	Mexico – Cancun Although heavily Americanized, had an excellent time taking part in the water sporting activities. Cenotes, scuba diving, ATV tours – Cancun has it covered.
	Las Vegas, NV There’s much more to Vegas than showgirls and gambling; my favorites were the Dune Buggy adventure, the Gun Store, indoor skydiving and a trek to the Grand Canyon.
	Cuba – Havana The forbidden land! Marvelous people and remarkable culture. Cigar/Rum factories, the real Tropicana and 1950s Buicks are just a few of the amazing sights. A must see for all Americans before the embargo falls.
	Thailand – Bangkok, Phuket Though Bangkok was hot in more ways than one, it still managed to mesmerize this traveler’s senses. Phuket has some of the most beautiful scenery in the region – some say the world.
	Orlando, FL I’m not into the Disney hoopla so I was pleasantly surprised by the number of cool things to do in Orlando. Ziplines, Horseback riding, Nascar driving and best of all – becoming a Fighter Pilot!!
	San Francisco, CA Where can you windsurf, visit Yosemite National park, tour a 100 year prison in Alcatraz, take a wine tour and attend the opera in the same weekend? The Bay Area, that’s where.
	Miami, FL No need for a passport, Miami will give you all of the Caribbean and Latin American vibes you need.
	Costa Rica – Liberia, Arenal and San Jose Diving/nightlife in Coco-Beach was out of the ordinary, San Jose’s big city life was cool but neither could compare to the volcano, zip-lines, white water rafting and hot springs of Arenal.
	South Africa – Johannesburg, Kruger National Park and Cape Town There is a lot more to do in J’Burg than people give credit. A wildlife safari is something I think everyone should have the privilege to experience at least once. Shark, cliffs and wine – yep, Cape Town has them all.
	Brazil – Rio de Janeiro, Foz de Iguaçu Brazilians buy their clothes in one size – tight; and for that I thank them! Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf and Tijuca National Park were all stunners.
	Argentina – Iguazu Falls, Buenos Aires Iguazu Falls is the most amazing natural phenomenon I’ve seen in my life – period! Every time I see a waterfall from this point on in my life, it will pale in comparison to my memories these amazing falls. Buenos Aires is like an outdoor museum.
	Uruguay – Colonia de Sacramento Sleepy colonial UNESCO World Heritage site.
	Panama – Panama City The Panama Canal, colonial ruins, diving the Pacific/Atlantic oceans and some of the most beautiful women I’ve seen in my life. Really.

Every single destination was an opportunity to learn something or cross something off of my bucket list.  If I had to choose a favorite, it would likely be my trip to South Africa.  The culture of Johannesburg, the amazing safari in Kruger National Park and the majestic beauty of Cape Town put it slightly ahead of Australia.

Was this Expensive?

A question I got quite often is how I was able to take a year off of work in the middle of a global recession to travel the world.  Well, the first and most important requirement is that you must want to do it.  For me, I simply did not want to work for a while so doing something that I enjoyed doing in its place was a breeze.  Once the decision was made to explore the world, I had to figure out a budget.

The biggest cost with almost any vacation is the airfare; something I was able to eliminate almost completely.  As my job required me to travel across the country once a month for business, I racked up over 300,000 Delta Skymiles by the time I left.  This meant that every flight to the destinations above (with the exception of Australia) were purchased with Skymiles and nearly free (usually less than $60 taxes).  In addition, I had a boatload of Hilton Honors points that allowed me to stay in their properties around the world for free (at least until the points ran out).  When I ran out of Hilton points, my Gold status provided me with free breakfast, drinks, room upgrades and Internet access – saving me additional money.

Even with my free flights and mostly free hotels – my year long sabbatical across the globe was still quite expensive.  The reason is the things I like to do cost money.  Jumping out of airplanes, going on Safari, repelling down mountains and swimming with sharks to name a few, isn’t cheap.  Furthermore, some destinations are simply more expensive overall due to unfavorable conversion rates for the US Dollar – the Euro (Brussels) and the CUC (Cuba) to name a few.  Having said that, just because my year long adventure was expensive doesn’t mean yours has to be.  There are several backpackers traveling multiple continents on as little as $30 a day – including room, food, etc.

So, the long answer to the short questions is – I got most of the bigger costs free and saved up enough money to spend freely on the somewhat expensive things I always wanted to do.

…Continued

Random Thoughts/Musings Acquired During My Travels

These are some of my takeaways about other cultures and about myself acquired during my year long sabbatical.  The list is in no particular order and are not necessarily the most important thoughts of my journey(s).

• Going Solo – I kinda like traveling solo.  I thought I would be bored or feel self-conscious thinking everyone was looking at me assuming “this guy couldn’t find a date?” but those thoughts evaporated very quickly on the first trip.  Traveling alone, I had the freedom to go when & where I wanted without having deal with anyone else’s schedule, or wait on them to get ready in the morning or be concerned about what they will/won’t do on the trip.  And just about anyone will take a picture for you.  I’ve detailed the pros/cons of traveling solo in greater detail.
• What Bag?? – After my trip to Thailand, I realized checking a bag is an unnecessary burden.  Aside from the checked baggage fees (over $800 in my Australian trip), lugging around a large suitcase from city to city is tiresome.  It’s simply easier and faster getting out of the airport on arrival and returning to the states when you don’t have any bags in baggage claim.  I cut down on the need to check a bag by better matching/packing clothes and replacing my giant Nemo 200 Scuba gear with a the Liquid Image 320 Scuba mask.
• Me Ignorant – I often felt ignorant traveling to other countries where a good percentage of residents speak multiple languages.  By learning a few key phrases like “Hello”, “Thank you”, etc. in the local language, I was able to get by.  That said, I couldn’t help feeling a little dumb and lazy only knowing one language when it is common for people in Europe to be fluent in 2-3 and folks in South Africa to speak 6-7 (there are 11 official languages in South Africa).  I plan to fix this!  My goal is to acquire basic fluency in Spanish within the next year – but I need someone to practice with me.  Any takers???
• King Bed Please – I am at a point in my life where I don’t want to sleep in a dormitory style hostel or Couchsurf with strangers.  Both are very cheap and relatively safe options for traveling abroad – I’m simply willing to pay more for greater privacy and comfort.
• Drive a Stick – In the US, very few cars these days have manual transmissions.  With the exception of the really cheap or sport cars, many US carmakers no longer even offer manual transmissions as an option.  Outside of the US is an entirely different story; automatic transmissions are fairly rare (mostly limited to the luxury car market).  In Johannesburg, I had a hell of a time driving a manual transmission on the left side of the road with the steering column on the right side of the car.
• You Gotta Light? – In a growing number of places in the US, smokers are demonized and treated as outcasts.  Smoking has been banned in many restaurants, clubs and even in some public places.  Not only is smoking alive and well outside of the US, I would say it’s thriving.  Buenos Aires and seemingly all of South Africa were particularly heavy in terms of the number of chain smokers.  Interestingly, the preferred brand of many international smokers is the US produced Marlboros.
• Jay Class – I’m really built for Jay Class (aka First/Business class).  Paying for bags, getting on the plane last, being squished in sardine sized seats and paying for food & alcohol just stinks.  I know that sounds a little snobbish – but when you’ve been upgraded enough times it’s rather shocking to have to sit in coach.  Besides – you gonna turn down an upgrade???  Didn’t think so.
• No More Clubs – I must be getting old because I didn’t visit nightclubs very often during my trips.  I used to hit the clubs until the wee hours of the morning, but I just don’t have the desire anymore.  Besides, the story is basically the same – sweet music, lil libation, hot women, breakfast and bed.  I’ve seen this movie before; hell, even made a few.
• Around the World – Someone asked me whether I was doing an RTW (Around the World trip where one continuously travels from destination to destination without returning home); to which I replied “no – I go home in-between each trip”.  They responded “Why”?  Frankly, I didn’t have a good answer for that other than I hadn’t even thought about it.  In fact, I had never even heard of the term gap year until I began meeting other travelers from Europe.  Certainly something I’ll be thinking about when the next sabbatical comes about.

Each destination had its own experiences, so I’ll save them for the individual travel reviews.

All Good Things…

Everywhere is on my List!

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this possible; from my friends and family cheering me on, to other travelers providing advice and a cool boss who was willing to keep a seat warm for my return to the organization.  I’ve gained experiences I will cherish forever and have met a ton of new people from around the globe.  While my year long sabbatical has come to an end, new and thought provoking articles on this site will not stop!

In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting reviews of every one of the trips I’ve taken in the last year.  In addition, the Travel Advice, Tips & Tricks, Travel Gadget Reviews and the popular Traveler Spotlight series will continue.   I still have several places to go on my Bucket List, so this is by no means the end of my travel career.  I will continue to travel; I just won’t be averaging an international destination a month as I was the last year.  My next goal is to buy an RV and visit every contiguous state in the union or some other wacky plan that pops into my head a year or two from now.

Until then – who do I have to screw to get to Antarctica on the cheap?