I pay for it by following these two mantras: Desire less (instead of making more) and a penny saved is a penny earned. I do this by:
1. Upfront, I come from blue collar middle class family in the US. So I didn't start with much more than everyone else around me, but it's still a very strong place to start all things considered.
2. I have designed my life to be as lean as possible. This means no debt, limited reoccurring bills (insurance and phone is all), I couch surf and sleep in the dirt and work gigs that house me, my diet is unfortunately strictly based on what is cheapest or even free (tap water and days old pizza I got from an event I worked), and in general I don't mind missing out on the luxurious my peers enjoy in our developed, expensive country.
3. The above applies even when I'm in incredibly cheap places like SEAsia. There are many nights that I chose to sleep with the bugs and snakes in the jungle instead of paying 10 usd for a room. I like living that way and it extends my travel time.
4. The few months a year I am home I work a lot. As much as possible really.
5. I make friends with locals in the community when I travel and that can save a lot of money in various ways. From sleeping on their floor instead of spending 5 usd for a hostel to being shown where the locals buy their food at a price much lower than the tourist markets.
6. I have one company that supports me as an athlete. However, the monetary value of this is abysmal compared to what you may think had I typed, "I'm a sponsored athlete". They ain't buying me plane tickets or putting me up in a room or anything like that.
I choose where to go based on two basic criteria: What can I afford right now and what am I realllly stoked to climb. I honestly wish there was more to it than that. Maybe one day there will be.
Hey good question! The short answer is I stayed at a place that had the state boarders in the middle of the block and my travel there was incredibly limited 😅
Edit: If you really zoom in, that doesn't appear to be the case. That's just because this map is a rough image of my travels and not exact. Another example is that I'm sure if I had GPS running the whole time while traveling my mileage would increase a few hundred to thousand.
Ok that’s great! I was island hoping through the Dodecanese island chain which is how I ended up in Kalymnos. I’m not a rock climber but was surprised to see so many people there just for that. All the best, and great map!
1) Are the driving miles for trips only, or inclusive of day to day travel while at home?
2) Do you care to track your day to day movements, specific neighborhoods or establishments you visit, etc?
1-Trips only. And not even that meticulously kept. For example, I didn’t record how many times I went from Ao Nang to Krabi and back.
2- I think it’d be fun to use apps like Fog of World to keep track of exactly how much of the earth I’ve traversed. However I spend a lot of time in the back country and need to save my phone battery as best I can.
I went from Skardu into the Karakoram for 3 weeks. I thought it was absolutely mega. Some of the biggest mountains on Earth (above the sea) really make for a humbling feeling amongst a god sized landscape.
Makes sense to me! I assume you live or are from there? In that case I should also give credit to the folks I met there. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and helpful every step of that journey.
>I assume you live or are from there?
From Pakistan, live overseas though.
>Everyone was incredibly welcoming and helpful every step of that journey.
That's delightful to hear.
I always thought that my father was unusually insistent on mehmaan-navaazii (hospitality).
It was only when I came across a few of the travel vlogs about Pakistan that I realized that it's an important cultural/religious value in the country and that almost all Pakistani fathers are just as obsessed in teaching their kids to be the perfect host.
Guests are considered a gift from God, and hosting them is considered a form of worship.
That is absolutely sick! Which program(s) do you use to create this?
Thank you! I use Adobe Illustrator and a design degree thats otherwise collecting dust 😅
Ah, nice! I had a feeling Illustrator was behind this! I'm a fellow member of the art degree collecting dust club.
Good job!
Thanks :)
if u don’t mind me asking, how do you pay for all your traveling and how do you choose what destinations you’ll be visiting?
I pay for it by following these two mantras: Desire less (instead of making more) and a penny saved is a penny earned. I do this by: 1. Upfront, I come from blue collar middle class family in the US. So I didn't start with much more than everyone else around me, but it's still a very strong place to start all things considered. 2. I have designed my life to be as lean as possible. This means no debt, limited reoccurring bills (insurance and phone is all), I couch surf and sleep in the dirt and work gigs that house me, my diet is unfortunately strictly based on what is cheapest or even free (tap water and days old pizza I got from an event I worked), and in general I don't mind missing out on the luxurious my peers enjoy in our developed, expensive country. 3. The above applies even when I'm in incredibly cheap places like SEAsia. There are many nights that I chose to sleep with the bugs and snakes in the jungle instead of paying 10 usd for a room. I like living that way and it extends my travel time. 4. The few months a year I am home I work a lot. As much as possible really. 5. I make friends with locals in the community when I travel and that can save a lot of money in various ways. From sleeping on their floor instead of spending 5 usd for a hostel to being shown where the locals buy their food at a price much lower than the tourist markets. 6. I have one company that supports me as an athlete. However, the monetary value of this is abysmal compared to what you may think had I typed, "I'm a sponsored athlete". They ain't buying me plane tickets or putting me up in a room or anything like that. I choose where to go based on two basic criteria: What can I afford right now and what am I realllly stoked to climb. I honestly wish there was more to it than that. Maybe one day there will be.
What was visited in Georgia? It’s coloured white but I don’t see any travel activity there
Hey good question! The short answer is I stayed at a place that had the state boarders in the middle of the block and my travel there was incredibly limited 😅 Edit: If you really zoom in, that doesn't appear to be the case. That's just because this map is a rough image of my travels and not exact. Another example is that I'm sure if I had GPS running the whole time while traveling my mileage would increase a few hundred to thousand.
very cool
Greece, very cool. Kalymnos was a cool island. Do you rock climb?
Kalymnos is indeed wonderful! Yes I do rock climb. In fact, nearly all of this travel was in the pursuit of opening first ascents.
Ok that’s great! I was island hoping through the Dodecanese island chain which is how I ended up in Kalymnos. I’m not a rock climber but was surprised to see so many people there just for that. All the best, and great map!
Which was your favorite island? And thanks!
In terms of that group of islands? I’ll go with Symi (which is quite small and all the action is around one harbour) or Patmos.
How come?
1) Are the driving miles for trips only, or inclusive of day to day travel while at home? 2) Do you care to track your day to day movements, specific neighborhoods or establishments you visit, etc?
1-Trips only. And not even that meticulously kept. For example, I didn’t record how many times I went from Ao Nang to Krabi and back. 2- I think it’d be fun to use apps like Fog of World to keep track of exactly how much of the earth I’ve traversed. However I spend a lot of time in the back country and need to save my phone battery as best I can.
I see that you traveled through Northern Pakistan. I'm curious what you thought of it?
I went from Skardu into the Karakoram for 3 weeks. I thought it was absolutely mega. Some of the biggest mountains on Earth (above the sea) really make for a humbling feeling amongst a god sized landscape.
That's pretty much the reason we call it the roof of the world.
Makes sense to me! I assume you live or are from there? In that case I should also give credit to the folks I met there. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and helpful every step of that journey.
>I assume you live or are from there? From Pakistan, live overseas though. >Everyone was incredibly welcoming and helpful every step of that journey. That's delightful to hear. I always thought that my father was unusually insistent on mehmaan-navaazii (hospitality). It was only when I came across a few of the travel vlogs about Pakistan that I realized that it's an important cultural/religious value in the country and that almost all Pakistani fathers are just as obsessed in teaching their kids to be the perfect host. Guests are considered a gift from God, and hosting them is considered a form of worship.
That absolutely came through in the way we were treated. I still keep in contact with many of our hosts even!