Preparations Begin Now!

     I am currently planning for one of the most epic and much needed adventures of my life. I have traveled to quite a few places during my life-time but most of them haven’t been by “choice” if you will. Thus, I am excited to be making this journey by myself and completely on my own accord. Although, I have to admit, it is pretty scary and I am very nervous. That being said, I have much to prepare for! Here are some frequently asked questions I'm sure you are thinking and I have been asking myself before I leave. 

What will I pack?

     After learning from my previous trips and consulting some of my adventurer friends and trusted travel blogs I have settled upon this short list: 

     Passport size photos, and copies of all of my documents. Having photos on hand is useful when obtaining new visas in all of the new areas that I may visit. And should I lose anything it’s always good to have copies. I have to make sure to store them in separate areas and make sure to keep the originals secure.

     Toiletries and Bug spray. Most places will have shampoo and toothpaste I can buy, but just in case its always a good idea to keep small quantities of these available. Also, bug spray, hand sanitizer and “field wipes” (from my military days) are a must; as well as plenty of Imodium.

     My multi-tool and knife.

     Minimal clothes. I’ll be bringing flip flops, a pair of boots shorts and t-shirts and a pair of cargo pants or two. There is no need to bring jeans as they will only make my legs sticky and hot and I can always buy clothes for pretty cheap over there. Plus I don’t want to weigh down my backpack with unnecessary items.

     Since I will be buying a new backpack I’ll have to consider how big I want it. Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to traveling with a backpack. Keeping the pack smaller will prevent me from over-packing. I’ll have to keep myself from going to my military roots and trying to pack as much stuff into the largest pack I can because I’m a soldier and keep the pack to about 60 liters.

What will I eat?

     Everything! The local food over there is delicious and its always cheaper than buying western food. Why spend more money than you should on a dry disgusting hamburger when you can eat delicious local street food for about $7 or $10 a day? I don’t drink as much alcohol as I used to (college years) so I will be saving a lot of money in that area, seeing as how alcohol is usually where tourists spend the most money. However, I will be trying all of the tasty cold beers that the different regions have to offer.

Where will I sleep?

     Finding accommodations in South East Asia is fairly simple and cheap with most places ranging from $3-14 USD a day. This is the price range throughout Asia with some places like Thailand being more expensive than Laos or Cambodia. I won’t be bringing a sleeping bag or linens as most of these places offer them already or you can rent them for a minimal fee.

How will I get around?

     Motorbikes, buses, boats, and by walking of course. These are all pretty cheap and it’s not necessary to book travel so far in advance. However, I’ll have to be well prepared for delays and long trips. I’ll have my trusty Kindle and camera to help pass the time.

How will I have fun?

     I plan on doing everything and anything I can. I am a huge surfer and would love to do some surfing in Bali or Thailand (there are some gnarly surf spots there). I also plan on visiting the temples at Angkor Wat, and trekking through the jungles of Laos and Malaysia. Of course attending the Full Moon Party on the island of Ko Phangan, Thailand is a must! Yoga in Bali and tubing in Vang Vieng are both on the list as well as sailing in Halong Bay Vietnam. There will be no shortage of things to do out there and I plan on doing as much as I can.

     I am beyond excited for this trip and for the next few months will be working and planning like a mad-man! I am notorious for forgetting things so if there is anything on this short list that you may think I have forgotten please feel free to let me know! I almost forgot , wherever I travel I always bring with me a picture of home. No I don’t carry around a picture of America or a Bald Eagle or anything, home to me is a representation of safety and comfort. Home to me is where my heart is. I don’t pack this item away; I always keep it close to my heart…

Finding My Way Back

     In a few short months I will be putting all of my stuff into storage and boarding a plane from Los Angeles to Taiwan and then to Bangkok where I will start an epic journey of discovery and adventure. I have undergone some huge life and career realizations which have led me to change the way I have been thinking and acting for the past few years.

     Some of you may know that I am approaching the three year anniversary of a very particular obstacle I have overcome. I beat the odds and survived. However, I have lost sight of what that used to mean to me. I have lost sight of the beauty of life and people and exploring. Somewhere along the journey of survival I lost my way.

     Now I am on the journey back. I’m going to re-discover myself and what it means to truly be alive and appreciate this one life that we are given.

     I will be traveling to Cambodia to visit the famous temples of Angkor, exploring the many little islets of beautiful Halong Bay, Vietnam and practicing my yoga in Bali. 

     From there I plan on going where ever the wind or the tuk tuk or the buses or the motorbikes take me. Don't worry, I plan on fully documenting my trip through this blog my YouTube channel and Tumblr, where I'll be uploading pictures and video from my travels. You can also follow my journeys semi-live from my Twitter and Instagram(where wi-fi permits).

     Thank you so much for all of your help and support throughout the years and I hope that you continue to do so for the many years to come. I truly appreciate all of my friends and family and especially you the reader! Thank you and stay tuned!

Ps: If you have any ideas of where to stay and or travel or awesome things I should do along the way please leave a comment!

Grocery Shopping

       Okay, so you’ve come home looking for something to eat and it just so happens that you have nothing in your refrigerator or cupboards. You have not even a slice of bread or a carton of eggs to munch on. So you get in your car and drive into town to find a grocery store to buy food. As you draw nearer to town you come across a fantastic store. This store has everything you could ever want. This store has an excellent deli, and bakery and only gets its ingredients from local and organic farms and butcher shops. This store also has the best and widest selection of alcohol you have ever seen. This store is perfect. But, this store challenges you. It makes you feel small and every single time you have visited this store you have somehow always picked the stupid shopping cart. You know, the cart with the floppy wheel and the handles that have been broken off. It’s not you, it’s just that every time you get close to this perfect store you suddenly don’t know where you are and haven’t the slightest clue as to what you are doing. Not to mention this store is a few miles out of the way. However, whenever you are in town you always visit this store and even though you may not buy anything it’s always completely worth it to step foot inside its amazing doors. So you drive buy it maybe because you are scared that you can’t afford anything inside this store. Its prices seem high and you aren’t positive that you make enough money to buy anything from it.

         So you go to the local smaller grocery store. This store had bright and flashy lights and signs for amazing sales. You step foot into it and at first glance it seems amazing. It’s got everything on your list, and they are all on sale! So you start shopping, and boy does it feel great. Milk, eggs, butter this place has it all. But then you realize… the sale prices aren’t sale prices. They are actually more expensive than that of the other store. They have just been marked down from an extremely high price so that they look like sale prices. You’re not actually saving money at all, and to top it off the stores coupons are all expired! The store has been playing you since day one! Angrily you stomp out of the market and hop back in your car and drive from store to store searching desperately for a grocer that isn’t going to price gouge you or worse: charge for bags.  You try the wholesale store which has most of what you need but in insane quantities that quite honestly, you aren’t ready for yet. You head into mom and pop stores looking for the things you need, and although they may have a lot of one thing that you need they simply don’t have anything else and you can’t survive the month with an overabundance of one item on your list. You have even tried the convenience stores but they are just too small and have only enough to last you a week or so at max that you can’t justify shopping there long term. So you go home, defeated and slump down into you couch and order Chinese takeout. But, you can’t live on take out for too long.

        You need long term sustenance, and the only place that has everything you need is the market that is miles out of town. You get in your car and make the drive up. When you get there you find that the entrances are blocked by carts and signs and you can’t get in. Maybe the perfect store saw you try all those other markets and won’t let you in its doors because you have the smell of gas station convenience store on you, or the stench of GMO produce on your clothes. You try and you try but the Grocer just won’t let you in. You try to remind this grocer of all the things you have bought for them and how you even helped them replace some of their inventory when they were running low! Maybe it’s because you used to shop at their sister store instead of them a long time ago. But this was before you knew of this store. This store is amazing. It’s got everything you want and although it doesn’t price gouge you it doesn’t let you get away with using expired coupons.  There are only two things you can do in this situation: you can keep trying to convince this store that you have the money to shop there and no other store has what this store has and if you were to be allowed to shop here you would no longer have any need nor want to get your groceries at any other store. Or, you can walk away and drive to the next town three hundred miles away and try to find another store like this one. Even though you know that it is just about impossible.
   
        You have never seen a store like this one. This store is big, but not too big, it’s got up-to-date features and has everything you could ever want. This store keeps you in check with its fair prices and ample selection. You love this store and were stupid to try any other store. So what do you do? What do you do? You want to shop here. You need to shop here.

I need you. 

My Motivation

I have to because they said I couldn't. I have to because they screamed and yelled at me and shouted in my face that I couldn't do it. I have to because I need it. I have to because you need it. I cannot give up. I will not give up. I must push forward and fight and claw my way up. I will do whatever it takes without sacrificing my integrity. I have to do it because you believe in me. I have to do it because I believe in myself.

I will not fail because I work harder, faster and better than anyone else. I will not fail because I have the drive and determination to succeed. I have the skills I need and I have the know how to gain more in order to be successful.

I have to because you doubted me. You called me crazy. You said my ideas were outlandish and my dreams unobtainable.

I will prove you wrong and further prove myself right. I have to do this because he can't anymore. I have to do this because after all the times I should have died, I am still here. I have to do this for me. I can do this because whatever power is out there, whatever you believe in has given me the strength to do it. I will do this simply because I can. I have to...

Your Dreams, or Theirs?

I moved to down to Southern California knowing exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to write. I wanted to act. I wanted to inspire people and occasionally make them laugh. So I gathered my small life and without a solid plan made the long journey in pursuit of my dreams. Oh, I forgot to mention that I gave up a rather promising and bright future as a doctor.

I was on the fast track to becoming a (hopefully) world renowned trauma surgeon, but decided to put it on the back burner for something that has also been a childhood dream of mine. As it turns out, I've met a lot of people in LA ( believe it or not) who genuinely support me. I had a rare opportunity to meet a man by the name of Bobcat Goldthwait ( you can Google him if you like) at a live podcast show in Hollywood recently. Although he was speaking to a friend at the time, the advice he gave struck a nerve with me.

He said " You gotta quit at a few things in life to get what you want. You gotta quit and quit and quit until you wind up in a place that you never want to leave."

He was right. Making the decision to leave my comfortable secure life in Northern California was hard. Probably one of the toughest decisions I have had to make. Ever. However, I am glad that I did, for now I am in such a place in my life where I know things can and will only get better. And I don't ever want to leave.