Off The Grid

Dear Reader,

I'm writing this at 3pm and someone is coming to buy my laptop around 7:30. Tomorrow morning I will be on the road after spending 2+ years in Hanoi. From Hanoi to Europe I plan on taking 2-3 years and going through India and Africa, but there are some twists...

I have always been very inspired by the likes of Che Guevara, Charles Darwin, Marco Polo and Ernest Hemingway not for what they did or wrote as much as how they traveled. They wondered the globe long before telephones or emails and, in some cases, before postal services were available. I spent new years eve 2013 alone on a small island in the Philippines not long after I split up with my girlfriend in Saigon. My body was in such a beautiful place in a new strange country, but my mind was definitely not there. Picking up WiFi means using Facebook, reading updates from people on the other side of the world, emailing, watching you tube and reading blogs and news articles. All of this is great, but not if you want to travel and fully immerse your body and mind into a place. At midnight that night I wrote in my diary that "after working in Hanoi, I will cycle from Vietnam to Europe with absolutely NO internet or contact with anyone outside of posting letters to close friends and relatives."

Now, in March 2015 on the eve of leaving Hanoi, I still have that same drive and will that I did on that beach in Siquijor. I will not use any internet or any other electronic devices with 2 exceptions: My camera (Nikon V1) and my kindle (I've got about 7000 ebooks and cannot bear to travel without them!). This means getting information must be done first hand and in person. In fact, all human contact will be done face to face (I have promised mom and dad that I will try to find a phone and call them every few months when in a city just to let them know that I am alive and well).

I'm excited to see the changes and effects that not using internet will have on me. I have been online consistently since I was about 20 years old, so that's ten years of staring at a computer screen! Looking back at my browser history I can list the things that I use internet for the most in order of time spent:
1. YouTube
2. Chess
3. Facebook
4. Porn
5. News and blogs
Anyone who knows me well will know which of these will be the hardest for me to give up.. Definitely chess!

In addition to not using modern communication, I plan to never stay in a hostel or pay for sleep in any way, no matter what! This may sound a bit full on and over the top, but I always preach about how amazing budget travel and guerrilla camping are, so it's time to really practice it with no lapses. Also, I plan to buy grain and vegetables at markets and make all my own food, only eating meat when I catch and kill it (fishing, trapping, bird-fishing, chicken theft?).

All said and done, I plan on an in-country budget of about 1 USD / day, which excludes visas and bicycle parts. I will keep very strict records of my spending over the next couple of years and I'm curious to see the effects of getting offline!

Goodbye dear reader, see you on the other side!

2 Years In Hanoi (Video)

2 Years in Hanoi

I arrived in Hanoi 2 years ago from the Philippines with one main goal: work and save as much money as possible. With a bit of luck, a few great opportunities and some hard work I've managed to pass my $20k goal and am happy to report a budget of world conquest proportions and hope not to need to work again for 2-3 years.

After arriving I got right to it and picked up work teaching young children at a language center through Dogi, my good friend and long time pool rival from Saigon. I loved the kids and ended up working there part time for the whole 2 years. Shortly after that I met Chi, my sunshine in a cloudy Hanoi, while she was working at a shoe shop near my house. I returned several times to buy house slippers until she agreed to give me her phone number. Chi was 24 and a divorced mother of 1. She was extremely considerate, funny, and selfless, always willing to help anyone and everyone. And so after being in Hanoi for only a couple of months I had went from being an aimless road vagrant to having a 'normal' life with an apartment, job and a girlfriend. Quite an adjustment!

My biggest break came when I landed a job teaching IELTS and Presentation skills at the University of Science and Technology in Hanoi. The courses where seasonal and the pay was far better than any work I had had up to that point. I had an opportunity to be very creative in choosing the content for the courses and to meet, teach and influence so many bright kids. It was here teaching 18-20 year olds that I really developed a love and passion for teaching and so decided to stay in Hanoi for a second year.

In the second year I lived in a great house and developed some friendships that I hope will continue far into the future. At this point my Vietnamese was pretty functional so Chi and I bought 10 desks, a white board and a projector and opened classes in our living room for other expats who wanted to learn Vietnamese. We did weekly classes for a few different levels and focused on bringing a modern style of teaching (Lots of games, fluency and listening activities and a “no English” rule ) to a Vietnamese classroom. I took on the role of Chi's assistant and tried to help her with methodology and logistics. Every class we ate awesome food and drank lots of beer, but the best thing about the classes was that we met so many cool people from all over the western world!

Hanoi can be quite a beautiful city with lots of trees and lakes, but during my second year here I did begin to develop a frustration with Hanoi and the attitudes of a lot of the people here. The traffic here is notoriously bad and lawless, which doesn't bother me that much aside from the younger guys (aka young buffalos) who fly around laying on their horns weaving in and out of traffic like maniacs. I have a hard time controlling my emotions when I feel that someone is putting people in danger just to be a douche bag and I've had several arguments in the street and even punched a kid in the face once for knocking an old lady off of her motorbike while driving drunk. A portion of the people here have a very hard, cold, Chinese-like attitude (this is mildly ironic because they hate the Chinese) which I find very different from the rest of the country, and not so appealing. When I left Saigon I was very sad and said heartfelt goodbyes to all of my neighbors and all the neighborhood people I saw from day to day and I really felt a connection having spent time living among them. I wish I could say the same for Hanoi. 

All in all Hanoi has been a great place for me to bear down and continue funding my travels. Also, both my sister and brother were able to visit me here which was so amazing. Sitting here writing this I feel sad and as though I'm permanently closing a long chapter in my life, but at the same time extremely excited about the road ahead through Asia, India, Africa and beyond!