I nourish active rebellion -Walt Whitman
Buy a One Way Ticket
I can’t explain the exhilaration of buying a one way overseas ticket. It is similar to having a wonderful secret. Or winning a lottery that only you know about. These days, I only buy one way tickets. Even if I know I might come back, I don’t buy the return. It is just more fun not to. At this point, I am happy to go somewhere and not make any plans for what I will do or how long I will stay. In fact, the moment I do make plans, they fall through and I have to change things anyway.
Stop Making Plans
I am a planner by nature. In fact, a major element of what I teach is goal setting and getting people to focus on. However, after I arrived on this journey, I have learned it is good to have a focused path, but not to get attached to anything (including plans). By not having expectations and limitations, it frees me to make more important decisions. For example, if I am experiencing something that requires my attention, I can continue to spend focused time and energy on the situation. This could be a working project, a friend in need, or just taking in a beautiful moment. By going with the flow and seeing what happens, my life is freed.
Light Your Guidebook on Fire
My first day here I woke up early. I was waiting for my friend Cody to wake up and eagerly paced the apartment, ready to conquer the city. Bored, I picked up the Bangkok guidebook and thumbed through familiar sites that I had seen from my previous trip. My friend must have felt my enthusiasm, looking at me with one eye, I was like a puppy ready to go out. It didn’t really hit me until we had this discussion:
Me: Do you want to go do something today?
Him: Like what?
Me: Well, we are in Bangkok…. We should go and Do Something.
Him: Brooke, you live here now. You don’t have to DO Anything.
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. ..
I didn’t need to rely on a guidebook to dictate my life. Life was just going to happen and I was going to forever be a part of where I lived.
Since I’ve been here, some of the best travel moments I have ever experienced have been last minute, haphazard, thrown together adventures. Each and every place I go, I stumble into a place to stay, serendipitously meet all the right people, and find my way to the next wonderful moment… all without a guidebook.
The Serendipity of Travel
When you learn to rely upon having no plans as a lifestyle, you get better at reading signs and having serendipitous moments. You will find that you meet people at the right times and they have information to share with you, or likewise, you have information to share with them. I have experienced that if you lean to count on your intuition and instincts that you will experience more and more well timed moments of connection and have the feeling that you have arrived just in time…
Showing Up Just In Time
Traveling abroad can be an overwhelming experience. Trying to sort out differences in language, arriving and staying at new destinations, dealing with passport and visa issues, and staying on top of running a business is trying, at best. But if you can take time each morning to sit quietly and determine what you need to do, your plans will be assisted. Taxi rides that seemingly take too long will deliver you into meeting up randomly with a friend. Going into a new restaurant you feel drawn to may give you the opportunity to make new friends and acquaintances. You will begin to learn to trust your instincts and realize that you are a small part of a greater plan that is at work.
I cannot even count the numerous experiences I have had where I was in a situation that seemed to be stressful or unfavorable and inevitably it delivered me Just In Time to a situation where someone needed my help.
Try to look outside of your situation to see how you can be available for others. If you are relaxed, you will be more approachable and be able to possibly help many people in your path. Just now, I am at the Bangkok immigration office. My day has been challenging and stressful, full of paperwork, confusing lines and loads of forms. I went outside to get a break from the noise and met two gals that looked more bewildered than me. I was able to tell them where to go, what to do, and watch their bags while they were sorting out their documentation. In a matter of minutes, they arrived back with big smiles on their faces. Everything was sorted and they were on their way. My mild inconvenience of getting here ‘late’ was immediately erased and I knew that I had arrived Just In Time to help them.
We’re Done Here
When we can let go of timelines, expectations, and itineraries, we free ourselves to be more available for others. We will, in turn, find ourselves moving freely from one serendipitous moment to another. We can arrive just in time to help out, find out new information, or share insights with people that are in need of our knowledge. Learn to let yourself be carried away in the moments that surround you. Interact with your surroundings and live by the theory that you are meant to have a positive impact on all of the people you encounter. Look for ways to connect with others, and your life will be full of magic. So when you find yourself stressed out by an agenda, remember this: Break the rules and throw away your itinerary! Instead, learn to live a life of magic.
“I had to run like a fugitive, just to save the life I live.”- Iron Lion Zion, Bob Marley
I nourish active rebellion
-Walt Whitman
Buy a One Way Ticket
I can’t explain the exhilaration of buying a one way overseas ticket. It is similar to having a wonderful secret. Or winning a lottery that only you know about. These days, I only buy one way tickets. Even if I know I might come back, I don’t buy the return. It is just more fun not to. At this point, I am happy to go somewhere and not make any plans for what I will do or how long I will stay. In fact, the moment I do make plans, they fall through and I have to change things anyway.
Stop Making Plans
I am a planner by nature. In fact, a major element of what I teach is goal setting and getting people to focus on. However, after I arrived on this journey, I have learned it is good to have a focused path, but not to get attached to anything (including plans). By not having expectations and limitations, it frees me to make more important decisions. For example, if I am experiencing something that requires my attention, I can continue to spend focused time and energy on the situation. This could be a working project, a friend in need, or just taking in a beautiful moment. By going with the flow and seeing what happens, my life is freed.
Light Your Guidebook on Fire
My first day here I woke up early. I was waiting for my friend to wake up and eagerly paced the apartment, ready to conquer the city. Bored, I picked up the Bangkok guidebook and thumbed through familiar sites that I had seen from my previous trip. My friend must have felt my enthusiasm, looking at me with one eye, I was like a puppy ready to go out. It didn’t really hit me until we had this discussion:
Me: Do you want to go do something today?
Him: Like what?
Me: Well, we are in Bangkok…. We should go and Do Something.
Him: Brooke, you live here now. You don’t have to DO Anything.
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t need to rely on a guidebook to dictate my life. Life was just going to happen and I was going to forever be a part of where I lived. Since I’ve been here, some of the best travel moments I have ever experienced have been last minute, haphazard, thrown together adventures. Each and every place I go, I stumble into a place to stay, serendipitously meet all the right people, and find my way to the next wonderful moment… all without a guidebook.
Serendipity
When you learn to rely upon having no plans as a lifestyle, you get better at reading signs and having serendipitous moments. You will find that you meet people at the right times and they have information to share with you, or likewise, you have information to share with them. I have experienced that if you lean to count on your intuition and instincts that you will experience more and more well timed moments of connection and have the feeling that you have arrived just in time.
Just In Time
Traveling abroad can be an overwhelming experience. Trying to sort out differences in language, arriving and staying at new destinations, dealing with passport and visa issues, and staying on top of running a business is trying, at best. But if you can take time each morning to sit quietly and determine what you need to do, your plans will be assisted. Taxi rides that seemingly take too long will deliver you into meeting up randomly with a friend. Going into a new restaurant you feel drawn to may give you the opportunity to make new friends and acquaintances. You will begin to learn to trust your instincts and realize that you are a small part of a greater plan that is at work.
I cannot even count the numerous experiences I have had where I was in a situation that seemed to be stressful or unfavorable and inevitably it delivered me Just In Time to a situation where someone needed my help. Try to look outside of your situation to see how you can be available for others. If you are relaxed, you will be more approachable and be able to possibly help many people in your path. Just now, I am at the Bangkok immigration office. My day has been challenging and stressful, full of paperwork, confusing lines and loads of forms. I went outside to get a break from the noise and met two gals that looked more bewildered than me. I was able to tell them where to go, what to do, and watch their bags while they were sorting out their documentation. In a matter of minutes, they arrived back with big smiles on their faces. Everything was sorted and they were on their way. My mild inconvenience of getting here ‘late’ was immediately erased and I knew that I had arrived Just In Time to help them.
Closing
When we can let go of timelines, expectations, and itineraries, we free ourselves to be more available for others. We will, in turn, find ourselves moving freely from one serendipitous moment to another. We can arrive just in time to help out, find out new information, or share insights with people that are in need of our knowledge. Learn to let yourself be carried away in the moments that surround you. Interact with your surroundings and live by the theory that you are meant to have a positive impact on all of the people you encounter. Look for ways to connect with others, and your life will be full of magic. So when you find yourself stressed out by an agenda, remember this: Break the rules and throw away your itinerary! Instead, learn to live a life of magic.
“I had to run like a fugitive, just to save the life I live.” Iron Lion Zion, Bob Marley
Twitter Updates
28 July 2009 at 7:45 am
Brooke,
Great post! I can especially relate to the part about how sometimes the best travel stories are the ones that are unplanned or get thrown together at the last minute.
I have never bought a one way ticket. I hope to do so in January, when I begin my adventure, and can’t wait to see what it feels like. Keep up the good writing!
Sean
28 July 2009 at 3:10 pm
I just bought a one-way ticket last night
28 July 2009 at 6:15 pm
This resonates in ways I can’t begin to describe.
I’ll just say, “Thanks for sharing!”
Cheers,
Mitch
28 July 2009 at 7:14 pm
This is definitely my philosophy for travel.
I am not one of those people who likes to plan everything out. Just showing up and figuring out things as you go can be a lot of fun.
However, sometimes I miss out on some cooler places to see because I didn’t do the research. Fortunately, my wife is a strong planner so maybe we balance each other out.
I am curious about your one-way tickets. In my experiences one-way tickets are almost always more expensive then purchasing return flights, unless they are the discount air carriers like EasyJet and RyanAir.
Do you buy the one-way tickets only for regional travel or for long haul flights as well?
29 July 2009 at 6:10 am
Before going nomadic full time, I was much much more schedule oriented. When Chris and I first took off together, it took me quite a while to come to embrace what we call ‘nomadic serendipity’.
Even today, we’re sitting in St. Louis and all we know is that we need to be to the Black Rock Desert for Burning Man by the end of August. We have no clue what our route, timing or stops will be along the way. Two years ago, I’d be antsy and stressed. Now, no big deal – I know that adventure we’ll have along the way is the one we’re meant to have.
Excellent post describing the nature of serendipity, and trusting in it
– Cherie / http://www.technomadia.com
29 July 2009 at 7:09 am
Most of our trips tend to be just “let’s go to this place. We’ll make it up as we go.” It works out pretty well for us. We’re working it into more than just short stints, and applying it more to the rest of our life.
29 July 2009 at 7:56 am
@John In Thailand, we usually get pond skipper trips on cheap carriers like AirAsia.com
@Taylor, I’m curious to learn where you’re flying off to!
This is an awesome post Brooke. I love the serendipity of travel. This makes me think about my trip with Dwight to Kuala Lumpur where we made almost no plans, but we’d run into our buddy Mark by chance, have a fantastic time, and ended up meeting an awesome couchsurfer girl who drove us in the middle of the night to the nicest little remote town in all of Malaysia! Good times.
29 July 2009 at 7:59 am
Glad I could be there for your induction to Bangkok and many a fun, last-minute adventures btw!
29 July 2009 at 8:05 am
Thanks, everyone for your comments!
@Sean Where are you headed?
@Taylor Congrats!!! Goin’ anywhere near Thailand?
@Mitch Thanks for posting again! Glad to hear we are on the same wavelength!
@John My last flights have been one way, international and then in Thailand… I just came up to Bangkok for a two week trip that has turned into six weeks because I didn’t have a return ticket! I’ve found that most of the flights to here and around here are the same price as round trip flights… So that’s one great factor of going one way. Plus, then you don’t have to pay for any extensions or changes. Thanks for your comment!
Keep rockin’ yall!
29 July 2009 at 8:48 am
When I first set off on full time nomadism, I was very much a planner. I needed to know where we’d be a few weeks out, let alone what we were doing today.
Thankfully 2+ years of full time travel has cured me of that pesky little problem, and now Nomadic Serendipity happily guides our way. We often don’t know where we’ll be sleeping the next night now. The wonderful things we encounter as a result are what its all about.
Thank you for a wonderful reminder
– Cherie
29 July 2009 at 9:38 am
Cody & Brooke: not terribly close to Thailand… and I’ll reveal it a bit later once I fit a couple more one-way tickets into the itinerary
11 August 2009 at 11:35 pm
@Cherie I am getting more and more comfortable with letting my intuition guide where I go next. It is a really strange feeling, and sometimes I feel like I’m being irresponsible for “not knowing”. In fact, just the other day, I needed to do a border run. It was midnight and I had to do the run the next day, and had NO IDEA how it was going to happen. But the strangest thing happened: I didn’t care. I wasn’t worried about it at all. Normally, I would have it all figured out days in advance and know exactly what to do. I got online, found a company, called them in the morning and was able to get onto a fully booked trip. They made room for me and everything went seamlessly! I think sometimes when we can just let ourselves relax, everything seems to work out just fine! Thanks for the comment!
@Taylor Ok, hope to see you if you make it through this way… I’m looking forward to hearing about your journey and revolutions…are you going to be bloging your adventures?
18 August 2009 at 4:39 am
I love this post. It reminds me of some days in Brisbane, Australia where we went on daily adventures without much of a plan. They were the best days.
For the past 8 months I’ve been traveling. Not much of it was planned, but there were some looming onward flights and meetings with family that could not be changed. Next time I travel it will most likely be on a one way ticket, just to take away the looming feeling of the return home.
24 August 2009 at 8:09 am
@Wouter Meyers – I love the one way tickets. They leave you open for the travel serendipity that always happens! I’ve found I don’t have to try to figure it all out, I can just go with the flow of things and be where I’m needed. Where are you traveling? Are you still on the road?
13 September 2009 at 7:46 pm
I’ve always been such a planner. We spent six weeks in Panama this year, and I planned out every detail, booked every hotel in advance (except one), and had a list of activities to do every day.
No more! In January, we’re moving to Costa Rica. We’ve never been there before, we don’t know where we’re going to stay, and we’re not going to make any decisions until we get there. Even though this kind of adventure is a little scary for me, it just feels like the way it should be for us right now.
Although, I’m not sure how you’re doing the one-way plane ticket thing. Because of immigration laws, the airlines I’ve talked to require a 2-way ticket in order to enter the country, or some other proof of exit before the visa expires. But maybe it’s only Costa Rica that’s that strict…
Anyway, we’re looking forward to the adventure! Thanks for the assurance that it’s possible and enjoyable to live spontaneously.