After spending over 3 weeks in Padang, Indonesia (on Sumatra, one of Indonesia’s 17,000 islands) we are now in the very international country of Singapore.  It would be an understatement if I said that the transition has been drastic.  We went from being in a city where we were about 2 out of a whopping 20 non-Muslim people (a gross, over-exaggerated estimate) to a city that has every type of ethnicity and food you can think of, skyscraper buildings, and a Formula 1 race track.

All I have to say is that it’s nice to fit in again.  Even though the sun was so strong in Padang that it actually hurt my skin, and the humidity was so high that my skin became an adhesive for dirt and small insects, I only saw about 3 women wearing sleeveless shirts during our entire stay.  Being the sun/heat hater that I am, I commonly wore sleeveless shirts, which didn’t exactly help me fit in, although neither did walking around with a white “bule” (pronounced “boo-lay” which means “foreigner”).  One local child even shouted “YOU ARE SOOOOO WHITE!!!!” in his language as we walked by.  It continues to make me laugh when I think about it.

We are in glorious Singapore for just a few days, until September 11^th, when we fly to Guam after a very short layover in Manila, Philippines.  In Guam we will be spending two amazing weeks in a vacation rental home that looks quite lovely in pictures, assuming that they are somewhat recent.  The most exciting thing about our rental home is having our own washer and dryer.  The days where we are charged $10 for a load of laundry are almost history…. so close!

After Guam, we have a pretty ridiculous flight back “home” on September 25^th that includes layovers in Hawaii and San Francisco (how ironic-  who wants to meet up at SFO for drinks?) on our way to Seattle.  We will be spending over a week in Seattle helping to send my best friend into married life!  What a perfect way to be greeted back to the mainland!

After Seattle, we plan on traveling down the West coast of our beautiful country.  We will try to be back in San Francisco by October 9^th for a series of parties hosted by our best friends- but perhaps some random city in Oregon will captivate our attention, forcing us to postpone our arrival date.  Keeping form with the rest of this frolic around Asia, we will play it by ear.

Possibly Related posts:

1. The Rest Of The Trip’s Itinerary
2. Itinerary Update #3
3. Good Morning Vietnam! – An Itinerary Update

Enjoy this article? Help us share it:

There are many things in my life that I would consider lucky; this trip is not one of them. Here are a few things I’m particularly lucky for: I was born to two awesome and supporting parents, Sharon finally decided to date me, I’ve got my health, I didn’t buy a house in 2007 when everyone seemed to be buying a house. That’s luck.

How did we make this trip happen?

Not luck. We prioritized the trip above all-else. We sacrificed going out. We didn’t buy new cars. We lived in a pretty small room with 2 (sometimes 3) other housemates. We automated our savings – creating a little stockpile of money for when we get back and then saved up as much as we could for the actual trip. Nothing in there is luck, we made that happen. Sure, you could argue that having jobs to support all of that was lucky, but if we didn’t have the jobs, I guarantee we would have found another way.

I’m tired of people saying how lucky we are, that we were lucky to quit our jobs and travel the world for a year and they can’t. I typically smile, nod my head, and agree with them how lucky we are, but deep down I know they can be “lucky” too. Of course you can, you can do anything you want. Admit it, it’s simply that you won’t do it. And why won’t you do it? Do you have a house? Sell or rent it. Kids? Bring them with you. Debt? Create a plan and pay it off. For every excuse out there, there’s a solution. As long as you first admit that you CAN do it and it’s only yourself that’s the barrier.

End of rant. Have a good day.

Possibly Related posts:

1. How we saved $50,000 and are now traveling for a year
2. The Attraction to a Life After Cubes
3. Getting Serious About Earning Money While Traveling

Enjoy this article? Help us share it:

As we were planning our trip, we knew China was going to be one of our first destinations. To prepare, I worked on my Chinese with Rosetta Stone a few times a week for a couple months to try and learn at least some Chinese. When we got to Vietnam, the first thing I did was memorize how to count. It was exciting and fun.

Now, we’ve been in Indonesia for a week and I still don’t even know how to say thank you. And the only reason I know how to say hello is because “hello” is also Indonesian. English is spoken everywhere, so it’s not truly hurting our travel experience, but I feel like a bad traveler. Part of the fun and enjoyment for me in travel is learning at least some of the local language and trying to have them understand me. Does this change mean I’m taking travel for granted? Has travel lost its excitement?

The odd thing is that I’m still happy being here and am having a great time, but this life of constant travel seems so normal now. Perhaps, too normal? Travel has always been that special thing you look forward to once a year–counting down the days until you finally get to take off. It was the ice cream sandwich you look forward to after dinner.

It seems odd that I’ve made travel my everyday life to the point where I am now taking it for granted. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that after over 10 months of being on the road it’s not as exciting as it was at the beginning. Nonetheless, it’s a strange feeling.

Image credit: Morgan Leichter-Saxby

Possibly Related posts:

1. Itinerary update… The Home Stretch!
2. Top 10 Unexpected Changes Due to Long-Term Travel
3. Financial Update – 9 Months of Travel

Enjoy this article? Help us share it:

Sharon and I have now officially booked and planned the rest of our trip, including our return flight back to the states. In this post, I’ll give you a quick update on our plans for the next few months.

August 12^th is our departure date from Korea. Hopefully there will be no issues, as the 12^th is exactly our 90^th day in Korea – the limit on our tourist Visa. We’ll be flying from Seoul to Singapore with China Southern Airlines.

Our next flight is one month later, also out of Singapore. Our plan for our month back in Southeast Asia is to spend a few days in Singapore and then move on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After KL the plan is to head to the beach and do as much diving and surfing as possible. We considered trying to get to Bali, Indonesia, but we wanted to avoid another plane flight. So, we’ll instead most likely be hanging out in Peninsular Malaysia. If you happen to have any suggestions on good diving or surfing places around Malaysia, any help would be appreciated!

After our month in Southeast Asia we’ll be spending two weeks on the island of Guam (Sharon’s other 25% ethnicity). One of the cheapest flights we found home happened to have a layover in Guam. After talking with Continental, we found out for an extra $100 we could have a 2-week “layover” there. That was a no-brainer.

September 25^th we fly from Guam -> Hawaii -> SF – > Seattle where we somehow land only 2 hours later than we departed (the international date line can be trippy). We fly into Seattle, for Sharon’s cousin/best friend/LAC #1 Fan’s wedding. I’m also excited, as this will be my first time in Seattle.

After Seattle, we’ll be spending the next few months in the states. There may be a trip to the east coast, but primarily we’ll be spending time with friends and family in California.

After the New Year, we’re still debating what’s next. One of the leading ideas is to head back to Korea to teach for a year. By doing so we’d be able to save money again and also learn a lot more Korean. Regardless of what we choose, I don’t think our Life After Cubes adventure is coming to an end quite yet.

P.S. It’s pretty hard to believe, but this is our 100th post. Time for a mini-party.

Possibly Related posts:

1. Itinerary update… The Home Stretch!
2. Itinerary Update #3
3. Good Morning Vietnam! – An Itinerary Update

Enjoy this article? Help us share it:

Greetings from Busan, South Korea — our new home for the next 2 months. We’ve found ourselves a cozy (read: very small) studio apartment and will be settling down here for the next couple of months. Today’s post is focused around a constant battle Sharon and I experience: trying to see all of the sights versus taking it slow and not tiring ourselves out.

You’re never going to hear me truly complain about our current lifestyle. Essentially, traveling for a living has been a dream come true. However, one aspect we consistently struggle with is how much to do and how much to see in a given city. It’s easy to get carried away and try to pack each day full of activities and sightseeing. A couple examples:

Example A – Vancouver Island

During our first week of traveling, in Vancouver, we were immediately faced with this issue. We had to decide whether or not to see Vancouver Island. It sounded like an interesting place. However, it was going to require getting up very early and getting back to our hotel very late. With our days being pretty packed as it was, we decided to pass.

Example B – Tokyo

In Japan we recently had an ever tougher choice to make. We had a rail pass which allowed us unlimited travel in the country for 7 days. We planned on seeing Hiroshima, Kyoto and Osaka during those 7 days, but leading up to the trip I began questioning if we should add Tokyo to our list of destinations. How could we go to Japan and not see Tokyo? We ended up not seeing Tokyo and instead left it for a future trip.

Our Travel Style

The more we travel the more we realize it’s mostly about the people we meet that make the destination; not seeing as many sights as possible. It’s more important to us to not tire ourselves out and ensure we’re enjoying our time.

As an added bonus, when you miss something, it’s the perfect excuse to go back there. While I had an awesome time in Japan and I feel like I got a good feel for the country, I know I need to go back and see Tokyo.

Image Credit: Funkyfootage

Possibly Related posts:

1. Itinerary Update #3
2. 40-Hour Layover: The Beginning of Life After Cubes
3. So THIS is why Nichole loves Canada!

Enjoy this article? Help us share it:

I am going to keep writing to a minimum in this post because I don’t want to take away from the awesomeness of the pictures.  Enjoy!

Note:  These pictures are arranged chronologically, with the first picture taken at the beginning of our trip and the last picture being the latest.

This picture was taken at a park where they apparently hired the Wicked Witch of the West to translate for them.

Damn, I had my danger all ready.

Dear Hiker. Oops, you’re gonna have to walk the 6 miles back to where you started.  Sorry.  Love, the Great Wall.

This one is a repeat from a previous post, but I still can’t get enough of it.

Sprinkled soup… crab in soup… omelette… what??

The Japanese use a very accurate metric system.  It’s called “Terrible”.

“Axe murderers, please find business elsewhere.”

“It puts the lotion in the basket….”

They must have hired a really good English speaking lawyer to translate this.

… And the Japanese REALLY appreciate the heart.

I hate to say it, but the Koreans might be on to something here.  I am going to go back to the states and start calling tampons “crampons” and it will spread like wildfire.

You would think they could have had a 5 year old proofread this sign.

Hello Take-Out Coffee, my name is Sharon.

The international consultant for TGI Friday’s needs to be fired.

Possibly Related posts:

1. Very Loose Fashion Observations PART 2: JAPAN!
2. The Great Adventure of Lunch in Haikou
3. Korean Food and YOU

Enjoy this article? Help us share it:

Sharon and I are currently on a bus from Daegu to Busan, South Korea – however, as you’re reading this we are eating sushi and udon in Japan. This post is a quick update on our itinerary and plans for the rest of the year.

Just last week, our 2-month apartment rental in Seoul wrapped up. We were sad to leave because it was nice having a home again.

After leaving, we spent a couple days sightseeing in Korea with Sharon’s parents. As mentioned, we’ll be spending about a week in Japan, seeing some friends from home as well as renewing our South Korean Visa.

When we return to Korea, we’ll be doing some more sightseeing – Jeju Island, the DMZ (North & South Korea border), and a couple other places – before we settle down again in the southeast Korean city of Busan. We hope to rent an apartment, find a Korean language class, another Taekwondo gym and chill out for a couple months.

This will put us into mid-August with just 6 weeks left before we head back to the states. Our tentative plan is to head to Taiwan for a week or two, followed by either Malaysia or Indonesia. We hope to find a nice location on the beach where we can practice our surfing and catch up on our tan before we head back to the states. If you have a recommendation on a location, let us know!

In the states, we have 3 weddings in 5 weeks that we’re excited to attend and in between we’ll do some traveling along the west coast. We’ll be spending Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s in the states, but after that your guess is as good as mine. South America anyone?

Possibly Related posts:

1. Personal Update: What’s going on in Busan?
2. Good Morning Vietnam! – An Itinerary Update
3. Update: Where are we now? South Korea!

Enjoy this article? Help us share it:

1. I still have the same pair of sunglasses that I left the states with!
   If you know me well, you know that I lose things…a lot. This is why I don’t buy expensive pens, sunglasses or anything else that is easily lost. It’s amazing to me that I have not yet broken or lost my sunglasses. On a very related side-note, Sharon has lost 7 (yes, 7) pairs of sunglasses during this trip and is currently sporting her 8^th pair. I win!
2. I’m a chopstick master!
   I don’t mean to toot my horn, but who knew Mr. Miyagi would one day be envious of my chopstick skills? After using chopsticks for nearly every meal, I have really upped my chopstick game.
3. It feels strange being in a car.
   I never would have imagined it possible to feel strange to be inside a car, but after traveling by bus, subway, and train for so long – in the rare occurrences we get into a taxi, it’s kind of weird. I can’t imagine how strange it will be to drive a car again.
4. I’ve eaten more rice in the last 6 months than I have in the rest of my life prior to this trip.
   In all honesty, this is probably not true, but I do eat a LOT of rice. The one common denomination between Asian foods has been rice. Essentially every meal, with the exception of breakfast, includes rice in some way. Interesting Korean fact: The word for rice in Korean, “bap”, is also the same word for meal – without rice it’s not a real meal.
5. I’m terrible at learning Korean.
   I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s come as quite a surprise to have such a hard time learning the language. In general, I’ve been a successful student, but Korean has been a big fat exception. Perhaps learning a language requires a whole different type of thinking than learning business or math. I continue to apply myself, but it’s growing continually frustrating.
6. I not only eat spicy food, I enjoy it!
   In the US, spicy food was something I stayed away from as much as possible. Many of my friends probably would have classified as being a “wimp” when it comes to spicy food (to put it nicely). But slowly growing my spicy food tolerance has worked and I can honestly say there are some very spicy foods which I actually enjoy.
7. I rarely hear my name anymore and haven’t been called by my last name in months.
   Most friends call me “Demant” back home. Nicknames are non-existent when friendships last no longer than a couple days. But what’s also interesting is that I’m rarely called by my first name either. When you spend a lot of your time with just one person, you really don’t say their name – you just start talking and it’s obvious who you’re talking to. When you meet new people, they also rarely call you by your name, because they’re scared they’ll get it wrong (at least that’s what I do). So, hearing any part of my name has become a rarity.
8. I’m basically a vegetarian.
   We never actively decided to become vegetarian…it just kind of happened. Meat is extremely expensive here in Korea, and we just kept putting off buying it, until one day we realized we had become vegetarians (we’re technically pescatarians if you’re splitting hairs).
9. I cannot tell the difference between different Asian nationalities.
   Going into the trip, I thought for sure I’d be able to go back to the United States and say, “he’s Chinese, or she’s Vietnamese, etc..”, but there is no way this is going to happen. In fact, I now believe it’s a ridiculous thing to say. How do you classify 1.3 billion people into one distinct look that’s “Chinese”?
10. I miss being gawked and stared at.
    This one mostly applies to my time in Seoul. After visiting places where white people are rarely seen, it was fun feeling like a celebrity and having random kids and adults simply stare at me because I’m white. It wasn’t uncommon for one little kid to spot me and then point me out to all of her friends – as if they were playing a game of spot the “whitey”. In Seoul though, because of all of the foreigners around, I’m no longer a big deal. Here’s hoping that once we get outside of Seoul, my skin color, “large” nose, oval face and light-hair will once again be the subject of staring and pointing…ahh the good ol’ days.

Possibly Related posts:

1. Personal Update: What’s going on in Busan?
2. Top 10 Unexpected Changes Due to Long-Term Travel
3. Korean Food and YOU

Enjoy this article? Help us share it:

Before we embarked on this trip, one of Jason’s cousins made a comment that I think epitomizes our situation.  In an oh-so-eloquent manner, he said “At the end of the year, if you don’t want to kill each other on the plane home, she’s the one for you.”  That, of course, stems from the fact that Jason and I are going to be together roughly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for an entire year.

In the beginning, as we backpacked through China and Southeast Asia, we had our moments of bickering.  We’re not perfect, and we’re human- every couple has their moments!  These moments always occurred as a result of one or more of the following: hunger, fatigue, hot weather (usually when we were wearing our backpacks in the heat), and/or getting lost.  For this reason, I believe that our arguments were simply products of our poor physical condition at that time, not because we don’t get along.  About 95% of the time (even closer to 100% of the time now that we aren’t hopping from city to city anymore), we are wonderfully happy.

Although these moments of “bickering” are definitely frustrating, they are very rare. Because of their scarcity, both Jason and I are now even more confident in our relationship than we ever were before. (Please see disgusting picture of us to the right… with giant teddy bears.) Whereas before the trip, Jason wasn’t 100% sure about our ultimate future as a couple, now he believes he is more than 100% confident that we are going to be happy together for the rest of our lives!  I knew this all along, but if you know Jason, you know he’s much more of a practical person than I am, and he needed solid evidentiary support handed to him on a spoon, or preferably a double-spaced 20-page document.  What is more solid evidence than being together 24 hours a day 7 days a week in a different foreign country every few weeks and still being excited to spend time together?

Random Thought of the Day:  Being a Korean-American in Korea is nothing like what I expected.  In an earlier post, I had mentioned that we were told that I would not be treated nicely due to the fact that I was with a foreigner and that I didn’t speak Korean.  I am so happy to announce that this is the opposite of our reality!  Both Jason and I have been treated with nothing but kindness from other Koreans.  Granted, Jason believes that many of the locals don’t really think I’m Korean, especially when I’m with him, but even when they do assume I speak Korean, they are still gracious when they find out that I don’t.  They’ll try very hard to communicate with me in their broken English or they’ll try to use more gestures to get their point across.  Korea: so far, so good.

Possibly Related posts:

1. Itinerary Update #3
2. Our Korean “Vacation” on Jeju Island
3. And the Trip Begins…

Enjoy this article? Help us share it:

Let me introduce myself; my name is Kenna, but for this blog’s sake you can call me MuLan. I am proudly the first and hopefully the most entertaining guest blogger on Jason and Sharon’s site. I met J and S in Sanya, China with my boyfriend Matthew whom I am traveling China with. We then met up months later to walk the Great Wall in Beijing and get in fights with Swedish boys at night clubs. Matthew and I started off as students of the intense language called Mandarin Chinese and part-time teachers of English for ages 4-17 years old in Guangdong province. Together we have visited well over 15 cities, 6 provinces throughout the country, met hundreds of friends, and met thousands of Chinese people including a handful of minority groups like Bai, Naxi and Tibetan all in about 8 months time. Before you read this, keep in mind, I really do LOVE China.

Top 10 things I HATE about China

1. Traffic- At any time of the day you can stand still and listen to the parade of non-stop horn honking.  They want you to know they’re Chinese, that they have a car, and that they know how to run you over. Also, there’s nothing like having a death wish by walking on the SIDEWALK as cars drive next to you… on the sidewalk!  Here’s a smooth transition into running people over: I watched a man lay partially dead (unsure if he was alive) in the middle of the street with his motorcycle on top of him while his 7 year old granddaughter was crying over his body. The best part?  The people on the street gawked and did nothing. The bus I was on drove around his body and kept going.

2. Self serving- Other than doing nothing to help a dying stranger, the Chinese can be some of the sweetest, caring people you have ever met. For strangers, however, common courtesy does not exist. When you have been holding your pee for 2 hours, you make a snap decision and choose a bathroom stall. You claim your stall when you realize you have picked the one with the girl puking who will not exit for the next half hour. You can’t move because if the door swings open some old Chinese lady will plow in. This ends with you storming out to find another bathroom.

3. Bathrooms- Speaking of the W.C., have you ever tried the Chinese squat toilet? It is a perfected technique that I will never master: both feet flat on the floor, knees bent while keeping yourself propped upright to avoid butt slapping the nasty toilet mop in the corner.  (Toilet paper, soap, or paper towels are not included in Chinese bathrooms, by the way). I may have been flexible enough to do this at age 10, but for now I will stick with my one toe pointed, one foot flat squat. These, however, are better than the country stalls where its trough style. Hungry yet? I’m sure you will be after the water flows under you and you can observe your neighbor’s mid-afternoon snack float down stream, while hitting your knees against the urine stained “stall” with no door. I could write a long novel on Chinese toilets, but I won’t.

4. Garbage/Pollution/Smoking, Smoking, and more Smoking- Whether you’re breathing in burning garbage while you sleep, looking at garbage in piles along the road, next to restaurants, behind houses, or watching children dump their wrappers on the streets, garbage is everywhere! Also, EVERYONE smokes. I heard that cigarettes here have toxicity levels much higher than Western cigarettes and it sure feels like it. I have cut at least year off my life with second hand smoke in China. I rode a bus on a 10 hour trip, 6 men chain smoking in front of me, windows up. I speak in broken Chinese and point out the “No Smoking” sign and he laughs and puts his cigarette out in understanding. That lasted about 5 minutes before he lit up his next one. I never win.

5. Human/Animal Rights- Walking along the streets of LiJiang looking at billboards of dogs, I smile thinking I miss my lab. The next day I watch a video at a hostel and a man shows me dead dogs sitting on top of cages of live dogs, while a man in the background is blow torching a dog for dinner. My happy billboards are of restaurants. I play with a little girl along a boardwalk and lean over to see the river, but instead I see a bloated dead dog. It must have been too old for cooking. Animals here are used for a utilitarian purpose only. But you have to have human rights before you can have animal rights, which leads to my next topic.

6. Government- Let me tell you a story about the day we TRIED to buy tickets for J and S, and ourselves to go to Beijing. Spring Festival is the Christmas of China. As you may have guessed with over 1 billion people in this country, traveling can be hard!  After a failed attempt on Day 1 (after getting in line at 5:50am), Day 2 had us waking up at 4am. There are others sleeping on cardboard in line, so we are confident as we stand in the cold. Right before 6am, people push and try to cut in line because they “know the workers”, but not today. Today I stand my ground!  When 6am arrives, 10 people walk right up to the front to buy their tickets (keep in mind you can only buy the tickets 10 days in advance, and all stations sell them at 6am including over the phone). Five minutes later they yell out “No more tickets for Beijing for the 11th!” At this point I am ready to scream, and I did. Maybe because it was 6am and it was the second day in a row I had been up early, maybe it was because our friends were depending on us, or maybe I just had it with China and its corruption. I screamed in my broken Chinese and the man calling the shots looked at me in total shock. Not only do they ever see white people in this smaller city, but a girl, who is blonde, who is speaking Chinese, and who is loosing face in front of hundreds of people. I got 2 tickets to Beijing. Hmph!

7. Being White- Being white in China is a rarity. You are stared at everywhere you go. It can be both wonderful and annoying. A downside to being white is that you must have money. Anything you want to buy is doubled in price when you are white. Bartering helps if you speak the language, but if you tell them you’re a broke student they just laugh. Silly white girl, you are rich! If you go to China, the only sentence you need to learn is “TaiGuiLe” which means “too expensive!!!!”

8. Being Vegetarian- One of the first things I learned in Chinese was to say “I don’t eat meat”. The Chinese don’t understand this because to them, meat is a sign of wealth (see being white) so as you can guess it is a major confusion with the Chinese. We order eggplant, and we get eggplant with beef instead of pork.  EVERYTHING has meat in it. We have only gotten sick off of tofu but have watched many friends experience days of agony off of eating meat. They don’t refrigerate meat, it hangs in warm markets for days, and there are no regulations on meat of any kind. Join the veggie club.

9. Inconvenience- A quote I decided to coin when I first arrived in China was “China, not for your convenience”.  A foreign business woman who had to delay her pizza shop from opening by 3 months coined “TIC” which means This Is China. In other words ‘things like this always happen in China, what the hell do you expect?’ I waited in line at the bank for 4 hours only for them to tell me my name is too long and I can’t open an account. The next day I went to a different bank and waited for 2 hours for them to tell me they ran out of banking cards… Ran out of banking cards!?!?!

10. Naivety- This part is more or less exclusive to the students on the campus Matthew and I were living on. They have no respect for any religion. They were raised after the cultural revolution and they find religion silly. They also find make-believe to be pointless. Children don’t believe in fantasy or dreams, just reality.  They also believe that money is everything. They can only grasp that happiness is associated with being rich and nothing else. They are also paranoid. They have been brainwashed into thinking that traveling is bad (you can thank their government for that) because everywhere is so dangerous. I was told by several students that they would never travel to America in fear that they would be shot and killed. I am told on a daily basis don’t go here it’s dangerous, don’t stay out past dark it’s dangerous, don’t cross the street it’s dangerous (this one I am gonna have to agree with…) but I want to see and do things. I feel sorry for the Chinese students who deprive themselves of experience due to fear.

All in all I actually can come up with quite a few more then 10 things I hate about China, but check back soon for the top 10 things I LOVE about China.

Possibly Related posts:

1. Top 9 Things About China that shocked us
2. What’s Communist about China?
3. The Great Hike of China’s Huge Wall

Enjoy this article? Help us share it: