#justexploreit

Overlanding, I had not really heard of it, and it recently had been brought to my attention.  There is a pretty good community of people who do it.  There are many different styles of it, and it looks like a great way to go on a road trip!  I am still learning about it, and was asked to share a link on this site about it.  I really like the whole concept, and would do it in a heartbeat!  Unfortunately, I am busy on other projects to even do much of anything. Check out this article to learn more about Overlanding: https://overlandsite.com/what-is-overlanding/ Brad

  Traveling to Thailand and other countries has taught me a few things about international travel.  But, I also asked my fellow professional travelers to give me more tips about it.  I had to narrow down the long list to ONLY 9!   9) Pack light Since I bring a lot of camera gear, I am not so great at this.  Many of my colleagues live by this rule, and they are traveling all over the place.  I have only been separated by my luggage one time, and luckily it was when I returned home.  That would not have happened if I just traveled light. Traveling with just carry-on luggage makes it easier to keep moving.  I am still figuring out how I can bring most of my camera gear and still pack light.  I guess not packing clothes is an option.   8) Passport and visas This is critical, if you are traveling out of the country.  I have yet to see a country that will allow you to visit if your passport expires in less than 6 months.  You also want to check and see if you will need a visa to visit the country.  In Thailand, at the time of recording this video, I can stay for up to 30 days, any more than that, and I need a visa.    To see if you need a visa, do a google search for the consulate of the country you are going to, and look on their site.  Also, make many photocopies of your documents.  Hotels, rentals, and others will use those when renting out their rooms or equipment.  AND, If you lose the real one, having the photocopies can help get you back on track.   7) Travel Insurance Why?  What could possibly go wrong??  Just ask the people who were stranded by WOW airlines suddenly going out of business, or the passengers on the Viking ship that had a mechanical problem in a storm.  Not only that, but you could get sick or hurt.  But a lot of travel insurance covers even more, like lost luggage, theft, trip cancellation, and more.  It is best to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.  Can you imagine if you were in the hospital, too sick to travel, and needed to re-book your flight?  All of that adds up!    6) Familiarize yourself (with the areas you are staying) And one of the things I learned early on in my travels is to grab a hotel business card to keep with me during my stay.  If I got lost, it is very easy to use that to show a taxi, or anyone, to help me get back to my hotel.  You should also know where the local police station and hospital are located, as well as your embassy, if you are in a big enough city.  You will rarely need to know most of this, but it is good to have the information, just in case!   5) Cell phone You will definitely want to make sure your cell phone works, and DOESN’T cost you a fortune to use data.  We use data on our phones for everything.  If you can’t use your current carrier, make sure you can unlock your phone and put in a local SIM card.  If that is not possible, you may want to get a throwaway phone when you get to your destination.  There are carriers that allow you to travel, and their rates vary.  I have Sprint, and they have free data, BUT, it is 3G, and about useless.  I can pay for 4G, or get a local SIM.  Also, check to see what calls and texts cost, too.  You can use WhatsApp for texting and phone calls, if your carrier charges for those.  Make sure you know what your options are, so you are prepared!   4) Google Maps – offline mode Before I left for Thailand, one of the best things I did was download the entire city of Pattaya into my Google maps offline mode.  That way, I didn’t have to worry about any data connections.  It is pretty easy to do, and I show you in my video at the end of the article!     3) Money Make sure you have SOME cash on you, in local currency.  You will probably carry more than you normally do, but don’t carry too much.  I like to put my money in many different places, which will help if something bad happens.  Check the exchange rates so you can know if someone is trying to rip you off.  Be aware that most credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee each time you use it.  If you do use Credit Cards, use the ones that have the chips on them, they are the most secure.  I also keep a little bit of my own currency for when I travel back home, just in case I need it for something before I can get to an ATM.   2) Research your destination To get the most out of your travels, you will want to know where to go.  The best way to do that is to research your destination.  Sure, you will probably know the most popular places to go, but don’t you want to see more than just that?  Find some places that are less known, but still good.  I still can’t wait to get BACK to the winery outside of Pattaya!  Look at my videos from Pattaya, I would never have known any of those places, if I hadn’t just looked at Google maps, and explored around it virtually first.  Of course, my wife took me to even more places I didn’t know about.    1) Respect the culture One of the biggest pet peeves of mine is when I see tourists anywhere, and they are clueless.  Just there to take a bunch of pictures to prove they were there. Sure, take your pictures, but respect what is around you.  There are many things in your country that are completely acceptable for you, but are considered rude or maybe even illegal.  A simple example in Thailand is that it is rude to use your foot for just about anything.  Touching someone, or stepping on money is considered extremely rude, as is pointing at someone with your foot.  Your foot is considered to be a bad part of your body and it is disrespectful to do those things.  Whether you agree or disagree, you need to respect their cultures, as you would want them to respect your cultures.   BONUS TIP Foreign airlines – purchase in country Although I have not personally done this, I have heard from a few people about this.  In many countries you can fly cheaper if you book those flights while you are there.  A close friend of mine saved more than 50% on a weekend in Chiang Mai for 3 people by doing that.   Some honorable mentions: Keep an eye on travel alerts for your destination, make sure it is safe to go. Be prepared, take a small med kit with you for minor cuts. I hope these have helped you out.  I want to thank my friends for contributing to the list!   Until next time, Safe Travels!

Enjoy the View My wife, her sister, brother-in-law, and I were sitting having a light lunch at this little place with one of the best views of Pattaya, Thailand. I was looking around, enjoying just being there, looking at the view, and then I noticed something I have seen too many times. Do you see any problems in this picture? How about these pictures? You can see many people here at this wonderful spot just looking at their phones. Some are taking a picture and sharing it on social media, others are in some conversation with others. Sure, if it is business related, I can understand. But, I am sure that is a small percentage of these people, if any. I see people here with friends, and everyone in the group is staring at their phones. It wasn’t just for a short time, either. It was for 30+ minutes for most of them. Why would you come here to spend time with friends and just stare at your screen? Am I Too Old Fashioned? I must be! When I come to a place like this, I like to take in the view, converse with my friends, my family, maybe even make a new friend sitting next to me. You never know who you might meet by talking to the people around you. Here is my group. We are talking, being social with each other in RL, not online. I couldn’t get them to stop talking long enough to take a decent picture! Sure, I took some pictures to share online. We sat here for about 30-45 minutes, I took pictures for about 5 minutes of that. The rest of the time, I talked with my family, or I just enjoyed the view, while noticing that I was one of the few people doing it. Not Just Here This doesn’t just happen at this location. I notice it everywhere. When out in most public places, you will see it. Some places I give a pass to, mass transit, waiting in line, that type of thing. But, when you are with friends, especially at a beautiful spot, just PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN. It will enhance your life to just breathe and take in what is around you. Be in the moment, experience it WITH your friends who are WITH YOU NOW. Even if you are by yourself, sure, take a few pictures, just make sure that you put down your phone and just appreciate the beauty of where you are. Take it in. The picture can be a reminder of the moment, don’t let the pictures define the moment. Think of the last time you remembered being somewhere and just enjoyed the moment. Did you get a picture? Do you only remember taking pictures or do you remember how you felt, something special that happened. Maybe you didn’t get a picture, but, you still have the great memories. Thanks for reading my rant. Please help spread the word to the younger generation and let them know, it isn’t about the picture or video, it is about the memories and emotions of the experience. Until next time,Safe Travels. Brad

I like sitting at home I have a small apartment.  No couch, two chairs, a computer desk, and a bed.  A pretty bare place, but I like to stay home.  I don’t even have a TV.  What do I do when I am home?  I sit at the computer, edit videos, post videos, use social media to let people know about the videos, then, I go down the social media black hole.  Of course, I also watch Netflix and Amazon Prime.  I am pretty normal in most aspects.  I have been known to not leave my apartment for days.  That is NOT good for me, or anyone else!! I love getting out When I do get out, I sometimes really have to force myself to leave the apartment.  It is a little sad, because I REALLY enjoy getting out and seeing new things, talking to people, and generally being outside in nature.  I struggle sometimes with making myself go out.  For instance, I am making myself meet Neal at Pequod’s for lunch today.  I will probably drive Uber after that. When I go out, all I want to do is explore.  See things I haven’t seen before.  A couple of days ago, we went to Wicker Park, and walked around.  I have been in and around Wicker Park many times.  But, I have not really walked around.  Seen the different places.  From Reckless Records, to Big Star, I got to experience new places.  I even found out that there is one of those escape places you can go to.  They were closed when we showed up, but that is something I would like to do someday. We also went to The Emporium, I have been there before, too, but I was working, and not able to have any fun.  I got to play some skeeball, and pinball!!  I wish I had more time to stay there, it has been a pretty crazy busy week. Exploring I need to explore more.  I need to force myself out of the apartment more.  That will be hard, since it is getting cold.   I will be escaping the cold in January, and heading to Thailand.  I hope to have many more exploring videos of many places in Thailand.  I will mostly be staying in one general area, but there will be some short day trips. Where do you like to explore?  What types of places to you like to go?  Do you have a favorite?  Where is the one place you have always wanted to go, but haven’t? It all starts with getting out of the house.  Getting out of your comfort zone, and most importantly, GETTING OUT.  Just Explore It!  Explore your world, your neighborhood, your town, your state, your province, your country, and more.  You just have to take that first step.   What are you waiting for?