The one on the right, LOL!
How cheap can you really live? $500 USD a month!
My travel budget is USD 2000 a month and I have all the time in the world which will allow me to go to most places in the world. I cannot help you with time but, I can sure help you with the money part. If you are willing to live the slow travel nomadic lifestyle full or even part-time to get away from the snow.
You can amerce yourself into a new culture and be a legend in your mind too, LOL! I also know it’s not for everyone but neither is the bullshit inflation in North America!
I was introduced to slow travel on YouTube and stumbled upon Dan’s website and YouTube channel and immediately became addicted. How could someone travel so inexpensively and visit so many amazing places too? Seems impossible! Well, it is far from impossible!
The below video shows Dan interviewing someone who is living under USD 500 a month and loving life too. It is not for me and might not be for you, but it is incredible!
If this is something that intrigues you, Dan has 900+ videos of how to retire abroad!
* I chatted with Dan, and he permitted me to share information from his site! You will see it in other posts as well so you may as well go get the milk from the cow so bookmark him!
Alice the camel has … go Alice go!!!
One of my goals in visiting the United Emirates was to ride a camel just like my favorite cartoon!
I did not get to ride a camel but did visit a camel farm on the outskirts of Abu Dabhi. I was just like the movies; the camels in the Desert are for real, they were everywhere!
I never pay for an excursion anywhere in the world as it goes against my life-like aspirations.
My Uber driver told me, you’re a dumbass and I will cut you a deal. Fair enough, I can be a dumbass trying to save money. He did cut me a deal for the day to find a camel farm.
It was awesome as they are such interesting animals and my driver gave me a great tour explaining their importance locally. We also visited a camel racing track where these guys will run 8 km with big money betting from the rich culture within the area.
Those were to good days and if you think this is silly …
Bugs Bunny is smarter than most of us!
Boat tour off Koh Phi Phi, Thailand!
I consider my six-week trip to Thailand in 2021 as being free!
It was my fifth anniversary working for PayPal and I was eligible for my four-week sabbatical. I tacked on two weeks of vacation and also rented my AZ condo on Airbnb the entire time. How sweet of a deal was that setup!
January 2021, Thailand was reopening for tourists after COVID-19. There were so many strict rules, but as always 90% of the stuff we worry about never happens.
Bring a negative COVID test within 48 hours of departure. ✅
Buy travel insurance that covers COVID. ✅
Take a COVID test once arriving at the hotel in Bangkok. ✅
Locked down in a hotel until the test came back negative in 48 hours. ✅
I would be fed three amazing meals a day delivered to my door. ✅✅✅
Allowed to wander around the hotel grounds during lockdown. ✅
Pretty amazing time-out to take care of the 14-hour time difference and jet lag!
Once I received a clear email from the Thai government, I was off to tour Bangkok for two days before leaving. I would be back on my way home to finish touring the city.
I left for my island hoping for adventures in the following days: Koh Samui, Koh, Phagan, Koh Tao, Phuket, and the topic of this post, my absolute favorite island in Thailand, Koh Phi Phi Island!
Unsure whether or not to jump! Damn rights, that was a long way up for a big boy!
Watch for the body, UGH that’s a long way up for a big boy, LOL!
This was an amazing boat ride I took to tour the islands around Koh Fi Fi. We snorkeled and visited several bays in the area including the famous Maya Bay where the movie “The Beach” was filmed. Although it was closed for swimming due to preservation, it was beautiful!
Here are some professional pictures from Google:
Since there was no swimming allowed, you could see all sorts of fishing including sharks from land. It made it that much better seeing it unspoiled by tourists IMO. I will be back to swim!
Here are some less glamourous shots I took but it looks just as amazing!
I am also not much for snorkeling as I am claustrophobic. I survived and did not drop my GoPro while hyperventilating due to kicking so much, LOL!
Facebook memories around the world!
Facebook memories will often share mashed-up travel memories which is why I created a section called travel memories. I will paste the memories as they are shared, I want them all in one place and this is perfect.
This is a great mashed-up memory that covers so many amazing posts around the world.
Puerto Vallarta, Lake Paddle/Hawes hiking trail amazing sunsets, camping with my rooftop tent, Kona/Honolulu, Rocky Point and Lima sunsets, Philippines ferry ride, Vienna, Austria walk, and the last one is the spectacular Dubai harbor.
Seeing them all together makes me realize how fun it is to share my amazing travels here!
London, UK layover!
I was able to spend London on my way back home on a trip in the fall of 2024. I had been to London a few times, but it was always a great experience. It felt a bit different without the Queen when I landed. I took the train from Gatwick to central London Picadilly tube station.
Here are some shots I took of typical London pubs which are on most corners:
After I got off the tube, I walked to London bridge which was neat to see again. It is always a challenge to tourists in London as traffic flows the opposite direction. You will see “look right” signs at cross walks and almost got hit my first time there.
I found a great hostel near the bus station that I was taking to Heathrow. I needed to leave early for the airport to catch my flight but made the most of it. An old friend was flying me home on her passes, I couldn’t mess up, or she would not fly my ass anywhere again.
Everything worked out awesome and the AA agent gave me a bulkhead seat with a ton of leg room. That is something that never happens as I fly cheap ass discount airlines.
All-inclusive vacation and cruises – I do not get it?
I have never been a fan of all-inclusive vacations, and it is not only the extraordinary costs involved.
Let me see if I can frame it properly with my bad attitude on the topic:
- You head to the airport and have a few drinks at the airport lounge.
- Land in Puerto Vallarta and someone picks you up and shuffles you to an amazing resort.
- You mingle with other people from your own country and overeat buffet food.
- If you’re lucky, you can get a reservation for a steakhouse.
- You have to pay hundreds of dollars to do anything fun outside of the resort.
- Seven days later, you get back in the van and go back to the airport to go home.
I want to stress the amazing resort part as that is what people want to do on vacation, relax. I get that part 100%, you get pampered and get to lay around while gorging on amazing drinks and food.
What if you did things a little bit different so you actually experienced the country you are visiting:
- You head to the airport and have a few drinks at the airport lounge.
- You land in Puerto Vallarta and grab local transportation or a taxi to your Airbnb.
- I take the bus (50 cents) located outside the airport or Uber ($10) to get to the PV Malecon area.
- Unpack your bags at one of hundreds of Airbnb choices under $1000 a month.
- Head to my favorite local restaurant or food carts and grab a $2 taco and OXXO for $2 drinks.
- Wake-up each day with a plan to visit the local museums, points of interest, etc.
- One or two days, you buy a wristband to go sit at different resorts. (PV example in link).
Advantages:
- Amerce yourself in the local culture and live like a local.
- Try different restaurants including family food carts which are normally the best experience.
- Hit the local points of interest in PV including free things to do too.
- Take location transportation to the many surrounding towns to explore. (Bucerias/Neuvo Vallarta).
- Live like a local, they can do it for a few hundred dollars a month.
- Doing something crazy, grab a $50 6-hour redeye bus ride and head to Mazatlán for the day.
Sounds exhausting, I know but sitting around shuffling yourself from pool to food for seven days and seeing nothing? It just seems like a waste to me but again, each their own and I am here to share ideas.
My monthly travel budget for a month is about $2000 USD and it can be done for less around the world.
Approximate PV costs: $800 monthly rent, $300 groceries and alcohol (dirt cheap), $500 eating out, and another $400 miscellaneous. Rent would probably be the same for two weeks as there is normally a monthly discount at most Airbnb’s. If you have two people, the cost would be about $3000 total, again it is an estimate as everyone lives differently. I am just here to show that there are options out there.
Here is an example of the all-inclusive in PV, Mexico for example purposes only:
MARCH 3 – 10 – $3256 PER ADULT
MARCH 11 – 18 – direct $2898 PER ADULT
MARCH 19 – 26 – $2856 PER ADUT
MARCH 20 – 27 $2779 PER ADULT
I realize that you can find a seat sale for a lot less but made it extreme to prove my point.
If you had the time, you could stay in Mexico two two-plus months for a lot less money. Find a deal on a two-month condo lease for $500-$700 and use the $2500+ difference to live like a king and save a ton of money. Send me a WhatsApp or email from the homepage if you want more examples!
All-inclusive vacation – I do not get it?
I have never been a fan of all-inclusive vacations, and it is not only the extraordinary costs involved.
Let me see if I can frame it properly with my bad attitude on the topic:
- You head to the airport and have a few drinks at the airport lounge.
- Land in Puerto Vallarta and someone picks you up and shuffles you to an amazing resort.
- You mingle with other people from your own country and eat buffet food.
- If you’re lucky, you can get a reservation for a steakhouse.
- You must pay hundreds of dollars to do anything fun outside the resort.
- Seven days later, you get back in the van and go back to the airport to go home.
I want to stress the amazing resort part as that is what people want to do on vacation, relax. I get that part 100%, you get pampered and get to lay around while gorging on amazing drinks and food.
What if you did things a little bit differently so you experienced the country you are visiting:
- You head to the airport and have a few drinks at the airport lounge.
- You land in Puerto Vallarta and grab local transportation or a taxi to your Airbnb.
- I take the bus (50 cents) located outside the airport or Uber ($10) to get to the PV Malecon area.
- Unpack your bags at one of hundreds of Airbnb choices under $1000 a month.
- Head to my favorite local restaurant or food cart and grab a $2 taco and OXXO for $2 drinks.
- Wake up each day with a plan to visit the local museums, points of interest, etc.
- One or two days, you buy a wristband to go sit at different resorts. (PV example in link).
Advantages:
- Amerce yourself in the local culture and live like a local.
- Try different restaurants including family food carts which are normally the best experience.
- Hit the local points of interest in PV including free things to do too.
- Take location transportation to the many surrounding towns to explore. (Bucerias/Neuvo Vallarta).
- Live like a local, they can do it for a few hundred dollars a month.
- Doing something crazy, grab a $50 6-hour redeye bus ride and head to Mazatlán for the day.
Sounds exhausting, I know but sitting around shuffling yourself from pool to food for seven days and seeing nothing? It just seems like a waste to me but again, each their own and I am here to share ideas.
My monthly travel budget for a month is about $2000 USD and it can be done for less around the world.
Approximate PV costs: $800 monthly rent, $300 groceries and alcohol (dirt cheap), $500 eating out and another $400 miscellaneous. Rent would probably be the same for two weeks as there is normally a monthly discount at most Airbnb’s. If you have two people, the cost would be about $3000 total, again it is an estimate as everyone lives differently. I am just here to show that there are options out there.
Here is an example of the all-inclusive in PV, Mexico for example purposes only:
MARCH 3 – 10 – $3256 PER ADULT
MARCH 11 – 18 – direct $2898 PER ADULT
MARCH 19 – 26 – $2856 PER ADUT
MARCH 20 – 27 $2779 PER ADULT
I realize that you can find a seat sale for a lot less but made it extreme to prove my point.
If you had the time, you could stay in Mexico two plus months for a lot less money. Find a deal on a two-month condo lease for $500-$700 and use the $2500+ difference to live like a king and save a ton of money. Send me a WhatsApp or email from the homepage if you want more examples!
Travel bank fees, I hate them!
Imagine this concept! Bank fees are levied by financial institutions for various services and transactions to access your own money while they earn interest on it:
ATM fees 💸
Monthly maintenance fees unless you keep $10K earning shitty interest. 💸
Wire transfer fees 💸
Foreign transaction fees💸
According to a bankrate.com survey, more than 25% of Americans with checking accounts are paying an average of $24 per month in banking fees. I can promise you I pay a lot more traveling and it pisses me off to no end as you cannot beat them, or can you?
Send me a WhatsApp or an email from the homepage and let me know what you do to try!
Here is an example of how the bank screws me when traveling. It costs $5 for not using a Wells Fargo bank machine even though it is impossible as they do not exist outside America. The ATM owner can also charge you anywhere from $3-$10 depending on the location. That is $15 before I see any of my damn money.
Then, there is a foreign exchange rate fee where the bank hedges your money to make even more money. I have paid as much as $22 to access my own money at times which is unbelievable. You always get f#cked in the ATM drive-thru, LOL!
There are ways to combat this bullshit, take out more money at once and risk getting robbed? I never like to carry cash for that reason and have backup credit/bank cards as needed for emergencies.
Recently, I have found a decent solution to this problem. It is not perfect, but it is working so far, banking with Charles Schwab in the United States. They will never charge you a fee to access your money and they will also reimburse you for any ATM fees you experience in your travels. The downside is that it can take two business days to move your money from your bank to Schwab which can burn you in an emergency.
Win some, lose some but for fuck sake (FFS), it is my money!
Deep sea fishing in Kona, Hawaii
Meeting my first mate Sue and her husband Steve at Planet Fitness during my first week in Kona in the fall of 2022 was such an amazing sequence of events. I was there for two months, and it could not have started any better. I found fishing buddies and they were good at it too!
It would make my fishing dreams come the following week catching a 350lb+ marlin pictured above getting weighed at the harbor. I remember it like it happened yesterday and it was the largest fish caught on Captain Toms’s boat Honu Hua “at the time”.
They broke my heart in the Summer of 2024 with a 550lb+ marlin giving me reason to keep going back. Look at the size of that marlin!!
Back to my fish story! Sue picked me up at crack ass so we could leave the docks at 6 AM. I walked up to the boat and Sue introduced me to Captain Tom, Aunt Tootsie, and Uncle Bobby.
(Uncle/Aunt is a Hawaiian term of respect when introducing someone older than you).
The first thing I said was that it was a dream to catch a marlin and watch it jump while reeling it in and holy shit, did I ever! The first thing I remember reeling her in is seeing her jump, I said to the crew, look at that Marlin jump way over there and the unanimous reply was;
“That’s your fish dumbass, REEL”.
It took me about 90 minutes to reel her in and we have some great videos below. I was not handing off the rod and had to crank with two hands at times. We laughed a lot as the marlin made it to the boat and took off a few times with me yelling at her the whole time.
First things first, I caught a Mahi Mahi right off the hop in the first video! So awesome tasting too! After that, all hell broke loose with my marlin madness! Enjoy!!
What a fricken’ beauty marlin and Captain Tom! Reach out to fish if you are in Kona! Tell him NorthAmerican Darrell sent you as he will share some of our fun timesm guaranteed!
We went to Captain Toms and smoked her in an old shack behind his house making the best tasting fish jerky! It was marinated for days and hung on hooks four hours!!
Here are some videos and pictures from another trip with other awesome peeps! The laughs and cruising are almost as fun as the catch, every single trip. We landed a double marlin, two on hook at the same time which was total mayhem for about 15 minutes!!
I was able to reel mine in, but we lost the other one. Rookies, LOL!
If your planning on being in Kona and would like to meet Captain Tom and first mate Sue for an amazing and cost effective fishing experience, send me an email or a WhatsApp message from the homepage, I can work out the logistics. Hell yeah!!
I catch myself saying that the marlin was 350lbs, busted! 338 is the official weight and saved that paper too!
The picture of Captain Tom pointing to the hole in his shirt was my marlin nearly taking him out, so close! That is his favorite fishing shirt and wore it the next two times we went out for a good laugh.
On the right you will see Tom and his families process to smoke the marlin and package the marlin. I cannot remember how much pound they sell if for but took a couple pounds home as is so amazing!
I love this fishing story and will tell it again and again … that 37lb marlin, fought like a bitch, LOL!