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Hoi An, Vietnam – This river is incredible!

by Vietnam

After a few days in Da Nang, it was time to shuttle down the road to Hoi An.

It was a $6, 45-minute ride from one Airbnb to the next, which is pretty wild when you realize both cities are this close and yet feel completely different. Da Nang has that big, modern, melting-pot energy. Hoi An leans slower, softer, and more storybook. It’s perfect when you start craving calm—or when Hoi An’s tourist buzz sends you back the other way.

Right now, I’ll call it a tie. Hoi An is winning on pure laid-back charm.

In Da Nang, the anchor is the Dragon Bridge. In Hoi An, it’s the river.

And that river is something else.

I’ve seen it on YouTube, but nothing prepares you for it in person. Hundreds of boats drifting by, glowing lanterns floating across the water, reflections dancing everywhere. It feels unreal—like stepping into a moving painting.

Hoi An is definitely in Vietnam’s top 5 for me:

Phu Quoc, Da Nang, Nah Trang, Hanoi, and Hoi An in no particular order.

Here are a few videos to give you a sense of it.
But honestly? Even those don’t quite do it justice.

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The Dragon bridge – Da Nang, Vietnam!🔥🐉

by

It is almost impossible to watch YouTube in Vietnam without the Dragon Bridge as a must-visit.

Well, February 2nd, 2025, was that day for me on my second full day in Da Nang.

The Dragon Bridge only does its fire and water breathing show on Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM, so if it was going to happen, it had to be today.

Just like every other tourist trap, the lead-up was better than the actual show, but glad I went. I was able to walk to the bridge from my Airbnb in Da Nang as it was only two miles. 

Here are some videos of the amazing walk:

Once I arrived at the bridge, I put myself in the middle of the maze of people to prepare for some pictures. I have to say that some Vietnamese people have zero clue about how normal shit works.  They just parked in the front when they arrived five minutes before the show. 

Here are some more videos before I threw a few of them in the river:

I am glad I visited, but it is just a tourist trap with a ton of people!

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Da Nang, Vietnam – I could live here too!

by Vietnam

After a 17-hour train ride, I blogged about here and YouTube videos here, I made it to Da Nang, Vietnam!  

I planned to do voiceovers with the YouTube videos, but I have not grasped the challenge, yet.

Maybe if I start getting more views, I will step up my game! HINT!!  LOL

I have 259 videos, and almost 10K views in the first month of my channel and my website:

Let me make this easy for you sitting on the fence.  Here are the links you just need to CLICK:

www.NorthAmericanDarrell.com to bookmark and YouTube link to subscribe or here to buy me a beer!

I never thought anyone would buy me a beer let alone watch my videos, but it’s been a lot of fun:

YouTube pays for the advertising clicks, not the actual site visits so it is impossible to make money without millions and millions of views.  Plus, YouTube pays you for the amount of ad views your video gets. If your video has a million views but no advertising on it, you won’t be making any money. If your video has a million views but only 10,000 ad views, you’ll be making money only on the 10,000 ad views.

OK – selfless plug complete and back to the regularly programmed blog on Da Nang, Vietnam:

There is a very North American feel to Da Nang. It is a hot spot for a lot of Europeans leaving the cold wanting a cheaper way of life in paradise from what I am told.

This was a microbrewery on the beach and the second one visited already with $5 pints of goodness.  I had a $7 burger and fries with coffee and carrot cake for dessert for USD 23. It is not super cheap but for a beach. 🤑

One of the biggest things when traveling is the walkability of the area. Most nice beaches have a boardwalk or Malecon as they call it in Mexico.  Da Nag is no different, but it just seems much more inviting.

Besides the countless inexpensive coffee/tea shops, street food, and restaurants there is hiking on the mountain in the bay. The hiking can take you to other remote areas on the beach along with a large statue of Lady Buddha on the oceanfront which looks spectacular from the boardwalk.  

I have not visited there yet so here are pictures from the internet and the supporting blog:

“From the East coast, visitors can see an enormous white statue with a mountain backdrop, that is the Lady Buddha Da Nang. Located on the ground of Linh Ung Pagoda, she was sculpted by artisans in a Non-Nuoc marble village. Thanks to its huge size and importance in local belief, hundreds of visitors come to this statue daily. That makes it one of the top tourist attractions in the city. So why did people place it there? What does it mean? Or why Lady Buddha? are frequently asked questions. Now, all secrets are opened, to help visitors to know better about the monument and everything around it.”

 

 

My best travel days always start by hitting my 10K steps followed by a local coffee. This place is perfect for me as there are so many options for my morning walk/hike and coffee.  Day one was absolutely perfect, but I replaced the coffee with two micro-brewery which is a great substitute for a couple of days a week!

The last video started with a roofie or in this case a 7% IPA! Look at that amazing view with the mountain in the background. Also, If you drive the opposite way, the amazing city of Hoi An is about a 30-minute drive making it a two-for-one destination. 

Vietnam railways – HCMC to Da Nang, Vietnam

by Vietnam

Vietnam Railways – HCMC to Da Nang was a 17-hour trip!

We started at the downtown station at 6 AM and worked our way South, traversing the Oceanside and rice field, arriving in Da Nang at 11 PM.  It was neat to see the Countryside through a window, most of the trip. 

It would have been about the same price to fly with an advanced ticket, but I’m glad I did this trip once. It also gave me a pretty good idea of what it will be like using my Europass.  

I put together the below trip, but thinking about it for 17 hours may change the aggressive but inexpensive plan:

If I do stick with the plan, I will make shorter trips. I initially thought I would see the countryside via train which still may be the case in Switzerland and colder countries in the Northern part of the map.  I have ten legs for 60 days available to use so trying to get the biggest bang for the buck was going far but that thought process will not work for me again.

Here are some more videos from the train trip:

There were plenty of rice farms.  It was amazing to see how each farmer had their land set up.  Water sources and flags were indicating the readiness of each separate patch of land. 

A lot of the trip was along the Oceanside which was neat to see.  Most locals were out there fishing.

I was in car three of over twenty cars on the train.  Being it was New Year’s holiday, the train was relatively full.  We probably made 10-12 stops along the way, picking up and dropping off passengers as well, but it appears most of us were there for the full 17-hour trip. I also booked a one-way trip as I was unsure how long I was going to stay in Da Nang and then Nha Trang on the way home.

I just checked the tickets, and there is an 80% surcharge on the tickets due to the holiday!

How about that BS?  The actual train ticket is 16% or $8.39 of the entire $52.42 cost of the ticket without fees.  That is only my halfway point home, too, so another $50+ to get back, which is more expensive than flying!

The overall shitty experience gave me no hesitation to cancel my Euro-rail pass this morning:

I knew there was a chance I would need to cancel so I bought the $8 cancellation insurance. I am sad that I will not see that part of the world via train but thankfully it was the only money lost.  Ultimately, it sounded like a great idea and the price was phenomenal price for a ten-day pass.  

I can still hit some of the cities with my Wizz Air all-you-can-fly pass as detailed in this blog.

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Vung Tau, Vietnam – Ferry road trip!!⛴️

by Vietnam

January 2025 – I had been itching to get out of the big city of HCMC/Saigon for a few days. The problem is that it is New Year’s week, and everything is super busy and crowded. 

No problem, I found a way, as I always seem to when traveling, and took a fun two-hour ferry ride to Vung Tao.

I noticed a lot of Lunar New Year displays in HCMC, but Vung Tao goes all in, as it was incredible to see. 

Chinese New Year 2025 is also called Spring Festival or the Chinese Lunar New Year. In Mandarin, it’s called Guonian or Chunjie. 2025 is the Year of the Snake.

Chunjie starts on Wednesday, January 29th, and goes on until the Lantern Festival on February 12th. It’s also the first Spring Festival after it was successfully added to the cultural heritage list. People in China get an 8-day holiday for the Chinese New Year 2025.

During this holiday, they gather with their families and watch the wonderful Spring Festival Gala while enjoying a delicious reunion dinner. A series of celebrations will continue until the 15th day of the lunar calendar, the Lantern Festival.”

I hope the pictures and video do it justice, as a lot of hard work and passion go into all of these displays.

I only stayed for a couple of days, but I enjoyed my stay!

I will always remember Chinese New Year 2025, also known as Tết 2025, in Vung Tau, Vietnam! 

Thank you for the memories!

If you’re superstitious, you can click the above YouTube videos for more information on the year of the Snake traditions!

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Hammock camping – St Croix BVI 🏝️🏕️

by British Virgin Islands (BVI)Carribean IslandsFreedom 50St. Croix

This was an adventure for the ages—
outdoor camping, rain, wind, and cold-soaked everything.

The kind of trip that’s miserable in the moment… and legendary forever.

I headed to beautiful St. Croix and camped through a tropical storm.

It was Wednesday, October 4th, 2023…

And it was the very first flight I ever took using my Frontier Airlines All-You-Can-Fly pass—which immediately set the tone by becoming one of the biggest (and possibly craziest) adventures I’ve done.

I’ve traveled with my hammock all over the place. It’s compact, lightweight, and all I need are two trees to be comfortable. This trip was no different. I packed my hammock, a rain fly, and the bare-bones camping essentials and figured I’d let the island handle the rest.

What I didn’t plan on was a tropical storm.

Wind.
Rain.
THUNDER and lightning.
More rain.

Still, there’s something oddly satisfying about riding out nature with a plan for the next night.  I hunkered down in the fort and never saw another drop of rain or wind for the rest of the trip.  

It wasn’t glamorous, but it was unforgettable—and that’s the point.

I had all the base-camp essentials dialed in—running water, a flushable toilet, a beer fridge, and a perfectly chosen setup spot.

This wasn’t roughing it… this was Living Life to the Fullest with a side of regret …

Everything was in place for an amazing few days exploring the island of St. Croix. I had the gear, the location, and the mindset. All that was left was to let the island do what islands do best—surprise you.

There was a tropical storm in the islands that first night—which, for the record, is technically less intense than a full-blown hurricane.

I had convinced myself it meant “a little rain.”

I was buckled in, hammock tight, rain fly secured, feeling smugly prepared…

LMAO. 🌪️

What I actually got was wind, sideways rain, and Mother Nature reminding me who really runs the campground.

If I’d used proper tent pegs that first night, everything would have worked out just fine. Instead, I spent the evening soaked and shivering, with my rain fly snapping like a flag in a hurricane—every gust reminding me that optimism is not a weatherproofing strategy.

But after that brutal first night, everything changed.

Once the storm passed and I fixed my setup, it transformed from the worst night of rest into the absolute best. I slept peacefully, wrapped in my hammock, listening to the forest breathe—leaves rustling, insects humming—while a gentle breeze from my little ceiling fan kept things cool.

From survival mode to pure bliss in one night.

It was about a 30-minute walk to the beach, which was another reason the camping was so inexpensive—just far enough to save on accommodations and justify the next beer. The beach bar had an unreal view too. 😎

Nothing like earning your sunset with a walk, then immediately undoing it with a cold drink and a front-row seat to the horizon.

Lesson learned—and filed under experience beats theory.

Next time, I’ll bring proper tent pegs.

And yes…
I will absolutely be hammock camping in the islands again. 🌴

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Riding the chicken bus around beautiful Guatemala!!🚌🐔🍗

by Guatemala City

I used my all-you-can-fly pass to get from Phoenix to Los Angeles for about $15. Once I was in Los Angeles, I tapped into my Volaris all-you-can-fly pass and flew to Guatemala for roughly $60 in taxes and fees.

That’s the real power of these passes when you stack them correctly—cheap positioning flights unlock much bigger opportunities together.

To be clear, you do need to purchase the airline passes to use this strategy. Each one has its own rules, quirks, and limitations, which I break down in the blogs linked below for each airline’s pass.

It’s not effortless.

But if you’re flexible and understand how the passes work, the travel opportunities can get very interesting very quickly.

Frontier All You Can Fly Blog

Volaris all you can fly blog

I have always heard the term “Chicken bus,” but I never really understood it until I visited Guatemala!

It does not take a big imagination to understand the term, as almost everyone uses the chicken bus as their main source of transportation within Guatemala. If you ever wondered what happened to the school bus you took as a kid, there is a good chance it ended there.

 

I visited Guatemala twice (San Jose and Antigua) on my Volaris All-you-can-fly pass (AYCF). 

.There are direct flights out of Los Angeles, and in some cases the same plane continues on to San José—so I took advantage of that as well. Using my all-you-can-fly pass, the flight came out to around $60 in taxes and fees.

Once there, you can easily find an Airbnb in either city for $20–$30 a night. If you’re able to stay a full month, it gets even better—around $600 a month for a simple, clean place isn’t hard to find.

That’s the sweet spot where cheap flights meet slow travel.
Stay longer, spend less, and actually enjoy where you are instead of rushing through it.

My first-ever ride on a chicken bus was from San José up to Antigua—a loud, colorful, slightly chaotic introduction to Central America that immediately reminded me why slow travel beats convenience every time. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t polished. But it was unforgettable—and exactly the point.

My first experience riding the chicken bus was from the capital of San Jose to the amazing city of Antigua.

It was a great way to start the crazy mode of transportation, as the road was relatively straight with no cliffs, LOL. Although nothing would prepare me for the trip to Lake Atitlan was a start.

Lake Atitlán is the deepest lake in Central America—and getting there from Antigua requires a three–chicken bus transfer.

I am not exaggerating when I say I was chicken-shit scared.

These drivers are absolutely fearless, and I swear everyone on the bus was hanging on for dear life as we carved along roads with cliffs on both sides—no guardrails, no mercy, just vibes.

And yes…
I’m fairly certain some of these buses are still running on the same tires they had when we were kids riding them to school.

I plan to write individual blogs about each of the cities I visited in Guatemala, but I wanted to start with the chicken bus—because it perfectly sets the tone for what traveling here is really like.

And somehow… absolutely worth it.

I remember vividly asking this guy if they checked the brakes! He no hablo English! LOL

Here are a few videos from inside the chicken bus—
so you can experience the chaos, the cliffs, and the questionable life choices…

from the safety of your couch. 🚌🎢😄

No seatbelt.
No guardrails.
No problem (for you).

Guatemala has a way of pulling you in quietly. The pace, the people, the landscapes—it all feels grounded and real. But Antigua in particular stuck with me. Cobblestone streets, colorful facades, volcanoes looming in the background, and a rhythm that practically forces you to slow down and look around.

Here are a few moments from beautiful Antigua, Guatemala—one of those places that doesn’t need hype to be unforgettable.

One thing that really stood out to me was how Americanized parts of it have become.

Walking through Antigua, I passed a massive McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Burger King—all with outdoor seating, blending almost seamlessly into the colonial streetscape. There was even a Little Caesars that seemed to have a line ten people deep every single time I walked by.

It wasn’t necessarily good or bad—just noticeable. A reminder of how globalized even historic, culturally rich cities have become. The contrast was striking: centuries-old cobblestones and volcano views on one side, dollar pizza and combo meals on the other.

What surprised me most wasn’t that the chains were there—it was how busy they were. It really drove home how travel isn’t just about discovering new places anymore; it’s also about watching cultures overlap, adapt, and evolve in real time.

I normally only get McD for coffee but needed to try breakfast and had a Big Mac attack!

(The breakfast was under $5, and the Big Mac meal was $6ish)

I never once ate at Burger King, Taco Bell, or Little Caesars—because the local food was incredible and ridiculously inexpensive. 🤑

When amazing meals cost less than fast food back home, the choice makes itself.
Eat local.
Spend less.
Enjoy way more.

My favorite part of my experiences in Guatemala was going to Lake Titicaca, which is a hell of a ride from Antigua, as I already mentioned.

The lake has a maximum depth of about 340 metres (1,120 ft)[1] and an average depth of 154 metres (505 ft).[4] Its surface area is 130.1 km2 (50.2 sq mi).[1] It is approximately 18 km × 8 km (11.2 mi × 5.0 mi) with around 20 km3 (4.8 cu mi) of water. Atitlán is an endorheic lake, fed by two nearby rivers and not draining into the ocean. It is shaped by deep surrounding escarpments and three volcanoes on its southern flank. The lake basin is volcanic in origin, filling an enormous caldera formed by a supervolcanic eruption 79,500 years ago.[5] The culture of the towns and villages surrounding Lake Atitlán is influenced by the Maya people. The lake is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west-northwest of Antigua. It should not be confused with the smaller Lake Amatitlán.

Here are some amazing pictures of the water taxi visiting the cities around the lake that are all surrounded by volcanoes. 

Here is my $15 a night Airbnb in Panajachel, Guatemala, which is the biggest town on Lake Atitlan. 

I met a local in Antigua that gave me a tour of some of the streets, attractions, parks and Churches.

This Church is over 200 years old!  So amazing to set foot in there and imagine all the people before me who did the same. 

The Cathedral of Antigua Guatemala in 1894. Photo by Lindesay Brine.

See you again soon, Guatemala, as you are very top on my inexpensive travel list! 🤑

Click here

Panglao Island – The Philipines

by Panlao IslandPhilippines

I took a five-week trip to the Philippines at the end of 2024. I rented a a condo in Cebu City for the entire time and made several road trips to neighboring islands including the beautiful island of Panglao.

The trip included a two-hour ferry ride from Cebu City to the port of Tagbilaran, a bus ride and then a short tuk tuk ride to the beach. This was an amazing stop and one of my favorites on my trip. You could say I was relaxed!

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Hot shave and a massage a day! Vietnam!!

by HCMC / Saigon

Each time I have visited Asia (Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, and now Vietnam), I get a hot shave every Monday morning.

Since the cost is pennies on the dollar, I also treat myself!

USD $5 for a hot shave with the same crew, too!

Each experience has been fantastic and well worth the money each time. 

Most legit massage parlors are down an alley with someone advertising at the entrance.

Imagine a lifestyle where you can casually rack up hundreds of dollars’ worth of massages a week for literal pennies on the dollar.

A basic massage? $12.
Every day for a week? $84 total.

That’s the price of one massage back home in North America—before tip, taxes, and the awkward upsell.

Same hands. Same quality. Zero guilt.
At that point, it’s not indulgence… it’s just good math.

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Good morning, Vietnam!🎙️

by HCMC / Saigon

Good morning, Vietnam! 🎙️

Good morning, Vietnam was made by one of my favorite actors, Robin Williams, and released in 1987, which would have made me 15 years old at the time.

There is zero chance I even dreamed of visiting Vietnam when I was that age. 

In January 2025, I visited the Vietnam War Remnants Museum, which had a lot of aircraft and artifacts from the war.

The torture the Vietnamese people endured!

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Made in Vietnam! Inexpensive knock-offs!!🤑

by HCMC / Saigon

I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on January 14, 2025.

I expected the street food to be good. I did not expect it to dethrone Thailand in my personal rankings.

Vietnam didn’t just meet the hype—it recalibrated my standards. The flavors are sharper, the broths deeper, the herbs brighter, and somehow everything still lands at prices that feel like a clerical error. Every block is a menu. Every sidewalk is a kitchen. And every meal makes you wonder how you ever paid $18 for lunch back home.

I ended up writing a full breakdown of Vietnamese street food—the dishes, the prices, the daily rhythm of eating your way through a city. You can read it by clicking

HERE.

I knew, in a vague “fun fact” way, that most clothes and shoes are made in Vietnam.

What I did not fully appreciate was how quickly that information would turn me into a shopper.

I swore that I would never own Crocs. Which is still technically true. I just forgot to clarify that I wouldn’t own two pairs of Crocs. Language matters.

I also grabbed a Nike jacket made from the same moisture-wicking fabric as the real thing. Same feel.

You can’t buy one of the items in North America for what I paid for all five in Vietnam.

I didn’t go shopping.
I hacked the supply chain.

Ben Thanh Market was wild — tons of stalls selling every kind of knock-off brand you can imagine. If it exists in fashion, someone there is selling a version of it (and usually with excellent negotiation skills).

Here are some YouTube videos of the market in action — they give a great sense of the chaos, the colors, the haggling, and the creative branding:
👉 Click the link to explore more videos and info

YouTube definitely captures the vibe better than I ever could with words — and honestly, watching people barter for “authentically–authentic” sneakers in a crowded stall might be the closest travel gets to performance art.

Ben Thanh market:

The North Face, Patagonia, Nike, and Crocs all looked authentic to me—which, at this point in my life, is the only certification I require. 😎

If it keeps me dry, comfortable, and unbothered while I’m wandering through a new country, it’s doing the job. Brand purity is a luxury tax. I’m optimizing for function, not corporate approval.

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Ho Chi Mihn! Scooter mayhem!!🛵

by HCMC / Saigon

I’ve been to a few countries in Asia—Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, and now Vietnam—and the dominant mode of transportation is almost always the scooter.

Every time, I’m completely blown away by how the traffic actually works.

On paper, it looks like chaos. In reality, it flows. No rage. No honking wars. Just constant motion. I always describe it the same way:

It’s like ants marching.

Everyone knows the rhythm. Everyone adapts. Instead of fighting for space, they share it—moving together in a strangely efficient, self-organizing system.

From the outside, it looks insane.
From the inside, it somehow makes perfect sense.

Everyone gives way to everyone else—constantly adjusting, flowing, and somehow still getting exactly where they need to go.

That’s what makes crossing the road such an adventure.

You don’t wait for traffic to stop.
You don’t sprint.
You just… commit.

Step out slowly, stay predictable, and trust that the moving swarm will bend around you—like water around a rock. It feels insane the first time, mildly terrifying the second, and oddly empowering after that.

As you’ll see in the video below, it looks like chaos…
but it’s actually cooperation in motion.

This was my Airbnb neighborhood—the loop I walked every day. What I loved most were the familiar faces and friendly waves. After a while, it stopped feeling like a place I was staying and started feeling like a place I belonged.

That’s the whole point of slow travel for me.

By the end of the month, I had my coffee shop, my barber, and a short list of favorite restaurants that recognized me and welcomed me back like a regular. Small routines, simple connections—nothing flashy, but deeply grounding.

It’s amazing how quickly a neighborhood becomes home when you give it time.

This is an amazing temple in my neighborhood—one I walked through often as part of my daily routine.

At some point, I noticed something funny: I always end up facing the camera in the same direction I’m looking. Not sure if that’s good or bad, but it definitely gives away where my focus is as I walk—eyes forward, mind wandering.

I tried not to catch the lady praying in the shot… and to be fair, I mostly succeeded.
She did ask for my number afterward though—after she finished praying.

Dreams really can come true.
Just kidding. I’ve still got jokes. 😁

If you take the time to watch any of the videos, you’ll notice something pretty consistent—almost everyone smiles and says hello to me.

That’s always the first thing I pick up on in a new country. It tells me a lot about the place… and exactly how much I can lean on my charming personality to get into (and out of) trouble.

When smiles come easily, travel gets easier.
And when they don’t, you adjust.

Either way, it’s one of the quickest ways to read a place—and decide how much fun you’re about to have.

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Rocky Point, Mexico – Foodie!!

by Rocky Point

Did I mention that I have rented here since June 2017 for $USD 150 a month 🤑

It is not fancy, but I always have a fun and inexpensive trip, and I blogged about my pad here: 

Here is a clip Facebook put together that includes my first trip to Rocky Point in 2017 until January 2024!

I am going to try to keep adding to this post with inexpensive and home cooked meals around town.

I keep my Blackstone grill and an air fryer in Rocky Point, as it is perfect for whipping up tacos! 🍖🌮🌯

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Hawaii ~$99 one-way? $35 a night Airbnb!

by Internet travel search tips

I’ve also flown to Hawaii for as little as $5.60—using free points from my Hawaiian Airlines credit card.

There’s no minimum spend to earn the 70,000-mile signup bonus, which immediately puts Hawaii on the table. I’ve seen one-way flights as low as 12,500 points, though 17,500 points is a more realistic expectation. That still works out to four free one-way trips—with taxes being the only thing coming out of pocket.

This is what I mean by leverage: keep fixed costs low, stack points, and let geography stop being a constraint.

Apply here:

If you are not interested in free flights with the card.

Here are some of the latest flights on sale that I was emailed on 01/07/24:

 

This is the $34-a-night, single-occupancy Airbnb I’ve stayed in three separate times in Honolulu, which should tell you everything you need to know. I’ve written about it in more detail on the blog here: Honolulu, as blogged here:   

If you need double occupancy, there are other rooms available in the same house. Just keep in mind this is a shared kitchen and shared bathroom setup—no illusions, no surprises.

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Montevideo, Uruguay ferry trip from BA⛴️

by Montevideo

I had a few days to burn in Buenos Aires, so naturally I ended up taking a random side trip to Montevideo to drop a pin.📍🌍

That’s usually how my travel plans work!

I am glad that I took a chance, as I stayed in one of the nicest Airbnbs I have ever experienced!

I avoid using “eclectic” because it sounds similar to “expensive,” but you can see by the video what I mean!

There is no other way to describe my Airbnb experience in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was the most amazing Airbnb I have ever stayed in, and it was $35 a night. The owners are lawyers from Argentina, and they put all of their love of travel, music, antiques, and heart into this stay.

It even had a record player in each room! Three of the four pictures are in the lobby when you walk up the stairs. From the lobby, you can access four different rooms by small ladders to slightly different floors.

Music is played during the day, and there is a couch to look at the wall antiques. My room, pictured now, was directly across from the wall unit of antiques, so I often left my door open, looking at them.

The bed and desk were in the loft area with about ten steps, and it felt like a different room.

Montevideo is a rather small town, and the Airbnb was right down from the walking street in one direction and the ocean in the other direction, with the best view to top things off. They use a fancy filter, but I can promise you that the view was amazing from my room in every single direction.

OK, I will settle my eclectic ass down and tell you about getting there, and the travel is half of the adventure. I grabbed an Uber from my Airbnb in BA to the ferry terminal. Once arriving, I bought a one-way ticket as I was unsure how long I would stay.

I need to take the ferry to Colonia and then a bus ride totaling five hours to get to Montevideo.

I only spent two nights in Uruguay to get a feel for the landscape. Beautiful, but nothing made it stand out to me.  The food was basic and on the expensive side, and it is so small that I have no reason to go back. Here are a few pictures of the architecture:

As I said, I only stayed two nights, and here are my two dinners, which were borderline gross.  I could count on McDonald’s for breakfast, and I even had lunch there once, too, due to my dinner experience:

The meal on the left was a cheese-covered sandwich with probably two pounds of cheese, and I couldn’t even chase it down with a beer.

The middle was $65, and it was not cooked at all, so I left it and called my credit card company, as that is bullshit!

If you’re from Uruguay, I apologize; the world can see the passion of the people from their football team and their fans! 

It just didn’t do anything for me other than the awesome Airbnb where I spent most of my time relaxing, counting down the hours to leave. 

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Mira Flores, Peru – cliff side pad!

by Mira Flores (Lima)

When I bought my Volaris AYCF pass, the very first thing I noticed was that I could get to Lima for under $100.

Naturally, I went twice in the first six months—because when the universe hands you a cheap flight, you don’t ask questions.

The first trip? I stayed in downtown Lima, which—how do I put this politely—is not recommended. It’s extremely crowded, and I was repeatedly told it’s not exactly the place you want to be wandering around at night unless you enjoy unnecessary stress and poor decision-making.

The second trip, however, was the charm.

I found an incredible Airbnb with a cliffside ocean view in Miraflores, and it was everything. These were my daily views for less than $20 a night—or about $480 a month on a long-term stay, which feels borderline illegal in a good way.

It was pretty easy to get my 10K steps here!  What a beautiful place to walk!

The historic area of Lima is amazing!

The cost of living in Lima is surprisingly reasonable for a major city—and yes, it still caters to your occasional North American comfort-food relapse.

If you absolutely need a fix, Lima has familiar places like TGI Fridays and Chili’s—at roughly half the price you’d pay back home. Same questionable menu decisions, far less financial regret.

That said, you’d be doing yourself a serious disservice if you stopped there. Peruvian ceviche, locally roasted coffee, and local beer are on an entirely different level. Easily some of the best you’ll find anywhere in the world—and at prices that make you wonder why you ever paid $18 for disappointment on a plate in North America.

In Miraflores, the cost of most things runs about 50–75% less than North American prices, which is where the lifestyle math really starts working in your favor.

$2–3 for a daily coffee and a small treat—with a cliffside ocean view, because apparently that’s normal here

$2 for weekly laundry, washed and folded (yes, really)

$20 for any meal at TGI Fridays or Chili’s, including two beers

$30 for a 90-minute massage—and yes, I got two a week, because self-care is cheaper than therapy

There’s also a large mall nearby with all the familiar global brands. Prices there aren’t dramatically cheaper, which makes sense—the products come from the same factories as everywhere else. But it’s comforting to know that if you suddenly need a North American retail fix, it’s right there.

 

The changing of the guards at the Presidential Palace and traditional Peruvian dancers! 😍

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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! 😎

by Puerto Vallarta (PV)

A great hostel in Centro PV with both dorms and private rooms—clean, social, and exactly what you want when location actually matters.

I’ll be back.
(Read in a Schwarzenegger voice. Non-negotiable.)

I’ve been traveling to Mexico since my teens, and somehow my favorite place here is always changing.

That’s part of the magic.

Most recently, I stayed at the Airbnb below in the Bay of Banderas—and once again, Mexico made a very strong case for rearranging my internal favorites list.

Your trip overview – Airbnb

Your trip overview – Airbnb

Your trip overview – Airbnb

Your trip overview – Airbnb

Your trip overview – Airbnb

Your trip overview – Airbnb

I went to Puerto Vallarta four to five trips in a row flying free on points using my Southwest Airlines credit card. I’ve been playing the travel credit-card game for most of my adult life, and honestly, I couldn’t even tell you how many cards I’ve opened, closed, reopened, and closed again.

Yes, it can affect your credit score—but I rarely miss payments, and I hover around 750+, so it’s never been an issue for me. At the moment, I carry Frontier, Southwest, and Hawaiian Airlines cards. In the past, I’ve cycled through Spirit (three times), American Airlines (twice), and Delta, usually rotating every couple of years to take advantage of signup bonuses.

One of my favorite Southwest hacks: Costco. They sell $500 Southwest gift cards for about $430. At one point, I bought $2,000 worth to help hit the minimum spend on my Southwest card and unlock the bonus miles. Between Rapid Rewards points and Southwest flight credits, I’m stacked—but I rarely fly SWA these days, so the coupons are sitting there waiting.

Once I landed in PV, I’d grab the local bus—cheap, easy, and reliable—either into downtown or out toward Nuevo Vallarta.

That said, Centro has always been my favorite. Everything you need is within walking distance: food, beaches, bars, markets, and that laid-back PV rhythm that makes staying longer feel effortless.

Hurricanes can be a real issue in Puerto Vallarta, and I happened to arrive the week after a devastating storm in 2021.

Seeing the aftermath firsthand was sobering. Entire areas were damaged, cleanup was still underway, and the mood was noticeably different from the PV most people imagine. One story in particular stuck with me—a woman had been swept away in her car during the flooding. Search efforts were still ongoing while I was there, and tragically, her body was never found.

Just to lighten things up a bit—the first time I ever had my nose and ear hair waxed was in Puerto Vallarta.

Bold choice for a first-timer.

I’ve since done it a few more times, now that I know what to expect—both physically and emotionally. Character-building stuff, really.

You’re welcome for sharing the laughter, as that is what I try to do around here. 😄

morningmarg

Rocky Point – Monday coffee! ☕🌅

by Rocky Point

Mondays suck.
They always have.
They always will.

These days, my biggest Monday stress isn’t meetings or emails—it’s watching the New York Stock Exchange and hoping it doesn’t crater and blow up my budget. Once that hurdle is cleared (or emotionally ignored), I kick off the day properly—with coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Coffee Point, located inside Las Palomas Golf Club & Resort.

Las Palomas is easily the nicest condo complex in Rocky Point—which makes sense, since it’s five-star. Three phases, three pools, and more importantly, three swim-up bars, all with ridiculous ocean views. Priorities.

I keep my golf clubs here, though I’ve yet to actually play the course—despite the weekly events and scrambles, which are perfect for my aggressively mediocre golf game. There’s also another solid course at Isla Del Mar, so at some point I really need to get my act together and start swinging.

And yes—I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that coffee sometimes turns into a margarita… or five if I’m still there in the afternoon. I operate on a simple system:

Market green? Stay.

Market red? Leave.

It’s a flawless strategy.

Below is a walking tour of two of the phases, including the newest phase in the top right, which is just finishing up. If you’re going to survive Mondays, you might as well do it with ocean views and questionable decision-making. 🍹

Las Palomas even has an amazing golf course—Las Palomas Golf Club—with ocean views, palm-lined fairways, and just enough wind to keep your ego in check. It’s one of those courses where you can play a terrible round and still walk away happy… especially knowing a swim-up bar is waiting afterward. 🏌️‍♂️🍹

If golf were more like hockey, I’d play a lot more—mainly because you could legally drop the guy next to you for chirping your swing.

“Nice drive.”
Gloves off.

And just to make the day even better: the Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Vegas Golden Knights from the NHL playoffs today.

V4

Varna, Bulgaria – The black sea!

by Varna, Bulgaria

My first flight on my Wizz all-you-can-fly pass was from London, Gatwick, to Varna, Bulgaria.

I found a one-way flight for USD $109 so I could start using my pass!

If you want to know more about the Wizz Pass, you can check my blog here.

Once I landed and cleared Customs in London, I went straight to the Wizz app to see what was available. l knew the Varna flight left a few hours after I landed, having done prior research. 

It was still available, so the first flight was booked on my pass!

If you want to know more about the Wizz Pass, you can check my blog here.

Once I arrived in Varna, I got the familiar feeling that I was back in Ukraine.  It has been over 20 years, but Eastern Europe is not as developed. The language felt familiar even though I failed Ukrainian 10 in high school, LOL!

Being Ukrainian, the prices were right up my alley!  I paid under $5 for some awesome cabbage soup with a roll and a drink.

This was one of the most beautiful Churches I have visited!

Rocky8

My Point, Mexico casita! 🛖

by Rocky Point

The drive takes about four hours door-to-door from my condo in Mesa.

I leave my truck there often enough that it just makes sense to shuttle in from downtown Phoenix instead—$60, no parking stress, no airport traffic roulette.

Sometimes, convenience is worth more than saving a few bucks since I go back and forth so often.

I’ve been renting a small room in Puerto Peñasco—aka Rocky Point—for almost seven years now.
Time really does fly when you can’t remember half the things you did while you were there. 😂

I first stayed here as an Airbnb on June 24, 2017, and somehow… never left.

I talked with the owners—amazing people—and asked if I could rent monthly. They said yes, and I never looked back. I’m paying less per month than my HOA in Arizona, so it doesn’t bother me at all that I’m not here constantly.

It’s become a second home, anchored by my Mexican family:
Fortunado (El Jefe) and Lupe—absolute legends.

Some places you visit.
Others quietly claim you as home. 🙋🏻‍♂️🙌🏻

   

Lupe is posing with her legendary pozole—made for guests during the Rocky Point rally. I shared the full story and details earlier because this soup deserves documentation.

El Jefe (literally “the boss” in Spanish) is pictured with an old promotional photo they once used in movie theater advertising credits in Phoenix. I call him El Jefe because that’s exactly what he is—the boss man of the Airbnb operation. Between him and Lupe, they run a tight ship.

And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Like most things in life, my visits to Puerto PeĂąasco have evolved over the years.

When I first started renting, I was working five days a week and hoping to make it down once a month. A couple of years later, I dropped to four days a week and came more often. There were stretches where I was here every weekend—and other times when months passed between visits.

But I always knew something important:
I had a pad in Mexico.

That alone was enough. I didn’t need to jump on a plane to get my fix. Sometimes it was almost too convenient to escape to Mexico for playtime.

Fast forward to 2024, and I had what I thought was a solid plan—to work part-time from Rocky Point.

I’d just spent four months working remotely in Hawaii, quietly and successfully, so I figured: Why not Mexico?

I went all in.

I set up a proper office.
Installed backup power.
Bought Starlink for internet redundancy.
Covered every possible failure point.

Every base covered—except one.

A backup job. 😂

I finished setting everything up around Christmas 2023, ready to roll in January.

Then, on February 1st, 2024, I received an email inviting me to a mandatory meeting. Conveniently, this was the same week the media announced layoffs.

It didn’t take much analysis to realize I was toast.

My first thought?
Thank God I have a place to stay.

My Airbnb back in Mesa was rented out for another three months, so at least housing wasn’t a problem.

Sure, I was annoyed I’d invested money in the office—but honestly?
I hated the job anyway. I was just hanging on for healthcare and needed maybe two or three more years.

Instead, I got a decent severance package and six months of healthcare to figure out my next move.

And my next move was the same as it’s always been:

Travel, I just did not need a return ticket this time!

I mounted a 50-inch TV, added a kickass Sonos speaker, and had my laptop and tablet dialed in. Electrically speaking, I was fully operational.

Around the room, I hung my paddleboard on the wall, parked a fat-tire bike, and lined up the golf clubs, snorkel, and fishing gear—all untouched so far. Honestly, just having them there makes me feel younger… and theoretically athletic, if I ever step away from the computer.

I also upgraded the essentials:
a comfy mattress,
a beer fridge (priorities),
an air fryer, microwave, BBQ, and a Keurig.

Small space.
Fully loaded.
Adventure-ready… eventually.

People tell me all the time that nobody wants to travel the way I do.


I take it as a compliment—usually from someone saying it while standing barefoot at an airport security line, looking deeply unhappy. LOL.

What really sticks with me, though, is when people say I remind them of my mom.

She was a simple Ukrainian woman who lived much the same way in retirement. She spent her later years in a small trailer in Yuma, did most things herself, and answered criticism with a philosophy she perfected over time:

“If they don’t like it, they can kiss my ass.”

Mom was lucky enough to live the snowbird life for over 15 years, and she made it to 84 doing things her way. That seems like a pretty solid blueprint to me—so yes, I take the comparison as a compliment.

I miss you every day, Mom.
And just to be clear—I’m bragging, not complaining. ❤️

Little reminders, everywhere!
Mom visiting me in Arizona, always driving me crazy!
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Cebu, Philippines! Just awesome!!

by Cebu City

 I spent five weeks in the Philippines in the fall of 2024. It reminded me of the importance of slow travel as I was able to immerse myself in the Philippines’ culture with a home base the entire time. 

I rented an Airbnb studio condo for the full five weeks in Cebu City:

It reminded me of the awesome feeling of learning a new city and not having to rush.

I was able to live like a local and able to take advantage of the inexpensive lifestyle.

I was bringing American dollars, and everything was in Philippine pesos, making everything super inexpensive. I had a local barber that I used every Monday for a $5 hot shave, drop-off laundry service was $4 a week, and a fast-food meal was a few dollars a week to give you an idea.  

Everything you would do was so much cheaper, too! I would get a chair massage almost daily for  $5, including a great tip.  Going out to eat was amazing, too, as Cebu is a call center hub.  Since they worked the overnight shift to support the Americas, everything was always open to keep the city moving.  

I would see people going to work at 8 PM with McDonald’s breakfast and coffee, for example.

I could get my favorite Korean BBQ or noodle fix 24/7/365 at a fraction of the cost of back home. The next time you check your credit card bill or warranty and get to the Philippines, just know they are eating well, LOL.

newcamel2

Abu Dabhi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates 

by Abu Dabhi

I flew from Budapest, Hungary, to Abu Dhabi, but the following illustration shows how far from home I was on this trip.

I have always seen the Emirates football (soccer) jerseys and Emirates Airlines’ amazing first-class service on social media. An Uber driver once told me it was not expensive, and I have been intrigued ever since.

When I bought the Wizz Air all-you-can-fly pass, Abu Dhabi and Dubai were at the top of the list. When I planned my European trip in the fall of 2024, I kept checking the standby availability and accommodation options. I was able to make it happen after Austria with a little logistics. I took a Flix bus from Vienna to downtown Budapest, Hungary, and an Uber to the airport. Once I arrived (hungover AF), I had a few hours to spare for my six-hour direct flight. Holy shit, it was happening!

I was still fired up from the reality that I was actually in Abu Dhabi and got to visit Dubai too. Once I arrived at my hostel, I went outside as they had a nice courtyard to relax. The first person I met was who we all called Bahrain, as that is where he was from, and that was easy to remember, and what an absolute GEM. 

He was wearing a traditional men’s abaya, smoking cigarettes, and drinking a beer. 🥳

Over the next several days, Baharan (left), Syria (right), and I would spend a good amount of time talking about life.

Baharan (left) could not speak English, so a lot needed interpreting, but his body language and animation made it pretty clear what was going on most times. I was constantly laughing at him, and he knew it, so he kept up the entertainment. 

We were visiting the Presidential Palace and then had lunch at a Yemeni restaurant! 😂

The manager sat with us and sent me home with some tea from Yehman that they use with their tea.  Yummy!!

After lunch, Bahrain dropped me off at the airport and gave me one of these traditional headscarves.

 

I was headed back to London on my way back to America, as I was at the end of my trip after visiting Varna, Bulgaria, Vienna, Austria, Budapest, Hungary, and both London Gatwick and Heathrow areas of London.

I wrote a post on a day trip to a camel farm, and here are a few more pictures from my visit!

The amazing architecture in Abu Dhabi is almost impossible to share, so I added a Google link here to help share what I saw in the five days I was there. I also made a day trip to Dubai, but I will post about that amazing trip.

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Bohol, Philippines – What a beauty!

by Bohol

This was my first ferry road trip after spending my first week in Cebu in January 2024—because nothing says “welcome to Southeast Asia” like committing to multi-modal transportation before your body knows what time it is.

I’d taken ferries before while island-hopping in Thailand, so I figured I was prepared. Plus, almost everyone speaks English, which immediately lowers the chaos level by at least 40%. Still, jet lag had other plans. I woke up at 3:00 a.m., wide awake, courtesy of the brutal 13-hour time difference and my brain’s refusal to cooperate.

By then, resistance was pointless. I packed a knapsack, took a shower, and headed out like a responsible adult who definitely wasn’t questioning their life choices. I caught the 3:30 bus, arrived at the terminal at 4:30, and bought a ticket for the 5:10 a.m. ferry to Tagbilaran—the first stop, and hopefully not the last.

After that, they transferred all of us onto a bus for the rest of the trip, which is when it became clear that this was less a ferry ride and more a transportation sampler platter.

Once I got off the bus after the ferry ride, I needed to take a 20-minute tuk-tuk ride.  I had been

Once I got off the bus after the ferry ride, there was only one final hurdle left: a 20-minute tuk-tuk ride. I’d taken plenty of tuk-tuks in Thailand, so the concept wasn’t new—but this was my first one in the Philippines, carrying me toward Alona Beach and whatever level of consciousness I still had left.

By this point, I was running almost entirely on fumes. The lack of sleep had me a little on edge, which you can probably detect in the video. That said, I generally felt safe—just mildly disoriented, under-caffeinated, and questioning whether time was even real anymore.

n many tuk-tuks in the past in Thailand, but this was my first in the Philippines to get to Alona Beach. 

I was a little on edge due to the lack of sleep, as you might be able to tell from the video, but I normally feel safe.  

Mission accomplished! 😎

Once I got settled in my $15-a-night Airbnb, it was time to check out the amazing beach!

The kids thought I was crazy, too, but loved the great TIPs! 

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Honolulu, HI – incognito office!

by Honolulu

I have stayed in the same Honolulu Airbnb three times, and I love it!  I stayed there for two months to start 2023 working incognito.  My AZ condo was rented on Airbnb, so it was like an awesome house swap while living in Hawaii.

It was perfect for me as I was only home to sleep and work; otherwise, I was touring the island or fishing in Kona, and I wrote a post about the amazing fishing here. 

It is a studio with a single bed in a complex that has five units with a shared bathroom and kitchen. There is occupancy, a nd it is not in the best area near Chinatown, but I have never had an issue, as I am normally home by dark or soon after.  

I was working incognito in Hawaii for three months, which was awesome as I only worked a four-day week.  

I spent the first six weeks in Kona and the second six weeks here in Honolulu.  I normally like to pack light but, I brought two container of crap this time.  Just to be fair, one was my home office, and stuff that was needed day-to-day work.  Thanks, Southwest Airlines, for the two free bags/containers so I could work seamlessly under the radar in paradise.  

As you can see, I even brought the Keurig and watched sports the whole day while working!  Thanks Phil!! 

I also brought my slow cooker as I knew I would be eating at home four days a week.  I would go to the grocery store down the street and get different flavors of fresh ahi tuna.  I would eat it with rice and then eat the leftovers almost every single day!  So fresh, affordable and awesome with a local beer.

The walk to the bus stop is five minutes with buses going directly to Waikiki in 30 minutes or the North Shore in two hours. 

I have taken both buses many times for $2.50, packing a cooler, hammock, and lawn chair.  Both beaches are spectacular for different reasons.  Waikiki is famous for Duke’s, but there are always thousands of people packing the beach.

Here is the North Shore experience, which is incredible!  

Surfin’ U.S.A.

🏄🏻‍♂️🏄🏻‍♀️🏄🏻🏄🏽‍♀️🏄‍♂️

At Waimea Bay (inside, outside)
Everybody’s gone surfin’

🏄🏻‍♂️🏄🏻‍♀️🏄🏻🏄🏽‍♀️🏄‍♂️
Surfin’ U.S.A.

Grabbing some fresh ahi and a couple of local seltzers between naps is amazing, too!

Here is the Waikiki experience!

My favorite thing to do in Waikiki is catch happy hour at the Yard House, which is 2-5:30 Monday to Friday.  Waikiki is not the cheapest place, so grabbing an early dinner and beer is affordable.  The pole and poke nachos and a Coconut porter brewed in Hawaii are my favorite, as shown below:

After dinner, I stroll down main street and sit at the Mai Tai beach bar or Dukes and listen to live music and the waves. 

There is a fun catamaran that will take you out to make it makes for a perfect day!  Check Groupon for different sailing adventures or cut a cash deal with them if you want to go a few times!  

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Vienna, Austria! Schnitzel!! 😋

by Vienna

I flew to Vienna from Varna, Bulgaria, on my all-you-can-fly pass on Wizz Air.

The flight was delayed six hours, and we sat in the Varna airport. The good thing is that European law states we need to be compensated. I made $300 for a $20 flight, hell yeah!

Make sure you understand the laws, so you do not miss out on compensation. It is available in Canada, the USA, and Europe, and I wrote a post here to explain the parameters. 

Essentially, it has to be outside the airline’s control, so weather will not work, which is most of the delays.

Just familiarize yourself with them and do not use a third party to collect, as they will take a cut for simply filling in an online form.  I will get paid to sit in an airport bar any day, LOL!

I finally arrived in Vienna well after midnight and checked into my Airbnb. It was an overpriced bedroom that only fit the bed and nightstand. I did not mind and slept like a dog for 12 hours.

The problem is that when I woke up, it was time to check out, and the owner wanted $200 for another night, as it was a holiday. There was zero chance that was happening, so I found an amazing hostel down the road. 

Europe is known for its hostels, and people from all age groups use them, but this one was beyond recommendation. It had over a hundred rooms of all types and prices. I spent the first night in a studio for $75, which was over budget. That’s USD 2300 a month for anyone who feels that they need to judge me from first class while I am back here in coach.

The next two nights, I spent in a dorm room for $35 a night, and here is a tour of the hostel:

There were so many cool things packed into Vienna, and I barely scratched the surface. Between the architecture, the streets, and the overall vibe, it’s one of those cities where you constantly feel like you’re walking past something important—even if you have no idea what it is yet.

Here are a few more shots of Vienna before I quietly exited with my tail between my legs.

I’ll be back—guaranteed—but next time I’m heading north to the mountains, pacing myself, and seriously rethinking my strategy of trying to keep up with crazy Austrians and their drinking culture. 😂🍻

Lesson learned.

Vienna won this round, but I will have schnitzel there again someday!

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Retiring early – bucket method!💰🪣

by Freedom 50

People often wonder how I can take a run at retirement at 52. 

I call it taking a run at retirement, as I honestly don’t know how things are going to work out. Some days feel great, others not so much, watching the stock market go up and down almost a percent daily.  

I just know that I do not want to wait to travel with compression socks and flip-flops!😎

I will share how I was able to make it happen. Proceed at your own risk!

First and foremost, I never got married or had any kids. I also jokingly say that I got divorced three times before getting married.  We both dodged bullets is the way I see it!

It is sometimes hard watching friends and family get married and have kids, living the life we were taught to live by generations. Watching their kids play sports was the hardest part.

I can live without the getting married part based on my history and statistics.

I can recall so many instances that would have had me stuck in a shitty situation, keeping it real for me.

Here are some options for residual income, and I bolded those I used:

– Real estate investing, such as leasing or renting out a property, ✅

– Stocks and bonds that pay dividends or interest in my buckets are explained below ✅

– Royalties from intellectual properties, such as books, websites, music, movies, or patents, ❎

(I always said I was going to write a book or blog) “NAD – A legend in my mind!” ✅

– Donations or royalties from advertisements on a blog or website (buy me a beer! LOL) ✅

– Compound interest paid on investment accounts, or what I call buckets below. ✅

I have used all of these over my lifetime, with some working and others tanking.  

Let’s talk about the bad before getting to the good stuff. 👎🏻

I worked for a company for 18 years that had a problem with cooking the books.  I would put ~10% of my pay towards my RRSP/401K, and the company would match 6% for a lot of those years, which worked out.  

The problem was that I would put more money into the company stock throughout the years.  I also received stock bonuses along the way, making this account grow really fast on paper, I thought! 📉💥

“At its height, Nortel accounted for more than a third of the total valuation of all the companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), employing 94,500 worldwide, with 25,900 in Canada alone. Nortel’s market capitalization fell from C$398 billion in September 2000 to less than C$5 billion in August 2002, as Nortel’s stock price plunged from C$124 to C$0.47. 

When Nortel’s stock crashed, it took with it a wide swath of Canadian investors and pension funds and left 60,000 Nortel employees unemployed. Roth was criticized after it was revealed that he cashed in his stock options for a personal gain of C$135 million in 2000 alone.”

Well, shit, that was a couple hundred thousand stock dollars on paper, gonzo Malonzo! The amazing part is that I was able to keep my job for another 12 years and recover.

I learned so much from losing all of that money at a young age, and I needed to be aggressive to make it back.

I somehow stumbled across the bucket system:

“A time-tested strategy many investors use is called the ‘bucket’ system, which, when implemented correctly, guarantees income in the short term while setting your longer-term investments up for longer-term success”.
 

It essentially means, pile money in different buckets to use at different times.  My buckets were based on early retirement: “bucket one 55-62”, “bucket two 62-67”, and bucket three 67-six feet under or in my case shot into space. 

Someone call Elon, LOL! 🚀

I found an investment firm that would help me implement this strategy.  The plan was to work until 55, but I was laid off at 52, so “taking a run at retirement,” as I already mentioned.

The hard part, filling the buckets so the power of compound interest can do its thing:

Bucket one 55-62: This was a house that I bought in 2003 when I moved to Atlanta. I left in 2010, and I was able to rent it to the same person for over ten years.  He paid down the mortgage, and then he eventually bought it. I originally bought into a 15-year mortgage, so aggressively paying it down and selling it worked well. 

Bucket two 62-67: I moved from Atlanta to Charlotte in 2010 and bought an acreage.  It had a house in the front and a three-car garage in the back with a loft above.  I was able to rent the front house to cover the mortgage. I lived in the loft and played around in the massive garage for free.  I would spend a lot of money and sweat equity to prepare the property to flip, which happened when I was laid off in 2015.   This also worked out well for me! 

Bucket three 67-X: This was the traditional retirement fund that I cannot touch until I am sixty-two, but shooting for sixty-seven.  I can access it at any time after 59 1/2, depending on how the other buckets are doing. I can also decide when to take my Social Security and Canadian pension plan, as I am eligible for both. 

I plan to take Social Security at 67 to max out the return. Did you know that payday can be ~30% higher at 67?

Another source of income is the condo I bought in Arizona during the housing crash in 2008. 

As mentioned, I kept my job throughout the crash and recovery, and I was able to pay cash for the amazing AZ condo I live in now.  I paid $52,500 for a one-bedroom that is now worth ~ $250K+. How is that for a return on investment!

I do not plan to sell this condo, but it is another option for me to supplement my travels. It is currently on Airbnb for snowbirds, and the proceeds help me get to bucket one.

Well, there you have it!  I set up my buckets based on my timeline and the money needed to retire early. Bought and sold real estate and Airbnb my condo based on this strategy. 

A solo slow traveler, vlogger, geoarbitrage, and a legend in my mind. 

You can read my blog on geoarbitrage by clicking HERE.

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Great white north, Edmonton!

by Edmonton

Growing up in Edmonton, I loved the familiarity of it. It was home, it was comfortable, and for a long time, it was enough. But once I started traveling, something shifted. I realized the world was far bigger—and that staying put simply because it was familiar wasn’t going to work for me.

Travel didn’t make me dislike Edmonton. It just made me curious about everything else.

My first real attempt at leaving came in my early 20s, when I moved to Calgary to work in a bar. That experience taught me something important early on: not every move is forward progress. The routine—sleep late, eat cheap, work nights—felt like drifting, not building. And that discomfort turned out to be useful. It pushed me back to school and forced me to think long-term instead of week-to-week.

That’s where my travel mindset really started to form.

I learned that movement alone isn’t the goal—intentional movement is. You don’t travel just to escape; you travel to test things. Places. Lifestyles. Versions of yourself. Some fit. Some don’t. And that’s okay.

When I later returned to Calgary in 2006 with a real career and a stable paycheck, I missed another lesson entirely. Instead of exploring the city—or taking advantage of how close I was to places like Banff—I spent most weekends driving back to Edmonton. Comfort won again. Looking back, that was a missed opportunity.

That’s when it finally clicked for me:
If you don’t intentionally experience where you are, you’re just passing time—no matter how far you’ve traveled.

That mindset is what drives how I travel now. Slow travel. Staying longer. Living locally. Paying attention. Choosing experiences over routines that feel safe but stagnant. I don’t believe in rushing through places anymore. I believe in letting them reveal whether they fit—or whether it’s time to move on.

Edmonton gave me roots. Travel taught me not to cling to them.

Here are the before-and-after photos of the guys—some of whom I’ve known for over 35 years.

Time did its thing.

And yes, I’d like to point out that I still have hair, unlike that married crew. 🤔
Make of that what you will.

We grew up watching the Edmonton Oilers win five Stanley Cups in seven years. At the time, it felt normal—almost expected.

Looking back, that early dominance absolutely screwed us.

They haven’t won a championship since, and we’ve watched almost every game along the way. That’s 35 years of mostly losing hockey, punctuated by just enough hope to keep us emotionally invested.

Then came 2006 and 2024—both trips to the Finals, both ending in Game 7 losses, just to remind us that joy is temporary and fandom is pain.  Add another loss in the final in 2025 to the pain.

Honestly, it feels intentional that they’re messing with us at this point.

And yet…
Go Oilers Go!! 🧡💙

Since the Edmonton Oilers have sucked for so long, we’ve had to entertain ourselves in other ways over the years.

Desperation breeds creativity.

Here are the three Oilers-themed songs I created while in Mexico—because apparently that’s where peak hockey content happens now for me. The first one somehow became our goal song, which still makes me laugh every time.

Rock bottom has its perks in the other two attempts! 🎶🏒

I spent a lot of time walking through the Edmonton River Valley in 2018–2019, during the period when I was seriously considering moving back home.

Those walks did a lot of the thinking for me.

I thought I could adapt, but then the Universe reminded me of who I had become.

I thought I was cool!🕺

I am the only one who does! 🥳

I put in a lot of miles going up and down that river, with my longest walk clocking in at over 10 miles (16 km). Those weren’t casual strolls—they were thinking walks. The kind where decisions quietly sort themselves out one step at a time.

Below are a few of my favorite walks pulled from my Strava history—proof that sometimes the best clarity comes from just putting one foot in front of the other, over and over again.

It was cold AF some days—but also unbelievably beautiful.

The kind of cold where your body has no choice but to work overtime just to stay warm, which honestly made it a great workout. Nature plus suffering equals cardio, apparently.

Here are some of my favorite walks, all filmed in the Edmonton River Valley and posted on my YouTube channel:

NorthAmericanDarrell – YouTube

If nothing else, they’re proof that you don’t need perfect weather to get outside—you just need a decent jacket and questionable judgment, and good company. ❄️👟

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Can you really live on $500 USD a month? ☑️

by Internet travel search tips

My travel budget runs about $2,000–$2,500 USD a month, and I have all the time in the world. That combination turns out to be a cheat code at 53.

On that budget, I can slow travel through most parts of the world quite comfortably. I can’t help you with time—but I can help you with the money part. If you’re willing to embrace the slow-travel, nomadic lifestyle (full-time or even part-time). 

It’s a great way to escape the snow, prepare for retirement… or better yet, escape your nagging EX.🙌

Slow travel lets you actually live somewhere instead of just visiting it. You immerse yourself in a new culture, eat local food, make questionable transportation choices, and become a legend—at least in your own mind like me. 😆

I’ll be the first to admit it’s not for everyone, but then again, neither is the constant bullshit in North America.  

I was introduced to slow travel through YouTube and eventually stumbled onto Dan’s website and YouTube channel. I was immediately hooked. How could someone travel so inexpensively and visit so many incredible places? It sounded impossible. 

Turns out—it’s not even close to impossible!

The video below shows Dan interviewing someone who’s living on under $500 USD a month and genuinely loving life. That level of minimalism isn’t for me—and it might not be for you either—but it’s still impressive as hell.

If this lifestyle intrigues you, Dan has 900+ videos covering everything from retiring abroad to cutting costs and choosing destinations wisely.

I actually chatted with Dan, and he gave me permission to share information from his site. You’ll see it pop up in other posts too—so you might as well go straight to the source. Go get the milk from the cow and bookmark him.

Below is Dan’s website and YouTube channel with TIPS on dozens of countries. If you would like to see more interviews of people living on the cheap, he also has a lot of interviews on his website.

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Alice the camel has … go Alice go!!!

by United Arab Emirates

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!

✅

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand! 🌴🥥

by Koh Phi Phi

I consider my six-week trip to Thailand in 2022 to be 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 a deal was that setup!

In 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, Phangan, 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 right, that was a long way up for a big boy!  

Watch for the body, UGH my shoulder, 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 Phi Phi. 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!

The water taxi (Panga) is a staple for locals in Asia. Here are a few variations of the boat as seen during my travels.

I took these underwater pictures on a panga snorkeling tour just off the Phi Phi islands.

cap10

FB travel memories mashup!

by Travel memories

Facebook memories will often share mash-ups of my travel memories!

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!

I am a pretty lucky schmuck! 

cruise

All-inclusive vacations – I do not get it?

by Travels Deals

I’ve never been a fan of all-inclusive vacations—and it’s not just because of the eye-watering cost.

Here’s the standard script:

You head to the airport, grab a few drinks in the lounge, and convince yourself the vacation has already started.
You land in Puerto Vallarta, get funneled into a van, and delivered straight to a stunning resort.
You mostly mingle with people from your own country, overeat at the buffet, and optimize drink size so you can tip less.
If you’re lucky, you score one reservation for steak or lobster.
Anything outside the gates costs hundreds of dollars.
Seven days later, you’re back in the van, back at the airport, back home.

And the only thing you really learn about Mexico comes from the resort staff.

Now—to be clear—the resorts are amazing. If your goal is pure relaxation, zero decisions, and floating between pool, bar, and buffet all week, I get it. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But here’s the question I keep coming back to:

What if you did it a little differently?

What if instead of being delivered somewhere, you arrived somewhere?
What if you stayed long enough to learn a neighborhood, find a favorite coffee spot, recognize faces, and build a routine?
What if your days weren’t scheduled—but unfolded?

That’s the difference between vacationing at a place and actually being in it.?

A Different Way to do it!

You still start the same way—airport lounge, a couple of drinks, the usual pre-flight ritual.

Then things change.

You land and grab local transport or an Uber to your Airbnb. No vans. No wristbands. No schedule was handed to you at check-in.

For about $0.50, you take the bus—or spend around $10 on an Uber—downtown. You unpack in one of hundreds of Airbnbs for $50–$75 a night, or well under $1,000 a month if you stay longer.

You eat where locals eat: $2 tacos from street carts, $2 drinks from the OXXO on the corner. Nothing fancy. Nothing curated. Just good, normal food.

Most mornings, you wake up and hop on a bus to explore different areas—letting curiosity, not an itinerary, decide the day.

And if you want the resort experience? Take it in small doses. Buy a $50 day-pass, float in the pool, eat the buffet, enjoy it—then leave. No long-term commitment required.

It’s not anti-resort.
It’s a “pro-choice”.

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Travel bank fees, I hate them!🏧💸

by Travels Deals

Imagine this for a second: banks charge you fees to access your own money… while they earn interest on it.

ATM fees 💸

Monthly “maintenance” fees unless you park $10K earning garbage interest 💸

Wire transfer fees 💸

Foreign transaction fees 💸

According to a Bankrate.com survey, more than 25% of Americans with checking accounts pay an average of $24 a month in banking fees. And I can promise you—I pay a lot more than that while traveling. It feels like a rigged game.

Here’s how it usually plays out on the road:

Wells Fargo charges me $5 for using a non-Wells Fargo ATM

Except… Wells Fargo ATMs don’t exist outside the U.S.

The ATM owner then slaps on $3–$10

Then the bank adds a foreign exchange fee to “hedge” my money

That’s $15–$22 gone before I even see my cash.

You always get f#cked in the ATM drive-thru. 😂

Sure, there are ways to reduce the damage—pull out more cash at once and eat fewer fees—but that means carrying more money and increasing the risk of getting robbed. I hate carrying cash. I travel with backup cards for a reason.

Recently, I found a partial solution: banking with Charles Schwab in the U.S.

They never charge ATM fees

They reimburse any ATM fees you incur worldwide

It’s not perfect. The downside is that moving money into Schwab can take up to two business days, which can hurt in an emergency.

So yeah—win some, lose some.

But for fuck’s sake…
It’s my money.

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Fishing in Kona, Hawaii! 🎣

by Fishing in Kona

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 true the following week, catching a 350 lb+ marlin, pictured above, getting weighed at the harbor. I remember it like it happened yesterday, and it was the largest fish caught on Captain Tom’s boat Honu Hua “at the time.  

In the Summer of 2024, they broke my record with a 550 lb+ 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 i, 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 time, guaranteed!  

We went to Captain Tom’s 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 for 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!

I could literally share hundreds of pictures and videos of my fishing trips!

Here are 50ish, and you can find more on my YouTube, LOL!

www.YouTube.com/@NorthAmericanDarrell

If you’re 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, and I can work out the logistics. Hell yeah!! 

I catch myself saying that the marlin was 350lbs, busted!  338 is the official weight, and I have 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 he wore it the next two times we went out for a good laugh.

On the right, you will see Tom and his family’s process of smoking the marlin and packaging the marlin.  I cannot remember how many pounds they sell for, but I took a couple of pounds home, which is so amazing!

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The Cabo, Mexico Wabo!!🌴🍻🎸

by Cabo

One of the biggest photo opportunities in Mexico is the arches in Cabo, Mexico.  

It is a quick, inexpensive flight from Phoenix!  Some EXPATs claim that Cabo has the best weather in Mexico year-round.

Less humidity, bugs, and 80F/26C! 😎🏝️

I took a tourist boat tour to get a closer look from different angles.  It was pretty incredible to see up close, especially on the day I went, as it was very windy, and the water was crashing, making the arches look even better.  

I put my GoPro underwater as part of the boat ride as the captain through bread out to attract the colorful fish.  

I only stayed a few days as there was not much else that interested me. Cabo is known for its sport fishing, arches, and Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo cantina.  I was able to cover all three in one day during my short visit.  I found a great Airbnb that was within walking distance to the Cabo San Lucas marina, which is where all the action is in town. 

I visited Sammy Hagar’s famous Cabo Wabo Cantina, saw the arches up close, and I have already caught a few Marlin in Hawaii.  Those are the biggest reasons to visit Cabo IMHO, other than the great weather year-round, so maybe I will go back one day again.  

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Keeping up with the Joneses! 💳

by Travels Deals

There was a time in my life when I was one of the Joneses.

I had a truck, a Jeep, and a Cadillac
An amazing boat.
A side-by-side UTV
A house in Georgia.
Three acres in North Carolina.
A condo in Mesa, Arizona.
Trailer for my mom in Yuma, AZ

All at the same fucking time.

From the outside, it may have looked like success. On the inside, it felt like maintenance—constant, expensive, and exhausting. The more I bought, the more I worried. The more I owned, the more I was owned by it.

It took me longer than I’d like to admit, but eventually it clicked:

None of that stuff was buying me freedom.
It was giving me stress.

Letting go wasn’t a loss—it was a release.

A Cadillac CTS, a Ford F-150, a Jeep Rubicon, a Sea Ray 220 boat, utility trailers, and a Polaris side-by-side UTV—all lined up like some personal dealership. Add in three properties, and it turned into a private parking lot paired with a full-time insurance nightmare.

At the time, it felt like progress. Like proof, I was “doing well.”In reality, it was just layers of obligation—payments, maintenance, insurance, storage, stress—stacked on top of each other.

Nothing about it felt light.
Nothing about it felt free.

The pictures below aren’t nostalgia for me anymore—it’s a reminder of how easy it is to confuse accumulation with success, and how heavy life gets when everything you own starts owning you back.

Three car garage full of junk!

I’m grateful I figured it out earlier than most: I didn’t actually want stuff—I wanted freedom, and travel was the clearest path to it.

I watch so many people stuck in the same cycle I was in before. Month to month. Payment to payment. Always chasing the next thing, yet somehow there’s never enough. More income just leads to more obligations, and the finish line keeps moving.

That pattern isn’t unique to one place. You see it everywhere—especially in Canada and the United States, but plenty of other places too.

Once I stepped off that treadmill, things got lighter. Less ownership, fewer anchors, more flexibility. I stopped measuring progress by what I accumulated and started measuring it by how freely I could move.

For me, choosing travel over stuff wasn’t about sacrifice.
It was about choosing the life I actually wanted.

 

I have downsized substantially, keeping only my Jeep in AZ, my truck in Mexico, an eBike, and a scooter.

It’s a hell of a lot less stressful having time-freedom flex instead of just more stuff.

Stuff demands attention.
Time gives it back.

One ties you down.
The other lets you move.

I’ll take time—every single time.

inflation

100+ Airbnb stays and growing fast!

by AirBnb recommendations

I have spent 90% of my stays at Airbnb properties and about 10% at hostels. 

I’ve been having great luck renting studio rooms within hostels, so that’s one of the first things I check when visiting a new city. 

Below are some of the Airbnb properties that I have stayed at over the years:

I have found that running my own Airbnb is basically like running a business. 

I need to ensure your guests are happy, and if there is an issue, it needs to be addressed ASAP.  I had an issue with maid service. I refunded the cleaning fee and bought them a gift certificate.

I ended up getting a good review and the guests returned, which is always my goal.

Here is a blog my Airbnb if you would like to take a closer look!

My Airbnb in Mesa, AZ – NorthAmericanDarrell

I rely on my Airbnb as part of my travel income so I take it super serious.

travel planner

46 Countries pinned 📍🌏

by Travel bucket list
Born to roam! 🍻

Born to roam! 

Here comes the sun! ☀️

I say that I have visited over 50 countries which equates to 46.  I had to cancel a trip that would have taken me over my goal so this keeps me motivated!

I’ve got a world map on the wall at my home base in Mesa, Arizona, covered in pins marking everywhere I’ve been.

It’s part decoration, part motivation to hit 50+ countries, and a gentle reminder that the map still has plenty of space for adventures.

If these blogs do anything at all, I hope they inspire a few of you to stop overthinking it, pick a spot, and take the leap.

If you’re waiting for “someday,” you’re waiting on a date that may never shows up!

Pick a day.
Make a plan.
Drop the pin.

If you need advise, please reach out as I’d love to help motivate!

Someday isn’t a destination—
It’s an excuse.

North America

USA, Canada and Mexico

South America

Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.

Central America

Guatemala, Dominican republic, and Costa Rica

Europe

Ukraine, Poland, Czeksolvakia, Germany, Cypress, Bulgaria, Italy, Austria, Russia, Greece, Switzerland, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, France, UK, Ireland.Iceland, Vatican City and, Turkey.

Asia,

Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cambodia, United Emirates, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Islands

Bermuda, Jamaica, St Croix

Oceana

Austraiia.

Consider being a legend! Cheers!! 🍻

by Buy me a beer

Become Legendary! 

Showcase your business, logo or name on my website footer!!

I set this up for folks who choose to support my website. I will gratefully accept a $5 USD donation towards website expenses.

Keep your showcase active with a reoccurring $5 monthly donation!


Legendary status:

Darrell Olynick – NorthAmericanDarrell.com 

(CEO, editor & beer consumption CFO)

Martin Enrique – Lovelock web design (my web designer)


NorthAmericanDarrell

 Venmo, PayPal, or Patreon links.


Homepage links:

Thank-you for your consideration and following my blogs, YouTube and podcasts!

Cheers!

Darrell

TravelGIF

Saving money booking one-way tickets! 🤑

by Internet travel search tips

I recently found a flight from home in Phoenix, AZ, to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, using this method.

See examples below if you want to save money! 

Have you even considered flying home from a different airport to save money? I use this strategy to check if booking two one-way trips is cheaper than a round trip every time I book a flight. It works!!

Example: You’re flying from Phoenix to Dallas.

(Remember, Dallas has two airports to save even more money.).

Check the one-way flights each way instead of a round trip. Maybe you want to visit Austin and San Antonio. Fly to Austin and home from San Antonio, as they are a short distance apart. Use the money saved to rent a car!

This theory also allows you to take advantage of using different airlines each way, too, as round-trip travel booking normally uses the same airline.  Keep in mind, some airlines have better baggage rules, too, which may also change the overall cost.

I wrote a blog on how to book inexpensive flights here.  

My favorite search tool is Google/travel https://www.google.com/travel/flights/

Make sure you change it to one-way and leave “where to?” blank and click explore to see the maps.  Add your dates if they are specific, or leave them blank to display the best dates to travel for the lowest price.

I recently found a flight from home in Phoenix, AZ, to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, using this method:

The direct flight from Phoenix to Saskatoon was $53 USD

I booked my return ticket from Edmonton back home to Phoenix for $109 USD!

That is about $165 USD return, and I get to visit two cities!

If I had booked a round trip to either city, it would have cost a lot more money.

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Education/Work experience:

by Education

1986-1989 – High School – Archbishop O’Leary

2003-2005 – Post Secondary – Telecommunications Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)

1996-2014 – Northern Telcom/Nortel/Ericsson

2015-2016 – Travel

2017-2024 – PayPal/Venmo

2024-XXXX – Solo slow traveler, vlogger & geoarbitrage at NorthAmericanDarrell.com  

YouTube:  www.youtube.com/@northamericandarrell

#NorthAmericanDarrell

Cover letter and resume available upon request

volaris

Volaris all you can fly (AYCF) pass!✈️

by Volaris - AYCF!

Why the Volaris Pass Is My Favorite AYCF Pass

The Volaris Annual Pass is my favorite all-you-can-fly option—and honestly, it’s not even close. I mean… it’s Mexico. And who doesn’t love Mexico?

This was the second AYCF pass I purchased (after Frontier Airlines, and alongside Wizz Air), and it’s the only one I’ve kept. At $200 per year, it can easily pay for itself with just one or two flights.  

I did renew my Frontier AYCF, as it dropped down to $299.

You can read that blog by clicking 

➡️HERE⬅️

I’m currently on my third year using the pass—and it’s the only AYCF pass of the three that I’ve renewed. The value, the geography, and the flexibility just work for how I travel.

Volaris Annual Pass — The Basics

Includes all domestic and international routes (subject to seat availability)

Domestic flights: book up to 24 hours before departure

International flights: book up to 3 days before departure

The earlier you search, the better your chances of finding seats

Flexibility with routes and dates greatly improves availability

Valid to book flights on any day of the year

Flights include one personal item only (no carry-on or checked bag)

One-way, nonstop flights only (no connections)

Flights must be booked via: www.annualpass.volaris.com

Seats are always subject to availability

You pay taxes and fees on every booking

It’s not a luxury product—it’s a flexibility product. If you understand that going in, it’s incredibly powerful.

Where the Volaris Pass Has Taken Me

Using the Volaris pass, I’ve flown to:

Puerto Vallarta (3×)

Lima (2×)

San José (2×)

Guatemala (2×)

Cancún (2×)

Mexico City

Guadalajara

Tijuana

QuerĂŠtaro

That’s real use—not theoretical value.

frontier

GoWild! Frontier all you can fly!✈️

by Frontier - AYCF!

This was the first all-you-can-fly (AYCF) pass I bought back in 2023 and 2024, and I paid $499 USD for it. Solid value—but when the price went up, I decided not to renew for a third year. I just wasn’t using it enough to justify the increase.

Then… plot twist.

UPDATE: The pass went on sale for $299 for 2027.

At that price?
No spreadsheets.
No internal debate.

Renewed. 🙌🏻

Sometimes the best travel decisions are the easiest ones—especially when the math suddenly starts working very hard in your favor.

A full summary of everything covered here can be found at the link below.

GoWild! All You Can Fly Pass™ | Frontier Airlines

Below are the destinations that I visited with the pass:

Los Angeles 5X

San Diego 2X

Las Vegas 3X

Baltimore

Denver

Dominican Republic

St. Croix, BVI

Cancun, Mexico

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Who is NorthAmerican Darrell?🤓

by AutobiographyIntroduction

A Legend in My Own Mind

“A Legend in my own mind” is probably the best way to describe me. I’ve always looked at life a little differently than most people.
 
I was born in Edmonton and raised in the late 70’s and early ’80s, when life felt a lot simpler. We rode our bikes all day, played outside until the streetlights came on, and grew up without the internet or cell phones dominating every second of life.
 
Back then, Canada was the only world I knew—until my first big trip to Southern California, Las Vegas, and Mexico as a teenager. I still remember falling asleep under the Christmas tree holding my airline ticket after reading it hundreds of times. Real paper tickets with carbon copies for every flight segment. Hard to imagine now!
 
Just like today, I couldn’t stop talking about the trip to anyone who would listen (which honestly wasn’t many people then—or now). California, Las Vegas, and Acapulco, Mexico sounded like another planet to a kid from Edmonton. We drove all over Southern California, made our way through Las Vegas, and eventually flew to Acapulco.
 
Those memories stayed with me forever. That trip sparked something in me, and I fell in love with travel, America, and Mexico almost instantly.
 
What I never could have imagined back then was that I would eventually live in Southern California, Las Vegas, and Mexico. These days, when I’m not traveling, I split my time between Mesa, Arizona, and Rocky Point, Mexico.
 
Looking back now, it feels like I had a plan all along—even if I didn’t fully understand it at the time. No matter what happened in life, I was always going to chase freedom, travel, and a different path than most people around me.
 
The makings of a solo traveler.
 

After high school in Edmonton and a few false starts, my first real break came when I enrolled in Telecommunications at NAIT. It took me three years to complete a two-year diploma—largely because I wasn’t exactly a model student and my favorite bar, Ezzies, was just across the field.

A week before graduating in December 1995, I interviewed with Northern Telecom, Canada’s largest company at the time. Considering I was in the bottom half of my class, it was a miracle. Somehow, I crushed the interview! 

Overnight, I went from making $5.50 an hour PT to $13.80 FT career. 

Life was good!

I relocated to Calgary in January 1996. Within a couple of years, I was traveling regularly to the company’s Richardson, Texas headquarters. I was boarding planes in freezing Calgary and stepping off three hours later in shorts. I was falling hard for the American dream.

Then I met a flight attendant—another sign of things to come.

Eventually, I was offered a job in Texas, given a work visa, and started traveling full-time. Work had me crisscrossing the U.S. and eventually traveling internationally. My girlfriend followed along and could fly me anywhere, anytime.

Holy shit—my dreams were happening.

That relationship didn’t last, but I still thank her to this day (especially when I jokingly ask for free flights). She’s built a great life raising twin boys, and I’m genuinely happy for her.

Those years permanently warped my brain. I became a travel junkie—unable to stay put, always chasing the next deal. I was turning into North American Darrell.

My next chapter came after 18 years at Northern Telecom, when I landed a job at PayPal. Great company, brutal call-center role. I learned a lot about money management—mostly by dealing with people who didn’t have any. I could have moved up, but I didn’t have the piss and vinegar left. I already had health insurance, investments, and one eye firmly on my Freedom50 travel dream.

Then it happened again.

Laid off.
Northern Telecom in 2014.
PayPal in 2024.

Twenty-five-plus years of service—gone.

There I was in 2024: 52, single AF, unemployed, but financially stable enough to travel whenever and wherever I wanted. I started looking back at my life choices.

Almost everyone I knew had followed the script: marriage, kids, grandkids, 9–5 jobs, one-week vacations, summers at the lake. There’s nothing wrong with that life—but it was never mine.

Statistically, men die at around 73. That leaves maybe 5–10 years of retirement if you’re lucky and healthy. I watched coworkers grind their whole lives only to barely enjoy the end. I lost family members far too young.

Should I have kept my houses in Edmonton, Atlanta, and Charlotte?
My first Edmonton house was 2,400 square feet, custom-built, and mortgage-free. I didn’t even use one of the three bathrooms before selling it. 

Who walks away from that? 🕺

I could’ve settled in Calgary, Dallas, Southern California… or one of the many places I lived temporarily—Las Vegas, Austin, San Antonio, Mexico City, Acapulco, even Brazil.

Corporate condos, friendships, relationships, opportunities. Sometimes I wonder if my life was just a mirage interpreting the way I want as we get get older.

Instead, I chose something different.

In 2015, I settled into a small, turnkey, mortgage-free condo in Arizona, which I Airbnb and use as a home base along with my studio apartment in Rocky Point, Mexico

This is my second attempt at blogging about a life shaped by travel, work, and personal wins and loses. This time, I’m keeping at it trying to ignoring the critics. 

I want to share what I’ve learned and continue to learn about slow travel, inexpensive living, and geoarbitrage—living well while spending less by choosing where and how to live.

Slow travel is about staying longer, living like a local, and letting your dollar go further.

Welcome to my crazy blogging dream:

NorthAmericanDarrell.com

and

www.YouTube.com/@NorthAmericanDarrell

LFG!!

Screenshot 2024-02-19 092607

Kona, Hawaii – Island life on the cheap!🏝️

by kailua-kona, hawaii

Back in late 2022 and early 2023, I worked remotely from Hawaii for four months, which was absolutely awesome.

It was also mildly stressful, considering there’s a three-hour time difference between Hawaii and Phoenix—and my company had no idea I was in Hawaii.

Early mornings? Brutal.
Sunsets on the beach after work? Worth it.

I just adjusted my calendar, smiled on Zoom, and pretended palm trees were a very convincing virtual background. 🌴😎

Remote work hits different when your biggest daily problem is deciding which beach to “work from” next.

Imagine flying from the West Coast to Hawaii for about $100 USD.
Sounds fake. It’s not. I’ve done it several times.

I even grabbed a Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard that basically said, “Congrats, you’re going to Hawaii again.” Four flights for $5.60 each after one purchase? Don’t mind if I irresponsibly do.

35,000 points.
$5.60 out of pocket.
Seattle to Tokyo. 

I have paid more for an airport coffee many times!

Another example of why people think I’m annoyingly cheap. 🤑

I spent the first two months in Kona staying at a concentration camp Airbnb. 

It can only be described as a maximum-security Airbnb.

Seriously—this place had more rules than a parole agreement. I’ve never experienced anything like it. I was stuck, so I adapted… but wow. The hosts clearly hated each other, and their mood swings directly affected the rulebook. And yes, the rules changed. Daily. Based on vibes.

At one point, there were 28+ rules, which I had to shrink to a microscopic font just to fit on one page. Think less “vacation rental” and more “choose your behavior wisely.”

I made the best of it by treating the place like a charging station:
Work. Sleep. Leave immediately.

If I wasn’t working or unconscious, I was gone.

The second two months were spent in Honolulu on Oahu, which felt like parole had finally been granted. I wrote a separate blog about that stay, which you can read HERE.

Lesson learned:
Not all Airbnbs are created equal.
Some are destinations.
Some are endurance tests.

Despite the Airbnb being one mood swing away from solitary confinement, it worked out great—I met some amazing people who completely saved the experience.

The second two months were spent in amazing Honolulu, Oahu, in a spectacular place that felt like a complete reset. I wrote a separate blog about that chapter, which you can read HERE.

It still worked out great, because along the way I met some incredible people who turned it into a genuinely local experience.

We went deep-sea fishing and caught my dream fish—a marlin over 350 pounds. The captain later invited us to his home to smoke the marlin, which was unreal. The best way I can describe it is fish jerky with the texture of beef jerky, finished with a lightly spicy marinade. Absolutely next-level.

We fished three times during my first two-month stay and returned twice more on later trips. I also wrote a separate post focused entirely on those fishing adventures, which you can read by clicking HERE.

I was working four days a week, which left me with three full days off. Most mornings, I’d walk to the gym, shower there, and then spend the rest of the day bouncing around town using the downtown Kona trolley, which is completely free. That routine introduced me to Kona in a way that felt natural, not touristy.

I’ve now been to Kona four times:

Once at what I now lovingly refer to as Auschwitz Airbnb (details below),

Once at another Airbnb where an earthquake woke me up, and

Twice at the Kona Beach Hostel, run by a Ukrainian woman who somehow always upgraded me for free.

That hostel is now my go-to whenever I’m back to fish.
If you want an introduction, let me know. Thanks, Victoria!

I spent most days riding the bus around the island, visiting Hilo and a bunch of smaller towns—mostly because I was rarely home and had nowhere better to be. The local Kona trolley deserves special recognition though. It’s one of the best free features on the island, running end to end through Kona and stopping at all of my soon-to-be favorite spots.

Including Kona Brewing Company—which we’ve all tried back home, but hits a little different when you’re drinking it where it’s actually made. Fresh, local, and dangerously easy to justify as “cultural research.”

Kona Brewery – we all have tasted it, but I was getting it right from the tit!

O’la Seltzer Brewery – they used all of the island flavors to create seltzer magic that went awesome with poke!!

Willie’s Hot Chicken – the absolute best chicken fingers and live music on the island.

Two-Step diving – Just like the name, there are two steps into the water, and you’re in snorkeling paradise.

Foodland Poke Bar – I would get the absolute best poke lunch and dinner for under $10.

Quinn’s almost by the sea – This was where I found the absolute best one, the absolute best tasting fish. 

Harbor House restaurant – this is where in the marina where we would often go after fishing, as it was in the marina.

The whole time I was in Kona, there was an active volcano.  You could see it across the island, and we even visited to get a closer look a couple of times. 

During my two months there, the active volcano lit up the night sky like something out of a sci-fi movie. The photos above were as close as we could safely get—and of course it was cloudy that day—but the drive home at night was unreal, with an orange glow stretching across the horizon.

I also visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park before the eruption to see it up close. You could clearly see how the earthquakes had torn up sections of the road, a reminder that the island does whatever it wants, whenever it wants.

Even crazier—you could see the glow from across the island at night, right from my Airbnb. Hawaii doesn’t ease you into moments like that. It just casually drops them into your evening and says, “Yeah… this happens.”

Hawaii doesn’t ask for your attention—it just reminds you who’s in charge, then goes back to erupting like it’s no big deal.

I’d watch the Edmonton Oilers play hockey while an active volcano lit up the sky outside.

Hard to beat that for an intermission show.

costalifeguard

Costa Rican adventures!🐵🦥🌧️🌴🩴

by Quepos
The first time I traveled to Costa Rica was to Tamarindo and then twice to Jaco on my Volaris, all fly pass. Both cities were amazing for different reasons. 

The closest airport to Tamarindo is Liberia which is about 30 minutes and Tamarindo is accessible by bus. In my opinion, Tamarindo is more of a party town with more nightlife but there is nothing wrong with visiting. 

Jaco is about a two-hour bus ride from the San Jose airport, and it was a lot more my style. 

It is slower-paced, and I found a lot more to do in the area, including Manuel Antonio National Park. The park is located near Quepos, and it can be reached by local bus from Jaco in about an hour. In Quepos and especially the park, you will find tons of monkeys and, with a keen eye or a tour guide, sloths. 

Both monkeys and sloths are synonymous when someone brings up Costa Rica, along with the breathtaking beaches and rainforests.  Both monkeys and sloths are mysterious creatures in many different ways. Monkeys in my opinion as little assholes, I have experienced their antics in Thailand and Costa Rica. They will steal right from your hand, throw their shit at you and howl like crazy giving you the creeps at night. 

I have seen it all happen, which can be maddening if they get your phone, wallet, sunglasses, or nail you with a deuce.  The howling monkeys were next to my Airbnb in Tamarin, which was wild.

These picutres were taken in the city of Quepos and within the Nationaly Park.

Costa Rica is not that expensive if you do it right. I have stayed in the La Hacienda in Jaco twice, and this sweet Airbnb in Tamarindo that had an amazing patio with a hammock. 

I rented a room in both places for about USD 35 a night, but you can get a hostel bed for under $20 a night in Jaco. It is a short walk from the bus stop that drops you off in San Jose, and the bus that takes you to Manuel Antonio Park via Quepos.

I also have had the absolute best hamburger in my life at Ridiculous Burgers and the most amazing Coconut flavored beer and wings at Puddlefish Brewery both times I have visited. You’re missing out if you do not hit all of these places in Jaco! 

The below is the hostel, so amazing to catch the Oilers game from the pool too!

My visit to Tamarindo was awesome and I got to experience the howling monkeys.  This was a park next to my Airbnb first thing in the morning.  They woke me up every morning so I wanted to see if I could catch a glimpse of them.

They were so loud and a bit creepy to see and, especially hear them doing their thing!Â