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Abu Dabhi, UAE

by Abu Dabhi

I have always seen the Emirates football (soccer) jerseys and Emirates Airline’s 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 Airlines all-you-can-fly pass, Abu Dabhi, 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 did not land in Abu Dabhi until later at night and was without a phone charger that was left on the bus in Budapest. After some currency math, I bought a $3 USB charger for 25 dollars at the Abu Dabhi airport. That allowed me to grab an Uber to my hostel. I grabbed my USD 30, 30-minute Uber and was on my way after the long self-inflected but I was knocking out a huge bucket list item.

Arriving at my hostel after midnight it was already quiet time which is normally 10 PM – 8 AM unless you’re at a party hostel like the Mad Monkey I stayed at in Palawan, Philippines as there was no quiet time. Damn kids, get off my lawn, LOL!

I was still fired up from the reality I was actually in Abu Dabhi and got to visit Dubai too. 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.

If you know the culture, this is not normal, so he was my best friend immediately. We talked for a while and then both made our way to our shared room. It had seven single beds with an IKEA-type shelf for each assigned with a lock assigned to each bed. I unloaded my stuff as quietly as possible and hit the sack for about 4 minutes. The dude in the next bed was snoring like a chainsaw. As a reference, I am almost deaf in my right ear and could hear his through the pillow with my left ear, LOL.

This guy was Syria, my next best friend in the hostel after we hashed out the snoring in the morning which entailed “go get a hotel if you do not like it” which was fair, LOL.

Over the next several years days, Baharan, Seria, and I would spend a good amount of time talking.

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 at most times. I was constantly laughing at him, and he knew it so kept up the entertainment. From a whoop whoop, nope nope, she/he broken, sad/happy face with loud YESS and NOO I got it.

Syria (right) was also an old soul for someone who was only 26 years old hanging out with Bahran and me in our 50s. He had been through so much in his young years with the war with Palestine that I would not even pretend to understand. Both of his houses and his restaurant were leveled in the fighting.

Some people in UAE would not associate with him because he was Syrian as well. It hurt so bad listening, but he had an amazing no-quit attitude. I got to Facetime with his beautiful fiancé who was in Michigan and could tell how much he loved her and missed her. Great news, I saw on IG that she was in Abu Dabhi, and they got married. I could not have been so happy for him as he deserves so much happiness.

Honestly, I was sad when Syria found a new place but happy for him as it would allow him to save money and start working again. I still got to hang out with Baharan a couple of times and felt even worse when he dropped me off at the airport a couple of days later even though his driving was scary AF. He gave me a hag and one of his head garments as we said goodbye:

I was back in 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 of those pictures:

The amazing architecture in Abu Dabhi is almost impossible to share so 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 – A beauty and talented kids!!

by Bohol

This was my first ferry road trip after spending my first week in Cebu. I had been on several boats in the past traversing the Island in Thailand, so I was prepared plus almost everyone speaks English.  I woke up one morning at 3 AM as adjusting to the 13-hour time difference was horrible.  I packed a knapsack took a shower and I was off to the local bus station.  I took a 3:30 bus, arrived at the terminal at 4:30, and bought a ticket for the 5:10 AM to Tagbilaran which was the first stop.  

They transferred us all to a bus for the remaining trip.

Once I got off the bus after the ferry ride, I needed to take a 20-minute tuk tuk ride.  I had been on 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 with little sleep as might be able to tell in the video but normally feel safe.  

Once I got settled in my $ 15-a-night Airbnb, it was time to check out the beach area which brings me to a long-winded hockey story.  

* If you are already ready for the Edmonton Oiler blog, you might want to skip it.  

** A lot of my stories are long-winded often running out of brain processor speed and switching between seven tabs in my brain telling three other stories. As the kids say IYKYK.

*** Since all of these beaches are beautiful, I often get confused as I took four different ferry trips.

Several years ago, I made a random video in Rocky Point Mexico, and it turned into our friend chat goal song during a couple of Edmonton Oiler playoff runs.  Well, they created a monster as I have been trying to find the next goal song using the same guy a couple of years later.

The first video is the one that caught on during the exciting goals along with Oiler good luck charm Kait! 

I even made two more renditions with the same Mexican guy for good luck, nope!  They won’t even play the original as they are probably tired of me trying.

Most people would give up but, I am just annoying that way so keep trying!  Here are some really talented kids from Bohol, Philippines that I recruited.  Just like a new post with zero likes, nope, nope and IPA drunk nope. 

Like Mi Amigo, the kids thought I was as crazy too but loved the great TIPs! 

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Honolulu, Hawaii

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.  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 wrote a post about the amazing fishing here. 

It is a studio with a single bed in a complex that has seven units so there are many options. Honestly, 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.  

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 Dukes but there are always thousands of people packing the beach.  The North Shore is more secluded and my favorite by far.  You can always find a quiet beach or park to sit and enjoy the waves.

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 favorites shown below:

After dinner, I stroll down main street and sit on the beach in front of Dukes and listen to live music and the waves. There are also ABC Stores (Fancy Hawaii 7-11) on every corner if I want to grab a beach beer too.  There is a 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!  

I paid $ for unlimited sailing and beers which was not the smartest as beer turns into pee and there is not a rest room on board.  

If I head to the North Shore, I will grab some poke and a couple of O’la seltzers from Foodland grocery and sit on the beach which makes for an equally awesome way to kill a day in Hawaii.  

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NAD Darrell promotion videos!

by Introduction

I had so much fun learning to edit from scratch to prepare NorthAmericanDarrell.com  

Here are some of the videos that I made so far as teasers for the website launch. 

Some even made the cut on FB and IG stories which was scary as overall, I do not know WTF I am doing or where this is going. 

It is pretty easy to tell which are the newer ones which gave me the confidence to post some. 

I am getting a bit better IMO, I hope you like some of them. 

The pictures are all from my travels, I am just getting this party started too!! 🙌

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Retiring early with residual income sources!

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, LOL.

I will share how I was able to make it happen as it took some luck and heartbreak.

First and foremost, I never got married or had any kids (that I know of traveling, LOL) in my life. I also jokingly say that I got divorced three times before getting married when people ask why.

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.

OK, let’s get down to business and talk about residual income sources now that you know my history.

Residual income is the income that remains after subtracting all costs of capital.

Sources of residual income include:

– 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, music, movies, or patents ❎

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

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 if you can wait until 67?

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

As mentioned, I kept my job throughout the recession 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 over $200K.  How is that for a return on investment while renting it out!! 

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, geo arbitrage, and a legend in my mind. 

 

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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!

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Boat tour off Koh Phi Phi, Thailand!

by Koh Phi Phi

I consider my six-week trip to Thailand in 2021 as being free!

It was my fifth anniversary working for PayPal and I was eligible for my four-week sabbatical.  I tacked on two weeks of vacation and also rented my AZ condo on Airbnb the entire time.  How sweet of a deal was that setup!

January 2021, Thailand was reopening for tourists after COVID-19.  There were so many strict rules, but as always 90% of the stuff we worry about never happens.

Bring a negative COVID test within 48 hours of departure. ✅

Buy travel insurance that covers COVID. ✅

Take a COVID test once arriving at the hotel in Bangkok. ✅

Locked down in a hotel until the test came back negative in 48 hours. ✅

I would be fed three amazing meals a day delivered to my door. ✅✅✅

Allowed to wander around the hotel grounds during lockdown. ✅

Pretty amazing time-out to take care of the 14-hour time difference and jet lag! 

Once I received a clear email from the Thai government, I was off to tour Bangkok for two days before leaving. I would be back on my way home to finish touring the city.  

I left for my island hoping for adventures in the following days: Koh Samui, Koh, Phagan, Koh Tao, Phuket, and the topic of this post, my absolute favorite island in Thailand, Koh Phi Phi Island!

Unsure whether or not to jump! Damn rights, that was a long way up for a big boy!  

Watch for the body, UGH that’s a long way up for a big boy, LOL!

This was an amazing boat ride I took to tour the islands around Koh Fi Fi. We snorkeled and visited several bays in the area including the famous Maya Bay where the movie “The Beach” was filmed.  Although it was closed for swimming due to preservation, it was beautiful!

Here are some professional pictures from Google:

Since there was no swimming allowed, you could see all sorts of fishing including sharks from land.  It made it that much better seeing it unspoiled by tourists IMO. I will be back to swim!

Here are some less glamourous shots I took but it looks just as amazing!

I am also not much for snorkeling as I am claustrophobic. I survived and did not drop my GoPro while hyperventilating due to kicking so much, LOL!  

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London, UK layover!

by London

 

I was able to spend London on my way back home on a trip in the fall of 2024.  I had been to London a few times, but it was always a great experience. It felt a bit different without the Queen when I landed. I took the train from Gatwick to central London Picadilly tube station.

Here are some shots I took of typical London pubs which are on most corners:

After I got off the tube, I walked to London bridge which was neat to see again.  It is always a challenge to tourists in London as traffic flows the opposite direction.  You will see “look right” signs at cross walks and almost got hit my first time there.

I found a great hostel near the bus station that I was taking to Heathrow. I needed to leave early for the airport to catch my flight but made the most of it. An old friend was flying me home on her passes, I couldn’t mess up, or she would not fly my ass anywhere again.

Everything worked out awesome and the AA agent gave me a bulkhead seat with a ton of leg room.  That is something that never happens as I fly cheap ass discount airlines.

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

They broke my heart in the Summer of 2024 with a 550lb+ marlin giving me reason to keep going back.  Look at the size of that marlin!!

Back to my fish story! Sue picked me up at crack ass so we could leave the docks at 6 AM. I walked up to the boat and Sue introduced me to Captain Tom, Aunt Tootsie, and Uncle Bobby.

(Uncle/Aunt is a Hawaiian term of respect when introducing someone older than you). 

The first thing I said was that it was a dream to catch a marlin and watch it jump while reeling it in and holy shit, did I ever!  The first thing I remember reeling her in is seeing her jump, I said to the crew, look at that Marlin jump way over there and the unanimous reply was; 

“That’s your fish dumbass, REEL”.

It took me about 90 minutes to reel her in and we have some great videos below. I was not handing off the rod and had to crank with two hands at times.  We laughed a lot as the marlin made it to the boat and took off a few times with me yelling at her the whole time.  

First things first, I caught a Mahi Mahi right off the hop in the first video!  So awesome tasting too! After that, all hell broke loose with my marlin madness!  Enjoy!!

What a fricken’ beauty marlin and Captain Tom!  Reach out to fish if you are in Kona!  Tell him NorthAmerican Darrell sent you as he will share some of our fun timesm guaranteed!  

We went to Captain Toms and smoked her in an old shack behind his house making the best tasting fish jerky!  It was marinated for days and hung on hooks four hours!!

Here are some videos and pictures from another trip with other awesome peeps! The laughs and cruising are almost as fun as the catch, every single trip. We landed a double marlin, two on hook at the same time which was total mayhem for about 15 minutes!!  

I was able to reel mine in, but we lost the other one. Rookies, LOL!

If your planning on being in Kona and would like to meet Captain Tom and first mate Sue for an amazing and cost effective fishing experience, send me an email or a WhatsApp message from the homepage, I can work out the logistics. Hell yeah!! 

I catch myself saying that the marlin was 350lbs, busted!  338 is the official weight and saved that paper too!

The picture of Captain Tom pointing to the hole in his shirt was my marlin nearly taking him out, so close!  That is his favorite fishing shirt and wore it the next two times we went out for a good laugh.

On the right you will see Tom and his families process to smoke the marlin and package the marlin.  I cannot remember how much pound they sell if for but took a couple pounds home as is so amazing!

I love this fishing story and will tell it again and again … that 37lb marlin, fought like a bitch, LOL!