Alex's Adventures 🌏

Here is a collection of tips and other things I learned and found to be useful over the course of my travels. My hope is that they may be helpful/useful for anyone else considering traveling! The focus of this list is on long term backpacking travel, but many of the items may be useful for any kind of trip. I plan to add more items to this post as I think of them. First, some general tips: Don't feel like you need to plan every little detail in advance, it's impossible to do this for long ter...

I am here at the airport in Santiago as I wrap up my adventures in South America. I started in Brazil visiting São Paulo, Paraty, Ilha Grande, and Rio de Janeiro. I had originally planned to explore other parts of Brazil, like Chapada Diamantina and Foz do Iguaçu, but the country is huge! And takes time and considerable cost to get from place to place. I had a great team of Brazilian friends back in Perth who helped me plan my trip with fun things to do and see, and delicious foods to eat! Thank...

As I write this I am on the plane to South America, the fifth continent of my world trip. These big transitional moments are exciting. The ability to simply get on a plane and travel from one area of the world to a totally different one may be common nowadays, but I still find it amazing, and am especially feeling that right now. I have had an incredible time in Europe, which for me has been defined by the amazing people I’ve met and spent time with. Old friends, new friends, and family. I cheri...

My first stop after my trip to Germany was a stay with my friend Santosh in Copenhagen, Denmark. We both love photography so had a lot of fun going around Copenhagen and taking photos. We also made a trip across the water to Malmö, Sweden. We walked through a beautiful dahlia garden and visited the Turning Torso building which really looked like a giant hand had reached down and twisted the building from the top. Thank you Santosh for hosting me! Next, I had a 5-day sprint through the Netherlan...

Here is a log of where I have been on each day of my travels so far, including modes of transportation from place to place. 2024 January 22: Plane from Perth, Australia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, then plane from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Bangkok, Thailand 23: Bangkok 24: Bangkok 25: Bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai 26: Taxi from Chiang Mai to Samoeng (Worldpackers volunteer, Watchara Organic Farm) 27: Samoeng (Worldpackers volunteer, Watchara Organic Farm) 28: Samoeng (Worldpackers volunteer, W...

As I ride the FlixBus from Hamburg to Copenhagen, the Poland and Germany stage of my trip has come to a close. It has been wonderful meeting and spending time with my relatives and friends who warmly welcomed me into their homes, and showed me all around different parts of Poland and Germany. Even though it was the first time meeting my relatives in Germany, I felt at home right away and I’m very happy to have had the chance to strengthen our family connections across continents! I first travel...

I have been wanting to write a post about the process that led to my world trip, including the resources that were very helpful and inspiring for me. My hope is that these will also be helpful for anyone else considering taking a similar kind of trip! My first time “leaving home” and venturing out on my own was when I left Utah to attend Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. I went not knowing anyone there, but I was excited for the new adventure and my four years at Lafayette were a great...

For the last three weeks I have been exploring the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe, visiting Albania, Montenegro (for about 17 hours only!), and Romania. My three weeks in the Balkans have been filled with visits to many castles and historic towns, and hiking in picturesque mountains. I am currently in Sighișoara, a fairytale-like town in the Transylvania region of Romania. It feels like a place that would be created in Disney World, but it’s the real thing! There are towers, walls, and churc...

Today is my 14th and final full day on Milos island before I head back to Athens tomorrow. I have been volunteering as part of my third Worldpackers position, hosted by Vasileios and his family, who run an apartment and boat rental company here on the island. I have been helping clean the apartments after guest checkouts, cleaning and maintaining the boats, and other maintenance and construction projects. It has been interesting and fun, and every day has been different. I have been living in a ...

I have made it to Zanzibar! It wasn’t in my original plan, but the timing has worked out that I am here for four days. I signed up for my second Worldpackers volunteer position at the Samaritan School in Chamazi, about 40 minutes south of Dar es Salaam. My first day was on Friday. There is no school on the weekend and as it turns out, the school is also closed on Monday and Tuesday for the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. Eid al-Adha is known as the “Feast of Sacrifice” and commemorates Prophet I...

I am here at the airport in Johannesburg, having just arrived from Cape Town where I have spent the last two weeks – my first two weeks ever in Africa! I really enjoyed my time in Cape Town, it was a great first place to start my travels in Africa. It is a totally modern city, and in several ways reminded me of Perth, with the nature aspects reminding me of Albany (Western Australia), particularly the vegetation and rocky coastlines. From the moment I first saw the iconic Table Mountain I was ca...

Before starting my travels, I had the idea that I'd like to read a book from each country I visit. I thought it would be fun to read the book while present in the country, and that it'd be a nice way to connect at a deeper level with each place. It would be a chance to be exposed to different writing perspectives and styles, perhaps different from my previous reading. I started searching for good book suggestions for the countries I planned to visit and came across Ann Morgan's awesome website a...

I failed to complete the Manaslu Circuit trek. I made it up to the village of Samdo at an elevation of 3,860 meters, but after having struggled with acclimatization for several days at that point, made the decision to turn back and descend. Despite not reaching the Larke Pass, and completing the full trek, I still had an incredible experience. Here is a day-by-day breakdown of the journey, with elevations and distances covered: Day 1: Bus from Kathmandu (elev. 1,400 m) to Machhakhola (elev. 869...

I have made it to Nepal after spending the month of April back in Perth. It felt great to be back in Perth and have the chance to catch up with my sister and friends. As always, it was great to spend time with my sister, we always go for fun outings together, share nice meals at our favorite spots, and of course watch a few episodes of The Office, and we sprinkled in a few LEGO Masters Australia episodes this time too! Thank you Micha and Monique for letting me stay at your place! I also want to...

Mother India, you have given me an experience of a lifetime. I can't express in a single post all of the amazing things I have experienced in India over this past month (and I wasn’t able to post more because I was expending just about all of my energy on a daily basis just living India!). I will try to capture some of the key aspects of my experience in this post. I started in Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan in northern India. From the moment I stepped over the threshold of the hostel entranc...

And so the first leg of my travels has come to an end. I started in Bangkok, and over the last 40 days have made my way clockwise around the so-called “Banana Pancake Trail”, traveling from Thailand to Laos, to Vietnam, to Cambodia, coming full circle and returning to Bangkok, where I have just departed from Don Mueang International Airport. Now I am on my way to India! I keep thinking it’s a long flight ahead, like flying from the US to Australia, but it’s only a 4.5-hour flight. I am scheduled...

I have made it to Hanoi and let me tell you, it was an adventure to get here. I took the overnight “sleeper” bus from Luang Prabang, Laos and it was a transit experience I will never forget. The duration of the trip is listed as 25 hours on the bus ticketing agency website, and here are some word-for-word notes about the trip… Buses on Tue, Thu, Sat have toilet, wifi and normally are in better conditions. Better is a very subjective term. Please expect that buses on Mon, Wed, Fri and Sun could ...

Today is my fifth day in the capital city Vientiane. I have been in Laos longer than expected because I am waiting for my Vietnam E-Visa to be approved, but it has been nice to stay put in one place for a while. For one thing I have found a great temporary workspace called Toong Samsenthai where I have been able to get a bit of work done, send some emails, and have some WiFi calls with family which has been great. The Toong Samsenthai workspace. Cost: $10 USD for a 3-day pass. Since I've been ...

Here is a list of all the items I’m currently carrying with me. So far I haven’t let go of anything but there are many things I haven’t used yet. I am pretty much packed to the brim so it would be nice to drop a few items so I have a bit less weight to lug around, and a little extra space so I don’t have to intricately unpack and repack every time I move somewhere. First of all my pack is the Osprey Farpoint 55, which includes a 40L capacity main pack, and detachable 15L capacity daypack. This ...

Here are my daily expenses from yesterday in Vang Vieng, Laos. I have been tracking my spending using the TravelSpend app ever since my new friend Mari from Chicago told me about, it’s very helpful, thanks Mari! So far most of my purchases in Southeast Asia have been in cash because many places don’t accept card. It’s easy enough to find an ATM (they’re everywhere) and withdraw cash. The currency in Laos is the Laotian Kip (LAK). $1 USD equals about 21,000 LAK, so imagine if you withdraw $100 US...

I am sitting at the Pha Ngern (Silver Cliff Mountain) viewpoint in Vang Vieng, Laos. The dark limestone mountains are very unique and stunning here, they rise very sharply with jagged peaks. It was a steep climb to get up here! I am enjoying some nice solitude here at the viewpoint, and am having some dried jack fruit and cashew nuts as a snack. I was planning to take the sleeper bus from Luang Prabang, Laos to Hanoi, Vietnam tomorrow (February 10th) but my E-Visa hasn’t been approved yet sin...

Over the last few days I have crossed over the border into Laos via the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, then rode the “slow boat” along the Mekong River from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang, with an overnight stop in Pak Beng. Crossing the border into Laos was very exciting, especially because I was entering the second country of my trip. The open air taxi ride from the Laos Border Control and Immigration Office to my hostel (Over the Moon Hostel) in Huay Xai was very memorable, it was a perfect temperatu...

I am on the bus to Chiang Khong en route to the border crossing into Laos and feel like it is a chance to catch my breath. I think my travel pace has been pretty quick so far and I have felt quite drained at times. It is a lot of new stuff to take in. The last two nights were my first time sleeping in a hostel dorm, I didn’t get the best sleeps because I’m still getting used to that arrangement but for budget-friendly travel it is very good. My week on Watchara Farm was incredible. It was physi...

I am on the base level of a double-decker bus making our way from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. We are about 1.5 hours in to a 9.5 hour ride. I just ate a shortbread butter cookie snack provided by the bus service, tasted good! And I still have a black bean bun to try. We just drove past a huge gold Buddha statue. The past two days in Bangkok have been excellent. There is so much activity happening everywhere, from the minute you walk out the door in the morning to the time you return home at night. It...

There was a slight hiccup in Kuala Lumpur but I have made it to Bangkok. I arrived in Terminal 1 in Kuala Lumpur but had to catch my connecting flight in Terminal 2 which is a train ride away. After clearing customs and making a mad dash over to Terminal 2 including a James Bondesque taxi driving performance, I arrived at my gate at 7:05 pm for the 7:15 pm departure. I could see the plane outside the window but the door was closed and I was too late to board. But I was able to book another fligh...

My purpose for travel: to learn more about the world, particularly about its people and natural environments. I want to meet and converse with people in a humble and genuine way, I want to understand what daily life is like for them, I want to give back to them in some way if I can. I want to avoid heavily-trafficked tourist areas. I want to hike/trek and experience nature in other parts of the world. When I’m in a new environment I feel totally alive, all my senses feel heightened as though it...

This is the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address from the book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer – one of my favorite books, and a work that profoundly reshaped my perspective about my place on Mother Earth. I’ve always loved nature, but as I read this book, I was continually in greater awe of its power and majesty. I will never look at a tree the same way again, I now see them as beings. This is an English translation of the Address written by John Stokes and Kanawahienton in 1993. I thi...