1. It is best to travel when you have a family you can fall back on. This is something people who put off traveling don’t think about, and it was a factor in my choosing to travel now instead of later. It’s good to have parents, aunts and uncles who are still alive so when you run out of money you’ll have some family to call on to take you in after you return from your journey to find yourself. You will get on your feet and eventually pay them back and/or dedicate your travel memoir to them.
2. Solo travel can be lonely. Ninety-five percent of the time this is okay. Solo travelers are solo for a reason. I spent many days alone. I like that. I love that. But if you don’t like that or just want a day with a buddy, then you’ve got to make friends on the road. Some of these friends will be annoying, and you’ll join them on excursions for the sake of not being solo. Fortunately, there are times when you’ll come across gems who will be your friends for life.
3. Money runs out. No matter how convinced I was that I would earn money on the road by becoming a freelance writer, getting some under the table or legit English teaching job, monetizing my blog or something else glamorous, doing so wasn’t as easy as I thought. First, it’s incredibly exhausting to travel long-term, so who wants to pursue work. Second, who really wants to work? I quit my job for a reason.
4. It is hard to fall in love on the road. Travelers read books and watch movies like Eat, Pray, Love or Under the Tuscan Sun and we expect to set out and find the loves of our lives. Bullshit. What ends up happening, from observing many, many people, is a racking up of lovers and a few short-lived relationships both parties knew wouldn’t last anyway. What’s more, when travelers visit home, it’s not always wise to start something with someone. It’s just really hard to make a nomadic love connection if both parties aren’t down for long-distance or if one party is staying home. This is especially more difficult for travelers over a certain age. My observation is that younger travelers and expats seem to do a better job of making love connections even if they don’t last forever.
5. DO NOT BUY THAT NEW CAR! If it is your dream to quit your job and travel long-term, don’t purchase a new car. I had a car that ran perfectly, but then I got a shiny new sales job and thought a shiny new car would go nicely with it. Big mistake. It was very painful to use my travel funds to pay my car note every month. If you have an old car and it breaks down, just buy another used car that doesn’t put you into debt. While I love my car, I spent $25,000 (principal and interest) over several years on a car I didn’t need. That’s a few years of travel budget.
6. Cell phone companies will let you put your contract on hold. I didn’t learn this nugget of travel gold until four months into my five months of travel. I called AT&T to discuss my options for using my iPhone abroad, and I was given details about an international roaming package. It wasn’t until I ran into some fellow Americans that I learned that for $10 a month, AT&T will place contracts on hold. I also didn’t know I could use my phone in wifi mode if the 3G was disabled. So, I hope I can spare anyone from being this unknowledgable about something so basic. I spent $125 a month for 4 months. That’s $600 or 2-4 weeks of travel depending on where and how you travel.
7. Sometimes I am ethnocentric. Ethnocentric is a euphemism for racist. Yikes. It’s so hard to admit that, but it’s true. Travel is supposed to make us less racist, but sometimes it can enhance it. However, I am fully aware when something ignorant crosses my mind. Then I stop to think that’s not how I should feel and I get to the root of where my true issues lie. It’s usually in my ethnocentricity: the belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture OR a tendency to view alien groups or cultures from the perspective of one’s own. Either dictionary.com definition will do.
8. Blogging is very difficult to do when on the road. I took off for Europe two years ago fully expecting to blog and vlog constantly. It is very cumbersome to blog. It also takes away from the moment. Taking pictures is one thing, but writing a meaningful blog about an experience and uploading photos is another thing. Sites like Facebook make it sort of easy to share thoughts and photos while long-term traveling when blogging has to wait. What’s also wonderful about waiting to blog is getting to relive some experiences when I’m back home. For example, I recently got to relive the frightening night I was followed in Paris  which took place in 2010.
   
9. Travel is more private than I thought.  When I hit the road, I thought I’d want to share everything with everyone. I’d tell all my tales. What I learned about myself is travel is incredibly private. I returned home in December 2010, and barely discussed my time abroad. For every story I share, there are three I don’t. I think some things are hard to explain.

That’s a feather (me) holding some lettuce and a carrot. She also included the Fantastic Mr. Fox!

And this is VATW, with vegetables, animals and little pig saying “YAY! We’re safe!”

Thanks, So-yeon! You made my day.

Getting there:

Get to Jungangno Station and Primall. Take exit 14. Make a u-turn and turn right at KFC. Pass Carrie & Kerry nightclub. Make the first right. It will be on your left next to Hello Kitty Café. Enjoy!

**Pet Food Recall News

Travel

• Extreme Tourism: Couch Surfing Comes to Afghanistan – I promise I won’t go, mom!
• 24 Things I’ve Learned about Life, Travel, and the World from Globotreks
• Budget Hotels: How far would I go to find Mr. Right? by Grrrl Traveler
• “I’m Taking Off to See the World!” How to Tell Your Parents by Jo Fitzsimons

Inspiration

• Never, Ever Give Up. Arthur’s Inspirational Transformation! - Arthur could barely walk. Now he can stand on his head.  Go Arthur!
• Today’s Rant: Pursue Your Passion… or Die by The Lusty Vegan
• Caine’s Arcade – A 9 year old boy who built an elaborate cardboard arcade inside his dad’s used auto parts store is about to have the best day of his life. Watch this short documentary and remember what it was like to dream.
• The Holstee Manifesto Poster - A great reminder of what’s important.

Happy Mother’s Day

• Top 10 iPad Apps for Vegan Moms

Nutrition

• Cheese Mites & Maggots – Cheese manufacturers use spider-like insects and fly larvae to impart particular flavors and aromas to certain cheeses.
• Hate Meat? It May Be in Your Genes from WebMD.com
• The Challenge of Going Vegan by Tara Parker-Pope, N.Y. Times
• Test Your Vegan I.Q. by Tara Parker-Pope, N.Y. Times

Furry Family

• List of Pet Foods Recalled Due to Salmonella
• Diamond Pet Foods Expands Recall
• Wedding Pets: Should I Include My Dog In My Wedding?

Relationships

• The End of a Vegan Marriage by Ryan Moore
• How to Nail a Vegan by The Lusty Vegan

R.I.P.

• Maurice Sendak, children’s author, dies at 83.

Check out this interview with the author and don’t forget to leave a comment on the Care2 page for your chance to win the book! Winner will be announced May 15th.

Travel:

• Follow Kristin of Will Travel For Vegan Food, as she blogs her way through vegan France and Italy.
• All Around Ana, a new blog written by a vegan living in Korea.
• Planning on going to London for the Olympics? Check out Single Girl in the City, a London-based vegan blog.
• Rick Steves is offering free travel courses via his YouTube page.
• My 55 best travel tips by The Everywhereist
• Do you have what it takes to travel the world? Round the World Traveler Profiles
• Swapping Your Blackberry For a Backpack: What To Expect
• Incase you find yourself with a long layover at Incheon International Airport, check into Spa On Air, the luxury jjimjilbang/spa in the airport’s basement. It’s even worth going the night before your early flight and spending the night. It was nice to wake up for my flight and already be at the airport.

Hodgepodge:

• Make-up Sex… Healthy? from The Lusty Vegan
  
• Join the Vegan Bloggers Food Swap! Open to US & Canadian Bloggers – There’s a vegan foodie swap/penpal/exchange going down at Vegan Cuts.
• Happy Cinco de Mayo! Veganize Your Nachos by Kathy Patalsky
• Q & A with Vegan is Love author, Ruby Roth
• Beauty Secrets from My Indian Mother by Shy
• Dog Needs To Hold Hands In Car – cute
• The 25 Most Awkward Cat Sleeping Positions – super cute

Going Nerdy:

• 16 ways technology is mapping the universe by Hal Amen
• 12 Dozen Places To Educate Yourself Online For Free from Marc and Angel Hack Life
• University of Chicago Press’s free e-book, A Planet of Viruses by Carl Zimmer. “In A Planet of Viruses, science writer Carl Zimmer accomplishes in a mere 100 pages what other authors struggle to do in 500: He reshapes our understanding of the hidden realities at the core of everyday existence.… Whether he’s exploring how viruses come to America or picking apart the surprisingly complicated common cold, Zimmer’s train of thought is concise and illuminating.”—Washington Post

By the end of the month, I hope to be rid of my processed vegan foods cravings. When and if I do have the occasional processed food, I don’t want it to be because of a craving or mandatory to keep me satisfied as a vegan.

It has been three days. My sinuses are feeling better. I have more energy. I want to get the final ten pounds off my body and be back to my college physique by my birthday, May 31st, just in time for the beach!

A few weeks later, I researched the requirements for leaving the airport. China has a very complex visa process for long-term travelers, so on the interweb there is a lot of confusion about how to exit the damn airport during a layover. I am writing to say, for an American, it is very easy.

First, you must have at least a 7-hour layover. This may be flexible. If you’ve only 5 hours, still try!

Next, once you disembark from your plane, go directly to customs as if you are exiting the airport. There is no special office for obtaining this permit. When you get to an agent, they will tell you exactly which line is handling short-term permits. Go to that line and present your passport, boarding pass for your connecting flight and the stub from the flight you just left.

The agent will check your pass and stamp a big, page-sized permit in your passport, like this:

He will then write in the permit expiration date. You are now free to move about Beijing. It really was that simple. Whatever you do, do not go through the customs area that leads to your connecting flight in T3. I’ve read they won’t let you out once you go through there. I’m not sure. The information desk had really friendly people. Confirm everything with them before proceeding to customs. Above all, do not fret about this process.

I walked toward the stairs and turned back to wave bye to my mom.
I descended the stairs. I tried to buy my ticket, but my $20 bill was too big. I got change and got my ticket. As I approached the stairs to the platform, I heard his unmistakeable voice. I looked up and saw his unmistakeable face. “Sean.” “Feather.” It was Sean, one of my favorite people in high school and one of my favorite humans today.

We shook hands, and it felt too formal. He wondered about my presence. I told him I was home for a visit, but was returning to Korea. I burst into tears again. It reminded of a day I was telling a story in a class I shared with him in high school. I was laughing and crying uncontrollably at the same time. I felt as looney at that BART station as I did that day in high school.

Anyway, he hugged me after the tears started and introduced me to his friend, Shannon. I told him I had the best time in NorCal this visit. He was as sensitive to my emotions as ever. He descended one staircase; I another. Remembering one of my Korean nicknames I shared on Facebook, he yelled out “Cotton Candy” from the other side. Through my tears, I shouted back “Yes! That’s right.”

I spent three hours in Beijing last night. It was nothing like I expected. Everyone was friendly. I got many stares. I also got many smiles. It’s a holiday this weekend, so it was really crowded. From what I saw, it’s a very beautiful city. My pictures are on my camera. Will share later.

I made some friends in a dark alley. They took me to a tea drinking ceremony which triggered the I’m-in-a-horror-flick fear/thrill in me. More to follow on that experience.

This short stop was my opportunity to see if I would like to visit for a longer period. I would.