Hitting the road

[Marc]

I've always had a yearning to travel, and I mean that in the very literal sense of the word. The best part of the few trips abroad I've had was the getting from A to B. So I woke up one morning recently and decided breaking my ass to make other people rich and/or serving as their human shield was not for me and that the more I earned the poorer I was becoming, so I quit.

There's no time like the present. I'm not the image that would spring to mind of a vagabond being the proud owner of a beer belly, student debt and 30 years but nothing could stop me from doing this. I've clocked more hours in front of my computer planning, pricing and preparing for my re-birth in the last week than is healthy but the exhilaration of realising this dream is like a shot of adrenaline to the heart, five hours sleep seems like a terrible amount of time wasted which for someone prone to enjoying a good 10 hour Saturday lie in nursing a hangover is only feeding the excitement more.

So I'm tying up all the lose ends. Selling everything I own. Buying a new home (my backpack) and trying as much as possible to keep it simple. Thanks goes to all those who have written guides so that my wallet remains fatter and my bag slimmer. I worked in I.T. (what is it with this job and vagabonds) so I'm sure a blog will follow if just to document the today and one years time photo's.

I've decided to start in South East Asia beginning with a weeks holiday (defined as just taking it easy and acclimatising) in Bangkok and from there I'll be looking to explore more and more off the beaten track as both my confidence and skills grow. I'll be seeing as much as my budget will carry me to with the only real planned stops being a quick trip to Japan which is somewhere I've always wanted to visit, meeting up with a friend in Hong Kong who is just about to leave the UK to work there for six months and stopping in to see my godparents in New Zealand.

I'm not off until August so plenty of time for the seven P's but for the all the questions I had that you've already unknowingly answered for me, many thanks.

[Greg]

Hey Marc,

True, what is it with I.T. people running to the hills as vagabonds?  

I love hearing stories like this, thanks so much for sharing. No doubt, you'll inspire others to not buy the iPad 5 one day when it comes out and instead go someplace enriching!

Glad you could find some useful tidbits in this highly disorganized site, haha. Definitely shoot me your blog when you get it up and running. You probably know my feelings about Southeast Asia by now: it's a damn good place to start. If you didn't see it, I've got some tips for Thailand on http://www.thailandtips.info and even on my brand new About.com site: http://goasia.about.com.

I'll be around there in August and after, who knows, may bump into you on the road.

Cheers!

Oh yeah, I was 30 when I began vagabonding and I lost 20 pounds (despite my best efforts) in just a few months of running around SE Asia -- so no worries about that.

[DOrtiz]

Very brave soul, the best of luck to you and your travels!

[roofleaf]

Good story, mate! Shoot updates when you get a chance! Best of luck to you! 

[Marc]

Best decision ever!

Just got back on my return flight from Bangkok (Paid for it so might as well come home for xmas). Coming home is tough if only for the fact I'm sat here shivering my balls off (English weather sucks). Looking forward to heading straight back out. Fuck the 1%. If Thailand taught me anything it's that I really have been breaking my ass for someone else's benefit. There are other ways to do things, so may even go so far as to say better ways to do things and a little taste of that has me hooked. Would like some Pad Thai Gai right now but sadly one egg cost more than the whole dish in Thailand, ooh look what's cheaper McDonalds lol

[Greg]

Haha!

Thanks for checking back in, Marc. I'm flying home in 10 days and know EXACTLY what you're going through. The weather in Kentucky sucks, too. But even still, home provides a reference point that makes the rest of the journey that much more magical.

See you on the road, mate!