Traveler Spotlight: Brian Peters from No Debt World Travel

The traveler spotlight series is intended to highlight a different travel blogger who is living the dream by traveling the world for an extended period of time. Every traveler has different needs that planning websites and individual blogs may not provide. This series will feature responses from bloggers with their personal viewpoints on an array of topics to give a different perspective to some of the main problems that long term travelers may face while pursuing long term travel. Entries in this series will focus on travelers who are planning, currently on, or already finished with their adventure to see how feelings to certain subjects have changed during the course of traveling.

Brian Peters from No Debt World Travel had always dreamed of traveling around the world. It wasn't until he was let go from his job as a VP in the banking industry that his dreams came to fruition. He sold his house, paid all his bills, and used the remainder to travel around the world completely debt free. He has since returned from his journey that lasted from Fall 2008 to Spring 2009, and has released a brand new e-book explaining how he did it all while not going into debt with many tips and tricks for those wanting to do the same. (Pictured: Brian Peters from No Debt World Travel)

I got a chance to ask Brian about his journey and he provided some great advice for those planning their own RTW trip:

What gave you the inspiration to go on a RTW trip?
I had been working corporate for a long time and I thought about some of my unrealized dreams. One was to travel and see the things I had only experienced through TV. I sold my house FIRST and then a year later I was told I would be losing my job. That sounded like the perfect timing to me. So I went for it and didn't look back.

How did you figure out a route and how long did you plan ahead of time?
I simply looked at a map and figured out where I always wanted to go. Nothing really complicated. I actually bought the RTW tickets only a month before I left.

How did you adjust your lifestyle to save for the trip and how long did it take to achieve your goal?
I sold my house previous to losing my job so that covered a lot of the trip. I had to pay off credit cards and loans first and whatever was left was what I used for the trip. (Pictured: Brian in front of a large Buddhist monument in Asia)

What are your feelings on the RTW ticket packaged compared to individual plane tickets?
I used both. I used RTW ticket for the big stops in the major cities. I think RTW tickets provide the best value. I booked my own tickets in Europe when I bounced between London, Athens, Barcelona, etc.

What was your budget per day, did you keep it, and did you do anything particular to stay within it?
I really didn't have a budget per day. I looked at how much my bed was for that particular location and then figured from there to keep my costs under control. I didn't do too many expensive tours, but there are always inexpensive alternatives to the usual "tourist traps" anywhere you go.

Did you travel with anyone for any part of your trip?
Someone met me in London and we did London, Barcelona, and Marrakesh together. She had only 12 days and we managed to get everything in that we wanted. Otherwise I spent the entire time traveling on my own.

How hard was it to leave everything behind?
NOT HARD AT ALL! After all the nervousness of deciding to do it, once the ticket was purchased I was ready to go.

Was there anything unexpected you encountered that caused you to change plans, and could it be avoided for others?
I had no major problems on my trip. Most of the stress was caused by being in a place then figuring out how to stay longer. For instance, I had only planned on being in Tokyo for a week, I stayed two. Really didn't want to leave. I planned on being in Hong Kong fora week, I ended up there for almost three! Just changing around your flights can be a hassle if the airlines want to charge you obnoxious fees.

What is your best advice for those planning and budgeting based on your experiences on the road?
The old adage "Take double the money and half the clothes" really applies. You can reuse clothing, find a laundry. There will be equipment in your bag that you will never use and it adds the weight you need to carry all the time. Leave it at home and travel light. (Pictured: Brian hiking to Ngong Ping in Hong Kong)

Did you ever want to quit and go home?
Not at all. Once I hit the road I was on the move and "Living the Dream"

Any final comments?
Get out there and do it! It will be the best thing you've done for yourself

-----------------------------------------------

Since returning Brian has continued travel blogging and has been making himself a leading figure in the travel blogger circles. His new e-book was just released and he continues to maintain frequent updates on his blog No Debt World Travel with many frequent updates on the latest travel news and deals that people may look over. Check out his blog and e-book as another great resource to help you plan your dream trip around the world!

The next traveler in the spotlight series has definitely the record for the longest travels of anyone in the series thus far, he has since returned from a 20 month journey around the world. Check back next week for another entry in the Traveler's Spotlight series!

My 3 Best Kept Travel Secrets

I've been nominated to continue the series of the best kept secrets from travel bloggers around the world started by Katie at the site TripBase. Each blogger who is posting in the series is submitting three of their favorite best kept travel secrets to make a comprehensive list of the best secrets from around the world.

Some of my top three best kept travel secrets have already been discussed on this site, and others have not, but I have to say that these are definitely my most favorite. So please check them out whenever you are planning a trip!

Imperial Palace Hotel - Las Vegas, Nevada

So call this one a travel secret hiding in plain site. Vegas is all about the glitz, glamor, and high rollers; and many of the hotels on the Strip have prices to match. If you want to go all out, all the Vegas hotels are amazing and worth staying at. But if you are trying to save a few dollars in the process then you may want to scale back the accommodation, you're hardly in the room anyway. The main choices that budget Vegas goers turn to are cheaper off strip hotels, Circus Circus, and the Stratosphere and if you catch yourself thinking of staying at one of these places STOP! I have said it many times before and I'll say it again, if it is not on the main Strip between Treasure Island and Excalibur don't even bother! They are not within walking, or stumbling distance and should be avoided at all costs. Don't be fooled by the map, they are not close at all! One block over is easily a 20 minute walk if not more, and the free shuttles that some offer cycle once every 30 minutes at best. (Pictured: Imperial Palace facade in Las Vegas - October 2008)

That is where the Imperial Palace comes in. It may not be the nicest looking hotel on the Strip, or have lavish suites, but the price is right for those looking to spend their money elsewhere on the Strip. Weekday nights are often as low as $49 plus tax and weekends barely tip the hundred dollar mark. Not bad in a city that room rates can sky rocket to $300+ on weekends for nothing more than a small bedroom and access to a pool. In fact, with the recession the Imperial Palace has been offering packages with 3 nights for a total of $89. That is 3 nights on the Strip located directly across from the shops at Caesars Palace for under the cost of what it would cost to see one Cirque du Soleil show! The money you save from going to another on Strip hotel would pay for two sets of tickets for those amazing shows!

If you are planning on going to Vegas anytime in the next year, sign up for the official mailing lists to the main hotels / chains on the Strip, there are many packages being offered that make any hotel within a budget and have perks such as free show tickets or spa packages to round out the deal!

Kayak Search Engine

This one isn't so secret anymore with their first advertising campaign kicking off on TV. Kayak is the only website out there that I use to purchase plane tickets and have talked about plenty in this blog in the past. What makes Kayak different from other sites is that instead of being a booking engine it is a crawling engine, searching hundreds of different airlines and booking pages to find the absolute best itinerary and deal for your flight choices. Kayak also has features that tell you if the same itinerary has been searched for in your specific month (round trip only) and what prices were found most recently and a feature to find the cheapest destinations per continent from your home location on chosen travel date. These are great tools all around but what gets me going back to Kayak time and time again is the fact that I have never seen a price cheaper for international flights on any booking engine, anywhere, ever. Most of my friends don't believe me when I quote round trip prices to Europe for $700 when they spent over $1200, and I have also converted my brother who is an avid traveler to be a Kayak believer. Check them out, I guarantee they'll save you some money on your next plane ticket.

Street Food Around the World

Street food may not be viewed as a travel secret as everyone knows about it, the trick is figuring out which ones are worth it and which ones are not. I found this out firsthand when in Luxor, Egypt this past August while trying to find some falafel which is commonly sold as street food. Walking up and down the main street across from Luxor Temple there are many restaurants, a McDonalds, and street stalls. Along the way I found one that caught my eye as there were about 20 people crowding around it, compared to zero at the other stalls. Yep, this is the one to eat at. Up right in the front of the stall was a big iron skillet full of falafel balls cooking fresh before they are jammed into pitas with veggies and optional moussaka, my favorite Middle Eastern dish. In an impulse I ordered four, which would be about the size of two large sandwiches from the McDonalds that was right next door. The total cost was about 8 pounds, or about $1.75 US. Not only were they awesome, but the irony in the whole situation culminated when we went to the McDonalds to eat in and the large fountain soda cost $1.85 US, more than FOUR large pita sandwiches with falafel and moussaka. Ah the power of street food. It was the best food I ate on the trip. So watch out for a hopping stall next time you are in a foreign country, because the food is probably the best thing you can get and you won't have to pay the inflated prices that tourist establishments normally charge! (Pictured: Frying falafel street food in Luxor, Egypt)


These are just a few of my travel secrets that I use during my travels. Thanks for Brian over at NoDebtWorldTravel for inviting me to continue the travel secret posts.

Black Friday Rant: A Tale of a NewEgg.com Bait and Switch

I am going to depart from my normal travel updates for a moment to rant about the unethical business practices during special Black Friday promotions by the widely respected computer supply company NewEgg. For those who are not from the US, Black Friday is the shopping day after Thanksgiving which signifies the start of the Christmas season with amazing sales and extended shopping hours. Last week I discussed some of the best sales of the season for travelers and I decided to pursue NewEgg's offer of a $189.99 Acer Aspire One D250 netbook with extra long battery life [Normally $320]. Knowing that this would be a hot item and would sell out fast I did everything in my power to secure the purchase and was successful in receiving a purchase confirmation... or so I thought. (Pictured: Cancellation Email From NewEgg)

Less than 30 minutes after I received a purchased confirmation for the netbook, NewEgg slapped me in the face with an order cancellation due to being out of stock. Somehow I was confirmed to have purchased a netbook that was not in stock, and instead of putting me on a backorder list, NewEgg canceled my order outright. This was after I spent another $100 in unrelated equipment on their site since I decided to shop there for the season because of this sale. I liken this to picking up the netbook at a brick and mortar store only to take it to the cash register, pay with a credit card, and then be told that the item is out of stock and that my card will not be charged and have the netbook that was confirmed to be mine be taken away in the blink of an eye.

Now, I am not an unreasonable person. I can imagine that NewEgg would be within their rights to say that there was a computer glitch that caused more units to be sold and that I would get the next batch at the purchase cost since it was their mistake. But there was no offer of the same. In fact, the only thing that was stated in the email was that when the item comes back in stock, a rep could *try* to help me get the same price. That is all well and good, but about 2 hours after sell out the item was deactivated completely, suggesting that no more stock will be carried. That was when I discovered a few dozen other people with the same issue on NewEgg's facebook fan page where the offer was originally advertised. So many people had their orders canceled retroactively that it seems like NewEgg did not actually sell ANY netbooks without canceling after the fact.

The bigger irony which has me riled up is that NewEgg received so many complaints about cancellations that they put a status update on their facebook page saying all people who received an out of stock email will be getting contacted from a representative. This amounted to a second out of stock email with the same exact content as the first being sent out about 11 hours later. Taking the matter to customer service agents did not get anywhere and some people have said that the most NewEgg said they will do is offer a $10 gift certificate for a future purchase, and will not be honoring the price if the item comes back in stock (or wont sell the same spec netbook in other colors to cover). It is a slap in the face compared to the original order. (Pictured: Deactivated Netbook on NewEgg, Will It Ever Be Restocked?)

I am having a hard time figuring out if this was a bait and switch or just plain old false advertising. I highly suspect that NewEgg had no intention to honor the sale and only used it to lure people to the site to buy other equipment with less of a discount. I fell for it, but I am not letting NewEgg off the hook so easily. Earlier today I submitted a claim to the BBB for suspect sales tactics, as did many of the other people who had their confirmed purchase abruptly canceled. Luckily for me I purchased the netbook on Amazon earlier in the week for $229 with a smaller battery and I was trying to just get this deal to save more cash and get a better battery in the process (of which I am currently typing on). It might seem trivial but now I am bitter just for the principal of the issue. We'll see where it goes, but expect an update if there is anymore into this saga of shady business through NewEgg. One thing is for sure, I won't be buying from them again.

On the plus side, I'll have a great review of the same netbook later this week since my Amazon order arrived as promised for the sale price that was advertised, and it is quite an amazing little machine.

Traveler Spotlight: Jayme and Chelsea are The Globalizers

The traveler spotlight series is intended to highlight a different travel blogger who is living the dream by traveling the world for an extended period of time. Every traveler has different needs that planning websites and individual blogs may not provide. This series will feature responses from bloggers with their personal viewpoints on an array of topics to give a different perspective to some of the main problems that long term travelers may face while pursuing long term travel. Entries in this series will focus on travelers who are planning, currently on, or already finished with their adventure to see how feelings to certain subjects have changed during the course of traveling. (Jayme and Chelsea at Petra in Jordan)

Jayme and Chelsea from Two Girls Around the World (aka The Globalizers) are best friends who quit their jobs to travel around the world for a year and have been traveling for the last 5 months. I met Jayme and Chelsea while exploring Egypt and Jordan this past August when they were taking a break from independent travel and joined us on tour for a much needed planning break. Prior to traveling the Middle East, the girls had spent two months in Europe and continued on their travels after with a two and a half month whirlwind adventure in South East Asia. They are currently working and traveling in Australia for a few months while saving money for the second leg of their journey in South America.

The Globalizers took time out of their busy schedule to be included in the Travelers Spotlight and have given their personal perspective into what it is like to travel around the world on a tight budget:

Since you are traveling as a duo, who initiated the idea, and how did the other come on board?
Jayme had been planning the trip for over a year and a half and was going to travel alone. She was scheduled to leave after Chelsea's wedding in June. However, when Chelsea's wedding was canceled in October, she decided to travel along with Jayme.

How did you figure out a route and how long did you plan ahead of time?
After being introduced to "around the world tickets," many possible itineraries were reviewed and we decided on a general path to follow. About six months before we left, we sat down with a world map, piles of books, and a lot of pictures and decided on what major cities we would fly in and out of as we made our way around the world. We knew we would only travel with one bag, so visiting regions during their warm season was a must, which helped to narrow down the duration of time we would spend in each area.

How did you adjust your lifestyle to save for the trip and how long did it take for you to achieve your goal?
Jayme had been putting small amounts of money aside for roughly a year, but it was hard to save much due to the high cost of living in Vail, Colorado. As the trip got closer, Jayme decided to save more money by cutting back on eating out, shopping, and entertainment. She also picked up an additional part time job working at country club. Chelsea already had some money in her savings account and was used to paying a high mortgage, so when she sold her house and moved back in with her parents, she was able to save the majority of her paycheck. (Pictured: Jayme and Chelsea on the beach in South East Asia)

What are your feelings of the RTW ticket package now that you have bought it and are on the road?
We think we saved a lot of money and have been really happy with the airlines that were assigned to us. Our only complaint would be that all of the paper tickets were issued at the beginning of the trip instead of e-tickets, but it hasn't been an issue.

What have you been doing to stay in budget?
We live very cheaply and always chose inxpensive meals and accomodations. We appreciate free activities and always keep an eye on our bank accounts. We set up an initial budget and planned out how long we would spend in each region depending on how expensive it was. We used the Rough Guide's book, First Time Around the World, which gave an estimated daily budget for each place we were visiting. Most of our budgeting and planning was done before we left, and with the "we need to save money" attitude and mindset, we are doing a pretty good job of following it.

How hard was it to leave everything behind?
Not hard. We are both very attached to our family and friends at home and lucky for us, everyone was very supportive. Plus, we will most likely move back in with our parents when we get home, so we know there will be plenty of time to spend with them when we get back.

Was there anything unexpected you have encountered that caused you to change plans and could it be avoided for others?
We didn't have a set plan for most areas we visited, other than major cities to fly in and out oft, so we were alawys very flexible. We would arrive and immediatly talk to other travelers and/or locals for recommendations and plan our trip from there. Solo travelers may want to plan more ahead of time, as we have noticed along the way, but we are happy with the flexibility we gave ourselves.

What is your best advice for those planning and budgeting based on your experiences on the road?
You can't do everything, but you don't want to do nothing, so always pick and chose what to spend your money on. Know what kind of trip you want and be sure to save for that because it is always easy to spend more than you had originally planned.

Have you ever wanted to quit and go home?
No. As we approach our half way point, we are getting terrifiied with the realization that we will eventually have to go home. (Pictured: The Globalizers on an elephant in Thailand)

Any final comments?
Deciding to do this trip was the best decision we have ever made. We have met so many incredible people, we have learned so much about history and the world, and we know that we will be changed forever. This trip has changed our views, but also our desires and it is exciting to think of all the possibilies we have for ourselves.

-----------------------------------------------

Thanks to their degrees and experience as a teacher and journalism, Chelsea and Jayme keep a very detailed blog of their adventures that are highly captivating and an amazing read. Please check The Globalizers out over at Two Girls Around the World and follow their amazing adventure. Jayme and Chelsea have also been keeping up with the "Globalizers" Facebook group that is loaded with hundreds of their beautiful pictures from around the world.

The next entry into the Traveler Spotlight will feature an ex-banking industry vice president who left it all for an amazing adventure around the world after being laid off from his job and strived to have the entire adventure with absolutely zero debt. Check back next Saturday for the next spotlight!