Inspiring Travelers: Ron from Guatemala

Right now I am doing my very best to not freeze to death here in Estonia. As I write this, I am also working the night shift at the hostel I stay at. One of my favorite things about working in a hostel is the wide variety of cultures I encounter in one day. I love hearing or reading stories that inspire me to travel. I always have my eye on a map or on hte horizon, and it doesn't take much to motivate me, but i still love hearing travel stories. I meet so many awesome travelers on the road, or in the hostels, that I thought I would share some of their great stories. One such person is Ron from Guatemal. He is a pretty dedicated traveler, who also writes a travel blog www.nomadicforever.blogspot.com. For my first of many interviews, he agreed to help me out.

Inspiring Travelers: Ron from Guatemala decides to change his life into one big adventure on the road.

 So tell us about yourself.

Ron-
I'm from Guatemala and I am one of the few long term travels that I know from my country, because we don't really have a traveling culture. We don't really go on gap years, just safe, short holidays, because for them traveling is a big expense, and most people can't imagine it being possible to travel with little money, and would rather use their hard earned money for cars or toys, worldly things. I learned early that somethings are more important than social status, and I'm the proof that one can travel with little money. One day i decided i didn't want a regular life, being stuck in a office for my whole life, so i told my parents i was going to go travel, and i left a week later. I figured i would be gone for that long, but that was 3 years and 3 months ago

So what have you been up to? Where have you been traveling?


Ron-
I started out busing from Guatemala to Costa Rica. From there I flew to Florida and started traveling around the east coast of the US for a month, looking for jobs. After a while I went to the west coast to meet a friend I met in Nicaragua, I was getting low on money so i was trying to find work. Not finding any, i ended up going to Mississippi to work with a relative. between working there and again in Florida, I saved some money. My goal was to make enough to get to Europe, so when i finally did i bought a one way ticket to Belgium. I was trying to travel as cheap as possible, but after 4 months i ran out of money. I didn't want to rely on family to keep me traveling, so I started finding work in hostels and picking up ways to travel with little money. long story short, I have been traveling between different jobs around Europe, central and south America ever since. I worked or volunteered in many hostels, I posed nude for an art school, I bartender, and many other things as well.

Were you affraid when you first started out?

Ron-
I wouldn't say i was afraid, more like anxious. I was ready for the next chapter in my life to start.

How do you keep on budget?

Ron-
I have a very small budget always, so I developed many secrets. I always hitchhike. while I am traveling and not working, I don't drink a lot, I never eat out, and I cook my own food. I Couchsurf a lot. Most of the expenses traveling in Europe are transportation and accommodation. I hardly ever pay for transportation, and I've never paid for accommodation yet. I've slept in bus and train stations, churches and fire departments in Latin America, in parks and where ever. not to mention Couchsurfing and working at hostels. When it comes to working, I am good at keeping in contact with people I meet, and that gets me jobs here and there sometimes. A guy I met back home got me a job here in Estonia. A guy I met, who picked me up when I was hitching from Germany to Denmark, offered me a job on his sail boat in the Baltic.

What advise or tips would you give someone who wants to travel but doesn't think they can?

Ron-
leave your comfort zone. don't make excuses just make it a priority and go for it. It's all a state of mind. If you tel yourself you can do it, you will.

Do you have a favorite spot in the world?

Ron-
no.

Least favorite?

Ron-
Maybe Bulgaria. Just because of the mean border police. It was hell. They even told me not to return. But I did meet a really hot Bulgarian girl there.

So what's next?

Ron-
Well you know this answer since we are going together, but after New Years we are going to leave Tallinn and hitch to Ireland to find work and be there for St. Paddies day. We are meeting a girl we met here in Estonia, and 3 guys you met in Australia. just another example of keeping in contact. after a few months we will probably hitch to Georgia and try to get to India from there. Hard to plan that far, but that's our plan.

Ecuador

After a few Days in Cali, I hit the road towards the Ecuadorian border. Besides the beautiful landscapes and the annoying salesman coming on board to try and sell various things until the next stop, I remember one other thing about the bus ride to the border..The check points. I was the only non-Spanish speaking person or foreigner on the bus, so I was always singled out for scrutiny.

Another check point

I figured it was because they suspected me of drug trafficking or something, but I became convinced that it was more because they were bored, and i was a distraction from the normal routine. They would check my passport for a visa stamp, but hardly ever even looked at it. Instead they would flip through the many pages looking at all of the other stamps and visas from countries they had never heard of, and show each other like it was show-and-tell. I had left a bank note from Cambodia in the passport cover, and when they took it out to eyeball it, they were all amazed when i told them where it was from. they even started to show the other passengers, and eventually it just started getting passed around the bus. I was convinced I would never see it again, but i got it back.




After hours of great scenery, and amused drug police, we arrived at the border. I had an un-eventful walk across the border, and arrived in my 23rd country. It was getting late, so i took a mini bus to the near-by town of Tulcan to find a bed for the night. It was a hole-in-the-wall place in a seedy area, just the place i usually go for, and i was the only guest. When i was hungry they sent me to this street food place, where i was a little nervous walking to at night, until i arrived and saw that it wasn't so bad. I ate one of the best hamburgers I've ever had. I'm going to attempt to describe it.. It had two thin beef patties, a couple slices of ham, a couple pieces of bacon, some cheese, all on giant buns with a Dijon type mustard. Back home i would sometimes crush some chips and put that in a burger or sandwich, but here they have these chips that are made just for this reason. they come in bags as tiny slivers of chips, and they put these on my burger, and all burgers i had in that area. It was awesome. I almost forgot.. as a side, they gave me a little paper bowel with french fries and sausages, with tooth-picks to poke them out with. damn good stuff.

The next day, after a few more hours on the bus, I was in Quito, The second highest capitol in the world. I followed my Lonely Planet guide and found myself in the Old Town amongst some amazing mid-evil architecture. I payed for a night in the San Blas hostel, but it was so nice, and the area was so beautiful, and everything so cheap, that I ended up staying a week. I was completely alone, and didn't meet anyone that I will keep in contact, unlike Bogota, but i still loved it. One thing i wasn't prepared for though, coming to South America, was it being so cold. Up until now, I had been traveling in high altitudes, and it hasn't been the tropical warm weather i had been hoping for. That's what happens when one does practically no planning, but I'm OK with with that.

                                                                                                           
                                                             

some of the great architecture

                                                                                                      Since I'm
racing to make it to Rio for Christmas and New Years to meet friends, I don't have enough time to spend in any one country. On top of that, I spent more time both here and in Bogota than i anticipated, so I need to make up for time. So with a longing to stay longer, or to go to the coast, or to catch a plane to the Galapagos, I alternatively catch a bus to the Peruvian border. It's an over-night bus, and midway through my coat gets put away, not to be used again until i am in the highlands of Cusco. it gradually gets warmer as we near the border. It's light out as we pass through the city of Guayaquil, and by then the heat is stifling. The ride was so long i decide to spend the night here, and continue on in the morning. Tomorrow I will cross into Peru.

Bogota, Colombia

It's going to be hard to catch up on my blog; I havnt posted an update in a long time. At the moment I am holed up for the winter in Tallinn Estonia, working at a hostel. It's a long ways from where I left off to here, so I guess I'll just start at the beginning. Bogota.

After being home a few months, I was more than ready to be back on the road. I bought a one way ticket to Colombia, and the journey began. I landed in Bogota, and quickly realize that it would be nice to know some Spanish. I'd gotten along pretty well traveling the world with only English, but here would be different.

right away my luck was a little bad, as I found myself standing at the luggage claim empty handed as everyone else had already gone. it took me forever to get everything sorted, especially since I didn't have an address for them to send my lost luggage, but eventually I did. I gave them a hostel address, and took a cab there, hopping they weren't full.




Hostel Alegria did have a bed, and I stayed in a big dorm room. Ive hardly ever stayed in dorms, but it was alright. Bogota is pretty high in elevation, so it's pretty cold. The hostel had a big fire place that we sat around and socialized.

On my second day, I met Lexzy. She's one of the greatest girls I've ever met. She's now my girlfriend, more than a year later. When I met her tere in bogota, she was the happiest and most energetic person I've met. Within 30 minutes of meeting, we were going for pizza in a hole in the wall place in the Old Town and then to a local rock concert.

Together we took the gondola up the mountain to Monsarrati to see the cathedral and view bogota from above. We walked and explored all over bogota, trying out all kinds of restaurants and clubs. It was great. Colombia ended up being my favorite country in South America.

Eventually the road was beckoning loud enough so as not to be ignored. With sad and heart felt good-byes, we parted ways. We promised to keep in touch, and obviously we succeeded in doing so. It was sad to leave her that day, but exciting to catch a bus to Cali.

Salsa! That's all I hear about in Cali, colombia. I'm staying at Pelican Larry's hostel, in another dorm. Everyone wants to salsa, and it's hard not to get pulled into the scene. Cali for me ends up being mostly sleeping during the day and partying at night.

It's a shame to hurry through such a great country, but I need to get all the way to Rio for New Years to meet my friends. So once again, I promise myself to return, and catch a bus to the border of Ecuador. The ride is one of the most beautiful, albeit long, bus trips I've done. Life is good.

Backpacker's Prayer

Heavenly father, look down on us as your humble, obedient backpackers, who are doomed to travel this earth, taking photographs, mailing post cards, buying souvenirs and walking around in drip dry underwear.

Give us this day Divine guidance in the selection of our hotels, that we may find our reservations honored, our rooms made up, and hot water in the faucets.

We pray that the telephones work and the operators speak our tongue

lead us dear lord, to inexpensive restaurants where the food is superb, the waiters friendly, and the wine included in the price.

Give us the wisdom to tip correctly in currencies we do not understand. Forgive us for under tipping in ignorance, and over tipping out of fear. Make the natives love us for what we are, and not what we can contribute to their worldly goods.

Grant us the strength to visit the museums, cathedrals, and the castles listed as 'musts' in the guide books.

And if perhaps we skip a historic monument to take a nap after lunch, forgive us lord, for the flesh is week.


------Taken from a wall at a bar in the middle of Kuala Lampure

Bangkok



Bangkok, found on the Internet



Back to Bangkok. Now that I've made the full circle from Thailand-->Cambodia-->Vietnam-->Laos and back to Thailand, I guess a post about Bangkok is due. I can tell you a few things about Bangkok that I've learned, things such as it has a population of 910,000, and an elevation of only 6 feet, and has a cool floating market. I also learned that Bangkok's real official name is, get ready, Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke gave it the name, but don't ask me what it means. Other than these useless facts, I really don't have much to offer, because like many other backpackers, Khaosan rd sucks me in, and keeps me there.



Khaosan in the early morning



I can however tell you anything you want to know about Khoasan road, since this is my second time here, and luckily it is arguably the best thing about Bangkok, at least to a backpacker. Khaosan is a short street in central Bangkok. It is located in the Banglamphu about 1 km north of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. Khaosan translates as "milled rice", a reminder that in former times the street was a major Bangkok rice market. In the last 20 years, however, Khaosan Road has developed into a world famous backpacker ghetto, it offers cheap accommodation, ranging from 'mattress in a box' style hotels to reasonably priced 3-star hotels. I pay $5 a night (150 baht) for my jail cell, and I love it. Down stairs is the lounge area offering food from the menu, and movies running 24/7. It is literally steps from the street and all it's action.



All day and all night, the street is crowded with vendors and backpackers alike. It is so lively, it reminds me of downtown New Orleans during Marti Gras. After dark, locals selling either fireworks, flying saucers with lights, or high powered laser pointers or other bright lit toys get to light up the street with their product demonstrations, just adding to the liveliness. Every bar has television sets blaring Thai boxing or other fights, and there is always a tailer waiting in the street to try and sell you a custom made suit, always carrying around pictures of different styles. (Any of you that have ever been here, know exactly what I'm talking about with the tailors). It is so lively 24/7, that on numerous occasions I had backpackers ask me what the hell was going on? I would just laugh and tell then nothing, this is normal. This time around however, there WAS something going on, as if they needed an excuse to go crazy.



The Bangkok Songkran Festival is the traditional Thai New Year, an occasion for merriment all over the city, but most notably at Sanam Luang, near the Grand Palace, where the revered Phra Phuttha Sihing image is displayed and bathed by devotees and on Khaosan rd. In the Wisutkasat area, a Miss Songkran beauty contest is held and accompanied by merit-making and entertainment. This year, the girl, whose name I can't pronounce, that works at my hostel, that I hang out with all the time, won the contest and was awarded Miss Songkran. Needless to say, the hubbub around the place was even more crazy. The streets became even more packed with vendors, banners and stilt walkers. Every night it is hard to sleep, as fellow backpacker/musicians work their trade somewhere near my place, playing their guitars and singing for other westerners all hours of the night in the street. This might seem like a complaint, and might usually be, but seeing how I'm traveling alone and can get a might lonely and restless, this scene is really growing on me. I can walk into a big crowd of backpackers, a beer in each hand, one for me and one for the first friendly looking person I see, and I can make 15 instant best friends. This place should be on any real backpackers lists of to do's.



Khaosan during the festival. Huge water fights constantly



　

My Travel bucket list

I was once on a travel blog sharing site, and I ran into a group of people sharing their "travel bucket lists" and the things that they had crossed off so far. One of their objectives was to hopefully meet other people with similar lists, that they could plan trips with. Well I can't say that this all gave me the idea to write my own list, considering I've had one for a long time, but maybe by sharing it, I can get some more motivation or possibly, some company for the next adventure. I have more things than just travel related stuff on my list, things like 'become divemaster' or 'raft a category 5', but considering this is a travel blog, I'll only list the travel related stuff. The ones that are underlined are ones I've marked off.
 

 My Travel Bucket List

~Set foot on all 7 continents                     ~Spend three months or more abroad 
~Learn a second language                        ~Spearfish in Costa Rica
~Set foot in all 50 states                           ~Ride a camel in Mongolia
~Ride an elephant in Asia                         ~Study abroad
~Dive with whales                                    ~Backpack from Mexico to Panama
~Cage dive with sharks in S. Africa          ~Drink vodka in Russia
~Eat sushi in Japan                                   ~Spend New Years in exotic location
~Swim with sharks                                   ~Road trip across a country
~Fish in the Amazon                                 ~See the seven natural wonders -- II
~Motor bike through a country                 ~Marti Gras in New Orleans
~Ride Trans-Siberian rail                          ~Get a tattoo in a foreign country
~Eat shark abroad                                    ~Eat croc/gator abroad
~October Fest in Germany                        ~Dive the great barrier
~See the big five in Africa                          ~Set foot in 50 or more countries
~Volunteer in Africa                                  ~Be in Rio for Carnival
~Stay abroad for two or more years          ~Dive for Lobster
~Dive Borneo                                           ~See running with bulls in Spain
~Backpack from Thailand to Indonesia      ~Hitch hike in a foreign country
~See the Great Wall of China                    ~Backpack through Australia
~Work in a foreign country                        ~Circum navigate the globe
~Swim with sting rays
 

I realize that some people's list may be more detailed or ambitious like "Save a starving and malnutritioned homeless child in rural Burkina Faso", but by keeping my list broad yet simple, I believe I am perfectly capable of checking off each thing by the time I turn 30 years old. If and when I do, I'll definitely be making a new list with earth shattering standards. I'm getting a little ahead of myself though.