Tag: australia

I Make You Wanna Jump, Jump + Being Vulgar

How To Write While Traveling + Kris Kross Jump Karaoke + Podcasting. All inside! Check it out…

I always see a huge drop in RSS subscribers after I post a Friday update. But I’m cool with that. I don’t mind weeding out people who don’t really care about all that RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com encompasses.

If you stick around after the Friday update today or in the future, thank you. Seriously. Thank you.

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On Monday I guest posted over at WriteToDone.com with:

How To Find Time To Write While Traveling

If you’ve ever tried to work on the road this article should help you. And if you have your own tips please share them!

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As promised in the Why We Do What We Do article, video of me bombing on Jump by Kris Kross:

Unfortunately I don’t have the whole song because my camera person was…well, she was drunk. But as you can tell from that 2 minute clip I didn’t fare too well.

The problem was there were no monitors so you couldn’t hear the music and yourself. If you’ve ever been on stage (either performing music OR karaoke) you know how important that is.

Enough excuses out of me. ;)

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While in LA I was a guest on the ALL CAPS PODCAST with my friends Tanner and Chris.

Check out Episode 31 of ALL CAPS by clicking here.

Just a warning: we swear a lot and reach varying states of vulgarity throughout. So Mom and Dad? Don’t listen. :) (I taught my Dad how to subscribe to RSS via e-mail!)

And because most people don’t know where the name ALL CAPS came from let me explain. Myself and a group of friends from high school type in ALL CAPS to each other. Sometimes we type in ALL CAPS to people who have no idea what’s going on. Hilarity ensues?

So if I’m ever talking to you on AIM and start typing in ALL CAPS, don’t worry, I’m not yelling. I probably just forgot to turn the CAPS lock off. :)

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I’m changing up the posting schedule a bit next week. You’ll see why on Monday. ;)

Why I Quit Traveling

After an exhausting time in New Zealand I decided to quit traveling…

That’s an odd statement from a blog about, among other things, travel.

But I alluded to this in the past.

Traveling the way I’ve been traveling is tiring. Being on the constant move is tiring.

Just when I get to know (and maybe love) a city, I move on.

It takes about a week before I get comfortable with a new place. If I leave before that week is up there’s an underlying sense of stress.

In New Zealand, because I decided to do a bus tour, I saw 16 cities in 30 days. That is just too much. I went to more cities in NZ in 30 days than I did in the 70 days I was in Australia.

Guess where I had a more enjoyable time?

New Zealand was amazing, but incredibly stressful.

I hate stress.

I’ll go out on a limb and assume you hate stress too.

Today I’m flying to Detroit after 5 days in LA. I’ll be in the Detroit area (where I grew up) until I leave for India on Jan 28.

Although I can’t stand cold weather, I’m looking forward to having a home base for more than a few days.

What I Did Wrong In Australia/New Zealand

Squeezing 2 vast countries like Australia and New Zealand into 100 days is not possible.

When I booked my flights to Australia/New Zealand (all the way back in March) I planned on coming back to the US and laying down roots again.

A couple of months after I booked said flights I decided to sell all my stuff, live out of a backpack, and see more of the world.

Because I bought a return instead of one way ticket I was already pretty well handcuffed to the 100 day Oz/NZ trip. Yes, I could have paid flight change fees and extended the trip so I could stay in my favorite places longer, but there’s a reason I didn’t do that.

I already made December plans with my family and friends in Michigan. When I say I’m going to do something, barring unforeseen circumstances, I do it. With my upcoming plans I won’t see any of them for a long time so it all worked out perfectly and I’m looking forward to spending time with them.

How To Quit Traveling and Still See The World

When I say I’m quitting traveling, I specifically mean I’m not going to be on the move constantly anymore.

I booked a one way award flight from Detroit to Mumbai. I will probably stay in Mumbai for just a few days before heading to Goa and staying there for a month or two.

My new rule is, unless I don’t like a place, I’m staying there for at least a month.

This will give me time to acclimate to each place I visit. I’ll also be able to rent an apartment or a single guest house room.

I still fully plan on making 2-3 day side trips, but having a home base to go back to will be wonderful.

The beauty of travel…scratch that…the beauty of anything in life is that you can do it however it works for you.

For some people, not knowing where they’ll be from one second to the next is exactly what they need.

Personally, I like knowing at least a few hours (OK, days!) in advance where I’ll lay my head. :)

What is your style of travel?

Australia Field Report: Sandboarding The Stockton Sand Dunes

A field report about the largest moving sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere: Stockton Sand Dunes near Newcastle, NSW, Australia.

Trying something new: instead of a normal story or article, a report from the road.  If you’re reading this in an RSS reader and don’t see the videos click here to check them out.

Last Sunday I hit the road with a bunch of new friends from Sydney to the Stockton Sand Dunes just outside of Newcastle in Port Stephens, NSW, Australia for a day of 4WD (in the indestructible Toyota HiLux, no less) and sandboarding.

The Stockton Sand Dunes are the largest moving sand dunes in the southern hemisphere and most visitors to Sydney have no idea the Dunes exist.  Hell, most Sydneysiders don’t seem to know the Stockton Sand Dunes exist.

You won’t hear people talking about them and you’ll find almost no information about them if you’re looking up things to do near Sydney.  Granted, Newcastle is ~180 kilometers from Sydney, but it’s only a 2 hour drive.

Parts of the movie Mad Max were filmed here.  Specifically in the Tin City area:

Me doing *something* in front of Tin City
Me doing *something* in front of Tin City

About 5km down the shoreline from Tin City is the Sygna shipwreck.  The Sygna is really close to shore as you can tell by this photo:

Me in front of the Sygna shipwreck
Me in front of the Sygna shipwreck

After hitting the dunes for a while we chilled out, ate (thanks to my host Agata for making me an awesome vegan lunch!), and then headed out for more fun:

If you’re a fan of the outdoors, getting dirty, and possibly getting hurt, the Stockton Sand Dunes are sweet as (as they say in Australia/New Zealand).

Don’t have a car and want to get to Stockton Beach from Sydney? No worries. Get there in about 3 hours via public transportation:

– The CityRail Central Coast and Newcastle line train leaves from Central Station Sydney a few times per day.  It arrives at Newcastle Station after a 2 hour 45 minute train ride.

– Walk to Newcastle, Queens Wharf (less than 200 meters) from Newcastle Station and get on the Stockton Ferry to Stockton, Mitchell St Nr Ferry Wharf.  (5 minute ferry ride)

A full day pass on the train and ferry to Newcastle is $9.50 for an adult and $4.70 for a child.  For more info on fares check out http://www.131500.com.au/faresandpasses/.

If you don’t already have gear, there are a few companies that offer 4WD sand dune and sandboarding tours for $20 and up.  You can also hire (rent) a quad (4 wheeler) if that’s your bag.

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Coming soon to Ridiculously Extraordinary: How To Travel The World In One Carry-on Backpack.  Everywhere I go people ask me “Is that all your stuff?” and responding  with a prideful “yes” is one of my new favorite feelings. ;)