Where have all the Perpetual Travellers gone?

[DangerMouse]

Just wondering if any of our perpetual travellers are still around and want to give us an update on what they have been up to. I remember when MJ (think that was his user name) used to report in with stories and photos of his latest trip. Billy and Akaisha where have you been this year? I know there is another one user name start with a K? Are you all still travelling? Has the past year felt any different with the downturn in the world economy? What exciting things do you have planned?

 

[Martha]

MJ posted not long ago. Haven't heard from Kramer here for awhile, though he does regularly post of Raddr's board where there are a number of PTs. Lance, Billy and Akaisha have been pretty quiet, eh.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

And SteveR?

 

[dixonge]

Raddr's Early Retirement and Financial Strategy Board :: View topic - Billy and Akaisha "suffering" in Puerto Escondido

Kramer seems to post there a lot as well

The Kaderli's recently visited Austin, TX then headed to Arizona for a bit

Texas State Capitol

the Terhorst's appear to be in Malaysia

Home ‎(paulvicgroup)‎

 

[bbbamI]

And SteveR?

I miss SteveR.

Laurence is a workin' man, but he hasn't posted in a while either.

 

[Martha]

I know Lawrence has been busier than all get out. I miss having SteveR around. Hope they are enjoying MH'ing about.

 

[nun]

I'm a bicycle tourist, this year I road the length of England (350 miles). When I ER I'll be doing some big bicycle trips. First one will be across the USA and then I'll do Europe.

 

[MJ]

I occasionally post but I have been mostly quiet. I have been living in Chiang Mai for almost 3 years where I live a simple and quiet life without the cravings that a number of expats here in Thailand look for. I am not sure if I can be called a PT right now.
I spent nearly 2 months backpacking around South India from mid March to mid May. I had a pretty enjoyable trip when I didn't dwell on the horrible air pollution and excessive trash.

I recently uploaded orchids and flower floats photos taken in Chiang Mai this year. I hope you enjoy them. For the sharpest viewing, press slideshow followed by F11.

I plan to upload in the near future (from 1 day to 5 years ) the photos I took while in India.

MJ

 

[winger]

Fulltime Rver for 3 years. We are in Kremmling, CO right now. It seems there are more workers in the RV parks these days. I hear them leave in the morning..and straggle in late in the day. Not complaining....work is overrated.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Fulltime Rver for 3 years. We are in Kremmling, CO right now. It seems there are more workers in the RV parks these days. I hear them leave in the morning..and straggle in late in the day. Not complaining....work is overrated.

What kind of RVing do you like to do, Winger? What kind of MH do you live in?

Florida as you know has lots of squatters (long term campers) in 5th wheels as well as tons of MHs. We toddle around in an Itasca Suncruiser and have done mostly trips in a 500 mile radius. I hope to expand that when I have more time.

 

[rescueme]

Just wondering if any of our perpetual travellers are still around and want to give us an update on what they have been up to.

Just taking it back a couple of years:

- May, 2008: Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg)
- Oct, 2008: California - San Diego to San Francisco (we're from the East Coast)
- Jun, 2009: Australia (3 weeks)
- Sep, 2009: (booked)1 week cruise (NYC to Canada - celebrate our 40th anniversary)
- Jun, 2010: (booked) 2 week Baltic cruise.
- Sep, 2010: (scheduled, not booked) 1+ week out West (Canyonlands or thereabouts).

Normally spend at least two/more weeks foreign and at least a week somewhere in the US...
Since DW still wo*ks, it cramps our travel...

 

[winger]

What kind of RVing do you like to do, Winger? What kind of MH do you live in?

We have a 38' Montana fifth wheel. Pulled by a diesel dually Ford F-350. And the motorcycle on a trailer behind that. 63' long going down the road.

Can't imagine a better life for us at this time. So much to see... and much is worth seeing again.

We were in Florida earlier this year. After the snowbirds, and before the summer heat.

 

[DangerMouse]

Nun, did you do your bicycle trip as an independent venture or were you part of an organised tour? Did you keep a travel diary online with pictures you would like to share? How far did you ride each day? Were you reasonably fit to start with?

MJ when you started your journey were you planning on looking for a location to settle full time or did that just happen? What is it about Chang Mai that makes it "the" place for you? Financially how has it been with the travelling?

rescueme, whereabouts did you go in Australia as I would be interested to hear your impressions of my homeland. Don't be scared of offending me, tell me what you really thought.

Winger, has full time RVing been everything you thought it would be?

I would love if those who travel would take the time to drop in and update us on their latest travels and share some pictures to remind us all of what is out there in the big world we exist in.

 

[winger]

Winger, has full time RVing been everything you thought it would be?

For us, it's been more. It was a long hard battle to convince my wife to sell her dream house, and then sell or give away most of the things she had collected over her adult lifetime. Not everything- we still have a 10x20 storage room in Fort Worth. It's about 1/2 full. Every time we go back, we go through stuff and get rid of more.

Our agreement is we will travel until she gets tired of it. Not long ago, she said she could do this another 10 years. Music to my ears.........

 

[CoolChange]

winger,

I am very interested in your setup. That is very similar to something I was initially considering; but, I received a great deal of negative feedback regarding the idea. So, I basically abandoned it. Most of that negative feedback feel into these categories:
(1) Too much to pull with a pic-up (even a big diesel dually).
(2) Trailer pulling a trailer is hard to tow, dangerous, illegal in some states, etc.

Since you seem happy with this configuration, I would really like to hear more details about your experience with it. I am especially interested in what you would do differently as well as what you would do exactly the same if you were starting from scratch (no 5th wheel, no truck, etc.).

Thank you so much for sharing.

 

[tomintucson]

I'm not perpetual, but I travel a bit.I just spent two months at the Thai-Burma border, based in Mae Sot , Thailand, with four short trips into Burma. It was by far the best overseas trip I've taken. Some pleasure, but the focus was on service work. I taught English every day at a high school which serves Karen refugees from Burma who are not allowed to attend Thai schools. I've realized borders are sort of my thing. I live sixty miles from one of the world's more interesting borders, and the Thai-Burma border is equally compelling. Lots of adventures (I dreamed I crossed the border into Burma surreptitiously and illegally and hung out with armed insurgents at war with the military junta...literally, friends of friends), beautiful bike rides along the river separating the two countries, I could go on and on but I won't. Wonderful, sweet people. I'm planning on returning later in 2009.

Regarding cost- I spent $980 to fly roundtrip Tucson-Bangkok. Aside from that, from the moment I left my home until my return 64 days later, I spent $1,363. This includes transportation in-country, food, lodging, bike rental and probably about $300 or so in miscellaneous charitable donations. I was not living like a pauper. Southeast Asia is insanely cheap, at least as I like to experience it.

Tom

 

[winger]

Most of that negative feedback feel into these categories:
(1) Too much to pull with a pic-up (even a big diesel dually).
(2) Trailer pulling a trailer is hard to tow, dangerous, illegal in some states, etc.

I still hear negative feedback. It comes from a certain....uh.....class of people.

Your truck has maximum weights it can pull. I'm not a stickler on the numbers, but you need to keep it in the ballpark.

We have Pressure-Pro tire monitors on all trailer tires, a camera on the back of the RV watching the motorcycle, and additional load stabilizers welded on to the trailer and hitch. The set-up didn't come like this, it is additional safety measures I've added over the last couple years. Being retired, I have a lot of time to think about these things. And I'm also shameless about stealing good ideas from others.

Yes, it is against state law to double tow in some states. All the eastern seaboard states from Maine to Florida, plus California, Oregon and Washington. That said, I've towed through all of them. As have many others.

Send a PM and we'll talk.

 

[audreyh1]

Still roaming the great USA. This year we seem to be spending a lot of time visiting family in GA, so we haven't gone as far as usual, but we had an awesome May/June exploring the Arkansas mountains and some of the MO Ozarks. Arkansas has some awesome state parks.

Last year was when we did an impressive coast-to-coast swing in SPITE of insane fuel prices.

Audrey

 

[REWahoo]

Still roaming the great USA. This year we seem to be spending a lot of time visiting family in GA, so we haven't gone as far as usual...

Last year was when we did an impressive coast-to-coast swing in SPITE of insane fuel prices.

I see your impressive investment skills don't necessarily translate into day-to-day living...

 

[audreyh1]

I see your impressive investment skills don't necessarily translate into day-to-day living...

LOL - what, I should NOT travel when fuel prices are high? Are you kidding?!?!? What's the point of being retired if you sit around and do nothing to save money - might as well get a job!

Personally I'm prouder of my day-to-day living in retirement skills than my investing skills - unless one gets credit for staying sane while investing during the '00s - I am kinda proud of that.

Audrey

P.S. It's pretty amazing when someone equates 1999-2009 survival (still staying retired) as "impressive investment skills", but I'll take it!

 

[Stevewc]

winger,

I am very interested in your setup. That is very similar to something I was initially considering; but, I received a great deal of negative feedback regarding the idea. So, I basically abandoned it. Most of that negative feedback feel into these categories:
(1) Too much to pull with a pic-up (even a big diesel dually).
(2) Trailer pulling a trailer is hard to tow, dangerous, illegal in some states, etc.

Since you seem happy with this configuration, I would really like to hear more details about your experience with it. I am especially interested in what you would do differently as well as what you would do exactly the same if you were starting from scratch (no 5th wheel, no truck, etc.).

Thank you so much for sharing.

Seems to me you can buy 5th wheel's with a cargo area these days. If you can live with a little less space that might be a better choice. Someone also mentioned a rack on the back bumper for a motor cycle on 5th wheels. But the size & weight of bike probably comes into play with that
Steve

 

[winger]

Seems to me you can buy 5th wheel's with a cargo area these days. If you can live with a little less space that might be a better choice.
Steve

We looked at toyhaulers before we bought our present RV. We'll look again b4 we upgrade.

Most of the THs are made for weekend use. In the mud or desert, it seems Lots of beds, but sparse living areas. One we looked at had a fridge in the back area, with a tap ready for a keg of beer. The hauler area in most are 10-12 feet long, and as wide as the RV. That is mostly wasted space once you get your toy unloaded. It could easily be a 1/3 of your living space.............

 

[megacorp-firee]

Still traveling ...
Since 07/01/07 FIRE we have been to
Asia - 5 months
Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, HangZhou, SuZhou, NanJing, Cambodia
Las Vegas - 5 times, total of 4 months
California & Wisconsin - 6 or so trips for about 8 weeks (visiting family)

Immediate future travel plans (the next year or so) -
Las Vegas (anyone have that 1-800 number?), probably 2 or 3 weeks
Asia - more cities in China and perhaps SEA (Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia) for about 4 months
More Family visits around U.S. - at least once a month while in US

Trying to do Asia while we are still relatively young and have better immune systems.
Europe will start when we have hit most of the places we want to see in Asia.

There seems to be less travelers of late. Airports are less crowded, hotel and restaurant staff seem to be a bit more eager to please and friendly (well some are anyway). Our friends, family and fellow travelers seem to be a bit more tight (as we are) with our travel dollars since we are in a R*ccession,.

oh well
have a good time

 

[audreyh1]

Here is a map of our 2008 travels. You can also see 2007 and 2006. Click on the pins and it will give you date and location. If you zoom in on satellite view, you might even be able to see the RV park!

Audrey & John's Travel Maps

Audrey

 

[WanderALot]

I love hearing about everyone's travel stories! DW and I are in our mid thirties with a little one, so we are a ways from a PT lifestyle. We love traveling overseas and manage 1 or 2 short trips (4 weeks total) a year. It is significantly harder with a 2 year old, but very rewarding nonetheless.

I really admire people like MJ who can move some place for a long period of time. I think we would like to keep our home base and travel for 3 months at a time (get an apartment, live like a local etc). Doing volunteer work, going to an language immersion school or teaching English seems interesting. Anyone do this kind of travel?

It's interesting that I feel that I could move to a lot of countries where I've traveled to (like Chiang Mai for instance!) I think it's because I tend to romanticize a place which is easy when you have such a good time visiting the sites, sampling food, etc.