figure 8 pools - near Sydney, Australia
I've been a broke backpacker for a year and a half now. I turned 20 in my first month of this lifestyle on a tiny, hellish Island called Daydream. We called it Nightmare Island; a place where I created some of my favourite memories. It was a roller coaster. Wake up, put on an atrocious uniform, go to work, run around for hours getting yelled at, walk home proclaiming to quit and catch the next boat off the island, go to staff bar and have one too many beers, end the night with the ones you call family talking about how you've never seen stars so bright. So, maybe we were a little over dramatic and the work wasn't so bad. Even when it was bad, watching whales in your backyard can makeup for almost any screaming customer telling you their room is moldy. This was the beginning of my obsession with travelling and a microcosm of the adventures to come. When you're in the shits, man, you're in the shits, but the highs are moments of pure awe and pure love. It's life with intensity; good and bad.
a photo of my family from Daydream Island, QLD, Australia
The problem with a lifestyle of no plans is that it has no plans. You can't maintain a job, layout a future, or even get your mom to mail you Christmas presents. No permanent address means a lump of coal, guys. No plans mean you take the first job you find online, only to find out you've flown to the outback to give $450 to a sociopath. Having no plans means you run away from their house in the night... I'll tell this story another time. Anyways, it's hard to maintain, I understand that. A life of no plans is a strange dream to have.
The advantage of no plans is that there's no plans! On November 7, 2017 I woke up in Bali knowing no one. My hostel had a pancake making station and I sat down next to a Belgian guy asking my name. That day we ended up on a four hour scooter road trip to get caught in rain storm while exploring an enormous abandoned resort. The next day we took a boat to the Nusa Islands. 3 Tiny Islands with some of the most incredible sights I've ever seen. No plans are the best plans.
Kelingking Beach, Nusa Penida Island - the steepest, most dangerous hike of my life
My dream is to live on the road full time. My dream is to be able to come to Vancouver because I want to visit my family for a week or two, not because I have 90 cents in my bank account. My dream is to be the one that someone can point to and say that's the lifestyle I am striving for. My dream is to tell my story; the good and the bad. To discourage and motivate. To terrify and inspire.
The atrocious uniform I mentioned before
I am honoured to join this community and I look forward to telling stories of my adventures. As of right now I am in Guatemala working at a hostel in Lake Atitlan and in a few weeks I'll be heading south to Colombia!
Ｆｏｌｌｏｗ ＠ＤａｉｌｙＳａｔｕｒｄａｙ