Around the World in 80 Years - Travel Journal

Marcio_Farias 1 24 214
You'd pronounce it /YAW--EYE-AY/ "yaw" as in "yawn," "i" as in letter "i," and "a" as in letter "a," but I concocted it. Don't expect to hear it anywhere else. ;)
So says this "English Expert" collaborator who might have traveled the world over, had he the cash to do it.
CENTENAS DE EXPRESSÕES DO INGLÊS
Preparamos um plano de estudos para ajudar você a dominar centenas de palavras e expressões do inglês em tempo recorde. EXPERIMENTE AGORA
@sandrom: Thanks man! ;) Yeah, some of the worst experiences often make for some of the funniest stories later... As for oDesk, they only withhold taxes if you're a US citizen.

Cheers!

~ Frank Florida ~
Logan18 1
Hey Frank, congratulations for you initiative! Your stories and the way you live your life are GREAT!!!! It is really amazing!!! Keep it up! Last night I read you whole topic. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Hey Logan, thanks man! To be honest, I couldn't imagine living any other way anymore. ;) It's 5:33 am over here and I'm still up... my biorhythm is a bit out of whack!!

I'm staying at a condo in Cainta, in the East of Manila... and if you ever come here, I recommend you look somewhere else! It's a dirty, polluted part of the city, there is a factory right next to my condo, and wow... talk about dire working conditions! People say you don't want to be in jail in Mexico... well, trust me, you don't want to be in a factory in the Philippines. I don't think the building even has any windows... people work 13 hours a day, 29 days per month, for less than 100 dollars per month. It's really pretty grim out here... you can smell the factory even kilometers away and it covers all the buildings in some kind of dark, mucky coating... I'm sure just living in this part of Manila for a long time would reduce anyone's life expectancy. Even the rain is black and the smog blurs out the sun. :/

I still don't have a camera (I need to buy a smart phone at some point... So far I'm still resisting!) But I found this picture on Google images that can give you a rough idea:

Imagem

Fortunately, I'm only here for another 5 hours, then I'm moving to Rockwell. That's the exact opposite of Cainta... new buildings, modern malls, clean streets, healthy restaurants... Can't wait! I'm sure I'll be more productive over there as well.

Imagem

And you thought Brazil was the country of contrasts... well, it is, but I think out here the contrasts are even more extreme. God bless the internet! A chance for Filipinos to make a decent living online... they all speak English and so they can make a lot of money on the internet - several times more than they ever could in the local economy.
Logan18 1
Hey Frank, I just got sad when I saw this first picture of Cainta and I would like to ask you what did you feel when you first arrive in this place?

Cainta looks like the "Favelas'' in Brazil. Do they even have paved roads? What about the food over there? What do you think about the people who live there ? Have you talked to someone from Cainta?

Best Regards.

Leone.
Yeah, Cainta is pretty grim... it can be really depressing to think about the people here.

But I think the favelas in Brazil are still better than the slums of Manila (they call them squatters, here)... favelas, at least, are mostly made of stone. Squatters often consist of much more makeshift huts, made of corrugated metal, wood and even plastic... and then, of course, pollution is a lot worse out here and salaries are a lot lower.

No... roads are not paved in those places. They usually eat rice... some don't even have enough money for vegetables or proteins. They just eat rice... hopefully three meals a day, though that's not to be taken for granted either in the Philippines. Some people eat the trash from fast food restaurants.

Yes, I have friends who have lived in these kinds of conditions. One of my best friends here is dating a girl from a squatter. When he met her, he showed her a map of the world and she asked him what it was. She had no idea. The interesting thing is that she wasn't down, or depressed, or anything. These people are true survivors. She can eat food that you might get sick from just looking at... and she's perfectly happy. My friend is sending her to school and paying for her education.

And that's really the key here. That's the way I look at that entire situation. I think education is the one thing that can make the difference for the Philippines, for Brazil, and for the entire planet and all humans as a species. Look... I have a friend here who works for one of the world's largest software companies, FROM HOME. She's making money on the internet... and lots of it. 30R$ per hour.

She's from here. The same girl might live in a squatter and work in a factory. But she speaks English and she knows how to use a computer... that's what made the difference for her, and so now she lives in a nice condo with a swimming pool, private gym, spa and roof top restaurant.

So I have two answers to your question... the first one is that education is never an expense. It's an investment. Anything you can do to improve yourself and to get smarter and to evolve is a step forward. I'm addicted to learning and developing myself, and that's the reason. Every time you learn something new, you can improve your life. I spend a lot of time studying.

The second part of your answer is that the world is a global economy now... and that means opportunity is going to become more equal on a global scale. That means more unemployment and lower salaries in Europe. It also means more opportunities and higher salaries in the Philippines. Eventually, it will all even out... but that might take a decade, or maybe even two or three. But that's the direction things are headed in now.

One of my assistants is a Filipina. And I really like the fact that I can help people in this country by giving them opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have. I think that's more valuable than donations... she's not getting a handout from me, like a beggar... no, she has a job, and she's very good at it, too. She can be proud of her contribution to society, and of the money she earns as well. I hope I will be in a position at some point where I can create much more employment, here and elsewhere.

I guess that was a bit of a rant, but I'm very passionate about this subject and it's one of the reasons why I'm doing the work that I'm doing. I hope that answers your question Leone, but feel free to let me know if you want me to clarify anything...

Best,
~ Frank Florida ~
CURSO DE PRONÚNCIA
Domine todos os sons do inglês com o nosso novo curso de pronúncia. O professor Adir Ferreira, referência no ensino de pronúncia, criou este curso especialmente para o English Experts. INICIAR AGORA
Hi Frank. My name is Leticia and I am from Brazil.
I've worked on a cruise ship for 3 years, and before that I worked in a ski resort in Colorado and in restaurants in California. But that was when I was 21 to 27, now I am 31 and since then I haven't traveled anymore. When I started reading your posts which was 4 hours ago I couldn't stop reading them, and I now am still trying to know more about you.... My life is good right now, but always when I read topics like this I get totally taken by it and it makes me remember the good times when I used to travel from place to place.... either on the ship or when I was in the USA. You have just lit a flame inside of me that was out for while...
I will keep reading your posts and gather all the information because what I did is nothing compared to what you are doing now. My biggest dream is to go Indonesia, Thailand....I hope I can do it......
Logan18 1
Hey Frank, thank you for you reply.

Regarding your last post, now I can see things over there are quite different than I thought. In fact, it is worse than I thought it would be. I had no idea about this situation in Manila, I really hope things get better from now and I also hope this people gather and find a way out to solve this problem concerning poverty very soon.

Man I have to tell you that you're totally right when you say that education is not a expense it is an investiment. I've been studying since my childhood and I still don't feel satisfied with what I got. I'm working on my English every single day because I don't feel confidence about my skills and as far as I know it's gonna make a great difference in my life and hopefully I can get fluent some day. For sure, many brazilian have the chance to make things better in a very easy way for their lives, however some teenagers don't even think about develop themselves by acquiring some special knowledge which will make them different than others.

That's why I keep on studying because I know it's going to change my life, it'll help me to make my parent's life easier, I will be able to help people a lot more.
lele0000 escreveu:Hi Frank. My name is Leticia and I am from Brazil.
I've worked on a cruise ship for 3 years, and before that I worked in a ski resort in Colorado and in restaurants in California. But that was when I was 21 to 27, now I am 31 and since then I haven't traveled anymore. When I started reading your posts which was 4 hours ago I couldn't stop reading them, and I now am still trying to know more about you.... My life is good right now, but always when I read topics like this I get totally taken by it and it makes me remember the good times when I used to travel from place to place.... either on the ship or when I was in the USA. You have just lit a flame inside of me that was out for while...
I will keep reading your posts and gather all the information because what I did is nothing compared to what you are doing now. My biggest dream is to go Indonesia, Thailand....I hope I can do it......
Hey Leticia, nice to meet a like-minded person! Which cruise ship were you working on? I was on the Sun Princess, it was the largest ship in the world at the time it was built and the remake of the TV Show "Love Boat" was shot there. There were people from over 70 different countries among the crew... but I always knew where to find the Brazilians! On the "Metal Beach", at the bow of the ship - the little swimming pool that was reserved for crew. It's a pretty amazing job! I saw all of the famous islands in the Pacific Ocean while I was working there... Hawaii, Bora Bora, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, and many more... it's really a dream job.

Imagem

Keep me posted on your trip to Indonesia and Thailand! I've spent about 4-5 months in each of those two countries and they're both absolutely amazing. I will go back there for sure... and by the way, your English is excellent. I'm absolutely sure that you can find work as an English teacher almost anywhere in the world, or even start working online - one of my blog posts was dedicated to that topic, check it out.
Logan18 escreveu:Man I have to tell you that you're totally right when you say that education is not a expense it is an investiment. I've been studying since my childhood and I still don't feel satisfied with what I got. I'm working on my English every single day because I don't feel confidence about my skills and as far as I know it's gonna make a great difference in my life and hopefully I can get fluent some day. For sure, many brazilian have the chance to make things better in a very easy way for their lives, however some teenagers don't even think about develop themselves by acquiring some special knowledge which will make them different than others.

That's why I keep on studying because I know it's going to change my life, it'll help me to make my parent's life easier, I will be able to help people a lot more.
We're on the same page here, Leone. I strongly feel it is our responsibility to make the world better, for ourselves and others. To educate ourselves and become successful, because that's the only way we will be able to help other people out. You can't help the poor and the uneducated by joining them!

Your English is pretty good already as well, but congratulations on not resting on your laurels, great that you keep pushing yourself to ever greater heights. I have been a teacher for about 18 years now, and unfortunately I can confirm your assessment... but I think students just need to be motivated and inspired properly. That's really all it takes... if someone has a strong enough reason to learn or achieve, he can do almost anything.

~ Frank Florida ~
Hello Frank! How are you? Congratulations for your initiative, I am loving your posts!

Best Regards,

Rafaella
Hey Rafaella, thanks for stopping by and thanks for the compliment! :)

Alright... so apparently, there are a few people who are a bit skeptical about this whole "Around the World" thing. Maybe I'm making it all up? ;) It would be easy enough to read some information about a country on Wikipedia, let your imagination run wild and write an article about it as if you had actually been there... then find some pictures on Google images and copy/paste, voilà, you are now a world traveler on the internet, all from the comfort of your mum's living room.

Sooo... some people have requested more pictures and videos, because seeing is believing. I guess that's fair... I think a healthy dose of skepticism has never hurt anyone, and before I started traveling I could hardly believe that this life style is even possible myself. I remember the first time I met someone who had been on the road for five years. Wow... it seemed so amazing. At the time, I still thought that I was going to travel for only one year and then go back home... but he was one of the first people who opened my eyes to the possibilities.

I actually met this guy in your home country Brazil - and I met him in Rio, in a hostel whose owner is now a good friend of mine. we were sharing the same dorm room and he told me his story. He was from Norway, and he had gotten himself a great education (there's the magic E-word again guys!). He had worked as a lawyer long enough to buy himself a small apartment and a cheap sail boat... these things are really not as expensive as you'd think, they can be cheaper than a car. He rented the apartment out and lived on his boat. So now he didn't have to pay rent anymore... and the money he got from his tenant was enough to pay for food and the basic cost of maintaining the boat. And so he retired at the age of 28 and started traveling the world. As far as I know, he's still traveling... He must have been out there for about 16 or 17 years now. :)

And that's the whole thing... as Henry Ford once said - whether you believe that you can't or that you can, either way, you're right. If you believe that learning English is going to take five years, it probably will. If you believe you can do it in a few months, you can. If you believe you have to stay at home all your life and work hard just to pay the bills, that is going to be your reality. And if you believe that you can travel the world even though you don't have the money yet, you can do that too. "What the human mind can CONCEIVE and BELIEVE, it can ACHIEVE" - one of my favorite quotes by Napoleon Hill.

Napoleon Hill once asked the audience at a speech he was giving: "How many times do you think the average person tries and fails before they give up forever?" Someone in the audience yelled back at him: Once? And laughter erupted. But Napoleon Hill yelled back at his listeners: "Once? Don't you think you're GENEROUS? How many people give up before they try even once... because they already know it's impossible." And one of the stories he tells during his speech is about the time the Wright Brothers made their first flight... and not a single journalist came to observe one of the greatest feats of the century, because they all KNEW it was impossible to fly! (Yeah I know that Brazil has a claim to the first flight in history too. ;))

In any case... guys - please be skeptical, that's fair. But believe me... this is not impossible. You can have anything you want in life, if you are willing to figure out how to get it, work hard and pay the price. Anyhow, I just shot another video, in a different part of Manila - hope you like it. I shot it up in my condo, and it's a bit dark at the end - I'm still figuring out this whole video thing. :? But I'm going to shoot one on the ground soon too... maybe I'll show you the famous Filipino Jeepneys. In fact, I think it would be pretty cool to shoot videos more often from now on... why not? They're kinda fun to make. 8-)
Anyhow - as always, feel free to ask any question you might have. I'm here to help if you want to start traveling as well - and if you're going somewhere I've been before, I'll have practical advice as well. So don't be shy, hit reply and stay in touch!

Cheers guys, my best to you all...
~ Frank Florida ~
CURSO DE PRONÚNCIA
Domine todos os sons do inglês com o nosso novo curso de pronúncia. O professor Adir Ferreira, referência no ensino de pronúncia, criou este curso especialmente para o English Experts. INICIAR AGORA
Hey guys, I just came across a really interesting documentary... it's called

"The toughest place to be a bus driver"

In this documentary, a bus driver from London works here in Manila for 10 days, and drives one of the local buses... the so-called Jeepneys. They were designed in World War II, but most people here are still using them. A ticket usually costs about 0.35 R$.

It's pretty fascinating to see the difference between London and Manila... and I think you might find some of this documentary quite shocking. The Philippines are really pretty far out... despite all the traveling I've done, I've seen some things here that really rattled me.

I'll try to make another video for ya in the next couple of days, maybe I can catch a Jeepney on camera as well...
sandrom 3 11
Hey Frank,

Have you ever met a family (with or without children) which lives "on the road"?

cheers

Sandro
Yes I have! The Malinoskys... I met them in Potosí in Bolívia, many years ago, and we're still in touch. They have actually published a book on how to live on the road with a family, check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/Bring-Your-Own-Ch ... n+children

And guess where I am today! ;)
Hi, how are you Frank?

I've been following all your post's about his journey in this giant ball we call earth.
I was very motivated because I'm prepared to do something like this, I will relinquish the office and be free, because I believe not having better feeling than being free to come and go and do the things you want to do without feeling trapped.
My hobie is to learn languages, ​​besides Portuguese and English I also speak a little German and Italian.
I want to learn multiple languages​​, know places, make friends, have experience working in all areas possible to learn to appreciate the things that I have and get a little more dignity and humility because it ennobles the man.

Frank ,I would like to ask you.
I'm Brazilian citizen, but I have European citizenship, do you believe it can benefit me in some way, to live, work, study and facilitate entry in some other countries outside the European Union?

Thanks for all. :D
Logan18 1
Hey Frank,

Looking forward to read some news about your travel, I think everybody`s missing your stories.

I hope you get that as soon as possible.

See you,

Leone.
CURSO DE PRONÚNCIA
Domine todos os sons do inglês com o nosso novo curso de pronúncia. O professor Adir Ferreira, referência no ensino de pronúncia, criou este curso especialmente para o English Experts. INICIAR AGORA
@Lucas, cool stuff... so you will be joining us on the road, eh? What's your plan, when are you taking off and where are you going? The answer to your question by the way is yes... a European passport will absolutely be useful to you. First of all, you can work, study, live and roam free in all of Europe... but second, several European countries have territories outside of Europe. And even beyond that, a European passport is pretty strong in most places, I don't think there are any countries that would turn a European citizen away... sure, some require you to have a visa but that's usually just a formality. Oh and did you read about the working holiday program? I think I posted about that on the blog... tons and tons of opportunities there for people with a European passport:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_holiday

@Logan... yeah, I actually haven't been traveling at all these past 15 days, I just stayed in Manila... but I'm about to embark on THE biggest trip I've done in a year, in 30 hours and 40 minutes I will be heading to Narita airport (which incidentally, has been rated the worst airport in the world lol... instead of clocks, they have advertisements up :) )... and from there, I'm flying to the USA. I'll be spending a few days in Arizona and then meet Adir Ferreira of the English Experts team in California, so we're going to rock San Francisco and shoot some videos for ya! ;)

Cheers and I'll be back here soon!
~ Frank Florida ~
Logan18 1
Hey Frank, it is good to find you here again posting your news about your journey. I'm starting to think that your way of living is great but I don't know if I would be able to handle it as you do. Well, I'm in the office right now dealing with a lot of reports and sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in a cage when I read your post about travelling and stuff like that. I have decided that from now on I will be saving some money for an exchange next year in some place that has English as native language. Here in the office the most of people have a good proficiency in English and it usually make them different than others, for instance they have the better opportunities to get a promotion and rise of salary.

I hope you really enjoy your next trip and get along with Adir. Oh before I forget, I'm following your English course through email I'm really enjoying it and using your tips to improve my English.

Thank you so much for that.

See you.
Hey Logan,
Logan18 escreveu:Hey Frank, it is good to find you here again posting your news about your journey.
Cool... yeah, I'll have another Around The World blog post going live this week as well, and it's going to be one with video! I think you guys are going to enjoy that one. ;)

And congratulations on making a decision man... that's the toughest thing to do. Once you have a definitive date, the entire idea is suddenly VERY REAL! And that can be a huge motivator as well.
Oh before I forget, I'm following your English course through email I'm really enjoying it and using your tips to improve my English.

Thank you so much for that.
That's great to hear man, and thank you for the feedback! I've put a lot of work into that course and it always makes my day when I hear that someone is getting a lot out of it!

Talk soon and I'll see you on the road! 8-)

~ Frank Florida ~
sandrom 3 11
Hey Frank,

I´m glad do hear from you again.

What Logan said is really true. With rare exceptions, work days can be repetitive and become a terrible routine. Your posts help to move our minds towards an alternative and possible style of life.

I wish you enjoy your biggest trip of the year and the worst airport in the world. I hope you can take some photos or film the place to share this experience with us.

And have a nice trip to Arizona. I have never been there but I have good memories of my last travel to the United States, when I stayed in New York and New Jersey with some friends.

I´m looking forward to hearing the next post.

cheers

Sandro
Yooo!! Thanks Sandro, and a shoutout to all friends of EE... Guys, I'm in California and loving it... after a week in Arizona I headed over to San Francisco and I decided I could easily live there for a couple of months, what an incredible city!! I know, I always go somewhere and then say it's incredible, but trust me there are some places I don't like that much... :shock: I've simply learned to make better choices over the years... and San Francisco is an AMAZING choice.

I arrived in the morning of October 30th, when Halloween and the Giants Parade fell on the same day... that was pretty cool. Fortunately I have some friends in SF, so one of them took me into the head quarters of a giant multi-billion dollar a year tech start-up... apparently that area has so much money (and is so expensive) that even bus drivers get paid about 200,000 R$ per year! But renting a little apartment can also run you about 5,000 R$ per month, so that's a factor... :?

Most of the time, I was hanging out with Adir as you may have seen on the blog, and I think as usual I was being a very bad influence and infected him some more with the travel bug. :twisted: On both evenings we went to live music bars and Adir grabbed the mic both evenings (no it was not open mic, but Adir is not a shy guy!)... and let me tell you, that guy can sing! He's actually starting to get more famous as a singer than as a teacher in his city...

After that, I went to visit some family friends in Orange County, and we went to the inauguration of a HUGE new church on Sunday morning... It was pretty unbelievable what a professional presentation they had put together. There were 1800 people and they had some pretty amazing musicians on stage... somehow, everything in the US seems to be... a little... bigger. Bigger cars, bigger streets, bigger meals, bigger churches...

Now I'm staying at a friend's place near San Diego, waiting for him to come back from a deployment. He's a pilot and stationed in Afghanistan at the moment, and his camp got attacked the other day and a group of 20 Taliban insurgents dressed in American uniforms started shooting at Pakistani civilians... but fortunately they managed to contain the situation and my friend is fine. That was a shock when he told me on the phone... I guess it puts things in perspective when I complain about the little things that bother me every day, such as the ridiculous bureaucracy in California... at least I don't have anyone shooting at me!

So I'll be here for a couple of weeks until he gets back... we'll have a huge celebration for his homecoming in San Diego, and after that I'm heading to Los Angeles and then back to Asia. My trip to Brazil is postponed to 2013, it seems... but it's still coming up. I hope all is well with you guys, and feel free to shoot me a private message if you're in the area, I'm always open to making new friends!

Cheers,

~ Frank Florida ~
CURSO DE PRONÚNCIA
Domine todos os sons do inglês com o nosso novo curso de pronúncia. O professor Adir Ferreira, referência no ensino de pronúncia, criou este curso especialmente para o English Experts. INICIAR AGORA
Flavia.lm 1 10 100
If you’re alive, you can’t be bored in San Francisco. If you’re not alive, San Francisco will bring you to life.
William Saroyan
Hehe true dat, Flávia... true dat! 8-)

Frank
felipeh6 7 58
Hey Frank, I hope you're fine!

Maybe you've already replied that and I've missed it, but my question is, have you ever had a troubled or dangerous situation? Have you already met a dangerous person or a person with bad intentions?

Thanks for your attention.

Best Regards!

:|
Hey felipeh, what's up?

Sorry for the late response, I got totally burried in work the past 2-3 months! I'm finally back now and just wrote another blog post... so I'll be on the forum more frequently again as well.

That's a great question... You know what, I think that's actually worthy of being answered on the blog as well. The answer is definitely... and there are a couple of places that I probably won't ever go to again just because the risk isn't worth it.

More about that soon... But for now I'm back in South East Asia, where people don't even lock their doors because the crime rate is so low. 8-)

I really enjoyed my time in Arizona and California, but when my plane touched down at the airport in Laos, I felt awesome. This part of the world is much more free than the West in many ways. In American airports, you often get treated like a potential terrorist these days, even if you're well dressed and your slate is squeaky clean. Whereas most custom officials in Asia greet your with a friendly smile and wave you through.

Oh well, such is life... Stay in touch and we'll talk soon!

~ Frank Florida ~

felipeh6 escreveu:Hey Frank, I hope you're fine!

Maybe you've already replied that and I've missed it, but my question is, have you ever had a troubled or dangerous situation? Have you already met a dangerous person or a person with bad intentions?

Thanks for your attention.

Best Regards!

:|
Frank Florida escreveu:
(...) I'm finally back now and just wrote another blog post... so I'll be on the forum more frequently again as well.
Yeahh!!! Frank is back!

A fresh-out-of-the oven post to the "Around the World in 80 Years" section is just around the corner!!! Looking forward to reading it! ;)

Living around the world.. That's an exciting way to hold a life!!!

Thnaks for sharing it with us Frank!
CURSO DE PRONÚNCIA
Domine todos os sons do inglês com o nosso novo curso de pronúncia. O professor Adir Ferreira, referência no ensino de pronúncia, criou este curso especialmente para o English Experts. INICIAR AGORA
Thanks for the friendly post, mate... It's good to be back.
Living around the world.. That's an exciting way to hold a life!!!
Yeah you know to be honest, I couldn't imagine life any other way anymore. I just saw a movie last night about two guys who go to Asia on a vacation... And of course at the end of the movie, they have to go back home, back to a cold country, and back to the routine of going to the same office every day... The good news is, that's really not necessary anymore in 2013. ;) It takes a lot of work and dedication to create a location independent life style, but for people who enjoy their freedom and who like to travel, it's probably one of the most worthwhile pursuits, IMO.

Cheers bro!
~ Frank Florida ~
Yo!

I guess it's time for a little update... after the last post, I spent a couple of weeks in Oceanside and San Francisco, and then took a train to LA and from there, a plane to Asia. San Diego is just as amazing as San Francisco... I highly recommend it. It's not as huge and polluted as many other big cities, it has a very nice and relaxed vibe and it's right at the beach... One of my top choices for a place to live in the US for sure. (Scottsdale was fantastic too, by the way... I would never live up North, but Cali and Arizona are just awesome).

Next I took a plane to China... And it was freezing cold over there lol. I still remember cold weather from years ago, from when I first started traveling... I've always dodged the winter since then, switching hemispheres at the appropriate time. :) And one thing I found out about China... outside of some cosmopolitan centers, nobody speaks any English whatsoever. Even the staff at the airport tourist information uses Google translate to communicate with Westerners. :? Haha

I tried to order a hot Capuccino against the cold, and instead I got an iced Capuccino... Mandarin skills fail lol.

Anyway, it didn't take long for me to get tired of the cold and hop on the next plane back to South East Asia. I might do a proper tour of China in the summer time some day... But the moment I stepped off the plane in Laos, I took a deep breath and felt free... warm weather, friendly people, very affordable prices and great food. Laos is amazing... The internet isn't the best because it's not really all that developed yet, but it's a fantastic place to just get away from it all for a while.

After that I headed back to Chiang Mai, which is probably among my top 10 cities in the world at this point... and around Christmas, most of my students asked me to take a week off from studying so hard and so I took the chance to explore some of the places in Thailand that I hadn't been to yet. Krabi, Ao Nang, Phuket, and Samui. It always felt a bit weird being in Thailand without having ever seen the most famous beaches of the South! The movie "The Beach" actually takes place just north of Samui, but AFAIK it was shot on the island Ko Phi Phi, just south of Phuket.

There's probably a lot more I could write about the past two months... in fact I wouldn't even be sure where to start ha. But I'll leave it at that for the moment... I think I'll spend a good chunk of this year in Thailand, and then head back to Latin America towards the end of 2013... Brazil is on the agenda for this year as well.

Let's see where the wind takes me... ;)


Cheers,

~ Frank Florida ~
sandrom 3 11
Hey Frank,

I missed your posts. You talk about my favorites things: travelling and languages.

Some friends in China say exactly this. It´s very difficult to find someone who speaks English. Only in Shanghai you have more people speaking English more naturally. Even chinese languages are hard to understand in some places of China, but it´s a place I really want to know.

When you talk about friedly people in Asian I think that´s the correct way to live. We have to know how to balance a busy way of working and a friendly way of living in order to avoid the chaos in our modern society.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Enjoy your time there and then in South America.

cheers

Sandro
Hello Mr. Frank how's it going?

I don't know if someone asked it before but I'll do it right now.
You are aways trevelling that's the reason that I would like to know how big is your suitcase?
'Cause you are working and travelling and of course you're visiting very cheap countries with a lot of interesting things to buy.

HaHa Let us know how big and how many bags do you have?