TBEX, or the Travel Blogger Exchange conference is held a few times a year in varying cities in North America and Europe.  Having never attended a travel conference before (but wanting to) , I decided a couple days ago, if I want to continue making this blog awesome for you, I need to network and spend the little money I have going to TBEX in Toronto. 

And suddenly the awesome Kate McCulley, from Adventurous Kate, announced she was selling her early bird ticket!

Let me tell you how quickly I jumped on that (yea for keeping Facebook on way too much).

So now I’m going to TBEX!

It’s been less than a week since I bought the ticket. I still have to figure out:

• How I’m getting to Toronto from Medellin, Colombia (I’m looking at JetBlue from Cartagena to JFK, and Amtrak to Toronto).
• Where I’m staying in Toronto (so if any of you have any hookups, I will sing a song personally thanking you, and post it on my YouTube Channel: GoingNomadicTV )
• How I’m getting back from Toronto (looks like I’ll be in Vegas for the month of June working, because I’m going to be broke after this trip)
• Where I can buy copious amounts of Ramen noodles, because that’s what my budget currently allows for food.

But, despite all this, I am super excited to be able to finally attend my first travel bloggers conference!   (I mean, I am also the girl who moved continents with less than $2000, and last year changed continents I traveled to 3 weeks before my trip.  So really, is anyone surprised I bought tickets to Toronto on a whim?)

My goal for TBEX is to make contacts and develop long-term relationships with tourism boards, travel companies, and periodicals, so I can keep bringing you interesting articles and photography.

Some of the things I would like to do:

• Meet tourism boards who want awesome photos/videos for their website.
• Meet tourism boards who are interested in showing off local’s loves (places that make people want to stay in, and move to, said destinations).
• Network with people looking for writers and photographers.
  
• Meet companies who offer unique travel/adventures/products that would like to sponsor posts on Going Nomadic.
  
• Talk with tourism boards interested in providing press trips to promote new destinations or events that are not popular with tourists yet (or promote sides of  destinations that tourists rarely see).
• Hopefully make some progress on a couple projects I have started to formulate, but I’m keeping quiet about…for now.
  

And of course –

GO SEE A LOCAL TORONTO ROCK BAND!

(so if any of you know any great venues or band I should check out, and who will be playing the end of may-beginning of June week, let me know).

I am super excited to be attending TBEX in Toronto.  Now it’s just figuring out the little details. 

If you want help me get to Toronto, (and possibly eat more than Ramen),  there are 2 really cool things you can do:

1. Need anything from Amazon?  Use my Amazon affiliate link , at:

AMAZON.COM

to make your purchases.  What is an affiliate link?  I give all the details in my post on  THE AMAZON AFFILIATE PROGRAM.

Know anyone who needs anything from Amazon?

  Send them to this website.  You can use Amazon through my affiliate program just by using the search boxes on each post, or on my homepage.

2. Are your walls boring?   I sell my photography at LA GRINGA PHOTOS, and for a limited time, I’m holding a Pre-TBEX sale.

8×12” are $10

12×18” are $20

16×24” are $30

and huge 20×30” photos are only $40!

and for those of you in countries where it is not possible, or too expensive, to have a physical print shipped,

You can download a digital photo, to print out at your local shop, for only

$15!

This sale is good on ALL photos (Travel and Music). 

So TBEX and Toronto, here I come!  I can’t wait to meet everyone, see some old friends, and discover what is new in the world of travel.  I also can’t wait to finally visit Canada and get some cool photos of the city (and hopefully also the countryside).

CHEERS!

There’s always people saying “YOU SHOULD PACK THIS” or “LEAVE THIS AT HOME”  and sometimes I think these people have never traveled, or never done long-term, non-wilderness backpacking.

This list, is not geared to weekend jet-setters, or 3 week trips up a mountain side.  This is my list,  from experience,  for people who backpack for a month or more, in cities and countryside, and who probably will be doing more sleeping in hostels than in a tent on a cliff in the middle of some unmanned forest area, and who are likely to hit a few different weather areas/seasons.

PACK JEANS

I don’t care what everyone says about jeans.  They are not that bulky, they are comfortable, and you will fit in much better with the locals – oh EVERYWHERE.  Your anti-microbial, quick dry, stupid expensive, zip-into-shorts, pants you bought at REI or wherever SCREAM ‘tourist’. 

You wear jeans almost everyday at home right?  So why would you not want to wear them traveling. 

Plus, you can’t always find fitting jeans abroad. Especially if you have hips and a strong dislike (aka: abhor) for skinny jeans.  Pack a pair of jeans.  You will regret not bringing them.

DON’T PACK RAIN GEAR

Rain gear is bulky as hell, and you will likely misplace it/have it stolen along the way.  Especially when it is sunny, and you don’t realize, until it rains 2 weeks later, that you don’t have it anymore. (Did you leave it at the last hostel or did someone skeeve it from under the bed?)
It’s going to rain.  Pack an umbrella.  They are lighter, smaller, and much easier to carry and replace.  Better yet, you can buy an umbrella overseas. Or buy one of the LED umbrellas from ThinkGeek and look super-awesome!

PACK CARABINEERS

These things come in so much handy it is unbelievable. 

You can:
-hook things onto the outside of your bag
-clip your hostel keys to your person (or inside your walk-around bag so you can find them easier)
-clip your bag/purse strap to your belt loop”
-use them to hook 2 belt loops together to hold your pants up when you can’t find/broke/um… ‘misplaced’ your belt.

A couple carabiners, maybe one small and one large are cheap and you will cherish every moment you have them. You can also get locking ones, that don’t unclip with a simple push. 

PACK CHAPSTICK

Chap stick can be sometimes hard to find.  It’s so much easier if you always have your own spare.

DON’T PACK YOUR WHOLE MAKEUP BAG, (but bring a couple of things)

I don’t really wear makeup, but no matter how much we say “I’m backpacking! I don’t need to dress up!”, at some point you will eventually want to.  I pack clear mascara, a lip stain, and maybe one eyeliner.  That’s pretty much all I ever wear, but it is just enough to make you feel pretty after you have been in the jungle and sweaty and dirty for the last week. 

Please don’t pack your entire makeup kit.

You will hardly ever use it, and just get made fun of by pretty much everyone else.  You don’t look like a supermodel, you look like you have pancake batter on your face.  Especially after walking around all day.

PACK TAMPONS

If you are a tampon user, bring a bunch with you.  Throw them in Ziplock bags in your backpack.  It’s not that it’s hard to find them overseas,  but when you do, they are so expensive to buy, and are the kind without the applicator.  Which are fine, but sometimes can be a pain in the ass to get in.  Bring your own.  Save them for when you can’t stand the little OB ones anymore. Plus, you will have some when you suddenly realize that you need them NOW. 

You are traveling.  You are so not paying attention to that shit.

DON’T PACK HIGH HEELS 

Seriously, it is not worth lugging around a pair of high heels for the 1 night you decide to use them.  Not because you actually want to, but because you feel you need to make the pain of carrying them around purposeful, at least once.   If you end up somewhere you need high heels, you can find them cheap enough anywhere you are. 

(Note:  if you can’t find high heels, you are probably in a place you don’t want them, like the Amazon jungle, or African desert).

PACK SOME SUNSCREEN

You can usually find sunscreen any major city you go to, but if you like a certain brand, bring it with you.  You will need it immediately, and you may also not be able to find your brand abroad.  If you, like many people, may have issues with certain scents, or skin reactions, having your own ‘safe’ sunscreen offers protection while you are out in the sun, hoping store to store, to find a local brand you like/can use.  You don’t need a huge bottle though.

Just a little one to protect you for the first day or two until you learn the city and can get to the store.

DON’T BRING YOUR CELL PHONE

If you are from one of those countries already on the GSM network and using SIM cards, you can ignore this.  If you are from the USA, most of our phones are not on the GSM network (ATT is pretty much the only one, but even then, there a different frequencies of GSM networks.) Its technical. 

Basically..if you are from the USA, there’s a really good chance your phone wont work abroad.  BUT, even if you have said phone, you probably didn’t know you must have it unlocked first.  So you awesome phone is suddenly nothing more than an expensive paperweight.  Also, that iDroidBerry system you are using is pretty much useless, unless you have the intention of buying an international cell plan while traveling. 

And even if you have a SIM-slotted, unlocked iDroidBerry… just try using your data on a $10 SIM card.  You have about 2 minutes.

Just buy a phone overseas if you really need one.  Or ask the hostel if they know anyone with an old phone.  Or just use Skype.

DON’T PACK HIKING BOOTS

You won’t use them.  Except for maybe that one day, during Altavoz festival, when it rained and was cold, you used them, for 2 hours.  

Unless you plan on hiking the majority of time, hiking boots are a totally, pointless, waste of space.

And if you think you will need them for possible jungle expeditions you are wrong.  Also, if you think you will actually have the desire to hike up Cotopaxi, in the cold, and the rain, you are probably also wrong. Or you’ll just wear sneakers because they are lighter.

DON’T PACK A SEPARATE OUTFIT FOR EVERYDAY YOU ARE ON THE ROAD!

There are these cool machines they have overseas.  You put your clothes into them and a little soap.  Then you shut the top and push a button and in about an hour, your clothes magically come out clean and smelling good.  It’s Cah-ray-z!  But seriously, there are sinks, there are laundromats, there are ways to wash your clothes. 

Put what you want to bring in a pile.  Now put half of that pile back in the closet.  What is left is STILL more than you need. 

You are a chic; you know your going to buy shit.  It’s genetic.

CHEERS!

Indie Challenge Week 5: Asia
If you’ve never been to Asia, tell us about your dream trip in the region.

My dream trip to Asia would probably consist of, oh , the exact same trip I planned for 5 months before I found $200 tickets between Miami and Caracas and threw 5 months of travel-to-Asia research out the window; Completely Changing My Travel Plans,  to come to South America.

My trip to Asia, that I had planned, included going to East Timor, seeing the Dani tribe of Indonesian Papua New Guinea (why, cause we have the same name), visiting Brunei (because no one really goes there) and Myanmar (because I’m not supposed to want to go there -which makes me want to go there more),  traveling across the Middle East (I really want to go to Damascus and Beirut), and visiting Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia (which I still really want to do).  I also really want to go to Bhutan (I mean, who doesn’t?  It’s just really expensive and I’m poor), and visiting the ‘STAN’ countries (see My Top 5 Fantasy Trips)

But what I would love to do the most, out of everything I had planned,

is visit Komodo National Park!  

I’ve never really been a normal girl.  As a child, I loved playing dress up in beautiful gown costumes, then climbing trees and playing in the swamp out back with bugs (while still wearing said gowns).  I was kind of a tomboy.  I still am.  I’m a high steel concert rigger, and the only girl in many places I work.   I was 8 , living near Boston, and HATED new Kids on the Block.  I jammed out to INXS.  (and still do). And I LOVED dinosaurs and any kind of reptile.

And I was obsessed with Komodo Dragons!

They are vicious, they hunt in packs, have mouths full of deadly bacteria that kill almost everything they bite, and I think they are some of the most gracious, beautiful, deadly creatures.

My dream trip to Asia, would be to go to Indonesia.  And if I could only do 1 thing while there, it would be to live on the islands of Komodo and Rinca with the people who work in Komodo National Park, for a week or 2 and just follow them around, photographing their jobs, there lives, and their work with the Komodo dragons.

I want to know what they do to help protect these modern day dinosaurs, what problems they encounter doing so, how these workers live, what jobs they each do in order to maintain the balance of these islands, the impact (good and bad)  tourism to Komodo National Park has, and; of course, I want to see and photograph actual Komodo dragons.

I want to photograph, interview, and write extensively about every aspect of these worker’s lives and jobs, and of the lives and ecological impact of modern society on the Komodo dragons.

Komodo dragons amaze me.  I know they are deadly.  I find them rather a scary creature; yet beautiful and graceful in the way, and the speed they can move overland, the way they hunt, the patience they have, just waiting for their prey to succumb to their bite, and amazed at the intelligence of seemingly solitary creatures to combine together to lead their prey towards a pack of other dragons (or distract while other dragons sneak up on) and then ambush-attack.  We don’t usually think of reptiles, or any other non-primate creature as having the ability to work together to hunt. But Komodo dragons do exactly this.

Yes, I find this all quite beautiful and outstanding.

I would absolutely love to go to Indonesia to see what the workers do daily to help protect these beautiful creatures.  What dangers they have to deal with daily, what problems they encounter from outside sources (tourism, modernization, etc.), and what they find so thrilling, or rewarding that makes them work in this environment.

This is my dream trip to Asia.

Yes, I’d love to hang on the beaches in Bali or Thailand, visit the temples of southern India, visit coffee plantations of Sumatra (because Sumatran coffee beans are my favourite), see archeological remains in Java,

(…ok…a lot of the things id like to do in Asia all involve places in Indonesia…)

but if I could only do one thing, it would be to photograph and write about the lives of the workers of Komodo National Park.

CHEERS!

This is part of Boots n All 2012 Indie Travel Challenge. I’m doing this in hopes of becoming a more consistent and better travel-blogger.  And maybe see some dragons.

So I’ve been a horrible tourist and done nothing in Quito but hanging out with friends and going to rock shows, rock band rehearsals, studio recordings for rock bands, etc. Oh and drinking.  But the reason I like hanging out with friends in places more than seeing traditional touristy things is for the fact that TOURISTS DON’T GET AWESOME NIGHTS LIKE THIS!

Ok, so I was invited to some “lame” show (not my word) where a death metal band, Colapso, was hired to perform at some pop show in Quito.  THIS IN ITSELF IS A PRETTY FUNNY MENTAL PICTURE.

But then things got even greater than I could have ever expected.

We pulled up to – not an indoor venue gig like I was picturing – but some local square park small town gathering!  With a stage.  And speakers blasting Spanish-pop-dance-techno music and a bunch of really osteoporized people (aka “old” , and thank you Diego for that description and one of my new favourite words) and lots of really small children dancing on the cobblestone pathway in front of the stage. 

What was even better was what wasn’t at this “concert”…like a drum kit, or way to mic said drum kit. 

Notice all the space on stage for the drums. Notice the lack of said equipment.

But there were many things this “concert” did have:

Like:

- Random woman selling some sort of meat (I think it may have been some kind of bird) from a tent stall

-Stray dogs (that kept hanging out next to said food stalls and trying to get into the garbage cans looking for food)

-Old guys selling candy to little kids from a table

-Disco lights

-Locals enjoying alcoholic libations (well  pretty much all anyone seems to do in Ecuador is drink)

AND

-Hot “bluebird” alcohol from a random plastic container. (I cant remember the name in Spanish, but the stuff tastes like Sweet Tarts or sugary candy and is quite strong AND delicious AND deadly).

So what does a death metal band do at a pop local townie outdoor “concert” with no drums and no actual audience:

ENJOY SOME DELICIOUS BLUEBIRD LIQUOR O’DEATH

and have their photo taken in front of the empty stage for the concert that was never meant to be. (notice the kid on stage in the background sitting down, cause there’s really nothing to do when there ISNT ANY FUCKING THING ON STAGE)

This was SO MUCH MORE HILARIOUS than I could have ever expected. 

(I think this may beat the time I drove around with friends for a couple hours to find the  club they were supposed to play at, that turned out had got closed down due to tax evasion , and we ended up playing at some pool hall bar in Pawtucket, RI where the average age was like 50 and my friend played bass in a full gorilla costume and we cleared the local patrons of the bar out by the end of the set.)

So after this SHOW FAIL OF AWESOMENESS we just went back to the practice space and the band played for me and the only 2 other people that actually showed up to see them.

Also, Colapso is really fucking good. And should have never in a million years be asked to play here.  I really don’t know what the people in charge of stuff are thinking sometimes.

If you want to HEAR the music that was playing when we pulled up, check out this short video I shot to give you the full effect of how awesome this show fail was!

So I have been planning a whole trip across the eastern hemisphere starting in East Timor. Going up through Indonesia, seeing the Komodo dragons, Sumatran Coffee farms, Iban longhouses in Borneo etc. etc. across the Middle East, Northern Africa and into Europe.

That was my plan until last week. I’m just going to blame the guys at HostelsandTours ( @hostelsandtours on twitter).  It sounds better that way. Blaming someone else.

But really, this is totally how I work.

Back story, after making twitter friends with the people at HostelsandTours I really, really wanted to visit Chile and South America (and eat copious amounts of empanadas).  I have actually been obsessed with Brazil since I was in 3rd grade and read that Brazil is the best place in the world to see the Scorpio constellation in the sky (and as a Scorpio, I am totally narcissist about anything to do with Scorpio/scorpions).  I dropped out of Spanish in high school when I found out they don’t speak Spanish in Brazil, I learned Brazilian portugues from friends and working in restaurants in Boston (why Brazilians flock to Boston I am still totally confused by).  And that is part of the reason I’ve been avoiding South America. Because once I end up in Brazil there is a very good chance I will end up staying there doing nothing but drinking caipirinhas on the beach all day and night. 

  by  deanj 

But if I started in Asia, I could not actually afford to go to South America unless I could make money along the way. And the more I talked to the HostelsandTours people, the more I wanted to go to South America and Chile, you know, more than just get dizzy on the beaches of Brazil.

Then last week I woke up and thought “why haven’t I looked into starting in South America and visiting the HostelsandTours guys first?”

“Oh the plane tickets will be way too expensive, but I’ll look into it.  Why not”.  so yes, Las Vegas to Chile = $1800 one way. Same for Las Vegas to Brazil.  So I decided to look at map. 

“Hmmm, what’s the closest 2 points, America to South America?  Miami is furthest south. Venezuela is one of the northern most countries.  I wonder how much Miami to Caracas, Venezuela would be?”

$200!

What?!?  I couldn’t believe it.  $200 from Miami to Caracas was cheaper than Las Vegas to Boston!

So I started posting “should I do this?” questions on Facebook and twitter; but before I even got a reply, I already had my answer

“HELL YES!”

  How can I pass up a $200 flight from Miami to Caracas?  It was $800 from Las Vegas to Bali, then another $1-200 from Bali to East Timor.  And I wouldn’t be able to afford south America.  And from Caracas to Bali (back through the States) is $1000.  This way I can also stop back in Vegas for a few months if needed to work and make more money before heading out again.

I bought the ticket.

In one hour I went from, ‘hmmm, should I?”  to “FUCK YEAH, IM GOING TO CARACAS!” and dancing around my livingroom.

(No really, I was dancing.  Its kinda my thing.  I cant help it.  I’m pretty sure my neighbours think im totally nuts.  I will dance for any and all reasons.  Especially if that reasoning can at all involve me doing’ ‘the running man’.  But that’s a totally different story).

So now, with a month before I go, 6 months of research into where to stay, what to see, places to visit has just been thrown out the window and I have a ticket for Caracas.  I don’t know where I’m staying yet, I’m scurrying to find cool places and cultures in Venezuela to visit and how I’m going to travel around (I’ve decided counterclockwise so I still hit Brazil last); but I’m so incredibly excited!

This is how I plan stuff.  I plan and plan and plan, then throw said plans out the window and wing it. I’m either a very exciting person or the dumbest person ever.  I think it’s a bit of both.

I seem to have this ability to just go for it and have it come out amazing; to go on exciting adventures involving things that you cannot find on the internet, people I should never be able to meet, and stories that seem so incredible they could never be true. I just have no fear.  Ok, a little fear. Fear enough to buy the only flight that does not land me in Caracas at 2am, but not enough fear to keep me from trying to talk my way into permissions to visit the Brazilian favelas. (so that may seem pretty backwards, and I probably am way to naïve and trusting, but screw it.  I’m still alive so far).

My mom always said I could go to the store for milk and come back 3 hours later with stories about unicorn and leprechauns and have it be true.  Or walk into a room of strangers (I actually LOVE crashing parties; they are just rooms filled with potential friends) and come out with 3 invitations to do more stuff.

This is how I work. I am way too spontaneous, go-with-the-flow too much, like to say yes to odd invitations to places (not everywhere, I’m not totally stupid, but if I don’t get that ‘bad feeling’ I’m saying yes), and its led me to do some incredible things so far.

So now, with a month to go, I’m going to Caracas. I don’t speak Spanish. I barely speak Portuges. I don’t know where I’m staying yet. I don’t know where I’m going once I’m in Caracas. I will plan some stuff (like place to stay the first night, found a hostel…just seeing my other options at moment), mostly to make friends and family happy.  but I will mostly wing it. 

Because I feel that the most incredible adventures happen when you follow your intuitions, whims,  and invitations.

This is how I travel.

This post is not sponsored in anyway by HostelsandTours.  I’m just linking to them because I think they are awesome people and because I am blaming them for my sudden trip change (even though its totally not their fault).  If you are going to Chile or South America I recommend checking them out and friending them on Twitter. 

They are great, and friendly, and every Saturday morning they host Saturday Spanish Class on Twitter (#SSC) where they will teach you Spanish for free!