Lash at Casa Velas Resort
I’ve Just Reached 20 Years of Solo World Travels !
Hip, hip hooray! I have been traveling the world for 20 whole years!
I haven’t mentioned it until now because I’ve been so dag busy reviewing luxury hotels that I haven’t had time to write about this milestone, but…
2018 marks 20 whole years of continuous solo world travels for me! Specifically, May, 2018.
Yep, way back in May of 1998 I set out on my solo world travels! I kicked off my new life by driving slowly across the USA from Pennsylvania to California, exploring national & state parks and visiting family & friends.
From LA I took a flight to Hong Kong, where I excitedly explored that intriguing city-state for 2 weeks. Then it was on to Bangkok, Thailand, where I began cycling down the eastern coasts of Thailand & Malaysia to Singapore.
cycling at Khao Luang NP in 1999
I was on the road just a couple months when I realized that I never, ever wanted to go back to a sedentary live-in-one-place-and-work lifestyle. No way! I knew, absolutely, that I wanted to continue traveling the world for as long as I possibly could.
And here I am, 20 years later, currently in Panama, Central America, still a-traveling. And I am far from done yet! I reckon I need 10-15 years more to see the entire world.
I travel so slowly and extensively in the countries I visit that in all this time I’ve still only visited 40 countries! That averages only 2 per year. Lol.
That’s pretty darn slow, even by my standards.
at the Panama Canal – 2018
In truth, I’ve returned to many of my favorite countries several times, which is a major reason I’ve been ‘slowed’ down in my quest to visit every country on the planet. I actually generally visit 5-6 countries each year, with a mix of new and returning countries in the count.
But now I’d better get rolling considerably faster if I want to reach my goal of visiting every country on the planet.
But I do prefer getting to know the countries I explore – their beautiful natural places, their culture and customs, the people, cuisine, lifestyle and standards of living. I am out to learn about the world. To discover and explore the world. Not just check places off a list. So I’ll have to find some reasonable balance of moving steadily along while also taking enough time to really get to know the places I visit.
Hanging out with 2 Sikh men at the Golden Temple in Amritsar
The rest of 2018 I will be writing a series of articles about the most important things I’ve learned, my best travel tips, my favorite and least favorite places during 20 years of world travel.
I’ve actually already outlined most of the articles. So it’s just a matter of taking time to write and publish them.
Now that this year’s hotel review work is winding down for me, I’ll start doing just that. I plan to publish 1-2 articles per month on the insights, adventures, tips and destinations that really stand out for me after two decades of continuous travel. So stay tuned for some – hopefully – useful and interesting perspectives and words of
wisdom.
For now I just want to bring up a few of the most common questions I’m asked when I tell people how long I’ve been traveling.
teaching diving in THailand
1. How do you earn a living to keep traveling so long?
Well, in 20 years of travel I’ve earned an income dozens of ways. I wrote an entire article on how I personally have been paying for my life of travel.
In fact, I wrote a whole series of articles on how to afford long-term world travel here.
Lash in horse carriage – Pyin Oo Lwin – Myanmar
2. Don’t you get tired of traveling all the time?
No I do not! I still love it.
I still feel thrilled heading to a brand new destination, be it a new country, a new town or city, a new national park or beach or island.
I’m still enamored of flying in airplanes, riding on trains, relaxing on long-distance buses. I still greatly enjoy staying at new hotels, hostels, guest houses and discovering all the amazing architecture, interiors, art and designs that people come up with.
And I still find it exciting to learn how different people live all over our planet. Their daily habits, customs, arts, cuisine, music and interests.
Enjoying a traditional Japanese meal and sake at a ryokan in Japan
3. Don’t you miss having a home base, a house to live in?
No I do not!
I much prefer nomadic living. It’s living in one place for months and years on end that I get tired of . Bored and restless is how that lifestyle makes me feel. I guess I was born a gypsy at heart!
I’ve learned from talking to hundreds of travelers I’ve met that very, very few people feel this way. I know that probably 90-95% of human beings, regardless of nationality or culture, prefer living in one place, in a house or apartment they can call their own, and working at some sort of steady job.
I realize this. But I honestly do not understand it. Given the choice to travel the world or to live in a house, I cannot fathom why anyone would choose the house.
Yes, I know the reasons. But I don’t understand them.
But to each his/her own, I say! For me, nomadic travel life is just grand!
Here are some of the articles I’ll be publishing over the next few months:
– The 20 Most Important Things I’ve Learned about Life & People during 20 Years of Solo World Travels
– My favorite 20 cities in the world after 20 Years of Solo World Travels
– My 20 best travel tips from 20 Years of Solo World Travels
– My favorite 20 destinations in the world…
– My favorite 20 Beaches & Islands in the world…
I hope these articles will help inspire you to get out and travel the world, help you find some gorgeous natural places around the globe, and perhaps give you some insights into how the world operates outside your own country if you haven’t done much traveling yet yourself.
Cheers, Lash
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Hi! I'm Lash, an American nomadic world traveler who's been traveling solo since 1998. I’m passionate about traveling the world nomadically and then sharing it all with you. I hope to inspire you to travel the world, to entertain you with tales from the road, and to help you reach your travel dreams. Welcome! 
