My 20 Best Adventures in 20 Years of Solo World Travels

One of the most common questions people ask me when they find out I’ve been traveling the world for several years is – What was your best / most interesting / craziest experience?

I always have a very hard time trying to answer that question. The ONE BEST experience in all my years of travels? It’s pretty tough to pick just one ultimate adventure among all the many amazing things I’ve seen and done.

Since I’ve recently completed 20 full years of solo world travels – as of May, 2018 – I’ve dp0ecided to take the opportunity to address that question, but in a much more in-depth manner.

I’ve compiled my best 20 adventures here. They include amazing work experiences, exciting outdoor adventures, road trips, interactions with interesting people and other great experiences. They lasted from merely a couple hours to several years.

And, truth be told, several of them I actually did before my 20 years of travels, while living in Kyoto, Japan for six years. So I suppose they are my best adventures in 26 years of international living & travels. But I just can’t leave them out.

Here they are, in no particular order: 

Great SAnd-Dunes-NP – Colorado

1. Driving across the USA- twice 

I drove across the US from Pittsburgh, PA to California twice, taking 2-3 months each time. The first crossing was with my best friend, Rick, when we moved to Kyoto, Japan in 1991. The second trip I went solo in the summer of 1999, on my return to SE Asia after a US visit.

In both cases, the focus was on the great outdoors, US National and State Parks, with hiking, cycling and camping, as well as visiting friends. Both were amazing trips, with nothing but fantastic experiences.

Gas cost only about $1 per gallon back then, so it was about $200 in gas for each trip! I’d hate to see what that would cost nowadays! I feel very fortunate I maade the trips before gas prices skyrocketed.

sky diving prep in Florida

2. Sky Diving

I had wanted to try sky diving since I was in high school. I even went to airfields a couple times to check into it.

But I didn’t get around to jumping out of a plane until Jan, 2011 for one of my big birthdays. I was visiting family in Florida and it turned out that Florida is a huge sky diving center. So I finally went and jumped. Here’s the story of my experience.

3. Climbing Mt Fuji – from the train station

Many Japanese – and foreigners – make it a life-time goal to climb iconic Mt. Fuji (3776 M / 12,461 ft). Almost everyone drives/buses up the mountain as far as roads are permitted, from where it’s a tough full-day hike to the summit on loose volcanic ash cone.

My best friend, Rick, and I climbed Mt Fuji from the train station at the base of the mountain. It took three full days of hiking and caming to reach the summit, where we spent our third night on top of the peak in a packed hikers’ dorm. It was an amazing climb.

Here I am with a tea ceremony teacher in Japan

4. Studying traditional cultural arts in Kyoto

I only had to work 25 hours per week for a full salary in Japan, so I had a LOT of free time. I spent most of it immersing myself in the amazing traditional arts. I studied tea ceremony, flower arrangement, putting on a kimono, O-koto (13-string Japanese floor harp), taiko drumming, aikido and a bit of shiatsu massage.

Altogether, that still counts as one of the best things I’ve done in my entire life.

I wrote several articles about Kyoto and Japan here. 

cycling in southern Thailand in 1998

5. Cycling from Bangkok to Singapore

I kicked off my solo world travels in May, 1998 by cycling from Bangkok, Thailand to Singapore, a distance of about 2000 km / 1250 miles. I cycled slowly down the east coast of Thailand and Malaysia, taking a total of three months. I wasn’t on a pure cycle mission. I was exploring all the places I was interested in quite thoroughly, enjoying my new-found freedom as an independent international traveler.

I visited loads of beaches, islands, caves, towns and cities, jungles, mountains, fruit plantations and other interesting places along the way. It was a fantastic start to my travels.

I wrote several articles about Thailand here. 

6. Running my own bakery/restaurant/cafe in Thailand

I had my very own bakery/cafe/restaurant for one high season in southern Thailand. I was the baker!

It was quite successful, and imminently fun, until the very end of the season…when I ran into a bit of immigration issues. That was the end of that lucrative business. Sigh.

teaching diving in Thailand

7. Teaching scuba diving around SE Asia

I was a PADI OWSI Dive Instructor for about eight years in SE Asia. I taught diving in Thailand, Malaysia, Bali and Philippines for many, many high tourist seasons.

I still rank this as one of my favorite – if not THE favorite – job in my whole life thus far… Though reviewing luxury and boutique hotels is a pretty sweet way to earn a living, too, I must say.

I wrote several articles about scuba diving here. 

8. Hanging out with a death-metal band at a campground in Java, Indonesia

While I was climbing volcanoes solo in eastern Java, quite amazingly, I met a local young hiker who sang in a heavy metal band. After my mountain climb I was camping at a small national park, so my new friend invited his death metal band out to the camp.

So there I found myself one night, serenaded in the remote mountains of Java, Indonesia, by a local death metal band! Talk about unique and unlikely experiences!

9. Climbing Mt Semeru solo

Mt Semeru is an active volcano on the island of Java, Indonesia and Java’s highest peak at 3676 M / 12,131 ft. (interestingly, that’s exactly 100 M lower than Mt. Fuji!) It’s very close to famous Mt. Bromo. (Mt. Semeru is the tallest one that you can see smoking in photos from Mt. Bromo)

Rather early on in my travels, I hiked the peak solo. It was a 3-day round-trip hike from the closest village and general starting point of the ascent. From there I continued on to Mt. Bromo and up onto Bromo’s outer crater rim.

9. Riding a cargo truck into the mountains with Javanese laborers

To summit Mt. Semeru, one must first reach a tiny village way up in the mountains, which is the launching point for the climbs. I learned about a back-road up to the village from my Lonely Planet guidebook. So I went for it.

From Malang city I had to take a bus to the end of paved roads. Then catch a cargo truck.

Little did I know the route was up a steep, winding, car-wide dirt & rock road along a precarious ridge-line that dropped off sharply on either side. Nor that I’d be sitting in the back of a pick-up packed with cargo and ragged Javanese laborers. Or that we’d end up slipping & sliding along the ridge in a heavy downpour.

That ride is one of the few times in my life when I seriously wondered if I’d die. Luckily, I made it, and without incident. No injuries, theft, rape or molestation. All in one piece!

Survivor Brazil challenge game set up

11. Working 2 episodes of Survivor TV

In case you didn’t know, I worked on crew for 2 episodes of the famous Survivor TV reallity show – Thailand and Brazil shows.

I wrote all about my many adventures behind scenes in this series – Survivor TV Crew

In brief, I was first picked up to crew while camping on Thailand’s island Koh Tarutao. Once ‘in’ I managed to get onto the following season’s shooting in Brazil.

For sure, working crew was one of my all-time best jobs of my life. Too bad I couldn’t continue with more shows. Ah, well, two episodes is definitely better than none!

Kepler Track

12. Trekking Abel Tasman Track and 2 other trails in New Zealand

I had wanted to visit New Zealand since I was in university, particularly to see the country’s astounding & rugged outdoors and hike some of their famous 3-7-day treks. Most famous (though certainly not the hardest) is Abel Tasman Trek on the northern end of South Island.

I didn’t get to New Zealand until 2014, a couple decades later, but I explored both North and South Islands for three months each. Major highlights were hiking Abel Tasman Track, Kepler Track and a shorter, lesser-known 3-day trek. Happily, all of them lived up to my expectations with gorgeous scenery, challenging but-doable hiking and very enjoyable solo camping completely surrounded by nature.

at Bag’s End – Bilbo Baggin’s hobbit hole in Hobbiton

13. Visiting Hobbiton in New Zealand

I’ve been a Hobbit / Lord of the Rings fan since I was a young child. Those books are partly what inspired me to a life of world travels.

So when I traveled around New Zealand in 2014, a huge priority for me was visiting the film set of Hobbiton. The day-long visit was all I hoped for and more. I created this photo gallery of Hobbiton for any Hobbit fans out there.

14. Flying a stunt airplane in New Zealand

This was an unexpected, unique and amazing experience I had the great fortune to have in my life. The wonderful owners of the stunt flying school, Vince & Alison, invited me to fly in exchange for a candid review on LashWorldTour.

Naturally, I jumped at the chance… though it didn’t quite turn out as we all thought it would – I was sick for an entire day due to the heavy G-force. Lol

Watch me fly the stunt plane in this video and listen to me scream my head off! Funny stuff! Thanks so much Vince and Alison!

hiking Anapurna Circuit Trek

15. Hiking in the Himalayas twice

I hiked the Annapurna Circuit Trek in Nepal – a 2-week loop trail near Pokhara – back in 2001. Read about my trek here.

Then in 2013 I hiked up to Triun Plateau from Dharamsala, India, in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Check out my story of the trek here.

helicopter ride at Andaman Islands

16. Helicopter ride in Andaman Islands, India

As part of my 3-month trip to India, I visited the remote Andaman Islands. When I found out there were helicopter trips from the main island to Little Andaman Island for just $25 US, I was determined to get a spot on the flight.

It was quite a hassle, but I did manage to secure a seat and fly out over the Andaman Sea for 30 minutes to the little landing field.

Here are photos of the Andaman Islands and my article about visiting here.

17. Boat trip through Halong Bay

Halong Bay in northern Vietnam is one of the country’s primiere tourist destinations. It’s a massive bay full of limestone karst rock pinnacles, formations and islands peaking up out of the sea. The bay is often shrouded in mist, fog or rain, making the vistas even more spectacular.

I cruised through Halong Bay back in 2003 on a large vintage wooden boat out to Cat Ba Island, where I elected to stay for three days before returning on the same boat. The trip through the bay lasted about four hours and the every-changing panoramic views were spectacular throughout.

18. Visiting Golden temple of Amritsar

I was completely astounded by the Golden Temple in Amritsar. This mother templ of the Shikh religion in Punjabi state is a total audio/visual/spiritual experience. Live traditional Indian music is blasted over loud-speakers, filling the entire temple complex with ethereal vibes.

A massive open-air inner courtyard is centered around a square lake of ‘holy water’, surrounded by all-white open walkways, hallways and white walls. The completyely gilded main temple sits in the middle of the holy water pond. Visitors wander around and around the plaza, dressed in all sorts of traditional clothing, which makes it all seem like a movie set or a wild dream.

I wrote a guide to Visiting Golden Temple here and made a photo gallery here.

Macaws at ARiau Amazon Tower REsort

19. Living in Brazil Amazon for 2 months

I got to live in the remote Brazil Amazon for two months while working crew on Suvivor TV. Our filming location and accommodations were 1 ½ hours up the Rio Negro from Manaus city.

Quite aside from the fun & excitement of working crew, living out in the Amazon was an amazing experience in itself. Macaws, monkeys and giant pythons were regular visitors to our hotel. We also saw caymens and other creatures.

The film company took us on several excursions, including visiting native villages, river trips to see white dolphins and giant crocs, day trips to Manaus city, and a trip to the ‘meeting of the rivers’, where the brown water of Rio and near-black water of Rio Negro collide and slowly merge.

The entire stay was one huge, amazing experience.

at a luxury hotel in MExico

20. Visiting luxury & boutique hotels for work (and sometimes getting to stay)

Two years ago I landed myself this fantastic job reviewing luxury and boutique hotels. I’d already been visiting and reviewing luxury/boutique hotels on my own because I love them so much.

Although everyone I meet thinks this is an ultra-glamorous job, it’s not nearly as easy or luxurious as you want to believe. It’s a LOT of work and often it’s quite difficult and time-consuming to reach the often-remote hotels & resorts. Then there’s the time needed afterward to write up the reviews.

But I love visiting every hotel. And sometimes I get perks like gourmet meals, cocktails or an over-night stay from time to time. Even better, it’s greatly enhancing my world travels because I get to see many places I wouldn’t otherwise visit as a budget traveler and I get to see a very different part of the tourist industry.

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