LifePart2AndBeyond.com Travel Blog
Laos Rocket Festival – Cross-Dressing, Gunpowder and Alcohol
During the sixth lunar month, in villages throughout Laos and eastern Thailand (Isaan), one of the more unusual Buddhist festivals, Bun Bang Fai, or Rocket Festivals are held. This is the hottest and driest season in Southeast Asia (early May), and villagers are...
Essentials Required for Retiring Overseas
What Does it Take to Retire Overseas? A simple Google search will show that there are hundreds of websites and other resources devoted to telling you how much money you need to retire in exotic places all over the world. There are many other sites that will tell you...
Photo Essay: Entrepreneurs (Hanoi)
This is a collection of images of entrepreneurs that I shot on the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam. Even though Vietnam is still purportedly a Communist country, it has made a policy shift to a smaller business-friendly, socialist-oriented, market economy and has begun...
What Does it Cost to Live for a Month in Madrid
Madrid may be one of Europe’s biggest capital cities (it’s actually the 6th largest city in all of Europe by population!) but the cost of living is much less than you’d think. If you are looking for the buzz and excitement of a capital city at the cost of a small town...
Drone Video of Halong Bay, Vietnam
Watch the Video on YouTube Halong Bay, or as it is known in Vietnamese “descending dragon bay”, is a body of water in the Gulf of Tonkin, a little over 100 miles east of Hanoi. The area is famous for the thousands of limestone karsts, islands and islets that thrust...
Eating a Beating Cobra Heart, Drinking Blood in Vietnam
For many years I have heard tales of adventurous foodies drinking cobra blood and eating various snake dishes made from other parts of snake in a mysterious village just outside of Hanoi. When Sarah and I planned our trip recent nine-day trip to Sapa, Halong Bay and...
What Does it Cost to Live for a Month in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica is definitely famous for its Pacific Coast, not its Caribbean one. Why is that? Because one is more know and touristy than the other one. Puerto Viejo has developed a lot in the last decade and it’s now a place you don’t want to miss. The beaches are...
Vientiane Organic Market
I have always been a bit of a foodie and I was pleasantly surprised to find that Vientiane, Laos has a thriving organic market at Pha That Luang on Saturday and Wednesday mornings. It is not the largest organic market I have ever seen, but the sellers seem to take...
Intentionally Minimalist Retirement
Just before I retired in 2011 I sold almost everything I owned. It wasn’t because money was tight, but because I wanted to spend my life as an adventure, traveling the world, pursuing my passions of writing and photography and most of the things I owned weren’t going...
The dangers in taking on too much responsibility
From the moment we are born, humans are encouraged to take on an ever-increasing amount of responsibility. As children, we learn to be responsible for our toys, to clean our room and to help with a few chores. As we mature, society demands that we retain our...
What Does it Cost to Live for a Month in Rome?
What is it Like to Live in Rome While it can't be compared to Asian destinations such as Thailand and China, a life in the Italian capital can prove less costly than one might think. True, the Euro is a strong currency, but if you live in Rome you will learn all the...
What Does it Cost to Live for a Month in Penang
We recently made the big plunge – our family of 4 relocated from Melbourne, Australia to Penang, Malaysia. Our primary motivation for this move was lifestyle – we wanted more free time. We basically hoped that by living somewhere substantially cheaper than Australia...
Among the Hill Tribes of Laos
I Woke in a Hill Tribe Village in Northern Laos I was awakened from sleep by a blood-curdling scream. It wasn’t quite a human sound, but, in that middle ground between slumber and consciousness, I couldn’t be too sure. Streaky shafts of pale sunlight were streaming...
What does it cost to live for a month in The Canary Islands?
Canary Island Beaches The Islands The Canary Islands are a group of seven islands, just off the Saharan coast of Africa, which belong to Spain. Nominally part of Europe, they are well over 1,000 miles from the southernmost part of that continent, and they enjoy a...
Simple Solutions – Soap4Life
Sometimes the best ways to help people are the simplest. To establish a charity/NGO you can hire consultants to determine needs, attorneys to file articles of incorporation and accounting firms to look after the books. You can open headquarters and offices; buy...
What Does it Cost to Live for a Month in Hanalei, Hawaii
Cost to Live for a Month in Hanalei, Hawaii Hanalei Bay Rainbow The first time we visited Hanalei, we were smitten. This infatuation led to scheming about how we were going to manage to live full time on the beautiful North Shore of Kaua'i. What would be the cost to...
What Does it Cost to Live for a Month in Krabi, Thailand?
Beach Near Krabi, Thailand One great thing about Thailand is the ability to live your life at pretty much any income level you like. Whether you opt to live like a king / queen or grind it out as cheaply as possible, there are options for everyone. My wife and I aim...
What Does It Cost to Live for a Month in Paris?
Entrance to the Louvre in Paris Last fall my friend, Joyce, and I discussed walking the Camino de Santiago. She commented, “If we’re going to go that far around the world, I also want to see Paris. I may never get another chance.” The Camino walk takes a month, if...
What Does it Cost to Live for a Month in Moscow?
Moscow often tops lists of most expensive cities in the world for expats and people visiting on business and as tourists also often complain of high prices. This is also the case for locals and Russians who have moved to the capital from the provinces. However, Russia...
I Tried Chewing Betel Nut in Burma
What is Betel Nut? When you have spent a bit of time in Myanmar -- after you have gotten used to the spectacular landscapes, the incredible temples and the colorful characters -- you begin to notice little things: pleasant aromas emanating from the tea houses, smiling...
Jon & Sarah
It seemed almost inevitable that we, Jonathan and Sarah, would one day meet: two independent travellers from different corners of the globe, we shared a bond that many travellers experience, a mutual love of adventure and a belief that the planet is a better place when people leave their comfort zones and discover new lands and cultures. So, when our paths finally