Hello from Seattle. I did plenty of touristy activities the past few days including going up the Space Needle (see above), hiking, and visiting the Pike Place Market. The best part though, was to catch my brother and sister’s graduation ceremonies and spending time with family.

Meanwhile, I am all done with planning Banff and Europe route. I am looking forward to hot springs, lakes, cool architectures, ice caves, and great hikes.Being the project manager I am, I got excited setting up my schedule, budget, and travel logistics. I enjoy the planning so much that I am creating a page to document my resources for future references 🙂

Special shout out to my wonderful colleagues and friends who sent me off with gifts and travel wisdoms. Based on their gift selection, their message is “be entertained at all times, and protect your belongings”. My favorite is the travel journal sprinkled with each person’s thoughts on a variety of topics. Here are a few snippets:

• On important things to prep for the trip- “…Drink 151, bring quick and dirty prank ideas…”
• On adventures- “…Don’t fall off (half dome)…”
• On danger- “…My middle name would be danger, but it’s actually my first name. You are more than prepared for dangers, but just in case you find yourself in danger- remember that panicking is a totally appropriate response…”
• On people- “…To me the most important thing in life are the people. You have been such a wonderful and important connection in my life…”
• On random thoughts “… I miss Kristin, I should catch up with her…”

Armed with wisdom, I am fully prepared for the next few months! My plan is to travel till I hit my budget limit or when one year is up. A lot of people are curious about how to afford extensive travelling. So here are my two cents on the topic:

Save Up Now

Going abroad had been a habit of mine since I was in college- studying abroad, interning, backpacking between school and work etc. I knew one day I would be travelling, so I was saving up for this trip way before knowing about it. I encourage you to save up now even if you don’t know whether you are taking time off. What is the worst outcome? Having a lump sum of money sitting in your account?

Find Deals

The four major categories of travel expenses come down to accommodation, transportation, food, and activities. One of the easiest way to make travel affordable is to find great deals.  Find places with low cost of living and stay there for a longer time. For example, you can easily find a private room for ~$15/night in Taiwan or ~$20/night in Netherlands. I also love stalking flight deal websites such as one travel, travel pirates, airfarewatchdog, and kayak to get great flight deals. My round trip ticket to Hong Kong comes in right below $600. Remember, extended travelling is different from vacation, sometimes you could be trading off comfort and convenience for good deals.

Next stop, Vancouver and Banff!