It’s time for a five-year update to my original POST as I’m off to Thailand again! This trip is a little different though – it’s indefinite. More on that coming soon 😉. Due to the time horizon, I’m increasing my allowed weight limit from 30lbs (14kg) to 50lbs (23kg), a big jump I know! “Knowledge is…

Sicily, Italy Dedicated to my great-grandparents, Antonino & Antonina Pidalá I’ve always wanted to visit the small town up in the Sicilian mountains where my great-grandparents were born, and it could not have been a better place to top off my trip to Asia. The small town is called Longi, a picturesque little commune of under…

Koh Samui will always be my home away from home, but it’s time to move on to the next adventure! This post is part two of my time in Koh Samui and will wrap up with my remaining photos and captions. I will, of course, miss the beaches, but I will miss the people I met the…

Time for a Visa Run! What is a Visa Run you ask? Well, let me enlighten you on this funny little immigration loophole! As a background, all countries require foreigners to have some type of visa to enter their country. The most common visas for travelers in Thailand are 30-day visa exemptions, 60-day tourist visas,…

Whew, I need a vacation from my vacation (just kidding) I decided to check out a small island off Samui called Ko Tao, a tiny island with just one main road. While it’s supposed to be a very relaxing island, I didn’t get quite so lucky… Right when I got to the ferry port in…

Alright, this has been brought up enough times that it deserves its own article. Why do I purposefully seek out hostels instead of hotels? It sometimes seems as if people put hostels on the same level as a back alley motel… This is 100% not the case! Other than cost, there are tons of benefits…

It’s known as the biggest party in the world. It takes some people, and I’m sure it creates some new people too… And it happens to take place right on my doorstep. The party that is! Not the creating new people… The Full Moon Party is on the night of the full moon every month…

Home Sweet Home I think I found my home for the next few months! So far, I absolutely love Ko Samui, Thailand. Samui is a smallish island of around 60,000 people off the coast of SE Thailand. Why is called Coconut Island you ask? Well, there are coconut trees every five steps! So, getting here.…

Bangkok, Bangkok, Bangkok. What are we going to do with you. Well, it’s definitely one of the more interesting places I’ve been to! First, yes what you hear is true; Thailand is so cheap!! You can easily live here for less than $15 a day, including food and rent! And like most of Asia, the…

Well, Japan was a blast but on to the next adventure! The next stop on The Expedition is Thailand – but pit stop first! Flights were very expensive from Fukuoka, so I decided to hop on the ferry over to Busan, Korea (the second largest city in Korea after Seoul) and take a flight from…

Hakata-ku is one of the oldest cities in Japan. In the middle ages, it acted as a port and trading hub between China and Korea, and it was officially renamed Fukuoka-shi in 1889. Nowadays, Fukuoka is known for three things: 1. Hakata Ramen – considered some of the best ramen in Japan 2. Hakata Yatai –…

Ahh, nothing beats the island life. And I have to say – Okinawa may just be my favorite island in the world. I planned the trip with my friend Nico, who lives in Tokyo. We stayed the first couple nights in the city (where no tourists go) to get a real sense of the lifestyle…

Temples, temples, temples, and more temples! That’s pretty much how to describe Kyoto, Japan. Known as the Ancient City, Kyoto was the former Imperial capital of Japan for over a thousand years, and you can’t walk for more than five minutes before running into another beautiful temple or shrine! For those not “in the know,”…

Ahh, you have to love a city with canals winding through the streets. Nothing beats the soft reflecting lights and relaxing, pleasant atmosphere. This is Osaka, the next stop on The Expedition, and within five minutes of walking through the city, you can tell Osaka is known for their food! Before I get into the…

Wow. Where to begin? I’ve already spent fifteen minutes trying to write this sentence. The thing is, there is no way to describe Tokyo. Fun? Respectful? Crazy? Weird? Amazing? Absolutely yes to all of these and a million more adjectives. People say NYC is the city that never sleeps? The Japanese are laughing at that!…

nǐ hǎo! The four days before and after my Kung Fu training at the Shaolin Monastery, I stayed in the small town of Dali, China – located in the far west, near the boarders of Myanmar and Tibet. Although no one speaks English, the people in Dali are extremely friendly and welcoming. I’ve split this…

Thanks Consulting! Let me explain. For those who didn’t know, I worked for a consulting firm for a year traveling every single week. While this was rough at the time, I built up around 200,000 airline miles! Time to cash in, and maybe splurge a little. 😉 To start my trip off right, I flew…

29 Lbs (13kg). That’s the weight of all my belongings for The Expedition. That’s crazy some say! But is it really? What utility do all the belongings in your closet really bring you? Now… this is not saying to go throw out everything in your home! Just think about it. Contemplate it. Ponder it. It’s a…

Travel Dreams vs. Reality Something hit me a while back from a conversation while getting my haircut. The stylist, snipping away, casually mentioned her dream to travel to Thailand and cut hair on a beach. Intrigued, I asked, “That’s fantastic! Why don’t you just go?” Her response was a mix of surprise and humor, as…