Many years of dreaming and saving have led to this moment where the tickets are booked and are purposefully non-refundable. Past trips were just a taste of what travelling has to offer. Glorious street markets, new friends, temples and streets racing with motorbikes, all part of my favorite memories, and always over too quick.
Planning this trip was the result of needing longer and more of these experiences. Of course, choices have to be made and many of the same questions were asked.
Are you doing this alone?
Yes, but we never really do anything alone. I'll board the flights alone and no one will meet me at the airport, but countless people have fed this trip with their suggestions, their support and putting me in contact with friends and family around the world.
How much is this going to cost?
I planned the length of this trip according to when I run out of money, so 9 months if I don't suddenly pick up an expensive hobby while travelling. I CHOOSE not to scuba dive. My goal is to stay within a budget of 50$ a day, easily done in some places and more of a challenge elsewhere.
How will you decide where to visit?
“All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.”
― Leo Tolstoy”
A trip like this needs a mission. Otherwise I'll flounder from food market to food market (I probably still will). When considering the purpose of this trip I knew that I wanted to come back with stories. Storytelling is the best way to understand someone's experience, and my decade-long podcast obsession sometimes leaves me wondering if I actually lived something, or just heard it. Stories means people, so meeting new people and curating stories became this trip's purpose, and ultimately the reason for this blog.
The secondary purpose of the trip is to avoid winter for a year. So I'm heading south then west.
How?
I'm part of a great international community of project managers, and what better way to source stories than to talk about the projects people are passionate about. Projects make change possible. As Director of Marketing and Communications for PMI-Montréal and Social Media Lead for Project Managers Without Borders, I have access to a wealth of partnerships and communities using project management for social good, and I want to meet them all.
Do you need anything?
Some of my best friends are people I've met through travelling or have been friends or friends passing through Montreal needing a place to crash. If you have friends or family somewhere who want to show me something fun or have a spare bed/couch, that's all I need.
I leave Montreal on October 19th! First stop is Belize!