31 Wednesday Dec 2014
Posted in Best Of, Tons of Pictures
Tags
2014 was an amazing year. Thanks to miles & points we were fortunate to visit 10 different countries over 5 different trips for a total of 70 days spent outside the country. Most of it in business or first class, and most of it just for the cost of taxes or credit card signup fees. Definitely not something I would have thought was possible only a few years ago.
Over 71,000 miles flown internationally. Good times.
So what does that look like? A little something like this.
01 Tuesday Oct 2013
Posted in Accommodations, Asia, Australia, Best Of, Europe, Oceania, Travel Hacking
This is the final part of our 15 part series on the Best of Our Selfish Years of Traveling. You can check out the other parts below:
Our great Selfish Years adventure started when I discovered the world of miles & points, back in September 2011. Mrs. Selfish and I applied for 2 Citi AA cards, for a grand total of 150,000 AA miles a piece: enough for two business class tickets around the world!
We’ve done some pretty awesome things, flown some amazing flights, and stayed at some world class hotels. So how much did it all stack up?
Let’s look at the numbers, shall we?
Mrs. Selfish and I spent a grand total of 372 days of straight traveling, leaving the States in August 2012, and returning in August 2013. During the course of the trip we saw 102 cities and flew 61 flights across 25 countries. 
We spent the most days in France, followed by Japan, Australia, and England. Expensive countries, indeed – though surprisingly, Australia was the MOST expensive country – coming in at roughly 50% more in costs than any other country.
Some random factoids:
30 Monday Sep 2013
Mr. Selfish and I are starting to settle down in San Francisco and are happy to be here for the next few months. It’s odd being in one place and being able to fully unpack our suitcases. We are definitely enjoying SF life thus far, especially our new view:
We can’t believe how fast this past selfish year went by and are truly grateful for all of the wonderful experiences we had.
Here are our top 60 photos of the past year. Enjoy!
26 Thursday Sep 2013
Posted in Best Of, Living Abroad, Rant
Tags
Abroad, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Things We Learned, Tips for Traveling Abroad, Traveling Abroad
This is third and final part of our 3 part series on Things We Learned While Traveling Abroad for a Year. If you missed them, here’s Part 1 and Part 2.
23. Your appearance immediately sets expectations. Run with it.
Posin’ in Xi’an, China.
A buddy of mine and I were recently comparing our experiences in Seoul, South Korea. In my experience, almost no one spoke English in Seoul. In his, pretty much everyone did. The difference? He’s 6’2” and white as the day is long. I’m 5’10” and half Chinese – a look that makes me indefinably ethnic at home, but probably Chinese in Korea. People were expecting him to speak English, so they did so preemptively. With me, they weren’t quite sure where to start.
Conversely, I’d be willing to bet that I received better treatment in Paris because I looked like a fumbling young Japanese tourist to most French people.
24. Asians are everywhere.
A Chinese tour group in Yellowstone.
Thanks in large part to Chinese and Japanese tour groups, Asians are everywhere. Other ethnic groups, not so much.
25. And Sexpats are all over Asia.
Yay, sexpats, bleh.
It’s especially bad in Thailand, but you see them all over Southeast Asia. Pretty revolting, stuff, actually.
26. Sometimes it’s worth it to pay for a room with a view.
Bora Bora was totally worth the cost.
In Paris, we rented an apartment with a view of Sucre Coeur. In Tokyo, we got a room facing Mt. Fuji. In Bora Bora, we had a room facing the volcano. I never used to be a stop-and-admire-the-view kind of guy, but there’s something to be said for waking up and immediately feeling like you’re in an exotic, amazing place.
25 Wednesday Sep 2013
Posted in Best Of, Living Abroad, Rant
Tags
Abroad, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Things We Learned, Tips for Traveling Abroad, Traveling Abroad
This is Part 2 of our post on the 33 Things We Learned While Traveling Abroad for a Year. You can view Part 1 here.
12. If you can’t research a meal ahead of time, going with the most popular place almost always works.
If it smells good, and it’s crowded, chances are it’s safe AND delicious!
Most of the time, Mrs. Selfish painstakingly researched restaurants days, or weeks before we arrived. Sometimes, however, the best meals were restaurants we spotted while wandering. If it smells good AND there’s a crowd, chances are it’s worth eating!
13. Goods cost pretty much the same everywhere…
Electronics in Akihabara, Tokyo are just as expensive as home.
Sometimes you can find a better deal on goods in their native country. For the most part, however, we found that goods cost just as much as in the States… except those countries never had any sales! Where’s a good Black Friday when you need one?
14. …but services are cheapest in Southeast Asia.
If it’s cheap manual labor ye be wantin’, head to Southeast Asia.
Without a doubt the cheapest services I’ve ever seen were in Southeast Asia. We paid $7 for an hour long massage in Bali, $10 in the Philippines, $5 in Cambodia, and $14 an hour in Thailand (the best one!). For haircuts, I found the cheapest (and best) was in Beijing, where I paid a whopping 10 yuan ($1.60). Unless it requires a huge amount of finesse, chances are it’s cheaper in Asia.
15. Shipping is cheaper than you think.
Especially if you don’t care if it takes months to get there!
While Mrs. Selfish and I loved haggling for goods, we had one major problem – we didn’t have enough room to bring them back! Fortunately, mailing stuff by by boat (which usually took 2 months), was pretty affordable.
In England, we paid roughly $100 for 10 kg (22 lbs). In China, we ended up paying closer to $40 for the same amount. In total, we shipped off 6 boxes with roughly 120 lbs worth of stuff, and almost everything arrived intact, with the exception of a mask we bought in Xi’an.
16. Deodorant is more prevalent in Asia & Australia than Europe.
Vive, la Stench! Sadly, a cliché for a reason.
Especially on the metro. Come on, Europe, you smell weird, and no one wants to be around you!
24 Tuesday Sep 2013
Posted in Best Of, Living Abroad, Rant
Tags
Abroad, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Things We Learned, Tips for Traveling Abroad, Traveling Abroad
One of my secret (hopeful) goals of traveling for a year was to improve myself in a Julia-Roberts-Eat-Pray-Love kind of way. I’m not entirely sure what I was thinking at the time, but I figured there was a good chance I’d have an epiphany while viewing the Great Wall of China, or a greater insight into myself while practicing yoga on the beach somewhere in Thailand.
Utter crap, of course.
If anything, I think I’ve come out of the experience a little more sure of who I am, and what I’m about: a sarcastic bastard in his early 30’s filled with a strong desire to maximize everything.
Nevertheless, while I didn’t learn anything new about myself, I did learn a lot about who I am when I travel and a little bit more about the world.
1. It is possible to get travel fatigue.
Walking 5 miles at 10,000 ft. in Machu Picchu was no joke.
Planning a 10 day trip for 2 cities is all fun and games, especially when you’re doing it from the office. Planning a trip for 370 days for 95 cities is exhausting, as it turns out. Especially when you factor in the fact that you’ll be changing rooms (and beds) on average less than once every 4 days. We probably spent a good 2-3 days of the trip just packing and unpacking our bags!
2. You will lose weight.
Waterfall Repelling in Da Lat, Vietnam. I fell. A lot.
Most of our friends and family (secretly) thought we’d gain weight while traveling for a year. And while we did cook whenever we had a kitchen, we probably ate more than 2/3 of our meals out. So how did we lose weight? As it turns out, simply being on your feet 4-8 hours a day goes a long way.
Back in Orlando, I’d probably sit down for all but 2 hours a day, and hardly any of that was spent walking. Traveling there were days where we’d be on our feet ALL day, and I’d go to sleep strangely exhausted, though I hadn’t done anything strenuous.
Oddly, the country where we gained the most weight was America – even with all the gym time.
3. You can get by without seeing friends and families for several months at a time.
Mrs. Selfish and her cousin barely survived a monkey attack in Bali.
We were fortunate to be able to meet up with friends and family several times throughout our journey, but there were months at a time where I’d only see Mrs. Selfish. Fortunately, thanks to the wonders of the internet, we managed to stay in touch with loved ones.
4. After a few days, you no longer miss TV.
Mrs. Selfish never misses a photo-op. Taken in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Mrs. Selfish and I used to turn on the Food Network or TBS almost immediately after coming home from work. As soon as we hit the road, we stopped watching TV immediately, and I didn’t miss it. There was just too much to do. Now that we’re home, we still don’t watch TV.
11 Wednesday Sep 2013
Posted in Best Of, Living Abroad
Tags
Pack, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Things to Pack, Things to pack for long travel, Traveling Abroad
Over the course of our Selfish travels we’ve had several people ask what we pack for a year abroad. Most people assume we’re hauling backpacks around the world, which would probably have been a good idea, however Mrs. Selfish and I are too old for that type of travel.
Mrs. Selfish and I are in our 30’s. Not really ancient, but my days of sleeping on floors are probably over. I do appreciate the feel of a good mattress, and enjoy staying at fancy hotels, so it’s probably safe to say we fall more in the flashpacker category.
Here’s some of the things we ended up bringing for our year long trek around the globe.
1. A crappy looking backpack to store your valuables.
As per the DOs of traveling, Mrs. Selfish and I rock a 10+ year old, frayed backpack to house most of our important documents and devices. I can’t tell you the number of people I’ve seen on the road keeping time on their rolex watches, bandying about their designer purses, or taking pictures with their iPad 4. They make traveling easier for the rest of us.
2. One or two all in one power converters.
I love the Insten Universal World Wide power converter. So far we’ve used this sucker in every continent but South America. The only downside is that you still risk frying some of your devices in Asia and other parts of the world since they don’t convert electrical output current and voltage.
3. Small laptop.
Useful for staying in touch with the rest of the world. Mrs. Selfish likes to rock the Lenovo X230 which starts at a mighty 2.99 lbs.
4. A compact power strip.
Given that you’ll likely have a few devices with you, I highly recommend a portable power strip like the Outlets to Go power strip. It’s extremely compact and has room for 3 power cords, as well as a USB device. My only gripe would be the bright blue light, that shines like a lighthouse.
5. A collapsible and expandable bag.
Or two! Mrs. Selfish and I ended up bringing 3 Briggs & Riley bags with us to Europe, and 1 Briggs and Riley bag and 1 Samsonite bag to Asia and Australia.
In hindsight, I wish we had brought 2 B&R bags since the Samsonite ended up dying midway through China. I like Briggs & Riley for two reason: 1) They have a lifetime warranty, 2) The zippers never die. You can also buy them for cheap on ebay.
10 Tuesday Sep 2013
Posted in Best Of, Living Abroad
Editor’s Note: This was originally going to be part of our “DOs of Traveling” post, but kind of ballooned out of control. It doesn’t seem like there’s much out there on haggling, so we figured we’d do our part to contribute to the vicious blood sport of bartering.
Haggling is an essential skill in most non-Western countries or in just about every outdoor market, yet most Westerners are put off by the concept of bargaining. GET OVER IT.
If something doesn’t have a price tag, chances are you’ll be given a “flexible” price. In Shanghai we saw marked-up prices as high as 500%, in Marrakech this was probably closer to 300%. The vendors aren’t holding back, and neither should you. Here are some common techniques to make sure you leave with your shirt still on your back.
1. Survey the competition. 
Haggling over Fatima hands in Marrakech
Never buy from the first place. Chances are that several merchants are selling the same wares – and the ones with the crappier location will sell things to you at a better price.
In Marrakech we shopped around for leather camels and checked their prices at about 8 stands to establish a base line cost.
2. Buy in bulk to reduce costs.
Camels for everybody! The furry ones make Godzilla noises.
Planning on buying gifts for the whole family? Might as well ask how much that camel costs when you buy 10 of those suckers!
3. Buy from the guy with the roll up carpet, not from the place with a window.
The Marrakech markets were lined with vendors on carpets.
People with low overhead can afford to cut you better prices. They also might not have a merchant’s license, so don’t be surprised if your bargaining gets better when the police get close.
4. Lie about where you’re from, when necessary.
Market in Siem Reap where we were either from Hong Kong or Singapore. Some times both!
It may seem like they’re making conversation, but merchants are probably trying to judge how rich you are before they offer you a price. America has an inflated reputation of being extremely wealthy, so in Asia we told people we were from Singapore since they couldn’t tell the difference in English accents anyway.
5. Never accept the first price, the merchant can usually go lower.
Breakdancers in Bangkok’s seedier side of town.
Pick a number in your head (like 40% of the starting point) and start below that. The merchant and you will usually meet in the middle, unless someone gets the upper hand.
09 Monday Sep 2013
Posted in Best Of, Living Abroad
Yesterday we went over some of the DO’s of traveling, so today we’re going over some of the DON’Ts of traveling.
1. Don’t pay in your currency when given the option by a merchant.
In a rather horrible turn of events, many foreign merchants will now give you the option of paying in your home currency. Sounds great, right? NOT SO FAST.
Not only will merchants give you a crappy exchange rate so they can make a little more off your purchase, but it’s also possible that your credit card company will charge you as well. Even if you have a card with no foreign transaction fee.
2. Don’t get suckered in by tuk tuk and tour scams.
Bangkok is notorious for the tuk tuk scam. Beijing is notorious for the tour scam. Both work similarly – you work out a cheap rate ahead of time, but are then driven to other stops before you reach your destination.
In the case of the Bangkok tuk tuks this is usually a jewelry store where the tuk tuk driver receives free gas in exchange. In the case of the Chinese tour bus it’s not uncommon to be brought to an Eastern Medicine building where doctors will diagnose you with all sorts of illnesses. Fortunately for you they can be cured with herbs and medicines that they keep on premises, of course.
3. Don’t give money to Asian monks.
A common(er) scam in South East Asia. The scammer is dressed as a monk asking for money for some cause or another. The thing is… monks don’t ask for money. Politely decline and move on.
08 Sunday Sep 2013
Posted in Best Of, Living Abroad, Rant
Tags
American Airlines, Award Wallet, Dos of traveling, Lufthansa, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, TripIt, United
Over the year of our Selfish travels, Mrs. Selfish and I developed a few travel habits that helped us successfully navigate new countries regardless of language and technology. For today’s post I’ll go over some of the DO’s of traveling.
1. Do research how to get to your hotel ahead of time.
The moment you arrive at a new country is when you’re most vulnerable to scams or are most likely to get ripped off. Not only are you unshowered, jetlagged, and exhausted, but you are also carrying your valuables, cash, and important travel documents. Getting to your hotel/hostel safely should be a top priority in order to make sure your stay goes smoothly.
Mrs. Selfish and I always research transportation options on sites like flyertalk or tripadvisor prior to landing to compare costs and times – especially when the best option is a cab.
2. Do run the math on low cost carriers.
Low cost carriers like Ryanair, easyJet, Jetstar, and Air Asia, almost always undercut their competition by dozens of dollars per direction, but are they worth it? Sometimes.
Since Mrs. Selfish and I were often checking 2-3 bags, one of which was ALWAYS oversized, adding in the extras to cost often meant a legacy carrier was a better way to go. Especially since we could often earn miles on those flights.
3. Do negotiate taxi fares ahead of time.
This was less of an issue in Northern Asia, Australia, and New Zealand where the cabs just ran the meter. In South East Asia and parts of Europe, however, cabbies often hid their meters or refused to use them.
If you ever find yourself in one of those countries either make sure they use the meter (ideally ahead of time), or negotiate a price before you close the door.
4. Do know basic words or phrases to smooth over transactions.
Learning basic phrases like “hello,” “thank you,” “goodbye,” “excuse me,” and “do you speak English?” can really smooth over most transactions and sets expectations. Parisians are notoriously unfriendly to visitors, yet they bent over backwards to help us after we uttered a few French words.
07 Saturday Sep 2013
Tags
Angkor Wat, China, Downton Abbey, Great Barrier Reef, Highclere Castle, New Zealand, Nha Trang, Russian Tourists, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Terracotta Warriors, Yellow Eyed Penguins
Mrs. Selfish and I were very fortunate to be able to travel the world (safely!) for a year, seeing and doing things we would otherwise never do. While the majority of the trip was amazing, we had more than our fair shares of letdowns.
Whether we went in with inflated expectations, or the experience really wasn’t that worth doing, there were things that just didn’t live up to their reputations.
For your consideration, I present you our 10 biggest letdowns (in no particular order). The first image is what I imagined the experience would be (thanks to the magic of the internet) and the second is reality.
Enjoy!
Imagination: Sunrise over mystical Angkor Wat. Peaceful. Tranquil.
Reality: Shoving your way through throngs of tourists to catch a shot of overcast ruins at 5:00am in the morning.
Siem Reap, and Angkor Wat are awe-inspiringly awesome and totally worth doing. That being said, catching the sunrise was one of the most touristy experiences of our entire trip. We woke up at 4:30am to hit Angkor Wat along with what seemed like 1000 other people. Totally packed, and not that sanguine – definitely not what I was picturing.
Imagination: Strolling the grounds of Downton Abbey with Maggie Smith on a perfect day.
Reality: Rainy weather most of the time. Plus they rent it out for weddings. Wha-wha.
While we still had a blast at “Downton Abbey,” Highclere Castle is actually quite different from what you’d hope. The Castle is used to shoot the show mostly during the summer, and is open to the public for a few (hotly visited) months. The inside is peppered with familiar rooms, but it’s full of family skiing photos from the 80’s. Plus the duchess of Highclere will try and sell you her book on the REAL Downton Abbey in the gift shop. Classy.
06 Friday Sep 2013
Posted in Africa, Asia, Best Of, Europe, Food & Drinks, North America, Oceania
Mr. Selfish and I had a lot of amazing food during this selfish year. It was incredibly hard to narrow it down but here’s our top 20 eats in no particular order:
It cost under $1 USD for a deluxe Vietnamese sub (banh mi) at Tiem Banh Mi Phoung in Hoi An. Mr. Selfish was so obsessed with it that we ate over 10 banh mi during our five-day stay in Hoi An. We were able to identify about 10 ingredients in the banh mi, but we lost track after we hit the double digits. Needless to say, it was absolutely delicious.
Tayyabs is located near White Chapel, which is close to Brick Lane in London. Although there is always a crazy line out the door, Tayyabs is completely worth it. It is by far the best Indian food we’ve ever had.
During our stay in the Philippines, Mr. Selfish and I became fixated on sisig, which is made from parts of pig’s head and liver, usually seasoned with calamansi (a type of lime) and chili peppers. It isn’t the best for you, but man, is it tasty! The best sisig was from Gerry’s Grill, which is near the Taal Volcano close to Manila.
05 Thursday Sep 2013
Tags
Conrad Koh Samui, Hilton Bora Bora, Hilton Queenstown, Intercontinental Danang, Paris, Park Hyatt Sydney, Park Hyatt Tokyo, Riad Pachavana, Ryokan Sanga, Selfish Year, Selfish Years
Prior to our year of reckless traveling, Mrs. Selfish and I only splurged once on a hotel, staying at the Sofitel Hanoi for our Honeymoon. Otherwise, business as usual was a 3-4 star hotel using sites like hotels.com.
And then I discovered the world of miles and points.
With a bank roll of millions of hotel points, spread out over 5 different hotel programs, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to spend our year abroad in style – hitting up some of the travel hacking community’s go-to destinations.
Here’s the 10 best places we stayed in chronological order. Some are miles and points accessible, though some can only be paid for with cold, hard cash!
Mrs. Selfish and I spent an amazing 6 weeks in Paris in Montmartre, the same Arrondissement where the movie Amelie takes place. Taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of Paris was something I’ll never forget, and certainly nothing screamed “Paris” quite as much as waking up to a view of the Sacré-Cœur every morning.
Anyone interested in renting the same flat can do so at Airbnb.
Mrs. Selfish and I arrived in Marrakech, disoriented and utterly confused. Marrakech’s old town is maze of twisting streets and Aladdin-style scamming street rats, children who try to get you lost so you’ll pay them to take you to your hotel.
Nevertheless, we quickly succumbed to Marrakech’s charms – especially after staying at the lovely Riad Pachavana, which we saved $150 on thanks to three Expedia BRG coupons.
For more, check out our full post on the Riad Pachavana.
In the Philippines we were fortunate enough to stay at El Nido, located on Palawan – a protected island south west of Manila. Accessible only by a small private plane (max capacity of < 50), El Nido is a beautiful, isolated paradise. Despite being an all-inclusive resort, the food and activities were pretty great. Plus they have a killer happy hour with an amazing view.
For more information on Palawan check out our full trip report.
04 Wednesday Sep 2013
Tags
Best Of, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Selfish's Top 20 Experiences, Top 20 Experiences, Top Experiences
Mr. Selfish and I are winding down our posts on the blog. We are currently driving cross-country and fondly reminiscing about our epic selfish year. We’ve had so many wonderful experiences that we both smile every time one of us says, “Remember that time…” We’ve decided to do some wrap-up posts, including some best of lists.
Here are our top 20 experiences in no particular order:
Mr. Selfish and I took Rick Steve’s advice and did a driving tour around the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. We were so fortunate to have perfect weather that day. It was so lovely that we even considered buying a summer home in Dingle.
Flying in a four-person plane from Queenstown to Milford Sound in New Zealand was truly amazing. It was more beautiful than I could have imagined it to be, and I don’t even like the Lord of the Rings series.
We had many wonderful animal experiences during this trip. The one experience that stands out the most for me is holding this 9-month old panda cub in Chengdu, China.
