- Quick facts
- Total days on the road: 586
- Currently in: USA
- Miles Driven: 36821
- Countries Visited: 17
- Days Camping: 389
- Days Indoors: 202
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Haggling 101
{jcomments lock}Haggling is not for everyone and not everyone is good at it.
True hagglers know that it is not about undercutting the seller or over charging the buyer. Haggling is the ancient art of negotiating a mutually beneficial deal over fine and often blurry lines.
10 Simple Rules for Negotiating
- Mutual respect often seals the deal. Don’t be rude or condescending when negotiating
- It’s supposed to be a fun cultural experience, not about pinching pennies.
- Be flexible. Set the high and low price you are willing to pay and negotiate within them.
- Plan for big victories. Give in or pay full price for cheaper items so you can save more on big items.
- Take your time to consider the counter offer, don’t be aggressive or pushy.
- Beware of your body language, open hands and stance means you’re friendly and willing to negotiate. Don’t cross your arms.
- Purchasing multiple items with one vendor will usually get you a better deal.
- Know the estimated market price for the product. Shop around, and don’t assume things are cheaper because you are in a third world country. Some things may be more expensive.
- Sweeten the deal. Be willing to barter for part of the cost.
- Be prepared to walk away.
Doing Laundry while Traveling
{jcomments lock}Cleaning clothes while traveling is pretty easy. Put clothes in container, fill with water, add soap, swish around, rinse, hang to dry. They might not be sparkling, but they’ll be clean enough.
There are, however, a few things you need to know to avoid spending half of your trip fretting over dirty laundry.
How to Survive Long Flights
{jcomments lock}If I could wish for just one piece of technology to be created it would be a teleporter. The one from Star Trek would do just fine. “Beam me up, Scotty”. I think everyone in the world would be a lot happier.
Let’s face it, there is nothing nice about flying. The longer the flight, the more painful it is. As a Seattle native, with a South African spouse, I’ve been on my fair share of long flights. Two back to back 10 hour flights is enough to wilt even the toughest traveler. It has nearly killed me a few times.
Subcategories
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Plan & Prepare
Plan & Prepare
Planning for a big travel adventure can be a daunting task. There’s much to consider and even more to research. Properly planning your trip will make life easier on the road and allow you to spend less time worrying about details and more time having fun. These articles cover the basics of researching and documenting your travel destinations and other pre-trip activities we find valuable.
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Overlanding
Overlanding
Traveling by vehicle is a great way to see places that are normally difficult to get to. Having a car or truck makes it easier to camp and cook, giving you ways to save money and enjoy natural and cultural heritages that may be out of reach of traditional backpacking travelers. In this section we offer advice for choosing the right vehicle, renting, outfitting and staying safe while driving in foreign countries.
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Health & Safety
Health & Safety
Staying healthy and being safe on the road is 20% preparation and 80% common sense. We’re here to help you be prepared, you’ll have to supply the rest. Know what the risks are, what diseases are common and how to prevent them, where it’s safe to go, how to deal with corruption and avoid petty crime. Pack a first aid kit that can handle common health problems and have insurance for yourself and your stuff in case of emergency. Be ready to deal with the unexpected and have enough information to let your common sense do the rest.
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Cooking
Cooking
It seems all we do is talk about food, what we are eating and when. When people first meet us they quickly come to realize we eat a lot and we eat well.
We thought it is high time we share some of our culinary shenanigans with food lovers alike. If you have any recipes you would like us to add, let us know and we will get right on it.
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Photography
Photography
There are books to be written on the subject of travel photography. Hundreds of thousands of tips to be given on lighting and lenses, composition and cameras. In fact one member of the Life Remotely team spent four years of her life studying it. There is no possible way to pack all that info in one little website, but we vow to do what we can.
Occasionally people ask us how we take certain photos, and what type of gear we recommend. We’ll publish some articles here to help you out. Most are written by request. Send us an email if there is something you’d like to know, and we’ll do our best to say something smart about it.
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Budget & Money
Budget & Money
Budgeting is all about getting the most out of your trip. Putting in this effort before you leave to help reach savings goals, pick good bank accounts and ensure your travels will be as successful, stress free and long as possible. Maintaining and sticking to your budget on the road will help you make better decisions with the least amount of worry. Trust us, it’s not much fun, but financially planning for your trip will always be worth it in the end.
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Camping
Camping
Camping while traveling can be a fun and convenient way to save money and experience new places off the beaten track. It can also be such an uncomfortable and frustrating hassle that you run screaming for the nearest hotel. In this section we share some of our experiences from years of traveling and camping. We’ll help you decide whether or not to camp, how to stay comfortable and sane when you do camp, and what to bring with to make life on the dirt a bit more enjoyable.
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While Traveling
While Traveling
As any experienced traveler knows, you will run into difficulties while you're on the road. How you deal with the hard times will make the difference between a miserable trip and a memorable experience.
Travelers seek to grow themselves personally, and come home with amazing stories to tell. We do this by being prepared for the expected and by dealing with the unexpected with a positive attitude. Here you'll find common advice we've gained through our years spent traveling, and general tips to help you avoid and deal with the tough times.