Traveling Light

How much do you weigh? A question that isn't often asked, but you don't actually need to tell me. How much luggage do you take when you travel? If you take one carry on and one piece of checked luggage, you're probably carrying about 30 kg. I weigh around 70kg, so 30 kg is about 20% of my body weight. Trust me when I say it's a lot to lug about. Foreign correspondents have an informal rule for how much to bring: nothing you couldn't carry at a dead run for half a mile. I can shuffle along with 30kg hanging off my body, but anything quicker than a stumbling jog is out of the question. So the thought of traveling with nothing more than what's in my pockets is quite appealing to me. This is exactly what Rolf Potts, author of Vagabonding (a great book on travel philosophy and tips on long term travel), is doing.
Tim Ferris has the story over on his blog, as well as some tips of his own on how to travel light. Needless to say I was very much inspired by this article and it put me into a bit of self reflection on how to trim the fat from my own luggage. However the kind of travel I'm engaging in hampers my ability to really cut down on my luggage. Unlike Rolf Potts and Tim Ferris, I'm not traveling for just 6 weeks, nor do I have an apartment from which to return from my travels. Each time I move to a new country I am uprooting my entire existence and trying to make a new life for myself there. I have almost 7 kg of camera equipment that I carry (including a beast of lens, the Canon 300mm f2.8). I've also got a recent addition of about a kilo of wood carving tools. So that's my hobbies, plus I have the consideration of finding work while abroad. This means I need several smart outfits, plus a couple of books, a folder of teaching materials and my laptop. I'm pretty much at the max for what I can carry around. I do however have the advantage that I don't often have to lug all 30 kg with me on my travels (except for 2 months in Thailand).
One piece of advice on packing that crops up from time to time is to take half the luggage and twice the cash. Again, this is something I can't apply quite so easily. I'm already taking all my cash as well as all my luggage. While the idea of traveling with just one bag sounds great, I'd rather carry it with me than re-buy things when I arrive in a new place. There are things that I tend to ditch when leaving a place. One is a fluffy bathroom towel. I travel with a Lifeventure travel towel that folds to about the size of a t-shirt, but I find that it doesn't do the job quite as well as a good fluffy cotton towel. These I buy once I'm more settled in. I traveled to Thailand without an umbrella and bought one once I was there. I brought it with me to Korea, but it has since fallen apart. Given the small size and the incredible difficulty in finding an umbrella when you really need one, I'll continue to pack one.
There is something that I want to take away from Tim's advice on packing light, and that is to allocate a certain amount of cash to be used as a settling fund, to buy the things you need once you're sure you'll need them. I think this is a great piece of advice as I'm guilty of buying things in the build-up to a trip that I think I'll need but end up never using. Most things you think you'll need (mosquito netting, personal airline seat cover, hiking boots) either don't see any action or are cheap and readily available at your destination. You might want to do a little research before hand about the availability of certain items in the country you're going to just so you don't get caught out. A surprise for me was despite the massive number of hikers in Korea, decent camping equipment is expensive and not too readily available.

Two Years, Six Countries

South Korea (August)
Getting ready to leave. I've got flights booked to the US. I'm waiting to sort out a few details for where 'll be in the States in late October before buying tickets to Costa Rica (I need a flight out of the States to be let in). I also need to apply for a 3 month position in Japan sometime this month.
USA (September and October)
Spending a week in L.A., then a week in Lake Geneva, WI before setting out on a road trip across Route 66. We might spend two weeks in the Mojave desert if Courtney gets accepted into an art residency program there.
Costa Rica (November to April)
I'm going to be wwoofing for at least November, maybe December too. In December, the application period for teaching in Spain opens. As it works on a first-come-first-served basis, I want to get my application in as soon as I can. Back in Costa Rica, the main hiring period for teachers is in January, so banking on finding work then. Hopefully I'll be spending my time teaching English, learning Spanish and chasing sloths.
Japan (May to July)
If we get the gig, then it'll be three months pretty hard graft somewhere around Mt. Fuji. Three months is long enough to get a feel for a country but still short enough to feel like a vacation. We hope to be able to put away most of our earnings to help with setting ourselves up in Spain.
UK (August and September)
What will probably be a very welcome visit home, I'll hopefully have the time to meet up with friends I wouldn't have seen for a criminally long time. I also hope to do my parents the favour of moving out and selling as much of my junk as I can that's currently taking up about half their loft.
Spain (October to May)
It'll be nice to be living and working somewhere closer to home. Hopefully six months in Costa Rica will have given me enough basic Spanish to make the transition there a little easier. I'm not 100% confident on getting the job, but apparently most people who apply get an offer. Just have to wait and see on this one. Of course, this isn't the only option for me, but 700 euros a month for a 14 hour week does sound rather appealing.

Cicadas, Mosquitoes and Heat, Oh My.

Had a rough night last night. Very little sleep. It was darn hot, so I tried sleeping above the covers, but then I was at the mercy of mosquitoes.
Despite my ludicrously hairy body, I was being feasted upon. So I spent most of the night hiding under the covers until I was uncomfortably hot, then lying on top of them until I was frustrated with having to slap myself wherever I thought I was being bitten.
In the end I went and got my silk sleeping bag liner and climbed into that. Around 3 a.m. I managed to drift off. Until dawn came around 5:30 and the cicadas started up.

Mosquito facts (source):

• Only the females bite, and they use the blood not as food for themselves, but as protein for their eggs. Mosquitoes actually feed on nectar.
• Of the 3,000 species of mosquito, only three spread most human diseases.
• The itchiness is an allergic reaction to the mosquito's saliva.
• Rosemary (herb) will deter mosquitoes, as will eating plenty of garlic.

Cicadas facts (source):

• They can be heard up to 1 mile away.
• They have a lifespan of up to 17 years (mostly as larvae).
• They are a powerful symbol of rebirth in ancient Chinese culture.

Tips for sleeping in the heat (source):

• Wear light clothing. This can be better than wearing less clothing.
• Take a cool bath or shower before bed. It won't lower your core temperature, but it'll make you feel better.
• Don't engage in physical activity or exercise too soon to going to bed. This will give your body a chance to lower it's core temperature.
• Avoid hot and heavy meals near bedtime. Try to eat cool and refreshing foods instead.

Ah, Globalisation

Over 18 months in Korea and 30 days before I leave, I find muesli. That's just not right. That's about 540 days without the breakfast cereal I pretty much lived off during uni. However,to say that I just found muesli would only be telling half the story. I found a Tesco (cue lights and choir of angels). A huge Tesco Homeplus, comparable in size to the local monstermart: E-Mart, but lacking it's crazy atmosphere. It might have been my Anglo-centric conditioning that stirs in me great pride in seeing a British institution so far from home, but it seemed so much nicer than the E-Marts and Lotte Marts of Korea.
It did let me down however. I was really hoping for some good cheap tea. Tesco own-brand, Tetley or PG Tips (the pyramid bags, of course). There was Tesco value green tea in abundance, but the only black tea on offer was the Twinings range. Fancy tea, by appointment of the Queen no less. Slightly crestfallen I picked up a pack of English Breakfast Tea. 25 bags for about four quid. Still, the three kilos of Swiss Style Muesli I had newly acquired was more than enough to put me in a great mood. Coupled with an evening of David Attenborough wildlife documentaries I was definitely indulging in my cultural heritage.

A Quick Update

Today Courtney and I handed in our 30 day notice. We're flying out on the 27th of August. We're pretty excited about that. We've put a few of our appliances on craigslist, so we're well on the way of cutting our ties with Korea and getting ready to move on. Our main activity in preparing ourselves for leaving, and more importantly, making this month as enjoyable as possible, is eating as much delicious Korean food as possible. Off to have some barbecued meat tonight. 
I've also been accepted onto a farm in Costa Rica. It's run by an Elizabeth Hawkins and is in the Puriscal region of Costa Rica. More details when I get them.

Another year, another couple of countries

Things are winding down for me here in Incheon, South Korea. Just one more month of teaching, then I'm off. Hopefully it'll be a quiet month. Regular classes have just finished and just the after school program and a four day morning camp remain. When I finally ship out, I would have spent 18 months in Korea. Quite long for living in a country I'll never fit into.
While I've thoroughly enjoyed my time in South Korea (split into a one year term and a six month stint with some travel in between) I'm looking forward to a change of pace. During the in between time I was fortunate enough to spend three months in Thailand. The tropical climate and laid back pace of life was very appealing. However the tonal language (five ways of saying ma, each with a different meaning), rampant tourism and continuing to stand out in the crowd has pushed me towards moving out of Asia.
I've got a trip to the states planned (Route 66 Road Trip!), but getting a work visa was too much red tape for me to untangle. So the rich, green land of Costa Rica seems like a great place to go kick it for me. I'm planning on doing at least a month volunteer work on a farm in Purical to get a feel for the climate and culture, as well as to give myself a chance to establish some connections to find some teaching work.

There are several reasons I want to volunteer in Costa Rica.

1. a Latin based language, so much easier for me to learn than anything here in Asia!
2. amazing biodiversity in such a small country
3. the chance to work physically, a welcome break from the purely academic requirements of ESL teaching
4. the opportunity to connect with a culture more similar to my own
5. learn new skills. Never I have I ever milked a goat. Or picked coffee. Or ridden a horse.

So my journey to Costa Rica is beginning over 8,000 miles away. Let's hope it's a fun ride!

Making Cordage

A few weeks ago I collected some bark to turn into cordage. I'd stripped the rough outer bark and left it to dry. The outer bark is brittle and will weaken the final product, so it needed to be stripped. The inner bark was dried because it shrinks the most the first time it dries, leading to a more tightly woven final product. 

Since it had been dried, the bark had to be soaked to make it supple enough to work with. About 15 minutes did the job.

Here are the two strips of bark, ready to be cut into strips.

I had driven the tip of my knife into a piece of wood so I could cut the bark into strips with greater control.

However I found that it was much easier to tear the bark into strips.

In no time at all I had a bundle of suitable fibers.

I took one of the longer strips and started at a point a third of the way along. This way, when it comes to adding in more material, I wouldn't have to add it to both ends. The process of turning the strips of bark into cordage is remarkably simple. Just twist the fibers.

 Eventually, the twisted fibers will create a kink. This is the beginning of the cordage. I just kept twisting the fibers, encouraging them to twist around each other.

It progressed pretty quickly, adding in more and more as each strand ran out.

 

Pretty soon I had about a meter of cordage. Not very neat but I was pleased with my first effort.

Once you have some cordage, you can repeat the process on the cord itself to make it thicker and stronger.

Here are the final fruits of my labor. At the top is the meter length, coiled. In the middle is a finer, more neat section and below it is a doubled up section of cordage. 

Soon after it had dried I found that the material was quite brittle. If I were to use it, I would either have to tie whatever needed tying while it was still wet, or soak it again before use. Some sections of the cord weren't very neat or uniform. For a while one section was wrapping around the other, rather than them both binding together. I've since been informed that to correct this, I need to twist the section that isn't binding more, to encourage it to 'kink'. 

Overall I was pretty pleased with my results. I'm definitely going to be giving it another go. Things to improve on:

1. make more uniform strips of bark to begin with
2. try to keep the twists even and the thickness the same throughout
3. practice adding new sections without so many ends poking out.