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Life out of a Backpack (2023 Update)

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 […]

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What I’m Pondering – Loving Fate

Amor Fati Friedrich Nietzsche: “My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati, that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely to bear what is necessary, but to love it.” We can’t control everything that happens to us. This is one of the hardest concepts to accept, at […]

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Arrival to the Homeland

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 […]

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What I’m Pondering – Remembering You Will Die

Memento Mori Is it crazy to say that I believe regularly reminding yourself “I must die” can be the happiest, most motivating and freeing exercise for positively influencing your life? Lucky for me, I am not alone in this thought! “Remembering you must die,” or in Latin, Memento Mori, is a key aspect of Stoic […]

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Life on Koh Samui

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 […]

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What I’m Pondering – End Goals vs. Means Goals

Have you ever reached a big goal and not felt as satisfied as you thought you would? Well, you’re not alone. This is extremely common because humans love short-term goals, and it’s easy to get caught up in them. A lot of times, the goals we strive for are only a means to reaching the goals we […]

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Jumping The Border

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, […]

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What I’m Pondering – Finding Your Life Purpose

“What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?” -John Green I learned a fascinating concept while traveling through Okinawa, Japan: the locals call it Ikigai, or translated, the reason to live. And if anyone has mastered how to live, it’s the Okinawans. The island is know […]

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Turtle Island

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 […]

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Hostel Life

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 […]

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