[1] You are (most likely) still covered by your parent’s insurance

Many family insurance plans will still cover a child until they reach the age of 25. This may not seem like a big deal, but if you get seriously injured or contract a disease like malaria – which can have long lasting and often expensive effects , the benefits of established insurance coverage can be life saving.

Make the most out of these years!On my trip to Asia I purchased traveler insurance separately for a six month period at a cost of about $260. It covered many things, one of them being hospital visits, which I had to make use of. Luckily, my injuries were limited to a sprain from rock climbing, and I have no long term problems. However, if I had gotten bitten by one of those narsty mossies, the travel insurance would not cover any problems that arose after the six months ended.

My parent’s family insurance will cover them. They also covered a portion of the various vaccinations that I got before I left.

[2] Student discounts still apply

Student discounts don’t stop when you graduate. They stop around the age of 25-26. Sometimes they are called youth discounts, but they all do the same thing – save you money. These discounts are on everything from youth hostels to train tickets and can often save you up to 15 percent. Companies like STA Travel and Hostelling International cater to the younger groups and have extensive lists of discounts that are available.

[3] Group living doesn’t bother you

If you are just graduating from college or university, then you are probably accustomed to living in close quarters with various other forms of humanity. Travel throws you right back into those situations. If you have become accustomed to living in a multi-story house where you can walk around naked at night and howl at the moon, switching to a 4ft by 9ft cube with open ceilings and a friendly rat problem can be a drastic experience (you can still walk around naked at night and howl at the moon, you just won’t be alone while you are doing it.)
Often the best place to stay is in a dorm style room packed with bunk beds. You meet more people, and generally make some friends. Just remember to bring ear plugs and a sleep mask.

[4] You can fall and not break a hip

The older you get, the less likely that fall off of the hiking trail will only end up with twisted ankle. You can’t take your tennis ball footed walker to Everest. Unless you try very hard, your life will probably become more sedentary that it was in your teenage years and college, which means that some of the adventures you might have wanted to do will suddenly become difficult.

Sometimes travel requires long nights, early mornings, cramped buses, and other situations where older joints, weaker stomachs, and worse hangovers would slow you down.

[5] You can join the “Gap Year Groups”

Many of the people I met while traveling were on a gap year. A gap year is a cool thing that many people from other countries do often. They leave for a year when they graduate. They get some perspective on the world, and then they come home (or not) and get a job.

They are generally around 22-25. This means that there are always plenty of people in your age group to go traveling with. I hung out with a guy who was 35 and he said that he felt very old to be traveling because he couldn’t really relate anymore. I also met some 40-year-olds who acted like they were 24, but I don’t want to be those people either.

[6] You are less tied down

Everything I own fits under a ping-pong table. I know, because that is where everything I own currently resides. I spent the last six months with everything I needed on my back.
Over time you accumulate stuff. It just builds up. The longer you live a professional life, the more tied down you become. Car payments, mortgages, credit card bills, phone bills, the monthly payments on that ring you got your significant other…

If you leave and travel early, none of this weighs you down. If you are serious about traveling, do it before you meet that once in a lifetime person, before you buy a house, before you have to do anything.

[7] You learn that age and stature only matter as much as you let them (which puts you way ahead of everyone else in your age bracket)

This one took me a while to realize, but when I did it changed everything. I have stopped seeing people as part of a hierarchal chain of command. I see every person as a human who is simply trying to survive and get a little fun out of life while they are at it. The guy behind the meat counter gets the same respect from me as the Senior VP in a $3,000 suit. Until I meet them, they are both just guys in a uniform.

I have found that this allows me to jump into meaningful conversation much faster, and that I can actually make friends with these people who I used to feel a boundary with. Crack a joke with the meat guy, and get him to use his 20 percent discount for you. (Which by the way, is awesome.) Crack a joke with the Senior VP, and get a job. (Which by the way, you don’t want.)

[8] As Newton said, an object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object at rest tends to stay at rest. So start moving.

As you may have noticed, the theme of this blog has changed. I am no longer bouncing around Asia, going to random locations at whim, seeing what I want to see when I want to see it. Alaska puts images of glaciers and mountains in my mind (even if the mountains pictured above are the Everest Range), so this look seems to go with it better. It is a little simpler, and just overall more enjoyable.

The content is going to change as well. This is going to evolve into the temporary outlet for my official position of Web Content Coordinator at the Alaska Collective. Hopefully I will be able to use this to show meaningful clips, information, and accomplishments from the collective in an interesting way.

I am currently at my parent’s house in Atlanta, preparing to go to Alaska on the 29^th of May. I have decided to take my bike out with me to Alaska, and attempt to finish the west coast by bicycle. After I finish up with Couchsurfing.com in August, I will head down to San Francisco and see what happens when I get there. I will once again be shipping the bike with REI, since there is now one in Anchorage.

This will be my hardest challenge yet. When I went from San Francisco to Los Angeles I was with Jason, my freshman year roommate. We were able to keep each other in good spirits, and it was great to have someone to share the experience with.  This time will be alone. Completely different trip.

Check out the blogs from the first trip here

On another note, I just finished hosting the first Couch Surfers to stay at my parent’s house, Kate and Brynn. We had a lazy weekend but got to see some of the city, then cooked out at a friend’s house. Good times.

You might know it already, but almost all of the gear I took on my trip was from REI. I was happy with almost everything I had with me, and the few products that wore out over the six months I used them were replaced or refunded (with cash) by REI with no questions asked.

REI is having their anniversary sale right now, and it goes until Sunday.

Hop on over to their site for some incredible savings. I have already been to the store more than once this week to stock up on gear for Alaska.

[The Couch Surfing Project]
http://www.couchsurfing.com

I have been a member of Couchsurfing.com for a while now, and will actually be joining the team in Alaska to help rework the site this summer.

I would encourage anyone who likes traveling, believes that there should be trust between people, and likes making new friends to go to and take a look.

If you have an extra bed, couch, or space on the floor, you an make it open to travelers and in return you get to stay in free places around the world. I have never failed to have a good experience when I surf, and know that you will enjoy it too.

[Seatguru]
http://www.seatguru.com

This site has an incredibly detailed view of every plane in the skies right now, and if you fly often, the seating guide here can make or break your trip.
[timezonecheck.com]
http://timezonecheck.com
If you never know what time it is, or when you will actually be able to call back home without waking someone up, this is a helpful site.

[Lonely Planet]
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

The mother load of travel information, right from those of us who are out there.

[WikiTravel]
http://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page

Plenty of updated information on everything you can think of. If something isn’t there, go to the location, then add your own guide.

[The Universal Packing List]
http://upl.codeq.info/

Tell it how long you are gone, how big your bag is, where you are going, and a few other bits of information, and presto, a packing list. Some is overkill, but it is a good guide.

Hope you like these, I know I have found them useful.

-Ben

After two weeks of wandering around the east coast of the United States, seeing many of my old friends, I have finalized what I am going to do next. I have been offered the position of Web Content Coordinator for CouchSurfing.com and have accepted.  I will relocate to Homer, Alaska at the end of this month where the collective will begin. I am buying a one way ticket, so I will be staying there for a while after the collective ends.

This means that the rest of my time spent here will be attempting to work as much as possible and get as much money as I can in a short period of time.

Wish me luck. The adventures will continue, as will the photographs, the posts, and the stories. Don’t let my mom watch “Into The Wild.”

-Ben

Adios America.  Please do not elect another Clinton to the White House while I am gone. I want to still have a country to come back to.

It was a good way to step back from the past few weeks and get in the zone to get ready to go.The next 24 hours will be full of packing, stress, and trying to make sure I don’t die in Asia. Wish me luck.

(Oh yeah, remember that PacSafe thing I was talking about in this post? Well it came in, and it is awesome.) ]]> http://www.benhanna.com/2007/10/14/one-day-left/feed/ 0 http://www.benhanna.com/2007/10/07/sold-my-car-for-a-laptop/ http://www.benhanna.com/2007/10/07/sold-my-car-for-a-laptop/#comments Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:43:24 +0000 Ben Hanna http://www.benhanna.com/blog/2007/10/07/sold-my-car-for-a-laptop/ Kind Of.
I finally sold my car on Friday, and the first thing i bought was a new laptop. I got an extremely cheap one, since I know that it probably will not survive long while I am traveling. Then I upgraded its ram so that is is respectable, and it has Vista (which I am still deciding if I like or not). Adobe CS3 is up and running and I am ready to go. The laptop has a built in webcam, which is really cool, and a media card reader, and a remote. So all in all, I am happy with it. I am now just getting everything the way I like it and messing around with what it can and cannot do. I leave in just over a week, which is crazy, and I still have to finish the deck I have been building for the past few weeks. It is coming along now faster than ever, but it will be close.

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Shop the current Moosejaw Sale!

I have also started to get my pack ready, and my current list of items is growing. It is important for me to keep it small, since I have to be able to carry with me at all times. I do not want to have to ever check my bag.
Current Pack List

• Camera (dSLR, so it is bigger than it probably should be)
• Laptop (Small, under 5 lbs, and able to run Adobe CS3)
• 3 shirts (Two long sleeve that I can roll up, one short, all quick dry)
• 2 pairs of pants (Zip off legs so they can be shorts, quick dry)
• 3 pairs of quick dry hiking socks
• Head Bandana
• 3 pairs of boxers (Quick dry Capiline)
• Small med kit
• Small wash kit (soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, quick dry towel)
• Travel Sheets
• MAYBE- a small travel pillow…

There will be some books, and probably an Ipod… but not sure yet about how much space and weight I will have left. I also don’t want to look like a walking ATM target, so my pack is dirty and will stay that way. I don’t plan on taking my laptop out in public at all, and only using my phone when I absolutely have to. I would rather be out of touch and on my terms, which means that the phone will be off almost all the time.
More later,
-Ben

]]> http://www.benhanna.com/2007/10/01/the-actually-planning-has-begun/feed/ 0 http://www.benhanna.com/2007/08/10/gone-for-good/ http://www.benhanna.com/2007/08/10/gone-for-good/#comments Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:27:27 +0000 Ben Hanna http://www.benhanna.com/blog/?p=61 Last day at work with Bluezoom, and I am going to miss it. Come to think about it, it is my last day at work for what could be a very long time. Jason and I head out tomorrow morning, I am going to Atlanta, and he is going home to Knoxville for the weekend, and meeting me in Atlanta on Sunday night. Monday morning will see us fly to California. We have not started packing yet, but that is our plan for the rest of today, and the rest of the weekend.
I hope I got everything working for this blog so that people can follow me while I am gone. I got a GPS for my phone that will allow people to see where I am in real time, and allow me to upload photos, videos and such with location tags. If you want to follow my progress, choose the tab at the top.

I probably wont have time to post again until I am in the airport, but will give a complete update at that time. Elon, I’m outta here.

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