I hv been following your india trip on you tube. rightly said….each area has a culture of its own. Would suggest.to avoid Bihar…thats it. Originally from India and travelled allover the country. ..guess…avoid that state (being a new comer)

Thanks Christine, as I get closer it’s both terrifying and exhilarating. In addition to Goa, I want to check out Rishikesh. What’s your favorite region?

p.s. @Jeff: I love India. Hope you enjoy it- try to get around India… each region has it’s own culture and terrain.

@Jeff: Awesome and congrats on taking the leap! It’d definitely a period when you focus on making your time and actions count! Good for you for following your dreams.

Life is so much more rewarding when marching to your own drum beat. We’ve got to follow our hearts and do what we feel, or else we’re just enduring, that’s no fun.

I don’t buy it when people say “well that’s life, it’s what EVERYONE does.” It’s a cop out. Stand against society and do what you desire, it will all be over in the blink of an eye anyway.

Personally, I turn 40 in January and am leaving behind a great job and selling my stuff to have a life of more freedom. No wife, house or kids by choice. Time to explore, work on freelance more and have an open ended time table.

First stop, Goa India!
Keep it up Christine.

It helps to be female (not as intimidating) and gorgeous as you (hey, not fair). Hard to be rude to someone with your all American smile, lol. I did try to speak a little French (parlais vou…. sorry butchering the language) but I think Parisians don’t like it if you don’t speak their language or butcher their language, one guy said I should stick to English, lol.

Gosh I could never see myself in an 8 – 5 job but I’ve been doing it for over 30 years already. At least I can see the retirement light at the end of the tunnel (6 to 12 years) and for now I’m getting the travelling out of my system (my friends want me to go to Thailand with them for…you know what…but I rather also do other things when I go to other places) when I can afford it. Just wish I had someone to travel with, hard to navigate when going solo IMHO. Have a nice day!

@Stan: Looks like you’re changing your travel life! Congrats. Parisians can be pricks. ha ha. I’ve heard the thing about telling tourists the wrong direction too. I didn’t experience that- partially because back then I had a gf who spoke french and I hobble along with the French language myself b/c I love the culture. I also play up a cute dorky face when I know I’ve got it wrong- it disarms folks! 😉 Navigating foreign languages can feel tough, so it’s helpful to be armed with a few survival phrases- I feel like locals appreciate the effort. The stereotypical American won’t try to learn any language or adapt and that’s what I think French hate… kinda like mainlanders or military not adapting to our HI culture. Same sentiment. Japanese and Koreans are much better. They’ll appreciate your trying, miming and I find they’re helpful with directions. Take a survival book or a phrase app if you’re uncertain. If a direction you’ve been given *feels* wrong, ask for a second opinion. Usually, your gut is right. Miming is a fun way to make others laugh and play with you.

As for “getting to travel”- movement has always been a fact in my life. Fortunately, I’ve always found work that integrates travel, but Hawaii is a harder beast in that regard. A routine is actually painful to me, so as a survivor, I look for ways around having to encounter it. In 40+ years, the closest I’ve come was a 9-5 job was teaching in Korea.

Anyway, it’s neat that you are independent (and brave) enough to travel all over the world. Great that you are getting it out of your system while you are young, when you are older it is harder and you get more into a “routine”.

From one Hawaiian to another.