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2005-2008

When I returned to Thailand from my last big journey, Nee was at the airport waiting for me.  We returned Udon Thani and I took up my teaching job at Rajabhat University in Udon Thani.  My friend Clem had accepted a job at Thammasat University in Bangkok so I took over his apartment and we set up housekeeping.  Nee opened a beauty shop and her son Top lived with us. 

In November of 2005 we were married in a village ceremony in Ban Yang Um (Nee's village).  And I happily settled into domesticity.  After a while, we decided to buy property in Udon and build a house.  Click here for details

In March of 2007 we went to America.  Nee was very excited.  We arrived in LA and spent a few days with my friend Avram.  We went to Disneyland and the beach in Santa Monica.  We visited the La Brea Tar Pits and went to a game show taping.  We visited my Aunt and Uncle.

Then we hit the road in a rental car.  We headed for Las Vegas and there we were married for official purposes.  This avoided the hassle of registering our marriage in Thailand which can be bureaucratically difficult.   After Vegas we saw Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon and lots of nothing.  Nee was amazed at the open spaces with so few people.

In Dallas we visited my dad and Joy.  My cousins Ruth and Aynn and my Aunt Jean flew in to visit.  I showed Nee around Dallas and we visited my oldest friends David and Carol.  Then we stopped off for a night with my cousin John in Little Rock and spent another night with my niece Alli and her husband Dave.

After a few days of luxury accommodations with my sister and John we turned west.  Driving through a spring blizzard we stopped in Limon, Colorado for the night.  The next day we visited Buffalo Bill's grave and then stayed the night in Glenwood Springs.  We enjoyed our swim in the large thermal pool and had a great dinner.

West by way of Idaho we headed for Corvallis.  I visited friends and family.  I spent one day with my son Brentley and a day with my daughter Heather.  My ex-wife Diana had graciously agreed to store my stuff and since we were building a home in Udon, I decided to ship the goods to Udon.  We stayed at Diana's house while I sorted and packed my stuff.  This would prove to be a big mistake.  Nee became very upset during our visit.  Apparently, in Thailand, it is very unusual for divorced people to be on good terms. 

After leaving Oregon we travelled south along the Pacific Coast Highway.  We took the usual souvenir photos at the Golden Gate.  And, after a few days with Avram we returned to Udon.

About two months after we returned, Nee left me.  She said she was jealous of my first wife.  I kept hoping she would return but after several months I gave up and made plans to hit the road again.  At the end of the school term in March, I sold most of my stuff, put a dab in storage, dusted off my back pack and bought my airline tickets.

Who knows what adventures await me.

The Digital Nomad Manifesto

My friends and family think I’m crazy.  Why should I leave behind a comfortable life in possibly one of the nicest towns on the planet to take a solo trip around world?  I lead a very well planned and organized life.  Living in the moment just isn’t in my nature.  If I were to live the rest of my days in Corvallis, Oregon, USA, I would be comfortable, contented, and bored out of my skull.  Taking an extended trip with only the most general of plans is like skydiving…living in the now is required.

Both of my children are in or accepted for college with sufficient funds or grit to see them through.  My wife of 34 years has charted her own path and I’m free to follow a lifelong dream.  My urge to travel must be genetic.  My father has traveled to every continent and to the North Pole.  This year, at age 87, he’ll cruise the Amazon from Iquitos to the Atlantic.  I’ve sold my computer retail business, arranged for storage of my keepsakes, and plan to ruthlessly liquidate my other possessions in early June.  The freedom from material possessions is one of the most appealing features of the nomadic lifestyle.  The simplicity of a backpack  is like a siren song.

By the time I depart, I shall have spent almost eighteen months anticipating and planning this trip.  While wrapping up my obligations, I’ve read just about every decent travel book in the library, spent countless hours on the web and drooled over Lonely Planet videos.  I’ve got all the gadgets to make life on the road easier. 

What about the digital part of Digital Nomad?  When I first started planning this junket, I considered carrying a small laptop or palmtop computer.  The more research I did the more convinced I became that a computer would be more burden than help.  Why not connect at Internet cafes, colleges, shops, and the homes of individual computer users.  Because I’ve worked with personal computers for a decade or two, I feel I can trade a little knowledge or a little money for the web connections I need.  Using Frontpage, I’ve developed my own website: www.digitalnomad.org.  I’ll use this website to keep a running travelogue of my odyssey complete with digital photos.  I’ll pack a selection of CDs and floppies with critical programs to load up when I track down a good connection.

I’ve figured out how to handle my finances online.  Citibank has an electronic banking program that is ideal for long-term travelers.  I can make withdrawals from 430,000 atms, send an electronic payment by check to anyone in the USA, move money to and from my mutual fund accounts as needed…all online.  The credit cards are set on autopilot, so if I don’t connect every week there’s no problem.  I can review each charge online and watch my balances all without having to open an envelope.  Best of all, I’ve saved up enough to travel modestly for two to four years. 

How long I travel will depend on several things.  Most important:  Am I having fun?  Is my health good?  Do I have the energy to keep moving?  Am I too lonesome to travel on?  Can I swap some computer help or English language teaching for a place to stay and some local cuisine?  All of these factors will combine to determine how long this trip may be.  Who knows, maybe I’ll touch home base in a few years and take off again. 

I define a term I’ve coined, “Spontaneous Travel”, on my website.  There are many ways to look at it, but essentially it means to be open to the world of chance.  To take advantage of proffered experiences when they are presented.  As a solo traveler I expect to make friends as I go down the road.  I may travel with new friends for a while then part only to connect up further down the road.  I may find some person, place or experience so compelling that it freezes me in my tracks.  Not knowing is what makes this an adventure.

 I expect to be a traveler rather than a tourist.  Meeting locals and their computers promises to get me into homes, businesses and places that tourists never see.  My greatest asset is that I have no schedule to keep.  If a situation develops that allows me to stay in one place and I’m having fun, then there I’ll stay until visa requirements force me to move on.  I’m not so naïve as to believe there is no danger in the world.  But, I’m 54, healthy, and a good judge of people.  I’ve helped scores of travelers with directions and help during the nine years I’ve operated a computer store.  Now I’ll be depending on the kindness of strangers to make my day.

I hope to see your out there someday, somewhere, 

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