Yet Another Travel Blog Surviving with Forex, Poker and other location independent stuff.

Exploring Miami and Everglades national park

My first night in Miami Beach was on Halloween and it was definitely a good one. Nikki Beach Club delivered what was expected - loud music, hot girls in skimpy costumes, not-so-expensive beer and enough seating space.

A day after was rather lazy - rainy weather, bit of a jet-lag and a long night before resulted in nothing more than a short stroll around Miami Beach and a lot of movie-watching, chatting and relaxing in general.

The hostel I've stayed in was definitely catering to party-loving crowd. Having an option to get a ride in a huge hummer limo, cover charge for Louise club and a drink voucher for 10$ was a no-brainer and I spent another night partying.

So much for a healthy lifestyle I planned for this trip ;P

Anyway, lazy as I was on that day, I've decided to sign up for an Everglades tour in my hostel.

This cost me 50$, which is not bad, but since it's essentially a transport service to the park, you can simply go there yourself and pay 23$ entrance fee.
As for the park itself, the first part was an airboat tour around the swamp, with the guide(employed by the park, our our guide waited outside) telling us about different plants and species living in the area. We've seen few turtles and crocodiles but since the boat wasn't really fast(still, very loud), and crocs were rather passive, it was more of a family trip kind of a thing, rather than adrenaline fuelled adventure. Still, it was a nice experience and a gator tail from the restaurant was pretty good.

After the boat ride, we were shown a baby scorpion and a scorpion, followed by a crocodile feeding session with some commentary. In the end, you could have a photo holding one of the young aligators and that's basically it. We got back to our hostel around 2pm.

Winter Escape 4 – London to Miami Beach

Here we go again. Since winter in London is rather cold, gloomy and depressing, I've decided to spend my another winter somewhere more pleasant. Around the end of September, I've booked a flight to Miami with Virgin Atlantic and started searching for a way south.

My initial plan was to spend 5 months travelling around South America, making a one big circle around the continent and seeing it all. I'd like to spend NYE in Buenos Aires and a carnival in Rio, but that's all in terms of planning.

In the end, I've found a flight from Miami(Fort Lauderdale to be specific) to Barranquilla for 60USD - which means I'll start my proper adventure in Colombia.

The day of my departure came much faster than expected and after putting all my belongings into the rented garage and saying goodbye to my housemates, I left my keys and a warm, cozy bed behind, heading for the unknown.

After an uneventful and slightly delayed flight, I landed in Miami. I've been to US a few times before, so the immigration control went without any hassle or detailed questioning. After picking up my luggage(9kg of stuff in 45 litre backpack), I took the Airport Flyer shuttle bus(route 150) to Miami Beach. This is by far the cheapest way to get to Miami Beach as it only costs 2.70$.

I've met Amin from Germany in the bus, who was also going to the same hostel as me(Miami Beach International Travellers Hostel). We've checked in and after a quick shower, joined dozens of other people in the hostel for a Halloween night out in Nikki Beach Club.

Definitely a good start!

Departed.

And yet again,  leaving.

Doors closed, wallet and passport in my pocket, music in my ears. It's 1 am in a bus to Kings Cross and 6 'gangsta' blokes with funny haircuts and mismatched jewelery try to get in without paying.

Perhaps drug dealing isn't as lucrative as it seems. Engine is off, abuse is on, hands are waved and fingers are pointed. Well, the driver doesn't even flinch and cash-strapped victims of unprotected sex are off, searching for another way home.

Sometime later, my train to Luton is typical for a Saturday night. Few 'happily drunk' guys wrestling on the floor between seats, people dozing off, people staring into darkness and me, appleating.

Airport, more apples and an episode of True Blood before departure with Polish crew on the plane.  Croatia, here I come(fly)!

A night in a capsule hotel in Kabukicho, Tokyo

In city with so many people and very limited space, someone just had to think about it. Capsule hotel is a typical Japanese invention, where instead of a room or a dormitory, you're given a small cubicle roughly size of a bed.

As I arrived to Tokyo too late to get the keys for my flat, I've booked a night in Green Plaza Capsule Hotel in Shinjuku(you can get a direct express train there). To be precise, it's right opposite Seibu Shinjuku station, but still within walking distance from the main Shinjuku station and quite easy to find. Just pass the more expensive Prince Hotel Shinjuku and you're nearly there.

Oh, that area is also called Kabukichō, a well known 'entertainment' district. In case you're worried, don't. It's not Thailand and you won't see aggressive touts offering you donkey shows, Viagra, coke or anything like that. In short, there's no 'in-your-face' sleaziness and I felt very safe the whole time.

The check-in procedure is slightly different that usual. First of all, you need to put your shoes in a special locker, take the key and go to the reception(all on the 4th floor). You have to pay for your stay and hand over the key you've just got. You'll get a bracelet with a bar-code(you can use it to buy various things from vending machines in the hotel) and the key to your private locker but in case you've got anything bigger than a small backpack with you, you'll need to store it in a separate area. The reception is open 24 hours/day and you can always get your shoes by presenting your bracelet.

Also, you'll be given a robe, which you should wear when in the hotel. I haven't seen any other foreigners and walking around the place full of very quiet, identically dressed Japanese men was an unusual experience. Oh, male and female guests are completely separated, for obvious reasons.

As for the hotel facilities, there's everything you would need, including free wired Internet access, dining area, communal showers, spa and massage services. Towels, toothbrushes and even hair gel – everything is provided.

Ok, now for the capsule itself. I was pleasantly surprised with it, as it's far from the claustrophobic box I imagined and the bed itself was very comfortable. There's a radio, tv, alarm clock and a light inside and I think you can even get premium movies/channels with a special card – I haven't tried that though.

To summarize, I've slept very well, my belonging were safe and I think it's definitely something you should experience while visiting Japan. I wouldn't stay there more than one night though – you need to check-out before 10am every day, even if you're planning to stay longer. All capsules are then thoroughly cleaned and you can check-in again at 3pm.

There are few other decent hotels I've visited while in Tokyo, namely Tokyo Kiba Hotel and Park Hotel Tokyo(if you don't mind spending more).

In any case, even after the terrible nuclear disaster, Tokyo is an amazing place to visit.

Discounted travel tickets

One of the questions my friends keep asking me the most relates to ticket prices and a way to find discounted flight deals. It usually starts with something like 'I wish I had money to fly around the world like that' when I promptly explain how little those flights can cost.

Few examples of good deals I've found on the Internet:
- 15£ for London to Split(Croatia)
- 25£ for Sofia(Bulgaria) to London
- 40£ for London to Istanbul
- 230£ for return flight from London to Varadero(Cuba) in high season!
- 250£ for return flight from London to New York(JFK)
- multiple flights around SE Asia for less than 10£
and many others...

So, without further ado, here's the simple routine I use when I want to go somewhere:

1. I usually start with SkyScanner, especially when I don't have a specific date or place in mind.

Despite few shortcomings(slightly outdated prices, but I guess the very best deals simply change very frequently),

They've got the best broad search functionality I've found on the Internet. You can search for flights like 'London to Everywhere in 2010' or 'Germany to Poland in October' which means you can easily find discounted flight tickets to locations that you haven't even considered.

SkyScanner is also a good research tool to find which airlines fly between your choosen locations and then use the information to lower the price even further.

2. The second flights comparison site I use is Kayak. They offer slightly less flexibility than SkyScanner but are still very useful for few connections that don't show up there.

Oh, don't forget to check out the 'Explore' link. It's basically a world map showing cheapest flights from your location, anywhere in the world. You can refine the results by date, price, flight duration, temperature and even languages spoken at the destination. Pretty cool!

3. Kayak and SkyScanner work for me 90% of the time. If I'm still not satisfied with what I found, I'm going directly to airline web sites. Prices there are most up to date and few of them offer flexible searching options similar to the above.

Here are few airlines I search for specific region:

- around Europe - RyanAir, WizzAir, EasyJet
- UK to Carrabean, Greece, Spain, Turkey - Thomson
- UK to SE Asia - Etihad, Emirates, Singapore Airlines
- around SE Asia - AirAsia
- China to UK, Japan and Hong Kong - China Eastern(good to call them directly for better deals)
- UK to US - Virgin Atlantic(good but expensive)
- Australia, New Zealand and SE Asia - JetStar, Tiger Airways

Hope it helps. Feel free to let me know if you have any tips and sources of your own.

Where’s all the cool stuff?

Since you're reading this, I can safely assume you like travel blogs. You might be a vagabond yourself, or perhaps you're bored out of your senses at work, tied to your desk and simply killing time until 5.30pm.

Either way, I think you'd agree that when reading a travel blog, most people want to hear about freedom. About crazy events, great people, weird cultural habits and breathtaking views(obviously, with photos).

I guess that's how we organize things in our brains - important or just unusual facts and memories stick with us, while all that useless stuff fades away. That's good, but think about how it affects story-telling. It's no surprise we like to read those blogs - they are like an action-packed Hollywood movie, packed with cool stuff in a very condensed form. That's what we want to read about - adventure!

Do I have a point here? I think that when planning our own independent lifestyle, we should be aware of the normal and mundane. Wasting 36 hours on the airport(or even 3 weeks in a dingy hospital somewhere in the mountains, after less-than-successful trekking trip), doesn't mean your trip is a total failure, that's just a part of it.

I guess it all boils down to a difference between having a holiday and traveling as a location-independent lifestyle. You can almost feel the time passing away when you only have 4 weeks of holiday per year. You try to see as much as possible, experience everything. It feels different when you don't have those constraints. Of course, there's always some work to do, you need to have some income. Still, there is no countdown, no boundaries set in stone - you're in control.

As long as this empowering sense of freedom stays with you, you're free to enjoy that ordinary dinner or an evening with a book. Adventure will come, sooner or later.

Golden Triangle

So, like I mentioned before, Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur was bit too high-brow for us(although still quite good) and we decided to move somewhere else, yet still in that class. We departed earlish(11am?) and after finding a free wifi hot spot (Starbucks in KLCC, but you won't have any problem getting connected in this city), I got online and booked the nearest hotel with good reviews.

Short taxi ride and we landed in Pacific Regency Hotel Suites. Let's make it organized:

1.Location

I think it's pretty decent, most taxi drivers know it and it's easy to find with google maps, etc. Close to Petronas Towers, good night spots(Luna club with pretty good view inside the hotel) and KL Menara – basically, within walking distance to most places, except maybe Sentral station. Some rooms have a view for towers, some for Menara(slightly cheaper)

2.Rooms

They're big. I'm quite 'small' myself so I would normally assume it's an optical illusion but I've mentally compared them to other normal-class-rooms I've stayed in and this one was definitely one of the very biggest. There's a big bathroom with a shower for 4-6 people AND a bathtub(as well as all other stuff you would normally expect), olympic size corridor and separate sleeping, cooking/dining, working and lounging areas. Basically, it's more like a large studio flat than a typical hotel room – a definite plus for me.

3.Facilities

It's all neatly listed on their web site but off the top of my head: proper gym(not just 2 old steppers), rooftop swimming pool + night club(great view for towers), free wifi throughout the building(fast enough and stable) and even a self-service laundrette(20RM for washing+drying tokens, including fabric conditioner )

4.Price

Rooms start at around 75 usd per night and I think it's worth the money.

5.Other stuff

One thing that particularly stuck in my mind(well, I've just had a bath) is the fact that you can fully operate the bathtub while laying in it, using just one leg! So basically, when your water cools off, you can flush a little bit, put some hot water and continue relaxing without getting up, getting dry or straining your muscles – brilliant! ;P

6.Service

In few words, much better than the average. Every day my room was properly cleaned, free mineral water as well as tea and coffee replaced, etc. Staff was always polite and helpful - no problems at all.

Overall, I would really recommend this hotel.

This food is crab!

So there we are, in the capital of  Malaysia.  Think Kuala Lumpur (KL for short), think Petronas Twin Towers, one of the tallest buildings in the world and a famous land-mark of south-east Asia. Apart from that, KL is known for great food and one of the cheapest five star hotels in the world. We couldn't miss that chance  and decided have a proper rest(after 24 hours of travelling, you can probably imagine why) at one of those fancy hotels.

So, we've booked a night in a Renaissance Hotel, a pretty decent lay-down in the area called 'Golden Triangle' - that's basically where the towers are. One of the best features of the hotel, was the view from our room. Huge windows revealed an impressive, panoramic picture of the city skyline, including the aformentioned towers.

As for getting there, it was easy enough. After 30-mminute ride in an express train from the airport, we were pleasantly surprised to see a taxi-window where you can get a taxi for a decent, flat fee. 15 minutes and around 2£ later we were already in the hotel.

Obviously,  a high-class five star hotel with a huge reception, separate ballroom and almost antique decor(in a good, fashionable sense I guess), might not be the first choice for a group of backpackers. We have only took it for one night and decided to find something more down-to-earth after a proper rest...

Clicking for a living – ethical or not?

If you're just starting your yourney into forex world(or simply losing your money instead of profiting, like you supposed to), you probably haven't thought about it too much.

Only when you actually start making money this way and the prospect of easy, comfortable life without financial worries gets very, very real, you begin to wonder whether it's actually 'fair' to live your life without creating anything.

You've heard it many times - forex is a zero-sum game. Someone can profit only when the other side(directly or indirectly) of the transaction losses. You're not manufacturing anything nor providing a service to anyone. Or maybe you are?

One way to defend it and present forex trading as ethical is to look at it as a service. By executing an order, you're effectivelly providing someone with needed liquidity. I guess in this sense, it's no different than selling stuff on ebay or having your own shop. It's just the medium that changes.

Having said that, I wouldn't want to look back and at last few years of my life and see only increasing balance - it's great to create something from time to time. I think trading is a great tool to pay your current expenses while you're working on something bigger, but I guess different people will have different goals in mind.