I’m truely lucky.

Not even sure if Luck is the word to use but I have no way of describing it.

Maybe its not luck at all, maybe its just having the ability to promote my self or to go for an opportunity or looking at situations differently.

All I know is i entered a competition to go to Australia and I won!

I went for it because it seemed like an opportunity that if i didn’t grab it, then it would go to some one else.

But I’m truly shocked as this isn’t the first holiday I have won, no but the Third! (thank you Foxnomad & Bebo Gapyear)

Everyone of them I have been truely grateful for as it makes the travelling dream continue but its only recently that the travelling dream has turned more into a lifestyle.

My plans as of 2011 were to go to South Korea and teach English, this could still happen and I’m still going forward with the application but allot of how I will get there has changed rapidly.

My adventure of a young Dave (travelling to all the European countries) has been put on hold and instead during April I will travel to Iceland again (my all time top destination) followed by a rail overland trip across Morocco.

Then I will trooper on to finish my degree before I board my flight to Australia for free!!

this leg of the trip will be sponsored by gold coast tourism and Qantas Airways who I can’t thank enough. they are putting on a challenge for us backpackers to compete for an altermite prize! how exciting!

after the competition is complete I will be heading up to Cairns for a good old party (just graduated after all!) and getting a flight down to Melbourne and exploring the Tasmanian island.

These areas of Australia are going to be exciting as I’ve never travelled to these parts before (apart from Melbourne) and I’ll be doing this whole leg over a period of a month.

After Australia I’m trying to get my return flight sorted so I can return to Singapore for a week which is a city I hold close to my heart and miss dearly. I plan on doing a host of Singapore blogs over the coming months and produce a free Singapore pdf for you to print out when you visit from a real x-pats point of view.

After catching up with Singapore I will grab a flight to Thailand which is a TravelDave first! and plan to write my first book all about how to live a nomadic lifestyle and use tricks of the trade to help you travel smarter. it will be my guru book of all the questions people ask me and finally give me a product to push on my site.

over the next few months I’m mapping out a redesign for the site and how to tweak it a little to make it look better.

Well currently in Wales at the moment typing away trying to get my international travel and tourism degree before i finally take the first step with travel Dave as a full time business.

I promise this blog will get allot better, Just building the final foundations before its all set sail and go.

Its around this time of the year when Europe gets hit my a massive snow fall and all hell breaks loose because they cant cope with a little snow. Countries such as Finland however which is three times the size of England and has a quarter of the population of London can some how magically get on with life like nothing has happened. Even the new president of Finland (one day in office) is shoveling his drive.

But for many countries snow is ignored up until it happens and preparations collapse and this is when flights and trains get cancelled.

Don’t panic!

Shouting and arguing isn’t going to get you on a canceled flight, its canceled so deal with it.

Look at what your options are first, many airlines will refund your ticket or change your flight for you. Some can do it at the desk its self whilst others (normally budget) require you to do this change online.

(Ryanair for example offers free flight change as shown above)

Always go for the flight change option first. Your refund will not be enough for emergency last minute flights with another airline, they are most probably be having the same problem and will be very expensive.

Work out if you can stay for a few more days or if getting home quickly is very important. If its not you could just wait it out a few days and get back home in due time. Normally work or University can understand these situations and with a cancelled flight email this could be enough to let you take a few days off. People back home watch the news so it will most probably be getting coverage so they will understand your situation. If you could you would be flying home not like your pulling a sickie so don’t feel bad.

if you do need to get home urgently look into alternatives such as bus or train, it will take allot longer and might even cost allot as well but its an option. Eurostar back to the UK during this time normally gets allot of passengers so book this in advance before you start your journey.

If your flight has been moved to a few days into the future check if your insurance will cover you. In most cases they will give you a small budget to pay for your food and hotel so your not sleeping at the airport over night until the next flight comes up, this is a great option if your policy covers this.

If your flight has been cancelled and your not offered an alternative check local laws and see if your rights are being ignored. In the EU for example they cover a wide range of these situations to ensure you can get home so do look into this. If you have paid for your flight with a credit card you might also be able to get a refund on the flight as they have not delivered there service, give your card a call and see if they can help.

overall its not the end of the world if your flight has been cancelled you will get home but it will just take a little longer. After all its not your fault.

Money is sometimes over looked as a way of making your trip go longer. You’ve most probably worked your ass off in a bar to earn it for your trip of a life time so why chuck it down the drain from the word go.

Shopping around for the best exchange rate can be a good deal if you grab the right price.

Depending on the amount your going to spend shopping around can save you around £10 per trip or even over £100 for a whole gap year.

It might not seem allot but over time it can add up and also it only took me 30 minutes to shop around on the high street and internet to find a better deal, time thats totally worth it.

Rule number one: Don’t exchange at the airport!

Commission free does not mean that your getting a good deal, they still can sting you on the exchange rate so bare this in mind.

Airports are not the best place to pick up a deal as the environment makes it is harder to compare the daily exchange rate, so they can charge a premium.

To check the daily exchange I like to use xe.com and they have a fantastic application for the iPhone/iPad that work both on and offline. This will give you a rough estimate of what you should be working towards so you don’t completely get mugged off.

How about withdrawing at the ATM?

For some this can be a good option but again the bank makes the exchange rate by themselves making it not very competitive. Some cards will not charge you to take out abroad and offer a good exchange rate, search around the internet for these type of cards in your country. For the UK you can have a look at these cards on Moneyexpert.com for an update comparison

Some countries such as UK, Finland, Singapore widely accept debit card micro payments,€1 for a coffee on your debit card is not a problem, but for countries such as Russia, taking your Rubbles out in advance can save the pennies were it matters.

but for more large amounts make your money go further.

Shop around.

All most all high streets up and down the country will have places that offer currency exchanges, hop around and take photos of the exchange boards.

places to consider in the UK:

Royal Mail Post office, Marks and Spencer’s, Travel Agents, Major Super markets and your personal Bank.

Some might offer special bulk deals if you take out £500 or more, see if this works for you and if your going with a friend on your trip see if they want to split 50/50 to save on the bulk deal.

some such as your local bank might prefer you to order online and check there order deals and see what might work out for you.

Once you have wondered around your high street and captured all your information see who has the best deal on the day.

there are also allot of, off the wall shops that do currency deals and sometimes they are more competitive with opening up the table for negotiation. tell them what you’ve found and see if they will break a deal with you compared to the high street price and break a better deal than what you’ve found.

by doing all the following steps your be able to work out what the best deal is for you on the day and it will be a much better step than taking it out at the airport.

the above works well for US dollars, Euros and other popular currencies, but if your going to a more unique currency destination maybe its better to haggle when your there and just take out a small amount before you take your trip for emergencies.

I hope the above works and remember that you have earned the money hard and fare so make it work that little extra, there are loads of people that would happily take your money so work with it and get that better deal for your trip.

Enjoy all the beer you will have with your savings!

Gapyeardotcom are currently holding a competition were they are giving away the opportunity for backpackers to jet off to Australia for free! Barmy!

The Competition is called I’m A backpacker get me in here

The six victorious entrants will be flown from the UK courtesy of Qantas. Once in Australia, they’ll spend their first night at the famous Palazzo Versace hotel where the ITV celebrities stay when not in the jungle, and get to hang out on the famous surfing beaches of Australia’s Gold Coast.

Well naturally I had yo give it ago:

Very Simple, Go to the Youtube video page and click on the Thumbs up button.

The more thumbs up, the greater chance I have of going to Australia!

Thank you so much for all the support really means allot to me : )

I read about this on a finance hacking blog and its been working really well for me whilst I save up for a trip.

This is for people who have an urge to always use there debit card to pay for things without thinking about it.
get 31 envelopes and mark them 1 to 31 and wrap an elastic band around it.
cancel magazines subscriptions and direct debits and one click purchases like iTunes and amazon along with paypal so your not tempted to buy things online.
Work out your must pay bills first like mobile or student rent
Every month work out a budget and take it out at the bank and ask them nicely to split it all up into small denominations.
So this week £150 – £5 a day for example
I no its crazy low but the money I don’t take out goes to the trip fund.
then split the cash up into all the envelopes and every day you can access the dated number on the day as your daily spend.
also have a money pot for money you haven’t spent that day, I find a few days a week I don’t even touch the envelope. this money can go towards weekly spends like next months phone bill or food shop
anything your tempted to buy on iTunes or amazon add to a wish list and come back to it at the end of the month with your money pot and cash it in at the bank to buy these items. allot of the time your actually find out you didn’t need it any way.
Going out is really tough but now I just wait for Wednesday student nights with £1 drinks and as before when i used to buy everyone a drink I’m not going crazy any more on friday and saturday as well. Everyone understands the trip fund and drinks people have owed be are now turning up in my hand.
Don’t think I’m tight just cutting down and not going crazy any more, Think my beer belly is upset and my work is getting done as well! double bonus!
its really tough but totally possible when your a student surrounded by a cheap lifestlye and when you have a goal such as a trip of a life time at the end of the tunnel its really easy to stick to it.
That trip to South korea is only a few bundles of envelopes away!!
Hope this works out for some of you!

For travellers its a little different as we don’t have a house that can set on fire, nore do we have allot of stuff we highly value.

But We do have a backpack full of personal items we can’t live without, its like a packed down micro version of what we cherish most.

Here is what I would grab from my bag if my hostel dorm room set on fire:

Passport
MacbookAir 11″
2012 Moleskine Pocket Weekly Notebook
Moleskine notebook
wallet
Pilot G2 pen
Kindle, Wi-Fi, 6″ E Ink Display
Bose OE2 audio headphones

I’ve managed to keep a minimlist approach to Packing but these items I adore the most.

Thinking about it I don’t own allot of stuff.

Most of my valued possessions are my travelling memories and experiences and luckily all my captured memories have been backed up online and two hard drives in safe locations just in case(Can never back up to much).

I love my Mac air, sometimes i just look at it as its so beautiful designed, I hardly leave it behind.

I’m a moleskine geek and even though my 2012 editions are rather fresh I feel they have a legacy to join the master collection once they retire, I’m picking them up.

My Passport! With out it i feel it takes some freedom away from me and plus all the aggro of getting a new one, Don’t want to go down that road again. But most importantly the stamps I’ve been collecting, they are like my Pokemon cards.

Bose headphones, I wouldn’t normally spend allot of money on a pair of headphones but good quality audio is important and until I get a house were I can rig up a surround system these are my personal sound system and they are worth the investment, can’t just let them go.

Amazon Kindle has changed my life with regards to reading, its now my whole books shelve in my pockets after I sold all my books on eBay to pay for the E-Book version. pretty smart.

What would you grab from your Hostel dorm?

Allot of travel blogs have covered this already so no need to repeat it all over again for your entertainment you already grabbed the picture.

Travel Dave for 2012?

The year of the olympics and and a date that many Londoners have known about for some time, its been plastered in front of us allot and its a really big deal and honor for your home city to host such a large event.

Funny I mention it, I had a tour just only a few weeks back and its all looking fine and Dandy.

Am I going?

Of course not, to much of a prime travelling time to be sitting around in my own city doing nothing but watching sports (I didnt get a ticket!). So I’m off to Europe thats the plan.

Its been a Childhood adventure I want to revisit but complete this time, with a low budget and a backpack, truely the best and only way to travel.

So for now the Euro-trip.

But first

University!

Yes I’m coming up to the final days of my degree, my third year and final year. End all be all.

International Travel and Tourism Management @ Swansea Metropolitan Universiry.

Yer you can get a degree in Travel, pointless? I dont think so at all. One day I would like to be Doctor Dave in travel! How awesome would that be, I’ll keep dreaming.

But being a qualified traveller?

From an industry point of view yes good I hope so.

But its about time I got ready for some longterm travelling.

for the past 6-7 years I’ve been travelling back and forth but not going for it.

Now I’m finally rapping up I’m gearing for the big adventure.

Fingers crossed I’m going for a job in Berlin with a EU employment scheme (the EU is useful some times) then just going to see how I travel from there.

Lots of people do it and I’ve enjoyed following them an there own personal journey and I feel TravelDave is ready for that next step.

Its going to be allot of fun. Start with Europe, then Next the world.

But first, Degree!

Until “Beam me up scotty” becomes a reality, transit is apart of life.

This wonderful moment when a journey of a thousand miles start with one footstep.

Your pumped for an adventure but you have to put the journey into consideration. First its the one element that bounds us from the destination itself. It could be a breeze or a full blown challenge.

Transit.

I Remember going to Vienna for 30 minutes. It was incredible. From the point of landing it was a mission to board the flight to Dubai before the gate closed. Our flight from London was late and suddenly our holiday depended on it. If you ask me how was Austria, a whole country full of culture and heritage I can only say it has easy airports to navigate around. Not really giving the place any justice.

Thats how transit is, You only spend a small part of your life time in some of these places and you look back and wish you could have stayed just a little longer. Part of me wanted to grab an apple strudel, do a waltz to the gate or pick up a novelty Austrian fridge magnet with a kangaroo. but hop onto the flight we went to the Middle East. Funny world.

Train Journeys are the most enjoyable for me. I love the rocking sensation and the gentle speed that trains travel. Its the perfect environment to sink into a good book or drift away to a good album, its how traveling should be. In India I upgraded to first class as we had an 8 hour journey ahead and it was peanuts compared to UK prices. The biggest shock to be about India was the population. Other train journeys you would reach a point when nature kicks out the window, but in India there are people left right and centre. With 7 million people on the planet it really makes you think about how the population has exploded in India. No landscape at all just people, mind blowing after a few hours.

The chicken bus was a turning point when transit turned ugly for me. Seats are not always guaranteed in Guatemala, so make sure your at the front of the line or holding a chicken cage. I ended up with the step. Not that I minded but my back side started to hurt after 2 hours. Poor road conditions and no air-conditioning, it got to the stage were you wanted to chuck in the flag, but for £1.30 and a large distance covered, the sounds of a volcano tour lights up your life and nothing matters anymore.

All parts of traveling are important to me and normally the journey getting there is a challenge. But its a great way to think how logistics of the world work and how many people just like you have done that exact journey before if you would ever return to past places you have visited.

I’m not sure faster means would make it any different, even though the Indian train or Chicken bus was long, it made the trip that extra special and created many memories.

Have you got any stories of your Transit journeys? Feel free to post in the comment section below.

I’m blown away by the New Kindle.

Travelling is fun again, now I look forward to the train rides and long haul flights as I can dig into a book and get lost in time. Never before have I been able to keep my whole library including my Lonely planet guide books in my back pocket its mind blowing.

As a previous owner of the last Kindle I wanted to share my thoughts on the major differences of why you should upgrade or why you should make this your first endeavor into the world of Kindle awesomeness.

The price point.

£89 is incredible, it really can’t be beaten on price and compared to the older version its just been stripped bare and been completely focused towards a reading environment.

I feel The previous version confused Customers:

keyboard, music player and web browser

In the new model its all been cut out.

It just had allot going on, the new Kindle is build for what it should be used for. I felt the above sailed the kindle away from what its really good at, reading. We all have devices that do the above incredibly well and the kindle did it so so. Now its cut out of the new model it beats everything else and is a leader in reading technology and focuses on what its good at, brilliant.

Its cut out the things it didn’t need and cut the price while it was at it as well, Nice one Kindle!

E-Ink technology

I get it all the time, why do you need a kindle when you have an iPad, laptop or iPhone.

Simple E-ink technology.

The moment I put the device into peoples hands for the first time I instantly see how blown away they are. The experience between a real book and an E-Ink is so close that it looks unreal and thats the biggest shock that you don’t expect compared to an iPad screen. You can read a book on an iPad but not really for that long, Books are built better for a Kindle experience and you see your self flying through books left right and centre without any eye strain what so ever.

A solid reading environment which wont disappoint

New design, totally new Kindle

It looks and feels fantastic! cutting out the not needed junk has allowed the reading experience to be spot on. The older version design was a real let down for me and it felt really cheap, it just wasn’t solid enough for me. Of course it was a cheap device but it felt cheap. The new Kindle is cheap but it looks amazing and has a much better all round design and has really been thought over well.

Cases?

I’ve tried a few cases and out of all of them nothing has fit as snug as the Official Amazon Leather Cover. Its a little pricey but it does transform the look and feel of the device by miles. I found the device is too small for my hands to hold like a book but when using the leather case it solves this problem instantly. Just allows a great grip and makes it look so nice. I have noticed however that the leather case + light edition has been sold out for ages so might want to put of buying that case and go for the straight forward leather addition as it wont be available before christmas (back logged till February according to rumours).

Don’t forget the plug!

If your buying this as a gift or you haven’t got a USB charger best to buy the Amazon Kindle USB Plug so you can charge your Kindle when it arrives as its sold separate from the Device its self.

The new Kindle makes for a perfect christmas gift, the Price point let alone is a very good for what your getting. But giving someone the opportunity to read more is a wonderful thing and before I picked up a Kindle I had read under 10 books in my life time. With the kindle this year i have read over 30. It Really is that incredible.

If you have a kindle and want to share your thoughts or you want to ask any more questions, feel free to post below in the comment section, happy to help. Thank you for reading.

So what are you waiting for? Get yourself a Kindle!

EXTRA:About the kindle Touch and Kindle Fire for those interested:
The USA get all the cool toys and us Brits just get left with the bog basic. Pretty much that is what has happened. Amazon will not be launching Kindle fire or Kindle Touch any time soon in the UK. You have heard it here first. For the Kindle Fire to work you need the Amazon cloud operation running and thats only available in the US at this current time. Thats all the movie streaming and music service Amazon has. Until that comes along it wont be selling in the UK. So there you go, the current Kindle is what we will be having for a long time to come, no need to wait.

To Visit every country in the world.

I Remember my bedroom from 7 years ago. I had this distinct European map on my wall which my Dad got me. It was massive and super awesome as you could write on it like a white board. That was great because I could draw lines between different routes and work out how to get to different cities. This is how I discovered how small the world was but at the same time massive. I worked out there was a total of 46 countries within European and mapped out a route to conquer it all! like a true explorer.

Over the years its been mostly a reality.

60+ to date.

But still not all of Europe.

I haven’t been to it all yet but the most important advice is to start out small and then think big, for life, business, ambitions the lot. Makes me think back to the Matilda film were the chubby kid thinks its a good idea to eat all of the chocolate cake at once, that didn’t turn out too well. I’ve learned to enjoy the cake in small pieces, of course eat it as fast as you can some times but just not all the time or it looses its appeal.

Europe should be the first continent on my quest for completion
(Goal 1.1)

So back to my map.

This Easter I’ve set the goal to visit all of it. Yes all of Europe, see the lot. In May I will hand over my dissertation paper and enjoy the gigantic feeling of having a massive weight off my shoulder and this is how I wish to celebrate!

From May once I hand it in to July when I get my funny hat and qualification (if all goes to plan fingers cross) gives me the tight time frame to try and pull it off.

logistic wise flights to Ireland, Cyprus, Iceland, Malta will help and give me a massive boost.

Then a Flight to Norway for the national celebration will be the start of my over land quest.

from there, grab the night train to Stockholm, a boat to Vaasa, Finland, follow down to Estonia by boat from Helsinki, grab a bus to Riga, yadadada and end up in Porto, Portugal

A few Visas will need to be picked up in advance but only round 3

I hope to do the whole journey with my personal knowledge and experiances from past travels and the very long period I used to spend looking at that map, its kind of never left my mind. Lets see how that goes. Not a big fan of planning and prefer the winging it technique, more fun and random.

then the adventure can begin.

I’ll give my self £500 budget limit as well to make it a little more interesting.

lifes goals hey! lets see if this can become reality as well.

What do you think? Fun or mad? at least your welcome digitally to come on the journey.