Accomplishing my only goal

Just kidding, no whale sharks this time. But yes barracuda!

In the vein of keeping travel as free and organic as possible, I only set one goal this year: to learn SCUBA diving.

And after 4 days of PADI class at Koh Tao, Thailand, I’m now a certified open water diver!

It was simple, really, finding a proper dive school and having $300 on hand.

Like many goals, it was just a goal with no real impediments. I just had to go out and do it.

And now, having seen more fish and coral in my life combined, where does it all leave me?

In retrospect, the goal was more symbolic than anything else. To dive, I would be far away, somewhere tropical, so the water would be warm and welcoming, and in a different world. And that’s exactly what it was.
It represented living without anyone’s approval but mine.

And now 7-8 months in, it feels like it’s about time to take a path back. I’ll come full circle on some things that I had started, and be home before you know it!

Finding volunteer work

Several people have asked me how to find volunteer work while traveling. In selecting an organization, legitimacy is the first criterion, as not all are legitimate.

I worked in Nepal for NEIO. I had gotten to know the founder back in San Francisco and the focus was on quality (helping one school) and not quantity (becoming a big organization). NEIO is not without its share of shortcomings, but is at least legitimate.

In Cambodia, I joined CESHE by finding them on Workaway. The key utility of this site is the reviews. Many past volunteers positively reviewed CESHE over a long period of time. Sketchy organizations would not hold up to such scrutiny. (Well unless it’s all a premeditated scam.. When you start volunteering you could start getting cautious and almost paranoid, but that’s a rant for another day…)

Relying on social advice, you’ll be on a well-worn track, but at least you’ll have a degree of quality control. You’ll gain a constructive experience.

You may start discovering a lot of imperfections amidst the good work. With luck, you’ll learn to juggle them and move forward.

And a last point about what I got out of the experiences so far:
I’ve liked how I was in the position to push change as far as I wanted to take it. Compared to other enterprises that I’ve officially engaged in (startup company and graduate researcher), the intensity of independent learning and action was greater when volunteering. The weight of responsibility and failure was greater. The immediacy of lives affected by my actions was greater. And I won’t even mention the emotional toll. I was in positions to enforce positive change as I saw fit. It’s something that will indelibly shape my career decisions in the future.

Hope that helps!

How I pack

I wouldn’t consider myself experienced in international travel. I simply never wished I had packed more.

Bags
My backpack is a day pack from an REI garage sale that I picked up 5 years ago for $5. I think its capacity is 18L. In addition I have a stuff sack (thanks Fred!) that serves as my expansion pack (latches on with 2 carabiners, thanks Colleen!) e.g. for dirty laundry.

Clothes
Muji zip up bag – all my clothes are rolled up and stuffed in here. In all I brought:
3 pairs of underwear
3 pairs of socks
2 t-shirts
3 long sleeve shirts
1 athletic pant
1 all purpose pant
1 raincoat
1 light down jacket
1 pair of flip flops
1 pair of running shoes
1 pair of trekking shoes

My sleep gear of an inflatable pillow, silk liner and eye mask all fit in here too.

Electronics
Phone – Samsung galaxy nexus
Camera – canon point and shoot (thanks, Winnie!)
OTG cable and SD card readers – so my camera and phone can interact
iPhone – music from my youth
Sunglasses
Chargers
Batteries
International power adapter
Headlamp

First aid – basic pain and scrape treatment

Water filter – trying not to buy too many plastic bottles during this trip

Toiletries – dental and soap/shampoo

Other
Multitool
Can opener
Insect repellent
Ointments
Vitamins
Ear plugs
Rope (hang clothes, thanks Stanford postdocs!)
Spare toothbrush

Additional stuff
Tissue paper roll
Kindle
Notebook

Since almost everything I have has its redundancies, I could afford to lose more stuff. But as is, volume wise I carry about a third of what most other travelers seem to haul, and walking around with everything is comfortable enough. Not a terrible setup for exploring Southeast Asia.

Letter to Mom

This is a followup to my previous point about telling parents about travel, which in hindsight was overly simplistic. My mother, who lives alone in Taiwan, recently panicked about my travel plans, and I wrote this passage to better explain myself. I hope this is informative to others who may find themselves in similar situations.

媽，我在越南很安全。
關於我的旅行計劃，請妳不要擔心。我之所以之前沒有跟妳講得很完整是因為我知道只會讓妳擔心。
我打算利用這整年的時間環遊東南亞。為了這一趟的計劃我花了兩年的時間去做準備。為了教書，做義工，我去了尼泊爾。在越南還有很多東西要學，要做。
以現在美國的就業環境來說，僅僅一個Stanford博士不稀奇。這一趟旅行會增加我的就業機會。我幾個在大公司人事部工作的朋友都說我的旅途經驗會讓我鶴立雞群，更容易拿到面試機會。
我的朋友當中對事業，對人生很滿意的非常少。我會用這一段時間仔細思考我的人生方向。
我了解我們的價值觀可能不太一樣。妳跟爸提供給我們很好的成長環境，我現在正好好的把握。
我也思考過我們的家庭。14年前爸離開家，改變了我們這一家的方向。我知道妳這幾十年來很辛苦，一個人在台灣。我們家庭的問題從來都不提，沒有互相好好溝通，沒有機會去看待這一件事情。我在利用這一段時間好好思考我要怎麼過人生，未來怎麼顧好自己的家庭。
請妳不要擔心，我金錢方面都很好，我自從離開台灣，努力賺錢了12年。我一旦回到美國開始賺錢也會送錢回去給妳。
我知道妳擔心因為妳愛我。我也愛妳。我們這一家都從來不說這一句話，但我知道這是事實。妳跟爸讓我們很獨立的成長。請妳要有信心，我會有責任感的過日子，然後把我的人生過得很有意義，對社會有貢獻。

Mom, I’m safe here in Vietnam.

With respect to my travel plans, please do not worry. I didn’t explain myself very clearly before because I knew it would just make you worry.

I plan to travel throughout Southeast Asia for the remainder of this year. I spent the last two years planning this trip. For teaching and volunteering, I went to Nepal. In Vietnam, there are many more things for me to learn and do.

The work environment in the States now is such that a PhD from Stanford is not rare. This trip will increase my job opportunities. My friends at large companies have said that this experience will make me stand out among the crowd and help me get a foot in the door.

Among my friends, there are few that are truly satisfied with their lives. I want to use this time to carefully consider how I want to live my life.

I know that our values may not be the same. You and Dad provided us a great environment to develop, and now I’m taking full advantage of it.

I also thought deeply about our family. Fourteen years ago Dad left and changed the the direction of our family. I know that it’s been a difficult past decade for you living alone in Taiwan. Our family never brings up these issues. We never communicate, and we’ve never given ourselves time to heal. I will use this time to think about how I want to lead my life and how I would want to raise a family.
Please don’t worry about me financially. Ever since I left Taiwan, I worked hard to earn my own money these past 12 years. Once I’m back in the States earning a paycheck, I’ll send money back to you too.

I know that you’re worried because you love me. I love you, too. Our family never says these words, but I know it’s true. You and Dad gave us room to grow up independently. Please have faith in me. I will do my best to live responsibly and meaningfully and contribute to society.

How to tell your parents you’re traveling

Short answer: Just tell them.

 

1. Be crystal clear internally why you’re doing it. Don’t simply be running away from something, or even many things. Be honest with yourself and have a firm reason.
2. Fund everything yourself. Make it so you don’t owe them financially. Besides, it makes your travel all the more liberating. Of course, you probably owe them a heck of a lot. For one my parents gave me an education and, most importantly, gifted me an environment to gain independence of thought. But, please, try to separate duty vs. what you want to do with your life. Really define your responsibilities and set those boundaries.
3. Every parent is different. It’s worth considering your audience, but this isn’t some professional pitch. I argue that the delivery should just be the same, regardless of the parent. For my dad, I succinctly stated that I’m traveling for months. To his credit, he didn’t question. For my mom, I also just stated it (rather, fumbled my way through it) and endured a barrage of spitfire. That’s ok too. Asserting independence is part of life. Some would argue, like Thoreau, and a whole slew of modern writers , that it’s everything. In the same vein, recognize how much of a momma’s boy you are. It’ll be rare for a protective mom to be 100% in on your plans. Moderate her expectations.
4. Fix in your brain the losses you will incur if you don’t go. That was a big one for me. I absolutely knew I would regret it for the rest of my life had I chickened out. I’m serious. If I didn’t do this for myself, a part of my brain would have atrophied. I wasn’t about to let that happen. This is my time. So here I am.

Career strategy

Before I left for Nepal, I had a career development meeting with an experienced biotech businesswoman, who was quite generous with her time and advice.

As many of these meetings go, she asked me what I wanted to do and what I pictured myself doing in 10 years. I responded that I envisioned myself in translational genomic research, as I’ve enjoyed this work and believe in its utility toward patient care, and I wanted to work beyond the bench, hopefully in a management capacity after a few years.

“Sorry, but your response is immature.” Perhaps I wasn’t concrete enough? It’s always refreshing to speak to the blunt.

This was her advice:
1. Get a postdoc position at Princeton because you will get connections, and you will further enhance your pedigree. You will unlikely gain much more scientifically, but you will learn how business is conducted in the East coast. If in a pinch, go to places like Harvard and MIT. But ideally Princeton because their science faculty are the best respected in the private sector.
2. Make this a short postdoc – a 2 year investment. In fact, treat the next 5 years as an investment. You’re not going to earn money. Use this time to expand your options, to try many different things, to position yourself for your career. If you don’t do a postdoc, you limit your options, and worse yet, your earning potential. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot.
3. If you do as I advise, you’ll have the pedigree, you will have connected to the Bay Area, which is its own isolated community, you will have linked up with the East coast scientific community, which has ties to the European pharmaceutical markets, and overall, you will have expanded your opportunities and can start at a higher level once you really enter the private sector.
Fair enough. It’s a game plan that optimizes for compensation and status.

What people want you to do is usually a reflection of what they would have done in hindsight. And if they’ve done pretty well for themselves, their advice will mirror what they’ve done right.

I’ll admit, my mindset used to be a lot more in line with this strategic framework, although I never thought about it in so much detail. Once I knew I wasn’t going down the academic professor path, I started exploring industry options. Management consulting? Industry postdoc? Startups?

I’m lucky to have this time away to re-evaluate. Had I already selected a vertical, perhaps the pharmaceutical vertical that she’s suggesting, I would be grinding my teeth trying to push up it. I’m lingering on a horizontal instead, getting down and dirty with social entrepreneurship and the non-profit sector.

I’d criticize that her vertical does not address motivations, or she assumes that I would be motivated by money and reputation. But to me, motivation is everything. It’s what will drive me to make my unique contribution to this world.

Whatever I’ll be doing in the future professionally, I’ll believe wholeheartedly in it. I’ll bring it everyday, devour it, and put in the focus and effort. But the first part is that uncompromising belief.

And heck, I’ll have to climb some ladders along the way, and it won’t always be as ideal as I put it, but I want to always have the “why am I really doing this?” in sight.

All two of you in the audience, please remember to hold me accountable!

What is my why?

“What you do proves what you believe” – Simon Sinek

BootsnAll is considered the one stop shop for aspirers of Round-the-World (RTW) travel. This is one bad-ass site. I actually Skype called one of the founders, Chris, who helped me with my itinerary. We chatted hours before the “I have to leave in December because I’ve committed to something” talk with my advisor. Had to grow a pair of balls sometime, right?

According to their trip planning page, step 1 to independent travel is answering, “What is Your Why?”

What is my motivation for volunteering and traveling? Why am I not following a “normal” path?

I want to live my own life and not live up to the expectations of others.

Really, that’s it. Financial independence mixed with some healthy conviction has enabled me to actualize this desire. The uncompromising feeling of “this is what I want to do right now” and to be able to do it is one of the most empowering feelings I’ve ever experienced.

Cancer research

I devoted my last 6.5 yrs to cancer research. Nay. If you count the 5 years as a lab technician at Washington University, I surpassed a decade. I pushed hard to make a difference. As with any specialization, one eventually reaches a moment of clarity – a clear view of the top, and the path toward it. I discovered I just didn’t want it badly enough.

And surprisingly, I don’t feel stuck.

I feel free!

If anything, the Ph.D. experience beat me down hard enough that I believe I can tackle absolutely anything.

Taking a step back, I asked myself what do I really want to be doing with my life? I want to help others. Cancer research was a way to improve an aspect human health. What else?

Why volunteer?

I’ve been privileged in my life. I’ve always had the resources to do what I desired. Many others are presented with much fewer opportunities. Beyond simply being a way to give back, I believe that devoting myself to volunteering for an extended period of time will completely change the way I view what constitutes making a positive impact in society. I believe the purest way to commit myself is to volunteer.

In interacting with the kids and working with the local staff, they’ll teach me so much more than what I know now. I want to experience all the triumphs and limitations of inserting myself into a foreign place in a volunteering capacity.

Why Nepal?

I’ve always been drawn to the mountains. I love backpacking and being close to the elements. I read some books centered around Nepal that fostered my desire to go:

Breaking Trail, Arlene Blum – what an audacious trail-blazer
Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer – yeah, I probably won’t climb Everest
Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, John Wood – think BIG
Little Princes, Conor Grennan – immerse yourself and go with it, it can be eye opening

Many travelers to Nepal tell me that I’ll meet the happiest people in the world. I know I will.

Why travel?

There’s so much more to explore and experience in the world. I’ve been conditioned to interpret reality according to the cultures in which I was raised. Much of the doctrine is fear-based. “Don’t go to third world countries,” “Obtain job security, work hard, repeat,” “You won’t …” “You’ll never…”

Travel will open up my mind. I want to cultivate compassion. I want to understand others. I want to connect with people, to experience their joys and pains. I believe people in this world are honest, capable, and loving; and it’s our lack of interaction that causes prejudices, fear, sometimes hate. I like to think of myself as open-minded. But am I really?

I want to challenge myself – to tear myself out of my comfort zone. I want to embrace uncertainty whole-heartedly.

I want to discover what really compels me.

What I’m leaving behind

I’ve enjoyed working in genomic medicine and want to contribute to this field. I’m confident in my ability to add value in whatever position I eventually fill. However, work will always be there. 

I’m so lucky to have a supportive girlfriend. Winnie’s experienced extended independent travel, has volunteered at an orphanage in Nepal, and is starting this journey with me in Nepal. I don’t know if I could have it any better.

What I want

The next year is an investment into myself. I want to become self-reliant. I want to become undefeated.

However, I need to be open minded too, and not set definite goals.

I believe there are so many big questions and problems to address in this world, and that the ones that I have been trying to solve have been first world ones. I don’t want to be inconsequential. I want to wake up every morning with a sense of purpose. I want to think big.

And finally, I want to learn how to really live. 

That is my why.

Additional Resources

The Art of Non-Conformity, especially this manifesto.

Vagabonding

Taking care of my health

To prepare health-wise for this trip, I first went to Stanford’s travel clinic. I must have frustrated the heck out of the nurses there because I visited them 6 months in advance and said I’d be traveling for a year with no set agenda. To their relief, I narrowed it down to Nepal and southeast asia as my primary locations.

This is what I got and what it cost me.

Travel consultation – $45

Polio booster – $49

Typhoid booster – $72

Chicken pox titer – $38 (Mom said she was pretty sure I had a mild case, and the test came back “equivocal”)

Chicken pox booster – $0 (covered)

Seasonal flu shot – $0 (covered)

Total – $204

What I didn’t get:

Yellow Fever – will get if I go to Africa.

Japanese Encephalitis – rare and vaccine is costly.

Malaria – avoid mosquitos (ha!). I’ll use Picaridin bug spray (supposedly a better alternative to Deet). There are no vaccines against Malaria, but there are prophylactic drugs ($$$) that reduce the chance of infection. There are drugs to take if one gets Malaria as well. I opted not to purchase any of these, as I don’t plan on entering Malaria zones and will visit reputable clinics on the way if need be. Drugs and vaccines are oftentimes a fraction of the cost outside of the US.

Health insurance

Lastly, I bought a health insurance plan off World Nomads, which is recommended by the major companies (Lonely Planet, National Geographic, and Hostel World). Here one can sign up for plans at 2 different coverage levels for up to a year. The key coverage here is emergency evacuation (I got coverage up to $500,000). I played around with the pricing per duration and found:

6 months is the sweet spot! I can always go back and extend the coverage period. It’s amazing that the insurance will cost me $386/6 months. That’s many fold less than the cost I was paying for Stanford student insurance.

Pre-trip metrics

• Longest time without shaving – 6 weeks, duration from “let’s publish this” to manuscript submission
• Longest time without shower – 3 days, Channel Islands backpacking trip/Skyline-to-sea
• Biggest purchase – $2000, triathlon bike with ZIPP wheels
• Longest bike ride – 120 miles, Western Sequoia Century
• Longest race – 6 hr 45min, Wildflower long course (half-ironman)
• Biggest dream – become a professor
• Biggest decision – PhD not MD
• Most expensive activity – Golf (lessons + course fees)
• Cheapest activity – running, free
• Highest altitude reached hiking – 4600 msnm (metros sobre el nivel del mar) = 15,092 feet, Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu
• Biggest selling spree – $3100 before travels (including car, laptop, furniture, books..)
• Best financial move – investing in index funds when the market tanked in 2008
• Raddest solo adventure – camping alone 1 night at Castle Rock/Guatemala 5 weeks
• Longest break from coffee – 1 month, 2013 spring
• Most students taught at once – 8, cancer biology high school summer school/chemistry TA
• Most books read in a year – 24 books, 2012
• Most journals written in a year – 3, 2012
• Best dish – sous vide baby back ribs/Alton Brown rib-eye steak
• Most non-English books read ever – 2, El Alquimista, 英雄
• Most influential books – Vagabonding, Art of Nonconformity (website), Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, Getting Things Done, The Alchemist, Born to Run, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, The 4-Hour Workweek, Mindfulness in Plain English

LAX->TPE->KTM for $179.80

Crazy thing is, if I had done it right, the two one-way tickets combined should have cost me $29.80!

Making it happen:

1. Sign up for Chase Sapphire Preferred, spend $2000 within the first 3 months, pay it off, get 40,000 Ultimate Rewards points which converts directly into 40,000 United Airlines miles. Make sure your Mileage Plus account is linked properly.

2. The SFO (San Francisco)->TPE (Taipei, Taiwan) flight is 32,500 reward miles and TPE->KTM (Kathmandu, Nepal) is 25,000. If I only wanted to layover in Taipei for <24hrs, then I could have made the SFO->TPE->KTM trip just 40,000 reward miles total. But I didn’t want to leave La Madre hanging, so it’s 2 weeks in Taipei! I had to get the additional 17,500 reward miles another way.. Luckily I had ~8000 points already in Chase Ultimate Rewards (had been using a Chase Freedom card for a while), and I had ~10,000 reward miles in my Mileage Plus account (“expired” miles since I hadn’t touched them in >3 yrs). I paid the $50 fee to re-activate those dead miles. And voila, I was in business.

3. Pay the $29.80 taxes/gas fees. Online there’s a lot of resentment over this additional thing, but I’ll let them duke it out with the airlines.

4. My booked flight was SFO->LAX->TPE. However, I  wanted to stay in Las Vegas with El Padre and sister before departing, so I paid another penalty of $100 simply to remove the SFO->LAX leg of the flight. Yes, you can’t just forfeit legs of your itinerary without incurring a fee. Caveat: if I had done this 21 days in advance, then I would have been good. Damn dissertation threw me off there!

5. Dad loves driving. I’m driving with him Las Vegas -> Los Angeles tomorrow morning, eating DTF （鼎泰豐）there (yes, I catch the irony), and off to Taipei I go.

The aftermath:

1. Because I plan to come back to the States, I needed miles again. To amass enough miles for a return ticket, I took advantage of the Chase MileagePlus Explorer Card introductory offer of 50,000 reward miles after spending $2000 within the first 3 months. I just payed it off a few days ago. I’m good.

2. The great thing about these cards is they both don’t have any international fees, so I’ll still be using them throughout my travels.

Winning.