We recently watched “Running the Sahara” a documentary about three dudes who literally ran from west to east across the Sahara. After watching that epic tale unfold we thought we’d search for a compiled online list of awesome cube-abandoning stories and adventure tales. After searching for this list for some time, we discovered it does not yet exist and we’d like to compile one to share with the world. Thus, if you have any favorite films about quitting your job to travel, or simply doing an outrageous event like running the Sahara or the Mongol Rally, then submit your ideas and we’ll compile them into, hopefully, a TOP 100 CUBE ABANDONING FILMS list that we’ll be posting on our website. We’d also love to have a similar list about books.

To get you started thinking down the path of media we’re looking for, here are a few of our favorite  lists:

Best cube abandoning films:
• Joe versus the Volcano
• Running the Sahara
• The Razor’s Edge
• 7 Years in Tibet
• Office Space
• The Matrix

And a few cube-abandoning books:
• Shakelton Expedition
• Vagabonding
• Imagine
• Long Way Round

What about a few Road Trip Songs:
• Freebird
• Simple Man
• Free Ride
• Living on a Prayer

We get a lot of questions about how we manage different aspects of full-time travel. To answer them, we’ve put together a special Resources page on the website that will hopefully help people find out if they can Abandon their Cubicles, how to do it, where to get the things they need to do it successfully, and just some general information on traveling. We’re not claiming to be any authority on the topic, we’re just hoping to help! here’s what the new page covers:

Is It Feasible. The ‘should you?’ the ‘could you?’ and the ‘how to do’ of abandoning your cubicle. Whether you are thinking of a leave of absence to travel for a few weeks or months, or a full out Jerry Maguire storm out,t hen this will help you assess if now is the best time, and some of the things to consider before you flick off your boss.

Insurance. Lots of people need this to travel. Although we don’t personally have any travel insurance (yet) we’ve checked out some of the options and we have a few links posted that could maybe provide you with what you are looking for. Coverage for a short-term trip shouldn’t run you more than $250, so be wary of people who charge by the month or who promise you year-long coverage for less.

Visas. These little stamps can cost you big bucks, and be a royal pain. But thankfully there are some easy ways to tackle visas like nifty visa services. For some countries (Russia) you’ll have to use a service if you want it done right, fast and without hassle. For others you’re better off doing it alone. We give you some tips on the resources page, as well as at the bottom of every destination page.

Guides. Seasoned travelers always have their favorite guide books, and hardly ever deviate from those. We use a mix of our favorite guide book (which we won’t give a free promo here) and online sites like travel blogs for the area, or wikitravel. We have more info to be found about guides on the resources page!

Languages. The number one thing people ask us about is how we get around without speaking native languages. The answer is that we try really, really hard to learn. We do that with language guide books, i-touch programs, online sites and a lot more. Its important to us to try to talk to people in their native tongue, and we use a lot of different resources to try to achieve that aim.

Equipment. People get really excited about the equipment we use. We’ll meet someone on a camping trail and spend the first fifteen minutes talking supplies before we even get around to introductions. A good tent can make or break the whole trip, and everyone who travels full time has very strong, very serious views about cook stoves.

Expat and Teaching. Many people go overseas for a change of pace to look for an expat-style job or to teach English while they enjoy the local culture. We have some resources for you to do both, including how you can get your teaching certificate (which we did last year, just in case!).

Social Media & Staying Connected. We also listed some nifty travel websites, travel tools online, and ways to stay connected with your loved ones while on the road.

So, to see all that info and more, check out the new Resources page!

Into Cave Abyss

After a great two days in Eugene, we packed up the old trusty mini van once again and decided to hit the road and head south. With all four of us in the minivan, things were lively and the drive flew by quickly. We reached the creepy town of Cave Junction around 10pm and decided to see what these Oregon caves were all about. Mike ran into a terrifying-looking gas station to ask directions to the caves. They replied, “its near the greyback.” Mike nodded knowledgeably and ambled back to the van to report the directions. We sat in the van blinking at each other. “What’s a Greyback?”

We pulled into Cave Junction’s only hotel where a lady with 1980′s makeup and shoulder pads so large they hit her in the ears told us to head for the greyback to find a camping spot. She gave us a free local newspaper (aka, a tiny pamphlet of nothingness) and pointed up the road. “To the greyback!” We repeated her mantra back to her with a bit less gusto, “to the greyback?!” and made our way out the door.

Eventually, after a beer stop and a few more inquiries, we decided to just find out for ourselves what this mysterious greyback was. Twelve miles up a horribly-constructed road we found a campground and Mike ran past a “CLOSED” sign to inquire again. From deep in the woods a woman’s voiced yelled out, in true Goonies style, “We’re closed!” and then a dog began to bark very close by and Mike and his friend sprinted into the van. No help at the camp site. We drove back down the road and saw a lit phone booth. A mirage in the woods that seemed beyond creepy. I took a picture (yes, its on flickr, no it didn’t turn out very well because the car was bumping along a dirt road as I took it). It turned out the phone booth belonged to a man who ran a camp site. Score! He installed us in an RV lot for 16$ and we set about making a fire and cooking our dinner. Only after we finally figured out how to assemble the tent did we realize the rain cover was full of holes.

Mike and Lu in Oregon Caves

In the morning, the forest seemed only slightly less creepy. We packed up our camp site  after making some breakfast on what was left of the fire, and headed deeper into the woods to solve the mystery of the greyback. You just can’t stop for intrepid explorers eager for discovery.

The Oregon Caves system is a national monument. And we learned from our 90 minute tour of one of the caves that a monument is a presidential decree rather than an act of congress.  Hopefully that helps you down the road in bar trivia. Our national monument ranger wore the typical OD green suit and funny ranger hat, and talked to our group of adults like we were perhaps 6 or 7 years of age. She told us stories in a drawn out tone, and even called us kiddos. She led us deep into the heart of a cave, some 200m underground. It was a dark, creepy and yet beautiful experience. Unfortunately, in our attempt to preserve the cave someone cut it all up to put in cement floors, stainless steel stairs, railings, ramps, lighting, cables for lighting and emergency exits. Its really not much of a natural thing anymore, its more like a movie set on Batman. My hypothesis– if humans find it, its screwed.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the tour through tiny, musty cave rooms that looked very strangely like our first apartment in China. We scaled up and down slippery steps, around hanging stalactites and over pointy stalagmites. We even had to duck once. Eventually we left the caves without interacting with any live nature, and we drove back through Cave Junction (still creepy in daylight) and onwards towards California. While we never did learn what a greyback was, some mysteries are better left unsolved.

REI -Recreational Equipment Incorporated- started out as a club of like-minded outdoorsman who wanted equipment that was not being provided in any other location. They wanted climbing, hiking, survival and camping equipment, and there were no specialty stores at the time selling that type of outdoor stuff with any validity or certainty.

Now, REI has stores all over America as well as a vast online catalogue. The stores are usually fun and adventurous, with climbing walls, rough-terrain indoor hills to test your boots on, and plenty of interactive displays so you can find the piece of equipment that will suit your needs, like a pond full of water filtration devices so you can find the style you adore. Its easy to spend several hours in REI without noticing time has gone by. They even stock clothing now, including the much-coveted quick-dry, rip-stop fabric that outdoorsmen find so valuable.

While REI stocks only the best brands, we’ve experienced a few REI brand products and have come away very happy. My women’s frontloader backpack is beyond ideal, and the frame is designed with women in mind, so it rides atop my hips. The frontloader means I’m packed and ready in under 5 minutes, and the high-quality fabric means it just might be Lauren-proof (we’ll see! I’ve ruined 4 bags so far, this is the only one to last this long!) I also have several pairs of REI hiking socks, and at any given time you have a 50/50 chance of catching me in them because they are so comfortable, breathable and versatile than I hardly wear any other type of sock. My silk inserts when hiking for long durations make for a wonderful combo.

I’m in the market for a water purifier. Anyone have any great recommendations? I’m fond of the lever pump designs myself, but with the costs so high, I’m wondering if boiling and iodizing isn’t just faster. Ideas?

Traveling is a great way to learn. Every new city visited is a deeper insight into the region’s past and why it developed as it did. We traveled from Shanghai to Seattle by land and sea, and all the while reading. While the books did not always reflect the location we were in, they were insightful in different ways along our journey and helped to paint a more clear picture of the past, and explain why some areas we visited were in poverty and others in plenty. History is the only real explanation for how diverse and varied our species is, and its an amazing story more fascinating than fiction.

COVER

A Peace to End All Peace, by David Fromkin. This telling Pulitzer price book finalist tells of the causes of World War I (on the Eastern front between 1914 and 1922) and how the policies before, during and after the conflict have resulted in the most tumultuous area on the planet– the Middle East. The book begins with a young Winston Churchill visiting the Bosporus and concluding that any army hoping to take the Ottoman Empire would only have to control the Aegean. This thought came to fruition later in Churchill’s life as he sent British troops during WWI up the straights in a failed attempt to destroy the Ottoman Empire and end the war. It is shocking how daringly close the plan came to success. The war rages on and the Ottoman Empire collapses, and is ruled eventually by Ataturk (Mustafa Kemal). They gain in power and reinforce the German’s advances, further prolonging the war on all fronts. Eventually the dust settles to reveal the Central Powers have been defeated, but what is less commonly known is that each government in the Allied Powers Alliance has fallen and their internal opposition parties came to power. Essentially, those who began the war were replaced in all cases except Germany, and the mission and goals of the war changed dramatically as a result of new voices in the arena post fighting. Thus, new faces sat around the table deciding how to divide winnings and the states of Iraq, Iran, Jordan and Lebanon were formed, and the Israeli homeland question was raised. The Allied Powers promised a homeland to the Israelites and set about making it happen, not knowing the cultural and religious currents they would stir in so doing with neighboring Arabs. This book explains the root causes of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict, as well as why modern Turkey is so different from other Muslim countries. This book does not touch on the wars in Iraq (Desert Storm of Operation Iraqi Freedom) or 9/11 or Afghanistan.

Guests of the Ayatollah, by Mark Bowden. This book about the Iran Hostage Crisis read like an adventure novel, but was in fact very well researched. Bowden interviewed countless survivors, read everything he could get his hands on about the Iranian student’s movements, and fully explains the reasons why Muslims dislike Americans. For an American, this book is almost a must-read simply because Bowden is able to get inside the minds of the students who took the American Embassy hostage, and reveals their motives, desires and, years later, what happened to these children. His subtitle is: “The First Battle in the West’s War with Militant Islam,” and Bowden explains why the hostage crisis was a precursor to events that transpired later between the Muslims and the West, and why westerners often fail to fully grasp the rationale and motivations of those militant Muslims in places like Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.

These are just two examples. Other historical books we’ve read and would happily and confidently recommend to any history or travel buff are : Foreign Devils on the Silk Road, by Peter Hopkirk; Afghanistan, by Stephen Tanner; and Charlie Wilson’s War, by George Crile. If it seems all these books represent a trend, then you are an astute reader my friend. We’ve been traveling through predominately Muslim countries, and our books of choice reflect a desire to better understand the historical context of our culture clashes. We are historians, so naturally our interest in understanding the present lead us to the past. At any rate, all of these books were also page-turners that we think almost anyone could easily enjoy.

From my family’s home in Washington State you can see Mt. Rainier. It’s one of the most majestic sights on the West Coast at almost 14,500 feet, and is the highest mountain in the Cascade range (and in the continental, contiguous USA). More than 13,000 people a year climb the active volcano in Pierce County, making it one of the most visited alpine climbing destinations in the USA. But more importantly, the mountain is a feature in the background in Washington that takes everyone’s breath away on a daily basis…. well, on the days you can see through the rain. It is only 50 miles from Seattle, and visible from almost anywhere along the Western Washington area. In our small town, the mountain is so prominent in the background that it dwarfs every feature, even the massive evergreens that grow on almost every square inch of ground not taken by houses or roads. If you come into Washington via the north on Amtrak you get one of the areas most beautiful and stunning views– Mt. Rainier in the background as the train curves around the Puget Sound, with amazing views of the mountain reflecting off the water. Evergreen trees are everywhere, and when my train was pulling around one corner a bald eagle swept over the treeline for an afternoon fishing hunt. Yes, it is breathtaking.

Something strange about Mt. Rainier though, is that several people a year die climbing the mountain. Personally, I think this is because Americans climbing here don’t think of the mountain as exotic or dangerous because it is always in the background. Despite the cuteness of the mountain, and how prevalent it is in daily life here in Washington, you get several folks a year who go up the mountain without the right equipment, and without any training. Just because it is within driving distance of your house doesn’t make it safer than Kilimanjaro or K2. I mean, it’s a an active volcano covered in glaciers—what’s safe about that?   White outs are common on the mountain, and locals think the volcano could erupt at any time. Of the several deaths a year that are reported, most are attributed to avalanche, falls, rock and ice drops and hypothermia, which makes one of the most uninviting of destinations in Washington. Any serious climber would only tackle Mt. Rainier after successfully summiting several other smaller and more manageable mountains.

While it has always been a beautiful and meaningful part of the background, it is also a dangerous and extreme destination, and one I’m happy to visit again and again…albeit with the right equipment and usually, without leaving the paths.

Cover

If you have ever entertained the idea of long-term travel, or ‘Vagabonding’ as Rolf Potts terms it, then this book is an invaluable guide on how to get started with planning and logistics. It is a whimsical yet no-nonsense guide on how to take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years off to travel, and do so successfully.

Potts offers not only a philosophical journey through his decision to abandon his cube and travel, but pertinent information, like that on our resources page, about travel insurance, teaching English, and language software, etc. He makes the world of long-term travel see manageable ad available to anyone willing to try, and this is an amazing thing to achieve in around a hundred pages.

If you are already a life-long lover of travel than Potts witty and Buddhist-like rants about the necessity to experience the larger world will reassure you that the vagabond lifestyle you’ve chosen is not only zen-like, but largely practical and applicable in the ‘real world’ should you ever decide to return to it. Moreover, your blood pressure will rise and a smile will spread across your face as you eagerly turn the pages to devour more of Potts reassuring and inspiring rhetoric.

This isn’t one of those hippy diatribes about the body corporate, or a quasi-scientific spiel about the plausible connection between tumors and constant reception (although I hear that’s a serious upcoming issue). Its just a simple explanation about one person’s decision not to own a cell phone, and why.

First off, the commitment. I don’t own anything else I have to sign away years of my life for. Two year contracts! You have to be kidding! And if you move somewhere that isn’t under their coverage they’ll drag out the process making you pay for months on end while they ‘verify’ your move. And you have to send them copies of your bills with your new address on them! Why not my birth certificate, or my dental records? I moved to China and Verizon took months to let me out of my contract! No wonder commitment is scary– you no longer want a service and yet you could be forced to keep it until your contract is up. Now that’s harsh!

Second, the lack of serenity. I don’t think I’m that important that I need to be reachable at all times. Also, being able to be in the moment is hard enough with all the ADD distractions, I don’t need to be texting someone or twittering how my lunch is going in order to enjoy it. Every once in a while I can watch a TV show or take a walk without being interrupted or snapping a picture of the moment and sending it to a friend with cute little smiley faces made out of parenthesis and colons.

Third, planning is lost. Without cell phones none of my friends seem to be able to make a plan and carry it through. They say, “ok, text me directions and call when you get there” and I try to explain that we’ll have to plan ahead and just trust that the other person will be there. I know it’s a lot to ask, but hey, our parent’s generation managed to meet their friends at the milkshake café or whatever without carrying a phone in their pocket.

Finally, and this may seem pedantic, but the ring tones are just a ridiculous way to accessorize and/or feel special. I don’t need to impress my friends with a shiny bejeweled talk box that has Morgan Freeman’s voice telling me who is calling and doubles as a camera, calculator, thermometer, organizer, computer, and voice recorder. I just don’t need more stuff distracting me from real life and interrupting me when I’m enjoying it.

Good news for travel buffs, Lonely Planet now has a program that features great travel blogs. This program has exploded in the travel community and you can now see select posts from ATC on related Lonely Planet destination pages. If you have not heard of Lonely Planet, it is a company well known to most travelers for their comprehensive guides that cover nearly 100% of the world (even Antarctica!).  For the international traveler there really is not another guide company that comes close to LP in terms of information at the country and major city level. We use LP guides when traveling abroad, and have quite a collection of their books, including some of their compilation books composed by travelers who have interesting stories to share.

Sunset

Now Abandon the Cube is part of this great endeavor to make travel information more accessible. On each Lonely Planet destination page you’ll find info on each country, including links to our blog, where applicable. There are not alot of people, for example, who have spent significant amounts of time in Turkmenistan, but we have. Thus, our blog adds new information and insight to the Lonely Planet reader. That’s how we help make Lonely Planet better.

If you found our site from Lonely Planet, welcome to ATC! Subscribe to the RSS feed for weekly blogs sent to your email, or you can follow us on facebook and twitter. Alternatively, check out the photo album, our guides, newsletters and info on the 2010 Mongol Rally.

A god? Yes!

Bear Gryllls’ show, Man vs. Wild (Born Survivor in the UK) – Man vs. Wild – Season 1 - is a rare TV hit. What I like most about this show, despite the fact that some of his stunts are staged, is that he demonstrates how to survive in life-threatening situations across all types of terrain. This week has been productive for me in that sense, I learned how to make rope out of roots, how to wrestle an alligator, how to make a water purifier out of natural elements, how to skin a sheep then use the skin as a boat, etc. He is like a real life Macgyver!

Having spent time outdoors and traveling in places where you are literally always in danger of being stranded from civilization, this show has been a real breath of fresh, information-filled air, and he reaffirmed some of my thoughts while on the road last year.

Anyone who spends any amount of time outdoors knows that what kind of travel gear and clothing you have is essential. I had to buy two *&#*!%$ cheap bags before I finally spent the money on a nice REI backpack that will withstand rough use, varied terrain and temperatures, and 70+ pounds of rip and tear 24 hours a day. Lesson learned: don’t skimp on essential equipment! In that vain, its easy to see how Bear carefully chooses his clothing and equipment before heading into the wild. He has all quick-dry clothing and a multiple temperature jacket of gore tex. I had no jacket on the last trip (big mistake) and what was worse, I had flimsy shoes I bought at a market in China before leaving. I did have a few other items, but was missing a great deal, including a water purifier, on this last adventure. Lesson learned again: don’t skimp on essential clothing! Before the next trip (Mongol Rally 2010) I’ll be buying expedition-level shoes that breathe and can stand rough wear and tear, a multi-season jacket and more quick-dry clothing. Ah, a girl’s wish list has no end!

Final thought: on the show Bear has a special knife he had built for himself which retails at $700+ dollars. While I think it is an essential element for life on the road, I’m not about to drop close to a grand on a knife! I’ll stick with my little Cold Steel Voyager, which was a gift from my Kuk Sol Wan coach in 2006. I have only sharpened it twice and it is in amazing condition, plus the 2″ blade means its legal to cross borders with. You could literally back a truck over it and it would be fine! Also, Bear goes out into the wild without a flashlight, I keep my Smith & Wesson LED Flashlight on me at all times (no joke, its in my purse). Paranoid- no. Prepared- hopefully.