September 2013 – GTFOutcast

Episode 07 – Learning languages and absorbing local culture

Your front row seat for conversations with two computer hackers turned travel hackers – living globally, financially independent and semi-retired, both following their dreams and helping you to do the same. You can also find us on iTunes, YouTube or however you listen to podcasts, and we love getting your 5-star reviews. Follow the conversation with us on Twitter @GTFOutcast and stop into the blog often to read the latest and give us comments and feedback.

On the September 20 episode of the GTFOutcast, Beau and Taylor discuss how learning local languages helps break the ice in a foreign country and makes immersing oneself in the local culture easier.

Watch GTFOutcast Episode 07:

0: 30 – Beau and Taylor talk about how they plan to meet in Louisville and do an episode of GTFOutcast together in person.

2:00 – While Taylor was cooking his Loco-Moco burger, Beau segues into the topic for the day, which is about how to best immerse yourself in the local culture as soon as you arrive. And how food is often a good gateway into understanding foreign culture.

6:35 – Taylor talks about his experience teaching in Amsterdam and how at the end of the class, the whole group would cook together.

9:34 – Beau talks about DuoLingo, a free language education website; Taylor talks about TripLingo, a language service he found useful.

11:48 – Beau insists learning new languages helps greatly and asking for directions when traveling — or even how it can make you new friends.

15:52 – Taylor brings up his experience of speaking broken Spanish in Barcelona, where the dialect spoken was different.

20:30 – Beau ends the session with his experience in South Korea attending a security conference there and how it helped network with locals

22:20 – Taylor plugs his upcoming blog with his girlfriend called thelearningbanks.com, which will chronicle their journey as they travel across the United States in their RV.

Bag Review: Rick Steves’ Convertible Carry-On [Updated]

A few years ago I did a review of the Rick Steves’ Convertible Carry-On bag. Since then I’ve ended up using it a lot. In fact, it’s my primary travel bag. I use it both for long-hauls, when moving continents, as well as for shorter trips, like a weekend jaunt. It’s proven to be indispensable. When I first reviewed it I didn’t fully appreciate the bag’s greatness. But I want to set the record straight now. First, the original review:

I’m very picky about what I carry so my requirements are fairly strict. First, I want something I can put on my back or over my shoulder backpack style – roller bags are for dorks. Second, it’s got to fit in the overhead compartment and/or under the seat in front of me – checked bags are lost bags. Third, it’s got to be able to fit my basic outfits:

Two-piece suit – preferably without wrinkling it too much,

Two business shirts,

Two to Three undershirts,

A week’s worth of underwear,

A week’s worth of socks,

A pair of shoes,

Toiletries (inside a plastic bag in a convenient location), and

A t-shirt and pair of shorts/pants.

Those are the minimum things that I look for in a bag. Other niceties are things like someplace to put extra books, roller wheels (hey, sometimes my shoulder gets tired), internal structure, tie and belt compartments, lightweight, etc.

I took the Rick Steves’ Convertible Carry-On on my trip to Dallas. I’ve had it for a while but just didn’t put it to much use. So I pulled it out of the attic and opened it up. The bag is at the maximum allowable size for carry-on luggage by most airlines, which makes the interior cavernous. Also it expands a couple of inches. As far as carry-ons go, this is as big as you’re likely to find.

I put all of my stuff in it and still had room to spare. There was a good amount of room for my suit and business shirts and I locked them in with the internal straps so they wouldn’t go anywhere when I slung it on my back. Unfortunately everything else sagged to the bottom.

The bag is kind of lumpy and awkward. Even filling it up took effort as I had to lay it out, move it around, fit my clothes in, and move it around more. It’s like filling up a grocery sack – if you’ don’t just cram stuff in it’s not going to be pretty. And wearing it around felt funny. There’s just no structure to it or anything.

Pros:

Fits anything you’re likely to carry, short of a VW.

Extremely light and flexible

Cons:

Awkward when empty and uncomfortable to wear

Ugly

Conclusion: If it’s fully packed out, this bag is probably great. But nearly empty it’s just cumbersome. I’s built for trecking across the globe so that’s no surprise. The bag is very light so that’s also good for long hauls, especially in the Winter when you’ve got to pack lots of bulky stuff. But at that point you would probably be better off just grabbing a frame pack and going with that.

I stand by my original thoughts, for the most part. It’s a huge bag. If you haven’t filled it, everything can kind of sags to the bottom. But I found that the side straps actually help a lot to take up some of that slack. WIth the addition of some packing cubes, a shirt folder and some creative packing you can actually manage to keep most things in their place.

But it’s a much better bag than I gave it credit for initially. It’s super versatile. And it’s incredibly light, too. I originally gave the bag a C but I take it back.

Verdict: A

A good alternative is the eBags eTech 2.0 Weekender Convertible bag. This one has more structure to it and is slightly less expensive but is very similar to the Rick Steves’ bag reviewed here. If given the choice I’d stick with Rick, but I owned the other bag and it’s very good too.

Episode 06 – Making money while traveling, and mail-forwarding services

In this episode of GTFOutcast, Beau Woods and Taylor Banks chat about how one can make money selling goods bought cheap from their travels abroad. The discussion then moves on to the important topic of how travelers can ensure their mails are received securely and forwarded while away from home.

Watch GTFOutcast Episode 06:

0:54 – Taylor talks about the process of selling his house and clearing out furnishings, old electronics and computers using a combination of Craigslist, eBay and donations to locals charities. All in a bid to raise funds for the upcoming journey.

3:40 – Taylor gives us a brief tour of his 34-feet long new mobile home, nick-named the “Snuffleupagus”

6:29 – Beau gets in to the topic of how a traveler can make money while on vacation, and using funds from those sales to continue paying for his/her vacation.

8:48 – Taylor brings up the possibility of using an online marketplace to simplify the arbitrage process of selling goods on your behalf.

11:19 – Beau talks about building relationships with distributors you meet while on your travels, where by you find a reliable local partners to ship the goods over and paying them online for doing so. Taylor brings up consignment shops and using them as agents to conduct the sale for you.

12:56 – Taylor discusses ways to set up your mail in order to receive packages while on the move

15:05 – Taylor talks about Earth Class Mail, a service that accepts your mail, opens it, scans it and makes it available online. If you are an RV owner, there are several operators and RV clubs that offer mailbox rental and mail forwarding services.

16:54 – Beau shares how he solves his mail-forwarding problems using a service called Virtual Post Mail. A service, from his personal experience, is best set up while still in the US.

21:50 – Taylor and Beau bring up the concerns of identity theft and how to be sure third parties who receive your mail aren’t snooping around, invading your privacy, or even misusing your packages.

GTFO FTW: Presentation at BSidesLV

Taylor and I presented this year at the excellent BSides Las Vegas conference. It was a great time. Yeah I hear you saying “pics or it didn’t happen.” Here you go smarty pants, we got a video of it!

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GTFO FTW: Hacking your lifestyle for fun and profit

(Video courtesy of BSidesLV and Irongeek.)