Karol Gajda

https://www.RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com

Age: 29

Hometown: Born in Wroclaw, Poland grew up in Sterling Heights, MI

Quote: “Don’t listen to anything negative that anybody tells you about any destination. Either they’ve never been there or their experience was unique.”

How did you find out about Vagabonding, and how did you find it useful before and during the trip? I heard about it through 4 Hour Work Week about 3 years ago. I immediately picked it up and devoured it. I had never gone on any sort of long term travel before so Vagabonding was exceptionally useful.

How long were you on the road? I’m still on the road. 🙂 I left on 1 September 2009 and have been living out of my backpack since then. I sold, gave away, or trashed all of my belongings (car, books, clothes, etc) before I left so I’m in a state of perpetual vagabonding now.

Where all did you go? Australia for almost 3 months, New Zealand for a month, back to the US for about 6 weeks, India for over 2 months, Thailand for 40 days, and now Poland for the past 4 months. I was born in Poland, but never really experienced it (only had 2 short visits in the prior 28 years) so it has been great learning the language better and interacting with my home.

What was your job or source of travel funding for this journey? I’ve been working for myself for 10 years and never utilized that freedom to its fullest. All I need is a laptop and an internet connection and I’m golden. The majority of my income over the past 10 years was affiliate marketing. I’m actually able to fully support my lifestyle via my blog nowadays, which is fantastic. 🙂

Did you work or volunteer on the road? I did volunteer, but not for long stints. I volunteered at the CareForDogs.org dog shelter in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I’m pretty sure every time I took a dog for a walk he/she got out of the leash and I had to chase them down. In 40C heat. 🙂

Of all the places you visited, which was your favorite? Would it be lame of me to say Wroclaw, Poland? 🙂 As I mentioned, I was born here, but my family left before I was a year old and I never visited much. I’ve been here for 4 months now (leaving in a few weeks) and I absolutely love this city. That said, I love hot weather. Chiang Mai was fantastic. It was hot, I was there during Songkran Festival, the people were exceptional, the vegan food was plentiful, and it was an all around great time.

Was there a place that was your least favorite, or most disappointing, or most challenging? India was definitely all three. I was in Mumbai for about a week and then Goa for 2 months. I went to Goa to attend a guitar workshop and learned how to build a guitar by hand. (Been traveling with it since!) Then I decided to stay because I wanted to hang out and get some work done even though Goa is a party-heavy beach area, which is not my scene.

I was saddened by the fact that I saw “sacred” cows mistreated regularly. Punched, kicked, pushed, hit. A women who has lived in India for most of her life told me that what we think about the sacred cow outside of India is not true inside of India. That said, I only experienced this in Goa, so I can only speak for that. I also understand that my definition of sacred may not be the same as someone else.

As for problems: all of my problems and challenges were not really problems. I mean, I got a cell phone, which took a cumulative 20 hours to obtain and a stack of paperwork, and then it was shut off by Vodaphone a week later. When I tried to get it reactivated I ran into more problems so I got rid of the phone. No sense in stressing too much about something that ridiculous. Getting a USB Internet stick was a similar experience although they never shut it off. From a “I need to get work done” standpoint it was frustrating. From a realistic standpoint, again, these weren’t real problems.

I did enjoy my time, but relative to everywhere else it was my least favorite. So I will say this: I loved getting my daily coconut from the coconut man by my apartment every day. I loved getting fruit from the same fruit vendor (a child who couldn’t have been more than 10, but he didn’t treat me like an ATM machine like the rest of the fruit vendors) at the market every day. And I absolutely love Indian food. I know I need to go back and experience somewhere other than Goa.

Did any of your pre-trip worries or concerns come true? Did you run into any problems or obstacles that you hadn’t anticipated? There is no sense in worrying about the future. Doing so makes it too difficult and stressful to live in the present. I do what I can to be ready by not necessarily expecting the best or the worst. I just expect *something* to happen. 🙂

Nothing drastic has happened. Like anybody, I think a little about “what ifs.” But as I just mentioned, it’s pointless to do that. Who knew I’d develop some sort of tendinitis while building the guitar in India? Who knew I’d get some weird granuloma (like a blood blister that won’t go away without surgical removal) on my ribs in New Zealand? Who knew the overnight train to Chiang Mai would have 10 meat food options and 1 unavailable-on-my-trip vegetarian option (I’m vegan)? Who knew my computer’s hard drive would fry a month ago? These are simply situations we have to deal with as they present themselves. If it’s not life-threatening it’s not worth stressing.

Which travel gear proved most useful? Least useful? I travel with a 32 liter backpack that is probably only 80% full so everything I have I use. Nothing is least useful. Most useful is definitely my computer. Yes, I keep going back to that, but writing is more than a hobby for me. Best not-exactly-necessary, but constantly used piece of gear? My Kindle. I read a lot and it’s helpful not to have to lug around print books.

What are the rewards of the vagabonding lifestyle? The biggest reward has been meeting so many interesting people, even if just for a few minutes, hours, or days.

What are the challenges and sacrifices of the vagabonding lifestyle? Relationships are definitely both a challenge and a sacrifice. Many relationships are fleeting when you’re staying put. Vagabonding accelerates that. This is actually why I’ve been staying put in a single city for a few months in my last 3 countries. When I was traveling through Australia and New Zealand I was constantly on the move and didn’t have the opportunity to develop any friendships. Staying put for a while allows friendships to blossom, even if there is a physical departure date to them.

What lessons did you learn on the road? I’ve proven to myself that traveling on a healthy vegan diet is not incredibly difficult and I’ve learned a lot about how to make it work well. I actually go so far as to call it stress-free: https://www.ridiculouslyextraordinary.com/how-to-travel-as-a-vegan

How did your personal definition of “vagabonding” develop over the course of the trip? Before I began, my personal definition of vagabonding boiled down to this: opportunity. The opportunity to see, do, hear, feel and experience new things. That hasn’t changed. In fact, being on the road has strengthened that definition.

If there was one thing you could have told yourself before the trip, what would it be? Don’t listen to anything negative that anybody tells you about any destination. Either they’ve never been there or their experience was unique.

Any advice or tips for someone hoping to embark on a similar adventure? Don’t plan too much. Don’t expect too much. Let the experience guide you and live that experience instead of living in the future.

When and where do you think you’ll take your next long-term journey? I’m heading back to the US for a few months (Michigan, Las Vegas for BlogWorld, and Austin, Texas) and then I’m almost positive I’m heading to Curitiba, Brazil. That may change as time gets closer. 🙂

Are you a Vagabonding reader planning, in the middle of, or returning from a journey? Would you like your travel blog or website to be featured on Vagabonding Case Studies? If so, drop us a line at casestudies@vagabonding.net and tell us a little about yourself.