Choose Adventure

Safely Navigating the Challenges of Third World Travel

Street Food
Street Food 1920 1000 Greg Ellifritz

I make it a point to eat street food as often as possible whenever I travel in third world countries.  Contrary to popular belief, the food is fresher and prepared in a more sanitary manner than the food you will find in most tourist restaurants.

 

Read this article for some tips and then go get some street meat!

 

How to Eat Street Food Without Getting Sick

The Knife Static Cord
The Knife Static Cord 300 225 Greg Ellifritz

The static cord is a very good way to carry a fixed blade knife for optimal concealment.  It provides easy access, but you can shove the entire knife down into your pants if necessary and nothing will be seen.

This is how I carry my ceramic and polymer knives that (will go through metal detectors) when I travel internationally.

 

Simple Knife Carry Hack – The Static Cord

Useful Travel Apps
Useful Travel Apps 1600 900 Greg Ellifritz

This is a list of some very useful travel apps. I would encourage all of you who don’t have Global Entry Status to download the “Mobile Passport” App.  In my international travels, I would estimate that only 10% of travelers coming back to the USA have Mobile Passport.

 

In many airports the Mobile Passport users get their own special immigration lane.  It’s not quite as fast as Global Entry, but it is much faster than using the paper forms like the rest of cattle class.

 

Highly recommended.

 

The 12 Apps Every Traveler Needs to Download

Advice from my Favorite Travel Writer
Advice from my Favorite Travel Writer 300 200 Greg Ellifritz
Robert Young Pelton is my travel idol.  He is one of a very small number of journalists who travel to war zones all around the world, fearlessly documenting things that the average US citizen can’t even begin to contemplate.

 

In this article, RYP provides some great third-word travel advice.  If you haven’t read his book The World’s Most Dangerous Places, your travel education is incomplete.

 

Robert Young Pelton’s Travel Gear And Equipment Tips

 

You’ll also want to take a look at the same author’s followup article.

Geoarbitrage?
Geoarbitrage? 750 500 Greg Ellifritz

Have you ever heard of the term “geoarbitrage?”  It’s a money saving lifestyle where one earns money in American dollars (or some other Western currency) while living in a country with a much cheaper standard of living.  It allows people to enjoy a much higher standard of living than they could enjoy if they stayed in their home country.

My friend Daisy has a great article on the concept.  I’m going to be employing this strategy more and more in my retirement.

 

Is Geoarbitrage a Lifestyle Option for You?

South American Gun Laws
South American Gun Laws 702 501 Greg Ellifritz

Many of my readers are interested in firearms and self defense.  I regularly encounter Americans who believe that citizens of other countries can’t legally own defensive firearms.  That opinion is incorrect.

While gun ownership in countries outside the USA is generally a for more involved process than what is required to buy a gun in the USA, citizens of many other countries can own (and sometimes carry) firearms if they jump through all the right hoops.

I found the article below to be an informative comparison of gun laws in six large Latin American countries.  If you are interested in the gun laws in South America, check it out.

 

Gun Laws in Latin America’s Six Largest Economies

 

You may also enjoy Revolver Guy’s article Guns in Brazil.

 

Cycle Touring
Cycle Touring 701 404 Greg Ellifritz

Although I don’t think I would enjoy a long term cycle tour, the idea of biking around the world seems pretty cool.

 

This article covers the basics you need to understand before embarking on this unique mode of travel.

 

How to Travel by Bike – A Beginners Guide to Bikepacking & Cycle Touring

 

 

Becoming a Digital Nomad
Becoming a Digital Nomad 1263 631 Greg Ellifritz

Working remotely from a tropical country has a unique appeal.  If your work is location independent, why tie yourself down to any city you don’t enjoy?

I recently spent over a month doing my writing/blogging work from Mexico.  It was one of the best moves I’ve ever made.  Why should I suffer through winter in Ohio when I don’t have to?  Writing in Mexico in the sun was a far better option than being stuck in the snow in Ohio.

Much of my income comes from teaching classes, so remote work won’t be my sole occupation for quite some time.  With that said, I plan on consolidating my training classes in the future to allow me the opportunity to do several months of remote work from beautiful tropical countries for a good portion of the year.

If being a digital nomad is appealing to you, you’ll learn a lot by reading the following article.

How to be freelance: this is the reality of living the ‘dream’ Instagram lifestyle

 

Online Training Courses
Online Training Courses 150 150 Greg Ellifritz

One of the good things that has come out of Covid-19 social distancing is that many companies are improving their online training technology.  Those changes can help international travelers.  There are now a plethora of online classes one can take.

 

I recently found these two article recommending online back country safety and outdoor skills classes.  If you are stuck at home and want to learn new things, these look like great options.  Some of them are even free.

Stay Safe in the Backcountry: Take a Free Online Course

Prepare for Your Next Backcountry Adventure With These Online Outdoor Skills Courses

 

 

European Car Rental?
European Car Rental? 150 150 Greg Ellifritz

When I travel, I rarely rent cars.  Driving is a hassle in many countries.  Driving is exceptionally dangerous in others.  For me, relying on public transportation has always been my go-to method for foreign travel.

With that said, I realize some of my readers would rather have the freedom associated with renting their own cars on vacation.  If you are moving around a lot on your holiday, it may be more convenient to drive yourself.

I found this article to be exceptionally valuable.  It covers all aspects of European car rental.  Most of the tips are also useful for other continents as well.  If you are considering renting a car in a foreign country, it will be a useful resources.

 

Everything You Need To Know Before Renting A Car In Europe