May
01

Finally, my answers to all your questions about my RTW trip & random things!!!

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  1. Great Q&A Jaime!

    I love your answer to this question “South Texas boy traveling countries full of hate for the West… Were you ever threatened or felt threatened?”

    So true, even though the media shows the world as a dangerous place, I have never had any major problems in my two years of traveling as well. Sure, I met some scammers every once in a while but that’s just a tiny fraction compare to all the good souls that I met on the road (not to mention the strangers who helped me along the way even if most of the times we don’t speak each others language).

    Enjoy your travel break in Texas 🙂
    flipnomad recently posted..Every Single Day Counts

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Thanks Flip that was my favorite question of all because I know it’s common and many people want to know that. I’m glad with our blogs we are able to teach people that it’s not all what you see in the media. Hope you are doing well. Where are you these days?

  2. Great, great post, Jaime! Thanks for all the answers! I know what you mean about meeting other travel bloggers…well, while we’ve only met Jess and Dani (no one else yet), we had the same feeling that we were meeting old friends even though it was our first meeting!

    As for the teaching English without a certificate question, I would say that China is a good place to go. If you’re a native speaker (or even if you’re not, and speak good English), you can probably get a job teaching English there as it’s in such high demand.
    Sam recently posted..April 2013 Report

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Thanks Sam for the question and glad you enjoyed the answer. I can’t believe you have only met Jess & Dani. Well at least you met one of my favs. We are best friends and I love them to death… they are both great people. I hope one day our paths cross. Thanks for answering the other question about teaching English… now I’m wondering if I should do that. That would be so interesting. China… hmmm?

  3. Love the answers! Especially the one about being in a comfort zone even when backpacking – it’ so true! Sometimes I wish I was more adventurous at times, or wish I didn’t let budget dictate my actions as much, but like you, I still have no regrets.
    Also, that’s the second time I’ve heard of US citizens getting questioned when returning home – do you think it was because of some of the places you travelled to? Or the fact that you didn’t go home in 2 years?
    ConfusedJulia recently posted..Why I Prefer Blogs Over Guide Books

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Glad you loved the answers and am happy you know what I mean about being in the “comfort zone when backpacking”. I think people don’t realize how easy it is to get into one when you are traveling all over the world, but sometimes it really is and I love it. I want to write more about it because I think that will also help people realize you don’t have to be adventurous to travel the world. I know I had more than enough of adventure, but at times I was like okay enough of hard travel I want the easy way out and well I would do that. Anyway so umm yes I was detained entering the USA for traveling too much… I will be writing about it soon. It was mostly for both I was away for 2 years and spent a huge chunk of it in the Middle East. Go figure… oh America!

  4. Great post Jaime! I especially like your answer to the question about whether you ever felt threatened because of being American. So true what you said about the media in the US and the false American dream. Oh, the US border patrol thing? How have I not heard about this?
    Ali recently posted..Beyond Vacation Kick-Off Itinerary Part 2

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Thanks Ali so much & glad that was a good answer to that question. I could have gone on forever, but thought that answered it and was to the point. Oh & yes I will share the story soon about the US border patrol.

  5. Hi Jaime,

    I have a follow-up question to one you answered above: So what did you do with your laptop, camera, and other valuables while at the beach (especially when you went into the water)? Would you ever leave them in a hostel locker or would you take them with you and have a trusted person watch them, or what?

    Thanks and I’m definitely looking forward to hearing about your re-entry story!
    …Chuck

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Hi Chuck, thanks for the follow up question. That was the tricky part. I always made sure I stay in a hostel who had private lockers so I can make sure I lock all my belongings up while I am out for the day at the beach or exploring the city. If I couldn’t find one I would see how much a private was and sometimes upgrade just to have my own room and be able to keep everything locked and safe like that. If after all that still nothing then I would have to leave it with the receptionist. That’s the downside of traveling with a lot of valuables you then have to figure out how to keep them safe.

  6. Nice answers! I really liked your answer to the question about being from the West and if you ever felt threatened. I haven’t been to many parts of the world yet, but I also get the general same feeling that people are just curious about why people travel. And really, Americans don’t travel internationally that much and when they do it seems like they go in groups and families.

    I would ask a follow up question though, did you ever feel that people expected you to help them out (i.e. handouts)? What about your time in India? Did the poverty ever make you feel really depressed?

    When I was in India, I felt really troubled by the poverty, and felt very conflicted about it, sometimes in the case of having to pay a “foreigner’s price.” I also felt very conflicted about being a woman in a country where women are not given all the respect they deserve. I hope to write about this more on my blog, but wanted to hear your thoughts!
    chewy recently posted..First semester nearly done! Thoughts and what I probably should have accomplished by now…

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Hi Chewy thanks for your response and question. When you are from “The West” or really anywhere visiting an impoverished part of the world people automatically assume you have $$$ and can help them. Some will ask you straight up for money others you will see it’s children doing the dirty work. What you have to do is learn to ignore it. Yes I know that sounds horrible, but if you are going to spend the majority of your time traveling in developing countries you know you can not change thing and especially not by giving out hand outs.I hate giving out money because then you feed the cycle of “tourist” giving them money. Sometimes especially in India the poverty does make you feel sick and guilty for the life you have been able to live and the life millions around the world are living in poverty. It’s surreal to experience and see it 1st hand, but in the end it makes you feel grateful and for me it makes try not to be wasteful anymore. Sometimes when I knew I was being ripped off I’d let it slide because I know these people could really use the $0.50 more than I could, but then sometimes I’d argue over that much because we were told one thing and for me it’s about the principle. It’s crazy, but you know what I mean if you have travelled through India. Oh India… the craziest country in the world, I hated it when I was there and miss it now more than ever.

  7. Sorry I missed the question asking, but I don’t think this was asked … what place is #1 on your list to go to next? Or, I suppose what is one place that you didn’t make it to that you really wanted to. Good stuff, man!
    Scott recently posted..It Was A Good Day

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Hey Scott, no worries about missing my question asking. Nope that question was not asked. After Egypt Australia has always been the country I want to visit, but I also wanna backpack through South America. So for now I think I am saving to backpack through S.A. for a bit then head to Australia and do the working VISA there. We’ll see what happens though… we all know plans can change.

  8. Great little insight into your travels bro – looking forward to your next adventure! 🙂
    Chris recently posted..HOSTEL REVIEW – Raglan Backpackers, New Zealand

  9. This is by far the most sincere reply I get to the question I throw 😉 I know you are excited to be on the road again and I am as excited to read your adventures too 🙂

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Glad you liked the answer Wends. I always am honest and will continue to do so. I hope I’m back on the road sooner than later.

  10. Thank you for the answers to all the questions! Your blog helped me through the dark moments I have been going through, separated from my partner who is in Brazil while I am in Japan….I can’t wait to be back in Brazil at the end of June. If you pass through Sao Paulo, you can definitely stay with us….but maybe you will be back in Egypt…..I send you my best!

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Hey Dave, glad you enjoyed my answers and am happy my blog is helping ya. I can only imagine how hard it is to be away from the one you love. I know he & I broke up, but I still think of him & Egypt every day. Who knows maybe I will be back in Egypt one day. I send you my best too. Oh & if I visit South America next ummm we will have to meet up in Brazil.

  11. Great read! You were actually 1 of 3 bloggers that inspired me to take my current RTW. I would love to read your follow up on the troubles with customs and border patrol since I am an American as well. Thanks!

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Wow Stan, so nice to know that I inspired you to take your current RTW. That is amazing. So where are you? How long have you been on the road? I’ll be posting that story soon for sure. Let me know if you need anything. Always happy to help.

      • Ill be looking forward to it. I’ve been on the road for 5 months and went to New Zealand, Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and now in Malaysia. Lets hope I have a better time in Malaysia than you did.

        • Jaime Davila says:

          Oh you will love those countries Stan. As for Malaysia it’s not a bad experience, I just felt like it was a bit boring. That’s just me though. It’s a great country either way.

  12. Such a great post as usual! And thank you for your answers to my many questions 🙂 i am now really curious to read about why they didnt allow you to enter the US because you travelled too much!(?!!?)…sounds crazy!
    Oh regarding teaching english without a certificate i wanted to say that im doing it in thailand and i know its quite easy…only thing is that the places where teachers are needed the most are remote villages where nobody else wants to go 🙂 …but in my case im.more than happy to be where i am…:))
    kle recently posted..2 weeks to fall in Love with Cambodia

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Hey Kle, thanks & thanks & thanks for all your questions. Glad you liked the answers and that I was able to help you! I will be sharing that post a bit later, but I will be writing about why they didn’t let me in. Hope the info you provided about teaching English helps others.

      Hope you are enjoying it & happy!!! <3

  13. Whoa. These are a lot of questions! And it’s partly my fault since I asked like 50 million of them! First off… not a Mariah Fan? What? “The Emancipation of Mimi” and “Without You” are good answers though! 🙂
    I’m considering moving to Thailand to teach, which is why I asked the teaching/ vegetarian question. Though I’m still in the researching stage ( a lot of researching).
    And, I love Grey’s but I think it’s going to end soon. Though after killing off two of their characters, they are doing a good job keeping the show alive.
    Thanks for answering my questions.
    Priya recently posted..Officially Wisdom Teethless

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Hey Priya, it’s okay I’m glad you asked all your questions! Well it’s not that Im not a Mariah fan, I’m just not a huge fan. I’m glad some of my readers were able to answer your question about teaching English abroad. Hope those help. I hope Grey’s doesn’t end soon. I know it’s been on for a long time now, but I just love it. It’s so dramatic and well makes me cry often…lol! Let me know if you have any other questions.

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