How to travel with only a $1000

I really am not made of money, I just got tired of waiting. I left CA, because I got tired of doing the same thing and expecting things to work out. I was drinking a lot, depressed and frustrated. I finally got my shit together and finished college, the best thing I could do. I passed with flying fucking colors, so proud of myself. Didn’t waste time and money on a graduation ceremony, I just wanted out. Finishing school finally released the hold Santa Cruz had on me. I loved my job at the Empire Grill and my good friends I’ve made along the way, but personal mental health was my priority. I got rid of everything in 10 days, pushed to make decision because of a failing living situation. I left for Maui, HI with just a backpack.

I bummed on friend’s hammocks and couches, working all the while and seeing what I could see. I really wanted to settle down in Maui, make something of myself, you know. With school on the brain, I wanted to get into teaching and get serious, but the universe pushed me in a different direction. I had just gotten rid of everything, I had no lease agreement, no serious job, no kids, no stuff, and a lot of people I knew where having kids, getting cancer, and dying and I felt pushed to think about leaving and traveling some more. I kept talking about Thailand and Bali and finally, I found the cheapest ticket to Bali and I couldn’t pass it up. I was supposed to go with my best friend, but that quickly turned out to be a disappointing failure. However, I had made up my mind and there wasn’t a question left for me. I was going to Bali…alone.

Fucking scary, I’ll tell you that! I’ve never traveled alone overseas, I was nearly puking with excitement and anxiety, but I had to go. I knew nothing about Indonesia, but that was part of the excitement. All the unknown became a high, a giddy tension that I could feel in my veins pumping away, my  palms sweaty and ready. My feet never felt so light and steady. What about money? Will you get a job? Where are you going to stay? Do you know anyone over there? What if something happens??!?! All these questions by me and others whirled in my head on the flight there, but as soon as I landed, I didn’t care anymore. I mean I did, but not in a way to worry, so unlike me. The Australian’s have a word: cocksure. It means to be confident, without a doubt, of one’s self. That’s the feeling I have. I’m cocksure that I can be resourceful and survive anywhere. With my focus and humility in check, I have no doubt I can do anything.

With only $1000 I had to budget. I made a point to stop drinking for this trip and that helped. After lessons learned, the universe wanted me aware and appreciative of everything it had to offer. In a new place with so many things to see and soak in, leaving the bar behind was easy. I stayed in a really nice place for the first week in Bali, but it only cost me about $15/night. After that, I stayed in $3-5 hostels. They weren’t bad, clean beds and hot showers. One hostel gave me free breakfast every day and the other had a really nice pool and cheap instant noodles (real money saver). I paid for the $300 ticket to Bali and what I could of my hostel/hotel stays on my credit card. Still it’s been less than $400.

I didn’t need to pay for a visa for Bali with a US passport, but I did need a ticket out to be able to go. I got a $90 ticket to Perth, Australia. The cheapest ticket I have ever found for Australia!! ETA visa is online and only $20. So here I am. I signed up to WWOOF and that saved my ass big time. It’s a work exchange program basically, I help out around the farm in exchange for food and board. I haven’t spent a dime since I’ve been here. The work was a blessing, because it didn’t hit me until now that I was alone. I had made plans to marry my best friend if he came with me on this trip. If you know me, marriage and kids were never a thing for me to consider…but I thought maybe, maybe someone who could ride with me on this journey could certainly ride with me for life. As much as I’m hurt by that disappointment, I felt it was a positive thing too. I get to see the world through my eyes alone, to think about it and to be solely and beautifully consumed by it.

I applied for a holiday work visa to New Zealand (for the US, it’s free!). There I plan to do a work exchange until I can find a job, and save money . I get a year to do all that and in the meantime I get to enjoy NZ and all its spectacular sights. That’s the plan anyway, haha.