I’m teaching English as a second language in Xi’an, China. Keep in mind the cost of living would be dramatically higher if I were living in Shanghai or Beijing. Since this is my first month, I needed a lot of basic things for the apartment. I landed in Beijing August 25th, 2010 and arrived in Xi’an on the 26th.

Accommodation is paid for by the university. I have yet to pay for electricity but from what I understand, it’s fairly cheap anyway.

Bank Days: (in USD)

• $17.76 | Meal in Tokyo for Layover
• $44.23 | Beijing Airport | Aug 25th
• $44.23 | Xi’an | Aug 28th
• $44.16 | Sept 1st
• $73.74 | Sept 4th
• $44.29 | Sept 9th
• $44.47 | Sept 11th
• $44.55 | Sept 14th
• $44.77 | Sept 18th

Total: $402.2USD

Spent On:

• Each meal is typically 10RMB for lunch or dinner. Breakfast is about 4RMB. I normally need my three meals a day.
• About twice a week I spurge spending around 25 to 40RMB for a dinner. I love a good BBQ on the streets with a few friends.
• I’ve partied. At the bars it ranges from 10RMB to 20RMB a beer. On the street it’s 4RMB. There has been about plenty of nights of this.
• I needed things for my apartment. New pillow, snacks, coffee, tea, soap, shampoo, hangers, rug, and a few other small items. Most of these will last for months.
• I’m taking Chinese lessons. It’s 40RMB an hour and I go twice a week.
• Touring around here and there to downtown Xi’an.

$1usd = 6.8rmb

Verdict

I’ve spent a lot according to the Chinese standards of living in this area. I’m living 30 minutes from downtown so things are a bit cheaper than in the city center. I could have done it for less but it would mean sitting in my apartment all month with anything. Most of the money went towards getting settled and experiencing what Xi’an has to offer. In the coming months, I plan to take it easy. I’ve got most of what I need to get by. I’m estimating in the coming months, I’ll be averaging $200USD a month.

I hope this helps give you a general idea what to expect if you plan to teach English in China. Again, prices vary significantly in different cities. I may also buy things you may not need/want and vice versa.

One of the highlights of my job-hunting journey in Nova Scotia so far has been tidal bore rafting at the Tidal Bore Rafting Park and Cottages in Shubenacadie.

The river is one of only eight rivers in the world where you can do this, and three of those rivers are in the Bay of Fundy where the highest tides in the world exist.

The whole day was ridiculously fun. One of my favourite memories is jumping out of the raft and sinking into warm mud, then tearing off my shoes and flinging myself down the mud slides. I’ve never been so dirty in my life.

Then we stood on a sandbar and waited for the tide to come in. I must admit, I expected to see a massive wall of water coming towards us, but watching the bore creep in was kinda spooky just the same. The sandbar disappeared in minutes. Then all the converging currents started causing mayhem and huge waves.

We had purposely avoided the raft with kids in it so we could curse and scream as much as we wanted. It’s a good thing too, because the expletives coming out of our mouths would have made a pornstar blush.

But I don’t need to tell you anything else, just watch Cailin’s video! I love how I’m making a “dirt angel” and Joanne is in the background sarcastically saying, “You are a dirt angel.” I love my friends.

In other news, HostelBookers is giving away a RTW ticket, and all you have to do is fill out a survey for a chance to win! Do it. Then give your ticket to me.

Thanks to a visit from a friend from the U.S., I had the opportunity to settle in and relax in Bradford-on-Avon, a small town about 10 miles outside of Bath, England. It’s off the beaten tourist path, but a great place to chill out and re-group for the week.

The town emanates from its central bridge, which also includes the old jail. I’m pretty sure it’s not in use these days, but I found it fascinating that the one-room jail pictured below was built right on the main bridge. Considering the quiet nature of BOA, it was probably more commonly used as a drunk tank than a facility for hardened criminals.

BOA was a very successful textile hub starting in the 13th century, then transitioned to an industrial town in the 1800s, due in part to a deal between resident Stephen Moulton and Charles Goodyear to bring vulcanized rubber to Britain. Moulton’s ancestors remain in the town and have a factory where they build very unique folding bicycles.

A couple of highlights of the town and area:

The best part about this very attractive Catholic Church is that the first floor is an HSBC bank. Evidently, the church is renting out space.

One of the favorite features of the area is the canal, which includes several miles of dirt cycling paths.The canal follows nearby the Avon river, but is built for transport. Due to the grade change of the landscape the canal passes through, there are locks allowing the boats to ascend or descend the different sections.

The locks are manually operated and there are dozens of them along the way, so traveling from one end to the other is a very time consuming process, taking several days. There were canal boats moored all along the way – some appeared to be residences, some were vacation rentals like aqua-friendly RVs and there were even businesses in the boats – including a mobile restaurant and hair salon.

Once the boats are inside the lock, the rear gates are closed, allowing the water level and canal boats to rise, then the front gates open (pic) before they continue on their way.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the canal is the bridges that are built to carry the canal. The bridge below holds only a walking path and the canal. I’m not sure why I found that so strange, but a canal crossing over a river was something I’d never seen before.

A short ride from Bradford-on-Avon, Bath is the nearest metropolitan area. Lots of restaurants, shops and services.

My favorite story from Bath is about Queen Victoria. When she was 7 years old, she helped to christen the Bath park. In the papers the next day, a reporter described her as “dowdy.” Her feelings were so badly hurt, she never returned to Bath. Even after reigning for decades, the shades on her windows were always drawn when passing by in a train.

Bath park, with the Bath Abbey in the background.

Oh, and the briefly popular alternative band Jesus Jones got its start in Bradford-on-Avon. No monuments have been erected. Yet.

Life is like a metaphysical Etch A Sketch. You can spin the knobs for only so long before you can’t see what you’re doing anymore. Sometimes you need to give it a good shake and start over.

I gave notice at my job two weeks ago and my last day is one month away. How’s that for shaking things up?

It’s that liminal period now, where the goal I’ve worked toward and waited on is suddenly rocketing at me with no breaks, reserve chute, or regard for red-colored traffic signals. Take heed: the future is never as far away as it feels.

That said, I’ve got an In Da Club/Jump Around/Bring ‘Em Out mashup playing in my head that’s got me buzzing on adrenaline and excitement for a thing long sought: possibility.

Plans & Happenings

Coming off the insane death ride that was August, I rang in September with renewed focus on Traveling Savage. First thing on the docket: vaccinations. I’d almost rather take suppositories than subject myself to shots, so this cut the music on my mental mashup pretty fast. But I set my resolve and clenched my jaw, and now I’m immune to Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A, and Typhoid (in addition to Hepatitis B and Tetanus from previous vaccines). It’s kind of magical. The Rabies vaccine is extremely expensive so I’ve just decided to avoid snuggling up with stray dogs. Despite my good health insurance plan, these vaccinations were not covered and they’re expensive. Wish I’d read this post on travel vaccinations before I’d had mine.

Early last week I crossed another bridge when I bought my flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Of all the milestones I’ve passed along this journey, buying the tickets to Argentina was the most real and nerve-wracking (so far). I fly Chicago-Houston-Buenos Aires on November 9 and return on December 10, a month later. Sadly, there was no cheap deal to be had; the ticket was the most expensive one I’ve ever purchased and it still stings. I’ve learned that flying out of Chicago on this particular route is sub-optimal, and prices are simply not coming down. But I have a ticket! This is really happening.

Finally, just a week ago, I laid out a possible framework for my future travels around the world. The input I received in the comments of that post has been helpful, expansive, and ultimately more complicating (in a good way). It’s a good spot to be in, though, and I’m happy to have at least some ideas about what’s after Argentina. I forgot to mention that there’ll be a trip to Vancouver in the mix, in early June, for TBEX ’11!

Features & PR

I’ve had a fantastic month connecting with other travelers and getting the word out on Traveling Savage, including a couple of recent features. Since the last State of the Savage, GloboTreks, run by nice guy Norbert Figueroa, included my post on giving notice in their good reads for the month of August. Some days later, Bryan from Budget Your Trip featured Traveling Savage and I provided some insight into how we’re making this life change happen financially.

Around the same time, Travelpology included my Trackpacking post on Rodrigo y Gabriela in their weekly round-up of travel stories. Slight tangent: the Rodrigo y Gabriela show I was so excited to see was CANCELED. Gabriela threw her wrist out or something. Earlier this month I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Jodi Sagorin via Skype. Jodi’s gearing up for some adventure travel, and she asked me a series of questions about my travel philosophy. She published her e-book, How To Be An Adventurer, just last week and I’m featured in it along with some excellent company, including Chris Guillebeau, Colin Wright, Raam Dev, Derek Earl Baron, and Lauren McLeod.

This week I was featured on two Web sites: Untemplater and Briefcase to Backpack. Untemplater selected my untemplating story for publication and kindly shared it with their audience. Briefcase to Backpack asked me a few questions about my career break and I explained how I’m breaking one career and building another, one that’s in line with my values and passions. I’ve got a healthy respect for both of these sites and I enjoy the motivational stories they publish on a regular basis.

Parting Thought

The strength of your conviction is directly correlated to your ability to persevere and succeed. So make waves with something you believe in.

In a little over a month I will be on the road making this plan a reality. Sláinte!

Listening to: Bon Iver

Original photo by Mooganic via Flickr under Creative Commons

State of the Savage: September 2010 is a post from Traveling Savage.Copyright 2010

As the center of the Silk Road, Uzbekistan has a long history of diversity. Not surprising given that traders mingled here for hundreds of years bringing goods from Southeast Asia, China, the Persian Empire, Europe and the Middle East through the region. With their goods of course came people, wives, children, servants and slaves. Then there were the conquerors who ravaged the land looking to cash in on the wealth and—before getting too far into the region’s history—you have probably the most unique melting pot of races, ethnicities and cultures in the ancient world. Uzbekistan was probably the world’s first global society. Some of that diversity remains today. Populations of Koreans, Chinese, Russians, Persians, Turks, Nomads, Christians, ... Related posts:

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Guest post by @brieee

The past few Saturdays, I have had the privilege of “Sanuking My Saturday” with the amazing Dwight Turner and a handful of other volunteers. Each week, we go to two communities within Bangkok- one in the slums along the train tracks, and one a bit closer to middle class, but both equally amazing. Every single one of the children are so incredible, smart, and absolutely adorable. I can honestly say that I love every second I spend with them and there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be on Saturdays than with them (and I can really say in the world, because I’ve traveled as far around the globe as I possibly could to get here!) . Quite often, I find myself wondering how I can repay them, as I feel that they are doing me such a great service, rather than the other way around. I actually feel like I’m lessening the experience by trying to put it into words, so I’d prefer to let the photos speak for themselves.

If you’re currently in Thailand or thinking about volunteering in Thailand, visit In Search of Sanuk for additional information on all their volunteering needs.

Brianne Hoyt-Stern

Brianne Hoyt-Stern was born and raised in New Jersey and currently lives and works in New York City. She specializes in 2D animation and design and has earned her BFA in Computer Art from the School of Visual Arts. She enjoys spending her free time taking photographs, especially HDR images. Although she loves art, her greatest passion is traveling. She tries to combine her two loves by taking much of her inspiration from the traveling she has done and her time spent overseas. Her artwork is a strong reflection of her experiences. Follow Brianne on Twitter @brieee.

I know what your thinking, What do Canadian Celebrities have to do with travel?

Well, nothing really.

Except for the fact that we are often asked during our travels what famous Canadians are out there?

I was looking through an old travel journal the other day and saw a list that we started compiling of Canadian Celebrities.  We started jotting them down because whenever someone asked us who our Canadian Celebrities are, we could never think of one. Only Celine Dion came to mind and that’s lame because we know we have many cool actors and musicians that were born in Canada.

If we kept them in our journal, we could whip out the list and be prepared… Yeah, like that would ever happen.

Inspired by a Travel Journal Entry.

So, from an excerpt out of my travel journal from years gone by to some updated additions from today, here is our list of Canadian Celebrities.

Hot Today

• Ellen Page – Juno, Inception, Xmen and academy award nomination…This Girl is the next big thing.
• Michael Cera – Juno, Scott Pilgrim Vs the World, and with the new Arrested Development Movie in the Works, he just may stay in the spotlight.
• Rachel McAdams - First came onto the scene in Mean Girls, then The NoteBook, Time Travelers Wife and Sherlock Holmes, oh yeah, she’ll be around for a long time.
• Seth Rogan - Film Credits include, Superbad, Pineapple Express, Funny People and coming up, The Green Hornet
• Ryan Renolds - Funny enough, he and Alanis were engaged at one point. today he is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. Married to Scarlette Johanson, he is set to star in the Green Lantern.
• Anna Paquin - Academy Award Winner for the Piano, but more recently from X-men and True Blood

Bonafide Stars Can We say Longevity

• Keannu Reeves – Speed, The Matrix, you know his movies. I saw his name on a hockey plaque at a summer camp in Ontario where he played goalie in hockey. Now that was cool
• Kieffer Sutherland – 24 the Series and upcoming feature film, one time engaged to Julia Roberts, a Brat Packer of the 80′s can we say Young Guns?
• Donald Sutherland - Kieffer’s dad and Hollywood icon
• Michael J Fox -Back to the Future and Family Ties fame and Parkinson’s disease advocate.
• William Shatner - Captain Kirk, Star Trek, need I say more.
• Christopher Plummer - A great thespian famously known for his role as Baron Von Trapp in The Sound of Music which he is not thrilled with.
• Leslies Nielson - From a long career as a serious actor to a reinvention in the Naked Gun Farce Series of Films in the 90′s.

TV Stars

• John Roberts – CNN News Anchor. We knew him when he was JD Roberts, VJ for The New Music on City TV
• Joshua Jackson – Dawsons Creek and Fringe. But I liked him best in One Week.
• Scott Speedman – Felicity and Underworld
• Evangaline Lilly – Kate from Lost one of our favourite TV series ever.
• Jason Priestly - 90210 Fame.
• Neve Campbell - Party of Five and The Scream Movies. Just may make a comeback as Scream 4 is in the works!
• Matthew Perry - Our Canadian “Friend”
• Alex Trebek - Host of Jeopardy
• Howy Mandel - Comedian and host of Deal or No Deal and now America’s Got Talent. I remember him in St. Elsewhere when he had hair
• Sandra Oh – Greys Anatomy
• Paul Schaffer - Band Leader of The Late Show with David Letterman (or whatever name the show is going by these days

Comedians

• Lorne Michaels – Creator of Saturday Night Live
• Jim Carrey – One of the worlds biggest comedian in the 90′s. Chugging along today.
• Mike Myers – We have it on good authority that he was a jerk while working on The Love Guru in Toronto. Too bad, because we use to be very proud that our Scarborough boy made good. Not so much anymore.
• Dan Aykroyd – Go to the Second City downtown Toronto and you will see a wall of great comedians that had performed on the stage. Dan Aykroyd was one of them and he is still going strong. Ghostbusters III is rumoured to be in the works!
• Martin Short - Another great comedian, Martin Short did the rounds of Second City and SCTV before going on to hollywood greatness.
• John Candy – Our beloved Comedian that died too soon.
• Norm MacDonald - Saturday Night Live Alumni
• Rick Moranis – Honey I Shrunk the Kids, A Mackenzie Brother and A Ghostbuster
• Phil Hartman – Saturday Night Live, News Radio, Feature Film Comedian, Killed by gunshot by wife.

Pop and Rock Stars

• Avril Lavigne - Our teen rock/pop singing sensation.
• Justin Bieber – Our Teen phenomenon that we can’t really figure out what is all the bieber fever around the world?
• Niel Young – One of the greatest songwriters of all time. Crosby
• Sarah McLachlan - Lilith Fair and Dawson’s Creek. Sarah McLachlan has a smooth voice that was the anthem of sad songs. “I Will Remember You”
• Rush – Rock Icons
  Tragically Hip - Canadian Rock Icons that never really broke into the American Market
• Alanis Morrisette - Angst rock queen of the 90′s, We loved listening to You Otta know and Isn’t it Ironic
• The Guess Who - Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman wrote American Woman and many other Rock God Songs of the 60′s and 70′s. We saw them in concert a few years ago and they still got it.
• Barenaked Ladies - Rock Band from Toronto that did great across the border
• Sum 41 – Punk Band that had a good run there for a while.
• Michael Buble – Jazz Singer and Grammy Winner
• Dianna Krall – Jazz Pianist and singer. Grammy winner.

Bombshells

• Pamela Anderson -Playboy playmate and Baywatch Babe.
• Shannon Tweed - Playboy Playmate and spouse to Kiss Rocker Gene Simmons. Love watching the family Jewels Shannanigans.
• Shania Twain – Country music sensation that crossed over to mainstream pop and one gorgeous lady.
• Kim Cattrall – Vamp from Sex in the City.

Directors

• James Cameron – Director of Titanic and Avatar, academy award winner.
• Norman Jewison – Academy Award Winner and Director of on of my all time favourite movies, Moonstruck with Cher and Nicolas Cage.
• David Cronenberg – Director of freaky movies like The Fly, History of Violence and Eastern Promises
• Adam Egoyan – Not really a fan of his work, but has been nominated for an academy award for The Sweet Hereafter.

Had a time in the Spotlight during Big Flix

• Carrie Ann Moss – Trinity of The Matrix
• Catherine O’hara – A comedian and always working actress, but best known for the Home Alone Movies.
• Hayden Christensen - Anikan Skywalker

Now when someone asks us in a conversation who are our famous Canadians, I will be able to point them to our site, because believe me, we will never remember when put on the spot.

Canadian Celebrities, A List From My Travel Journal is a post from: The Planet D: Canada's Adventure Couple

Anyone here fancy a round-the-world trip? All expenses paid of course. Oh, and with £1000 cash thrown in just to sweeten the deal.

If that sounds right up your alley (and it’s certainly up ours), we suggest you pay attention.

HostelBookers has just launched the biggest ever 2010 HostelBookers Travel Survey, and they want you to take part. By revealing all about your country favourites, budget backpacking tips, hostelling experiences and overseas love life (don’t worry, it’s all anonymous!), you will automatically go in the draw to win this mega prize valued at a £4000 pounds. It’s the perfect chance to follow in the footsteps of Julia Roberts and create your own ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ style adventure!

In 2009, an amazing 10,000 people participated in the first annual survey from HostelBookers. As for some of the more interesting finds…

• You’re actually a pretty cultured lot, with 87% listing sightseeing as their top travel activity….then there’s the 17% who just wanted to get drunk.
• Apparently Aussies are the best holiday lovers, followed closely by their super smooth Italian counterparts. You bumbling Brits didn’t do too badly either, scraping in to grab the third place spot.
• MySpace? It’s so 2008! Only 2% said they used their profiles here to keep in touch with friends and family back home. Facebook, on the other hand, scored 61% of the vote. Easy to see who’s winning that game.
• And how romantic! 35% of you have found love on your travels…
• …but we possibly should mention that this love didn’t always last. Only 15% found a long-term partner.

Agree? Disagree? Where do you fit in?

Click below and take the 2010 survey now to be in with a chance to win.

(this is a sponsored post)

Related posts:

1. WINNER OF €10,000 RYANAIR SCRATCH CARD EATS WINNING TICKET – but that’s not the only funny part…
2. Ryan Air To Offer Stand Up Seats & Other Crazy Money-Saving (But Not Stress Saving) Options
3. Weekly Travel Question – How Do You Choose Where You Travel To Next?

My 36 hours in Paris were dedicated to photography; it was my only goal.

Photography is still very new to me; I bought my first SLR camera in 2006 and took lessons to learn how to use the camera.  Therefore my first travels never really had a photography element to them. Therefore, when I found myself near Paris 8 years after my first trip there, I knew I wanted to capture the city photographically; making up for the lack of pictures I took 8 years prior.

I arrived in the late afternoon from Brussels and decided to forgo a hotel reservations in Paris and instead stay with my friend Audrey and her adorable cat Eros, I was off and clicking with my camera. I started in Audrey’s neighborhood and went to Pere LaChais Cemetery on recommendation from Mark at Travel Wonders. Visiting a foreign cemetery may seem strange, but this cemetery was more like a park; gorgeous landscaping, rolling hills, interesting tombstones, and famous people were put to rest there. A truly unique travel experience that shouldn’t be missed in Paris.

View all Pere LaChaise Cemetery photography

That evening I took a long metro ride to get some shots of the Eiffel Tower at night. I wasn’t subject to the new blinking light show at the Eiffel Tower thankfully as I prefer the traditional over the new age light shows any day…or night!

Thanks to some great advice I received on Twitter and on Facebook, I started the next day early; sunrise at Sacre Coeur and a walk through Montmartre neighborhood before anyone was awake.

I picked up a picnic lunch and hopped on the subway riding towards Place de la Concorde. Here I sat in the park by one of the large fountain pools and soaked up Paris. I took off my shoes, sat in a comfy chair, ate my baguette, and relaxed. After my picnic lunch I walked through the park towards the Louvre. This was my first chance really seeing the controversial pyramid at the Louvre entrance. From a photography perspective, I loved the pyramid, from an architecture perspective, I’m still a little ‘iffy’ on the pyramid.

I walked along the Seine River towards Ile de la Cite and quickly view Notre Dame amongst the thousands of tourists. My pristine blue skies seemed to be disappearing fast as dark clouds started taking over the blue sky. I crossed over to the left bank and hopped back on the metro towards the Eiffel Tower in hopes to catch the famed tower with a nice blue backdrop. However, by the time I got off the metro and walked to the Eiffel Tower, the dark clouds had settled in. However, no matter what the backdrop, the Eiffel Tower is always elegant.

I went to a café to rest my feet and get a jolt of espresso and then continue across the river towards Trocadero in order to get shots of the Eiffel Tower from the other direction. Luckily, as I sat by the fountains at Trocadero The clouds slowly gave way to blue skies again. This had to be one of the strangest photography weather days I had experienced! After getting my landscapes of the tower with a blue background, I then continued walking to the Arc de Triumph. I passed on the expensive ticket to go to the top and decided instead to stay on the ground.

My day was quickly disappearing so after a quick walk down the Champs Elysees I hopped back on the metro, picked up my backpack at Audrey’s and said goodbye to Eros and made my way back to Gare du Nord. I sat in my train seat gently rocking with the train movement, reviewing my day of photography. The trip was quick, but completely worth it as this time, I had digital memories which would last forever.

Photos of my 36 hours in Paris:

Related Posts

• Will the real Eiffel Tower Please Stand Up?
• Paris Then and Now
• Photo of the Week – Paris
• Photo of the Week – Rome, Italy
• Photo of the Week – Knokke, Belgium
• Photo of the Week – New York City
• Photo (Postcard) of the Week – Netherlands
• Photo of the Week – Leuven Belgium
• Photo of the Week – Kinderdijk Netherlands
• Photo of the Week – Brussels

Since I began full-time traveling nearly 4 months ago, I’ve had to accept the ebb and flow of life.

Gypsy Wednesday has been a blast for the past 9 months, without it I wouldn’t have met Keith Savage, Colin Burns, Colin Wright, and Christine Ka’aloa. Without it I wouldn’t have been able to express my feelings, the trends in travel.

Sadly, it’s time to let GW go.

To continue as I delve further into the travel life is proving difficult. At this point I would rather concentrate on pitching to editors, telling travel stories or capturing interviews on the road.

I also want to focus on producing a few e-books, which is hard to do when I have to coordinate a weekly feature that usually takes several days to compose.

BUT…

Another option I’ve been dancing with is inviting a guest writer on-board to take on GW. So, if you’re a new writer to the travel universe, want to gain exposure, or just meet other travelers email nomadic.chick@gmail.com. Pitch me, make it happen!

This isn’t a sad occasion at all, but a new chapter as I jump right into the thick of travel! I plan to bring exciting stories, wanderings, and much more!

My travels morph from sleepy Canada into a possible trip to New York, TBEX Europe, then onto India for most likely 6 months. We’ll see how I weather that one.

To those who loved and supported Gypsy Wednesday, thanks for all the masterful comments and lively discussions.

Also, let’s leave it to democracy, a poll is attached for your voting pleasure.

When it comes to Gypsy Wednesday…

(polls)