Blog

Unusual Experiences

21 essays

1. California Man Buys an Entire Cow and Feeds His Family for a Year

   This is a quest case study. ( Read others or nominate yourself . ) Sometimes the best part of a quest is when you wind up somewhere you never would have expected. For Jared Stone, he didn’t even think

2. How to Spend $46 and Receive Up to 9 Free Hotel Nights

   Want to do something fun that will help you travel for free? Just want to make fun of me and a couple of friends who are out to earn points? Here’s a chance to do either or both of those things. On De

3. Would You Pay $60 to Sit in a Hot Tub? First Look at the First Class Al Safwa Lounge in Doha, Qatar

   Yesterday I had the opportunity to be one of the very first passengers in an exclusive airport lounge that finally opened after a year’s worth of delays. This was the Al Safwa lounge in Doha, Qatar, o

4. Unnecessary Traffic Lights

   Have you ever pulled up to a stoplight and waited … and waited … while there was no other traffic in sight?

5. Audit Yourself to Improve Your Circumstances

   From time to time, it’s good to sit back and ask yourself a few questions. Here’s a starting point. *** Are you happy? Are you doing something you enjoy?

6. Interesting Facts on Visiting Angola

   Chances are, you probably won’t be visiting Angola anytime soon … but it’s always good to be prepared. Here’s a starting point. *** 1. The capital city of Luanda is now the mos

7. How to Play “Adventure Roulette” at the Airport

   From the department of spinning the wheel and going anywhere… “And where are you traveling to today, sir?” “I have no idea.” “Well, let me see your

8. Sometimes It Doesn’t Work, But You Still Have to Try Anyway

   You always hear about the people who took a chance that paid off. You always hear the try, try again stories—those case studies of overcoming what seems to

9. Visit to Tiger Kingdom

   Thanks to some fun travel hacking that led to a better-than-free side trip to Thailand, I took a couple days off at the end of my Belarus-to-Algeria adventure . I’ve been to Thailand a dozen tim

10. Why Focus on the Numbers?

    I’ve heard the question in various forms over the past couple of years: Why not just travel around the world without trying to go everywhere —in other words, why focus on the numbers? My answer

11. Why I Keep Returning to My Least Favorite Hotel in London

    Many years back, I checked into the Sheraton Heathrow after winning a bid on Priceline.

12. There’s No School For What You Need To Do

    At one of the stops on my current tour, the bookstore host introduced me by saying in part “… and Chris earned a master’s degree in International Studies

13. If You Have No Challenges, Maybe It’s Time To Change Your Life

    Have you ever walked around endless airport highway ramps for more than a mile? When it’s after 10pm and you’ve got your carry-on bags with you?

14. Life in Sudan: Interview with an Anonymous Aid Worker

    Greetings, friends and readers. Today I have a personal interview with one of our group who reads AONC from the Sudan. Christine (not her real name) is from the U.S. and works in the international dev

15. It’s Not My Birthday

    Originally published April 4, 2017 — Despite what Google or Wikipedia tells you, today (April 4th) is not my birthday.

16. When You’re Stuck In A Hole, Look For Someone To Join You: A Lesson In Empathy

    Happy Thanksgiving to all, and not just those in the U.S.! Thankfulness is available no matter where you live.

17. Instead of Manufacturing Hype, Just Start Doing Great Work

    I got a call to do some filming for a marketing agency in Los Angeles. I had the date open and it sounded interesting, so I decided to go.

18. The 5 Million Frequent Flyer Mile Challenge

    **January 2012 Update ** This post is from way back in 2009. Much of the info is still fairly accurate, but see other entries for updates. I also have a new credit card offer page where you can learn

19. What’s Something You’ve Done that Few Other People Have?

    It’s a simple question: what have you done that few other people have? Think about it.

20. How to Travel to Random Places and Work on a Project

    Greetings from the sky, on board Cathay Pacific’s longest flight. There are 16 hours scheduled for my “air world” time today, although it looks like we may

21. If You Can’t Learn Math, Maybe It’s Not Your Fault

    I dropped out of high school and never learned algebra or geometry—not for lack of trying. Here's what that experience taught me about how we think about intelligence and learning.