Wandering Earl: “For me, home is wherever I can lay my head at night”

St. Augustine said: “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page”.

We travel to see the world, to meet new people, new traditions, to forget all about our worries or maybe to discover ourselves. Either way, we all have in common that feeling that we need to know more about the world that we live in.

We admire the people who embrace traveling as part of their existence. It takes a lot of courage to leave all behind and start following your journey. It’s never easy, but somehow, for some people, their soul never completely rests until they are on the road.

Earl is one of those people. He’s a 34 year-old-guy from Boston, USA, who made possible a life of a constant travel. He left home in 1999 for a 3 month trip to Asia that has gone on ever since, teaching him various lessons and letting him discover on his own the wonders of this big and sometimes scary world.

Until now, he visited 83 countries and he’s still full of energy and enjoying every single part of his journey.

Earl is a permanent nomad and a very interesting person. Although he shares his experiences on his blog, we wanted to know more about him and the lessons he learned along the way.

How it all started

It takes a lot of courage to leave all behind and focus your life on travelling around the globe. When and how did you realise that this is your journey in life?

It all happened one week into my very first solo backpacking trip when I decided to celebrate the Millennium at the fascinating temple complex of Angkor Wat in the jungles of Cambodia.

On December 31, 1999 I was sitting on a temple wall just before midnight, surrounded by impressive temples rising above the jungle, watching the Buddhist monks release lanterns in the sky, eating and drinking with the local Cambodians around me, and joining in all the festivities with 40,000 others.

And right there, as I looked around me, I realized that I was learning more every single day of this trip than I had ever learned during school.

That realization simply made me want to travel for as long as I possibly could, to see more of the world, to learn more, to meet people that I would otherwise never meet. That’s when I realized that travel was going to play a major role in my life from that point on.

“In order to truly understand something, you need to see it with your own eyes”

You say that these days your focus is not so much on the sights you see but on the life changing lessons learned along the way. Can you please tell us one important lesson that you’ve learned on the road, and try to explain us how did it change you?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that in order to truly understand something, you need to see it with your own eyes. It’s as simple as that. I made this realization after visiting so many countries where my preconceived notions were proven not just wrong, but completely wrong.

Places that we think are dangerous are, in fact, very safe. People that we think hate us, actually like us very much. And the list goes on and on. Of course, this lesson has changed my life in major ways as I now choose not to believe what I read or hear about something or some country or a particular group of people until I experience that very thing or meet those very people myself.

You said that human interaction is very important for you in your travelling. Have you met people or made friends that made you stay longer in a certain country?

This happens all the time. I never know who I’m going to meet each day and sometimes, I do meet people who influence my decision to stay in a particular country for a longer period than I had originally planned.

This has happened to me in Mexico, Australia, Thailand, India, Syria and here in Romania as well. And making such friends is definitely one of the most rewarding aspects of my adventures and one of the main reasons I’ve continued to travel for so long.

Experiences along the way

You visited 83 countries on 6 continents. Can you share with us a list of your top 10 favourites? Can you please describe these countries (Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia and Romania) using just one word for each?

Top 10: India, Mexico, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, St. Kitts & Nevis, Slovenia, Romania, Turkey, South Africa.

Austria – organized / Slovenia – laid-back / Croatia – touristy / Bosnia & Herzegovina – complicated / Serbia – angry / Montenegro – beautiful / Albania – surprising / Macedonia – pleasant / Romania – wonderful

We are sure you also had some fantastic experiences along the way – for example teaching English in Asia. Can you share with us some great memories that make your journey worth fighting for?

There are so many memories from every country I’ve visited! But some of the highlights include spending time with the Maninjau people who live on a volcanic lake on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and visiting countries/regions such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan and discovering that the people who live there just want to live a simple, happy life like everyone else on the planet.

Other highlights include going on safari in South Africa and being two meters away from a lion, volunteering with Tibetan refugees in Northern India, visiting Pacific islands such as Kiribati and Hawaii while working on board cruise ships, living in Mexico and my current eight-month stay in Romania!

On your blog, you mentioned something about a two-days kidnapping and being placed on the “US terror watch list”. Please describe for our readers these not so pleasant experiences.

The kidnapping took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh when my flight from Bangkok arrived late at night and I walked out of the airport.

I was immediately approached by a group of taxi drivers and to make a long story short, they ended up putting me into a car and holding me hostage for a couple of days as they tried to force me to give them money. But luckily, they were not the most experienced of kidnappers so they didn’t get much from me at all and in the end, I managed to escape after a couple of nights.

As for the US Watch List, that happened after I returned from a backpacking trip around Pakistan and Afghanistan. When I came back to the US, I was naturally stopped my US Customs officials who, after inspecting all of my possessions, found some items that they felt were quite suspicious but which I had taken as souvenirs.

I was questioned for quite a while, yelled at by the officers and while they did let me go eventually, I was placed on a list where every time I came in or out of the US, I was subjected to extra, and very thorough, screenings, including having my computer turned on and all the files inspected.

Living life as a nomad

You are e permanent nomad, on the road since 99. What does home mean to you?

For me, home is ever-changing, it is wherever I am at the moment, wherever I can lay my head at night. Sure, I’m originally from the US, so that is technically still my home, but I prefer to think of every country I visit as my home, at least for the period of time I am there.

People ask how you can afford your nomad life. You have the answers on your blog, but how do you find the time and the inspiration to write all this?

Blogging is now my full time job so, just like with any job, I have work to do and I need to make sure I get it done. And writing posts is the most important part of my job!

It also helps that I travel quite slowly these days in order to make sure that I have time to both work and explore the destinations I’m visiting. It would be impossible to complete all of my work if I was constantly moving around from town to town every couple of days.

Travelling is many people’s dream. However, how do you deal with homesick and the comfort of a steady life?

These days I don’t get homesick at all because I’ve spent so much time over the years away from home. But I do keep in touch with all of my friends and family back home, both through frequent emails and Skype calls.

And I do go back to the US to visit everyone two or three times per year and many of my friends and family come and visit me somewhere in the world once or twice per year as well.

And as for a steady life, it all depends on the person I think. Some people want a steady life, but for me, I’m quite happy with the life I’m living. I always say that if I wake up tomorrow and suddenly decide that it’s time for me to ‘settle down’, then that’s what I’ll do. Until that happens, I’m quite comfortable with this lifestyle and shall continue to live the life that makes me the happiest, which of course is a life of travel.

You said that human interaction is very important for you in your travelling. Have you met people or made friends that made you stay longer in a certain country?

What is travelling to you?

It’s going beyond your comfort zone, challenging yourself to experience and learn from this world with your own eyes.

And it doesn’t matter if you backpack all over the world, take one luxury trip per year or you just travel around your own country or even hometown…as long as you keep an open mind and are ready to learn from the places and people you encounter, you’re traveling.

If you want to learn more about Earl and his adventures, you can always visit his website

An inspiring nomadic experience: an interview with Brad Florescu, travel journalist and photographer

Filed under: Destinations & Tips, Travel