On Friday, I went to this cute little bookshop in Houston to attend a book signing/talk for Matt Kepnes's (Nomadic Matt) book, "How To Travel The World On $50 A Day", and it was pretty awesome.
I've been a reader of Matt's for a few months now. Once I found his site, I literally spent weeks reading every post on there. Anything that I had questions about, or was concerned about when it came to traveling, was all in his posts. When I needed to decided which travel credit card to get, the first place I went was to Matt's post on credit cards. When I was trying to pick out a backpack to travel with, the post on how to pick a good one helped lead me to my perfect match.
Also, when I was very much doubting myself and considering not taking the year off to travel, because no one was supporting my decision, I emailed Matt and he very quickly responded and calmed my nerves. He probably doesn't know this, but he gave me that little push and boost of confidence to follow through with what my heart was set on, even if no one was supporting my decision at the time. (Now my family thinks that it is the best idea ever and are behind me 100%!)
So, as you could imagine, I was pretty excited to go to this book signing. I met some cool people there who are all on different travel journeys of their own. Some where very seasoned travelers, while others, were just about to start their journey, like me. Oh, and there was free wine!
Before signing everyone's books (there was quite a large turn out!), Matt gave about an hour talk on the book and just traveling in general, and then let us asks questions. I really enjoyed this, because it was much more personal. He told us some awesome stories about some of his early adventures as a traveler, and the mistakes that he has learned from. Hearing Matt's stories and knowing that he started out just as some of us have, made me really feel like I can do this.
Oh, and we also talked about our favorite places in New York to get pizza! No one can top NY's pizza! (And bagels, but that's another story..)
The whole event was great. I left there feeling more inspired and confident in my decision to travel then ever before. And when I got home that night, I nearly finished the book.
One of the praises for the book says "The bible for budget travellers.", from BBC Travel, and they could not have summed this book up any better. If you are trying to travel on a budget, whether it be for 2 weeks, or a year, this book is your go to for everything you need. It is broken down into 3 parts; Part One: Planning Your Trip, Part Two: On-The-Road Expenses, and Part Three: Breaking It Down By Region. And it also has appendix's for travel companies, a suggested packing list, and vaccinations. The book shows that even if you are not rich and don't have a lot of money, you can still travel! It all comes down to budgeting, saving, and learning how to find everything at a price you can afford, while still being comfortable.
All in all, this book is amazing. If you need tips or suggestions on almost anything while planning a trip, I highly recommend getting Matt's book AND reading his blog. It's pretty cool how someone can run a successful blog and write multiple books just by living out his dream.
To any traveler out there who hasn't read any of Matt's stuff, you're missing out on some of the most helpful tips you can get! Thanks for all the inspiration and help, Matt! See you on the road!
xx
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