Top 5 Travel Movies

So do you need a little extra motivation to travel? After you watch one of these movies I think you'll already have bought your ticket.




#5 - 180 South

This one was just released and is available on instant view with Netflix. It's a documentary about a guys journey from southern California to Patagonia, Chile. He takes a sail boat all the way down there to climb the legendary Mount Fitzroy. There are some seriously beautiful shots in this film and the soundtrack was written by The Shins which really adds. A serious must for any adventure lover.



#4 The Art Of Travel

This is a small little movie that probably not a lot of people have seen. It's about this guy who drops everything in his life and jumps on a plane to Central America. Along the way he meets some interesting people and has an incredible journey traveling all the way to South America. This is one of those coming of age films but with travel. Although it can be a little rough around the edges (it's low budget), it's still a must for anyone who is stuck in a 9 to 5 job that they hate. Live vicariously through this movie and you'll understand why films like these are so good.



#3 - Vicky Christina Barcelona

I loved this film. I am a huge Woody Allen fan and he blew me away with this one. Sure, this movie might not be "realistic" but isn't that why we travel? To escape realism and find that fantasy? That's why I travel at least. This movie will make you want to visit Spain.



#2 - The Beach

Danny Boyle may be my favorite director but that does not make me biased. This is the ultimate travel movie. Although the second half kills the fantasy aspect of it, I still must recommend this film. It may not be a popular choice, knowing how everyone bags on it, but the locations are beautiful. I love what the main character Richard is all about and how he describes most tourists - people who travel far far away to sit in their comfy hotels and watch reruns of American television. Watch it!



#1 - Lost In Translation

I wish I could have amnesia for this film so I could relive the first time I watched it over and over again. This film is a masterpiece. If you haven't seen this film...GO OUT AND BUY IT NOW! And buy it on Blu-Ray. Buy yourself some Asahi, get some sushi and turn this thing on. Bill Murray gives his best performance since Groundhog Day and Scarlett Johansson gives her 2nd best (Ghost World can't be topped in my book). This movie is so hard to explain in a few words. It's more of a feeling. I can't begin to describe it but it's number 1 so watch it now. You'll want to visit Japan and do karaoke after watching this.

Pros and Cons: Alaska

What a great time we had up in Alaska. If you are currently stressed and in need of some serious unwinding then Alaska might be the place for you. Below I've listed pros and cons of the state to help anyone out there decide if it's the place to travel next.

Pros:
1. Nature: Yes, you've seen loads of photos of the place but they don't do justice. You can't even understand a fraction of it until you've actually seen it. Alaska has everything a nature lover would want. I saw glaciers, moose, reindeer, gigantic ice capped mountains, turquoise lakes, black sand beaches and waterfalls. The moment you enter this place you will feel at ease and all those little worries you have will take a back seat.

2. Adventure: Whitewater rafting, skiing/snowboarding, hiking, atv's, horseback riding, dog sledding, kayaking...pretty much think of it and it's there.

3. Beer: Alaskans know their beer. Alaska is a beer drinking state. I was in heaven with the Alaskan Amber.

4. Food: You like seafood? Good, because this place is the home of salmon, halibut and snow crabs just to name a few. Try going to a restaurant in downtown Anchorage called Humpys. The blackened halibut was the BEST halibut I've ever had.

5. No tax: Not much else to explain with this one. No tax rules!

6. Coffee: Anchorage is saturated with all these little drive-thru coffee shacks. I love it. Everywhere you turn you will see a 6 by 6 shack with a sign that says "Expresso."

7. Summer: The sun sets at 11:45 pm and rises 4 hours later. It never gets completely dark either. Besides the coolness factor of that, it also gives you a lot more time to do outdoor activities. One day we decided to go on a 3 hour hike up a mountain. We started around 7 pm!

Cons:
1. Outdoor Activities: Maybe it was because I was there in tourist season but every activity was very expensive. There was a 4 hour boat ride where you get an opportunity to see whales. The price was $160. I'm sorry but I don't have that kind of money. There was a 4 hour kayak adventure that was easily over $100. Whitewater rafting ranges from $70-$200, which isn't that all bad. Forget about airplane tours being cheap.

2. Distance: DO NOT go to Alaska unless you have a car or some kind of reliable transportation. We were there for 9 days and we put 1200 miles on our rental car. Everything is far away. We went with Budget rental car and got a Nissan Sentra for $370 for a week. Make sure that you get unlimited miles on your car rental or you are screwed. Also note that gas is considerably more expensive there...like maybe a dollar more than what you are probably paying now. Odd since they seem to have a lot of the oil up there.

3. Food: Unless you are going to be eating McDonalds everyday, expect to spend more on food. The food is good but it became pretty common for a single meal to cost $25. There might not be tax but the expensiveness makes up for it.

4. Winter: The lack of daylight really can get depressing. The northern lights might be the only positive to going in the winter.


The pros outweigh the cons by far but at least now you might have a better understanding on what to expect. Thanks for reading and I hope you check Alaska out!

Seward, Alaska

When you make it to Alaska you must venture south to a town called Seward. This place looks right out of The Lord Of The Rings! Sky scraping mountains with snow covered tops, turbulant white caps unleashing on top of bright blue waters are just the first destination. About 10 miles north lies Exit Glacier, a sight you must behold. The surrounding area of the glacier is a forest in it's infancy, grayish rivers with black sand and quite possibly bear or moose.

It's in places like these where you are so inspired that the weight of the world vanishes. All those trivial worries are gone as you stand in a land carved by glaciers. It really puts things into perspective - I'm alive and right now everything is good. It makes you really forget about the rat race and all that pointless office drama. When it comes down to it, we are just animals who play games like status and success. Enjoy the real things in life.

On another note while at the glacier, I heard this 20 something tour guide talk to a family about her routine. She basically said that she wasn't sure what career to go after so in the meantime she was traveling and doing things she always wanted. I think it's a great thing to admit that you're lost. We are all lost. Embrace it and do things that you wouldn't normally do. I can't stand it when people are too proud to admit that they are lost. They are so obsessed with keeping that image that they will sacrifice their life in the attempt to impress others. It's all a waste of time. Don't stay in that job if it's solely for status. Everybody with that success 24/7 mindset is too self involved to care about your accomplishments.

When are you going to drop it all and buy that plane ticket?

Failure

So in these last few months I've had to come to terms that I failed with getting my first film off the ground. It's hard to admit defeat. It bruises the ego. They won, you lost and things didn't go according to plan. For me this is my first real failure. It has completely changed my life. Blind, arrogant confidence has been beaten into a coma. Now I realize how much of myself was taken away with this.

I feel like a house that has been destroyed. As I start to rebuild I'm coming to a crossroad. Do I rebuild the same house? Was I really happy in that house? Not so much. But how do I build a new person? I feel like this is the ultimate stray from the comfort zone. I hid inside that shell of wanting to be the best for so long that I don't know anything else. But that self is gone. The fuel for it drained out the moment it met failure...more like reality.

Maybe it's all for good reason. Maybe I'll ultimately become a better, happier person. New skin. Maybe I'm fortunate that it happened now than later in my twilight years. All I know is that this is the toughest and strangest moment in my life. It's a daily occurance that I'm conflicted on which direction to go towards. Hopefully I can build a new life that will be more beneficial to everyone. It would be tragic if I wasn't strong enough and reverted back to my old ways.

If there is someone out there who is going through this, stay strong. Don't get lost down the empty path that television blasts at us everyday. What you see is not real, it's just flashing lights. It's gone when you turn off the power. After you turn it off you will be alone again. Lost in your thoughts and lost in the world. Search for the answers. Search long and hard. Don't settle on the past. There is a bright future somewhere out there.

Maybe failure is the catalyst for rebirth. I hope all of us lost folks can find a better state of mind. It starts today...

Hello from Alaska

Here in Anchorage. What an amazing place. I feel like this is the New Zealand of the north. The mountains scrape the sky here, they make the rockies look like Kansas. On day three and it hasn't gotten dark yet. We are twelve days from the summer solstice and in the summer it stays light out all day. It's very confusing when it's 11:30 at night and it's sunny. I figure I won't see night until I leave in a week.

Started shooting Gap Year - Alaska. My sister Brigite and our friend Laura are in it. They are still getting used to the camera. I told them it takes a few days. That's about how long it took for Peter in GY - Cross Country. Hopefully they'll be able to open up.

Here is my checklist for Alaska:
-Hike up a mountain
-Whitewater rafting
-See a moose (check)
-See a bear
-See a glacier (check)
-Eat local seafood (check)
-Be inspired (Checked that off before I even landed. When you fly to Alaska make sure you get a window seat...seriously awe inspiring.)

Also, Alaska has amazing beer. They don't play around here. For lunch I had blacken halibut and an Alaskan Amber, it was orgasmic. Will update more within the week.

Thinking of going somewhere but can't pull the trigger? Just do it. In my experiences it's always been worth it. Pulling the trigger on Alaska was worth it.

Vacation time.

Someone was just telling me about a job offer. They were excited and said that you get a day and a half of vacation time every month. Oh goody! If I work for a year I can have off 18 days! Amazing!!! Wait a minute...18 days is barely enough to travel abroad on and I'm positive the job doesn't want you taking it all at once. After I said that I heard..."that's just how it is..."

Does it have to be? Is there a loop hole? As far a I'm concerned the only way to escape the system is to own your own business. 18 days off? That's the funniest thing I've heard all week. Life is short..18 out of 365 days a year is 4.9% of vacation time a year. Here is a sad statistic. If we were to work 40 more years that would equal 14,600 days. If we were to follow this "great" 4.9% vacation time plan we would have 720 days off. 720 days off adds up to just under 2 years. So you're telling me for every 40 years I work I get 2 years off? Hmmm...where do I sign up? If you can't sense the sarcasm I'm sorry.

Here's another sad stat. I've been out of a regular, consistent job for 6 months now. I'm still working but it's temporary jobs that last over a week or two. Here is the sad fact. Basically I've had off 182 days since the film job ended. That equals 10 years vacation time if I was at a job with 18 days off a year. Completely mental! So basically I've had more time off in 6 months than some poor guy will have in 10 years! Let me tell you that these last 6 months have been great but jeez this is what 10 years can accrue?

This is why it is so important to do what you love. All of the above doesn't matter if you love your job. The sad truth is that it's very possible that we will only have 5% of vacation time in our life. Don't be miserable for 95% of it. Even if the job you hate makes you tons of cash, it's not worth it. I've seen way too many of these 60 year olds burned out with this used up look on their face. It's a sad sight. They'll never get those 40 years back again. Some of them are too proud to show regret but the honest ones always say to me with this painful look "go to New Zealand..."

2 decisions, 1 cup

In one of those indecisive modes again. Is it night? Check. Read my earlier blog about Day and Night to understand more about how the time of day can affect our mindsets.

I keep going back in forth about my priorities. I've always wanted to be a filmmaker/musician all my life. It's only recently that I've become obsessed with travel. So, when I see a super awesome movie or hear a super rad band it only pushes me back into that direction. When I watch the travel channel or research New Zealand, it pushes me back in the travel direction. I had been working out in Los Angeles for nearly 4 years in the film industry before my movie deal fell through. At that time I was certainly burnt out and discouraged. Traveling made sense at the time. Now that I am refreshed, I have that drive, that burning desire to make films and music again. But would it be a mistake to go back to LA so soon and start all over? Should I choose New Zealand because film will always be there? After all, living abroad is the more delicate dream. That's what I keep telling myself at least.

There will always be doubts but I feel that we have to make a decision. I can't keep floundering around about this. It is time to move forward and get on with it. I miss Los Angeles terribly but as much doubt I can get about New Zealand, deep down I know that it's as close to a once in a lifetime opportunity as you can get. Going to outer space might be in the same ballpark. I have taken a step forward by obtaining my New Zealand work visa. Every decision feels great and hurts at the same time because obviously I'm still heading in two directions.

Going to Alaska tomorrow. Random, I know. Alaska should be massively epic and maybe it will help point me in the right direction. I'll be shooting the next installment of Gap Year there with nice friends who are letting my sister and I stay up there. If you haven't seen the first episode of Gap Year it is here. Stay positive.

Adjusting to "The Real World"

Feeling lost? Maybe you just graduated school and don't know where to go from here. Maybe you lay in your bed at night thinking about the future. Don't sweat it because you aren't the only one. This is a stage in life. It's not a stage they tell you about though. The structure of life that we knew is gone. Think about it...ever since you can remember you have probably been in school where your main priority was to make good grades. You had people around you telling you to study. Your teachers gave you tests and graded you. Now that that's gone you feel lost.

It makes sense too. Think about this...you are so used to people teaching you, testing you and basically giving you attention. School = attention. Now that you're in the "real world" there is no one giving you attention outside of close ones. Jobs aren't going to test you...if you screw up you are gone. The real transition is getting used to not being the consumer anymore. You are the product now. That's the real world.

So this probably leads a lot of us twenty somethings to a stage of depression. We don't have anyone waiting on us anymore. I've noticed that a lot of people can't cope with it and decide to go back to college. I'm all for getting as much as an education as you can but make sure you're not staying in college to avoid becoming a product of this world. It's pretty much unavoidable but it's not a bad thing. It's another stage that we all will get through in time. The goal is to find something that you love that can sustain you. Be the product that you love and don't lose sleep over trying to figure it out. It will come to you. And always remember these "lost" times will be one of those things that we all will look back on and laugh at.

P.S. - If you have kids please don't give them a hard time when they are "lost" in their twenties. Remember when you were there too...and let them try living in New Zealand if they want...they'll find their way.

Lame People

In a pretty bad mood right now. As I wait and save up for my move to New Zealand I'm constantly reminded why I left northern Virginia in the first place. So many people here complain about it being boring yet all they do on the weekends is drink a shitload, smoke like a chimney and sleep in till late in the afternoon. These are what I call "Lame People". This is the schedule they follow...

Monday: Work, leave cliche "i hate work/mondays" facebook status
Tuesday: Work
Wednesday: Work, facebook status "is this week over yet??"
Thursday: Work
Friday: Work, "tgif" facebook status, get wasted, pass out
Saturday: Wake up around 1 pm, leave facebook status about being "hung over", get wasted, pass out
Sunday: Repeat Saturdays actions, leave facebook status about dreading the coming week

Then when that gets old they will realize that they better "settle down" and get married. So getting wasted is what you did with your "crazy" years? Living on the edge! Whoa...what crazy stories you can boast about when you're old and stuck in your "golden years". How about trying something different than the same crap. What I find ridiculous is that we have a great city about 15-20 minutes away from us. Washington, DC has some great places. And don't tell me you can't afford it...you're spending more on a 24 pack of shit light beer than the free museums you could be visiting.

These people who complain and complain about how things suck will never do anything about it. As much as they complain, they are too afraid to leave their comfort zones. You may even find that some of these people don't even complain anymore...they've just accepted life. These people are even more lame. Lame 2.0 people. I know it may come off harsh but don't spend a lot of time with these people, they will not help you find new and interesting things. They will only lead you to a keg of Natural light and a future of lame stories to look back on.

Beach = Truth Serum

Am I the only one who is sick of television cramming down the same message over and over? The message I keep seeing is one of money, fame and power. It's like they tease us with these commercials where money seems to be solving everyone's problems. I know it's to sell a product but it really has a huge influence on our culture. No wonder it's socially unacceptable to leave your job to pursue a goal that won't make you loads of cash. Everyone's been so brainwashed that they can't fathom doing something huge without the reward of riches.

Everyday we are influenced by different things but how are we ever going to figure out what we really want? I'm a very impulsive person so these things are bad for me. I find that I can only think clearly when I'm alone in nature. There are no distractions. There is nobody judging me, influencing my decisions...there is no tv influencing me with commercials of hot girls and sports cars...it's just me. Whenever I go to the beach life seems so much more clear. The beach to me is a truth serum. When I'm there, I know what I want to do and I'm at peace.

If you have the same things going on, try going off alone somewhere with no distractions. I'd bring a piece of paper and write something down. Find your voice, not society's. Write what you want on that paper and then hold on to it. When you start getting down because you might not be on the fast track to fame and fortune pull that paper out and remember your voice.