Turning into a traveling nomad? Could it be time to go home? Check out these 24 signs you’ve been traveling too long and make a decision on that home-ward flight!

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I know that some of you guys have been on the road for years but could your trip be reaching its natural conclusion?

Check out these 24 signs that you’ve been traveling too long, it might just be time to hang up your rucksack!

1. You start every sentence with “so, where are you from?”

2. You have loads of new friends but have no clue what their surnames are

3. Carpet feels like cotton wool

4. You look dirty but it’s just your tan

5. Throwing toilet paper in the toilet feels wrong

6. You’re adorned with bits of coconut, stones and shells head to toe

7. You’ve been wearing the same pair of Thai pants for weeks

8. You very rarely know (or care) what the time is

9. Staying put for more than a few days makes you antsy

10. Paying more than $5 for a meal feels extravagant

11. Sleeping in a room with strangers seems normal

12. Your rucksack weighs about 50% less than before you left

13. You weigh about 50% less than before you left

14. Sunsets bore you

15. A 6 hour train journey feels short

16. You sleep well on airport chairs

17. You laugh in the face of the Lonely Planet

18. The thought of wearing a suit makes you snigger

19. Your family/friends have stopped asking when you’re coming back

20. Crazy people seem normal

21. Your home food cravings are becoming delusional

22. You’d happily trade in your iPod for a bubble bath

23. When stepping into a hotel lobby, it usually takes about 3 seconds until you’re escorted out

24. You used to have a day-job but it all seems very hazy

Identify with these tell-tale signs or think there’s never a time to go home?! Post up your comments, we want to hear from you!

Coming soon… 20 questions to ask yourself about your travel partner. Don’t miss out, sign up for free updates below.

You may think you’re a seasoned, worldly traveler but are you really? Check out these 25 signs that you’re a true citizen of the world!

I’d love to define myself as a citizen of the world but, frankly, I’m a long way off.

Some people, on the other hand, roam around the planet identifying not with any one nation but with the world itself.

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Are you one of these people? Test yourself on these 25 signs that you’re a true citizen of the world!

1. You know about global disasters within minutes

2. Your National Geographic collection is taking on a life of its own

3. You never enter a country without at least 5 phrases in the native tongue

4. You have a good friend on every continent

5. You’ve eaten the same animal you once had as a pet

6. You rarely stay in any one country for more than 3 months straight

7. You don’t use guide books but just figure it out when you get there

8. You make friends in the street

9. You make friends in the sea

10. You make friends on top of mountains

11. You’ve worked for at least one international NGO

12. You’ve taught English to kids somewhere in the world at some point

13. When you see tourists from your native country abroad, you hide

14. You’ve been bitten/stung by at least one scary insect/animal

15. You’ve feared for your life on several occasions

16. You’ve never been to the Hamptons

17. Your lucky sandals have holes in the soles

18. You’ve been invited for dinner in families’ homes all over the world

19. You sleep best under the stars

20. You know that couch surfing has nothing to do with waves

21. Your iPod has songs on it from every UN member state

22. Your favorite author is not from your native country

23. You take photos… and print them

24. When people talk about celebrities you feel dazed and confused

25. You sometimes forget where you came from

How did you score?? Are you a true citizen of the world? Post up your comments below and let us know!!

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Desperate to see the world but letting your finances hold you back? You don’t have to be a millionaire to make it happen. Check out these top budget travel tips from expert traveler, Nora Dunn.

Vietnam, China, Italy, Brazil… I’d love to set off on a long trip ticking off all these countries along the way but….. I never seem to have the cash!

Nora Dunn is a Professional Hobo, having sold off and packed up her life in Canada to travel the world full-time.

She’s adamant that you don’t need to be rich to travel the world!

Nora recently shared her traveling secrets with the online world. Check out her top budget travel tips below:

1) Get smart with flight bookings
Save up to 80% on airfare by looking where the standard search engines don’t – check out sites like  Which Budget.

2) Trade work for a room
WWOOFing (Willing Work on Organic Farms) is a popular way of trading work for accommodation, but there are lots more ways of trading a room for work.

3) Get free accommodation
Using hospitality exchanges, you can stay in somebody’s home for free, and arguably get much more out of your trip by staying with the locals.

4) Work whilst traveling
If you’re traveling long-term, you’ll need to consider various work options to keep the travel dollars flowing.

5) Get to grips with volunteering
Volunteer trips can end up costing more than you might have thought. Use reputable sources to get the most out of volunteering.

6) Become part of a community
Integrate yourself into new and foreign communities for all sorts of opportunities that are bound to save you cash.

7) Avoid THE biggest spending trap
Can you guess what the biggest waste of money is when traveling? Souvenirs! Don’t fall into the trap!

Be food wise
Where you eat, how you eat, when you eat… Food can be a big expense when traveling but following a few practical tips can make all the difference.

9) Roll with the punches
Travel will always present you with opportunities, provided your eyes are open to see them. Be flexible and you’ll surely benefit financially in the long run.

10) Rethink travel expenses
Budget for your trip before you leave. Check out Tripbase’s Travel Costs Calculator for estimates on daily traveling costs across the world.

11) Travel slowly
The less you move, the less you spend, and the more you’ll get out of each destination. It’s a win-win situation!

For more info, have a read of the full article: “Travel Full-time for Less than $14,000 a Year.”

And for even more money-saving tips, check out the new book: “10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget.”

Found these tips useful? Got more ideas for saving cash on the road?? Post up your comments, we want to hear from you!

Loads more expert traveling tips to come. Don’t miss out! Sign up for free updates via RSS or email below.

Photo: Nora volunteering.

Two years, 62 counties, 56,000 Twitter followers and scores of travel awards. I met up with eternal traveler, Gary Arndt to find out more about his never-ending trip and incredible online fan base.

I love to travel, who doesn’t? But could I do it for years on end? Probably not.

Gary Arndt, on the other hand, is a modern day nomad. He’s been on the road for over two years with thousands of fans following his travels online.

Here are his answers to the questions I know you’re dying to ask…

1. Why did you go?
I sold my company at 28, started up a few more, did a bit of studying and wasn’t sure what to do next. Traveling the world seemed like a good option.

2. How old are you?
I’m 39. There are definitely some benefits of traveling beyond the classic ‘gap year’ age: I’m financially stable, I know what I’m doing and don’t often get taken advantage of.

3. How much is your trip costing you?
Around $30,000 a year but I don’t stay in dorms or cook. It’s possible to get away with $15,000 on a tighter food and accommodation budget.

4. Do you ever get lonely?
No, I’m talking to people all the time, especially on Twitter. I’ve been very lucky with Internet access so far. I only get lonely when my computer is broken.

5. Why do you think your blog has been so successful?
Owing to the length of my trip I’ve been able to build up a strong following over time. Travel is very visual so I make sure I upload a new travel photo every day. I call myself a “travel pornographer”.

Many of my followers are living vicariously through me. I’m living out their dreams and following me online lets them experience the trip for themselves.

I’m also very personal. I respond to every message and often meet up with people along the way.

6. Where’s the best place you’ve been?
I can’t answer that. It’s like asking a mother to choose between her children!

7. Where’s the worst place to travel?
Egypt. Everyone wants money from you, you have to negotiate for everything and you feel like you can’t trust anyone. Visiting the Pyramids was actually one of my worst travel experiences ever.

8. What’s your best kept travel secret?
Pohnpei in the western Pacific is one of the most beautiful islands in the world and is completely free of tourists. There isn’t even one hotel there.

9. Where’s the weirdest place you’ve been?
That’s got to be the Marshall Islands. They’re totally dependent on aid from the US. Noone ever goes there and there are some pretty eccentric expats floating around.

10. I’ve heard you eat in McDonald’s everywhere you go. Why’s that?
I get a lot of stick for this but there’s a good reason. McDonald’s a great way of getting a cultural snapshot of a place. For example, you can get a tasty rice burger in Taiwan but you’ll never find a bacon cheeseburger in Israel.

In many places in the developing world McDonald’s is considered very classy food and working there a seriously high end job!

11. Where next?
Back to the US via Europe: Rome, Venice, Florence, London, Iceland then onto the Caribbean to get more serious about my photography.

12. When is your trip going to end?
I have no clue.

There you have it. Fascinating stuff. I quite fancy a McRiceBurger myself!

Follow Gary’s amazing trip on Twitter and at his Everything Everywhere travel blog.

Could you travel for years on end? Got a great McDonald’s story? Post up your comments below, we want to hear from you!

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Photos by Gary. In order of placement: Gary in Sydney, Pohnpei (my favorite pic), Rice Burger, Marshall Islands, Luxor, Egypt.  Taken from Gary’s fantastic Flickr album.

Deborah delves into the secrets of Hampi’s magnetic beauty and recounts an eerie tale of the dead body on the beach.

An Indian Disneyland

Hampi is quite possibly the most beautiful place on earth. Even the most cynical and experienced traveler will admit as much. No camera can capture even a fraction of Hampi’s jaw-dropping beauty. Words are even less sufficient. My initial impression was that I’d been transposited into a CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) movie or a surrealist pseudo-Dali landscape done by a Thai street artist. Hampi is an Indian Disneyland – the rice fields are so startlingly green and the sky so stupidly blue and the stones so manically yellow…

Welcome to the Jurassic

If you don’t die of heat or exhaustion after walking up the 650 steps to reach the Monkey Temple you’ll be privy to the most magnificent sight of your life. When I reached the top and looked out at as the sun was setting over a mental panorama of tall green rice grass, palm trees and hundreds of human-monkeys, I turned to my “stair-mates” and, to quote Sam Neil, said “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Jurassic!” And I really did expect a Stegosaurus to stretch its neck over the treetops hundreds of feet below me.

The Value of Death

Meanwhile, back at the guesthouse the silent Kiwi guy, Andrew, is telling us a story that happened to him two days ago. He was walking along in Gokarna and stumbled upon a dead body on the beach. He told the owner of his guesthouse whose first question was “westerner or Indian?” When Andrew answered that it was the latter the owner shrugged his shoulders and continued about his work.

The same thing happened in two more guesthouses so Andrew decided to climb the steep cliff path to find some police. They too asked the question. When he answered that the body was indeed Indian they told the by-now-incredulous Kiwi that they are the tourist police, they do not deal with locals and, if he likes, there is a police station in the village where he can report his finding.

End of story. Death is so much a part of life here that it’s difficult for westerners to grasp. Manju, the Indian amongst us explained it thus: “In India, we do not fear death like the West. For us it is as known as birth and survival, and since those are the things we can control, we put our energy into that instead of worrying about death.”

Lego of the Gods

I have decided to explore the region and there is no better way than by motorbike. When you turn you have to be careful not to crash into a flock of goats led by a boy as tall as your knee. And even though technically they drive on the left, there isn’t really enforcement of such trivial laws. The traffic police are absent around here and survival on the roads is left up to Karma.

So I rode the bike up to the lake and stopped where the rocks are precariously balanced over the edge. It seems as if Shiva and Ganesh were building lego together and thought it’d be fun to place a few rocks over the lake to see if people would jump. And the people jumped. Some more crazy than others. I witnessed three Indians do the suicide jump from 20 meters above water level where you’re lucky if you don’t smash your body into the rocks that lurk beneath the surface. The little jump at seven metres (some say eight, some six) was scary enough. After you’ve flung yourself over the edge your life does indeed briefly pass in front of your eyes.

The Festival of Holi

I am ill. Running to the loo.

It is Holi – the Hindu festival celebrating the beginning of spring where everyone throws coloured water and powder at each other. We want to get across the river to celebrate but the police have banned the boat because of ‘incidents’ between drunk Indians and tourists. So the only option is to swim.

We make it over as the festival is in full swing: primeval dancing, drum playing and chucking colours on everything and everyone. Its loads of fun. Women are not really allowed to take part and we get told off a few times. I carry Sunita, a local eight year old girl I have grown attached to, on my shoulders.

Since I have been in India I now understand what it must be like to be famous and hunted by the Paparazzi. Indians are constantly snapping pictures on their camera phones. I have made a new rule: every time someone catches me unawares I make them teach me something in their local tongue. Here in Karnataka they speak Kannada. I now can say about 10 basic sentences. The locals love it when I speak to them in their language.

Dining by Moonlight

Raj, who sells water by the lake, hosts a Thali moonlight dinner for us on the rocks. We discuss the virtues of being a cow in India and how all the other cows in the rest of the world must be green with envy – especially Argentinean ones.

The full moon lights up the lake and embalms the Hampi boulders in an ethereal glow. I muse again for the millionth time about Hampi’s splendor. I think that Homer must have had Hampi in mind when he conjured Calypso’s island in the Odyssey. The Indian at my guesthouse told me that Hampi has a magnetic energy. You want to leave but you can’t. I believe him.

How would you describe Hampi? What do you make of Andrew’s dead body encounter? Post up your comments below, we want to hear from you!

Deborah Danan.

Photos by Deborah.