Hi! I'm Ian
I’m from Quebec City in Canada, and at a very young age, I had dreams to discover the world. I imagined a life of endless travel, off the grid, out of the ordinary… In 2002 I designed a system to make it possible through online income. Little did I know, this new form of lifestyle would later become widespread with thousands of new adepts, known as digital nomads.
Fast forward today, more than 20 years on the road, non-stop and counting, I how visited 230 countries, including every one of the 195 recognized by the United Nations. I’ve circled the globe more than 6 times and filled 11 passports on the way… My digital nomad lifestyle is now deeply encrusted in me and I pride myself every day to have inspired travelers from around the world to grab their backpacks, and embark on their own journey on the open road!
Countries I've Been: 230, including 195/195 U.N. Countries
Latest Articles
Guide to Travel to Afghanistan in 2017: My Personal Experience…
Afghanistan… Another one of those countries that raise eyebrows when mentioned. No wonder as we have all been brainwashed by the media for over 15 years of war with news every other day of a car bomb explosion or another suicidal terrorist attack. Afghanistan has its share of problems and war, but in my personal view, that is not a reason to rule it out of my destination list. Most often the best experiences that I live are in those countries considered “off limits”. And Afghanistan has turned out to be an incredible experience well worth time, which I will remember forever. Qargha Lake just outside of Kabul First of all, there was American army guy in the airplane that gave me an interesting insight on the situation in Afghanistan. His view was pretty clear on the aftermath of the American occupation of Afghanistan, as well as the reasons Donald Trump announced an extra 4000 Troops on the ground just a week ago. “Look, it’s pretty clear […]
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Taking Part in 2 Afghan Weddings, VIP with Afghan Ministers
I couldn’t have expected a better way to sample Afghan culture! Weddings are, in my opinion, one of the best ways for the traveler to immerse himself in the real essence of what local culture is all about. Not only the food but especially local customs and traditions are always omnipresent at weddings. I had many opportunities to join weddings around the world throughout the years, in Vietnam, Moldova, and twice in Iran. And now I was invited to a Pashtun and a Tajik Wedding, which are both very traditional people. When I arrived in Kabul, I was quickly amazed at those massive “wedding halls” that are everywhere in Kabul. They are covered with flashing lights, sort of like a Las Vegas Hotel, but with Chinese Christmas lights all over. After asking my driver about them, he told me it is currently wedding season and Afghan people traditionally love to invite as many people as they can to weddings, hence the size of the buildings. […]
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Travel Tips to travel to Kabul, Afghanistan – (177th Country Visited)
And here I am, in my last country of Asia: Afghanistan… After visiting Pakistan’s Pashtun city of Peshawar, I really got interested in knowing more about Afghanistan. But in these war times, I must admit I was a little nervous about the situation. Nevertheless, I had planned my visit thoroughly and had a friend to receive me on arrival, with plans to stay in and close to the Capital: Kabul. Outside this area, it is considered unsafe as the Taliban control many areas and many roads. And the story all started on the plane from Dubai, where I was sitting next to this “army looking” guy. A little chat with him would make me discover a highly ranked American army guy who has been in Afghanistan for 8 years, very interesting way to start my trip and get his view on the situation out here. “Be very careful out there” he would say to me, and with a reason. But this was coming from a […]
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My #1 Financial Tip for Travelers: Forget the Miles… Get Yourself a No FX Credit Card!
This one will surprise many because as crazy as it seems to me, nobody even thinks about doing this. Banks are some of the richest companies in the world, with billions of dollars of profit every year! how do they achieve this? With interest! Yes, they charge you an incredible amount of money that is extracted every time you take out money, pay for something, etc. So what is my number one tip? Get yourself a “No Foreign Exchange Fee Credit Card” in your home country! Credit cards are an extremely useful tool for the traveler! they make cross-currency transactions painless and avoid getting tons of change in your pocket. I use it more and more now as Visa and Mastercard have done a great job expanding to even the most remote countries in the world. The only problem is that as soon as you buy something in a different country in a different currency, they will add a percentage on that exchange rate […]
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2 weeks Traveling Pakistan: My Experience and Impressions
Never would have I imagined Pakistan to be the way it was! I had pictured something similar to India and Bangladesh. But it is far from it! It has its very own flavor and culture, its people are particularly friendly and its landscape is breath-taking! Kind of a mix between Iran, Afghanistan and India and Nepal at the same time. What I hadn’t imagined is how big of a role the mountains take place in their country. It is very much their pride and each holiday local tourism rush to the north to enjoy their Kashmir region. I have seen the Himalayas from different angles before in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, but the mountains in Pakistan are in my opinion the most stunning! If Pakistan could take a breath with all the hate and bad news it endures around the world, it could rival with countries like Switzerland, Argentina or even Canada in terms of Adventure mountain destinations. Pasu near Hunza Valley I had the opportunity […]
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