Can a single, Jamaican, minimalist, vegan, author and nomadpreneur escape the rat race, reinvent his life, live true to himself, find love, happiness, organic food, but more importantly, an apartment with a kitchen, sunshine and a wi-fi connection in China and beyond without paying the ultimate price….the foreigner’s price?
Blog Mission: ” To create an alternative travel narrative to encourage people who can identify with me to break free and see the world fearlessly (and inexpensively)!”
As part of the Pandemicpreneur™ series, I’ll be creating video “courses” with information, inspiration and instruction about survival strategies in the age of Corona: Subscribe (and see the other channels) here: https://www.waltgoodridge.com/youtube-courses
1. Here’s the high-speed video of me actually setting up the in-home studio (Fans of Benny Hill may get a kick out of it!)
2. To prepare for the launch and re-branding, here are the 5-second animated intro videos for each of my channels*: https://www.waltgoodridge.com/youtube-courses
W
*I used www.introbrand.com to create them. You can create as many as you like for yourself free of charge! (I paid for the high-resolution 720p version without the watermark, for $19.99)
Here are some highlights from my 2018 trip to Thailand to help pass the time during the pandemic lockdown of 2020! For those who’ve asked where I get the cool shirts I wear, see one of the actual stores below!
On the flight to Bangkok. Yes, I was wearing masks on airline flights back in 2018 before it was a thing…
Bus ride from the airport to the part of Bangkok where my hostel was located.
A friendly stranger notices the lost look in my eyes and offers to help me navigate the city
Taxi drivers have no idea where the hostel is, so I stop inside a Tesco to ask them to make a call on my behalf
During the trip, I visit Yanhee International Hospital for a colonic! Yep, my idea of a fun vacation!
Mango Vegetarian Restaurant, one of my new favorite spots in Thailand!
Go ahead, carnivores, admit it! You’re tempted! Say it! I won’t tell anyone!
Every day was a different culinary experience at Mango
The view from inside my usual spot
Friendly wait staff!
Getting a tour of the night markets from another hostel manager….
…he and his wife even invited me into his home…
On my way to Bobae Market for my once a year shopping expedition
As we say in Jamaica, “Reggae gone international!” Bob Marley clothing is everywhere!
The shirt I’m wearing in this photo was actually a gift from a friend in Macau, but similar styles are available here in Thailand, so I bought about a dozen!
Next time you’re in Thailand, find Bobae Tower and pick me up a few more shirts, please.
Bus rides every day from one end of the line to the other, just to see how regular folks live and commute
Chatuchak Weekend Market, another world famous tourist and shopping spot
Visited a high-end tailor shop….don’t ask me why. They don’t carry my style of shirt
Okay, send the kids out of the room, things are about to get hot!
My home for two weeks in Thailand, Amarin Inn – Khao San Road Guest house, Bangkok. Tell them the Jamaican sent you!
Just finished a 14-day extended, water-only fast (details here)! During that time, the stores here on Saipan had quite a few sales, overstock sell-offs and other deals on some of my favorite items. So, even though I wasn’t eating anything, I was stocking up in anticipation! Now that the fast is over, here’s what my “table o’ food” looks like!
In this shot: Arrowhead spring water, barley, grated local coconut, Follow Your Heart® Vegenaise, Spectrum® virgin coconut oil, Newman’s Own® tomato&basil pasta sauce, buckwheat noodles, Terra® plantain chips, Terra® taro chips, Wild Harvest® Blue corn chips, Lightlife® original tempeh, Green Vibrance® super food, Now® Flax seed oil, Sun Warrior® Liquid Light Fulvic Minerals, Inka® plantain chips, Bob’s Red Mill® TVP, Kirkland® maple syrup, local (scallion, sweet potato, bananas), Mestemacher bread, fresh malunggay aka moringa, Lara® bar, Bragg® coconut liquid aminos, Bragg® Apple Cider Vinegar, Wholesome® Organic raw unfiltered honey, Bob’s Red Mill® Pear Couscous, Diamond G® brown rice, Culinary Circle® grapeseed oil, Lucky® Epsom Salt (for liver&gallbladder flush in a few days) + copy of Fast & Grow Young
BY REQUEST: AVAILABLE ON SAIPAN: (Leave your own comment or question below)
▪ Arrowhead spring water (Costco aka “Joeten Superstore”)
▪ barley (Joeten)
▪ grated local coconut (Garapan Public Market)
▪ Follow Your Heart® Vegenaise (Payless)
▪ Spectrum® virgin coconut oil,
▪ Newman’s Own® tomato&basil pasta sauce,
▪ buckwheat soba noodles (Joeten and other locations)
▪ Terra® plantain chips, Terra® taro chips (Joeten, Payless)
▪ Wild Harvest® Blue Corn chips (Joeten)
▪ Lightlife® original tempeh (Payless)
▪ Inka® plantain chips (Joeten)
▪ Bob’s Red Mill® TVP (Joeten)
▪ Kirkland® maple syrup (Costco)
▪ local (scallion, sweet potato, bananas (Garapan Public Market)
▪ Mestemacher bread (Joeten)
▪ fresh malunggay aka moringa (any street corner, backyard on Saipan!)
▪ Lara® bar (Joeten)
▪ Bragg® coconut liquid aminos (Joeten)
▪ Lucia’s whole cassava (Joeten)
▪ Bragg® Apple Cider Vinegar (Joeten, Payless)
▪ Shaman Shack® Sea Clear
▪ Wholesome® Organic raw unfiltered honey (Joeten)
▪ Bob’s Red Mill® Pear Couscous (Joeten)
▪ Diamond G® brown rice (Multiple locations on island)
▪ Culinary Circle® grapeseed oil (was on sale at Payless)
▪ Lucky® Epsom Salt (for liver&gallbladder flush in a few days) (multiple locations on island),
Tip: Speak with Gemma or Darlene at Joeten, and Morgan at Payless with any special requests.
ORDERED ONLINE
▪ Green Vibrance® super food,
▪ Now® Flax seed oil,
▪ Sun Warrior® Liquid Light Fulvic Minerals
▪ Shaman Shack® Sea Clear (kelp, miso, fermented chlorella)
MARCH 2020:
In case you’re curious: I recently shared a “Saipan Update” with my previous tour clients. I thought it might be of interest to the HappierAbroad network! In case you’re curious:
Here on Saipan…
▪ Things are quiet.
▪ No school.
▪ No church services.
▪ restaurants are closed.
▪ No tourists driving bright pink Mustangs (not sure if that was a thing when you were here)
▪ Air is cleaner (It was always so, but I suspect it’s even better now!)
▪ Supermarkets are open, and other such essential stores have been asked by the government to close at 1pm.
▪ There’s been no panic buying–except a bit of a run on hand sanitizer,isopropyl alcohol,garlic and ginger! So, shelves are stocked and shopping proceeds as normal, albeit at a 6-foot spacing.
▪ I canceled my March and April tours back in Feb since I wasn’t comfortable encouraging folks to travel and possibly put myself and others in the community at risk.
On another note:
No international flights coming or going.
No guests in hotels.
No tour buses around.
So, those businesses and individuals who relied 100% on tourism-generated income might be a bit challenged.
Hermits and recluses can cope. The incurably gregarious might be going stir crazy.
In general, though, I’d say things are pretty civilized….The nice thing about life here is that we’re more in touch with nature and less dependent upon supermarkets as the single source of food. (People fishing more, others have fruit trees on their properties, etc.) so I think that sense of desperation is less here.
W
p.s. I believe I’ve read somewhere, “1 confirmed case in the “hospital” at Kanoa Resort.”
*If it wasn’t a thing when you were here, I’ll explain the Mustang phenomenon:
It must have started about 2 years ago, then. The growing wave of young Chinese tourists were all renting Mustang and Camaro convertibles to sport about the island and (most importantly) take photos posing on the hood for uploading to the latest social media sites. The most popular of these “skittle colored cars,” as one my guests called them, was hot pink, but you could find bright green, blue and an occasional red! They were everywhere! And, the kids must have purchased their driver’s licenses at the same rental companies because they quickly garnered a reputation of doing odd things like driving on (and getting stuck in) Saipan’s sandy beaches, stopping in the middle of the road to read maps, raising convertible tops while driving and all manner of mayhem! (Fun to watch the trainwreck!)
I’ve included a photo of a Mustang convoy at Banzai Cliff.
[i]I don’t know if they knew each other before they arrived, or if the meetup was spontaneous![/i]
p.p.s. With an inordinate amount of time on my hands, I’ve been devoting more time to growing my 5 Youtube channels (feel free to subscribe and click the alert bell to help raise my numbers and future income):
▪ The Passion Prophet channel features a new “Turn Your Pandemic into Profit” series”
https://www.youtube.com/passionprophet
▪ The Ageless Adept channel features a new “Cleancell Optimized Vitality, Immunity & Detox” series (I’ll spare writing the obvious acronym) for folks who’ve asked what I eat and how I boost my immunity as a fanatic vegan of the past several decades!
https://bit.ly/AgelessAdept
And, if you were losing sleep worried about me roaming the deserted streets of Saipan to do my shopping, fear not! I did get a car a few months ago. Hmmmm.. “The Streets of Saipan” (I’ll probably do Covid Edition Drive Through Saipan to add to the video series) The first one I did when I first arrived on Saipan now has 20,000 views:
Take a ride through the streets of Saipan a few minutes before the 7pm COVID curfew: familiar landmarks, a beautiful sunset, Saipan facts and trivia…share with those who miss home!
BONUS: If you hang out until (or jump to) the end, I’ll treat you to one of my favorite songs–a beautiful track I used to play to end my Reggae Riddims radio show way back when I was “Sir Walt” the deejay on WKCR-FM, New York!
I’M COMING HOME by Motion
Sitting in a railway station
with my suitcase in my hand
Going back where I came from
I’ve had more than I can stand
Of watching them destroy my dream
They picked my brain ’til it was clean
When I was up, they knocked me down
Ain’t gonna hang around, I’m going home
I’m going home
I’m going home
Send someone to meet me I’m going home
I’m going home
Send someone to meet me I’m going home
I came to this ol’ town
seeking fortune and some fame
I never had the chance to prove myself
Though I tried to play their game
But using people just ain’t my thing
and I won’t _________________ (please help out in the comments)
to please some fool I don’t care about
They turned me inside out, I’m going home!
I’m going home
I’m going home
Send someone to meet me I’m going home
I’m going home
Send someone to meet me I’m going home
I filmed a video yesterday to update my previous tour clients about what things are like in lockdown here on Saipan! Check out “The Streets of Saipan!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULdEtBPaoio
2. Over the years, I’ve filmed a series of popular “Drive Through Saipan” videos (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2A6EAE46C908CD89; the first one now has 20,500 views). I decided to do a C.O.V.I.D. version after sending out an update to my previous tour clients. FYI: C.O.V.I.D. stands for “Car-less, Open, Vacant, Inactive & Desolate!”
3. One of those tour clients, a travel writer named Fran Bryson, reposted my update email to her blog! Fran has some cool posts from her own world travels as well as peeks into her regular life on Flinders Island, “largest of the Furneaux islands, in the treacherous waters of Bass Strait in Southeastern Australia.” Check out Fran’s blog: https://www.franbryson.com
My buddy, Winston Wu, founder of www.happierabroad.com, suggested I post my archived radio and skype interviews for the Youtube audience. Great idea, Winston!
Several years ago, as part of my 6-month adventure through China and beyond (Beijing, Kunming, Hainan, Laos, Singapore), I found myself in a small hotel room in China, Xishuangbanna, being interviewed via Skype by KY of the KYShow Podcast. We talked about turning passion into profit, the nomadpreneuring lifestyle and much more! It’s one of my favorite interviews from that time! Check it out here as part of the Passion Prophet channel’s “Turn Your Pandemic into Profits” series!
____________________________________
Everyone has a passion.
Every passion has value.
You CAN make money doing what you love!
Take the Personality Test: https://www.passionprofit.com/itest
____________________________________
WHO IS WALT?
Who is Walt: https://www.waltgoodridge.com
Media Kit & CV: https://www.passionprofit.com/cgi-bin/new/redirect.pl?LL=mediakit
____________________________________
1. PandemicProfits-1: https://youtube.com/watch?v=EpsNndvFU-0
2. PandemicProfits-2: https://youtube.com/watch v=yP3WGmKTdsA
3. PandemicProfits-3: https://youtube.com/watch?v=QQSDf8F8Kgg
4. PandemicProfits-4: Radio Interview-When I was in China https://youtube.com/watch?v=sSYfGIl7YvU
1. “Marianas Stories” host, Catherine, had to re-upload the MLK interview video for technical reasons. Please like/love/share/comment again at the new link location! Thanks!
NEW LINK LOCATION ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/670humanities/videos/473130970051332/
MLK Day special! Catherine Perry of the Northern Marianas Humanties Council asked me to share a few of my thoughts about civil rights, human rights, my travel experiences, life in America and life in the CNMI from a non-American, Jamaican on Saipan’s perspective on Martin Luther King Jr day in the US and its relevance to life in the CNMI! Watch and share on Facebook:
2. Here is the same “Marianas Stories” interview on Youtube for easy sharing
3.I may now have become the de-facto “go to guy” for things MLK!
Here’s ANOTHER MLK Day piece with KSPN-2 TV News reporter, Sally Limes features my thoughts on MLK Day in the Marianas:
p.s.
If you’re curious about news on Saipan in general, here’s the full 30 minute news broadcast for that day:
Hope you don’t mind. I’m just testing out my “autopost” plug-in on my Jamaican in China blog. Through this feature, I can post to my blog (as I’m doing now), and it automatically posts to one or more of my Facebook pages. (So, if you’re reading this in your Facebook feed, that should mean it worked!) I’ll just share a few shots taken around Saipan recently!
Fellow author Lindsay, the ladies of Healing Stone, and me!
John Castro and me while, Satawal canoe maker toils in background
Konstantin from Ukraine takes a shot of Forbidden Island
Eber and Jay from the US mainland explore Fabian Indalecio’s unique Battle of Saipan/WWII relic collection
Fabian educates visitors to the island
Where on earth are you likely to see a convoy of pink Mustangs??? If you answered “Saipan,” you’d be correct! (the road to Banzai Cliff)
It was exceptionally clear day last weekend, and you could see the outline of Farallon de Medinilla from Suicide Cliff at the north end of the island! Can you see it?
Just a few shots of my life on Saipan! Enjoy the update!
UPDATE 1: Oh, speaking of updates, did I mention I turned down a book deal recently? Why, you ask? Well, the publisher made the fatal mistake of….. Read the full story here in either of Saipan’s newspapers:
One of the great things about my life on Saipan is the broad cross section of unique personalities I have a chance to meet and spend time with!
Earlier this year, Michelle and John got to experience Saipan’s history with a ride in an actual WWII jeep courtesy of local resident, Juan Villagomez. John’s father worked on the Manhattan Project during the war, so he wanted to get up close and personal with Saipan’s and Tinian’s history!
Michelle, John, Juan and Luise Villagomez, Alexandra (front), and me!
I also had a chance to hang out recently with Konstantin Symonenko from Ukraine….
Konstantin discovers the mystery of Forbidden Island
Konstantin, among other accomplishments, has the distinction of being the first Ukrainian to have visited all the countries in the world! It’s an accomplishment that was verified and documented as blogged about on his https://konstantin.travel website:
John and me….A Sattawal navigator works in the background
Another guest, Neal P., has visited 297 of the 327 destinations recognized by The Traveler’s Century Club (TCC)! Saipan was his 298th and he’ll hit 300 soon and be part of the Diamond club! Congrats, Neal!
Neal got to experience authentic Chamorro and island style cuisine at JC Cafe on Tinian…
at the Street Market on Saipan….
Red rice at the Street Market
…and at Twenty-Two Rams (Owners of the restaurant are brother Michael Salas and cousin Ed Cepeda.)
Lunch at Twenty-Two Rams. Located in the CDA complex in Oleai at the old Boka Boka restaurant location.
Delgadina Matagolai, Manning Salas, and Mom Sophia M. Salas. (Michael and Ed not shown) “Thanks for stopping by our family restaurant!”--Manning
I am on Saipan! (This is actually Tinian!)
