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)!”
Where is Walt? The photo below shows where I am! I am in Macau!
Yes, I’m jumping ahead a little, but here’s a 50-second video of how I spent the day! Stay tuned for full details in 72 hours at http://www.jamaicaninchina.com
After my special plane flight to Vietnam, the first order of business: changing my US dollars and Hong Kong dollars into Vietnam Dong. The exchange rate is about 1USD = 23,100dong. I decided I would change only $50US just in case the rates at the airport weren’t that good. I’d change more once I familiarized myself with things here on the ground. With that done, I now had 1.16 million dong in my wallet!
Next, I recruited the assistance of a young lady named Tram who was waiting just outside the airport exit with a passenger’s name on a sign. She was nice enough to call my hostel to verify their location, and then get me a cab from the airport.
Tram helps me get a taxi
The ride ended up costing $100,000dong, which, I later found out was a bit high, but que sera sera!
About to check in at the Stingray Hostel in Da Nang, Vietnam
Mine is a single room on the 3rd floor of the Stingray.
There are 3 other single rooms, and the rest of the accommodations are bunk beds that remind me of photos I’ve seen of the capsule hotels in Japan.
2nd floor bunk beds…all empty
From what I’m told, it’s a fairly new hostel, so occupancy is not that high at the moment. When I checked in, there were only 6 other people checked in, and one was leaving that day. So, pretty much had the whole second floor to myself! Yippee!
2 toilets, 2 showers…pretty much all to myself
Manager, Hủng and Cám ơn of the Stingray Hostel
The manager and receptionist at Stingray lent me a SIM card, and downloaded a ride sharing app called GRAB–a Vietnam version of Uber–that’s cheaper than a taxi! So, with that vital and valuable tool, I am now able to see Da Nang cheaply and much more easily than I was able to in Macau. This is great! They’ve been very helpful and accommodating! Read more about Stingray Hostel here
Here’s a short video recap:
My first stop was Karma Waters, a vegan restaurant that got great reviews on HappyCow.net!
Spring rolls and fried noodles
This is how we do it! “Wrap veggies and spring rolls in rice paper, dip in sauce and enjoy!”
Then, another Grab cab pulled up and out came a fellow who caught my eye. His name is Ronnie Defour, and turns out he’s a Trinidadian who’s lived in South America as well as the US, and is planning to relocate to Vietnam! He was there at Karma Waters to make a generous donation to one of their community projects! (see details here)
Ronnie Defour from Trinidad!
When I first arrived at Karma Waters, there was no one there who spoke English (and, thanks to the helpful officer at the Immigration desk at the airport, my Vietnamese consists only of “hello,” “thank you” and “see you later”). So, the waitress enlisted the help of the owner’s 13-year-old daughter who was in the back. We ended up talking for the duration of my lunch, she showed me her sketch pad of artwork (on the table), added my own sketch to her pad, and due to serious case of camera-shyness, you can make out her forehead behind me in this shot!
Shy artist’s forehead behind mine
Hey look what I found on the KarmaWaters Facebook page! At the same time that Ronnie was discussing his donation with the Karma Waters owner, Ronnie snapped a photo of his table with me in the background with my shy artist!
The shy artist exposed!
Among the things I learned during my hours-long lunch is that Karma Waters is more than just a restaurant. They feed the less privileged, give tours to children; organize tours and homestays; offer cooking classes; provide recipes and more! (More at www.karmawaters.com)
Ronnie and family!
I plan to interview Ronnie as well as Grace, the Karma Waters owner, in another post! Stay tuned.
Rearranged the furniture in my windowless dorm room, caught up on some writing, website updating and communications….then called it a night!
I see it everywhere: on buses; on trains; in elevators; on the streets, in the cars on the highway. Everywhere. My friends don’t even notice it. Heck, sometimes they are complicit in it! When I point it out to them, they have to really make an effort to step back far enough to see it objectively, and even then, they simply shrug it off as “normal.” Perhaps it’s because they made the transition first to Facebook–to socializing via computer screens–then to phone screens. They have lived the logical progression from one mode of screen-based social engagement to the next. I never did, and so, what I see around me now is surreal and shocking, bordering on horror-movie frightening!
It’s my own fault, though. I haven’t done the nomad thing in almost three years. I’ve been sequestered in paradise on Saipan, writing books, running on the beach, soaking in the sunshine, creating and living my reality of choice with minimal interaction with certain technological aspects of our ever-changing world! And now–having returned to nomad skies and vagabond roads–I feel like I’ve landed into an oddly familiar, alternate-reality-diverted-timeline movie plot!
Yep, I feel like Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson’s character) in the comedy movie, Idiocracywho is chosen for a one-year human hibernation experiment, but wakes up 500 years in the future to an unrecognizable world. Combine that with a plot element from The Matrix where everywhere I turn I see humans who believe they are engaging with reality, but who, in reality, are plugged into a computer program simulation.
In this movie in which I find myself, commuters in subway stations and pedestrians on the streets rush forward at breakneck speed with their heads down, smart phones in hand, fingers tapping, looking up only for the split second it takes to avoid colliding with other similarly “plugged in” commuters (and not always being successful at that)! Inside the train cars, 9 of 10 people are in the same plugged-in position–head down, elbows bent, phone in hand (I once say one girl walking with two phones), swiping left, swiping right, up, down, tapping, watching movies, playing games or texting. No one is talking. No one is making eye contact. In this brave, new world, there are no chance meetings, no smiles shared between passengers, no pickup lines and numbers being exchanged! Nope, no “howdy, stranger, where are you from?” happening on this train ride. I can’t NOT see it! It jumps out at me all the time! I’ve seen it in both Hong Kong and Macau.
Similarly, when I see couples, families and friends in restaurants, it’s the same scene–people interacting with screens instead of each other. Yesterday, for example, I spent the day in Hong Kong with a friend, and had lunch at Harmony Village restaurant. I looked over at the other diners and saw the perfect illustration of how times have changed:
Notice anything comment-worthy in this photo?
“Let’s have lunch!” Then and Now.
Well, if you don’t, here’s what I see:
“Let’s have lunch” on the left: two friends (or family members, perhaps) of an earlier era. They are facing each other, sitting upright, having a conversation, and making eye contact while eating their food.
“Let’s have lunch” on the right: two friends of modern times (coworkers on lunch hour, judging from their attire). They are seated side by side, hunched over, focused on their phone screens, no eye contact, minimal conversation. Their food is actually already on the table, having been served just a few moments prior. I saw one girl look up for a split second at the food and then return to her screen; and even when she started eating, she continued holding the phone in her left hand, and her chopsticks in the right.
(Question: what would YOU do if you went on a date with someone who couldn’t put their smart phone down and held it in one hand while eating? I know what I’d do, and the funny part is, she might not even realize that I left!)
Fascinating. Scary.
Yep, this is what “let’s have lunch” means these days. Welcome to reality. Your red pill awaits.
p.s. In any event, speaking of my day in Hong Kong…
At Harmony Village in Hong Kong with my good friend and airline pilot. Um, smartphone much? Hee hee! (He had to check a pending flight schedule before we returned to our conversation)Kowloon Park! My camera ran out of power shortly after this shot, so I’ll have to go back to Hong Kong to give you a thorough post of this cool spot, and reveal what it’s famous for! Stay tuned!
Hey, look! It’s Usain! Big tings a gwan!
Standard Chartered Bank rolls out international campaign featuring Jamaican Usain Bolt
The new phase of Standard Chartered Bank’s “Here for Good” campaign kicks off in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. This phase (“Good enough Will Never Change the World”) showcases a series of inspirational short films featuring people who accomplished extraordinary things because they wouldn’t settle for “good enough”. The launch video, published today, stars Jamaican sprinter and Olympic champion Usain Bolt.
“I always say ‘never think limits’ and ‘anything is possible’. It is not enough to dream big – you need to push through barriers to realise your dreams. When you have an end goal in mind and you’re passionate about it, you can find the will and the strength to break through boundaries and achieve that goal,” Bolt said*. (More about the global campaign)–From Marketing Interactive, earlier this year.
*And, for the record, that’s precisely what my “Jamaican in China…and beyond” blog is all about–breaking through these arbitrary lines we call national borders, as well as other self-imposed limitations, and societally-promoted worldviews and stereotypes to boldly go and see the world fearlessly (and inexpensively)!
Next time you hear from me, I’ll be Jamaican in Vietnam! (I wonder what the smart phone culture will be like over there!)
JIC MISSION: “To create an alternative travel narrative to encourage people who identify with me to break free, jump out and see the world fearlessly! (and inexpensively)!”
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Sometimes in life, you’ve just got to leap without a net!
A secret military space station has gone dark and it falls on a specially-trained, multi-national team–two Jamaicans, an Italian and an American– to investigate why. No signs of life remain…well, not human life anyway. Their mission is to secure the space station, eliminate enemy robots and drones and rescue any survivors. The space station is a multi-billion dollar experimental project designed and constructed by military contractor Zero Latency, Inc.
Team members Ron, Daniel and Aaron being briefed on the mission!
The team had a choice of Mission code name “Engineerium” (Exploring a unique world), Mission code name “Zombie Survival” or Mission code name “Singularity” (securing the space station). They chose Singularity!
The choice of missionsYes, thats me using a selfie stick for the first time!This is a serious missionAll suited up and ready to go on our rescue mission! Jamaican. American. Italian. Jamaican.
Of course, I couldn’t record the experience while immersed in the mission, so here’s the next best thing–the Zero Latency promotional video:
After the mission:
Needless to say, the mission was a success, and we celebrated afterwards!
Those are our individual scores of enemy drones and robots we eliminated on display behind us! Daniel is doing his best to block them from view!
It’s definitely easy being vegan here in Macau. There are enough stores and a few restaurants that cater to the lifestyle. For instance…
WAITAMINIT!!! How did that slide get in there???? Wrong shot! Ahem…as I was saying, there are about two dozen vegan-friendly restaurants that appear in a Macau, China search at www.Happycow.net, and On Thai Loi is at the top of the list! So, I took a walk there as it’s not that far from where I’m staying.
On the first visit, there was another diner present who was nice enough to translate my English requests into Cantonese (thanks, Candy!).
On my second visit, the owner’s son, João, (how to pronounce), was there to make things go smoothly. From what he told me, the restaurant has been in operation for five years, and is the only Thai-focused one in Macau.
Making hard choices from the great menu while babushka shells peas. We had a few, very brief traveler’s sign-language conversations!
João translates my order while I wait. What do you mean ‘my pose looks fake???’
Order is checked and double checked!
Outside On Thai Loi with take-out order in hand
Narcissism alert: Um, guess what I DIDN’T take photos of? Yep, THE FOOD! Well, if actually seeing the food in a restaurant review is your weird thing, you can check out my review of On Thai Loi on the happycow.net site, where you’ll find great photos of their dishes posted by other travelers!
The other vegan survival resource here in Macau is the chain of Park & Shop stores around the city. The largest, I believe, is one in Taipa, which is almost like a Whole Foods stateside–lots of fresh produce, healthy snack options (US brands I’m familiar with), bulk food items (nuts, dried fruit), mock meats, and more!
The well-stocked chip and snack aisle in Park & Shop, Taipa, Macau
And, of course, as mentioned in a previous post, there’s no shortage of produce stands on every street to get fruits and vegetables to prepare my own meals! Here’s a quick “one main meal of the day” (Walt’s Thai Fry) I whipped up yesterday using Thai noodles, scallions, onions, tofu, bean curd, black fungus, broccoli and pepper flakes, stir fried with virgin coconut oil in an iron wok:
The Raw Power Salad accompanying the meal contains mung bean sprouts, avocado, scalion, cilantro, lettuce, kimchee, diced onions, chopped garlic, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, all sprinkled with Chlorella powder–all raw, nothing cooked.
Hungry yet?
I’ll be wrapping up my stay in Macau soon and haven’t decided between Vietnam or Thailand yet. Where should I go next? Any suggestions? Email me or leave a comment!
A few days ago, some friends here in Macau took me out to dinner at Fernando’s. Nice atmosphere, great layout, near to the beach. I typically go to restaurants with my non-veggie friends for the conversation and camaraderie, and I often won’t eat anything if the establishment is not vegan-friendly or if they cook their veggie meals in the same kitchen (pots) as the meat dishes.
This time, however, I decided to act like an adjusted member of the planet Earth and behave in a manner so as to blend in with the other humans. So, I scanned the menu and ordered the vegetable soup. Simple enough. Safe. The photo showed a bowl of soup with vegetables in it. No one on the wait staff need ever know an alien was dining amongst their regular customers.
The soup arrived, and I waited for my friends’ dishes to arrive before I started. At one point during the wait, a waitress passed by and (reverting to my old ways) I decided to ask what exactly was in the vegetable soup before I started.
Me: Hi, could you tell me what the ingredients are in this soup?
Her: I’m sorry, I have no idea!
Me (in shock, and snidely); Well, YOU may have no idea what’s in this, but I need to know what I’m eating. Could you find out, please?
She headed into the kitchen and soon, the manager came to our table.
Me: Hi! Could you tell me what the ingredients are in the soup?
Manager: Potatoes, vegetables and water.
Me: Potatoes, vegetables and water. (I forget which vegetable it was)
Manager: Yes, potatoes, vegetables and water.
Me: Cool! Cool! Cool! No butter?
Manager: No.
Me: No dairy, no milk?
Manager: No.
Me: Cool! Thanks so much!
Manager (as he turns to walk away): Oh, and a piece of sausage.
At that moment, the manager, probably from the wide-eyed look of disbelief he may have seen on my face, surmised he was speaking with a vegetarian, and approached the table.
Me: Oh, I thought it was a vegetable soup.
He was gracious enough to take the soup and the pig in my soup away and offered to make me a new bowl of “vegetable” soup himself. He brought a fresh bowl back in about 10 minutes, and I thanked him profusely.
Of course, I didn’t drink the new bowl of soup either. What are you kidding me!??? Who knows what else he may have innocently overlooked in the list of “by the way” ingredients! (“Oh, yes, and of course, we always add a cupful of MSG and monkey brain to all our dishes!” as he walks away.)
However, I didn’t want his hard work to go to waste, or to insult him by leaving an uneaten bowl of soup on the table, so one of my dinner companions was nice enough to eat it for me! Bon appetit! Still, we all had a great time!
Now, this is entirely my fault. I’ve obviously been out of touch with human reality and living in my own lifestyle bubble for too long. So, here’s what I’ve learned: Out here in the real world, the word “soup” is more like a metaphor, really, and actually means “in a soup bowl with my meat.” Confused? I’ll translate a scenario for you:
Waitress: How can I help you today, sir? (Translation: How would you like your meat today, sir?)
Me (with a savvy wink): Vegetable soup, please. (Translation: Vegetables “in a soup bowl with my meat” please.)
See how that works? That’s why travel is so important. How else will you learn new things? This poor lady in the video below hasn’t quite caught on yet:
Share this post with your friends so they too can learn!
Celebrity Watch: While we were there at Fernando’s, my dinner companions noticed the host of Master Chef, Graham Elliot, dining with a group of his friends! Sorry, no photos!
You can judge the quality of a society by how they treat their vegans! (There’s some new age traveler’s wisdom for you!) If a society imposes a “vegan tax” in the form of higher prices for Terra chips and Lara bars, for instance, then such a society should be avoided at all cost! With that said, fruits, vegetables and some of my favorite healthy treats are a bit cheaper here in Macau–of course, this is all based on a USD to MOP exchange rate.
A bag of Terra chips sells for 24.9MOP which, at the latest exchange rate of 8.03MOP to $1USD, works out to $3.10 which is way less than the almost $6US I would pay on Saipan or stateside!
Park & Shop in Macau
An orange costs 5MOP = $0.60US (almost $1 on Saipan)
Coconuts, however, are a bit pricey (17MOP = $2.11US; $1 on Saipan)
I’ll do a full shopping list in a future post.
So, with the advantage of this favorable exchange rate–combined with the fact I was informed I could get a second-hand phone for 1000MOP or less ($124US)– I decided to take the opportunity to upgrade my Blu Mini phone and join the rest of you people in the 21st century! Now, I don’t play video games; I don’t even make many phone calls, and for sure I won’t be among the obsessively phone-affixed who barrel at breakneck speed through crowded airports and metro stations head down, eyes glued to their screens without ever looking up! (It’s an amazing thing to see!) However, I do want to download and test out a particular GPS app that might prove helpful for a top-secret project I’m working on back on Saipan, and my current Blu phone simply doesn’t have the necessary sensor for the app to function.
So, I headed to the Portas do Cerco area in Macau to do some shopping.
Getting my new smartphone in Macau
Shopped around at a few stores and voila! Equipped with my “new to me” Samsung Galaxy 6S (1100MOP/$136), I now venture forth into my Jamaican in Macau adventure. All photos from this point forward will be taken with the new gadget!
Next stop, the Fortress of Guia (Guia Lighthouse)
The Guia Fortress (Portuguese: Fortaleza da Guia; Chinese: 東望洋炮台) is a 17th-century colonial military fort, chapel, and lighthouse complex in São Lázaro, Macau, China. The complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau. (Source: wikipedia)
The pathway up to the fortress
Inside the museum
The Guia Lighthouse, Macau (Photo: Irish M); Admittedly, this panoramic shot is something that would not be possible with my now retired Canon Powershot! Rest in peace, little guy!
The lighthouse was constructed between 1864 and 1865, the first western style lighthouse in east Asia or on the China coast. The lighthouse stands at Guia Hill, which stands at 91.4 metres (300 ft) tall, and has a light visible for some 20 miles in clear weather conditions. The complex was built upon the highest point on Macau, Guia Hill, and named after the same location. (Source: wikipedia)
The fort and chapel were constructed between 1622 and 1638. The fort was already partly built during the unsuccessful attempt by the Netherlands to capture colonial Portuguese Macau from Portugal, providing an advantageous firing position for defending against naval attacks. (Source: wikipedia)
Macau tower on the left and the Lisboa Casino (right) in the background…bungee jump countdown…T minus 2 days and counting!!
Vegetable shopping at Red Market
Nomadpreneur passive-residual income update: One of the strategies to the “money & mobility” lifestyle is to create products and services that don’t require your physical presence. While I’m here in Macau, my www.freesummerconcerts.com website provides free concert information for New York city residents. Everything is automated. I input the events at the beginning of the summer, and a special software I created generates the weekly event listing, sends it out to the mailing list of over 10,000, and receives the $9.95 subscription fee. Learn more strategies in my book, How to Become a Nomadpreneur: A pocket guide of income strategies, travel jobs & survival tips for expats, vagabonds, techies and rat race escapees who want to see the world AND make money too! in the Guides & Resources section of www.nomadpreneur.com and available on Amazon.
Techie web design tip: Using the code at https://jssor.com/development/tip-make-responsive-slider.html, I’ve added a Jssor slideshow to the homepage of my www.waltgoodridge.com site to be more descriptive of what my brand encompasses. Check it out to get some ideas for YOUR online brand and check out jssor.com for the slider code.
Just a few shots of my days in Macau! It’s all gearing up for the big day! Yep, the BIG day! What’s the big day, you ask? Well, it involves jumping off a perfectly good building….Let the countdown begin….
A little sightseeing….
Shopping where the local folks go. The three-story Iao Hon market; Fish on the first floor. Vegetables on the 2nd floor. Meat on the third floor
Longon, lychee pit stop
Bungee jumping countdown! T minus 5 days! You don’t want to miss this!
One of the body maintenance practices I mention in my book, A Clean Cell Never Dies, is the colonic. It’s a great way to thoroughly cleanse the large colon of mucoid plaque, undigested food, impacted feces, parasites, etc., and give the digestive system a chance to reset itself. On my checklist for this adventure was to find a colonic hydrotherapy center in either Thailand or Hong Kong to get one done! (Watch a simple description of the colonic in the first part of this video.)
While here in Macau, I found Optimum Health with a simple online search, called them up and got a good vibe, so I made a reservation. They’re located in Hong Kong at 54-58 Jardine’s Bazaar on the 2nd floor of the Prosperous Commercial Building. So, I took the Macau-Hong Kong ferry to get there! Here are a few shots of the day’s adventure:
Prosperous Commercial Building
Front door of Optimum
Waiting areaSigning in at the front desk where I completed a 5-page form of health history before beginning the session
My colonic therapist for the session was Amy Poon. We chatted for a while and I told her of my wishes for the session, my own protocols and health practices as well as my prior experience with colonics. She set the water temperature based on my body temperature. She gave the required insertion instructions, gave me my privacy to prepare, and then returned once I had disrobed and covered up.
On my back ready to start the flow
She started the colonic along with some massaging of my abdomen. Then she added food grade hydrogen peroxide to oxygenate the water–as I had requested–to address any parasites in my system. The session lasted half-hour, and then I was done! I’ll spare you the gory video details of the actual inflow and outflow, but you can see one fellow’s first colonic experience (exactly the same procedure, equipment and setup).
The effect was immediate. Even though I was on day 7 of an extended water fast and my energy level was a bit low, the boost in energy from the H2O2 as well as from simply removing toxic waste from my system gave me a ton of energy. There are a whole lot more details I could share, but I’ll leave that specifically for my Ageless Adept health blog (please sign up to be notified of new posts)
Optimum was a great choice! Amy was great! She was very knowledgeable, answered all my questions and had a great aura and personality! The price was good (about $65US). (When I get to Thailand, I’ll check out YanHee Hospital which is reportedly a bit cheaper.) I’ll likely be back here at Optimum, however, for another session (sometimes multiple sessions are required for a really deep cleansing)!
Afterwards, before heading back to Macau, I found TWO vegetarian restaurants in a building right next door that I plan to experience when I return!
Harmony Village Restaurant in Hong Kong
With that said, next time you see me, feel free to start a conversation about my colon and bowel movements. After all, I feel like we know each other quite well now!
Remember to sign up below to be notified of each new post. You can always email me at walt[at]jamaicaninchina.com
I’m on Day 5 or so of an extended water fast–no solid food, just water every day all day. So, even though a faster’s energy level fluctuates and can be as high as ever during such a fast (yes, even with no solid food), the standard protocol is to take things easy, get a lot of rest and not to overexert oneself while the body’s natural healing code activates, heals, detoxifies and rejuvenates muscles, organs, bones, etc. (See “Stages of Fasting” at my http://www.fastandgrowyoung.com website)
So, when a friend here invited me to her 90-minute Cardio Boxing class at Warrior Fitness here in Macau, the plan was to sit and watch, snap a few photos and videos, take things easy, get a lot of rest and not overexert myself.
However, when I was finally introduced to Agustin Delarmino, the instructor, and told him of my plans, it seemed he had other plans of his own for me that day. He handed me a jumprope, turned up the music, got all the participants amped up and there I was!
According to the description on Warrior Fitness’ http://www.warriormacau.com website, “Cardio Boxing combines the skills and movements of boxing with a big dose of high intensity cardio. Designed to burn maximum calories, this class will keep you moving all the time. Less emphasis on technical boxing skills such as defence and sparring, this course is perfect for beginners and those wanting to try something new.”
Well, since the whole point of my “Jamaican” adventures is to try new things around the world, and since the entertainment value alone of seeing an already skinny, Jamaican vegan doing boxing while on an extended water fast should be worth a few visits to my blog, I was in!
We did jumprope, heavy bag, muscle endurance exercises and more! Videos below!
For several weeks prior, while on Saipan, I had already been learning boxing basics (“1, 1, 1, 2-3”) from Mike Rashid’s great Boxing for Beginners series of Youtube videos, but had only done shadow boxing in front of a mirror. This was a great opportunity to experience it and put my training into use with gloves and resistance from real objects in real world.
Before Agustin arrived with my HIS plan for my day, I took the opportunity to don some gloves and test out the heavy bag, mannequins and other bags.
Stomach muscle workout! This was the most challenging given my energy level during this fast
Chatting with Agustin after class
Class participant and fellow faster, Veronica outside after class! (Go for 3 days next, Veronica!)
If you’re ever in Macau, definitely check it out! It was a great experience! Social-wise, there were folks from Macau, New Zealand, the Philippines, China and Vietnam, and all were very friendly and welcoming! Thanks to the front-desk receptionist, Karen, for taking and sending the videos!
More video from Warrior Fitness: http://www.jamaicaninchina.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MVI_3619.MP4
Walt
Nomadpreneur passive income update: I just made 30 cents! Woo hoo! If you check out my http://www.discoversaipan.com site, you’ll see that I’ve created t-shirts, buttons and stickers, etc with images of Saipan. Similar to the print-on-demand concept I use for my books, I use Redbubble.com to “print-on-demand” the tshirts, etc. Someone just purchased a sticker of a Saipan image!
The sale details:
Retail Price: US$1.95
Manufacturing fee including our facilitation fee: US$1.65
*Total Margin: US$0.30
I’ve sold several tshirts in the months since I launched my page. The point is, you can be anywhere in the world–even boxing in Macau–while your passive income streams generate income for you!
“Don’t call it a comeback! I’ve been here for years!” It’s been a long time, but the Prophet rides again!” (Ode to LL, Rakim and Dennis Brown!)
The journey has begun! DAY 1
Before we get to the REALLY fun stuff, the following special intro is for attendees of the writer’s workshop I conducted on Tinian just before beginning this adventure, as well as other aspiring writers and bloggers:
passive income:you do nothing, the money comes. residual income:you do the work ONE TIME, the money comes over and over.
Hey aspiring authors, one of the advantages of being a self-supporting writer earning passive, residual income that doesn’t require one’s physical presence at any one location, is the freedom to roam! It’s been a long time (3 years since Typhoon Soudelor) since I’ve done it, but I’m heading off the island of Saipan again to do a little nomadpreneuring! You can follow my exploits (and see past adventures in China, Singapore, Laos, Jamaica, Virgin Islands….) at www.jamaicaninchina.com. In those three years I’ve written/released:
Drinking Seawater – a typhoon Soudelor memoir with Riza Ramos (view)
This Baby Can Speak, by Dr. John Joyner-guiding your baby to speak (view)
An update of Turn Your Passion Into Profit* – discover your passion (view) Sun Cure – a light bath heals (view)
Obama Legacy * – The greatest American presidency (photos)
Obama Legacy Timeline * – day to day, week to week (view) Donald Trump. Let’s Look at the Bright Side * – humor (view) A Clean Cell Never Dies – my health protocol (view) There’s Something About Saipan * – What makes this island unique (view) An Amelia Earhart Tour supplement * – learn the truth (view) Saipan Living 2018 Relocation Guide * – cost of living, taxes, more (view) Eye Can See Clearly Now – reclaim your vision (view) Return To Nature – become your own authority on health (view) Coded to Heal — activate your body’s healing code (view)
and a few others I’ve probably overlooked.
*These titles marked with an asterisk are available at Bestseller Books on the island of Saipan!
Leaving Saipan on HKExpress’ 6:10am flight!
Once I land, disembark, take the shuttle two stops to the immigration area and make it through the immigration check, I met Aaron at the baggage claim area. Turns out he’s a frequent visitor to Saipan working on worker’s rights.
Aaron at the baggage claim
Air Macau Captain, Ron M., former Saipan resident, now aviation big-shot meets me at Hong Kong airport and we take a train, then bus on the way to the ferry to get us to Macau!
Red pill? Blue pill? According to Ron, there are two ferry options: the blue boats (more stable ride), or the red boats (the motion sickness special!). Um, I think I’ll take the blue pill, please.
The ferry from Hong Kong to Macau.
Smile for the camera!
The view of Macau from Ron’s place!
The not-too-busy, rainy Sunday afternoon streets of Macau
We took the time to find a vegan restaurant On Thai Loi listed on http://www.happycow.net for future enjoyment once I end this (currently 5-day) water fast I’m on, do a colonic in Hong Kong and resume eating!
The restaurant is across from this little park. Will return another day!
Then, we visited a few supermarkets, vegetable markets, electronic shops to price some cell phones and cameras!
Waiting for Tofu
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I am in Macau!
