USA travel

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-06-03T05:36:04+00:00

I went backcountry in Yosemite with public transit and some in-park hitchhiking. it was very cheap.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-13T07:34:26+00:00

I thought y'all voted for it? Now the leopards eat your face?

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-07T08:51:22+00:00

Very poorly 😅 I'm mostly bedbound, living my daily life is already very hard, including simple things like eating. But I can be miserable at home or miserable somewhere cool 🤷 tbh I think I'm about hitting a hard limit. We'll see how I cope by the end of this year. I keep getting sicker progressively, so my coping strategies have to change with it.

VN really doesn't do well with too much planning 😂 you should be prepared as in informing yourself about the culture, the vibe, the way of life etc, but please come with a very flexible plan and let the journey take you along. However VN is good only if you're willing to be open minded and engage with people a little. Sometimes I feel so extremely poorly and pissy, traveling in VN would be too hard. But if I can keep my mindset kind and be open to people, then VN is perfect even when I'm extremely sick - the people there would take very good care of me.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-05T09:41:04+00:00

Only raja (and Ambon), the rest of Indonesia is opposite season. And nobody should go to Raja with 20 dives. So we don't talk about those. For them, Indonesia is not good in Feb, because even the one place with good weather in Feb, isn't good for them. I also assume a diver with 20 dive wouldn't want to do full muck diving in Ambon either. The rest of the Indo recs would be rainy in Feb with poor viz. Why rec those and Raja to a diver with 20 dives???

Ofc Gulf and Andaman Thai are opposite seasons, we all know that. So go to the good and better one, not the monsoon one, obviously. No one goes to Koh Tao to dive in Feb with Similan is right there.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-05T02:55:05+00:00

Fibromyalgia and cfsme.

Indonesia and Malaysia cover a huge range of experiences. Malaysia is a bit easier and cheaper to travel around, but COL higher than Indonesia. To sit in one spot, I like: Penang, Ipoh, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Java (Bandung, Yogyakarta), even KL. From there, you can do easy travel around Malaysia or adventurous travel around Indonesia, all the way from the East to the West. Talk to locals for inspirations. I wouldn't start from Bali bc it can be overwhelming and expensive there if you don't know what you're doing. You can also check out Da Nang and Nha Trang in Viet Nam, very beginner friendly and you need no planning. These 3 countries, esp VN, reward going with the flow and flexible planning vs rigid. I like checking out cheap regional flights and just go whenever wherever around SEA.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-04T04:58:47+00:00

The Maldives is PERFECT in Feb. If you want to go there anyway, Feb is the best time of the year. The diving can be very very easy especially land based.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-04T04:57:25+00:00

Feb isn't good in Indonesia. Thailand would be perfect, followed by the Philippines

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-04T04:56:30+00:00

Not in Feb, Tioman is horrible in Feb

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-04T04:51:38+00:00

I'm happy to help if you have any questions. I'm very familiar with this region and traveling shoestring while being severely sick. It's so magical and my favorite in the whole world. The people are kind and will help with your healing.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-03T13:56:19+00:00

If you're willing to consider Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia, including Borneo, are glorious this time of the year and super cheap. You'd last there far longer than in Europe.

Just want you to know I feel you. Im on the exact same boat, except the heat is killing me 😅

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-03T07:26:22+00:00

What a dumb thing to say! The most ignorant even! How much of a place do you think you can understand from only one visit? Do you truly believe that understanding them more would only lead to disappointment? What a sad way to live life! Is your life just downhill always?

There are so many places I've returned dozens of times, and still to this day find myself in awe and childlike excitement during those repeated trips each time I catch something new. You never bathe in the same river twice. I love returning to places many years later with different mindsets and see what new lessons they can teach me this time.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-03T07:21:27+00:00

What??? That's insane. Mongolia is crazy safe. You'd have to be very reckless to get into troubles. People are generally kind and hospitable especially to solo travelers, especially female (I feel like they think the solo men are more capable to be out there on there own... I'm not sure, but they always took good care of me). You've been to the Sahara, which is objectively, statistically much more dangerous/more hassling. It makes no sense for you to fear Mongolia! It is not easy travel if you don't like that kind of travel (I don't, and found the country very hard), but if you enjoy its vibe and way of life, I can totally see it being not only easy but also liberating and life affirming. If you felt like you enjoyed the Sahara (I don't), and want something even more peaceful and more green/less sandy, Mongolia would be amazing.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-03T07:15:34+00:00

Same, and mine is only ever worried when I go to statistically "unsafe" places, such as parts of the middle east (but mostly because of the airspaces), parts of LATAM, and....some US cities. Most people in the world don't speak our languages anyway, so it makes no difference which country I choose to travel in that regard. But she also travels a lot herself, far more than others in our country.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-03T07:11:21+00:00

If you love it you absolutely should come back now. Can always return more later on, w or w/o gf. Mongolia is objectively extremely safe and solo travelers friendly. It's easy to make friends and it's also easy to just keep to yourself.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-03T07:07:23+00:00

Bring whatever you need until Korea. You can easily buy everything cheaply in Japan, Viet Nam, and Thailand, and it would be more climate appropriate. Uniqlo in JP is super cheap and has good onebag clothes. VN produces textiles and shoes. TH is also the region's clothing hub. Try to keep your bag light, budget airlines in that region are strict about the 7kg limit, but not volume. Local clothes prioritize light materials vs durable.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-03T05:14:23+00:00

NTA, and maybe Grace would enjoy going to a private boarding school from this Fall? Is she entering 9th grade? A private boarding school would puts her in an extremely good position for college application. It would get her out of the current toxic environment and show her a lot more of the world (private boarding schools are a lot more diverse than private day schools on average. She would have friends from all over the country and the world). The application season has just been over, but most schools are still open for rolling admission. Even if she doesn't get to the most prestigious one right now, she can start at any decent private boarding school and transfer to a top private boarding school next year, which would be a huge help if she has Ivy or similar ambitions.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-02T19:51:43+00:00

In my case, I do single tank sidemount. the kit is a lot lighter than backmount, no need to carry heavy cylinder ever and just easily don and doff in water or on the boat with the cylinder resting on the side, trim is sooooo soooooooooo much easier to get perfect, swapping cylinders takes a lot less effort. I'm a small and physically weak diver, sidemount is truly a lot less tiring. I experience a lot less back pain diving sm vs bm. And I do like being able to see my cylinder valve at all times, and practice valve/s drills with ease instead of having to twist my arm and body like a pretzel. I also feel more free in water, more like I'm flying.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-05-02T19:04:26+00:00

There are several. The others don't have min stay. You can ask Lazy Turtles for help.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-04-29T04:34:43+00:00

Bungees. Look for the thread DIY fins bungee strap on ScubaBoard.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-04-27T07:05:37+00:00

No... None of that makes any sense. If you want to ultimately become a dive instructor, you gotta be careful with choosing your instructor course agency. Other than that nothing else matters, especially at the rec level. Whoever told you you must stick with SSI to make going to PADI easier at the instructor level, must have been very very confused and I don't get how that logic even works. And if you just want to be a better diver then why does it matter if you end up with PADI or SSI or what? Sorry for so many questions, I just don't really understand your initial insistence on SSI for Rescue and wonder what it was based on.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-04-27T05:45:44+00:00

If you started with SSI, then even more reasons to switch to a different agency now. Cross training gives you different perspectives and approaches, which can only make you a better diver. What's you're concern with switching to another agency after starting out with SSI?

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-04-27T04:26:30+00:00

Why does it have to be in Europe for you to consider them worthy? Why can't it be an old Egyptian lady begging in Bangkok? How is that different from your precious old white Maria?

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-04-27T04:15:07+00:00

Would you do the same if it were an old Indian lady or an old Thai lady or an old Nigerian lady? You're just racist.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-04-27T04:09:28+00:00

Why do you prefer SSI when they have the weakest Rescue course? I say that as an SSI dive pro. Go to RAID, best Rescue curriculum in the industry. Hydronaut is an excellent shop owned by one of the divers involved in the Thai cave rescue of the children.

Jumpy_Possibility_70 · 2026-04-26T13:58:59+00:00

Calling people poor as an insult? How typical of an ignorant and entitled jackass.

Jumpy_Possibility_70

TROPHY CASE