Backpack Digital

Beliefs and rhythm are the common threads that connect people all over the world, from Utah to Chichen Itza, from the ancient Mayans to the modern Americas. Marissa Brown, a Utah, United States native who studies music and enjoys world percussion, comes to Hayden to share the stories that taught her how similar humans of different cultures and times really are. Hayden and Marissa discuss world percussion and the beats that cultures bring to the worldwide table of rhythm. They toy with starting a band, but move on to talking about how music fits in with travel in Marissa’s life. 

She learned a while ago that the best way for her to find herself was to lose herself, just for a little while. Marissa discusses the feelings brought to her by visiting ancient sites, how those feelings changed her afterwards, and the levels of happiness she experienced at the time. The not-so-hidden gem of this episode is titled “The Mystical Mayans” by Marissa; in it, she talks about the time she visited the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, to the heavily-populated site called Chichen Itza, an ancient Mayan city, which had a huge temple. She went on a tour with a local who gave her a personal perspective on the area, his home. She also went to Ek’ Balam, a true hidden gem, and climbed a thousand steps to the top of an ancient ruin. While Marissa was in Mexico, she saw temple sites, marriage altars, baptismal fonts, and realized that these people, who lived so far away from Jerusalem, believed such similar things to the people there, and she saw the people living in Mexico, and she learned that people all over the world weren’t so different from one another. Beliefs and rhythms connected them, and Marissa could feel a new beat starting in her heart. 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital

Solitude, silence, and peace are craved by many when they are traveling. However, many others desire companionship instead, wanting someone to share their experiences with. Richard Bruschi has a healthy dose of both, but it was solitude that helped him to truly find himself. Richard Bruschi is a writer for Sonderers Magazine, which functions on the idea that everyone has a story, no matter how modest their experience is or unexciting their life is. Everybody has a story, everybody has a life, everybody has thoughts, and that is a beautiful thing; Sonderers operates under that belief. Richard is, as described by Hayden, very cerebral in nature, and he and Hayden deep-dive into a variety of subjects throughout the interview, eventually ending up in a rabbit hole of conversation. 

Richard has done a considerable amount of traveling in his life, from the United States to Italy to Nottingham, and his experiences have impacted him greatly. Richard believes that there are opportunities everywhere if you just know where to look and how to prioritize. “Money is always out there to be made and caught,” Richard says, roughly paraphrasing Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , “but experiences - once you miss them, you’re not sure you can have them again.” Richard’s adventure, titled “Finding Myself,” takes place in Alaska. While Richard was backpacking in Resurrection Bay, Alaska, in an effort to be alone in nature for as long as possible, he cautiously realized a great deal about himself. What he found out about himself also led him to realizing how well he and his brother really knew each other. In this, Richard realized that finding himself also involved finding someone else along the way. Richard believes that he is a person first, and he is everything else second. Traveling and focusing on one worry at a time while you do it can really simplify your life and help you discover who you truly are as a person. Solitude can come in handy when the only person you really need to be alone with is yourself. 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital

Finding the opportunity to travel is a struggle in itself. Finding the chance to also sustain yourself and control your own work life is an even more rare happening. Chris Duncan talks with Hayden about how to have your own mindset shift that can give you a life of travel outside of the corporate ladder. Hayden reminds everyone to contact him or to visit the Travel Stories Podcast website if you would like to send in questions for the end-of-season Q&A if you want your questions answered, and/or if you want to try to win a GRAYL water filter. He discusses his reason for traveling before he introduces Chris Duncan, who he describes as a digital nomad and the master of building online businesses that can give you a life of travel. Chris and Hayden discuss the mindset shift that helps a traveler run a freedom business, as well as how freedom businesses work and how to start one. They talk about breaking free of the script society has given you that everyone else around you seems to be following. Another hot topic is how to obtain both location freedom and financial freedom. Chris’ story, “Detoxing in Thailand the Wrong Way,” is a captivating tale of Chris’ trip with his fiancee to a health retreat in Thailand, where they fasted and detoxed on an island. He had a unique experience, where he juiced and cleansed and had a mind-blowing trip that he remembers only bits and pieces of to this day. His humorous take on detox has to be heard to be believed. Becoming a self-sustaining traveler and a freedom business owner is no small job. Chris Duncan offers advice on how to begin to live the life he has led, and how to follow your true passions while also running a business. If you want to travel, Chris can give advice; if you want to experience true travel freedom, Chris can get you started. 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital

When you reach a certain age, many people think it becomes their job to settle down at home and leave the living to the young people. Jeff Baker is not one of those men. When Jeff and his wife reached that certain age, and they saw their kids doing fun and exciting things with their lives, they said to themselves, “Why can’t we have fun?” So, they gave away most of their belongings, sold their house, and decided to travel while they still could and share their adventures as they went. “It’s like we’re 25 again,” Jeff said of their travels, and he was right - their lives are not average, but they are adventurous. 

Jeff is a radio host in his “typical” life, hosting the show Savory Road, which is part of an NPR public radio-affiliate station in Southern California. His philosophy is that everyone partakes in food, even if they do not partake in travel, so logic dictates that everybody who listens to his show can relate to it. Jeff knows that people seek narrative and reflection, just like they do when they come to the Travel Stories Podcast, so he strives to put that into each of his shows. In between talking with Hayden about starting your travels, working through your financing, and managing the travel lifestyle, Jeff shares a story which he believes addresses expectations. While he considers expectations to be a double-edged sword, he also knows they are important to any travel experience. His story, titled, “Can an Ocean Rise Up From the Desert?”, follows Jeff as he visits the less-traveled parts of Peru and realized that reaching the “next level” of travel does not necessarily need to be any specific event, but can just be what it is. Jeff Baker knows that bravery, optimism, and having an open mind while you travel are vital to having an enjoyable experience. 

Even though you may reach a certain age, and society may expect certain things of you - in the end, you live your own life, and travel is an essential part of that rebirth. 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital

Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith when you travel. Oftentimes, that faith has to be in humanity itself, and in the humans who inhabit the places you are traveling to. Those people are the ones who can make or break your trip - and, sometimes, they are the ones who prove that humanity really is not all that bad. 

Laura Bingham visits Hayden and proves to be not only “incredibly fun to talk to,” to quote Hayden, but also incredibly brave and strong in her faith in humanity. Laura traveled from one side of South America to the other, on a bicycle, with no money, in six months. She depended on the kindness of strangers to help her survive. Laura discusses not only this trip, but also her documentary, how she learned to be patient, and “imposter syndrome” - believing you are an imposter because you feel like you do not deserve something you have or something you are doing. Laura’s story, titled “7000 Kilometers, No Money, What Now?”, starts in Peru, and proves Laura’s faith in humanity correct when she meets people who prove to be the best of her entire journey. Laura and Hayden also discuss trusting strangers, and Laura goes on to discuss Operation South America. Operation South America is a charity based in Paraguay, created by an Englishman named Phil Granger who met a married couple who had lost their nine-year-old son to a rare type of leukemia because they did not have the money or the treatment to save him. After they met, they started this organization for young girls that are from broken, violent, or poor backgrounds. A leap of faith is required when you travel, but if you just take that leap, your adventure might turn out to be something you never expected - and prove to reveal the best of the people around you. 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital

A behind-the-scenes look at the creation of something you love is always welcome; Hayden wanted to grant you that opportunity in the season two closer. Cody Crabb and Nicole Mello (the musician and the writer, respectively) join Hayden in unpacking the entirety of season two, looking back at funny, inspiring, and memorable moments from past episodes. Featured primarily among them are Guy Earnshaw, Sean Whitehead, Richard Phu, and, believe it or not, Hayden Lee himself. 

The three of them also discuss how the scores are created, how the show notes are written, and how each other’s accents sound to one another. The crew also looks forward to season three, discussing upcoming social media, post-season Q&As, and what else Hayden wants to go down in season three. Stay tuned! 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital

In this episode of Hayden's Travel Journal, we rejoin Hayden on his motorcycle journey as he enters the mountains in central Vietnam.  It's not all easy riding, as Hayden finds out, encountering buses, trucks and realising why everyone said "DO NOT DO THIS JOURNEY" on the research he did before going. The roads are certainly not for everyone, and one small mistake can mean either a devastating accident or a memorable story. Plenty of stories about the views and experiences on this journey coupled with tips about doing this type of travel make this journal entry an interesting instalment. 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital

Putting your faith in the universe, and letting your mind and body take over in order to free your soul, can sometimes be essential to traveling. Your adventure may not be complete if you are too aware of yourself. Katharine “Kate” Elliot had an angel in pink tell her she had to learn to let the universe guide her, and that has granted her some of her greatest travel moments. Let Hayden tell you about how some cool stuff that will be going down next week before Kate brings up her book, A Camino of the Soul: Learning to Listen When the Universe Whispers . Her and Hayden discuss paying attention to all the messages the world is sending you, and how to follow those messages and listen to the universe. She talks about she wrote her book, and what led her to discovering her writing. 

The highlight, her story “Angel in Pink,” follows Kate as she hits a dark moment, believing she had lost her path in the universe. She felt like she was drowning, aching, and her doubts and fears started to choke her; the world around her started to lose meaning, after her divorce, during her Camino, and she wanted to be able to cleanse herself of her hurt. An angel in pink - an elderly Spanish woman dressed in a light pink Sunday suit and pearls - spoke to her, more in spirit than in language, and told her to walk her path in faith. Kate’s faith in the universe was restored by her angel. Hayden and Kate continue into discussing how to let your brain and your body take you over, and how to let your spirit float free and be at the whims of yourself and of the universe. If you put your faith in the universe, you can be guided along your path to adventure to your destined destination. 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital

Traveling yourself is vastly different from hearing stories, or seeing pictures, even though those are fine substitutes. However, nothing can pair up to the real thing, a fact Hayden learned for certain while he was in Vietnam. Hayden shares a message from Billy and calls for people to send him messages, and lets us know about his intentions towards Snapchat and Facebook Live while he is traveling in Brazil. He also introduces Cody Crabb, the composer for Travel Stories Podcast, and they discuss scores Cody has done for past episodes, how Cody writes the scores for episodes, and how important scores and music are to stories and media. Most importantly, however, Cody answers Hayden’s question of, “John Williams or Danny Elfman?” Follow Hayden as he tries cacao for the first time, sees the most spiders he has ever found in one place, tells a waitress she is beautiful, and gets a scroll illustrated by a blind monk. He also visits a very “businessman” hotel to treat himself, and shares his experiences with synesthesia - in Hayden’s case, the ability to see sounds. You may not be able to visit Vietnam, but Hayden’s travel journal entry just might be the next best thing. 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital

If you change your thinking, you can change your actions. Hayden wholeheartedly believes in this philosophy, and it was this philosophy that led him to trying to never say no. It was his decision to always say yes to adventures that led him to his love on the Ganges. Hosted by Jackie Nourse of The Budget-Minded Traveler, Hayden Lee shares how he started the Travel Stories Podcast, how sharing stories can help bring a place or a feeling to someone who has never experienced it, and how to integrate your travel life with your daily life. 

He also talks about catching dengue fever, the growth travel can bring you, and the way to capitalize on the roles you take on while you travel. He believes in “minis,” or mini-romances, as much as he believes in saying yes to everything, and finding perfect moments while traveling. Most of all, though, Hayden believes in love at first sight. Hayden’s main attraction is his story, “Love on the Ganges,” a riveting tale of the time Hayden nearly died in the Ganges River while in the Himalayas, and how survival meant making a soul connection with a woman who did not share his language, but did share with him her name. Hayden nearly died on the Ganges, but he came away with a story that brings indescribable feelings of wonder welling up. A soul connection was born in the Ganges, and left Hayden with the belief that if you just say yes, you will experience what you are meant to live. 

Get in Touch with Hayden on Instagram: @backpackdigital