About

Welcome to Stowaway!

I’ve finished up part 2 of a multi-part trip around the world and I’m now living in London (my dual citizenship comes in handy). I’m excited to make a new home here.  I’m blogging about my trip in real time, and there are several places to catch up on, so stick around!

You can use the menu buttons at the top of the page to find posts on specific places I’ve been, photo series on different themes, and how I planned this trip. It’s interactive–there’s a suggestion box so you can tell me your favorite travel destinations, and a fundraising page in case you want to help me keep going on the road.

Where have I been?

On September 3, 2012 I flew to Hawaii, then to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Japan. I flew to the UK at the end of May 2013 for my grandmother’s 80th birthday party, then went to Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Poland, Hungary, and the UK again before flying home for my friend’s wedding in Michigan in mid-July. On February 7, 2014 I set off for Quito, Ecuador, where I took intensive Spanish lessons for two weeks. I traveled around Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina for about 5 months. I visited Belgium for a week, and then returned to the UK to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest.

Where to next?

I’m settling down in London for the foreseeable future; at the moment I have some temporary work, but in order for this venture to pan out, I need something more permanent (and better paying!). I’m good at editing, project management, writing, and general office work–let me know if you hear of any openings!

In the more distant future, I’d love to go on safari in Africa, take the Transsiberian Railway to Mongolia, visit the Taj Mahal. There’s so much of the world to explore! (You can read my original itinerary and my travel philosophy at The Plan, In Sum.)

What about the name?

Stowaway, the name of this blog, comes from the poet Roselle Mercier Montgomery, who said, “Never a ship sails out of bay but carries my heart as a stowaway.”

From this post: “Stowaway. It’s about travel, but with a sense of real adventure to it. Sneaking away from the life plan of career, domesticity, etc. Smuggling rough-edged politics into the stately ships of traditional travelogues. Finding the unknown corners of the usual modes of travel, approaching it from another angle. A stowaway is so eager to go someplace that they do whatever they can to get there. A stowaway doesn’t just yearn, she acts. I take that as inspiration and mission statement both.”

Also, I think of this blog as a way for you, the reader, to stow away with me on my travels.

What else?

As well as being a travel blog, Stowaway includes posts on social justice and pop culture. Semi-regular features include My Kind of Town Monday (photos of different places in Chicago), Aesthetically Speaking (series of interviews with artists), and Where in the World Wednesday (photos from my travels around the world). Other recurring features include A Country a Month (research on countries I plan to visit), Running the Numbers (budgeting a world trip), and The Headly Surprise (feminist surprises in mainstream movies). Please stop by the Suggestion Box and give me some ideas on where to go next. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

All content is copyright 2009-2019 Lisa Findley. All opinions are my own and do not represent those of my former employers or my affiliates. All text and images are mine unless otherwise noted.

You can contact me at lisa dot findley at gmail dot com.

16 thoughts on “About”

  1. Lisa, your blog resignated with me because I’m in a similar situation. I’ve always loved traveling but after traveling alone for a month in europe last summer, I decided that I want to travel the world for a year before I turn 30. After looking at my financial situation, it looks like it will be in early 2015 when I’m at the tail end of my 30th year. I have been researching books, blogs, etc. to prepare me and keep me motivated. It’s also a little discouraging that my trip won’t be for another 3 years. By then I should have at least 50K saved. I know that I can travel with less than half of that amount but I want to have an extra cushion for a major catastrophe, a possible down payment on a house when I return, or the option of extending my travel. I hope I can stay motivated enough to wait three years. What have you done to keep you motivated for such a long time?

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    • Thanks for commenting, Sheila! I think you’ll be surprised by how quickly three years goes by, especially if you have a good life right now. I’ve put a lot into my friendships and social life here at home, so that I’m not just in constant waiting mode. That way, the trip becomes an extension of your already great life, rather than a high point you have to forgo all other pleasures to work toward. Also, I think you’re doing a great thing by reading up in books and blogs; that helps to make the trip feel real and also refines where you want to go once you set out. Reading about the temples of Angkor Wat just reinforces for me that I want to go there, and that keeps me motivated.

      The other possibility is going sooner. You mention having an extra cushion of funds, which is obviously smart, but it might be possible to have a smaller cushion and get out there a year or even two early. It’s worth thinking about; the closer I am to actually leaving, the more I think I was being too cautious earlier and should have just cast off last year. I’m not getting any younger. 🙂

      I hope this helps! Thanks for reading, and do keep us updated on your own trip.

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  2. Hi Lisa! This is Suchaya from high school, hope you still remember me! So your sister Emily told me about your plan and I just wanted to let you know that I am currently living in SE Asia and I would love to see you when you come by. My home is still in Bangkok, but I am currently living and working in Malaysia. I’ll be moving to China in May 2012 and then Singapore in January 2013. Will your trip bring you to these places? My email is suchaya.s@gmail.com. Would love to hear from you!

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  3. Hi Lisa. This is Meredith, we met at the chili party the other night. Your trip sounds amazing and I’m so glad that Sam pointed me toward your blog! I’ll definitely follow. (And you can check out my goofy little one at blog5b-dot-com (to avoid those nasty Web bots). Off the top of my head, I have friends in Bergen, Norway; London; and Glasgow who could show you around when you hit those spots. Good luck and I can’t wait to read more!

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    • Hi Meredith, thanks for stopping by! It was great meeting you at the chili party. I will check out the 5Bs blog, and I will be in touch about connecting with your friends in various international locales.

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  5. Wow, your trip sounds epic! I’m a broke student at the moment so will be waiting another few years before I can something like that, but I’m hoping to work my way around the world for the next decade! I’ve never been to West Africa..I hope you will blog about it so we can follow your adventure! Janet

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    • Ah why am I so bad at checking on my About page? Thanks for writing (over a year ago), Janet! I love reading about your adventures, too. The Korean adventures interspersed with side trips are super interesting at the moment.

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  7. Pingback: Departure Date and Updated Pages | Stowaway

  9. I just found your Poldark drinking game and I’m dying. It’s not shareable to Facebook for some reason, though, and I think now that it’s on Amazon Prime people would love to read this!

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks! I’ve looked into it and I’m not sure what’s going on, since it’s still shareable to Twitter. I’ve checked other posts and they’re shareable to FB too, so it seems like it must be something odd with this one. If you can just copy the link into FB, that should hopefully still work! Thanks for your interest and enjoy!

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