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Do you have an insatiable wanderlust, an incurable urge to seek out what lies beyond your horizon, or a restlessness for discovery? It’s not FOMO driving these feelings, pushing you to travel and explore your world. The answer might lie in your genes! An estimated 20% of humans have an actual “explorer gene” embedded within their DNA. The good news is you don’t need genetic testing to confirm if you possess this gene. If you, like us, have the nagging curiosity to explore your environment then you very likely test positive for the Explorer Gene too.

After many years trying to hopelessly suppress our explorer genes, in 2018 we finally gave in to them, sold or gave away our possessions, left behind our careers, and set out with our new homes on our backs. We spent years planning and saving like mad to prepare for our leap to become fully nomadic. Along the way we’ve discovered financial independence, countless connections to people and places, and have fallen in love with home-free slow travel.

The Explorer Genes blog is the story of our unique journey, with quirky snapshots of our life slowmading the globe on a $50 (combined) budget per day. We love to geek out and write about all the fun insights and facts we uncover, make history not boring, and share obscure or off-beat discoveries as we go. We are also culture hounds, avid hikers and walkers, and try to seek out adventure on a budget whenever and wherever possible. We truly believe that travel isn’t simply what you read in guidebooks, or is something found only in a lists of “must do’s”, “must see’s”, or “top ten’s.” Instead, we create a by-the-seat-of-our-pants itinerary that comes from slow travel, meeting and living with locals, and finding wondrous and off-beat travel opportunities when we can.

– Mandy & Greg Chase

Sunrise at Mt. Bromo, Indonesia: An Otherworldly Experience for Any Bucket List

If you peruse most travel itineraries to the island of Java, you will find three major tourist attractions: the temples of Yogyakarta, sunrise at Mount Bromo and a night hike to the blue flame/sunrise at Mount Ijen. Unfortunately, the latter was off the table for us due to a July eruption so we settled on […]

December 2, 2024

Prambanan, Batik and Birthdays in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Some say that Yogyakarta, commonly called Yogya or Jogja, is the true essence of Java…where the heart and the soul collide in its history, arts and culture. It is a destination that is on nearly every travelers’ Java itinerary for this reason, and because of its proximity to the wondrous and notable ancient ruins of […]

November 25, 2024

Budget Travelers Meet a Five Star Stay in Surakarta, Indonesia

While in Surakarta, aka, Solo, we went $2.82 over our daily budget and…at the same time, stayed in our first FIVE-star hotel. There was no travel hacking, free stays, or craftiness involved. It’s simply what it cost with our Agoda “VIP Platinum” status (which anyone can get simply by using the app regularly). Needless to say, […]

November 24, 2024

Stepping Back in Time on a Surprising Stop in Surakarta (Solo), Indonesia

Now that we had completed our three-week tour of Central and Eastern Java, we could more accurately evaluate the cities we visited and of them, Surakarta, also known as Solo, easily ranked in as our favorite, and one we’d love to return to. Granted, this is based on first impressions because we only spent one […]

November 23, 2024

Exploring Cats, Colors, Coffee and Kindness in Malang, Indonesia

Getting to Malang from Surakarta (Solo) Despite its swarming roads and bustling cities, the miles between them can be a simply ravishing and serene journey while traversing Java, which we did in August 2024. And perhaps there’s no better way to see it than on the rails. Our longest train journey would take us six-hours […]

November 22, 2024

Malang Day Trip: A Visit to the Stunning Tampa Sewu Waterfall, Java, Indonesia

East Java’s Tumpak Sewu is one of the most impressive waterfalls in Indonesia. It tumbles down in a semi-circle sheet from the perch of a precipitous cliff, creating a marvelous curtain of water. And, even better….when you research blogs on things to do in Java, supposedly Tumpak Sewu is a stunning “off the beaten path” […]

November 21, 2024

Want to explore by specific destination? This map displays every country we have visited since becoming nomadic in 2018. It’s color coded with green colored countries linking to anything we’ve written on them. And, all those uncolored countries… well, those are all our upcoming adventures; so stay tuned as we color them green!

In our country wraps series, we summarize the upsides and downsides of our time in a country, breaking down expenses, sharing insights, and offering general impressions to help you plan your own adventures.