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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

From Java to Sanur, Bali, Indonesia: A Whole Other World

Arriving to Bali & Renewing our Visas From Malang, we had every intention to head to the far east of Java to Banyuwangi by train to see the blue flame of the Mount Ijen volcano. However, after an eruption on July 10, tours were closed for this natural wonder and we really weren’t in the […]

January 6, 2025

The Bali We Were Searching For, Indonesia

The Best Apartment We Could Ask For For our week in Bali, we made a very good decision by heading to a tiny village about 9k south of Amed Beach, which is a chill up and coming spot known for snorkeling/diving in East Bali. In our village, we had a bright and cheery small ocean view […]

January 5, 2025

A Simple Lombok Life Near Senggigi, Indonesia

From Bali to Lombok We Go After our blissful week in Bali, it was time to work our way over to the slums of neighboring Lombok. Of course we’re totally joking, but sometimes people glorify Bali so much you’d think this was the case. 🤣 Anyhow, to get there from Amed Beach, we could have […]

January 4, 2025

A Three Day Motorbike Adventure on Lombok, Indonesia

Day One: Senggigi to Tetbatu While on West Lombok, we have parked ourselves between Senggigi and Mataram for three weeks, and most of the month, have every intention of keeping it to one place. However, we couldn’t miss an opportunity to explore this resplendent Hawaii-esque island laden with tucked away waterfalls, quirky wildlife, pristine beaches, […]

January 3, 2025

Water, Earth and Fire in the Hippie Haven of Gili Air, Indonesia

Most people who have traveled to or researched Indonesia have probably heard of the Gili Islands. But if you start scanning the coastline of the country, you’ll notice many Gilis because Gili simply means “small island” in Indonesian. However, when tourists speak of them, they’re typically referring to the ones off the north coast of Lombok, […]

January 2, 2025

Indonesia: It’s a Wrap!

As our allotted sixty days ended, our time in Indonesia came to a close which feels incredibly bittersweet. This is a country we easily fell head over heels with for multiple reasons. And, because of its vastness and the fact we only visited 5 of 17,000 islands, we still have a few more to get […]

January 1, 2025

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.