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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

Little Dutch Wonders in Steamy Semarang, Indonesia

One Night in Semarang Semarang is a steamy port city on Java’s north coast of 1.3 million people, which most travelers don’t make it to, unless they’re on their way to or from Karimunjawa. This is a bit of a shame because its Old Quarter, or Kota Lama, currently being renovated, is dripping with Dutch […]

October 13, 2024

Touching Down in Java’s Second City of Surabaya, Indonesia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia>>>>>Surabaya, Indonesia After a month of much needed kitty, kitchen and komfort (oh yes, I did spell it like that!) time in KL, it was finally the day to repack the freshly bathed non-jungle-smelling backpacks and hit the jetway again. This time we were bound for the most populous island nation on earth on […]

October 11, 2024

Experiencing Healthcare as Royal Patients at Prince Court Hospital, Malaysia

Health Assessment at Prince Court (July 2024) Time to derobe, spread ‘em and generally do things that make us uncomfortable. Ah yes, it’s medical month in Kuala Lumpur! We’ve been waiting four years for our first official health assessments since we first learned about them. And I don’t mean checking five things in your blood, […]

October 10, 2024

Malaysian Borneo: It’s a Wrap!

We spent three weeks on the Malaysian side of Borneo, the third biggest island on earth, traveling from west to east, and also made a stop in the tiny Islamic sultanate of Brunei. Our experience was mostly very positive and we’d highly recommend a trip here most notably for the diverse and unbelievable array of […]

October 2, 2024

Rising in Altitude at Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia

Arriving to Mount Kinabalu National Park After a three hour escape from the wilds, we still had an endless five-hour bus journey to bask in our grime before arriving to our refreshingly cool next destination of Mt Kinabalu National Park. If we had to plan this again, (which we won’t but maybe it’ll save you), […]

October 2, 2024

Welcome to the Real Jungles of Borneo, Malaysia

The Journey into the Jungle We wouldn’t recommend coming all the way to Borneo without slipping into something far less comfortable…aka the jungle…for a true experience. Our comfort zone destroyer of choice was through Uncle Tan Wildlife Adventures which took us up the Kinabatangan River and allowed us to stay at a rustic…very rustic…jungle camp […]

September 20, 2024

Protecting the Sun Bears and Orangutans of Borneo, Malaysia

The Orangutan Rehabilitation Center Due to its undeniable resemblance to us, orangutan literally means ‘Man of the Forest’ and the chance to see one of these critically endangered and uniquely fiery-coiffed creatures in the wild is the reason that thousands of tourists flock to Borneo every year. Of course, there are levels of “wild” and […]

September 19, 2024

Some Sublime, Some Gritty in Sandakan City, Malaysia

Getting to East Borneo Once again, our carbon footprints were presented with a choice for our jaunt to the far east side of Borneo…a ~25 hour bus ride to Sandakan from Miri, or $87 for two flight tickets. This one had a 7-hour overnight layover obstacle in Kota Kinabalu, but according to the Priority Pass […]

September 18, 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!