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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

The 2025 Geney Awards: Our “Best of” List

Happiest of New Year’s to all of you! We wish you love, joy and happy travels in 2026! For us, 2025 began at a month-long housesit in the upside-down where winter is summer, and summer is winter. While listening to new carols which could really enhance the Mariah Carey selection like Six White Boomers and […]

January 28, 2026

Uzbekistan: It’s a Wrap!

In Summary…. Now that you’ve drooled over all the stunning architectural photos and listened to us drop every synonym for the color blue throughout our time in Uzbekistan, this post will begin to convey more of our real experience in the country…now that we’ve successfully exited. You can read about that story a bit more […]

January 27, 2026

Troubles in Transit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

From Khiva to Tashkent From Khiva, we were destined to rumble 15 hours back east to the Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent by overnight train. This time, because it was a lengthy trip, we opted to upgrade about 10% to the 4-bed private berth cabin rather than the more open 6-berth, which was still only $27.50/ticket. […]

January 26, 2026

Journey Down the Silk Road: Khiva the Charismatic, Uzbekistan

Taking the Train from Bukhara to Khiva From Bukhara, we boarded another train to what would be our furthest point west in Central Asia and what was undoubtedly our favorite stop on the Silk Road…Khiva. Unlike the last, this train only offered sleeper bed seats making it a much more cozy experience for the duration […]

January 22, 2026

Journey Down the Silk Road: Beguiling Bukhara, Uzbekistan

From Samarkand to Bukhara by Train From Samarkand, we trundled two hours west by train to the second most visited place on the Uzbek tourist circuit…Bukhara. And in case you skimmed over that little detail…YES, we said TRAIN, which is undoubtedly one of the things that makes travel in this country both uncomplicated and pleasant, […]

January 19, 2026

Journey Down the Silk Road: Spectacular Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Getting to Samarkand & Our Accommodation From the Tajik border town of Panjakent, it was time to wander into the next Stan, for our final 29 days in Central Asia. This would also be our most challenging border crossing of the region, so we were pleased to have had the overnight in Panjakent and not tried […]

January 14, 2026

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.

Uzbekistan: It’s a Wrap!

It’s a Wrap! Tajikistan

Despite having the same last four letters, which actually just means “LAND,” Tajikistan felt radically different than the first two ‘Stans of our journey. It felt much more off-the-beaten-path, the people are radically different in their Persian-feeling look and hospitality,...

It’s a Wrap: Kyrgyzstan!

People in Kyrgyzstan have been nomadic for at least 3000-4000 years, so it’s only natural two nomads like us have felt inclined to experience their customs since we first learned about it years ago. All four countries we experienced in...