Bahrain, Tonga, Azerbaijan, Armenia. Just some of the places that Jake Schumacher has visited during his year of solo travel. 

Last year, Jake Schumacher sold most of his belongings in Atlanta, GA to travel full time. With a one way ticket, he headed to Sydney, Australia without a plan for more than a couple days. And he believes there’s magic in that approach. He’s been on the road for almost a year now. His journey has been a tale of “smiles, humanity, and meeting good people,” and Jake has made it up as he’s gone along, acquiring numerous tales that restore our faith in our beautiful humanity.

“It usually doesn’t take more than one or two questions. I’ve met some of the most beautiful people in the world, just by saying hello.”

Listen to the podcast episode:  

Please write a podcast review if you loved this episode! Your written iTunes reviews encourage other people to listen to this episode and podcast. Thanks for the amazing support!

Jake reflects on his journey, sharing the value of going with the flow, facing feats, trusting locals, and finding locales on the road less traveled to truly find the beauty in this world. It’s an uplifting story and Jake is quite the storyteller. Two specific ones — one of his oh shit moments that made my jaw drop and one that just warmed my soul about a special host named Zaki.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• How having no plan can be a very good plan to gain some amazing stories 
• If you make clear what you want, the universe has a funny way of fulfilling those dreams
• Why he chooses somewhat obscure locations to visit, and the beauty & hospitality he’s found in those spots
• On fear of the unknown: It’s unavoidable but “Sometimes, you just have to jump in the fire.”
• 3 Things to Always learn in a new language: hello, thank you, cheers
• His #1 tip if you don’t have plans or connections at a destination (hint: where to stay) 
• His best tips on how to talk to locals (with the goal to have them provide their best tips about their city)
• Jake’s biggest “Oh Shit” moment while in Malaysia (what a story!!) 
• His serendipitous moments throughout his travels and how things tend to work out for good
• Time in Bahrain and the wonderful hospitality of Zaki, pictured above (Instagram post linked below) 

“I don’t try to guide the path, I now let the path guide me.”

KEEP UP WITH JAKE:

Follow his adventures on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snakeagram/

The link to his post, experience, and pictures with Zaki: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bun5bpJByZ5/