Meet the Nomads - Brian and Paz of Lucid Practice

I got an email one day from Brian and Paz asking to be featured in Meet the Nomads and I immediately checked their website and was surprised on how different their blog is compared to most blogs that I’m following. They mainly write about inspirational and motivation articles and as well as yoga and wellness.

Brian and Paz met in college and traveled together in Asia for more than three months. Aside from their travels in Asia you’ll find a lot of articles about their travels in US, Canada and some countries in Europe and South America as well.

Get to know more about Brian and Paz and follow their adventures at Lucid Practice.

Paz and Brian

How did you discover your passion for travelling?

“I (Paz) had never been outside of the US before age 22 when I had the opportunity to travel to China for a course offered by my business school. I never had an interest in traveling until I stepped foot off of the plane. That’s when things changed forever.

Shanghai is a very clean city and there is very little crime — but the roadways are chaotic. On our first day there, my roommate and I were on our way to a lecture. We were in a speeding taxi cab and we had just narrowly avoided several crashes. Then, when we were almost at our destination, another taxi collided into the side of our cab, ripping the side view mirror off and scraping the side of the cab.

At the proceeding red light, our driver got out of the car and approached the other cab driver’s car (he was one car in front of us). Our driver knocked on the window and when the other driver lowered the window, our driver clocked him right in the face. The driver got out of the car and the two of them got into a huge shoving match in the middle of the street at a red light! Then, our driver got back into our car, said nothing and proceeded to drop us off at our destination!

That night, we went out to dinner and a bar/club where I ate the most interesting foods and met amazing people from across the globe. Within 24 hours of travelling, I was hooked.”

What’s the most horrible experience that you’ve had on the road?

“Looking back, even the experiences that some might label as bad were actually great learning/growing experiences. Getting stranded on the street of Guillin during Chinese New Year with nowhere to sleep but the sidewalk may have seemed rough at the time. But it made for a great experience and a funny story. (For the record, Paz insisted that we pay a massage parlor to let us sleep on their chairs inside for a couple hours in order to avoid the sidewalk).”

What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?

“Our most transformative experience was a one week yoga retreat in Koh Phangan, Thailand. We were able to connect with our teacher, Rory Trollen, who led us to the world of yoga and looking internally for validation and happiness instead of looking for validation externally.

We also connected with others who we practiced with that week — we’re still in touch and connected to this day. That’s one of our favorite parts about traveling — connecting with locals and other travelers — learning about their cultures, their languages, their history, their spiritual and religious beliefs, and their world views.”

What’s the biggest realization that you’ve got out of travelling?

“Mark Twain put it best,

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

Traveling is so liberating and eye opening. We’re passionate learners, meeting new people and learning about other cultures has taught us that there’s so much more to life than going to a great college, getting a great job, getting married, having kids and settling down. Many Westerners get bogged down in either “the rat race,” slavishly following sports teams, celebrity gossip, or other activities that to us seem trivial compared to seeing the world and having a positive impact on people.”

What keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?

“The fact that there’s so much to see. The world is so vast. So many different cultures to experience, people to meet, languages to learn, students to teach, so many people suffering that we can help. The tiring aspect of travelling is real but it’s nothing a little willpower can’t overcome.

One reason friends and relatives sometimes don’t understand the passion people have for traveling is that they’ve never experienced it. Sure, maybe they’ve been to Europe for a couple weeks or been to Asia on business, but have they actually dropped everything (technology, jobs, material possessions, etc.) and purchased a one way ticket to a country that is entirely different from theirs? It’s our contention that if they had, they would understand the mindset of the nomadic backpacker.”

This is a silly and hypothetical one. If you would be given a chance to travel with a popular person or a celebrity, who would it be and why?

“Pope Francis or the Dalai Lama. The two men see the world in such a beautiful light. We would be honored to be by their side. We would learn so much from them. One of our missions in life is to help people. We feel we’re doing that on Lucid Practice but who better to learn from than these two?”

Where’s your favorite place in this planet and why?

“As much as we love traveling, our favorite place is right at home with family. In the houses we grew up in. While we believe it is important to travel, see the world, and experience other cultures, we are blessed to have tremendous families who mean the world to us.”

What’s your best tip for newbie traveler?

“Be curious. Read travel blogs. Talk to locals. Understand that it is possible to live a “location independent” lifestyle if you want to.

Travel does not have to be one single trip after college. There are ways to earn a living to support your travels while you’re on the road. We’re starting to talk more about this on our blog.

One of the biggest mistakes we see is over-planning. Part of the allure of travel is leaving the structure that the industrial society has imposed upon people (Monday-Friday 9-5.) There might be times during your travels where you have no idea what day of the week it is. For a newbie this may seem daunting but you’ll find that it’s actually liberating.”

What’s the funniest and silliest thing you’ve ever done while travelling?

“I’m (Brian) infamous with our readers for an image now known as, “The Lounger” where I was literally lounging on the back of a tiger in Chiang Mai, Thailand.”

How do you fund your travels?

“Mostly from savings. Advertisers have approached us in the hopes of selling ads on our site. We’re not sure if we’re going to go this route. It would have to be a company that aligns with our passion and mission: helping people and spreading love and positive energy.”

How do you keep yourself safe on your travels?

“Being two large males, we’ve never had problems with anyone trying to mess with us. However, we’ll soon be traveling with our girlfriends so safety will take on a whole new meaning. It all depends on where you are but generally speaking, it’s important to avoid dangerous activities at night.”

What do you think about yourself?

“We are grateful people. We believe in God and our conviction is not necessarily because of miracles but instead because of every day common occurrences in our lives. We’re grateful for the blessings bestowed upon us and we are passionate about helping people.

We are open minded, curious, contemplative, always questioning and digging deeper. But at the end of the day, we’re just like you, the persons reading this interview. We’re all human, as we say at Lucid Practice we are all One.”

“LucidPractice.com is rooted in positivity. It’s an outlet where travelers can meet likeminded people. A place where aspiring travelers can find tips on budget traveling, inside information on locations described as “hidden gems,” and tips on how to incorporate wellness and presence while traveling. We use the prefix Lucid as term that signifies presence, light, and awareness. If you are present, you are conscious of your actions, of your posture, your breath, etc., and of the impact you have on others.” – Brian and Paz of Lucid Practice