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Today’s PrideNomad™ Quiz:

In Today’s Email:

Nomad Life: The Ultimate Cruise?

Nomad Hacks: Take the bus.

Nomad News: IGLTA takes over Palm Springs.

NOMAD LIFE:

🌍 The Deal of a Lifetime?

My mom found the deal of the century.

A 72-day Grand World Voyage from Sydney to Fort Lauderdale on Holland America.

The kind of trip you see in glossy travel magazines — the ship cutting through sapphire seas, elegant dinners, and promises of “seeing the world” without ever repacking your suitcase.

Here’s the route (and tell me this doesn’t sound incredible):

Sydney → Townsville → Cairns → Darwin → Komodo → Bali (2 days) → Singapore (2 days) → Ho Chi Minh City → Da Nang → Ha Long Bay → Hong Kong (2 days) → Taiwan (2 ports!) → Okinawa → Amami Oshima → Nagasaki (2 days) → Tokyo (2 days) → Hakodate → Alaska (Kodiak, Sitka, Ketchikan) → Seattle → San Diego → Mexico (Manzanillo & Puerto Chiapas) → El Salvador → Panama Canal → Cartagena → Fort Lauderdale.

That’s five continents, 25 ports, and more stamps than your passport has pages.

The price?

A “bargain” $11,800.

Seventy-two days of international adventure for what some people pay in rent.

Mom was ecstatic. “You have to come with me! It’s practically free!”

And honestly, I get it.

No flights. No logistics. No stress. Just unpack once and let the ship do the rest.

Wake up in Bali one morning and Tokyo the next? Sounds like freedom.

So let me ask you —

Would you take this deal?

Reply and tell me.

Because my answer — coming up later in this newsletter — might make you rethink what “seeing the world” actually means.

NOMAD HACKS:

 🚎 Take the Bus (But Know When Not To)

Every travel guru tells you to "live like a local."

What they don't mention is that locals don't have to worry about getting harassed on the night bus for existing.

We do.

So here's the REAL travel hack: Public transport isn't just about saving money or being "authentic."

It's about reading the room.

In Berlin's U-Bahn at midnight? You're probably fine holding hands with your partner while some drunk tourists stumble home.

In Bangkok's skytrain over temples at sunset? The worst thing that'll happen is someone will politely ask where you're from.

But in other cities? That rainbow pin might as well be a target.

Which is why our local advisors in Medellín insisted I stick to Uber.

Not because I'm precious about comfort.

But because sometimes "living like a local" means putting yourself in situations where being visibly queer could ruin your whole trip.

And frankly? That's not cultural immersion.

That's just stupid.

The magic happens when you can move through a city with grace AND safety.

When you can hear the local language on the metro...

Watch grandmas with market bags and students with earphones...

Without constantly checking over your shoulder.

Sometimes that means taking the bus.

Sometimes it means paying extra for the Uber.

Both can be the right choice.

The trick is knowing which cities are which.

And having local intel that goes beyond "download this app."

Because here's what most travel content won't tell you...

The best cultural experiences happen when you feel safe enough to actually PAY ATTENTION to the culture.

Not when you're white-knuckling it through a commute, hoping nobody notices your accent, your clothes, or who you're traveling with.

Live like a local who gets to be themselves.

That's where the real magic is.

Drop a 🚎 if you've ever had to choose between authenticity and safety while traveling.

NOMAD NEWS:

🌈  Why 760 Queer Travel Pros All Went to the Same Desert

Last week, something weird happened in Palm Springs.

The city got even gayer. Very fast.

Over 760 LGBTQ+ travel professionals from 31 countries all descended on the desert for the biggest IGLTA Global Convention ever.

Hotels, airlines, tour companies, travel writers... basically everyone who makes money off us traveling... all in one place.

Which sounds boring as hell.

Until you realize what they were actually DOING there.

They were plotting our takeover.

Okay, not really.

But they WERE figuring out how to make the world more welcoming for queer travelers.

More than 450 businesses represented. Workshops on everything from queer economic impact to next-gen travel tech, inclusive marketing, trans travel safety (we'll dive deeper into this next week), and mental health in hospitality.

The kind of behind-the-scenes work that makes your next trip suck less.

And then Palm Springs did something beautiful.

On the last night, they unveiled a permanent LGBTQ+ flagpole right in the middle of the Arenas Business District.

Not some hidden corner. Not a "designated area."

Right in the center where everyone can see it.

Featuring the original Gilbert Baker Pride flag... a daily tribute to 40 years of Pride in Palm Springs.

And here's the part that got me...

The city deliberately WAITED to dedicate this flag until our community was there to see it.

That's not virtue signaling. That's respect.

Then came the party (and the purpose).

The annual Voyage fundraiser happened at the Dinah Shore estate, now Leonardo DiCaprio's place. (Yes, THAT Leonardo DiCaprio.)

💧Art in the Water, $100K for the Cause

Six queer artistic swimmers performed in the pool... choreographed, graceful, unforgettable.

We captured it on video — and you can watch it here on our YouTube channel. You’ll want to.

By the end of the night? Over $100,000 raised for the IGLTA Foundation.

Money that goes toward scholarships, education, and programs that make LGBTQ+ travel safer worldwide.

Why you should actually give a damn:

Because when 760 industry professionals spend a week talking about US...

That's not charity.

That's infrastructure.

Next time you're booking a trip, look for the IGLTA logo.

Those are the companies that showed up. That invested time and money into figuring out how to welcome us properly. Yes—even with all the anti-DEI bullshit happening in the USA.

Support them.

Because visibility matters. Connection matters.

And when the world's queer travel leaders gather in one desert to rethink how the planet welcomes us...

That's not a niche event.

That's building a more inclusive world, one trip at a time.

PART 2:

⚓ The Illusion of Adventure

Are You F***ing Crazy?

That was my actual reply to my mother (yes, we have that sort of relationship).

Because once you stop drooling over the itinerary and start doing the math, this “dream voyage” starts to look less like freedom and more like a floating waiting room with a buffet.

Let’s start with the numbers:

$11,800 sounds reasonable — until you add internet ($40/day × 72 = $2,880), gratuities (≈$1,000), and all the extras.

Now you’re at roughly $15,000 for a trip where almost half your time — 34 out of 72 days — is spent at sea.

Yes, you read that right.

Thirty-four full days of nothing but ocean.

Including one seven-day stretch from Japan to Alaska where you’re literally surrounded by nothing but water, shuffleboard, and retirees in elastic-waist pants (not that there’s anything wrong with elastic-waist pants!).

That’s not exploration.

That’s endurance.

And those “bucket list” ports?

Most are quick pit stops — 6 to 12 hours at best.

Komodo? 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Da Nang? 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Cartagena? Just six hours.

That’s not immersion — that’s a geographic drive-by.

Sure, you can brag that you’ve “been to” Vietnam, Japan, and Panama.

But did you feel them?

Did you eat street food with locals? Get lost in a queer bar in Taipei? Sit with a stranger in Cartagena and learn their story?

No.

You sprinted off the ship, took a selfie, and hustled back before the gangway closed.

That’s not adventure. That’s tourism cosplay.

Now, if you love sea days, trivia nights, and endless buffets — go for it.

But for a PrideNomad — someone who travels to connect, to grow, to belong — this isn’t freedom.

It’s a souvenir parade wrapped in Wi-Fi fees.

For the same $11,800, you could spend 72 days living in Bali, Lisbon, Medellín, and Taipei — long enough to build friendships, learn a few phrases, and actually belong somewhere.

So when Mom said, “It’s 75% off!”

I said, “You’re 100% nuts.”

Because freedom isn’t a cruise itinerary.

It’s choosing depth over distance.

And, after I explained my point of view, Mom agreed. Do you?

Answer to Today’s Quiz

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