First-hand accounts

Video stories

Watch the original videos and read STI's published companions to each creator's account.

5 published video companions

AI-generated illustration of a regional passenger train crossing green countryside in Vietnam.

Creator video companionWhat Five Months in Vietnam Cost No Fly Zone Nomads: Their 157-Day TotalRetired Canadian couple Andrea and Keith of No Fly Zone Nomads add up 157 days and 157 hotel nights in Vietnam without flying: C$22,667 (US$16,374 by their conversion), or C$144 a day for the two of them, by their own count. Their video breaks it down into transport, food, accommodation and unitemized extras.Read the story →

Illustration of an empty rural road through red-clay countryside, with a distant train crossing a plain beneath low hills.

Creator video companionBangkok to Vietnam Without Flying: No Fly Zone Nomads' Three Days OverlandRetired Canadian couple Andrea and Keith of No Fly Zone Nomads travel from Bangkok to Dong Hoi in Vietnam in three days without flying, by sleeper train, car and two land borders. Their video covers a Tết-holiday roadside stranding, the strangers who found them a taxi, and the tips they took away.Read the story →

Traveler comparing possible trial stays at a table by a city window.

Creator video companionHow to Use a Retirement Abroad List Before a Trial StayA critical look at Grounded Life Retirement Travel’s 25-place list, with a practical way to choose and test a personal retirement shortlist.Read the story →Creator video companionIs Porto worth a week? Brian and Carrie return to their favorite cityBrian and Carrie revisit Porto for a week and compare the Gaia waterfront with a central Porto base, the city’s hills and transport choices, food stops, a port tasting, and what their reported costs actually cover.Read the story →Creator video companionWho are No Fly Zone Nomads? Keith and Andrea's retirement plan to travel without flyingKeith and Andrea, two newly retired Gen X Canadians from Kingston, Ontario, introduce No Fly Zone Nomads: slow travel by train and boat, no airports, and one 40-liter backpack and one 40-liter rolling bag each. Their first video records the plan before departure, not a completed trip.Read the story →