Around the World on 50 Bucks

How I Left with Nothing and Returned a Rich Man

By: Christopher Schacht

Narrated by: Jakob Lewis

Christopher Schacht shares his incredible experiences, revealing what he has learned along the way about life, love, and God, describing touching and bizarre encounters and insights that aren’t found in any travel guide.

Christopher Schacht was only nineteen years old and had just finished school when he put a dream into motion. With only 50 euros in savings, he traveled around the world, relying only on his friendliness, flexibility, charm, and willingness to work for his shelter and food.

Christopher traveled for four years, visiting 45 countries and traversing 100,000 kilometers on foot, hitchhiking, and on sailboats. He has earned his living as a jeweler, locksmith, au pair, and fashion model. He lived among indigenous people of South America and drug dealers and has journeyed through some of the most dangerous areas in the middle east.

“My plan was not to have a plan, just live without schedules and time pressure, where I could stay in places that I enjoyed until I was ready to move on.”

Photos from Christopher’s journey and tips for backpackers are available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

He shared the journey as well as the lessons!

Good job Christopher. I'm so proud of you,...as a responsible traveler.... not only did you see the beauty of this Earth, you even saw some scary things, you let God protect, bless and guide you, you allowed his children teach you. I thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you.

Very enjoyable!

Enjoyed the stories, learning about different cultures, and the author's sense of humor. The narrator did great too.

Interesting story.

I found this captivating. I started out being vicarious but soon reverted to my safe home life here in Montana. A good listen and I enjoyed the interjection of philosophy throughout.

Love it!

I love this! What a great experience to backpack around the world, willing to work to fund your trip, with just a basic idea of the route to take, but at the same time, allowing for life to unfold as you go. Great reflections throughout the journey, fascinating experiences. The optimism and fearlessness of youth are priceless. I am happy Christopher returned home safely after 4 years of globetrotting.

Years ago, I traveled alone in Europe, for 35 days, and I truly cherish all my experiences. One of my life goals is to world-school my kid. There is so much to learn by experiencing other cultures. People all over the world are simply lovely.

I want to purchase the actual book so I can read the names of the places Chris visited (just by listening, I didn't recognize some of them). Great book. I highly recommend it.

LOVED IT

“Around the World on 50 Bucks”
I absolutely loved this book (I finished it in a day) and the journey it took me on. He went around the world and I felt as though I was with him the whole time. I loved the narrator and the story that came to life in my head. I often googled images of the cities and the people that he spoke about to heighten the experience of the audiobook. Highly recommend for anyone who is travel hungry or in need of some inspiration.

I Almost Passed

This book popped up and caught my attention. After reading the negative reviews I passed on it. Then awhile later it popped up again and caught my attention during a sale. I decided to go ahead and give it a listen right away incase I needed to return it. The book was fully worth a whole credit. It is exactly what it looks like and kept my attention the entire time. I have written a negative review or two, but this book was great. For some reason it reminded me a lot of the book Rejection Proof. You will be surprised at who will help you and who won’t. Loved the book. The guy gets spiritual at times in some places as he looks around him and sees God’s creation and people. That’s my only thought for people buying this book and not liking it as it fits it’s title and cover perfectly. Some people just hate on anything that crosses their views!

Great story, life lessons, entertaining, but....

As someone who loves traveling and adventure, this book was right up my alley. I loved his attitude, his openness, and the little insights he shared about his experiences. There is a lot to be learned from his reaction to challenging situations. He keeps calm, reflects on his situation, but actively and optimistically progresses forward. He is gentle, sensitive, and compassionate about his observations, especially when encountering cultures that are extremely obscure to Westerners. However, some depictions seem subjective and inaccurate. For example, mourning practices of some Islanders and thoughts on habits of people in developing countries.

This was also a great example of how white male privilege is prevalent world-wide. I can not, as a woman of East-Asian descent, fathom trying something like this, even though I desperately want to. First, it would not be fair to my friends and family who would worry ceaselessly. Second, being alone as a woman in many parts of the world is an invitation for trouble. Third, the dominance of Western media, and how Hollywood has permeated many corners of the world, made it possible for him to be an attractive commodity (i.e., get paid $$$$ for modeling and acting jobs in East Asia). He was most definitely provided many opportunities that would probably not have been given to people who did not look like him.

Christopher does, however, reflect on his blessings throughout his trip and attributes his growing faith. I mean, is he in his early 20's as he writes this? Quite insightful for someone who is still developing their prefrontal cortex. Still, I do not think that he gives his privilege enough weight.

Enjoyed every story

Thank you for sharing your adventures! I plan to accomplish my own travel goals and share them as well.

Interesting enough to finish

It wasn’t that compelling of a story. It kept me listening but I wouldn’t re-listen or recommend it to others. He had a lot of adventures and there was a variety but it just wasn’t a great read for me.

Found this a rambling listen

Not a book that will stay with my memory. Kind of a ramble on of one person's travels. I really like the genre - this one just didn't do it for me. Moving on.